World datelines

China: Habitat quake-damaged

BEIJING — A Chinese forestry official said Tuesday that giant panda habitat in China's Sichuan province, the endangered animal's main preserve, was devastated by last month's massive earthquake.

The world-renowned Wolong Nature Reserve and 48 others created in the province to protect the pandas and other endangered species were damaged by the quake, said Cao Qingyao, a spokesman for the State Forestry Administration.

Britain: Radical freed on bail

LONDON — Radical preacher Abu Qatada, once called Osama bin Laden's "spiritual ambassador in Europe," was released on bail Tuesday in a court decision that dealt an embarrassing blow to the British government's anti-terror campaign.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith reacted by saying the government will protect national security and public safety, despite the unwanted release of Abu Qatada.

Iran: Children executed

CAIRO, Egypt — Iran has sentenced 177 people under the age of 18 to death over the past decade and has executed nearly 3 dozen of them, a human rights group said Tuesday.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran published on its Web site a list of the 114 minors who still remain in prison awaiting execution, some of whom are now older than 18. The youngest person on the list was a 12-year-old boy sentenced by a court in 2005.

Mexico: U.S.-style justice

MEXICO CITY — Mexico threw open the doors to its judicial system Tuesday, allowing U.S.-style public trials and creating a presumption of innocence.

Under the long-awaited constitutional amendment signed by President Felipe Calderon, guilt or innocence will no longer be decided behind closed doors by a judge relying on written evidence.

Pakistan: Ousted judges paid

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's new government has paid the salaries of the Supreme Court justices ousted by President Pervez Musharraf last year, a move the governing coalition says highlights its commitment to reinstating the judges, officials said Tuesday.

Restoring the judges to the bench, a key demand of protesting lawyers, could endanger Musharraf's presidency. The stalwart U.S. ally ousted them in November before they could rule on the legality of his re-election a month earlier.

Turkey: Kurds killed in Iraq