"Iraq has seven days to agree to a UN Security Council resolution to disarm totally or face serious consequences, but the regime was biding its time yesterday before making an official response. State-run newspapers branded the US and British-sponsored resolution passed unanimously by the Security Council as unjustifiedunwarranted," reported the AFP news service.
"For the third time in six weeks, allied planes dropped tens of thousands of leaflets over southern Iraq urging Saddam Hussein’s military not to fire on American and British warplanes. Besides urging the Iraqis not to fire on the fighter jets that patrol southern Iraq nearly daily, the leaflet emphasises the consequences that Iraqi military actions are having on the local civilian populace, according to a brief statement issued on Friday by US Central Command, whose forces carried out the mission. One said,Before you engage coalition aircraft, think about the consequences. The back of the leaflet said: Think about your family. Do what you must to survive.Another contained a sequence of images of an Iraqi anti-aircraft battery firing upon an American plane, the plane responding with a missile attack, and the Iraqi position going up in smoke and fire," reported the AP news agency.
"The deputy prime minister of the outgoing Turkish government has called for Valery Giscard d’Estaing to resign from his role to shape the future of the EU after he said Turkey’s membership would spell an end to the bloc. Giscard d’Estaing, a former French president, angered both Turkish and EU officials when he told a French newspaper that Turkey could not be part of the EU because most of its territory was in Asia," reported the AFP news service.
"A controversial CIA-led missile strike which killed six suspected al-Qaeda members in Yemen was legal and necessary and may be emulated in South-East Asia to crush terror groups," reported the AFP news service.
"The Pentagon said on Friday it was looking into the source of a series of photographs of chained and hooded prisoners in a US military C-130 aircraft that were e-mailed to news organisations. The photos showed prisoners lying on their backs or sitting on the floor of the aircraft, held in place by white straps as US military personnel looked on. US treatment of prisoners captured in Afghanistan has stirred controversy in the past in part because the United States does not recognise them as prisoners of war but as illegal combatants who can be held indefinitely without charges. There is no indication that the treatment of the prisoners is not in accord with official procedures, said Lt-Col Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman. It is the taking and distributing of the pictures that is a concern," reported the AFP news service.
"George Soros, the multi-billionaire American investor, defiantly denied charges of insider trading before a court in Paris on Friday. Soros is charged with buying and selling shares in the French bank Societe Generale in 1988 after learning of hostile takeover plans," The Daily Telegraph news agency.
"McDonald’s Corp announced on Friday it will cease or restructure operations in seven Middle Eastern and Latin American nations, eliminating up to 600 jobs and closing about 175 restaurants in 10 other countries. The company, based in suburban Oak Brook, is struggling with a crowded restaurant market, complaints about service and a depressed stock price. McDonald’s said it expected the moves to reduce its fourth quarter pre-tax income by up to US$425mil. McDonald’s said that of the jobs it would eliminate, 200 to 250 were based in the United States," reported the AP news agency.
"Singapore opposition leader was released from prison yesterday after serving five weeks for trespassing and holding an illegal rally, and he immediately vowed to continue his battle for more free speech in the city-state. Chee said Singapore’s stifling heat made sleep difficult during his imprisonment, but that the experience had strengthened his faith in the value of democracy," reported the AP news agency.
"Baghdad appeared to be setting the stage yesterday for acceptance of UN disarmament Resolution 1441 despite its “unfairness,” saying the international community had thwarted US plans to attack Iraq. While imposing harsh arms inspection terms on Baghdad, the resolution unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council on Friday had foiled Washington’s attempts to secure UN approval for an automatic recourse to force against Baghdad," reported the AFP news service.
"A US-led attack against Iraq is highly likely next year, but the war will be quick and its impact on the world economy should be limited, to the extent that the effects of a war should be confined mainly to changes in the price of oil, the EIU said in its latest report entitled Showdown with Iraq: Risks and Opportunities for Politics and Business," reported the AFP news service.
