SANTIAGO, Chile – In one of the driest regions on earth, even a drizzle can cause an emergency.

Less than 100th of an inch (about 0.2 millimeters) of rain fell on the Chilean port city of Iquique Monday afternoon, accompanied by moderate winds of about 10 mph (17 kph), according to the country’s weather service. That was enough to knock out power to several neighborhoods and to damage the roofs of 4,000 precarious dwellings, Gov. Miguel Silva said Tuesday.

Schools were closed Tuesday so that officials can repair the damage. There were no reports anyone was injured.

The city of 170,000 people in northern Chile is in the heart of the barren Atacama Desert, squeezed between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean. It averages about 0.02 inch (0.6 millimeter) of rain a year, according to University of Chile meteorologists.

“Roofs in this region are to protect people from the sun, not from rain,” Silva said.

With little water to worry about, many of Iquique’s poor live in homes covered with a bits of wood, plaster or even cardboard that are easily damaged by a little rain and wind. Many have no slope to let water run off.

Mumbai gunman describes indoctrination in Pakistan

The Associated Press

MUMBAI, India – An Indian court that heard a stunning confession from the lone surviving gunman in the Mumbai terror attacks put a gag order on his latest testimony – a message to his handlers in Pakistan and a description of the indoctrination he received before coming to India.

The order resulted in a rare information blackout in what has been one of the best documented terror attacks in history, with video footage, cell phone intercepts, photographs and witness accounts playing across the media for months.

The judge on Tuesday deferred a decision on whether to accept Ajmal Kasab’s unexpected confession, which has complicated the already onerous task of defending a man whose image – he was photographed toting a gun and striding through Mumbai’s main train station – quickly became an emblem of the attack.

Honduras expels Venezuelan diplomats

The Associated Press

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Honduras’ interim government Tuesday ordered Venezuelan diplomats to leave the country as the international community threatened new sanctions on the Central American nation if negotiations fail to resolve the crisis.

Venezuelan Embassy charge d’affairs Ariel Vargas said he received a letter from the Honduran Foreign Ministry ordering his diplomats to leave in 72 hours.

Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has been the most vociferous critic of what he calls the “gorilla” government that overthrew his ally, Roberto Zelaya, on June 28.

The interim government accused Venezuela of meddling in Honduran affairs and of threatening to use its armed forces against Honduras, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Associated Press.

Chavez has demanded Washington do more, including withdrawing U.S. troops from its Honduran base, to force Zelaya’s return to power.

The European Union, meanwhile, warned Tuesday it may impose further sanctions against Micheletti’s government if talks to end the crisis fail. The EU announced on Monday that it had already frozen some euro65 million ($92 million) in aid to Honduras.

Clinton declares the US ‘is back’ in Asia

The Associated Press

BANGKOK – On her second trip to Asia as U.S. secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton is carrying a no-nonsense message about American i ntentions.

“The United States is back,” she declared Tuesday upon arrival in the Thai capital.

By that she means the administration of President Barack Obama thinks it’s time to show Asian nations that the United States is not distracted by its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and intends to broaden and deepen its partnerships in this region.

Clinton trumpeted that line Wednesday in an appearance with a prominent TV personality before flying to a seaside resort at Phuket for two days of international meetings to discuss North Korea, Myanmar and a range of other regional issues.

Clinton said she would, as previously announced, sign ASEAN’s seminal Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, a commitment to peacefully resolve regional disputes that has already been signed by more than a dozen countries outside the 10-nation bloc.

The U.S. signing will be by the executive authority of Obama and does not require congressional ratification, said a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the move publicly.

The administration of President George W. Bush had declined to sign the document; Obama sees it as a symbolic underscoring of the U.S. commitment to Asia.

On her arrival here Tuesday, Clinton reiterated Obama administration concerns that North Korea, already a threat to the U.S. and its neighbors with its history of illicit sales of missiles and nuclear technology, is now developing ties to Myanmar’s military dictatorship.

Clinton held out the possibility of offering North Korea a new set of incentives to return to negotiating a dismantling of its nuclear program if it shows a “willingness to take a different path.” But she admitted there is little immediate chance of that.

A Clinton aide said the United States and its allies are looking for a commitment by North Korea that would irreversibly end its nuclear weapons program. The aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal U.S. government deliberations, said there is no sign that North Korea intends to make such a move, keeping the U.S. focus on enforcing expanded U.N. sanctions.

In her remarks about a possible Myanmar-North Korea connection, Clinton did not refer explicitly to a nuclear link but made clear that the ties are disconcerting.

“We know there are also growing concerns about military cooperation between North Korea and Burma which we take very seriously,” she said at a news conference in the Thai capital.

“It would be destabilizing for the region, it would pose a direct threat to Burma’s neighbors,” she said, adding that as a treaty ally of Thailand, the United States takes the matter seriously.

Later, a senior administration official said that Washington is concerned about the possibility that North Korea could be cooperating with Myanmar on a nuclear weapons program, but he added that U.S. intelligence information on this is incomplete. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter.

The United States, in a joint effort with South Korea, Japan, China and Russia, is attempting to use U.N. sanctions as leverage to compel North Korea to return to the negotiating table over its nuclear program. A major element of the international concern about North Korea is the prospect of nuclear proliferation, which could lead to a nuclear arms race in Asia and beyond.

Clinton spoke to reporters after meeting with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at the outset of a three-day visit to Thailand.

Clinton sharply criticized the military rulers of Myanmar for human rights abuses, “particularly violent actions that are attributed to the Burmese military concerning the mistreatment and abuse of young girls.”

She said an Obama administration policy review on Myanmar is on hold pending the outcome of the trial of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is accused of violating the terms of her house arrest. The Noble Peace Prize laureate faces up to five years in prison if convicted, as expected.