World

Followers of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr were ignoring warnings by US marines in Najaf, Iraq, to surrender and were defying a government-ordered curfew in Baghdad as fighting extended to a sixth day. But a vital oil pipeline in southern Iraq is expected back in operation Wednesday after Sadr's militia damaged it in an attack. In Najaf, marines held back on an all-out assault on a mosque and cemetery where the militants were encamped - a tactic that analysts said risked stiffening Shiite resistance.

The retrial of 9/11 terrorist suspect Mounir el Motassadeq opened in Hamburg, Germany, with the US promising more information against him than was made available the first time. El Motassadeq is the only person convicted so far for the attacks in the US. But he won an appeal in April on grounds that witnesses deemed crucial to his defense were not permitted to testify. He is accused of aiding three 9/11 hijackers who'd used Hamburg as their base. The State Department said it would provide transcripts of interrogation sessions with those witnesses.

A group claiming ties to Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for terrorist bomb explosions that killed two people and hurt 11 others in Istanbul, Turkey, before dawn Tuesday. The targets were a liquefied gas storage depot and hotels that cater to foreigners. The Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades said the attacks were only "the beginning of a series" aimed at NATO member countries until they change their "policies toward Muslims."

Vandalism and anti-Semitic graffitti were reported in Jewish cemeteries in France and the Czech Republic despite efforts by authorities to increase security at sectarian facilities. In Lyon, France, a memorial to Jewish war veterans and 56 headstones were defaced with spray-painted swastikas and Adolf Hitler's name. The incident came as the furor was ending over Israeli Prime Minister Sharon's urging last month that French Jews emigrate to his country to escape "wild anti-Semitism." In the Czech city of Hranice, police said 80 headstones were overturned.

At least four people died and 200 others were injured as a strong earthquake shook southwestern China. The magnitude-5.6 temblor struck a densely populated area of Yunnan Province, and seismologists said the number of casualties could well rise as rescue teams report back.