World News Review

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The New York Times > International > Europe > How Top Spies in Ukraine Changed the Nation's Path

2005-01-17T06:52:00.000-05:00

C. J. CHIVERS explains how the top spies in Ukraine changed the nation's path.

The New York Times > International > Europe > How Top Spies in Ukraine Changed the Nation's Path

Albania's Chemical Cache Raises Fears About Others (washingtonpost.com)

2005-01-10T09:10:00.000-05:00

Albanian officials recently allowed a reporter from The Washington Post to view the stockpile, a move that comes as there are ongoing efforts by the fledgling democracy to renounce the country's past and bolster its international standing. While the stockpile is small compared with the vast chemical weapons holdings of Russia and the United States, it is worrisome to U.S. officials because of what it represents: one of scores of undocumented or poorly secured weapons caches worldwide that could be exploited by terrorists with deadly effect.

more from Washington Post's correspondent Joby Warrick

Albania's Chemical Cache Raises Fears About Others (washingtonpost.com)

WorldNetDaily: Al-Jazeera's tsunami conspiracy theories

2005-01-07T11:57:00.000-05:00

Arab news service reports chatter about plots, India-Israel nuke test implicated.

Some think the U.S. and Indian militaries deliberately caused the tsunamis with electromagnetic pulse technology.

Some of the theories reported on seriously by Al-Jazeera includ.

WorldNetDaily: Al-Jazeera's tsunami conspiracy theories

USATODAY.com - Two ex-presidents to head tsunami fundraising effort

2005-01-03T12:33:00.000-05:00

The White House announced on Monday that President Bush has tapped former Presidents Clinton and Bush to lead a nationwide charitable fundraising effort for victims of the Asian tsunamis

USATODAY.com - Two ex-presidents to head tsunami fundraising effort

WorldNetDaily: Disaster mystery: No dead animals

2004-12-29T05:10:00.000-05:00

As the human death toll from Sunday's earthquake and subsequent tsunami continues to skyrocket in Asia, a mystery is unfolding in Sri Lanka. Somehow, the animals survived the disaster.

more from WorldNetDaily.com

WorldNetDaily: Disaster mystery: No dead animals

The New York Times: The Food Chain | Survival of the Biggest: Supermarket Giants Crush Central American Farmers

2004-12-28T14:02:00.000-05:00

Mario Chinchilla, his face shaded by a battered straw hat, worriedly surveyed his field of sickly tomatoes. His hands and jeans were caked with dirt, but no amount of labor would ever turn his puny crop into the plump, unblemished produce the country's main supermarket chain displays in its big stores.

more from New York Times correspondent CELIA W. DUGGER

The New York Times > International > Americas > The Food Chain | Survival of the Biggest: Supermarket Giants Crush Central American Farmers

Toll From Tsunami Rises Above 25,000 (washingtonpost.com)

2004-12-28T03:01:00.000-05:00

The death toll rose to more than 25,000 people, a large percentage of them on this island nation in the Indian Ocean and at least a third of the dead were children, according to estimates by aid officials.

more

Toll From Tsunami Rises Above 25,000 (washingtonpost.com)

The New York Times: Yushchenko Wins 52% of Vote; Rival Vows a Challenge

2004-12-28T02:57:00.000-05:00

With virtually all votes counted, Viktor A. Yushchenko, the opposition leader, was Ukraine's presumptive president-elect on Monday. But his opponent, Prime Minister Viktor F. Yanukovich, refused to accept the results and said he would challenge them in court.

Mr. Yushchenko led Mr. Yanukovich by 52.06 percent to 44.14 percent, a lead of more than 2.2 million votes, according to the Central Election Commission, which by late Monday had counted 99.89 percent of the ballots cast.

C. J. CHIVERS reports from Kiev

The New York Times > International > Europe > Yushchenko Wins 52% of Vote; Rival Vows a Challenge

Aljazeera.Net - Bin Ladin urges Iraq election boycott

2004-12-28T02:54:00.000-05:00

Usama bin Ladin has called for a boycott of next month's elections in Iraq and endorsed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as his deputy in the country, according to an audiotape broadcast by Aljazeera.

more

Aljazeera.Net - Bin Ladin urges Iraq election boycott

The New York Times: Most Powerful Quake in 40 Years Triggers Death and Destruction

2004-12-26T16:43:00.000-05:00

The most powerful earthquake in 40 years struck south Asia this morning, triggering tsunamis that smashed into villages, resorts and tourist isles, killing thousands and leaving hundreds missing. Sri Lanka and India were hit hardest as the tsunamis, some 30 feet high, washed away fishermen, tourists, cars and beachside stalls.

