Iraqi Police Say Female Suicide Bomber Kills Four

IRAQ: Iraqi authorities say a female suicide bomber blew herself up outside the home of a local tribal leader in Diyala province, killing him and three others. Police say the bomber detonated her vest as Sheikh Ghadban al-Karkhi came out of his house to meet her. One of his family members and two guards also were killed in the attack in the town of Kanaan, southeast of the provincial capital of Baquba. Al-Qaida has increasingly used women suicide bombers to carry out attacks in Iraq. On Sunday, the U.S. military said a recent series of deadly bombings in Iraq does not signal a trend toward rising violence in the country. U.S. military spokesman (Rear Admiral) Gregory Smith said in Baghdad Sunday that recent attacks should be compared with the situation a year ago.

US-POLAND: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will meet with President Bush today (Monday) in Washington to discuss U.S. plans to build a missile defense system in Poland. Officials in Warsaw have expressed readiness to host 10 interceptors as part of a global missile defense shield, but they have made modernizing Poland's military a condition for installing the rockets. Polish negotiators have asked for short- to medium-range air defenses and have identified 17 areas within the military the U.S. can help upgrade.

SPAIN ELECTION: Spain's Socialists have won Sunday's general election ensuring a second four-year term for Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The Socialists triumphed with 169 of the 350 seats in the Chamber of Deputies - Spain's lower house of parliament. That is just seven seats short of an outright majority and means Mr. Zapatero will have to forge alliances in order to pass key legislation. The conservative Popular Party, led by former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, won 153 seats.

MALAYSIA: Malaysia's prime minister has been sworn in for a second five-year term. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi read the oath of office today (Monday) in King Mizan Zainal Abidin's palace in Kuala Lumpur. The prime minister's spokesman said Sunday that Mr. Abdullah had no plans to resign, despite his ruling coalition's election disappointment on Saturday. The spokesman said Mr. Abdullah is receiving support from coalition leaders. After the election, Mr. Abdullah's National Front coalition controls less than two-thirds of Parliament -- the level needed to amend the constitution -- for the first time since 1969.

BURMA-UN: Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi met for a second time in three days today (Monday) with visiting U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the U.N. diplomat talked for nearly an hour. Details of their talks have not been released. Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest, also spoke with Gambari on Saturday. Gambari was also to meet again with Information Minister Kyaw Hsan before leaving Burma later in the day.

Audio in Lao.