World

Police expected to be able to question a radical Indonesian Muslim cleric within "two or three days" about the terrorist bombings on Bali that killed more than 180 people earlier this month. Abu Bakar Bashir, the leader of the Jemaah Islamiah group, was receiving treatment in a heavily guarded hospital (while his students protested outside, above) after his arrest Saturday. The group, which seeks a pan-Asian Islamic state, is suspected of having ties to Al Qaeda. Meanwhile, two of Indonesia's largest Islamic movements announced support of a tough new anti- terrorism campaign by the government, saying "so-called radicals" need not worry if they've done nothing wrong.

Another terrorist bomb exploded in the southern Philippines city of Zamboanga, killing a soldier and wounding at least 17 other people. The bomb was left outside a Roman Catholic shrine. The blast was the second in the city in four days. Yet another explosion aboard a bus in the capital, Manila, killed three people and injured 20 more Friday. No blame has been fixed for any of the recent attacks, although suspicion has fallen on Muslim rebels.

For the first time in his 23 years in power, Saddam Hussein pardoned all of Iraq's political prisoners and most others convicted of felonies. His government said the move was in celebration of his 100 percent vote in last week's uncontested referendum on a new seven-year term. But analysts saw it as another move to rally Iraqis against possible US efforts to topple his dictatorship.

The "yes" vote appeared to be overwhelming in Ireland for the planned expansion of the European Union eastward to the Russian border. Based on more than half of the vote-count, 63 percent of those participating in Sunday's referendum indicated their approval to include eight former communist-bloc states in the EU by 2004. A year ago in a similar referendum, Irish voters opposed expansion by a 54-to-46 percent margin.

Leftist rebels were blamed for the murders of a mayor and three others as they drove to inspect a construction project in southern Colombia, bringing to nine the number of such officials assassinated so far this year. Dozens of other mayors have quit under death threats from the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Colombia's largest communist guerrilla organization. Meanwhile, the casualty count in Medellin rose to 14 dead and 25 injured in less than a week after a bomb exploded in a crowded gymnasium Saturday. President Alvaro Uribe has ordered police and Army troops to retake a poor area of the city that has been a rebel stronghold.