World in brief

U.S. evacuates African missionaries

BANGUI, Central African Republic -- Americans were evacuated Sunday with coup forces reportedly in control of roads out of the Central African Republic capital. Fears of new fighting ran high in the tense city as it ran short of food.

A U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo plane carried out more than two dozen people -- U.S. Embassy workers, other Americans, and other foreign nationals, Lt. Col. Pat Barnes said at U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany.

"Everyone who wanted to leave was able to do so," Barnes said.

Authorities had estimated there were about 150 Americans in the Central African Republic, most of them missionaries.

The latest uprising came Oct. 25, when backers of former army chief Francois Bozize launched an offensive that closed to within two blocks of President Ange-Felix Patasse's residence.

Russia presses Denmark to extradite Chechen

MOSCOW -- Russian lawmakers turned up the pressure on Denmark on Saturday, demonstrating outside the country's embassy to warn the small Scandinavian nation Moscow will not drop its demand for the extradition of a detained Chechen rebel envoy.

Akhmed Zakayev, a top aide to Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov, was arrested Wednesday in Denmark at Russia's request on suspicion of helping plan terrorist activities, including last month's 58-hour seizure of a packed Moscow theater which resulted in the deaths of 119 hostages.

The Danish justice minister told Russia on Friday that Copenhagen needed more evidence to extradite Zakayev.

Earthquakes

48 INJURED IN SUMATRA: A massive earthquake registering a magnitude up to 7.7 rocked Indonesia's Sumatra island early Saturday, injuring at least 48 people, damaging houses and causing panicked residents to run into the streets.

Seismologists in Singapore said there was a high risk of tsunami -- powerful waves caused by seismic activity -- in western Sumatra.

At least 48 people, including a 6-year-old girl, were hospitalized on Simeulue island, 250 miles from Sumatra's northern tip, Simeulue hospital chief Dr. Hanif said.

"We fear that there are dozens more with even worse injuries. There are no roads on this island. It is very hard to get to the casualties," said Hanif, who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name.

INVESTIGATORS ARRIVE AT SCHOOL: Prosecutors probed whether poor construction was to blame for the deaths of 26 children buried when an earthquake flattened their school in San Giuliano di Puglia, Italy. Adjacent buildings remained standing.

Magistrates inspected the site Saturday and said their probe would look into whether manslaughter or negligence charges were warranted.

The school was built in 1953 but Italian news reports said a second story was added in recent years to incorporate the nursery, elementary and middle school classrooms.

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