Military

WAR ON TERRORISM

¨         The U.S. government told major trading partners across the Pacific Rim on Wednesday that they need to move quickly in imposing strict migration, airport and port controls as part of its global anti-terrorism push. "This is a call for action," U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said after senior ministers from the 21-member APEC grouping pored over the proposals and some objected to the quick pace of proposed implementation. (Reuters 240121 GMT Oct 02)

¨         NATO ships are searching the eastern Mediterranean for a vessel on an international watch list for terrorism, Greece's defense minister said Wednesday in Athens. Yannos Papantoniou confirmed Greek news reports that a multinational naval force was looking for a cargo ship believed to have passed through Greek waters after sailing from Romania. Greek authorities said the Tonga-flagged ship was named Cristi and owned by a company based in the United States. He did not provide any other information on the ship, when it allegedly sailed through Greek waters, or what it is thought to be carrying. (AP 231448 Oct 02)

¨         Croatian police said on Wednesday they had seized a Tonga-registered ship believed to be carrying illegal arms and explosives at the northern Adriatic port of Rijeka. The police declined to comment on its origin, destination or cargo, but another police source said it was believed to be carrying arms. The ship Boka Star was boarded on Tuesday. Police said they did not think it was linked to another Tonga-registered merchant ship that U.S. navy officials searched in the eastern Mediterranean on Wednesday in a hunt media reports linked to finding members of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. (Reuters 231844 GMT Oct 02)

¨         The Global Relief Foundation, a U.S.-based Islamic charity, has been added to the UN list of groups subject to sanctions because of alleged links to the al-Qaida terrorist network. The UN list of those subject to sanctions includes about 220 individuals and 90 groups. (AP 240314 Oct 02)

¨         The CIA is increasing its presence at FBI field offices by assigning intelligence officers to domestic anti-terrorism teams, officials said Wednesday in Washington. The CIA and FBI came under fire for not cooperating on terrorism matters, particularly before the attacks. Since Sept. 11, some critics have called for a new emphasis on domestic intelligence-gathering, using a system similar to that employed by the British intelligence services. (AP 232040 Oct 02)

AFGHANISTAN

¨         The International Security Assistance Force in Kabul said it detonated what may have been an improvised bomb on Wednesday night about 200 meters from the main UN guest house in the city. A ISAF spokesman said the object had been spotted by a security guard and an ISAF bomb disposal team was called in. (Reuters 231942 GMT Oct 02)

NATO

¨         The Army's top general complained that one of the centerpieces of his plan to make U.S. land forces more agile has been hurt by misinformation within the Pentagon. Gen. Eric Shinseki, the Army chief of staff, said in an interview on Wednesday with a group of reporters that he objects to suggestions that the Army has "somehow rigged" its claims about the capability of the Stryker - a wheeled combat vehicle that is a prototype replacement for the tank. Gen. Shinseki and Army Secretary Thomas White are leading an internal Pentagon battle over the Stryker, which is being fielded for use by combat brigades intended to be rapidly deployable anywhere in the world. Some aides to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld want to limit the Army to three Stryker-equipped combat brigades instead of the six that the Army has been planning. (AP 240307 Oct 02)

¨         Greece on Wednesday said it was willing to cancel planned military exercises on Cyprus if Turkey does the same. Foreign Ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis said the gesture would help calm tensions as the war-divided island prepares to join the European Union. Greece and Cyprus are to stage their annual Nikiforos-Toxotis exercises at the end of the month. Turkey is to hold its own Cyprus exercise, Toros, on Nov. 5. The maneuvers involve air, ground and naval forces. (AP 231755 Oct 02)

EU

¨         Germany wants the European Union to reach a "positive result" on Turkey's long-frustrated desire to join the union, Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said Wednesday after meeting his Turkish counterpart Sukru Sina Gurel. He pledged German support ahead of a key EU summit in December for reforms to make Turkey fit for membership. Fischer's comments strengthen signs that the EU is considering opening the way for Turkey to join to the currently 15-nation union. (AP 231818 Oct 02)

BALKANS

¨         The Hague war crimes tribunal called on the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to take action against Yugoslavia for what it said was Belgrade's failure to track down, arrest and hand over suspects. The Security Council has the power to impose trade sanctions, but the tribunal did not disclose what measures it wanted the top UN body to take against Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia's Foreign Affairs Minister Goran Svilanovic said on Serbian State Television that the letter was a matter of concern but that its ambassador at the UN would outline the steps taken to cooperate with the tribunal. (Reuters 232007 GMT Oct 02)

¨         The chief prosecutor of the UN war crimes court urged the Croatian government on Wednesday to extradite the country's wartime army chief, Gen. Janko Bobetko, to the tribunal in The Hague.  The prosecutor also told Croatia it must do more to locate Gen. Ante Gotovina, another war crimes suspect, who has been on the run for more than a year. Zagreb claims his whereabouts are unknown. (AP 231815 Oct 02)

¨         Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Wednesday easily won his first parliamentary vote after being sworn in, a decision to keep German peacekeepers in Macedonia (sic). Germany's role in Balkan peacekeeping has broad support in parliament, gaining unanimous backing on Wednesday even from the antimilitary wing of Schroeder's coalition of Social Democrats and Greens. (AP 231535 Oct 02)

¨         Nine people accused of killing 16 Muslims in Bosnia in 1992 have been indicted on war crimes charges, a radio report said Wednesday. Dragoljub Dragicevic, Milan Lukic, Oliver Krsmanovic and six others were indicted for the abductions and slayings of 16 Muslims in the Bosnian village of Sjeverin near the Yugoslav border, the radio station B92 said. In earlier statements, Serbian authorities said the nine were not on a list of war crimes suspects wanted by the UN court in The Hague and that they will be tried at home. (AP 232231 Oct 02)