MIDDLE EAST

ABBAS SAYS HE MAY RESIGN IF UNABLE TO CARRY OUT PEACE

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday he’d rather resign than let extremists block his peace agenda, but he expressed hope the Islamic militant group Hamas would moderate its views if it shared power. However, a Hamas leader ruled out talks with Israel and threatened to kidnap Israeli soldiers. Mr. Abbas acknowledged he was worn out after a year in power, but he denied a report in Israel’s Ma’ariv daily yesterday that he was depressed and losing control.

– Associated Press

SOUTH ASIA

PAKISTAN SEEKS BODIES OF MILITANTS KILLED IN U.S. STRIKE

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Pakistani intelligence agents hunted yesterday for the graves of four Al Qaeda militants believed killed in an airstrike near the Afghan border. ABC News reported that a master bomb maker and chemical weapons expert for Al Qaeda was killed in the attack on the village of Damadola last week. He was identified as Midhat Mursi, also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri, who ran an Al Qaeda training camp and has a $5 million reward on his head.

– Associated Press

EAST ASIA

DONORS PLEDGE $1.9 BILLION TO FIGHT BIRD FLU, CHINA LOGS NEW DEATH

BEIJING – After a year of unprecedented appeals for money to cope with the Asian tsunami and the South Asia earthquake, the world dug deeper yesterday, pledging $1.9 billion to fight bird flu and prepare for a potential pandemic. America alone came up with $334 million that will largely be used to help poor countries in Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam and Indonesia, where the H5N1 bird flu virus is endemic. The European Union pledged another $261 million, responding with a renewed sense of urgency after the disease killed four children in Turkey.

– Associated Press

NORTH KOREAN LEADER SAYS HE IS COMMITTED TO NUCLEAR TALKS

SEOUL, South Korea – Kim Jong Il said he is committed to a peaceful resolution of the standoff over his country’s nuclear ambitions, as Pyongyang confirmed yesterday that the reclusive Mr. Kim had visited China over the past week. Mr. Kim’s trip ended the same day the main American nuclear envoy was in Beijing to meet with Chinese officials over the nuclear issue. News reports said Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill also talked with his North Korean counterpart, but Mr. Hill made no mention of any such meeting, and said no date had been set for the arms negotiations to resume.

– Associated Press

AUSTRALIA

INMATE MAKES NARROW ESCAPE

SYDNEY – An Australian prison inmate escaped yesterday by squeezing out of a gap he had chiseled in his cell wall after deliberately losing more than 40 pounds. Robert Cole, 36, a sex offender and armed robber, weighed 168 pounds when he was jailed two years ago. He had enlarged the gap between the outer bars of his cell window and the adjacent wall by chipping away at the brick. After squeezing through, he climbed a fence lined with razor wire and jumped to freedom. There were no guards in a watchtower because the authorities relied on cameras and sensors.

– The Daily Telegraph

WESTERN EUROPE

E.U. TO INVESTIGATE CIA’S EUROPEAN TORTURE JAILS CLAIM

BRUSSELS, Belgium – The European Parliament voted yesterday to form a special committee to investigate claims that the Central Intelligence Agency ran secret prisons on European soil. Members of European Parliament who are to serve on the new committee vowed to put maximum “political pressure” on governments in eastern and central Europe to tell the truth about their alleged co-operation with the CIA. America has neither confirmed nor denied the reports of secret jails, first made by the Washington Post in November.

– The Daily Telegraph

FATHERS’ GROUP MEMBERS PLANNED TO KIDNAP BLAIR’S SON LONDON – A fathers’ rights group known for breaching government security said yesterday it was disbanding after it was reported that some of its members plotted to kidnap Prime Minister Blair’s 5-year-old son. The Sun newspaper reported yesterday that extremist sympathizers of the group Fathers 4 Justice were hatching a plan to abduct Leo Blair and hold him for a short period to publicize the misery of fathers denied access to their children.

– Associated Press

EASTERN EUROPE

DOZENS DYING IN RUSSIAN COLD; BELIEVERS TAKE AN EPIPHANY DIP

MOSCOW – A Siberian weather front brought temperatures of -22F to Moscow yesterday but Orthodox believers are observing Epiphany by taking a dip in frozen rivers and lakes. The most extreme ceremony took place in the eastern Siberian city of Yakutsk where the temperature reached -58F. A tent was set up over the ice hole to provide at least some shelter.

– The Daily Telegraph