News Bulletin

ANKARA - Turkish ground troops crossed into northern Iraq in
their hunt for Kurdish PKK rebels, the military said on Friday,
describing the start of a campaign one report said could last 15
days.
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TEHRAN - A U.N. nuclear watchdog report on Iran's disputed
atomic programme shows Tehran's activities are peaceful and it
is a victory for the Islamic Republic, its chief nuclear
negotiator said on Friday.
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BELGRADE - The European Union told Serbia on Friday to
protect embassies after attacks over Western support for
Kosovo's secession, and suggested such violence could harm its
prospects of closer ties with the bloc.
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BAGHDAD - Powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr extended
his Mehdi Army militia ceasefire by six months on Friday, a
decision U.S. officials said would help foster reconciliation
among Iraq's divided communities.
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ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's opposition election winners were
trying to forge a coalition on Friday, raising the prospect of a
government intent on forcing U.S. ally President Pervez
Musharraf from power.
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BEIRUT - Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed on
Friday to avenge the assassination of his senior commander Imad
Moughniyah and threatened to deal Israel a crushing blow if it
attacked Lebanon again.
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AUSTIN, Texas - Was it a pivotal moment that could change
the campaign, or the swan song of a candidate who may be nearing
the end of her U.S. presidential bid?
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BARINAS, Venezuela - A Venezuelan passenger plane slammed
into the sheer face of an Andean mountainside shortly after
takeoff from a tourist city and all 46 people on board were
killed, officials said on Friday.
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HAVANA - Fidel Castro steps down as Cuba's head of state on
Sunday after 49 years at the helm, but at least for the coming
months is likely to retain influence over all aspects of Cuban
life as head of the ruling Cuban Communist Party.
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NAIROBI - Negotiators for Kenya's political rivals broke off
talks on the post-election crisis for the weekend on Friday
despite growing local and international calls for a quick deal.