Key suspect in Bombay blasts dies in gunfight

BOMBAY, India -- Police shot and killed a man believed to have masterminded car bombings in Bombay last month that killed 53 people, an official said Friday.

Police commissioner Ranjit Sharma said the suspect, identified as Naseer, and another man were killed in a Friday gunfight with police officers in central Bombay.

Naseer and his aide were traveling in a car that carried explosives, guns and detonators when police intercepted it, Sharma said. The men tried to flee, prompting the gunfight, he said.

Sharma said police believe Naseer orchestrated the Bombay bombings on Aug. 25 based on photographs and sketches using information provided by four suspects arrested for the blasts, which also wounded more than 150 people.

Venezuela's election council rejects recall

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's election council Friday rejected a major petition for a referendum on ending Hugo Chavez's presidency, a major setback in opposition efforts to oust the leftist leader.

The petition was thrown out because the signatures of millions of Venezuelans were gathered before the midpoint of Chavez's term, an election rule violation, said National Elections Council President Francisco Carrasquero. The council is considered an impartial body by rival political groups.

Thousands of Chavez supporters outside the council headquarters cheered and pumped their fists upon learning of the decision. Dozens of National Guardsmen surrounded the building to keep order.

The decision dampened opposition chances of holding a vote by the end of the year. Many Chavez supporters believe that such a vote could now be put off indefinitely.

Killer of Swedish foreign minister sought by police

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Thousands of Swedes mourned Foreign Minister Anna Lindh on Friday as police studied grainy videotaped images of the man believed to be her killer and hunted for the stocky, acne-scarred suspect.

Investigators also scoured letters and e-mails addressed to Lindh, after the Foreign Ministry said she received correspondence attacking her campaign for a "yes" vote in Sweden's upcoming euro referendum.

Lindh was stabbed several times in an upscale Stockholm department store Wednesday and died the next day, horrifying the nation and rekindling painful memories of the unsolved murder of Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1986.

Although the attack itself was not recorded, police said the department store videotape showed a man matching witness descriptions of her assailant -- a stocky man with acne scars.

British judge: Russia can't extradite tycoon

LONDON -- Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky, wanted at home for fraud, cannot be extradited now that he has been granted political asylum in Britain, a judge ruled Friday.

Judge Timothy Workman, presiding at Bow Street Magistrates Court, said it was pointless to proceed with the case since Home Secretary David Blunkett decided last week to grant Berezovsky asylum.

"The secretary of state has made the necessary order. There is, therefore, no purpose with proceeding with extradition proceedings," Workman said.

He ordered the Russian government to pay Berezovsky's legal costs.

-- From wire reports