"The United States has launched what appears to be a co-ordinated campaign against environmental organisations and individuals opposed to genetically-modified (GM) food, with two top US officials blasting the groups as irresponsible. Friends of the Earth and other prominent environmental organisations have been campaigning against GM food, arguing the consequences of its consumption for people and the environment could be unpredictable," reported the AFP news service.
"Parents who smoke and drink and otherwise fail to take care of their health are influencing their children to do likewise – but they may also be somehow giving them the nod to have sex, researchers said on Friday," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The world cannot stand by and allow Iraq to develop weapons of mass destruction in flagrant breach of United Nations resolutions, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday. Blair said there was no option but to do something about Iraq’s behaviour, but insisted no decisions had been made about what action should be taken," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Around a million Palestinian children started the new school year yesterday after weeks cooped up at home amid tight curfews imposed during Israel’s two-month-old reoccupation of virtually the whole West Bank. Only in the Jenin northern West Bank town and in part of the city of Hebron did continuing curfew restrictions prevent children returning to school as planned," reported the AFP news service.
"As Israel steps up its controversial deterrent policy of punishing militants’ relatives, families of suicide bombers here live with the fear that their house could come crashing down at any moment. Abu Dia, fateher of Dia Tawil blew himself up in late March 2001, injuring 30 other people, said the policy of house destruction
is part and parcel of the Zionist project, it’s not about deterrence or punishment; it’s
about wanting a land without Palestinians," reported the AFP news service.
"Pakistan’s exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said yesterday he was bowing out of Oct 10 elections after poll officials rejected the nomination of his rival-turned-ally Benazir Bhutto," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Police in the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas have intercepted two tonnes of hashish headed for Europe disguised as a shipment of food products," reported the AFP news service.
"Parliament was closed for several hours yesterday after a suspicious van was abandoned near the building," reported the AP news agency.
"Georgian troops will not use force against Chechen fighters in the Pankisi gorge, a lawless Georgian area bordering Chechnya, the head of Georgian intelligence said on Friday, six days after Tbilisi first launched an operation to round up rebels there. Tbilisi flatly rejected on Thursday an offer of help from Russian President Vladimir Putin to flush out Chechen rebels from the area. Georgian officials allege that Russian jets have already crossed over into Georgian territory in search of Chechen rebels five times, on one occasion killing one local man and injuring seven others," reported the AFP news service.
"Asian airlines said yesterday they were carrying out checks after US regulators warned some 3,000 Boeing aircraft could be fitted with fuel pumps potentially capable of triggering an explosion. The Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency directive to US carriers on Friday urging them to make immediate checks on more than 1,400 Boeing aircraft to see if they were fitted with the fuel pumps," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US Secretary of State Colin Powell says the world needs to see evidence about the threat posed by Iraq, breaking his recent silence on the issue in an interview with the BBC broadcast yesterday. Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that military officers are concerned that a war against Iraq will divert attention and resources from the US-led
war against terrorism," reported the AFP news service.
"Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that military officers are concerned that a war against Iraq will divert attention and resources from the US-led war against terrorism. A top police official said he had taken flying lessons in the United States – adding to fears of copycat attacks as the first anniversary of the Sept 11 hijack attacks on New York and Washington approaches," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The Swedish man suspected of plotting to hijack a London-bound passenger plane has admitted carrying a gun on the aircraft but denied planning a Sept 11-style attack. The Swedish man suspected of plotting to hijack a London-bound passenger plane has admitted carrying a gun on the aircraft but denied planning a Sept 11-style attack, his lawyer said yesterday," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Israeli soldiers shot dead five Palestinians in two separate incidents in the West Bank yesterday, raising to 10 the number of Palestinians killed over the weekend. The violence, including an Israeli helicopter strike on Saturday that killed four young Palestinians along with a militant who was its target, clouded prospects for a renewal of Israeli-Palestinian security talks, suspended twice last week," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US F-16 fighter jets were scrambled on Saturday to escort a small plane to a Texas airport after it entered restricted airspace near President George W. Bush’s Texas ranch," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Federal authorities have amassed evidence for the first time that an illegal drug operation in the United States was funnelling proceeds to Middle East terrorist groups like Hizbollah," reported the AP news agency.
