"Prime Minister John Howard said yesterday that the government is doing everything possible to minimise the risk of a terrorist attack in Australia, but could not guarantee against it. Howard told a political meeting on the island state of Tasmania that Australia had worked hard to strengthen co-operation between federal agencies and their counterparts in Southeast Asia," reported the AP news agency.
"British troops in riot gear were deployed here yesterday to quell spreading disturbances sparked by shortages of petrol and power in Iraq's second city," reported the Reuters news agency.
"At least four American soldiers were wounded in guerrilla attacks yesterday, and the US-led coalition said it thwarted a diesel-fuel smuggling operation, boarding a ship off the port of Umm Qasr, forcing it to return to shore," reported the AP news agency.
"Israel has stepped up its pressure on Syria and Lebanon to help prevent new rocket attacks on its northern border while it works through a fragile ceasefire with Palestinian militants," reported the AFP news service.
"President George W. Bush's popularity rating dropped to 53% this month from 58% in July, bringing it close to his level before the Sept 11 attacks," reported the AFP news service.
"The Bush administration's anti-terror legal strategies, including dubbing US citizens enemy combatants and holding them indefinitely without charges, came under attack on Friday at a meeting of the nation's largest legal group. James Brosnahan, a prominent criminal defence lawyer, said at the American Bar Association's annual meeting the (US Supreme Court) Justices will have to stand up straight and tell us what kind of country we have," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Former interior minister Mahmud Dhiyab al-Ahmad, one of 55 former Iraqi officials on the US most wanted list, has surrendered to coalition forces," reported the AFP news service.
"A former New Hampshire police officer was arrested on Friday in connection with a bank heist in which the getaway vehicle turned out to be none other than one of the town's squad cars," reported the Reuters news agency.
"From movie hero, to porn king, to fallen child star, the odd procession of characters lining up for the governorship of California is a monument to the free-wheeling state's wacky reputation. In the state known for nurturing alternative lifestyles and for pioneering everything from roller-skates to freeways and movie celebrity, almost anyone can run for office. And they do," reported the AFP news service.
"The United States designated on Friday feared Chechen rebel warlord Shamil Basayev a threat to US national security and imposed financial sanctions on him, including a freeze on his assets," reported the AFP news service.
"The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has offered US$55mil to hundreds of people who said they were sexually abused by priests, lawyers said, in an effort to end a scandal that has tarnished the church's image. An attorney for the plaintiffs called the move significant and said the offer was under consideration by a committee representing those who filed more than 542 claims of sexual abuse by priests. But he said it could take months before a final settlement was reached," reported the Reuters news agency.
"In Ohio, a woman who nursed her infant while driving at more than 100kph on a highway was found innocent on Friday of child endangerment but convicted of three other charges," reported the AP news agency.
"Homeless shelters receive endless requests for help, while sleeping bags spread across pavements here, as the city grapples with a record number of homeless people hit by rising unemployment and soaring property values. But this summer, the problem has become increasingly visible in Manhattan, with people sleeping in parks, on porches, in storefronts, or in underground railway stations. Most of the people seeking help are families, who account for 80% of the city's homeless population. There are more working people who are homeless. Many people never thought it could happen to them," reported the AFP news service.
"An Air France pilot was arraigned on felony charges after allegedly telling a security screener he had a bomb in his shoe. No explosives were found on the pilot or the plane, but the New York-to-Paris flight he was scheduled for as a co-pilot was canceled," reported the AP news agency.
"The Australian military said Monday it wants to renew ties with Indonesian special forces that were severed in 1999 over alleged human rights abuses in East Timor. Chief of the Defense force General Peter Cosgrove said Australia needed to cooperate with the elite Kopassus troops because they were responsible for counterterrorism and hostage rescue in Indonesia," reported the AP news agency.
"While Santiago is known as one of Latin America's most uptight cities - where abortion is illegal in all cases and divorce is still a sticky issue - a relaxation of its strict morals has cropped up in coffee houses that are tantalizingly similar to strip bars. Behind smoky windows and under dim lights, young women in bikinis serve shots of espresso, mostly to men, mostly their seniors," reported the AP news agency.
"Liberia's embattled president, former warlord Charles Taylor, would have said farewell yesterday to his war-weary people one day before handing over power to his vice-president. Taylor would have given a valedictory radio address at some point yesterday, announcing his departure six years after the former rebel was sworn in as elected leader of his already war-wracked nation," reported the AFP news service.
