US training Iraqis to defeat deadly roadside bombs

Two Iraqi soldiers acting as insurgents hook up a cellular phone detonator to a 155mm artillery shell with a coiled red wire, bury the mock bomb in a pile of dirt next to a rusty electricity pole and then disappear down the street.

Minutes later, an Iraqi army patrol in Humvees and an armored vehicle with radio-jamming equipment speed into the dusty intersection and disable the bomb remotely with a robot, as U.S. and Iraqi generals observe the training drill from the shade of a tent.

The exercise at this sandy, wind-swept Iraqi military base south of Baghdad is part of U.S. efforts to pass on hard-learned lessons to Iraq's army on how to combat what has long …

BEARS NOTES

If quarterback Jim McMahon can't start the Bears' exhibitionfinale Saturday, coach Mike Ditka said Mike Tomczak will. "He did alot of good things," Ditka said of Tomczak's first NFL start Saturdayin the 14-7 loss to St. Louis. Tomczak didn't match his threetouchdown passes in each of the previous two games, but Ditka wasmore upset about his two interceptions.

Ditka said he didn't know whether McMahon would practice today."I'll expect him to work out but if he can't work out, he won't,"Ditka said. "I don't expect anything but what he does." McMahon, witha pulled upper leg muscle, has missed three games.

Ditka did not want to discuss whether Tomczak had replaced …

Al-Qaida Has Rebuilt, U.S. Intel Warns

WASHINGTON - A new threat assessment from U.S. counterterrorism analysts says that al-Qaida has used its safe haven along the Afghan-Pakistan border to restore its operating capabilities to a level unseen since the months before Sept. 11, 2001.

A counterterrorism official familiar with a five-page summary of the document - titled "Al-Qaida better positioned to strike the West" - called it a stark appraisal. The analysis will be part of a broader meeting at the White House on Thursday about an upcoming National Intelligence Estimate.

The official and others spoke to The Associated Press on condition they not be identified because the report remains classified.

The …

Moldovan Parliament fails to elect president

Moldova's Parliament has narrowly failed to elect a president after the opposition boycotted the vote, claiming the April 5 elections were rigged.

Former Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanii, a Communist, won 60 votes in Wednesday's ballot _ one short of the 61 needed. Another candidate did not win any votes.

Three opposition parties …

Grim `Shoah' to air on Channel 11

NEW YORK "Shoah," beginning from 8 to 11 tonight on WTTW-Channel 11,is a critically acclaimed documentary that revives the horror ofAdolf Hitler's death camps without using a single frame of theatrocities.

Instead, "Shoah" tells the story through the recollections ofthe survivors, the townspeople who worked around the camps, and oneof the SS officers.

Airing on PBS during National Holocaust Remembrance Week, thefour-part documentary of the Holocaust will continue from 8 to 10p.m. tomorrow, 8 to 10:30 p.m. Wednesday and 8 to 11 p.m. Thursday.

If one can stomach four nights of hell, "Shoah" is amasterpiece.

Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert …

18 South Koreans Abducted in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan - Taliban gunmen abducted 18 mostly female members of a South Korean church group, and a purported spokesman for the Islamic militia said Friday the group will be questioned about their activities in the country before their fate is decided.

Gunmen seized the bus Thursday as it traveled on the main road from the southern city of Kandahar to the capital Kabul, said Mohammad Zaman, the Ghazni province deputy police chief.

He blamed the kidnapping, which took place in Qarabagh district, on the "enemies of Afghanistan," a usual reference for Taliban and other militants that are active in the area.

Zaman could not say how many people were on the bus. A South Korean Foreign Ministry official said that some Koreans may have been kidnapped, but provided no details.

Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, the purported Taliban spokesman, said 18 South Koreans, 15 women and three men, were abducted by the militants.

"We are investigating, who are they, what are they doing in Afghanistan," Ahmadi said, speaking on a satellite phone from an undisclosed location. "After our investigation, the Taliban higher authorities will make a decision about their fate."

"Right now they are safe and sound," Ahmadi told The Associated Press.

Ahmadi's claim could not be independently verified.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Friday that the kidnapped Koreans were members of Saemmul Community Church in Bundang, south of the capital, Seoul.

A church official confirmed 20 of its members were in Afghanistan for volunteer work, adding that the church was currently unable to reach them.

"The Foreign Ministry has informed us this morning that the abductees could be our church members, so we are trying to confirm it," the official said on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to talk to the media.

