"Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon won cabinet approval yesterday for a US-backed road map that includes a historic call for a Palestinian state on land which he said must be divided in the name of peace," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The death toll from a devastating earthquake in northern Algeria rose to more than 2,000 yesterday, hours after furious crowds hurled debris and insults at the country's president when he visited the quake zone," reported the AP news agency.
"The United States has cut off contacts with Iran and is considering public and private actions to destabilise the Iranian government," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Nearly one million public sector employees and their sympathisers marched through the streets of this capital yesterday to protest against the government's proposal to reform France's pension system," reported the dpa news agency.
"Italians went to the polls yesterday to vote in local elections portrayed as the first major electoral test facing Premier Silvio Berlusconi since his rise to government in 2001," reported the dpa news agency.
"A philosophy student took her virginity off the auction block after an anonymous benefactor lent her the tuition money she lacked," reported the AFP news service.
"The princes William and Harry are to enlist as officer cadets at the army academy at Sandhurst, continuing a long tradition among British royals," reported the dpa news agency.
"The British queen's representative to Australia said yesterday he has offered to resign as its nominal head of state after being accused of rape and mishandling paedophile cases while he was Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane in the 1990s," reported the Reuters news agency.
"All Western embassies and consulates general in Saudi Arabia which closed on Wednesday for fear of fresh terrorist attacks have resumed normal business," reported the AFP news service.
"Morocco said on Saturday it had arrested three suspects in connection with last week's suicide attacks in Casablanca and published the names of four more wanted men," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The US-led reconstruction team headed by Paul Bremer struggled to manage Iraq's turbulent local politics even as its rebuilding efforts started to bear fruit with the payment of wages to state employees and the collection of garbage in Baghdad," reported the AFP news service.
"The once burgeoning cross-border trade between this Russian city and China's Heihe, facing each other over the narrow Amur River, has been dented by residents' fear of Chinese. The reason: SARS," reported the AP news agency.
"Two American soldiers were killed and four others wounded in two separate incidents in one of the deadliest days for U.S. troops in postwar Iraq," reported the AP news agency.
"Venezuela will reduce its oil production if the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decides to slash quotas at its meeting next month," reported the AP news agency.
"In a bid to contain Pakistan's budget deficit, the government said Monday it will ask Parliament to pass a law restricting heavy borrowing," reported the AP news agency.
"Japanese tiremaker Bridgestone Corp. said Monday it will build a US$16 million plant in China to produce car parts," reported the AP news agency.
"A key index of German business optimism rose in May, offering a small hopeful sign Monday amid widespread gloom about the direction of Europe's largest economy," reported the AP news agency.
"A plane carrying 62 Spanish peacekeepers returning from Afghanistan crashed in Turkey early yesterday and all aboard, including 13 crew, were killed," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A band of Iraqi army officers took to the streets of capital yesterday to protest their plight since the dissolution of the army by the US-led administration in Iraq, warning of further protests and even suicide bombings if their situation was not reconciled," reported the AFP news service.
"French President Jacques Chirac took another swipe at the recent US-led war on Iraq on Sunday, saying the operation's success did not make it legitimate. Despite French efforts to mend fences with Washington, Chirac remained unrepentant about his anti-war stance ahead of a June 1 to 3 summit that will see US President George W. Bush set foot on French soil for the first time since the Iraq conflict," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Saddam Hussein was betrayed by three of his cousins, senior military officers, and a former Cabinet minister, in moves that allowed the fall of Baghdad, ex-regime officials have said. According to these former officials Saddam's cousins ordered troops not to fight against the US-led coalition and issued reports saying the Iraqi leader was dead," reported the AFP news service.
