Iraq backs off allegations on Iran

As the government appeared to back down from its hardening stance against Iran, in Anbar, four Marines were killed in the deadliest attack in the Sunni province in months.

The government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, told reporters Sunday that a committee was formed to find "tangible information" about foreign intervention, specifically Iran's role in Iraq rather than "information based on speculation."

"We don't want to be pushed into any conflict with any neighboring countries, especially Iran. What happened before is enough. We paid a lot," Dabbagh said, referring to the eight years war between the two nations in which an estimated 1 million people died.

Zimbabwe teachers say they are targets following election

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Educators have become targets in Zimbabwe's postelection violence, a teachers union said Sunday, threatening a nationwide strike unless the government stops the attacks.

The Roman Catholic Justice and Peace Commission also protested political violence and called on the United Nations and African Union to supervise a planned presidential runoff.

In a statement to coincide with Sunday services, the Catholic human rights body said the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission could no longer be relied on as a "neutral and nonpartisan electoral umpire" after its five-week delay in announcing final results of the March 29 national election amid witness reports of politically motivated murder, abduction and torture.

"All fair minded Zimbabweans have lost faith and confidence in ZEC which can no longer be trusted to superintend a runoff," the commission said.

China president hopeful as officials meet Dalai Lama

SHENZHEN, China -- The Dalai Lama's envoys met Chinese officials Sunday in the first talks between the two sides since violent anti-government protests erupted in Tibet, bringing international pressure on Beijing ahead of the Summer Olympics.

International critics have accused China of heavy-handed tactics in quelling anti-government riots and protests in Tibet and Tibetan areas of western China that began in March. Some experts believe Beijing agreed to meet with the envoys to ease that criticism ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August.

The Dalai Lama, the Buddhist spiritual leader who fled Tibet in 1959 amid a Chinese crackdown, has previously said he wants some form of autonomy that would allow Tibetans to freely practice their culture, language and religion.

China's official Xinhua News Agency confirmed the meeting took place "at the repeated requests made by the Dalai side." As the two parties gathered, President Hu Jintao said in Beijing he hoped for a "positive outcome" and that the "door of dialogue remains open," Xinhua said.

The Chinese officials, Zhu Weiqun and Sitar, told the envoys that violence in Tibet "had given rise to new obstacles for further contacts and consultations with the Dalai side" but the government "still arranged this meeting with great patience and sincerity," Xinhua reported.

Cyclone kills at least 351 in Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar -- A powerful cyclone killed more than 350 people and destroyed thousands of homes, state-run media said Sunday. Some dissident groups worried that the military junta running Myanmar would be reluctant to ask for international help.

Tropical Cyclone Nargis hit at a delicate time for the junta, less than a week ahead of a crucial referendum on a new constitution. Should the junta be seen as failing disaster victims, voters who already blame the regime for ruining the economy and squashing democracy could take out their frustrations at the ballot box.

Some in Yangon complained the 400,000-strong military was doing little to help victims after Saturday's storm.

"Where are all those uniformed people who are always ready to beat civilians?" said a trishaw driver who refused to be identified for fear of retribution. "They should come out in full force and help clean up the areas and restore electricity."

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been under military rule since 1962. Its government has been widely criticized for human rights abuses and suppression of pro-democracy parties such as the one led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for almost 12 of the past 18 years.

Milosevic loyalists could return to power in Serbia

BELGRADE, Serbia -- Two years after Slobodan Milosevic died in prison while on trial for genocide, his Serbian loyalists may score a parliamentary election victory May 11 that would return them to power and dramatically worsen the West's troubles in the Balkans.

The outcome will determine whether Serbia moves toward the European Union and the U.S., or seeks closer ties with Russia.

Outrage over Western support for independent Kosovo is driving many of the 6.7 million voters into the arms of the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party, which used to rule together with Milosevic. Polls suggest the Radicals have a lead of 100,000 votes over the opposition, a coalition whose Western yearnings are embodied in its name, "For a European Serbia."

"It's a stark choice -- back to isolation and instability, or closer to the European Union and economic recovery," says Boris Tadic, the Serbian president who heads the pro-Western bloc but is not up for election Sunday.

A nationalist victory also would mean non-cooperation in the hunt for the remaining war crimes fugitives, in a Balkan region still suffering from the aftershocks of the ethnic conflicts in the 1990s.

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Islamic insurgents killed at least three Ethiopian soldiers during a gunfight in the Somali capital on Sunday, a witness said.

Mohamed Toshow said both sides exchanged fire after an attack on an Ethiopian water tanker in southern Mogadishu.

Ethiopian troops supporting the shaky U.N.-backed transitional government come under daily attack by Islamic insurgents, who receive support from Ethiopia's archenemy Eritrea.

In an unrelated incident, inter-clan fighting in western Somalia killed at least 12 people and wounded at least 15 others during a land dispute, residents said Sunday.

Osman Enow, a resident in the town of Luq, said a dozen people had been killed when fighting broke out on Saturday night and that the wounded were being treated under trees because there were no hospitals in the area.

BEIJING -- A highly infectious virus that has killed 24 children in China is unlikely to be a threat to the Beijing Olympics, although it is too early to tell whether it has peaked, the World Health Organization said Sunday.

The death toll from the virus, which mostly sickens children, rose to 24 Sunday as two more deaths were reported in a new province amid heightened efforts by China's Health Ministry to contain it.

The outbreak of enterovirus 71 -- which causes a severe type of hand, foot and mouth disease -- is another headache for the Communist government as it prepares for the Olympic Games, already tarnished by unrest among Tibetans in western China and an international torch relay disrupted by protests.

"I don't see it at all as a threat to the Olympics or any upcoming events ... This is a disease mainly affecting young children," WHO China representative Hans Troedsson told a news conference.

Troedsson said the virus normally peaks in June and July, meaning there could still be an increase in infections as the weather warms. The disease thrives in hot climates, and Asia has seen increased occurrences, including in Singapore, Vietnam and Taiwan, he said.

China's Health Ministry issued a nationwide alert over the weekend after the virus, also known as EV-71, infected more than 4,500 children in central Anhui province resulting in 22 deaths.

The two most recent reported deaths occurred about 1,000 miles to the south in Guangdong prov