WORLD at 0400 GMT

2009-07-05 06:07:02 -

NEW THIS DIGEST
HONDURAS-COUP. Exiled Honduran president vows return on Sunday.
HONDURAS-OAS. Secretary general: OAS failed to reinstate Zelaya who says he will return to Honduras.
NKOREA-MISSILE. North Korea fires 7 ballistic missiles off eastern coast, flouting UN resolutions.
MYANMAR. UN chief leaves Myanmar 'disappointed' with junta after bid to see Suu Kyi rejected.
MEXICO-ELECTIONS. Drug violence, an economic downturn and recent cases of political malfeasance weigh heavily on Mexico's midterm congressional elections.
PHILIPPINES-EXPLOSION. Bomb blast near south Philippine cathedral kills 1.
US-OBAMA-PIVOTAL WEEK. Obama sets out to reshape US relations in Russia, meet the Pope, make a mark in Africa.
US-PALIN-ANALYSIS. Analysis: Palin's unexpected resignation stings her party, unlikely to end national ambitions.
CHINA-G8. China won't press for new global currency at G8.
TOP STORIES
HONDURAS-COUP
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras _ Honduras braces for a possible confrontation as ousted President Manuel Zelaya insists he will come home to reclaim his post, urging supporters to mass at the airport for a showdown with the interim government that has been in power since the army sent him into exile a week ago. Moving by 0700 GMT. By Will Weissert and Nestor Ikeda. AP Photos.
WITH: HONDURAS-ANATOMY OF A COUP.
HONDURAS-OAS
WASHINGTON _ The secretary general of the Organization of American States says his efforts to return Manuel Zelaya to the presidency in Honduras have failed.
AP Photo TGDL143.
IRAN-ELECTION
TEHRAN, Iran _ A top aide to Iran's all-powerful leader accuses the country's main opposition leader of being an American agent who should be tried for treason, increasing the pressure on reformists disputing the outcome of last month's presidential election. By Ali Akbar Dareini. AP Photos.
IRAQ
BAGHDAD _ Vice President Joe Biden spends U.S. Independence Day with his son and other American troops in Iraq, while the Iraqi government spokesman publicly rejects the American's offer to help with national reconciliation, saying it's an internal affair. By Kim Gamel. AP Photos.
NKOREA-MISSILE
SEOUL, South Korea _ North Korea's weekend missile launches show that the country is improving its capability and accuracy and are a cause for worry, a news report and an official say. Lead expected by 0430 GMT. By Kelly Olsen.
AFGHAN-HOT HELMAND
NAWA, Afghanistan _ Taliban militants were nowhere in sight as the columns of U.S. Marines walked a third straight day across southern Afghanistan. But the desert heat proved an enemy in its own right, with several troops falling victim to temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius). By Jason Straziuso. AP Photos.
MYANMAR
YANGON, Myanmar _ U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ends a mission to Myanmar saying he is «deeply disappointed» that the isolated nation's top military ruler denied him a visit to jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. By John Heilprin. AP Photos.
PHILIPPINES-EXPLOSION
MANILA, Philippines _ Suspected Muslim guerrillas detonate a bomb near a Roman Catholic cathedral in the southern Philippines, killing at least one person and wounding more than two dozen others.
MEXICO-ELECTIONS
MEXICO CITY _ Drug violence, an economic downturn and recent cases of political malfeasance weigh heavily on Mexico's midterm congressional elections, a vote that could decide the future of President Felipe Calderon's anti-crime and economic policies. Moving by 0700 GMT. By Mark Stevenson. AP Photos.
OBAMA-PIVOTAL WEEK
WASHINGTON _ Determined to change the way the world views the United States, Barack Obama is onto his next foreign mission: rebuilding relations with Russia, proving to global leaders that America is serious about climate change, and outlining his vision for Africa, his father's birthplace. By Ben Feller. AP Photos WHMC104, WHMC103, WHMC101, MOSB218, MOSB103, MOSB123.
RUSSIA-US-FIRST LADIES
MOSCOW _ Michelle Obama brings her superstar glamor to Moscow this weekend as she accompanies her husband on his summit with the Russian president. But the American first lady, who has wowed publics in the U.S. and Europe with her easy elegance and charm, will perhaps face a bigger challenge in winning over a Russian public that has scant respect for women who grab the limelight from their powerful husbands. By Catrina Stewart. Photos.
COMOROS-GIRL'S RESCUE
MORONI, Comoros _ Doe Cyrille and his crew searched for hours in crashing winds and waves up to 16 feet (5 meters) high for any sign of Yemenia Flight 626. Then they spotted a girl impossibly clinging to a piece of debris. By Tom Maliti. Photos.
US-PALIN-ANALYSIS
WASHINGTON _ Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's abrupt and unscripted holiday resignation is an odd way to launch a potential presidential bid and certainly no help for a party battered by scandal and fighting for relevancy. By Philip Elliott. AP Photos AKWTF102, AKWTF101, NY130, NY129, NY131.
MICHAEL JACKSON
LOS ANGELES _ More than 1.2 million people have now registered to get tickets for Michael Jackson's memorial service next week. AP Photo CACK104.
BRITAIN MADONNA
LONDON _ Madonna has paid tribute to Michael Jackson in the same arena where he was to stage his comeback, dancing along with an impersonator doing Jackson's distinctive moves. By Nardine Saad. Photos.
GUANTANAMO DETAINEES WELCOME
MARION, Illinois _ Once the nation's most secure prison, the federal lockup in southern Illinois has housed everyone from spies to a Colombian druglord and dapper mob boss John Gotti. Now the town of Marion is seeking to welcome Guantanamo Bay detainees _ and the money and jobs they might bring. By Jim Suhr. AP Photos.
BULGARIA-ELECTIONS
SOFIA, Bulgaria _ Bulgarians went to the polls Sunday in a parliamentary election expected to oust Bulgaria's Socialist-led coalition and elevate the center-right party of Sofia's popular mayor to power. By Veselin Toshkov. AP Photo XPP109.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
CHINA-G8
BEIJING _ China has no plans to raise its proposal for a new global currency to replace the dollar at the G8 meeting this week but is willing to discuss it, a top Chinese diplomat says, as President Hu Jintao leaves for Italy. By Joe McDonald.
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