The earthquake, which generated tidal surges that could be felt as far away as Africa, hit at 6:58 a.m. local time about 100 miles off the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra. It measured 8.9 on the Richter scale, which made it the largest in the world since 1964 and the fifth largest since 1900, according to the National Earthquake Information Center at the United States Geological Survey.

The New York Times > International > Asia Pacific > Most Powerful Quake in 40 Years Triggers Death and Destruction

Boston.com: A voice for Hussein's victims

2004-12-26T05:19:00.000-05:00

The first thing Abdullah Mohammed Hussein wants to talk about on the witness stand at Saddam Hussein's trial are his seven dead children, and how they were dumped into a shallow grave in northern Iraq after they were shot in the head, along with their mother.

Thanassis Cambanis reports from Iraq.

Boston.com / News / World / A voice for Hussein's victims

South Africa's Mbeki at Once President and Pundit (washingtonpost.com)

2004-12-24T14:54:00.000-05:00

The most carefully read political columnist in this fast-paced city is not some hard-bitten muckraker or lofty academic. He's a late-night scribbler with a demanding day job.

Thabo Mbeki, the president of South Africa, spins out hundreds of words each week that both illuminate and frustrate readers of ANC Today, the weekly online newsletter of the African National Congress. Unlike his predecessor, Nelson Mandela, who focused on reconciliation after the end of apartheid, Mbeki is combative, and his Friday column is often a forum for settling scores with rivals.

South Africa's Mbeki at Once President and Pundit (washingtonpost.com)

The New York Times > International > Americas > 2 Women Lead Chile's Presidential Race

2004-12-24T05:22:00.000-05:00

One is a Christian Democrat and a former foreign minister, the other a Socialist and former defense minister. They are the two leading competitors for the presidential nomination of the multiparty, center-left coalition that has governed this country since Gen. Augusto Pinochet stepped down in 1990, and both of them, for the first time here, are women.
Chile is often said to be Latin America's most socially conservative nation. But the emergence of two women as the top contenders for the country's highest office suggests that attitudes have changed. Soledad Alvear, the Christian Democrat, and Michelle Bachelet, the Socialist, say they are hoping that the shift of attitudes will prove decisive when voters go to the polls a year from now.

The New York Times > International > Americas > 2 Women Lead Chile's Presidential Race

The New York Times: Europe Bloc Says Turks Can Apply

2004-12-18T08:01:00.000-05:00

The European Union said Friday that Turkey could join its ranks as soon as 10 years from now, but warned that the Turks must overcome widespread public opposition to a Muslim country's entering the European fold.

Leaders of the 25 member nations offered to begin talks on Turkish accession next October. While they stressed that they could not guarantee the outcome, the invitation alone marked Turkey's leap from perennial suitor to serious contender for full European Union membership.

Susan Sachs reports from Brussels

The New York Times > International > Europe > Europe Bloc Says Turks Can Apply

Hostage Takers Give Up After 18-Hour Standoff on Bus in Greece

2004-12-16T08:29:00.000-05:00

One of the two hijackers

A daylong hostage siege ended here early Thursday morning after two gunmen who had hijacked an Athens-bound commuter bus surrendered to the authorities and released their six remaining captives.

The gunmen, identified by the police as Albanians, earlier had threatened to blow up the bus and the six remaining hostages unless authorities met their demand for $1.3 million dollars and a plane to fly them out of the country.

There were no reports of injuries among the passengers, most of them Greeks on the way to work, although at one point a gunman fired through the roof of the bus.

The New York Times > International > Europe > Hostage Takers Give Up After 18-Hour Standoff on Bus in Greece

2004-12-16T08:27:00.000-05:00

The New York Times > International > Europe > Hostage Takers Give Up After 18-Hour Standoff on Bus in Greece

Greek Bus Hijacked In Athens With 26 On Board

2004-12-15T07:10:00.000-05:00

ATHENS, Greece-Two foreign gunmen, probably Russians, hijacked a Greek bus carrying 26 passengers on Wednesday and demanded to go to Athens airport to leave the country.

