MIDDLE EAST

ISRAEL APPROVES THE CONSTRUCTION OF 117 WEST BANK HOUSES

JERUSALEM – Israel has approved construction of 117 houses in the Ariel settlement in the heart of the West Bank, the government said yesterday, signaling it will not relinquish the sprawling community that Palestinian Arabs complain would cut up their future state. The announcement – and suggestions that much larger construction projects are in the pipeline – came despite the risk of an American reprimand.

In Gaza, the first clash between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian Arab demonstrators since Israel emptied its settlements resulted in the death of a Palestinian. About 200 marched on an empty settlement, and Palestinian police tried to stop them. An Israeli tank approached, and some youths threw rocks at it while others stormed into the settlement.

– Associated Press

EAST ASIA

TYPHOON NABI LASHES SOUTHERN JAPAN AND S. KOREA

TOKYO – Typhoon Nabi lashed southern Japan and South Korea yesterday, killing five people, injuring dozens, and forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes. At least 15 others were reported missing. By late evening, the storm was heading northeast over open water. Nabi, which means “butterfly” in Korean, grounded hundreds of flights, blocked train and ferry services, and closed highways, stranding tens of thousands.

– Associated Press

SOUTH ASIA

SECURITY INCREASED AT PAKISTANI-AFGHAN BORDER

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Security is being beefed up on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border as fears rise that terrorists are plotting to disrupt Afghanistan’s legislative elections in two weeks, officials said yesterday.

Pakistan has sent 9,500 more troops to the border to prevent terrorist infiltration, and Afghan and American-led coalition forces said they killed 12 suspected militants Monday in raids on hideouts in the southern Zabul province. Meanwhile, police uncovered a bomb-making factory in the southern Kandahar area, provincial police chief Abdul Malik Khan said.

– Associated Press

WESTERN EUROPE

MERKEL ACCUSED OF PLAGIARIZING REAGAN

BERLIN – Angela Merkel was accused Monday of “cheap plagiarism” in echoing the words of the late President Reagan. Her Social Democratic Party rivals gleefully pointed out that, as the conservative challenger wound up her televised duel with Chancellor Schroeder on Sunday, she used almost exactly the same rhetoric as the former American leader.

“Is our country better off than seven years ago?” she said. “Is growth higher? Is unemployment lower? Do we have less bureaucracy? Are our pensions and health care better? If you can answer yes to all of these questions, then I think you have probably already decided who you will vote for. If you have any doubt, if you do not want things to carry on as they are, then you have a choice.”

Twenty-five years ago, Reagan, challenging President Carter, asked Americans: “Are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than four years ago?

“And if you answer yes to all of those questions, then I think your choice is very obvious as to whom you will vote for. If you don’t agree … then I could suggest another choice that you have.”

– The Daily Telegraph

EASTERN EUROPE

‘ORANGE REVOLUTION’ LOSES ITS LUSTER

MOSCOW – President Yushchenko of Ukraine was yesterday fighting to defend the credibility of its prowestern Orange Revolution in his worst crisis since sweeping to power last year. Simmering disagreements in his shaky coalition have now exploded since his powerful chief of staff quit, accusing senior officials of corruption.

Rumors as to the fate of his government swirled through the capital, with one television station reporting the impending resignation of the charismatic prime minister, Yulia Timoshenko. According to another news agency, the entire cabinet could be forced to step down only months after it was formed. Mr. Yushchenko was yesterday locked in emergency talks with Mrs. Timoshenko and other officials on the government’s inner working.

– The Daily Telegraph