World briefs

Tally continues, but Karzai wins Afghan vote

KABUL, Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai has won the majority of votes in the Oct. 9 election, results posted Sunday on the election commission's Web site show, effectively securing his position as Afghanistan's first popularly elected president.

Karzai, who had been widely expected to win, received more than 4.2-million votes - more than half of the ballots cast.

While the official, final tally is not due until Saturday and some other candidates have refused to concede and continued to accuse Karzai of vote fraud, election officials and outside election observers said it was not possible for him to lose his overall majority.

Israeli Cabinet backs settler cash

JERUSALEM - Israel's Cabinet approved a compensation plan Sunday for settlers who will be uprooted by Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank, handing the prime minister an important victory two days before a showdown in Parliament over the pullout.

Meanwhile, a team of Tunisian doctors examined Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat - who is recovering from the flu - and pronounced him "okay," despite speculation he might be suffering from something more serious.

In southern Gaza, Israeli aircraft and tanks launched a series of strikes in the Khan Younis refugee camp late Sunday and early today that killed five Palestinians and wounded 23 others.

Haitian police officer killed

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Using armored cars and earth movers, U.N. peacekeepers and Haitian police early Sunday moved into an area controlled by militants loyal to ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, protecting workers removing burned-out cars used as road blocks.

One police officer was shot and killed, said Brazilian Col. Luiz-Felipe Carbonell, apparently in early resistance that ended when scores of troops moved in.

Powell urges speed in N. Korea talks

TOYKO - Secretary of State Colin Powell, in Asia to prod North Korea to return to talks on ending its nuclear programs, said that while there is still time to resolve the impasse, "there is a sense of urgency."

In a three-day swing through East Asia capitals, Powell hopes to persuade U.S. allies to put additional pressure on North Korea. Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura told reporters after meeting with Powell that Japan will use a planned dialogue over abducted citizens next month with North Korea to urge Pyongyang to return to the talks.

Even more critical to the effort is China, North Korea's main benefactor. Powell arrived in Beijing on Sunday evening to prepare for meetings with Chinese officials today.

Colombia destroys 6,800 land mines

BOGOTA, Colombia - Colombia's armed forces blew up 6,800 stockpiled land mines Sunday as President Alvaro Uribe, Queen Noor of Jordan and dozens of mine blast victims watched on large screens, launching an effort to rid the country of the weapons.

The destruction of the land mines in a rural area near the northern city of Barranquilla was aimed at underscoring Colombia's commitment to destroying all state-owned mines, Uribe said, even though Marxist rebels who have battled the government for 40 years have increasingly used them.

Elsewhere...

TAIWAN TYPHOON: Strong winds and heavy rains lashed eastern Taiwan as Typhoon Nock-ten - the Laotian word for "bird" - began battering the island Sunday night. One fisherman was missing, police said. Forecasters expected the full force of the storm to hit the island early today.

World and national headlines

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