Foreign Desk

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

PERSIAN GULF


NEW VIDEO SHOWS FOUR WESTERN PEACE ACTIVISTS IN CAPTIVITY


BAGHDAD, Iraq – Al Jazeera broadcast video yesterday of four Western peace activists held hostage. The station said the four were seized by the Swords of Righteousness Brigade, which claimed they were spies working under the cover of Christian peace activists. The captives were members of the Chicago-based aid group Christian Peacemaker Teams, which confirmed they disappeared Saturday. The footage showed a retired British professor, Norman Kember, 74, sitting on the floor with three other men. Christian Peacemaker Teams identified the other hostages as Tom Fox, 54, of Clearbrook, Va.; James Loney, 41, of Toronto, and a Canadian electrical engineer, Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32.


The tape was shown the same day German TV displayed a photo of a blindfolded German archaeologist being led away by captors in Iraq. The kidnappers threatened to kill Susanne Osthoff and her driver unless Germany halts all contacts with the Iraqi government.


Also yesterday, two American soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb north of Baghdad, a Sunni cleric was assassinated as he left a mosque, and six Iranian pilgrims were seized near a Shiite religious shrine.


– Associated Press


MIDDLE EAST


PERES MAY LEAVE LABOR AND JOIN SHARON’S GOVERNMENT


JERUSALEM – A deal was emerging yesterday for Shimon Peres to leave the Labor Party and join Ariel Sharon’s government if the prime minister is re-elected in March. A Sharon associate and newspaper reports said Mr. Peres likely would be charged with developing the outlying Galilee and the Negev regions if Mr. Sharon retains power.


– Associated Press


ISRAEL’S ‘BOMB CHARITY’ FACES BANKRUPTCY


JERUSALEM – A Jewish charity whose volunteers rush to the scene of every suicide bombing in Israel is facing bankruptcy following the decline in Palestinian Arab terrorism.


“The perception is that our workload has gone down, and so we have seen a decline in the growth of our private funding,” the founder and chairman of Zaka, Yehuda Meshi Zahav, said. Mr. Meshi Zahav’s group responds to all non-natural deaths in Israel.


– The Daily Telegraph


WESTERN EUROPE


VATICAN PUBLISHES GAY PRIEST DOCUMENT


VATICAN CITY – The Vatican defended a policy statement designed to keep men with “deep-seated” homosexual tendencies from becoming priests, but said there would be no crackdown on gays who are already ordained. The Vatican document, the first major policy statement of Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy, was officially released yesterday after being leaked earlier.


– Associated Press


FRANCE TO TIGHTEN IMMIGRATION CONTROLS


PARIS – The French premier, Dominique de Villepin, yesterday announced tightened controls on immigration. Authorities will increase enforcement of requirements that immigrants seeking 10-year residency permits or French citizenship master the French language, and integrate into society. France also plans to crack down on fraudulent marriages and launch a stricter screening process for foreign students.


– Associated Press


NORTH AMERICA


BOLTON ASKS FOR RESOLUTION ON BURMA


UNITED NATIONS – America’s ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, yesterday asked for a U.N. Security Council session to address the deteriorating situation in Burma. Mr. Bolton asked in a letter to Secretary-General Annan that a senior U.N. official brief the council on the repressive regime there. A council briefing is “an important step,” Mr. Bolton told The New York Sun. The rest of the 15-member council would have to request such a briefing and Mr. Bolton hoped they would do so today.


Mr. Bolton wrote that the flow of narcotics in Burma has become a catalyst in the spread of crime and disease, including AIDS. The regime has “destroyed villages, targeted ethnic minorities, and forced relocations,” as part of its human rights violations, Mr. Bolton wrote. He also quoted press reports saying that Burma is “seeking nuclear capabilities” rather than addressing “the needs of the Burmese people.”


– Staff Reporter of the Sun


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