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	Survivors pulled from rubble of China quake BEICHUAN, China — Rescuers pulled survivors from the rubble Friday who had been buried for four days as a strong aftershock sparked landslides near the epicenter of this week’s powerful earthquake. The first foreign rescue workers since Monday’s magnitude 7.9 temblor were allowed to the scene, and helicopters dropped leaflets urging people to ‘‘unite together’’ and providing survival tips. Officials have said the quake’s final toll could reach 50,000. A day past what experts call the critical three-day window for finding survivors, rescuers pulled a nurse to safety who had been trapped for 96 hours in the ... Read Article »
	Zimbabwe presidential election set for June 27 HARARE, Zimbabwe — An election runoff between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will be held June 27, the electoral commission said in an announcement published Friday. The opposition, which wanted a May 23 runoff, said the election date had been extended illegally, but agreed to participate. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission moved the deadline for holding the runoff to 90 days — beyond the legally required 21 days. ‘‘This is a regime which operates not on the basis of the law, but operates on the basis of impunity from the law. So they are ... Read Article »
	Spokesman: Gunfire hits Iranian convoy in Baghdad BAGHDAD — An Iranian Embassy convoy came under fire in Baghdad, wounding two Iranian diplomats and two other staff, a spokesman said Friday. Tehran accused the United States of encouraging attacks against Iranian interests in Iraq. The U.S. military said Americans were ‘‘in no way involved in this attack’’ and said that it ‘‘condemns any attack on guests or visitors of any country.’’ It was not clear who shot at the convoy. An Iraqi Interior Ministry official said Iraqi soldiers exchanged fire with guards in an argument that broke out when members of the convoy failed to ... Read Article »
	Suicide attacker targets police bus in Sri Lankan capital; 10 killed, 85 wounded COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A suicide bomber on a motorcycle rammed into a bus carrying riot police in Sri Lanka’s capital Friday, killing 10 people, including eight policemen, and wounding 85 others. The blast came hours after air force fighter jets bombed a Tamil Tiger rebel base in the northern jungles, where 27 guerrillas and two government soldiers were killed in heavy fighting Thursday, according to the military. Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara, blaming the separatist guerrillas, said a suicide bomber on a motorcycle triggered the blast as he slammed into a bus carrying policemen on a ... Read Article »
	Pakistan protests suspected US missile strike on border village ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s army lodged a formal protest Friday to ‘‘allied forces’’ in neighboring Afghanistan over a suspected U.S. missile strike this week that killed 14 people in a Pakistani border village. Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said Pakistan concluded that Wednesday’s attack on a house in Damadola village was launched by drones from Afghanistan. Abbas said a formal protest was lodged Friday with ‘‘allied forces’’ in Afghanistan, an apparent reference to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force that is fighting the Taliban-led insurgency there. The U.S. is among the nations contributing to ISAF. ... Read Article »
	Saudis see no reason to raise oil production now RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabian leaders made clear Friday they see no reason to increase oil production until their customers demand it, apparently rebuffing President Bush amid soaring U.S. gasoline prices. During Bush’s second personal appeal this year to King Abdullah, Saudi officials stuck to their position that they are already meeting demand, the president’s national security adviser told reporters. ‘‘What they’re saying to us is ... Saudi Arabia does not have customers that are making requests for oil that they are not able to satisfy,’’ Stephen Hadley said on a day when oil prices topped ... Read Article »
	Myanmar cyclone death toll nearly 78,000 YANGON, Myanmar — The official death toll from Cyclone Nargis has nearly doubled to almost 78,000 and another 56,000 people remain missing two weeks after the devastating storm, state television reported Friday. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned the toll will increase dramatically unless Myanmar’s military government allows more aid into the country to help victims facing the risk of disease. France’s U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said that refusing to allow aid to be delivered to people in need or in danger ‘‘could lead to a true crime against humanity.’’ The United Nations has said that severe ... Read Article »
	Hezbollah shows might in Lebanon, but faces limits BEIRUT, Lebanon — Hezbollah has proven it can force Lebanon’s U.S.-backed government to cave in on key issues. But the Shiite militant group’s power is not absolute — the government is still in place and Hezbollah has lost support among the people by turning its guns on them. The power shift resulted from a week of street battles during which Hezbollah’s gunmen and Shiite allies defeated Sunni groups backing the government and seized much of Muslim west Beirut. At least 65 people were killed before the Cabinet gave in Wednesday and rescinded two anti-Hezbollah acts. Those measures ... Read Article »
