"Akila al-Hashimi, one of three women on Iraq's Governing Council, was shot in the abdomen and critically wounded yesterday in an assassination attempt outside her home in west Baghdad," reported the AP news agency.
"The UN General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling on Israel to drop its threat to remove Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Three days after the United States vetoed an almost identical measure at the Security Council, the assembly adopted the resolution with a vote of 133 in favour and four against. Fifteen nations abstained," reported the AFP news service.
"Britain, France and Germany called yesterday for a transfer of power in Iraq as quickly as possible and for the United Nations to be given a central role in rebuilding the country," reported the news Agencies.
"Bosnia's wartime president Alija Izetbegovic is in critical condition, his doctor said on Friday, a day after the 78-year-old former leader developed internal bleeding to the chest," reported the AFP news service.
"A Jewish settler was charged with weapons theft on Friday and prosecutors said he was procuring arms for Jewish militants suspected of killing eight Palestinians in vigilante attacks. Police also uncovered a large weapons cache hidden in a West Bank cave," reported the AP news agency.
"They came from Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Britain, Jordan, Spain, the Philippines, Brazil, Canada and the United States to light candles in a darkened General Assembly Hall at the last mass tribute to dead UN staff in Baghdad," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A judge dismissed two parts of pop star Michael Jackson's lawsuit against Universal Music Group that claims the world's largest record company owes him royalties for the re-release of songs he made in the 1970s," reported the AFP news service.
"At least eight civilians were among those killed in a US air strike in Afghanistan's southern province of Zabul that also killed a Taliban commander," reported the news Agencies.
"Top Asian terror suspect Hambali has told CIA interrogators that al-Qaeda planned to attack commercial airliners and two US-managed hotels in Bangkok during a gathering of world leaders next month," reported the AFP news service.
"Portions of the eastern United States were cleaning up yesterday after Hurricane Isabel left at least 21 people dead, millions without power, and billions of dollars in damages in its wake. The storm caused widespread transport havoc and kept the federal government shut on Thursday and Friday," reported the AFP news service.
"Interstate 40, the main east-west highway in Oklahoma, was closed for several hours on Thursday when about 800 piglets spilled on to the road after the truck transporting them overturned," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Dubbed the NK man after the swanky Stockholm department store where he allegedly stabbed Anna Lindh, Per-Olof Svensson appears to have led a bizarre double life flitting between Swedish society's dark underbelly and its dazzling preppy social scene. A social chameleon, it seems he had as many names as he had different personalities," reported the Guardian.
"Germany hammered open the tap yesterday on the 170th Oktoberfest beer festival, 16 days of revelry expected to draw some six million people from around the globe," reported the AFP news service.
"Recovery crews hiked into the Grand Canyon to reach the remains of a tour helicopter that crashed with seven people aboard, including at least two Japanese and two German tourists. Authorities said there were no survivors," reported the AP news agency.
"An earthquake rocked central and northern Thailand early Monday, but there were no reports of injuries or damage," reported the AP news agency.
"A U.S. drug-spraying plane crashed Sunday in northeast Colombia. Government troops were attempting to get to the crash site and could not immediately verify whether the Costa Rican pilot survived. Authorities were investigating whether the crash was an accident, or if rebels operating in the in the mountainous, jungle area shot the plane down," reported the AP news agency.
"Former Finance Minister Paul Martin easily won a majority Sunday in committed delegates for the convention that will choose the next governing party leader, making him all but certain to succeed Jean Chretien as prime minister," reported the AP news agency.
"US President George W. Bush will not block Singapore Technologies Telemedia Pte Ltd's (STT's) bid for Global Crossing, the White House said on Saturday. Officials of the FBI, CIA and Pentagon, which use Global Crossing, had raised objections to permitting the firm's control by a foreign company," reported the AFP news service.
"Britain's MI5 security service has been told of a plot by suspected Russian agents to assassinate the billionaire tycoon Boris Berezovsky who has been granted political asylum by London. The Russian spy is said to have confessed that he had orders to smuggle a cigarette lighter filled with a lethal poison into London's Bow Street court. But the would-be assassin apparently lost his nerve. He betrayed the plot to the tycoon and is said to have told the authorities about it," reported the AFP news service.
