World

Fighters loyal to Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr took heavy casualties in gunfights with US troops in Kufa, one of his strongholds. A US general said 32 were killed and that afterward Iraqi police seized a machine gun, grenade launchers, and more than 200 mortar rounds from inside a mosque in the city. Meanwhile, in Fallujah, marines gave local authorities the names of 25 persons wanted in the killings of American civilian contractors March 31 and said, "If you ... apprehend those people, it would go a long way in building trust with the coalition forces."

The new government of India postponed Tuesday's scheduled start of nuclear weapons talks with Pakistan, but apparently not because of the deaths of 28 Army troops aboard a bus in Kashmir. The vehicle hit a land mine in the worst attack since the rivals declared a cease-fire in the disputed region last year. The delay was so that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was sworn in Saturday, could complete his cabinet.

A national election that could cost Canada's ruling Liberal Party its 11-year hold on power was expected to be called for June 28, as the Monitor went to press. Aides to new Prime Minister Paul Martin said the vote had to be scheduled before fallout from a $73 million scandal involving government contracts caused their party further damage. But a new opinion poll for the Toronto Globe & Mail newspaper showed public support for the Liberals was below the level considered necessary to win a majority in Parliament.

Divers were searching a river in Bangladesh for survivors of a packed ferry that sank in a storm Sunday. Only about 50 of the up to 300 people aboard were reported rescued. The accident was the 25th of its type there since the mid-1980s. In other major weekend accidents:

• Five people died when a section of roof collapsed without warning at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside Paris, pulling down the outer walls of a new passenger terminal. Authorities said there was no reason to suspect terrorism in the accident.

• Twenty crew members were rescued from a cargo ship carrying 4,190 new and used cars that sank off Singapore. Despite clear weather, the vessel collided with an oil tanker.