* Second attack on a mosque this week

* Al Shabaab says senior official wounded

* Government denies involvement

(Updates death toll)

By Abdi Guled and Mohamed Ahmed

MOGADISHU, May 1 (Reuters) - Two explosions at a mosque in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Saturday killed 39 worshippers, wounded scores more and hurt a senior member of the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebels.

It was the second attack this week on a mosque in Bakara Market, an area of Mogadishu dominated by members of the country's two main rebel groups, al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam.

* Political tensions rising after election

* U.S. military fatalities hold steady

BAGHDAD, May 1 (Reuters) - The number of civilians killed by violence in Iraq rose sharply in April from the month before, a sign that insurgents may be trying to exploit political tensions after an election that produced no outright winner.

A total of 274 civilians were killed by bomb blasts or other attacks last month, compared with 216 in March and 211 in February, government figures showed on Saturday. April's toll

Entre temps, l'assistance s'organise en faveur des victimes.

Selon l'administrateur du territoire, le gouvernement provincial a réquisitionné un avion pour évacuer les blessés

Quand on lui demande son nom, ce petit garçon de quatre ans, en classe maternelle à l'école Frères Garnier, vous regarde dans les yeux sans répondre. On aurait dit qu'« il a donné sa langue au chat ». Pourtant, s'il ne répond pas ce n'est nullement à cause d'un

The lower spending projection in the impoverished West African nation comes at a time when a growing food crisis is threatening millions across the dry Sahel region.

"The council of ministers adopted on Friday the readjustment of receipts and expenditures for 2010 to 638.2 billion CFA francs ($1.30 billion), amounting to a decline of 96.7 billion

A spokesman for the governor of Zabul province said the passengers were shot on Friday while driving toward a roadblock where a combined group of NATO and Afghan troops were trying to disable a roadside bomb.

The NATO alliance said it was aware of a similar incident, but that its preliminary reporting showed only warning

BOGALAY, Burma - Kyaw Moe is just in his 30s, but he is already on his second shot at life-just like the rest of the residents of Thakan Ngu, a tiny Burmese village in this township of Bogalay.

On May 2, 2008, Kyaw Moe lost his wife and two children in the midst of Cyclone Nargis, which slammed with all its Category 3 might through the Irrawaddy Delta and the southern part of the Rangoon Division. By the time the skies cleared and the winds stopped blowing, Thakan Ngu-some six hours by car and boat ride from the former

Published: 30 April 2010

Six Burmese child beggars in Malaysia have been kept in an immigration detention camp for more than nine months as the Burmese embassy continues to deny them assistance.

The children, who range from 10 to 14 years old, were trafficked into Malaysia from Rangoon, Irrawaddy and Mandalay divisions last year. Kyaw Thaung, of the Burmese Nationals Association in Thailand, said financial assistance is needed for the children to travel back to Burma.

"We are having a headache over raising

* Blast rocks horse race course, local leadership not there

* Republic head says blast revenge for bandits, fears unrest

MOSCOW, May 1 (Reuters) - One person was killed and at least 21 injured on Saturday when a bomb exploded in Nalchik, the capital of Russia's Kabardino-Balkaria republic, in a sign that unrest is spreading in the troubled North Caucasus region.

The bomb exploded during horse races in Nalchik as the city celebrated May Day, a spokeswoman for the region's interior ministry told Reuters.

The bomb was equipped with a timer and