Railway Owner Visits Crash Site

· SINGAPORE -- Clad in military-style pants, bright T-shirts and dangling chains, 12 Singapore lawmakers grooved to hip-hop music in the city-state's largest annual street parade, part of the ruling party's efforts to ditch its authoritarian image.

The People's Action Party has ruled Singapore for more than 40 years, transforming it into a financial center. But the country's sometimes harsh social and political controls are well-documented: Homosexuality is outlawed, demonstrations banned. Even chewing gum is restricted.

AFRICA

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· GWERU, Zimbabwe -- President Robert Mugabe, celebrating his 83rd birthday days ago, accused his main rival of trying to oust him with British help but vowed the efforts would fail.

Mugabe has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980, and critics, who accuse him of human rights violations, say his policies have plunged the economy into collapse.

EUROPE

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· ROME -- Pope Benedict XVI condemned genetic engineering and other scientific practices that allow people to select "designer babies" by screening them for defects.

The pope also attacked artificial insemination and the widespread use of medical tests that can detect diseases and inherited disorders in embryos.

THE MIDDLE EAST

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· GAZA CITY -- Four Palestinians, supporters of rival groups Hamas and Fatah, were killed in a family feud, threatening the calm that has followed a power-sharing deal between the groups.

· NABLUS, West Bank -- Dozens of Israeli jeeps and armored vehicles raided the West Bank city of Nablus Sunday and placed the city under curfew.

-- From News Services