Mexico
6.2 quake off Chiapas; no injuries reported
MEXICO CITY - A magnitude-6.2 earthquake hit off the coast of the southern state of Chiapas on Saturday, shaking the state from the capital of Tuxtla Gutierrez to Tapachula on the border with Guatemala.
The quake, which hit at 12:47 p.m. local time (11:47 p.m. Arizona time), broke windows in Tuxtla Gutierrez and sent frightened residents into the streets in cities across Chiapas.
The quake, which felt like waves in Tuxtla Gutierrez, caused a panic but came with no early reports of major damage or injuries, said Jose Manuel Aragon, spokesman for the state Civil Protection agency.
France
Turks protest genocide-denial bill
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PARIS - Thousands of Turks from across Europe marched through the French capital Saturday denouncing a bill that would make it a crime to deny that the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago was genocide.
Turks young and old, waving their country's red flag, or wrapped in it, marched to the Senate, where the bill will be debated Monday after passage in December in the lower house.
Critics say the real aim of the bill is to ensure votes for President Nicolas Sarkozy from French Armenians in the two-round presidential elections in April and May. An estimated 500,000 Armenians live in France.
The measure would make it a crime to deny that mass killings of Armenians in 1915 by Ottoman Turks constitute genocide.
It sets a punishment of up to one year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros, or $59,000, for those who deny or "outrageously minimize" the killings - putting such action on par with denial of the Holocaust.
Britain
Abortion clinics get OK to advertise on TV
LONDON - Britain's broadcast-advertising body has given the go-ahead for private abortion clinics to advertise their services on television, angering those who say that the move desensitizes the public to the practice.
The Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice said late Friday that there was no justification for barring private clinics that offer post-pregnancy services, including abortions, from advertising on television.
The organization's spokesman, Matt Wilson, said, "There is not going to be some sort of free-for-all saying, 'Come to us to get an abortion.' They are not there to promote abortion, they have to promote an array of services."
Yemen
Saleh going to Oman before treatment in US
SANAA - Outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh will leave soon for Oman, en route to medical treatment in the United States, Yemeni officials said on Saturday, part of an American effort to get the embattled strongman out of the country to allow a peaceful transition from his rule.
Washington has been trying for weeks to find a country where Saleh can live in exile, since it does not want him to settle permanently in the United States. The mercurial president, who has ruled for more than 33 years, has gone back and forth on whether he would leave.
The officials' comments Saturday suggested Oman, Yemen's neighbor, could be a home for him. Three officials said he would go, but they were divided on whether he would remain in exile in Oman or return to Yemen after treatment.
His return, even if he no longer holds the post of president, could mean continued turmoil for the impoverished nation at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.
Spain
Bull with fiery horns kills man at festival
MADRID - A flaming-horned bull trampled and fatally gored a man early Saturday during a festival in eastern Spain, an official said.
Large balls of flaming wax are traditionally affixed to the beasts' heads before they are let loose to rampage through squares and narrow streets in such festivals.
The mayor of Navajas, population 730, said emergency services in his town were unable to save the life of the 45-year-old man, whose name was withheld. Jose Vicente Torres said the accident happened when the man, who had traveled from Alboraia, about 45 miles to the south, tripped just as the bull was released.
The Associated Press
