World datelines

Venezuela: Gag protest

CARACAS — Dozens protested in Venezuela's capital on Thursday wearing red gags over their mouths to condemn government moves against an opposition-aligned television channel.

The protesters gathered outside a government office building chanting "a world without a gag" to oppose regulatory investigations that could force the station Globovision off the air. President Hugo Chavez urged Globovision's executives earlier this month to reflect on the station's tough criticism of his government or else it "won't be on the airwaves much longer."

England: Poisonous darts

LONDON — Long before Ian Fleming dreamed up James Bond, the British military was planning to develop poison darts, lethal weapons that would have pleased 007 and his gadget man, Q.

Detailed proposals about the poison-laden darts, which were supposed to be dropped on enemy troops from Royal Air Force bombers, are contained in formerly top secret documents made public Friday by the National Archives. The poisoned darts were tested against sheep and goats at a biological weapons station in Canada, but were never used against humans for military purposes, said Mark Dunton, contemporary history specialist at the National Archives.

Honduras: Showdown

TEGUCIGALPA — The Honduran president vowed Thursday to ignore a Supreme Court ruling ordering him to reinstate the military chief he fired, escalating a showdown that has threatened the leftist leader's hold on power.

President Manuel Zelaya's attempt to hold a referendum Sunday on changing the constitution has pitted him against the country's top courts, the attorney general, military leaders and even his own party, all of whom argue the vote is illegal.

Iran: Did militia shoot?

TEHRAN — An Iranian doctor who claims he tried to save Neda Agha Soltan as the young Iranian protester bled to death on the streets of Tehran said Thursday that she apparently was shot by a member of Iran's pro-government Basij militia.

Video images of 26-year-old Soltan, with blood pouring from her mouth and nose as a few Iranian men struggle to save her, have became a powerful symbol of the protests taking place over Iran's disputed presidential election.

Dr. Arash Hejazi told the British Broadcasting Corp. that he was one of those men who tried to save her.