"A defiant Palestinian President Yasser Arafat condemned yesterday an Israeli threat to exile him as a bid to eradicate Palestinian independence, and appealed for international intervention. Israeli leaders said they are standing by the decision to remove Yasser Arafat despite international condemnation, saying he is an obstacle to peace and should have been cast aside years ago," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Iran has angrily hit back at the United Nation's nuclear watchdog for imposing an Oct 31 deadline on the Islamic republic to prove it is not secretly developing atomic weapons, dismissing the resolution as politica. Amid warnings that future co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) could be in doubt, Teheran's ambassador to the body, Ali Akbar Salehi, told the official news agency Irna that Iran cannot take part in a political process. Salehi walked out of Friday's IAEA meeting in Vienna, after Iran was given until Oct 31 to prove it is not running a covert nuclear weapons programme," reported the AFP news service.
"Army bomb experts blew up a suspicious vehicle found abandoned near Gatwick Airport early yesterday, after evacuating part of a terminal and halting road and rail traffic in the area, officials said. The bomb disposal squad later examined what was left of the damaged car and lifted the security alert when no suspicious substances were found," reported the AP news agency.
"Images published for the first time on Friday seem to suggest that unborn babies can smile, blink and cry weeks before they leave the womb. The pictures of foetuses about 26 weeks after conception were captured by state-of-the-art scanning equipment now used at some clinics and teaching hospitals. The machine develops ultrasound which is transformed and shaded to produce detailed surface features from the foetus which move in real time," reported the Guardian.
"The R&B singer, R. Kelly, was indicted last year on child pornography charges after a videotape purportedly showed him having sex with an underage girl. Kelly, who's free on bond, has denied the charges. He now compares himself to Osama bin Laden, saying people can say whatever they want about you without knowing the facts, they can criticise you without even knowing you, and hate you when they don't even know you. All of a sudden, you're, like, the Osama of America. Osama is the only one who knows exactly what I'm going through," reported the AP news agency.
"Two Canadian Islamic leaders were denied entry into the United States after a federal agent told them they picked the wrong day – Sept 11 – to fly, an Islamic civil rights group said. At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday, agents found a business card for an Islamic organisation on one of the leaders. The men were detained for 16 hours at the airport and later jailed before taking a flight back to Toronto on Friday. Altaf Ali, executive director of the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Someone can be detained and locked up for several hours just because of a business card – that is so un-American," reported the AP news agency.
"Young women in South African cities living in the shadow of AIDS are using sex with multiple boyfriends to bargain for mobile phones, clothes and make-up. Suzanne Leclerc-Madlala, a university professor who headed the study, told the newspaper that conspicuous consumption is a central motivating factor in the relationships. The increase in consumer values among youths, combined with the threat of a short life because of HIV/AIDS, means that young women are now having sex for material things," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Hundreds of Iraqis chanting America is the enemy of God” and shooting in the air buried eight of 10 guards apparently shot by US troops who mistook them for anti-American rebels. More than 36 hours after the deaths, the US military apologised for what it called an unfortunate incident in this rebellious town, west of Baghdad," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US Secretary of State Colin Powell will visit Iraq after concluding discussions in Geneva with UN Security Council members on the situation in that country. This will be Powell's first visit to Iraq. US Secretary of Defence Donald H.Rumsfeld travelled to Iraq last week, his second such visit in four months," reported the AP news agency.
"The US military has acknowledged involvement in a “friendly fire” shooting here that local officials said cost the lives of nine Iraqi security men, a Jordanian guard and two thieves. The US military, which had first reported only one soldier and five “neutrals” wounded in a small arms and grenade attack, confirmed yesterday that it had been involved in a fatal friendly fire tragedy," reported the AFP news service.
"US Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday he and the other veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council had arrived at a basis for finding consensus on a new council resolution to set ground rules for a political transition to Iraqi control," reported the AP news agency.
"Arab television channel Al-Jazeera on Friday aired a new videotape of a man it said was one of the Sept 11 hijackers, reading his will and saying it was a Muslim duty to fight the American enemy. In his taped will, dated December 2000, the speaker declared his readiness to die in a suicide attack," reported the Reuters news agency.
