World IN BRIEF : SWITZERLAND : Governments Tighten Rules on Land Mines

Delegates from 55 countries meeting in Geneva tightened rules on the use of land mines but ignored demands for an outright ban on the weapons that kill one person every 20 minutes around the globe. A 1980 U.N. agreement outlawed undetectable antipersonnel mines and put tighter restrictions on the use of other “smarter” mines. But a total ban on antipersonnel mines, sought by more than 30 governments as well as the United Nations and the International Red Cross, will have to wait for at least five years.