	Interpol says Colombia did not tamper with files on seized rebel computers BOGOTA, Colombia — Interpol said Thursday it found no evidence of tampering in computers Colombia says it seized from a slain leftist rebel. The finding discredits Venezuelan assertions that the files are bogus and gives Colombia the international backing it sought. The forensic study by the France-based international police agency will increase pressure on Venezuela’s socialist president, Hugo Chavez, to explain documents indicating his government was financing and arming the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Colombia said its commandos recovered the three Toshiba Satellite laptop computers, two external hard drives and three USB memory sticks after destroying ... Read Article »
	Iraqi forces hunt door-to-door for Mosul militants BAGHDAD — Government troops began house-to-house searches for al-Qaida in Iraq militants in Mosul on Thursday, part of a major security operation to cleanse Iraq’s third largest city from cells of the terror network. Described by the U.S. military as the last major urban base of al-Qaida in Iraq, Mosul has become the site of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s third security drive in two months as he attempts to defeat Shiite militants and Sunni extremists. Al-Maliki flew to Mosul on Wednesday to take charge of the operation by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces. On Thursday, he sought to enlist ... Read Article »
	Dalai Lama criticizes Chinese suppression, stresses Tibet’s need for autonomy FRANKFURT, Germany — The Dalai Lama criticized China’s suppression of unrest in Tibet and insisted Thursday that the region — with its diverse heritage and rich traditions — wants to live in peace with Beijing under genuine autonomy. ‘‘We are not seeking independence,’’ the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said at the start of a five-day visit to Germany. ‘‘Since we have a multicultural heritage and rich Buddhist tradition, we need genuine autonomy.’’ But he criticized China’s approach toward unrest in Tibet and its sympathizers elsewhere in the country. ‘‘Demonstrations are happening in Tibet and China and ... Read Article »
	Bush envisions a democratic Middle East free of oppression JERUSALEM — President Bush feted Israel on Thursday in honor of the 60th anniversary of its founding and predicted that its 120th birthday would find it alongside a Palestinian state and in an all-democratic neighborhood free of today’s oppression, restrictions on freedom and extremist Muslim movements. Delivering this rosy forecast for the Middle East in 2068 during a speech to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, Bush limited his mention of Palestinians to just one sentence. ‘‘The Palestinian people will have the homeland they have long dreamed of and deserved, a democratic state that is governed by law, and ... Read Article »
	China quake death toll could rise to 50,000 LUOSHUI TOWN, China — China warned the death toll from this week’s earthquake could soar to 50,000, while the government issued a public appeal Thursday for rescue equipment as it struggled to cope with the disaster. More than 72 hours after the quake rattled central China, rescuers appeared to shift from poring through downed buildings for survivors to the grim duty of searching for bodies — with 10 million directly affected by Monday’s temblor. At least 12,300 people remained buried and another 102,100 were injured in Sichuan province, where the quake was centered, the vice governor told ... Read Article »
	Top Taliban leader vows revenge on America KHAR, Pakistan — A top Taliban leader vowed Thursday to target the U.S. after an alleged missile strike killed several people in northwest Pakistan, a threat that could undermine the new government’s efforts to negotiate peace deals with militants. Blasts destroyed a compound Wednesday in Damadola village, a militant stronghold in the Bajur tribal region near the Afghanistan border. A similar attack in 2006 reportedly missed al-Qaida’s No. 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahri. The governor of the turbulent North West Frontier Province condemned the incident as an ‘‘attack on the sovereignty of Pakistan’’ that would hamper the country’s ... Read Article »
	Local heroes step in to help cyclone victims YANGON, Myanmar — From shopkeepers handing out free rice porridge to medical students caring for the sick, ordinary people in Myanmar are stepping in to help cyclone victims as the military regime severely restricts international aid. Taxi drivers, factory owners, college students, teachers and other Yangon residents — many of whom lost their own homes — are among those organizing grueling trips into the Irrawaddy delta, the hardest-hit region. ‘‘They are true humanitarian heroes,’’ said Bridget Gardner, International Red Cross representative in Myanmar, after touring an area where volunteers were giving first aid to the injured. ... Read Article »