WORLD BRIEFS

CHILE/Vaccination campaign

Chile launched a hepatitis and tetanus vaccination campaign Friday and doctors warned of outbreaks of diarrhea and infection among thousands of people displaced by the earthquake and the tsunami that heavily damaged or destroyed 36 hospitals and made garbage dumps of coastal towns and cities. Doctors report increasing cases of diarrhea among people drinking unclean water and worry that huge piles of garbage and tons of rotting fish and other debris along the coast have become nests of infection.

BRITAIN/Brown defends invasion

Prime Minister Gordon Brown insisted Friday the decision to invade Iraq was justified, but told a major inquiry into the war that the United States dismissed warnings of chaos and violence once Saddam Hussein was toppled. In four hours of evidence to Britain's inquiry on Iraq, a somber Brown repeatedly expressed regret over the lost lives of soldiers and civilians, and acknowledged mistakes were made by leaders in Washington and London. The inquiry is Britain's third and widest-ranging examination of the conflict. The inquiry won't apportion blame or establish liability, but will offer recommendations later this year on how to prevent errors in the future.

CHINA/Teacher pricked students

A kindergarten teacher in southwestern China has admitted she used an empty hypodermic needle to prick 63 of her students on the hands, feet and buttocks as punishment, state media reported Friday. None of the children has tested positive for infectious diseases but their parents have demanded compensation totaling $265,000, more than a Chinese teacher makes in 50 years, the Xinhua News Agency said. It did not say how the abuse was discovered. The teacher, Sun Qiqi, has been diagnosed with an unidentified personality order and faces charges of "endangering public security by dangerous methods," Xinhua said. She was tried on Thursday in Yunnan province, but no verdict has been announced.