PERSIAN GULF

IRAN SAYS U.N. TO REMOVE SEALS ON NUCLEAR RESEARCH FACILITIES

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran said yesterday that inspectors from the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency will remove seals from some nuclear facilities today, opening the way for Tehran to resume research on fuel production. The development heightened concerns in the West that Iran is moving toward building atomic weapons. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in Tehran on Saturday to remove seals they had affixed to the research sites after Iran voluntarily agreed to stop all enrichment-related activities more than two years ago as a confidence building measure.

– Associated Press

MIDDLE EAST

GUNMAN WHO SHOT POPE JOHN PAUL TO BE FREED FROM TURKISH PRISON

ANKARA, Turkey -The man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 will be released from a Turkish prison this week after a court decided he had completed his sentence with time served for the attack on the pontiff and crimes committed in his homeland. Mehmet Ali Agca was extradited to Turkey in 2000 after serving almost 20 years in Italy for shooting and wounding the pope in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. His motive for shooting John Paul in the abdomen on May 13, 1981, remains unclear.

– Associated Press

DEADLY BIRD FLU JUST 250 MILES FROM EUROPE

BRUSSELS, Belgium – The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu is “at the doors of Europe,” health officials said yesterday after tests found three people infected with the virus in Ankara, Turkey. The city’s governor, Kemal Onal, said two boys, aged 5 and 2, and a 60-year-old man were diagnosed with the infection at a hospital in the Turkish capital. Panic began to spread across Turkey yesterday, with anxious parents overwhelming clinics with children showing flu-like symptoms. Iran closed one of its border crossings with the country, while Russians were advised by their government to avoid travel to Turkey.

– The Daily Telegraph

EAST ASIA

POISON LEAKS INTO ANOTHER CHINESE RIVER

BEIJING – China suffered another environmental embarrassment yesterday when poisonous chemicals leaked into a river. The spill was caused by a water cleanup operation that went wrong and spilled cadmium from a smelter into the river. Levels of the heavy metal reached more than 20 times the safe level as the spill surged downstream through the city of Xiangtan, which has 700,000 inhabitants, and on toward the capital city of Hunan province, Changsha, with a population of 6 million people.

– The Daily Telegraph

CENTRAL ASIA

KARZAI INVITES TALIBAN’S MULLAH OMAR TO ‘GET IN TOUCH’

KABUL, Afghanistan – President Karzai said yesterday that a few hundred Taliban fighters have reconciled with the government and suggested militant leader Mullah Omar should “get in touch” if he wants to talk peace. In the context of escalating violence, including suicide attacks, the remarks by Mr. Karzai were seen as a significant softening of the government’s previous policy of not negotiating with top leaders of the hard-line militia.

– Associated Press

FIRE AT HOME FOR DISABLED CHILDREN KILLS 13 IN TAJIKISTAN

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan – A fire swept through a home for disabled children yesterday in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe, killing 13 before firefighters arrived, witnesses said. Two of the home’s 100 or so charges were hospitalized, one with smoke inhalation and another with a broken leg, the country’s first deputy minister of labor and public protection, Makhmud Kasimov, said.

– Associated Press

SOUTHEAST ASIA

RAZALI QUITS AS U.N. ENVOY FOR BURMA DEMOCRACY TALKS

The U.N. envoy to Burma since 2000, has quit his post, citing lack of progress in democracy talks with the country’s military government, Razali Ismail, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported. The diplomat from Malaysia said he has been refused entry by the military government for almost two years and it is clear the leaders “do not want me back,” the BBC cited the envoy as saying in an interview.

– Bloomberg News

WESTERN EUROPE

POWERFUL QUAKE RATTLES GREECE

ATHENS, Greece – A powerful earthquake shook Greece yesterday and was felt as far away as the Middle East and Italy. Minor damage was reported in southern Greece, and authorities on the island of Crete said three people were slightly injured. The Athens Geodynamic Institute said the epicenter of the 6.9-magnitude quake was located beneath the seabed about 125 miles south of Athens.

– Associated Press

SPANISH GENERAL UNDER HOUSE ARREST AFTER UNITY WARNING

MADRID – Spain’s defense minister, Jose Bono, over the weekend ordered the country’s second most senior soldier, Lieutenant-General Jose Mena Aguado, 64, to spend eight days under house arrest. Lieutenant-General Bono will seek Cabinet approval to dismiss him for suggesting that the military should step in to protect Spain’s unity if plans go ahead to grant the region of Catalonia greater autonomy.

– The Daily Telegraph

LONDON UNDERGROUND STAFF TO STRIKE OVER CONTRACT

Rail, maritime, and transport union members will start a 24-hour strike on the London Underground today that’s likely to disrupt travel for millions of commuters tomorrow. The strike will begin at 6:30 p.m., a spokesman for the RMT union, Bobby Law, said. The union, which represents 4,000 London Underground station employees, is protesting changes in a new employment contract.

– Bloomberg News