Over 100 Killed in Afghan Violence FOX News
Some of the fiercest violence since the Taliban's 2001 ouster erupted across Afghanistan, with coalition forces engaging in multiple firefights, two suicide car bombs and a massive rebel assault on a small village. Up to 105 people were killed. The estimates of Taliban fighters and suicide bombers killed ranged up to 87, with 14 Afghan police, an American civilian, an Afghan civilian and a Canadian soldier also killed in the multiple attacks late Wednesday and Thursday, officials said. The battles between Afghan or coalition forces and Taliban militants -- which were concentrated in the south -- follow months of stepped-up attacks in the region.

CountryWatch: Afghanistan
An assault by hundreds of enemy fighters on a small southern town was one of the largest attacks by militants since 2001 and marked another escalation in the campaign by supporters of the former Taliban regime to challenge the U.S.-backed government of President Hamid Karzai. The attack late Wednesday and early Thursday on a police and government headquarters in the town of Musa Qala in Helmand province sparked eight hours of clashes with security forces. The Interior Ministry said about 40 militants were killed, though police said they had retrieved only 14 bodies. About a dozen police were killed and five wounded in the attack some 95 miles northwest of Kandahar, said deputy governor Amir Mohammed Akhunzaba.
Taliban attacks Afghan town, 53 killed The Age
More Than 50 Die in Afghan Battles ABC News
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Sen. Kerry making Utica stop CentralOhio.com
'04 presidential candidate visiting local Democrats for informal meeting
U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., will make his second Licking County appearance in less than two years this weekend. The former presidential candidate is set to visit Utica on Saturday for an informal meeting with area elected officials and party leaders, as well as a town forum. Events will take place at the Utica-area farm home of Gene Branstool, a former Democratic state senator, on U.S. 62, from 1 to 3 p.m. Ed Albertson, vice president of the Licking County Democratic Club, said the event requires registration and already has reached full capacity. Kerry visited Newark in September 2004 during his presidential campaign against President Bush. He spoke at Courthouse Square in Newark. Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, is expected to join her husband Saturday, Albertson said. The Branstool home was the first Ohio campaign stop by the Clinton-Gore campaign in the early 1990s. Local Democrats hope the senator will discuss both local and national issues -- everything from Ohio's future to immigration. "Party affiliation aside, it's important that people listen," said Licking County Commissioner Marcia Phelps, a Democrat. It is crucial for people to be informed about what is transpiring in Washington, D.C., despite varied opinions, she added. Democratic officials also hope Democratic governor candidate Ted Strickland's campaign about how to "turn around Ohio" will be a topic of discussion. Mike King, chairman of the Licking County Democratic Party, hopes Kerry's visit will help raise some money for the Democratic Party as well as fire up its members for the 2008 election. Albertson, whose group is sponsoring Kerry's visit, thinks the senator is a viable candidate for the next presidential election. He hopes Kerry will inspire local Democratic officeholders and candidates to stay involved and monitor Ohio's, as well as the country's, direction under the current administration. "The country in general has turned a corner," Albertson said. "People are getting a little disillusioned with the things that are happening." Before his Utica visit, Kerry will give a graduation address at Kenyon College in Gambier. When he leaves Utica, he will head to Toledo to give an address in the evening.
By MELISSA KNIFIC

Senator John Kerry to Speak at New England Council Breakfast May 19 Yahoo! News
John Kerry is currently serving his fourth term in the U.S. Senate and serves on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, the Finance Committee and the Committee on Foreign Relations. He is the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Technology, Innovation and Competitiveness, the Subcommittee on Long-Term Growth and Debt Reduction as well as the Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He is also the ranking member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. Senator Kerry was the Democratic nominee for the President of the U.S. in 2004. Prior to serving in the U.S. Senate, Senator Kerry served as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, and was a prosecutor in Middlesex County. He entered the Navy after graduating from Yale University and received a Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, and three awards of the Purple Heart for his service in combat. Senator Kerry was co-founder of the Vietnam Veterans of America.
Contact: Editors/Reporters Contact: The New England Council, Susan Asci,, 617-723-4009, ext. 27, VP, Communications

Legal loophole emerges in NSA spy program CNET News.com
An AT&T attorney indicated in federal court on Wednesday that the Bush administration may have provided legal authorization for the telecommunications company to open its network to the National Security Agency.
Federal law may "authorize and in some cases require telecommunications companies to furnish information" to the executive branch, said Bradford Berenson, who was associate White House counsel when President Bush authorized the NSA surveillance program in late 2001 and is now a partner at the Sidley Austin law firm in Washington, D.C. Far from being complicit in an illegal spying scheme, Berenson said, "AT&T is essentially an innocent bystander." AT&T may be referring to an obscure section of federal law, 18 U.S.C. 2511, which permits a telecommunications company to provide "information" and "facilities" to the federal government as long as the attorney general authorizes it. The authorization must come in the form of "certification in writing by...the Attorney General of the United States that no warrant or court order is required by law." Information that is not yet public "would be exculpatory and would show AT&T's conduct in the best possible light," Berenson said. But he did not acknowledge any details about the company's alleged participation in the NSA's surveillance program, which has ignited an ongoing debate on Capitol Hill and led to this class-action lawsuit being filed in January by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Some legal experts say that AT&T may be off the hook if former Attorney General John Ashcroft, who was in office at the time the NSA program began, provided a letter of certification. (Other officials, including the deputy attorney general and state attorneys general, also are authorized to write these letters.) "If the certification exists, AT&T is in pretty good shape," said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center and co-author of a book on information privacy law. EFF's lawsuit alleges that the telecommunications company let the NSA engage in wholesale monitoring of Americans' communications in violation of privacy laws. Confidential documents that EFF unearthed during the course of the suit--kept under seal and still not public--allege that AT&T gave the government full access to its networks in a way that let millions of e-mail messages, Web browsing sessions and phone calls be intercepted.

AT&T's ace in the hole?
If a letter of certification exists, AT&T could have an ace in the hole. A second section of federal law says that a "good faith" reliance on a letter of certification "is a complete defense to any civil or criminal" lawsuit. During the hearing Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Carl Nichols also hinted that such a letter exists. Nichols said that there are undisclosed "facts that AT&T might want to present in its defense."But, Nichols added, those facts relate to classified information that are "state secrets" and would jeopardize national security if they were disclosed. A hearing on the Bush administration's request to dismiss the case on national security grounds has been scheduled for June 23. For its part, AT&T has remained silent about the extent of its alleged participation in the NSA surveillance scheme, which initially was thought to apply only to international calls but now may encompass records of domestic phone calls and more. Verizon and BellSouth, for instance, took steps to distance themselves from a USA Today report that said their call databases were opened to the NSA. But AT&T wouldn't comment. Marc Bien, a spokesman for AT&T, told CNET News.com on Wednesday: "Without commenting on or confirming the existence of the program, we can say that when the government asks for our help in protecting national security, and the request is within the law, we will provide that assistance." The next tussle in this lawsuit is likely to center on how far the "state secrets" concept can extend. Is AT&T able to divulge the text of any certification letter, without saying exactly what information it turned over as a result? Must the mere existence of a certification letter remain secret? Injecting additional complexity is 18 U.S.C. 2511's prohibition on disclosure. It says that telecommunication companies may not "disclose the existence of any interception or surveillance or the device used to accomplish the interception or surveillance"--except if required by law. Unlawful disclosures are subject to fines. EFF claims that the existence of a letter of certification should not be classified. Cindy Cohn, an EFF attorney, told the judge on Wednesday that it is "not a state secret because the statute has a whole process" governing it. "If you have a certification, let's see it," EFF attorney Lee Tien said in an interview after the hearing. For his part, Berenson, the former attorney for President Bush who's now representing AT&T, complained about allegations that his client is violating the law. It's unfortunate that EFF "chose to use words like 'criminal tendency' and 'crimes,'" Berenson said. AT&T "is one of the great companies of the United States. To attach those kinds of labels is reckless at best." Berenson's biography says he worked for Bush on the "war on terrorism" and the USA Patriot Act. Since leaving the White House, Berenson has written letters to Congress (click here for PDF) calling for renewal of the Patriot Act and has co-founded a group called Citizens for the Common Defence that advocates a "robust" view of presidential authority. It filed, for instance, an amicus brief (click here for PDF) before the Supreme Court in the Hamdi case arguing that a U.S. citizen could be detained indefinitely without trial because of the war on terror.
By Declan McCullagh

Italian troops out of Iraq Times Online
Romano Prodi promised today to withdraw Italian troops from Iraq, saying that the allied invasion had been a grave mistake. Signor Prodi was making his first speech as Italian Prime to his country's Senate, where tomorrow he faces a no confidence vote, a mere 48 hours after he was sworn in. "We consider the war and occupation in Iraq a grave error that hasn’t solved but has complicated the problem of security," he said. "Terrorism has found a new base, and new excuses for internal and external terrorist action." As opposition leader, Signor Prodi opposed the war in Iraq and had said during the election campaign that the remaining troops would be pulled out "as soon as possible". The government of Silvio Berlusconi, the conservative former prime minister, sent about 3,000 troops to Iraq to help reconstruction after Saddam Hussein was deposed in 2003. The move was unpopular with Italians, and the contingent is already being pulled out gradually. Withdrawal is due be completed by the end of the year, unless Signor Prodi speeds it up. Controversy over the troop deployment flared when 19 Italian carabinieri and nine Iraqis died as a suicide car bomber attacked the Italian military police base in Nasiriyah in November 2003. The row was fuelled in February 2005, when US troops shot dead Nicola Calipari, an Italian secret service agent, at a security checkpoint in Baghdad as he escorted an Italian woman hostage to safety. Today he did not give a precise timeline for the withdrawal, saying only it would happen in consultation with Iraqi authorities. Signor Prodi was today moving to stamp his own authority and policies on government. As part of this process he is expected in the coming days to signal a reverse on several of Signor Berlusconi's pet projects - including the enormous, €4 billion project to link the Italian mainland with the island of Sicily via a bridge over the Straits of Messina. The contract was awarded at the end of last year in one of the last actions of the Berlusconi government, but construction has yet to begin in earnest. Richard Owen, Rome Correspondent of The Times, said that the new government was also likely to reverse the country's stance on social issues which, under Signor Berlusconi, were strongly influenced by the teachings of the Catholic Church. The secular, left-wing parties which form the huge majority of Signor Prodi's Government are urging him to give legal recognition to civil partnerships and to ease restrictions on fertility treatment imposed by Berlusconi. "Whereas Berlusconi and the Right pretty much followed the Vatican line, Prodi's coalition contains several parties which pride themselves on an aggressively secular outlook, such as the former Communists of the Democratic Party of the Left, and Emma Bonino's The Rose In The Fist party," said Owen. He added: "Except for the small Christian Democratic faction, the whole of the Left resents what they see as the Vatican's interference in Italian affairs. The Vatican is after all a foreign state. Italy may be a Catholic country, but it has previously approved both divorce and abortion. President Napolitano - himself a former Communist - made a point of stressing the separation of church and state in Italy in his inauguration speech on Monday." Other controversial Berlusconi laws which may come under scrutiny are the changes to the statute of limitations, which protected the former Prime Minister from prosecution on several occasions. Signor Prodi faces a difficult task, holding together a fractious coalition that includes a spectrum of views from centrists to the hard left, while pushing through his policies despite a wafer-thin majority of two in the Senate. He must also try to solve Italy's urgent economic problems. The Prime Minister said in today's Senate speech however that he would not rush into "extraordinary measures" to cut the budget deficit. "There is no more space for (budget) corrections achieved through extraordinary manoeuvres," he said. He said his government was committed to fiscal consolidation. Ratings agencies Standard & Poors and Fitch have both indicated that they will downgrade Italy’s public debt unless the new government quickly sets out a strategy to correct wayward public finances. The budget deficit reached 4.1 per cent of gross domestic product last year, the highest level since 1996, and public debt rose to 106.4 per cent of GDP, the first increase since 1994. Signor Prodi has appointed Tommaso Padoa Schioppa, a respected economist from a neutral political background, as the country’s new economy minister. His task is to revive Italy’s ailing economy while cutting its debt and deficit to conform with European monetary union rules. The stagnant economy and ballooning budget deficit probably cost Signor Berlusconi the election, although his Forza Italia party remains the country’s largest and is an opposition force to be reckoned with. While Signor Prodi is expected to win tomorrow's confidence vote, he faces a stern task in the months to come. On a different topic, Signor Prodi also vowed today to do everything in his power to help make Europe a strong and unified force on the international scene, but was careful not to sideline the United States. "And also to consolidate and enrich ... the historic alliance with the United States of America," he said. He added that his Government would participate in anti-terror operations only if they were properly sanctioned by international organisations, such as the United Nations. "We are convinced participants in the war against terrorism, even militarily, when it is legitimised by an international organization to which we belong."
By Jenny Booth and agencies.
Prodi: Iraq war was 'grave error' CNN International
Compromise sets tone for new Italian government International Herald Tribune
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Eurovision hopefuls set for semis BBC News
The 51st Eurovision Song Contest is to get under way with 23 countries competing in a semi-final for 10 places in Saturday's main event in Athens. Hosts Greece, nine top-scoring nations from last year's contest and four major countries - including the UK - automatically have places in the final. But the semi-final will see 13 entrants fall at the first hurdle following a public text and telephone vote. Rapper Daz Sampson will represent the UK at the final with Teenage Life. France, Germany, Spain and the UK qualify automatically as the four largest countries in the event. Allegations that the voting is politically motivated have been dismissed by the show's executive supervisor, Svante Stockselius. "This is a 100% democratic contest," he said. Belfast-born singer Brian Kennedy will represent seven-time Eurovision winner Ireland in the semi-final. He will be up against one of the more unusual entries, Finnish hard rock band Lordi, whose act features masks, armour and jets of flame. Russia's entrant, singer Dima Bilan, is backed by ballerinas, one of whom emerges from a piano. In March, Serbia-Montenegro withdrew from the contest following accusations of tactical voting in the selection of the country's entry.

