3,000 centrifuges are being installed in Iran

Iran is installing 3,000 centrifuges, a top legislator said Saturday in an announcement underlining that the country will continue to develop its nuclear program despite U.N. sanctions.

The legislator, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said the installation under way at an Iranian uranium-enrichment plant "stabilizes Iran's capability in the field of nuclear technology," the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Three inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency who arrived in Iran on Saturday are scheduled to visit the uranium-enrichment plant in Natanz, Iranian state-television reported.

Iran last week barred 38 inspectors from the United Nations nuclear watchdog because they come from countries that voted for sanctions on Iran.

Gaza City, Gaza Strip

Hamas, Fatah gunmen do battle

Gunmen from the rival Hamas and Fatah movements battled in Gaza City for a third straight day Saturday, firing mortars and grenades in clashes that killed seven people in the increasingly bloody power struggle over the Palestinian government.

The deaths brought to 25 the number of Palestinians killed since late Thursday, with at least 68 people wounded and efforts to forge a coalition government at a standstill.

The latest fighting, which started late Thursday after a Hamas activist was killed in a bombing, has been among the deadliest in nearly two months of clashes.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, of Hamas, and a spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, of Fatah, both appealed for calm. But after a brief lull, fighting flared up again.

Geneva

Corruption alleged in U.N. agency

Fresh allegations of corruption within the United Nations have surfaced in a confidential audit report that claims the 2003 election of the current chief of the U.N. weather agency was manipulated.

The report, obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, centered around payments to government delegates at the Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which coordinates the study of the world's weather and climate.

WMO instructed Maria Veiga of Portugal, an independent auditor who wrote the report, to investigate the financial irregularities in 2003. Three years later, she was fired for what the agency described as "serious misconduct."

The auditor, however, said she was blocked from pursuing her investigation, received intimidating phone calls and was threatened with legal action by one WMO official before being dismissed.

Nairobi, Kenya

U.S. Embassy vehicle carjacked; 2 killed

Gunmen carjacked a U.S. Embassy vehicle on the outskirts of the Kenyan capital Saturday and killed the wife of an embassy employee and his mother-in-law. Police later killed two of the carjackers.

Carjackings are common around Nairobi, and Kenya's government spokesman, Alfred Mutua, said Saturday's violence was believed to be "a random attack."

"The thugs ordered the two women out but they hesitated," said Isaiah Osugo, a criminal investigator. "Then they were shot."

The victims were the wife and mother-in-law of a U.S. Embassy employee, said an embassy spokesman.

Also

A four-story boarding school collapsed in Ahmadabad, India, killing at least 11 girls and injuring 14, an official said Saturday. The principal said he had told state officials the school needed repairs.

Seattle Times news services