Foreign Desk

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

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NORTH AFRICA


RELATIONS SAW CHANGE IN SINAI BOMBER’S BEHAVIOR


EL-ARISH, Egypt -The Palestinian Arab refugee believed to be the mastermind of bomb attacks on Israeli tourists in Egypt began dressing and talking like a Muslim fundamentalist more than a year ago, his neighbors and relatives said yesterday.


Ayad Said Saleh, who died in the worst of the bombings, was a religious fanatic who may have been linked to Islamic terrorists outside Egypt, but not necessarily Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda, investigators said.


A day after the Ministry of Interior said it believed Saleh was behind the October 7 blasts, neighbors, and relatives said they can’t believe he was a terrorist, but they did see a sharp change in his behavior.


The 25-year-old taxi driver and school dropout grew his beard longer and exchanged T-shirts and slacks for the midcalf garb of fundamentalists. If a woman said hello, he wouldn’t respond.


He ignored neighbors whose observance fell short of his standards. In the street, the young taxi driver stared at the ground, avoiding the risk of inadvertent eye contact with a woman.


– Associated Press


MIDDLE EAST


LEBANESE PREMIER FORMS PRO-SYRIAN CABINET


BEIRUT, Lebanon – Lebanon’s new prime minister formed a Cabinet yesterday that consisted entirely of pro-Syrian politicians, defying growing international and domestic pressure against Syria’s influence in his country.


Prime Minister Karami had called for a government of national unity, but the list of 30 names announced by presidential decree contained no opposition members. It did include two women – a first for Lebanon – and 10 holdovers from the previous Cabinet.


“We couldn’t come up with a better one,” Mr. Karami said.


Mr. Karami said all factions had been given an opportunity to take part. Several rejected the invitations to protest Syrian influence.


The Cabinet “will be homogenous and dedicated to serving Lebanon,” he said. He added he would work with his opponents in tackling the country’s problems.


– Associated Press


SOUTH ASIA


INDIA LUKEWARM TO PAKISTANI PROPOSAL FOR DEMILITARIZED KASHMIR


One day after Pakistan’s president proposed a demilitarization of the violence-wracked Himalayan region of Kashmir, India’s response was notably lukewarm, with an official making clear the proposal should not have been made first to reporters.


Refusing to comment on the substance of the proposals, presented to journalists Monday by President General Musharraf, the Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said they should have been raised through diplomatic channels. “We do not believe that Jammu and Kashmir is a subject on which discussions can be held through the media,” Mr. Sarna said told reporters. “It is one of the subjects in the composite dialogue process. So if there are any proposals, suggestions regarding that, that is the forum that we expect they will be brought to.”


But despite his unenthusiastic response, he notably did not insist Kashmir is an “integral” part of India, a diplomatic shorthand often used in India to dismiss peace overtures.


– Associated Press


CENTRAL ASIA


VOTE COUNT GIVES KARZAI VICTORY


KABUL, Afghanistan – More than two weeks after Afghanistan’s first presidential election, vote counting wrapped up yesterday and interim leader Hamid Karzai emerged with a resounding victory.


With his inauguration to a five-year term a month away, the American-backed Mr. Karzai already is under pressure to ditch his coalition with powerful warlords and tackle a booming narcotics industry that has become a major economic force in one of the world’s poorest nations.


Officials declared the vote count complete yesterday afternoon, giving some 1,500 weary staff at eight counting centers a well-earned rest in the middle of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan. Investigators were still examining about 100 suspect ballot boxes, but the election’s chief technical officer said the count was effectively “over and done.”


– Associated Press


CARIBBEAN


CUBA BEGINS SAYING ‘ADIOS’ TO U.S. DOLLAR


HAVANA – Communist Cuba said “adios” to the Yankee dollar that shored up its struggling economy for a decade, launching a two-week process yesterday to eliminate the American currency from its stores and businesses in response to stepped-up American sanctions. President Castro said widespread use of the currency of his country’s no. 1 enemy, once seen as a necessary evil to stay afloat after losing Soviet aid and trade, would be halted to guarantee Cuba’s economic independence.


Cuba is “protecting itself from external economic aggression,” Mr. Castro said in a statement he asked his top aide to read on state TV Monday night. The 78-year-old Mr. Castro was also there, looking animated despite the blue sling supporting his broken right arm after a fall last week that also shattered his left kneecap.


A local currency known as the convertible Cuban peso will be the only money accepted at most businesses across the island of 11.2 million people beginning November 8, Mr. Castro’s statement said.


– Associated Press


WESTERN EUROPE


EUROPEANS TO RESUME TALKS WITH IRAN


VIENNA, Austria – European negotiators resume talks with Iran today on a last-chance offer of incentives aimed at getting the Tehran regime to stop enriching uranium and avoid the threat of possible U.N. sanctions.


The new round of talks comes as Iran hints it may voluntarily suspend some unspecified nuclear activities in an attempt to reach a compromise with the Europeans. Britain, France, and Germany have offered Iran a trade deal and peaceful nuclear technology – including a light-water research reactor – in return for assurances that the country will stop uranium enrichment, which can produce fuel for both nuclear energy and atomic weaponry.


Diplomats called the package a “last chance” offer to Iran ahead of a key November 25 meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which could result in Tehran’s defiance being reported to the U.N. Security Council, which has the authority to impose punishing sanctions.


The Vienna-based IAEA is not directly involved in the offer, but agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei has said he welcomes any attempt to negotiate an end to the standoff.


– Associated Press

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


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