"With less than a day left, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting was facing debacle as there were no signs that rich countries and the so-called Group of 21 – made up mostly of developing nations – could overcome their sharp differences on agricultural subsidies," reported the dpa news agency.
"NASA plans to crash its $1.5 billion Galileo spacecraft into Jupiter next weekend to make sure it doesn't accidentally contaminate the planet's ice-covered moon Europa with bacteria from Earth. After Galileo's orbit carries it behind Jupiter at 1949 GMT Sunday, the aging probe will plunge into the planet's stormy atmosphere at a speed of nearly 108,000 mph," reported the AP news agency.
"Talks designed to change the face of trade around the world collapsed Sunday amid differences between rich and poor nations, the second failure for the World Trade Organization in four years. Delegates from many poor countries celebrated what they called a victory against the West, and an increasingly powerful alliance of poor but populous farming nations said they had found a new voice to rival the developedworld. The developing countries have come into their own,...This has made it clear that developing countries cannot be dictated to by anybody, said Malaysia's Minister for International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz," reported the AP news agency.
"In a day of voting overshadowed by grief over the killing of Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, Swedes voted overwhelming on Sunday against the euro, dashing hopes the country would increase its stake in the European Union. Despite the setback, the second since 2000, the European Commission reiterated its faith in the euro and held out hope Sweden would adopt it," reported the AP news agency.
"Fifty-one percent of Americans are opposed to President George W. Bush's request for an additional US$87bil to fund operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a Newsweek poll out Saturday," reported the AFP news service.
"US Secretary of State Colin Powell confronted the cost of the US-led occupation head-on when he flew into Iraq yesterday just an hour after a bomb attack killed another US soldier. With US forces coming under fire more than a dozen times a day and the financial cost of occupation mounting, Washington is seeking a new UN Security Council resolution that would increase international involvement," reported the Reuters news agency.
"British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw made a last-minute plea to Prime Minister Tony Blair not to go to war on Iraq, but the plea was rejected, a new book serialised in a Sunday newspaper claims. Neither the Foreign Office nor Blair's office would make any comment, saying only: they have nothing to say about that," reported the AFP news service.
"Israel indicated yesterday it was likely to further isolate rather than immediately expel Yasser Arafat after a backlash from the Palestinians and the international community over its decision to approve the “removal” of the 74-year-old leader," reported the AFP news service.
"Israel's decision has prompted near universal condemnation, with even its traditional ally the United States warning against the impact of any expulsion. Palestinian negotiations minister Saeb Erakat said Israel was behaving like the mafia. According to the Yediot Aharonot newspaper yesterday, Sharon is wary of upsetting Washington, saying he does not want a clash with the whole world and definitely does not want to go against the Americans. That's why Arafat's expulsion is not imminen," reported the AFP news service.
"The military seized power yesterday in the tiny West African nation of Guinea-Bissau, Portuguese news agency Lusa reported. A military source told Lusa that President Kumba Yala was under arrest. Lusa said the head of the armed forces issued a statement asking the people to avoid acts of vandalism," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Police said yesterday they received thousands of tips after releasing pictures of a possible suspect in the brutal stabbing death of Foreign Minister Anna Lindh. As Swedes started voting in a crucial referendum to adopt the euro, sympathy over Lindh, euro supporter, was evident. Opposition to the common currency has been strong in the run-up to the referendum, but after the Lindh's killing, the yes side has surged and polls suggested a close finish," reported the AP news agency.
"Iran's leadership is re-examining how it co-operates with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after the UN organisation gave Teheran until Oct 31 to prove it is not running a secret nuclear weapons programme. While insisting that Iran had always been transparent with the UN nuclear watchdog, foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi complained that unfortunately the very bad action of the agency has made the Islamic republic of Iran reconsider its co-operation," reported the AFP news service.
"A proposed global trade compromise over agriculture and manufactured products had a mixed reception late Saturday, with emerging market economies sceptical about the text as World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks in Mexico prepared to wrap up. The European Union and the United States said the framework put forth in a text by Mexico's Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez provided a good basis for further talks. But Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim was doubtful," reported the news Agencies.
