World in brief

Blasts kill 1, wound 72 in Colombia

BOGOTA, Colombia - One woman was killed and at least 72 people, including an American Airlines pilot, were injured Saturday night after grenades were tossed into two trendy Bogota bars popular among U.S. military personnel, police said.

Police blamed the nation's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. They arrested a 25-year-old man they said threw the grenades at the Bogota Beer Co. and Palos de Moguer, popular night spots with locals and foreigners.

The rebel group did not immediately issue any statement about the attack.

The U.S. Embassy confirmed Sunday that besides the pilot, at least three other American citizens may be among the victims. None of their injuries were life-threatening, an embassy spokesman said.

SERBIA: Serbians failed for the third time in a year Sunday to elect a president because of low voter turnout, triggering a political crisis in the Balkan republic. The vote is valid only if more than 50 percent of registered voters cast a ballot, but only 39 percent did, according to exit polls. Official results are expected today.

CATALONIA: The Republican Left, a small party advocating independence for Spain's rich and powerful Catalonia region, scored huge gains in Sunday's local elections, emerging as kingmaker for two major parties that lost support. No party amassed a majority in the regional assembly.

SHIPYARD ACCIDENT: The 68,000 residents of St. Nazaire, France, were in mourning Sunday, a day after 15 people fell to their deaths while visiting the nearly completed Queen Mary 2, the world's largest and costliest ocean liner. President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin visited the temporary mortuary at the shipyard, and regional prosecutor Pierre-Marie Block said he has opened an investigation.

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