'Big brother' informs baby talk BBC News
Every movement, gurgle and chuckle made by a baby in the first three years of its life is being recorded by a scientist in the US. Professor Deb Roy of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is recording his son's development to shed light on how babies acquire language. The Human Speechome Project, as it is known, uses cameras and microphones installed in the scientist's home. The project will eventually gather 400,000 hours of material. "As every proud parent knows, there's no such thing as too many images and videos you can take of your newborn," Professor Roy told a press conference. "I think we're taking this to a whole new level."

Language difficulty
There is still a considerable amount of debate about how infants acquire language. Although listening to the cooing of parents is thought to play an important part, most scientists believe it cannot be solely responsible for the rapid progress seen in most children.

"There are numerous spin-off opportunities beyond the Speechome"
Professor Deb Roy
Instead, language-specific genes and environmental factors have both been put forward as additional factors that help children to learn to speak. Until now, the environmental influences on development have been very difficult to test because scientists have been unable to observe a baby for long enough in its home environment. The Speechome Project will change that by generating and analysing vast tracts of recorded material. For example, to understand how Professor Roy's son learnt his first words, the scientists will be able to mine their records to see who used those words around the child, where they were and what the child was doing at the time. Frank Moss, director of MIT's Media Lab, believes the project has close parallels to the Human Genome Project. "Just as the Human Genome Project illuminates the innate genetic code that shapes us, the Speechome Project is an important first step toward creating a map of how the environment shapes human development and learning," he said.

Big brother
The project started recording nine months ago when Professor Roy's newborn son left hospital. Since then a "big brother" network of 14 microphones and 11 omni-directional cameras has been recording his son's waking hours.

Interaction with parents is thought to affect language development
The surveillance system is turned on at eight o'clock in the morning until 10 o'clock at night, producing nearly 350GB of compressed data every day. It will be switched on for the next three years, by which time Professor Roy's son should be using complex language and spending more time outside, making recordings more difficult. In case Professor Roy's family requires some privacy, every room is fitted with a PDA that can turn the microphones or cameras off. An "oops" button allows people to erase the last few minutes of footage. "You can type in how many minutes back in time you want to scrub permanently from the house's memory," said Professor Roy.

Personal video
After the data has been collected, it is temporarily stored at the house before being sent to a massive petabyte (one million gigabyte) disk storage system at the Media Lab at MIT. There, both humans and computers are crunching the data to look for patterns. However, Professor Roy is keen to stress that most images will never be seen by human eyes.

The project could produce the ultimate family album
Instead, software will process the "immense flow of data" so that common actions such as doing the dishes or changing a nappy can easily be recognised by the researchers. Other tools analyse speech patterns or show how people move through the different rooms in the house. Together, the different systems will build a complete picture of all the stimuli that the infant experiences, allowing the model to "step into the shoes" of Professor Roy's son. The team then hopes to build computers that can learn words and grammar, from hearing and seeing precisely the same images and sounds as the child, to understand the learning process in humans. As well as these insights into language development, Professor Roy and his team believe the technology that has been developed for the project may also have applications in other fields such as personal video or analysing images from security cameras. "There are numerous spin-off opportunities beyond the Speechome," he said. At least one of these is the ultimate family album for his son when he grows up. But Professor Roy says that sitting through hours of baby photographs won't be a laugh a minute. "Most of the recordings are pretty boring."

Potent antibiotic to target MRSA BBC News
A potent antibiotic which kills many bacteria, including MRSA, has been discovered by scientists. The researchers, from the drug company Merck, isolated platensimycin from a sample of South African soil. If the compound passes clinical trials it will become only the third entirely new antibiotic developed in the last four decades. Details in the journal Nature reveal the antibiotic works in a completely different way to all others.It acts to block enzymes involved in the synthesis of fatty acids, which bacteria need to construct cell membranes. Most classes of antibiotic were discovered in the 1940s and 1950s, and work by blocking synthesis of the cell wall, DNA and proteins within bacteria. Most of today's antibiotics are simply tweaks of this basic format. The fact that they work in similar ways may be one reason why bacteria are proving so adept at developing resistance. Thus a new class of antibiotics with a different method of action could represent a major breakthrough.

Natural extracts
The researchers hit upon platensimycin during a project in which they screened 250,000 natural product extracts for their antibiotic potential. It is produced by a strain of the bacteria Streptomyces platensis. In lab tests the antibiotic cleared mice of infection with a form of bacteria related to MRSA and did not appear to cause toxic side effects. Further testing showed activity against a variety of drug-resistant organisms, including MRSA. Professor Tony Maxwell, who is carrying out similar work at the John Innes Centre (JIC) at Colney in Norfolk, said: "This sounds very promising. "A number of big pharmaceutical firms have pulled out of antibiotic drug discovery. "With MRSA cases increasing, and the number of new drugs on the market decreasing we very much need new drugs in the pipeline as soon as we can." Alan Johnson, an expert at the Health Protection Agency, said: "There is an increasing problem with antibiotic resistance. "The Agency welcomes the news that a new antibiotic has been identified that could help to treat infections, particularly those caused by organisms such as MRSA which are resistant to many currently available drugs. "It should be stressed, however, that the drug is at a very early stage of development and it may be several years before it could be used to treat humans."

US shoppers 'cut back for fuel' BBC News
More than three out of four US consumers are curbing their spending because of the steep rising cost of petrol, a survey has found. The National Retail Federation said that even wealthier consumers were conceding that the price at the pump was taking its toll. A gallon of regular petrol currently costs an average of $2.98 in the US. A year ago it was $2.16. The survey said 76% of respondents were cutting back on spending over fuel. In its 2005 poll, only 67% were making the sacrifice.

Value for money
Almost half the 7,388 people surveyed in this year's study said they planned to drive less while 37% planned to cut back on holidays and travel. But less than a quarter said that high fuel prices would delay a major purchase such as a car or television. Customers were looking for more value for money and conditions favoured discount stores and online retailers, said Tracey Mullin, the federation's president and CEO.. "Higher prices at the pump act as a tax on disposable income. As prices continue to rise, it is inevitable that consumer spending will be affected," she said.

'Tipping point'
Earlier this week Wal-Mart said that higher fuel and utility prices could hit its second quarter results. Until recently Americans have been used to cheap petrol prices. But it has been unable to avoid the impact of higher oil prices, driven up by rising tension between the US and Iran over its nuclear programme, concerns over supplies from Nigeria and events in Venezuela and Bolivia. Editor of Stores magazine, Susan Reda said: "If prices continue to soar to.. a threshold often cited as a potential tipping point, it could very well reduce discretionary spending to a trickle." This could "cause the economy to lose much of the steam it has built up over the last two years," she added.

Men jailed for Spanish murders BBC News
Two Venezuelan men have been jailed for a total of 116 years for the kidnap, torture and murder of a north Wales couple house-hunting in Spain. The bodies of Anthony and Linda O'Malley, of Llangollen, but originally from Liverpool, were found in the cellar of a villa in 2002. Jorge Real Sierra and Jose Antonio Velazquez Gonzales were found guilty of the killings by judges in Spain. Real was jailed for 62 years and Velazquez for 54 years and six months. Their trial, which ended last month, heard that Mr O'Malley, 42, died of asphyxia, and his wife, 56, had a heart attack brought on by stress. The couple left their home in August 2002 to search for a retirement home on the Costa Blanca. A month later they disappeared. Six months later, Spanish police discovered their bodies buried in the cellar of a villa in Alcoy. The trial of the Venezuelan men took place in Alicante, Spain, in front of a panel of three judges. The judges heard the two men posed as owners of the villa, when in fact they were only renting it. Real, 56, described as the author of the crimes, and his brother-in-law Velazquez, 40, lured the couple to the property then bound and gagged them and chained them in the cellar. They apparently monitored their captives from a separate location via a webcam. The judges heard that Mr O'Malley was regularly forced at gunpoint to withdraw large sums of money from a bank account the couple had opened in Benidorm, as part of their search for a retirement home. He and his wife were then apparently killed simply because it became too troublesome to keep holding them. Mr O'Malley had died from asphyxia. He had injuries to his neck, and had been gagged. A plastic bag had been placed over his head and his hands and feet were bound. Unlike her husband, the body of Mrs O'Malley showed no signs of asphyxia. A pathologist told the court she had died from a heart attack brought on by the stress of her ordeal. Their killers were caught when Real tried to extract thousands more pounds from the couple's relatives, claiming he was a private detective, that they were still alive and he could help secure their release. He asked for £8,000 (11,600 euros) to act as a hostage negotiator, saying he would want more if the pair were freed. In fact, the couple had already been killed and buried in the cellar of the villa five months before. In his closing speech, the prosecutor said there was an "excess of evidence" proving Real and Velazquez were guilty. He said it had always been their intention to kill the couple "in cold blood". Real and Velazquez had denied kidnap and murder. But on Thursday, after six weeks' consideration, a panel of three judges in Alicante found them guilty of those offences as well as extortion and various fraud charges. Speaking after the verdict, Mr O'Malley's brother Bernard said: "It's been a long time. The last six weeks have been a long six weeks. "I'm just relieved. It's the result we've been looking for."

Mittal Steel launches Arcelor bid BBC News
Mittal Steel, owned by Indian tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, has launched its bid for French rival Arcelor, after the go-ahead from European regulators. France, Belgium and the Luxembourg have given the approval for Mittal's 19.2bn euro ($24.6bn; £13.02bn) hostile takeover bid for steel firm Arcelor. Luxembourg-based Arcelor has repeatedly voiced its opposition to the bid. Earlier in the week, Mr Mittal said shareholders would be able to decide on "the value and merits of our proposal". This comes four months after the surprise takeover offer for Arcelor was originally made. Arcelor's management has rejected the planned deal ever since it was first mooted on 26 January.

Regulatory approval
Mittal's offer is made up of three-quarters stock and one-quarter cash, including 547.6 million new Mittal shares.It has previously said it would consider "marginally" upping the offer - but made no reference to that in the bid launch. In Luxembourg, Belgium and France, the offer will stand between May 18 and June 29. In the US, the offer will open once the US financial watchdog, the Securities and Exchange Commission, has given the go-ahead for a registration statement, Mittal Steel said. While US regulators and individual European states have cleared the deal on antitrust grounds, the firm is still waiting for EU-level regulatory approval. The EU is set to approve the deal by June 7.If the takeover is successful, it will create a global giant worth about $40bn employing 320,000 people and producing about 10% of the world's steel. Arcelor's chairman Joseph Kinsch recently said the firm had not exhausted its options to prevent the takeover. It has already promised an increased 2005 dividend and a 5bn euro share buyback at a price above the market level in order to convince sharholders not to accept the rival offer.

Indian shares suffer record drop BBC News
Shares on India's Bombay Stock Exchange have suffered their biggest one-day fall in value in its history. The benchmark Sensex index at one stage dropped by 872 points to 11,346 - a 7.1% fall. It rallied slightly by close of trading, ending the day 6.8% down. Analysts say the main cause is the falls in shares elsewhere in the world on Wednesday, particularly Wall Street. European markets on Thursday showed signs of rallying, boosted by corporate earnings in the UK and France. Prices of all the major shares traded on the Bombay exchange fell as the index began sliding following Wednesday's Wall Street drop."Something had to give... the market had risen very quickly and was already fragile, so when we were hit overnight with fears of rising US inflation and weak Asian markets, jittery investors bailed," Andrew Holland of DSP Merrill Lynch told Reuters. But some brokers say prices fell also because of rumours that the government could increase higher taxes on foreign funds investing in Indian stocks. "If we hear some reassuring words from the finance minister, who knows the markets may bounce back on Friday," stock broker Atul Shah told the BBC.

