China
BEIJING — A centuries-old mountaintop palace in central China caught fire and was "burned into ashes," a government preservation agency said Tuesday, eight years after the area was added to a U.N. list of cultural heritage sites. The Yuzhengong Palace on the lush hillside of Wudangshan Mountain in Hubei province, a typical example of imperial architecture during the late Yuan (1271-1368) and early Ming (1368-1644) dynasties, caught fire Sunday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
BEIJING — A gas explosion tore through a coal mine in northeast China, killing 16 workers at a facility in the same city where another blast killed scores of miners last year, the official Xinhua News Agency and a company dispatcher said Tuesday. Ninety-seven miners were underground when the blast took place Monday in Lishu Coal Mine No. 7 in the city of Jixi in Heilongjiang province, said the dispatcher from Jixi Mine Group, which owns the mine.
England
LONDON — Thousands of British firefighters walked off the job for the third time in less than three months Tuesday after failing to resolve a wage dispute with the government. The Fire Brigades Union said its 55,000 members would stop work for 24 hours. It plans two 48-hour work stoppages on Jan. 28 and Feb. 11.
France
DREUX — French Guianese zouk singer Edith Lefel, considered one of the great voices of Afro-Caribbean music, died Monday at a French hospital. She was 39. No cause of death was given. Lefel's most recent album, "If Only," came out last month.
Guatemala
GUATEMALA CITY — A pair of moderate earthquakes rocked Guatemala late Monday, alarming many Guatemalans and knocking out electricity and phone service. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. The quakes were centered 70 miles south of Guatemala City in the Pacific Ocean.
Israel
JERUSALEM — Labor party leader Amram Mitzna said Tuesday he will not drop out of next week's general election despite a poll indicating Shimon Peres at the helm of Labor would have a better chance of unseating Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Mitzna has failed to close the gap despite corruption allegations that have muddied the Likud campaign.
Lebanon
MARJAYOUN — Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas shelled Israeli positions in a disputed border area Tuesday, the first such attack in months, provoking Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire that wounded two civilians, security officials said. In Israel, military officials confirmed the exchange, saying the army returned fire and sent helicopters into air. There were no reports of injuries from the Hezbollah attack.
Mexico
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Saying it had exhausted other alternatives, Mexico appealed to the World Court on Tuesday to stop the execution of 51 of its citizens in the United States. The Mexican government is first seeking a court order to postpone the executions until a 15-member panel of judges can hear its arguments that the United States has violated international conventions in imposing the death penalty on its citizens.
Pakistan
ISLAMABAD — An unmanned U.S. spy plane crashed during a routine surveillance mission near a facility being used by U.S. troops in southern Pakistan, Pakistan's Interior Ministry said on Tuesday. The small spy plane crashed Monday evening near the Jacobabad air base, about 180 miles east of the Afghan border.
Turkey
ANKARA — Turkey will host the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, Egypt and Jordan later this week to press for a peaceful solution to U.S.-Iraqi tensions, Turkey's foreign minister said Tuesday. The gathering represents a push by Arab powers and Turkey to avert a U.S.-led war on Iraq — even as Washington is pressing Ankara and Iraq's other neighbors to help in any military action.
Venezuela
CARACAS — Petroleum prices rose Tuesday as a strike that has disabled the world's fifth-largest oil exporter entered its 51st day and international mediators struggled to resolve the stoppage aimed at forcing President Hugo Chavez from office. European Brent crude soared to new two-year highs at more than $31 a barrel because of the Venezuelan crisis, possible war in Iraq and cold weather in the United States.