"A four-nation maritime task force successfully boarded a ship carrying dummy weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in the Coral Sea this weekend in an exercise seen as a show of strength to North Korea. Forces from Japan, the United States, Australia and France hunted down a rogue freighter in exercise Pacific Protector, with a boarding crew rappelling on to the vessel from helicopters after a two-and-a-half-hour chase on the high seas. Australian Defence Minister Robert Hill hailed the war game as an outstanding success yesterday but played down suggestions it was aimed at warning North Korea to curb its nuclear ambitions," reported the AFP news service.
"Police have arrested a man in an August arson attack on a Los Angeles-area sport utility vehicle dealership in a case that may be tied to a radical environmental group. Joshua Thomas Cannole, 25, is being held on multiple counts of felony arson and vandalism for the predawn attack on parked Hummer vehicles, according to police spokesman Rudy Lopez in West Covina, a community east of Los Angeles," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A 10-year-old Aboriginal girl escaped with a leg wound after being bitten by a crocodile in a remote part of northern Australia, police said yesterday. The girl was playing by herself in the shallow waters of a waterhole at an outstation in the Kakadu National Park, about 300km from Darwin, when a crocodile bit her on the leg on Saturday afternoon," reported the Reuters news agency.
"British consumers may soon be able to savour the delights of tandoori-flavoured cheddar cheese, the Telegraph reported yesterday. British supermarket chain Tesco said on Saturday a team of scientists and 50 food tasters spent six months developing the curried cheese. It would be available in about 200 supermarkets by the end of next month," reported the dpa news agency.
"After 56 years of searching, the Indonesian air force says it has probably located the wreckage of a plane piloted by the country's most revered aviation hero. Air Cmdr. Halim Perdanakusuma - considered the founder of the Indonesian air force during the country's war of independence against Dutch colonialists - was killed in the crash on Dec. 14, 1947, along with his co-pilot Lt. Iswahyudi," reported the AP news agency.
"Health officials were testing a woman early Tuesday for the SARS virus after she showed symptoms similar to those experienced by some victims of the respiratory ailment. The chief executive of Hong Kong's Hospital Authority, Dr. William Ho, told reporters that initial tests on the 34-year-old woman were negative, but that a more-definitive lab test still had to be conducted. Results were expected later Tuesday," reported the AP news agency.
"Israel's government backed off from threats to kill Yasser Arafat yesterday, while the incoming Palestinian prime minister ceded control over many Cabinet appointments to Arafat's Fatah party, a move that clashes with Israeli demands for the Palestinian leader to be stripped of authority. While Israeli leaders insisted they still intend to remove Arafat, the UN Security Council considered a Palestinian request to intervene. The involvement of the United Nations underscored the extent to which peacemaking efforts have been paralysed by the violence and tension," reported the AP news agency.
"The Palestinians are urging the United Nations to demand that Israel ensures Yasser Arafat's safety and key Security Council members are pushing both parties to implement the peace plan known as the road map. The council scheduled an open meeting yesterday on the Middle East situation amid mounting criticism of the decision by Israel's security Cabinet on Thursday to remove Arafat in a manner and time to be decided," reported the AP news agency.
"A US soldier and an Iraqi police chief were killed in separate guerrilla-style attacks in Baghdad and the dangerousSunni Triangle yesterday. The 1st Armored Division soldier died of his wounds in a military field hospital after a predawn rocket-propelled attack on his patrol in central Baghdad, the second US casualty in as many days," reported the AP news agency.
"A fire broke out in a prison in the Saudi capital yesterday, killing 67 inmates. The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), quoting the head of the Interior Ministry's prison's department, said 20 inmates and three prison guards suffered smoke inhalation. The fire broke out at al-Haer prison at about midday and was brought under control by fire fighters after about three hours," reported the AP news agency.
"World trade talks collapsed yesterday amid sharp differences between rich and poor nations, a blow to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which many poor countries called a victory against the West. It was the second time WTO talks have collapsed in four years and a major setback to efforts to regulate world trade. EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said the round of talks was not dead but it certainly needs intensive care," reported the news Agencies.
