Sweden

Police continue search for politician’s killer

Thousands of Swedes mourned Foreign Minister Anna Lindh Friday as police studied grainy videotaped images of the man believed to be her killer and hunted for the suspect.

Investigators also scoured letters and e-mails addressed to Lindh, after the Foreign Ministry said she received correspondence attacking her campaign for a “yes” vote in Sweden’s upcoming euro referendum.

Lindh was stabbed several times Wednesday in an upscale Stockholm department store and died the next day.

Although the attack itself was not recorded, police said the department store videotape showed a man matching witness descriptions of her assailant.

Venezuela

Election council rejects Chavez recall petition

Venezuela’s election council Friday rejected a major petition for a referendum on ending Hugo Chavez’s presidency, a major setback in opposition efforts to oust the leftist leader.

The petition was thrown out because the signatures of millions of Venezuelans were gathered before the midpoint of Chavez’s term, an election rule violation, said National Elections Council President Francisco Carrasquero. The council is considered an impartial body by rival political groups.

Thousands of Chavez supporters outside the council headquarters cheered and pumped their fists upon learning of the decision. Dozens of National Guardsmen surrounded the building to keep order.

The decision dampened opposition chances of having a vote by the end of the year. Opposition leaders vowed to launch a new signature drive Oct. 5.

Slovakia

Pope pays tribute to communism victims

He was clearly suffering — unable to walk and speaking with difficulty — but Pope John Paul II rallied enough to greet thousands of faithful Friday and pay tribute to victims of the “dark days” of communism.

Battling his ailments, the pope pushed ahead with his Slovak pilgrimage, looking more alert than on his arrival 24 hours earlier.

The 83-year-old pope, who is struggling with Parkinson’s disease and crippling hip and knee ailments, presided over a two-hour Mass for pilgrims braving a chilly drizzle in the central city of Banska Bystrica.

The Polish-born pope’s fierce anti-communism stance is credited with helping to end communist rule across Eastern Europe.

Mexico

WTO prepares draft of agriculture accord

A key mediator was drafting a proposal Friday to slash rich countries’ farm subsidies and open poor countries’ markets, as a growing alliance of farming nations demanded Europe cut payments to farmers and the United States rewrite its farm bill.

Officials said the facilitator on the key agriculture negotiations would present a draft document today that would move arguments dominated by emotional rhetoric into number-crunching that could have a major effect on the world economy.

U.S. and European negotiators appeared frustrated that the alliance of more than 20 developing countries has dominated discussions at the World Trade Organization meeting.