Foreign enthusiasm
This year has seen the Sensex breaking records, going through the 10,000 points barrier in February and the 12,000 barrier in April. Foreign investors have been pumping money into Indian markets, keen to take a share of its fast-growing economy. They spent a record $10.7bn (£6bn) on Indian shares last year, encouraging Indian savers to push more of their money into equities. But Hemen Kapadia, an analyst with the investment advisory firm Morpheus Incorporated, says Thursday's falls have "vitiated" the feel-good times in the market. "Indian markets never correct," he told the BBC. "They always crash and the individual investor is the one who suffers the most in such a situation."

Lebanon army and militants clash BBC News
One Lebanese soldier and a Palestinian militant were wounded in clashes on Wednesday between the Lebanese army and Palestinian militants in east Lebanon. The clashes broke out after an army patrol was attacked by the militants, the army said. The AFP news agency reported on Thursday that both sides sent reinforcements to the area overnight. The militants were from Fatah-Intifada, a secular, Syrian-backed group that has opposed peace agreements with Israel. The group has a camp on Lebanese soil, about two kilometres from the border with Syria.

Reinforcements
Lebanese police told AFP that the Palestinian group smuggled 15 military vehicles carrying fighters, arms and ammunition into Lebanon from Syria overnight on Wednesday. AFP also reported that the militants took up positions in the mountains overlooking the camps in which clashes took place yesterday. Fatah-Intifada, led by radical Palestinian militant Abu Moussa, was established in 1983. Its headquarters are based in Damascus. During Wednesday's clashes, a Lebanese soldier was kidnapped by the militants. He was later released, after the army threatened to break up one of the Palestinian group's camps.

UN resolution
On Wednesday, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling on Syria to forge formal ties with Lebanon and demarcate the border between the two countries. The 15-member council adopted the resolution by 13-0 with Russia and China abstaining. Resolution 1680 seeks full implementation of a 2004 resolution urging a complete end to external influence in Lebanon. It was co-sponsored by the United States, France and Britain. In 2005, Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon following 29 years of military and political rule over its smaller neighbour, in line with Resolution 1559 of 2004. The move came after Damascus faced massive international pressure following the assassination of ex-Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri, in a bombing with which it denied any connection.

Border issue
However, Damascus has so far refused to formalise diplomatic contacts with Lebanon or open a Syrian embassy in Beirut. Nor has it responded to Lebanese requests that the border between the two countries be officially demarcated. Several Palestinian groups have camps in Lebanon, where about 400,000 Palestinian refugees live. Lebanese factions who have been gathering for a national dialogue conference have agreed to disarm Palestinian groups active in Lebanon outside of the Palestinian refugee camps.

Prodi calls for Iraq withdrawal BBC News
Romano Prodi has said the war in Iraq was a "grave error" in his first speech to Italy's Senate as prime minister. "It is the intention of this government to propose to parliament the return of our troops from Iraq," he said. The previous government of centre-right PM Silvio Berlusconi had decided to withdraw Italy's 2,600 troops from Iraq by the end of 2006. Mr Prodi, whose centre-left bloc beat Mr Berlusconi in April's elections, did not confirm that deadline. The new cabinet was sworn in on Wednesday.

Uproar
The BBC's David Willey in Rome says Mr Prodi's comments on the Iraq war caused uproar among opposition politicians in the upper house. "We consider the war and occupation in Iraq a grave error that hasn't solved - but has complicated - the problem of security," Mr Prodi said."It is therefore the government's intention to propose to parliament the withdrawal of our troops, even if we are proud of the display of professional ability, courage and humanity they have been giving." Mr Prodi was shouted down by cries of "shame" from right-wing opposition MPs and it took several minutes to restore order. Mr Prodi gave no date for the withdrawal and said a technical time frame would have to be worked out with the Iraqi authorities and with the UK and United States. He said his government condemned international terrorism, but he also warned against "fundamentalism" in Western reactions. His government was convinced that "the fight against terrorism must be conducted with political and intelligence tools and opposition to terrorist organisations - without ever restricting either our freedoms or our rights".

Objectives
He added that most importantly, the international community should not be "indulgent to suggestions of fundamentalism of the opposing strain, which preach crusades and indiscriminately advocate clashes of civilisations." Mr Prodi said his coalition was ready to govern Italy for the next five years, in order to carry out their objectives. These include tackling economic stagnation and cancelling constitutional changes carried out by Mr Berlusconi's government. The Senate will hold a vote of confidence in Mr Prodi and his cabinet on Friday.

Palestinian PM defends new force BBC News
Palestinian PM Ismail Haniya has defended the setting up of a new security force dominated by militants. He insisted the force, deployed for the first time on Wednesday, was legal and would provide support for the police and the Palestinian people. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has asked the Hamas-led government to withdraw the force. He ordered the existing security forces onto the streets in the Gaza Strip in a show of strength. Several thousand members of the services paraded through Gaza chanting slogans in support of Mr Abbas. A senior aide to Mr Abbas, Saeb Erekat, said there would be a crisis if Hamas failed to disband the new force.

'Parallel authority'
He said the creation of what he called a parallel authority would deepen, not end, security problems in Gaza and the West Bank."I think the situation is a pressure-cooker situation. The situation is very fragile. And we don't want anything that may endanger the situation or push it from bad to worse," Mr Erekat told the BBC's World Update. He dismissed the claim by Hamas that the new force was needed to end the chaos in Gaza. "They can get a grip on the chaos in Gaza with the... full support of the president and the Palestinian people by co-ordinating with the interior minister and the national security forces, by exercising the rule of law," Mr Erekat said. "I don't think we can end chaos by creating parallel authorities and further separate guns from the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian police."

Tension
Large numbers of Palestinian police were deployed in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after Interior Minister Said Siyam declared the 3,000-strong force operational. The move to create the force is in defiance of a veto by Mr Abbas and heightens tensions between his Fatah party and the Hamas-led government. The unit is led by Jamal Abu Samhadana, a militant who is wanted by Israel. It includes some members of Hamas' military wing as well as others from existing security forces. Its role will be to ensure the safety of citizens and protect property amid a wave of instability and violence. Hamas officials announced the creation of the new force in April, after Mr Abbas appointed one of his supporters to lead the most important of the three branches of the security services that report to the interior ministry.

Swiss recall Pakistan diplomats BBC News
Switzerland is to replace all the staff at its embassy in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, following an investigation into visa applications. The investigation found that some applicants had been able to obtain visas under false pretences. The foreign ministry said it had uncovered poor organisation and a failure to comply with regulations, but found no evidence of crimes by staff. The visa section will be closed until staffing is reorganised. The ministry said the investigation had been set up to establish whether the visa section was effectively organised and whether Swiss employees were involved in human trafficking. Two Pakistani employees of the embassy had previously been accused of such activities. The ministry said the decision to replace all staff did not imply any guilt. It is also replacing all staff at the consulate-general in Karachi.

Cambodia is not 'hell', says PM BBC News
Cambodia's prime minister has rebuked human rights groups for "viewing Cambodia as hell", in talks with the UN's top human rights official. Hun Sen told Louise Arbour human rights workers should "tell the truth" about his government, his spokesman said. Ms Arbour's visit comes amid strained relations between Cambodia and the UN. In March, Hun Sen called UN envoy Yash Ghai "deranged" after he suggested too much power lay in the hands of the prime minister. Hun Sen's assistant Eang Sophalleth said the prime minister told Ms Arbour human rights groups in Cambodia failed "to reflect the facts" about Cambodia. Cambodia wanted rights groups "just to talk about the facts concerning the government... rather than seeing Cambodia as being as bad as hell," Eang Sophalleth quoted Hun Sen as saying, the Associated Press news agency reported. Hun Sen described Ms Arbour as a "good partner" on human rights issues, and that the meeting should put ties between Cambodia and the UN's human rights office "on a good path", AP quoted Eang Sophalleth as saying. Eang Sophalleth also said the government denied reports that it was planning to close the UN's human rights office in Cambodia.

'Unacceptable' remarks
A row erupted in March between Cambodia and the UN's human rights office when Mr Ghai said Cambodia's government was not committed to human rights, and power had been too centralised around "one individual". Hun Sen said Mr Ghai should be sacked by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and dismissed UN rights staff in Cambodia as "long-term tourists". Eang Sophalleth said Hun Sen told Ms Arbour Mr Ghai's comments were out of order. "The prime minister said it was not acceptable. If the prime minister does not have power, how can he lead the country?" he said. Ms Arbour is on the second day of a three-day visit to the country - the first by a UN high commissioner for human rights since 2002. On Wednesday Ms Arbour visited the Tuol Sleng genocide museum, where thousands of people were tortured and killed under the former Khmer Rouge regime. Ms Arbour is also due to hold talks with officials from the UN-Cambodian Khmer Rouge tribunal, which is expected to get under way in July.

Australian firm 'bribed Saddam' BBC News
An Australian wheat exporter has admitted paying money to Saddam Hussein's former regime in Iraq in violation of United Nations sanctions. An inquiry into claims that the former Australian Wheat Board paid bribes for contracts released a statement in which the board apologised for its actions. The board said it was "truly sorry" and regretted any damage it had caused. Australian Prime Minister John Howard has been among officials questioned by the inquiry, which will report in June.

'Warning signs'
The draft statement was submitted to the inquiry in March but only made public on Thursday. In it, the wheat board's former managing director Andrew Lindberg, acknowledges that money was paid to the former Iraqi regime in contravention of UN sanctions. "Even though there were warning signs to some employees that this may have been occurring, AWB [former Australian Wheat Board] did not challenge these payments and was not alert to the potential consequences of making these payments," the statement said. "For this we are truly sorry and deeply regret any damage this may have caused to Australia's trading reputation, the Australian government or the United Nations." A UN report in 2005 said the board paid about $220m to Saddam Hussein's regime to secure $2.3bn in wheat contracts under the UN's oil-for-food programme. The report said the bribes were channelled into Iraq in bogus transport fees to a Jordanian company, which was partially owned by the Iraqi government.

Repercussions
The scandal has had political repercussions, reaching the highest levels of the Australian government. Prime Minister Howard and his foreign and trade ministers have testified before the inquiry, denying having seen more than 20 diplomatic cables warning that AWB might be paying kickbacks. Mr Howard has told investigators: "There was absolutely no belief, anywhere in the government, at that time that AWB was anything other than a company of high reputation." The inquiry, led by retired judge Terence Cole, can recommend the prosecution of individuals who violated Australian law, but not politicians. The new Iraqi government has suspended trading with the AWB until the outcome of the inquiry is known.

Canada's Afghan mission extended BBC News
Canadian legislators have narrowly voted to extend the country's combat mission in Afghanistan by two years, until February 2009. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's motion passed by 149 votes to 145, despite opposition complaints of being rushed. Canada currently has 2,300 soldiers in Afghanistan, mainly in the south where the Taleban-led resistance is strong. The vote came after news that a female Canadian soldier had been killed in combat in the war-torn country. Public opinion polls suggest that popular backing for the deployment, which had been due to expire in February 2007, is slipping.Mr Harper told legislators before the vote: "Our men and women need to know that we share their goals, support their efforts and are willing - regardless of polls that sometimes go up or down - to back them for the next few years." Afterwards, the prime minister expressed relief that the vote had been approved. The Conservative government had underlined its commitment to the mission by threatening to extend it unilaterally by one year if it had been defeated in parliament.

Opposition complaints
One by one the MPs took their turn to stand and be counted as either for or against the motion and the result was nail-bitingly close. Two opposition parties, the Bloc Quebecois and the New Democrats voted against the motion, but it drew enough support from the former ruling Liberal Party to pass. Many Liberal lawmakers complained that they were being rushed into a decision. They said the vote was hurried to shield the government from taking sole criticism for the mission if it goes wrong. Growing dissent led to a decision by the Liberal leader, Bill Graham, to let his individual MPs vote freely - despite the fact that a Liberal government was originally responsible for sending the Canadian troops to Afghanistan. "We find this process abusive," said Mr Graham. "We find it difficult in the course of a debate of a few hours in the House to make up our minds on an issue of this importance to Canada and Canadians and to our troops."

Death sharpens focus
The extension means Canada could take over command of the entire Nato operation in Afghanistan in 2008, which Mr Harper has offered to do. Canadian ministers will be attending a series of Nato meetings next week. The intense parliamentary debate was magnified by the news that a woman soldier, Capt Nichola Goddard, a female captain, had been killed in a gun battle with Taleban fighters - Canada's first woman soldier to die in combat since World War II. She was killed in clashes some 25km (15 miles) west of the southern city of Kandahar, a centre for Taleban insurgents. A roadside bomb killed four Canadian soldiers in April.