"Sweden paid an early price for snubbing the euro yesterday with its currency falling, while the European Commission warned the country could be frozen out of EU decision-making," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Australia has thwarted moves by African nations to permit President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe to attend this year's Commonwealth summit in Nigeria, a spokesman for Prime Minister John Howard said yesterday. Some African leaders, notably South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki, had suggested the Commonwealth relax its sanctions on Zimbabwe, which was suspended from the 54-nation body last year after Mugabe was re-elected president in a vote widely condemned as rigged," reported the AFP news service.
"The government aims to give cell phones a new meaning by introducing jail terms of up to two years for mobile phone fraud and new technology to block the use of stolen handsets on all networks across Australia," reported the AP news agency.
"Nasa plans to crash its US$1.5bil Galileo spacecraft into Jupiter next weekend to make sure it doesn't accidentally contaminate the planet's ice-covered moon Europa with bacteria from Earth. Europa, a planet-sized moon, is widely believed to have the most promising habitat for extraterrestrial life within the solar system," reported the AP news agency.
"US pop singer Madonna whose only previous book venture was a book of X-rated photographs of herself entitled Sex, gave the reading ahead of the worldwide launch yesterday of the work, entitled The English Roses. The singer, now lives in London, has said she conceived The English Roses as the first of five children's books inspired by the Kabbalah, the system of Jewish mystical thought which she has been studying for seven years," reported the AFP news service.
"At least two people were killed and dozens injured yesterday in a suspected suicide attack on a key government building near rebel Chechnya, the latest in a series of attacks in the troubled Russian region. The blast, which officials said looked to be the work of guerillas, further undermines Moscow's attempts to bring an end to a decade of separatist violence in and around Chechnya," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Prime Minister Tony Blair, his ratings already suffering because of Iraq, faces two more uncomfortable weeks as the inquiry into the death of weapons expert David Kelly shines a light on what millions of Britons feel were unjustified reasons for war. Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon, his career widely seen as on the line, would be hauled back in front of judge Lord Hutton's investigation, as will Blair's outgoing communications chief, Alastair Campbell. Blair himself, however, will not be called to testify again," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US Secretary of State Colin Powell responded to international pressure for a speedy transfer of power in Iraq with a warning yesterday that rushing the handover would result in failure. Powell, the highest-ranking American to visit Iraq since the war that ousted Saddam Hussein in April, said Washington was as eager as anyone to pull out as fast as possible," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Guideliens on how Muslim Singaporeans can lead their lives as moderate followers of Islam have been proposed by Pergas, the Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association. The definition evolved by Pergas, which criticised the Government over the tudung issue, brings it in line with the views of Muis, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore. A moderate Muslim, in the eyes of Muis president Alami Musa, who opened the meeting, has the self-confidence to stick to Islamic principles and values while coping with current problems. That person with an Islamic identity is progressive and able to meet the demands of a modern and competitive state which has people of different races and religions. Muslim moderates are also willing to learn about other cultures and welcome a diversity of views which do not go against Islamic principles and values," reported the Singaporean Straits Times.
"All but one of 240 people charged under an anti-terror law in the western Indian state of Gujarat which witnessed bloody sectarian riots last year are Muslims. Of the 240 people booked under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota), which carries the death penalty, 239 are Muslims while one is a Sikh. The Muslims have been booked for three different attacks on the majority Hindu community, which includes the killing of 59 Hindus by a mob believed to be predominantly Muslim in Gujarat's Godhra town on Feb 27 last yearThat attack sparked bloody communal riots in the state in which more than 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed," reported the AFP news service.
"American Airlines doesn't fly to Amsterdam or Abu Dhabi, but beginning Wednesday it will look that way _ at least on paper. Members of American's frequent-flier club will be able to fly to cities in Europe and the Middle East on British Airways flights while earning frequent-flier miles on American," reported the AP news agency.
"Israel dismissed as a deceptive honeytrap a proposal yesterday by a top aide to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for an indefinite ceasefire and continued its deadly pursuit of wanted militants. The Israelis promptly froze all contacts with the Palestinian Authority and declared all-out war on Hamas and other hardliners," reported the AFP news service.
