World in brief

Arafat urges Israel to talk with him

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Ten years after the signing of a peace deal whose goals were never achieved, Yasser Arafat said Saturday that the Mideast conflict is facing its most difficult point since 1993's Oslo Accords and he urged Israel to return to negotiations after its threat to exile him.

The Palestinian leader emerged repeatedly from the office of his damaged compound to greet the crowd, beaming, blowing kisses and flashing "V" for victory signs.

Supporters filled Arafat's compound to rally around their leader. They included a government-organized demonstration of more than 2,000 schoolchildren, followed by thousands of adults. Some pledged to act as human shields to defend Arafat from Israeli troops.

In his speech to a dozen diplomats from European, Asian and Arab countries, Arafat urged pressure on Israel to end its killings of militant leaders and stop settlement-building in the West Bank and Gaza - areas Israel captured in the 1967 war from Jordan and Egypt, respectively, and which Palestinians want for a state.

VIENNA - Pressure grew on Iran on Saturday to accept an October deadline to prove its nuclear programs are peaceful, after Russia joined the West in urging Tehran to abide by it.

Iran's chief delegate stormed out of a meeting of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors on Friday after it passed a resolution with the October timeframe and other demands. Russia is building a nuclear power plant in Iran and is considered to hold some sway over its decisions on nuclear policy.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak said the resolution "is not an ultimatum; it is a serious and respectful call by the agency for cooperation between Iran and the IAEA," the Interfax news agency reported Saturday.

ROZNAVA, Slovakia - A frail Pope John Paul II struggled through a long Mass on a wind-swept hill Saturday, but lifted his arms to stroke the faces of two formerly conjoined toddlers in what Slovak bishops called a powerful gesture in the church's battle against abortion.

Nearing the end of a grueling four-day pilgrimage, the 83-year-old pope often slumped in his chair, slurred his words and lost his place in the text. But he made it through the 21/2-hour service.

John Paul's voice was weak and his left hand trembled badly as he addressed the crowd, speaking of "the Christian way of life." The pope, who suffers from Parkinson's disease and crippling hip and knee ailments, turned his homily over to a cardinal to read after losing his place twice at the start.

The strength-sapping trip, his 102nd foreign tour, ends today with an open-air Mass in Bratislava, the capital.

SEOUL, South Korea - Seven American soldiers stationed in the capital were indicted Saturday and accused of taking ecstasy at a rave party, the national news agency Yonhap said.

The soldiers took one or two ecstasy pills given to them or bought at a dance party in a Seoul hotel in June, Yonhap said, quoting government prosecutors. It gave no other details.

The soldiers were arrested during the party but have been kept in U.S. custody, Yonhap said. They are accused of violating South Korea's narcotic laws, but Yonhap did not specify the charge or say what punishment the soldiers faced if convicted.

ALERT SYSTEM ON AGENDA: The Homeland Security Department wants to improve its color-coded terror alert system. The agency has created a task force to review ways that the system could provide more specific guidance to state and local government officials about how to respond when the alert level is raised, department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said Saturday.

He said meetings have been set up in October to get reaction from states and localities about how the system is working for them.

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