MIDDLE EAST

MILITARY MAY PROTECT FOREIGN DIPLOMATS

BAGHDAD, Iraq – The American military is considering offering protection to foreign diplomats in Baghdad after Al Qaeda agents killed three Arab envoys this month, the American ambassador said yesterday.

“Coalition forces … are planning to look at this problem and see what could be done to fix the security for the diplomats,” Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters. He spoke a day after Iraq’s most feared terrorist group announced it killed two Algerian diplomats because of their government’s ties to America and its crackdown on Islamic extremists. Chief envoy Ali Belaroussi and diplomat Azzedine Belkadi were kidnapped outside their embassy in Baghdad’s western neighborhood of Mansour. Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility.

Mr. Khalilzad said no final decision had been made on offering protection, and some Arab diplomats may fear the presence of American forces around diplomatic missions might actually draw insurgent attacks.

The American military announced yesterday two American soldiers were killed and one was wounded in a roadside bombing the day before in Baghdad. Another American soldier died Wednesday in a nonhostile vehicle accident in central Iraq, the American military said.

Also yesterday, American Marine jets dropped laser-guided bombs and other ordnance on insurgent positions northwest of Baghdad, killing nine insurgents, including five Syrians, the American military said. Elsewhere, insurgents launched coordinated attacks against four Iraqi army checkpoints along a road between Baqouba and Baghdad, killing six Iraqi soldiers, police said. At least eight people – three soldiers, four policemen, and one civilian – were wounded as fighting continued into late afternoon.

In Baghdad, a train carrying fuel exploded into flames when it was hit by a bomb, killing two people and wounding six, police said. The bomb appeared aimed at a nearby police commando checkpoint, police said. An Internet posting in the name of Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility.

– Associated Press

ISRAEL ASKS INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY FOR $120 MILLION

EREZ CROSSING, Israel – Israel’s vice premier, Shimon Peres, yesterday urged the international community to donate tens of millions of dollars to upgrade border crossings in the Gaza Strip – a move he said is critical for boosting the Palestinian economy after Israel withdraws from the area.

Mr. Peres said roughly $120 million is needed to improve the three major crossings into Gaza. He said the money would be used on new technology that would allow goods to move quickly in and out of Gaza, and to reduce the wait times for Palestinian Arab laborers entering Israel.

Both workers and cargo are frequently held up at the crossings due to Israeli security concerns. The Palestinian Arabs say easier movement in and out of Gaza is essential for the impoverished, densely populated area to recover after Israel pulls out of the occupied area next month.

Mr. Peres, who is overseeing the economic issues connected to the Israeli withdrawal, could face significant challenges in carrying out his plan – most significantly the cost. He said Israel would be willing to contribute funds and suggested that $50 million pledged by America for the Palestinians be put toward the effort. But he said international donors would also be needed.

– Associated Press

CARIBBEAN

MCCARRY TO PROMOTE CUBAN DEMOCRACY

A veteran congressional staff expert on Latin America, Caleb McCarry, was appointed yesterday to a new State Department post aimed at preparing for a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba.

“It is the responsibility of the civilized world to act to see that the Cuban family is reunited under political and economic freedom,” Mr. McCarry said at a State Department ceremony after being introduced by Secretary of State Rice.

The post of “transition coordinator” that is being filled by Mr. McCarry grew out of a 2004 report on Cuba prepared by a commission headed by then-secretary of state, Colin Powell.

The report outlined the steps that America was prepared to take to assist a democratic Cuba and to bring pressure to bear on Fidel Castro’s government in the meantime. The report said America should try to subvert the planned succession in Cuba under which power would pass from the dictator to his younger brother, Raul.

– Associated Press

WESTERN EUROPE

VATICAN SAYS ISRAEL VIOLATED INTERNATIONAL LAW

VATICAN CITY – Responding to Israeli criticism, the Vatican said yesterday it hasn’t condemned every strike by Palestinian militants against the Jewish state because Israel’s military response to the attacks has sometimes violated international law.

Largely good relations between the Vatican and Israel in recent years were strained this week by Israeli outrage that Pope Benedict XVI failed to condemn terror against Israelis in recent remarks.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry complained Monday that Benedict, in a public appearance at his Alpine vacation retreat on Sunday, “deliberately” didn’t mention a July 12 suicide bombing in the coastal city of Netanya while the pontiff did refer to recent terror strikes in Egypt, Britain, Turkey, and Iraq.

“It’s not always possible to immediately follow every attack against Israel with a public statement of condemnation, and for various reasons, among them the fact that the attacks against Israel sometimes were followed by immediate Israeli reactions not always compatible with the rules of international law,” a statement from the Vatican press office said yesterday night.

“It would thus be impossible to condemn the first [the terror strikes] and let the second [Israeli retaliation] pass in silence,” said the Vatican statement, which had an unusually strong tone for the Holy See.

The Vatican didn’t describe any of the alleged violations. Israel often has responded to terror attacks by raiding Palestinian towns and refugee camps that are home to suspected militants and destroying their homes. But since a February 8 cease-fire went into effect, Israel has halted most of its retaliatory operations.

– Associated Press

EAST AFRICA

UGANDANS VOTE ON MULTIPARTY SYSTEM

KAMPALA, Uganda – Ugandans voted yesterday on whether to allow a multiparty system, which was banned for 19 years by a president who argued that he needed to keep tribal divisions in check.

The referendum was the first step in reforming the East African country’s constitution, which forbids political parties from campaigning in elections.

President Museveni banned multiparty politics when he came to power in 1986, insisting political parties were tribally based and responsible for years of civil war.

Under pressure from international donors and Ugandan activists, Mr. Museveni agreed to reintroduce multiparty politics if a majority of voters approved. Opposition groups have boycotted the $12 million referendum, insisting it was a waste of money and the reforms should be instituted without a vote.

Turnout appeared light despite a last-minute appeal by Electoral Commission Chairman Badru Kiggundu for participation by Uganda’s 8.5 million registered voters. There was no minimum voter turnout required for the referendum to be declared valid.

Voters indicated their choice by placing an “X” next to a tree for the return to pluralism or next to a house for the retention of the nonpartisan system. International observers from 132 organizations and six local groups monitored the vote.

– Associated Press

SOUTHERN AFRICA

ZIMBABWE SAYS CRACKDOWN IS OVER

HARARE, Zimbabwe – The government said yesterday it has completed its crackdown on slums and street traders, but the opposition insisted that demolitions and beatings are continuing and one of its top officials had been arrested.

The demolitions have sparked domestic and international criticism, with a report by a U.N. envoy condemning the crackdown that has left about 700,000 without homes or jobs. The envoy said another 2.4 million people have been affected.

The state radio broadcast statements yesterday from Vice President Joyce Mujuru that “Operation Murambatsvina (Drive Out Trash) is now complete,” and from Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga promising compensation for those who “followed legal channels.”

“As Mujuru was making that announcement one of our offices … was razed to the ground,” the spokesman for the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change, Paul Themba Nyathi, said. “What has been downplayed is the culture of the police beating people, and that is accepted as standard practice.”

Opposition party officials also were collating countrywide reports of further sporadic demolitions Wednesday and trying to trace 5,000 people forcibly removed over the weekend from a camp east of Harare.

Zimbabwe’s government has argued that the demolitions aim to reduce crime and restore order in overcrowded slums and illegal markets and it has pledged to build new homes for those uprooted.

But independent economists argue the government cannot afford the $300 million it has promised for reconstruction.

– Associated Press