Brown in tribute to Afghan dead

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has paid tribute to the courage of British troops in Afghanistan, as the number to die there since 2001 reached 100.

His comments came after three soldiers were killed in a suicide attack.

The men, from 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, were on foot patrol in Helmand when the blast happened.

Defence Secretary Des Browne added no loss could be compensated for, but he remained convinced the campaign was "the noble cause of the 21st century".

"We are making significant progress in Afghanistan. It's slow, sometimes it's frustratingly slow," he told BBC Radio Four's Today programme.

"The reason we are making that progress is because those very brave and professional young men and women have gone about their job in such a way that they have created, in the most difficult of circumstances, a degree of security that many people a couple of years ago thought was impossible."

The prime minister said those who had died had "paid the ultimate price" but had "achieved something of lasting value."

He said: "My first thoughts and condolences are with the families of these soldiers, who died serving in Afghanistan with such distinction more:...

S Korea sends beef envoys to US

The South Korean government is sending delegates to the US for talks on a controversial beef deal that has triggered weeks of protests.
The envoys will meet US officials to discuss changes to the April deal, under which South Korea agreed to resume US beef imports.
Protesters say the move does not protect them from mad cow disease, despite assurances to the contrary.
President Lee Myung-bak's popularity has plummeted over the issue.
Last week, the ruling party suffered a heavy defeat in its first electoral test since Mr Lee took office - in sharp contrast to its election victory late last year.
Some reports suggest a Cabinet reshuffle could be imminent.
More protests
The beef issue has sparked weeks of demonstrations in the capital, Seoul, and led to scores of arrests.
South Korea used to be a major market for US beef, but banned most imports in 2003 after BSE was found in cattle there.
In April Mr Lee's government agreed to relax most of the restrictions - a move linked to approval of a bilateral free trade deal.
As protests escalated, the government asked the US to stop exports from cattle aged more than 30 months in a bid to assuage popular concern.
On Saturday, Mr Lee and US President George W Bush held telephone talks on the issue, with Mr Bush reportedly agreeing to the request, according to South Korean media.
The South Korean delegates - a presidential envoy and ruling party lawmakers - will seek assurances of this commitment when they arrive in the US later this week, media reports said.
The protests, meanwhile, show no sign of easing off.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Seoul over the issue. More demonstrations are planned for later in the week.

Iraqi PM assures Iran on security

Iraq will not allow its territory to be used to attack Iran, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has said during a visit to Tehran.
Mr Maliki met the foreign minister and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who pledged to help with Iraq's security.
The role of the US in Iraq is high on the agenda, with Tehran concerned about a treaty under discussion on the terms of the US military's future in Iraq.
Iran's alleged backing for militants in Iraq was also expected to be discussed.
'Peace and security'
"We will not allow Iraq to become a platform for harming the security of Iran and neighbours," Iranian state-run media quoted Mr Maliki as saying after late-night talks with Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
In his talks with Mr Ahmadinejad, Iranian media quoted Mr Maliki as saying: "A stable Iraq will be a benefit to the security of the region and the world."

Mr Ahmadinejad told Mr Maliki: "Iraq's neighbours have more responsibility to help the country to establish peace and security."
Without referring directly to the US-Iraqi deal, Mr Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying: "Iraq must reach a certain level of stability so that its enemies are not able to impose their influence."
A statement from Mr Maliki's office in Baghdad said economic and trade issues were high on the agenda.

"Iraq is looking forward to Iranian companies taking part in developing its infrastructure," Mr Maliki is quoted as saying.
The BBC's John Leyne, in Tehran, says Iran has made no secret of its opposition to the current negotiations going on between Iraq and the US, which are aimed at regulating the presence of US forces in the country after their UN mandate expires at the end of 2008.
The US-Iraqi talks, which are seeking to reach agreement by the end of July, have run into problems over issues related to Iraqi sovereignty.
The Iraqi prime minister was also expected to raise allegations of Iranian support for Shia militants in Iraq.
Shia militiamen fought bitter battles with US and Iraqi government forces between March and May.
Mr Maliki is on his third visit to Iran since taking office in June 2005.
Government sources say Iraqi security officials with the delegation will be showing the Iranians evidence of their alleged support for the militias, the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad reports.
Iran has always denied any involvement, but officials say Mr Maliki will once again urge Tehran to support the Baghdad government and stop secretly backing militias.

