A jury convicted three of four Arab immigrants Tuesday in a terrorism-related trial as part of the US government's effort to prosecute terrorist "sleeper" cells.

Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi, 37, and Karim Koubriti, 24, both Moroccans, were found guilty of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to terrorists, and of conspiracy to engage in fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents.

Ahmed Hannan, 34, also Moroccan, was acquitted of conspiracy to support terrorism, but was found guilty of document fraud. The fourth defendant, Farouk Ali-Hamoud, 22, an Algerian, was acquitted of all charges.

Prosecutors alleged the four men belonged to a sleeper cell that was part of a shadowy unidentified terrorist group and conspired to commit terrorist attacks in the United States, Jordan and Turkey.

Defense attorneys said their clients were victims of a roundup of Arab immigrants after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Three of the four were arrested in a raid on a Detroit apartment just six days after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Authorities said a videotape and sketches found in the raid showed potential targets including Las Vegas and Disneyland, and US military installations in Turkey and Jordan. Defense attorneys said the videotape was only a travelogue.

The government's case was based almost entirely on testimony from Youssef Hmimssa, who is awaiting sentencing since pleading guilty to fraud-related charges. Defense attorneys suggested Hmimssa cooked up the terrorism allegations to help himself.

Severe heat wave grips India with 1,094 deaths

The severe heat wave gripping several parts of India claimed 49 more lives Tuesday, bringing the death toll so far to 1,094 in the country.

Forty five more people died in south India's Andhra Pradesh, which alone accounts for 1,065 deaths in the heat wave, according to the state relief commission.

Streets wore a deserted look as people preferred to stay indoors in the state.

In east India's Orissa state, western belt continued to reel under the severe heat wave with several towns registering above 46degrees Celsius on Tuesday.

Titilagarh, which had been recording over 48 degrees Celsius for the last few days, including a high of 49.6 degrees Celsius last Saturday, was comparatively cooler Tuesday with mercury sliding to 46.6 degrees Celsius.

Sambalpur also sizzled at 46.6 degrees Celsius while Jharsuguda,an industrial town, registered 46.2 degrees Celsius.

The heat wave has so far claimed 10 lives in the state, officials of the state revenue department said.

In Delhi, the heat wave showed no signs of relenting Tuesday with the mercury crossing the 45 degrees Celsius mark to record the hottest day of the season thus far.

The mercury soared to 45.6 degrees Celsius, five degrees above the normal for the city.

Some parts of India are also suffering acute water shortages as rivers, lakes and wells have dried up due to a drought caused by last year's failed monsoon.

Last summer, 1,037 people died in a heat wave in Andhra Pradesh.

The weather office forecast that the heat wave would continue unabated in most parts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi in the next two days.

UN health agency works to expedite development of SARS diagnostic test

With the development of commercial diagnostic tests for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) progressing slower than initially hoped, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said its network of laboratories are working to expedite the process by providing critical specimen to scientists.

The health agency said Tuesday in a press release that its collaborating network has made critical biological materials and reagents available to other laboratories, including the commercial sector.

It said that the development of diagnostic tests has been stalled partly because unusual patterns of the virus complicate the task.

"Most viral diseases excrete the greatest quantities of the causative agent during the initial phase of illness, usually in the first few days following the onset of symptoms during which patients pose the greatest risk of infecting others, while viral shedding is comparatively low at the onset of SARS," it said.

Available tests are unable to reliably detect the SARS virus or its genetic material during the earliest days of illness because the viral load peaks at around 10 days after onset of clinical illness, according to the health agency.

"This poses a particular challenge for SARS control, as patients are still capable of infecting others during that initial phase," it said.

Up to date, a cumulative total of 8,398 probable SARS cases and772 deaths have been reported from 29 countries, according to the WHO.