IOF
Kills a Palestinian Youth, Destroys Three Homes, Continues Siege of Beit Hanoun
City
International Press Center, May 16, 2003
RAFAH, Palestine, May 16, 2003, IPC— A Palestinian youth was killed and
three house were demolished Friday early morning during Israeli military onslaught
on Rafah city, east of Gaza Strip.
IDF
soldier seriously wounded by explosive device
Haaretz, May 17, 2003
An Israel Defense Forces soldier was seriously wounded Friday, when an explosives
device blew up near a tank in the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanun. Troops have been
in the town since early Thursday morning in an effort to thwart Qassam rocket
attacks.
Qassam
Brigades attack Occupation forces
Palestinian Information Center, May 16, 2003
Gaza - Qassam Brigades and Occupation forces clashed in the town of Beit Hanoun
and the Brigades managed to destroy an Israeli tanks and a personnel carrier.
Erakat
resignation plunges Palestinian govt in crisis
Middle East Online, May 16, 2003
A political crisis loomed over the new Palestinian government as negotiations
minister Saeb Erakat resigned Friday, a day before a key meeting between Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas.
Fresh
Israeli Incursion Ahead of Sharon-Abbas Meet
Islam Online, May 16, 2003
GAZA CITY, May 16 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Israel's army launched
an incursion in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, May 16, after a deadly Israeli
raid on Gaza Strip which cast a pall over the planned meeting between Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas.
Palestinian
expectations low ahead of Abbas-Sharon meet
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
Palestinians are pessimistic about the outcome of Saturday night's planned meeting
between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas
(Abu Mazen), sources close to the Palestinian Authority leadership said yesterday.
Syria
drops objections to Middle East 'road map'
Financial Times, May 15, 2003
Syria on Thursday dropped its objections to the internationally backed "road map"
that sets out a detailed timetable for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
by 2005. Bashar al-Assad, Syrian president, and Farouq al-Shara, his foreign minister,
told Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief, they would no longer
oppose the new peace plan.
Survey:
Israel yet to grasp concept of democracy
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
More than half the Jewish population of Israel - 53 percent - is opposed to full
equal rights for Israeli Arabs, according to a survey conducted last month by
the Israel Democracy Institute. The general conclusion of the survey, which is
dubbed the "Israeli Democracy Survey" and will be conducted every year, is that
Israel is basically a democracy in form more than in substance, and that it has
yet to internalize fully the concept of democracy.
Netanyahu
declares war on unions
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday threatened legislation that would
"deprive the Histadrut of the ability to shut down the country" as the labor federation's
public-sector strike not only continued, but expanded. The Knesset decided to
postpone its vote on the economic program.
Birthright
participant turns pro-Palestinian activist
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
`I'm helping the Jews by being here,' says Laura Gordon, who has joined the International
Solidarity Movement -- It is probably not what the founders of Birthright
Israel - the program that brings thousands of young diaspora Jews to Israel each
year - would have ever imagined: That within months of arrival, a Birthright participant
would become a spokeswoman for the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a
pro-Palestinian activist group operating in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Israeli
soldier confesses for brutal murder of youths
Palestinian Information Center, May 16, 2003
Al-Khalil - The Israeli newspaper Yedeot Ahronot published, in its weekend supplement,
the testimony of Bassam Wahbi, an Israeli soldier of the Border Guards, who is
one of the soldiers accused of the brutal murder of a 17 year old Palestinian
boy in Al-Khalil on 30th of January of 2002.
Islamic
Movement spokesman arrested
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
The Tel Aviv Magistrates Court yesterday extended the remand of the spokesman
of the Islamic Movement's Northern Faction, Hashem Abd al-Rahman Mahajna, who
is being held in connection with alleged money-laundering on behalf of the Hamas
by members of his organization.
Protest
in Umm al-Fahm; Friday prayers pass of peacefully
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
Hundreds of Arabs from across the political spectrum participated Friday in a
demonstration in Umm al-Fahm against the arrest of 15 leaders of the northern
branch of the Islamic Movement, which is urging all Arabs to hold protest marches
after Friday services at their local mosques. Hundreds more are expected at a
second rally on Saturday.
