U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney moved Monday to quiet British critics of possible military action against Iraq, as he set out on his first overseas trip as vice president, a 12-nation journey to round up support for the next phase in the war against terrorism.

Women around the world are choosing to have fewer children, confounding long-held predictions of a global population of 10 billion by the end of this century, a UN study said.

Israel on Tuesday intensified its offensive against Palestinian militants -- the largest military operation in 20 years -- and killed 28 Palestinians in raids of sprawling refugee camps, the West Bank's commercial center and other targets.

Two independent civic groups Tuesday roundly condemned Zimbabwe's presidential election as fundamentally flawed, chaotic and confused, as ballot counting got under way and opposition supporters complained of being chased away from the polls by police.

Federal prosecutors have told Arthur Andersen LLP that they intend to charge the firm with obstruction of justice for failing to prevent document shredding after company officials learned Enron Corp.'s accounting procedures were the subject of lawsuits and a federal inquiry.

Efforts by the troubled Andersen accounting firm to sell itself to a larger rival is a desperate act that threatens reform of the nation's financial reporting system.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Justice Department wants to impose sweeping new restrictions on cigarette manufacturers, including banning the terms ""low-tar"" and ""light"" and eliminating cigarette vending machines. Tobacco companies are insisting only Congress can do that. The government's proposal, contained in documents sent to tobacco companies, would also require that graphic health warnings cover 50 percent of cigarette packs and advertisements. All cigarette advertising and packaging would have to be black-and-white and the companies would be prohibited from using in-store promotions, such as giveaways and rebates. Companies would also be required to pay for efforts to help smokers quit, including a toll-free ""quit line."" Mark Smith, a spokesman for Brown & Williamson Corp., said the suggestions were preposterous. ""It's as if a group of lower-level bureaucrats got together in a back room and tried to dream up the most outrageous things they could ask for,"" he said.

Two Russian skiers plan to appeal an IOC decision that disqualified them from the Salt Lake City Games.