WORLD at 1400GMT

HIGHLIGHTS:

New: FRANCE-IRAQ-TERRORISM. Police say 7 alleged Islamic militants headed for Iraq detained.

New: BRITAIN-SAUDI EXPENSES. Saudi ambassador ordered to pay millions to former assistant.

New: RUSSIA-DOOMSDAY CULT. Cult members in cave, threatening to blow selves up.

New: CYPRUS-BUFFER ZONE SANCTUARY. Wildlife thrives in Cyprus No Man's Land.

New: OPEC SUMMIT. OPEC leaders shrug off pressure for production increase.

New: US-JAPAN. Japanese PM looks for Bush assurances on N Korea terror list issue.

Update: IRAQ. US air assault targets militants believed to be linked to kidnap of Americans.

TOP STORIES:

Powerful cyclone kills 242 in Bangladesh, forces evacuation of hundreds of thousands

DHAKA, Bangladesh _ A cyclone slammed into Bangladesh's coast with 240 kph (140 mph) winds kills at least 242 people, levels homes and forces the evacuation of 650,000 villagers before heading inland and losing power. BC-AS-GEN--BANGLADESH-CYCLONE. Developing. By Parveen Ahmed. AP Photos.

OSCE observers will not monitor Russia elections because visas denied

WARSAW, Poland _ A leading international organization says it will not monitor next month's Russian parliamentary elections because Moscow refuses to issue visas to its observers. BC-EU-GEN--OSCE-RUSSIA-ELECTIONS. Developing. By Vanessa Gera.

Prosecutor's office starts action to ban pro-Kurdish party

ANKARA, Turkey _ Authorities start action to ban the country's leading pro-Kurdish political party and expel its lawmakers from parliament, on charges of separatism. The Democratic Society Party, or DTP, last week called for autonomy for Kurds living in the country's southeast. BC-EU-GEN--TURKEY-KURDISH PARTY. Developing. By Selcan Hacaoglu.

Pakistan ends house arrest of Benazir Bhutto before U.S. envoy's visit

LAHORE, Pakistan _ Police say they have lifted the house arrest of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, hours before the arrival in Pakistan of a senior U.S. official expected to urge the country's military leader to end emergency rule. BC-AS-GEN--PAKISTAN. Moved. By Zarar Khan. AP Photo. AP Graphic PAKISTAN ELN TIMELINE.

MIDDLE EAST:

US air assault targets militants believed to be linked to May kidnapping of Americans

BAGHDAD _ U.S. helicopters drop 600 soldiers into two villages south of Baghdad before sunrise, launching an assault on militants believed to be involved in the May kidnapping of three American soldiers, the military says. BC-ME-GEN--IRAQ. Developing. By Lauren Frayer.

UN chief talks with Lebanese leaders on presidential election

BEIRUT, Lebanon _ U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon holds more talks with Lebanese leaders in his mission to help break the deadlock over crucial election. BC-ME-GEN--LEBANON-UN. By Hussein Dakroub. AP Photos.

EUROPE:

Police: 7 alleged Islamic militants planning to leave for Iraq detained in eastern France

PARIS _ French authorities detain seven suspected Islamic militants who allegedly took part in weapons training in eastern France and had planned to travel to Iraq, police officials say. The seven men, all French citizens born between 1963 and 1985, and police raids of their homes turned up munitions, handguns and pump and automatic rifles, officials say. BC-EU-GEN--FRANCE-IRAQ-TERRORISM. Developing. By Jean-Pierre Verges. AP Photos.

Negotiators complete key document for policymakers on climate change

VALENCIA, Spain _ Working until dawn, negotiators conclude a policy guide for governments on global warming that declares climate change is here and is getting worse, one of its authors says. BC-EU-SCI--CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE. Developing. By Arthur Max.

Saudi ambassador ordered to pay millions to former assistant

LONDON _ The shopping list is lavish, including BMWs, a thermal night vision kit for a Hummer, ivory tusks and two Arab karaoke machines. A British court releases the expenses of Saudi Ambassador Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf and orders him to pay his former assistant millions of pounds (dollars; euros) for items bought on the Saudi royal's behalf. BC-EU-GEN--BRITAIN-SAUDI EXPENSES. By 1600GMT. By Thomas Wagner.