Tokyo man goes on stabbing spree

A man armed with a knife has injured at least 14 people in central Tokyo, Japanese media say. State television says two of the victims have died.
The incident occurred in the Akihabara district, a shopping area known as Electric Town that is popular with young people and tourists.
Five of the victims suffered cardiac arrest, a spokesman for the Tokyo Fire Department told AP news agency.

A suspect, said to be a 25-year-old man, has been arrested at the scene.
Correspondents say such incidents are rare in Japan.
NHK television reported that the man drove a vehicle into a crowd in the early afternoon and then began stabbing people at random.

French Open - Ana Ivanovic won greate record

Ana Ivanovic confirmed her status as the new world number one with her first Grand Slam title at the French Open.
The 20-year-old second seed beat Russia's Dinara Safina 6-4 6-3 to become the first Serbian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title.
In a tense opening set, Ivanovic got the better of five breaks of serve.
And two breaks in the second were enough for Ivanovic to make up for her heavy defeat by the now retired Justine Henin in last year's final.
Henin was on hand to give Ivanovic the trophy after she sealed victory.
"I'm just so happy I kept my composure until the end," said Ivanovic. "Last year's final was a great learning experience."
The Serbian also had the experience of playing in the Australian Open final in January, losing to Maria Sharapova, while 13th seed Safina was playing her first Grand Slam singles final. With both players looking for a first major title it was understandable that they began in nervous fashion, but it was Ivanovic who looked the calmer as she soon moved a double-break clear.
The fear for Ivanovic supporters before the match had been whether her nerve would hold, and when she let a 40-0 lead slip in game eight to be pegged back to 4-4, it looked a reasonable question.
However, just when Safina needed to heap on the pressure she faltered and a series of errors handed the break straight back, and then helped Ivanovic come through an edgy service game to take the set.

The new world number one - who replaces Sharapova at the top of the rankings on Monday - needed no further encouragement and broke again in game three of the second set with a thumping forehand winner down the line.
And despite lengthy scraps in games six and seven, Safina could not get back on terms before, at 4-3 down, her resolve finally broke.
The Russian had saved match points on her way to beating Sharapova and Elena Dementieva in earlier rounds but there was to be no miracle comeback this time.
"I didn't have any more the fire that I had those matches," said Safina afterwards. "I was tired."
Three unforced errors put Ivanovic 5-3 ahead and Safina then failed to put the second seed under any pressure as she served for the title.
Victory was wrapped up in one hour 38 minutes and Ivanovic immediately headed into the stands to celebrate with her supporters.
"This was amazing," she said. "I still don't realise what happened. As a kid, when I used to go by bike to practice, I used to dream of this."

Turkish government attacks head scarf ruling

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkey's Islamic-oriented governing party on Friday accused the country's top court of overstepping its authority when it struck down a law that would have allowed Muslim head scarves to be worn at universities.Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party campaigned for re-election last year on a promise to lift a ban on head scarves, claiming the prohibition violated religious and personal freedoms. Upon victory, the government passed constitutional amendments to lift the ban.
But the court threw out the amendments Thursday, saying they violated Turkey's secular principles. The decision, which is final, threw up a heavy legal barrier to any further attempts to lift the ban and has deepened the divide between the Islamic-leaning government and secular institutions.
"The decision is a direct interference with parliament's authority," said Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat, the ruling party's deputy chairman. "It is a violation of the rule on the separation of powers."
Though most of Turkey's 70 million people are Muslim, many see the head scarf as an emblem of political Islam and consider any attempt to allow it in schools as an attack on modern Turkey's secular laws. Some also argue that lifting the ban would create pressure on all female students to cover themselves.
Turkey's fiercely secular military signaled satisfaction with the court's decision to uphold the ban, which has been vigorously enforced in public offices and universities since a 1980 military coup.The Constitutional Court's ruling does not bode well for Erdogan's party, which faces the threat of being dissolved under a separate case filed by a prosecutor on grounds it is "the focal point of anti-secular activities."
Erdogan has kept silent on the court decision. But Firat said the prime minister would discuss the ruling with his fellow lawmakers in parliament Tuesday.
Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan was expected to hold a news conference Saturday on the issue.
Another top party member, Bulent Arinc, described the decision as "grave."
"It gives me goose pimples," said Arinc, a former parliament speaker. "The Constitutional Court has indirectly seized the power of parliament."Dozens of people, including some women wearing black chadors, protested the ruling Friday in Ankara. A placard left outside the court building read: "No one can go against God's order to wear head scarves."
Hundreds of people also protested the court ruling in Istanbul and in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, following Friday prayers

