In brief - Booty of tanks on ship seized by pirates

KIEV - Pirates have seized a Ukrainian-operated ship off Somalia,the Foreign Ministry said Thursday. The Faina was sailing with 21people on board under the flag of Belize, though it is operated byUkrainian company Tomax Team Inc.

The ministry said in a statement that the ship's captain reportedbeing surrounded by three boats of armed men Thursday afternoon.

The ship's passengers include 17 Ukrainian citizens including thecaptain, as well as three Russians and one Latvian citizen.

The Interfax news agency cited a source as saying the ship wasloaded with about 30 T-72 tanks and spare parts for them.

More than 50 attacks blamed on pirates already have been reportedthis year in the heavily trafficked waters off lawless Somalia.

Israel

Paul brings end to 'Beatle ban'

TEL AVIV - After a 43-year wait, Paul McCartney performed hisfirst concert in Israel on Thursday, kicking it off with thefamiliar Beatles' song "Hello, Goodbye" to the joy of tens ofthousands of fans.

McCartney billed the concert "Friendship First," saying he's on amission of peace for Israel and the Palestinians.

The Beatles had been scheduled to perform in Israel in 1965, butin one of the country's most widely repeated tales, an Israeliofficial supposedly called off the concert for fear it would corruptthe nation's youth.

So pervasive is the story that Ron Prosor, Israel's ambassador inLondon, sent a letter to McCartney and Ringo Starr, the twosurviving Beatles, to express regret over the matter.

Bolivia

Morales upbeat on easing crisis

Mediation by South American leaders is having a positiveinfluence on Bolivia's political crisis between the centralgovernment and restive eastern provinces demanding greater autonomy,Bolivian President Evo Morales said.

The 12-nation Union of South American Nations has pledged to helpprevent political collapse in Bolivia after anti-Morales groupslaunched deadly protests in the eastern part of the impoverishedcountry this month, blockading highways, sacking government officesand seizing gas pipelines.

Morales also offered reassurances to foreign investors when askedabout delays in compensation agreements for companies affected bynationalizations under his leftist administration.

Finland

School threats spread fears

KAUHAJOKI - Panic spread among students in Finland on Thursday asthreatening text messages and Internet postings raised fears of newattacks mimicking a deadly school rampage.

Worried children and parents jammed telephone help lines andscores of children stayed away from class after threats popped upagainst schools and students.

Most appeared to be hoaxes but police were taking every threatseriously to avoid a repeat of Tuesday's shooting, in which a 22-year-old gunman killed 10 people and himself at a vocational schoolin this town in western Finland. It was the second school shootingin the country in less than a year.

SNAPSHOTS

Mideast pep talks: In separate meetings with Middle East leadersThursday, President Bush applauded Lebanon's efforts to forge anational reconciliation and told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbasthat the administration has not given up hope on an agreement tocreate a Palestinian state.

Spacewalk for China: China launched a three-man crew into spaceThursday night, including one who will make the country's firstspacewalk either today or Saturday - its most challenging missionsince its first orbital flight in 2003. The Shenzhou 7 spacecraftblasted off atop a Long March 2F rocket from northwestern China.

- Compiled by Henry Bailey