Israel
Ban on Envoy to Travel to Gaza Triggers Row with Norway
Palestine Chronicle, May 16, 2003
"Oslo daily Aftenposten said that Norwegian government was not satisfied with
Israel's claim that the ban was due to the difficult security situation .." --
LONDON - Israel was reported Friday to have provoked a new diplomatic dispute
with Norway over its refusal to allow Foreign Minister Jan Petersen's special
envoy to the Middle East to travel to Gaza to meet Security Minister Mohammed
Dahlan.
IDF
easing policy on refuseniks, group says
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
The number of reserve soldiers jailed for refusing to serve in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip has dropped drastically recently, and a group representing them says
that the military has quietly softened its policy.
Inquiry
into `dummy' outpost reveals a complex picture
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
Officers well versed in the twisted process of setting up an outpost believed
that in the vast majority of the cases, Sharon was an active partner in formulating
the plans, as well as selecting the location and the timing. -- Two months have
passed since two Israeli security guards were mistakenly shot and killed by Israel
Defense Forces soldiers at an outpost in the southern Hebron hills, but the affair
appears to be far from over.
Shalom:
Israel unlikely to accept road map in current form
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
LONDON - Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Friday the government was unlikely
to accept the road map' to peace with the Palestinians without amendments. On
a visit to London, he told a news briefing Israel had 14 "contributions" aimed
at amending the peace plan sponsored by a quartet of international powers and
already accepted by the Palestinians.
6
Palestinians killed and 20 injured on Nakba day
Palestinian Information Center, May 16, 2003
Rafah - A Palestinian was killed by Israeli occupation forces near a military
base on the Egyptian Palestinian border on Thursday night bringing the total number
of martyrs to 6 during the commemoration of the 55th anniversary of the Nakba
(loss of Palestine to the Zionists).
Chief
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat resigns
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
The Palestinian minister responsible for overseeing negotiations with Israel,
Saeb Erekat, has handed in his resignation to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser
Arafat and Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), a Palestinian source said
Friday.
Top
Palestinian Peace Negotiator Resigns
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
JERUSALEM (AP) - A top Palestinian negotiator resigned after being excluded from
the first Israeli-Palestinian summit in three years this weekend in a move that
could also signal growing tensions between Yasser Arafat and his new prime minister.
Palestinians
fire Qassam rocket at Sderot industrial zone
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
Palestinians fired a Qassam rocket at the northern Negev town of Sderot on Friday
evening, damaging the roof of the Tapud factory, in the Sha'ar Hanegev industrial
zone. No injuries were reported in the incident. An Israel Defense Forces soldier
was seriously wounded Friday, when an explosives device blew up near a tank in
the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanun.
Britain
and Israel work to rebuild relations
The Times, May 16, 2003
Britain and Israel attempted to overcome their strained relations yesterday, but
differences persisted over peace efforts in the Middle East and Britons linked
to terrorist groups.
Mufti
of Jerusalem vows to resist Israeli bid to allow Jews entry into al Aqsa Mosque
Al-Bawaba, May 15, 2003
Palestinian Muslim religious authorities have vowed to resist new Israeli attempts
to "usurp" Islamic holy places in East Jerusalem. Sheikh Ikrema Sabri, Mufti of
Jerusalem, said Thursday Muslims in Palestine would fight fiercely to thwart the
latest Israeli intentions to allow Jews entry into the al Aqsa Mosque for the
purpose of establishing a right to pray.
Waqf
head: Non-Muslims not welcome on Temple Mount
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
Non-Muslims are not welcome on the Temple Mount, the director of the Waqf (Muslim
religious trust) said yesterday in response to a comment made Wednesday by Public
Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, that the area would soon be opened to Jews for
visits and prayer.
Allowing
Jews In Al-Aqsa Irks Muslims, Christians: Church
Islam Online, May 16, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, May 16 (IslamOnline.net & Al-Quds Press) – The Orthodox
Church condemned on Friday, May 16, the Israeli government’s intention to
soon allow Jews to pray inside al-Aqsa mosque compound, one of Islam’s holiest
sites.
