30,000 Russian rifles arrive

Venezuela on Saturday received 30,000 Russian-made assault rifles, the first shipment in a deal for 100,000 rifles.

Defense Minister Orlando Maniglia said the AK-103 rifles and ammunition were being unloaded in Puerto Cabello, about 68 miles west of Caracas.

Russia will deliver the remaining 70,000 rifles in two shipments, in August and October, Maniglia told government media.

The rifles will replace aging Belgian FAL rifles bought in the 1950s, according to a statement from the vice president’s office.

The army’s commander, Gen. Raul Baduel, said Friday that Venezuela, facing a U.S. ban on arms sales, planned to set up factories to produce more of the rifles and ammunition.

President Hugo Chavez, who accuses the U.S. of plotting an invasion against his oil-rich country, has struck defense deals worth an estimated $2.7 billion to modernize the Venezuelan military, turning to countries like Russia and Spain as suppliers.

Washington, citing Chavez’s close ties to Iran and Cuba, announced in May it would block new U.S. arms sales to the country.

CAIRO, Egypt

‘Da Vinci Code’ seized, banned

Police seized 2,000 pirated DVDs of “The Da Vinci Code” on Saturday, and the Egyptian Coptic Christian church demanded the film be banned in Egypt.

The film has not been shown here and the government has not yet decided whether to permit it.

Bishop Morcos, a spokesman for Coptic Pope Shenouda III, the head of Egypt’s largest church, praised the police action and urged the government to bar the film, saying it could spread misinformation about Christianity.

Pakistan on Saturday banned cinemas from showing “The Da Vinci Code.”

Although the film has not been screened in any theater in mostly-Muslim Pakistan, authorities decided to ban it out of respect for the feelings of the country’s minority Christians.

VATICAN CITY

Pope, Blair hold private talks

Pope Benedict XVI and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, holding their first private talks Saturday, discussed the role religion could play in politics and society, including the battle against terrorism.

The two explored “the contribution which common values between religions can give to dialogue, in particular with moderate Islam, above all on the themes of solidarity and peace,” Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.

A British government spokesman said Blair and the pope discussed the need for moderate religious leaders around the world to work against extremism and terrorism.

Also discussed was the need to help African development and peace efforts, as well as Northern Ireland’s peace process, Navarro-Valls said.