"Thousands of Israelis staged a peace march here on Saturday night, demanding that their country withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories. The group's spokesman, Yariv Oppenheimer, said the movement wanted to show that it was defending Israel's best interests in pursuing peace and ending the decades-long occupations of the West Bank and Gaza Strip which has resulted in the current Palestinian uprising," reported the AFP news service.
"Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Ahmed Qorei sought to rally support yesterday for his government-in-the-making in talks with a committee representing 13 Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip. However, the militant group Hamas said it would not join the Palestinian cabinet expected to be formed this week that officials have said would probably include a Hamas supporter," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Tanks guarded the Maldivian president's house in the capital of the Muslim island nation yesterday following two days of violence that has left three people dead," reported the AP news agency.
"Latvia, the last of the prospective new members to vote on joining the European Union, returned a resounding yes at a weekend referendum to crown the bloc's historic enlargement," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Simon Muzenda, for decades the closest lieutenant of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and one of two vice-presidents of the country, has died," reported the dpa news agency.
"US authorities have detained a Muslim chaplain who counselled suspected terrorists at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, saying he was carrying classified documents when he arrived back in the United States. News reports said army Capt Yousef Yee had drawings of the prison and lists of detainees, but that could not immediately be confirmed. Yee has not been charged," reported the AP news agency.
"President George W. Bush's approval rating for his handling of the situation in Iraq has fallen below 50%, to 46%, for the first time in a Newsweek poll. The poll, released on Saturday, found the US president's approval rating on Iraq had declined a full five percentage points compared with a Sept 11-12 poll," reported the AFP news service.
"President George W. Bush has accused nameless revisionist historians of seeking to undermine him on Iraq by rewriting the course of events. But he and his top advisers have offered some revisions of their own," reported the AP news agency.
"Administration officials, for instance, offer repeated upbeat progress reports on Iraq even in the face of rising American casualties, growing costs and more frequent acts of sabotage. They continue to talk about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction even though none has been found," reported the AP news agency.
"They defend stationing 130,000 US troops in Iraq and the request to Congress for US$87bil more for Iraq and Afghanistan – even though the troop size and reconstruction costs far exceed what officials previously said were needed," reported the AP news agency.
"Bush, meanwhile, continued to make light of the fact that countries such as France, Germany, Russia, India and Turkey had given a chilly reaction to his request for more UN peacekeeping help," reported the AP news agency.
"The US-backed Iraqi finance minister here yesterday announced a sweeping package of economic reforms to open his country up to foreign investment, allowing 100% foreign ownership in all sectors except oil. The measures concern Iraq's foreign direct investment code, its banking sector and the country's tax and tariff regime," reported the AFP news service.
"Two US military policemen were killed and 13 wounded in a mortar attack at an American-run prison west of Baghdad. A statement said no detainees at the Abu Gharib prison, about 20km from Baghdad, were killed in the attack late on Saturday," reported the AFP news service.
"The US military yesterday denied a British media report that Saddam Hussein had offered money and information on weapons of mass destruction in return for safe passage to the former Soviet republic of Belarus," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A search team recovered the bodies of a pilot and six sightseers killed when their helicopter crashed in the western end of the Grand Canyon. The victims were being taken Monday to a medical examiner in Kingman to verify their identities, said Jody Hall, a deputy medical examiner. An autopsy will be conducted on the pilot," reported the AP news agency.
"Secretary-General Kofi Annan is sending his top envoy, Razali Ismail, to Myanmar at the end of the month to discuss reviving the national reconciliation process. The envoy is expected to meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and seek her immediate release," reported the AP news agency.
"President George W. Bush in his U.N. speech Tuesday will resist French and German pressures for a quick surrender of U.S. authority in Iraq. American and European diplomats worked behind the scenes to draft a compromise on the pace of a handover," reported the AP news agency.
