WASHINGTON, May 18 (UPI) -- Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has a 9 point lead over rival Democratic presidential hopeful and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, a Gallup poll indicates.

A survey taken Wednesday through Friday of 1,237 Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters indicates Obama leads rival Clinton 51 percent to 42 percent.

Gallup suggests the lead is in large part due to the media focus on exchanges between Obama and the presumptive Republican nominee and Arizona Sen. John McCain in recent speeches by the candidates.

This drew media attention away from Clinton, which Gallup says implies Obama will get the Democratic nomination. It is suggested in some news accounts, Gallup says, that Obama may "declare victory" after Tuesday's Kentucky and Oregon primaries.

Despite the results for Obama, the same poll of 4,385 registered voters of all parties indicates Clinton has a slight advantage, 47 percent to 45 percent, when pitted against McCain while McCain edges slightly ahead of Obama by a 3 percent margin.

The survey of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters had a sampling error of 3 percentage points while the general survey quoted a 2 percent margin of error.

Kennedy comfortable in a Boston hospital

BOSTON, May 18 (UPI) -- Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., did not suffer a stroke and was "resting comfortably" Sunday at a Boston hospital, his doctor said.

Dr. Larry Ronan told CNN doctors had ruled out a stroke and Kennedy, 76, would undergo more tests in the coming days to determine why he had a seizure Saturday morning.

The senator was initially treated at Cape Cod Hospital after having "symptoms of a stroke" at his home in Hyannisport, Mass., Saturday. Shortly after his arrival in Cape Cod, he was airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital, Lt. Bill Rex said.

Kennedy's family said he called from the hospital Saturday and told them he would not be attending a lunch gathering.

He spent the remainder of the day rooting on the Boston Red Sox, surrounded by family members, Ronan said.

U.S. boosts naval presence near Lebanon

BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy has positioned its advanced communications flagship off the coast of Lebanon ahead of a larger mission, an intelligence report says.

U.S. Navy spokesman Lt. Patrick Foughty said the the USS Mount Whitney, a 620-foot command and control flagship for the U.S. Navy's 6th Fleet, is in the region "to support additional communications requirements for our ships already underway," Israel's military intelligence reporting service DEBKAfile said Sunday.

The naval destroyer USS Cole and the Nimitz class supercarrier USS Harry Truman patrolled the waters of the Mediterranean near Lebanon last week.

DEBKAfile sites unnamed military observers saying the naval buildup is part of a short, specific U.S. naval operation. Foughty said there are no plans to keep the Mount Whitney near Lebanon for very long.

Lebanon has experienced an outbreak of violence pitting Hezbollah against the western-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

Clashes in Baghdad kill 4, injure 38

BAGHDAD, May 18 (UPI) -- Overnight fighting between Shiite rebels and U.S. and Iraqi soldiers in Baghdad killed four people and left 38 people injured, authorities said Sunday.

The clashes broke out despite the ceasefire agreement reached last week between the United Iraqi Alliance and insurgents fighting for rebel Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, CNN reported.

Violence began in Baghdad's Sadr City district in the end of March after the start of a government operation to stop insurgents in Basra, in northern Iraq.

The government offensive prompted fighting in Basra that carried into Baghdad.

U.N. aid coordinator visits Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar, May 18 (UPI) -- The United Nations Sunday dispatched its top humanitarian relief coordinator to Myanmar to convince leaders to accept international aid, officials said.

U.N. spokeswoman Amanda Pitt said Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes planned to meet with Myanmar leaders about accepting international humanitarian aid, CNN said.

Meanwhile, the ruling military junta hosted foreign diplomats and aid workers in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta, devastated by Cyclone Nargis May 3.

The ruling generals, responding to international criticism, said they would allow some humanitarian aid and emergency aid workers into the country to respond to the devastation. They were reluctant to do so to a large degree out of fear of losing hold of power over the country, EuroNews.net said Sunday.

State-run media outlets say the military junta released generous aid deliveries to those in need, but humanitarian agencies say most of the emergency supplies remain at the border. Those who have visited the region say recovery could take at least a year.