World briefs 4/26/06

Russia launches Israeli satellite to spy on Iran

MOSCOW -- Russia on Tuesday launched a satellite for Israel that the Israelis say will be used to spy on Iran's nuclear program. The Eros B satellite was launched from a mobile pad at the Svobodny cosmodrome in the Far East, said Alexei Kuznetsov, a spokesman for the Russian military space forces. About 20 minutes later, the satellite successfully reached orbit, Russian news agencies reported, citing the space forces' press service. The satellite is designed to spot images on the ground as small as 27 1/2 inches, an Israeli defense official said. That level of resolution would allow Israel to gather information on Iran's nuclear program and its long-range missiles, which are capable of striking Israel, he said. The satellite, which can remain in orbit for six years, can photograph the same spot on the Earth once every four days, according to ITAR-Tass.

10 arrested after deadly bombings in Egypt

DAHAB, Egypt -- Police arrested 10 people Tuesday and divers retrieved body parts from the sea after three bombs ripped apart a Sinai beach resort at the height of Egypt's tourist season, killing 24 people and injuring more than 80, many of them foreigners. It was the third terrorist attack on a Sinai resort in less than two years to coincide with a national holiday. It also seemed to open a rift between hard-line al-Qaida sympathizers and other radical Muslim groups, such as Hamas, which immediately condemned the bombings. Security police said they had detained for questioning 10 people -- three of whom had arrived in Dahab on Sunday and tried to leave the resort 15 minutes after the blasts in a car with fake license plates. The police said they did not yet know if the explosions were caused by suicide attackers or bombs on timers.

Opposition calls off protests in Nepal

KATMANDU, Nepal -- Tens of thousands of people flooded Katmandu's streets to celebrate Tuesday after Nepal's opposition called off weeks of bloody anti-monarchy protests that forced the king to restore Parliament. But with their rebel allies dismissing the king's move as a ploy -- and warning the opposition parties their acceptance of it was a betrayal -- it was clear the Himalayan nation's political crisis was far from over. For a few hours, though, celebration was the focus, as opposition leaders nominated a former prime minister to head the new government and the capital came back to life. Hundreds of riot police were lined up to stop demonstrators from marching toward the royal palace a few hundred yards away. Witnesses said there was one minor clash, with a brief exchange of rocks and tear gas.

Doctors: Face transplant patient healing well

BEIJING -- A Chinese man who was attacked by a bear and had a partial face transplant is healing well, but could still reject tissue from a brain-dead patient used to give him a new nose, lip and cheek, state media reported Tuesday. Li Guoxing, 30, had much of the right side of his face reconstructed by doctors at the Xijing Hospital in central China's Xi'an city during a 15-hour procedure on April 14. The hospital said it was only the second time in the world that the complex procedure had been attempted. The official Xinhua News Agency said on its Web site that the donor was a man who had been declared brain dead by the hospital.

Guantanamo detainee rejects U.S. lawyer, trial

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- An alleged al-Qaida militant facing a military trial chose Tuesday to boycott the proceedings, dismissing the legal process and saying his fate was in the hands of God. Jabran Said bin al-Qahtani did not return to the courtroom after an hour-long recess. His attorney, Army Lt. Col. Bryan Broyles, said only force would get him back before the military judge. In a brief earlier session, al-Qahtani, a Saudi detainee who was making his first appearance before the military tribunal at this U.S. military base, told the court he had no interest in participating in the proceedings. Al-Qahtani was arrested with senior al-Qaida lieutenant Abu Zubayda and other alleged militants on March 28, 2002.

-- From wire reports