Guinea junta's No. 2 returns after president shot

CONAKRY, Guinea — The overnight return to Guinea on Saturday of the No. 2 man in the junta that seized power a year ago makes it more likely that the military clique will be able to hang on to power following an assassination attempt on the president.

Many people, however, fear the army could fracture and plunge the country into further violence.

The head of the presidential guard who is accused of having fired at point-blank range on the president was still at large, and it is unclear how many of the roughly 150 men formerly under his control will stay loyal to him.

The Guinean army is said to be divided into units headed by different military strongmen which act more like private armies and were only loosely held together by Capt. Moussa "Dadis" Camara, who seized control last December.

Gen. Sekouba Konate, the vice president and minister of defense — who is said to be close to the wounded president — arrived overnight Saturday from Lebanon, where he had been when Camara was shot and wounded by his former top aide, said Idrissa Cherif, the spokesman for the National Council for Democracy and Development, or CNDD.

Camara was airlifted Friday in a private plane to a Moroccan hospital for treatment and underwent surgery on Saturday for the head wound, said Cherif.

Cherif, the minister of communication, said the surgery was "a minimal intervention" and that the bullet had only "grazed" his head. But a retired diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the bullet had caused splinters of bone from his skull to penetrate his brain. He said it would likely be weeks before Camara could return — if at all.

Blaise Compaore, the president of neighboring Burkina Faso who sent his private plane to transport Camara to Morocco, said on state radio that his condition "is difficult but not desperate," citing a doctor.

In sidewalk cafes and on radio talk shows, the constant chatter was about who is now in control? Cherif declined to say that Konate would assume the role of interim president, but said: "The CNDD is in control. Konate is the vice president of the CNDD. So he is the one giving us firm instructions. He coordinates everything. Dadis equals Konate and Konate equals Dadis. They are brothers ... He is our boss until our president returns."

Camara's departure has left a dangerous void in the country of 10 million where the military has become deeply fractured. It is the first time that the 45-year-old leader has left Guinea since seizing control in a coup last December and he canceled multiple trips abroad, sometimes leading his private plane idling on the tarmac, for fear of a countercoup.

The crisis was exacerbated by Konate's absence and the fact that Toumba has not been found, although the government on Saturday promised a large ransom to anyone with information and confirmed that four of his top aides had been arrested trying to leave the country.

Konate was rumored to have been one of three officers who could have become president during last year's military coup, but he ended up bowing out to Camara.

Since then, Konate has became one of Camara's closest associates and the two were almost always seen together. He is a commanding presence inside the army and is said to have several hundred men that are faithful to him.

A top diplomat who spoke on the condition of anonymity, in keeping with protocol, said that Konate does not appear to have presidential ambitions, in part because of his private nature as well as a speech impediment which makes it difficult for him to talk in public. Other diplomats confirmed the account, as did two government officials, all of whom requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the press.

His return makes it more likely that the clan allied with Camara will be able to hang on to power and reign in the military, although the danger remains that the army is atomized and a group within it could use this as an opportunity to launch a countercoup. Part of the problem is that the army is rarely paid. Troops attach themselves to different commanders in an effort to secure their livelihood.

"The main bulk of the army is hanging around in barracks and not getting paid," said Richard Moncrieff, the West Africa analyst for the International Crisis Group. "The junta is heavily divided and factionalized — principally on personal lines. There are five to six strongmen, surrounded by their 'boys' who follow them around and carry their weapons in return for a little money," he said.

Guinea has been under military rule for the past 25 years, but only in the last year did the army devolve into near anarchy, with military pickup trucks loaded with armed men speeding through the capital acting as armed gangs.

Numerous businessmen and at least two diplomats have had their SUVs boldly stolen by the military.

In September, Mali's Ambassador Hassan Barry was driving home when soldiers yanked him out of his diplomatic car, stole his cell phone and drove off, the Malian flag fluttering in the wind.

Ghanaian ambassador Dominic Ezoa Aboagye also had his SUV stolen by soldiers, who took his money as well as his clothes and left him standing in his underwear on the side of the road, said two diplomats, including one inside the Malian Embassy, who were familiar with the matter and who spoke on the condition of anonymity in keeping with protocol.

In recent months, the military cliques have often turned on each other, with Toumba's men beating a senior general. And there was increasingly bad blood between Konate and Toumba following a Sept. 28 opposition rally in which the presidential guard opened fire on the unarmed demonstrators and raped female demonstrators.