"More than half a million anti-war protesters from across Europe marched through this Italian Renaissance city on Saturday in a loud and colourful demonstration denouncing any possible US attack on Iraq. Brimming with anti-American feelings and riled by a tough new UN resolution to disarm Iraq, young and old activists from as far afield as Russia and Portugal joined forces for the carnival-like rally, singing Communist anthems and 1970s peace songs," reported the Reuters news agency.
"While the Bush administration contends its stance against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was bolstered by the UN Security Council’s call for Iraq to disarm, activists here say they will continue protesting against US policy, calling it war planning on behalf of oil interests. Benjamin, a former Green Party US Senate nominee, charged that the United States threatened nations that did not support the UN’s resolution with loss of access to Iraqi oil after a possible military conflict with Iraq, or with loss of future aid," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The Palestinian Islamic resistance movement Hamas will not pledge to stop suicide bombings in Israel, during its talks here with Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction, a Hamas leader said in remarks published yesterday," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin, under international pressure to end the Chechnya conflict peacefully after a bloody hostage-seizure in Moscow, gave his backing on Saturday for new political moves in the rebel region. The Kremlin said Putin was ready to discuss ideas for speeding up the constitutional process in Chechnya with a group of moderate Chechen officials including politicians and businessmen. At the same time, liberal politicians and human rights activists in Moscow publicly called on the Kremlin chief to step up efforts to find a political solution to the separatist conflict that has cost thousands of lives," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Thirty years after man last walked on the Moon, the lunar landings are struggling to shake off rumours that they were nothing but a monstrous hoax. To the vast majority of people, the six Apollo missions were among the most magnificent achievements of all time – and testimony from the astronauts, the lunar rock samples, photos and film footage root the landings in indisputable fact. Not so for a tiny band of diehards, who have made it their goal to expose the missions as a gigantic con, mainly aimed at persuading Moscow that America had beaten it in the race to the moon," reported the AFP news service.
"With just a few days left before Iraq must decide whether to cooperate with the United Nations, the chief nuclear inspector told Iraq Monday it's time to cooperate and urged Saddam Hussein to come clean on anything related to weapons of mass destruction. Mohamed ElBaradei delivered the message during an animated 30-minute meeting with Iraq's U.N. Ambassador Mohammed Al-Douri, who said afterward that he doesn't know whether his government's decision will be positive or negative," reported the AP news agency.
"Iraq’s parliament condemned a tough, new UN resolution as full of lies and ill intentions during a special session yesterday in which a senior lawmaker urged it be rejected – a prospect that likely would bring on war. President Saddam Hussein, however, has used parliament to provide some cover for difficult decisions in the past, and harsh rhetoric does not necessarily mean parliament ultimately will reject the proposal," reported the AP news agency.
"Police and fire brigade officers were called to Parliament here yesterday after security officers found a magazine containing a suspicious white powder, officials said. Security staff cordoned off the entrance to the Senate as police and the fire brigade arrived to retrieve the magazine. Police tests later found the powder harmless," reported the AP news agency.
"Hans Blix, the UN’s chief weapons inspector, has assured Iraq that the team he is sending into the country next week will be as free of spies as he can make it. The previous inspections team, Unscom (UN special commission), which served in Iraq from 1991 to 1998, was regularly accused by Iraq of containing US spies. Although the accusations were denied at the time, the involvement of at least the CIA was later confirmed by the UN, by the US administration and by former weapons inspectors," reported the Guardian news agency.
"Five Israelis were shot dead and several others wounded when a suspected Palestinian militant armed with an automatic rifle went on a shooting spree on a northern kibbutz on Sunday night. The gunman was able to infiltrate the Metzer collective village, located close to the Green Line with the West Bank, close to midnight and just hours after police foiled a double suicide bombing in the same area. The attack was claimed by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed offshoot of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement," reported the AFP news service.
