Military

WAR ON TERRORISM

• Italian anti-terrorism officials met with FBI agents in New York on Monday, discussing plans for countering terrorist groups in Italy and the United States, according to the FBI. FBI officials would not specifically outline what was on the agenda. The U.S. State Department has called a Milan mosque and Islamic cultural center "the main al-Qaida station house in Europe." (AP 180018 Jun 02)

• Moroccan authorities have arrested a sixth person after detaining a group suspected of plotting al Qaeda "terrorist" attacks on U.S. and British ships, officials said on Monday in Rabat. In a statement carried by the official MAP news agency, the general prosecutor said a news briefing on the arrests would be held on Tuesday in Casablanca. (Reuters 171807 GMT Jun 02)

AFGHANISTAN

• New Afghan President Hamid Karzai failed on Monday to break an impasse in the Loya Jirga over forming a parliament and naming a cabinet to take the country to general elections in 18 months. The choice of cabinet members has been a bone of contention between Karzai and the Loya Jirga, which insists on a mandate to approve all the ministers. It was unclear whether the Loya Jirga would vote on the senior ministers or there would simply be an announcement of Karzai’s choices. (Reuters 171926 GMT Jun 02)

• The Turkish general who takes command of a multinational peacekeeping force in Afghanistan this week said on Monday that preparations for the handover were going well. General Hilmi Akin Zorlu said he was optimistic the Loya Jirga would bring peace. (Reuters 171250 GMT Jun 02)

• European Union foreign ministers on Monday named Spanish diplomat Francesc Vendrell as the bloc’s new special representative in Afghanistan. The 15-nation EU is the biggest donor of financial aid to Afghanistan. (Reuters 171652 GMT Jun 02)

NATO

• Senior U.S. and Dutch defense officials on Monday shook hands on an agreement by the Netherlands to invest US $800 million to help develop America’s next-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet. Dutch Deputy Defense Minister Henk van Hoof stressed that "the Netherlands did not choose for the United States and against Europe" in joining the U.S. program, noting that JSF was a broad-based allied effort. (Reuters 172110 GMT Jun 02)

• Regional rivals Iran and Turkey renewed promises not to host each other’s armed rebel groups on Monday and said they would work together to reinforce regional security. "I hope this trip will open a new phase of friendly relations based on mutual respect and not interfering in each other’s internal matters," Iranian President Mohammad Khatami told reporters after two hours of talks with visiting Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer in Tehran. President Sezer said NATO member Turkey’s ally the United States did not oppose his efforts to improve relations. Asked about newspaper reports that Khatami would press Sezer not to allow U.S. forces to use Turkish soil to attack Iraq, Iranian deputy Foreign Minister Aminzadeh said both sides had reaffirmed their support for the territorial integrity of their mutual neighbour. (Reuters 171745 GMT Jun 02)

• The chief prosecutor for the UN war crimes tribunal expressed exasperation on Monday that Bosnian Serb authorities continue to protect the war crimes suspects wanted by her court. "I’m tired of coming down to this country to ask for the arrest of fugitives, and in particular for Karadzic," Del Ponte said at the start of a five-day visit to Bosnia. (AP 171856 Jun 02)

• NATO-led peacekeepers said on Monday they had lifted a ban on the training and movement of the Bosnian Serb air force and air defence units imposed last month over alleged spying on the Western alliance’s planes. U.S. General John Sylvester, the commander of SFOR, made the decision after meeting the Bosnian Serbs’ army chief and agreed to allow the local force to take "corrective actions," an SFOR statement said. It did not specify the nature of the measures expected to be taken by the Bosnian Serb army. (Reuters 171706 GMT Jun 02)

• Passionate in its opposition to a new global criminal court, the Bush administration wants the UN Security Council to exclude all peacekeeping operations from the tribunal’s jurisdiction, diplomats said on Monday. No resolution has emerged, but the United States last month vowed to propose some action before the court’s statutes come into force on July 1. That means a draft is expected this week or next, with the State Department, the White House, the Pentagon and the National Security Council drafting a text. "We’re looking for support to try to deal with this issue in a way that matches, meets all our needs," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. He said the issue was relevant "as we continue to face the extension of peacekeeping mandates where U.S. and other soldiers are serving overseas." (Reuters 171923 GMT Jun 02)

• Canada believes the way to deal with Iraq is through the United Nations and not through any covert operations, Foreign Minister Bill Graham told reporters on Monday in Ottawa. "We prefer as Canadians to work through the United Nations. We believe very strongly in building strong legally based multilateral reactions to problems of the world, and we would urge the United States to respect that and international legal norms in the way it approaches this problem," Graham added. (Reuters 172145 GMT Jun 02)

 FINAL ITEM