CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy
Pope: Faiths must reject violence

Seeking to end anger in the Islamic world over his remarks on holy war, Pope Benedict XVI told Muslim envoys yesterday their two faiths must overcome historic enmities and together reject violence, saying the future of humanity is at stake.

The pope also urged "reciprocity" in religious freedom, calling for preserving the rights of Christians throughout the Islamic world.

"The circumstances which have given rise to our gathering are well known," Benedict said, referring to his remarks on Islam in a Sept. 12 speech at Regensburg University in Germany, which set off protests around the Muslim world.

He did not dwell on the contested remarks, in which he quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor as saying: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

Benedict has already expressed regret for offending Muslims and said his remarks did not reflect his personal views, but he has not offered a complete apology as some have sought.

WASHINGTON
Retired officers criticize Rumsfeld at hearing

Retired military officers yesterday bluntly accused Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld of bungling the war in Iraq, saying U.S. troops were sent to fight without the best equipment and that critical facts were hidden from the public.

"I believe that Secretary Rumsfeld and others in the administration did not tell the American people the truth for fear of losing support for the war in Iraq," retired Maj. Gen. John R. S. Batiste told a forum conducted by Senate Democrats.

A second military leader, retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, assessed Rumsfeld as "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically."

UNITED NATIONS
Iran's foreign minister: Nuclear talks 'on track'

Iran's foreign minister said yesterday that talks between top Iranian and European negotiators on his country's disputed nuclear program are "on track" and could pave the way for a negotiated solution to the standoff.

But Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told The Associated Press in an interview that Iran still believes there should be no conditions on the resumption of negotiations, implicitly rejecting demands that Tehran first suspend uranium enrichment.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani have held two rounds of preliminary talks to discuss Iranian questions about a package of incentives put forward by six key nations if Tehran agrees to suspend its enrichment program and return to full-scale negotiations.

NEW YORK
Judge grants class-action status to tobacco case

A federal judge ruled yesterday that a jury should decide whether tobacco companies must pay tens of millions of smokers up to $200 billion for allegedly duping them into buying light cigarettes over the past three decades.

The nation's biggest cigarette makers said they would appeal but their shares sagged on Wall Street as the ruling took the edge off what had appeared to be an improving legal environment for the industry.

"The plaintiffs are entitled to the chance to prove their allegations," U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein said in granting class-action status to a lawsuit against industry leader and Marlboro maker Philip Morris USA Inc.

- Compiled from Daily wire reports