Conditional release for Fujimori BBC News
Peru's former President, Alberto Fujimori, has been granted conditional release by Chile's Supreme Court after six months in detention. He will not be allowed to leave the country until the court rules on whether he can be extradited to Peru. The ex-president is wanted in Peru on charges of human rights abuses and corruption. He denies any wrongdoing. Mr Fujimori travelled to Chile from Japan, where he had fled to in 2000 before resigning as president by fax. Chilean judges ruled that Mr Fujimori did not represent a danger to society and would not obstruct the process. The former president - who governed Peru from 1990 to 2000 - could be released on Thursday after bail is set and paid. Mr Fujimori has been in detention since November 2005, when he arrived in Chile with a view to running in the Peruvian presidential elections in April. He has now been banned him from running until 2011. A formal request for his extradition was filed in January by the authorities in Peru, where he is wanted on 12 charges. More than five years after the fall of his government, Mr Fujimori is still seen as a divisive figure in Peruvian society. To some he is a saviour of a country that was on the verge of economic collapse and racked by political violence. Others see him as a corrupt authoritarian who rode roughshod over Peru's democratic institutions.

UN urges US to shut Guantanamo Yahoo! News
The United Nations committee against torture told the United States on Friday it should close any secret prisons abroad and the Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba, saying they violated international law. The 10 independent experts, who examined the U.S. record at home and abroad, urged President George W. Bush's administration to "rescind any interrogation technique" that constituted torture or cruel treatment of foreign terrorism detainees. It cited use of dogs to terrify detainees, "water-boarding" which is a form of mock drowning, and sexual humiliation. The United States "should ensure that no one is detained in any secret detention facility under its de facto effective control" and "investigate and disclose the existence of any such facilities," said the committee, which has moral authority but no legal power to enforce its recommendations. "Detaining persons in such conditions constitutes, per se, a violation of the Convention," said the committee which examines compliance with the 1987 U.N. Convention against Torture, or other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Secret detainees are deprived of fundamental legal rights and could face torture, according to the body which regretted the U.S. "no comment" policy on allegations of secret detention. The United States is holding hundreds of terrorism suspects, most arrested since al Qaeda's September 11 attacks in 2001, at its prisons in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay. Rights groups say the United States is believed to be holding in undisclosed locations Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, alleged operational mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and Ramzi bin al-Shaibah, a member of the Hamburg, Germany cell that led them. Another such detainee is Abu Zubaydah, a suspected senior al Qaeda operational planner. The activist group Human Rights Watch lists the three men, captured in Pakistan, as "ghost prisoners" believed to be in U.S. custody but without legal rights or access to lawyer. Washington, which sent 30 senior officials to Geneva in early May for the committee's two-day hearings, defended its treatment of foreign terrorism suspects held abroad, saying there had been "relatively few actual cases of abuse." U.S. officials said waterboarding was not listed in the current Army Field Manual and was therefore banned.

RELIABLE REPORTS OF TORTURE
The committee voiced concern at "reliable reports of acts of torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" by U.S. military or civilian personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq. "The state party (the United States) should take immediate measures to eradicate all forms of torture and ill-treatment of detainees by its military or civilian personnel ... and should promptly and thoroughly investigate such acts and prosecute all those responsible...," it said in its 10-page findings. The Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba should be closed and its inmates either brought to trial or released, "ensuring they are not returned to any state where they could face a real risk of being tortured," the committee said. It regretted secrecy surrounding U.S. practice of asking countries for "diplomatic assurances" that they will not torture detainees being sent by Washington. There was a lack of judicial scrutiny and monitoring to ensure that guarantees were upheld. The committee also voiced concerns at use of electro-shock devices in U.S. prisons, shackling of women inmates during childbirth and the "harsh regime" in "supermaximum prisons." It told the United States to report back in a year. "The report obviously is extremely critical of U.S. policies and appropriately so," Jennifer Daskal, U.S. advocacy director of the New York-based Human Rights Watch, told Reuters. "We hope that the United States will take heed of this report and really begin to rethink and change its policies on a number of practices, including secret prisons, lack of accountability for abuse, and transfer of prisoners to places where they may be tortured," she said.
By Stephanie Nebehay

N.Korea may be preparing missile launch: reports Yahoo! News
North Korea may be preparing to launch a long-range ballistic missile that could reach parts of the United States, Japanese media reports said on Friday, but Japan's government said it did not believe a launch was imminent. Quoting unidentified South Korean government officials, public broadcaster NHK said satellite pictures showed there have been signs since early this month around a site in northeastern North Korea that pointed to a possible firing in the near future. Analysts have said, though, that development of a multiple-stage version of a ballistic missile that can take payloads deep into the continental United States is years away. Japan's top government spokesman, Shinzo Abe, said he could not comment on specific security issues, but added, "At the moment, we do not believe that a launch is imminent." The latest reports come amid a deadlock in six-party talks aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear programs, and ahead of a visit to China next week by the chief U.S. negotiator to the talks that involve the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and host China. North Korea has said in numerous official media reports that it is building a nuclear deterrent to counter U.S. hostility. The United States believes that North Korea has one or two nuclear bombs and the ability to build more. U.S. officials said on Thursday that Washington was open to discussions with North Korea on a peace treaty at the same time as the six-party nuclear talks, but that it must come back to the negotiating table first. North Korea has long demanded a peace treaty to replace the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean war. Some experts detected in the U.S. stance at least a slight change in emphasis designed to entice Pyongyang back to the table and keep Asian allies from blaming Washington for the moribund diplomacy. NHK said the missile appeared to be a Taepodong-2, which previous reports have said has a range of more than 6,700 km (4,200 miles), making it capable of hitting Alaska with a light payload. Quoting Japanese government sources, Japan's Kyodo news agency also said that a launch could be imminent and that the missile was probably a Taepodong-2. However, a report in March by the California-based Center for Nonproliferation Studies, a non-governmental organization, said North Korea did not have an operational missile that could hit the continental United States. That report said Pyongyang was working on a solid-fuel missile, Taepodong-X, with a range of up to 4,000 km (2,500 miles) that could hit Japan as well as U.S. bases in Guam, but North Korea has yet to demonstrate its reliability through a test flight. North Korea shocked the world in August 1998 when it fired a Taepodong missile that flew over Japan before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. NHK, quoting U.S. government officials, said if the missile was a modified version of the Taepodong-2, it could have a range of 15,000 km (9,300 miles), which would cover all of the United States. U.S. officials have said the North is developing longer-range missiles that could hit the continental United States.
By George Nishiyama

Iran now enriching home processed uranium: source Yahoo! News
Iran initially enriched uranium from China but is now using domestically processed uranium in its nuclear programme, an Iranian diplomat said on Friday after some doubts were cast on his country's recent enrichment claims. Iran said last month it had enriched uranium to the level used in power stations for the first time, crediting its own scientists for the breakthrough. The U.N. nuclear watchdog confirmed this from samples taken in Iran. But diplomats in Vienna, where the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is based, said on Thursday that the processed uranium, uranium hexafluoride (UF6), that Iran purified was almost certainly Chinese UF6 and not Iranian. "This is correct. Preliminary tests were made using UF6 bought from China but one week after that, we started to use the UF6 that we have produced in Isfahan and now the UF6 that is being used in Natanz facility for enrichment is our own product," the Iranian diplomat, who asked not to be identified because of the issue's sensitivity, told Reuters. Iran's uranium conversion facility which makes UF6 is in Isfahan, a city south of the capital, while enrichment takes place at the nearby site of Natanz. Iran said in April that its Isfahan plant had stockpiled 110 tonnes of feedstock UF6 gas. Vienna diplomats have said Iran has had difficulty producing good quality UF6. In September the material was of such poor quality that it would have damaged the centrifuges -- machines that enrich uranium -- had it been used, they said. The sale to Iran of Chinese processed uranium would have come shortly before China joined the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1992, binding Beijing to strict export controls. A diplomat from the European Union accredited to the IAEA said Iran had probably chosen to use the better Chinese UF6 to hasten the process so President Mahmoud Ahmadinejdad could announce to the world without delay Iran's enrichment success. Enrichment is a process of purifying uranium for use in nuclear power plants or, when very highly enriched, in bombs. The European Union and United States believe Iran is secretly developing atomic weapons under cover of a civilian nuclear energy programme. Iran says its programme is solely aimed at the peaceful generation of electricity. The IAEA has found no hard proof of any project to make atomic bombs but says that, after more than three years of probing, it still cannot confirm that Iran's intentions are entirely peaceful. IAEA inspectors routinely visit Iran to monitor nuclear facilities but, after Iran's case was sent to the U.N. Security Council, Tehran stopped allowing unannounced inspections of sites at short notice. A team of IAEA inspectors will arrive in Iran on Friday for one of their routine visits, state television reported.

Hayden Senate Confirmation Appears Assured Yahoo! News
After more than six hours of sometimes-tense Senate questioning, the confirmation of Michael Hayden to head the CIA still appeared assured. The four-star Air Force general tried to look forward throughout the long day of grilling, even as senators repeatedly returned to controversies over the eavesdropping work he directed as National Security Agency head from 1999 to 2005. The CIA needs to look ahead, he said. "It's time to move past what seems to me to be an endless picking apart of the archaeology of every past intelligence success or failure," Hayden told the Senate Intelligence Committee at his confirmation hearing Thursday. "The CIA needs to get out of the news — as source or subject — and focus on protecting the American people." Hayden said he would focus on traditional spycraft and reward risk-taking among the CIA's operatives in the clandestine service. He'd push analysts to explain when they aren't sure of judgments, but be unafraid of hard-edged assessments. And he'd focus the agency's scientists, who once built a mechanical eavesdropping dragonfly, on developing technology to improve intelligence collection. Republicans gushed over the nominee. "You're going to be one of America's best CIA directors, general," Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record), R-Neb., told Hayden. But some Democrats voiced strong concerns. "General, having evaluated your words, I now have a difficult time with your credibility," said Sen. Ron Wyden (news, bio, voting record), D-Ore., who cross-examined him about his role in the NSA's post-9/11 warrantless domestic surveillance program. The White House hopes the Senate can approve Hayden as soon as next week, allowing him to step in as Porter Goss departs on May 26. Even with the tough questioning, Hayden appeared likely to be confirmed in the Republican-controlled Senate. Hayden's plans for the CIA indicate he is targeting flaws that have been highlighted repeatedly by commissions investigating Sept. 11, 2001, and the Iraq intelligence. During Thursday's questioning, he vigorously defended the Bush administration's warrantless eavesdropping program as a legal spy tool needed to ensnare terrorists. But he also acknowledged concerns about civil liberties within the program and others he oversaw at the NSA. "Clearly, the privacy of American citizens is a concern — constantly," he said. "It's a concern in everything we've done." Hayden sought to portray himself as an independent thinker, capable of taking over the CIA as it struggles with issues ranging from nuclear threats to its place among 15 other spy agencies. Bush selected Hayden to be the nation's 20th CIA director earlier this month, knowing his choice would inflame the debate about the NSA program to monitor domestic calls and e-mails when one person is overseas and terrorism is suspected. Breaking new ground, the work was done without court approval. A USA Today report last week about NSA efforts to analyze the call records of millions of Americans added new grist to the discussion and prompted the administration to reverse course after five months and tell the intelligence committees more about the terror-monitoring work on Wednesday. Hayden declined to openly discuss the reports, saying he would talk only about the part of the program the president had confirmed. On the world's hot spots, Hayden acknowledged a series of intelligence failures in the run-up to the U.S. decision to invade Iraq and promised to take steps to guard against a repeat of such errors. He called Iran "a hard target," but said senators shouldn't compare what's known about Iran to the mistakes of Iraq. The Iraq estimate, he said, focused on weapons of mass destruction and ignored regional or cultural context. "We're not doing that on Iran," he said. "Besides the technical intelligence, there's a much more complex and harder to develop field of intelligence that has to be applied as well: How are decisions made in that country?" Hayden said the number of terrorists in the world has grown, but they are reduced in capability. "This is a broader war," he said. "And the war has got to be fought with all elements of American power."
On the Net: Senate Intelligence Committee: http://intelligence.senate.gov
By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press Writer

Top Taleban commander 'arrested' BBC News
One of the most important Taleban leaders, Mullah Dadullah, has been captured in Afghanistan, Afghan officials have told the BBC. The senior military commander was said to have been detained by international troops in southern Kandahar province. Mullah Dadullah was a member of the Taleban's 10-man leadership council before the US-led invasion in 2001. The US-led coalition in Afghanistan has been pursuing Mullah Dadullah for more than four years. The Taleban have not confirmed the arrest and there has been no official confirmation from the Afghan government or US military.

'Brutal'
Mullah Dadullah has been blamed for much of the recent violence in the southern province of Helmand where thousands of British troops are being deployed. Officials in Helmand say scores of militants and 13 policemen have been killed in fighting this week. Our correspondent says Mullah Dadullah is very close to the Taleban leader, Mullah Omar. Mullah Dadullah has survived a number of attacks and lost one leg in battle. He has a reputation for being one of the Taleban's most brutal commanders. High-ranking Afghan officials have told the BBC that he was captured in Kandahar and is being held by the coalition forces. There are no details as to how he was caught.