"A US court has ruled that Iran must pay more than US$420mil to 12 US victims of a 1997 suicide bombing in Jerusalem carried out by the Iran-supported Palestinian militant group Hamas. The court awarded US$123.34mil for physical and emotional damages to the plaintiffs, four of whom were not present at the bombing but whose relatives were affected, and US$300mil in punitive damages against the government of Iran, court papers indicated," reported the AFP news service.
"Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair will seek joint positions at talks in Berlin on Saturday after their divisions over Iraq, Germany said yesterday. The German government said in a statement that the three leaders, whose countries are all members of the US Security Council, would meet at Schroeder's office on Saturday followed by a news conference," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Swedish police said yesterday that they issued an arrest warrant for a man suspected of killing Foreign Minister Anna Lindh but didn't have him in custody," reported the AP news agency.
"The collapse of the global trade talks amid bitter divisions between rich and poor countries left the WTO struggling on Monday to meet a deadline to finish a new free trade accord. Delegates headed home from here with poor countries angrily blaming the rich for the breakdown, and also celebrating their newfound strength in countering the world's industrial powers. But rich countries made mounting warnings that the World Trade Organisation could now miss its January 2005 deadline for completing the Doha round of talks aimed at liberalising trade," reported the AFP news service.
"South Africa warned Australia against using megaphone diplomacy on Zimbabwe yesterday as a row escalated over allowing Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to attend this year's Commonwealth summit in Nigeria. Australia has thwarted moves by South Africa and other African nations to relax Zimbabwe's 18-month-old suspension from the Commonwealth so Mugabe can attend the meeting in December," reported the AFP news service.
"A single case of sunburn can significantly increase a child's risk of getting skin cancer later in life, the World Health Organisation warned yesterday, when it launched a global campaign to educate children about the dangers," reported the AFP news service.
"Avant-garde icon Yoko Ono repeated her legendary 1960s performance Cut Piece here on Monday, inviting the audience to cut her clothing off with scissors in the name of world peace. Ono, 70, sat in a chair on stage alone at the Ranelagh theatre and asked that each member of the audience silently cut off a piece of her clothing and send it to a loved one. One-by-one, the 200 audience members filed onstage and snipped away pieces of Ono's outfit – a long black silk skirt with matching long-sleeved top. Among them was Ono's 27-year-old son, Sean Lennon," reported the AP news agency.
"Simply being a man is a strong risk factor for heart disease, as male sex hormones activate the genes that accelerate deposition of cholesterol in the arteries, Australian researchers said yesterday. The discovery meant gender-specific treatments might be required, they said, and also meant men were more at risk of strokes and other vascular diseases as well as heart attacks," reported the AFP news service.
"A British tourist is recovering in hospital after being speared in the face by a Maori warrior during an overly vigorous welcome ceremony in New Zealand's scenic Bay of Islands. The accident happened when the Maori stepped forward to avoid hitting people behind him," reported the dpa news agency.
"The London Metropolitan police plunged into its biggest crisis over race since the damning Macpherson report when its own black officers warned ethnic minority people not to join the force on Monday. The Metropolitan Black Police Association's decision followed the acquittal on all charges of Superintendent Ali Dizaei, 40, once tipped to be the first ethnic minority chief constable. Dizaei was the subject of a four-year investigation by the Met into allegations that he endangered national security, abused drugs and used prostitutes. All proved baseless," reported the Guardian.
"Hurricane Isabel closed in on North Carolina's Outer Banks with 105 mph (169 kph) winds and the potential for up to a foot (30 centimeters) of rain, threatening to cause ruinous flooding across a huge swath of the already soggy U.S. East Coast," reported the AP news agency.
"For the 12th year in a row, Taiwan failed in its bid to win recognition by the United Nations when the General Assembly rejected an attempt by 17 supporters of Taiwan to put the issue on the U.N. agenda," reported the AP news agency.
"Palestinian President Yasser Arafat yesterday shrugged off a US veto of a UN resolution demanding that Israel not harm or expel him, while other Palestinian officials condemned Washington's move," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Police raced yesterday to compile evidence against a man arrested as the top suspect in the killing of foreign minister Anna Lindh, pinning their hopes on DNA testing as they prepared to question him. Detectives were also piecing together a profile of the suspect, with Swedish media portraying him as an enigmatic personality, equally at home in neo-Nazi circles as in the upper echelons of Stockholm society," reported the AFP news service.
