MIDDLE EAST

ISRAEL FIRES MISSILES AT ABBAS COMPOUND

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israeli warplanes fired three missiles into the Gaza compound of Palestinian Arab leader Mahmoud Abbas yesterday in response to Palestinian Arab rocket fire. Mr. Abbas condemned the attack, saying it had nothing to do with Hamas and was aimed at disrupting the daily lives of Palestinian Arabs.

The site was largely abandoned, and the army gave no explanation for hitting the security compound of the leader, who was in the West Bank at the time. Since Hamas took control of the Cabinet, Israeli officials said they would shun the Palestinian Authority but would continue to work with Mr. Abbas, leader of the defeated Fatah Party. The attack yesterday did not appear aimed at the Palestinian president, either directly or indirectly.

– Associated Press

LABOR PARTY JOINS OLMERT’S KADIMA

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israel’s new governing coalition started taking shape yesterday when the moderate Labor Party said it would join Kadima, led by the acting Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert. A Kadima-Labor coalition would be committed to Mr. Olmert’s plan to set Israel’s borders by 2010, withdrawing from large parts of the West Bank.

Final results from last week’s Israeli election gave Kadima 29 seats and Labor 19 in the 120-seat Israeli parliament, requiring them to bring in additional parties to secure a majority. Coalition talks are expected to take weeks.

– Associated Press

PERSIAN GULF

KUWAITI WOMEN GO TO THE POLLS AFTER GAINING SUFFRAGE

Kuwaiti women stepped up to participate in their first election yesterday – both by casting ballots and appearing on them, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported. In an election for the Salmiya seat of the Kuwait Municipal Council, two of the eight candidates are female, as are 60% of the 28,000 eligible voters. A chemical engineer, Jenan Boushehri, 32, and an American-educated doctor and mother of eight, Khalida Khader, 48, are both running to fill a spot vacated by Abdullah al-Muhailbi when he was named a cabinet minister in February, the BBC said. Voting was segregated by gender, as per requests from tribal and Islamist members of the National Assembly, and women were required to show their faces for identification before entering booths; the network reported that at least one woman was not allowed to cast her ballot because she would not remove her veil. Women gained equal political rights in Kuwait last year and will vote in full legislative polls in 2007, according to the BBC.

“We say to our Kuwait sisters, ‘Forward, and take your place with your Kuwaiti brothers,” the BBC quoted Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Muhammad al-Sabah as saying, adding that women’s suffrage boots his country’s international standing.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

WESTERN EUROPE

SINN FEIN OFFICIAL WHO SPIED FOR BRITISH IS FOUND MURDERED

BELFAST – The senior Sinn Fein official who last year admitted being a paid British spy for 20 years was found murdered yesterday. One of Denis Donaldson’s hands was reportedly cut off before he was shot dead in a cottage in County Donegal.

Suspicion immediately fell on republicans, who were outraged to learn in December that Donaldson, a former head of Sinn Fein’s international department, had been a traitor to the Sinn Fein/IRA cause. During the Troubles, it was standard practice for the IRA to shoot British agents. But it had been assumed that since the terrorist group’s promise to embrace peace last year, treating Donaldson, 56, in the same way was politically unacceptable.

In a statement, the IRA denied it was responsible.

Donaldson was killed less than 48 hours before Prime Minister Blair was due to arrive in Ulster to announce the next phase of the peace process and his plans to resurrect the Northern Ireland Assembly.

– The Daily Telegraph

SOUTHEAST ASIA

THAI PRIME MINISTER WILL STEP DOWN

BANGKOK, Thailand – Prime Minister Thaksin announced yesterday he would step down, bowing to a mounting opposition campaign seeking his ouster over allegations of corruption and abuse of power. Mr. Thaksin made the announcement in a televised speech shortly after meeting with Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej at his seaside palace in Hua Hin. “I am sorry that I will not accept the premier post,” Mr. Thaksin said.

The 56-year-old telecommunications magnate, who swept to power in a landslide in 2001, said he would remain in a caretaker role until a successor is chosen, adding that his replacement would be selected once Parliament resumes within the next 30 days. His announcement came two days after his party won parliamentary elections and a day after he said he intended to remain in power.

– Associated Press