Turkish government attacks head scarf ruling

Story Highlights
1) Israeli, Palestinian officials are starting to draft elements for a proposed peace deal
2) Decision does not necessarily reflect agreement on major issues, official says
3) Announcement comes amid violence in Gaza

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have agreed to start drafting elements of a proposed peace accord, the chief Palestinian negotiator said Friday.Ahmed Qureia, the veteran negotiator heading the Palestinian team, made it clear the decision did not necessarily reflect agreement on major issues. But this would be the first time since negotiations resumed more than six months ago that anything would be committed to paper.
"We agreed with the Israelis to begin writing the positions," Qureia told reporters late Friday.
Israeli government officials would not comment and Qureia did not explain why the two sides had agreed at this point to begin drafting a text.
However, the timing coincides with a corruption scandal in Israel that threatens to unseat Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Should Israel find itself going to early elections, polls show Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes major territorial concessions to the Palestinians, becoming Israel's next premier. However, drafting during previous rounds of peace talks has not always meant that those positions were then preserved for future negotiators.
Qureia did not say what issue the two sides would start with. If they reach agreement on any issue, then they will draft a single provision, he said. If not, they will lay out on paper their divergent views, he addedIsrael and the Palestinians resumed peace talks in late November under U.S. prodding. Continued Israeli settlement construction and Israeli security concerns have clouded negotiations, and both sides have expressed doubt about achieving the declared goal of clinching a final accord by the end of the year.
Qureia confirmed that Israeli peace negotiators have offered the Palestinians land in exchange for territory where major West Bank settlements lie, but he termed their offer "unacceptable."
Palestinians would like to incorporate all of the West Bank into a future state, but their moderate president, Mahmoud Abbas, has acknowledged that Israel, with U.S. backing, likely will hold on to blocs where tens of thousands of settlers live. In exchange, Abbas is prepared to relinquish some West Bank land for an equal amount of Israeli land.
Qureia would not say how much territory Israel offered, where it is located or how much West Bank land the Jewish state proposed to keep under a final peace accord with the Palestinians.
"The Israelis presented a land swap offer, but this offer is unacceptable to us," he said.
Other Palestinian officials have said Israel has presented maps giving it 10 percent of the West Bank in exchange for southern Israeli territory near the Gaza Strip.
Early Friday, one Palestinian militant was killed and two were injured in a gunbattle that erupted after Israeli tanks and bulldozers crossed into central Gaza. The military said its forces entered to prevent rocket launches.
Fifteen Palestinians -- some Hamas militants, others civilians -- were wounded in a second aerial attack on a Hamas base in northern Gaza later Friday, doctors said. The missiles destroyed a building, witnesses said.
Hamas also fired four rockets toward Israel, the group said. One landed in the rocket-scarred town of Sderot, damaging six cars, the military said.
The latest flare-up in violence began Thursday when a Hamas mortar killed an Israeli and injured four others in southern Israel. Israel then sent aircraft after a rocket squad, the military said, but apparently missed their target, killing a 6-year-old Palestinian girl.
Olmert warned that Israel was close to abandoning efforts to bring a truce to the volatile area and was seriously considering a large-scale incursion.
"According to the information we have now, the pendulum is much closer to a decision on a harsh operation," Olmert said soon after returning from a brief visit to the U.S.
Egypt has been trying for months to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza's Islamic militant Hamas rulers.
But both sides have set tough conditions for a truce and Israeli leaders are under pressure at home to respond militarily because the weapons in the hands of Gaza militants have become more deadly.

