Bangladesh
DHAKA — Bangladesh police said about 150 people were injured in widespread violence and clashes between opposition and government supporters on Saturday ahead of the start of a three-day general strike today.
England
LONDON — The British Broadcasting Corp. reported on Saturday night that Prime Minister Tony Blair had decided to postpone the crisis-hit country's general elections until June. The BBC's political editor Andrew Marr said Blair had decided to delay the elections from the expected May 3 date until a date in June as the foot-and-mouth epidemic ravaging livestock spiralled.
Guyana
GEORGETOWN — Incumbent Bharrat Jagdeo was sworn in as Guyana's president on Saturday, pledging to unite this ethnically riven South American country and calling for an end to violence that marred general elections.
Indonesia
JAKARTA — Indonesian prosecutors on Saturday charged two former Cabinet ministers with stealing millions of dollars from the state during the reign of ex-dictator Suharto.
Italy
ROME — A steelworker was arrested Saturday in northern Italy in connection with a multimillion-dollar ransom demand for the corpse of Enrico Cuccia, once Italy's most powerful banker, news agencies reported.
Netherlands
AMSTERDAM — Two lesbian brides and six gay grooms became the world's first homosexuals to wed legally, tying the knot today in a colorful communal ceremony.
Russia
MOSCOW — Thousands of people gathered in a central Moscow square Saturday to voice support for freedom of the press in Russia, especially the embattled private NTV television.
Scotland
EDINBURGH — A wisp of hair believed to be from the head of Mary, Queen of Scots, fetched $2,700 at auction Saturday, purchased by a Scottish museum. The hair was found in a dresser at Edinburgh's Palace of Holyroodhouse in the late 19th century, about 300 years after Mary was beheaded on the orders of England's Queen Elizabeth I.
Sri Lanka
COLOMBO — At least seven people were killed and some 200 wounded when an explosion ripped through a packed stadium during a concert in northwestern Sri Lanka early today, police said.
Sweden
KIRUNA — Two days after President Bush rejected the Kyoto global warming treaty, European environment ministers said Saturday the agreement is still "alive" and that they will go forward with ratification plans — with or without the United States.
Taiwan
TAIPEI — A confidential review by U.S. naval officers has concluded that Taiwan needs a significant infusion of new weapons, including a sophisticated ship-borne radar system that China has put at the top of the list of arms it does not want Taiwan to have.
Turkey
ANKARA — Turkey's prime minister has ordered government offices to avoid using place names in the Kurdish language, calling the practice an effort to "create an artificial separatist movement." Officials should instead use Turkish, the national language, Saturday's Hurriyet newspaper quoted Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit as saying in a letter sent to government offices.
Venezuela
CARACAS — In the largest protest to date against President Hugo Chavez's government, thousands of parents, students and teachers demonstrated against education reforms they say aim to introduce leftist indoctrination into schools.
Yemen
SAN'A — At least 10 suspected Muslim militants in Yemen have been arrested in recent days as part of the investigation into last year's bombing of the destroyer USS Cole, security sources said Saturday.