News briefs

Soldiers will be

in combat zones

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines - American special forces on acounterterrorism training mission will enter combat zones in thesouthern Philippines, but will only use their weapons in self-defense, their commander said today.

Brig. Gen. Donald Wurster also rejected any comparisons betweenthe American war in Afghanistan and the six-month training session inthe Philippines.

"The comparisons are, I think, not terribly dramatic other thanthe fact that we have an ally that wants to destroy terrorism,"Wurster told Associated Press Television News.

"We want to destroy terrorism, and they've asked for certain kindsof help. We're offering that certain kind of help."

That help does not include combat assistance, which was rejectedby the Philippines, Wurster said.

Police search for

body of reporter

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Police in Karachi said they had searched 300cemeteries by this morning but did not find the body of reporterDaniel Pearl. A day earlier there were conflicting reports that hehad been killed or that his kidnappers issued a ransom demand.

On Friday a caller contacted the U.S. Consulate in Karachi anddemanded $2 million and the release of the former Taliban ambassadorto Pakistan, senior police officials said.

A Justice Department official subsequently said the telephone callmay have been a hoax.

However, CNN spokeswoman Christa Robinson said it received an e-mail claiming the Wall Street Journal correspondent had been killed.Dow Jones, which owns the Journal, said in a statement Friday, "We'veseen the latest reports, and we remain hopeful they are not true."

Bush's budget

missing minuses

WASHINGTON - So you thought federal deficits were back? Not if youbelieve several tables at the back of President Bush's budget that hewill release Monday.

In what White House officials attribute to technical error, someof the tables inadvertently omitted minus signs. As a result, theadministration's projected deficits of $106 billion this year and $80billion next year appear as surpluses.

"We found a fairly low-cost way to get rid of the deficit," jokedTrent Duffy, spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget.

Since 13,000 copies of the budget already have been printed andare ready for distribution Monday, Duffy said officials wereconsidering how best to call attention to the error. He said they areconsidering stamping the books with a note that the correct figurescan be found on the White House's Web site.