WORLD at 1600 GMT

NEW THIS DIGEST:

POPE-US. Pope: I'm ashamed of clergy sex abuse scandal, will work to keep pedophiles from priesthood.

CONGO-PLANE CRASH. Only 6 survivors found so far among 85 on board DC-9 plane.

IRAQ. Attack kills 60, breaks lull in violence in Sunni areas.

UGANDA-SCHOOL FIRE. Dormitory fire kills 19 schoolgirls.

EGYPT-BROTHERHOOD TRIAL. Egypt sentences 25 opposition Muslim Brotherhood members to prison.

BRITAIN-ROYAL BLACKMAIL. Prosecutors say 2 men tried to blackmail British royal family member over recordings.

US-ECONOMY. Wholesale prices in US soar 1.1 percent in March, nearly triple the expected increase.

OIL PRICES. Oil sets another intraday trading record on dollar and supply concerns.

BRITAIN-ECONOMY. Brown meets with bankers amid high inflation, falling house prices and retail sales.

MEXICO-ECONOMIC FORUM. High commodity prices, stable interest rates and new investment helps Latin America.

TOP STORIES:

POPE-US

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE _ Pope Benedict XVI says he is "deeply ashamed" of the clergy sexual abuse scandal that stained the U.S. Catholic Church and pledged to work to make sure pedophiles do not become priests. By Victor L. Simpson. AP Photos.

FRANCE-ANOREXIA

PARIS _ France's lower house adopts a bill that would make it illegal for anyone to incite extreme thinness _ including fashion magazines, advertisers and Web sites. By Devorah Lauter. AP Photos.

WITH: FRANCE-ANOREXIA-BOX

CONGO-PLANE CRASH

KINSHASA, Congo _ A DC-9 plane carrying 85 people crashes into a crowded neighborhood in the eastern Congo town Goma, and only six survivors have been found so far. By Eddy Isango.

WITH: CONGO-PLANE CRASHES-GLANCE

IRAQ

BAGHDAD _ Car bombs and a suicide attacker strike crowded areas in Baghdad and former insurgent strongholds, killing nearly 60 people and breaking a recent lull in violence in the predominantly Sunni areas. By Kim Gamel. AP Photos.

UGANDA-SCHOOL FIRE.

KAMPALA, Uganda _ Sobbing Ugandan parents sift through the ashes of their children's dormitory, trying in vain to identify their daughters from charred piles of bones and skulls. The fire killed 19 schoolgirls. By Godfrey Olukya. AP Photos.

EGYPT-BROTHERHOOD TRIAL

CAIRO, Egypt _ An Egyptian military court, notorious for its harsh verdicts, convicts 25 key members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood and sentences them to up to 10 years in jail. By Maggie Michael. AP Photos.

US-ELECTIONS

WASHINGTON _ Allegations of elitism and racism simmer as Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama battle for the Democratic presidential nomination, just one week before a primary seen as crucial for Clinton's candidacy. By Steven R. Hurst.

ZIMBABWE-ELECTIONS

HARARE, Zimbabwe _ A nationwide strike called by Zimbabwe's opposition to protest the withholding of election results appears to falter as police and soldiers fanned out across the country. By Angus Shaw. AP Photos.

BRITAIN-ROYAL BLACKMAIL.

LONDON _ Scandalous allegations involving sex, drugs and royalty are made public in a London court, as two men go on trial accused of trying to blackmail a member of the British royal family with incriminating recordings. By Jill Lawless.

RUSSIA-PUTIN'S PARTY

MOSCOW _ President Vladimir Putin accepts the leadership of the dominant United Russia party, securing his grip on power after he leaves the Kremlin and becomes prime minister next month. Developing. By Steve Gutterman. AP Photos.

BUSINESS & FINANCE:

US-ECONOMY

WASHINGTON _ Inflation at the wholesale level in the U.S. soars in March at nearly triple the rate that had been expected as the costs of energy and food both climb rapidly. By Martin Crutsinger.

US-DELTA-NORTHWEST

ATLANTA _ Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. have agreed to merge to create the world's biggest carrier, but now must convince antitrust regulators and labor unions to move forward. By Joshua Freed and Harry R. Weber.

OIL PRICES.

VIENNA, Austria _ Oil prices rise to an intraday trading record above US$112 a barrel after the U.S. dollar fell further and crude supplies to the U.S. and elsewhere were disrupted. By George Jahn.

MEXICO-ECONOMIC FORUM

CANCUN, Mexico _ High commodity prices, stable interest rates and new investment can help Latin America's economies withstand the sharp downturn in the U.S. economy, top business and government leaders say at the World Economic Forum on Latin America. By Theresa Bradley.

BRITAIN-ECONOMY.

LONDON _ Prime Minister Gordon Brown, at breakfast meeting with bankers, underlines the Bank of England's commitment to pump liquidity into the market to steady financial confidence. By Robert Barr.

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