World datelines

Afghanistan: Bus bomb kills 35

KABUL — A bomb ripped through a police bus in a crowded civilian area in the Afghan capital today, killing more than 35 people and wounding at least 35 others, officials and witnesses said.

An Interior Ministry official said more than 35 people were killed in the attack. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing ministry policy. Fazel Rahim, from a nearby hospital, said 18 dead bodies lay in the hospital courtyard, while more than 35 wounded were being treated inside the building.

Colombia: Hostage negotiations

BOGOTA — Three kidnapped U.S. defense contractors and dozens of other hostages held by Colombian guerrillas must be swapped for all the guerrillas held in U.S. and Colombian jails, a senior rebel said on Saturday.

Rodrigo Granda, the so called "foreign minister" of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, said the rebels will not consider piecemeal negotiations or prisoner swaps for the hostages, including the Americans and former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt.

Cuba: Ortega, Castro meet

HAVANA — Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega met with Fidel Castro for four hours Saturday, the third leftist head of state to visit Cuba's ailing "Maximum Leader" in little over a week.

The pair discussed Nicaragua's recent energy crunch, which has included blackouts and a shortage of basic materials, according to a Cuban government statement. The other leaders meeting recently with Castro were Bolivian President Evo Morales Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Guatemala: Woman is hanged

GUATEMALA CITY — Guatemalan villagers killed a woman and attacked two others after accusing them of kidnapping a 9-year-old girl who was later found dead, officials said Saturday.

Edgar Gonzalez, an official with the local fire department, said the woman was killed by a mob that hanged her in the main square of the eastern village of Muyurco on Friday.

Nepal: Carter urges talks

KATMANDU — Former President Jimmy Carter urged the United States on Saturday to talk with Nepal's former rebels, who remain on Washington's list of terrorists despite joining a peace process.

Carter met Maoist rebel leader Prachanda, who only goes by one name, and his deputy Baburam Bhattarai on Friday. The former guerrillas urged him to help remove them from the U.S. terrorist list.