World datelines

Brazil: Dam gets go-ahead

BRASILIA — A judge on Friday overturned a decision that could have delayed construction of a huge Amazon dam opposed by environmentalists, Indians and the director of "Avatar."

The judge in the capital of Brasilia reversed a decision to suspend contract bidding scheduled for next week and also overturned the suspension of the environmental license for the 11,000-megawatt Belo Monte dam, according to a statement from Brazil's solicitor general. James Cameron, director of the blockbuster movie "Avatar," asserted that government pressure played a role in the quick court reversal.

Chile: $8B reconstruction

SANTIAGO — President Sebastian Pinera announced his $8.43 billion plan Friday to finance Chile's reconstruction with tax increases, new government debt and withdrawals from the country's copper savings.

Pinera announced the four-year plan from the docks of the ravaged port of Coronel, which was hit by a tsunami after the Feb. 27 earthquake. The president said one phase of his government's response was ending as basic services returned to the affected southern regions and families recovered the remains of the nearly 500 dead. But the sense of urgency remains.

Cyprus: Election divide

NICOSIA — Turkish Cypriots vote on Sunday for a new leader in an election cast as a choice between a dovish incumbent striving for reunification with rival Greek Cypriots and a hardline challenger seeking to bolster a breakaway state.

Opinion polls show most of 164,000 voters in the Turkish Cypriot north of the divided island choosing right-winger Dervis Eroglu to replace Mehmet Ali Talat. If the election bears out the poll predictions, it will be a stunning reversal from five years ago, when the leftist leader swept to power on a pro-peace platform.

Haiti: Helicopter crash

FOND VERRETTES — Four soldiers died in the fiery crash of a Spanish military helicopter Friday in the rugged mountains of eastern Haiti, the United Nations said.

The soldiers were part of Spain's effort to help in Haiti's recovery and reconstruction following the cataclysmic Jan. 12 earthquake, which the government says killed as many as 300,000 people. The helicopter crashed in the Fond Verrettes area about 30 miles from Port-au-Prince.

Mexico: Drug war victims