Tropical Storm Jeanne blamed for nine deaths

SAN PEDRO DE MACORIS, Dominican Republic -- Tropical Storm Jeanne battered the Dominican Republic before heading to the Bahamas where the tempest, which has killed at least nine people, began to churn seas and stir deadly storm surges on Saturday. Jeanne lost strength as it drove thousands of Dominicans from their homes by late Friday. But a few hours after being downgraded to a tropical depression, it strengthened again into a tropical storm with lashing winds. Forecasters said it was too soon to predict if the storm would hit the United States.

Divided Security Council places demands on Sudan

UNITED NATIONS -- A divided U.N. Security Council approved a resolution Saturday threatening oil sanctions against Sudan unless the government reins in Arab militias blamed for a 19-month killing and looting spree in Darfur that the United States has called genocide. The vote was 11-0 with four abstentions -- China, Russia, Pakistan and Algeria. China, a permanent council member, said immediately after the vote that it would veto any future resolution that sought to impose sanctions on Sudan. The resolution says the council would have to meet again to consider sanctions against Sudan's petroleum sector or other punitive measures if the government doesn't act quickly to stop the violence and bring the perpetrators to justice -- or if it doesn't cooperate with an African Union monitoring force.

Pop star Madonna makes visit to grave in Israel

JERUSALEM -- Pop diva Madonna made a midnight pilgrimage to a Jerusalem cemetery early today, holding a mystical candlelit ceremony at the grave of a Jewish sage. The singer is in Israel on a five-day spiritual quest along with 2,000 other students of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism. Following her graveside visit, Madonna went to the Western Wall, a part of Judaism's holiest site where the biblical temples once stood. Madonna was raised a Roman Catholic, but she has become an avid devotee of Jewish mysticism in recent years. She has adopted the Hebrew name Esther, wears a red thread on her wrist to ward off the evil eye and reportedly refuses to perform on the Jewish Sabbath.

--From wire reports