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A state audit of hundreds of millions of dollars in government technology contracts concluded there was poor record keeping, insufficient central oversight and an increased potential for a conflict of interest when it came time to pick the winning bids.

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Train crash in India kills dozens A child passenger is rescued after a Goa Express train rammed into a stationary Mewar Express train near Agra, India, on Wednesday. The passenger train crashed into the other train’s rear carriage reserved for women and disabled passengers, killing at least 21 people and injuring more than a dozen who remained trapped for hours Wednesday near the Taj Mahal in northern India, police said.

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The report released Wednesday on the state government’s dealing with Deloitte Consulting LLP shows that one state agency should coordinate all contract awards and the Legislature ought to consider new laws to “tighten up and centralize” the bidding process, Auditor General Jack Wagner said Wednesday.

Gov. Ed Rendell, who said he received campaign contributions from company employees amounting to a few thousand dollars, defended the use of no-bid contracts.

A message left for Francine Fiano, a Deloitte spokeswoman, was not immediately returned.

EDMONTON, Alberta

Gunman surrenders

A man who barricaded himself with eight hostages inside the Edmonton Workers’ Compensation building has surrendered, 10 hours after the drama began.

Edmonton police spokesman Dean Parthenis said the man surrendered Wednesday night without incident and that all hostages were unharmed. Police Insp. Terry Rocchio said the eight hostages were released throughout the day.

The gunman, described as a disgruntled client, had charged into the Workers’ Compensation Building in downtown Edmonton armed with a rifle about 8:45 a.m. Wednesday, and quickly took a number of hostages in an office on the eighth floor.

Rocchio said a single police negotiator convinced the man to let the hostages go one by one throughout the day, with the last one being set free just half an hour before the gunman gave himself up. About 700 people work in the building on a normal day.

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VALHALLA, N.Y.

Former top cop in jail

Former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik is now just another number in the county jail.

Westchester County jail spokesman Justin Pruyne says Kerik was given the number 210717 and a single-bed cell when he arrived Tuesday afternoon.

Kerik is awaiting a federal trial on corruption charges. He had his $500,000 bail revoked for disclosing secret pretrial information.

Kerik won glowing reviews for his leadership after the Sept. 11 attacks.

He was later nominated to lead the federal Homeland Security agency but withdrew as corruption allegations mounted.

VIENNA

Iranians back nuke deal

Iranian negotiators on Wednesday expressed support for a deal that — if accepted by their leaders — would delay Tehran’s ability to make nuclear weapons by sending most of its existing enriched uranium to Russia for processing, diplomats said.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei said that representatives of Iran and its three interlocutors — the U.S., Russia and France — had accepted the draft for forwarding to their capitals. ElBaradei said he hoped for approval from all four countries by Friday.