World briefs

MYANMAR: Urged to release prisoner

Foreign ministers from key nations warned Myanmar's military junta Monday that the release of political prisoners including detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is "essential" for upcoming elections to be seen as credible, the United Nations chief said. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the ministers reiterated the need for the election process "to be more inclusive, participatory and transparent." The Nov. 7 elections will be Myanmar's first in two decades.

MEXICO: Mayor, aide stoned to death

A mayor and an aide were found stoned to death Monday in a drug-plagued western state, the fifth city leader to be slain in Mexico since mid-August. Michoacan state Attorney General Jesus Montejano said the bodies of Tancitaro Mayor Gustavo Sanchez and city adviser Rafael Equihua were discovered in a pickup truck abandoned on a dirt road. Tancitaro, a town of 26,000, is in a region where soldiers have destroyed more than 20 meth labs in the past year and several police officers have been killed by suspected drug gang members.

ENGLAND: Survey: Anti-stimulus

Over half of people in the some of the world's biggest economies are opposed to their government's spending money in stimulus programs, according to a BBC World Service poll published Tuesday. The broadcaster said that in its poll of more than 22,000 people in 22 countries, the strongest opposition for increased government spending to boost the economy was in countries that have already seen stimulus programs, such as Germany, France and the United States.