The group left South Korea last Friday and was to return on July 23, she said.

The kidnapping comes a day after two Germans and five of their Afghan colleagues, working on a dam project, were abducted in the central Wardak province.

On June 28, another German man was kidnapped in western Afghanistan, but was released after a week. The kidnappers, using tribal elders as intermediaries, demanded $40,000. It was not clear whether money changed hands.

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Associated Press writer Noor Khan in Kandahar contributed to this report.

Wal-Mart 3Q profit rises; pressure still on in US

NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported a 9.3 percent increase in third-quarter net income as the world's largest retailer benefited from cost controls and a robust international business. The company also raised its full-year profit outlook.

The improvements come despite weakness at its U.S. business. Total revenue at U.S. Walmart stores fell as fewer customers visited and spent less when they did. Revenue at stores open at least a year also fell, for the sixth quarter in a row, underscoring the challenges of its U.S. business as many customers struggle economically.

Still, Wal-Mart, armed with free shipping deals and low prices on such basics socks and underwear, remained upbeat about the holiday season and said restocking grocery items it had stopped carrying is starting to pay off. It also maintained it expects revenue at stores open at least a year to turn positive in the critical fourth quarter.

Shares rose almost 2 percent, or 95 cents, to $54.90 in late morning trading.

"Our own surveys and the reports on the recent U.S. election cycle indicate that financial uncertainty still weighs heavily on everyday Americans, including many of our core customers," President and CEO Mike Duke said in a prerecorded address to investors. "Whether it's for everyday groceries, or for discretionary items, Walmart U.S. will be the price leader throughout the holidays, and I remain confident about improving (comparable store sales) trends in the fourth quarter."

Many analysts believe that Wal-Mart is facing an uphill battle to improve its U.S. business substantially for holiday season.

"It's going to be a stretch to get that positive number," said Ken Perkins, president of RetailMetrics, a research firm. "There's a lot of intense competition" from different chains, including dollar-store chains.

Wal-Mart posted net income of $3.44 billion, or 95 cents per share, in the quarter ended Oct. 31. That's up from $3.14 billion, or 81 cents per share, in last year's third quarter.

Excluding a tax benefit, the company earned 90 cents per share, which matched estimates from a survey of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue reached $101.24 billion, below the estimate of $102.25 billion.

Revenue at stores open at least a year slipped 0.7 percent, dragged down by a 1.3 percent drop at U.S. Walmart stores. The decline, which excluded fuel sales, is worse than analysts' estimates for a 0.4 percent decrease. The measure rose 2.4 percent at its Sam's Club chain.

Wal-Mart benefited during the recession as affluent shoppers traded down to cheaper stores, but its main customers have been under increasing financial stress amid an unemployment rate that's still stuck at almost 10 percent.

"(Shoppers) are focusing on necessities and being practical in how they're spending their money," said Tom Schoewe, Wal-Mart's chief financial officer, during a call with the media on Tuesday.

Wal-Mart's merchandising missteps also have hurt its U.S. business, and the company is scrambling to rectify those mistakes. That includes restocking thousands of grocery items eliminated as a part of a campaign to declutter its stores last year. Executives said Tuesday the company already seeing improving sales after expanding its assortment of pie fillings and jams. It's also going back to everyday low-pricing strategies after steep rollbacks failed to excite frugal shoppers.

Wal-Mart is also stocking more $1 items and mini-size products such as detergent at the end of the month as it has felt pressure from dollar stores, where financially strapped shoppers turn when they have only a few dollars left.

Bill Simon, president of Walmart's U.S. business, reiterated that the strategies are all aimed at getting its customers with household incomes of under $70,000 to spend more. That group represents 68 percent of its business, and these customers spend about 22 percent of their disposable income at Walmart, so "there remains lot of opportunity," Simon says.

Wal-Mart said it expects revenue at stores opened at least a year for its U.S. Walmart business to be anywhere from down 1 percent to up 2 percent in the fourth quarter. Schoewe told reporters they should focus on the midpoint of that range.

Wal-Mart predicts that earnings per share for the fourth quarter will be in the range of $1.29 to $1.33. Analysts had predicted $1.28 per share. The company also predicted full-year earnings per share ranging from $4.08 to $4.12 per share. That's up from $3.95 to $4.05 per share. Analysts expected $4.02.