"Multiple tornadoes and lashing rains tore across the south-eastern United States yesterday leaving 31 dead, hundreds missing and entire communities flattened in their wake," reported the AFP news service.
"An Indonesian court ruled yesterday that the arrest of Muslim cleric Abubakar Ba’asyir was legal while police said their chief suspect in the Bali bomb attacks was a student of the detained militant preacher.His lawyers said they would appeal the court ruling," reported the Jakarta Post.
"An evidence-based report on the consequences of a US-led attack on Iraq, published by Medact, a British affiliate of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), was simultaneously released in 14 countries Tuesday. IPPNW president Dr Ronald McCoy said that the report analyses the health and environmental cost of war in Iraq. He said that based on the report, the attack on Iraq would result in between 48,000 and 260,00 deaths during the first three months of the conflict and in the aftermath of the war, an additional 200,000 lives could be lost," reported the Malaysian Star newspaper.
"Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad warned that if the United States invades Iraq it will create a flow of fresh terrorist recruits. He said that there is an imperative need for greater efforts by the international Muslim community to see a peaceful resolution to all conflicts, including security tensions. He asserted that the real dilemma is nothing but a clash of civilisations, especially between the West and Islam. Forcing Western political agendas and values on other cultures is not desirable. The arrogance of power must be eliminated. The use of force should never be considered as a solution to avert terrorism. Therefore, he was pessimistic for the future of the Palestinians, noting that the United States supported Israel despite the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories. And thus he called on the international Muslim community should come forward to help in promoting stability and enhancing the sharing of prosperity," reported the AFP news service.
"Malaysian police will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Australian police to enhance co-operation, especially in countering terrorism. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said the MoU would allow his country to exchange experiences, including on the recent Bali bombings, with Malaysia," reported the Malaysian Star newspaper.
"Israeli helicopters fired four missiles on a suspected weapons-making workshop in downtown Gaza City early Wednesday, the second such strike on the site in two days. The attack demolished a car repair shop that had been severely damaged in a similar pre-dawn attack on Monday. Shop owner Deab Fasiah insisted his shop has nothing to do with producing weapons and challenged the Israelis to give him any evidence that my place had been used to produce anything except spare parts for cars," reported the AP news agency.
"Iraq’s parliament unanimously rejected yesterday a tough UN disarmament resolution, but left the final decision to President Saddam Hussein. Speaker Saadun Hammadi announced the result on separate shows of hands on both the rejection and the confidence in the president to make the right choice," reported the AFP news service.
"President George W. Bush marked the US Veterans Day holiday on Monday by vowing to use the full force of the US military against Iraq if needed and said America had no territorial ambitions there. At a rainy commemoration at Arlington National Cemetery, Bush described the disarmament campaign against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein as a part of the US war on terrorism launched in the wake of the Sept 11 attacks on America," reported the AP news agency.
"France yesterday gave its clearest sign yet that it is willing to join an international coalition against Iraq if Saddam Hussein fails to comply with the new UN resolution on weapons inspections. Asked if he believed the politics of oil played a part in Washington’s apparent determination to go to war with Iraq, de Villepin said he did not," reported the AFP news service.
"Barring a miracle, a US-led war on Iraq looks inevitable, even if Baghdad agrees to the drastic disarmament terms set out by the UN Security Council, Arab analysts said yesterday. Abdul Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based Al-Qods Al-Arabi newspaper said Resolution 1441 is a statement of war as well as a death sentence. It’s stuffed full of draconian conditions and provocations.Washington can interpret the slightest shooting against American planes in the ‘no-fly’ zones, or even a traffic jam blocking the movement of inspectors, as violations of the resolution," reported the AFP news service.
