LOS ANGELES – Prosecutors rested their case Monday in the trial of a former Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer accused of killing an unarmed black man, relying mainly on video taken by bystanders and witnesses who recounted a chaotic scene on an Oakland train platform last year.

Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Dave Stein called 26 witnesses, many of whom spoke more about another ex-officer who hasn’t been charged rather than the defendant, Johannes Mehserle, who has pleaded not guilty to murder for the New Year’s Day 2009 shooting death of Oscar Grant.

Mehserle, who is white, is shown on videos taken by several train passengers shooting Grant, 22, in the back while he’s face down. Defense attorney Michael Rains has argued that his client meant to use his Taser stun gun as he tried to subdue Grant instead of pulling out his .40-caliber handgun.

Prosecutors have said Mehserle, 28, did intend to shoot Grant, and that he used his weapon because officers were losing control of the situation. However, Stein didn’t appear to present much direct evidence that shows Mehserle intentionally shot Grant.

The trial was moved to Los Angeles because of intense media coverage and racial friction.

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WASHINGTON – Criminal investigators are examining allegations that Afghan security firms have been extorting as much as $4 million a week from contractors paid with U.S. tax dollars and then funneling the spoils to warlords and the Taliban.

If the allegations are true, the U.S. would be unintentionally financing the enemy and undermining international efforts to stabilize the country.

The payments reportedly end up in insurgent hands through a $2.1 billion Pentagon contract to transport food, water, fuel and ammunition to American troops stationed at bases across Afghanistan. To ensure safe passage through dangerous areas, the trucking companies make payments to local security firms with ties to the Taliban or warlords who control the roads. If the payments aren‘t made, the convoys will be attacked, according to a U.S. military document detailing the allegations being examined by investigators.

The document says the companies hired under the Afghan Host Nation Trucking contract may be paying between $2 million and $4 million a week to insurgent groups.

Chris Grey, a spokesman for the Army Criminal Investigation Command at Fort Belvoir, Va., confirmed Monday that the inquiry is under way. But he said he would not provide details in order “to protect the integrity of the ongoing case.”

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SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – Gang members opened fire on a bus on the outskirts of El Salvador’s capital, then doused it with gasoline and set it on fire, killing at least 14 passengers in what the president on Monday called an act of terror.

Police managed to break windows and help 13 people escape the flames but others died inside. Sixteen people suffered injuries in the late Sunday attack, officials said.

“This is an act that seeks to generate terror among the population,” President Mauricio Funes said, adding that his security Cabinet was to meet to increase security in the country.

Violent youth gangs have besieged the public transit system in this small Central American nation to extort bus workers and largely impoverished commuters and travelers.

The armed assault was the deadliest attack this year on a passenger bus.

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TOKYO – Asian stock markets fell in early trading Tuesday on renewed concern over Europe‘s economic crisis after Fitch Ratings cut its debt rating on French bank BNP Paribas SA.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index lost 91.02 points, or 0.9 percent, to 10,146.99.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.9 percent to 1,723.96, and Australia‘s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.6 percent at 4,605.70.

Sentiment was downbeat on fresh worries over Europe’s debt crisis after Fitch downgraded its debt rating on the French bank — the largest banking group in the eurozone by deposits — by one notch Monday.

Fitch slashed BNP’s long-term rating to AA-minus, the fourth-highest investment grade, from AA on deteriorating asset quality.

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NEW ORLEANS – The administrator of a $20 billion fund to compensate Gulf oil spill victims pledged Monday to speed payment of claims as a federal judge considered whether to lift a six-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling.

Kenneth Feinberg, who has been tapped by the White House to run the fund, said many people are in desperate financial straits and need immediate relief.

“We want to get these claims out quicker,” he said. “We want to get these claims out with more transparency.”

Feinberg, who ran the claim fund set up for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said BP has paid out over $100 million so far. Various estimates place total claims so far in excess of $600 million.

BP said it has spent $2 billion fighting the spill for the last two months and compensating victims, with no end in sight. It’s likely to be at least August before crews finish two relief wells that are the best chance of stopping the flow of oil.

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