Around the World

CANADA

Conservatives Seek To Block Opposition

Canada's minority Conservative government may seek the temporary suspension of Parliament to stop opposition parties from voting it out and taking power, an aide to Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday.

The Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois signed a deal Monday committing them to bringing down the government, seven weeks after it won reelection with a strengthened minority, and forming a coalition government to replace the Conservatives.

The formal agreement quickly triggered one of the worst political crises in Canada's history.

The opposition, which says Harper is not doing enough to tackle the fallout from the financial crisis, proposed forging a formal coalition of Liberals and New Democrats, with the separatist Bloc promising its support.

The Harper aide said the government would fight the coalition plan "with every legal means at our disposal."

LEBANON

U.N. Panel Uncovers Details in Hariri Killing

A U.N. special commission investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri reported Tuesday that it has fresh evidence that could lead to more suspects.

Hariri's killing touched off widespread protests in Lebanon, which together with intensified international pressure forced Syria to withdraw its troops after a nearly 30-year presence.

"The commission reports that it has acquired new information that may allow it to link additional individuals to the network that carried out the assassination," Secretary General Ban Ki-moon wrote the Security Council.

A commission report Ban submitted to the council did not specify what the evidence was, but asked that its mandate be extended through February.

Iraq, Kuwait on Joint Patrols

The Iraqi and Kuwaiti navies have agreed to patrol their common waterways together to guard against terrorism and smuggling in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy said. Vice Adm. William E. Gortney of the U.S. 5th Fleet, which also patrols the gulf, described the deal as the "first military-to-military protocol" between Iraq and a neighboring country.

Israeli Strike Kills 2 in Gaza

An Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinian youths in the southern Gaza Strip, where mortar bombs were earlier launched at Israel, local residents and hospital officials said. The Israeli military confirmed an airstrike on the town of Rafah in which two other people were wounded. It said fighters had fired six mortar bombs across the border.

Cruise Ship Outruns Pirates

Pirates pursued and shot at a U.S. cruise ship with more than 1,000 people on board but were unable to hijack the vessel as it sailed along a corridor patrolled by international warships. The captain of the cruise ship, the M/S Nautica, ordered passengers inside and gunned the engine, allowing the ship to outrun the pirates' speedboats in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, a company spokesman said.

Brazilian Banker Sentenced

A judge in Brazil sentenced Daniel Dantas, one of the country's most prominent bankers, to 10 years in prison for attempting to bribe a police officer, according to a federal court. Dantas, the founder of the Opportunity financial group and a former rising star in Brazil's financial world, was arrested in July along with a former mayor of Sao Paulo on charges of money laundering and tax evasion.

'Slave-Like' Labor in Europe

Europe has a hidden labor market in which migrants and even children are working in "slave-like" situations, an E.U. official said. Morten Kjaerum, director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, warned that the current global economic crisis could push more people into this underground economy and expose them to severe exploitation.

From News Services