World briefs

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Disagreements between Somali pirates holding a ship laden with tanks and heavy weapons escalated into a shootout and three pirates are believed dead, a U.S. defense official said Tuesday. The pirates denied the report.

JODHPUR, India - Thousands of pilgrims panicked by false rumors of a bomb stampeded at a Hindu temple in western India on Tuesday, killing at least 168 people in the crush to escape. The disaster occurred just as the doors of the temple were being opened for worship at dawn for more than 12,000 people celebrating a key Hindu festival in the historic city of Jodhpur in Rajasthan state.

MANAUS, Brazil - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is calling the U.S. financial crisis a failure of free-market capitalism. Chavez also says that "the Washington consensus has collapsed" and that economies worldwide could be harmed if it causes drops in the prices of natural resources including oil.

ROME - Italian police made sweeping arrests against the mob Tuesday, targeting a powerful clan as well as three suspects linked to a recent gangland-style slaying of six African immigrants near Naples, authorities said. In a series of raids in Naples and surrounding areas, where the Camorra crime syndicate is based, police also seized assets worth $143.5 million and weapons.