Fierce fighting
Three years ago, Mullah Dadullah told the BBC that the Taleban, deposed in 2001, hoped to regain power in Afghanistan. He said the Taleban would fight until "Jews and Christians, all foreign crusaders" were expelled from Afghanistan. In December 2005 a court in Pakistan sentenced Mullah Dadullah to life in prison for trying to kill conservative Islamic politician Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani in 2004. Mr Sherani escaped unhurt. Up to 100 people have died this week in some of Afghanistan's fiercest fighting since US-led forces ousted the Taleban. In addition to the Helmand fighting, at least 25 militants died in two separate clashes in Kandahar. A US national was killed by a suicide bomber in Herat. Another bomber blew himself up at an Afghan army base in the city of Ghazni as a US military convoy was passing. The bomber and a civilian were killed. Our correspondent, Alastair Leithead, says there is no doubt the strength of the insurgents has been increasing and the thousands of British and international troops moving into the south will have their hands full.

US 'must end secret detentions' BBC News
The US should close any secret "war on terror" detention facilities abroad and the Guantanamo Bay camp in Cuba, a United Nations report has said. The UN Committee against Torture urged the US to ensure no one was detained in any secret facility. The report followed the first US appearance before the committee since the 11 September 2001 attacks. During the hearing in early May, the US neither confirmed or denied the existence of secret prisons.The US has been holding hundreds of terror suspects arrested since 11 September at facilities in Iraq, Afghanistan and Cuba. It has been accused of operating secret prisons and transporting some detainees to states which use torture.

The committee also recommended in its 11-page report that the US should:

• Register all those it detains in territories under its jurisdiction
• Eradicate torture and ill-treatment of detainees
• Not send suspects to countries where they face a risk of torture
• Enact a federal crime of torture
• Broaden the definition of acts of psychological torture

'Investigate and disclose'The committee said it recognised that the 11 September attacks had caused "profound suffering" to the US and welcomed the US statement that officials from all government agencies were prohibited from engaging in torture at all times. But it told the US its no-comment policy on the secret facilities was "regrettable" and asked for more information."The state party should investigate and disclose the existence of any such facilities and the authority under which they have been established and the manner in which detainees are treated," the report said. Detaining people in such conditions was a violation of the UN Convention against Torture, it said. It also called on the US to end detentions at the Guantanamo Bay camp and close it, releasing detainees or giving them access to a judicial process. It called for "immediate measures" to eradicate torture and ill-treatment of detainees by US military personnel "in any territory under its jurisdiction". It called for an end to interrogation techniques it said constituted torture, such as the use of dogs to scare detainees or sexual humiliation, which the Abu Ghraib prison scandal brought to light.

'Take heed'
The recommendations are not binding but the BBC's Imogen Foulkes says the committee's conclusions will not make comfortable reading for the US, with the assertion that secret camps do constitute torture.

US forces have been searching for al-Qaeda suspects in Afghanistan
The US has maintained that it is engaged in a long term war on terror and that some aspects of the convention on torture may not apply. But the UN committee rejected this, our correspondent says, saying the total ban on torture applies in time of peace, war or armed conflict and anyone violating the convention should be prosecuted. Human rights groups welcomed the report. "We hope that the United States will take heed of this report and really begin to rethink and change its policies on a number of practices, including secret prisons, lack of accountability for abuse, and transfer of prisoners to places where they may be tortured," Jennifer Daskal of Human Rights Watch told Reuters news agency. The committee has asked the US to respond within a year to its recommendations.

Hamas official seized with $800k BBC News
Palestinian border police briefly detained a Hamas official accused of smuggling more than $800,000 (£427,000) into the Gaza Strip from Egypt. Dozens of Hamas gunmen rushed to the border, guarded by presidential troops, raising fears of fresh fighting. Latest reports say the money has been released and put under the control of the Hamas-run interior ministry. The Hamas-led Palestinian Authority faces a severe financial crisis because of an international aid embargo. Israel has also been withholding about $55m in tax collected monthly on behalf of the authority since Hamas came to power in January. The Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, was apparently trying to smuggle the money under his clothes. Hamas says it is unable to transfer cash to Palestinian territory to fund government activities and pay salaries, as banks fear US sanctions for dealing with the militant group. Overnight, two police officers were wounded in a gun battle between Palestinian factions in Gaza City.

Well-known figure
Mr Abu Zuhri is a well known figure because of his frequent appearances in the Arabic media. "Sami Abu Zuhri did not declare the money. The Palestinian security and customs officials found it and confiscated it," the observer, Julio de la Guardia, said. Travellers crossing through Rafah must declare all sums over $2,000 and explain the origin of the cash, Mr de la Guardia told reporters. Mr Zuhri was said to have been returning to the Gaza Strip from Qatar, which has previously pledged to donate $50m to the Palestinian Authority. Hamas has complained that US and European sanctions make it impossible for Qatar and other donors to transfer money to the Palestinian government because of the fears of financial institutions. The US and EU consider Hamas a terrorist organisation.

Shadow force
Overnight clashes came after two rival security forces - regular police and a newly deployed force established by Hamas - paraded through the streets in a show of strength. Hamas has formed its shadow security force in defiance of a veto by Mr Abbas. The unit is led by Jamal Abu Samhadana, a militant who is wanted by Israel. The force includes some members of Hamas' military wing as well as others from existing security forces. Its stated role is to ensure the safety of citizens and protect property amid a wave of instability and violence. Hamas officials announced the creation of the new force in April, after Mr Abbas appointed one of his supporters to lead the most important of the three branches of the security services that report to the interior ministry. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned that the rival Palestinian forces were creating a dangerous situation. "We obviously believe that President Abbas, who we believe has the confidence of the Palestinian people, should be able to exercise his responsibilities as president of the country," Ms Rice said. In a separate development, the Israeli military has said it arrested six suspected Palestinian militants in overnight raids across the West Bank. Raids were said to have been carried out in the Nablus and Bethlehem areas. The official Palestinian news agency said a member of the national security forces had been detained in Bethlehem.

Deep-sea fish stocks 'plundered' BBC News
Fish stocks in international waters are being plundered to the point of extinction, a leading conservationist group has said. Illegal fishing and bottom-trawling in deep waters are to blame, according to a report from WWF. It says the current system of regional fishing regulation is failing to tackle the problem, with not enough being done to enforce quotas or replenish stocks. It says species under severe threat include tuna and the orange roughy. The orange roughy is targeted by bottom-trawlers, which drag heavy rollers over the ocean floor, destroying coral and other ecosystems. "Given the perilous overall state of marine fisheries resources and the continuing threats posed to the marine environment from over-fishing and damaging fishing activity, the need for action is immediate," Simon Cripps, director of WWF's global marine programme, said. Illegal fishing "by highly mobile fleets under the control of multinational companies" was identified as one of the worst threats to marine life. But the report also attacked governments for over fishing. "Vast over-capacity in authorised fleets, over-fishing of stocks... the virtual absence of robust rebuilding strategies... and a lack of precaution where information is lacking or uncertain are all characteristic of the management regimes currently in place," it said.

No enforcement
The report was released ahead of a New York meeting on the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, the legal framework for the management of fish stocks on the high seas, next week. BBC science reporter Matt McGrath says that on the high seas - away from the protection of national quotas - fish stocks are at their most vulnerable.The regulation of fishing in these international waters is the responsibility of regional fishing management organisations - made up of countries with a vested interest in the area. According to WWF, most are failing to manage fish stocks in a sustainable way. Decision-making is poor, it says, and the regional organisations are powerless to control the activities of countries who ignore regulations. This backs up the conclusions of an analysis last year from the conservation group BirdLife International, which concluded that a majority of the regional fisheries organisations are failing to take their responsibilities seriously. The authors are calling on the United Nations to review fishing on the high seas and strengthen the resolve of regional authorities to deal with states that flout agreements. "It's got to stop, we've got to do it quickly," Mr Cripps said. "There is hope, if we can get management put in place."

Prodi team gets Senate approval BBC News
The centre-left government of Italy's new Prime Minister Romano Prodi has won a key vote of confidence in the Senate, two days after he took office. The upper house approved Mr Prodi's coalition by 165 votes to 155 against. Crucially all seven senators for life backed his government in the house, where he has only a two-seat majority. Mr Prodi's coalition narrowly beat former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in April's election. Mr Prodi has a solid majority in the lower house. On Thursday, Mr Prodi made his first speech to the Senate as leader, calling the war in Iraq a "grave error" and pledging to push for a troop pullout. Friday's vote was the first of two confidence votes Mr Prodi is facing in the parliament.If he lost, the new government would be forced to resign. In the 640-seat lower house - where Mr Prodi faces a second confidence vote next week - he holds a clear 70-seat majority. The centre-right opposition led by Mr Berlusconi has said it will seek every opportunity to defeat Mr Prodi's administration.

Uproar
On Thursday Mr Prodi announced plans to reverse many of the policies of his predecessor, pledging to withdraw Italian troops from Iraq, and launched a scathing attack on Italy's political climate.Mr Prodi said Italy needed a social, economic and moral jolt to mark a clean break with the past. He said there was a climate of tolerance towards unethical if not downright illegal behaviour in Italy, marked by huge conflicts of interest and shameless enrichment. He said his coalition was ready to govern Italy for the next five years, in order to carry out their objectives. These include tackling economic stagnation and cancelling constitutional changes carried out by Mr Berlusconi's government. As Mr Prodi announced plans to withdraw from Iraq he was shouted down by cries of "shame" from right-wing opposition MPs and it took several minutes to restore order. Mr Prodi gave no date for the withdrawal and said a technical time-frame would have to be worked out with the Iraqi authorities and with the UK and United States. The previous government of Mr Berlusconi had decided to withdraw Italy's 2,600 troops from Iraq by the end of 2006.

Poland slams Russian fuel policy BBC News
Poland's Defence Minister Radek Sikorski has accused Russia of using its energy reserves as a means of blackmailing its western neighbours. In a BBC interview, Mr Sikorski said Poland wanted a commercial relationship with Russian energy suppliers, without monopolies, price-fixing or blackmail. His comments echo concerns raised by US Vice-President Dick Cheney at a recent eastern European regional meeting. Next week, Russia and the EU will have talks at a Black Sea resort. Poland has previously criticised Russia for cutting gas supplies to Ukraine in January in a price dispute, and for signing a deal with Germany to build an undersea gas pipeline bypassing Poland.Mr Sikorski recently compared the deal to the pre-World War II Nazi-Soviet pact which carved up Poland. The $5bn (£2.7bn) pipeline, agreed in September 2005, will connect Babayevo in Russia to Greifswald in Germany. The 1,200km (744-mile) pipeline is now under construction and will deliver Russian gas to Germany - and eventually to other Western European nations - by 2010. Poland has asked the EU to forge a more coherent common policy on energy in the face of new challenges. But its proposal for a new Energy Security Treaty, to provide mutual energy security in the same way as the Nato alliance offers protection against military attack, has so far won little public support.
By William Horsley, BBC European affairs correspondent

Suharto 'gravely ill' in hospital BBC News
Former Indonesian leader Suharto is in a "serious condition", President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said after visiting him in hospital. Mr Suharto, 84, has suffered several strokes since he left office in 1998 amid street protests and riots. Charges of embezzling $600m (£322m) from the state during his 30 years in power were dropped last week on account of his ill health. Mr Yudhoyono said visiting Mr Suharto in hospital was his "moral duty". "I have done the same for all senior government officials, including former presidents and vice presidents, when they were sick," Mr Yudhoyono said. "And he is seriously ill." He spent 20 minutes with the former leader at Pertamina hospital.Doctors at the hospital told the French news agency AFP that they had operated on Mr Suharto again - the third time in a fortnight - to remove blood clots near the site of last week's intestinal operation which were in danger of causing infections. They said the former strongman had suffered a deterioration in the tissues of his brain. "Some brain cells have died, which will be difficult to regenerate, and it has caused spasms," Dr Joko Rahardjo told AFP. The head of the hospital, Adji Suprajitno, told a news conference that Suharto's condition was still critical. "This critical phase has been longer than we had expected. The wish was the critical phase would be over in a week, but it turned out that it is not over until now, because it has implicated other organs," he said. Mr Yudhoyono made no comment on Suharto's legal status. Last week Indonesian prosecutors issued a letter to close the corruption case against the former leader on health grounds, despite Mr Yudhoyono saying hours earlier that now was not the right time to discuss the issue. Lawyers, however, say it is up to prosecutors whether or not they pursue a case. Fifty student demonstrators rallied in the Javan city of Yogyakarta on Friday, chanting "Hang Suharto" and "Try him!" and more protests are scheduled for the capital Jakarta.

