http://192.168.2.6/music/20060926/2006VOA0925.mp3

It's 15:00 Universal Time. And here is the news from the Voice of America.

From the VOA news center in Washington. I'm Frances Alonzo.

Iraqi officials say scattered violence across the country has killed at least 19 people. Bomb attacks in Tal Afar and Baghdad targeted Iraqi security forces. Several more bodies showing signs of torture were also found in the Iraqi capital. A Sunni militant group said today that it recently executed 10 Shiites from India and Pakistan.

US intelligence agencies have reportedly concluded that the Iraq war has helped inspire a new generation of Islamic radicals and increased the threat of global terrorism. American newspapers report the National Intelligence Estimate cites the invasion and continued US presence in Iraq as central to the creation of extremist and(\) Islamic networks and cells, united by a(\) little more than an anti-Western agenda. The New York Times, which first reported on the document, says US officials and experts who have seen the report say it concludes that the growing radical Islamic movement is inspired by al-Qaida, but it(\) has no direct connection to it.

Afghanistan's Defense Ministry says 40 insurgents have been killed during the latest fighting with Afghan and NATO-led forces in southern Afghanistan. The ministry says a NATO air strike and joint ground operation destroyed a rebel base in Helmand province on Saturday. The NATO alliance says its forces killed 23 insurgents during earlier fighting in Helmand.

Saudi Arabia says it has no evidence to support recent media reports said Osama bin Laden is dead. The Saudi Embassy in Washington issued a statement today, saying recently published information on the al-Qaida leader's alleged demise is apparently speculative and cannot be independently verified. A French newspaper publishes a story based on classified a French intelligence report, saying Saudi officials believed bin Laden had died of typhoid in Pakistan within the past month.

Tens of thousands of Hungarians rallied on Saturday and demanded the resignation of the prime minister. It was the largest anti-government demonstration so far. Stefan Bos reports from Budapest.

Saturday's protests took place in front of the parliament building in Budapest. Riot police blockaded the parliament building in an attempt to prevent the protest from escalating into violent street riots like the ones that took place earlier in the week in which more than 250 people were injured and hundreds were arrested. Among the speakers at Saturday's protests was Imre Pozsgay, a former Minister of State in the old Communist government who played a role in the transformation to democracy in [屏蔽]. Pal Schmitt, a member of the European Parliament from Hungary's center-right opposition party, Fidesz, told demonstrators that the prime minister has caused a moral crisis in the country. Yet independent public opinion polls show that a slight majority of Hungarians do not want Prime Minister Gyurcsany to resign. Mr. Gyurcsany himself has told reporters he made his remarks about lying to provoke a discussion and to encourage Hungary's political establishment to stop what he called years of political deception. Stefan Bos for VOA news, Budapest.

American beef is back in the Japanese market and slated to return to South Korea soon. But for America's beef exporters, who lost two of their three largest markets in 2003 after a few cases of mad cow disease were discovered in the US, it is going to be an uphill struggle. VOA's Steve Herman reports.

Despite consumer fears in north Asia about possible bovine spongiform encephalopathy, more commonly known as mad cow disease, American beef is returning to shops and restaurants in this region with ceremonial flourish.

Staff at Tokyo's popular Yoshinoya restaurant chain welcome patrons back to sample dishes made with American beef. Some diners waited as long as 12 hours to make sure they would get a taste - as supplies are limited for now. US Ambassador Thomas Schieffer this month has been heavily promoting US beef to help American exporters rebuild their nearly one and a half billion dollar annual business in Japan. After an(\) intense negotiations, Japan agreed this month to accept meat from specially certified exporters processing US cattle younger than 21 months. Meanwhile in South Korea, US boneless beef imports are due to resume within weeks, pending resolution of some minor disagreements. Steve Herman, VOA news, Tokyo.

And I'm Frances Alonzo in Washington. You are listening to VOA news.