Briefs

Palestinian suicide bomber

kills 3 Israelis in beach town

EILAT, Israel - A Palestinian suicide bomber killed three Israelis at a bakery yesterday in the first such attack inside the country in nine months, and the two radical groups that claimed to have sent him said they were trying to end weeks of Palestinian infighting by taking aim at Israel instead.

The bombing was praised by the Palestinians' governing Hamas movement as legitimate resistance - a position that was sure to hurt efforts to end a crippling economic boycott imposed by the international community.

Israeli security chiefs met last night to discuss a response. "This is a grave incident, it's an escalation and we shall treat it as such," said Defense Minister Amir Peretz.

It was the first suicide bombing in this Red Sea resort of 50,000 at Israel's southern tip near the Jordanian and Egyptian borders. The town is a popular getaway for Israelis because it has been insulated from Israeli-Palestinian violence.

New U.S. commander sees

more attacks from Taliban

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan - The incoming commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan said yesterday he expects Taliban militants to launch more suicide attacks this year than in 2006, when militants set off a record 139 such bombings.

Maj. Gen. David M. Rodriguez, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, said military leaders expect an increase in all kinds of attacks as the weather gets warmer.

"We're expecting an increase in the suicide bombers and some of the other tactics that they have believed are successful," he said. "So we expect to see that as well as the normal stand-off type attacks and harassing kind of attacks on Afghan government officials, Afghan nationals, security forces, as well as coalition forces."

Rodriguez, who takes command from Maj. Gen. Benjamin Freakley on Friday, traveled to the eastern province of Paktika next to the Pakistan border yesterday to be briefed by military leaders and the provincial governor.

U.S. on sidelines as Iran,

Saudis work on Lebanon

BEIRUT, Lebanon - In an unusual collaboration that could complicate American policy in the region, Iran and Saudi Arabia have been mediating an agreement to end Lebanon's violent political crisis, the New York Times reports.

Leaders of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed party trying to overthrow Lebanon's government, have recently visited the Saudi king in Riyadh, according to officials who attended the meeting. And Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi chief security adviser, has met with his Iranian counterpart, Ali Larijani, in Riyadh and Tehranto try to stop Lebanon's slide into civil war.

"The only hope is for the Iranians and Saudis to go further in easing the situation and bringing people back to the negotiating table," said Radwan Sayyed, an adviser to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

The Saudi-Iranian efforts have put Washington in an awkward position, since it is trying to reduce Iran's regional influence. But since a stable Lebanon is also an American priority, American officials have watched the efforts without interfering.

Another Palestinian truce

goes by the boards in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Palestinian infighting raged in the Gaza Strip this morning despite a cease-fire declaration by warring Hamas and Fatah factions aimed at ending factional clashes that have left more than 60 dead in the past two months.

Gunfire and explosions were audible in downtown Gaza City as gunmen from the rival factions ignored the cease-fire, reached at a midnight meeting between Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas and a representative of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah.

The truce was to have gone into effect at 3 a.m. local time.

Calling women 'birth machines'

gets Japan official a reprimand

TOKYO - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rebuked Japan's health minister yesterday for calling women "birth machines," a remark that has caused an outcry in the country.

But Abe dismissed calls for the embattled minister to resign.

"I reprimanded him severely," Abe said, adding that he saw no reason for Health Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa to step down.

"From now on, I hope he will remain fully devoted in his job and obtain the people's understanding."

Abe's comments came just hours after a group of female lawmakers called for Yanagisawa's removal.

The health minister triggered outrage over the weekend by describing women as "birth machines" in a speech on the country's falling birthrate.

He later retracted the remarks.

"The number of women between the ages of 15 and 50 is fixed. The number of birth machines (and) devices is fixed, so all we can ask is that they do their best per head," Yanagisawa was reported as saying in the speech Saturday.

The government has been scrambling to implement measures to persuade couples to have more children amid concerns about the country's shrinking population. *

Daily News wire services