"Nestor Kirchner was sworn in as Argentina's sixth president in 18 months on Sunday, aspiring to be the leader who closes the chapter on an economic collapse that plunged millions into poverty. To a packed Congress and a dozen Latin American leaders, the Peronist governor from Patagonia said he would restore faith in the government after the mismanagement, cronyism and corruption of the last decade. Two of the last three elected presidents in Argentina resigned," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The World Health Organisation (WHO) said yesterday it was placing Toronto back on a list of SARS-affected areas, but stopped short of advising travellers to avoid trips to Canada's largest city," reported the AP news agency.
"With Washington turning up the heat on Iran for alleged al-Qaeda operations in the Islamic republic, leading US lawmakers predicted on Sunday a positive development soon in the war there on terrorism. Iran's ambassador to the United Nations told ABC's This Week his country had arrested several members of the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden, but had not yet identified them," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Israel's qualified acceptance of a road map for peace with the Palestinians boosted the chances of US President George W. Bush holding a peace summit in the region, but on the ground the conflict went on yesterday. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas are also expected to meet during the week, but the public and commentators alike were sceptical at best about the chances of the road map," reported the AFP news service.
"Australian Aboriginal leader Lowitja O'Donoghue emerged yesterday as a sentimental favourite for the post of governor-general amid calls to appoint a woman capable of healing the nation's top job. The office of governor-general has been embroiled in controversy for months as incumbent Peter Hollingworth fought accusations he covered up priestly sex abuse while Anglican archbishop of Brisbane in the 1990s," reported the AFP news service.
"Foreign rescue teams left earthquake-torn Algeria yesterday but the nightmare went on for 15,000 homeless people facing the threat of disease and public fury mounted over the government's handling of the calamity. State radio said there were fears that disease could break out across ravaged towns of the North African country's Mediterranean coast due to a lack of clean water and sanitary facilities," reported the news Agencies.
"Gerhard Schroeder's beleaguered Social Democrats scored a badly needed win in a regional election on Sunday which the German chancellor hopes will rally support as a showdown looms over pro-business economic reforms. One week before a crucial fight with party rebels who are obstructing his plans to jump-start the slumping economy, Schroeder is banking on the surprisingly easy SPD win in the northern state of Bremen to galvanise the centre-left party," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Ana Botella, the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, successfully launched a political career of her own on Sunday, prompting comparisons to US Senator Hillary Clinton. After supporting her husband's long and successful career, Botella was elected to the Madrid City Council in Sunday's nationwide municipal elections," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Pilots in Singapore Airlines are digging in and refusing to accept cost-cutting measures to keep the airline viable, despite urgings from the top, including from Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong," reported the Asia News Network.
"The United States intends to maintain a tight grip in Baghdad to fill the vacuum of authority while helping Iraq to create its own version of democracy," reported the AP news agency.
"Asked to explain why allied forces have not found the weapons of mass destruction that were President George W. Bush's initial rationale for invading Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said it was known that Iraq had sizable chemical warfare programs and had used chemical weapons on the Iranians and its own people. He said evidence may yet turn up as the search moves farther afield," reported the AP news agency.
"The U.S. futures market could be getting more crowded as two more new entrants besides Eurex are looking to take a piece of the pie away from the top two long-standing players, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and the Chicago Board of Trade," reported the AP news agency.
"The five members of the Securities and Exchange Commission voted unanimously to adopt the requirements, ordered by Congress last summer in response to the accounting scandals that rattled public confidence in the stock market and the integrity of corporate America," reported the AP news agency.
"Gunmen killed two US soldiers and wounded nine yesterday in an Iraqi city where Saddam Hussein still commands loyalty. It was the bloodiest single attack on American forces since they toppled the Iraqi leader," reported the news Agencies.
"The UN's nuclear watchdog agency is to send an inspection team back to Iraq this week to investigate a site where nuclear material disappeared after looting," reported the AFP news service.
"Four British soldiers who were given multiple vaccinations before the Iraq war are now suffering symptoms similar to the Gulf War syndrome and may sue the defence ministry. The British government has never accepted the existence of Gulf War syndrome, which was reported by troops who fought in the 1991 war that forced Iraq out of Kuwait. This position is at odds with veterans' conviction that a range of physical and psychological ailments are connected to their service in the war," reported the AFP news service.
