EASTERN EUROPE

RUSSIA SAYS IT HAS UNCOVERED BRITISH SPYING ACTIVITY

MOSCOW – Russia’s main intelligence agency yesterday accused four British diplomats of spying as well as funneling funds to non-governmental organizations. The announcement came a day after state television channel Rossiya broadcast footage purportedly showing four British Embassy staff using electronic equipment concealed in the rock in Moscow to receive intelligence from Russian agents.

– Associated Press

TRAIN CRASH KILLS AT LEAST 39

BIOCE, Serbia-Montenegro – A passenger train derailed yesterday and plunged into a river canyon outside the Montenegrin capital, killing at least 39 people, the government said. More than 135 people were injured in the crash, among the deadliest European train accidents of the past quarter-century. Interior Minister Jusuf Kalomperovic said initial reports indicated the train’s brakes may have failed.

– Associated Press

AZERBAIJAN SUPPLIES GAS TO GEORGIA FOLLOWING BLASTS ON PIPELINES

TBILISI, Georgia – Georgia has begun receiving natural gas from Azerbaijan following explosions on pipelines in southern Russia that cut off delivery of gas to Georgia and its neighbor Armenia. Georgian leaders insist the blasts were part of a Russian policy to punish Tbilisi for its attempts to distance itself from Moscow. Russia has denied responsibility for the explosions.

– Associated Press

PERSIAN GULF

GUNMEN KILL THREE IN SUNNI NEIGHBORHOOD; SEVEN U.S. TROOPS KILLED

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Gunmen wearing uniforms of a Shiite-led security force swept into a Sunni Arab neighborhood in central Baghdad before dawn yesterday, killing three men and speeding away with more than 20 others, police and witnesses said.

Meanwhile, the American military said seven more American troops had been killed – a soldier in a roadside bombing in Baghdad yesterday, two Air Force members in a blast near Taji north of the capital late Sunday, and four soldiers in a roadside bombing near the northern town of Hawijah on Friday. There was no word on the fate of kidnapped American journalist Jill Carroll.

– Associated Press

KUWAIT’S AILING EMIR AGREES TO ABDICATE

KUWAIT CITY – Kuwait’s ailing emir has agreed to abdicate under a deal worked out within the ruling family – paving the way for the prime minister and de facto ruler to take the reins of power.

– Associated Press

WESTERN EUROPE

INVESTIGATOR ON SECRET CIA ACTIVITIES TO FOCUS ON SECRET FLIGHTS

STRASBOURG, France – The CIA conducted illegal activities when it detained and transported terrorist suspects in Europe, according to a report to be released today by the head of a European investigation into alleged CIA secret prisons. Dick Marty said that his interim report will focus on reported cases of America sending suspected terrorists to countries where they would be likely to face torture. – Associated Press

EAST AFRICA

BUILDING COLLAPSE KILLS AT LEAST 11

NAIROBI, Kenya – Construction workers had just finished lunch and many were napping when the five-story building began to sway, then quickly collapsed, killing at least 11 and injuring dozens, survivors and officials said. More than 280 construction workers were inside when the unfinished structure in central Nairobi came down, but officials said it was unclear how many were still caught in the rubble.

– Associated Press

NORTH AMERICA

CANADIAN OFFICIALS CONFIRM CASE OF MAD COW DISEASE

TORONTO – A cow from an Alberta farm has tested positive for mad cow disease, officials said yesterday, raising fears for a beef industry still struggling to recover from a American decision in 2003 to ban cattle imports.

– Associated Press

SOUTH AMERICA

CHAVEZ HOSTS WORLD SOCIAL FORUM

CARACAS, Venezuela – President Chavez is bringing together tens of thousands of activists from across the world today to promote Latin America’s fast-growing anti-globalization movement. More than 60,000 had signed up for this week’s World Social Forum in Caracas as of yesterday, organizers said.

– Associated Press