"Mohammed al-Mesfer, political science professor at Qatar University, said that Resolution 1441 has virtually given Washington a free hand to occupy Iraq and set up a puppet regime. For Mustafa Bakri, editor of Egypt’s Al-Usboa weekly newspaper, America is not targeting just the alleged weapons of mass destruction or regime change in Iraq, it wants to change the geopolitical map of the region, under the influence of the military-industrial lobby. But this war will not be a picnic, Bakri warned. America will suffer enormous losses in the ground war which could cause a strong reaction in America and an uprising by the Arab masses," reported the AFP news service.
"According to Mohammed al-Sabri, a researcher at Sanaa University in Yemen, the only way out for Saddam would be major terrorist operations which would block the American plan of attack. Iraq can win time by banking on operations carried out by al-Qaeda or sympathisers of the network," reported the AFP news service.
"A report issued by the Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW) said a conventional war in Iraq could kill nearly 500,000 people, with the death toll shooting to four million if nuclear weapons are used," reported the AFP news service.
"The Israeli army swept into the Tulkarem refugee camp on the West Bank early yesterday following a Palestinian militant attack on a kibbutz that killed five Israelis. Military retaliation for the attack by a lone gunman, who killed the collective farm community’s administrator, two women and two small children before escaping, was likely to complicate a new US peace mission that began on Monday," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Rescue crews yesterday sifted through the rubble of hundreds of homes destroyed by a wave of tornados that tore through five states in south-eastern United States leaving 36 dead, hundreds injured and missing," reported the AFP news service.
"The FBI and U.S. prosecutors will interrogate a Malaysian man in custody at a prison camp as soon as Friday on links to the Sept. 11 hijackers and to terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui. Malaysia's powerful Home Ministry has granted approval for the U.S. team to interview Yazid at the Kamunting prison camp in northern Malaysia, where he has been held for nearly a year under national security laws along with about 70 other suspected Islamic militants," reported the AP news agency.
"Iraq, facing a Friday deadline and the threat of war, has accepted a tough new UN resolution that will return weapons inspectors to the country after nearly four years," reported the news Agencies.
"Iraq raised the suspicions of Turkey and the United States by ordering 1.25 million doses of atropine, a drug that can be used as an antidote to nerve gases, a US official said on Tuesday. Atropine has other medical uses but the size of the Iraqi order raised suspicions that the Iraqis might want it in reserve as an antidote for their own military forces if they decide to use nerve gases in a conflict," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Israeli forces took over this northern West Bank town early yesterday, arresting at least 30 Palestinians in retaliation for a deadly attack on a kibbutz, as Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stepped up pressure for Yasser Arafat’s expulsion. More than 150 armoured vehicles backed by helicopter gunships entered Nablus from the east and west, moving towards the centre of town under covering fire without meeting any serious resistance. Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz has given his troops as much time as needed to hunt down militants, basing the operation on an two-week hunt in Jenin that ended Saturday with the killing of a top Islamic Jihad militant accused of killing 31 Israelis," reported the AFP news service.
"One year after US warplanes drove the Taliban from the capital, few here long for their return, but it’s also hard to find anyone who thinks the world has kept its promise to help the Afghans. Sima Samar, head of the Afghan Human Rights Commission, said things are much better ..., but still there are a lot of problems. One of the most serious problems is that President Hamid Karzai’s government is weak and its control is largely confined to the capital. Warlords, who rule by virtue of their private armies, are stronger today than a year ago. But a former Afghan general said the first mistake was when the US-led coalition allowed Northern Alliance troops, their allies in the war on terrorism, to enter the capital on Nov 13, 2001, when the Taliban fled," reported the AP news agency.
"Three men who carried strange-looking documents onto a plane headed from here to Hong Kong, and then took turns locking themselves in the toilets before take-off, caused a terrorism alert that got them thrown off the craft on Tuesday, though it became clear that they had only been relieving sexual urges. They later discovered that the documents contained pornographic material and said this apparently explained why the men had been in a hurry to visit the toilet," reported the AFP news service.
