The following world events are current and related to the headlines. They are intended to provide additional insight into current events and are grouped together in a magazine style for your convenience.

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Pakistani police say they believe they have found the body of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. 

Police say three men arrested in connection with the slaying directed them to a spot where they say he had been buried. Authorities say a body has been found and that they are conducting tests to determine its identity. 

The development comes as the trial of four Islamic militants charged with Mr. Pearl's kidnapping and murder continues in Hyderabad. 

Thursday, defense attorneys cross-examined two FBI agents who testified about photographs of Mr. Peal in captivity and a videotape that appears to show his murder.Defense lawyers say the video appears to have been manipulated by computers. They say it is not clear whether Mr. Pearl was alive, or already dead, when the video was made. 

The video tape surfaced in Karachi in late February - more than a month after Mr. Pearl disappeared in the southern port city, where he was working on a story on Islamic extremism. 

The four defendants could face the death penalty if convicted of Mr. Pearl's kidnapping and murder. At least seven others accused of involvement in the Pearl case are still at large. 

Some information for this report provided by AP. 

Plane hits World Trade Center building

 House Minority leader Dick Gephardt (D-Missouri) said he was surprised to learn now of the intelligence warnings the president received last summer - from the media. Mr. Gephardt said hearings open to the public are needed to find out what U.S. officials knew, when they knew it and what they did with the information. He said lawmakers must understand what happened in order to help prevent future terrorist attacks.

 Republican leaders of the House and Senate have not commented, but several prominent Republicans have also joined in the calls for more information from the White House.

 White House spokesman Ari Fleischer again defended President Bush Thursday, saying the administration "took all appropriate action" to respond to intelligence warnings of attacks.

 He stressed the president was not told anything to indicate that terrorists planned to use commercial airliners as missiles to ram buildings in suicide attacks. He said the threats conveyed to the president were non-specific in nature, and focused more on possible attacks on U.S. embassies overseas.

 Congress is looking into whether the government failed to adequately respond to warnings from U.S. law enforcement agencies in the weeks before the terrorist attacks.

 U.S. news reports quote a CIA spokesman as saying the agency routinely passed on intelligence citing the possibility that al-Qaida might try to harm U.S. interests, and specifically mentioning hijackings as a potential terrorist threat.

 Meanwhile, the FBI announced Wednesday it is creating a new counter-terrorism team in Washington to coordinate all U.S. terrorism investigations worldwide.

 FBI Director Robert Mueller told lawmakers last week the new team will direct all terrorism investigations, centralize the evaluation of intelligence and threats, and ensure that all leads are followed. 

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters. 

Yasser Arafat

 Mr. Arafat's decision was announced Thursday, by advisor Ahmed Abdel Rahman, hours after the Palestinian Legislative Council voted unanimously for changes in the Palestinian Authority.

 The legislative votes call for general elections by early next year, and the resignation of Mr. Arafat's entire 30-member cabinet. That cabinet is to be replaced by a new, smaller circle of advisors within 45 days of the resignations.

 In the past six weeks, Mr. Arafat has come under intense pressure from Israel, the United States and Europe to implement sweeping changes in the Palestinian leadership.

 Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has demanded far-reaching reforms of the Palestinian Authority as a condition for renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

 Analysts say today's council votes appear to be the first significant internal challenge to Mr. Arafat's authority since parliament was established in 1996.

 Meanwhile, Israel says it has foiled a series of planned Palestinian terrorist attacks with pre-emptive raids in the West Bank.

 The Israeli army says it has arrested 21 suspected Palestinian militants in the town of Ramallah, and says troops also shot and killed a member of the Palestinian security services during the raids.

 Earlier Thursday, the army reported the arrests of 17 other militants - including several senior members of the militant group Hamas - in a village north of Nablus. 

Some information for this report provided by AP. 

The Pentagon says 30 U.S. troops have arrived in Yemen to begin training Yemeni soldiers in combating terrorism. 

U.S. authorities have not revealed details of the mission, but a Pentagon spokesman confirmed Thursday that the U.S. deployment may be expanded to include about 100 U.S. troops. 

