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An unidentified man cries as Wissam Abdullah Mohsin's body is taken away from the morgue in Ramadi

Witnesses say as many as 75 Iraqi policemen and police recruits had just graduated Saturday morning from a training course conducted by U.S. troops. The Iraqi men were walking along a road when the blast occurred.

The U.S. military in Baghdad would not speculate on what caused the explosion, saying the matter was being investigated. But news agencies are reporting that a powerful roadside bomb may have been responsible.

Ramadi, about 95 kilometers west of Baghdad, is one of several predominately Sunni Muslim towns in the area, which are strongholds of support for deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. For several weeks, Ramadi has been the site of frequent attacks that have killed U.S. troops and innocent Iraqis.

The explosion comes a day after the broadcast of an audiotape, purportedly from Saddam Hussein, on the Arab television network, Al-Jazeera. The voice on the tape urged all Iraqis to continue resisting coalition troop presence, and promised more attacks against what it termed the "infidel invaders" in the coming days.

U.S. officials say the Central Intelligence Agency is analyzing the tape to verify whether the voice is really that of Saddam Hussein. But it is clear that many Iraqis are becoming increasingly convinced that the ousted leader survived the U.S.-led war, and is planning to return to power.

The owner of a music store in downtown Baghdad, Ahmed, is one of many people here who believe the audiotape is that of the ousted leader.

Ahmed says he does think that Saddam is alive, but he does not want to say whether the news is good or bad. He says all Iraqis suffered under Saddam, and they are still suffering, so it really does not matter who is in charge of the country.

For weeks, coalition troops have been ambushed on a daily basis. But the attacks have become increasingly bolder in recent days.

On Friday, a mortar round hit a U.S. base near the central Iraqi town of Balad, wounding 16 soldiers, two seriously. Hours later, 11 Iraqis attacked a U.S. military convoy on a highway near Balad. U.S. soldiers returned fire, killing all of the men.

U.S. officials say they believe the attacks are not centrally organized. But the uncertainty over the fate of Saddam Hussein is clearly hampering coalition efforts to rebuild a stable post-war Iraq.

Two days ago, Washington announced that the United States would pay a $25 million reward for information leading to the capture of the former Iraqi leader. The reward for the capture of Saddam's sons, Uday and Qusay, is $15 million for each.
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At Least 7 Iraqi Policemen Killed in Powerful Explosion CIA Analyzing Purported Saddam Recording New Iraqi Attacks Dampen US Soldiers' Mood on July 4 Holiday US Soldier Killed in Iraq Mortar Attack

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Two female suicide bombers killed at least 18 people, and injured numerous others, when they blew themselves up at a rock festival in Moscow on Saturday. Russian officials say Chechen rebels were to blame.

AP
People watch the scene of bomb blasts at a rock festival at the Tushino airfield in suburban Moscow

The locations of two subsequent explosions were not immediately determined. Police officials said one of the women carried a suicide belt packed with one kilogram of explosives.

Up to 40,000 young Muscovites had gathered at the airfield for an open-air rock festival, called Krylya, or the Wings. The festival is an annual one-day summer event, featuring mostly Russian bands, and is very popular among the Russian youth.

Russian Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov said Chechen separatists were likely to have been responsible for the suicide bombings. He said the attacks were probably a response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to hold Kremlin-run presidential elections in the breakaway province.

On Friday, Mr. Putin signed a decree ordering the elections to be held on October 5.

AP
Police officers stand near bodies of victims of blast

Fears of terrorism have been high in Moscow since last October, when several dozen Chechen separatists seized a Moscow theater with more than 800 people inside. The hostage-takers included women with explosives and detonators strapped to their bodies.

At least 129 people were killed, most of them as a result of the narcotic gas that Russian special forces used in a rescue attempt.

Then, on June 5, a female suicide bomber killed herself and 17 other people in Chechnya, when she blew herself up near a bus carrying Russian air pilots.

Chechen separatists have stepped up attacks since the Kremlin held a constitutional referendum in March that confirmed Chechnya as a part of Russia.
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Suicide Bombing at Moscow Rock Festival Kills 15 Sting Operation Snares Russian Border Guards Taking Bribes, Helping Criminals

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George W. Bush

President Bush used his weekly radio address to praise the men and women of the U.S. armed forces, saying millions of people across the world are free today because of what he calls "the unselfish courage of America's veterans."