"A two-year slump in air travel provoked by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, war in Iraq and SARS appears on the wane, the head of the U.N. civil aviation agency said Monday. Assad Kotaite, president of the International Civil Aviation Organization, opened an air navigation conference with his prediction that passenger growth would reach 4 percent in 2004 and 6 percent in 2005," reported the AP news agency.
"In New York, the newly created accounting industry regulator will scrutinize situations where companies fire their auditors. Board member Charles D. Niemeier, speaking on a panel at the Directors' Institute on Corporate Governance, urged board audit committees to ask tough questions when management moves to change auditors," reported the AP news agency.
"A computer glitch wiped out share trading on the New Zealand stock exchange for the second time in just over a month Tuesday," reported the AP news agency.
"The use of foul language on television is increasing, according to a study of the major U.S. broadcast networks. The council said it studied all primetime entertainment series from a two-week period in 1998, 2000 and 2002 and found a jump in profanity on virtually every network' and in every time slot. The group called on the TV industry to get serious about reducing the flood of vulgarity. In a similar, earlier study, the PTC found that sexual content on TV was less frequent but more explicit," reported the AP news agency.
"Share prices on the London Stock Exchange closed lower Monday. Stocks slid Monday after finance ministers from leading industrial nations called for more flexible currency rates, sparking a tumble in the dollar and investor fears of dampened foreign investment. The Dow Jones industrials lost 109 points," reported the AP news agency.
"Thailand will ship more than a hundred Cambodian beggars home on a plane to get them off the streets of Bangkok before it holds a summit next month of Asia-Pacific leaders," reported the AP news agency.
"The average annual salary of Japanese employees slipped for a fifth straight year in 2002 in a reflection of the country's prolonged economic slowdown," reported the AP news agency.
"A suicide car bomber blew himself up near UN headquarters in Baghdad yesterday, also killing a security guard and wounding 17 people, a month after a huge truck bomb devastated the building. The bomber struck on the eve of the UN General Assembly in New York, which an Iraqi delegation is due to attend. One of those due to represent Iraq there, however, Governing Council member Akila al-Hashemi, was critically wounded on Saturday in an assassination attempt," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US President George W. Bush faces a tricky task at the United Nations this week when he comes to seek help in Iraq, a year after thumbing his nose at the world organisation over the war on Iraq. Bush would ask for troops and money from an institution he last year said risked becoming irrelevant on the international stage by deciding not to back the US-led invasion," reported the AFP news service.
"Bush would tell the General Assembly in his speech today he did not regret going to war. But he would face anger over the Iraq crisis, which UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had said stressed the need for radical changes if the UN wanted to retain its authority," reported the AFP news service.
"Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, mastermind of the Sept 11 attacks, has told American interrogators that he first discussed the plot with Osama bin Laden in 1996 and that the original plan called for hijacking five commercial jets on each US coast before it was modified several times," reported the AP news agency.
"Over 1,000 people who worked on the Galileo programme gathered at the laboratory to celebrate the end of the mission. Team member Rosaly Lopes described the farewell celebration as bittersweet. Nasa's Galileo space probe made a controlled, fiery crash into Jupiter on Sunday, ending a 14-year mission that yielded dramatic discoveries about the largest planet and its moons," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Nobel Peace Prize winner and Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Sunday exhorted thousands of New Yorkers to live compassionate, non-violent lives in a world where he said war had become outdated," reported the Reuters news agency.
"President Mohammad Khatami asserted yesterday that the Islamic republic remained intent on improving relations with the outside world, but needed nevertheless to boost its military technology. He said the Iranian people, who are pacifists and have a love of justice, have always said their military strategy was defensive and that they do not want weapons of mass destruction. Yet it is they who are subject to international pressure by those who support Israel – the centre of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction," reported the AFP news service.
"Calls mounted yesterday for more than 50,000 Australian sheep stranded at sea to be humanely put down, as the government said it was keeping the ship's location a secret to forestall vigilante action. Animal welfare group Animals Australia offered its assistance to end the debacle, saying the sheep now had no commercial value and destruction was the best of a bad range of options. The live trade industry and government, however, have ruled out destruction," reported the AFP news service.
