WORLD BRIEFS

GUATEMALA: Software guru back in U.S.

Deported from Guatemala, anti-virus software founder John McAfee arrived Wednesday in Miami. Airport spokesman Greg Chin said the American Airlines commercial jet carrying McAfee landed shortly before 7 p.m. and McAfee would be escorted by federal authorities after he cleared customs. Frank Medina, another passenger, said McAfee was taken off the plane before everyone else. McAfee, expelled earlier in the day, had sneaked into Guatemala from Belize, where he is wanted for questioning in a neighbor's homicide.

NETHERLANDS: No toking in city's schools

Amsterdam's mayor said Wednesday he would formally ban students from smoking marijuana at school, making the capital the first Dutch city to do so. Eberhard van der Laan's introduction of a law that in other countries either already exists or seems so obvious it wouldn't even require a rule is the result of the Netherlands' unique drugs policy. Under the "tolerance" principle, marijuana is technically illegal, but people can't be prosecuted for possession of small amounts. That loophole has also had the unwanted side effect that Dutch children are frequently exposed to the drug in public areas. Schools have always forbidden pot, but found it difficult to enforce the policy when students smoked on or near campus. After a change in national law, the city will now be able to declare as of Jan. 1 "no toking zones" in schools and playgrounds. The move is paired with a government decision to ditch plans for a national "weed pass" that would have blocked tourists from buying marijuana.

VENEZUELA: Concern for Chávez's health

The government warned Venezuelans on Wednesday that ailing President Hugo Chávez may not be well enough after his fourth cancer-related surgery in Cuba to be inaugurated on Jan. 10. Vice President Nicolas Maduro acknowledged that Chávez, 58, faced a "complex and hard" process after surgery. Tapped as Chávez's political heir, Maduro is considered a member of the radical left aligned with Cuba.