PERSIAN GULF

SADDAM HUSSEIN’S TRIAL DEGENERATES INTO CHAOS IN DEBUT OF JUDGE

BAGHDAD, Iraq – A new judge cracked down yesterday in a chaotic session of Saddam Hussein’s trial, ordering a co-defendant and a lawyer expelled from the courtroom. The entire defense team left in protest and Saddam was escorted out after a shouting match in which he yelled, “Down with America!” Despite the turmoil, chief judge Raouf Rasheed Abdel-Rahman pushed ahead, replacing the defense lawyers with court-appointed attorneys and hearing three prosecution witnesses before adjourning the trial until later this week.

It was Judge Abdel-Rahman’s first session at the helm, replacing a jurist who stepped down amid criticism that he was not doing enough to stop Saddam and his half brother, co-defendant Barzan Ibrahim, from dominating the trial with frequent outbursts and disruptions.

Defense lawyers criticized the tough approach, saying it was preventing Saddam and his seven co-defendants from getting a fair trial. The eight could face death by hanging if convicted in the killing of at least 140 Shiites after a July 1982 attempt on Saddam’s life in the town of Dujail north of Baghdad. A former U.S. attorney general, Ramsey Clark, who is part of Saddam’s defense team but did not attend yesterday’s session, denounced the court as “lawless” and repeated calls for it to be moved out of Iraq.

– Associated Press

IRAN SETS UP TEAM TO INFILTRATE U.N. NUCLEAR WATCHDOG

LONDON – Iran has formed a top-secret team of nuclear specialists to infiltrate the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, the U.N.-sponsored body that monitors its nuclear program, the Daily Telegraph has been told. Its target is the IAEA’s safeguards division and its aim is to obtain information on the work of IAEA inspectors so that Iran can conceal the more sensitive areas of its nuclear research, according to information recently received by Western intelligence.

The operation to target the IAEA is being run by a former head of the Iranian parliament’s energy committee, Hosein Afarideh. Mr. Afarideh, reported to have close links with Iran’s ministry of intelligence, is in regular contact with a team of Iranian engineers seconded to work at the IAEA’s Vienna headquarters. According to Western intelligence, Mr. Afarideh heads a three-man team at the headquarters of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran in Tehran, to prevent more embarrassing disclosures about its nuclear facilities.

– The Daily Telegraph

KUWAIT’S NEW EMIR TAKES OATH OF OFFICE

KUWAIT CITY – Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah took the oath of office yesterday as the new emir of Kuwait, ending a leadership crisis in this oil-rich American ally. The emir, 76, swore to uphold the constitution and protect the interests of Kuwaitis, shortly after parliament voted unanimously to confirm him as new leader. The ceremonies ended a leadership struggle within the Al Sabah family after Sheik Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah died January 15, leaving an ailing crown prince as his successor.

– Associated Press

WESTERN EUROPE

FINLAND PRESIDENT WINS ANOTHER TERM

HELSINKI, Finland – Finland’s leftist president won another six-year term yesterday after her conservative challenger conceded defeat in Finland’s presidential runoff election. President Halonen and her opponent, Sauli Niinisto, presented similar visions for neutral Finland’s foreign policy. Ms. Halonen had nearly 52% to Mr. Niinisto’s 48%, with all the votes counted.

– Associated Press

POPE CALLS FOR UNITY IN FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY, DISEASE

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI called on world leaders to unite in the fight against poverty yesterday and sent doves flying into St. Peter’s Square in a symbol of peace, continuing a tradition begun by John Paul II. From his window overlooking the square, Benedict offered a greeting to those who suffer from a condition known as Hansen’s disease, leprosy. Noting that yesterday was World Day of Leprosy sufferers, the pontiff encouraged missionaries, health care personnel, and volunteers working against the scourge.

– Associated Press

EASTERN EUROPE

SPYING LEVEL IN RUSSIA ‘INDECENT’

MOSCOW – A senior Russian official yesterday accused Britain of espionage of “indecent proportions” and warned of further embarrassment for London when members of a recently exposed spy ring stand trial in Moscow. Russian operatives are questioning two contacts of spies working undercover at the British embassy, the chairman of Parliament’s Veterans’ Committee and a former head of the FSB intelligence service, Nikolai Kovalev, said in a TV interview.

– The Daily Telegraph

SOUTH AMERICA

CHAVEZ: SHEEHAN CONSIDERS SENATE BID

CARACAS, Venezuela – Cindy Sheehan, who just announced that she is weighing a run for Senate, plans to protest again outside President Bush’s Texas ranch, Venezuela’s president said yesterday. President Chavez, his arm around Ms. Sheehan’s shoulders, told a group of activists that Ms. Sheehan had told him that during Holy Week, in April, “she is going to put up her tent again in front of Mr. Danger’s ranch.”

“She invited me to put up a tent. Maybe I’ll put up my tent also,” Mr. Chavez said, to applause from an audience invited to his weekly broadcast on the final day of the World Social Forum, an annual gathering of anti-war and anti-globalization activists.

– Associated Press

BABY SURVIVES ABANDONMENT IN PLASTIC BAG ON LAKE

SAO PAULO, Brazil – A baby girl was found inside a plastic bag floating on a lake in Brazil after passers-by heard her crying. The infant was released from a hospital yesterday in good health, doctors said. Amateur footage broadcast on Brazilian TV showed rescuers using a tree branch to pull the black plastic bag out of the water on Saturday. They opened the bag and found the 2-month-old girl inside, wearing a pink dress.

– Associated Press

NORTH AMERICA

FIRE AT CANADA MINE TRAPS 70 MINERS

ESTERHAZY, Saskatchewan – Fire broke out yesterday in a mine in Canada, forcing about 70 miners trapped underground to retreat to emergency rooms with oxygen and supplies. A spokesman for the Minneapolis-based firm that operates the potash mine, Mosaic Company, Marshall Hamilton, said the fire broke out yesterday morning nearly a mile under ground in the province of Saskatchewan.

– Associated Press