World Watch

A Wavering Peace
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO New doubts were cast on the peace process when rebel ministers in the new power-sharing administration refused to swear an oath of loyalty to President Joseph Kabila at a ceremony in Kinshasa, and fresh fighting broke out in the eastern Ituri region. Earlier, the leaders of two main rebel groups were sworn in as Vice Presidents, raising hopes that the transitional government, set up under a peace deal agreed in April, might bring a permanent end to the five-year civil war. However, on Friday the rebels said they would recognize Kabila only as the country's symbolic leader, not as head of the government. The conflict, which began when Rwanda and Uganda invaded in 1998, will be the first case investigated by the newly established International Criminal Court in The Hague. The tribunal's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said he had received detailed allegations of human-rights violations in the Ituri region, including the massacre of 5,000 civilians since the court was established in July 2002, and which therefore fall within its jurisdiction.

Home Again
U.K. Shevaun Pennington, 12, was found safe after spending five days on the run with a 31-year-old former U.S. Marine who befriended her through an Internet chat room. The pair traveled to France and then to Stuttgart, Germany, from where Pennington flew home. The

FRANCE Uranium, Not Mine Contrary to popular perception, French intelligence officials think highly of their U.S. and U.K. colleagues. They just wish politicians in Washington and London would stop meddling. "American and British politicians have used the covert nature of intelligence gathering as cover to pass all kinds of arguments to the public," says an official in France's intelligence community. "There's a limit to that. Patience runs out. People demand accountability." It looks like accountability time has come. For weeks President Bush and Prime Minister Blair have been fending off accusations that they knew the British-supplied intelligence suggesting Saddam Hussein sought yellowcake uranium from Niger — a primary justification for war — was wrong. GLOAGUEN/RAPHO H. STRANGE GOLD: Niger yellowcake Last week, the White House continued to distance itself from that intelligence. But British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw insisted he and his besieged government "believe in the intelligence behind the claims." After Straw declined to name the two nations he said provided the U.K. with its yellowcake evidence, British press reports identified them as France and Italy. Both nations loudly begged to differ. The French were indignant. "No French service or administration was in any way connected to this bogus information," snaps a French diplomat, noting that France's foreign intelligence service issued a rare public denial. "We resent being made a scapegoat for this politicized intelligence crap." — BRUCE CRUMLEY/Paris

ex-Marine, Toby Studabaker, was arrested in Frankfurt. Studabaker said he would not oppose an extradition request by British police.

A Seat at the Table
JORDAN The new parliament convened in Amman, and for the first time in six years included representatives of the main Islamic party. King Abdullah dissolved the previous assembly when it came to the end of its term in June 2001. He postponed elections because of fears that regional tensions would bolster support for radical Islamists, who boycotted the previous election in 1997. In last month's poll, the Islamic Action Front gained 17 seats in the 110-member assembly, which holds little real power.

Disputed Death
IRAN Government sources played down a statement by Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi that the death of Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi was the result of a beating during police interrogation. Montreal-based Kazemi was arrested in Tehran on June 23 while taking pictures at an antigovernment protest and died in hospital 19 days later from a brain hemorrhage. A presidential commission is looking into her death, but officials said it was too early to give an exact cause.

Junta Under Pressure
BURMA U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan added to pressure on the ruling generals by calling on them to release democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. His appeal came shortly after the U.S. Congress agreed to impose sanctions on Burmese exports, in response to Suu Kyi's May 30 detention and the crackdown on her National League for Democracy.

Island Overthrow
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE African leaders led the condemnation of a bloodless military coup while President Fradique deMenezes visited neighboring Nigeria. Coup leader Major Fernando Pereira said he merely wanted to draw international attention to the island nation's continuing poverty, despite recently discovered oil reserves. Pereira agreed to talks with outside mediators.

Constitutional Quandary
FIJI The Supreme Court ordered Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase to include members of the mainly ethnic-Indian opposition Labor Party in his government. The court ruled that under the constitution Labor was entitled to eight Cabinet posts — proportional to its 40% share of the vote. Qarase's government is dominated by indigenous Fijians, who make up just over half of the nation's population. Racial tensions have been a major cause of political instability in a country that has seen three coups in 16 years.

MEANWHILE IN THE U.S. ...
May the Devil Take you
A bereaved New Mexico family is suing its local Catholic church over a funeral mass in which the priest allegedly said the deceased was only a "lukewarm" Catholic and would go straight to hell. The church says the clergyman was merely reciting from the scriptures.