Guantanamo inmates clash with guards Telegraph.co.uk
Prisoners wielding improvised weapons clashed with guards at the camp yesterday as guards entered a communal living area to stop a prisoner from hanging himself. Commander Robert Durand, a spokesman for Joint Task Force (JTF) Guantanamo, which runs the controversial camp in Cuba, said detainees used weapons made from fans and light fixtures. He said "minimum force" was used to quell the disturbance and prevent the suicide. Earlier in the day, three detainees in another part of the prison had attempted suicide by swallowing prescription medicine they had been hoarding. The detainees who clashed with guards were moved to higher-security sections of the camp and those who attempted suicide received medical treatment. Their names have not been released. This was the second reported simultaneous suicide attempt at Guantanamo, which holds detainees suspected of links to al-Qa'eda or the Taliban. The US military said 23 inmates carried out a co-ordinated effort to hang or strangle themselves in 2003 during a week-long protest. Word of the clash came as a United Nations panel that monitors compliance with the world's anti-torture treaty called on the US to close the prison. The medium-security Camp Four, where the clash happened, is for the most compliant prisoners and those who are slated for release.
# Fifteen Saudi Arabian Guantanamo Bay detainees have arrived home after being freed from US custody. The kingdom's interior minister, Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, told state media that the 15 named men would be "subject to the country's laws".Guantanamo Bay detention camp after four inmates attempted suicide on the same day. The fight broke out in a medium-security section of the
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The United States has dismissed as "full of inaccuracies" a United Nations report that says the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay amounts to torture. The UN Committee Against Torture has expressed particular concern at the use of dogs to frighten detainees and shackles. The UN committee's Fernando Marino Menendez says the indefinite detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay amounts to torture and this leaves only one solution. "We told them that Guantanamo should be closed definitively," he said. "We indicated that some interrogation techniques being used were prohibited by the Convention Against Torture and we gave concrete examples. "We also indicated that the prohibition of cruel, degrading and human punishment applied to any activity on foreign territory and not only within the United States. We also indicated that secret prisons were banned by the convention." But American officials insist that all interrogations are conducted in accordance with US law. A White House spokesman, Sean McCormack, has rejected the UN's call for Guantanamo Bay to be closed. "The President of the United States has talked about the fact that he doesn't want the United States to be the world's jailers," he said. "We at some point in the future would very much like to see Guantanamo Bay close down, but at the moment it's housing some dangerous people."
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Bomb kills Baghdad laborers as new govt ready Reuters
A bomb killed at least 10 people in east Baghdad among a crowd of poor Shi'ite labourers gathering for work on Saturday, hours before Iraq's parliament prepared to confirm a new, national unity government in office. Initial casualty reports from police and medical sources said at least 28 others were wounded. The attack in the Sadr City neighborhood was typical of bombings by minority Sunni Islamist groups like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq. Witnesses and police said the bomb appeared to have been planted in a spot where the attackers knew large crowds of men would gather, hoping to be hired for a day's casual labor. Such spots have been targeted in the past. Parliament is due to sit at 11 a.m. (0700 GMT) to approve a government that may hold full sovereign powers for the four-year term of the legislature, ending months of inertia that have seen sectarian bloodshed mount. Launching a crucial new phase in the U.S.-backed project to install democracy, Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki struck a basic deal on Friday that left the key posts of interior and defense minister vacant, aides and top negotiators said. There may be some fine-tuning at the last minute but, with jobs for nearly all parliamentary groups barring small Shi'ite and Sunni parties that refused to join, parliamentary approval for Maliki's ministers is likely to be a formality. The government can be sure of an enthusiastic welcome in Washington, where frustration with Iraqis' sectarian and ethnic haggling has grown over the five months since an election hailed as a final step from Saddam Hussein's dictatorship to democracy. "For the first time, Sunnis, Kurds and Shias participate with a four-year mandate," a senior U.S. official said in Washington. "This is an opportunity to make some changes." For President George W. Bush, who launched the invasion in 2003 in the name of Iraqi freedom and ending a perceived threat from Saddam, stability is key to bringing home 130,000 American troops -- a move that might stem his falling approval ratings. Iraqis too, who turned out in large numbers across all the rival communities, have been growing impatient for a leadership that can address their massive problems -- security certainly, but also a devastated economy and poor basic public services.

VACANCIES
Under a constitutional timetable, Maliki's 30 days to form a government end on Monday. Despite confident assertions last month that he would need only a week or two, wrangling among and within Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish blocs came close to thwarting him, as it did his ally and predecessor Ibrahim al-Jaafari. Still, the key security posts at interior and defense have eluded his dealmaking skills, even though all parties are agreed that the jobs should go to a Shi'ite and Sunni respectively. If no 11th-hour solution is found before the 275 members of the Council of Representatives vote in the fortified Green Zone on Saturday, Maliki will occupy the interior ministry for a week and Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi will run defense. Complaints among Saddam's once dominant Sunni minority that the Shi'ite majority brought to power by the U.S. invasion was abusing its control of the interior ministry by running death squads within the police focused attention on the interior post. An upsurge in sectarian killings, some carried out by men in uniform, after February's bombing of a major Shi'ite shrine has prompted growing alarm about the threat of civil war. Hundreds of people are being killed every month in Baghdad alone and tens of thousands have fled their homes. Some fear the communal violence may have gone too far to reverse. Maliki, a tough-talking defender of Shi'ite interests since his return from exile in 2003, has won praise from Sunnis for his willingness to seek consensus. But many question whether a government cobbled together according to religious and ethnic labeling can overcome centrifugal forces tearing Iraq apart.
By Mariam Karouny and Lutfi Abu Oun. BAGHDAD (Reuters)
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Iraqi parliament approves Cabinet BBC News
Iraq's parliament has approved a new government, including members of the main Shia, Kurd and Sunni parties. However three crucial ministries - national security, interior and defence - have still not been agreed. In a keynote speech PM Nouri Maliki said Iraqis must "denounce terrorism" and find an "objective timetable" for international forces to leave. It is hoped the 37-minister team, the first full-term government since the 2003 invasion, can curb Iraq's unrest.

Messy start
Mr Maliki told parliament that Iraqis needed to unite in a spirit of love and tolerance. He laid out a 34-point government programme that included tackling terrorism, integrating militias into the security structure and getting electricity and water back on line.

President Jalal Talabani, in a speech broadcast live on TV, said the new government was both a good omen and a warning. "It provides a good omen to our people that the government will achieve for them security, stability, peace and prosperity. "It also provides a warning to the... terrorists and the murderous criminals that the hand of justice will get them, sooner or later." However, the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says the new unity government got off to a messy start. Before Mr Maliki could begin announcing his team, the leader of the Dialogue party - the smaller of the two main Sunni factions - seized the microphone to complain about how negotiations over the distribution of roles had been conducted. Once Mr Maliki was able to speak, members of the 275-seat parliament - the Council of Representatives - applauded as each new member of the Cabinet was named and took their seat.But then a member of the biggest Sunni faction, which is included in the government, angry about the defence and interior ministry roles being left open, led a walk-out. Mr Maliki will for now run the interior ministry and Deputy Prime Minister Salam Zaubai, a Sunni, will run defence. Another key post is oil minister, which has been taken by Hussain al-Shahristani, a Shia nuclear physicist jailed and tortured by former leader Saddam Hussein. Mr Shahristani immediately vowed to crack down on corruption and the smuggling of state oil outside Iraq. He also pledged to increase production.

Continuing violence
But with security the key issue, BBC defence correspondent, Rob Watson, says in the short term the new government is unlikely to affect what is a complex breakdown of law and order, involving Sunni insurgent groups, Shia militias and mafia-style criminality. Just hours before the parliament began its session, at least 19 people were killed and 58 wounded in a bomb attack in a Shia district of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Witnesses said that the blast in Sadr City happened at about 0700 (0300 GMT) near a food stand where day labourers seeking work were having breakfast. In other violence, a suicide bomber killed at least five people and injured 10 in an attack on a police station in the western border town of Qaim. Sectarian violence has spiralled in recent months. The latest cycle of attacks began with the bombing in February of a Shia shrine in the town of Samarra. It was followed by the regular reports of the discovery of dumped bodies, bearing marks of torture and execution. Sunni politicians said Shia death squads operating within the security forces were behind the killings. The new unity government is the result of five months of arduous negotiations, following December's general elections, in which the Shia alliance emerged as the largest single bloc. It is the first to include the main Sunni Muslim factions, which had boycotted the interim elections and cabinet.

Intelligence boss injured in Gaza BBC News
The Palestinian intelligence service's chief has been seriously injured in a blast at the organisation's main office in Gaza City, officials said. General Tareq Abu Rajab's staff said he was the victim of a bomb attack they called an assassination attempt. At least one person died and several others were injured in the blast, after they stepped into a lift. Correspondents say the incident is set to stoke rising tensions between the rival Hamas and Fatah factions. A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas condemned the blast. "The assassination attempt... is a serious escalation and an attempt to undermine national security," he said.

'Bomb' blast
The injured in Saturday's incident at the sea-front intelligence headquarters were rushed to a nearby hospital, officials said. Gen Rajab underwent surgery and was reported to be in a stable condition. Gen Rajab - seen as loyal to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas - had very fraught relations with Hamas and other militant groups in the past and was the victim of a mystery assassination attempt in 2004, the BBC's Alan Johnston in Gaza reports. An officer in the intelligence service said the blast was caused by a bomb. This contradicted an earlier statement from the interior ministry which suggested the explosion had been an accident of some kind. Officials from the Palestinian health ministry initially reported two deaths, but medics later said one person was killed. Until more details emerge, the incident can only serve to add to the current considerable tension in the area, our correspondent says. The Hamas-controlled government recently deployed a major force of its militants on the streets. This was despite intense opposition to the move from the Palestinian presidency which is controlled by Hamas's rival, the Fatah party. Several people were wounded in clashes between the two factions earlier this week.

Three Gorges dam wall completed BBC News
China has completed construction of the main wall of the Three Gorges Dam - the world's largest hydro-electric project. The controversial dam in central Hubei province will not be fully operational until 2009, once all its generators are installed. China says it will provide electricity for its booming economy and help control flooding on the Yangtze River. Critics say more a million people were moved from the area, and the reservoir behind the dam is already polluted.

In pictures On Saturday, builders poured the last amount of concrete to complete the construction of the 185m (607ft) high, 2,309m (1.4 mile) long wall. A senior Chinese official said the event marked a "landmark progress" in the dam's construction, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. "However, tasks such as building of power houses of the dam, the ship lock and shiplift are still formidable," said Pu Haiqing, deputy director of the dam's construction committee. When its 26 turbines become operational in 2009, the dam will have a capacity of more than 18,000 megawatts. Already the world's second-largest consumer of oil, China says it needs alternative energy sources to combat widespread power shortages and keep its booming economy powering along.The authorities also hope the dam will help control flooding on the Yangtze River, which in the past has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, the BBC's Quentin Somerville in Shanghai reports. But campaigners say the dam comes at too high a cost. Over a million people have been moved from their homes to make way for the project and more than 1,200 towns and villages will disappear under its rising waters. Environmentalists say the water behind the dam is already heavily polluted. China says the whole project will cost about $25bn (£13bn), but environmentalists estimate it to be several times higher.

UN official meets Burma's Suu Kyi BBC News
A senior United Nations official has met Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, sources close to the military rulers say. The talks between Ms Suu Kyi and UN Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari lasted for about an hour, the sources say. Ms Suu Kyi has been in prison or under house arrest since 2003. The last foreigner to see the Nobel Peace laureate was UN special envoy Razali Ismail in 2004. Ms Suu Kyi and Mr Gambari met in a government guesthouse, the sources say. A spokesman for Ms San Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) later confirmed that the meeting took place, according to the AFP news agency. No further details about the talks were given. Earlier on Saturday, Mr Gambari met Burma's military leader Than Shwe, the sources say. The UN envoy arrived in Burma on Thursday and was expected to raise human rights issues and the restoration of democracy with the military regime. It is the first time in two years that the country has allowed such a visit by the UN. The NLD won a landslide election victory in 1990 but the military refused to hand over power and instead has kept Ms Suu Kyi under house arrest.

Doubts over Taleban chief seizure BBC News
Fresh doubts have been raised over claims by Afghan officials that they have captured one of the Taleban's top commanders, Mullah Dadullah. The officials told the BBC on Friday that he had been seized in the southern province of Kandahar. But a man claiming to be Mullah Dadullah later told the BBC he was still free, and not far from Kandahar. Separately, a number of soldiers have been killed in renewed fighting with insurgents in the south of the country. Insurgents ambushed a convoy of Afghan government forces in Helmand province, resulting in an unconfirmed number of casualties on both sides, including at least four Afghan soldiers. In separate fighting in the Kandahar region, two French special forces soldiers were killed and another injured. One American soldier died and six others were injured in a gun battle in Uruzgan province.

One-legged commander
Meanwhile, a man identifying himself as Mullah Dadullah has contacted a number of news agencies by satellite phone to say he was free. During his two calls to a BBC Pashto service correspondent in Pakistan, he said he was the one-legged Islamic commander who had been leading Taleban insurgents in Kandahar and Helmand provinces. The man said he would continue to attack Afghan and foreign troops in the area. The man said it was possible the authorities had mistakenly arrested one of the several thousand innocent people who had lost their limbs by stepping on a landmine during the ongoing Afghan conflict.