"Curfews on cats and cat-free zones are under consideration in South Australia in order to keep felines in their place, a state minister said yesterday. Other ideas include registering houses where cats live, setting a limit to how many could live on one property, forcing cats to wear collars and compulsory de-sexing," reported the AFP news service.
"A kangaroo named Lulu was hailed a hero yesterday for saving an unconscious farmer in Tanjil South, 150km east of Melbourne, by alerting his wife and leading her to where he lay trapped under a fallen tree branch," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Prince Harry's hefty security bill to the Australian taxpayer brought howls of protest yesterday from the national opposition, as he headed down under for his gap year. It will be Prince Harry's first solo overseas trip, but he will be accompanied by a large security contingent at the insistence of his father Prince Charles, amid fears he could be a terrorist target. A team of 12 royal security officers will shadow the 19-year-old prince at a cost of £25,000 a week," reported the AFP news service.
"Ten Iraqis were injured late Sunday in a grenade attack by unidentified assailants on a shop selling pornographic VCDs near the northern town of Mosul. A witness, Abed Hussein Yahia, a 40-year-old taxi driver, said similar shops have received written threats warning them not to sell such cassettes," reported the AFP news service.
"Former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres said yesterday that beleaguered Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat fully deserved to be awarded the Nobel peace prize," reported the news Agencies.
"The Chinese government will allocate special funds for rebuilding all mosques demolished or seriously damaged in the major tremor that hit the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region early this year," reported the People's Daily.
"Vatican-issued stamps, a display of her blood, even a musical and cartoon celebrating her life: These are some of the ways Mother Teresa's fans are honoring the nun who will take a step toward sainthood when she is beatified next month. Factories are churning out Mother Teresa rosaries, crucifixes and key chains ahead of the Oct. 19 beatification, and on Tuesday a line snaked around the Vatican post office for a new set of postcard stamps bearing her image," reported the AP news agency.
"French President Jacques Chirac criticized the United States Tuesday for launching a war on Iraq without U.N. authorization and undermining the global system of collective security which he said must now be urgently restored. The problems facing the world today - including Iraq - can only be addressed in a multilateral forum like the United Nations which guarantees legitimacy and democracy, especially in matters regarding the use of force or laying down universal norms," reported the AP news agency.
"However, he added, differences between France and the United States had been magnified in the media.Even if there are different points of view on a particular subject, in fact, there is a deep friendship that exists between France and (the) United States. The two countries differ on the pace and method of restoring Iraq's sovereignty, but they share the objectives of restoring peace, reconstructing the country and building democracy," reported the AP news agency.
"Share prices on the London Stock Exchange fell Tuesday. Wall Street pushed higher Tuesday as strong earnings from companies such as Morgan Stanley helped offset investors' lingering concerns about a weak dollar. Some analysts believe the market is due for some pullbacks after advancing so quickly, particularly as the third-quarter season approaches. In addition, investors are concerned a weak dollar can dampen foreign investment after finance ministers from leading industrial countries appeared to signal support for a weaker U.S. currency," reported the AP news agency.
"The CIA paid mullahs and created fake Islamic religious leaders to preach a moderate message and counter anti-American sentiment in the Arab world after the Sept 11 attacks, a new book said on Monday. In The CIA at War, Ronald Kessler, an investigative reporter and author of several books about the CIA and the FBI, also detailed espionage activity in Iraq that supported the March invasion that toppled President Saddam Hussein," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A Southern California woman was sentenced in a US District Court on Monday to two years in federal prison for committing a high seas terror hoax that she had hoped would cut short a vacation cruise with her parents and return her to her boyfriend. While interviewing people on board, Ferguson, who was travelling with her parents and siblings, confessed to writing the notes, saying she hoped the letters would bring an early end to the trip," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The Belgian court of appeal yesterday threw out a war crimes lawsuit brought under a controversial Belgian law against retired US General Tommy Franks, who commanded the US-led war on Iraq. Faced with pressure, namely from Washington, the Belgian government agreed this year to scrap the law and in August parliament approved a new, watered-down version," reported the AFP news service," reported the Reuters news agency.