Diplomats and junta officials say that Konate — who was away from Conakry during the slaughter — demanded that Toumba be arrested, but Camara refused. When Camara was shot by Toumba on Thursday it was allegedly after an argument broke out between them over who would take the blame in front of a U.N. commission now investigating the massacre, which killed at least 157 people.

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Associated Press writers Brahima Ouedraogo in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and Solana Pyne in Rabat, Morocco, contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects slug, incorporating story sent as BC-AF--Guinea-Uncontrolled Army. UPDATES with return of No. 2 man in junta.)

Ex-guerrilla easily wins Uruguay presidency

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — President-elect Jose Mujica retreated to his flower farm and shunned the spotlight on Monday, saying that dumping more talk on Uruguayans after a speech-filled campaign "would be like raining on what is already wet."

Congratulations poured in from across Latin America for the former guerrilla whose homespun manner and vows to govern as a conciliator persuaded his nation to trust him with its democracy.

Mujica won 53 percent of Sunday's vote to 43 percent for former President Luis A. Lacalle.

His victory owes much to the popularity of outgoing socialist President Tabare Vazquez, a physician whose 2005 victory ended 150 years of rule by right-wing parties or the military. Vazquez's coalition chose Mujica to run for the single-term presidency.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who rose from leftist union chief to govern as a centrist in neighboring Brazil, praised his "dear friend" and predicted that Mujica will advance the cause of creating a more just society.

Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa said Mujica's "historic victory also represents a triumph for Uruguyan democracy and for the region."

And Mexico's conservative Felipe Calderon called Mujica to invite him to visit.

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, however, may have touched some sore nerves with his message, praising the guerrilla past that Mujica assured Uruguayans he had put behind him.

Chavez called Mujica a symbol of leftist resistance who always fought with morality on his side and whose presence is now necessary to counter "gorilismo" — referring to right-wing coup plotters in Latin America.

Chavez went on to laud the militance of the National Liberation Movement-Tupamaros, the movement that Mujica helped found in the 1960s and that carried out bombings, kidnappings and robberies to overthrow elected governments of the time.

During the campaign, Mujica repeatedly denied that he would hijack Uruguay's stable parliamentary democracy and install a radical socialist state modeled on Chavez's in Venezuela. He insisted that he's inspired instead by Silva's performance as president.

The Tupamaro guerrillas caused so much chaos in the 1960s that many Uruguayans initially welcomed a dictatorship that ruled from 1973 to 1985. Mujica spent all that time in prison, enduring torture and solitary confinement for killing a policeman — a crime he denies committing.

He says prison cured him of any illusion that armed revolution can achieve lasting social change, and he now rejects the "stupid ideologies" of the past.

Obama hails US-India ties amid talks with Singh

WASHINGTON — Seeking firmer footing for U.S.-India relations, President Barack Obama tried Tuesday to calm India's fears about Asian rival China, salving bruised feelings in the world's largest democracy with an elaborate state visit and assurances of India's "rightful place as a global leader."

"The relationship between the United States and India will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century," Obama declared — twice — during a news conference with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The two appeared before reporters in the East Room after an elaborate morning welcome ceremony that was moved indoors by rain and about two hours of private talks in the Oval Office. The daylong White House extravaganza in India's honor was to be capped with the day's most buzz-worthy event: the first state dinner of Obama's presidency.

The black-tie party for more than 300, featuring a mostly vegetarian meal of curry prawns, aged basmati rice, eggplant salad, lentil soup, potato dumplings and other delicacies served under a giant tent on the South Lawn, was Washington's premier must-have invite. Menu, decor and attendance details — each designed to celebrate Indian culture and delight Indian guests — were kept tightly held until just hours before guests arrived in their finery.

In a dinner toast, Obama said, "We celebrate the great and growing partnership between the United States and India."

"Tonight under the stars, we celebrate the spirit that will sustain our partnership, the bonds of friendship between our people," the president told the large assemblage of political and cultural figures from both nations.

The Obamas sought to add their own flair to the evening, as they have with all their entertaining since they took over the White House in January. Marcus Samuelsson of the award-winning New York City restaurant Aquavit was brought in to help prepare the food alongside White House chefs and two Oscar-winners topped the entertainment lineup, American Jennifer Hudson of "Dreamgirls" and Indian A.R. Rahman of "Slumdog Millionaire."

