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Stakes huge in Ind., N.C. primaries

WASHINGTON, May 6 (UPI) -- All eyes focused on primaries in Indiana and North Carolina Tuesday, as a total of 187 delegates are at stake for U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

The results are seen as crucial by many political observers and the Democratic candidates as well, CNN reported.

"This primary election on Tuesday is a game changer," Clinton, D-N.Y., said. "This is going to make a huge difference in what happens going forward. The entire country, probably even a lot of the world, is looking."

In Indiana, a CNN Poll of Polls indicated Clinton has a 4-percentage-point lead and Obama, D-Ill., acknowledges the state is a toss-up.

"This is gonna be a tight election here in Indiana," he said in Evansville, Ind., "Every poll shows it is a dead heat."

In North Carolina, the CNN Poll of Polls indicated Obama has an 8-percentage-point lead over Clinton, down from from the double-digit lead he had last week.

A double win for Clinton would show she's got the goods to carry must-win states, The New York Times reported.

"That's a sign that she is gaining momentum in the race," Ron Klain, a Democratic consultant who has not taken sides, told the Times.

If Obama takes both states, pundits say it would be good-bye for Clinton.

"That would signal the end of the Clinton campaign," Jerry Meek, the North Carolina Democratic Party chairman who hasn't endorsed anyone in the race, told the Times. "I don't see how she could continue."

Report: Junta provides little help

YANGON, Myanmar, May 6 (UPI) -- Residents in Yangon say Myanmar's military junta has provided little help or support in the wake of Cyclone Nargis.

The residents in the former capital, previously called Rangoon, which was one of the regions hit hardest by the weekend cyclone, have been left without adequate water and other facilities, the Democratic Voice of Burma reported. Burma is the former name of Myanmar.

The death toll from the cyclone is now feared to be in the tens of thousands, and international agencies were awaiting clearance from the junta to bring relief to the victims

One Yangon resident told DVB that to get drinking water, one has to hire fire trucks.

"You have to pay 30,000 kyat (about $30) to the fire brigade and 17,000 for the fuel. People from the ward jointly hire it and you pump water out of the drilled well using the motor, and then share it out," the resident said.

The report said most people are spending time just to get water or repairing homes without expert help.

In nearby Insein township, about 1,000 homes are now under water and their owners have taken refuge in a Buddhist monastery whose monks are helping them with their daily needs.

There is no transport because the roads have been damaged.

Torture suit against U.S. contractors

LOS ANGELES, May 6 (UPI) -- An Iraqi man who claims he was tortured by U.S. military contractors at Abu Ghraib prison and then freed without being charged filed a federal lawsuit Monday.

Emad Al-Janabu, 43, an Iraqi blacksmith, claims in a news release he was beaten and forced from his home in September 2003 by men dressed in U.S. military uniforms and civilian clothing and then was taken to Abu Ghraib. Over the course of the next 10 months, Al-Janabu said he was hung by his feet and arms, exposed to a mock execution of relatives, threatened with dogs and other inhumane acts.

The suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, claims Al-Janabu was a "ghost detainee" and targets security firms CACI International Inc. and CACI Premier Technology Inc. of Arlington, Va.; L-3 Communications Titan Corp. of San Diego; and former CACI contractor Steven Stefanowicz, whom Al-Janabu said was known as "Big Steve" at Abu Ghraib.

Al-Janabu's legal team includes attorneys from the Center for Constitutional Rights, a non-profit, anti-torture legal resources organization. The attorneys say they want to make military contractors take responsibility for what they call the torture of innocent Iraqis.

China HFMD cases now nearly 12,000

BEIJING, May 6 (UPI) -- China's outbreak of child-targeting hand-foot-mouth disease is spreading, with nearly 12,000 cases and 26 deaths reported by officials.

The disease is caused by a virus that causes small, blister-like bumps in the mouth, hands and feet. The blisters may also appear in the diaper area and on the legs and arms.

The worst-affected is China's eastern Anhui province, where 22 children have died in Fuyang City alone, Xinhua reported.

Total number of cases reported in the province now exceeds 5,800, including 689 new ones registered Sunday. Of those, 1,314 remain hospitalized.

Health officials say some cases have been triggered by enterovirus 71 or EV71, a highly contagious virus that preys on children usually between ages 2 and 6, the report said. The report said tests have shown 25 of the 26 deaths reported so far were as a result of EV71.

Even Beijing, which will host the Summer Olympics in August, has not been spared. Xinhua reported at least 1,482 cases had been reported by Monday in the city.

Those infected by EV71 often show serious symptoms that can also lead to meningitis, encephalitis, pulmonary edema and paralysis in some children, the report said.

Indonesia may leave OPEC

JAKARTA, May 6 (UPI) -- Indonesia may opt out of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries as the country has become a net oil importer, its president said Tuesday.

Speaking at the opening of the National Development Planning Congress in Jakarta, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said such a plan was being considered by his government, Antara news agency reported.

"At the last Cabinet session, we considered whether we would stay in OPEC or quit while increasing domestic oil production," he said, adding the country's crude oil production is less than 1 million barrels a day from aging wells.

He said he, however, hoped the country can increase output in the next two to three years, which would allow the country to rejoin the cartel.

Separately, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Boediono said the plan to quit OPEC was being evaluated by the government, Antara said.

Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman M. Hidayat said his group would support the plan to quit OPEC.

Xinhua reported that while Indonesia's oil output under OPEC quota of 1.3 million barrels a day, the country hasn't met the quota for about five years.

OPEC members include Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.