Evidence demands
Mullah Dadullah was a member of the Taleban's 10-man leadership council before the US-led invasion in 2001. The news of Mullah Dadullah's arrest earlier had sent a wave of excitement in Kabul, the BBC's Zaffar Abbas says. It was being treated as a huge success of the coalition forces since they launched the latest offensive against the anti-government insurgents in the south, our correspondent says. But now, he says, the Afghan authorities may have to come up with some solid evidence to convince the world that Mullah Dadullah was in their custody. There has been no official confirmation of the arrest from the Afghan government or US military.

New Orleans votes for new mayor BBC News
The people of New Orleans are voting in a mayoral poll deemed crucial to the future of the hurricane-hit city. Incumbent Ray Nagin faces fellow Democrat Mitch Landrieu in a run-off as no-one gained 50% of last month's vote. Mr Nagin won 38% against Mr Landrieu's 29% despite facing criticism from some for his handling of the crisis wrought by Hurricane Katrina last August. The winner will have the task of overseeing the reconstruction of a city still struggling to recover. More than half of the residents who fled the hurricane have not returned to the city, where many neighbourhoods are still uninhabitable.

Race issues
Both men have campaigned to rebuild New Orleans, and correspondents say the result is expected to be close. The poll has been dogged by race issues as many of the majority black community are still evacuees. The city's black mayor is thought to have alienated many white voters for saying God wanted New Orleans to become "chocolate" once more. His challenger is the lieutenant governor of Louisiana and the son of the city's last white mayor. Polls for the run-off opened at 0600 (1100 GMT) and close at 2000 (0100 Sunday GMT). A federal judge refused to postpone the first round, despite fears too many residents scattered by the disaster would be unable to vote. Some civil rights leaders have called the election unfair because of the lack of out-of-state polling centres. Rev Jesse Jackson has pledged to challenge the poll in court, regardless of the outcome.

Space shuttle moved to launch pad BBC News
Space shuttle Discovery has been moved onto its launch pad at Nasa's Cape Canaveral, in Florida, as part of preparations for a July lift off. The slow procession from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the pad took almost eight hours. The orbiter is scheduled to take off some time between 1 and 19 July. It will be only the second shuttle flight since the space shuttle Colombia disintegrated on re-entry three years ago, killing all seven astronauts. Pointing skywards, the shuttle, already attached to its orange rocket fuel tank and two solid rocket boosters, inched along its four mile (6.5km) journey atop a giant transport vehicle. Shuttle programme manager Wayne Hale has expressed confidence that Discovery will launch in July as planned and that the US space agency will be able to launch a further two shuttle flights before the end of the year. A final decision on whether to launch will be made in mid-June. Discovery had originally been expected to blast off this month, but the schedule was changed when a faulty fuel tank sensor was discovered.

Afghans continuing Dublin protest BBC News
Talks to end a hunger strike by Afghan asylum seekers in a Dublin cathedral have reached an impasse. Forty-one men began their protest at St Patrick's Cathedral last Sunday. They have vowed to starve themselves to death unless they can stay in Ireland, claiming they fear being tortured in their homeland. Church of Ireland staff had agreed a set of proposals acceptable to the protestors but these were rejected by the Department of Justice, they said. The church has now been told by the department to withdraw from all negotiations. Two of the men who were taken to hospital on Friday tried to return to the cathedral on Saturday, but were turned away by Irish police. Eight minors involved in the demonstration were made wards of court on Friday. Some of the men were said to have tied ropes around their necks and threatened to jump from the organ loft. A number have also again began to refuse water as part of their protest.

Severe dehydration
Some were hospitalised earlier this week with one reported to be critically ill, suffering from severe dehydration. The men had agreed to drink some water after a meeting with government officials was granted. "I understand there are ropes tied around their necks in a dramatic fashion. I also understand that they have knives or they certainly claim to have knives," a Church of Ireland official told the AFP news agency. Rosanna Flynn, of campaign group Residents Against Racism, claimed some of the children inside the cathedral had attempted suicide during Thursday night. The group has organised a support rally for the men at 1400 BST on Saturday. The Irish government is refusing to negotiate on the men's asylum claims. The Afghans have said they will scrap their protest if an international body reviews their applications.

Taleban denials
Supporters of the men have hung a banner on railings outside the cathedral, stating: "No-one is illegal." The men began their protest on Sunday afternoon. Irish Justice Minister Michael McDowell urged the men to stop the protest but said he would not negotiate with them. He said the men had not yet exhausted the asylum appeals process. The Afghans say they are from a mixture of ethnic and political backgrounds and have denied that any of them were Taleban members. Irish church leaders have urged the men to give up their hunger strike.

Greece eagerly awaits Eurovision BBC News
Singers from across Europe are ready to go for glory at the 51st Eurovision Song Contest final in Athens. Mancunian rapper Daz Sampson, 32, is representing the UK with his song Teenage Life. Other entries include Finland's masked metal band Lordi and Irish crooner Brian Kennedy. The UK, France, Spain and Germany are among 14 automatic qualifiers, while 10 other countries made it through via the semi-finals on Thursday. The biggest shock was the elimination of Belgian singer Kate Ryan, one of the favourites for this year's prize. The winners and losers were chosen by a public text and phone vote. The winner of the final is decided by each country giving points to their favourite entries - they cannot vote for their own entry. The UK, France, Spain and Germany go straight into the final because they contribute the most to the European Broadcasting Union, which runs the Eurovision TV network. The semi-finalists that made it through are Russia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine, Turkey, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Ireland. Hosts Greece, who won the competition last year, and nine top-scoring nations from the 2005 contest also had automatic entry to the final. They are: Croatia, Denmark, Israel, Latvia, Malta, Moldova, Norway, Romania and Switzerland. Finnish rock band Lordi's masks, armour and jets of flame have attracted widespread attention in the run-up to the event. "We'll scream louder. And turn the amps up," said lead singer Mr Lordi of his plans for the final. The UK's Darren Sampson said he was pleased to be sending out a positive message. "I rap for the family. I've had letters from parents saying isn't it great that someone raps about something positive, like doing well in school, rather than guns and crime."

UN gives Senegal Habre deadline BBC News
A UN panel has given Senegal 90 days to put former Chad President Hissene Habre on trial or send him to Belgium to face trial for alleged human rights abuses. The United Nations Committee Against Torture said Senegal had broken international human rights rules by not dealing with Mr Habre for 15 years. Last year, a Senegalese court ruled that it did not have the power to decide whether he should be extradited. Senegal then referred the case to the African Union, which is still to rule. Mr Habre is wanted in Belgium for alleged abuses committed under his rule between 1982 and 1990. Alleged victims filed complaints under Belgium's universal jurisdiction law, which allows judges in Brussels to prosecute human rights offences anywhere.

'Soap opera'
Reed Brody of the lobby group Human Rights Watch, who also acts as a lawyer for Mr Habre's alleged victims, welcomed the UN panel's decision. "This ruling means that Senegal cannot allow Hissene Habre to escape justice," he said. "The UN decision puts the law back into a case that was becoming a political soap opera." Mr Habre's administration has been accused of murdering and torturing political opponents. He denies any knowledge of atrocities. After being deposed by rebels in 1990, Mr Habre went into exile in Senegal. BBC Africa analyst Elizabeth Blunt says some of Mr Habre's alleged victims have fought a dogged campaign to get him prosecuted. In 2001, a Senegalese court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to try Mr Habre on war crimes charges. The African Union committee on the case is due to meet next Monday, and put its recommendations to the organisation's summit at the beginning of July.

Tension high over Zimbabwe demos BBC News
Tension is reported to be high in Zimbabwe after police banned rallies to mark the first anniversary of the controversial urban renewal campaign. Some 500 people gathered in the city of Bulawayo amid reports that a march was given a last-minute go-ahead. In Harare, all public rallies remain banned as the capital is holding a key parliamentary by-election. The government's campaign, during which slums were cleared, left hundreds of thousands of people homeless. The crowds gathered in Bulawayo were to attend a march and prayers, Ray Motsi of the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance (ZCA) told South Africa's Independent Online. Mr Motsi said the rally in Zimbabwe's second largest city - initially banned by police - was allowed by the country's high court on Friday. He said the march would be shorter than its organisers initially planned, adding that there was a heavy police presence in the city. The ZCA is planning to hold prayer meetings for the victims of the urban renewal campaign across the country. Under tough security laws, the police must give permission for all demonstrations, and protests by groups not allied to the governing Zanu-PF party are rarely authorised. On Thursday, police arrested about 100 people marking the anniversary of last year's slum clearance programme, in which the UN says some 700,000 people lost either their homes or their jobs.

Iraq gets new government as bombs kill 24 Yahoo! News
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to rein in violence and heal Iraq's sectarian wounds after parliament approved his national unity government on Saturday to end months of stalemate that have raised fears of civil war. Hours after bombs killed 24 people, underlining the scale of his task, Maliki said restoring stability was the top priority of a broad coalition whose formation gave Iraq its first fully sovereign government since U.S. troops overthrew Saddam Hussein. Two days short of a deadline set with Maliki's nomination a month ago, a deal struck late on Friday was backed by most sectarian and ethnic groups. It gave another week for agreement on ministers for the key interior and defense portfolios, as well as a less powerful national security minister. "We will work (to) ... preserve the unity of the Iraqi people," said Maliki, a no-nonsense Shi'ite Islamist who vowed to "close up divisions that have emerged through sectarianism." President Bush vowed that the United States would stand by Iraq's new government of national unity. "Iraqis now have a fully constitutional government, marking the end of a democratic transitional process in Iraq that has been both difficult and inspiring," Bush said in a written statement. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who like Bush has invested massive personal political capital in the now widely unpopular war to topple Saddam, said: "I'm obviously deeply relieved we've got a government. "It's been six months of agonizing wait to get one." Running briskly through a 33-point government program that highlighted security and the economy, Maliki said he would beef up Iraq's army and police so that foreign troops could "go back to their countries" on an "objective timetable." The United States, which has 130,000 troops suffering almost daily casualties in Iraq, is training Iraqi forces to take over security and allow it to send troops home. Washington has refused to publish a timetable for withdrawal.

SUNNI WALKOUT
The cabinet was approved by a show of hands, minister by minister, after a turbulent start to the parliamentary session, when more than a dozen minority Sunni leaders walked out. The main Sunni Arab leadership, which controls the bulk of the Sunnis' 50-odd seats in the 275-member chamber, held firm after the walkout by the dissidents. Washington says a Sunni presence at last in a full, sovereign government can draw Saddam Hussein's once-dominant minority away from revolt into politics. Sectarian wrangling has delayed formation of a government since an election in December. In-fighting within Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish groups, added to Maliki's difficulties. Days more arguing are likely over the interior and defense jobs, filled respectively for now by Maliki and a Sunni deputy premier. The prime minister, who fled Iraq in 1980 under sentence of death, has impressed some by the way has appeared to transform himself from a pugnacious backroom defender of Shi'ite majority interests into a consensus-building statesman within a month. But fellow negotiators question how far he will be able to impose team spirit on ministers reporting back to powerful leaders of rival parties, who sit outside the government. "Tremendous challenges still lie ahead," said U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, a prime mover behind the scenes. "The future of Iraq will set the course of the future of the greater Middle East. The future of this region will determine the future of the world over the next century." Washington has grown frustrated with Iraqi leaders' haggling over the five months since an election hailed as a final step from Saddam's dictatorship to democracy. Iraqis too, who turned out in large numbers to vote in December, have been growing impatient for a leadership that can address their massive problems -- security certainly, but also a devastated economy and poor basic public services. "No matter who rules, he must lead us to safety. The country is devastated. We hope the government can save what's left," said Jabbar Isho Gorgis, a 42-year-old photographer in Baghdad. Hundreds of people are being killed every month in Baghdad alone -- 12 bodies were found on Saturday, all bound and shot in the head -- and 100,000 or more have fled homes in fear since the bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in February. Sunni Islamists like al Qaeda's Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and other rebel groups from the minority Sunni community are waging a relentless campaign of violence. Militias tied to political parties have tens of thousands of men under arms and Iraq's oil sector is crippled after years of war, international sanctions and more recently rebel sabotage. Just hours before parliament sat in the heavily fortified Green Zone, protected by U.S. military firepower, a bomb killed at least 19 people in Baghdad's Shi'ite Sadr City slum. In the Sunni town of Qaim, near the Syrian border, a suicide bomber killed five policemen inside a police station. A further 58 people were wounded in the Baghdad blast, which was typical of al Qaeda. Baghdad and, especially, mostly Shi'ite southern Iraq have also seen violence between Shi'ite factions. The bomb targeted men gathered after dawn hoping to be hired for casual labor: "When will this end?" one teenager sobbed as he stood amid pools of blood. "Where is the government?"
By Mariam Karouny and Ahmed Rasheed

Israeli air strike kills four Palestinians in Gaza Yahoo! News
An Israeli air strike in Gaza killed four Palestinians, including a top Islamic Jihad militant, on Saturday, prompting calls of revenge by the armed group to continue targeting Israel in rocket attacks. The missile strike occurred hours after Palestinian General Intelligence chief Tareq Abu Rajab was brought to Israel to treat wounds sustained in an explosion in an elevator at his Gaza Strip headquarters. His ally President Mahmoud Abbas called the blast, which killed one of Abu Rajab's aides and wounded 10 people, an assassination bid. If confirmed as a targeted attack, it would mark the highest-profile internal assassination attempt in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and could worsen enflamed tensions between loyalists of Abbas's Fatah group and Hamas supporters. The Hamas-led government, formed after the Islamic militant group beat Fatah in a January parliamentary election and which is shunned by Washington and other world powers because of its vow to destroy Israel, said an investigation would be launched. Saturday's missile strike, which medics said also killed a boy and his mother and grandmother, was the latest such attack since April, when an Israeli air strike killed an Islamic Jihad militant after a deadly suicide bombing by the group in Israel. The militant, Mohammad al-Dahdouh, was a senior Islamic Jihad commander responsible for recent firings of advanced Russian-made rockets into Israel, a spokesman for the group and the Israeli army said. Islamic Jihad has masterminded dozens of anti-Israeli attacks since a Palestinian uprising began in 2000 and killed 11 people in the Jewish state last month in a suicide bombing. "The Zionist enemy should hurry to evacuate the settlers from (the Israeli city of) Ashkelon because our developed rockets ... will hunt them day and night," said Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Ahmed.