"President George W. Bush will ask the United Nations to share the burden of occupying and rebuilding Iraq later yesterday, a year after saying the world body risked becoming irrelevant. Bush returns to the 191-member General Assembly, which he berated for its failure to back the US-led war on Iraq, with what US officials said were no plans to apologise for the situation there or failure to find weapons of mass destruction," reported the Reuters news agency.
"On the eve of debate, Bush, whose job approval ratings at home have been knocked in part by mounting US casualties in Iraq, rejected a suggestion that things were not going well. But the release of a UN report warning of chronic malnutrition in Iraq, a raft of demands by countries asked to send peacekeepers, and a stark warning from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan only served to underline how far he had to go," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US President George W. Bush warned in an interview aired on Monday that there will be no Palestinian state unless the Palestinian leadership fights terrorism," reported the AFP news service.
"Israeli troops killed an Islamic militant who tried to infiltrate a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip yesterday after Israel rejected a conditional ceasefire proposal by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The 17-year-old boy, a pupil at the school in Spokane in the northwest state of Washington, was shot by a member of a police SWAT team after a tense stand-off with authorities," reported the AFP news service.
"The use of foul language on television is increasing, according to a study of the major US broadcast networks. The group called on the TV industry to get serious about reducing the flood of vulgarity. Barring that, the FCC needs to get serious about enforcing broadcast decency laws," reported the AP news agency.
"A Swiss bodybuilding coach was charged on Monday with offering to kill the 19-year-old girl who accused US basketball superstar Kobe Bryant of rape for US$3mil," reported the AFP news service.
"Hurricane Marty weakened slightly as it raced up the Gulf of California on Monday evening after knocking out power, flooding streets and flattening trees on the southern Baja California peninsula. Two deaths were reported. Forecasters said Marty was expected to weaken further as it crosses the Gulf of California to reach the Mexican mainland," reported the AP news agency.
"Tai chi exercises may help prevent shingles, US researchers reported on Monday. Tests on 36 older men and women showed the combination of relaxation and movements used in tai chi boosted immunity to the virus that causes the painful outbreaks," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Nearly four million people in eastern Denmark and southern Sweden were without electricity for more than three hours yesterday after a rare power outage plagued parts of Scandinavia. Utility officials said the outage, caused by a faulty transmission line separating the two countries, was being repaired and most customers would likely have power restored before nightfall," reported the AP news agency.
"The owners of the so-called ship of death stranded at sea with more than 50,000 Australian sheep said the animals' health was improving yesterday as fears mounted the crisis would permanently damage Australia's A$1bil livestock export industry," reported the AFP news service.
"US researchers believe the jaw of a man found in Romania, dating back 34,000-36,000 years, is the oldest fossil of a modern human. Found in February 2002 in a cave where bears hibernated in the Carpathian mountains in southwest Romania, the jaw was radiocarbon dated by a team led by Erik Trinkaus, an anthropology professor at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri," reported the AFP news service.
"China is busy making full preparations for a manned space flight later this year and would consider a successful mission a milestone in the country’s history, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said yesterday. Kong Quan, a ministry spokesman, insisted he had no concrete information about when the mission to send a Chinese astronaut – known as a taikonaut, after the Mandarin word for space – into orbit would begin. China has indicated it would send a man into space by the end of 2003. But Kong said the country was proceeding apace," reported the AP news agency.
"The technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index suffered its biggest one-day point loss in nearly 15 months Wednesday after OPEC's surprise decision to cut oil production sent stocks tumbling. The Dow Jones industrials plunged 150 points. News that oil producers were lowering their output starting in November exacerbated a selloff that was already under way on Wall Street Wednesday. But analysts still attributed much of the downturn to the market being vulnerable, especially in technology, to selling following its big six-month rally," reported the AP news agency.
"Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on donor nations to extend more financial aid to Afghanistan, saying the country's rehabilitation from more than two decades of conflict was important for stability. Addressing an ad hoc meeting on Afghanistan reconstruction, Annan said a conference may be needed early next year to review the country's mounting reconstruction needs," reported the AP news agency.
"Six months after the US invasion of Iraq, world leaders criticised US President George W. Bush's doctrine of pre-emptive war and voiced scepticism over his appeal for help to rebuild Iraq. Despite conciliatory comments from several ministers, the scars from the diplomatic battle over the Iraq war were evident from Indonesia to Brazil on Tuesday, the opening day of the UN General Assembly's annual ministerial session," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A homemade bomb exploded yesterday along a road in Baghdad, missing a US military patrol but killing at least one Iraqi and injuring 23 others. US troops face a growing threat of attack by roadside bombs, most of them remotely controlled so that attackers can detonate them from a distance as American convoys pass," reported the AP news agency.
"Prime Minister Tony Blair, currently in Britain pushing forward his domestic agenda, has been criticised for snubbing the UN General Assembly where his key ally US President George W. Bush has been defending the war on Iraq," reported the AFP news service.
"Police said yesterday they had smashed a major international drug ring in an operation with Colombian authorities which will have a major impact on smuggling and send British street prices of cocaine soaring," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A museum employee carried home more than 2,000 artefacts from one of Australia's top museums, among them a stuffed lion, an anti-corruption watchdog said yesterday. Describing his activities as audacious, the commission said some of the specimens were of significant rarity and scientific value. They included skulls, skeletons, skins and complete animal specimens," reported the AFP news service.
"A Swedish man has been charged after Australian Customs officers found eight dangerous snakes, including four dead king cobras, strapped to his leg after he arrived on a flight from Thailand," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Pope John Paul has cancelled his weekly general audience yesterday morning because of an intestinal problem. The two sources said the problem was not serious but the pope's doctors had advised him to rest," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Germany's highest court ruled yesterday that a Muslim woman teacher had the right to wear a traditional headscarf in the classroom, settling an issue in Germany causing controversy throughout Europe. The Federal Constitutional Court ruled that Stuttgart school authorities were wrong to bar Afghan-born Fereshta Ludin from a teaching job. She had been barred on the grounds that her headscarf would violate the state's neutrality on religion," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Two French sisters, aged 18 and 16, were barred from their school in Paris yesterday for wearing Islamic-style headscarves judged to be ostentatious. The sisters said it's wrong what they're saying. We were asked to compromise on our dress and we did. We put on headscarves that were coloured and had designs. But when they asked us to uncover our hair, ears and neck, we refused," reported the AFP news service.
"Intercepted phone calls show Taliban commanders have been orchestrating deadly attacks here and in other parts of Afghanistan from a safe haven across the border in Pakistan. The resurgent Taliban forces – who were chased from Afghanistan two years ago by the US-led war – are getting protection from Islamic hardline politicians and rogue elements of Pakistani security, Afghan and Western officials charge," reported the AP news agency.
"At least one security officer and three suspected militants were killed in the shootout on Tuesday afternoon at the complex for hospital workers in Jizan, 960km south of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, the Interior Ministry said. One of the dead suspects is wanted by the FBI as an al-Qaeda figure and listed by Saudi officials as among militants connected to May 12 suicide bombings in Riyadh that killed 35 people, including nine attackers," reported the AP news agency.
"Swedish police arrested a new suspect in connection with the murder of foreign minister Anna Lindh yesterday and cleared another man held earlier as a suspect. The man arrested yesterday, whose name was not disclosed, was detained on a higher degree of suspicion than Svensson was, Blidberg said, stressing however that the reasons for his arrest could not be disclosed at present," reported the AFP news service.
"Barbra Streisand says she finds listening to her own songs is so boring that it was one of the reasons she gave up public performing three years ago," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Microsoft's online subsidiary MSN is to end free chat services in most countries around the world out of fear that they are being abused by paedophiles seeking access to children. British newspapers, which gave prominent coverage to the announcement, said the measure would concern all countries in the world except Canada, the United States and Japan, and even in those countries access to chat services would become subscription only," reported the AFP news service.