Lunch at the State Department was in high demand too, hosted for Singh by Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and attended by scores of lawmakers and others. "You're the hottest ticket in town," Biden said to the Indian leader.

From the playing of national anthems, to repeatedly glowing remarks, to the last dinner toast, there was one theme: India is top on the priority list for America.

With relations taking a bit of a backseat since their heyday under former President George W. Bush, it was a message Indians had wanted to hear even before Obama took a just-completed trip to Asia, where he bypassed an India stop and paid much homage to the rising global power of China.

India and China have a strong trade relationship, despite a disputed shared border. And talking of an enhanced role for China in Asian or global affairs — as Obama did repeatedly while in Shanghai and Beijing — raises hackles in India.

Obama also has lavished attention on Pakistan since taking office 10 months ago, hoping to boost Pakistani cooperation in the fight against al-Qaida and other extremists based along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Pakistan and India are nuclear-armed rivals that have fought two wars since their 1947 independence from Britain, bitterly divided over the disputed Himalayan Kashmir region that they both claim.

The president refused to be drawn into the tense India-Pakistan relationship when quizzed about the effect of U.S. military aid to Pakistan by an Indian reporter.

Obama said "it is not the place" of the United States to try to resolve the conflicts from the outside. At the same time, he said America will do what it can to ensure both Pakistan and India feel secure and able to address the needs of their citizens.

One of Obama's first promises at Singh's side was to visit India next year.

He also touted India as a key partner on a range of crucial global issues. He used some of the same complimentary language he displayed while in China, only there he was looking to prod Beijing to do more with its new clout, while with Singh he was lauding what is already happening.

Obama said he and Singh agreed to "work even closer" on sharing information between law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Obama called the two nations "natural allies" on the topic.

"We both recognize that our core goal is to achieve peace and security for all peoples in the region, not just one country or the other," the president said.

Noting that the United States was India's largest trading partner, Obama said broadening trade ties would help create much needed jobs in the two countries, both wracked by economic recessions.

The two leaders glossed over a dispute about commitments to reduce the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming in advance of next month's 192-nation climate change summit in Copenhagen. Developing countries argue that rich countries produced most of the heat-trapping greenhouse gases on their march to development and therefore should bear the main burden of fixing the problem. Wealthy nations like the U.S. and Europe say all countries — including large polluters India and China — must agree to broad cuts in emissions.

Obama said they had moved "one step closer" by joining together in hopes for a successful outcome in Copenhagen, where leaders are no longer expected to reach a legally binding agreement but instead a political deal including emissions commitments and financing for developing countries. But neither Obama nor Singh gave evidence that either country had moved from their previous positions.

Associated Press writers Foster Klug and Robert Burns contributed to this report.

China govt pleased but ordinary folk cool on Obama

BEIJING — State media heralded President Barack Obama's maiden trip to China as a triumph, but ordinary Chinese were largely shielded by their government from his most critical remarks and activists were disappointed by the measured tone of those they did hear.

One blogger even pined for the tough line taken by former President George W. Bush.

"Like a star rushing from one show to another, Obama has come and gone, without stirring the slightest ripples," blogger Zhao Dezhu wrote in an online post.

Zhao, who writes a popular blog and twitters under the name Hecaitou, said the visit made him miss Bush who "couldn't speak with flowery language and even made grammatical mistakes but spoke as plainly as an American farmer."

Obama, by contrast, speaks "with sweet but empty words."

State media portrayed the two-and-a-half day trip as a slam-dunk for China-U.S. relations, saying a joint statement issued by Obama and China's President Hu Jintao was a breakthrough to inspire the world.

"The Sino-U.S. Joint Statement is as worthy as gold," trumpeted the state-run 21st Century Business Herald while the Beijing Post said it set "a good example for many other bilateral relations."

Among regular folk, there was no such sizzle.

Maybe it was the rain in Shanghai or the below freezing temperatures in Beijing, but crowds did not line the streets to catch a glimpse of the president's motorcade — a marked difference from the well-wishers who have clamored to see Obama in Europe.

Obama does have a following in China, particularly among youth who see him as an exciting contrast to China's staid leadership, but his visit seems to have had little effect on even those who like him — possibly because many of his comments were not widely disseminated.

Several young people interviewed Wednesday said they admired Obama, but none had seen his town hall-style meeting in Shanghai and they based their opinions on photos, state media coverage, or things they'd read about him before. They had little to say about his visit specifically.

