MIDDLE EAST

HEZBOLLAH SENDS DRONE OVER ISRAEL

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Hezbollah sent a reconnaissance drone into Israeli territory over northern Jewish settlements yesterday in the first hostile aerial incursion from Lebanon since a hang glider attack 17 years ago killed six soldiers.

The terrorist Islamic group said that the flight came in response to repeated Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace, and that it reached Israel’s northern coastal city of Nahariya on the border before returning it to base. A Hezbollah statement said Islamic Resistance, the group’s military wing, carried out the flight.

Hezbollah said it retrieved the drone safely, but Lebanon’s largest TV station, LBC, quoted witnesses as saying the aircraft crashed into the sea off the border town of Naqoura, adding that fishermen found the wreckage of the aircraft and gave it to Hezbollah members.

It was unclear if the drone was a homemade, makeshift aircraft or bought from abroad. Hezbollah did not describe its capabilities, say how many it had, or provide further details but promised there would be more flights.

Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV station said the “Mirsad 1” drone flew over Israel at a low altitude for 20 minutes without providing further details. Mirsad means “observation post” in Arabic.

– Associated Press

CENTRAL ASIA

TERRORISTS SEEK PRISONER HOSTAGE EXCHANGE KABUL, Afghanistan – Taliban-linked terrorists holding three kidnapped U.N. workers demanded yesterday the release of 26 prisoners, some possibly in American custody at Guantanamo Bay, in return for sparing the hostages’ lives.

The group also said it might ease its other demands to end a crisis that has stirred fear that Afghan insurgents are learning from their Iraqi counterparts.

Ishaq Manzoor, one of several men claiming to speak for the kidnappers, said that a list of the 26 was handed to Afghan officials during talks at a secret location yesterday. A government delegation asked for two days to look for the prisoners and find out whether they are in Afghanistan or outside, and if they are in Afghanistan where they are being held, Mr. Manzoor said in a telephone call. The talks could resume Tuesday, he said.

Kabul has secured the release of several foreign hostages during the past year, using tribal chiefs and former terrorist leaders for behind-the-scenes negotiations.

Last November, a Turkish engineer was freed after a month in captivity following the release of two Taliban prisoners. Kabul denied any link and insisted no ransom was paid. This time, the United Nations and the Afghan government have been tight-lipped on any contact with the kidnappers, though officials insist they are making “progress.”

– Associated Press

EASTERN EUROPE

RUSSIANS MARK REVOLUTION DAY WITH PROTESTS, MARCHES

MOSCOW – Carrying the Soviet hammer-and-sickle flag and singing as they marched, Russians marked the anniversary of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution yesterday in both a celebration of Soviet times and a protest against a parliamentary proposal to scrap a once-revered Soviet holiday.

At least 8,000 Communist Party backers and members of the ultra-nationalist National Bolshevik party gathered at a square once named for Vladimir Lenin and marched across Moscow toward a statue of Karl Marx. They bore a giant portrait of Lenin and banners proclaiming “U.S.S.R. – our Homeland.”

In Red Square, aging veterans wearing long, belted World War II military coats marched in formation, retracing the steps they took in 1941 when Soviets defiantly celebrated Revolution Day in spite of the Nazi forces massed 33 miles outside Moscow. Some pro-Kremlin lawmakers have proposed replacing the November 7 holiday with a new holiday on November 4 to be called National Unity Day. Russia’s lower house of Parliament, the State Duma, is expected to consider the measure Wednesday in the first of three required votes.

– Associated Press

REFERENDUM TO SINK MACEDONIA PEACE PROCESS FAILS

Macedonia’s peace process survived a crucial test yesterday, when nationalist moves to destroy reforms that ceded some power to the country’s Albanian minority failed.

A referendum on the reforms called by nationalists needed a 50% turnout to be valid, but by early yesterday evening, the turnout was said to be 27%.

The days leading up to the poll saw, for the first time in a fragile post-conflict society such as Macedonia, international officials urging people not to vote, stressing that rejecting the Brussels-backed reforms would halt the country’s progress toward NATO and European Union membership.

In a further attempt to keep the turnout down, the government extended licensing hours to 6 a.m. yesterday, hoping that bleary-eyed revelers would be in no mood to vote.

Hard-line nationalists, such as the Vmro-Dpmne opposition party, want to throw out the internationally backed legislation, saying it would give the restive Albanian minority too much control over their own affairs.

But the attempt to stymie the changes needed at least half of the 1.7 million electorate to cast their ballots in the referendum.

– The Daily Telegraph

SOUTH ASIA

INDIA TEST-FIRES NUCLEAR-CAPABLE MISSILE

BHUBANESHWAR, India – India yesterday tested a nuclear-capable, ship-launched missile off its eastern coast, an official said.

The Dhanush missile, capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads, was launched from an Indian navy ship in the Bay of Bengal, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Pakistan, which also routinely carries out missile tests, declined comment on the test but said it was against an arms race.

“Pakistan will not get into an arms race in the region,” said Major General Shaukat Sultan, the top army spokesman. “We will maintain a minimum credible deterrence.” A senior official at the Foreign Ministry, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Pakistan was informed ahead of the Indian missile test.

“Dhanush,” which means “bow” in the Hindi language, was tested from the ship INS Subhadra some 20 miles away from India’s missile testing site at Chandipuron-Sea in the eastern state of Orissa. The site is 750 miles southeast of New Delhi.

With a strike range of 156 miles, the missile can carry a load of 1,100 pounds, the Indian official said. The Dhanush is one of five types of missiles being developed by the state-owned Defense Research and Development Organization.

– Associated Press