MIDDLE EAST

ISRAEL ‘WILL NOT SIT BACK’ AND LET IRAN BUILD ATOMIC WEAPONS

JERUSALEM – Israel issued thinly veiled warnings yesterday that it was preparing to take direct action to stop Iran, its bitter enemy, from acquiring nuclear weapons. Remarks by the defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, raised the temperature of the worsening international crisis over the Islamic republic’s nuclear ambitions and prompted Iran into a swift and strongly worded response.The war of words increased the prospect of another preemptive strike by Israel similar to that in 1981 when its warplanes destroyed Saddam Hussein’s nuclear program with an attack on the Osirak reactor in Iraq.

– The Daily Telegraph

EAST AFRICA

U.S. NAVY SEIZES SUSPECTED PIRATE SHIP, CREW OFF SOMALIA

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – American sailors boarded a suspected pirate ship in the Indian Ocean and detained 26 men for questioning, the Navy said yesterday. The 16 Indians and 10 Somali men were aboard a traditional dhow that was chased and seized Saturday by the American-guided missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill, Lieutenant Leslie Hull-Ryde of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain said.

– Associated Press

KENYAN MINISTERS NAMED IN CORRUPTION PLOT

NAIROBI, Kenya – Senior members of Kenya’s government plotted a series of shady deals designed to loot about $265 million of state funds, according to a leaked dossier from the country’s exiled anti-corruption chief. Four current or former Cabinet ministers are named in the 91-page report, written by John Githongo, who was appointed by the Kenyan president, Mwai Kibaki, to tackle corruption. The officials named in the dossier – the finance minister, David Mwiraria; the energy minister, Kiraitu Murungi; the vice president, Moody Awori, and a former national security minister, Chris Murungaru – have now been summoned to appear before the Kenyan Anti-Corruption Commission.

– The Daily Telegraph

WESTERN EUROPE

PARTY TURNS TO VETERAN FOR LEADERSHIP

LONDON – Sir Menzies Campbell appeared yesterday to be the Liberal Democrats’ only hope of restoring their credibility after Mark Oaten’s resignation. Mr. Oaten, 41, resigned as the party’s home affairs spokesman after claims that the member of parliament, who is married with two children, had paid for sex with a 23-year-old male prostitute. There were signs yesterday that Liberal Democrat grassroots activists would turn to Sir Menzies, at 64 the oldest of the remaining contenders for the party leadership, as a steady hand to lead them out of the crisis.

– The Daily Telegraph

EASTERN EUROPE

BLASTS ON RUSSIAN PIPELINES CUT GAS SUPPLIES TO GEORGIA, ARMENIA

TBILISI, Georgia – Explosions hit pipelines running through Russia yesterday, cutting the supply of natural gas to Georgia and Armenia. President Saakashvili of Georgia said the blasts were aimed at destabilizing his country. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Mr. Saakashvili’s comments “cannot be seen as other than hysteria.”

– Associated Press

SOUTH ASIA

SYMPATHY FOR AL QAEDA SURGES IN REGION HIT BY U.S. AIRSTRIKE

DAMADOLA, Pakistan – Sympathy for Al Qaeda has surged after an American air strike devastated this mountain hamlet. A week after the attack, villagers insist no members of the terror network were anywhere near the border village when it was hit. But thousands of protesters flooded a nearby town chanting, “Long live Osama bin Laden!” Pakistan’s army, in charge of hunting militants, was nowhere to be seen.

– Associated Press

SOUTH AMERICA

BOLIVIA’S FIRST INDIAN PRESIDENT TAKES OFFICE LA PAZ, Bolivia – Evo Morales, 46, took office yesterday with a promise to lift his country’s struggling indigenous majority out of centuries of poverty and discrimination. Mr. Morales, a fierce critic of American policies, raised a fist in a leftist salute as he swore to uphold the constitution.

– Associated Press