Mr. Bush says all who live in tyranny and all who yearn for freedom place their hopes in the United States.

"Without America's active involvement in the world, the ambitions of tyrants would go unopposed, and millions would live at the mercy of terrorists. With America's active involvement in the world, tyrants have learned to fear, and terrorists are on the run," said President Bush.

He says the nation is grateful for the sacrifices of military families, as the current generation of soldiers face what he calls "the threats of a new era," fighting new battles in the war on terrorism.

"On this Fourth of July weekend, we also remember the brave Americans we've lost in Afghanistan and Iraq," he said. " We honor each one for their courage and sacrifice. We think of the families who miss them so much. And we are thankful that this nation produces such fine men and women, who are willing to defend us all."

Ciro Rodriguez

"These veterans have made tremendous sacrifices to guarantee the safety and security of America," said Cogressman Rodriguez. "We should honor their bravery by compensating them, both for the time they serve and for the disabilities they incurred while serving their country."

Mr. Rodriguez says Congressional Democrats want to extend education benefits to military reservists and include more low-income families in the president's tax cuts.

He says the Republican plan unfairly favors the wealthy by making service men and women who earn less than $26,000 a year ineligible for new child tax credits.

"The Republicans failed to extend the child tax credit to [all] military families," he said. "That hurts more than 250,000 children of military personnel, many of whom are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan."

President Bush has called on Congressional Republicans to extend the child tax credits to more low-income families. Republican legislators want to link that with additional tax breaks for wealthier Americans.
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Bush Sends 'Assessment' Team to Liberia Transcript of VOA Interview with President Bush on African Issues In VOA Interview, Bush Says No Decision Made Yet On Sending US Troops to Liberia Bush Supports 'No Nonsense' Approach to Palestinian Security

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The University of Colorado Events Center is usually filled with cheering crowds, who flock there in the thousands for basketball games and graduations.

But on this sunny summer morning, the arena has been reserved for just 50 people. These public health officials, private emergency crews, police and church volunteers, are all focused on a safety drill. The church volunteers wear fluorescent orange safety vests to make them easy to spot, in the event that someday they must deal with large crowds of frightened citizens, and they're prepared for my somewhat unusual question.

"Does anyone here have smallpox?" I asked.

"I don't," answered a volunteer, laughing. "No one here has smallpox."

That's hardly surprising. Thanks to worldwide efforts, the last known case of smallpox occurred over 20 years ago. In the United States, the risk has been so minimal, doctors stopped vaccinating against the disease in 1972. But there's always a chance that terrorists might release the deadly virus. This is the reason for today's smallpox drill, as volunteer Terry Owen points out.

"We are training today so that we can train others, so we can get more volunteers and we'll have lots of personnel if this actually did happen and they'll be well trained," she explains.

Volunteer training today begins with a video, produced by the government's Centers for Disease Control, about smallpox vaccinations.

As one group pays close attention to the video, another gets ready to simulate a mass inoculation program. Boulder County Immunization Program Coordinator, Pat Hood, explains to the volunteers playing health workers how to advise other volunteers who are playing the role of citizens who want to be vaccinated.

"If they're concerned that they might be pregnant or they might be HIV positive, then we can do testing here," she says. "If none of those issues apply then they're just directed right on here to the vaccination site."

At that vaccination site, the first volunteer rolls up his sleeve, to time how long getting a shot might take. Ms. Hood says that he will not be vaccinated. "What we're doing is everything except actually poking people," she explains.

Inoculating these volunteers today would make them immune to smallpox. But as participants at this mock drill are learning, many national experts believe the risk from being vaccinated is greater than the risk of contracting smallpox.

"When there is no disease against which to protect ourselves, just the potential for disease, then we ought to be very careful about how we vaccinate," says William Schaeffer, the chair of Preventative Medicine at Vanderbilt University and an outspoken skeptic of mass vaccination campaigns for smallpox.

"When you can make some people ill, and some seriously ill, then you have to proceed with care, and unfortunately, we have only this very imperfect vaccine to use at this time," he says.

Dr. Schaeffer stresses that America's long-standing policy of vaccinating for measles, diphtheria and tetanus, during a child's regular pediatric exam, makes sense. Those are common diseases with vaccines that are considered safe. In contrast, smallpox has been eradicated around the world, and the risk of getting sick from the smallpox vaccine is relatively high.

