World Briefs

ANNAPOLIS, MD. – President Barack Obama promised graduating midshipmen at the US Naval Academy on Friday that, as their commander in chief, he will only send them "into harm's way when it is absolutely necessary. "

In his first address to military graduates, Obama also pledged to invest in the men and women who defend America's liberty, not just in the weapons they would take with them into battle against 21st century threats.

KHWAZAKHELA, Pakistan – Troops are encircling Taliban militants in their mountain base as well as the main town in the Swat Valley, a Pakistani general said Friday, as the UN appealed for $543 million to ease the suffering of nearly 2 million refugees from the fighting.

Elsewhere in the northwest, a car bomb exploded close to a movie theater in the city of Peshawar, killing at least four people and wounding 20 others, witnesses and police office Noor Khan said. It was unclear who was behind the attack.

BEIRUT – Vice President Joe Biden said Friday that future US aid to Lebanon depends on the outcome of upcoming elections, a warning aimed at Iranian-backed Hezbollah as it tries to oust the pro-Western faction that dominates government.

Confident its alliance will win, Hezbollah criticized Biden's visit as a US attempt to influence the June 7 vote and held a mass rally to show its popular support.

Biden is the highest-level US official to visit Lebanon in more than 25 years and the attention shows American concern that the vote could shift power firmly into the hands of Hezbollah.

BOGOTA – Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe says it would be "inappropriate" for him to seek a third consecutive term.

His statement comes two days after the senate approved a referendum that would ask voters to permit him to run again. Uribe did not, however, clearly rule out a re-election bid.

Uribe told a business forum in Bogota he would not want future generations to look on him as someone stuck on power.

CARACAS, Venezuela – Police and soldiers raided a property belonging to the head of Venezuela's only anti-government news network amid a growing confrontation between the station and President Hugo Chavez's government.

Authorities found 24 Toyota vehicles on a property in eastern Venezuela belonging to Globovision president Guillermo Zuloaga, demanding an explanation.

Zuloaga said he had "nothing to hide" and that the raid was an attempt to intimidate him.