One of the hijackers told a Greek television station he wanted to go to Russia, and state-run NET television said representatives of the Russian Embassy were on the scene.
Government sources confirmed the two men were demanding that a driver take them to the airport but could not confirm they were Russian. Police called them "foreigners."

The bus was seized about 6:00 a.m. along a highway from the Athens suburb of Marathon, used during the Olympic race of the same name this summer.

Six hours after the hijacking, the two men had released five people three women and two men. The driver fled the bus with the keys at the start of the hostage-taking.

The first hostage released, a grey-haired man who looked to be in his 50s, stepped out of the bus through the driver's side with his hands raised and walked about 30 yards before stepping over a low fence into the arms of way
iting police.

"My Dad has a heart condition,'' Vassilis Bratsiakos told reporters. ``I am just happy he is well and far away from the bus.''
The police spokeswoman said after the hostage's release that negotiations with the two armed hijackers were going well.

According to Reuters the nationality of the gunmen was not known although a passenger contacted on the bus said at least one of the hijackers spoke what appeared to be Russian.
Police initially thought the hijackers were Albanian but the source said that possibility was receding.

With reporting by: Reuters, AP

Diplomacy: NATO Agrees to Expansion of Forces Training Soldiers in Iraq

2004-12-10T13:12:00.000-05:00

NATO will expand the training staff in Baghdad to 300 officers from 60 under the pact, which NATO had agreed to in outline in September as part of efforts to field more Iraqi security forces to help ensure safe elections in January. The 60 trainers are from 10 countries, including the United States and Britain.

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the NATO secretary general said Poland, Hungary and the Netherlands had agreed to contribute to the enlarged force. Their contingents, will not be enough, and other countries have yet to pledge forces. The six that refused are France, Germany, Belgium, Greece, Spain and Luxembourg.

"We will send no troops to Iraq," said the German foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, adding that Germany's position has been clear since NATO decided last June to establish the force. France's foreign minister, Michel Barnier, told reporters, "Given the current security situation, we think it is more efficient and useful if training takes place outside of Iraq."

The French government has offered to train military police in France or a third country but said it had so far received no specific request from the Iraqi government. German instructors are training Iraqi police and troops in the United Arab Emirates.

During Thursday's meetings, ministers tried but failed to get troop commitments for an expansion of NATO's peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan to cover the country's western provinces. NATO officials said they were behind in lining up the additional forces, who are intended to provide security for parliamentary elections in April.

In a sign of easing tensions over the election crisis in Ukraine, NATO's foreign ministers and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met and joined in a statement that called for free and fair elections by the end of the month.

WITH REPORTING BY: THE NEW YORK TIMES and THE WASHINGTON POST

Thousands of jobs to go at BBC | Reuters.co.uk

2004-12-07T13:21:00.000-05:00

The BBC has announced one of the biggest shake-ups in its history, with plans to axe at least 10 percent of its workforce and trim 320 million pounds in costs.

Director General Mark Thompson -- who famously described the BBC as "basking in a Jacuzzi of spare public cash" when he ran rival broadcaster Channel Four -- announced the cuts in a presentation to staff on Tuesday.

Top News Article | Reuters.co.uk

The New York Times: Ukraine's Face Is Mirrored in a Candidate

2004-12-05T05:54:00.000-05:00

Viktor A. Yushchenko, the opposition candidate who is trying to remake Ukraine through a sweeping change of power, stood on the stage in Independence Square here and surveyed the rapt crowd during one of his many appearances in two weeks of political crisis. His face, from chin to forehead, was a darkened mask of cysts. Its ugliness was unsettling.