"He has a big fan club among the young people of China, because many of us have seen the adversity he has gone through and we look up to him for inspiration," Li Yuanyuan, a 24-year-old office worker said during her lunch break in downtown Beijing.

Han Xuanke, 29, an employee of a technology firm in Beijing's business district said he was more interested in Obama than he had been in Bush or former President Bill Clinton.

"He represents energy and something new and exciting that Chinese politicians don't have," Han said.

The town hall was intended to let the president mix with people like Han and Li, but Beijing ensured it was a tightly scripted affair that few people were able to see because it was only broadcast on one regional television channel.

Obama's strongest comments during the town hall were directed at China's Internet controls.

"I'm a big supporter of non-censorship," Obama said. "I recognize that different countries have different traditions. I can tell you that in the United States, the fact that we have free Internet — or unrestricted Internet access — is a source of strength, and I think should be encouraged."

The critical remarks were played down in the Chinese media and scrubbed from some Chinese Web sites.

The event was streamed live on the White House Web site, but the connection was choppy and delayed. The State Department said later more than 7,000 Chinese Internet users watched the event — a tiny fraction of the more than 300 million Chinese who are online.

Chinese bloggers who saw it were grateful that he addressed censorship, but many zeroed in on what they considered Obama's waffling language.

"Learn English from Obama: Instead of saying 'I want to eat,' say 'I am a big supporter of non-hunger,'" Wang Pei, a writer based in eastern China's Hangzhou, twittered on Tuesday.

Many were watching the town hall closely for how Obama would handle China's poor human rights record, especially after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in February that the United States would not let such concerns interfere with cooperation with Beijing on global crises.

Obama spoke broadly about basic freedoms but steered clear of the buzz phrase "human rights." The next day, he more pointedly raised the issue during a media appearance with President Hu, even touching on rights for minorities — a particular sore spot in China, where Tibetans and Muslim Uighurs seek more autonomy.

"We do not believe these principles are unique to America, but rather they are universal rights and that they should be available to all peoples, to all ethnic and religious minorities," Obama said.

Xue Chen, a research fellow of Strategic Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said Obama's measured tone on such sensitive topics was a positive development that showed a rethinking of U.S. foreign policy since Bush.

"They are now more willing to take the role of a listener. And only in this way can the U.S. interests be better met," he said.

For many mainland activists, however, the approach fell short.

Yang Zili, a Chinese dissident recently freed after eight years in prison for forming a political study group, had been expecting something stronger from Obama.

"Although Obama mentioned some words such as 'rights' and 'freedom' in the speech in Shanghai, we expect he can do more to promote the improvement of China's human rights condition," he said.

Zhang Jian, a 30-year-old office worker from north China's Inner Mongolia region said many Chinese were taking a wait-and-see approach to the new leader.

"It's a trip Obama needs to make. ... But I don't think we're necessarily going to immediately warm up to the U.S. as a result of one trip," said Zhang who was visiting Beijing on business. "It will be a relationship built over mutual trust and understanding over time."

Associated Press writer Chi-Chi Zhang and researcher Xi Yue contributed to this report.

Suspect, 20, charged with second-degree murder in death of Sask. teenager

ONION LAKE, Sask. — A man has been charged with murder after the body of a 16-year-old boy was found in a home early Saturday in Onion Lake, a small community northwest of Saskatoon.

Cpl. Kelly West, a spokesman for Saskatchewan RCMP, said Sunday that police discovered the boy's body after they were called to assist ambulance personnel at the home.

"At the time they entered the residence in Onion Lake and located 16-year-old Keeley Winslow Crookedneck, who was determined to be deceased at the time," he said.

An investigation led police to believe that the boy had died as the result of foul play, he said.

Police would release few details about how the teen may have died.

RCMP took a suspect into custody and by Sunday afternoon, had laid charges in connection with Crookedneck's death.

Cassidy Stanley Lewis, 20, also of Onion Lake, is charged with second-degree murder.

He's expected to appear in court in Lloydminster, Sask., Monday.

West said an autopsy is scheduled to be performed on Crookedneck's body on Monday in Saskatoon.

'Call of Duty' sells $310M in N Amer, UK in 24 hrs

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — First-day sales of Activision Blizzard Inc.'s "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" broke records, raking in an estimated $310 million in North America and the United Kingdom alone.

The video game went on sale all over the world on Tuesday, but Activision provided figures Thursday only for North America and Britain. The company estimates that it sold about 4.7 million copies of the game in the first 24 hours in those markets, making it the biggest-selling launch in the history of entertainment.

