NEW DELHI, India -- Despite a delay of 18 years, the Indian government is preparing to seek the extradition of the American who headed Union Carbide Corp. when a gas leak killed thousands in India in 1984, a top official said Thursday.

The government was processing evidence gathered against Warren Anderson, former chairman of the company, before seeking his extradition from the United States to face trial in India, the official told reporters.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official gave no time frame as to when extradition would be sought.

Anderson headed Union Carbide when methyl isocyanate gas leaked from the plant on Dec. 2, 1984, killing 4,000 people within hours.

Gunmen kill new chief of Columbian secret police

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Gunmen on motorcycles killed the new chief of secret police in a violence-ridden Colombian province Thursday as he drove his car in Medellin.

The killing of Fernando Mancilla recalled the numerous assassinations carried out by Pablo Escobar's Medellin cocaine cartel in the 1980s and 1990s. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Mancilla was recently appointed the head of Colombia's secret police, known as the DAS, for the province of Antioquia. Medellin, Colombia's second-largest city, is the provincial capital.

The gunmen fired repeatedly into Mancilla's red Mazda as he drove through a residential neighborhood during the morning rush hour, witnesses said.

Arab channel interviews al-Qaida on Sept. 11

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Arab station Al-Jazeera said Thursday that it will broadcast interviews with two al-Qaida members who admit to helping the terror network plan and carry out the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Qatar-based, pan-Arab broadcaster, which drew world attention when it carried videotaped interviews with Osama bin Laden, said the interviews would air next Thursday as part of its coverage marking the anniversary of the attacks against the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Al-Jazeera said the al-Qaida members, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Ramzi Binalshibh, were interviewed recently at a secret location but did not elaborate further.

OPEC says oil 'not a weapon' regarding Iraq

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- The head of OPEC and oil-consuming nations led by the International Energy Agency pledged Thursday to work to keep oil prices stable as the United States escalates pressure on Iraq.

In a rare appearance together, Alvaro Silva Calderon, secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and IEA chief Robert Priddle expressed growing concern about the impact of a U.S.-Iraq showdown on volatile oil markets.

"OPEC does not handle oil as an economic weapon," Silva said at the closing of the 17th World Petroleum Congress.

Bush's niece models in Arab-themed show

BARCELONA, Spain -- President Bush's niece Lauren Bush made her first appearance on a Spanish catwalk Thursday when she modeled a simple black dress for the presentation of the label Toypes' summer 2003 collection.

The show was full of silk, linen, elaborate embroidery, and Arabic-inspired touches like turbans and traditional robes.

But a Toypes spokeswoman said stylists deliberately gave Lauren Bush a simple, non-ethnic dress to avoid any political undertones.

President Bush is currently considering whether to launch an attack on Iraq to stop its alleged production of weapons of mass destruction -- a prospect that has angered many in the Arab world.

Any connection with the Bush family and Arabic styles were pure coincidence, said the label's designer, Spain's Jorge Galinanes.

--From wire reports