WORLD BRIEFS

IRAN: Nuclear enrichment speeds up

Nuclear technicians set dozens of centrifuges spinning Tuesday to begin enriching uranium stocks to a higher level, prompting President Barack Obama to warn of a "significant regime of sanctions." Iran's acceleration in its enrichment program was a defiant step that puts weapons-grade uranium in closer reach, should Tehran choose to go after the bomb. Obama said Iran appeared to have spurned his offer of engagement.

Death sentence for oppositionist

Iran has convicted another opposition activist on charges related to the postelection turmoil and sentenced him to death, the judiciary said Tuesday, bringing to at least 10 the number of those facing the death penalty for the unrest following June's disputed presidential election. The opposition believes the surge in arrests reflects an attempt by the government to scare people from coming out into the streets Thursday, the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

CHINA: Activist sentenced for 'subversion'

A Chinese court sentenced an activist who investigated the deaths of thousands of schoolchildren in the country's massive 2008 earthquake to 5 years in jail for inciting subversion of state power, the man's lawyer said. The United States deplored the sentence handed down to Tan Zuoren by a court in southwestern Sichuan province, saying such convictions were politically motivated. Attorney Pu Zhiqiang said Tan was convicted and sentenced Tuesday by the Chengdu Intermediate Court.

SRI LANKA: Parliament dissolved for new vote

Sri Lanka's president dissolved parliament Tuesday to make way for spring elections a day after authorities arrested a key opposition leader. President Mahinda Rajapaksa's decision follows his sweeping victory at the polls last month over his former army chief, Gen. Sarath Fonseka, who had defected to the opposition after helping to end the country's quarter-century civil war. Fonseka was arrested Monday on sedition charges.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: High anxiety: Elevator traps 15

Visitors on the observation deck of the world's tallest tower in Dubai heard a loud boom, then saw dust seeping through a crack in an elevator door 124 floors above the ground. The 15 people inside were trapped for 45 minutes until rescuers managed to pry the doors open. The elevator was apparently stuck between floors, so a ladder was dropped into the shaft so those inside could crawl out. Shortly after the drama unfolded Saturday evening, the half-mile-high Burj Khalifa shut down to the public just a month after its grandiose opening.