WORLD at 0400 GMT

2009-04-19 06:04:03 -

NEW THIS DIGEST
OBAMA-SUMMIT. Obama extends hands to Chavez, Ortega at summit.
SUMMIT-VENEZUELA-US. Venezuela's Chavez to restore ambassador in US.
OBAMA-CUBA. Obama watching for Cuba's next moves as estranged relationship suddenly in play.
PIRACY. NATO frees 20 hostages but releases hijackers; pirates seize Belgian ship with 10 crew.
PAKISTAN. Suicide strike targets Pakistani army, killing 27.
SRI LANKA-CIVIL WAR. Sri Lanka health official says 28 civilians killed.
HAITI-ELECTIONS. Blocked candidates could tarnish Haiti vote.
FRANCE-SPAIN-BASQUE ARRESTS. Officials say police arrest 3 suspected Basque militants, 1 reportedly military leader.
KOREAS-TENSION. North Korea offers warning, dialogue to South.
IRAQ. Suspected militants bombard Baghdad's Green Zone for first time in more than 3 months.
IRAN-US JOURNALIST. Lawyer: Iran convicts US journalist of spying.
US-TORTURE MEMOS-ANALYSIS. Analysis: Obama release of `torture memos' praised; amnesty for those responsible disputed.
CHINA-AUTO SHOW. Shanghai Auto Show a showdown for automakers zeroing in on world's only major growth market.
TOP STORIES
OBAMA-SUMMIT
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad _ President Barack Obama offers a spirit of cooperation to America's hemispheric neighbors at a summit, listening to complaints about past U.S. meddling and even reaching out to Venezuela's leftist leader. By Mark S. Smith.
WITH: BC-OBAMA BOOK, BC-SUMMIT-CHAVEZ'S GIFT, BC-CUBA-US-TALKING POINTS
SUMMIT-VENEZUELA-US
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad _ Hugo Chavez says he is restoring Venezuela's ambassador in Washington, voicing hopes for a «new era» in U.S. relations after barely getting to know U.S. President Barack Obama at a regional summit. By Vivian Sequera.
OBAMA-CUBA
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad _ President Barack Obama says America's estranged relationship with Cuba will not change overnight. But the tone did. Immersed for the first time in Latin American politics, Obama now is assessing whether a genuine change in relations with the isolated communist island is already under way. By Ben Feller.
PIRACY
NAIROBI, Kenya _ NATO forces rescue 20 fishermen from pirates who launched the latest attack in the Gulf of Aden, but let the Somali hijackers go because they had no authority to arrest them. The release underscored the difficulties of stopping the skyrocketing piracy scourge in the Horn of Africa, where sea bandits also seized a Belgian-flagged ship carrying 10 foreign crew near the Seychelles islands and started hauling it toward Somalia. By Todd Pitman and Katharine Houreld. AP Photos and an interactive.
WITH: CHINA-US-PIRACY
PAKISTAN
ISLAMABAD _ A suicide car bomber attacks an army convoy at a checkpoint in northwest Pakistan, killing at least 27 people near another emerging militant stronghold within striking distance of the Afghan border. By Stephen Graham. AP Photos.
SRI LANKA-CIVIL WAR
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka _ At least 28 civilians have been killed in two days of fighting as Sri Lankan troops try to push into a small «no-fire zone» where Tamil Tiger rebels have bunkered down for their final stand, a health official said. By Krishan Francis.
ZIMBABWE
HARARE, Zimbabwe _ Zimbabweans celebrate their first Independence Day under a coalition government, with President Robert Mugabe calling for national conciliation as he shared the stage with his former political rival.
HAITI-ELECTIONS
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti _ President Rene Preval and his hopes to push economic projects and constitutional reform through parliament could be the big winner Sunday when long-delayed Senate elections are finally held. By Johathan M. Katz. Polls open 6 a.m. (1000 GMT), close at 4 p.m. (2000 GMT). Results not expected Sunday.
FRANCE-SPAIN-BASQUE ARRESTS
PARIS _ Three suspected members of the Basque separatist organization ETA have been arrested in southern France, including one considered to be the group's military leader, officials said.
KOREAS-TENSION
SEOUL, South Korea _ North Korea's military has warned South Korea to stay out of a U.S.-led initiative to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction, while Seoul postponed plans to announce its participation after a surprise offer of dialogue by Pyongyang. By Hyung-Jin Kim. AP Photos.
US-UN-RACISM SUMMIT
WASHINGTON _ The Obama administration has decided «with regret» to boycott a U.N. conference in Geneva on racism next week over objectionable language in the meeting's final document that could single out Israel for criticism and restrict free speech, the State Department says. By Matthew Lee.
IRAQ
BAGHDAD _ Suspected militants shelled Baghdad's protected Green Zone in the first such bombardment in more than three months. By Brian Murphy. AP Photo GFX376.
ITALY-MALTA-MIGRANTS
ROME _ About 140 migrants remained stranded aboard a Turkish cargo ship for a third day as Malta and Italy argued about which country should accept them. By Frances D'Emilio.
IRAN-US JOURNALIST
TEHRAN, Iran _ Iran convicted an American journalist of spying for the United States and sentenced her to eight years in prison, her lawyer said, complicating the Obama administration's efforts to break a 30-year-old diplomatic deadlock with Tehran. By Ali Akbar Dareini. AP Photos NY113, NY112, XHS118.
US-TORTURE MEMOS-ANALYSIS
WASHINGTON _ President Barack Obama is trying to close a chapter in the nation's history that continues to haunt U.S. foreign policy. By Tom Raum. AP Photos WX113, WX114.
WITH: UN-US-TORTURE; US-TORTURE MEMOS-DEBATE.
NEAR-MISS SUMMIT
ROME _ Back in the Cold War, an eon ago, in a little white house in Iceland, the Russian and the American parried and probed each other as antagonists. And together they almost rid the world of doomsday arms. Today, slower of step but hardly of wit, Mikhail S. Gorbachev and George P. Shultz are allied in that same common cause, and watched as their two countries' new presidents joined this month in the unprecedented step of declaring their governments partners in pursuing the goal of abolishing nuclear weapons. By Charles J. Hanley. Photos.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
CHINA-AUTO SHOW
SHANGHAI _ International automakers are converging on China's commercial capital for a show that, once marginal, is now a key showcase, and battleground, for the world's only major growing car market. By Elaine Kurtenbach
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