Chechen refugees ask to return to Kazakhstan

MOSCOW -- In a gesture of desperation and anger, hundreds of Chechen war refugees are asking to move to Kazakhstan, where they lived for more than a decade after Soviet dictator Josef Stalin deported them from their homeland.

The appeal carries heavy symbolic weight. The deportation to Kazakhstan in 1944 is part of the bitter history that fuels Chechen separatists and one of Chechens' strongest grievances against Russia.

The refugees say life in camps in Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya, is intolerable. They do not trust the Kremlin's contention that order is being restored to the war-shattered republic.

Also Wednesday, the head of Chechnya's pro-Moscow administration named a former Moscow region deputy governor as the republic's prime minister, a move some observers said underlines the Kremlin's mistrust of Chechens.

Mikhail Babich, 33, will replace Stanislav Ilyasov, who was promoted to the federal post of minister in charge of reconstruction in Chechnya.

President of Iran criticizes death sentence

TEHRAN, Iran -- President Mohammad Khatami on Wednesday strongly criticized the death sentence imposed on a university professor, as thousands of students demonstrated against the verdict and Iran's hard-line clerics.

Hashem Aghajari has decided not to appeal, his attorney announced Wednesday.

The verdict has touched off days of protests. About 5,000 students demonstrated Wednesday at Amir Kabir and Science and Technology universities in Tehran. Such large-scale protests have not been seen in Tehran for three years.

The verdict was issued a week ago after a closed trial without a jury. It will be considered final on Dec. 2 unless Aghajari appeals, the prosecutor general decides the verdict is against legal procedures or the judge admits he issued a wrong verdict. Once a death sentence is final, it is usually carried out within weeks.

Britain's firefighters strike for first time in 25 years

HARLOW, England -- Firefighters walked off their jobs Wednesday in their first nationwide strike in a quarter-century, demanding a 40 percent pay raise to salaries they say are barely enough to live on.

About 50,000 firefighters across the United Kingdom began a 48-hour strike at 6 p.m. They threatened three eight-day strikes in November and December if the government does not meet their terms.

Providing protection in their place will be military personnel operating antiquated "Green Goddess" fire trucks -- no substitute for highly trained firefighters using the latest equipment. They are aided in small towns by part-time firefighters who haven't gone on strike.

200 feared dead after boats disappear in storm

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh -- Nineteen boats disappeared in a fierce storm off Bangladesh on Wednesday, and officials and witnesses said about 200 fishermen were missing and feared dead.

The bodies of two fishermen washed ashore. Rescue workers were battling high waves to search the seas and offshore islands for the missing men.

At least 10 wooden fishing boats sank off Cox's Bazar, 185 miles southeast of Dhaka, local official Azimuddin Chowdhury said. Eleven survivors reached shore but 140 were missing, he said.

Eight other fishing boats carrying about 60 fishermen were reported missing from the southern coastal district of Barisal.

Pope to make speech before Italian parliament

VATICAN CITY -- Relations between the Vatican and Italy were so bad a century ago that popes refused to recognize the newly unified country and called themselves prisoners in the Vatican.

Pope John Paul II will show just how far the two sides have come Thursday when he becomes the first pontiff to address the Italian parliament.

Italians have been giddy with anticipation of the event. Newspapers have speculated daily about what the Polish-born pope will say and politicians have marveled at the historic significance of the visit.

-- From wire reports