RUSSIA TRAIN CRASH: Officials in Russia say a train crash that killed at least 25 people late Friday may have resulted from an attack.
A health ministry official said earlier that 39 people were killed in
the crash, but authorities said Saturday the official was given the
wrong information.
Rescue workers sifted through the wreckage near the town of Bologoye
Saturday to search for 19 people still missing, saying the death toll
is likely to rise. Investigators are looking for clues into what caused
the deadly incident on the high-speed luxury train.
Russian news agencies report a small crater was found at the site of the wreck. Witnesses said they heard an explosion.
BANGLADESH - FERRY: A Bangladeshi ferry carrying more than 1,000 passengers sank late
Friday, leaving at least 30 people dead and some 45 others missing.
Local authorities say the incident occurred on the Tetulia River (near the town of Lalmohan)
on Bhola island, some 150 kilometers south of the capital, Dhaka. They
say many of the passengers were going home for the Muslim holiday Eid
al-Adha.
Officials say the vessel tipped over when passengers were disembarking
at a ferry terminal. Rescuers rushed to the scene to search for people
trapped in cabins on lower levels.
Fatal ferry accidents are common in Bangladesh.
MUSLIMS - HAJJ: Muslims around the world are celebrating the festival of Eid al-Adha,
including more than two million pilgrims taking part in annual Hajj
rituals in Saudi Arabia.
Pilgrims in the Saudi holy city of Mecca threw stones at three pillars
representing Satan, a ritual that began Friday and continues until
Sunday. No major incidents were reported Friday, the third day of the
pilgrimage.
But on Saturday, Saudi authorities reported that a 70-year old
Pakistani man taking part in the Hajj had died of the H1N1 swine flu
virus. He is the fifth pilgrim to die of swine flu since the days
leading up to the pilgrimage.
IRAN - NUCLEAR: A senior Iranian cleric says Iran will produce its own enriched uranium
for a research reactor in Tehran if the U.N. nuclear agency refuses to
supply the fuel.
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said Saturday Iran believes it has a right to
fuel the reactor with or without the help of the International Atomic
Energy Agency.
The cleric also strongly criticized the IAEA for passing a resolution
Friday censuring Iran for defying international demands to freeze
uranium enrichment. He said the IAEA had discredited itself by issuing
a resolution he described as "political rather than technical."
AFGHANISTAN: Security officials in the Afghan capital, Kabul, say a loud explosion has rocked the city's center.
Officials said a bomb in a trash can exploded Saturday causing little
damage and no injuries. They called the explosive device a "sound bomb"
and said it was intended to alarm people rather than injure them.
The blast hit a day after Afghan President Hamid Karzai again called on
the Taliban and other extremist groups to disarm and help rebuild the
war-torn country.
HONDURAS: Costa Rican President Oscar Arias is urging regional leaders to welcome
Sunday's presidential elections in Honduras as a way out of the
political crisis surrounding President Manuel Zelaya's ouster in a coup.
President Arias said in an interview broadcast Friday on CNN that the
world should not punish the next Honduran government for the coup. He
was quoted as saying if everything goes well during the election, the
large majority of countries must recognize the results.
Mr. Arias was a chief mediator in largely unsuccessful negotiations to
restore Mr. Zelaya to power, following Mr. Zelaya's removal from office
June 28.
VENEZUELA - PALESTINIANS: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has agreed to upgrade relations with
the Palestinian Authority in support of its quest for an independent
Palestinian state.
Mr. Chavez hosted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Caracas Friday
and promised to open a Venezuelan embassy in the West Bank, where Mr.
Abbas' government is based.
The Venezuelan president - a harsh critic of Israel - praised the
Palestinians for what he called their struggle against a "genocidal
state of Israel" that seeks to "exterminate" their people.
Listen to our World News for details.
