GENEVA
WTO rules against U.S. on Japan steel dispute
The World Trade Organization ruled Wednesday that the United States acted illegally in deciding to increase duties on Japanese steel imports.
A panel of trade experts said the U.S. International Trade Commission was wrong when it refused to consider information from three Japanese steel companies because their submissions arrived late.
The increased duties were put in place in June 1999 after U.S. steel companies and steelworkers associations complained that Japanese hot-rolled steel was being "dumped" at below-market prices, making it impossible for U.S. producers to compete.
The commission carried out an investigation and upheld the claim. Extra duties were also imposed on steel from Brazil and Russia. Japan took its complaint to the WTO last year.
LONDON
Britain cracks down on terrorist groups
Acting under a tough new anti-terrorism law, Britain on Wednesday announced plans to ban 21 radical groups, including the organization of Saudi exile Osama bin Laden.
Many of the groups have no organized presence in Britain.
The new anti-terror measure, which took effect Feb. 19, empowers Britain to ban groups that commit violence abroad and to crack down on supporters who channel funds and recruits to terrorist organizations. Authorities had been expected to quickly make use of the new provisions.
The government's proposed list includes Greece's November 17, which has killed 22 people since 1975, targeting intelligence officials and diplomats; bin Laden's organization, al-Qaeda, which has been linked to a range of terror attacks including the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in east Africa; and Abu Nidal, a group blamed for killing more than 300 people since 1973.
El Salvador
Powerful jolt rattles capital
A strong earthquake shook the capital of El Salvador on Wednesday, panicking residents still recovering from two devastating quakes in a month and a string of powerful aftershocks. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The 5.4-magnitude quake hit at 12:42 p.m. and was centered about 60 miles south of the capital. It lasted several seconds and was felt throughout the country and as far away as Nicaragua.
Rescue crews raced around the city to check for damage, while panicked people stayed outside.
The quake caused landslides along main highways in central and western El Salvador.
Two powerful earthquakes, on Jan. 13 and Feb. 13, killed at least 1,246 people and injured another 8,000. The first quake was magnitude 7.6. The second was 6.6.
Peru
Criminal charges filed against ex-president
Peru's attorney general filed the first criminal charges against former President Alberto Fujimori on Wednesday, accusing the ousted leader of abandonment of office and dereliction of duty.
Congress paved the way for the criminal proceedings last week by approving the charges against Fujimori, who was swept from power after fleeing to Japan in November amid a burgeoning corruption scandal involving his former spy chief, Vladimiro Montesinos.
Fujimori sent his resignation from Tokyo by fax to Peru's Congress, which rejected it and voted him out instead, declaring him morally unfit to remain in office.
Fujimori has not returned from Japan, where his parents were born.
Under Peru's constitution, the president must obtain permission from Congress to leave the country and return within a specified time.
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