World Watch

A Church Divided
U.K. Two days of crisis meetings in London between 37 Anglican primates failed to lift the threat of a schism in the worldwide church over the issue of homosexuality. In his attempts to keep the 70 million-strong Communion together, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams put aside his own personal views that same-sex partnerships, if stable and faithful, could be legitimate in God's eyes.

His efforts were successful enough to secure a unanimous statement from deeply divided liberal and conservative primates. It warned that "the future of the Communion itself will be put in jeopardy" if the American Episcopalians on Nov. 2 consecrate Canon Gene Robinson, an openly gay priest, as Bishop of New Hampshire. Such a move, the primates said, would "tear the fabric of our Communion at its deepest level."

But the New Hampshire diocese shows no sign of backing down. And so traditionalists, who dominate the Anglican churches in the Third World, are likely to break Communion with the liberals. A promised commission report in a year on how to handle gay issues appears unlikely to prevent a rift. — By Helen Gibson

Oil on Troubled Waters
BELGIUM The E.U. sought to calm U.S. fears that a planned European military force would undermine NATO. At the end of a two-day summit, Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi

Democracy, Now? SAUDI ARABIA Police in Riyadh broke up an unprecedented demonstration calling for democratic reform, and arrested 154 participants. The protest followed the government's pledge to hold its first elections in 50 years, for half of the municipal council seats, within a year. bilal qabalan/afp

said E.U. leaders had agreed unanimously that their defense policy would be "complementary to ... never an alternative to NATO." U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Nicholas Burns, said earlier that the plans represented "the most significant threat to" the transatlantic alliance.

Kremlin Rebuffed
GREECE In a blow to the Russian prosecutor's office, an Athens appeals court took only a few minutes to reject Moscow's demand for the extradition of exiled Russian media magnate Vladimir Gusinsky on fraud charges. Gusinsky fled Moscow in 2000 after being accused of embezzling state-controlled gas giant Gazprom of $250 million. He claimed the charges were politically motivated; the court declared the crimes unproven. It was the fourth rejected Russian extradition request within a year.

Keeping It in the Family
AZERBAIJAN One person died and dozens were injured in clashes between police and protesters in Baku following Ilham Aliyev's election as President. Official results gave Aliyev, who succeeds his 80-year-old father, Haidar, nearly 80% of the vote. The opposition claimed the ballot was rigged.

Talks End
SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO Talks in Vienna between senior Serb officials and leaders of the breakaway province of Kosovo — the first since the 1999 war — were hailed as a breakthrough by E.U. and U.N. officials, even if little progress was made. Kosovo, which has been administered by the U.N. since 1999, wants independence from Serbia, but Serb authorities are opposed.

Better Than No
UNITED NATIONS The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Iraq establishing a U.N.-mandated multinational force under U.S. command and expanded the U.N.'s political role. Although the resolution was largely symbolic — many ambassadors said they voted for it only to maintain Council unity — U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he was now more optimistic about pledges at this week's donor conference in Madrid. But France, Germany and Russia said they'd give no more.

MEANWHILE IN FIJI ...
Belated Apology
Hoping to lift a suspected curse, inhabitants of the remote mountain village of Navatusila have promised to apologize to descendants of a British Christian missionary whom their forefathers ate 136 years ago. According to village lore, their ancestors devoured all of the Rev. Thomas Baker except his leather boots, which, despite prolonged cooking, proved too tough to eat.