NORTH AMERICA

SHARON URGES BUSH TO PRESS IRAN ON NUCLEAR ISSUE

Prime Minister Sharon of Israel urged President Bush yesterday to pressure Iran to cease all elements of its nuclear program, the New York Times reported on its Web site last night. Mr. Sharon, who made the request over lunch on the second day of his visit, said Israeli intelligence found that Iran is close to learning how to develop a weapon.

The newspaper reported that American officials say the information Mr. Sharon presented in an hour-long meeting was not new or surprising but that Israeli officials consider Iran to pose a “big threat.” Mr. Sharon described Iran as nearing a “point of no return.”

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

MIDDLE EAST

ACTIVISTS AGAINST GAZA PULLOUT CHAIN SHUT SCHOOLS’ GATES

Right-wing activists opposed to plans to withdraw from the Gaza Strip chained shut the gates of 167 schools in Tel Aviv and two nearby towns yesterday, leaving placards reading: “Jews don’t expel Jews.”

Settler activists have increasingly used such unorthodox tactics, recently blocking the main highway from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem with burning tires.

The education minister, Limor Livnat, said: “This is violent unruliness that should not be ignored.”

Meanwhile, the authorities have issued an administrative arrest order against extreme-right activist Noam Federman. Control orders are expected to be imposed on several extremists in the coming weeks as opposition to disengagement intensifies.

– The Daily Telegraph

SYRIAN TROOP LEVELS DOWN IN LEBANON

Syrian troop levels in Lebanon have dropped to their lowest level, and the remaining 4,000 soldiers are likely to be out within 10 days, Lebanese officials said yesterday – a hurried exit that comes amid a deepening political crisis and renewed tensions along the border with Israel.

Lebanese looked toward a future without Syria’s once mighty military force as they marked the 30th anniversary of the start of their 15-year civil war, the conflict that first drew Syria’s troops into the country.

– Associated Press

EAST ASIA

CHINESE PREMIER OPPOSES JAPAN’S INCLUSION ON U.N. COUNCIL

In the strongest stand so far against the Japanese bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, China’s premier told Japan yesterday to face up to its World War II aggression before aspiring to a bigger global role. It was the strongest hint yet that China might exercise its veto as one of the council’s five permanent members to block Japan.

– Associated Press