World in brief: No early release in terror cases

Convicted terrorists will no longer be eligible for early release from British prisons, the Ministry of Justice said Friday.

The announcement followed news that Yassin Nassari, a London native who was imprisoned for a terrorism offense last year, was freed on Feb. 11 – 17 days earlier than he was due to be released.

Nassari was convicted and given a 3 1/2 -year sentence after police found blueprints for a missile on his computer in 2006. He ended up spending about 21 months in custody, with the rest of his sentence to be served under probation.

Lawmakers from the opposition Conservative Party decried his early release.

TORONTO

Annual seal hunt gets under way

Vessels pursuing seals maneuvered through heavy ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Friday at the start of the largest marine mammal hunt in the world.

Only 15 seals had been killed in the first hours of the hunt, Fisheries and Oceans Canada spokesman Phil Jenkins said, noting that the ice had hampered about 16 vessels and kept the sealers “quite a distance from a herd.”

“It’s a very slow start,” Jenkins said.

This year’s total allowable catch has been set at 275,000 seals, up from 270,000 last year. The total allowable catch was 335,000 two years ago, but poor ice conditions led to the change last year.

Animal rights groups with observer permits were only able to get one helicopter out to monitor Friday’s hunt because of a snowstorm.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina

Farmers suspend 16-day strike

Argentine farmers announced a temporary truce in a 16-day strike on Friday, saying their negotiators planned to launch talks with government officials on disputed export tax increases.

Idled farmworkers lifted several roadblocks across the country in a conciliatory gesture only hours after President Cristina Fernandez exhorted the workers to end strike measures and open a dialogue. The strike had all but paralyzed one of the leading world exporters of soybeans, beef and wheat.

From wire reports