"Singapore's national airline went on trial in the United States on Tuesday over a deadly crash caused when one of its jumbo jets crashed on a rainswept runway in Taiwan two years ago. Retired US college professor Harald Linke is demanding unspecified damages from Singapore Airlines for injuries he received when the plane crashed while attempting to take off on the wrong runway at Taipei's Chiang Kai-Shek airport on Oct 31, 2000," reported the AFP news service.
"CNN star reporter Christiane Amanpour has stirred a media hornets' nest by claiming US television networks, including CNN, were intimidated by the Bush administration in their coverage of the war in Iraq," reported the AFP news service.
"CNN star reporter Christiane Amanpour has stirred a media hornets' nest by claiming US television networks, including CNN, were intimidated by the Bush administration in their coverage of the war in Iraq," reported the AFP news service.
"A man who lied about having a son who died in the World Trade Centre attack to get US$160,000 in charity funds was sentenced to more than a decade in prison. Prosecutors said on Tuesday that the father of 12 made up a 13th child so he could steal relief money from the American Red Cross and Safe Horizons," reported the AP news agency.
"US authorities ordered up to 110,000 people to leave the North Carolina coast on Tuesday, ahead of the impending arrival of a waning yet feared Hurricane Isabel. All along the US east coast, people made contingency plans, as the US Navy ordered dozens of vessels out to sea to ride out the storm," reported the AFP news service.
"Isabel was expected to bring stormy weather to the North Carolina coast by last night and then hit with its full fury today, moving north through Virginia and swiping Washington with 96kph winds. More than 130,000 people were ordered to evacuate from barrier islands and low-lying coastal areas of North Carolina and Virginia or risk getting caught in flooding from storm surges up to 3.3m. The governors of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland declared states of emergency, enabling them to mobilise workers and activate the National Guard," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A car exploded outside a suburban Copenhagen hospital yesterday, killing at least one person, police said. The blast occurred at 9.17am in a parking lot at the County Hospital in the western suburb of Glostrup and was likely caused by an explosive device," reported the AP news agency.
"The BBC journalist who first aired claims that British Prime Minister Tony Blair's government sexed up the case for war on Iraq admitted yesterday that he had made errors in his report. Speaking at the inquiry into the death of David Kelly – the source of his controversial news story – Andrew Gilligan said he had been wrong to refer to the Ministry of Defence consultant as an intelligence service source," reported the AFP news service.
"An estimated 100,000 teachers went on strike in Australia's most populous states yesterday, calling for improved conditions as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned of a looming shortage of teachers in the developed world. They are demanding pay rises of up to 30% to help attract graduates into the profession and avert what one union described as a looming crisis in education," reported the AFP news service.
"In London, a distraught father made his estranged wife listen on a telephone as he killed their four sons and then himself in a fume-filled car, an inquest heard on Tuesday. She heard him urge one of the boys to say: Goodbye, I love you. He then told her as each boy died from carbon monoxide fumes from a petrol mower he had taken into the vehicle," reported the Guardian.
"The 2003 edition of the OECD's Education at a Glance report provides a detailed picture of education trends in 19 developed OECD countries, from primary through secondary and on to tertiary, or university level. It shows that in Britain youngsters between the age of 15 and 16 are likely to drop out of full-time education when compulsory schooling ends. The report from the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also reveals that a relatively large number of youngsters are leaving school with poor qualifications – with Britain slipping down to 22nd place out of a table of 30 countries," reported the Guardian.
"When it comes to fair play, capuchin monkeys don't settle for any funny business. Sarah Brosnan, a researcher at the Yerkes National Primate Research Centre of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and her colleague Frans de Waal uncovered the sense of fair play in a study of the small brown primates from central and South America while giving pairs of monkeys who knew each other well jobs to perform," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A scientist claims to have discovered a direct link between people's favourite sleeping position and their personality. Prof Chris Idzikowski, one of Britain's leading sleep experts, has identified six different positions and each one says more about a person's character than they may care to reveal," reported the Daily Telegraph.
