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Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is accused of directing genocide in Darfur by the International Criminal Court, arrived Monday in Istanbul, Turkey, for a three-day economic summit of African leaders. It is his first trip abroad since he was indicted. It is highly unlikely that Turkish authorities will arrest him because the country has not signed the court's treaty and is not bound by its provisions.

Tens of thousands of Muslims waving protest flags marched through Srinagar, Indian Kashmir's main city, on Monday and gathered in front of UN offices to demand freedom from India and intervention by the world body. Organizers claimed it was the largest protest against Indian rule since unrest sharply escalated two months ago.

After putting a dummy satellite into orbit, Iran said Monday it is "ready to launch satellites of friendly Islamic countries into space." The long-range ballistic technology used to launch satellites can also be used for launching weapons, but Iran says it doesn't intend to do so.

Italian police have arrested a Muslim cleric for extradition to his native Morocco to face terrorism charges linked to suicide bombings in Casablanca that killed 45 people in 2003. Abdelmajid Zergout and two other men were acquitted by a Milan court last year, but the latest arrest came in response to a fresh Moroccan extradition request on new charges.

Philippine troops Monday retook several southern towns where Muslim rebels killed at least 26 people earlier in the day in what guerrillas said was an outburst of frustration with an uncertain peace process. Officials said more than 20 houses were burned in Kauswagan and hundreds of villagers displaced by marauding rebels. Above, Kauswagan residents flee for evacuation centers.

Japanese police have sought arrest warrants for two Ameri-can and one British member of the hard-line antiwhaling group Sea Shepherd, the government said Monday. The activists are suspected of having obstructed Japan's whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean last year by jamming a ship's propeller with a rope, among other tactics.

The Beijing Olympics were left without one of its headline athletes when Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang pulled up lame during first-round qualifying Monday. At the Athens Games four years ago, Liu became the first Chinese man to win an Olympic track and field gold medal. Thursday's 110-meter hurdle finals were expected to be one of the highlights of these Olympics.

Five Sudanese men accused of killing a US aid worker and his driver in Khartoum on New Year's Day made their first appearance in court Sunday. John Granville was the first US government official to be killed in Khartoum in more than three decades. Sunday's hearing was adjourned because there were no lawyers present to represent the prosecution or the families of those killed.

At least 30 of 80 passengers on a crowded bus in Haiti died Sunday when it tried to cross the raging waters of the Riviere Glace, which was swollen with rain from tropical storm Fay.

A former Maoist guerrilla was sworn in Monday as Nepal's first prime minister. Prachanda, as he is commonly known, was picked last week by a special assembly meant to write a new Constitution and double as an interim parliament.

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