Russian cult waits for world to end, barricaded in forest bunker

MOSCOW _ Self-declared prophet Pyotr Kuznetsov sent his followers underground to wait for the end of the world, which he said would come this spring. On Friday, psychologists were negotiating with the doomsday cult members, who have sealed themselves in what officials described as a cave or a bunker in a snowy forest, threatening to blow themselves up if authorities intervene. BC-EU-GEN--RUSSIA-DOOMSDAY CULT. Developing. By Bagila Bukharbayeva. AP Photos.

On war-divided Cyprus, wildlife thrives in No Man's Land

VARISEIA, Cyprus _ Scientists visiting no man's land in war-divided Cyprus have made an important discovery. Once-endangered wildlife is thriving in the United Nations-patrolled buffer zone _ including the island's national symbol, a wild sheep called the Cypriot mouflon. BC-EU-GEN--CYPRUS-BUFFER ZONE SANCTUARY. Upcoming. By Petros Karadjias and Derek Gatopoulos. AP Photos NIC501-512.

AFRICA:

US-Africa business summit winds up with address by Treasury Secretary

CAPE TOWN, South Africa _ U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson addresses a U.S.-Africa business summit in a bid to convince skeptics that America is committed to the long-neglected continent. BC-AF-FIN--AFRICA-US-BUSINESS. Developing. By Clare Nullis. Paulson speaks 1800 GMT.

ASIA:

19 girls accuse Russian of abuse in Cambodia's biggest pedophilia case

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia _ Nineteen girls claim they were sexually abused by a Russian businessman who was arrested in Cambodia last month. BC-AS-GEN--CAMBODIA-RUSSIA-SEX CRIME. Moved.

NORTH AMERICA:

U.S. Congress unlikely to send Bush money for Iraq war until early next year

WASHINGTON _ Congress will likely hold off on sending President George W. Bush money for Iraq until early next year, pushing the Pentagon to the brink of an accounting nightmare and deepening Democrats' conflict with the White House on the war. BC-NA-GEN--US-IRAQ. Vote possible before 1700 GMT. By Anne Flaherty.

With:

_BC-NA-GEN--US-MARINES-HADITHA. SAN DIEGO _ Highest-ranking U.S. serviceman to face court-martial involving combat since Vietnam answers combat-related charges over killings in Haditha, Iraq. Arraignment set for 1700 GMT. By Chelsea Carter.

Japanese PM faces tough test as he looks for Bush assurances on North Korean terror list issue

WASHINGTON _ Japan's new prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda, and U.S. President George W. Bush will be looking for mutual assurances when they meet at the White House. While Bush has a chance of getting what he wants _ a commitment to try to resume Japan's military refueling operations in the Indian Ocean _ Fukuda's hopes of keeping North Korea on a U.S. terror blacklist could be harder to satisfy. BC-NA-GEN--US-JAPAN. Developing. By Foster Klug.

For the first time, Clinton goes after 'the boys' in Thursday's Democratic debate

LAS VEGAS _ U.S. senator Hillary Rodham Clinton showed she knows how to use the roughhouse tactics of the political boys club. For the first time, she directly challenged the records of her top rivals, Barack Obama and John Edwards. Spectators inside the debate hall appeared to echo that criticism, repeatedly booing Edwards and occasionally Obama when they criticized Clinton. BC-NA-POL--US-DEMOCRATS-DEBATE-ANALYSIS. Moved. By Beth Fouhy.

LATIN AMERICA:

Chilean president unshaken by major aftershock as she tours damage from powerful quake

TOCOPILLA, Chile _ President Michelle Bachelet doesn't flinch when a magnitude-6.8 aftershock _ a major earthquake in its own right _ hits the rubble-filled street where she was reassuring residents left homeless by a major temblor. BC-LA-GEN--CHILE-EARTHQUAKE. Moved. By Federico Quilodran. AP Photos.

Powerful quake on Peru-Ecuador border

QUITO, Ecuador _ A powerful earthquake shakes the border region of Ecuador and Peru, but there are no immediate reports of injury or damage. Local media say the magnitude 6.7 quake was felt strongly in the Ecuadorean cities of Guayaquil and Manta. BC-LA-GEN--ECUADOR-EARTHQUAKE,

BUSINESS & FINANCE:

OPEC leaders shrug off pressure for production increase amid US fears over high oil prices

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia _ OPEC heads of state, gathering here for a rare summit, are shrugging off pressure for a production increase, saying supply is not the cause of high oil prices that the U.S. fears could hurt economic growth. Instead, the cartel's officials blame the falling dollar and rampant market speculation. BC-ME-GEN--OPEC-SUMMIT. By 1600GMT. By Sebastian Abbot. AP Photos.

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