COLOMBIAMore Violence

It was another senseless Colombian tragedy, only this time it may have international consequences. The bodies of three American human-rights activists, including that of New York’s Terence Freitas, were found last week, the latest victims in the country’s 34-year-old civil war. The group had traveled to Colombia to show solidarity for the native U’wa nation. The killings may deliver a serious blow to the faltering peace process begun by Colombian President Andres Pastrana. The U.S. State Department, along with Colombian authorities, blamed the killings on the FARC, the country’s largest rebel force. The FARC has not claimed responsibility, and many wonder why the rebels would kill activists who share their opposition to multinational oil operations in U’wa territory. But in Colombia these days, violence has a way of defying reason.

KOSOVOMaking Trouble in Macedonia?

With peace talks between Serbia and a KLA-led delegation scheduled to resume next week, there were new signs that Kosovo’s bloody conflict could spill into neighboring Macedonia. NEWSWEEK has learned that several KLA members are from Macedonia and may be eager to stir up trouble in their homeland. “They want to go back to fight,” said “Remi,” a KLA commander who claims to have a hundred Macedonians in his zone alone. “Maybe I’ll let them go.” Remi is playing to alarmist fears that waves of ethnic Albanian refugees could flood Macedonia, which, with its own Albanian minority, would descend into chaos, drawing Greece and even Turkey into a regionwide war. The concern over Macedonia, however, is real; it’s one reason that former U.S. senator Bob Dole visited Skopje last week to cajole the Kosovars to sign the peace agreement.

CHINAThe Big Cheese

Mickey certainly doesn’t eat like a mouse. Having devoured Los Angeles, Orlando, the outskirts of Paris and Tokyo, he has now turned a hungry eye toward China. Hong Kong announced last week that it was in serious discussions with Disney about building a Magic Kingdom on a piece of reclaimed land near the Hong Kong airport. The news was met with glee in the city, which is struggling through its deepest economic slump in four decades. But Shanghai, which was also flirting with Disney, may not be out of the picture yet. The city’s mayor said it remains on Mickey’s menu. Company execs are expected in Hong Kong this week for negotiations.

SWEATSHOPSCampus Life: Up in Arms

American students are up in arms over sweatshops. The latest battleground: college-logo products like hats and T shirts. The United Students Against Sweatshops campaign is pushing a code of conduct for companies that make logoed stuff. A big sticking point is verification. Last week Indiana’s Notre Dame University said it will start independent, random checks of factories around the world in the next few months. But factory addresses will remain secret for now. Says a leader of the university activist group, “If it’s done secretly, we won’t believe it.”

ROYALTY WATCHFor Richer, But Not for Poorer

It’s one of the clearest signs yet that Britain’s royal family is congenitally PR-challenged: Prince Edward, who announced his engagement in January, has proposed selling the rights to his June wedding. His TV production company, Ardent, would film the event and sell coverage at home and abroad. Such a maneuver, aimed at privatizing a traditionally public event, would infuriate the British public. “If he’s seen to be making a lot of money for himself,” says London publicity guru Max Clifford, “the British people will say the royal family has made enough off of us already.” The thinking among some courtiers is that unless Edward were to propose turning over all the proceeds to charity, his idea should be quietly killed. The queen is expected to make a decision on Edward’s plan by the end of the month.

HOT PROPERTIESA Global Realty Check

Where does one find the poshest pad? In London’s Eaton Square, according to a new study that ranked the world’s most expensive two-bedroom apartments. The results:

LONDON : $2.05mil., 1,662 sq. ft., Eaton Square TOKYO: 1.75, 1,300 sq. ft., Shibuya, Shoto HONG KONG: 1.68, 1,640 sq. ft., The Peak PARIS : 1.67, 2,150 sq. ft., 6th & 7th arr. SYDNEY: 1.30, 1,555 sq. ft., Circular Quay* NEW YORK: 1.25, 1,595 sq. ft., Fifth Avenue *CITY HARBOURSIDE. SOURCE: CORCORAN GROUP REAL ESTATE