In Brief ISRAEL ON ALERT

– Israel was weighing its response to the first suicide bombing within its borders since Hamas came to power as security forces went on a heightened state of alert for fear of more attacks.

The blast, which killed nine people at a crowded Tel Aviv food stand at lunchtime on Monday, failed to elicit condemnation from the hardline Islamist group Hamas which formed its first Palestinian Authority government last month. * FERRY SINKS – An Indonesian ferry carrying around 100 people has sunk in the eastern part of the country, but no deaths have been confirmed so far, rescue officials said.* REBELS CAPTURED – Congolese troops handed over to the Burundian army 51 captured fighters from Burundi’s last remaining rebel group, authorities said.Authorities said it was a sign of increasing military cooperation between the neighbours in the turbulent Great Lakes region, where rebels from Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda take shelter in the largely lawless eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.* NUCLEAR TALKS – World powers held talks here on how to keep Iran’s nuclear programme in check, with US calls for strong UN action meeting resistance from Russia and China and open defiance from Tehran.* CHINESE DIPLOMACY – President Hu Jintao left Beijing for a much-anticipated summit in the United States, hoping to persuade his host George W.Bush that China’s fast-growing economy is no threat.* NEPAL UNREST – A general strike which has crippled Nepal eased as more shops opened on the 13th day of a mass campaign against King Gyanendra, but diplomats urged him to end the standoff to avoid further upheaval.* ITALY VERDICT – A shaky Easter truce over, the factions in Italy’s election drama awaited a final verdict from the supreme court, which is expected to formalise centre-left leader Romano Prodi’s slim victory over conservative Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.* MOUSSAOUI SCHIZOPHRENIC – A renowned psychologist was to peer into the mind of Zacarias Moussaoui, after diagnosing him as a paranoid schizophrenic, to bolster defence claims the September 11 conspirator should not be executed.* HAMAS AID – Japan may halt aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority if the radical Islamic group supports violence, a government official said after a deadly suicide attack in Tel Aviv.* MEXICO ACCIDENT – At least 63 people died after a bus they were riding veered off a mountain road in central Mexico and fell down a ravine, authorities said.* RUMSFELD DEFIANT – US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissed calls by retired generals for his ouster, telling conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, “This, too, will pass.”- Nampa-Reuters-AFP* FERRY SINKS – An Indonesian ferry carrying around 100 people has sunk in the eastern part of the country, but no deaths have been confirmed so far, rescue officials said.* REBELS CAPTURED – Congolese troops handed over to the Burundian army 51 captured fighters from Burundi’s last remaining rebel group, authorities said.Authorities said it was a sign of increasing military cooperation between the neighbours in the turbulent Great Lakes region, where rebels from Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda take shelter in the largely lawless eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.* NUCLEAR TALKS – World powers held talks here on how to keep Iran’s nuclear programme in check, with US calls for strong UN action meeting resistance from Russia and China and open defiance from Tehran.* CHINESE DIPLOMACY – President Hu Jintao left Beijing for a much-anticipated summit in the United States, hoping to persuade his host George W.Bush that China’s fast-growing economy is no threat.* NEPAL UNREST – A general strike which has crippled Nepal eased as more shops opened on the 13th day of a mass campaign against King Gyanendra, but diplomats urged him to end the standoff to avoid further upheaval.* ITALY VERDICT – A shaky Easter truce over, the factions in Italy’s election drama awaited a final verdict from the supreme court, which is expected to formalise centre-left leader Romano Prodi’s slim victory over conservative Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.* MOUSSAOUI SCHIZOPHRENIC – A renowned psychologist was to peer into the mind of Zacarias Moussaoui, after diagnosing him as a paranoid schizophrenic, to bolster defence claims the September 11 conspirator should not be executed.* HAMAS AID – Japan may halt aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority if the radical Islamic group supports violence, a government official said after a deadly suicide attack in Tel Aviv.* MEXICO ACCIDENT – At least 63 people died after a bus they were riding veered off a mountain road in central Mexico and fell down a ravine, authorities said.* RUMSFELD DEFIANT – US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissed calls by retired generals for his ouster, telling conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, “This, too, will pass.”- Nampa-Reuters-AFP