"President Vladimir Putin was embroiled in a new row on Tuesday after he apparently suggested that a French journalist should be castrated. The European Commission was checking whether Putin had indeed uttered the words, but a spokesman said that if he had, his statement was entirely inappropriate," reported the Daily Telegraph news agency.
"An Arab TV station broadcast an audiotape of a voice that a US official said sounded like Osama bin Laden’s. If confirmed, it would provide hard evidence that the al-Qaeda leader was alive as recently as last month," reported the AP news agency.
"World leaders have greeted Iraq’s acceptance of a UN disarmament resolution with caution, welcoming the move but remaining sceptical that President Saddam Hussein will keep to his word. UN weapons inspectors were preparing to leave for Iraq after Baghdad reluctantly agreed to their return on Wednesday, but the United States warned it remained ready to disarm the rogue nation by force if necessary," reported the AFP news service.
"Airports will get a year’s reprieve from screening all air travellers’ baggage under the compromise homeland security bill," reported the AP news agency.
"Soldiers with antiquated equipment battled fires across Britain yesterday, struggling to fill the gap created by firefighters on a 48-hour strike. Three elderly people died following house fires during the first night of the walkoutl," reported the AP news agency.
"The FBI has received unconfirmed information from intelligence sources overseas that hospitals in four US cities could be the targets of a terrorist threat. Houston FBI spokesman Bob Doguim said on Wednesday the vague threat involved hospitals in Houston, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C," reported the AP news agency.
"Australians voiced outrage and revulsion yesterday over a light-hearted presentation to the press in Indonesia of a man who has confessed to helping carry out the deadly car bombing last month in Bali. The suspect, Amrozi, smiled and waved to reporters and laughed as he appeared to joke with Indonesia’s police chief during the media event on Wednesday in the Bali capital of Denpasar," reported the AFP news service.
"A correspondent for the Arab TV network Al-Jazeera said yesterday that an unidentified man in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, gave him an audiotape claiming to be Osama bin Laden hailing recent attacks in the Middle East and Bali. Ahmed Muhaffaq Zaidan, who has interviewed Osama twice in 2000 and last year and has just written a book on him, said he was 100% sure the voice belonged to Osama," reported the AFP news service.
"Relief and some brave faces greeted news Iraq had accepted UN disarmament Resolution 1441 on the streets of Baghdad yesterday, with many Iraqis saying they were thankful that the threat of war had receded. But they added their dismay at the injustice to which their country was being subjected," reported the AFP news service.
"Australia outlawed four more terrorist groups yesterday and boosted its ability to track down suspects by striking cooperation deals with the United States, Britain and key police forces in the Asia-Pacific region. The Abu Sayyaf Group, Armed Islamic Group, Salafist Group for Call and Combat and Harkat ul-Mujahideen are now classified as terrorist organisations under Australian law," reported the AFP news service.
"Three female protesters lay naked on a homemade Stars and Stripes in front of the US Consulate while others burned two American flags yesterday, just hours before representatives of 25 nations were to discuss how to liberalise world trade. Scuffles with police broke out after more than 1,000 demonstrators defied a ban on protests in the streets of Australia’s most populous city. They blocked downtown intersections and chanted slogans against globalisation and a possible war with Iraq. About 1,000 protesters also marched through central Sydney on Wednesday without incident," reported the AP news agency.
"Palestinian militants raked Israeli troops and settlers with massive gunfire Friday in a carefully orchestrated ambush, killing 12 Israelis and wounding 15 in Hebron, a divided city long plagued by religious tensions and flashes of furious violence. Hebron was divided into Israeli- and Palestinian-controlled sectors as a result of the 1990s interim peace accords - with Israel controlling the downtown area where the Jewish settlers - and tens of thousands of Palestinians - live. But during the last two years of conflict Israel's army has frequently invaded the Palestinian sector, including the Abu Sneineh hilltop overlooking one of the settler areas," reported the AP news agency.
"A Melbourne magistrate approved yesterday the extradition of a British businessman charged in Singapore with a grisly double murder," reported the AP news agency.
