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World in brief

United States blocks Spain's plan to sell planes to Venezuela

By wire services
Published January 14, 2006

MADRID - The United States will not allow Spain to sell to Venezuela military aircraft with American technology because it would aid the increasingly "antidemocratic" government of President Hugo Chavez and destabilize the region, a statement from the U.S. Embassy said Friday.

The Spanish government said it regretted the decision, but vowed to move forward with the deal after acquiring the necessary technology elsewhere.

Under the accord, which was signed in November, Spain agreed to sell Venezuela 12 transport airplanes and eight patrol boats for about $2-billion.

Since the airplanes, which are not yet built, were to contain American technology, Spain was required to obtain a license from Washington before completing the sale. Neither Spanish nor U.S. officials described the technology.

In rejecting the Spanish request, U.S. officials said the sale amounted to support for an oppressive government that threatened to spread instability.

GWACHEON, South Korea - South Korea and the United States agreed Friday on partially ending a two-year import ban on American beef triggered by mad cow disease, the South Korean government said.

South Korea shut its doors to U.S. beef imports in December 2003 after the first U.S. case of mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy. At the time it was the third-largest foreign market for American beef, after Japan and Mexico.

South Korea said in a statement that it agreed to resume imports of U.S. meat from calves younger than 30 months. Imports will resume by the end of March, though the agreement excludes the import of beef ribs, a key demand of the United States.

"Although we appreciate this step toward normalized beef trade with Korea, we are extremely disappointed that Korea did not fully open its market to all U.S. beef products," U.S. trade representative Rob Portman said.

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon remained unconscious Friday even though doctors have nearly eliminated the anesthesia keeping him in a medically induced coma. Sharon, 77, remained in "critical but stable" condition Friday, showing no change from the previous day, said Hadassah Hospital spokesman Ron Krumer.

Sharon has been unconscious since suffering a massive stroke on Jan. 4. Doctors at the hospital continued to urge patience, saying stroke victims can take weeks to regain consciousness.

The longer it takes for Sharon to regain consciousness, however, the greater the concern about extensive brain damage.

ANKARA, Turkey - The World Health Organization, anxious to get a better understanding of the deadly bird flu strain spreading across Turkey, said Friday it has asked the government for permission to send teams into villages to take blood samples, swab throats and interview families.

The new thrust, if approved by Turkey's Health Ministry, would give WHO investigators a chance to take a closer look at cities and villages where H5N1 has taken hold to determine how the virus is spreading and who appears to be at risk. Blood tests would reveal if people were carrying the virus - even if they had not developed symptoms - and whether they showed evidence of antibodies.

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia - Mongolia's Parliament dissolved the country's 15-month-old coalition government after its biggest political party pulled out of the government amid complaints about poverty and corruption.

No party announced that it would try to form a new government after the vote late Friday to dissolve the government of Prime Minister Tsakhilganiin Elbegdorj. But the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, which said Wednesday it was pulling out, said earlier it would try to form its own government.

[Last modified January 14, 2006, 01:39:15]