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[OMEN]

Democrat Barack Obama has beaten rival Hillary Clinton in Mississippi, giving him new momentum in their increasingly nasty presidential fight as they head into the next critical showdown in Pennsylvania in six weeks.

The win for Obama, who would be the first black US president, extended his lead over Clinton in pledged delegates to the August nominating convention. The Illinois senator also won Saturday in Wyoming.

Clinton revived her hopes in the Democratic race last week with big wins over Obama in Ohio and Texas, prolonging their bitter Democratic fight for the right to face Republican John McCain in November's presidential election.

Both candidates visited Pennsylvania on Tuesday, looking ahead to an April 22 contest there that will have 158 delegates at stake – the biggest stake remaining in the race.

While voters in Mississippi, where more than half of the likely Democratic electorate is black, were still casting their ballots, racial remarks about Obama by a prominent Clinton supporter sparked a harsh exchange between the two camps.

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," Geraldine Ferraro, the Democratic vice-presidential candidate in 1984, told a California newspaper.

"And if he was a woman he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept," Ferraro said.

Clinton said she did not agree with the comments and called them "regrettable," but the Obama camp accused her of a double standard for refusing to rebuke Ferraro and remove her from her campaign for the remarks.

Obama's top foreign policy adviser resigned last week after telling a British newspaper Clinton was "a monster."

"I don't think Geraldine Ferraro's comments have any place in our politics or in the Democratic Party. They are divisive," Obama said in an interview with a Pennsylvania newspaper.

"I would expect that the same way those comments don't have a place in my campaign they shouldn't have a place in Senator Clinton's either," he said.

Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams accused Obama's campaign of "false, personal and politically calculated attacks on the eve of a primary."

Obama's win in Mississippi was certain to add to his nearly insurmountable lead in pledged delegates who will help decide the nominee. Mississippi has 33 pledged delegates at stake.

Neither Obama nor Clinton is likely to reach the 2,025 delegates needed to clinch the nomination without help from nearly 800 "superdelegates" – party officials and insiders free to back any candidate.

Reuters

[OMEN]

Israeli forces have killed four Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank, hours after the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers demanded a halt to all Israeli "aggression" as a condition for a ceasefire.

A source in Islamic Jihad, which lost three men including a local leader, in the Bethlehem raid, vowed revenge. Hamas said such Israeli attacks risked killing off any chance for calm.

Islamic Jihad is among militant groups that mediator Egypt had hoped to coax into halting rocket fire from Gaza in a bid to bolster US-sponsored peace talks between Israel and the Western-backed Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA quoted Abbas' administration as calling the Bethlehem killings "an ugly crime" and warning Israel of unspecified "consequences".

As part of any truce, Islamist Hamas – which seized control of Gaza in June after routing Abbas' forces there – is demanding a say in the future functioning of the coastal territory's border crossings, a condition rejected by Israel.

"There must be a commitment by Israel to end all acts of aggression against our people, assassinations, killings and raids, and lift the (Gaza) siege and reopen the crossings," Ismail Haniyeh, leader of Hamas' administration in Gaza, said in a speech.

A truce, he said, should be "reciprocal, comprehensive and simultaneous", approved by other factions, and apply to Gaza and the West Bank – territories where Palestinians seek statehood.

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said his group had made its demands during a meeting with the Egyptians – who have been speaking separately with Israel – and hinted that the West Bank raids could be seen by Palestinians as a rejection of the terms.

"The Occupation (Israel) showed it was not interested in calm, and under these conditions we will continue to protect our people against the aggression," Abu Zuhri said.

Before the Bethlehem killings, Israel appeared to rebuff the idea of halting West Bank operations, arguing that they are necessary to thwart attacks by Hamas and other groups.

"There is nothing," Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak told political supporters, referring to speculation that a halt to the fighting was imminent. "We'll witness more difficult things yet, an even tougher reckoning, before we get to the calm stage.

Witnesses in Bethlehem said Israeli commandos disguised as locals and riding in a taxi with Palestinian licence plates drove up to a car full of militants and sprayed it with bullets.

Reuters Television footage showed three dead men, sprawled out and bloody in the shattered vehicle. Another man lay on the tarmac as Palestinian passersby tried in vain to revive him.

The Israeli military confirmed it had carried out the raid, saying its forces intended to arrest the Palestinians but opened fire after seeing that three of them had assault rifles.

The Islamic Jihad members, a military spokeswoman said, "took part in terrorist attacks in which there were many Israeli casualties".

Palestinian officials identified one of the Islamic Jihad dead as the group's local leader. The fourth militant belonged to al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed wing of Abbas' Fatah.

Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli troops killed an Islamic Jihad militant in the West Bank town of Tulkarm.

Gazan rocket salvoes have tailed off since Israel ended an offensive in the territory nine days ago that killed 120 Palestinians. Israel has not raided the area since.

Egypt has stepped up truce efforts – amid Israeli leaders' insistence they are not negotiating with Hamas, which is shunned by the West for calling for the Jewish state's destruction.

Israel tightened its Gaza border restrictions after the Hamas takeover there, making life harder for ordinary Gazans. Israel is under international pressure not to cause the Gaza Strip's 1.5 million inhabitants more hardship.

Reuters

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Four Afghan civilians have been killed in an airstrike by British forces, the Ministry of Defence said.



The attack happened when troops called for help during a Taleban ambush in Helmand province, south Afghanistan.

"We deeply regret that this incident happened and do everything we can to mitigate this from happening," the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

The four bodies - two women and two children - and one injured person were found when troops inspected the area.

The MoD said in a statement: "We can confirm UK forces were involved in an operation in the south of Helmand Province.

"This incident is currently under investigation and it would be inappropriate for us to comment."

Air support

The British troops had been caught up in an intense firefight after being ambushed, the MoD spokeswoman said.

The civilians were unintentionally killed after air support was called in and directed on to the area where the Taleban appeared to have been operating.

An injured person was evacuated to the British field hospital at Camp Bastion for medical treatment.

Nato spokesman Brigadier General Carlos Branco revealed details of the incident at a news conference in Afghanistan.

He spoke only of the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force's role, and later the MoD confirmed UK troops had been present.

It is not known if the aircraft was British.

Brig Gen Branco said: "During the ensuing fight, two women and two children, part of a group of civilians who were in the vicinity of the action, were killed.

"We deeply regret the loss of innocent life and injuries and we are saddened that casualties were caused as a result of a deliberate attack against Isaf forces instigated by insurgents."

Prince Harry worked with the air support, the British Forward Air Controllers, until he returned from Afghanistan less than two weeks ago.

BBC News