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Second autopsy performed on Jackson

LOS ANGELES, June 28 (UPI) -- Michael Jackson's family has had a private pathologist perform a second autopsy on the pop star's body, sources in Los Angeles said.

The second autopsy was conducted hours after Jackson's body was released to relatives by the county coroner Friday night, The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

Meanwhile, after interviewing Jackson's personal doctor for three hours Saturday night, Los Angeles police found "no red flag" to suggest criminal wrongdoing or the possible cause of Jackson's Thursday death, a source close to the investigation told the Times.

Dr. Conrad Murray was with Jackson, 50, when the singer went into cardiac arrest at his rented Holmby Hills home in Los Angeles.

Coroner's officials said Jackson had been using prescription drugs and listed his cause of death as "deferred" until more tests are complete, which could take up to six weeks.

The second autopsy could give Jackson's family information more quickly by rushing toxicology tests through a lab within days, said Michael Baden, a former chief medical examiner in New York City.

At the time of his death, Jackson was preparing for a series of comeback concerts in London, the first set for July 13.

Iran arrests British embassy staff members

TEHRAN, June 28 (UPI) -- Eight staff members of the British embassy in Tehran were arrested Sunday for allegedly interfering in Iran's internal affairs, authorities said.

"The nation's tolerance for Britain's hidden and apparent policy of interference is over," Iranian Parliament Member Parviz Sarvari told Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency in a story published Sunday.

Iran's national security commission met Saturday to discuss interference from Britain and the United States in national affairs, Sarvari said.

The eight British embassy staff members were allegedly linked by Iranian security to public unrest following the June 12 disputed presidential election, state-run Press TV reported.

It was not immediately know whether any British citizens were among those arrested, although the British foreign office said "people with connection to the (United Kingdom) have been arrested all week," CNN reported Sunday.

Earlier in the week, Iranian authorities said they had arrested several foreign nationals, some with British passports. Among them was Washington Times reporter Iason Athanasiadis, also known as Jason Fowden, who holds dual British and Greek passports.

NATO, Russia report diplomatic progress

CORFU, Greece, June 28 (UPI) -- NATO and Russia have taken a step toward improving relations damaged last August by the territorial battle in Georgia, diplomatic officials in Greece said.

"The NATO-Russia Council is up and running again also at the political level," NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Saturday, speaking at a meeting of ministers in Corfu, Greece.

While they did not appear to make any progress on the issue of Georgia, the ministers discussed potential areas of cooperation, including terrorism, the war in Afghanistan, nuclear proliferation, piracy and drug trafficking, The New York Times reported Sunday.

NATO cut most diplomatic ties with Russia after the war with Georgia, which erupted over two separatist Georgian regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia has recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and increased its military presence there.

Speaking to reporters in Corfu Saturday, Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, cautioned that NATO must accept the "new realities" in Georgia, CNN reported Sunday.

Saturday's meeting came just more than a week before U.S. President Barack Obama is to travel to Moscow for a summit.

Election under way in Guinea-Bissau

BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau, June 28 (UPI) -- Voters went to the polls Sunday in Guinea-Bissau to replace a president gunned down in March.

Eleven candidates are running in the special election, the BBC said. The front-runners are Malam Bacai Sanha of the ruling party and two former presidents, Henrique Rosa and Kumba Yala.

Franco Nulli, head of the European Union delegation monitoring the election, said there are signs of hope as well as despair, the U.N. Integrated Regional Information Network said. He said the West African country held successful legislative elections in November and the army did not take over the government after the assassination of President Joao Bernardo Vieira and Army Chief of Staff Batista Tagme Na Wai.

But the country has a long history of political violence. During the campaign, Baciro Dabo, an independent political candidate, and a former cabinet minister were killed by security forces, who said they resisted arrest for their part in the president's killing.

"The feeling at the international and national level is one of powerlessness and reluctance to believe that Guinea-Bissau can have a different situation in the future," Nulli said.

Poll: Majority favor confirming Sotomayer

WASHINGTON, June 28 (UPI) -- Sixty-two percent of those interviewed for a national poll said the U.S. Senate should confirm Sonia Sotomayer to the Supreme Court, sources said.

Overall, about 55 percent of those polled said Sotomayer was "about right" ideologically on a liberal-to-conservative scale, The Washington Post-ABC News poll said.

Sotomayer, 55, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York, is President Barack Obama's choice to replace retiring Justice David Souter.

In the Post-ABC News poll, there was no gender gap in support, with men and women about equally likely to be on Sotomayer's side.

When it came to partisan issues, however, just 36 percent of Republicans polled said they wanted Sotomayer confirmed, compared with almost eight in 10 Democrats and about two-thirds of independents saying they want her confirmed, the Post reported.

Sotomayer's Senate confirmation hearings are to begin in two weeks. She would be the first Hispanic justice and the third female justice.

The poll was conducted June 18 to June 21 by telephone with a random national sample of 1,001 adults and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.