TURKEY

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan laid out a policy vision for the next five years that focuses on pursuing membership in the European Union and defending the nation's secular and democratic principles.

Erdogan, who won a second term in July elections, also said in his speech to parliament that the government would press ahead with economic and judicial reforms, overhaul the constitution and establish "zero tolerance" for torture.

His speech made no mention of any measures to lift a ban on Islamic-style head scarves in schools and government offices, a polarizing issue.

RUSSIA 4 policemen killed in Ingushetia blast

A car bomb exploded near a police vehicle in the troubled North Caucasus region, killing four police officers, witnesses and officials said. The blast occurred in the center of Nazran, the main city of violence-plagued Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya.

Authorities said three to five other people, apparently civilians, were injured. The blast occurred after police responded to a call about a suspicious car.

Also, gunmen burst into a home in Ingushetia and killed three members of a Russian-speaking teacher's family. It was the second such attack this summer, and it deepened fears that Russians were being targeted.

ARGENTINA Man with money on plane is sought

The government formally asked the U.S. to extradite a Venezuelan American businessman wanted on charges stemming from the airport seizure of a suitcase with hundreds of thousands of dollars in undeclared cash.

Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson brought nearly $800,000 into Argentina Aug. 4 on a plane chartered by the state energy company, authorities said. He is reportedly in the Miami area.

The scandal has shaken the governments of Argentina and Venezuela, where a state oil company official on the plane with Antonini Wilson has resigned.

BRITAIN Recall after animal rights group claim

Activists claimed to have sabotaged healthcare products in Britain and France in a long-running and often violent campaign against an animal-testing firm, police said, leading to recalls in both countries.

A British group called Animal Rights Militia said it had contaminated products made by the Swiss-based pharmaceuticals company Novartis because it allegedly has ties to the firm.

MEXICO Precautions taken ahead of storm

Mexican officials closed more than 1,000 schools, shut down ports to small fishing boats and battled flooding in Acapulco as Tropical Storm Henriette dumped heavy rain and caused a minor landslide on a highway.

Henriette was expected to become a hurricane by early Sunday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. It was not expected to make landfall but was crawling northward.

SERBIA Kosovo elections set for November

The U.N. mission in Kosovo announced that general elections would be held in the Serbian province Nov. 17, shortly before international envoys report on efforts to resolve the dispute between ethnic Albanians and Serbs over the territory's future.

From Times Wire Reports