reclusive
supreme leader Mullah Omar, and critically he's thought to favor negotiations with the West and the Afghan government. It's hoped he could provide key intelligence and be a
bargaining
chip in any future talks.
Pope Benedict has called the sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic clergy in Ireland a
heinous
crime that wounded human dignity. His comments followed a meeting about the scandal with Irish bishops in Rome. The Vatican said all will agree that the church's teaching had been damaged. With more, here is Duncan Kennedy in Rome.
The two days of talks between Pope Benedict and the 24 bishops of Ireland were described as frank and open. In a statement afterwards, the Vatican spokesman said the pope shares the
outrage
over the abuse, which had resulted from years of failure to act by the Church in Ireland. The scandal was revealed last year in two reports that
highlight
ed systematic abuse of children and young people by priests and others connected with the Church. At a news conference, the bishops said measures were already being put in place to stop future abuses.
The Inter-American Development Bank says the cost of rebuilding Haiti after last month's earthquake could reach 14 billion dollars. The estimate is based on preliminary damage
assess
ment and comparisons with previous disasters. The bank says the earthquake was
proportionately
the most destructive natural disaster of modern times when viewed