WESTERN EUROPE

G-8 SUMMIT OPENS AMID ANGRY PROTESTS, HOPE OF MORE AID TO AFRICA

EDINBURGH, Scotland – Once again, a summit of the world’s richest countries opened amid angry protests and sporadic violence, as demonstrators barricaded roads and tangled with police yesterday near the Scottish resort Gleneagles, where President Bush arrived to meet with fellow leaders from the Group of Eight nations. But for all the tumult, many activists here acknowledge that considerable progress on their key demands was made in advance of the summit, in particular canceling the debt of poor nations and increasing aid to Africa. As a result, many leading anti-poverty campaigners are striking a hopeful stance and now exhorting the G-8 member countries to back up their pledges with concrete action.

“We’re getting close to a real breakthrough, but we’re not there yet – we’ve got to go that extra mile,” the executive director of DATA, a group co-founded by the rock star Bono that advocates boosting support for Africa, Jamie Drummond, said. He was speaking in an interview after attending meetings at which Bono and fellow Irish musician Bob Geldof made their case to Mr. Bush, Prime Minister Blair of Britain, Chancellor Schroeder of Germany, and Prime Minister Martin of Canada.

– The Washington Post

PERSIAN GULF

AL QAEDA THREATENS TO KILL KIDNAPPED EGYPTIAN DIPLOMAT

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Al Qaeda in Iraq said yesterday that it would execute an Egyptian diplomat who was kidnapped in Baghdad four days ago, calling him a traitor to Islam and representative of a country that is “allied to Jews and Christians,” according to a statement on a Web site associated with Al Qaeda.

The statement said an Al Qaeda Islamic law court would hand the diplomat, Ihab al-Sharif, over to the group’s guerrillas “to carry out the punishment of the apostate … and to kill him.” The statement’s authenticity could not be independently verified. But earlier yesterday, another posting bearing Al Qaeda’s name included photos of identification cards belonging to Mr. Sharif, whom the statement called “the devil’s ambassador.” Mr. Sharif, 51, is Egypt’s top diplomat in Iraq and had been scheduled to be promoted to ambassador. Iraqi and foreign officials feared that Mr. Sharif, who would have been the first Arab ambassador in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, was targeted by insurgents to deter other countries from strengthening diplomatic ties with the new government of Prime Minister al-Jaafari.

– The Washington Post

CENTRAL ASIA

REBELS ATTACK U.S. MEDICAL TEAM IN EASTERN AFGHANISTAN

KABUL, Afghanistan – Rebels attacked an American military medical team as it was helping villagers in the same region of eastern Afghanistan where an American air strike that killed up to 17 civilians sparked sharp criticism from the government, the military said yesterday. No one was wounded in the assault Tuesday on the medical team near the town of Asadabad in Kunar province, a military statement said. American forces used mortars to respond, and the insurgents fled.

“It’s incredible to us that the enemy would attack our forces while we are providing innocent Afghans with health care,” an American military spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Jerry O’Hara, said.

– Associated Press

SOUTH AMERICA

COURT IN CHILE STRIPS PINOCHET OF IMMUNITY

SANTIAGO, Chile – A Chilean court stripped General Augusto Pinochet of immunity from prosecution yesterday for his alleged role in the killing of 119 dissidents in the early years of his dictatorship. The Santiago Court of Appeals voted 11-10 to strip the 89-year-old former dictator of the legal immunity he enjoys as former president for a case known as “Operation Colombo” during his 1973-90 regime.

The ruling can be appealed before the Supreme Court. A lawyer for General Pinochet, Pablo Rodriguez, did not immediately announce his plans. The case, which involved the killing of 119 people in 1975, was complicated and the Pinochet regime contends the victims died in clashes in Argentina involving rival armed groups opposed to his rule. The opposition says they were dissidents.

– Associated Press

MIDDLE EAST

SHARON ORDERS SPEEDIER CONSTRUCTION ON SEPARATION WALL

JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Sharon has ordered quicker work to finish Israel’s contentious West Bank separation barrier, a senior official said yesterday, setting off Palestinian Arab accusations that he’s undermining peace prospects.

The official said the order applies especially to the section enclosing Jerusalem – a sensitive part of the barrier that Palestinian Arabs contend is an attempt to take over part of the disputed city. “The order is to progress wherever possible,” the head of the National Security Council, Giora Eiland, told Israel Radio. “The prime minister ordered the work to go ahead even faster.”

– Associated Press