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COMMENTARY -- WAR -- The completed article.
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British officials are promising a "final push for peace" with Iraq, to coincide with the introduction next week of a new Security Council resolution that could pave the way for war. According to his spokesman, British Prime Minister Tony Blair does not expect a vote for a few weeks in order to give diplomacy a final chance. Mr. Blair was in Rome Saturday visiting Pope John Paul the Second, a vocal opponent of war against Iraq. Vatican officials say the pontiff stressed his belief that diplomacy could still avert a conflict and expressed concern for the humanitarian plight of Iraq's people. Analysts and diplomats say Mr. Blair was eager to make the visit to show critics at home that he is not avoiding moral considerations and is doing all he can to avert a conflict. Mr. Blair did not comment after meeting the pontiff, but said earlier during his Italian visit that no one wants war, except as a last resort. The pope also met recently with Iraq's deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, a prominent opponent of U.S. and British policy on Iraq. The pontiff has also discussed Iraq with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. British Defense Minister Geoff Hoon will visit the Persian Gulf region this week to rally some of Britain's 42,000 troops deployed to the region for a potential war. Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
. End of article 1.
The three men, accused of being part of an al-Qaeda cell, were found to have plotted to sail a dinghy loaded with explosives from Morocco and ram it into ships in the busy Straits of Gibraltar. Prosecutors said the plot was similar to the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen, in which 17 sailors died. The Saudis, who were arrested last May, were also accused of planning to blow up a cafe in the Moroccan tourist destination of Marrakech, and attack tourist buses. Prosecutors had requested the death penalty - execution by firing squad - but capital punishment is rare in Morocco. 'Suicide plot' The three men, Abdullah Mesfer Ali al-Ghamdi, 22, Zouhair Hilal, 26, and Hilal El-Assiri, 31, were convicted on charges of attempted murder, attempted sabotage with the use of explosives and belonging to a "criminal organisation". They were found to have plotted to buy small speed boats, fill them with explosives and use them for suicide attacks against British and US warships as they crossed the narrow Straits of Gibraltar. The Moroccan wives of two of the men were sentenced to six months in prison for their part in the plot. Three other Moroccans received sentences ranging from four months to one year. One Moroccan was acquitted. The defence had argued that the
authorities tortured the defendants to extract information.
 . End of article 2.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) accused the three of being CIA agents and said they would be held until the military stopped operations in southern Colombia.
Washington is actively supporting the Colombian Government's operations against drug-running and rebel groups. The FARC's statement, broadcast by Colombian radio, described the captives as "American officers". "We can only guarantee the life and physical integrity of the three gringo officials in our power if the Colombian army immediately suspends military operations and overflights in the area," it said. 'Give us proof' A White House spokesman denied that the men were attached to the CIA , saying they were department of defence contractors. And he rejected the rebels' demand to stop military operations in the area. "We will continue to work closely with Colombia and its government and its military and its police on how to combat the FARC," spokesman Ari Fleischer said. Colombian Defence Minister Martha Lucia Ramirez said on Friday that her government was working with Washington to find the missing Americans and "hopefully be able to conduct a rescue operation". The Washington Post has reported that President George W Bush has sent an additional 150 troops to Colombia to assist the search. Mr Bush condemned the killing of the other two men.
The Colombian Government has offered a $345,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of the missing men who have not been identified. Correspondents say that if the FARC's
claim is confirmed it will mark the first time that US Government employees
have been captured during Colombia's four-decade-long civil war.
 . End of article 3.