"UN weapons chief Hans Blix was to set off yesterday for Baghdad via France and Cyprus in a first test of Iraq’s new readiness to co-operate with stringent disarmament terms as US sceptics kept up a war rhetoric. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Mohamed El-Baradei and Blix were due to arrive here yesterday with an advance team to kick off the process to check if Iraq’s nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programmes are over," reported the AFP news agency.
"The FBI has warned that al-Qaeda is likely to attempt a spectacular attack intended to inflict large-scale casualties and damage the US economy. Sources suggest al-Qaeda may favour spectacular attacks that meet several criteria: High symbolic value, mass casualties, severe damage to the US economy, and maximum psychological trauma. Yet, there is clearly worry that the danger is growing," reported the AP news agency.
"Anti-globalisation protests fizzled yesterday after heavy security turned a World Trade Organisation (WTO) mini-summit site into a fortress. A ring of steel fencing, concrete barricades and hundreds of armed police, some with guard dogs, locked down the WTO conference site at the 2000 Olympic Games venue in western Sydney as trade ministers from 25 nations met. A group of about 500 protesters confronted police at barricades near the meeting venue yesterday and tore down a section of fencing," reported the Reuters news agency.
"As fireworks rocketed from a massive depot blaze in Manchester earlier in the night, tensions between the government and the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) became equally explosive. Striking firefighters and the government were locked in a battle for the hearts and minds of Britons yesterday, both unyielding in a dispute which has been overshadowed by 10 deaths so far," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Britain is facing a level of unrest unseen for two decades with a series of confrontations between various unions and Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Labour government – now in its sixth year. Postal workers, nurses, teachers, rail workers and local government staff are engaged in or mulling strike action. A new generation of radical union leaders – typified by Gilchrist – have rekindled fears of a rerun of the 1978-79 Winter of Discontent which toppled a previous Labour government and sent the party into 18 years in opposition," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Britain unveiled yesterday plans to advise civilians on how to deal with a terror attack – including tips such as running away from poison gas or using handkerchiefs as improvised masks. Acknowledging the now permanent threat of attack, chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson said posters – and mock exercises in public to test the response of emergency services – could alarm people, but might also save lives," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The Senate’s top Democrat, Majority Leader Tom Daschle, questioned on Thursday whether US President George W. Bush was winning the war on terrorism at home or abroad, noting that the global effort has yet to snare Osama bin Laden. Tom Daschle said that the key elements of al-Qaeda continue to be as great a threat today as they were a year and a half ago. So by what measure can we say this (war on terrorism) has been successful so far?," reported the AFP news agency.
"George W. Bush may not be renowned for his eloquence, but the US president puts in a strong showing in a new book of quotations. included are the president’s words of wisdom to a group of students: To those of you who received honours, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say you, too, can be president of the United States," reported the AP news agency.
"Pakistan's first elected Parliament in three years convened Saturday, bringing an end to army rule and setting this poor country on the rocky road toward democracy. A vote for a new government is expected to be held on Tuesday, giving politicians another two days to form a coalition," reported the AP news agency.
"Pakistan's army chief was sworn in Saturday as president for the next five years in a televised ceremony at the presidential residence. President Pervez Musharraf, who also retains the job of army chief of staff, was given a five-year term in office in a controversial referendum held earlier this year," reported the AP news agency.
"A Pakistani man who killed two CIA employees in a 1993 shooting rampage outside the agency’s headquarters was executed as the US State Department warned of global retaliation against Americans. Aimal Khan Kasi, 38, died by injection on Thursday at the Greensville Correctional Centre, softly chanted There is no god but Allah in his native tongue until he lost consciousness. Kasi confessed to the slayings during the return flight, saying he was angry over CIA meddling in Muslim nations," reported the AP news agency.
"Two people were killed and nine wounded when a bomb exploded in a bus in southern Pakistan yesterday," reported the Reuters news agency.