"Several Miss World contestants say they will boycott this year’s beauty pageant in Nigeria after an Islamic court there sentenced the mother of an eight-month-old baby to death by stoning for adultery," reported The Sunday Telegraph news agency.
"Already under fire from abroad, the Bush administration was criticised across the political spectrum at home on Sunday for an Iraq policy in disarray, with top advisers seemingly at odds over the next US move. The latest apparent split came as Secretary of State Colin Powell seemed to differ with Vice President Dick Cheney over the need to get UN inspectors back into Baghdad, and US President George W. Bush came under attack for failing to get his team in line," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Nearly 200 al-Qaeda operatives, including several senior commanders, have settled in Lebanon with Syria’s permission, taking refuge in a large Palestinian refugee camp there, an Israeli newspaper reported on Monday. A Lebanese security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, denied al-Qaeda members were in the refugee camp, saying 10 to 15 Islamist militants are hiding from authorities in the camp. The militants were involved in clashes in which nine Lebanese soldiers were killed," reported the AP news agency.
"A Swedish court ordered yesterday that a man of Tunisian origin suspected of planning to hijack an airliner be held in custody for two weeks while police investigate and prepare formal charges. Chief Prosecutor Thomas Haggstrom told the court that Chatty, 29, who seemed calm and wore blue trousers and plastic flip-flop shoes, was accused of planning
a hijack, aviation sabotage, weapons offences and serious crime," reported the Reuters news agency.
"South African President Thabo Mbeki welcomed world leaders to the Earth Summit here yesterday with a call to settle final differences over an action plan and end what he called global apartheid between a small number of rich people and billions of the poor. Washington has opposed all new global targets for fighting poverty and cleaning up the planet, arguing that it is committed to practical, focused aid and development programmes and cannot bind the American people to what it sees as vague, symbolic gestures that other countries simply sign up to and then ignore," reported the Reuters news agency.
"An air marshal on a US flight terrified those aboard when he drew his gun and pointed it towards passengers at the back of the plane after subduing an unruly traveller. Passenger Susan Johnson was quoted as saying that it
was a little bit of Rambo in the air," reported the dpa news agency.
"A ferry carrying 611 people caught fire in the North Sea early yesterday prompting a rapid rescue operation, but officials said the blaze in the engine room appeared to be under control," reported the Reuters news agency.
"After hijacked airliners struck the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, American Muslim leaders released statements condemning the attacks, called on followers of Islam to help with the rescue effort and expressed sorrow to victims. Yet, over the last several months they’ve learned many of their neighbours think US Muslims did nothing. On the anniversary of the tragedy, they hope to change that impression with very public events meant to distinguish Islam from terrorism. Mohammad Choudhry, a 23-year-old New Jersey college student who plans to commemorate the anniversary said it’s not
a political statement to go out and say we
have sympathy for those who died on Sept 11, it’s
a statement about humanity. Unlike other comments, Awatef Aqeal, a teacher at the Universal Academy of Florida, said she is less concerned about making a statement on Sept 11 than keeping children safe. Her Islamic school is in Tampa, where police say they uncovered a plan last month to blow up Muslim mosques and buildings," reported the AP news agency.
"A book to be published this week says that Britain’s Queen Victoria may have been illegitimate, possibly undermining the whole Royal Family’s legitimacy. Buckingham Palace said it would not comment on the allegation," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Opponents of Pakistan’s military government yesterday denounced the rejection of opposition leader in exile Benazir Bhutto as an election candidate and warned it could cause instability," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysian PM, said yesterday the United States would have to adhere to local laws in its reported attempt to interview a Malaysian man in connection with a case involving an accused conspirator of the Sept 11 tragedy currently on trial in the United States. The United States was seeking Malaysia’s permission to talk to Yazid Sufaat who Washington thinks could help its case against Zacarias Moussaoui," reported the Malaysian Star newspaper.
"World leaders called to a summit on the future of the Earth on Monday painted a dark tableau of a planet marked by sickening disparities in wealth, its natural resources despoilt or nearly exhausted. But green campaigners and aid groups accused them of hypocrisy, saying their promises to tackle these evils masked a windy compromise over a programme for action, and that this could make the global crisis even worse. America’s isolation was compounded as country after country called on Bush to end his boycott of the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, the cornerstone of efforts to avert catastrophic climate change," reported the AFP news service.