Uruguay's economy was hammered last year by the knock-on effects of an economic meltdown in neighbouring Argentina. Any deal to restart IMF aid is expected to involve a commitment from Montevideo to restructure its debts. But an IMF spokesman declined to comment on whether such a demand was part of the new agreement. Return to growth IMF western hemisphere department head, Anoop Singh, said: "We have reached agreement with the Uruguayan authorities on the basis of an economic program for 2003. "We are confident that the envisaged economic program will be supported by the international community and build a strong foundation for Uruguay to return to sustained growth. "We plan for board consideration of the program in mid March." Uruguay's breakthrough with the IMF came after its central bank President Julio de Brun led a delegation to Washington to try and wrap up talks to revive the desperately-needed aid package. Banking reforms Mr Singh said Uruguay would finalize a letter of intent - the document laying out what precise commitments the nation will make in return for renewed aid - in the coming days. He added: "This program defines a fiscal and financing framework to pave the way for medium-term economic sustainability and growth. "The program will also carry forward bank reforms aimed at strengthening the domestic banking system." The IMF offered few details on what would be included in the plan to revive Uruguay's economy. Debt fears The organisation extended $2.8bn in loans to Uruguay when its economy went into meltdown last year. But the country failed to pass an IMF review in December. And the lender remained concerned about lack of progress in dealing with insolvent banks. Without IMF aid, some observers had feared the tiny nation would be unable to service its debts this year. Uruguay's international reserves slid 12% in January to $683m as the government made debt payments and have since slid below the $600m mark. The country must make a total of $1.4bn in debt payments this year - an amount it would be unlikely to be able to repay without the resumption of IMF aid.  . End of article 4.
Mohamed ElBaradei welcomed what he said was a greater sign of transparency from Tehran. Mr ElBaradei discussed Iran's controversial nuclear programme with President Mohammad Khatami in Tehran. His visit comes amid concern in the United States that Iran's avowed civilian nuclear programme may be a pretext for building nuclear weapons. Snap inspections President Khatami said his country meant to develop its nuclear industry in line with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and would further co-operate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to avoid any "misunderstandings".
But Mr ElBaradei stressed that Iran could only dispel doubts about its nuclear ambitions by signing up to the IAEA's "additional protocol". This would allow UN inspectors freer access to nuclear sites with little prior warning. The protocol was drawn up in 1991 and has only 28 signatories - the US is adopting an amended version of it. Iran has reportedly refused to allow snap inspections, but the country's top atomic energy official said he was ready to hold more talks on the issue. Mr ElBaradei met the Iranian leader after visiting a plant now being built near the town of Natanz - a site which Washington suspects could be used to produce fissile uranium for weapons. Mr ElBaradei ended his visit a day early because he was able to accomplish what he set out to do in one day, his Vienna-based office said. Two IAEA officials will remain in Iran until Wednesday to visit another nuclear site at Arak. 'Legal and fair' Mr ElBaradei's visit comes less than a month after Mr Khatami said that Iran had discovered uranium deposits and had started mining near the central city of Yazd.
"Tehran has signed the NPT and we don't have any restrictions for further talks on various topics," he said, insisting on Iran's "right to have nuclear technology". "We hope the Iranian efforts, which are legal and fair, will not become a victim of the discriminatory policies of certain countries," he added. The US, which last year labelled Iran as part of an "axis of evil", considers the Islamic Republic a state sponsor of terrorism and argues that it does not need nuclear energy in view of its vast existing oil and gas resources. US State Department spokesman Richard
Boucher said Washington had "very grave concerns that Iran is using its
supposedly peaceful nuclear programme... as a pretext for advancing a nuclear
weapons programme".  . End of article 5.
The resolution will set out in "clear and simple terms" that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is not complying with disarmament demands, Mr Bush said. The UK Government backed the move, but said the UK and US would seek to delay a vote on the new resolution until mid-March.
It would be the Security Council's "last chance" to show its resolve to disarm Iraq, he warned. President Bush, speaking after he and visiting Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar held a four-way telephone conversation with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said the Security Council was faced with a clear choice. "Time is short. This is a chance for the Security Council to show its relevance, and I believe the Security Council will show its relevance because Saddam Hussein has not disarmed," he said. In London, a spokesman for Mr Blair said the UK Prime Minister would make a "final push for peace next week". "The new resolution will not be put to a vote immediately," the spokesman said. "Instead Saddam Hussein will be challenged finally and fully to do what is required of him - that is the full disarmament of weapons of mass destruction." Missile deadline The chief United Nations weapons inspector Hans Blix has given Baghdad until 1 March to start destroying its al-Samoud II missiles, which the UN says violate the ranges set after the 1991 Gulf War. That demand is being seen as a key test of whether Saddam Hussein will disarm to avoid war.