The New York Times > International > Europe > Ukraine's Face Is Mirrored in a Candidate

World Briefing

2004-12-01T08:59:00.000-05:00

KIEV , Ukraine- Ukraine 's parliament voted today to dismiss the government of Prime Minister Viktor F. Yanukovich, the declared winner of the country's presidential elections that are disputed by the opposition. The approval of the no-confidence motion puts pressure on President Leonid D. Kuchma, who must decide the next step in appointing a caretaker government. It also coincides with a gathering of international mediators trying to resolve the crisis and a third day of deliberations today in the Supreme Court into claims of election fraud. New York Times

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - A Hamas leader announced Wednesday that the militant group will boycott upcoming Palestinian presidential elections, the first sign of open tensions between the interim Palestinian leadership and the Islamic opposition group since the death of Yasser Arafat. The announcement by Hamas leader Ismail Hanieh could undercut the legitimacy of the Jan. 9 election, though Hamas said it would honor the outcome. Hamas has tens of thousands of supporters and is particularly strong in the Gaza Strip.more Washington Post

UN- The US senator leading an investigation into the United Nations Iraqi oil-for-food program has called on the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, to resign. In an article in The Wall Street Journal yesterday, Norm Coleman, a Republican, said that Mr Annan should go because "the most extensive fraud in the history of the UN occurred on his watch". He said the "full extent of the bribes, kickbacks and under-the-table payments" that allegedly took place under the oil-for-food program would not become public knowledge "as long as Mr Annan remains in charge". REUTERS

PRETORIA - The global fight against AIDS has more than $6 billion to spend this year, employs hundreds of thousands of dedicated workers, and now has unparalleled attention from world leaders.But on the eve of today's World AIDS Day, following another set of dire statistical trends on the pandemic from UNAIDS, several leading public health specialists suggested yesterday that a dramatic refocusing on the battle was urgently needed because of such a grim lack of progress. New York Times

HAVANA, Cuba- The Cuban authorities on Tuesday freed the dissident writer Raúl Rivero, the best known of a dozen political prisoners released during the past few days in a move widely seen as an effort to court favor with the European Union.» This was a gesture to improve relations, little by little," said Mr. Rivero, 59, speaking from his modest Havana apartment. Mr. Rivero, among 75 dissidents rounded up in a crackdown in March 2003, was freed on medical parole on Tuesday after a check-up at a Havana prison hospital for emphysema and cysts on a kidney. He had been sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of working with the United States to undermine the Communist government of Fidel Castro. He and the other defendants denied the charges. New York Times

MIAOWANZHEN, China- On Sunday, a gas explosion swept through Chenjiashan mine here in Shaanxi province, about 450 miles southwest of Beijing . This morning, the official New China News Agency confirmed that 103 miners who were trapped as deep as five miles underground were dead, including Zhao's 32-year-old husband, Ding Aituan. With 63 confirmed dead earlier, the toll of 166 made this China 's worst mining disaster in four years. LA Times

MARAGUNDON, Philippines- Winds and rain from an approaching typhoon hampered rescue efforts Wednesday in the eastern Philippines , where at least 350 people died in flash floods and landslides in the storm-weary region. . About 150 others were missing and feared dead after a powerful rainstorm washed away bridges and roads Tuesday, isolating several towns in the provinces of Quezon and Aurora, about 70 kilometres (40 miles) east of Manila . Washington Post

Foreign Policy: Web of Influence

2004-11-30T09:09:00.000-05:00

Every day, millions of online diarists, or “bloggers,” share their opinions with a global audience. Drawing upon the content of the international media and the World Wide Web, they weave together an elaborate network with agenda-setting power on issues ranging from human rights in China to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. What began as a hobby is evolving into a new medium that is changing the landscape for journalists and policymakers alike.

Foreign Policy: Web of Influence

Is God in Our Genes?

2004-11-27T07:14:00.000-05:00

It's not hard to see the divinity behind the water temples that dot the rice terraces of Bali. It's there in the white-clad high priest presiding in the temple at the summit of a dormant volcano. It's there in the 23 priests serving along with him, selected for their jobs when they were still children by a bevy of virgin priestesses.

Ask true believers of any faith to describe the most important thing that drives their devotion, and they'll tell you it's not a thing at all but a sense—a feeling of a higher power far beyond us. Western religions can get a bit more doctrinaire: God has handed us laws and lore, and it's for us to learn and practice what they teach. For a hell-raising species like ours, however—with too much intelligence for our own good and too little discipline to know what to do with it—there have always been other, more utilitarian reasons to get religion. Chief among them is survival. Across the eons, the structure that religion provides our lives helps preserve both mind and body. But that, in turn, has raised a provocative question, one that's increasingly debated in the worlds of science and religion: Which came first, God or the need for God? In other words, did humans create religion from cues sent from above, or did evolution instill in us a sense of the divine so that we would gather into the communities essential to keeping the species going?

