World
Prime Minister-elect José Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain said he expected "cordial" relations with the US following his Socialist Party's dramatic victory at the polls Sunday. But he also accused President Bush of "organizing a war [in Iraq] with lies" and vowed to fulfill a campaign pledge to bring home Spain's 1,300 troops sent to Iraq by his predecessor, José Maria Aznar. Meanwhile, reports said a suspect arrested after last week's train bombings in Madrid had close ties to a jailed Muslim Al Qaeda member accused of helping to plot the 2001 terrorist attacks in the US.
A manhunt was under way in Karachi, Pakistan, for at least one person seen leaving a parked van carrying hundreds of pounds of liquid explosive apparently intended to destroy the US consulate. Police said they "have some leads" and arrests in the case were expected. Demolition experts moved the van to a safe site and rendered the bomb harmless. A terrorist bombing outside the consulate two years ago killed 12 people and hurt 45 others.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon canceled the first scheduled meeting with his Palestinian Authority counterpart, and two suspected Hamas weapons workshops in the Gaza Strip were destroyed by rocket fire in retaliation for Sunday's terrorist bombings. The Eretz border crossing between Gaza and Israel also was closed, and Israeli officials vowed to intensify the targeted killings of Palestinian radicals "from the top down.
Saying, "I have worked hard ... and people must have felt it," Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected criticism that his reelection Sunday was tainted. Putin took 71 percent of the ballots cast, elections officials said. Western observers, human rights groups, and political opponents complained that his challengers had been denied fair access to the news media and reported seeing cases of authorities "abusing their powers to manipulate the vote."
US marines in Haiti's capital reported their first casualty - an arm wound - apparently after an embittered supporter of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide fired on a patrol from ambush. Aristide was due back in the region for a reunion with his children, but he evaded questions about trying to return to power. Reports said he planned to stay "several weeks" in Jamaica, with an uncertain itinerary afterward.