The latest installment in the "Call of Duty" action franchise was expected to at least match last year's "Grand Theft Auto IV," which was the most successful video game release in history and at the time may have been the top entertainment launch ever.

That game, from Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., had sold 3.6 million units on its opening day, worth $310 million worldwide. "Call of Duty" made that much in just North America and Britain.

The launch of "Call of Duty" also easily brought in more than last year's record $155 million opening weekend for the Batman movie "The Dark Knight."

Like the previous five "Call of Duty" games, which are all rated "M" for mature (not for kids under 17), this one lets players shoot their way through a complex series of scenes. The game's developer, Infinity Ward, spent two years creating realistic graphics that are amplified in many players' homes by big-screen, high-definition TVs sets and powerful speakers.

Players can fight one another, whether they're at the same game console or in separate locations and connected online. Or a player can dive in alone and get swept into the game, which includes jarring depictions of war and an intricate story of good versus evil.

The game sells for $60 and plays on Windows-based computers, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3.

Shares of Activision, which is based in Santa Monica, rose 6 cents to close Thursday at $11.44.

Ida weakens to a depression, heads east to Fla.

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Tropical Storm Ida sloshed ashore with rain and gusty winds Tuesday before weakening to a depression, leaving weather-hardened Gulf Coast residents largely unscathed and bringing more rain to the already-soaked Southeast.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Ida's center first touched land on Dauphin Island, Ala., before heading across Mobile Bay toward the Alabama mainland and on to Florida.

Top sustained winds dropped to near 35 mph (55 mph) as Ida weakened and moved northeast at about 9 mph (15 kph). It was expected to turn east before being absorbed by a front Wednesday.

Pensacola Beach was windy and gray but mostly rain-free throughout Tuesday morning and early afternoon as residents ventured out after a night of howling storm gusts and drenching rains. Beachgoers collected seashells, driftwood and other treasures churned up by the rough surf.

Erin Strong of Memphis, Tenn., who rents a beach front home with her family each November, said she was unnerved by Ida's power.

"The waves came up to the front of our house," she said. "I couldn't believe the electricity stayed on the entire time."

Tropical storm warnings were discontinued Tuesday morning across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Forecasters said the storm had already spread most of its heavy rain onshore along the Gulf Coast ahead of Ida's center.

"The only thing it did to us is knock out the power," resident Jimmy Wentworth said as he sipped coffee outside the Ship&Shore convenience store in Dauphin Island, Ala. "Our houses and people are fine. I'm fine."

In Louisiana, authorities continued searching for 70-year-old fisherman Leo Ancalade, who was presumed dead after he was knocked off his boat by a wave as Ida approached Monday. The Coast Guard said he was towing friends whose small boat lost power in the Mississippi River near Fort Jackson.

No other U.S. deaths were reported, but earlier in the week, a low-pressure system that the hurricane may have helped attract triggered flooding and landslides in El Salvador that killed at least 130 people.

The storm shut down nearly a third of oil and natural gas production in the Gulf as companies moved workers ahead of Ida, but demand was so low due to the economic downturn that energy prices barely budged Tuesday. Oil companies were expected to fly workers back out to platforms relatively quickly to restart operations.

Scattered power outages were reported, but water that filled parking lots and roadsides in coastal Alabama late Monday was gone by daybreak Tuesday. The winds were brisk, whipping palm fronds and whistling through doors. On the beach, dry sand blew like snow in the glow of lights.

The storm left some debris and standing water in the streets on Dauphin Island but did not do much other damage.

Ankle-deep water pooled on roads in the island's lower-lying west end, where many residents had left their homes before Ida hit. A police officer standing guard said the extent of the damage was unknown.

Atlanta resident Mike White drove down Monday to see the storm and was watching breakers crash at Gulf Shores early Tuesday. The sky was clear overhead but there were clouds all around.

"This is spectacular," White said. "It's almost like we are in the eyewall."

In Orange Beach, east of Mobile Bay near the Florida state line, hotel desk clerk Frank Worley said Ida came ashore more like a thunderstorm than a hurricane.

"It was a lot of waves and wind, but it wasn't very harsh," he said.

The sun was out in Mississippi's easternmost coastal county, where authorities said the storm was pretty much over and water was already receding from about two dozen local roads that had flooded.