A provocative study asks whether religion is a product of evolution. Inside a quest for the roots of faith.

The New York Times: Turkey Is Basic, but Immigrants Add Their Homeland Touches

2004-11-25T13:57:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving, which began as a party for immigrants, remains the most accessible American holiday for many newcomers. It requires no specific religious or political allegiance. Even if an immigrant is from a culture where whole roast turkey is never on the menu - and that is nearly everywhere except North America - most are willing to give it a try.

The New York Times > National > Turkey Is Basic, but Immigrants Add Their Homeland Touches

Ukraine Election Protests Grow

2004-11-23T17:01:00.000-05:00

Protests grew outside Parliament today as up to 200,000 rallied in opposition to election results that declared that the candidate with close ties to the Kremlin had won the presidency.

The opposition candidate and official loser, Viktor A. Yushchenko, declared himself the winner and tried without success to force the Parliament to invalidate the official results.

Mr. Yushchenko's supporters swarmed through the streets, staging simultaneous and highly organized rallies at both Independence Square and at the entrance to the Supreme Rada, Ukraine's 450-seat Parliament.

Ukraine Election Protests Grow

The New York Times > International > Middle East > Iraq Schedules National Elections for Jan. 30

2004-11-21T16:33:00.000-05:00

Iraqi electoral officials announced today that they had set a date of Jan. 30 for the country's first democratic elections despite a sharp rise in violence in the last month and threats of a boycott by Sunni Arab leaders.

Edward Wong reports from Baghdad

The New York Times > International > Middle East > Iraq Schedules National Elections for Jan. 30

Boston.com: Iraq factions urge delay of election

2004-11-19T14:05:00.000-05:00

Leading Sunni politicians and representatives of Iraq's prime minister and president called yesterday for Iraq's national election to be postponed until order is restored in the violence-racked Sunni Arab heartland, the strongest signal yet that the ballot might not take place in January as scheduled.

Thanassis Cambanis reports from Dukan, Iraq

Boston.com / News / World / Middle East / Iraq factions urge delay of election

Humans Were Born to Run

2004-11-17T14:13:00.000-05:00

In order to cover long distances and compete for food, humans were born and evolved from ape-like creatures into the way they look today, scientists said.

"We do it because we are good at it. We enjoy it and we have all kinds of specializations that permit us to run well," said Daniel Liberman, a professor of anthropology at Harvard University in Massachusetts to Reuters.

more

Science News Article | Reuters.com

Bush Nominates Rice Secretary of State

2004-11-16T14:10:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday morning president Bush nominated Condoleezza Rice, his confidante and national security adviser, as secretary of state, succeeding Colin Powell.
"The secretary of state is America's face to the world, and in Dr. Rice the world will see the strength, the grace and the decency of our country," president Bush said.

Mr. Bush also announced that Stephen Hadley, the deputy national security adviser, is being promoted to Ms. Rice's old position. The president praised Mr. Hadley as "a man of wisdom and good judgment" who had served under Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford as well as under President George H.W. Bush. Mr. Hadley's appointment does not require Senate confirmation.
The nomination of Rice was welcomed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is regarded as Bush's closest friend among foreign leaders. "She is someone who we have a very close working relationship with and for whom the prime minister has immense regard because of the way we have worked together over the last few years," a spokesman for Blair said.

If confirmed, Rice, who turned 50 on Sunday, would be the first black woman, and only the second woman ever.

Rice, a specialist on the former Soviet Union who speaks Russian, served as provost of Stanford University for six years in the 1990s and advised Bush on foreign affairs when he was governor of Texas. She met Bush while working for his father, then the president, from 1989 to 1991 as director of Soviet and East European affairs in the National Security Council.
Known as one of President Bush's closest confidants, Rice reportedly shares his deeply religious nature, joining him often in prayer.

A Dreamer Who Forced His Cause Onto World Stage (washingtonpost.com)

2004-11-12T14:07:00.000-05:00

For virtually his entire adult life, Yasser Arafat had one dream, and he pursued it with such energy and zeal -- some would say fanaticism -- that he came to personify the dream itself.

The dream was of self-determination and statehood for the Palestinian people, and in the end he did not live to see it.