On Saturday, the man in charge of nuclear inspections, Mohamed ElBaradei, said Iraq was still not doing enough to convince the world it had no banned weapons. "We have not finished our work and Iraq is not fully co-operating with us," he said, adding that private access to Iraqi scientists remained a problem. On Saturday, UN disarmament experts tagged al-Samoud missile components and manufacturing equipment at several sites. Mr Blix wants the liquid-fuel missiles, engines, warheads and component parts destroyed.
The 1 March deadline set by Mr Blix is also the date he is due to give his next report on Iraqi compliance to the UN Security Council. He also has a meeting on Monday with his advisory board in New York, at which he plans to present a list of more than 30 unresolved questions about Iraqi disarmament. Iraq - which declared the details of the missiles to the weapons inspectors - has denied they are illegal and has requested further UN tests. It has said a missile travelled further than allowed in test flights because it was flying without guidance systems and was lighter than usual. Any new UN resolution needs the support of at least nine of the 15 Security Council members. The US and UK will also have to hope it is not vetoed by China, France or Russia, who have all expressed concerns about military action on Iraq. In other developments:
 . End of article 6.
The engineer expressed concerns that the space agency was failing to investigate thoroughly the possible damage caused when debris struck the shuttle during take-off. "We can't imagine why getting information is being treated like the plague," one of his e-mails read. Other documents released by Nasa showed the shuttle may have been struck by up to three pieces of foam during lift-off, not just one as previously believed.
The board investigating the disaster obtained the internal Nasa e-mails late on Friday. The engineer, Robert Daugherty, based at Nasa's Langley research centre in Virginia, wrote two days before the doomed landing, that experts had privately estimated that Columbia's condition was "survivable but marginal". US investigators have said the shuttle almost certainly suffered a devastating puncture which allowed hot air inside the left wing, and possibly its wheel compartment. An earlier theory was that the accident was caused by the loss of a heat-resistant tile. Mr Daugherty's e-mails, which were not passed to Nasa flight headquarters in Texas during Columbia's flight, expressed concern about pilots struggling to land the shuttle, with possible damage to its tyres. He did not mention any concern that the shuttle could break apart, however. Moments before the shuttle broke up, Mission Control noticed an unusually high heat build-up in the shuttle's left wing and wheel compartments.  . End of article 7.
A police officer said the unidentified attackers had opened fire at the entrance of the Imam Bargha just as worshippers were arriving for evening prayers. No group has yet admitted responsibility for the attack. But violence between opposing militants from the majority Sunni and minority Shia communities has claimed hundred of lives in Pakistan in recent years. 'Screaming for help' Saturday's attack took place near the city's airport, reports say.
Eyewitness Anwer Hussain told the French news agency, AFP, he was watching a cricket match on television in a hotel next to the Imam Bargha when the call for prayer came. "I took shelter and did not know what was going on. After a while I saw my colleagues lying in a pool of blood," Mr Hussain said. "I started screaming for help." He said those killed were from northern Pakistan. Among the victims was a seven-year-old boy who, hours after the attack, died of his injuries at a nearby hospital, the Associated Press reported. A local official said many of the victims were in their early 20s. The port city of Karachi has been the scene of numerous attacks in recent months, many against Westerners and minority Christians. A bomb planted outside the US Consulate in Karachi last June killed 12 people and injured 50. And, in May, a suicide bomb in the city killed 11 French engineers and three other people.  . End of article 8.
The French always oppose America, don't they? It often seems like that, but the fifth president of the Fifth Republic retains a deep affection for the United States. As a young man in post-war Paris, Jacque Chirac dreamed of visiting the US and in 1953, he spent a summer at Harvard University. At weekends, he worked as a "soda jerk" at a Howard Johnson's restaurant, where he met and fell in love with 18-year-old Florence Herlihy from South Carolina. He has recalled how she called him "honey child", while Florence, tracked down by a French magazine, remembers him as a wonderful kisser.