Dark day on Wall Street

The Dow's 395-point drubbing is its biggest one-day point loss in 15 months, after crude prices' largest one-day advance ever and a poor jobs report.
NEW YORK - Stocks tanked Friday, with the Dow industrials shedding 395 points, after oil prices spiked more than $11 a barrel and the May jobs report showed a big jump in the unemployment rate.
Bond prices surged, as investors sought safety in government debt, while the dollar tumbled versus the yen and euro.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 395 points, or 3.1%, its biggest one-day decline on both a point and percentage basis since February of 2007, at the start of the subprime mortgage crisis.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index lost 3.1%, while the Nasdaq composite (COMP) lost 3%. Both saw their biggest one-day declines on both a point and a percentage basis in more than four months.
The unemployment rate shot up to 5.5% in May from 5.0% in April, the government reported, marking the biggest one-month surge in over 20 years. The report was a clear indication that the economy could be in a recession after all, despite some recent bets that one could be narrowly avoided.
As rattling as the unemployment number was, the stock market was even more spooked by the spike in oil prices, said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management.
"I think more than anything, it's the shock of oil prices being up this substantially two days in a row," Stone said.
Crude jumped more than $16 in two sessions, with prices settling up $10.75 to $138.54 a barrel Friday on the weak dollar and in response to a Morgan Stanley note that said oil could hit $150 a barrel by July 4.
The spike exacerbated worries about consumer spending, already stretched as gas prices near a national average of $4 a gallon.
"You're definitely seeing the fear trade today, with the dollar down, commodity prices up and bonds rallying," Stone said.
Stocks could be vulnerable to further declines in the week ahead, after the S&P 500 closed below a key technical level that has previously given a floor to the selling. Traders said stocks could be in danger of moving back to the lows of March and January, which were seen as something of a bottom after months of stock declines.
Jobs market deteriorates: The unemployment rate surged to 5.5% from 5.0%, beating forecasts for a rise to 5.1% and showing the biggest one-month jump since 1986.
The spike really caught people by surprise, said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. He said the report makes it clear that at least for so-called Main Street and the labor market, "we are in a recession, regardless of how we economists define it."
He was referring to the fact that GDP has been limping higher and the economy has not been officially declared to be in a recession by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
However, with non-farm payrolls dropping for a fifth consecutive month, it feels to many people like it's a recession, he said. Employers cut 49,000 from their payrolls, the report showed, versus forecasts for a decline of 60,000.
Dollar falls, oil spikes: The dollar continued its slide versus the euro on the weak jobs report and comments Thursday that the European Central Bank could potentially raise interest rates. The dollar also tanked versus the yen.
The dollar's decline contributed to a rally in dollar-traded commodity prices, with U.S. light crude oil for July delivery settling at $138.54 a barrel, a jump of $10.75. The increase was the biggest single-day price gain since record-keeping began in 1983 - taking out the previous session's record.
Oil prices spiked to a record trading high of $139.12 after the close, before pulling back a bit.
Gold and other commodities rallied too. COMEX gold for August delivery rose $23.50 to settle at $899 an ounce.
Gas backs off record: The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas fell to $3.986 from the previous day's record of $3.989, AAA reported. Gas prices had set new records for 28 of the previous 29 days.
Other markets: Treasury prices rallied, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 3.93% from 4.05% late Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
On the move: Stock declines were broad based, with all 30 Dow issues falling.
The Dow's financial components were hit the hardest, with American Express (AXP, Fortune 500) and Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) both down 5%, and Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) down more than 4%.
AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) slumped more than 7% on reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into whether the insurer overstated the value of contracts connected to subprime markets, something AIG denies. Additionally, it was reported that federal prosecutors have asked the SEC for material related to the investigation.
Other big blue-chip losers included General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), down nearly 5%, and Boeing (BA, Fortune 500), down 5.4%.
Intel (INTC, Fortune 500), Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500), Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) and Qualcomm (QCOM, Fortune 500) were among the biggest technology decliners.
Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners by over 4 to 1 on 1.48 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers by nearly 4 to 1 on volume of 2.20 billion shares.
Stocks spiked Thursday on a surprise dip in weekly jobless claims, stronger-than-expected May retail sales and a merger in the telecom sector. But the advance was short-lived as Friday's barrage of discouraging economic news and spiking oil prices brought out the seller

