MIDDLE EAST

SHARON: ISRAEL WON’T TAKE ‘UNILATERAL ACTION’ AGAINST IRAN

Israel will not attack Iran to destroy its nuclear program, Prime Minister Sharon said yesterday, one day after meeting President Bush in Texas.

Mr. Sharon told CNN he did not see “unilateral action” as an option. He said Israel did not need to take a leading role in attempts to deny nuclear weapons to Iran and called again for an international coalition to deal with the issue.

Mr. Sharon said Iran was years away from possessing a nuclear weapon but only months away from overcoming “technical problems” in building one.

“Once they will solve it, that will be the point of no return,” he said.

– Associated Press

SHARON SAYS TERROR INFRASTRUCTURE MUST BE DISMANTLED

Prime Minister Sharon told Jewish leaders yesterday that the Palestinian Authority must dismantle terror infrastructure before Israel meets its obligations under an American-endorsed peace plan. In remarks to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Mr. Sharon said Israel remained committed to the road map, a peace plan endorsed by America, Europe, Russian, and the United Nations, according to two participants in the meeting.

In the meeting, Mr. Sharon also told Jewish leaders Israel’s strategic partnership was stronger with President Bush than any other American president in history. Mr. Bush on Monday called on Israel to halt expansion of a settlement outside of Jerusalem.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

OFFICIALS UNSURE WHERE TO MOVE GAZA SETTLERS

Three months before Israel is scheduled to evacuate all 8,200 Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip, the government does not know where it will relocate the families, according to Israeli, Palestinian Arab, and settlement officials.

It has processed financial compensation papers for just one family, the officials said, and has conducted only one substantive meeting with Jewish settlers on the planned withdrawal.

As the planned summertime removal of settlers from all 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and four small settlements in the West Bank nears, settlers and the government are entangled in a chaotic and emotional scramble that is hardening animosities among settlers and setting government agencies in conflict with one another.

– The Washington Post

NORTH AMERICA

GOVERNMENT SHOULD RESTRICT FLU VIRUS AMONG LABS, OFFICIAL SAYS

The head of the American health agency said yesterday that the government should restrict the handling of flu virus to more secure labs, as thousands of scientists around the world destroyed a deadly flu strain that had been sent to thousands of labs for testing.

The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Dr. Julie Gerberding, said the agency has already recommended that change – a step not previously taken because flu virus has never been considered a possible bioterrorism weapon.

– Associated Press

U.N. APPROVES NUCLEAR TREATY

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. General Assembly approved a global treaty yesterday aimed at preventing nuclear terrorism by making it a crime for would-be terrorists to possess or threaten to use nuclear weapons or radioactive material.

A resolution adopted by the 191-member world body by consensus calls on all countries to sign and ratify the “International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.” The treaty will be opened for signatures on September 14 and must be ratified by 22 countries to come into force.

– Associated Press

WESTERN EUROPE

BULGARIA, ROMANIA ARE APPROVED FOR ENTRY TO E.U.

The European Parliament approved the entry of Bulgaria and Romania yesterday into the European Union in 2007, but it said both countries still need to make reforms.

EU officials have urged the two Balkan nations to do more to fight corruption and organized crime, and the approval by EU legislators is not a guarantee they will join the 25-nation bloc in two years. Their entry treaties contain clauses that may trigger a one-year delay if certain conditions are not met.

– Associated Press

EAST ASIA

JAPAN ESCALATES DISPUTE WITH CHINA OVER DRILLING

Japan escalated a bitter dispute with China yesterday by announcing licenses to drill for gas in disputed territory in the sea between the two east Asian powers.

Japan’s trade ministry said it was beginning to process applications to drill in the East China Sea, on its side of what it regards as the border between the two. But China disputes that border, and has begun drilling nearby.

The Japanese prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, denied the decision was connected to demonstrations in Chinese cities at the weekend that led to the Japanese embassy being stoned. But the protests have prompted an exchange of insults, with Japan’s trade minister calling China a “scary country.”

– The Daily Telegraph