WOODWARD (Oklahoma) - FORMER President George W. Bush is meeting with local and state officials in a rural Oklahoma town where his Fourth of July speech could draw more than 9,000 spectators.

Mr Bush is scheduled speak on Saturday evening inside a remodeled rodeo arena in Woodward, a town of about 12,000 residents in northwest Oklahoma.

VICENZA - SIX policemen were hurt in clashes late on Saturday with demonstrators at a rally of more than 3,000 people against the US$500-million (S$728 million) enlargement of a US military base in Italy, police said.

Some 300 youths, wearing helmets and carrying plexiglass shields, pelted riot cops with rocks and bottles during the American Independence Day demo. The police replied with tear gas and baton charges, AFP photographers said.

NEW YORK - THE Statue of Liberty's crown, which has been closed since the September 11, 2001 attacks here, reopened to the public on Saturday as the United States celebrated Independence Day.

Each hour, 30 people will be able to climb up a spiral staircase that leads to the very top of the iconic statue, which has been closed to the public amid security concerns.