World Digest: Honduras's Interim Leader Backs Off Crackdown

Rescuers and police carry bodies recovered along riverbanks in Marikina city, east of Manila, the Philippine capital. Officials expect the death toll from Tropical Storm Ketsana to rise as crews reach villages blocked off by debris. (By Aaron Favila -- Associated Press)

-- Associated Press

MALAYSIA

Judge Upholds Caning of Woman

A judge in Malaysia has upheld a court verdict to cane a Muslim woman for drinking beer, news reports said Monday, reigniting a controversy over Islamic justice in this moderate Muslim-majority country.

The national news agency Bernama said the chief sharia judge of Pahang state ruled that a Sharia High Court's verdict against Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, was correct. If the punishment is carried out, Kartika would become the first Muslim woman to be caned in Malaysia.

-- Associated Press

Kiev Scraps Babi Yar Hotel Plan: Kiev authorities have called off a widely criticized plan to build a hotel on a killing field used by Nazis during the infamous 1941 Babi Yar massacre. Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky's office said he vetoed a decision by the city council to build the hotel. The hotel plan had been supported by members of the mayor's faction on the city council. They said Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, needs more hotels to host the 2012 European soccer championship.

Two Canadians Shot Dead in Mexican Resort Area: Two Canadian men were shot to death in execution-style slayings outside an apartment building in the Mexican resort of Puerto Vallarta, authorities said Monday. Witnesses told police that a gunman approached Gordon Douglas Kendall and Jeffrey Ronald Ivans outside the building they were staying in and shot Kendall, according to Jalisco state prosecutor Guillermo Diaz; the gunman chased Ivans to the pool area and shot him. Witnesses said two other gunmen arrived minutes later and repeatedly shot the dead or dying Canadians. No arrests have been made.

Merkel Lays Out Plan Following Vote: Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed Monday to have a new center-right German government in place by the time Germany marks 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9. She said tax cuts are possible in 2011 but rejected spending cutbacks that might strangle an incipient economic recovery.

-- From News Services