Military

BALKANS

¨         A crowd of ethnic Albanians clashed Thursday with UN police and NATO-led peacekeepers who were escorting a group of Serbs in western Kosovo, an official said. Some 600 hostile ethnic Albanians attacked UN police and Italian peacekeepers with stones and molotov cocktails after they brought a group of 50 Serbs to the center of Pec, a town some 80 kilometers (50 kilometers) west of, Pristina, said Andrea Angeli, a UN spokesman. The Serbs were taken by bus to a building in the center of town to enroll in the UN-run pension fund, Angeli said. "Once the Serbs entered the building, the angry crowd attacked the peacekeepers and police," he said. Police responded with tear gas to disperse the crowd. Two police officers were slightly injured by stones, and some police vehicles were damaged. There was no information whether any of the protesters were injured.(Reuters 101623 Oct 02 GMT)

WAR ON TERRORISM

¨         In a series of raids throughout the country, Italian police have arrested four people suspected of links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network, news reports said on Thursday. The reports said the men were all Tunisian nationals. Two of them were arrested in Naples, in southern Italy, and one in the northern city of Milan, RAI state television said. The ANSA news agency said later that a fourth suspect was picked up in San Remo, on the Italian Riviera near the border with France. No further details were immediately available, and Italian authorities could not be reached for comment. Italian news agencies said the men were charged with "subversive association" aimed at carrying out international terrorism..(AP 102007 Oct 02 GMT)

¨         German authorities arrested a Moroccan man on Thursday on suspicion he helped the Hamburg-based al Qaeda cell that led the September 11 attacks on the United States.  Police arrested 29-year-old Abdelghani Mzoudi, who shared an apartment with several of the suicide hijackers.  Mzoudi was arrested on suspicion of having links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network and providing logistical help to Mohammed Atta and other hijackers involved in the attacks on New York and Washington. "We have accused him of having been active in the group. We have issued the arrest warrant on the firm suspicion of aiding a terrorist organization," Prosecutor General Kay Nehm told reporters.  Nehm said for the moment there was no hard evidence Mzuodi had also been a member of that group, in which case he could be charged as an accessory to murder.. (Reuters 1636 101002 Oct 02 GMT)

IRAQ

¨         The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to give President Bush the authorization he sought to wage war if necessary to disarm Iraq, while the Senate moved closer to passing the measure as well.  The Senate was expected to pass the measure later on Thursday or on Friday after amendments pushed by some Democrats to narrow the resolution's scope were defeated easily. "The House of Representatives has spoken clearly to the world and to the Security Council. The gathering threat of Iraq must be confronted fully and finally," Bush said in a brief statement of thanks to lawmakers. "The days of Iraq acting as an outlaw state are coming to an end," Bush added.(Reuters 2343 101002Oct 02 GMT)

AFGHANISTAN

¨         Germany and the Netherlands will formally announce their readiness to take joint command of the international security force in Afghanistan in time for a NATO summit next month, the leaders of the two countries said on Thursday. "We're well on the way, and confident that we'll be about to manage it," Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said at news conference after his first meeting with new Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende. "It's only out of respect for the two parliaments that no decision has been taken," Schroeder said.(AP 102024 Oct 02 GMT)

OTHER NEWS

¨         U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci made an impassioned plea on Thursday for Canada to boost its defense spending, particularly when it comes to troop transport. "It's a very dangerous world out there," Cellucci said in a speech to a group of University of Ottawa alumni. "We need your help. We cannot defend North America alone... We cannot win this campaign against terrorism alone."   In his remarks to reporters, Cellucci said: "We value the contributions the Canadian military makes to the defense of North America and what it does around the globe - peacekeeping missions as well as combat operations." "We are concerned that the Canadian military will not be able to continue to do what it does very well."   He urged Canada to move to the NATO average of spending 2.5 percent of gross domestic product on defense. Reuters 1847 101002 Oct 02 GMT)