GAZA INTERNAL VIOLENCE
Clashes erupted in Gaza earlier between Fatah and Hamas supporters after the blast at Abu Rajab's headquarters. He was taking an elevator surrounded by a phalanx of bodyguards and aides when it exploded, apparently when a bomb planted in the lift shaft was detonated, security sources said. He was taken at Abbas's request to an Israeli hospital, where a spokeswoman said he sustained many intense injuries and was on a respirator. Palestinians have often been brought to Israel for medical treatment due to better equipment. Tensions between Hamas and Fatah have mounted since the militant group, which is sworn to Israel's destruction, won the election and flared after Hamas formed a new 3,000-member security force last month to counter officers loyal to Abbas. "Incitement will lead to an explosion and to more serious incidents," Palestinian Deputy Intelligence Chief Tawfiq Tirawi said in the West Bank city of Ramallah. "What happens in Gaza may be transferred to the West Bank at any minute." After the blast, gunmen from the rival groups clashed in a gunfight, which wounded a boy. Dozens of members of the family of Rajab's aide and Fatah supporters protested against the new Hamas force, chanting, "Fatah, Fatah!" and burning tires. Tirawi told reporters that the Hamas forces may have caused the explosion. The Palestinian Interior Ministry said it would launch an investigation into the incident, which Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called "unfortunate." Tirawi said the Hamas "militias" have recently been buying and collecting weapons and explosives. Several Palestinian officials said Hamas has been purchasing arms in the West Bank and Gaza since it won a parliamentary election in January. There was no immediate comment from Hamas. Palestinian security sources had said in recent days that they had suspected an assassination plot against Abu Rajab was in the works. Masked gunmen had shot and wounded one of the intelligence chief's bodyguards on Sunday. Hamas was accused of being behind a 2004 assassination attempt against Abu Rajab in which he was shot by unidentified gunmen. Hamas has denied responsibility.
By Nidal al-Mughrabi

New Orleans chooses mayor for huge recovery task Yahoo! News
New Orleanians voted on Saturday to choose a mayor to lead the battered city's recovery through the next hurricane season and beyond after one of America's most closely watched civic-election campaigns. Incumbent Ray Nagin, New Orleans' face to the world since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city last year, hopes residents and evacuees stick with his vision for rebuilding over that of his rival, Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu. Analysts have predicted a close race and high voter turnout. Much rides on the outcome with the storm season less than two weeks away, the state of the levees in question, many neighborhoods still uninhabitable and more than half the pre-storm population of 470,000 scattered across the country. Hundreds of residents displaced in Texas, Georgia and elsewhere arrived in buses hired by the rights groups including the Industrial Areas Foundation's Katrina Survivors Network and Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Landrieu, son of New Orleans' last white mayor, has admitted many of his policies are similar to those of the outspoken Nagin, an African American. But he said he was better at bringing together diverse interests, a skill needed to hasten the plodding recovery from the August 29 storm that killed more than 1,500 people in Louisiana alone. Voters complained about the scant differences in the platforms of Nagin and Landrieu, both Democrats who emerged as first- and second-place finishers in the April primary out of a field of 22 candidates. Guest-house owner Scott Graves called them "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. The only real difference I see is Landrieu has better rapport with the state and federal level than Nagin does, but I don't know if that amounts to a hill of beans," said Graves, 61, who intends to vote for the challenger. Nagin is a former cable television executive who drew attention for his forceful pleas on behalf of the city in Katrina's immediate aftermath, but was also criticized for a halting management of the emergency. He won 38 percent of the April vote, and garnered the most support from the black community. He said he expects that blacks and conservatives who like his businesslike approach will support him, although some analysts have predicted Landrieu will get the white conservative vote. Analysts have said the city's changed racial makeup since Katrina could give the edge to Landrieu. The storm displaced as much as half the historic city's black community, leaving white voters with more political clout than before the hurricane. The polls close at 8 p.m. (0100 GMT).

NEW AND OLD PROBLEMS
Joseph Polk, a carpenter who rescued fellow citizens from the floods, said he supported Nagin because he was the only candidate who laid out a new evacuation plan. "That was very, very important and it was needed from Day 1 to be ready for a storm, Category 5 or 3, because the levees still are not ready," said Polk, 52. Nine months after Katrina, New Orleans is struggling with storm-related problems like a housing shortage and failure to remove mounds of debris and junked cars from boulevards, as well as old ones, like a rising violent crime rate. Unlike the weeks before the April 22 primary, candidates did not campaign in other cities with large populations of displaced voters, like Houston and Atlanta. Still, absentee and early voting was brisk, with more than 24,000 people casting ballots at satellite polls throughout Louisiana and by mail, according to state figures.
By Jeffrey Jones

Nagin Wins Re-Election as Big Easy Mayor ABC News
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin Narrowly Re-Elected, Will Oversee Massive Katrina Rebuilding Project. Mayor Ray Nagin, whose shoot-from-the-hip style was both praised and scorned after Hurricane Katrina, narrowly won re-election over Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu on Saturday in the race to oversee one of the biggest rebuilding projects in U.S. history.


"We are ready to take off. We have citizens around the country who want to come back to the city of New Orleans, and we're going to get them all back," Nagin said in a joyful victory speech that took on the tone of Sunday sermon. "It's time for us to stop the bickering," he said. "It's time for us to stop measuring things in black and white and yellow and Asian. It's time for us to be one New Orleans." Nagin won with 52.3 percent, or 59,460 votes, to Landrieu's 47.7 percent, or 54,131 votes. While the vote was split largely along racial lines, Nagin was able to get enough of a crossover in predominantly white districts to make the difference. He also won a slim majority of absentee and fax votes cast by evacuees scattered across the country. Nagin, a former cable television executive first elected to public office in 2002, had argued the city could ill-afford to change course just as rebuilding gathered steam. His second term begins a day before the June 1 start of the next hurricane season in a city where streets are still strewn with rusting, mud-covered cars and entire neighborhoods consist of homes that are empty shells. With little disagreement on the major issues the right of residents to rebuild in all areas and the urgent need for federal aid for recovery and top-notch levees the race turned on leadership styles. Nagin, a janitor's son from a black, working-class neighborhood, is known for his improvisational, some say impulsive, rhetoric. After Katrina plunged his city into chaos, Nagin was both scorned and praised for a tearful plea for the federal government to "get off their (behinds) and do something" and his now-famous remark that God intended New Orleans to be a "chocolate" city. In his victory speech, Nagin promised his cheering supporters, "You're not going to get a typical Ray Nagin speech. I'm not going to get into trouble tonight, trust me." He reached out to President Bush, thanking him for keeping his commitment to bring billions of dollars for levees, housing and incentives to the city.

And as for Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, with whom he feuded as his city descended into chaos, Nagin thanked her "for what she's getting ready to do." "It's time for a real partnership," he said. "It's time for us to get together and rebuild this city." Nagin's speech capped a night of jubiliation that began building as it became evident that he would win. Frequent cheers went up from Nagin supporters watching vote tallies come in. A jazz band played at his election night headquarters on the same Canal Street block where emergency responders and journalists took refuge when the city was covered in water last fall. Landrieu, who served 16 years in the state House before being elected to his current post of lieutenant governor two years ago, had touted his polished political skills and his ability to bring people together. He's the scion of a political dynasty known as Louisiana's version of the Kennedys the brother of Sen. Mary Landrieu and son of New Orleans' last white mayor, Moon Landrieu, who left office in 1978. In conceding the race, Landrieu echoed the theme of his campaign a call for unity. "One thing is for sure that we as a people have got to come together so we can speak with one voice and one purpose," he said. "Join with me in supporting Mayor Nagin." Fewer than half of New Orleans' 455,000 pre-Katrina residents are living in the city, and a large number of blacks scattered by the storm have yet to return. Evacuees arrived by bus from as far as Atlanta and Houston to vote. More than 25,000 ballots were cast early by mail or fax or at satellite polling places set up around Louisiana earlier in the month 5,000 more than were cast early in the primary. Turnout appeared to be on-par with the April 22 primary, when about 37 percent of eligible voters cast ballots. Nagin, who had widespread support from white voters four years ago, lost much of that support in the primary but got a much stronger showing this time.

Voter Elliot Pernell was philosophical about his vote for the incumbent. "He's been through the experience already," he said, "and won't make the same mistakes." Among the first to vote was 61-year-old Alice Howard, who was rescued after three days on her roof following Katrina and evacuated to Houston. "I want the city to come back," she said. "This is my city. This is home to me. … I want to make sure the correct person takes care of home." AP reporters Brett Martel, Kevin McGill and Hank Ackerman contributed to this report.
By MICHELLE ROBERTS.
New Orleans narrowly gives Nagin 2nd term Metro Toronto
Nagin wins nail-biting New Orleans election CNN
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Katrina death toll increases by 281 Taipei Times
The death toll from last year's Hurricane Katrina jumped by 281 after authorities updated their tally of people who died of causes related to the disaster. With the new count, the number of deaths blamed on Katrina among people from Louisiana, the hardest-hit state, rises to 1,577, state health authorities said on Friday. Some 170 others died in neighboring Mississippi. All of the newly counted victims were Louisianans who fled to other states after the August 29 storm and whose deaths were blamed on their displacement. Most were elderly people who authorities ruled would still be alive had their lives not been disrupted. Most of the newly reported deaths -- 223 -- come from Texas, which received the majority of Katrina evacuees, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals said in its statement. Katrina devastated the US Gulf Coast and flooded New Orleans, trapping hundreds of residents in their homes and scattering those who got out across the country. In all, Louisiana has attributed 480 out-of-state deaths to Katrina. The state has asked the rest of the nation to tally Katrina-related deaths, but 18 states have yet to file reports, the Times-Picayune newspaper said. Meanwhile, voters still living outside of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina were deciding yesterday whether to re-elect Mayor Ray Nagin or turn him out in favor of Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu. The winner of the too-close-to-call race will start his new four-year term just one day before hurricane season begins on June 1. Heading into election day, both candidates said they felt good about their chances but neither would predict the outcome. "It's hard to know. It's that close," said Landrieu, who would become the city's first white mayor in 28 years if elected. Nagin predicted black voters and conservative white voters, many of whom supported him in 2002 but defected to other candidates in the April primary, would come together to support him. "We're going to have a coalition of African-American voters and conservative voters that will blow people's minds," he said on Friday. Fewer than half of New Orleans' 465,000 pre-Katrina residents have returned to the city, which remains marred by hollowed out homes and debris nine months after the storm struck and flood walls broke. Evacuees were being bused from as far as Atlanta and Houston to vote, and many were expected to drive in to cast ballots in an election that will help determine the course of one of the largest reconstruction projects in US history. More than 24,000 ballots were cast early by mail or fax or at satellite polling places set up around Louisiana earlier in the month. The candidates, both Democrats, largely agree on issues, including the right of residents to return to all neighborhoods, even those far below sea level, and the urgent need for federal aid to speed rebuilding. As a result, much of the debate has centered on leadership style, with Nagin, a 49-year-old former business executive trying to cast himself as the man willing to make tough decisions and stand up to federal officials when necessary. His maverick, everyman style has won him fans since he was first elected in 2002 but also has opened him to criticism that he is a loose cannon. Landrieu, who argues the city lost its credibility nationally and internationally because of its response to Katrina, says his experience bringing people together will be needed to move New Orleans forward. A career politician and member of a prominent political family, the 45-year-old says his ability to bridge disparate groups will give New Orleans a chance to remake itself into a better city than it was before the storm.
Nagin wins nail-biting New Orleans election CNN
Landrieu, Nagin Neck and Neck in Big Easy Forbes
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