PERSIAN GULF

CLINTON DEMANDS BUSH CONDEMN SAUDI BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL

Senator Clinton, a Democrat of New York, yesterday called on President Bush to condemn a meeting that will discuss a trade boycott of Israel that is set to take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this week. Saudi rulers and representatives of 57 other countries, such as the United Arab Emirates, are expected to attend the event sponsored by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Mrs. Clinton’s office said in a statement. The World Trade Organization, which Saudi Arabia joined in November, forbids fellow members from engaging in trade embargoes with one another.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

BRITAIN TO CUT TROOP LEVELS IN IRAQ

LONDON – Britain announced cuts in its forces in Iraq yesterday by 10% and has begun handing over their duties to Iraqi security forces, despite spasms of violence in recent weeks that have pushed the country closer to civil war. Defense Secretary John Reid told the House of Commons that the reduction of 800 soldiers was possible because Iraqi security forces are becoming more capable of handling security in Iraq’s southern Basra region.

– Associated Press

UAE BANKING CHIEF CRITICIZES CONGRESS’S OPPOSITION TO PORTS DEAL

The governor of the United Arab Emirates’ central bank, Sultan bin Nasser al-Suwaidi, has spoken out against members of Congress who opposed the acquisition of six American ports by Dubai Ports World. Mr. al-Suwaidi also called into question trade agreements between his country and America in comments seen as the most critical by a high-ranking UAE official, Agence France-Presse reported. “The American side that opposed the deal mixed economic and investment matters with issues of security and politics and this is the wrong approach and it will hurt free trade and international investment,” the wire service quoted Mr. al-Suwaidi as saying.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

NORTH AFRICA

U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL RECEIVES ‘INTENSIVE BRIEFING’ ON SUDAN

UNITED NATIONS – The Security Council yesterday heard what one diplomat described as an “intensive briefing” on the spreading genocide in Sudan from a U.N. peacekeeping official. Yet the situation “doesn’t require the council, in my view, to do anything immediately,” said British ambassador Emyr Jones Parry, due to the African Union’s decision last week to extend the mandate of its 7,000-troop force in Darfur

Deploying a 20,000-troop force under the U.N.’s command will require months of planning and recruiting, said one council diplomat after yesterday’s briefing. The diplomat, who requested anonymity, quoted the deputy head of the U.N. peacekeeping unit, Hedi Anabi, as telling the council “six to nine months” will pass before the proposed U.N. force reaches Sudan.

The U.N. may also need new council authorization, according to a Turtle Bay official. Until now, the 15-member council has failed to immediately address the genocide, and contributions of troops and assets failed to materialize.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

MUBARAK URGES SUPPORT FOR HAMAS-LED PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

President Mubarak of Egypt called on the international community to back financially a Hamas-led Palestinian government, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported. During a meeting in Vienna with President Fischer of Austria, Mr. Mubarak expressed concern that cuts in aid to the Palestinian Authority from America and European countries could precipitate a humanitarian crisis and breed terrorism, according to the network.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

WESTERN EUROPE

RUSSIANS SEEK SECOND AUTOPSY ON MILOSEVIC

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Russian pathologists have asked to carry out a second post mortem examination on the body of Slobodan Milosevic following suggestions that the former president of Yugoslavia died after being poisoned. Four Russian specialists were expected to arrive in The Hague as early as yesterday night with Milosevic’s son Marko, who lives in exile in Moscow.

– The Daily Telegraph