"British newspapers yesterday said President Robert Mugabe had subjected Prime Minister Tony Blair to a humiliating ambush after hijacking the UN Earth Summit in Johannesburg to blame Britain for Zimbabwe’s crisis. In his own address, Mugabe told Blair to keep your England and let me keep
my Zimbabwe," reported the AFP news service.
"Prime Minister Tony Blair hit back yesterday at Robert Mugabe, saying Zimbabwe’s president did not speak for Africa when he blasted the British leader for interfering in Zimbabwean affairs," reported the AFP news service.
"Iraq is bracing for a US attack but is ready to co-operate with the UN Security Council in a hoped-for magic solution to the crisis," reported the AFP news service.
"The Israeli Supreme Court yesterday gave the go-ahead to expel to the Gaza Strip two relatives of a West Bank militant, an unprecedented move in the current conflict, as violence on the ground claimed two more Palestinian lives. The Palestinian leadership described the court decision to allow the army to banish two out of three of the relatives of militants as “collective punishment” and a “black day for human rights," reported the AFP news service.
"South African riot police used water cannon, stun grenades and rubber bullets on Monday against pro-Palestinian activists demonstrating against a visit by Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A group that purports to be a new Secret
Army of Mujahideen is claiming responsibility for attacks on US troops in Arabic-language leaflets that have surfaced in eastern Afghanistan in recent days. The hitherto unknown group also vows to avenge the deaths of Afghans killed in what the United States refers to as friendly fire mishaps in the search for al-Qaeda and Taliban," reported the AP news agency.
"Young women are being lured to South Korea and kept as virtual slaves to provide sexual services for US servicemen stationed there," reported the AP news agency.
"A frail 17-year-old, her hair shorn, draws peacocks in a small room in a crowded Bombay hospital. Media across the country carried headlines such as Horror on the rails, and newspaper readers asked why seven commuters watched the attack but did not step in. Rashmi Chedda, a lawyer who participated in a demonstration where about 300 women protested the passengers' failure to intervene said that Bombayites have got to shed this
I don't want to get involved attitude or women will suffer," reported the AP news agency.
"A majority of Europeans believe that US foreign policy is partly to blame for last year’s terrorist attacks on New York and Washington DC. Many Europeans, as well as Americans, are critical of President George W. Bush’s handling of foreign policy issues, according to Worldviews 2002, a survey of more than 9,000 Europeans and Americans," reported the AFP news service.
"UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan accused Israel yesterday of violating international law by expelling two Palestinians from the West Bank to Gaza for aiding terrorist suspects. He also deplored the Israeli army’s killing of Palestinian civilians, including children, during a period of relative calm while international efforts were under way to improve security co-operation and try to end the nearly two-year conflict," reported the AP news agency.
"The Earth Summit wound down in acrimony on yesterday with jeers for US Secretary of State Colin Powell and criticism by environmentalists that it would do little to help the poor or the planet. At a closing session in Johannesburg, speaker after speaker attacked as too weak a plan meant to tackle global problems from AIDS to depleted fish stocks. Environmental group WWF redubbed WSSD the World Summit of Shameful Deals, saying governments led by the United States were trying to shirk responsibility by involving businesses," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Tuesday admitted there were differences in the US administration over how to tackle Iraq but insisted President George W. Bush was engaged in serious consultations on what action to take. US allies, Muslim countries and many other nations are wary of any unilateral action, demanding a role for the United Nations in clarifying Iraq’s capabilities and intent, and in authorising any attack should that effort fail. Bush also faced scepticism at home from some of his most reliable backers in Congress," reported the Reuters news agency.
"President George W. Bush pledged yesterday to seek congressional approval before taking action against Saddam Hussein, and told wary US allies their credibility is at stake as they decide whether to back his plans," reported the AP news agency.
"In the latest move in the campaign for reparations, descendants of black slaves filed lawsuits in New York and California on Tuesday, demanding corporations pay back profits reaped from the work of their enslaved ancestors," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Giovanni Greco sent himself, literally, to an early grave. According to local media reports here, Greco climbed a ladder to get a better view of the top of the mausoleum when he slipped, hit his head on a marble step, and fell into his own tomb," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has told his emergency and security forces to be ready for a US strike on Iraq by November, amid fears that it could lead to Iraqi attacks on Israel. The daily said Washington had not given the Jewish state a date or even confirmed if it would attack, saying that Nov 1 was chosen as a reasonable deadline for the country to prepare for," reported the AFP news service.
