World in brief

Challenges to Gitmo trials to begin

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - In a challenge that could make or break upcoming trials by a special military commission, defense lawyers are moving to dismiss terrorism charges against Osama bin Laden's chauffeur and an Australian who joined the Taliban.

Hearings on the motions beginning today will test the boundaries of international law. Some 550 terror suspects from more than 40 countries are detained at the U.S. military base in Cuba, most without official charges or access to lawyers.

The first pretrial hearing is for David Hicks, an Australian who joined Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime. He has pleaded innocent to attempted murder, aiding the enemy and conspiracy to attack civilians, commit terrorism and destroy property.

The second week of motions hearings scheduled to begin Saturday is for Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a 34-year-old Yemeni who has said he earned a pittance driving bin Laden but denies supporting terrorism. He is charged with conspiracy, a charge his attorney says the commission is not authorized to hear.

LAGOS, Nigeria - Unions declared the country's top oil multinational, Royal Dutch/Shell, "an enemy of the Nigerian people" on Sunday and called a Nov. 16 nationwide strike that they said would target oil exports in Africa's oil giant.

The threats in the world's No. 7 oil exporter - the fifth-largest supplier of U.S. oil imports - appeared likely to send shocks through the global oil market.

Unions called the Nov. 16 strike after giving President Olusegun Obasanjo until Sunday to reverse September's 23 percent increase in fuel prices in Nigeria. Shell officials would not comment on the matter and government officials could not be reached.

MOSCOW - Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, who claimed responsibility for last month's Beslan school hostage-taking, warned Sunday that he was ready to fight Russia for a decade and insisted civilians remained a fair target.

But Basayev also said in an interview published on Chechenpress.com, a Chechen Web site, that the rebels would observe "international law" if Russia does. The Chechens have accused the Russians of human rights violations and war crimes.

Basayev has claimed responsibility for some of the most audacious terror attacks in Russia, including the Sept. 1-3 hostage-taking in North Ossetia that left more than 330 people dead, half children. The Federal Security Service has offered a reward of $10.3-million for information that could help "neutralize" him.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Malaysia's most charismatic dissident, Anwar Ibrahim, released from jail two months ago, kicked off his comeback Sunday, vowing to restart a campaign for political reforms and racial equality.

Some 1,000 followers cheered as Anwar, 57, emerged from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, having traveled to Germany for back surgery and Saudi Arabia for a pilgrimage.

In 1998, Anwar was arrested on sodomy and corruption charges. He was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. A court recently overturned the sodomy charge and he was freed on Sept. 2, having served his corruption conviction.

BEIJING - Ethnic clashes between majority Han Chinese and Muslim Hui left almost 150 people dead and prompted the authorities to declare martial law in a section of Henan Province in central China, journalists and witnesses in the region said Sunday.

The fighting flared Friday and continued into the weekend after a Hui taxi driver's car hit and killed a 6-year-old Han girl, prompting recriminations between ethnic groups in neighboring villages, these people said. The New York Times, quoting an unnamed person briefed on the incident by the police, reported that 148 people had been killed, including 18 police officers sent to quell the violence.

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