German satellite crashes into Asia

No damage reported

A defunct German research satellite crashed into Earth on Sunday somewhere in southeast Asia, and several parts must have survived re-entering the atmosphere before hitting the surface at a speed of up to 280 m.p.h., scientists said.

Most parts of the minivan-sized ROSAT scientific research satellite were expected to burn up, but as many as 30 fragments weighing a total of 1.87 tons could have crashed, according to the German Aerospace Center.

But there were no immediate reports of debris crashing into Earth, indicating it did not hit a populated area, agency spokesman Andreas Schuetz said.

Tunisia goes to the polls

Islamic party expected to take lead

Tunisians voted Sunday in the first election since the ouster of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ushered in what is now called the Arab Spring, with long-repressed Islamists probably headed for a strong showing.

Voters were choosing a constituent assembly that will write a new constitution. Ennahdha, an Islamic party led by Rashid Ghannouchi that was legalized only six months ago, was the front-runner, according to an OpinionWay study released just before a pre-election polling ban took effect Oct. 1. The vote is seen by many as a litmus test for democratization efforts in Tunisia and beyond. Balloting started at 7 a.m. and ended at 7 p.m.

The results probably will be announced Tuesday, Kamel Jendoubi, chairman of the Independent Higher Authority for Elections, told Bloomberg News.

U.S. still committed

Clinton to Iran: Don't misread Iraq exit

Iran should not misread the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq as affecting the U.S. commitment to the fledgling democracy, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday.

Clinton said in a series of interviews on TV news shows that the U.S. would continue its training mission with Iraq which would resemble operations in Colombia and elsewhere. Although the U.S. will not have combat troops in Iraq after the end of the year, she said the American presence would remain strong because of U.S. bases in the region.

"Iran would be badly miscalculating if they did not look at the entire region and all of our presence in many countries in the region, both in bases, in training, with NATO allies, like Turkey," she told CNN's "State of the Union."

24-hour panorama

Lady Liberty getting webcams in torch

Give me your tired, your poor -- your Internet-connected masses yearning to see.

Lady Liberty is getting high-tech gifts for her 125th birthday: webcams on her torch that will let viewers gaze out at New York Harbor and read the tablet in her hands or see visitors on the grounds of the island below in real time.

The five torch cams are to be switched on Friday during a ceremony to commemorate the dedication of the Statue of Liberty on Oct. 28, 1886. Through the webcams, Internet users around the world will have four views, including a 180-degree stitched panorama of the harbor with views of Ellis Island and Governors Island. They will be able to watch as ships go by Liberty Island and observe as the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center goes up floor-by-floor in lower Manhattan. They also will be able to get a fish-eye look at the torch itself as it glows in the night.

The five cameras, which will be on 24 hours, seven days a week, were donated to the National Park Service by Earthcam, a company based in New Jersey that manages webcams around the world.

U.S. diver is latest victim

Australia jittery after third death by shark

The sudden death of an American diver in the jaws of a great white shark off Australia's southwest coast has raised the specter of a rogue man-eater preying on a renowned aquatic playground and killing three men in two months.

"This is a unique set of circumstances, and I'm desperately ... praying this is not the beginning of a new trend ... and we're going to have these on a regular basis," Western Australia state Fisheries Minister Norman Moore said Sunday, referring to the three recent deadly attacks.

The latest was Saturday, when the American, George Wainwright, was attacked while diving solo off a boat near Rottnest Island, a few miles from the city of Perth.

The Western Australia government set tuna-baited hooks off the island Sunday, the first time authorities have used an emergency legal exemption from the state protection of great whites as an endangered species.

Quick hits

Korea talks: U.S. diplomats arrived Sunday in Geneva, Switzerland, for talks with North Korean officials about that country's nuclear weapons program, in the second direct encounter between the two sides in less than three months. Formal talks are to take place today and Tuesday.

Re-elected: Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, buoyed by the country's booming economy, was re-elected by a landslide Sunday, exit polls predicted. The polls said Fernandez won about 54% of the votes cast.

Shooter dies: A National Guardsman who appeared to be drunk and had been firing at passing cars shot and killed a sheriff's deputy, then committed suicide alongside a Georgia road, authorities said Sunday.