RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP):
A Saudi court on Saturday sentenced a female journalist to 60 lashes after she had been charged with involvement in a TV show in which a Saudi man publicly talked about sex.
Rozanna al-Yami, 22, is believed to be the first Saudi woman journalist to be given such a punishment, but there were conflicting accounts about how the court issued its verdict.
Al-Yami, who worked as a coordinator for the program but has denied working on the sex-show episode, told The Associated Press it was her understanding that the judge at the court in the western city of Jiddah dropped the charges against her. They included involvement in the preparation of the show and advertising the segment on the Internet.
But she said he still handed down the lashing sentence "as a deterrence."
"I am too frustrated and upset to appeal the sentence," said al-Yami.
Taliban threaten Afghan voters
KABUL (AP):
Taliban militants threatened Afghans with violence Saturday if they vote in the Nov. 7 run-off presidential election, as President Hamid Karzai's campaign ruled out any power-sharing deal to avoid another ballot.
Supporters of Karzai's challenger, meanwhile, urged the country's top three election officials to step down - alleging they were involved in rigging the first round of fraud-marred voting in August and should not be responsible for organising the upcoming vote.
President Barack Obama's administration is hoping the run-off will produce a legitimate government after massive ballot-rigging sullied the first-round vote August 20. Another flawed election would cast doubt on the wisdom of sending tens of thousands more US troops to support a weak government tainted by fraud.
Train accident
CAIRO (AP):
A passenger train collided with a second one ahead of it on the tracks just outside of Cairo on Saturday, destroying several passenger cars and killing at least 15 people.
At least 24 others were wounded in the accident, which occurred in Girzah district, said Egypt's official Middle East News Agency.
Emergency personnel were working to extract the dead and wounded from the trains, said a police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media.
The train that caused the collision was headed from Cairo to the southern city of Assuit, while the one that was impacted was traveling from Giza province to the oasis town of Fayoum, said the news agency.
Egypt has a poor safety record on its railways, and there are several fatal accident each year, usually blamed on poorly maintained equipment.
The worst recent disaster took place in February 2002 when a train heading to southern Egypt caught fire, killing 363 people.
Strong quake hits Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP):
A powerful earthquake struck deep under the sea in eastern Indonesia on Saturday, causing panic and sending residents running out of their homes, officials and witnesses said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The quake had a magnitude of 7.0, but at a depth of 86 miles (138 kilometers) was too far below the earth's surface to cause a tsunami, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.
Saturday's quake came as Indonesia is still recovering from a devastating earthquake last month that killed more than 1,000 people on western Sumatra.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the latest quake - the second strong temblor in two days - was located 225 miles (365 kilometers) southeast of Ambon in the Maluku islands in the Banda Sea.
The shaking was strong and people ran to higher ground fearing a tsunami, said Ian Kotualubun, an official with Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency in Saumlaki, the area closest to the epicenter, about 2,700 kilometers (1,700 miles) east of the capital, Jakarta.
Police in Saumlaki said they had received no reports of damage or injuries.
Indonesia sits above a series of fault lines that make the vast island nation one of the most earthquake-prone places in the world. A massive quake off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province caused the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people, half of the victims on Sumatra island.
UN nuclear inspectors head to Iran
VIENNA (AP):
A team of United Nations inspectors went to Iran on Saturday to visit a recently revealed nuclear site, amid new efforts to curb Iran's nuclear programme.
The International Atomic Energy Agency experts are slated to examine an unfinished uranium enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom to verify it is for peaceful purposes. Disclosure of its existence last month raised international suspicion over the extent and aim of the country's nuclear programme.
Iran insists its nuclear programme serves to generate power and denies allegations it is trying to make nuclear weapons. Tehran asked for more time Friday to consider a UN-backed plan to ship much of its uranium to Russia for enrichment.
Iraqi court seeks arrest of Sunni MP
BAGHDAD (AP):
A local criminal court in Iraq's Diyala province issued an arrest warrant for a Sunni member of parliament on suspicion of financing and inciting sectarian violence, a security official in the northeastern province said Saturday.
The security official said the warrants for parliamentarian Tayseer al-Mashhadani and her husband, Hashim al-Hiyali, were issued on Thursday.
A man in police detention told his interrogators the couple gave him instructions and money to kill and expel Shi'ites from the religiously mixed province, the official said.