"Liberia's leader-in-waiting said yesterday he was 100% sure he could bring peace to the West African country after President Charles Taylor bows out under US pressure to end 14 years of strife. Vice-President Moses Blah said that as soon as Taylor leaves office today, he would invite to his home the leaders of rebels whose attacks here have left at least 2,000 dead since June and stranded hundreds of thousands without food," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Europe braced itself yesterday for more record-breaking temperatures as a heat wave suffocating large parts of the continent dragged into its second week, with forecasters warning there was no reprieve in sight. The punishing heat has left 19 people dead in Spain and at least one in France – a three-year-old girl who died of dehydration in her family's car, parked in the garden of their home near the Channel port of Boulogne-sur-Mer," reported the AFP news service.
"Britain sweltered yesterday as temperatures hit a record 37.7°C, leaving bookmakers facing a hefty payout. Registered at London's Heathrow airport, it beat the previous record of 37.1°C set in Cheltenham in central England in 1990 and forecasters said the mercury could creep even higher," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Terminator actor Arnold Schwarzenegger formally entered the race for California governor on Saturday and a poll showed the Republican former Mr Universe well in front of a diverse pack of candidates," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Arnold Schwarzenegger, a self-described Austrian farm boy who found wealth and fame in America, has at least tens of millions of dollars in stocks, bonds and other investments, according to a financial disclosure statement filed on Saturday. The statement, a requirement for entering the race for California governor, gave a broad picture of the investments of one of Hollywood's highest paid entertainers. In his campaign appearances so far, Schwarzenegger has insisted he is so rich that he cannot be bought and will not be beholden to special interest groups," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The author of a book on rebuilding Iraq was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport for allegedly smuggling stolen 4,000-year-old Mesopotamian artefacts out of Baghdad. Joseph Braude, author of The New Iraq, was released on a US$100,000 bond after a preliminary appearance on Saturday before US Magistrate Roanne L. Mann at a New York courthouse," reported the AP news agency.
"A group of elderly Kurdish women, jailed for aiding armed Kurdish rebels, were granted an early release from a prison in eastern Turkey yesterday under an amnesty bill," reported the AFP news service.
"Fifty years ago they were seeking ways to escape, but on Saturday some former inmates of Alcatraz, older and possibly wiser, travelled back for a reunion on the legendary island prison," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Russian cosmonaut Yury Malenchenko was set to marry his US sweetheart Yekaterina Dmitriyeva in what frowning Russian officials are promising will be the first and last wedding in space. The ceremony was to be an other-worldly affair with the 41-year-old groom orbiting the Earth at a height of some 400km and his bride, 26, firmly earthbound in an auditorium in her home city of Houston, Texas," reported the AFP news service.
"Millions of tourists flocking to the historic Italian cities of Florence and Venice are being warned not to sit down when faced with the splendour of the Renaissance – or be slapped with a 50 euro fine," reported the AFP news service.
"In California, a university professor's 10-month-old son died after being locked in a car on campus for more than three hours while temperatures were in the 90s," reported the AP news agency.
"Prime Minister John Howard warned yesterday that Australia's national airline Qantas is a potential target for terrorists with heat-seeking ground-to-air missiles. Howard told Australia's Channel 9 TV that all Western embassies in Jakarta and places where Westerners gather in Indonesia were also possible terrorist targets," reported the AP news agency.
"Hundreds of Islamic militants who fled Iraq during the war have returned and are planning major terrorist attacks, Paul Bremer, the US overseer for Iraq told The New York Times in an interview published yesterday," reported the news Agencies.
"British troops fired warning shots in Basra yesterday as hundreds of locals rioted for a second day, attacking vehicles and burning tyres in protest at power and fuel shortages. British armoured vehicles patrolled the streets, with troops in body armour, as crowds barricaded roads with burning tyres and hurled chunks of concrete at passing cars," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Overwhelmed by the unrelenting August heat, electricity cuts, growing gasoline lines and higher fuel prices, a few hundred Basra residents protested for a second day, bombarding British soldiers yesterday with rocks and chunks of concrete and setting tires afire to block roads into town. One demonstrator and a civilian security guard working for the US-led coalition were shot dead. British troops patrolling what had been one of the quietest cities in the country were forced to give away their own fuel to calm the demonstrators," reported the AP news agency.
