BAGHDAD — The U.S. command said today the highest-ranking Iraqi in the leadership of al-Qaida in Iraq has been arrested.

Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, also known as Abu Shahid, was captured in Mosul on July 4, said Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner.

Bergner said al-Mashhadani served as an intermediary between al-Masri and Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri.

KASHIWAZAKI, Japan — The company that operates an earthquake-ravaged nuclear plant said today that a radioactive leak was bigger than first reported but still below danger levels, escalating the showdown over a long list of problems at the facility.The company also said about 400 barrels containing low-level radioactive waste were knocked over as a result of Monday's quake, revising an earlier figure of 100.Also today, the mayor of nearby Kashiwazaki city ordered the facility to shut down until its safety could be confirmed.

SAO PAULO, Brazil — The pilot of an airliner that burst into flames after trying to land on a short, rain-slicked runway apparently tried to take off again, barely clearing rush-hour traffic on a major highway. The death toll rose today to 189 and could climb higher.The TAM airlines Airbus-320 was en route to São Paulo from Porto Alegre in southern Brazil on Tuesday when it skidded on the rain-slicked runway in São Paulo, barreled across a busy road and slammed into a gas station.The airline put the number of people aboard the plane at 186, and officials said three bodies of people killed on the ground had been recovered.