"Two Palestinian militant groups conditionally agreed to temporarily halt attacks on Israel, boosting a Washington-backed peace plan as US presidential adviser Condoleezza Rice arrived yesterday," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Israel and the Palestinians were preparing yesterday to take the first concrete steps towards ending 33 months of deadly violence," reported the AFP news service.
"Iran has been locked in highly secretive and complex extradition talks with Egypt, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia over detainees it holds who are widely believed to be top members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. But government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh said yesterday many of the detainees were still being identified, adding that it was unlikely their names would ever be officially released," reported the AFP news service.
"The mothers of several wanted Islamic militants in Saudi Arabia have appealed to their sons to give themselves up after the surrender of one of the main suspects," reported the AFP news service.
"Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Friday that he wanted to redraw the US-backed road map for Middle East peace and unite Palestinians and Israelis in a single state. The radical and historical solution is one state for Palestinians and Jews, he told a group of academics in London via satellite from Tripoli on Friday night. Middle East experts said the proposal would probably be ignored by both sides of the current peace talks, and by the quartet of road map sponsors: the United States, European Union, Russia and United Nations," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Hundreds of thousands of Americans hoping to keep unwanted telephone sales calls at bay signed on to a free do not call list on Friday that will prevent most telemarketers from bothering them at home. The do-not-call list should help Americans enjoy their private time without unwanted interruptions, Bush said a few hours after the list was opened up for registration," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US President George W. Bush opened what he hopes will be a battle for California in 2004 on Friday by raising millions of dollars in campaign cash while skirting the state's dire fiscal crisis. Outside the hotel where he spoke, several hundred protesters rallied against the president, focusing in particular on the Iraq war and that conclusive evidence of weapons of mass destruction have not been found, saying Bush lies, Iraqi people and GIs die," reported the Reuters news agency.
"On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Colin Powell urged southern African countries to increase pressure on Mugabe to hand over power to a transitional government. Botswana President Festus Mogae said on Thursday that it is pointless to try and tell Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe what to do and said the Bush administration should stop trying," reported the Reuters news agency.
"In the religious melting pot of the United States, the role of Muslim prayer leader has transformed into something that would seem unfamiliar to people in predominantly Muslim countries. In America, they do much more. Like ministers and rabbis, imams manage their houses of worship, teach, provide counselling and perform marriages and other rituals," reported the AP news agency.
"A lesbian is to give birth to one of the first babies conceived in Britain using sperm provided by an Internet donor service," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US forces in Iraq recovered the bodies of two soldiers missing for three days after apparently being abducted, the military said yesterday, while a separate attack left one soldier dead and four wounded. The bodies of the two soldiers were found around 35km north-west of here, near where they went missing on Wednesday, Lt-Col Martin Compton said, without elaborating," reported the AFP news service.
"A controversial Labour Member of Parliament said on Friday he had begun a libel case against The Daily Telegraph newspaper over its claim that he had been in the pay of Saddam Hussein. The right-wing daily alleged last April that George Galloway, a politician who for years campaigned for the lifting of international sanctions on Iraq, had secretly received at least £375,000 a year from Saddam's regime," reported the AFP news service.
"A group of US policy experts left Washington on Friday to carry out a review of post-war Iraq amid growing fears over the toll on US forces of attempts to secure and start the rebuilding of the country. The decision to turn to outside experts for advice comes amid growing concern over the organised armed resistance against the US-led occupation force and delays in the process leading to Iraqi self-rule," reported the AFP news service.
"The Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad declared a three-month suspension of attacks on Israelis yesterday, a move which could boost a fragile US-backed peace plan. But Israel immediately dismissed the ceasefire as a ticking bomb, saying a truce would give the groups time to restrengthen," reported the Reuters news agency.