"U.S. troops mistakenly killed two Pakistani soldiers and wounded another near the northern Afghan-Pakistan border Monday while chasing assailants who had attacked coalition troops in Afghanistan," reported the AP news agency.
"An appeals court sentenced the youngest son of former President Kim Dae-jung to a 1 1/2-year suspended prison term Tuesday for receiving bribes from businessmen," reported the AP news agency.
"Liberia's President Charles Taylor resigned yesterday under pressure from the United States, which hopes his departure will speed an end to violence that has gripped his country and West Africa for nearly 14 years. Taylor, accused of stoking conflict in neighbouring countries as well as at home, later left the broken shell of a nation founded by freed American slaves in the 19th century," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Israeli jets buzzed Beirut yesterday after an air raid on southern Lebanon in retaliation for the Hizbollah militia killing an Israeli in cross-border fire, but a senior official in Jerusalem said diplomacy was the best way to defuse the conflict. Lebanon seemed equally intent on pursuing a diplomatic battle, with its foreign minister meeting ambassadors of the five UN Security Council permanent members and the representative of UN chief Kofi Annan over Israeli aggressions," reported the AFP news service.
"About 50 people have died of heat-related illnesses in the Paris region in the last four days. Patrick Pelloux, in an interview with TF1 television, criticised France's surgeon-general for characterising the deaths as natural," reported the AP news agency.
"Flash storms hit parts of northern Europe yesterday but offered little relief from the punishing heat wave that has blanketed the continent for more than a week with no signs of letting up. The rain showers also did little to help firefighters battling persistent wildfires across southern Europe, with a new rash of blazes raging in Portugal and Spain, forcing hundreds of residents to flee their homes," reported the AFP news service.
"Police arrested about 10 suspected Islamic militants after a shootout here, security sources said yesterday. The sources said police had found hand grenades with the men after Sunday's clash, in which no one was injured. The source said the men were fugitives but it was not clear if they were linked to the suicide bombings in Riyadh in May or to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda group," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US soldiers in Baghdad on Saturday shot dead an Iraqi policeman they mistook for an attacker, killed another as he tried to surrender to them and beat a third," reported the AFP news service.
"A judicial inquiry into the death of government weapons adviser David Kelly began taking testimony yesterday, with the first witnesses testifying about his character and expertise. Terence Taylor of the International Institute of Strategic Studies in Washington and Richard Hatfield, personnel director at Britain's Defence Ministry, were scheduled to be the first to give evidence at this capital's High Court," reported the AP news agency.
"Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is visiting Algeria, reiterated on Tuesday his call for an end to terrorism, insisting the US occupation of Iraq and Middle East tensions are among its causes. Mahathir also said the United Nations needs to take a greater role in Iraq," reported the AP news agency.
"Rapping up a three-day visit to this north African country, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad told reporters the Iraqi people have shown they oppose the occupation of their country. Mahathir insists Washington's approach to fighting terrorism has failed to reduce terrorism, and repeatedly called on the United States to use its influence to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian issue," reported the AP news agency.
"The wandering of the planets brings Mars closer to Earth this month than at any time in nearly 60,000 years. It will be a last-chance proposition for all alive today: Mars won't be as close again until Aug. 28, 2287. Just 34.6 million miles (55.6 million kilometers) of space will separate the two planets on Aug. 27. Planetariums around the world plan Mars-gazing parties beginning the evening of Aug. 26, and the Hubble Space Telescope is expected to take a close-approach portrait of Mars," reported the AP news agency.
"Fidel Castro, the world's longest ruling head of government, turns 77 Wednesday after a year that saw his communist nation grow more isolated as he lashed out at his European allies and jailed some of his most vocal critics. But despite recent rumors that he was in poor health, the bearded revolutionary has shown in recent weeks he still has the energy to give his traditional hours-long speeches and keep up a work schedule that would exhaust a much younger man. He also remains as defiant and independent as ever," reported the AP news agency.
"A pair of suicide bombings at a shopping centre near Tel Aviv and a West Bank settlement yesterday killed two Israelis and wounded a dozen others in the biggest Palestinian attacks since Islamic militants declared a truce six weeks ago. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts that went off about 40 minutes apart yesterday morning at the Neve Afek shopping centre in Rosh Ha-Ayin and the settlement of Ariel," reported the AFP news service.