"Israel and the Palestinians yesterday delayed a meeting of their prime ministers on the US-backed road map to peace that had been planned for today," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon went into damage-control mode yesterday after stunning the country and his own party by using the term occupation to refer to Israel's presence in the Palestinian territories," reported the news Agencies.
"Officials have recovered three black boxes from a Ukrainian-operated plane which crashed in northeast Turkey, killing all 74 people on board," reported the news Agencies.
"Air traffic controllers halted the bulk of flights to and from France yesterday and state teachers abandoned classes to demand that the government change plans for pension reform and decentralisation of schooling," reported the Reuters news agency.
"An Iranian refugee in Britain has sewn up his eyes, ears and mouth in protest at his treatment by the British government. Abas Amini, a political poet and communist activist who fled Iran to Britain two years ago, took the action after the Home Office said it would appeal a decision to grant him asylum. Amini, 33, has gone on a hunger strike in Nottingham, in the English Midlands, and is refusing all medical attention," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The Most Rev Rowan Williams, who was enthroned as leader of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion in February, privately feels the church should alter its position on gays as it has done on slavery, marriage after divorce and money lending," reported the AP news agency.
"Australia's top crime agency yesterday revealed it was examining allegations that hundreds of young women were being lured from Asia with promises of work and then forced to work as sex slaves," reported the AFP news service.
"Eswari, 28, had jumped into the 15m-deep well in the southern Indian city of Salem on Saturday to escape the excruciating pain. The mother and the baby boy were pulled out safely by residents," reported the AFP news service.
"The two earthquakes struck within days of each other, unleashing roughly the same devastating power. The killer quake in Algeria left thousands dead. Its counterpart in Japan left hardly a scratch," reported the AP news agency.
"The death toll rose to six yesterday from a tropical storm battering the northern Philippines, officials said. Many roads and communities were flooded from heavy rains that spawned landslides," reported the AP news agency.
"Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee promised more steps yesterday to improve ties with Pakistan, saying this should eventually create a climate for peace talks. His comments followed India's announcement on Monday that it was resuming bus services with Pakistan in the latest of a series of reciprocal confidence-building measures to create a climate for peace talks," reported the Reuters news agency.
"An al-Qaida attack against U.S. interests at home or abroad using chemical, biological or radiological weapons remains a possibility, the FBI warned Wednesday. Although the FBI possesses no specific information about an imminent threat, such an attack cannot be ruled out," reported the AP news agency.
"More Asian-Americans are divorcing, census figures indicate, suggesting this segment of the population may gradually be shedding cultural taboos against the practice. The changes show that more Asians may be considering American norms on divorce and marriage," reported the AP news agency.
"A fresh tremor struck Algeria yesterday morning, only 14 hours after a major aftershock from last week's devastating earthquake was believed to have buried several people alive and injured 187," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Veteran comedian Bob Hope will celebrate his centenary with a string of honours, including a Hollywood flyover of World War II planes and the title of citizen of the century," reported the AFP news service.
"Washington's war on terror has made the world more dangerous by curbing human rights, undermining international law and shielding governments from scrutiny," reported the Reuters news agency.
"In one of its most critical sideswipes yet at the policies pursued by the government in Washington, Amnesty said the bid to stamp out terror in the wake of the attacks of Sept 11, 2001, had largely backfired," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Amnesty said the world was not doing enough to solve post-conflict problems in Iraq and Afghanistan, both invaded and bombed by US-led forces in the war on terror," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Saudi Arabia said yesterday it had arrested five suspects in the deadly suicide bombings here as the United States warned that more terror attacks in the kingdom may be imminent," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Liza Minnelli, who fractured her right kneecap in a fall in Italy, sang from her hospital live on Italian television for a benefit concert for Iraqi refugees on Tuesday night," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Australian Governor-General Peter Hollingworth yesterday publicly apologised for the first time over the botched handling of a child sex abuse case that forced his resignation this week. The 10-minute address was Hollingworth's first public appearance since he resigned on Sunday after a long-running scandal over his failure to crack down on paedophile priests when he was Anglican archbishop of Brisbane in the 1990s," reported the AFP news service.
