Dozens killed in Vietnam bridge collapse

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PHAM THI BINH / AP

Rescue workers search for survivors of a collapsed = bridge in=20 southern Vinh Long province, Vietnam, on Wednesday. At least 42 people = were=20 killed.

Can Tho, Vietnam

A section of a bridge under construction in southern Vietnam = collapsed=20 Wednesday, killing at least 42 workers and injuring 80 others, officials = said.

The bridge was being built across the Hau River, a branch of the = Mekong=20 River, in the southern city of Can Tho. The 1.7 mile Japanese-financed = bridge,=20 started in 2004, was to be the largest suspension bridge in Vietnam and = would=20 greatly speed the trip across the river, which thousands now make daily = by ferry=20 linking the Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City.

Underdeveloped Vietnam is ramping up infrastructure projects to keep = pace=20 with an economy growing at more than 8 percent a year.

Cement had been poured into the collapsed section Tuesday.

Seoul

S. Korea to seek cuts in DMZ posts

South Korea will call for the removal of hundreds of guard posts in = the=20 Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas at a summit of = their=20 leaders next week, a leading newspaper reported today.

The 150-mile-long DMZ is one of the most heavily armed borders of the = world=20 with more that 1 million troops stationed on either side.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, who meets Oct. 2-4 with North = Korean=20 leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang, will propose removing 100 South Korean = and 280=20 North Korean guard posts set up in the 2.5-mile-wide DMZ after the = cease-fire=20 that halted their 1950-1953 war, the JoongAng Ilbo quoted a senior=20 administration official as saying.

Lima, Peru

Jailed ex-president to get conjugal visits

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Jailed former President Alberto Fujimori will be allowed a guitar and = twice-monthly conjugal visits as he awaits trial on corruption and = murder=20 charges, prison authorities said Wednesday.

The 69-year-old former president is credited with defeating the = Shining Path=20 rebel movement but fled Peru for Japan seven years ago as his 1990-2000=20 government collapsed in scandal. He was detained in November 2005 when = he landed=20 in a small plane in Chile and extradited to Peru.

Fujimori faces charges include sanctioning the death-squad killings = of 25=20 people, alleged payoffs to lawmakers and to news media, illegal phone = tapping=20 and misuse of government funds.

Also

India: Police found six crude bombs near a train = station in=20 Mumbai, the city where 187 people were killed more than a year ago in = bombings=20 on a commuter rail network, officials said Wednesday.

Stowaway: A boy who survived a freezing flight to = Moscow in=20 the wheel well of a Boeing-737's wing Friday may lose his hands to = amputation,=20 Russian newspaper Tvoi Den reported Wednesday.

Quake: A 6.4-magnitude undersea earthquake rattled = western=20 Indonesia on Wednesday, officials said, but there were no immediate = reports of=20 injuries or damage. The quake was centered 80 miles southwest of Padang, = a town=20 on Sumatra island still recovering from tremors earlier this month, the = U.S.=20 Geological Survey reported.

China fire: A nightclub fire in southeastern China = killed 12=20 people and left six others injured, the official Xinhua news agency = reported=20 Wednesday.

Seattle Times news services

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