World Briefs

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama suggested he's not likely to actively pursue criminal charges against national security officials who were directly involved in unlawful interrogations or wire-tapping, and said it would be difficult to quickly close down Guantanamo Bay.

On Guantanamo — which he repeatedly promised to shut during the campaign — Obama, in an interview on Sunday with George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week," reiterated his intent to do just that but also sounded a pragmatic note.

"That's a challenge," the president-elect said about the prospect of closing down the detainee facility within the first 100 days of taking office.

MEXICO CITY – With violence spilling over the Mexican border into the U.S., President Felipe Calderon should have little trouble securing support for his battle against drugs when he meets U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on Monday.

But as wars and economic crisis take center stage in the U.S., Calderon may have a tougher time persuading Obama to make immigration reform a top priority.

Calderon's office said Sunday in a statement that he will press for "better conditions for Mexicans in the United States, based on respect for their rights," and may express concerns over stepped-up migrant raids.

He might expect a friendly reception from Obama, who last year supported an unsuccessful immigration reform bill that would have given millions of undocumented migrants a path to citizenship.

VARA BLANCA DE ALAJUELA, Costa Rica – Emergency crews in Costa Rica found two more bodies in mountain villages hit by a 6.1-magnitude earthquake, raising the death toll to at least 18 people, the Red Cross reported.

Rescuers continued to look for victims Sunday in mounds of loosened earth dislodged by Thursday's tremor, and forensics experts confirmed the identities of 9 victims including four children.

Red Cross spokeswoman Fiorella Vilca told The Associated press that the two bodies were discovered late Saturday, but she could not provide any details other than the overall death toll.

WASHINGTON - Iran is successfully using front companies based in the Gulf region and Asia to import American technology that can have military use, The Washington Post reported.

Citing US researchers and Justice Department documents, the newspaper said Iran in the past two years had acquired numerous banned items including circuit boards, software and Global Positioning System devices that are used to make sophisticated versions of the improvised explosive devices that kill US troops in Iraq.