"Escalating a confrontation with Israel, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan wants the government to identify and punish its soldiers responsible for last week’s shooting death of British UN relief worker Iain Hook. Annan told Sharon he expected Israel to carry out a rigorous investigation of the incident, share its results with the United Nations and hold accountable those responsible for Mr Hook’s death," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Weeping relatives of Kenyan dancers killed in a suicide bombing at a Mombasa hotel said on Friday they were angry with Israel for doing nothing to help African families devastated by the attack," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Kenya said Saturday it had so far found no link between 12 people held over Thursday's attacks on Israelis in Mombasa and the al-Qaeda network that US officials have said could had a hand in them," reported the news Agencies.
"Declaring large pay hikes for government employees would threaten US efforts in the war on terrorism, President George W. Bush on Friday scaled back raises most civilian workers were to receive in January. In a letter to Congress, Bush announced he was using his authority to implement an alternative plan in times of national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The Pentagon is having problems providing US troops with state-of-the-art protective gear against possible chemical and biological attacks in Iraq. With new suits in relatively short supply the Pentagon must rely on millions of older suits," reported the AFP news service.
"UN arms experts visited the Mother of Battles complex south of Baghdad yesterday on the third day of renewed inspections as US envoys prepared a marathon tour to woo support for Washington’s hardline stance amid persistent anti-war protests. Baghdad’s state-run media meanwhile trumpeted the persistence of anti-war protests around the world as Washington continued to press for Iraq to be punished mercilessly for any breach of the Nov 8 UN Security Council resolution that paved the way for the renewed inspections," reported the AFP news service.
"British firefighters left their picket lines and returned to their engines and station houses yesterday, the scheduled end of an eight-day national strike over pay. But with their union and Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government still far from agreement, the firefighters say they will walk out for another eight days starting on Wednesday," reported the AP news agency.
"The vastly different reactions on each side of the Atlantic to Henry Kissinger’s return to the political centre stage says a lot about the constantly widening gap in political perceptions between the US and Europe," reported the Guardian Newspapers Ltd.
"Australian Prime Minister John Howard said yesterday he was prepared to act against terrorists in neighbouring Asian countries and that international law and the UN Charter should be changed to empower nations to strike pre-emptively against terrorists who plan to attack them. His comments sparked immediate outrage from governments across Asia," reported the AP news agency.
"Pakistan’s fragile coalition government, loyal to President Pervez Musharraf, is struggling to avert a possible meltdown after a key parliamentary ally withdrew support last week," reported the AFP news service.
"Teachers of the state-run Nangarhar University in eastern Afghanistan have gone on strike to demand the payment of their salaries which have been withheld for four months," reported the dpa news agency.
"International weapons monitors inspected an idle air field north of Baghdad where Iraq once tested devices that can spray deadly microbes, while allied aircraft fire was reported in southern Iraq yesterday," reported the AP news agency.
"Kenya said yesterday it found a gas cylinder used in the bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel here last week, while Washington warned of threats of repeat attacks in Djibouti or Yemen. The US, however, did not identify the source of the threats," reported the AFP news service.
"US troops called in air strikes from mammoth B-52 bombers yesterday after coming under fire during fierce battles between forces loyal to rival warlords in western Afghanistan," reported the AP news agency.
"Israeli troops shot dead one Palestinian and left another buried under the rubble of one of the three homes they demolished in an overnight operation in the Gaza Strip," reported the AP news agency.
"England and Wales have the highest crime rate among the world’s leading economies. The UN report also shows that England and Wales are the second-worst places in the world for assaults, with 851 people assaulted per 100,000, and seventh for burglaries and car theft, with 1,579 burglaries per 100,000 population," reported The Sunday Telegraph news agency.
"UN arms experts swooped on two sites during their fifth day of inspections in Iraq yesterday with the full co-operation of Iraqi authorities anxious to avoid any row that might hasten war. A sceptical US President George W. Bush planned to turn up the pressure on President Saddam Hussein to meet a UN deadline for declaring any weapons of mass destruction, while Britain released a 23-page dossier accusing the Iraqi strongman of rights abuses," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Israeli troops killed a Palestinian teenager and injured 22 other stone-throwers during a raid on Jenin yesterday, and also shot dead a man in the Gaza Strip a day after the army resumed its policy of targeted killings. Another two Palestinians were killed in the territories in crossfires between Israeli troops and militants," reported the AFP news service.
"The world’s top nuclear inspector said on Sunday that it may take 12 months to discover whether Iraq has weapons of mass destruction – a view that is likely to irritate Washington hawks. Mohammed el-Baradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Authority, said the team in Iraq had found nothing untoward during its first four days of inspections at several sites. reported the Guardian Newspaper.
"In a thinly veiled rehearsal for war in Iraq, the United States is preparing an unprecedented military exercise in Qatar to test its command structure. The exercise, codenamed Internal Look, is the strongest signal yet that the United States intends to wage a possible war from the Gulf state famous for its maverick TV station, al-Jazeera. The United States has focused its attention on Qatar because of Saudi Arabia’s reluctance to let it use existing and highly sophisticated facilities in the kingdom," reported the dpa news agency.