Medvedev warns against Nato entry

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned Georgia and Ukraine of serious consequences if they press ahead with plans to join Nato.
Mr Medvedev and his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Georgia's president that joining the alliance would lead to a "spiral of confrontation".
Mr Medvedev said Ukraine would be in breach of a friendship treaty if it joined Nato, Mr Lavrov said.
The leaders are at a summit of 12 ex-Soviet states in St Petersburg.
Conflicts
Georgia has been pushing for entry to Nato and the European Union, straining relations with Russia.
Tensions have also grown over Russia's support for separatists in Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Both Russia and Georgia have accused each other of preparing for war in Abkhazia.
"We reiterated our strong interest in seeing those conflicts resolved," Mr Lavrov said, following the meeting with Mr Saakashvili at the Commonwealth of Independent States informal summit.
"We stated this could not be achieved by moving Georgia artificially into Nato because this would lead to another spiral of confrontation in the area."
The Georgian president played down talk of confrontation, saying the problem could be resolved with "goodwill".
'Security risks'
Analysts had been waiting to see if Mr Medvedev's relations with Ukraine and Georgia would be warmer than those under his predecessor, Vladimir Putin. But the new president stuck to the same line as Mr Putin when he met President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine on Friday.
He pointed to a 1997 friendship treaty between Russia and Ukraine.
"The treaty... contains the obligation on the two parties not to do anything which would create threats or risks for the security of the other party," Mr Lavrov told reporters.
"This was reiterated by President Medvedev, that we do not believe Nato membership for Ukraine would serve... the interests of the two countries."
Mr Medvedev also warned Mr Yushchenko not to expel the Russian navy from the base it leases at Sevastopol on Ukraine's Black Sea coast, as it has threatened to do.
And he said Russia would almost double the price it charges neighbouring Ukraine for gas from 1 January, 2009.
Mr Lavrov denied the move was political, saying it was forced by increasing costs in Central Asia. The two countries have had several recent disputes over gas, with Russia cutting supplies and Ukraine alleging Moscow uses gas as a political weapon.

Zimbabwe halts opposition rallies

Zimbabwe's authorities have stopped opposition presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai from campaigning for the 27 June election.
The order banning "several future rallies" came after police briefly detained Mr Tsvangirai ahead of a rally in the second-largest city of Bulawayo.
The length or extent of the ban, which cites security fears, is not yet clear.
It comes soon after the government banned food aid distribution, saying agencies were helping the opposition.
Relief organisations reject the charges, warning that Zimbabwe's "desperate" situation could get even worse. They had been hoping to feed around 600,000 people this month, as the country has just had its harvest.
But when that food runs out early next year, they say between two and four million people - up to a third of the population - will need food aid.

See map of food shortages in Zimbabwe
The restrictions on aid agencies - making the government the sole provider of food aid - have drawn widespread condemnation.
The US ambassador to Zimbabwe said Mr Mugabe's government was using food as a weapon to get votes, distributing food only to its own supporters. Zimbabwe's authorities have stopped opposition presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai from campaigning for the 27 June election.
The order banning "several future rallies" came after police briefly detained Mr Tsvangirai ahead of a rally in the second-largest city of Bulawayo.
The length or extent of the ban, which cites security fears, is not yet clear.
It comes soon after the government banned food aid distribution, saying agencies were helping the opposition.
Relief organisations reject the charges, warning that Zimbabwe's "desperate" situation could get even worse. They had been hoping to feed around 600,000 people this month, as the country has just had its harvest.
But when that food runs out early next year, they say between two and four million people - up to a third of the population - will need food aid.
The restrictions on aid agencies - making the government the sole provider of food aid - have drawn widespread condemnation.
The US ambassador to Zimbabwe said Mr Mugabe's government was using food as a weapon to get votes, distributing food only to its own supporters.

He said the government was also confiscating the identification cards of opposition supporters which means they cannot get government food aid and will not be able to vote in the presidential run-off.
"We are dealing with a desperate regime here which will do anything to stay in power," said Ambassador James McGee.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, said the decision to prevent the agencies carrying out their work was "a true perversion of democracy".
Zimbabwe's National Organisation of Non-Governmental Organisations (Nango) said the ban on field operations was illegal and would have an "immediate, critical and negative impact especially on children, people living with HIV/Aids, the elderly, pregnant mothers and the disabled".
Safety fears
Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says gatherings planned for Harare's high density townships of Glen Norah, Kambuzuma and Mufakose and the city of Chitungwiza were also banned by police.
The party says the ban is "rank madness" as the meetings are its only way to communicate with supporters because it is denied access to public media.
In a statement, the party quoted a letter from the police saying that "because the MDC had complained that its leaders were targets for assassination the authorities could not guarantee their safety and were therefore banning several future public rallies".
The government has previously dismissed MDC concerns of a possible assassination threat as fantasy.
The MDC accuses President Mugabe's supporters of leading a campaign of intimidation which has forced thousands from their homes and left at least 65 dead.
Mr Tsvangirai was detained by police for several hours on Friday - the second such incident in three days. On Wednesday, he was stopped and held for eight hours before being released without charge.
Zimbabwe's information minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu declined to comment.