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It is 23:30 universal time. Here is news in Special English on the Voice of America. This is Richard Rael reporting from Washington.

1.United States Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Iraq Saturday. He said he wants to deploy Iraqi security forces sooner. Mr.Rumsfeld said he sees a big change in the way Iraqis are providing their own security. He said he believes Iraqis will be able to provide their own security over time. Mr.Rumsfeld met with the current head of the Iraqi governing council Abdulaziz al-Hakim in Baghdad. The two men discussed the transfer of power to the Iraqi people.

2.The United States has increased its security warning in Saudi Arabia. Government workers are not to leave diplomatic centers except for necessary duties. The warning is for all diplomatic workers and their families working at embassies in Riyadh, Dhahran and Jeddah. Last month a bombing in a living area in Riyadh killed seventeen people. The Saudi Interior Ministry on Saturday named twenty-six suspects wanted for activities linked to terrorism. The Saudi government offered a reward for information on the suspects.

3.The Associated Press says the Taliban has claimed responsibility for a bomb attack Saturday in the Southern Afghan city, Kandahar. At least eighteen people were injured when a large bomb exploded in the main market. A Taliban spokesman said the bomb was meant for United States soldiers shopping at the market. He said it exploded later than was planned. President Hamid Karzai said he believes the bombing was meant to interfere with talks on a new Afghan constitution. Afghan officials say the meeting will be held as planned.In other news, at least two Indian road-builders have been kidnapped on the road that links Kandahar to the capital, Kabul. Earlier this week, Taliban rebels released a Turkish engineer they had kidnapped on the same road and had held for almost a month.

This is news in Special English on the Voice of America.

4.Palestinian militant groups say they are prepared to stop attacks on civilians in Israel if Israel stops targetting Palestinians. But they say they will continue to attack Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The development came Saturday during talks in Cairo that include Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia has arrived in Egypt and he is expected to join the Cairo talks. A top Israeli official said the ceasefire offer would not stop all attacks against Israel.Also the European Union says it will give almost forty million dollars to aid Palestinian government reforms. The money is to be used to support small businesses, reform the court system and pay for elections planned for next year.

5.A top South Korean diplomat says the next few days are important in establishing if new talks on North Korea's nuclear program can be held this year. South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-Hyuck said he does not know if the six-nation talks will take place soon. He said South Korea, the United States and Japan have written a joint proposal on ways to ease tension over North Korea's nuclear program. He said the three nations will ask China to give the proposal to North Korea. Mr.Lee has just returned home after talks in the United States with American and Japanese officials.

6.Elections for members of the Russian Lower House of Parliament have begun. President Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party is leading in recent opinion studies. If his party gains a two-thirds majority, it will be able to change the constitution to permit Mr.Putin to run for a third term. Russian officials have increased security at election centers. Friday a bombing on a passenger train killed at least forty-one people near the border with Chechnya. At least one hundred fifty others were injured. Mr.Putin says the bombing was designed to interfere with the Sunday parliamentary elections.

7.Russian President Putin has told the acting President of Georgia that their two countries must have good relations.Acting President Nino Burjanadze said the new Georgian leaders want to settle issues with Russia and improve relations. In other news, Russia's Foreign Minister said United States Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was mistaken when he criticized Russia Friday. The American Defense Secretary said Russia had failed to honor a 1999 agreement to withdraw Russian troops from Georgia. The Russian Defense Minister said the American Defense Secretary had not correctly understood the agreement between Russia and Georgia.

8.The leader of Burundi's main Hutu rebel group is going to the Capital Bujumbura to join a power-sharing government. Pierre Nkurunziza and other members of his group,the Forces for the Defense of Democracy, left central Burundi Saturday. They said the group's war with the government is over. But another large Hutu rebel group, the National Liberation Forces, is still fighting with the government.

Again, the hour's top news in brief.

United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld visited Iraq on Saturday. The United States has increased security warnings for American government workers in Saudi Arabia. And in Afghanistan, Taliban rebels have claimed responsibility for a bomb attack that injured eighteen people in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.

You have been listening to news in Special English on the Voice of America. This has been Richard Rael reporting.