Diplomat says minuscule fallout reaches Calif.

Government experts in the United States are keeping a close eye on any radioactive particles that could travel from Japan, and they may already be seeing trace amounts.

A diplomat who has access to radiation tracking by the U.N.'s Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization told The Associated Press in Vienna that initial readings show tiny amounts of radiation have reached California. But it's not dangerous in any way - "about a billion times beneath levels that would be health threatening," the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the organization does not make its findings public.

U.S. government experts also insist there's no threat to public health from the plume, but they are still closely monitoring the situation with detection monitors deployed along the West Coast.

The new California reading came from a measuring station of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, and the monitor was apparently located in Sacramento.

"Radiation is one of those words that get everybody scared, like `plague,'" said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of public health for Los Angeles County. "But we're 5,000 miles away."

The amount of any fallout that wafts across the Pacific Ocean to the U.S. coast will be so diluted that it will not pose any health risk, officials say. Wind, rain and salt spray will help clean the air over the vast ocean between Japan and the United States.

Nuclear experts say the main elements released are radioactive cesium and iodine. They can combine with the salt in sea water to become cesium chloride and sodium iodide, which are common and abundant elements and would readily dilute in the wide expanse of the Pacific, according to Steven Reese, director of the Radiation Center at Oregon State.

"It is certainly not a threat in terms of human health" added William H. Miller, a professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Missouri.

UN condemns mortar attack on Ivory Coast market

The United Nations on Friday condemned a mortar attack on a market that killed at least 25 people in Ivory Coast and said it could be a crime against humanity.

The U.N. blamed forces loyal to incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo, whose refusal to cede power has sparked a growing political crisis. They said in a statement that Thursday's attack sent at least six 81 mm mortar shells into an Abidjan neighborhood. The UN said at least 40 people also were wounded.

Shells fell without warning on a market in front of the mayor's office in Abobo, a district held by fighters loyal to the internationally recognized president, Alassane Ouattara. At one market stall, an elderly woman lost both her legs, a witness said.

Earlier in the day, pro-Ouattara fighters ambushed a police station in the Adjame district of Abidjan, though it was unclear whether anyone was killed.

Rights group Amnesty International on Friday condemned the attack.

"To launch an attack of this kind that kills and injures a large number of people who are not posing an immediate threat is completely unacceptable," said Veronique Aubert, the group's Africa deputy director.

Abidjan, Ivory Coast's biggest city, has for weeks seen daily battles that have left hundreds dead. Fighting was initially confined to pro-Ouattara neighborhoods but has now spread across the city, breaking out in different locations each day.

Texas teen's mom charged, boyfriend searched

Police say a Texas woman whose 13-year-old daughter is missing lied about the whereabouts of her boyfriend, who was previously named a person of interest in Hailey Darlene Dunn's disappearance.

Billie Jean Dunn was in court in Colorado City Friday on charges of misdemeanor hindering prosecution, possession of a dangerous drug and giving a false report to an officer.

Officers arrested Dunn Thursday night when officers found Shawn Adkins at her home after she denied he was there.

Dunn reported Hailey as missing Dec 28.

Mitchell County Sheriff Patrick Toombs says officers did not arrest Adkins and declined to explain why they were looking for him.

Dunn is being held on $6,500 bond and has declined to have an attorney appointed.

Pakistan to boycott Afghan meeting over deadly U.S. strike

Pakistan told the United States Friday it would not attend a meeting on Afghanistan later this month, angered by a U.S. missile strike that killed 41 people and drew rare condemnation from the country's powerful military chief.

Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir lodged a strong protest with U.S. ambassador Cameron Munter who was summoned to the foreign office a day after the attack in the Datta Khel region of North Waziristan, a spokeswoman said.

"Ambassador Munter was also conveyed that under the current circumstances, Pakistan would not be able to participate in the trilateral meeting between Afghanistan-Pakistan-U.S.," the spokeswoman said in a statement

"It was evident that the fundamentals of our relations need to be revisited. Pakistan should not be taken for granted nor treated as a client state," the statement said.

The United States had proposed the trilateral meeting in Brussels on March 26 to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, according to the statement.

Earlier, Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Kayani in a rare public display of displeasure with the United States condemned the drone strike as "unjustifiable and intolerable."

Chile, US diplomats sign nuclear energy accord

Chile and the U.S. signed a nuclear energy accord Friday, despite fears of radiation spreading in Japan after a devastating earthquake and tsunami severely damaged some of its nuclear reactors.

A day earlier, White House officials wouldn't even confirm the long-awaited signing, which was supposed to be a high-profile moment in President Barack Obama's visit with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Monday.

The accord was signed by U.S. Ambassador Alejandro Wolff and Chilean Foreign Minister Alfredo Moreno.

Chile's mining and energy minister, Laurence Golborne, inked a similar accord with France last month. But with Japan's disaster still developing, he and Pinera left this signature to the foreign minister and stressed that it focuses on training nuclear engineers, not building reactors. They say Chileans need to be educated about nuclear power before deciding whether to use it.

Many Chileans are against nuclear power, and environmental groups plan to protest Obama's visit. Acknowledging the debate during the signing ceremony, Golborne denied that the accord is an inevitable step toward building reactors, and said any decision would be made after Pinera leaves office in 2014.

Pinera said Thursday that Obama's visit would include a working meeting, and that "we have many accords that are important for Chile to sign." In addition to energy, he said they include efforts to bring more U.S. English teachers to Chile, and "matters of democracy and human rights, not just in Chile but in the rest of Latin America."