"In Chicago, a porch crammed with party-goers collapsed early yesterday, sending bodies and splintered wood plummeting three stories into a tangled mass that killed 12 and injured dozens," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Momentum was building yesterday for an international force to deploy to Liberia in a bid to end fighting that has left hundreds dead and a war that has spread chaos in West Africa for more than a decade. The United States, because of historic ties to a country founded by freed American slaves, is under most pressure to lead a mission demanded by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Britain, France and legions of tired and frightened Liberians," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US Muslims have been angered by a state senator who distributed a flier which suggested suicide terrorist attacks might be deterred by burying attackers' bodies with pig entrails," reported the AFP news service.
"An Australian miner cut off his own arm with a Stanley knife rather than wait for rescuers after he was pinned under a tractor in a coal mine in the New South Wales Hunter Valley. The accident followed the celebrated incident in the United States two months ago in which rock climber Aron Ralston, 27, was forced to amputate his right arm below the elbow with a pocket knife after it was pinned under a 360kg boulder for five days," reported the AFP news service.
"Nasa postponed the launch yesterday of a robot destined to explore for long vanished water sources on Mars because of strong cross-winds in Florida. Nasa stopped the countdown shortly after midnight, just minutes away from liftoff, having already delayed it earlier when a fishing boat wandered into a restricted area near the seaside launch pad," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Perhaps concerned that the Wild West-inspired gifts they showered President George W. Bush with in 2001 may have encouraged militarism, foreign leaders last year all but shunned martial-themed presents to the US leader. Instead of the multitude of swords, saddles, cowboy hats and boots given to Bush in 2001, artwork, books, jewellery, photographs and rugs were the world's gifts of choice to the president last year," reported the AFP news service.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin returned home from a historic state visit to Britain on Saturday, admitting that the rigid British protocol sometimes put him ill at ease. The pomp of protocol is nicer to look at from outside, because when one participates in it, it presents certain difficulties, said Putin, who nevertheless called the visit – during which London and Moscow officially buried their differences over the Iraq war – fruitful," reported the AFP news service.
"Hundreds of former Iraqi soldiers angrily blocked the headquarters of British forces in this southern city yesterday after the coalition failed to pay back wages. The soldiers placed barbed wire and large rocks in front of the main entrance to the British headquarters set up in Saddam Hussein's old Al-Barazhiya palace. The Iraqis hurled stones, preventing two British ambulances from driving out of the compound and prompting an armoured vehicle to take up position," reported the AFP news service.
"US forces launched a massive operation early yesterday to crush insurgents and capture senior figures from Saddam Hussein's ousted regime, conducting more than 20 raids involving air and ground forces, and arresting more than 60 suspects in a show of force designed to stem a wave of deadly attacks on US troops," reported the AP news agency.
"The chances of capturing toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein are very high, Paul Bremer, the top US administrator in Iraq, said yesterday. Bremer said Saddam's capture would be instrumental in helping US forces bring the still lawless country under control," reported the AFP news service.
"Two American troops were injured and an Iraqi civilian was killed in an attack on a US military convoy early yesterday on a road leading to Baghdad International Airport, the military said, the latest in a string of recent attacks that have brought the toll of American dead since the war began over 200. The latest attack, which involved an improvised explosive device, occurred early yesterday as the convoy made its way on a highway that heads out to the airport," reported the AP news agency.
"Pressure built on the United States to contribute to a peace force for warring Liberia, with West African leaders asking for 2,000 U.S. troops - and an answer from U.S. President George W. Bush before he visits Africa next month. The United States has expressed a willingness toward some role in efforts to bring peace to Liberia, though it has made no specific agreement to supply troops," reported the AP news agency.
"The New York Police Department (NYPD) is to station its officers in Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries as part of its own international intelligence-gathering network because it cannot depend on US federal agencies like the FBI and CIA to do so. In an exclusive interview with the mass-circulation New York Post, police commissioner Ray Kelly said he would send detectives to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines soon," reported the Malaysian Star newspaper.
"At least 12 people died yesterday when an Algerian Hercules military aircraft on a training flight crashed into houses in a town just south of Algiers," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A nurse at North York General Hospital became Ontario's first healthcare worker to die of SARS, raising the death toll from the flu-like illness in the province to 39, the Ontario Health Ministry said. The 51-year-old nurse died on Sunday, the first SARS-related death in the province since June 22. The ministry did not say if the nurse was a man or a woman," reported the AP news agency.
