Military

WAR ON TERRORISM

¨         The European Union announced a breakthrough on Wednesday in stalled talks on proposed new rules to tighten security at airports across the 15-nation bloc. A final deal will still have to be approved by the full parliament and government ministers, but that is now likely in coming weeks. (AP 301323 Oct 02)

¨         The European Union updated its blacklist of terrorist organisations on Wednesday to add the Asian Islamist group Jemaah Islamiah following a similar move by the United Nations last week. Jose Maria Sison, the leader of a militant Philippines group, the New People's Army, was also added to the EU's list.(Reuters 301846 GMT Oct 02)

AFGHANISTAN

¨         An explosion rattled northern Kabul late on Wednesday, and Italian peacekeepers were investigating the cause of the blast, a spokesman for the multinational force said. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion or how large it was, but it could be heard throughout the city. "We've sent an ISAF patrol out to see if they could find anything ... and at this stage there's no further information." ISAF added. (AP 301944 Oct 02)

IRAQ

¨         As UN deliberations on Iraq dragged on, Secretary of State Colin Powell declared that the United States would not permit itself to be "handcuffed" by the world organization. "At no time will the United States foreclose its ability to act in its interest in accordance with its constitutional obligation to protect the nation and protect the people," Powell added. (AP 310041 Oct 02)

¨         Germany and the United States called each other friends and allies on Wednesday but a meeting between Secretary of State Colin Powell and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer did not put an end to the rift which arose during German elections in September. U.S. officials had the impression that Germany would move closer to its position on Iraq after the elections but Fischer said again on Wednesday that Germany did not believe Iraq was as much of a threat as "international terrorism." Germany would not take part in any attack on Baghdad, he added. The conservative Heritage Foundation, in an analysis released to coincide with Fischer's visit, said Berlin risked isolation by opposing military action against Baghdad. "If Berlin refuses to stand by its allies in confronting the threat posed by the Iraqi regime, it will be seen as increasingly irrelevant in the global fight against international terrorism," it said. German-born former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, in an article in the Washington Post on Wednesday, said relations between Washington and Berlin were in crisis because the German government had "chosen the road of confrontation." (Reuters 310253 GMT Oct 02)

¨         The United States is preparing to deploy heavy B-2 bombers to Britain and the Indian Ocean Island of Diego Garcia, if necessary in time to lead an attack on Iraq, the commanding officer in charge of the planes said on Wednesday. Officials did not specify how many of the United States' 21 B-2s would move abroad. (Reuters 310129 GMT Oct 02)

NATO

¨         NATO decided on Wednesday not to invite Ukrainian President Kuchma to a November alliance summit in Prague following allegations he approved the sale of sophisticated radar systems to Iraq in violation of United Nations sanctions. NATO officials said, however, they were ready to meet with other Ukrainian officials in the margin of the Nov. 21-22 summit. "In the circumstances of recent discussions ... it will be in the best interests of NATO and Ukraine if we had a meeting at foreign minister level," said NATO Secretary General George Robertson. Lord Robertson told reporters the alliance "was very clear in wanting to maintain its deepening relationship with Ukraine." (AP 301748 Oct 02)

BALKANS

¨         The chief UN war crimes prosecutor called on the Security Council to pressure Yugoslavia - possibly by imposing sanctions - to hand over 11 suspects, including Bosnian Serb wartime commander Gen. Ratko Mladic. After seven years of dismal results, Carla Del Ponte said Wednesday that other powerful international bodies should also take action. She said the European Union should make the hand over of suspects a condition for eventual Yugoslav membership and NATO should make their arrest a condition for Yugoslavia to join its Partnership for Peace Program. Del Ponte also recommended the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Bosnia to establish a small undercover tracking team to hunt down and arrest Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic. (AP 310036 Oct 02)

¨         Croatian police said on Wednesday that they had brought charges against four Yugoslavs for smuggling explosives on a ship, the Boka Star, that Western officials believe has carried military supplies to Iraq in violation of a UN embargo. The Croatian weekly Nacional said on Tuesday that the ship had been carrying nitric acid, which is mixed with kerosene to obtain liquid fuel for Scuds. It also carried pictures of a spaghetti-like explosive found on the boat. Police have reserved official comment until the investigation and laboratory tests are completed, but confirmed the powder was used exclusively for military purposes. (Reuters 301636 GMT Oct 02)

¨         A network of Yugoslav firms has been helping Libya to develop long-range cruise missiles capable of reaching targets in Israel, according to a confidential U.S. complaint to Belgrade. The three-page document, published on Wednesday by the Yugoslav weekly Nedeljni Telegraf, says the firms may also have helped Iraq to develop its missiles, but provides no details. The U.S. embassy in Belgrade declined all comment on the publication. The document said the Libyan missile was designed to carry a payload of 500 kg over a range of 1,500 km and would significantly enhance Libya's potential threat to the Middle East and southern Europe. (Reuters 301648 GMT Oct 02)

¨         Bosnian Serb authorities must prevent further scandals like the recent sale of military equipment to Iraq or risk international isolation, the international administrator for Bosnia said Wednesday in Brussels. "I say to the (Bosnian Serb) authorities, you have a choice to make in this matter - whether to take the road to Brussels or to Baghdad," Paddy Ashdown told a meeting with European Union and NATO officials. He told NATO and the EU to insist Bosnia meet strict standards before they handover aid or bring the country into outreach programs for the region. (AP 301801 Oct 02)

¨         A U.S. program designed to equip the Muslim-Croat army and train its staff concluded on Wednesday. "The organization and structure of the Federation Army have been now adjusted to NATO standards," Atif Dudakovic, the Commander of the Federation Army Joint Command was quoted as saying by ONASA, a Bosnian news agency. (AP 301605 Oct 02)

OTHER NEWS

¨         Bowing to international pressure, Russia on Wednesday finally named the gas which ended a theatre siege by Chechen rebels but the political fallout from the hostage crisis was far from over. Russia's health minister said the gas was based on Fentanyl, a potent opium-based narcotic. In Denmark, police arrested a senior Chechen rebel at the behest of Russia, which said it suspected him of helping plot the siege in which at least 119 hostages died. The Danish justice minister said Akmed Zakayev, a top aide to Chechnya's fugitive separatist president Aslan Maskhadov, may be extradited if Russia promised not to use the death penalty. (Reuters 301947 GMT Oct 02)

¨         Russia has asked Turkey to close down Chechen foundations operating here, saying they help to finance Chechen rebels and were in contact with rebels during the Moscow theater hostage-taking, a Turkish news agency reported on Wednesday. The Anatolia news agency quoted Russia's ambassador to Turkey, Alexander Lebedev, as saying "there was proof" that the gunmen who seized a Moscow theater last week made telephone calls to groups in Turkey, as well as in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, during the siege. Lebedev did not name the groups. "The Chechen foundations ... have had connections both with the Chechen terrorists and al-Qaida for a long time. Despite this, their activities continue," Lebedev was quoted as saying. (AP 301911 Oct 02)