Intense security after ‘terror’ gunfight in Mecca
By Jonathan Steele
LONDON: Saudi troops threw up unprecedentedly tight security checkpoints throughout Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, on Sunday, after a fierce gun battle with a suspected terrorist group left two police officers and five militants dead.
The clash between the Saudi... 
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Al Qaeda planned attacks on bridge, grounded airliners and trains
WASHINGTON: The Al Qaeda Islamist militant group once planned to demolish New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, blow up grounded airliners with explosive-laden vans and derail passenger trains, Newsweek magazine reported on Sunday.
Quoting federal investigators who interrogated captured Al Qaeda operations...
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Straw starts push for EU constitution
By Rosemary Bennett
LONDON: Jack Straw will attempt this week to turn the tide of criticism of the new European Union constitution, saying that the planned treaty will protect the powers of member states.
The Foreign Secretary will use a series of speeches to say that the proposed...
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Pressure could work on DPRK: South Korea
SEOUL: South Korea’s official in charge of relations with North Korea said Monday that intensifying pressure on the communist state would force it to accept a US offer for multilateral talks on its suspected nuclear weapons programs.North Korea has insisted on one-on-one meetings with the United States,...
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Japan to demand US hand over Marine suspected in rape case
TOKYO: Japan said on Monday it would demand the US military hand over a Marine suspected of raping a 19-year-old woman in Okinawa, a case that looks set to fuel resentment of the military’s presence on the southern island.
The latest allegation, which follows several high-profile criminal cases...
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US should leave; Saddam should be tried: Aldouri
UNITED NATIONS: Iraq’s last UN ambassador said Saddam Hussein should be brought to justice but that Iraqis, not the “colonialist” United States and Britain, should have overthrown him.
Mohammed Aldouri, who represented Saddam’s government until mid-April, said he believed people were glad the...
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Top British team given mission to end Iraq chaos
By Anton La Guardia
LONDON: Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Britain’s best-known diplomat, will become the most senior British political authority in Baghdad and lead a high-powered team to help redress what many see as a chaotic post-war administration of Iraq.
Sir Jeremy, 59, was due...
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Foreign Views: US has descended into madness
Britain must distance itself from America
I wrote recently that Blair has sold our country to America without our consent. I now think it is worse; he didn’t charge for this delivery of our future into the hands of George Bush. He gave us away
By Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
There...
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If Saddam is half as elusive as the WMDs, he should be pretty safe!
By John Simpson
Saddam Hussein is back in business. Al Quds, the respected London-based Arabic newspaper, has received a handwritten message from him, urging relentless war against the coalition forces until they leave Iraq.
Other messages arrive every few days from the underground...
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Russia’s search for strategic partner
Russia finds itself without a foreign policy strategy. Putin has wisely resisted any temptation to play off America against “old” Europe. But he may be beginning to realize that stronger ties with the EU would make Russia a weightier partner for the United States
By Katinka Barysch and Laza...
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Pakistan likely model of what’s to come
The current “war on terrorism” is largely a war on militant Islamic fundamentalists who may pose a threat to US interests. Yet by interfering in the affairs of Muslim-majority countries as part of the “war on terrorism” — often unilaterally — the United States is indirectly giving credence to the...
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Archaeology of the Middle East roadmap III
‘Immediate prospects for Palestinians grim but not entirely dark’
According to recent polls, Fatah and Hamas between them have the support of roughly 45 per cent of the Palestinian electorate, with the remaining 55 per cent evolving quite different, much more hopeful-looking political...
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Region: IAEA tackles Iran amid nuke fears
VIENNA: The head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency appealed to Iran to give “credible assurances” of the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities, as the body began a meeting Monday amid worries about the spread of atomic weapons.
With reports that Iran may be trying to develop a nuclear arsenal,...
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Sri Lankan govt plans peace proposals after clash
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s government plans fresh proposals to revive the island’s stalled peace process, its cabinet spokesman said on Monday, as tension grows over a maritime clash between rebels and the navy.
The rebels suspended peace talks in April, saying not enough was being done to rebuild...
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ASEAN hears calls for firm steps to battle terrorism
PHNOM PENH: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen called on Monday for firm measures to tackle the rising threat of terrorism in Southeast Asia as he opened two days of talks among the region’s foreign ministers.
The terror attacks on September 11, 2001 and other recent events “require us to exert...
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Attackers launch rockets against three US bases in Afghanistan
BAGRAM AIR BASE: Three US-led coalition bases in Afghanistan came under separate rocket attacks at the weekend but there were no casualties or damage, a US military spokesman said on Monday.
“A total of six rockets were fired at coalition forces’ compounds over the weekend,” US Colonel Rodney...
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Myanmar opens universities but Suu Kyi still detained
YANGON: Myanmar students flocked back to universities on Monday after the ruling military allowed classes to restart, ending a two-week suspension amid fears of unrest following the detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The universities closed as part of a broad crackdown on dissent...
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‘China must not oppose India’s UNSC bid’
BEIJING: Ahead of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s official visit to China, a leading Chinese scholar on Monday said that Beijing should not be an ‘obstacle’ in New Delhi’s bid for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council.
“Personally I think India should be a permanent...
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Protests planned against Powell’s Bangladesh visit
DHAKA: Several Leftist and Islamic parties were planning demonstrations against US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s visit to Bangladesh this week.
“We will not welcome anyone who has fought an unjust war against Iraq and committed crime against humanity,” the Communist Party of Bangladesh said...
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Bangladesh opposition return to parliament
By Saleem Samad
DHAKA: Bangladesh opposition Awami League after boycott of previous sessions has returned to Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) on Monday to debate on the recent budget speech of the Finance Minister.
The main opposition abstained from the parliament since the last session...
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Iran Internet use at risk from conservatives
By Firouz Sedarat
TEHRAN: The diary of a former prostitute is one of the hottest Web sites in Iran, a strict Islamic society where the Internet is coveted for the access it gives users to a forbidden world.
The anonymous author, who presents herself as a 24-year-old former sex...
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