U.S. intelligence analysts believe some al-Qaida terrorists may be hiding in Yemen, located on the southwest tip of the Arabian peninsula. 

In March, the Pentagon deployed an advance team to assess Yemeni training needs, amid news reports the Sanaa government wants the United States to train about two thousand Yemeni soldiers. Yemeni officials said then they also wanted help in building a Naval training facility in the seaport of Aden. 

The VOA Pentagon correspondent says U.S. defense officials also may be considering an even more extensive relationship with Eritrea - another state strategically located on the Red Sea. 

In an interview, Pentagon African Affairs official Michael Westphal says closer military links with Eritrea would be beneficial, but he says no concrete decisions have been made. U.S. officials have said members of Osama bin Laden's terrorist al-Qaida network may have fled to Somalia from Afghanistan. 

In March, U.S. security experts began discussions with the Yemeni government on the possibility of reviving a deal to refuel U.S. warships in Aden. In October of 2000, the port was the scene of a terrorist attack on a U.S. warship, the Cole, that killed 17 U.S. sailors and wounded 39 others. 

India's government is due to brief Parliament Friday on its response to this week's violence in disputed Kashmir. 

India accuses three Pakistan-based Islamic militants of attacking a passenger bus and an army camp in northern Kashmir Tuesday. The attacks killed 34 people - most of them family members of Indian soldiers and other civilians. 

Top Indian leaders, including Home Minister L.K. Advani and Defense Minister George Fernandes, have discussed the issue in New Delhi. In a television interview, Indian Army Chief, General S. Padmanabhan gave no details of the talks, but said New Delhi must take action as a result of the latest Kashmir violence. 

Indian officials blame Pakistan for not doing more to curtail terrorist attacks. Pakistan rejects the charge as ridiculous and condemns the attacks. 

The attack has renewed fears of another war between India and Pakistan. 

The two nuclear rivals have massed a million men on both sides of their border in a standoff sparked by a December assault on India's parliament that New Delhi blames on Pakistan-based rebels. More than 30,000 people have died in Kashmir since Pakistan-based militants began fighting the Indian army more than a decade ago. Some guerrillas want outright independence for the disputed Himalayan territory, while others want it to join Pakistan. 

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters. 

May 8-10, the United Nations held a special session on children and adolescents of the world. The meeting brought together government leaders, NGOs, children's advocates and young people to discuss how the world views and treats children. 

In this series of reports, VOA takes a look at some of the issues discussed during the two-day conference. 

UN Special Session for Children Opens in New York `   UN Children's Forum Focuses on AIDS ILO: 200 Million Children Work Instead of Going to School UNICEF: Millions of Children Die Annually from Preventable Diseases High Malnutrition Rate in South Asian Children Worries UN Study Links Breastfeeding to Smarter Children Vitamin-Fortified Food Initiative for Children in Developing Countries Group Says 180 Million Children Engage in Dangerous Labor UN's Child 'Summit' Concludes Dateline: A Child's View of UN Special Session

Israeli forces have returned to Jenin, the West Bank refugee camp that was severely damaged during a military incursion last month. 

The Israeli army says troops arrested a number of suspected militants during the operation. 

Palestinians say gunfights broke out when Israeli forces entered the town and camp, but they report no casualties before the troops pulled back. 

Palestinian witnesses say Israeli troops set fire to the home of a Hamas militant Jamal Abu Alhija in the camp when family members said they did not know where he was. 

The refugee camp in Jenin suffered the worst damage during Israel's original incursion into cities and town throughout the West Bank last month. Palestinians said Israeli troops massacred hundreds of civilians in Jenin. Israeli denied the charge, and no evidence of a massacre has emerged. 

Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli troops are reported to have entered Tulkarm overnight. In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army says it killed a Palestinian gunman as he approached a Jewish settlement Dugit. 

The clashes and troop movements occurred after a senior advisor to Yasser Arafat said the Palestinian leader has agreed to hold presidential and parliamentary elections within six months. Mr. Arafat's decision was announced Thursday by advisor Ahmed Abdel Rahman, after the Palestinian Legislative Council voted unanimously for changes in the Palestinian Authority. Lawmakers demanded a new, smaller cabinet, and called for general elections by early next year. 