After national service as a cavalry officer, he graduated from an elite civil service training school and began his political career in 1967. Chirac, who as a student had sold the Communist newspaper L'Humanite, was elected to the National Assembly as a member of the Gaullist Party and taken under the wing of Georges Pompidou. He was nicknamed "the Bulldozer" because of his driving ambition. After a succession of ministerial posts, he was made prime minister after Valery Giscard d'Estaing became president in 1974. But Chirac soon resigned and founded his own party, the Rassemblement pour la Republique, whose main aim was to get him elected president. Nineteen years and three campaigns later, his ambition was realised. City hall funds Allegations of impropriety have accompanied Chirac throughout his career, the most serious involving his 18 years as mayor of Paris. Magistrates have spent several years investigating accusations that city hall creamed tens of millions of pounds off public housing contracts, most of it going to Chirac's party, through the creation of fictitious jobs.
Other accusations were more unusual. Municipal auditors suggested that the Chirac family spent £400 of public money a day on groceries, and magistrates were also interested in the large cash sums Chirac paid for luxury holidays for himself, his family and friends. Chirac has strenuously denied any wrongdoing and successfully claimed presidential immunity to avoid going to court. Nonetheless, a judge has determined that he should appear in 2007, although there is no guarantee that the president will not then seek a third term. 'Understanding' wife Then there's Jacques Chirac's secret love life. In a book published after he was sacked, the president's former chauffeur, Jean-Claude Laumond, says female staff at party headquarters dubbed Chirac "the three-minute man" because of his speedy sexual liaisons.
Speaking volumes between the lines of her own book, the president's wife Bernadette has remarked: "He has been lucky that I have been a very reasonable woman. But I have been jealous, sometimes. Very jealous. He is a handsome man, very charming, and women love that." But there has been no feeding frenzy by the French media, reluctant to break their tradition of non-intrusion into private lives. "Perhaps there is also an excess of reverence for their leaders," says Jean-Pierre Langellier of the heavyweight newspaper, Le Monde. Winds of change Chirac's career has also been awash with political inconsistency - another of his nicknames is La Girouette, the weathervane. The Thatcherite, privatising, Eurosceptic prime minister became the presidential candidate who campaigned against "social fracture" and, once elected, watched unemployment climb and became a champion of the single currency.
His close relationship with his younger daughter, Claude, is said to stem from their shared grief over her sister, Laurence, who suffers from a severe form of anorexia, and is never seen in public. It is Claude's work as her father's communications advisor that has portrayed him as a man of the people, who prefers Mexican beer to red wine and loves sumo wrestling. "He hates being called an intellectual," says Langellier, although his conversations with Chirac have confirmed that the president is just that, with his love of African art and Chinese poetry. Despite his abundance of Gallic charm, the avalanche of allegations that pursue the president would surely have buried another leader in another country. But 40 years after he started climbing the greasy pole, there's still no hint of Jacques Chirac losing his grip.  . End of article 9.
President Bush says the United States will submit a new resolution next week in what he calls a "last chance" for the U.N. Security Council to prove its relevancy. Speaking to reporters in Texas at a joint appearance with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, Mr. Bush said the resolution will set out in "clear and simple terms" that Iraq is violating U.N. Security Council resolution 1441. He said that resolution did not ask Iraq for hints of progress or minor concessions, but full and immediate disarmament. Mr. Aznar said the Security Council must enforce its demands after a decade of Iraqi defiance or its resolutions will amount only to what he called "senseless rhetoric." The two leaders held a conference call with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to discuss the language of the new resolution. Meanwhile in Iraq, U.N. weapons inspectors visited facilities near Baghdad where Al-Samoud-two missiles and components are produced. Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix on Friday demanded that the Iraqis begin destruction of the weapons by March first, saying their range exceeds the 150-kilometer range allowed by the United Nations. Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.
. End of article 10.
