World datelines

Israel: Archaeology

JERUSALEM — Israeli archaeologists have excavated a lavish, private theater box in a 400-seat facility at King Herod's winter palace in the Judean desert, the team's head said Tuesday.

Ehud Netzer of Jerusalem's Hebrew University said the room provides further evidence of King Herod's famed taste for extravagance.

Herod commissioned Roman artists to decorate the theater walls with elaborate paintings and plaster moldings around 15 B.C., Netzer said. Its upper portions feature paintings of windows overlooking a river and a seascape with a large sailboat.

Greece: Protest

ATHENS, Greece — Some 2,500 protesting truck drivers, carrying Greek flags and shouting "shame" and "thieves," marched through Athens on Tuesday and held a vigil outside parliament, on the ninth day of demonstrations against planned labor market reforms.

Late Tuesday riot police used tear gas to disperse a group of protesters who tried to break a police cordon and damaged a sentry post used by the ceremonial guard at the Unknown Soldier's Tomb outside parliament.

No arrests or injuries were reported, and truckers said the violence was provoked by people who were not part of their protest.

Mexico: Landslide

MEXICO CITY — A landslide buried several cars and killed at least five people in the latest disaster blamed on weeks of heavy rains that have caused havoc in central and southern Mexico, authorities said Tuesday.

Rocks and mud tumbled down a hill onto a highway Monday night in Villa Guerrero, a town south of Mexico City, said local Civil Protection official Maria Enriquez. Five bodies were pulled out, and an unknown number of people were missing.

Venezuela: Sabotage

CARACAS, Venezuela — A power cut halts subway service in Venezuela's capital. It's sabotage, officials say. An explosion rocks a state-run iron plant. Sabotage again, they explain. Power outages sweep the country and President Hugo Chavez calls on state workers to guard electricity plants against sabotage.

With key congressional elections only days away, Venezuela's leftist government is increasingly blaming attacks by shadowy opponents for problems in public services — even though they presented no evidence and have made no arrests.