• KIEV, Ukraine -- President Viktor Yushchenko said investigators were closing in on the people who poisoned him with a massive dose of dioxin, which left his face a mass of lesions and discolored his skin, and that the suspects are close to his predecessor, Leonid Kuchma.
Yushchenko revealed no names, saying only that prosecutors were "narrowing the circle of suspects."
"Prosecutors are now receiving information about the poison itself, its chemical features, and the way of its possible application," Yushchenko said.
"When it comes to who did it -- it was the regime itself. The people in power. No doubt about that," he said.
THE MIDDLE EAST
• BEIRUT -- More Syrian troops left Lebanon ahead of a U.N. envoy's crucial visit to extract a timetable for a total withdrawal, while the opposition accused Damascus of seeking to delay elections to keep a loyal legislature in place.
Syria apparently wants to ensure that it continues to wield influence in Lebanon despite accelerating the pace of its troop withdrawals from a country it has controlled for nearly three decades. The opposition expects to win elections and end the pro-Damascus camp's majority in the government.
-- From News Services