Aviation officials say the small Cessna aircraft crashed into the Arabian Sea soon after take-off from the southern city of Karachi. The plane was carrying five members of a senior Afghan delegation, including the minister for mines, Juma Mohammad Mohammadi. The other victims were a Chinese business executive and two Pakistani crewmembers. The Pakistani Navy says it has found the wreckage of the aircraft about 50 kilometers from Karachi, and bodies of at least six victims have been recovered. A Foreign Ministry spokesman, Aziz Ahmed Khan, told reporters in Islamabad that the cause of the crash has yet to be determined. "It is a very unfortunate accident," he said. "The government of Pakistan has expressed its condolences to the government and people of Afghanistan on this sad tragedy. We are trying to recover all the bodies." The Afghan minister and his colleagues were in Pakistan for talks on a proposed gas pipeline project from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and into South Asia. Pakistani spokesman Khan said that members of the Afghan delegation were also planning to visit a mine project owned by a private Chinese company in the southwestern province of Balochistan. "They were on a private part of their visit to go and see this operation, because they also were interested in getting the exploration of minerals in Afghanistan," he said. "So they wanted to go and visit this project which the Chinese company is undertaking in Balochistan." This is the second plane crash in Pakistan in less than a week. A military transport plane crashed Thursday in the northwest of the country, killing all 17 on board, including the Pakistani air force chief.
. End of article 11.
Even though Lebanon and Syria say they are in favor of an Iraqi request to delay the upcoming Arab League summit by two weeks, Arab League officials say the summit will be held Saturday. The Arab League will go ahead with plans to hold its summit Saturday at the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, despite Baghdad's request that it be delayed two weeks. Arab League spokesman Hisham Yousef told VOA that Iraq made the request because it is concerned about complying with a "much faster pace of demands" being made by weapons inspectors. He says Iraq is trying to assure Arab states it is doing all it can to comply with Security Council Resolution 1441. "They were asking for the delay because they have all kinds of obligations in relation to the inspections, and they wanted to dedicate their efforts in the coming few days, probably week or two, in order to satisfy the requests coming from the inspectors," Mr. Yousef said. "And this would also be in accordance with requests coming from Arab governments, to Iraq, to continue to cooperate with the terms of the inspections in order to implement Security Council Resolution 1441." Mr. Yousef says Arab states have already agreed to convene the summit Saturday. The decision stands even though Syria and Lebanon endorsed the Iraqi call for a delay. He said the summit, among other things, may call for an Arab peace mission to Baghdad in an effort to avoid war. In the meantime, weapons inspectors continue their inventory of Iraq's al-Samoud-2 missiles that chief weapons inspector Hans Blix says can fly beyond a U.N.-mandated limit of 150 kilometers. Mr. Blix has ordered the missiles destroyed, beginning Saturday, despite Iraq's contention their range is below the mandated limit once they are loaded with guidance and control systems, and warheads. General Hossam Mohammad Amin of the Iraqi National Monitoring Directorate said a decision on whether to destroy the missiles, of which Iraq says it has about 100, would be made "quite soon." While the inspectors hunted for weapons of mass destruction, Iraqi officials were meeting with South African disarmament experts. The South African team arrived in Baghdad to lend its expertise in the disarmament process. U.N. officials have cited South Africa as a model of disarmament after it voluntarily gave up its nuclear weapons during the 1980s.
. End of article 12.
A Colombian army officer said that, according to intelligence reports, soldiers were closing in on the guerrilla group holding the men. US President George Bush is sending 150 extra troops to Colombia to help the search operation.
Washington has denied the men were CIA agents, and said they were contractors for the defence department. Colombian politicians on Sunday expressed concern at Mr Bush's decision to send in US troops. "This is not Afghanistan, this is not Iraq, this is not Vietnam," said Congressman Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla. "If Americans get more deeply involved, it's going to get worse." Rebel demands There are several hundred US military personnel in Colombia, including some special forces, but they are not allowed to take part in combat. The US has spent $2bn in recent years to help Colombia tackle its illegal drugs trade, and recently lifted restrictions stopping the use of that aid against the guerrillas. The three Americans held by FARC vanished when their plane crash-landed on 13 February in the remote southern province of Caqueta, long a rebel stronghold. A fourth American and a Colombian army sergeant who were also aboard the US Government Cessna plane were found shot dead at the jungle site. FARC has said the three hostages would be held until the military stopped operations in southern Colombia. "We can only guarantee the life and physical integrity of the three gringo officials in our power if the Colombian army immediately suspends military operations and overflights in the area," it said on Saturday, in a statement broadcast by Colombian radio. This is the first time that US Government employees have been captured during Colombia's four decades of civil war. The Colombian Government has offered a
$345,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of the missing men
who have not been identified.  . End of article 13.