"Priests will be required to notify police about cases of child sex abuse disclosed in the confessional under a proposed new law introduced yesterday in South Australia's state parliament. Child protection would override considerations of confidentiality under the bill," reported the AFP news service.
"The United Nations must pressure Indonesia into allowing relief aid into its war-torn province of Aceh in order to prevent a full-blown humanitarian crisis from developing in the region of 4.1 million people, Human Rights Watch warned," reported the AP news agency.
"The New York Stock Exchange went back to business without a chairman and without a hitch amid questions about who would replace Dick Grasso and how much more upheaval the outrage over his colossal pay would cause," reported the AP news agency.
"Sweden planned to ban private flights over the center of Stockholm and seal off a section of downtown with armed police during a memorial Friday for slain Foreign Minister Anna Lindh. Police also said Thursday they received the results from the DNA testing they hope will link a 35-year-old drifter in custody to Lindh's slaying, but wouldn't say if it matched genetic material found near the crime scene. Authorities tried to dampen speculation that the man in custody was suspected of being the murderer," reported the AP news agency.
"Former UN arms inspector Hans Blix said yesterday that the war on Iraq was not justified and that Washington and London over-interpreted intelligence data, while a new message attributed to ousted president Saddam Hussein urged Iraqis to fight US occupying forces," reported the AFP news service.
"Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said he was ready for a fight to the death with Israel if they tried to remove him from the West Bank as he repeated calls for a new ceasefire," reported the AFP news service.
"US president George W. Bush acknowledged yesterday his Middle East peace road map had stalled and charged Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has failed as a leader. Speaking at a news conference with Jordan's King Abdullah, Bush said Arafat had undermined former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas' efforts to consolidate security forces under his leadership and to crack down on militant groups," reported the AFP news service.
"Hurricane Isabel howled ashore in North Carolina yesterday with 160kph winds and torrential rains that forced evacuations throughout the US mid-Atlantic region, the cancellation of hundreds of flights and shut down the federal government in Washington. About 565,000 customers were without electricity as Isabel downed trees and snapped power lines along the North Carolina and Virginia coast. The storm was expected to bring even more havoc to the region's power grid as it moved inland," reported the Reuters news agency.
"In Nashville, Tennessee, a gunman claiming to be a member of al-Qaeda who held up to 16 people hostage inside a classroom, was killed by police after he began firing his gun," reported the AFP news service.
"Australia yesterday announced plans to send hundreds of police to restore order in Papua New Guinea (PNG) but denied interfering in the internal affairs of its troubled former colony," reported the AFP news service.
"Five million litres of beer, more than 400,000 sausages and countless oom-pah-pah bands are ready and waiting for Saturday's kick-off of the 170th Oktoberfest party in Munich. Some six million visitors from around the globe are expected to descend on the world's most famous beer festival, which began as a royal wedding celebration here in the southern state of Bavaria," reported the AFP news service.
"Israeli ground forces killed a member of the radical Islamic group Hamas' armed wing in a Gaza refugee camp as their tanks also entered the West Bank town of Jenin," reported the AFP news service.
"Jeffrey Lee Parson, the teenager suspected of creating a variant of the destructive Blaster worm, appeared in a court here on Wednesday to face one count of causing damage to a computer. Parson, 18, a high school senior from Hopkins, Minnesota, pleaded not guilty to the charge of intentionally causing or attempting to cause damage to a computer," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Former Nato commander Wesley Clark jumped into the Democratic 2004 White House race on Wednesday, promising to hold President George W. Bush accountable for a stumbling economy and national fears about security. The retired four-star general, a decorated Vietnam veteran who headed the 1999 bombing campaign in Kosovo but opposed the Iraq war, said he would restore a sense of confidence and optimism to Americans facing job losses and worries about their safety," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The lawyer of a suspect in the murder of Anna Lindh said yesterday that his client was innocent, after police started interrogating the man overnight. Police has until noon to collect sufficient evidence justifying the man's further detention, and is pinning its hopes on DNA testing. The man was arrested on Tuesday, and formal questioning opened on Wednesday night, but police were tight-lipped about proceedings," reported the AFP news service.