"US President George Bush is expected to hold security talks this week with the leaders of Kenya and Ethiopia after twin attacks in Mombasa thrust East Africa into the spotlight of Washington’s war on terror. The United States warned of more attacks in the Horn of Africa after a suicide bombing killed 16 people at an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa on Thursday and two missiles missed a plane taking off with Israeli tourists from a nearby airport," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Tens of thousands of angry demonstrators packed Galicia’s capital on Sunday to protest at the government’s handling of a tanker disaster as a new wave of fuel oil hit Spanish beaches," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Afghanistan’s unruly west fell quiet late yesterday as a temporary ceasefire took hold between rival warlords after three days of deadly clashes. The truce was brokered by a delegation of top officials from the central administration in Kabul and there had been no fighting since dusk," reported the AFP news service.
"Fierce clashes between rival commanders close to a key air base in western Afghanistan resumed yesterday, the leader of one faction said, a day after a US B-52 bombed one of the sides. The violence came as President Hamid Karzai travelled to Germany for a major international conference to assess Afghanistan’s progress a year after the ouster of the hardline Taliban. A lack of security is one of the country’s major problems," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The new spiritual head of the Church of England said on Sunday that faithful homosexual relationships do not conflict with the teachings of the Bible," reported the AFP news service.
"Iraq promised yesterday to meet a UN deadline to hand over a declaration on its arms programmes, but insisted it had no weapons of mass destruction to confess to. In line with Baghdad’s policy of at least apparent compliance with UN inspections in the hope of averting a threatened US attack, an Iraqi official said a statement would be provided on Saturday – a day before time runs out," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, made the surprising claim that Iraq, contrary to all US and British intelligence reports, in all likelihood had nuclear weapons. But the Foreign Office later had to retreat from Straw's assertion. It has repeatedly accepted that Iraq does not have nuclear arms and a spokesman said Straw had been referring to Saddam’s intention to acquire such weapons," reported the Guardian Newspapers.
"Responding to Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery, warplanes of a US-British coalition on Monday bombed Iraqi air defence sites in northern Iraq. The US European Command said coalition warplanes were patrolling the no-fly zone over northern Iraq when they came under anti-aircraft artillery fire from sites about 16km east of Mosul," reported the AFP news service.
"Stepping up planning for an Iraq after Saddam Hussein, US President George W. Bush named a special envoy for free Iraqis on Monday. The job went to presidential envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad. Khalilzad will serve as the focal point for preparations for a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq," reported the Reuters news agency.
"UN inspectors roared up to one of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s palaces from two directions yesterday in a test of their new powers to search for weapons of mass destruction anywhere, anytime. The guards, no doubt aware they would one day get a visit from the inspectors even if the timing was a surprise, opened the huge gates and allowed the half-dozen UN vehicles inside with minimal delay. Another group of UN inspectors entered the sprawling Al-Sajoud complex at another gate. The palace houses living quarters and offices," reported the AP news agency.
"A United Nations aid agency protested on Monday at the Israeli army’s demolition of its food warehouse in a Palestinian refugee camp during a raid, and called for an investigation and compensation for the loss. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said the army blew up the warehouse in the Gaza Strip’s Jabalya refugee camp during Sunday’s incursion, destroying more than 500 metric tonnes of food after preventing aid workers from removing it first. An Israeli army spokesman said Israeli liaison officials in Gaza had not been informed of the warehouse’s existence and had therefore not known they should steer clear of the building. However, the WFP said in a statement the building was clearly marked with a large WFP flag and three WFP stickers on the doors. Local programme director Jean-Luc Siblot said in the statement that WFP should have been permitted to remove the food. This act has been carried out against basic humanitarian principles," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The US ambassador to Lebanon, Vincent Battle, was snubbed by dozens of mayors he invited to a dinner in an organised protest over Washington’s support for Israel. The boycott had been called by the Bekaa municipalities assembly to protest American bias towards Israel amid the 26-month Palestinian uprising, and to demand an end to Washington’s unconditional support for the Jewish state, the group said in a statement," reported the AFP news service.
"Prime Minister John Howard denied yesterday that his comments about possible pre-emptive action against terrorists overseas had damaged Australia’s relations with its Asian neighbours. However, two prominent experts in international relations both attacked him over comments. Glen Barclay, a senior academic at Canberra’s Australian National University said the consequences of all of this are likely to show up in a diminishing capacity of Australian businesses to operate in Asia. Elaine Thompson, a professor of political science and international relations at Sydney’s University of New South Wales, said Howard’s statement was very damaging to Australia’s interests in Asia," reported the AFP news service.
"Australia has put its aviation industry on high alert to prevent militant attacks after receiving information about a generic threat to the country over the next two months. An advisory from Australia's Aeronautical Information Service urged flying schools, airports, helicopter operators and crop dusters to be on the lookout for suspicious people wanting flying lessons, people buying chemicals or trying to charter aircraft," reported the AP news agency.
"President Kim Dae-jung expressed concern yesterday about growing anti-Americanism in South Korea and ordered his Cabinet to improve rules governing 37,000 US soldiers stationed in Seoul. Many South Koreans are angry after US courts martial in November acquitted two US soldiers charged with negligent homicide in a traffic accident that killed two Korean teenage girls in June. It was unclear what the president meant when he said the accord needs to be improved," reported the AP news agency.
