World in brief

Report: Bush to boost supply of peacekeepers

WASHINGTON - Facing a chronic shortage of foreign troops for peacekeeping missions, President Bush has decided to launch an international drive to boost the supply of available forces - a move that if successful could relieve some of the pressure on U.S. soldiers to join such operations, the Washington Post reported, quoting unnamed defense officials.

A plan approved by Bush this month calls for the United States to commit about $660-million over the next five years to train, equip and provide logistical support to forces in nations willing to participate in peace operations.

The Global Peace Operations Initiative will be aimed largely at Africa by expanding the peacekeeping skills of African forces and encouraging international military exercises in the region. But African forces developed under the program could be used in peace operations anywhere in the world, the Washington Post reported, quoting unnamed officials.

Pentagon officials who briefed the Washington Post stressed that the plan, which Bush has yet to formally announce, is meant to be a multinational push, with other countries contributing trainers and additional resources, although consultations with potential partners remain at an early stage.

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened to stop selling oil to the United States if Washington doesn't stop "intervening in Venezuela's domestic affairs."

Chavez did not specify what he meant by "directly intervening." In the past, he has accused the United States of being behind a failed April 2002 coup against him and of sponsoring current efforts to overthrow his leftist government. Washington rejects those claims.

Venezuela, the world's fifth biggest oil exporter, provides about 15 percent of U.S. oil imports, and the United States is the biggest importer of Venezuelan oil.

PARIS - A bus carrying American teenage soccer players overturned in a ditch east of Paris on Sunday, killing one boy and seriously injuring three, officials said.

The roads were wet from overnight rain, but authorities in the Seine-et-Marne region said it was not clear why the tour bus, carrying about 35 people - including two drivers - overturned near Mitry-Mory, east of Paris.

School officials identified the boy killed as Matt Helms, 13, of Jacksonville, N.C. Another 13-year-old and two 14-year-olds were hospitalized with severe injuries. Eight people were lightly injured, and others were treated for shock.

The players, all boys, were members of an Olympic development program in North Carolina.

SAO PAULO, Brazil - By helicopter and on foot, police entered the dense Amazon jungle Sunday to recover the bodies of 26 diamond prospectors slain in a mysterious clash with Indians.

The bodies of 30 more prospectors could still be inside the reservation in northwest Brazil, also victims of the attack that saw Cinta Larga Indians apparently massacre dozens of prospectors April 7.

Four days later, the first three bodies were found and taken out of the reservation. Some 30 federal police agents, aided by Federal Indian Bureau personnel, were expected to retrieve the remaining bodies by today, said bureau official Roberto Lustosa.

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