"Animal rights activists in kayaks yesterday barred a livestock carrier from docking at an Australian port to protest against the stranding of more than 50,000 sheep on a ship in the Middle East," reported the AP news agency.
"Less than two weeks after calling off their wedding, Hollywood's hottest couple Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck appeared together in public on Tuesday, sparking rumours of reconciliation," reported the AFP news service.
"Venezuela's refusal to formally recognize an Iraqi delegation at this week's OPEC meeting falls in line with international law. The Iraqi delegation at the Sept. 24 meeting in Vienna, Austria, lacked international recognition and in consequence, could not be accepted as an official representative of the Iraqi people," reported the AP news agency.
"China's first manned spacecraft could be launched as early as next month from a pad in the country's remote northwest and will probably contain one crew member," reported the AP news agency.
"A strong quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.8 rocked the northern Japan island of Hokkaido early Friday morning, knocking out power, derailing a train and touching off an industrial fire. At least 11 people were injured," reported the AP news agency.
"A report by the Congressional Research Service undermines Vice President Dick Cheney's denial of a continuing relationship with Halliburton Co., the energy company he once led, Sen. Frank Lautenberg said Thursday. Cheney's aides defended the assertion on NBC, saying the financial arrangements do not constitute a tie to the company's business performance," reported the AP news agency.
"Share prices were lower on the London Stock Exchange Thursday. A larger-than-expected drop in durable goods orders intensified Wall Street's concerns about the economy Thursday and sent stocks sliding for the second straight day. Technology issues again suffered the largest declines. Investors are worried that after six months of rallies, stocks have climbed too high given a still questionable economic recovery," reported the AP news agency.
"Parliament was convened Friday for what is expected to be a brief session to take care of unfinished business before Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi calls for national elections in November. The popular Japanese leader has hinted he will dissolve the lower house of Parliament - the more powerful of Japan's two legislative chambers - as early as Oct. 10 and hold an election a month later," reported the AP news agency.
"The Science of Harry Potter, a three-credit honors seminar new this fall at Frostburg State University, offers fans of J.K. Rowling's popular fantasy novels an opportunity to study the links between magic and science. Frostburg State, a public school in western Maryland with average annual undergraduate enrollment of 4,300, isn't the only institution of higher education offering a scholarly take on the Potter phenomenon. The books were featured in a Literature for Young Adults course at Kent State University in Ohio, and Cerritos College, in Norwalk, California, has an introductory composition class, Words and Magic: Harry Potter and Vocabulary, this fall," reported the AP news agency.
"Malaysia, proposing reforms to give the United Nations back its integrity and credibility, said change should start with the abolition of the single-country veto in the UN Security Council. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad suggested that the system be modified, so that two veto powers backed by three other members of the Security Council could block any UN resolution. However, he added, even this should be slowly dismantled in favour of majority decisions in the council," reported the Malaysian Star newspaper.
"Saying that the United Nations' organs had been cut out, dissected and reshaped so that they might perform what the puppet masters’ wanted, Dr Mahathir added:The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organisation have now been turned into instruments of hegemony, to impoverish the poor and to enrich the rich. It is not surprising that today, the disparities between the rich and poor are far greater. He said the unipolar world dominated by a democratic nation was leading the world to economic chaos, political anarchy, uncertainty and fear," reported the Malaysian Star newspaper.
"Fresh violence flared anew in the Palestinian territories yesterday, as army raids in the West Bank and Gaza Strip against Islamic radicals left four Palestinians dead and six soldiers wounded. Israeli troops staged an incursion into the West Bank city of Hebron, killing two members of the hardline Islamic Jihad group," reported the AFP news service.
"Microsoft's dominance in personal computer software leaves critical networks vulnerable to attack from viruses and hackers, according to a report by security experts released on Wednesday. The report, released by a trade group backed by rivals of Microsoft, highlights longstanding concerns about the national security risks posed by the company's near-monopoly in personal computer software," reported the AFP news service.