"An army convoy yesterday began deporting two West Bank Palestinians to the Gaza Strip, where they are to remain for up to two years under an internationally condemned Israeli edict. It was the first time Israel had used expulsion, which it said was aimed at deterring potential attackers since a Palestinian uprising erupted two years ago," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Arab station Al-Jazeera said it will broadcast interviews with two al-Qaida members who admit to helping the terror network plan and carry out the Sept. 11 attacks. Al-Jazeera chief editor Ibrahim Helal told The Associated Pressthat the station will mark the Sept. 11 anniversary by running reports on how
the attacks and the war affected the lives of the American and Afghan people, and investigative reports on the attacks themselves," reported the AP news agency.
"U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill called on finance ministers from 19 other countries to adopt a plan against terrorist financing that would build on policies already in place. Speaking at this Pacific resort, O'Neill said the plan would be the second phase of the
financial war on terrorism following the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington," reported the AP news agency.
"Citing soft demand for computer processors by consumers and businesses, Intel Corp. said Thursday that third-quarter sales will be within previous forecasts but at the lower end of the range. In July, Intel announced it was cutting 4,000 jobs, or 4.8 percent of its work force, largely by not filling vacant positions. In 2001 - the worst year in the semiconductor industry's history - Intel cut more than 5,000 jobs, again mostly through attrition," reported the AP news agency.
"The head of OPEC and oil-consuming nations led by the International Energy Agency expressed concern Thursday about the impact of the U.S.-Iraqi showdown on volatile oil markets," reported the AP news agency.
"A spate of bad news about the economy, including sluggish productivity growth and disappointing retail sales, hit Wall Street hard Thursday and sent stocks falling sharply. The selloff more than offset the market's big advance from Wednesday, which analysts had downplayed to start with, attributing it to bargain hunters, not investors ready to commit to stocks. Analysts said investors are also nervous about the possibility of a war with Iraq and the upcoming anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks," reported the AP news agency.
"A UN summit aimed at cleansing the world of the darkest stains of poverty and averting a potential crash of its ecosystem ended on Wednesday with a pledge to tackle those goals, backed by a massive, yet much diluted, programme for action. Billed as charts for determining the planet’s future over the next decade, the two key documents became watered-down compromises after they became a battlefield between the United States and the European Union – and US President George W. Bush’s conservative agenda largely emerged victorious," reported the AFP news service.
"An anthrax scare in Massachusetts appeared to be a hoax on Wednesday, after police tests on a number of envelopes containing white powder confirmed the substance was non-toxic. The suspicious envelopes were mailed to police stations in 11 communities north of Boston," reported the AFP news service.
"Police yesterday detonated a 600-kilo car bomb, one of the largest ever discovered, as Israel braced for a possible new wave of attacks by Palestinian militants during the weekend’s Jewish New Year. However, there has been a month-long lull in suicide attacks, and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in a series of holiday interviews that for the first time since September 2000, he sees hope for a peace agreement with the Palestinians," reported the AP news agency.
"Afghan President Hamid Karzai survived an assassination attempt in the southern city of Kandahar yesterday shortly after a powerful car bomb killed at least 15 people in the heart of the capital here. The attacks came less than a week before the anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks on the United States and Afghan officials were quick to blame the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the attacks on the United States, for yesterday’s violence. The blast was the worst in Kabul since Karzai’s government came to power following the overthrow of the Taliban last year," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Speaking to reporters at the Arab League foreign ministers meeting, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail said that, unanimously, the resolution is saying that
all Arab states are against any attack – whether against Iraq or any Arab state. He added that since there is a consensus to reject an attack, that means implicitly that no Arab country
will co-operate in the execution of this strike," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Air traffic was disrupted yesterday morning here after a suffocating pall of smoke, caused by the worst forest and peat fires in the region for 30 years, smothered the Russian capital," reported the AFP news service.
