Brazil

Collapse traps victims

Firefighters and civil defense workers continued searching for people in the debris of the five-story building, housing a hotel and a restaurant that collapsed Wednesday in downtown Rio de Janeiro.

The Rio de Janeiro Civil Defense Department said the chances for survival of anyone trapped underneath the rubble were remote and suspended operations until today.

Ukraine

President won’t resign

Trying to defuse an escalating political standoff, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma held talks Wednesday with opposition lawmakers who had occupied part of his offices but brushed off their demands he step down.

In the talks, Kuchma agreed to a parliamentary investigation into reports of illegal military sales to Iraq, opposition leaders said. The U.S. State Department on Tuesday accused the Ukrainian leader of personally approving the sale of a military radar system to Baghdad in violation of U.N. sanctions.

Fifty opposition lawmakers have been holed up in the presidential office building on a hunger strike since Tuesday.

Toronto

Canada lining up with U.S. on Iraq

After initially balking at unilateral action against Saddam Hussein, Canada is now expressing full support for the kind of tough U.N. resolution the United States is seeking on Iraq.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien had said as recently as two weeks ago that Canada would oppose a unilateral U.S. military strike on Baghdad. But he welcomed President Bush’s appeal for U.N. involvement and claimed it as a victory for Canadian ideals.

Canadian public opinion on a war in Iraq is divided. While conservative parties and newspapers call for a strong stand against Saddam, a group of more than 100 mostly left-leaning Canadians issued a statement Wednesday urging the Canadians “to oppose military action against Iraq.”

London

Subway strike wreaks havoc for commuters

Commuters struggled to get home Wednesday night during another one-day subway strike, and a business leader warned the shutdown would damage business and Britain’s image.

“It is time to worry and to fear a return to the bad old days, when a minority in a union can force misery on millions,” said Digby Jones, the director general of the Confederation of British Industry.

Members of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union want a pay raise and have rejected London Underground’s offer of a 3 percent increase.

India

Troops sent to stop rioting after attack

India rushed 3,000 troops to the troubled western state of Gujarat on Wednesday to deter a feared Hindu backlash after gunmen killed 31 people at a major Hindu temple.

The state capital of Gandhinagar was quiet but tense after Tuesday’s attack, in which two gunmen opened fire indiscriminately on hundreds of people gathered at the Akshardham Temple. The gunmen were shot dead when Indian troops stormed the temple at dawn Wednesday.