WORLD BRIEFS

IRAN: Weekend nuclear talks in Turkey

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, said his country will offer new initiatives in weekend talks with world powers over Tehran's controversial nuclear program, state media reported Thursday. The talks beginning Saturday in Istanbul with the five permanent UN Security Council nations plus Germany are the first direct negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program after talks collapsed more than 14 months ago. Jalili was quoted as saying, "We are ready to hold successful and progressive talks on cooperation." For Iran, uranium enrichment has been a proud symbol of its technological self-sufficiency. The West suspects Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon program.

GUINEA-BISSAU: Explosions arouse fears of a coup

Explosions blasted through Bissau, the capital of this small, coup-prone nation Thursday as the military sealed off the downtown area and lobbed grenades at the prime minister's home, according to a diplomat and witnesses. The body representing West Africa nations said it "formally condemns any attempt at a coup d'etat," according to Daniel Kablan Duncan, president of its Council on Mediation and Security. The violence comes just weeks before the presidential runoff vote, which Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Jr. was favored to win. There have been fears of a coup ever since the president died in January of complications from diabetes, leaving an interim leader in charge. Shooting started Thursday after the state radio station signal inexplicably went dead. The whereabouts of the interim president, Raimundo Pereira, were unknown. A military official said soldiers had encircled the home of Gomes and were attacking with grenades. It was not clear whether he was at home.

MEXICO: 6.9 quake strikes off Baja peninsula

A strong earthquake struck off the coast early Thursday, waking up people living near the Gulf of California only hours after a temblor swayed tall buildings in Mexico City, causing brief evacuations. Neither quake caused major damage or injuries. The U.S. Geological Survey said Thursday's 6.9-magnitude quake hit the waters between the Baja peninsula and the northern state of Sonora. People in Hermosillo woke up as their beds swayed and their ceiling fans shook. It was centered 82 miles northeast of Guerrero Negro, 6.4 miles below the surface.