Premier, Arafat engage in battle over resignation

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- The Palestinian prime minister resigned Saturday in a sweeping leadership shakeup that also saw two senior officials replaced in Yasser Arafat's overhaul of his security forces -- a key U.S. and Israeli demand for restarting the deadlocked peace process. The changes followed a series of kidnappings in the Gaza Strip that signaled a breakdown of authority. "There is a crisis. There is a state of chaos in the security situation," Ahmed Qureia said after announcing his resignation as premier during a Cabinet meeting in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Qureia sent his resignation letter to Arafat through an aide before the Cabinet meeting. The 74-year-old Palestinian leader, however, refused to accept it and scrawled a giant "X" over the paper with a pen, a Palestinian official said. Nevertheless, Qureia said he would not withdraw the resignation, according to Minister of Local Government Jamal Shobaki.

Talks to end violence in Sudan collapse

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Talks to end the unbridled violence that has killed tens of thousands of people in Sudan's western Darfur region collapsed Saturday with two rebel groups charging the government had not kept its end of the bargain. Mediators worked late into the night trying to save the negotiations, which began Thursday at the African Union headquarters in the Ethiopian capital. But the rebels, insisting the government fulfill a list of previous commitments first, walked out Saturday without having met the Sudanese government delegation.

Car bomb targets Iraqi justice minister

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A suicide car bomber hit the Iraqi justice minister's convoy as he left home Saturday, killing five bodyguards but leaving Malik Dohan al-Hassan unharmed. Three people, including a police chief, died in other attacks throughout the country. In a second suicide bombing, attackers hit the Iraqi National Guard headquarters in Mahmudiyah, 20 miles south of Baghdad, killing two people and wounding 47, hospital officials said. Gunmen also ambushed and killed the Iskandariyah police chief as he drove to work in the town south of Baghdad. Al-Qaida-linked militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for both attacks, the latest in a series targeting high-level government officials.

Accused U.S. Army deserter returns to Japan

TOKYO -- American Charles Jenkins, accused of deserting the U.S. Army to defect to North Korea, said Saturday he was prepared to travel for his family's sake to Japan, where U.S. officials await to detain him. The American ambassador in Tokyo, however, indicated Washington won't seek his immediate custody, but will allow doctors to treat Jenkins, 64, who had been living for decades in North Korea. Ambassador Howard Baker said there were no "immediate" plans for U.S. officials to seek out Jenkins when he arrives today to be taken immediately to a Tokyo hospital, accompanied by his Japanese wife and their two children.

Videotape of decapitation is posted on Internet

CAIRO, Egypt -- Images of an American hostage being decapitated surfaced Saturday on an Internet site known for carrying the statements of Islamic militants. The gruesome videotape appeared three days after U.S. authorities announced the search for the body of Paul M. Johnson Jr. had been called off. Still photographs of Johnson's beheading had been posted June 19 on some of the same militant Islamic forums that on Saturday provided links to the newly released video footage. The video, which ran almost two minutes and included images of tanks and destroyed homes apparently in Iraq, carried the title "The Voice of Jihad: Get the infidels out of the Arabian Peninsula."

-- From wire reports