World datelines

Afghanistan

KABUL -- Soldiers who fired at the defense minister's convoy werenot trying to assassinate him as initially believed but were shootingat other troops they were angry with, a government spokesman saidSunday. Shots were fired at the convoy Saturday after it had droppedDefense Minister Rahim Wardak and some other Cabinet members atKabul's airport. One bullet hit a seat in Wardak's car where he hadbeen sitting just moments earlier.

China

BEIJING -- China will have to tolerate more dissent as its economygrows and opens up to the rest of the world, former President Clintonsaid Sunday. Clinton, who is on a four-day visit to China, also saidhe would have raised the case of a Chinese journalist imprisoned forallegedly providing state secrets to foreigners when he spoke at aconference on Saturday but he had not been aware of the issue at thetime. Clinton delivered the keynote address at a conference hosted byInternet powerhouse Yahoo Inc.'s new Chinese partner, Alibaba.com, atthe eastern resort city of Hangzhou.

Egypt

CAIRO -- President Hosni Mubarak pledged Sunday to follow up hisvictory in Egypt's first presidential elections with furtherdemocratic reforms in the Arab world's largest country. Mubarak, whowon Wednesday's multicandidate election with 88 percent of the vote,had previously been re-elected in four consecutive referendums inwhich he was the sole candidate during 24 years in power. In hisfirst comments since the vote, Mubarak thanked Egyptians for awardinghim his fifth six-year term as president since succeeding AnwarSadat, who was assassinated by Islamic militants in 1981.

Indonesia

JAKARTA -- Indonesia is investigating a possible human case of thebird flu virus after a 37-year-old woman died showing symptoms of thedisease, the health minister said Sunday. If confirmed, this would beIndonesia's fourth human fatality from avian influenza.

Iran

TEHRAN -- Iran said Sunday it would not stop uranium conversionand warned of consequences if it was referred to the U.N. SecurityCouncil for possible sanctions over its nuclear program. ForeignMinister Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran wants to continue dialogue withEurope without preconditions and rejected a U.S.-European threat thatTehran has about a week to freeze uranium processing activities orface referral to the Security Council.

Italy

CASTEL GANDOLFO -- Pope Benedict XVI marked the anniversary of theSept. 11 attacks Sunday, calling for a global renunciation of hatredand for men and women to build a world of justice and peace. Benedictnoted the fourth anniversary of the attacks during his traditionalSunday greeting to the tourists and faithful gathered in thecourtyard of the papal summer palace at Castel Gandolfo, in the Albanhills south of Rome.

Jordan

AMMAN -- Twelve Islamic militants screamed praise for the Sept.11, 2001, attacks as a Jordanian court jailed them for up to threeyears Sunday for plotting terrorist strikes against the American andIsraeli embassies in Jordan. The convicted defendants -- mostlyJordanians or Jordanians of Palestinian descent -- were sentenced toprison terms ranging from 1 1/2 years to three years after beingfound guilty of conspiring in 2004 to attack the embassies.

Northern Ireland

BELFAST -- Protestant extremists rioted for a second straightnight Sunday, attacking police and burning cars in some of the mostwidespread street mayhem that Belfast has experienced for a decadefollowing anger over a restricted parade. Police advised drivers toavoid several working-class Protestant parts of the city, wherethousands of men and youths blocked roads and lobbed a range ofobjects -- including homemade grenades -- at police equipped withhelmets, body armor and flame-retardant jumpsuits.

South Korea

SEOUL -- The top U.S. negotiator to talks on North Korea's nuclearprogram will meet with South Korean officials today before the six-nation negotiations resume, a Foreign Ministry official said Sunday.U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill will meet withSouth Korean Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-shik and Deputy ForeignMinister Song Min-soon, who also is the South's chief negotiator tothe six-party talks, ministry spokesman Lee Kyu-hyung said.