UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Rice tells Iran to get serious about talks

ABU DHABI — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice accused Iran on Monday of not being serious at weekend talks about its disputed nuclear program despite the presence of a senior U.S. diplomat and warned it may soon face new sanctions.

In her first public comments since Saturday's meeting in Switzerland, Rice said Iran had given the runaround to envoys from the U.S. and five other world powers. She said all six nations were serious about a two-week deadline Iran now has to agree to freeze suspect activities and start negotiations or be hit with new penalties.

Rice was briefed on the meeting by the State Department's No. 3 diplomat, Undersecretary of State William Burns, who attended the session in a shift from Washington's previous insistence that it would not meet with the Iranians unless enrichment of uranium had stopped.

In Abu Dhabi on Monday, Rice got a face-to-face briefing on the talks from Burns. Both then discussed Iran and other issues in closed-door meetings with foreign ministers and senior officials from six Gulf Arab states along with Egypt, Iraq and Jordan.

PAKISTAN

Court silences nuclear scientist

ISLAMABAD — A court silenced the disgraced architect of Pakistan's atomic weapons program on Monday, weeks after he implicated President Pervez Musharraf in the delivery of nuclear technology to North Korea.

Abdul Qadeer Khan's wife said the scientist may appeal the ruling, which bars him from speaking about nuclear proliferation and could end his role in throwing more light on Pakistan's murky record of spreading nuclear know-how.

Khan has been kept under de facto house arrest in the Pakistani capital since 2004, when he took sole responsibility for leaking atomic secrets to countries including Iran and Libya.

MYANMAR

Cyclone damage put at $4 billion

SINGAPORE — Survivors of Myanmar's Cyclone Nargis face a "second emergency" unless relief efforts receive an influx of $1 billion in international aid over the next three years, according to the first full assessment of the disaster released Monday.

The joint report by the U.N., the Myanmar government and Southeast Asia's main bloc provides for the first time a comprehensive breakdown of the survivors' needs in the aftermath of the May disaster — details foreign donors have demanded as a condition for aid.

The report puts the damage from the cyclone that devastated the Irrawaddy delta and parts of Yangon at $4 billion. Infrastructure and asset losses amounted to about $1.7 billion, and loss of income was estimated at $2.3 billion.

It paints a dismal picture of the impact of the storm, which killed at least 84,537 people. Another 53,836 are missing and presumed dead.

CHINA

Work week opens under car restrictions

BEIJING — Traffic flowed a little smoother. Busy avenues had fewer cars. By nightfall, even the hazy sky had mostly cleared.

So went the first workday under a government-imposed plan to reduce Beijing's foul air pollution before the start of next month's Olympics.

Millions of commuters turned to subways, buses and car pools as the strict program sought to take half of Beijing's 3.3 million cars off the road.

The two-month operation that began Sunday bans cars with odd-number license plates one day, even-numbered plates the next. The ambitious attempt to ensure "blue sky days" by the time 10,500 athletes and 500,000 visitors arrive for the Aug. 8-24 Olympics includes construction cutbacks and factory closures.

Those caught driving on days they should not will be fined $14, a stiff penalty even for Beijing.

PORTUGAL

Prosecutor closes case of missing girl

LISBON — Portugal's attorney general ordered police Monday to halt their investigation into the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann because detectives uncovered no evidence of a crime during their 14-month probe.

The case will remain closed unless new evidence emerges, Attorney-General Fernando Pinto Monteiro's office said in a statement. Detectives found no reason to charge any of the three people named as suspects: Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry; and local man Robert Murat, the statement said. All three denied involvement.

— From wire reports