Nation/World briefs 11/6/03

Al-Qaida tried to bring more hijackers to U.S.

WASHINGTON -- Al-Qaida was attempting to bring additional hijackers into the United States just a few weeks before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, U.S. officials now believe.

It is unclear from court documents that outline the theory whether these unidentified individuals were intended to provide additional manpower aboard the four jets that were commandeered or if the plot was to include the hijackings of more aircraft on that day.

Iran notes 'mistakes' in atomic program report

VIENNA, Austria -- A senior Iranian envoy acknowledged on Wednesday that his country made "mistakes" in reporting past nuclear activities but insisted suspicions that his country is trying to make atomic arms are unfounded.

Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran's chief delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency, also said that an agreement opening Iran's nuclear programs to full scrutiny by the agency would be ready for signing in two weeks.

Microsoft announces reward to fight viruses

WASHINGTON -- Microsoft Corp. announced Wednesday it is creating a $5 million reward program to help law enforcement identify and convict those who illegally release worms, viruses and other types of malicious programs on the Internet.

Microsoft said the first two rewards will be for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the spread of the MSBlast.A worm and the SoBig virus unleashed earlier this year. The company offered $250,000 rewards for each.

Syria blames occupation for 'terrorism' in Iraq

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- The Syrian foreign ministry called on the United States to pull its troops out of Iraq, saying their presence has led to chaos and terrorism, according to remarks published Wednesday.

There was no terrorism problem in Iraq when the United States entered the country, a spokeswoman for Syria's foreign ministry said in an interview with the London-based Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat.

"Now, there is the problem of terrorism and of al-Qaida," Bushra Kanafani said in published remarks. "The problem here is not Syria, but America."

Congress wants military death benefit doubled

WASHINGTON -- The House voted unanimously on Wednesday to double to $12,000 the payment given to families of fallen soldiers and send the bill to the president by Veterans Day.

The bill, passed 420-0, makes the bigger death benefit tax-free and extends it to families of military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since the 2001 terrorist attacks.

"This is what a grateful country does for the families of those service members," said Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas.

U.S., allies to suspend N. Korean reactor project

SEOUL, South Korea -- The United States won support from key allies Wednesday to halt construction of two nuclear power plants in North Korea for at least a year because of the communist state's atomic weapons program.

KEDO has been building two light-water reactors for $4.6 billion as part of a 1994 accord between Washington and Pyongyang in which North Korea promised to freeze its suspected nuclear weapons development. But the deal went sour in October 2002, when U.S. officials said North Korea had admitted running such a weapons program.

Troop rotation to include Marines in stability roles

WASHINGTON -- The Marine Corps, which played a central role in toppling Saddam Hussein last spring, will return to Iraq as part of a U.S. troop rotation next year, officials said Wednesday.

Since the Marines' departure from Iraq in September, the military effort to stabilize and rebuild Iraq has fallen almost entirely to the Army, plus multinational units led by Britain and Poland.

No Marines have been doing stability operations, such as working with Iraqi civilians on rebuilding projects or hunting for fugitives loyal to Saddam, since the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force departed south-central Iraq in September.

Dean regrets pain of Confederate flag remarkNASHUA, N.H. -- Howard Dean said Wednesday he regretted the pain he caused by saying that the Democratic Party must court Southerners who display the symbol of the Confederacy in their pickup trucks.

Speaking in New York about campaign finance, the former Vermont governor sought to quell the dispute that erupted over his recent comment and his unwillingness to apologize for it during Tuesday night's debate.

"I regret the pain that I have caused, but I will tell you there is no easy way to do this and there will be pain as we discuss it and we must face this together hand in hand as Dr. King and Abraham Lincoln asked us to do," Dean said.

-- From wire reports