PERSIAN GULF

SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 60 AT IRAQI POLICE RECRUITMENT CENTER

A suicide attacker slipped into line at a police recruitment center in this usually tranquil northern Kurdish city and blew himself up yesterday, leaving the streets slick with blood in the deadliest insurgent attack in more than two months, police said. Sixty Iraqis were killed and 150 wounded. The explosion, part of an escalation of violence aimed at destabilizing the country’s new democratic government, left pieces of flesh spattered on the outside walls. Nails and shards of metal were packed in with the explosives to maximize casualties. A Sunni militant group, Ansar al-Sunnah Army, claimed responsibility, saying the attack was revenge for Kurdish cooperation with American forces.

– Associated Press

AUTHORITIES CANNOT ACCOUNT FOR $100M IN RECONSTRUCTION FUNDS

American civilian authorities in Iraq cannot properly account for nearly $100 million that was supposed to have been spent on reconstruction projects in south-central Iraq, government investigators said yesterday.

There are indications of fraud in the use of the $96.6 million, according to a report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. A separate investigation of possible wrongdoing continues. More than $7 million of the total is unaccounted for, the report said. An additional $89.4 million in payments do not have the required supporting documents. The report accused civilian contract managers of “simply washing accounts” to try to make the books balance. Staffing shortages and the quick turnover of those responsible for the cash contributed to the problems, the report said.

– Associated Press

WESTERN EUROPE

ITALY SEEN HAVING LITTLE CHANCE OF PROSECUTING U.S. SOLDIERS

Italian prosecutors stand little chance of bringing American soldiers to trial for killing an Italian agent in Iraq, despite the insistence by investigators here that the Americans should be held responsible, a leading Italian military prosecutor said yesterday. Also yesterday, President Bush called the Italian premier, Silvio Berlusconi, to reiterate his regret about the March 4 shooting death of Nicola Calipari. Mr. Berlusconi’s office described the conversation as “long and cordial.”

– Associated Press

SOUTH AMERICA

COLOMBIA DETAINS TWO U.S. SOLDIERS IN SMUGGLING PLOT

Colombian police have detained two American Army soldiers near a huge military base southwest of the capital in an alleged arms smuggling plot, Colombian and American officials said yesterday. The soldiers, whose identities or ranks were not disclosed, were arrested during a raid Tuesday on a house in Carmen de Apicala, located southwest of the capital and near Colombia’s sprawling Tolemaida air base, where American soldiers have been stationed. A U.S. Embassy spokesman confirmed the arrests and said the embassy “is working to ascertain the facts surrounding the case.” He refused to provide details.

– Associated Press

NORTH AFRICA

MEMBERS OF MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD PROTEST IN EGYPT

Thousands of supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest Islamic group, protested across the country yesterday for political reform. Dozens were arrested. In Cairo, more than 2,500 demonstrated in front of a downtown mosque, waving copies of the Koran and chanting, “Reform is a religious necessity, reform is the Prophet’s way.” Police, in riot gear, surrounded the al-Fateh mosque, while protesters remained in the mosque compound during the two-hour demonstration.

– Associated Press

MIDDLE EAST

LEBANESE COMMANDER PREPARES TO RETURN

Lebanon Fourteen years after the former Lebanese army commander Michel Aoun was whisked out of the country into exile, his army overrun by Syrian forces, the judiciary began clearing him yesterday of criminal charges as he prepared to return as a triumphant politician. Opposition demonstrators, meanwhile, demanded freedom for another Christian leader, Samir Geagea. His imprisonment and Mr. Aoun’s exile long have been open wounds for Lebanon’s Christians. With the Syrian army’s withdrawal and Damascus’s grip on Lebanon fast disappearing, Mr. Aoun plans to return Saturday and will be one of the most powerful figures in the country’s anti-Syrian opposition.

– Associated Press

OCEANIA

VIETNAM PRIME MINISTER TO VISIT U.S. FOR FIRST TIME SINCE END OF WAR

Vietnam’s prime minister said on Thursday he plans to visit the United States next month, a visit that would make him the first Vietnamese leader to travel to the United States since the end of the war between the two countries 30 years ago. Prime Minister Phan Van Khai said arrangements were being made for him to visit Washington in June.

– Associated Press