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Tape shows N.Korean aided Syrian reactor

WASHINGTON, April 24 (UPI) -- Videotape purported from a secret Syrian facility convinced Israeli and U.S. officials North Korea helped Syria to build a nuclear reactor, U.S. officials said.

Intelligence officials, sharing the video with U.S. lawmakers Thursday, said the remote site shows North Koreans inside and the evidence played a key role in Israel's decision to bomb the facility last year, The Washington Post reported. The action was denounced by Syria but not the United States.

The tape also shows the reactor core's design at the Syrian facility is the same as that of the North Korean reactor at Yongbyon, sources told the Post.

The tape shows "remarkable resemblances inside and out to Yongbyon," a U.S. intelligence official said.

Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha denounced the assertions.

"If they show a video, remember that the U.S. went to the U.N. Security Council and displayed evidence and images about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. I hope the American people will not be as gullible this time around," he said Wednesday.

Intelligence officials said the Syrian facility wasn't fully operational, had no uranium for the reactor and no indication of fuel capability.

Progress in Golan Heights issue hinted

JERUSALEM, April 24 (UPI) -- Israel indicated it would be willing to withdraw from the Golan Heights in return for peace with Syria, Syrian officials said.

Syrian Expatriate Affairs Minister Buthaina Shaaban told al-Jazeera television that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sent a message to Syrian President Bashar Assad "on the grounds of international conditions, on the grounds of the return of the Golan Heights in full to Syria."

Israeli officials neither confirmed nor denied the statement issued from Damascus, The New York Times reported, but put out a more general statement.

"Israel wants peace with Syria; we are interested in a negotiated process," a spokesman for Olmert said. "The Syrians know well our expectations and we know well our expectations.

Assad said negotiations between Israel and Syria have heated up since Turkey became involved about a year ago, The Jerusalem Post reported.

"The mediation between Damascus and Tel Aviv thoroughly increased since the end of the war in Lebanon and Hezbollah's victory," Assad said.

Golan Heights is a strategic plateau overlooking a large stretch of northern Israel. Israel has objected to previous Syrian demands for access to the shore of the Sea of Galilee, a main water source for Israel.

Two soldiers die in vehicle mishap in Iraq

BAGHDAD, April 24 (UPI) -- Two U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq when their vehicle flipped onto its side in Tikrit, the U.S. military said Thursday.

The names of the soldiers and the circumstances of the mishap weren't immediately available, CNN reported.

Meanwhile, U.S. troops killed four Iranian-backed Shiite militia members Thursday and detaining five others in Rashidiva, the military spokesman said.

Also, the spokesman said U.S. troops killed a suspected member of al-Qaida in Iraq when he allegedly pulled a gun after his car was stopped in Baghdad.

U.N. help sought to halt Somalian pirates

MOGADISHU, Somalia, April 24 (UPI) -- The United States and France are reported drafting U.N. resolutions aimed at halting pirates swarming off the Somali coast.

Attacks on fishing boats, cargo ships and yachts have surged in recent months as gangs search for victims to hold for ransom, the BBC reports. But, authorities say help from other countries may be on the way, partly buoyed by a desire to keep nearby vital shipping lanes safe.

The resolutions being drafted would authorize countries to capture pirates when they flee into territorial waters.

The move followed a French commando raid on pirates who had released 30 hostages on a luxury yacht for a ransom estimated at $2 million earlier this month.

In the latest incident, an attack Tuesday on an oil ranker under the Italian flag was foiled by the Italian navy. Incidents involving Spain and Dubai were among others reported. There were 31 attacks reported off the Somali coast and officials expected that figure to grow.

Brazil: Missing priest still not found

SAO PAULO, April 24 (UPI) -- Rescuers found balloons in the waters off the Atlantic coast of Brazil, though no trace of the priest using them to break a flight record, officials said.

There was still no sign of the Rev. Adelir Antonio de Carli despite hours of searching Wednesday, O Globo reported.

De Carli went missing this week while attempting to break a world record for the number of hours in the air under the power of helium balloons, O Globo TV reported.

He was last heard from while offshore from the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.

De Carli was trying to raise money to fund a spiritual rest stop in the Brazilian port city of Paranagua.