The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta estimates that the vaccine causes serious side effects in one out of every 1,000 recipients and is fatal in one out of every million. That's why the CDC recommends that the smallpox vaccine should not be administered to pregnant women, anyone with a weakened immune system or the skin rash eczema, and people at risk for heart attack, such as smokers or those with high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol.

And a mass inoculation campaign is not necessarily the best strategy. According to Colorado's chief medical officer, Ned Colange, it's possible to contain an infectious disease without vaccinating everyone.

"What many people don't realize is that mass vaccination is not what got rid of smallpox," he says. "What eliminated smallpox from the population was ring vaccination and usual epidemiology techniques."

Ring vaccination is a focused form of emergency inoculation, in which health officials identify the ring of contacts for a person with a serious contagion. Those contacts are vaccinated, then the search widens for the ring of their contacts. This method has successfully contained many disease outbreaks, for instance, in a community or school where people have been exposed to Hepatitis A. Even when a vaccine is not available, the technique can still be effective. For instance, "ring quarantines" have been a key to containing the spread of SARS.

Dr. Colange says that if an outbreak of smallpox ever did occur, health officials might use a combination approach, conducting a mass vaccination in a huge ring within the community where smallpox has occurred, then staying alert in regions where no one has yet come down with disease. But as Boulder County's Public Information Officer, Jim Burrus, points out, it always helps to test things before you actually have to do them.

"I think everybody learns from practice, and instead of just thinking what if, actually going through a plan and making it real," he says.

Thanks to today's drill at the CU Events Center, Mr. Burrus says he's confident that all 300,000 residents of Boulder County could be vaccinated for smallpox in three to five days. What's more, he says, this exercise has improved the area's ability to respond to many other emergencies, including hazardous spills, floods, forest fires, or the outbreak of a different deadly disease.
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US Military Study Says It's Safe to Conduct Large Smallpox Vaccination Campaign President Bush Orders Smallpox Vaccinations for Some Members of US Military

Revival of Smallpox Inoculations Brings Back Dangerous Vaccine US Develops Smallpox Plan to Counter Bioterrorism

Targeted Smallpox Vaccination May Work as Well as Mass Campaign US Health Officials Prepare for Massive Smallpox Vaccination Campaign US Health Experts Debate Use of Smallpox Vaccine

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Palestinian wounded being brought into Gaza city hospital

It's still unclear what caused the explosion in the Gaza Strip. Palestinians say the blast may have been caused by an explosive device left behind when Israeli troops withdrew from the area recently. Israel says it is checking into the matter.

Israeli officials also say an explosive device went off overnight near an army patrol in the same area in Gaza.

Israeli forces have left parts of Gaza and the West Bank town of Bethlehem as part of an agreement to turn over security responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority.

AP
Mahmoud Abbas reads his notes during the weekly cabinet meeting in Gaza city

Major Palestinian militant groups agreed a week ago to stop attacking Israelis for the next three months. But they are demanding that Israeli meets certain conditions, including releasing Palestinians prisoners.

The Israeli security service, Shin Bet, is reported to be preparing a list of Palestinian prisoners who could be released in the near future. That list is expected to be presented at Sunday's weekly Cabinet meeting.

Some Palestinian militants have demanded the release of thousands of prisoners. Otherwise, they say, the truce could collapse.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas met with Islamic Jihad on Friday, one day after meeting with the Hamas militant group in an effort to shore up the still fragile week-long cease-fire. Mr. Abbas is expected to meet again with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the coming week.

The Israeli military said that Hezbollah guerillas in Lebanon fired a total of 26 missiles into northern Israel Saturday, damaging some homes and a parked car, but causing no injuries. Missile fragments landed in the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona.
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Israeli Troops Leave Bethlehem; Palestinians Now Responsible for Security

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Tung Chee Hwa

Hong Kong's chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, announced Saturday that new safeguards for media freedoms will be written into the anti-subversion legislation proposed by his government.

At a news conference, Mr. Tung said he has agreed to new amendments to those provisions that have prompted the most controversy.

Mr. Tung says he will also delete provisions of the laws that allow the police to make searches without an arrest warrant, and that allow Hong Kong to ban local branches of groups outlawed on the Mainland.

These new amendments come after half a million people took to the streets on July 1, protesting both the legislation and Mr. Tung's handling of the government.

Mr. Tung acknowledged that he agreed to the changes because of public discontent.

