WORLD BRIEFS

GREECE/Clouds seen over economic rebound

Financial leaders, with a nervous eye on Greece, pledged Saturday to address the risks posed to the global recovery from high government debt. But they also stressed that high unemployment in many countries remained a threat to a sustainable recovery. Greece's finance minister, George Papaconstantinou, flew to Washington for two days of talks with top officials of the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the Obama administration. Greece is hoping to obtain loans of about $40 billion from the group of 16 European countries which, like Greece, use the euro as a common currency, and an additional $13.4 billion from the IMF.

NEW ZEALAND/Military copter crash kills three

Three airmen were killed and a fourth seriously hurt after a New Zealand military helicopter en route to a memorial flyover crashed on farmland north of the capital, Wellington, emergency services said Sunday. Three Vietnam-era Iroquois military helicopters failed to appear at a scheduled fly-past at a dawn service in the capital to commemorate the 95th anniversary of the landing of troops at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I.

PARAGUAY/Tougher stand vs. guerrilla group

Lawmakers gave Paraguay's president and army emergency powers resembling martial law yesterday to pursue a guerrilla group known for its kidnappings in the north of the country. Congress proclaimed constitutional order at risk as it declared a 30-day emergency for a five-state region where the Paraguayan People's Army has sown fear with kidnappings for ransom in the name of political change to help the rural poor. Leftist President Fernando Lugo will be able to order arrests and the transfer of suspects without court approval.

THAILAND/Tensions rise as talks break off

Hopes for a swift, peaceful resolution to the nation's political crisis were dashed yesterday when the prime minister rejected a compromise proposal for dissolving parliament, and protesters hit back by withdrawing from negotiations. The breakdown heightened fears of a new confrontation between security forces and the red-shirted protesters who have virtually shut down central Bangkok. On Friday, the protesters, who claim the government took power illegitimately, offered officials 30 days to disband the legislature in a move they said was aimed at preventing further bloodshed in a standoff that has killed 26 and wounded nearly 1,000 others. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva rejected that pitch yesterday.