"Liberia yesterday began its first full day without Charles Taylor as president, as efforts were set to intensify to get a lasting ceasefire and begin distribution of urgently needed humanitarian aid," reported the AFP news service.
"New fighting raged in Liberia yesterday, a day after former President Charles Taylor flew into exile amid hopes his departure would help bring peace to the war-shattered West African country," reported the Rueters news agency.
"Britain's heat wave, which has claimed dozens of sunburn and heat exhaustion victims, has now produced its first case of frostbite," reported the Rueters news agency.
"A man was shot and killed by sheriff's deputies early on Monday after he evaded a checkpoint set up for US President Goerge W. Bush's visit to a fire-ravaged area in southern Arizona," reported the Rueters news agency.
"In Strasbourg, the parents, grandmother and uncle of a nine-year-old French boy were yesterday placed in detention after allegedly torturing the child to death over a period of several days. A statement issued by the Strasbourg public prosecutor spoke of at least three days of horrific treatment, during which the child was allegedly tied up and repeatedly beaten by several family members," reported the AFP news service.
"The Anti-Defamation League said on Monday that an upcoming religious film from actor and director Mel Gibson would lead to hatred of Jews if it is released in its current form. The film, called The Passion, is Gibson's depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The film has been screened for several groups ahead of its release, and has touched off a firestorm of controversy among organisations and people concerned about anti-Semitism," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A pilot personally fixed a faulty plane stranded on Spain's Balearic island of Menorca before getting weary British tourists to vote on whether they wished to be flown home aboard the repaired jet. The incident occurred last Friday after a Boeing 757 run by British tour operator MyTravel was found to have a faulty onboard computer that insisted the aircraft was airborne when it was in fact parked on the tarmac," reported the AFP news service.
"A boy whose armless torso, horrific burns and haunted eyes symbolised civilian suffering in the Iraq war smiled for the cameras on Monday and carers said he bore no grudges against US forces for his injuries," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Top British arms expert David Kelly believed Iraq posed only a minimal military threat and accused the government of overplaying the risk to justify war, a BBC reporter told an inquiry into his suicide yesterday," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The reporter who claimed Prime Minister Tony Blair's government talked up the threat posed by Iraq's weaponry to justify war took the witness box yesterday at an inquiry into the suicide of a British scientist," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Huge explosions rocked a US military base west of Baghdad, several hours after US troops raided two sleepy villages where they suspected pro-Saddam Hussein guerillas were hiding. US officials also on Monday announced the death of a US soldier, killed when assailants hurled a grenade at a police station he was protecting late Sunday in the town of Baquba, 66km northeast of Baghdad. Two other soldiers were wounded in the attack," reported the AFP news service.
"US citizens who travelled to Iraq as human shields against the US-led war have each been told to pay fines of US$10,000 for violating US sanctions. Several of the other 20 US nationals who were among the 300 human shields in Iraq were also told to pay the same amount or face more severe punishment," reported the AFP news service.
"In Acapulco, Mexico, a Mexican tourist hanged herself at this Pacific Coast resort after her boyfriend and a friend drowned while rescuing her," reported the AP news agency.
"Disparities brought about by globalisation will cause a new world war, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad, when delivering his keynote address at the opening of the Smart Partnership Global 2003 International Dialogue in Mbabane, Swaziland, yesterday . Such a war, however, would not be one concerning the alliances of nations. It will be between classes, the rich ethnic minority states against the poor ethnic majority states. The rich will not only become richer but they will be separated from the poor because of ethnicity and nationality. Sooner or later the poor will hit back. The rich will not be able to enjoy their wealth forever," reported the Malaysian Star newspaper.
"Two cargo ships transporting cars collided near the Belgian port of Antwerp yesterday, blocking all shipping to and from Europe's second largest port," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A British man who authorities say thought he was selling a shoulder-fired missile to a terrorist bent on shooting down an airliner was arraigned on federal charges yesterday," reported the AP news agency.
"The United States will pay US$3mil towards a system of radiation detectors at Europe's largest seaport to help prevent nuclear materials from being smuggled across the Atlantic," reported the AP news agency.
