World in brief

Atomic agency rebukes Iran

VIENNA - The International Atomic Energy Agency rebuked Iran Friday for past coverups in its nuclear program and warned the Islamic republic it has little time left to disprove it has a nuclear weapons program.

The resolution, adopted unanimously by the IAEA's 35-member board of governors, doesn't impose a deadline or directly threaten sanctions. But its harsh wording amounted to substantial pressure on Iran to clear up suspicions about a nuclear program that was covert for nearly 20 years until discovered two years ago.

Iran threatened retaliation, suggesting it could reconsider its plans to suspend uranium enrichment - the process that can make energy or nuclear warheads.

The final document - submitted by Germany, France and Britain after days of diplomatic maneuvering over the wording - said the IAEA "deplores" that "Iran's cooperation has not been as full, timely and proactive as it should have been."

KABUL, Afghanistan - Warlords overran a provincial capital in central Afghanistan, officials said Friday, forcing the governor to flee in the latest burst of infighting in this war-fractured nation.

Fighters armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades seized Chagcharan, the main town in remote Ghor province 350 miles west of Kabul, on Thursday, a leader of the offensive and a government official said. Ten people were reportedly killed.

Gov. Mohammed Ibrahim fled to the western city of Herat, leaving his deputy and a group of nominally loyal militiamen and police to regroup in a nearby village.

BERLIN - Germany's Parliament passed a measure Friday that will allow the military to shoot down hijacked airliners in German airspace if they are deemed a threat.

The new law allows the defense minister - or, if he is not available, the foreign minister - to decide to have a plane shot down as a last resort.

The legislation provides some room for judgment, saying that shooting down a hijacked airliner "is permissible only after it can be assumed due to the circumstances that the aircraft is to be used against the lives of people and this is the only way to prevent this danger."

ABUJA, Nigeria - West African defense chiefs agreed Friday to create a 6,500-strong multinational force to respond to "crisis and threats to peace" in the war-ravaged region.

The core of the force will be 1,500 "highly trained and equipped" rapid response troops and 3,500 backups. The remaining 1,500 soldiers will form a reserve, the Economic Community of West African States said.

It's unclear when the force will come into being.

HAITI PROTESTS: More than 5,000 supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide marched through Haiti's capital Friday, calling for his return and accusing the U.S. government of forcing his departure. Haitian riot police and more than two dozen U.S. Marines patrolled the march route Friday and no violence was reported.

AL-QAIDA FIGURE KILLED: Pakistan's army killed a renegade tribal leader, Nek Mohammed, accused of sheltering al-Qaida fighters, tracing him to a mud-brick compound via a satellite phone and then leveling the building in a helicopter assault, officials said Friday. Six other people died. The army got its break late Thursday when a satellite phone intercept tracked Mohammed to the home of another tribal leader.

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