"We have listened and understood the current concerns of the community over the legislative proposals, In order to fully allay the concerns of the community, we have agreed to introduce further amendments," he said.

The United States and many European countries had urged Mr. Tung to drop or amend the legislation, arguing such laws could compromise the autonomy granted Hong Kong in 1997, when the British colony was returned to Chinese sovereignty.

Under the so-called "one country, two systems" policy, Hong Kong has retained many freedoms not enjoyed on the Mainland.

Mr. Tung's concessions came after a number of his traditional supporters seemed to be deserting him in the wake of the huge protest. In a surprise move, the head of the pro-business Liberal Party, normally Mr. Tung's staunch supporter, flew to Beijing this week to ask the central government to postpone a final vote on the legislation, scheduled here for next Wednesday.

After Mr. Tung's announcement Saturday, a Liberal Party member said the party still favors delaying the vote.

Liberal Party member Miriam Lau says her party will gauge the public's response before deciding how to vote on the amended legislation.

Other legislators say they need time to review the new amendments before taking a position. Some government supporters, however, welcomed the amendments and say they are ready to vote on Wednesday.

Tsang Yok-sing, the leader of Hong Kong's biggest pro-China party, now thinks the legislation should face a vote on Wednesday as planned.

Mr. Tung says he will press ahead with next week's vote, noting that as part of China, Hong Kong is required to enact national security laws.

The new amendments have not discouraged plans for another mass public demonstration, scheduled to be held outside the legislative chambers during the final vote.

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Hong Kong Delays Decision on Anti-Sedition Laws Hong Kong Business Community Unmoved by Protests Hong Kong Official Promises Protesters to be 'More Responsive'

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AP
Pervez Musharraf reacts to attack on Quetta mosque

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf condemned Friday's suicide attack on a Shiite mosque in Quetta in unequivocal words, and vowed to rid the country of the type of extremists who carried it out.

"I condemn them in the strongest language," he said. " They are people not only harming our nation, but they are harming (and) bring bad name to this great religion, Islam. They think they are doing this for the sake of their religion but actually they are disgracing our religion."

As Mr. Musharraf was speaking, after his return from a trip abroad, a mass funeral for 41 victims of the bombing was taking place in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan Province. At least 47 people, including the three bombers, died in the attack.

AP
Troops patrol streets of Quetta

Local officials say three "terrorists" took part in the bombing. They say two of the attackers blew themselves up with bombs attached to their bodies while the third was wounded and died later in the hospital.

The bombing triggered violent protests, forcing the provincial government to impose an indefinite curfew and deploy troops in Quetta. The curfew remained in effect Saturday, and reports said that only mourners were exempted.

Some commentators suggest the mosque attack was linked to Pakistan's cooperation in U-S led efforts to root out terrorism and extremist forces in neighboring Afghanistan. President Musharraf says he does not rule out such a possibility.

"Yes indeed we are looking into it. The possibility of any across-the-border involvement cannot be ruled out. We need to see and we will have to take stern action whatever the cause," he said.

No one has claimed responsibility for Friday's attack. The violent conflict between Sunnis and Shiites has killed hundreds of people in Pakistan. In recent months, the government has banned several Islamic groups as part of a crackdown on extremist religious forces in the country.

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Army Troops Patrol Streets of Quetta, Southwestern Pakistan, After Mosque Bombing Violent Protests Follow Attack on Pakistani Mosque

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Details remain sketchy of the raid Turkish authorities say was carried out Friday by U.S. troops against Turkish special forces based in the province of Sulaiymaniyah, in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq.

U.S. officials in Ankara said they were unaware of the incident.

Media reports in the country said some 100 U.S. troops moved against the Turkish special forces to prevent them from carrying out an attack against a Kurdish regional governor. But Turkish officials denied such an attack had been planned.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday described the reported detention of Turkish troops as an ugly act by the United States.

Turkey's deputy chief of general staff, General Yasar Buyukanit, said Turkey could not, as he put it, understand America's aims.

Turkish officials say Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday, seeking clarification about the reported raid. They said Mr. Powell had pledged to look into the affair, but had yet to provide a response.

Several thousands Turkish troops have been stationed in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq since the end of the 1991 Gulf War, to hunt down Turkish Kurd separatist rebels based in the mountainous enclave.

Turkey fears that the Iraqi Kurds are seeking to create an ind