Israel - U.S. to sell nearly 5,000 smart bombs

JERUSALEM -- The United States will sell Israel nearly 5,000 smart bombs in one of the largest weapons deals between the allies in years, Israeli military officials said Tuesday. The deal will expand Israel's existing supply of the weapons, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Israel's announcement came after the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible military sale to Israel worth as much as $319 million. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Tuesday that funding for the sale will come from U.S. military aid to Israel. Disclosure of the deal comes amid escalating Israeli worries over Iran's nuclear development program.

Voting for ex-general in Indonesia cheers markets

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Former General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took a seemingly unassailable lead Tuesday in Indonesia's presidential election, cheering investors amid hopes he will introduce much-needed economic reforms and provide firm leadership in the war on terror. With more than 80 million votes counted, or about two-thirds of the ballots cast in Monday's election, Yudhoyono was leading with 61 percent, while incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri had 39 percent, according to the General Election Commission.

Japan, Brazil, Germany, India seek change at U.N.

UNITED NATIONS -- Four countries that want permanent membership on an expanded U.N. Security Council -- Brazil, Germany, India and Japan -- vowed on Tuesday to support each other's bids and pledged to reform the United Nations. "The Security Council must reflect the realities of the international community in the 21st century," the countries said in a statement that noted the U.N.'s membership has increased nearly fourfold since it was founded in 1945. The four countries said that Africa "must also be represented in the permanent membership of the Security Council." African leaders are debating which country from the vast continent might get a Security Council seat if one is made available.

U.S. warheads' plutonium goes to France for energy

PARIS -- Plutonium from U.S. nuclear warheads -- enough to make nearly 20 Hiroshima-style bombs -- is headed for France aboard armed freighters and a new life as commercial fuel that will ultimately light American homes. But environmentalists fearful of terrorist attacks, accidents and the fuel itself, known as MOX, want to stop the shipment -- a test run for a larger post-Cold War program to help the United States and Russia disarm. Ironically, France will reap the first benefits of the project to turn nuclear weapons-grade plutonium into MOX, a fuel used to fire nuclear reactors, as Washington and Paris mend ties made prickly by differences over Iraq.

Syria begins withdrawing troops from around Beirut

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Hundreds of Syrian soldiers stationed in the hills near Lebanon's capital began dismantling their bases Tuesday in an effort to appease a U.N. Security Council demand that all 20,000 Syrian troops leave the country. But with a senior Lebanese military official saying the 3,000 soldiers were only moving away from Beirut and not out of Lebanon, the effort was unlikely to satisfy the Security Council, the United States, Israel or critics of the Syrian presence. The Lebanese official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said preparations for the redeployment began Tuesday and the move should be completed within a few days.

'Mexico's Madonna' Trevi cleared of abuse charges

CHIHUAHUA, Mexico -- Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi was acquitted of rape, kidnapping and corruption of minors charges late Tuesday and ordered released from prison. In announcing his decision, Judge Javier Pineda ruled there wasn't sufficient evidence to convict the 36-year-old fallen icon and two backup-singers, who had faced the same charges. They were arrested in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in January 2000. Trevi, nicknamed "Mexico's Madonna," was one of the country's biggest pop sensations in the 1990s.

-- From wire reports