"More than a decade of bitter public squabbling over the fortune of a dead Australian mining magnate ended yesterday when his flamboyant Filipina wife and powerful daughter called a halt to their long-running legal battle," reported the AP news agency.
"US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton pronounced herself outraged by changes made to the Mandarin-language editions of her memoirs, Living History, and her publisher has ordered a recall of the book in China and its replacement with an authentic translation. The copies of Living History that are being sold throughout China do not contain the former first lady's criticism of the Chinese government, especially of its human rights record, and edits descriptions of her trips to China," reported the dpa news agency.
"A freshman opened fire at a high school, killing one student and critically wounding a second before a teacher apparently talked the boy into dropping the gun. The suspect was taken into custody on Wednesday after the late-morning shooting at Rocori High School in Cold Spring, Minnesota, a small town about 100km northwest of the Twin Cities," reported the AP news agency.
"An Australian judge has thrown out a case against a man caught using a mobile phone while driving a horse and carriage, saying police who brought the charges look a bit silly," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A Pennsylvania man on a trans-Atlantic flight smeared blood on passengers, groped a 15-year-old girl, foamed at the mouth and attacked two US air marshals before being brought under control. He was detained on arrival in Manchester and returned in custody to this city, prosecutors said. He was to face a bail hearing yesterday on charges of interfering with a flight crew, assaulting a minor and assaulting a federal officer," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Australia revelled in its first princess yesterday, after Denmark's royal palace announced that Mary Donaldson is to marry Crown Prince Frederik. Pictures of the 31-year-old law graduate and her prince were splashed all over the nation's papers, which dubbed the engagement a fairytale romance. Marriage to the 35-year-old Crown prince will put Donaldson in line to be queen of Denmark one day," reported the AFP news service.
"European Commission President Romano Prodi faced a grilling yesterday from European Parliament members, some of whom are calling for heads to roll over alleged fraud at the EU's statistics agency," reported the Reuters news agency.
"One of the war's sharpest critics, Putin steered clear of the attacks unleashed on Washington at the UN General Assembly this week and, unlike France and Germany, did not call for a faster handover of power to Iraqis. The moderate tone suggested Moscow wants to end the past split over the war as the United States pushes for a UN Security Council resolution that could get international troops to help keep the peace in Iraq," reported the AFP news service.
"Citing security concerns after two attacks on its Baghdad offices, the United Nations said yesterday it was pulling out 19 of its 105 international staffers from Iraq and more would follow. The decision to withdraw international staff, even temporarily, was a blow to US claims the security situation in Iraq was under control. It was also a setback to efforts by US President George W. Bush to give the world body a bigger say in Iraqi reconstruction, in order to attract broader international support for the effort," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Akila al-Hashemi died from wounds she sustained in an assassination attempt on Saturday. The death and another lethal Baghdad bombing yesterday added to the difficulties of a US administration under fire for its decision to go to war and straining to enlist the world's help in the aftermath," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A senior American official said an eagerly-awaited US report was expected to say there was documentary evidence that Iraq had chemical and biological weapons programmes but no proof of actual arms. The expected findings of the report by David Kay would be a blow to US President George W. Bush, who argued ahead of the war that the imminent threat from Saddam's weapons of mass destruction justified a preemptive invasion of Iraq," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A 17-year-old boy allegedly hacked his father to death after he refused to give him money for a CD player, it was reported yesterday. Police said Faraz cut his sleeping father Salim Khojani, 50, to pieces with a sword," reported the United News of India news agency.
"Former Iraqi information minister Mohammad Said as-Sahhaf said on Wednesday that US bombing did not target the places where Saddam Hussein was sheltering during the US-led war and that the ousted president made his first wartime speech from a house close to his main palace. He accused the US military of under the pretext that Saddam was there, and said the bombing had particularly struck locations visited by UN arms inspectors during their work in Iraq," reported the AFP news service.
