In Brief

*MILITARY – US soldiers who first entered a site from which 350 tonnes of high explosives have been reported missing conducted only a cursory search after capturing it because their priority was to continue the march on Baghdad, their commander said.

*COMMISSION – The European Union plunged into crisis as its new executive chief backed down in the face of imminent defeat by EU lawmakers furious at his backing for an outspoken conservative on his team. *POLLS – A new poll suggested swing voters were starting to break for Democratic candidate John Kerry, but the White House race remained tantalisingly unpredictable six days before the election.*NUCLEAR – Iran’s supreme guide Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Tehran could break off nuclear talks with the international community if it insisted on a long-term suspension of uranium enrichment.*QUAKE – Rescue workers found two young children and the body of their mother four days after their car was buried by a landslide, as the death toll from Japan’s earthquake and aftershocks rose to 32.*DELTA – Troubled Delta Air Lines and its pilots reached a tentative agreement that both sides hope will allow the company to significantly cut its operating costs and avoid bankruptcy, a union official announced.*UNREST – Thailand’s premier announced an inquiry into the death of 78 Muslim protesters who were rounded up by troops and crammed into trucks, amid international protests and fears of further violence in the tense region.- Nampa-AFP*POLLS – A new poll suggested swing voters were starting to break for Democratic candidate John Kerry, but the White House race remained tantalisingly unpredictable six days before the election.*NUCLEAR – Iran’s supreme guide Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Tehran could break off nuclear talks with the international community if it insisted on a long-term suspension of uranium enrichment.*QUAKE – Rescue workers found two young children and the body of their mother four days after their car was buried by a landslide, as the death toll from Japan’s earthquake and aftershocks rose to 32.*DELTA – Troubled Delta Air Lines and its pilots reached a tentative agreement that both sides hope will allow the company to significantly cut its operating costs and avoid bankruptcy, a union official announced.*UNREST – Thailand’s premier announced an inquiry into the death of 78 Muslim protesters who were rounded up by troops and crammed into trucks, amid international protests and fears of further violence in the tense region.- Nampa-AFP