Venezuela: Three killed at rally amid strike tension

Shots were fired Friday at an opposition rally in a Caracas square, killing at least three people and wounding 28, officials said. The violence erupted moments after opposition leaders announced they would extend and expand a general strike aimed at unseating President Hugo Chavez.

The shootings at Plaza Francia in eastern Caracas came as diplomats worked to restart negotiations to end the strike, which has paralyzed Venezuela’s oil industry and brought political tensions to a boil.

Cesar Gaviria, secretary general of the Organization of American States, condemned the violence and said he would preside over an emergency meeting between government and opposition delegates late Friday.

Gaviria said he spoke with former President Carter, who has tried to mediate in Venezuela.

London: British parties back gay couples’ rights

Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government said Friday that gay couples should be allowed to register their partnerships and enjoy some of the legal rights of married couples.

Opposition parties – including the Conservatives, who for many years opposed any extension of gay rights – said Friday that they supported the concept. Blair’s Labor Party holds a commanding majority in the House of Commons and can pass legislation on its own.

Barbara Roche, minister for social exclusion and equalities, said there was an “extremely strong case” for registering same-sex relationships and that ministers would consult on the specifics.

“I do think society has moved on, and I think that we recognize that there are very many people in gay relationships who are in very loving relationships – they may have been very long, enduring relationships – but their partnership has no recognition in law,” she told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

Alaska: Jury returns conviction in pipeline shooting

A Fairbanks jury Friday convicted a man of shooting a hole in the trans-Alaska pipeline, leaking more than 285,000 gallons of oil into the wilderness.

Jurors agreed that a drunken Daniel Lewis was responsible for last year’s spill, which was the pipeline’s second-largest and has cost more than $13 million to clean up. Lewis, 38, could be sentenced to up to 22 years in prison.

Bullets have dented the 800-mile pipeline in the past, but the Oct. 4, 2001, shooting is the only time a bullet punctured the line, which is 48 inches in circumference.

Dozens of people testified in the trial, including Lewis’ older brother Randy. He said he saw Daniel shoot at the pipeline while they were riding on the pipeline access road near the family’s homestead in Livengood, about 50 miles north of Fairbanks.

California: Board votes to ban dry cleaning chemical

Southern California air quality officials voted Friday to impose the nation’s first ban of the most commonly used dry cleaning solvent because of health concerns.

Dry cleaning businesses would have to stop using perchloroethylene, known as perc, by the year 2020. The South Coast Air Quality Management District also approved $2 million in grants to help dry cleaners switch to other chemicals.

“I think it needs not only to be reduced but to be phased out altogether,” said board member Roy Wilson, who introduced the measure.

Dozens of dry cleaners who attended the hearing said they would fight the decision.

“We will have to take this to the (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), and if they don’t help, then to the court,” said George Ma, president of the national Federation of Korean Dry Cleaners Assns.