Azerbaijan
BAKU — President Ilham Aliev on Monday fired a third regional governor for alleged interference in Azerbaijan's parliamentary elections, reacting sternly to Western charges of voting irregularities. Police dispersed about 20 opposition demonstrators who held an unauthorized gathering outside the local electoral commission headquarters in a Baku district, demanding repeat elections.
Bolivia
LA PAZ — The leader of Bolivia's coca farmers is running neck-and-neck with a center-right former president ahead of next month's presidential election, according to an opinion poll published Monday. Leftist congressman Evo Morales has 30.7 percent support to Jorge Quiroga's 28.7 percent, according to the poll conducted by IPSOS Captura for a group of Bolivia's largest newspapers and television stations.
Canada
TORONTO — Canada's minority Liberal government on Monday rejected an opposition demand for general elections in February, a move that could topple Prime Minister Paul Martin's administration and force the first Christmas campaign in 26 years. The country's three opposition party leaders called on Martin Sunday to agree to dissolve Parliament in January and hold elections the next month or face a no-confidence motion that could bring down his government as early as next week. The opposition says the Liberal Party no longer has the moral authority to lead the nation because of a corruption scandal.
China
HONG KONG — The U.S. government is warning of a possible terrorist threat to American facilities in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. The warning was sent out by the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou. It didn't give any information about the source of the threat or other details.
Colombia
BOGOTA — Hundreds of Colombian television actors and workers marched through the streets Monday to protest a proposed free trade deal with the United States that they claim could hurt the local TV industry. The final round of negotiations for the free trade agreement between the United States, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador began Monday in Washington and is expected to be signed next month. It would break down trade barriers in agriculture but also soften a Colombian law requiring 70 percent of prime-time TV shows be produced in Colombia.
France
PARIS — President Jacques Chirac said Monday that unrest in the poor neighborhoods of France is the sign of a "profound malaise" the entire nation must work to heal through job-training and employment opportunities for troubled youths. In his first address to the nation since the rioting erupted, the president said companies, unions and the media must help bring diversity to French society and combat what he called the poison of discrimination. The unrest has abated over the past week, and the Cabinet Monday approved a measure to extend a state of emergency from 12 days to three months.
Japan
TOKYO — A strong earthquake shook northern Japan early today, triggering a small tsunami that struck coastal towns about 200 miles from the epicenter. There were no immediate reports of damage. The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9, was centered off the east coast of Japan's main island of Honshu, according to the U.S. Geological Survey and Japan's Meteorological Agency.
Mexico
MEXICO — Mexico recalled its ambassador from Venezuela on Monday after Caracas said it would withdraw its top diplomat instead of apologizing after President Hugo Chavez warned Mexican leader Vicente Fox: "Don't mess with me, sir, because you'll get stung." Tensions between Fox and Chavez spilled over after this month's Summit of the Americas in Argentina, where Fox defended a U.S.-backed proposal for a Free Trade Area of the Americas while Chavez proclaimed the idea dead.
Uzbekistan
TASHKENT — Uzbekistan's top court on Monday convicted 15 men for organizing a May uprising in which more than 180 people were killed, ending a trial that was criticized as a government-orchestrated show with testimony coerced by torture. The May 13 crackdown has left President Islam Karimov's authoritarian government increasingly isolated by the West. The United States quickly criticized the verdicts.