Patrick Keene, 71, and his wife, Kathie, live in a doublewide trailer in the shadow of the beach front home in Pascagoula, Miss., that they are rebuilding four years after Hurricane Katrina.

While his wife retreated to their son's home across the state Monday night, Keene and his dog rode out the storm in the trailer.

"We get summer squalls frequently that are as bad as this one," he said.

Ida started moving across the Gulf as the third hurricane of this year's quiet Atlantic tropical season, which ends Dec. 1, but weakened before it got to the U.S. Ronnie Powell, headed to his construction job on Pensacola Beach, wasn't impressed.

"We've had thunderstorms worse than that," he said.

Associated Press Writers Bill Kaczor in Pensacola, Greg Bluestein in Dauphin Island, Ala., Jay Reeves in Gulf Shores, Ala., and Mike Kunzelman in Pascagoula, Miss., contributed to this report.

Japanese to protest US base before Obama visit

GINOWAN, Japan — Thousands were expected to rally Sunday against a US military base on Japan's Okinawa island, raising the heat in a simmering row days before President Barack Obama visits Tokyo.

Local opposition has often flared against the large US military presence on the southern island, strategically located within easy reach of China, Taiwan and North Korea and dubbed the United States' "unsinkable aircraft carrier".

But the rise of a new centre-left government in Tokyo in September, ending decades of conservative rule, has brought the issue to the centre of national politics and strained Japan's most important security alliance.

More than 30,000 protesters were expected to gather from 0500 GMT in a park near the controversial US Marine Corps Futenma Air Base in Ginowan city, organisers said. Obama visits Japan on Friday and Saturday.

The Futenma base, located in a densely populated urban area, has emerged as a flashpoint for local opponents who have been angered by aircraft noise, pollution, the risk of accidents and crimes committed by US service personnel.

Okinawans reacted with fury to the 1995 rape of a schoolgirl by three US servicemen, and demands to close the base on safety grounds grew when a US helicopter crashed into the front yard of a local university in 2004.

The government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, which swept to power in a landslide and has vowed a less subservient relationship with Washington, has said it may want the base moved off the island or even out of the country.

The United States has demanded Japan honour a 2006 agreement under which the Futenma base would be closed but its air operations moved to an alternative site to be built on Okinawa by 2014 in the coastal Camp Schwab area.

But activists near Camp Schwab also oppose the planned new base, which would be built on reclaimed land and would include two runways likely to affect a marine habitat home to corals and an endangered sea mammal, the dugong.

On a visit to Japan last month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates bluntly urged Tokyo to "move on" and resolve the issue before Obama's arrival, stressing that Washington does not want to renegotiate a pact that was years in the making.

Hatoyama has said Japan will need more time to resolve the tricky question as it weighs the demands of Washington and of the people of Okinawa, a heartland of left-leaning and pacifist groups who oppose the bases.

Subtropical Okinawa, located about 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) south of Tokyo, saw some of the bloodiest battles of World War II.

American occupation forces only handed the island back to Japan in 1972, but it continues to host more than half of the 47,000 US troops in the country.

Washington and Tokyo have been close security allies in the post-war era, with the United States guaranteeing Japan's defence and providing nuclear deterrence during and after the Cold War.

Japan's post-war constitution bars its Self-Defence Forces from offensive military action and Japanese soldiers abroad, despite limited deployments in Iraq and on peace-keeping missions, have not fired a shot in anger since WWII.

Four militants killed in US strike in Pakistan: officials

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan — At least four militants were killed in a US drone missile strike in Pakistan's tribal region near the Afghan border, officials said on Thursday.

The attack took place in Norak village of North Waziristan, an area where Washington says Islamist fighters are hiding out and planning attacks on Western troops stationed in neighbouring Afghanistan.

"It was a US drone attack which targeted a compound of a local tribesman, Musharraf Gul, in Norak village, killing four militants and wounding three others," a senior security official in the area told AFP.

He said two missiles were fired from a US drone at 1:30 am (2030 GMT Wednesday).

Another security official confirmed the attack and said "Taliban rebels were using the compound."

"It is not clear if there was any high-value target," he said, adding: "We also do not know yet the identity of the militants."

The latest attack came against the backdrop of a continuing military offensive in neighbouring South Waziristan, a stronghold of the feared Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Pakistan has vowed to quash Tehreek-e-Taliban in South Waziristan, part of the border area with Afghanistan that Washington calls the most dangerous place in the world because of the abundance of Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

Pakistan launched its fierce air and ground offensive in the region on October 17, with 30,000 troops backed by fighter jets and helicopter gunships laying siege to TTP boltholes.

