"Iraq's US-backed Governing Council yesterday met a UN team that will judge if elections demanded by the Shi'ite majority can be held before Washington hands sovereignty back to Iraqis at mid-year. The United Nations delegation arrived on Saturday. It is the highest-level presence for the global body in Iraq since it quit the country after two bomb attacks on its offices last year," reported the news Agencies.
"Led by local police escort, a heavily armoured convoy of Japanese troops arrived in Iraq from Kuwait yesterday to set up for a controversial humanitarian mission that marks Tokyo's first military deployment to a combat zone since World War II. The ground troops, most of them engineers, were leading a deployment that will eventually reach about 800 soldiers in a humanitarian mission aimed at improving water supplies and other infrastructure projects around this city in southeastern Iraq," reported the AP news agency.
"Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was rallying support for his controversial Gaza evacuation plan among sceptical members of his own party yesterday as a wanted militant was shot dead in the territory by Israeli troops," reported the AFP news service.
"Three US Navy sailors have been charged with raping two sisters while on shore leave in this northern Australian city, police said yesterday. Police said the sailors – aged 20, 21 and 22 – were arrested on Saturday at an apartment where the two sisters were also found in a semi-conscious state. The women, aged 23 and 26, were subsequently hospitalised," reported the AFP news service.
"A Beijing businessman has filed an application to trademark the Chinese name of US President George W. Bush to help market his disposable nappies. The applicant, surnamed Guo, filed an application with the General Administration for Industry and Commerce of China, stating he wants to use the two-character phrase “Bu Shi” as a trademark. One official from the State Trademark Bureau said the application was likely to be rejected," reported China Daily.
"The White House, trying to end doubts about President George W. Bush's Vietnam-era military record, released documents that it said proved he had met his requirements in the Texas Air National Guard despite long, unexplained gaps in his service. However, Democrats were dismissive of the newly released records. Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe said The handful of documents released today by the White House creates more questions than answers," reported the AP news agency.
"A massive car bomb killed about 50 people at a police station south of Baghdad yesterday as civilians lined up to apply for jobs, in one of the deadliest attacks on Iraqis working with US occupation forces. The bombing, which wounded at least 75 others, came after US officials said an Islamic militant with links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network was plotting to ignite a civil war in Iraq to undermine efforts to hand over power to Iraqis," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A suicide car bomb killed 47 people at an army recruitment centre in Baghdad yesterday, taking the death toll to about 100 in two attacks on Iraqis working with the US occupation forces within 24 hour. As rain turned to warm sunshine, relatives tried to identify loved ones at the scene, peeling back bloody sheets and bodybags, covering mouths and noses as they examined each corpse. It was the Americans! The Americans! They never came to oust Saddam, they came for the oil one man said. The latest attacks follow a pattern of targeting Iraqis seen as collaborating with the US occupation," reported the Reuters news agency.
"In their deadliest strike for months, Israeli troops killed at least 14 Palestinians in gunbattles in the Gaza Strip yesterday during raids Israel said were to root out militants attacking Jewish settlements. The army assault followed signs of unease in the military over a shock announcement by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last week that he planned to pull all settlers out of the Gaza Strip," reported the Reuters news agency.
"French prosecutors said on Tuesday they had opened an inquiry into transfers totalling nine million euros into bank accounts held in France by Suha Arafat, the wife of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. The Paris public prosecutor confirmed a report in Le Canard Enchaine weekly that an inquiry into Suha Arafat, who lives in Paris, was launched last October after information provided by the Bank of France and a government anti-money laundering body," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US President George W. Bush was absent for long periods of his final two years of National Guard duty but met service requirements, according to new records cited by the White House in an effort to refute accusations he shirked Vietnam War-era military obligations. The records may not end the controversy. The Democratic Party said in a statement, There is still no evidence that George W. Bush showed up for duty as ordered while in Alabama," reported the Reuters news agency.
"Some of George W. Bush's conservative political supporters are increasingly restive and anxious about the president's economic policies as well as his attempts to justify the war against Iraq. Fox television news anchor Bill O'Reilly, usually an outspoken Bush supporter, said on Tuesday he was now sceptical about the Bush administration and apologised to viewers for supporting pre-war claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction," reported the Reuters news agency.
"U.N. inspectors sifting through Iran's nuclear files have discovered drawings of high-tech equipment that can be used to make weapons-grade uranium -- a new link to the black market headed by the father of Pakistan's atomic bomb. The diplomats, who spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity, said the designs were of a P-2 centrifuge -- more advanced than the P-1 model Iran has acknowledged using to enrich uranium for what it says are peaceful purposes," reported the AP news agency.
"Israeli security forces were placed on high alert yesterday in readiness for revenge attacks from Hamas as another member of the radical Islamist group was killed, the day after the death of 15 Palestinians in Gaza. Sameh Arar became the seventh Hamas member to be shot dead by Israeli forces in two days when he was gunned down by a special forces unit in a raid near the West Bank town of Ramallah," reported the AFP news service.
"Israel decided yesterday to boycott the upcoming world court hearing into its West Bank separation barrier by not sending any legal representatives to The Hague, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office said. The decision to boycott the meeting was made after countries such as the United States, Germany and Britain had questioned the court's right to adjudicate on the barrier's legality, it said. The Palestinians said Israel's decision to boycott the hearing showed the Jewish state's bid to defend the project had failed," reported the AFP news service.
"Israeli police have come up with plans to place bags of pig lard on buses to deter Palestinian militants from carrying out suicide attacks, the Maariv daily reported yesterday. Rabbinical authorities have given the idea its approval on the grounds that it could be a life-saving measure even though pigs are also considered impure by Jews," reported the AFP news service.
"US President George W. Bush on Wednesday called for limiting nuclear technology to only those countries that forswear atomic weapons and said an intensive global effort was needed to stop a nuclear black market. Bush, in a speech at the National Defence University, highlighted his national security credentials, a central theme of a re-election campaign that intends to focus on what Bush is doing to protect the United States following the Sept 11, 2001, attacks," reported the news Agencies.
"The US military knows 537 of its soldiers have been killed in the war in Iraq, can cite names, how and when they died. But when it comes to dead Iraqi civilians, it will not even talk hundreds or thousands. Independent think tanks estimate as many as 10,000 civilians may have died as a direct result of the US-led military intervention in Iraq, either during the war or in attacks aimed at uprooting the occupation," reported the Reuters news agency.
"US authorities in Iraq say they keep no official tally. But analysts say it is also in Washington's interests to keep the toll quiet. Analysts say turning ordinary citizens against the war it launched is precisely what Washington does not want to do, especially with a presidential election coming up in November," reported the Reuters news agency.
"The head of US Central Command, General John Abizaid, escaped unharmed yesterday from a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack in the hotspot Iraqi town of Fallujah," reported the news Agencies.
"The CIA, under fire over its intelligence about Iraq's arms programmes, has posted a notice on its website offering rewards for information on the elusive weapons. The Iraqi Rewards Programme notice dated Tuesday seeks specific and verifiable information on the location of stocks of recently made chemical or biological weapons, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles or their components. The CIA asked for information about imminent attacks by insurgents or terrorists and about individuals or groups obtaining explosives and other weapons to use against coalition and Iraqi security forces, schools, businesses and civilians," reported the Reuters news agency.
"A man jumped four metres from the public gallery to the floor of the Australian parliament yesterday and ran among politicians, including Prime Minister John Howard, before being dragged away. It is believed to have been the first time in years someone has leapt from the public gallery into a parliamentary chamber," reported the Reuters news agency.
