MIDDLE EAST

SHIN BET TIGHTENS PROTECTION OF SHARON

JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Sharon made a dramatic entrance into Israel’s Parliament yesterday surrounded by a large phalanx of bodyguards, as security officials voiced concern for his safety before a parliamentary vote on his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

The increased security reflected the explosive political climate in the tense countdown to next week’s vote. The plan has put Mr. Sharon, the one-time champion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, at odds with his former allies. Security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed said Israel’s secret service, the Shin Bet, is on high alert regarding possible attacks on Mr. Sharon. They confirmed security has been bolstered around the prime minister, lawmakers, and Parliament.

– Associated Press

LEBANESE CABINET RESIGNS

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Prime Minister Hariri, the self-made billionaire who rebuilt Beirut from the ruins of civil war, dissolved his Cabinet yesterday and said he won’t lead the next government, a surprise move that could bolster Syria’s role in Lebanese affairs. Mr. Hariri’s decision could make him a more powerful force in Lebanese politics, building support among a disillusioned public ahead of parliamentary elections in May. It is more likely, however, to indicate that Syria is strengthening its hand in Lebanon.

– Associated Press

ARAFAT ENDORSES KERRY

Palestinian Arab leader Yasser Arafat has endorsed Senator Kerry for president, according to numerous published reports in Israel. Mr. Kerry referred to Mr. Arafat as a “statesman” in his book, “The New War,” published in 1997.

– Special to the Sun

WESTERN EUROPE

SUSPECTED TERRORIST PLANNED ATTACK ON COURT IN SPAIN

A Muslim terrorist schemed to punish Spain with the “biggest blow of its history” – a half-ton suicide truck-bombing of the National Court aimed at killing judges investigating Islamic terror, including the Madrid train attacks, according to a police intelligence report. “If Spain loses three or four of its most important judges, that is worse than losing its prime minister,” the report said. It quoted an informant whose testimony on his contacts with the terrorist triggered the arrests of eight suspects this week in Spain. Switzerland confirmed yesterday he’s in custody there for entering the country illegally and said deportation proceedings were pending when his alleged link to the plot surfaced.

– Associated Press

NORTH AFRICA

BUSH TO SUPPLY PLANES TO A.U.

President Bush has offered two military transport aircraft to support the expansion of the African Union movement in Sudan. The planes will be used to transport African troops at the end of the month. The A.U. will expand its mission to include 3,500 troops, the first 1,000 of which will come from Rwanda and Nigeria. The goal of the mission is to intensify monitoring of the cease-fire and to facilitate the humanitarian effort on behalf of the people of Darfur. America has joined an international partnership in support of the mission, and has allocated $20.5 million to fund logistical assistance. America has called upon the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels to adhere to the cease-fire and allow for humanitarian workers and relief supplies to flow freely in pursuit of a negotiated settlement.

– Special to the Sun

SOUTHEAST ASIA

GENERAL SWORN IN AS INDONESIA’S PRESIDENT

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Former General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono vowed to fight poverty, end separatist conflicts, and make Indonesia safer from terrorism after being sworn in yesterday as the first directly elected president of the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

General Yudhoyono, 55, won the presidency of the sprawling Southeast Asian country by a landslide in elections last month – the first in which the country’s 210 million people voted for their head of state directly. He took the oath of office at Indonesia’s Parliament, swearing before an audience of lawmakers and foreign dignitaries to “uphold the law and the constitution…and serve the nation” in the name of God. After the ceremony, General Yudhoyono repeated promises he made during the campaign that led to his defeat of incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri – to create jobs, battle graft, tackle Islamic terror, and fix the ailing economy. In a nationally televised address from the presidential palace, General Yudhoyono appealed for Indonesia’s normally fractious political groups to get behind his administration in the interests of the country.

– Associated Press

CARIBBEAN

HAITIAN POLICE PLEAD FOR HELP

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Gunshots rang out in a neighborhood loyal to ousted President Aristide yesterday as police pleaded for help, citing a lack of weapons and problems with rogue officers who were allegedly tipping off suspected gangsters. Scattered violence has killed at least 55 people and paralyzed parts of the Haitian capital since a demonstration on September 30 marking the anniversary of Mr. Aristide’s first ouster in a 1991 military coup. American troops restored Mr. Aristide in 1994, but he was toppled again in February after a three-week rebellion. Much of the recent unrest has come from the capital’s Bel Air slum, an Aristide stronghold. “The objective of the police now is to control Bel Air,” said Bruce Myrtil, a spokesman for the Haitian National Police.

– Associated Press

SOUTH ASIA

PAKISTANI FORCES POUND TERRORIST HIDEOUT

WANA, Pakistan – About 1,000 Pakistani soldiers backed by helicopter gun ships, mortars, and artillery yesterday pounded a mountainous region near the Afghan border where a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who masterminded the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers is believed to be hiding. The assault targeted the village of Spinkai Raghzai in South Waziristan, a tribal region where the Pakistani army has been hunting Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda associates. But the top military commander in the region said Tuesday it was unlikely bin Laden was hiding in the area, as American authorities suspect. Abdullah Mehsud, a former prisoner at the American military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who was released in March, had been hiding in the area.

– Associated Press