So far, the military says it has killed more than 390 militants since the operation began, with 37 troops losing their lives.

The long-anticipated assault into South Waziristan came after a spring offensive in and around the northwestern Swat valley, which the government declared a success in July. However, sporadic outbreaks of violence continue.

The US military does not, as a rule, confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy pilotless drones in the region.

The fatalities are impossible to verify independently because the targets are deep in Taliban-controlled territory.

Islamabad publicly opposes the US missile attacks, with 60 such strikes killing more than 580 people since August 2008.

But the Pakistani government welcomed the death of Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud on August 5.

Suicide bomber kills 35 near Pakistan's capital

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — A suicide bomb killed 35 people near Pakistan's military headquarters Monday while a second blast wounded several police, continuing a wave of terrorism that prompted the United Nations to suspend long-term development work near the Afghan border.

The rash of attacks by Islamist militants has killed at least 300 people across Pakistan over the past month — including 11 U.N. workers — and threatened to destabilize the nuclear-armed nation.

The violence has grown bloodier since the government launched an anti-Taliban offensive in mid-October, pushing into the impoverished and underdeveloped tribal region of South Waziristan. The U.N. decision to suspend non-emergency aid could weaken efforts to counter the appeal of extremism by improving ordinary people's daily lives.

The first suicide bomber Monday killed 35 people outside a bank near Pakistan's military headquarters in Rawalpindi, just a few miles (kilometers) from Islamabad.

Most of those waiting in line were from the military and were there to cash paychecks, said Mohammad Mushtaq, a wounded soldier.

"I was sitting on the pavement outside to wait for my turn," said Mushtaq, who suffered a head injury. "The bomb went off with a big bang. We all ran. I saw blood and body parts everywhere."

Four soldiers were killed in the attack and nine were wounded, said the army's chief spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas. In total, 35 people were killed, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said.

No group claimed responsibility for the bombing, though suspicion immediately fell on the Pakistani Taliban.

Hours later, another suicide bombing ripped through a police checkpoint on the outskirts of the eastern city of Lahore. At least seven policemen were wounded and two were in critical condition after a car with two men inside blew up as police went to search it.

"By putting their lives in danger, our men have saved the city from enormous sabotage," Lahore Police Chief Pervaiz Rathor told reporters at the scene.

Police checkpoints, where cars are forced to drive slowly past officers looking inside, have become common sights in Pakistan.

Pakistan's president and other top officials condemned the blasts but vowed to press on with the South Waziristan offensive. Taliban militants have de facto control in many of the semiautonomous tribal areas.

The U.S. has reportedly provided technical support to the South Waziristan offensive, seeing the rugged mountain area as a haven for Islamist extremists involved in attacks on Western troops in Afghanistan.

The government has sealed off the battle zone to outsiders, making confirmation of military reports impossible to confirm, but officials insist the offensive is going well.

On Monday, Abbas said the army had captured the Taliban town of Kaniguram and killed 12 militants in the past 24 hours.

Washington, which has long provided massive military assistance to Pakistan, has stepped up its efforts to use development aid in a broader battle against the spreading militancy. The U.S. government recently approved $7.5 billion in aid over five years to improve Pakistan's economy, education and other nonmilitary sectors.

But the U.N. decision to suspend long-term development work in Pakistan's tribal areas and its North West Frontier Province could complicate international efforts to win hearts and minds.

The world body will reduce the level of international staff in Pakistan and confine its work to emergency, humanitarian relief, and security operations, and "any other essential operations as advised by the secretary-general," the organization said in a statement.

The U.N. made its decision after losing 11 personnel in attacks in Pakistan this year, including last month's bombing of the World Food Program's office in Islamabad that killed five people, said U.N. spokeswoman Amena Kamaal. "All of the decisions are being made in light of that."

The U.N. has been deeply involved in helping Pakistan deal with refugee crises resulting from army offensives against militants — work that will apparently continue — but Kamaal said the organization was still determining which programs would be suspended and how many staffers would be withdrawn. Staff that remain in the country will be assigned additional security.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said Pakistan understood the U.N.'s decision, but said he hoped the organization would resume its work after the military completes the South Waziristan offensive.

Associated Press writers Zarar Khan and Nahal Toosi in Islamabad and Babar Dogar in Lahore contributed to this report.