A Dreamer Who Forced His Cause Onto World Stage (washingtonpost.com)

The New York Times: Arafat Forced His People's Plight Into the World Spotlight

2004-11-11T00:56:00.000-05:00

Palestinian president Yasir Arafat died early this morning in a Paris hospital, a French military spokesman announced. Mr. Arafat, who was the symbol of the Palestinian revolution and aspiration for an independent state for some 40 years, died at about 3:30 a.m. Paris time of complications from an unknown disease after lingering in a coma for days

The New York Times > International > Middle East > Arafat Forced His People's Plight Into the World Spotlight

The New York Times > International > Middle East > Israel Will Allow Arafat Burial in West Bank, After Cairo Funeral

2004-11-10T17:15:00.000-05:00

Yasir Arafat can be buried at his battered headquarters here as the Palestinians requested, the Israeli government decided today in a gesture to his likely successor, Mahmoud Abbas.

The New York Times > International > Middle East > Israel Will Allow Arafat Burial in West Bank, After Cairo Funeral

The New York Times: With Jets and Armor, Thousands of Troops Enter Rebel-Held City

2004-11-08T16:55:00.000-05:00

As darkness fell, thousands of U.S. troops swept into Fallouja today after Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi ordered the attack and U.S. helicopter gunships and bombers had pummeled the city for much of the day.

The New York Times > International > With Jets and Armor, Thousands of Troops Enter Rebel-Held City

The New York Times: Footprints in the Sand

2004-11-07T15:37:00.000-05:00

Thomas L. Freiedman is writing about the hopefull possibilities that after Arafat's seemed to unlock.

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Footprints in the Sand

The New York Times: Arafat's No. 2 Is Set to Assume Leadership

2004-11-07T05:17:00.000-05:00

Who is Arafat's number two and how is going to assume leadership? A special report from Steven Erlanger.

The New York Times > International > Middle East > Arafat's No. 2 Is Set to Assume Leadership

The New York Times: Bickering Iraqis Strive to Build Voting Coalition

2004-11-07T05:10:00.000-05:00

New York Time's correspondent Edward Wong reports from Baghdad. With three months to go until Iraq's first democratic elections, established Shiite parties and powerful upstarts are feuding, prompting the leading Shiite cleric to try to pull them together to make sure that they clearly dominate the new government.

The New York Times > International > Middle East > Bickering Iraqis Strive to Build Voting Coalition

Wired News: E-Vote Glitch Inflates Bush Total

2004-11-06T14:07:00.000-05:00

An error with an electronic voting system gave President Bush 3,893 extra votes in suburban Columbus, elections officials said.

Franklin County's unofficial results had Bush receiving 4,258 votes to Democrat John Kerry's 260 votes in a precinct in Gahanna. Records show only 638 voters cast ballots in that precinct.

Wired News: E-Vote Glitch Inflates Bush Total

CNN.com - Dozens dead in Samarra attacks - Nov 6, 2004

2004-11-06T07:59:00.000-05:00

Two car bombs and a mortar attack killed at least 34 people and wounded dozens of others in Samarra on Saturday, Iraqi police and U.S. military officials said.

CNN.com - Dozens�dead in Samarra attacks - Nov 6, 2004

Democrats Skeptical of Bush Offer (washingtonpost.com)

2004-11-06T07:55:00.000-05:00

Democrats reacted with overwhelming skepticism yesterday to President Bush's pledge this week to work constructively with them on a second-term agenda, as the party begins an intense debate about whether to seek any common ground with Bush or to be implacable in opposition.

Democrats Skeptical of Bush Offer (washingtonpost.com)

U.S. to Recognize Ex-Yugoslav Republic as Macedonia

2004-11-06T04:27:00.000-05:00

The United States announced Thursday that it would recognize a former Yugoslav republic as the Republic of Macedonia, touching off protests in Athens and celebrations in the streets of Skopje, the tiny nation's capital.

Greece has opposed official recognition of its name ever since, arguing that it implies territorial and historical ambitions on a northern Greek province, also called Macedonia.

After learning of the decision by the United States, the Greek foreign minister, Petros Molyviatis, summoned Thomas J. Miller, the United States ambassador to Greece, to complain.

