CENTRAL ASIA

THREE KILLED IN AFGHAN DRUG BATTLE

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Two men opened fire on government troops who were destroying opium poppy crops in central Afghanistan yesterday, killing one soldier before both gunmen also were fatally shot, an official said. The gunmen attacked a group of 50 militia soldiers as they worked in a poppy field near Deh Rawood in Uruzgan province, Governor Jan Mohammed Khan said. A second soldier was wounded in the ensuing gun battle.

Mr. Khan claimed that both assailants were known Taliban supporters but didn’t elaborate. He said the poppy eradication effort in his province would go on.

President Karzai, with strong American backing, has vowed to clamp down hard on Afghanistan’s booming narcotics industry, which supplies most of the world’s opium, the raw material for heroin. Officials have expressed concern that the crackdown could prompt violence from farmers and traffickers. Taliban insurgents, as well as warlords resisting Mr. Karzai’s authority, are believed to profit from the trade.

– Associated Press

EAST ASIA

CHINA ANNOUNCES 1.3 BILLIONTH CITIZEN; PROMOTES BIRTH LIMITS

Greeted by national TV coverage of his first bath, a boy born yesterday was declared China’s 1.3 billionth citizen in a blaze of publicity to promote the government’s controversial “one child” birth limits.

The 8-pound infant was presented with a certificate of his status following his birth at 12:02 a.m. at Beijing Maternity Hospital. State TV’s evening news showed his mother, Lan Hui, a 31-year-old employee of Shell China, receiving a bouquet of flowers and the newborn getting a bath and a massage.

“I am the happiest guy in the world, and my boy will be blessed all his life,” the father, Zhang Tong, 37, who works for Air China, told the official Xinhua news agency. Xinhua didn’t say whether the parents had picked a name for the baby, who became the star of a campaign touting what the Communist government says are the successes of its decades-old policy limiting most urban couples to one child. “The family planning policy of the past 30 years has effectively controlled the over-rapid increase of China’s population,” the official China Daily newspaper said.

The government says that without the policy, China would have at least 200 million more mouths to feed, straining farm, water, and other resources. But critics say the plan has led to forced abortions and other abuses.

– Associated Press

NORTH AMERICA

MEXICO’S FOX VOWS FREE CANCER TREATMENT

MEXICO CITY – All Mexican children with cancer will receive free treatment as long as they need it, President Fox announced yesterday.

The announcement came as Mr. Fox inaugurated the Mexico City-based National Council for the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer in Infants and Adolescents.

The council will serve as a clearinghouse for the “total treatment of this evil, which has become one of the principal health problems affecting children in our country,” Mr. Fox said. Currently, Mexico’s social security system covers people who work in taxpaying jobs, while most people involved in the informal economy – maids, street vendors, and farmers – are left out. At least half of Mexico’s employed population is estimated to work in the informal economy.

“With the council’s help, in Mexico there no longer will be any child or adolescent with cancer who lacks the necessary medical and psychological attention,” Mr. Fox said. “They will receive all of this completely free of charge and during the entire duration of their recovery.”

– Associated Press

PERSIAN GULF

GENERAL SENT TO IRAQ TO REVIEW MILITARY POLICY

A retired four-star general is being sent to Iraq by the Pentagon to review the military’s policy in the region, according to the New York Times’ Web site last night. General Gary Luck is slated to monitor troop levels, training programs for Iraqi security forces and general strategy.

Previously, General Luck was the head of American forces, in South Korea. He currently serves a senior adviser to the Joint Forces Command.

Defense Secretary Rumsfeld instructed the general to find weaknesses in the military’s operation, the Times’ report said.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

SOUTH AMERICA

VICTIMS’ KIN PROTEST ARGENTINA CLUB FIRE

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Relatives of the victims of a nightclub fire that killed 188 people led thousands of Argentines in a march yesterday to protest safety lapses blamed for the country’s worst fire disaster in decades. The demonstration was the fourth since the December 30 inferno that also injured more than 700 people.

Clutching photos of the victims, relatives were joined by about 7,000 others – many teenagers wearing black bands on their shirts – in an outpouring of anger and grief directed at city officials and the club’s owner.

On Monday, about 4,000 people demonstrated in the streets, demanding Buenos Aires Mayor Anibal Ibarra and key city officials resign and calling for new citywide safety standards for all nightclubs. Mr. Ibarra has ordered all city clubs closed for two weeks of safety inspections and banned indoor concerts indefinitely; his public security chief, Juan Carlos Lopez, has resigned. The club’s owner, Omar Chaban, was arrested over the weekend.

– Associated Press