"President George W. Bush said yesterday he would appoint an independent commission to investigate discrepancies in intelligence used to justify the war against Iraq, reversing earlier opposition to a probe," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Senator John Kerry appeared set to stake a decisive claim to the Democratic presidential nomination today, with polls showing him comfortably ahead of a crowded field in a seven-state slate of party contests. Kerry had solid leads in four states selecting nominating delegates and ran strong elsewhere for the right to oppose Republican President George W. Bush, who was bogged down in new troubles over the Iraq warm," reported the AFP news agency.
"Iraq's northern Kurdish region declared an official three-day mourning yesterday, a day after twin suicide bombings in the city of Arbil left 56 dead and around 200 wounded during major Muslim celebrations. Black flags for the dead were hung in towns throughout the Kurdish provinces as elsewhere Iraq's Shi’ite majority population began muted celebrations for Aidiladha, or the Feast of Sacrifice," reported the AFP news agency.
"An Israeli daily yesterday quoted Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as saying the 17 Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip would be dismantled. Sharon was likely to go public with his plans later yesterday, the Haaretz daily reported on its website. Sharon did not give a timetable for the dismantling," reported the AP news agency.
"Prime Minister Tony Blair buckled under growing pressure yesterday, calling an inquiry into the quality of British intelligence about banned Iraqi weapons after Washington set up its own probe into the reasons given for war. A move by President George W. Bush to appoint an independent commission on US intelligence turned up the heat on Britain to do the same although Blair denied being wrong-footed by Washington's move," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US President George W. Bush's popularity has tumbled below 50%, with dissatisfaction mounting sharply over his handling of the Iraq war, foreign affairs and the economy," reported the AFP news service.
"Australia doesn't need another inquiry into its intelligence on Iraq, despite the US decision to probe its own possible intelligence failures, the country's defence chief said yesterday. Defence Minister Robert Hill said there was no doubt that deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein once had weapons of mass destruction, and he had confidence in the intelligence Australia had received," reported the AP news agency.
"Asian restaurateurs were meeting senior government and police representatives here yesterday to discuss extra security following racist arson attacks on three Chinese restaurants at the weekend, officials said. Nazi swastikas were daubed on the suburban restaurants which were set ablaze early on Sunday morning as part of what is believed to be an upsurge of anti-Asian hate crime likened to a wave of firebombings here in the late 1980s," reported the AFP news service.
"Prime Minister Ariel Sharon dropped a new bombshell yesterday with plans to swap control of Arab Israeli towns in exchange for West Bank settlements after his shock proposal to evacuate all settlers from Gaza. And he warned in the face of a threat by an extreme right-wing minister to resign that he was prepared to form a new government to see his plans through," reported the AFP news service.
"North and South Korea agreed Friday to hold high-level military talks soon' to ease tension between the two nations, divided by the world's most heavily fortified border since the end of the Korean War in 1953. The agreement came at the end of four days of Cabinet-level meetings between the two Koreas during which the two sides wrangled over how to ease tensions over the North's nuclear weapons programs," reported the AP news agency.
"A Palestinian policeman died in a shootout at Gaza police headquarters that was called an assassination attempt by some and a misunderstanding by others. Gaza was also a center of Israeli attention Thursday, with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate almost all Israeli settlers, but Sharon himself was answering police questions about a bribery scandal that could force him from office," reported the AP news agency.
"The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said yesterday the father of Pakistan's atomic bomb was not working alone in creating an illicit network to sell nuclear technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea," reported the Reuters news agency.
"In his first public defence of pre-war intelligence, CIA Director George Tenet said yesterday that US analysts had never claimed Iraq was an imminent threat, the main argument used by President George W. Bush for going to war. Tenet said US intelligence accurately reported that deposed President Saddam Hussein's regime posed a danger. Though no weapons of mass destruction have been uncovered in Iraq, he stressed the search isn't over," reported the AP news agency.
"On one key point that is befuddling weapons inspectors, Tenet said he did not know at this point whether it was possible Saddam's own officials had lied to the Iraqi leader about what his regime had in the way of weapons," reported the AP news agency.
"A German court yesterday cleared a Moroccan student of being an accessory to murder in the Sept 11 attacks in the United States, saying the evidence against him was not strong enough for a conviction. The accused, Abdelghani Mzoudi, was also cleared on a lesser charge of membership of a terrorist organisation by the high-security court in Hamburg, northern Germany, after only the second trial worldwide of the 2001 suicide hijackings," reported the AFP news service.
"The men have moustaches and the women cover their hair with headscarves. Alcohol is banned on their base, and pork eating is off-limits. The Japanese troops headed to Iraq have their orders: blend in with the locals. On the Japanese base to be constructed in Samawah, alcohol and pork will be prohibited in deference to Islamic customs, an agency official said on condition of anonymity. The moustaches were suggested because facial hair is more common in Iraq than in Japan. While the Japanese soldiers will carry weapons, their mission is to carry out non-combat tasks such as purifying water," reported the AP news agency.