"Palestinian militants shot dead a foreign worker in the West Bank yesterday, shaking a fragile truce with Israel which their leaders announced under international pressure to shore up a US-backed peace plan. But the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers are expected to meet today and the United States, the main Middle East peace broker, said it was encouraged by the progress made," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Police fired warning shots and tear gas yesterday to break up crowds of banner-waving workers and armed thugs as a paralysing general strike over fuel prices took hold across oil-rich Nigeria. World oil prices moved higher, in part on fears the strike would disrupt Nigeria's exports," reported the AP news agency.
"Israel returned the Gaza Strip's main highway to Palestinian control yesterday ending a 30-month blockade and advancing a fragile US-backed peace plan," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Noisy homes could be putting the mental development of babies at risk, scientists warn. New research indicates that constant background noise may swamp an infant's brain, holding back its ability to recognise sounds. Modern homes are often filled with a cacophony of noise from blaring TVs and radios, the rumble of traffic, jets flying overhead, and domestic machinery such as washing machines and fridges. The findings might explain why language learning disorders have increased over the last few decades, it is claimed," reported the dpa news agency.
"An Australian policeman set up a surveillance camera to watch a former officer in her bathroom. Senior Constable Kevin Fay hid the tiny camera under a pile of towels and was able to view her from a car parked outside her house," reported the dpa news agency.
"A massive sweep that has already involved more than 20 lightning raids and netted at least 60 suspects in towns across a wide swath of Iraq moved into its second day yesterday, a show of air and infantry power designed to crush resistance and stem a wave of deadly attacks on US troops," reported the AP news agency.
"Insurgents fired a rocket propelled grenade at a military vehicle in the restive town of Fallujah, injuring an embedded employee of NBC News, the military said yesterday. Three Iraqis were killed when their pickup truck slammed into a vehicle helping evacuate the wounded reporter," reported the AP news agency.
"A court in Karachi yesterday sentenced three militants to death for plotting a May 2002 suicide car bomb attack that killed 11 French naval engineers and two Pakistani bystanders. The death sentences were announced two days ahead of President Pervez Musharraf's arrival in France for a two-day official visit that will include talks with President Jacques Chirac," reported the AFP news service.
"A massive protest against an anti-subversion bill highlighted deep unhappiness with Hong Kong's government and fears about the future, drawing numerous calls Wednesday for leaders to reconsider the measure," reported the AP news agency.
"A pedestrian tunnel being built for a new subway station caved in near Shanghai's riverfront Bund district, causing part of an eight-story building to collapse but inflicting no injuries," reported the AP news agency.
"Palestinian police prepared Wednesday to move back into the West Bank town of Bethlehem, the second area Israel is turning over under a Mideast peace plan, after an upbeat summit meeting boosted hope for an end to 33 months of bloodshed. The handover of the ancient town was to take place Wednesday, officials on both sides said, after the last of the Israeli soldiers left. On Tuesday, army transport trucks hauled equipment away from two Israeli bases next to the town," reported the AP news agency.
"Iran said yesterday that Mohammed ElBaradei, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, would visit Iran on July 9 as pressure mounts on the Islamic republic to accept tougher inspections of its nuclear sites. The United Nations, United States, Russia and the European Union have all urged Iran to allow more intrusive, short-notice nuclear inspections after an IAEA report criticised Iran last month for failing to fully report its atomic activities," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Israeli army trucks moved equipment yesterday from a base near Bethlehem ahead of a planned withdrawal from the West Bank town, as the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers were to discuss their next peace moves," reported the AP news agency.
"Top US officials were to meet yesterday to discuss the situation in war-ravaged Liberia and to consider whether the United States will join an international peacekeeping force in the west African state," reported the AFP news service.
"The US military conducted 50 highly-classified tests of biological and chemical agents in the 1960s and 1970s to find out how they would act in different environments and weather conditions. The origins of the programme go back to 1961, when defence secretary Robert McNamara ordered tests to see if chemical and biological weapons could be effective. The purpose of the Pentagon probe was to determine how many people could have been affected by the experiments to handle possible health-related claims," reported the AFP news service.
