The world in brief

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 12, 2001

Pakistani troops fire on pro-Taliban crowd

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Hours after being deployed to stifle unrest over the U.S. bombings of Afghanistan, paramilitary troops opened fire Thursday on a crowd attempting to storm a jail and free pro-Taliban activists.

The incident at Bajur, a border area in southwestern Pakistan, came as the military prepared for a national strike today called by radical Islamic parties to protest Pakistan's support of the U.S.-led campaign.

In the short, intense clash with stone-throwing protesters, 11 people were wounded, three seriously. Troops also patrolled the streets of other restive cities, including Quetta in the southwest.

INDONESIANS DEMONSTRATE: Confronted by rows of razor wire and hundreds of riot police, about 800 Muslim demonstrators rallied Thursday in front of the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, chanting "Americans are terrorists! Kill them all! Destroy America!"

Islamic militants have threatened to raze the mission, kill the U.S. ambassador and force Westerners out of the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Nearly every day since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, Muslims have held noisy and occasionally violent protests across Indonesia, with more rallies expected today.

CANADA BOOSTS SECURITY: Canada will spend $60-million for new technology at airports and border crossings to check fingerprints and detect explosives in luggage, the government said Thursday. The money is part of $165-million announced Wednesday for antiterrorism and security measures.

CANADIAN KILLED: A Canadian working in Kuwait was shot and killed on the street as he walked with his wife, officials said. His wife was wounded.

Canadian Ambassador Richard Mann identified the victim of Wednesday night's shooting as Luc Ethier, in his late 30s, but would not identify the wife. Mann did not have the victim's hometown.

The U.S. Embassy said the "motive for the shooting is unknown, and many of the facts remain unconfirmed, including whether the attack may have been intended as an act of terrorism."

BRITONS BACK BLAIR: Prime Minister Tony Blair's popularity has soared after last month's terror attacks to the level enjoyed by Winston Churchill during World War II, according to an opinion poll released Thursday. The ICM poll, commissioned by the Guardian newspaper, found 88 percent of respondents believe Blair has handled the crisis "very well" or "quite well."

GERMANY READY TO FIGHT: Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder declared Thursday that the country's postwar role in world affairs -- economically powerful but militarily timid -- has "irrevocably passed" and that Germany is ready and willing to send troops abroad "in defense of freedom and human rights."

The speech gave voice to a clear shift in German public opinion toward acceptance of use of the military abroad, a taboo first broken in 1999 when German warplanes joined in NATO's bombardment of Yugoslavia.

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