GENEVA - U.S. President Bill Clinton on Thursday called on the United Nations disarmament body in Geneva to relaunch negotiations

aimed at halting future production of nuclear bomb-making fissile material.

SAO PAULO - Brazil faced global markets on firmer ground on Thursday after the government won a key policy victory in Congress, sending a signal to investors that it will fight to avert an economic meltdown.

BONN - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Thursday called on the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrial nations plus Russia to send a "clear message of support" for the world`s poor nations by stepping up debt relief initiatives.

COSTESTI, Romania - Some 10,000 striking Romanian miners

were entrenched in hills north of Bucharest on Wednesday, where police raised a formidable barrier trying to bar their advance on the capital.

MOSCOW - Russia avoided bankruptcy and Boris Yeltsin escaped the need for surgery on Wednesday but neither the country nor its leader was yet out of the woods.

BAGHDAD - An Iraqi newspaper said on Thursday the United States was to blame for the split in the U.N. Security Council over Iraq because it was trying to exert control over the council without the backing of others.

TOKYO - Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert said on Thursday he believed the Palestinian Authority`s lack of democratic practices posed a threat to the Middle East peace process.

GAZA - Palestinian President

Yasser Arafat said on Wednesday the end of an interim peacemaking period with Israel on May 4 would be a "sacred day" but gave no firm indication he would declare an independent state on that date.

TOKYO - Japan, one of the few world powers which still gives substantial aid to Myanmar, on Thursday urged the nation`s military rulers to start a dialogue with pro-democracy groups led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Japan`s top defence officials on Thursday held the first meeting of an intelligence panel set up to discuss contingency plans in case of a military threat from communist North Korea.

BEIJING - Floods and drought last year have set back China`s efforts to eliminate poverty by 2000, Vice Premier Wen Jiabao was quoted as saying.

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Wednesday suggested the "sparkling" U.S. economy was in no need of a cut in interest rates now but warned a dangerous run-up in stock prices may dim its luster.

WASHINGTON - President Clinton will propose on Thursday several initiatives to help schools hire more well-qualified teachers.

UIGE, Angola - Angola`s UNITA rebel group on Thursday denied it was receiving military assistance from

three African nations and pledged to maintain pressure on government controlled cities.

ARUSHA, Tanzania - East African leaders meet on Friday for a two-day summit to accelerate the pace of regional integration and consider lifting economic sanctions against Burundi.

UNITED NATIONS - The Security Council intends to call on Thursday for a U.N. political presence in Angola despite Secretary-General Kofi Annan`s recommendation to end operations in the southwest African country.