"The police officer in charge of security at Windsor Castle has been moved to other duties, barely a week after a comic gate-crashed Prince William's 21st birthday party," reported the AFP news service.
"The BBC is no stranger to political spats but rarely has the publicly funded broadcaster's independence been put to the test as now. The British Broadcasting Corporation is under fierce political fire for the very reporting that made its name across the globe just as it prepares for a debate over its future. Blasted in the past as a leftist elite and threatened with having its funding withdrawn, the BBC is at the centre of a vicious row over a report that claimed Prime Minister Tony Blair's office sexed up a dossier on Iraqi weapons," reported the reuters news agency.
"Days after his 75th birthday, Hans Blix formally ended his tumultuous three-year quest for Iraq's chemical, biological and ballistic missiles, insisting he was just a lawyer doing an apolitical job. But little concerning Iraq was apolitical and Blix, in his understated way, refrained from gloating about the failure so far of US-led experts to find unconventional weapons. Some Schadenfreude, or glee at another's misfortune, seeps through his comments, even on the last day," reported the reuters news agency.
"ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) is a treatment for male infertility in which a single sperm is injected into the egg. It has enabled men with low sperm counts or poor quality sperm to father children. But Prof Gianpiero Palermo, of the Cornell Institute for Reproductive Medicine in New York, told a fertility conference that children born through ICSI can inherit the genetic cause of the father's infertility," reported the reuters news agency.
"Security forces shot dead four Nigerians while four others were killed by a speeding vehicle during street protests over fuel prices in the oil-producing country. Nigerian trade unionists vowed to push the strike into a second day yesterday, triggering mounting concern over the West African state's over two million barrels a day of oil exportsNigerian trade unionists vowed to push the strike into a second day yesterday, triggering mounting concern over the West African state's over two million barrels a day of oil exports," reported the reuters news agency.
"Heavy rains and high winds swept across the US south on Monday after tropical storm Bill slammed into the Louisiana coast, then moved quickly inland. The storm, with winds up to 96kph, toppled trees, flooded coastal areas and bayous and spawned at least two tornadoes, one of which injured four people when it struck a mobile home in Reserve, Louisiana," reported the reuters news agency.
"The New Zealand Government announced yesterday what it called the biggest change to immigration policy in 10 years, in the process ditching residence applications already filed by up to 10,000 people. The immigration target remained at between 45,000 and 50,000 a year," reported the dpa news agency.
"American soldiers were hurt in two separate attacks in Baghdad yesterday and an explosion beside a mosque in the troubled town of Falluja killed at least one Iraqi. Hours earlier in Washington, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had rejected suggestions that US-led forces in Iraq faced a Vietnam-style guerilla war. But he cautioned that it would take some time to stamp out armed resistance," reported the reuters news agency.
"Police fired tear gas and warning shots in a crowded marketplace in Nigeria's capital Wednesday, sparking a stampede of shopkeepers and protesters on the third day of a nationwide strike to protest a drastic hike in fuel prices. More than 1,000 people fled the warren of market stalls in Abuja, where union members were trying to persuade shopkeepers to join the strike to protest the increase in fuel prices of more than 50 percent," reported the AP news agency.
"President George W. Bush said Wednesday that a constitutional ban on gay marriage in the United States that has been proposed in the House might not be needed, despite a Supreme Court decision that some conservatives think opens the door to legalizing same-sex marriages. Bush's words were aimed at calming members of the Republicans' right wing who are upset about the recent Supreme Court decision, said Patrick Guerriero, director of the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay advocacy group," reported the AP news agency.
"The British government has asked major cigarette manufacturer British American Tobacco to pull out of Myanmar because of the Southeast Asian country's human rights record, the Foreign Office announced Wednesday. A week ago Prime Minister Tony Blair made clear that the government believes neither trade with nor investment in Myanmar is appropriate while the country's military regime continues to suppress the population's basic human rights," reported the AP news agency.