"Britain said yesterday it had credible evidence of a security threat to its aviation interests in Saudi Arabia and British Airways suspended all flights to the kingdom. The announcement followed two clashes in three days in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, between police and Islamic militants that began with a shootout on Sunday and continued with a full-blown gunbattle on Tuesday," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Veterans of the K-19, the Soviet Union's first atomic submarine that was the subject of a recent disaster Hollywood movie, have written to Russian President Vladimir Putin asking him to convert the sub into a museum. Work has begun on dismantling the historic submarine which had a chequered Cold War career, experiencing a near-terminal nuclear meltdown, an on-board fire and a collision with a US sub that caused a total of 36 fatalities," reported the AFP news service.
"A feared Solomon Islands warlord whose reign of violence helped prompt international military intervention surrendered yesterday in what is likely to be a key step in restoring peace to the troubled Pacific nation. Harold Keke, a militant leader in the remote Weathercoast district of Guadalcanal island, handed himself over to the Australian-led intervention force and might now face a murder inquiry," reported the AFP news service.
"Another catastrophic attack like the Sept 11 strikes on the United States is only a matter of time and Australia is a likely target, Australia's top spy said in comments backed by Prime Minister John Howard yesterday. Dennis Richardson, director general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, said Australia's close alliance with the US had contributed to it being a possible target," reported the AFP news service.
"A group of about 600 US military families, upset about the living conditions of soldiers in Iraq, are launching a campaign asking their relatives to urge members of Congress and President George W. Bush to bring the troops home. A spokesman for US Central Command said as of Monday, 167 US soldiers had died and 1,006 soldiers were injured as a result of hostile action in Iraq," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Guerillas killed two American soldiers north of Baghdad, and US forces said yesterday they were holding two key members of Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard and a paymaster for his feared Fedayeen militia," reported the AP news agency.
"The Israeli army yesterday razed the family home of a Palestinian suicide bomber who jarred a six-week-old ceasefire but avoided major military responses, mindful of calls for restraint to preserve a shaky peace plan. Two suicide bombers from Nablus killed two Israelis in back-to-back attacks on Tuesday in what their militant factions said were acts of revenge for an army raid in Nablus that killed two wanted Hamas men in the West Bank city," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Racist fliers were scattered on lawns and windshields in the town where basketball star Kobe Bryant is set to go on trial on sexual assault charges. A white supremacist group later on Tuesday acknowledged leaving the fliers – headlined Don't have sex with blacks – and said they were in response to the Bryant case," reported the AP news agency.
"While their wives drove Rolls-Royces and moved among Tampa's elite, Douglas S. Cone and Donald Carlson always seemed busy with business. But those business trips masked a shocking secret – Douglas S. Cone was Donald Carlson. Cone lived a secret double life for nearly 30 years, raising two affluent families in lavish homes 32km apart – one with his wife of 52 years and the other with a former employee," reported the AP news agency.
"North Korea, laying out tough terms ahead of six-way talks, warned the United States yesterday against treating it like Iraq and using intrusive inspections to force the communist state to abandon its nuclear programme. In a show of rigidity that analysts said represented North Korea's customary way of leveraging a weak hand, North Korea's Foreign Ministry revived Pyongyang's long-standing demand for a non-aggression treaty and diplomatic relations with Washington," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The United States navy’s biggest spy ship, USNS Observation Island, slipped quietly out of Singapore last weekend after some minor repairs and refitting at a local dry dock. The ship, which is essentially a floating radar station, has been active in the region in recent years, watching intently as North Korea and China carried out ballistic missile tests," reported the Asia News Network.
"The biggest power blackout in American history hit steamy U.S. and Canadian cities Thursday, stranding people in subways, closing nuclear power plants in Ohio and New York state and choking streets with workers driven from stifling offices," reported the AP news agency.
"Canadian officials said Thursday that a massive power outage across the Northeast and parts of Canada was caused by a lightning strike at the Niagara power plant," reported the AP news agency.
"Upbeat economic news, including a nominal increase in wholesale prices, reassured investors Thursday that business is improving, prompting them to send stocks moderately higher. The market closed shortly before a huge power outage blacked out a wide swath of the Northeast, affecting cities from New York to Cleveland, Detroit and Toronto," reported the AP news agency.
