BAGHDAD -- The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was arrested in the northern city of Mosul, the Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman said Thursday.

The U.S. military in Baghdad said "we are currently checking with Iraqi authorities to confirm the accuracy of this information."

Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said that Mosul police "arrested one of al-Qaida's leaders at midnight and during the primary investigations he admitted that he is Abu Hamza Al-Muhajir."

News of the arrest was also reported by Iraqi state television and Arab satellite TV stations.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- After more than a month of failed negotiations with government officials, thousands of farmers have re-created roadblocks and held back production all over the country to protest a controversial increase in agricultural export taxes.

The country's four main farm groups set up 150 roadblocks around Argentina on Thursday, blocking soybeans, rice and other grains from reaching markets. They also were refusing to release their own production of the grains.

While farm leaders said the strike would last only eight days, splinter groups took the protest further by blocking some major highways and promising to stay on the roads until Argentina's federal government lowered export taxes on soybeans and sunflowers.

MEXICO CITY -- A top police official and national coordinator in Mexico's battle against drug trafficking and organized crime was assassinated inside his home here before dawn Thursday.

Edgar Millan Gomez, 42, was the third-ranking member of Mexico's Public Safety Secretariat, which oversees law enforcement.

Two other high-ranking federal security officials have been shot in the past week in Mexico City.

A college-educated professional with 20 years of law enforcement experience, Millan Gomez was precisely the kind of man President Felipe Calderon is counting on to rebuild Mexico's tarnished and ineffective police forces.

He was shot eight times after arriving at his home in the Guerrero district of central Mexico City about 2:30 a.m. on his return from work.

Police sources told the newspaper El Universal that the so-called Sinaloa Cartel was believed to be behind the attack. The cartel is one of several organized crime groups that have grown rich transporting Colombian cocaine, locally manufactured methamphetamines and other illicit drugs to the United States.

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he never took illegal campaign contributions, denying allegations in a police investigation. But he says if he's indicted, he'll resign.

Olmert made a statement late Thursday at his official residence after a gag order was lifted from the case. According to police suspicions, Olmert accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal contributions from a U.S. citizen, Moshe Talansky.

In a statement broadcast live on local TV and radio stations, Olmert said a lawyer handled his finances, and everything was legal. "I never took bribes, I never took a penny for myself," he said.

He said he would not fight to stay in office if he is charged. "If I am indicted, I will resign my post," he said.

TOKYO -- China's president faced hundreds of protesters and sharp criticism of his Tibet policy outside an elite Tokyo university Thursday, signaling the tensions underlining a visit meant to showcase warm Japan-China ties.

Inside Waseda University, President Hu Jintao urged Beijing and Tokyo to put their bitter wartime history behind them -- underlining efforts at bolstering ties between Asia's two giants.

The president's comments on the wartime past were crucial, as Beijing has often accused Tokyo of failing to properly atone for its military conquests on the Asian mainland in the 1930s and 40s.

In a 30-minute address at Waseda, Hu mentioned Japan's "militaristic invasion of China," but that it should not be dwelled upon.

"This unfortunate history not only caused tremendous suffering to the Chinese people but also gravely hurt the Japanese people," he said. "It's important for us to remember history, but this does not mean we should hold grudges."

But as Hu spoke, protests thundered outside. Hundreds of riot police circled the venue, keeping chanting pro-Tibet demonstrators about 100 yards away. Minor scuffles broke out, and several protesters were seen being led away by officers.