"The U.S. government and private technology experts warned that hackers plan to attack thousands of Web sites Sunday in a loosely coordinated "contest'' that could disrupt Internet traffic. Organizers established a Web site, defacers-challenge.com, which was shut down early Wednesday evening. Before it was removed, the site listed in broken English the rules for hackers who might participate," reported the AP news agency.
"Tokyo stocks rose Thursday morning following Wall Street's rally overnight. The U.S. dollar was lower against the Japanese yen," reported the AP news agency.
"Israeli patrols pulled out of the West Bank city of Bethlehem yesterday, clearing the way for Palestinians to resume security control in a deal both sides hope will advance a US-backed "road map" to peace. Under the deal, Palestinian police will curb militants and prevent attacks on Israelis. Though relieved at the end to Israeli incursions and curfews, many Bethlehem residents remained skeptical, mindful of the military checkpoints that will stay on encircling the city," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi sparked fury in the European Parliament yesterday when he appeared to compare a German lawmaker with a Nazi concentration camp commander. The incident caused uproar in the house and completely overshadowed Berlusconi's presentation of Italy's priorities for its six-month presidency of the European Union, which began on Tuesday," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Soldiers trying to disperse Nigerian protesters opened fire in the main market of the capital, Abuja, yesterday, triggering a mass stampede," reported the Reuters news agency.
"President George W. Bush yesterday urged President Charles Taylor to leave Liberia as the United States weighed whether to send about 2,000 troops to help end a 14-year civil war. Defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Pentagon had worked up a contingency plan for a possible US military role in Liberia, and that up to 40 marines at a naval base at Rota, Spain, were on standby if needed to secure the American embassy in Monrovia," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Followers of a notorious Solomon Islands warlord tortured then beheaded at least three men and razed an entire village, said survivors who fear being used as human shields against an Australian-led intervention force," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The United States said on Tuesday it was cutting off military aid to 35 countries, including Colombia and six nations seeking Nato membership, because they back the International Criminal Court and have not exempted Americans from possible prosecution. Another dozen countries were also prohibited from receiving US military aid. The decision to suspend aid is the latest attack by the Bush administration on the international court, set up last year to try war crimes and acts of genocide," reported the Reuters news agency.
"An Australian Christian school has banned the new best-selling adventure of teenage wizard Harry Potter, saying the book promotes evil witchcraft and magic. Bert Langerak, principal of the Maranatha Christian School in Melbourne, said we would deal with, say, Macbeth and Hamlet, because evil there is being portrayed as evil and not as being good, whereas Harry Potter is on a quest to become the best possible wizard and that's being applauded by the author," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A former four-star US army general who led a major and controversial attack during the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, warned on Tuesday that US troops could be locked into Iraq for the next decade. Gen McCaffrey, who led the US 24th mechanised infantry division in what was termed the greatest cavalry charge in history in the famed left hook dash during the 1991 Iraq war, warned of a growing and very violent underground opposition. Gen McCaffrey said it was vital for the truth to be told to the American people," reported the Reuters news agency.
"For the first time since the war in Iraq, a solid majority of Americans believe the Bush administration either stretched the truth about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction or told outright lies, according to a survey," reported the AFP news service.
"Facing a mounting spiral of deadly attacks, the US-led occupation authority pursued the hunt for Saddam Hussein's forces while insisting efforts to rebuild Iraq are on target. Another US soldier was announced dead in action yesterday, bringing to 22 the number of US soldiers killed since May 1, when US President George W. Bush declared the war to oust Saddam Hussein's regime over," reported the AFP news service.
"The Australian army yesterday launched its first counter-terrorism unit made up entirely of reservists as part of continuing preparations for threatened attacks by al-Qaeda. The head of the army, Lieutenant-General Peter Leahy, paraded out the new 150-member unit, fresh from a nine-day training course at a military camp north of Melbourne," reported the AFP news service.
"The wife of al-Qaeda's leading spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith has broken a two-year silence to say her husband is not a terrorist and should be tried in his own country Kuwait," reported the AFP news service.
