World in brief: Toyota recalling Lexuses, Crowns

TOKYO – Toyota started a global recall over engine defects in its Lexus and Crown models, moving to repair more than 95,000 vehicles in Japan and South Korea.

Toyota Motor Corp. had said Friday that 270,000 cars worldwide would be recalled to replace valve springs, crucial engine components that are flawed in the recalled vehicles and could make them stall while in motion.

The world’s top automaker informed the Japanese government of the recall in that country Monday, and other countries were to follow. South Korea’s Transport Ministry said Tuesday that 3,704 vehicles would be recalled there.

The total includes 138,000 vehicles in the U.S., 91,903 in Japan, 15,000 in Europe, 10,000 in the Middle East, 6,000 in China, 4,000 in Canada, and 8,000 elsewhere.

Catholic Church

urges pardons

SANTIAGO, Chile – The Roman Catholic Church is petitioning Chile’s government for prisoner pardons that would include people responsible for crimes against humanity, angering rights activists and some conservatives.

The church is asking for the pardons as part of the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Chile’s independence on Sept. 18. The church proposes pardons for those older than 70, any with a terminal disease, and mothers.

The controversy centers on the inclusion of some convicted of committing crimes during the 1973-’90 dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. According to official statistics, 3,065 opponents of Pinochet’s regime were killed and 1,200 more disappeared.