World Watch

• Share

IRAQ
Using Words As Weapons
In Baghdad, Saddam Hussein told the U.S. that an attack against Iraq was doomed. Meanwhile in Washington, Iraqi opposition figures gathered to talk to U.S. officials about the future of their country. In a fiery speech on television to mark the anniversary of the 1980-88 war with Iran, Saddam declared: "The forces of evil will carry their coffins on their backs, die in disgraceful failure, taking their schemes back with them or digging their own graves." The speech, which saluted the Palestinians, was aimed at both a domestic and a wider Arab audience, saying that an attack on Iraq was an attack on Arabs and Muslims. Saddam called on the U.N. to pursue a dialogue with Iraq on the question of weapons inspections. The speech came a day after U.S. President George W. Bush insisted that Iraq was a "real" threat that must be dealt with.

GERMANY
Frequent Flyer
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder got a gift from an unlikely quarter — the resignation of Gregor Gysi, leader of the Party for Democratic Socialism, the old East German communists. Gysi quit as both party leader and economics minister of Berlin over a scandal about his use of air miles — totted up on official business — for personal trips. The charismatic Gysi was the most prominent PDS figure and the one most popular among people in western Germany and young voters. His resignation could be a lifeline for Schröder's re-election hopes. If the pds fails to gain at least 5% of the vote, it can't claim any seats in the new parliament, good news for Schröder's struggling Social Democrats.

LIBYA
Compensation
Once the West's enemy No.1, Libyan leader Muammar Gad-dafi may soon be helping U.S. President George W. Bush's "war on terrorism." In talks with British Foreign Office minister Mike O'Brien, Gad-dafi promised to help fight al-Qaeda. He also sought assurances that Libya would not be pursued in the courts if it accepted responsibility for blowing up a U.S. airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. Libya said it was ready to pay compensation in return for the end of U.N. sanctions.

PAKISTAN
Christians In The Cross Hairs
A missionary school and a Christian hospital came under attack as violence against Western groups in Pakistan continued. At least six people, all Pakistani, were killed when up to five gunmen fought their way into a mainly expatriate Christian school in the resort town of Muree. The masked men opened fire indiscriminately, then were chased off after failing to break into a hall where staff and students had hidden. In a separate incident, unidentified attackers hurled grenades at a missionary hospital, killing three Pakistani nurses and injuring 20 people.

RUSSIA
Chechen Ambush
Russian troops and pro-Russian Chechen military police were on high alert throughout Chechnya for the sixth anniversary of Chechen rebels' capture of Grozny during the first Chechen war — and for good reason. Ten members of the Chechen military police were killed and at least eight injured when their vehicle hit a radio-controlled landmine in the southern Shatoi region.

TURKEY
Making a Move
His sights set on the Nov. 3 general election, Economy Minister Kemal Dervis resigned to focus on building a center-left alliance that secularists hope will keep the pro-Islamic Justice and Development Party from power. The respected Dervis, who is not a member of any party, won praise for orchestrating the imf-backed reform plan that saved the economy from collapse last year.

EUROPE
Storms Deal Out Death and Destruction
L ethal summer storms lashed a swath of countries from the Atlantic to the Black Sea. The Italian government declared a state of emergency in northern Italy following violent downpours that devastated beaches, farms and vineyards. In the Czech Republic, rivers burst their banks, killing two people and forcing the evacuation of 2,000. Rising waters also isolated several Austrian towns and washed away bridges. In Romania two people drowned in flood waters. But worst hit was Russia, where 18 holidaymakers were found dead on the Black Sea coast after flashfloods destroyed their campsites.

MADAGASCAR
Mystery Virus
The United Nations health agency sent a medical team to the Indian Ocean island to identify a mystery illness that has killed at least 184 people. The viral infection, with initial symptoms including headaches, pains and stomach cramps, is thought to have affected around 1,900 people in June and July. Most of the victims live in poor, isolated rural communities. Average incomes halved this year owing to a seven-month political crisis that ravaged the economy.

AFGHANISTAN
Al-Qaeda Escape
Thirteen men killed in a gun battle with Afghan security forces were high-ranking al-Qaeda members who had hours earlier escaped from prison, said Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah. He said that the men — 12 Pakistanis and one Kyrgyz national — had been caught late last year, but they had apparently sawn through bars on a prison window and fled the capital Kabul. The firefight took place at an isolated police post at Binizar about 15 km southeast of Kabul. Two government soldiers and one civilian also died in the fighting.

TAIWAN
No War This Week
Taiwan scrapped military exercises scheduled for Aug. 15 to help defuse tensions with China. A Taiwanese Defense Ministry official said the naval exercises had been called off to avoid misunderstandings. China was angered by President Chen Shui-bian's suggestion that, in reality, Taiwan and China were already separate countries. An unnamed "senior military source" warned in the China Daily, a state-run newspaper, that Chen might risk invasion if he pressed ahead with a referendum on Taiwan's independence. China regards the island as a rebel province.

COLOMBIA
Deadly Welcome
A U.S. spotter plane and 20,000 soldiers and police were not enough to ensure safety in the capital Bogotá, as at least 17 civilians were killed and nearly 60 people were wounded in explosions minutes before Alvaro Uribe was sworn in as Colombia's new President. No group claimed responsibility, but several factors pointed to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (farc): the deadliness of the strike within 800 m of the presidential palace, the use of homemade mortars and an earlier pledge by Uribe to get tough on the Marxist guerrilla group. "Expect action every day, but not miraculous results," said Uribe.