Shaking Their Tail Feathers

A dancer performs during a Carnival parade at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro. Each of the competing samba groups, known as schools, features as many as 6,000 dancers. The parade will continue tonight. (By Silvia Izquierdo -- Associated Press)

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Monday, February 4, 2008; Page A18

ISRAEL

Defense Minister Shores Up Olmert

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday that he would not pull his faction from the government over its handling of the 2006 war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, an announcement that removed any immediate threat to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's administration.

Barak had said before he replaced Amir Peretz as defense minister in June that he would push for Olmert's resignation or early elections after an independent commission delivered its final report on the war. The report delivered Wednesday criticized Olmert's government but largely spared the prime minister.

lebanon

Israeli Forces Fire Across Border

Israeli forces opened fire across the Lebanese border late Sunday, killing one person and wounding another, Lebanese security officials said. The Israeli military said it was responding to fire apparently from drug smugglers on the Lebanese side. The military said its soldiers came under fire in the border town of Ghajar, which is split between the two countries. There were no Israeli casualties.

SOMALIA

U.S. Envoy Meets With Somaliland's Leader

The top U.S. diplomat for Africa met with the leader of the breakaway Somali republic of Somaliland on Sunday to discuss security in the war-wracked Horn of Africa region.

Jendayi Frazer, assistant secretary for African affairs, told reporters shortly after meeting President Dahir Rayale Kahin that the Bush administration would "continue working with Somaliland authorities on stability and peace."

CAMBODIA

War Crimes Suspect to Seek Bail

Former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea will ask to be released on bail when he makes his first appearance before Cambodia's U.N.-backed genocide tribunal Monday, his attorney said.

The tribunal has detained Nuon Chea, 81, since last year for his alleged role in the Khmer Rouge atrocities that led to the deaths of about 1.7 million people when the communist movement held power from 1975 to 1979. He is one of five former leaders awaiting trial.

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Suicide Bombing in Pakistan Leaves at Least 6 Dead

A suicide bomber on a motorbike rammed into a minibus carrying security personnel from Pakistan's armed forces Monday, detonating a blast that killed at least six people in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, police said.

Kurdish Fighters, Turkish Troops Clash in Southeast

Turkish troops killed 10 separatist Kurdish guerrillas in clashes in Bingol province in the southeast Sunday, army officials said. The officials said Turkish soldiers suffered no casualties.

Rain Causes Deadly Mudslides Outside Rio de Janeiro

Torrential downpours triggered mudslides that killed at least nine people near Rio de Janeiro, authorities said.

From News Services