BAGHDAD – First results from Iraq’s parliamentary election showed the prime minister and his secular rival locked in a tight contest Thursday amid fraud allegations by rival parties and a chaotic, unpredictable vote count.

The partial tallies came from only five of Iraq’s 18 provinces and do not include the race’s big prize – Baghdad – which accounts for 70 of the parliament’s 325 seats.

Iraqi officials who have seen results from across the country said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s coalition appeared to have a narrow edge, though not an outright majority, over former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite who sharply criticized the prime minister for failing to boost reconciliation efforts between Iraq’s factions.

Thursday’s announcement set off a wave of fraud accusations, largely from Allawi’s Iraqiya coalition, which said it uncovered dozens of violations.

WORLD

Greek unions strike to protest cuts

Greek hospitals, airports and schools were shut and police scuffled with protesters Thursday as unions staged the second general strike this year against government budget cuts to curb the European Union’s biggest deficit.

Greek bonds declined and stocks fell as bus and subway drivers, doctors, journalists and teachers walked off the jobs to protest $6.5 billion of wage cuts and tax increases that were announced by Prime Minister George Papandreou March 3.

NATION

10,000 products may face recall

Salmonella contamination at a Nevada food-flavoring plant may trigger the recall of as many as 10,000 products, according to a Consumers Union scientist.

PepsiCo joined Procter & Gamble, Nestle and McCormick on Wednesday in recalling food containing hydrolyzed vegetable protein.

More than 100 items, including two flavors of P&G’s Pringles and a store-brand ranch dip found at Walmart had been pulled as of Wednesday, according to the Food and Drug Administration’s Web site.

Soups, sauces, chili, hot dogs, snack foods, dips and dressings are among the processed foods that often contain the vegetable protein, according to the FDA.

Ex-officer admits covering up deaths

A second former New Orleans police officer has pleaded guilty Thursday to covering up the Sept. 4, 2005, deadly shooting of unarmed residents after Hurricane Katrina.

Jeffrey Lehrmann, who left the police department in 2006 and is a special agent at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Phoenix, pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony.

Another former officer pleaded guilty last month to a conspiracy charge.

A court filing says police fabricated two witnesses, kicked spent shell casings off the bridge weeks after the shooting and held a secret meeting to make sure officers who shot at unarmed civilians got their false stories straight before taping interviews.