Mr. Arafat has come under pressure from the United States and Europe, and many Palestinians, to implement changes in the Palestinian leadership. 

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

Condoleezza Rice

 Speaking at a news conference in Washington Thursday, Ms. Rice said there was no way to predict terrorists would crash hijacked planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. She said intelligence officials expected a hijacking overseas, in which terrorists would offer to release hostages in exchange for a jailed ally's freedom.

 Her comments came after the White House acknowledged President Bush received an intelligence briefing in August of last year about possible hijackings by followers of Osama bin Laden. The revelation sparked demands by some lawmakers and victims' family members for more information about what was known before the attacks, which killed more than 3,000 people. Ms. Rice said the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Aviation Administration each issued four warnings to U.S. airlines and law enforcement in the middle of last year. But she said there was not enough information to make a public warning or to prevent the attacks. 

The Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle of South Dakota, asked President Bush to turn over notes on the August intelligence briefing when he learned about the threats, and the House minority leader, Dick Gephardt of Missouri, called for open hearings about the issue. Several prominent Republicans joined the Democratic leaders in calling for more information.
 
 

Pakistani police say they have apparently found the body of American journalist Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped nearly four months ago. 

Authorities in Karachi say they found a beheaded body in a shallow grave, and also found a small room nearby matching what was seen on a video showing Mr. Pearl during his captivity. Officials say they found a chair and other items that resemble those in the video. 

A Pakistan official says medical teams have taken hair and teeth samples from the body for testing to see if the remains are those of the Wall Street Journal (newspaper) reporter. Two U.S. officials have joined forensic experts at the gravesite where the body, which had been cut into pieces, was uncovered. 

Police went to the grave in the Gaddap area of Karachi late Thursday, after talking to a man detained for questioning. Some news reports say the grave was found after three men were arrested as suspects in the kidnap and murder of Mr. Pearl. 

Meanwhile, the trial of four Islamic militants charged with Mr. Pearl's kidnapping and murder continues in Hyderabad. The four defendants could face the death penalty if convicted. At least seven others accused of involvement remain at large. Mr. Pearl disappeared January 23rd in the southern port city of Karachi, where he was working on a story on Islamic extremism. 

Some information for this report provided by AP, Reuters and AFP.

AP
Aung San Suu Kyi (1999 photo)

 The democracy leader was driven to the suburb of Shwepyitha Friday, about 30 kilometers from downtown Rangoon, to meet with followers and officials at a National League for Democracy branch office.

 The last time Aung San Suu Kyi tried to leave Rangoon, in September of 2000, the military junta put her under house arrest for defying an order against traveling.

 Her release this month was brought about in part by talks brokered by U.N. special envoy Razali Ismail, who has visited the country seven times over the past two years.

 Mr. Razali told U.N. delegates Thursday that the Nobel peace laureate's release has started the momentum in terms of political reform in Rangoon. He says the United Nations must seize the opportunity to push for an early transition to democracy.

 Also on Thursday, the Bush administration offered new humanitarian assistance to Burma, while at the same time urging Rangoon to free more political prisoners.

 A state Department spokeswoman said the administration will work with Congress on donating money to fight AIDS in Burma through U.N. agencies or independent non-governmental organizations.

 A senior member of Burma's military government is currently in Washington, meeting with State Department officials. Colonel Kyaw Thein has been told that his government should take additional concrete steps toward political reform and national reconciliation. 

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

 The Web sites of The Washington Post, Reuters and the Associated Press were accessible Friday from Internet cafes in Beijing and Shanghai. However, the Internet sites of many other foreign news media, including the Voice of America, are still blocked. Web sites that China considers subversive, such as that of the banned Falun Gong movement, also are blocked.

 Authorities would not say why the sites were made accessible after years of blocking, or how long the new access would last. China has freed up various blocked foreign news sites in the past, but mostly on a temporary basis.

 The Communist government is struggling to balance promotion of the Internet as a commercial medium with efforts to stifle political dissent.