"A team of Chinese and Japanese experts yesterday began the difficult and dangerous task of excavating Japanese World War II-era chemical shells which have spent more than half-a- century rusting underground in northeast China," reported the AFP news service.
"The area around Times Square and 42nd Street has become a car-free zone, with a crowd of 100,000 people gathering for the free show. Among the rock fans, on holiday from Los Angeles, was Richard Hiskey. He thought the concert was a powerful response to the events of September 11," reported the BBC news agency.
About 100 American and British aircraft took part in an attack on Iraq's major western air defence installation on Thursday in the biggest single operation over the country for four years. The raid appeared to be a prelude to the type of special forces operations that would have to begin weeks before a possible American-led war. Meanwhile, the Pentagon yesterday denied a report that it carried out the biggest single air strike in four years in Iraq, saying that Thursday’s attack on an air defence facility west of Baghdad was of normal proportions," reported the AFP news service.
"US President George W. Bush and key ally British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday launched a double-pronged diplomatic drive to win over global leaders about the mounting crisis over Iraq. But the initiative, ahead of crucial talks between the two at Camp David today, appeared not to have convinced some of the world’s most powerful countries to back a US-led military strike on Iraq. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called a pre-emptive strike on Iraq unwise," reported the AFP news service.
"Army Secretary Thomas White said the army is ready for whatever action President George W. Bush chooses as he considers how to fulfil his administration’s stated goal of removing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power. White said the army has not been given orders to begin preparing for an invasion. Bush, who has said he will outline his case against Saddam in a Sept 12 speech in New York, said on Thursday that he would be discussing Iraq in calls to the presidents of France, Russia and China," reported the AP news agency.
"Britain is prepared to shed blood to support its friend and ally the United States, Prime Minister Tony Blair said in comments broadcast yesterday. In a British Broadcasting Corp documentary, Blair said the two countries’ special relationship had to be backed up with action," reported the AP news agency.
"Investigators in Afghanistan questioned at least seven suspects yesterday as they hunted for the masterminds of an assassination attempt on President Hamid Karzai and of a car bomb that killed 30 people and injured 167. But he said he had no plans to take additional personal security measures despite the attempt on his life in Kandahar," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Former US president Bill Clinton on Thursday urged his successor President George W. Bush to get alleged terror mastermind Osama bin Laden before going after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Clinton, however, said Saddam was not a good man, but cautioned that an attack on Iraq could spur him into using chemical and biological weapons against attacking US forces," reported the AFP news service.
"Al-Qaeda, the ousted Taliban and allied extremists including followers of former prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar figure among those suspected of the attempt on President Hamid Karzai’s life and the devastating car bomb attack in Afghanistan," reported the AFP news service.
"The US Senate on Thursday voted to arm US commercial airline pilots and allow them to use lethal force to protect threatened aircraft, despite the US administration’s objections to such legislation. Approved by an overwhelming 87 - 6 vote, the measure states that all specifically trained pilots would be able to carry guns in the cockpit within 24 months of enactment. The measure, attached as an amendment to the larger homeland security bill currently being debated in the Senate, also states that the cockpit door would not be opened during a flight except in cases of mechanical or physiological emergency," reported the AFP news service.
"Israeli helicopters attacked a factory in the Gaza Strip early yesterday after Palestinians blew up an Israeli tank and killed two soldiers.Reflecting a rapidly deteriorating situation, Israel’s defence minister said the Gaza part of a plan to ease tensions would not be implemented because of repeated Palestinian attacks. Palestinians charge that Israel is stalling instead of implementing the accord, the first security understanding between the two sides in several months," reported the AP news agency.
"People in the world’s fourth richest country have grown used to jammed roads, cancelled trains and schools, and hospitals in crisis. Now Britons face a new inconvenience – the prospect that their biggest electricity generator could go bust. The most spectacular failure to date was the collapse last year of Railtrack, the company in charge of the country’s decrepit railways. According to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, Britain has consistently lagged far behind the rest of the European Union in spending on road and rail," reported the Reuters news agency.
"An intruder sparked a terrorist alert on Thursday at a military compound in Utah housing the world’s largest stockpile of chemical and gas munitions, and was still on the loose hours later. The alarm at the complex sounded, warning local residents and curtailing operations after a man in dark clothing was spotted in the compound," reported the Reuters news agency.
