World datelines

Cuba

HAVANA — Authorities Monday freed an independent journalist who had opposed Cuba's communist government, bringing to seven the number of political prisoners released in a week. Jorge Olivera Castillo, who worked on the magazine De Cuba and contributed to news agencies outside the country, was freed for health reasons after a medical checkup at a prison hospital.

England

LONDON — Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf was in London on Monday to meet with Prime Minister Tony Blair for talks set to be dominated by the fight against terrorism and the search for peace in the Middle East. Pakistan is a key ally in the U.S.-led war on terror and Musharraf won praise in Washington last week from President Bush for his cooperation in the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

Georgia

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TBILISI — Four explosions shook the capital of Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia early Monday but caused no casualties or damage, the Interfax news agency reported, a day after the two candidates vying for the region's presidency agreed to conduct new elections and run on a joint ticket.

Iran

TEHRAN — Iran's embattled President Mohammad Khatami conceded Monday he had failed to implement his democratic reform program, claiming he had bowed to the will of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his hard-line allies to avoid riots and preserve the ruling Islamic establishment.

Ivory Coast

ABIDJAN — The government and rebels in war-divided Ivory Coast have agreed to a new timetable to carry out a long-stalled peace plan in West Africa's economic hub, South African President Thabo Mbeki said Monday.

Japan

TOKYO — A strong earthquake shook northern Japan late Monday, slightly injuring two people, but causing no serious damage. Japan's Meteorological Agency said the magnitude-7.0 quake, which struck off the coast of Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido, was centered about 31 miles beneath the ocean floor.