Hondurans urged to work together

Honduras (AP):

The general who oversaw the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya implored all sectors of Honduran society to join in resolving the country's deepening crisis yesterday, a message that seemed aimed at calming an uproar over a government order suspending civil liberties.

General Romeo Vasquez's comments on Channel 5 television came hours after interim President Roberto Micheletti said he would accept congressional calls for him to reverse the emergency decree suspending civil liberties that he had announced on Sunday.

60 years of communist rule

BEIJING (AP):

Beijing virtually closed its downtown yesterday, shuttering the Forbidden City along with shops and hotels near Tiananmen Square, in preparation for an extravaganza to mark 60 years of communist rule that is expected to rival the Olympic opening ceremony.

Primarily a chance to showcase the country's might with a massive military parade, the celebrations are also to include a "civilian parade" with about 100,000 people taking part and 60 floats. Tens of thousands of doves, 5,000 balloon-toting children and a chorus of thousands are to be part of the show, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Rehearsals in the past few weeks have included jets and helicopters flying in formation over the city, releasing streams of red, blue and yellow smoke as they pass by.

14-y-o girl dies after receiving vaccine

WASHINGTON (AP):

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has delayed a decision on GlaxoSmithKline's vaccine for cervical cancer, according to the British drugmaker. The FDA was scheduled to announce its ruling yesterday on whether to approve Cervarix, but a Glaxo spokeswoman said the review will continue.

The announcement came one day after British health officials reported that a 14-year-old girl died a few hours after receiving the vaccine.

Britain's National Health Service began offering Cervarix to teenage girls last year, and more than 1.4 million doses of the vaccine have been given out under the programme.

Glaxo spokeswoman Sarah Alspach said the death did not influence the FDA's decision to extend its review.

Ban Ki-moon accused of parroting

UNITED NATION (AP):

Iran's president is accusing United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of parroting Western criticism of its new uranium enrichment facility instead of waiting for a report from the UN nuclear agency.

The UN chief told a news conference on Tuesday that he responded to the criticism from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by telling him the new facility violated UN Security Council resolutions.

He said he also told Ahmadinejad during a meeting last Friday that Iran needs to open all its facilities to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, and be completely transparent.

Ahmadinejad said on Friday his country has complied with requirements to inform the IAEA six months before a new enrichment facility becomes operational, and was giving 18 months notice.

US tries to revive Mideast peace talks

JERUSALEM (AP):

The chief Palestinian negotiator yesterday played down expectations for United States President Barack Obama's latest attempt to restart peace talks, saying key differences with Israel make it difficult for negotiations to resume. The nego-tiator, Saeb Erekat, spoke ahead of talks in Washington this week with Obama's Mideast envoy, George Mitchell. The former US senator is holding separate meetings with Israeli and Palestinian teams in hopes of reviving the long-stalled peace talks.

Erekat reiterated the Pales-tinians' insistence that Israel stop all settlement construction in the West Bank, and stressed there would be no direct talks with the Israelis during this week's trip to Washington.

Alleged Afghan terrorist pleads not guilty

NEW YORK (AP):

An Afghan immigrant pleaded not guilty yesterday to plotting a New York City terrorist attack with bombs made from beauty-supply chemicals and was ordered held without bail. The lawyer for 24-year-old Denver airport shuttle driver, Najibullah Zazi, entered the plea in a federal courtroom in the city's Brooklyn borough. Officials say he and co-conspirators bought products in Colorado containing hydrogen peroxide and acetone, key ingredients for home-made bombs.

Prosecutors believe Zazi received explosives training from al-Qaida in Pakistan and may have planned to target mass transit in the New York City area.

Muhammad's deathsentence sticks

Virginia (AP):

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine says he can't think of any reason he would stop the execution of Washington, DC area sniper, John Allen Muhammad.

Muhammad is scheduled to be executed on November 10 for the October 2002 killing spree that left 10 dead in the nation's capital, Virginia and Maryland.

Kaine says, on his monthly radio show on WTOP, that Muhammad's lawyers have yet to ask for clemency, but he will review any petitions. He says he knows of no credible claim of innocence or procedural error that would cause him to stop the execution.