North Korea has fired a missile into the Sea of Japan, between Japan and the Korean peninsula, reports say. South Korea's military has gone on alert as a result of the incident, the AFP news agency said, citing military officials in Seoul. News of the missile incident comes just before South Korea's new President, Roh Moo-hyun, is due formally to take office. The JoongAng Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper, added that the missile, which it said was tested on Monday, was a land-to-ship variety. However defence officials in Washington and Tokyo told the Reuters news agency that they had no information about such a launch. Regional tensions The United States is currently engaged in a tense stand-off with North Korea over Pyongyang's nuclear activities. Previous North Korean missile tests have severely increased tensions in the region. Most dramatically, in August 1998, North Korea fired a multi-stage missile over Japan that landed in the Pacific. The following year, North Korea pledged to freeze testing of long-range missiles, and has been warned by Washington not to break this pledge. President-elect Roh, who wants to engage his country's northern neighbour in dialogue, has expressed concern at tough US rhetoric against Pyongyang. The US has voiced increasing frustration
at what it sees as the unpredictable behaviour of the country and its hardline
communist ruler, Kim Jong-Il.  . End of article 14.
According to the Arab Bank Federation, economic damage to the region looks likely to be far more severe than during the 1991 Gulf War. The federation's survey, carried out by an independent economist, is predicated on a significant shrinking of Gulf economic activity during and after any war. But most observers reckon its conclusion is far too gloomy. Hoping for the best The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), the kingdom's central bank, has previously forecast that the banking sector has little to fear from a war. There should be few significant withdrawals, SAMA thinks, and the industry has the financial muscle to ride out a period of reduced economic activity. Private-sector bankers in the Gulf region believe a war should cost the sector no more than $30bn in lost business. Indeed, some forecast that any opening up of the Iraqi economy, with its huge need for finance to rebuild infrastructure, is likely to stimulate banking business in the region. According to recent estimates, the Iraqi
oil industry alone needs investment of $30bn-40bn.
 . End of article 15.
A 26-page draft document proposed all export subsidies be eliminated over a nine-year period and suggested a 60% cut in import duties. The draft was supposed to form the basis of the next round of global trade talks, but some WTO members claimed it was too ambitious while others said it did not go far enough. The US rejected the plan, saying it "doesn't provide the reform needed" and would maintain high levels of protectionism. The European Union - the arch protagonist of the US in farm talks - had already dismissed the draft for spreading the cuts "very unevenly amongst the developed countries". Dumping on the poor About 50 non-governmental groups (NGOs) called for the plan to be rejected because it would maintain dumping. "Developing countries face a world in which developed countries, particularly the EU and US, continue to dump under-priced exports on world markets," the group said. "Dumping artificially lowers world prices, destroying local food production and farmers' livelihoods." India, which has often taken the lead in representing the developing world, echoed the NGOs' position. It said the plan meant developed countries would not need to cut subsidies and domestic support enough, while developing countries would be forced to reduce their import tariffs. Cut, cut, cut But the US complained that it would have cut subsidies too much under the current draft while other countries - like EU members - would only need to make small cuts. The EU proposed that it should make even smaller cuts than those in the draft. Japan, which usually supports the EU's position, is also worried that it would have to open up its heavily protected rice market. Norway, which sits in the EU camp, said the proposals went much further than intended when the latest round of trade talks was launched in Doha in 2001. WTO negotiators resumed the talks in Geneva on Monday and a final version is due by 31 March for talks which will run until the end of 2004.
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We can only guarantee the life of the
three gringo officials if the Colombian army immediately suspends military
operations and overflights in the area 