"Over Arab objections, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution welcoming the Iraqi Governing Council, a move the United States hopes will lead to international engagement with the U.S.-appointed body. The U.S.-sponsored resolution approved Thursday also authorizes a new U.N. mission to oversee the world body's efforts to help rebuild Iraq and establish a democratic government," reported the AP news agency.
"The vote was 14-0, with Syria saying it abstained to reflect the Arab League's position against any endorsement of the 25-member Iraqi council. Syria's U.N. Ambassador Mikhail Wehbe said Syria and all Arab states believe in the necessity of ending the occupation of Iraq and in the formation of a national and a legitimate Iraqi government as expeditiously as possible...Only the people of Iraq can give legitimacy to the Governing Council," reported the AP news agency.
"Nearly five months after the deeply divided Security Council refused to authorize the U.S.-led war on Iraq, the occupation of the country by the United States and Britain remains a sensitive issue, especially for Arab nations," reported the AP news agency.
"The Navy announced contracts Thursday for construction of as many as seven nuclear-powered submarines that would cost almost $11 billion if all are built. The basic contract calls for divisions of defence contractors Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics to begin building six Virginia-class submarines between this year and 2007. Congress could decide to cut that number to five, leave it at six or increase it to seven," reported the AP news agency.
"Israeli troops killed a top Islamic Jihad fugitive in a raid of his hideout yesterday, prompting threats of revenge by the militant group and placing further strain on an already shaky ceasefire. The bloodied body of the wanted man, Mohammed Sidr, was pulled from the rubble of a small warehouse by a rope after daybreak, following a standoff of several hours during which he occasionally traded fire with troops," reported the AP news agency.
"US military helicopters landed scores of American troops at Liberia's main airport yesterday, significantly stepping up armed support for a West African-led peace force as rebels pledged to lift two months' siege of the starving capital," reported the AP news agency.
"Liberian rebels officially handed the capital's port over to a Nigerian-led peacekeeping force yesterday at a brief ceremony attended by the US ambassador and the leading rebel in the city," reported the Reuters news agency.
"France's health ministry said yesterday that up to 3,000 people may have died across the country from a two-week heat wave that scorched much of Europe, confirming the toll put forward by doctors who had accused the government of underestimating the scale of the disaster," reported the AFP news service.
"Washington is no longer seeking a major UN role in the occupation of Iraq, and will instead try to enlist individual countries to help the US-led occupation forces. Another sign the US is moving away from the United Nations is a UN Security Council resolution expected to pass yesterday in which, at US insistence, the concept that council members endorse the Governing Council of Iraq has been changed to say it welcomes the new administration," reported the AFP news service.
"Cuban President Fidel Castro celebrated his 77th birthday on Wednesday with a cherished present: defeat of his archenemy the United States at the hands of Cuba's baseball team. The Cubans beat the United States 3-1 on Tuesday night in the Dominican Republic to win the Pan American Games baseball gold medal for the ninth time in a row," reported the Reuters news agency.
"An Australian judge made an impassioned plea to the government yesterday to release an Iranian family he said were in a serious state of mental ill health after two years in immigration detention centres. In a separate blow to the government's tough immigration policies, the nation's High Court issued a ruling effectively declaring the indefinite detention of unwanted asylum candidates illegal," reported the AFP news service.
"The international sting operation that led to the arrest of a suspected arms smuggler should serve as a warning that US intelligence is aggressively pursuing terrorist cells and black market weapons dealers," reported the AP news agency.
"Lawyers for Libya and the families of 270 victims of the 1988 Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, signed an agreement to set up a US$2.7bil compensation fund, a key step to lifting UN sanctions against Libya," reported the AP news agency.
"Tensions simmered yesterday in Baghdad after a deadly confrontation between Shiite Muslims and US troops, as the United Nations was set to acknowledge Iraq's interim government and a message attributed to Saddam Hussein called for a holy war. It was the first armed clash between US forces and Shiites in Baghdad since the war to oust Saddam," reported the AFP news service.
"The US military issued a public apology to the people of a Shi'ite Muslim neighbourhood here yesterday for an incident in which a man was killed and four others wounded after an American Black Hawk helicopter blew down an Islamic banner with its rotor wash," reported the AP news agency.
"In the southern city of Basra, a roadside bomb killed one British soldier and wounded three others, British military spokesman Capt Hisham Halawi said. The killing was the first British combat death in nearly two months," reported the AP news agency.