The New York Times: All Sides Prepare for American Attack on Falluja

2004-11-06T04:21:00.000-05:00

Dexter Filkins and James Glanz for The New York Times report from near Falluja, that American armored vehicles roared through the villages surrounding the town.
more>>

WorldNetDaily: Arafat's wife left out of will?

2004-11-05T15:17:00.000-05:00

According to the WorldNetDaily Suha Arafat, wife of ailing Yasser Arafat, requested her husband this week draft a will leaving his multimillion dollar fortune to her, but Arafat refused

Meanwhile, Israel security sources said they're worried the PLO chief's money could be passed on to terrorists to continue the intifada.

The Palestinian leader was in serious condition on Thursday in the intensive care unit of a French military hospital after a drastic deterioration in his health. There were conflicting reports that he is already dead.

However the French official, Gen. Christian Estripeau refused to confirm the rumours.

Arafat's Condition Is Deteriorating

2004-11-05T06:50:00.000-05:00

Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader, was in serious condition on Thursday in the intensive care unit of a French military hospital after a drastic deterioration in his health. There were conflicting reports that he was fighting for his life.

After both the Israeli media and the prime minister of Luxembourg declared that Mr. Arafat had died, the head of communications for French military health services felt compelled to issue a formal denial.

"The clinical situation since the days following his admission has become more complicated," the French official, Gen. Christian Estripeau, said in a statement read to more than 100 reporters outside the Percy military hospital in Clamart, a Paris suburb. "The state of the patient's health requires appropriate treatments that have required his transfer Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 3, to a service adapted to his ailment."
"Mr. Arafat," the general added, "is not dead."

Meanwhile Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and his predecessor, Mahmoud Abbas, were chosen Thursday to temporarily assume the Palestinian leader's duties, according to senior Palestinians familiar with the arrangements.

Bush wins second term

2004-11-03T11:50:00.000-05:00

After a long night of silence, Sen. John F. Kerry called President Bush today and conceded defeat in the 2004 presidential election after his aides conceded he would be unable to win a victory in Ohio.

According to Mr. Kerry's aides he called Mr. Bush at 11 a.m. this morning at the White House.

"He said, 'Congratulations, Mr. President,' '' Mr. Kerry's press secretary, Stephanie Cutter said. She said Mr. Kerry, in what she described as a "courteous conversation," told the president that he thought it was time to "unify this country.'

Mr. Kerry scheduled a speech for 1 p.m. in Boston to offer a formal concession while The Bush campaign plans a victory announcement for this afternoon, aides said.

PRESIDENT BUSH HOLDS LEAD

2004-11-03T04:04:00.000-05:00

President Bush headed toward winning enough Electoral Collegue votes. Bush aide's said early this morning that they were convienced that he had won Ohio which, combined with his victory in Florida, would guarantee him a second term.

On the other side Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards (N.C.), appeared in Boston's Copley Plaza at 2:30 a.m. vowing to continue the fight. "John Kerry and I made a promise to the American people that in this election every vote would count and every vote would be counted. Tonight we are keeping our word. We will fight for every vote. You deserve no less."

Two US television networks - NBC and Fox - have called Ohio for President Bush, but Mr Kerry's campaign has responded defiantly.

As of 2 a.m. this morning, Mr. Bush had 2,685,059 votes, compared with 2,564,047 for Mr. Kerry, or an edge of 121,012 votes. Mr. Kerry's aides said that they believed the vote could be turned around once provisional ballots - those submitted by people who were unable to vote because their names not on registration rolls - had been tallied.
"The vote count in Ohio has not been completed,'' said Mary Beth Cahill, Mr. Kerry's campaign manager. "There are more than 250,000 remaining votes to be counted. We believe when they are, John Kerry will win Ohio."

With reports from 99 percent of precincts in Ohio, Bush led Kerry with 51 percent of the vote, and by 2 a.m. two networks projected that Bush would win the state. CNN, however, declared Ohio a "green" state, or "too close to call," because of uncertainty over tens of thousands of provisional ballots.

Republicans also expanded their majority in the Senate and appeared likely to do the same in the House. In Senate races, the GOP picked up open Democratic seats in Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina and South Carolina, while Democrats captured open Republican seats in Illinois and Colorado. In the most closely watched race, Senate Democratic Leader Thomas A. Daschle was narrowly trailing former House member John Thune (R) in South Dakota.

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2004-11-02T14:34:00.000-05:00

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