U.S. to double military force in Colombia

BOGOTA, Colombia - The number of U.S. military personnel here will double, to 800, in the coming months, based on a weekend vote in the U.S. Congress.

The action was welcomed by President Alvaro Uribe's government for its fight against Marxist rebels but condemned by human rights monitors, who warned of a sharp escalation in Colombia's conflict.

The 2005 U.S. Defense Department authorization act, approved Saturday by Congress, also permits the Bush administration to increase the number of U.S. citizens working for private contractors in Colombia to 600 from 400.

The soldiers and many of the contractors will, among other things, develop and analyze intelligence on rebel movements, do surveillance and train Colombian troops in counter-guerrilla operations.

2 U.N. peacekeepers wounded in Haiti

GONAIVES, Haiti - Two U.N. peacekeepers were wounded in shootouts with supporters of Haiti's ousted president in the capital and storm survivors in flood-ravaged Gonaives, the first casualties of the 4-month-old U.N. mission, officials said Sunday.

Relief workers from Doctors of the World also came under attack in Gonaives, and the French group said it was evacuating its staff of seven until security improves.

Outside a memorial Mass for flood victims of Tropical Storm Jeanne, an Argentine soldier was shot in the arm Saturday night after protesters shouted abuse at visiting leaders of Haiti's U.S.-backed government, accusing them of not doing enough to help.

Heavy gunfire erupted in Port-au-Prince on Saturday as about 150 Brazilian troops in armored vehicles and 150 Haitian police in trucks rolled into the volatile slum of Bel Air, where armed young men have barricaded themselves behind torched vehicles and bonfires, demanding the return of Aristide from exile in South Africa.

A Brazilian soldier was wounded in the foot, the first casualty among some 3,000 Brazilian-led peacekeepers, U.N. spokesman Toussaint Kongo-Doudou said. He said it appeared some gunmen were wounded.

Somali lawmakers elect interim president

NAIROBI, Kenya - Members of Somalia's transitional Parliament on Sunday elected a former army colonel as interim president, the final stage of a peace plan meant to end 13 years of civil war in the Horn of Africa nation.

Col. Abdullahi Yusuf won with 189 votes in a third round of voting, Shariif Hassan Sheikh Aden told the 275-member transitional Parliament and regional foreign affairs ministers.

4 dead after suicide bomb at Pakistani mosque

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A suicide attacker detonated a bomb Sunday at a Shiite mosque in the eastern city of Lahore, leaving at least four people dead and injuring others, according to a witness and officials.

The witness said a man carrying a briefcase tried to enter the Husainia Hall mosque in the ancient walled part of the city during evening prayers but was blocked by security guards. He then detonated a bomb in the briefcase.

"Our two security guards were martyred and the suicide bomber was killed," said witness Sajjad Bhutta.

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