"Australia, which has told its nationals to stay away from targets in Indonesia like hotels and shopping centres, said yesterday terror attacks could be launched on Sunday, Indonesia's national day. New Zealand's ambassador to Indonesia has also written to New Zealand citizens registered with their Jakarta Embassy warning of reports that terrorist groups are planning attacks," reported the Reuters news agency.
"In a major boost for the road mappeace plan, Israel has agreed to hand over an additional four West Bank cities to Palestinian control, Palestinian and Israeli officials said yesterday. Israel also announced that it will permit Yasser Arafat to travel to the Gaza Strip to visit the grave of his sister Yousra, who died earlier this week and was buried in Gaza City," reported the AP news agency.
"France was yesterday resisting a US-backed plan to lift UN sanctions on Libya in exchange for financial compensation for victims of the 1988 Lockerbie aircraft bombing, saying that victims of a later attack should also get a similar payout," reported the AFP news service.
"British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon were sharply criticised by London's press yesterday after they were accused of playing key roles in the grilling of arms expert David Kelly prior to his presumed suicide," reported the AFP news service.
"Tens of thousands of famished Liberians swept across a Monrovia bridge in search of food and family yesterday as rebel fighters released their month-long grip so the city could be reunited," reported the Reuters news agency.
"In Redwood City, California, a two-and-half-year-old girl wandered into a bank vault and became trapped for more than five hours when employees closed the vault door, but was freed despite the door's time-locked system that prohibits it from being opened until morning," reported the AP news agency.
"A row over widespread deaths during France's heat wave turned nasty yesterday, with one deputy blaming families for abandoning their old folk and a government spokesman saying that a Socialist labour law was at fault for leaving hospitals understaffed," reported the AFP news service.
"The biggest power outage in North American history blacked out New York and other major US and Canadian cities yesterday, leaving millions of people in the dark and forcing thousands of stranded commuters to sleep in the streets of Manhattan. As the lights went out on Broadway, officials ruled out sabotage, but could not agree on the cause of the blackout," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A devastating power blackout which paralysed a swathe of the north-eastern United States and Canada has thrown a harsh spotlight on a US power system weakened by years of neglect, experts said. As officials searched for clues as to what caused the most widespread blackout in US history that shut down transport networks and forced people to walk out of buildings in cities from New York to Toronto, scholars said it pointed to a systemic failure and highlighted a decaying energy grid," reported the AFP news service.
"The massive power blackout retreated stubbornly yesterday, as power officials struggled to understand what caused the biggest outage in US history that spread through the northeastern United States and southern Canada. Lights flicked on and air conditioners restarted for some, but millions of others baked in stuffy rooms," reported the AP news agency.
"Iraqis who have suffered for months with little electricity gloated yesterday over a blackout in the north-eastern United States and southern Canada and offered some tips to help beat the heat. And the No. 1 suggestion among Iraqis for Americans suffering without power: TAKE TO THE STREETS. Some said demonstrations can be effective in persuading authorities to turn on the switch. “We held protests. After that we had fewer blackouts," reported the AP news agency.
"An Iranian family of five detained for more than two years as failed asylum seekers were granted temporary protection visas and released from detention yesterday after a court appealed to the government to show them compassion," reported the AFP news service.
"Less than 48 hours after Americans boasted they had caught a Briton trying to sell missiles to terrorists, their “incredible triumph” descended into recriminations, including the claim that the BBC ruined a larger operation by breaking news of the arrest. The BBC was accused on Thursday of wrecking an 18-month operation that ended up netting only Hemant Lakhani, a 68-year-old London businessman with no known terrorist links," reported the Daily Telegraph.
"Gamblers around the world on putting heavy odds on brawny film star Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming the next governor of California, betting sheets showed on Thursday. On-line showings from as far a field as the Caribbean island of Antigua, Britain and Ireland indicated that, despite charges that he lacks the political muscle to do the job, the action star is by far the favourite candidate to win, should incumbent Governor Grey Davis be recalled in the October vote," reported the AFP news service.
"Some patients using a popular asthma medication called salmeterol may actually face a small increased risk of severe, and occasionally fatal, asthma attacks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned on Thursday. The side effects are rare, and the FDA said the drug's benefits still appear to outweigh the potential risks when patients follow medication instructions," reported the AP news agency.