"The Palestinian prime minister urged Israelis to drop their reservations to a US-led road map yesterday, days before his planned summit with the leaders of Israel and the United States," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Morocco said yesterday it had captured the alleged mastermind of suicide bombers who killed dozens of people in Casablanca this month but said he had died from chronic heart and liver disease," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Video games, say detractors, are prone to turn young adults into socially dysfunctional geeks or angry misfits. But a pair of brain scientists have leapt to the defence of Lara Croft, Spider-Man, the Matrix and Zombie Revenge, saying they have found some video games give a remarkable boost to visual skills. Why, though, is unclear," reported the AFP news service.
"Australian Prime Minister John Howard came under fire yesterday after revelations he and four aides chalked up a A$42,000 hotel bill in Rome last year. Howard was also chided after a parliamentary hearing into government expenditures found he had bought more than A$120,000 worth of fine wines for his official Sydney residence over the past four years," reported the AFP news service.
"An obscure Australian state politician seized national attention yesterday after accusing a rival in Parliament of sexually assaulting and robbing a 15-year-old boy," reported the AFP news service.
"A Muslim woman suing to keep her veil on for her driver's licence photo took the stand on Tuesday, saying Florida's insistence on photo-graphing her face violates her religious rights," reported the AP news agency.
"An Australian municipal council put pork back on the menu at council functions yesterday after being ridiculed for political correctness in the extreme. But Hume Mayor Burhan Yigit said a public outcry caused a rethink," reported the dpa news agency.
"Cambodia said yesterday it had smashed a radical Islamic network and charged three men with membership of Jemaah Islamiah (JI), the group blamed for the Bali bombing and accused of links to al-Qaeda," reported the AFP news service.
"Japan's unemployment rate stood unchanged at 5.4 percent in April as the nation continued to mark joblessness at above 5 percent for nearly two years," reported the AP news agency.
"Iraq's national carrier, hard-hit by two wars and 13 years of U.N. sanctions, is preparing to resume services after a three-month hiatus caused by the latest conflict," reported the AP news agency.
"A new earthquake struck the Algerian capital and towns to the east early yesterday morning causing injuries to people and damage to buildings," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Deadly violence continued to plague the West Bank and Gaza Strip yesterday as Palestinian prime minister Mahmud Abbas prepared to meet his Israeli counterpart, Ariel Sharon, to discuss a peace plan ahead of a three-way summit next week with US President George W. Bush. Israeli troops shot dead a militant from the hardline Hamas group during a raid into Khan Yunis in Gaza," reported the AFP news service.
"Six bombs and two unexploded mortar shells from the Second World War have been found under a stage where Pope John Paul II is due to celebrate mass during his visit to Bosnia next month," reported the AFP news service.
"A man stabbed two flight attendants with sharpened wooden stakes when he tried to break into the locked cockpit of a domestic Australian jetliner yesterday, apparently wanting to hijack and crash it," reported the AP news agency.
"An Iranian refugee who sewed up his eyes, ears and mouth to protest against possible deportation has won the right to stay in Britain – but plans to continue his action to highlight the plight of others," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The marriage of Oscar-winning movie stars Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton, once sealed with tattoos and vials of blood, is officially over. The union that collapsed in a glare of publicity last July was formally dissolved in a Los Angeles court on Tuesday, but most details of the divorce will remain confidential," reported the AFP news service.
"Obesity has spiralled into a worldwide epidemic affecting 250 million adults but a leading nutritional expert,Fogelholm, who is also the director of the independent UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research in Finland, believes the worst is still to come," reported the Reuters news agency.