Sharon
reportedly to visit India soon
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
NEW DELH - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is scheduled to visit India soon, The Hindu
newspaper reported Thursday. India's National Security adviser, Brajesh Mishra,
who was in Washington last week, is believed to have laid the groundwork for the
visit after addressing the annual dinner of the American Jewish Committee.
European
envoys at UN decry Israel's response to road map
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
NEW YORK - European Union ambassadors to the UN have harshly criticized Israel's
attitude and response to the U.S. road map for a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. During a briefing Wednesday by Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny
Gillerman, some of those present sharply denounced what they called "Israel's
interpretations of the road map."
Israel
must not miss this historic chance for peace, says Blair
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
LONDON - Long-term peace in the Middle East will be possible only if the Arab
world changes its view of Israel, and both Britain and the United States now understand
that they have to do more on this front, British Prime Minister Tony Blair told
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom at a three-way meeting in London yesterday that
also included British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
Samaritan
indicted for aiding Hamas bomber
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
A member of the Samaritan sect in Nablus was indicted earlier this week in the
Samaria military court on a charge of attempted murder. According to the charge
sheet, Karim Yitzhak Amram Cohen, 20, who also holds a Palestinian identity card
under the name of Karim Askhak Amran Kahan, was an accomplice in an attempt to
transport a Hamas suicide bomber, Mustafa Sakhal, 16, to an attack in the Jerusalem
area.
Lynch
participant gets seven years in jail
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
A Palestinian who participated in the attempted lynching of soldier Assaf Miara
was sentenced yesterday to seven years in prison. The Jerusalem District Court
also ordered Walid Habas, who was convicted of aggravated assault, to pay Miara
NIS 50,000 in compensation for the pain and suffering he endured.
Peretz:
Unemployment benefits to be given on Sunday
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
Histadrut labor federation Chairman Amir Peretz on Friday ordered striking government
workers to transfer unemployment benefits on Sunday to those who are eligible,
Israel Radio reported. Those eligible were to have received the benefits on Friday.
IDF
to merge command headquarters in West Bank
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Moshe Ya'alon has approved
an initiative to merge the command headquarters located in the West Bank. According
to the new proposal, one command headquarters will be in place from the West Bank
cities of Jenin to Hebron.
Experts
Examine Media Coverage of Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
United Nations, May 15, 2003
Public Forum in Kyiv Urges Greater Role for Civil Society, Think Tanks, Academics
-- KYIV, 15 May –- The alarming situation in the occupied Palestinian territory,
including Jerusalem, called for urgent engagement by all sectors of the international
community, the Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights
of the Palestinian People, Papa Louis Fall (Senegal), said as he opened the Public
Forum in Support of Middle East Peace this morning in Kyiv.
Iraqi
POWs Tortured By U.S.-British Forces: Amnesty
Islam Online, May 16, 2003
Iraqi POWs talked about electric shocks and all-night beating by the U.S.-British
forces, Amnesty said -- LONDON, May 16 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) -
At least 20 Iraqi prisoners of war, including civilians, complained they had been
tortured by British and U.S. occupation forces in central and southern Iraq, a
spokesman for human rights group Amnesty International confirmed Friday, Friday,
May 16.
UNICEF:
Iraq survey finds child health sliding
UNICEF, May 14, 2003
UNICEF finds that acute malnutrition has doubled in past year -- BAGHDAD / GENEVA
/ NEW YORK, 14 May 2003 – Two months after the start of the Iraq war, UNICEF
has called for urgent action to halt what it believes is the plummeting nutritional
status of Iraqi children. UNICEF today released troubling findings from a rapid
nutrition assessment undertaken in Baghdad, which has found that acute malnutrition
rates in children under five have nearly doubled since a previous survey in February
2002.
Baghdad
pays the postwar price: 242 die in three weeks
The Independent, May 16, 2003
Statistics unpublished until today reveal the stark facts: 242 people have died
in Baghdad in just over three weeks, almost all from bullet wounds. It is an epidemic,
and it is getting worse.
Grieving
Shia families despair of US justice
The Times, May 16, 2003
"So when the American forces took Kuwait, we started our uprising, thinking they
would help us.” The help never came. -- HAMZA ABBAS remembers clearly the
time he heard the voice of the first President Bush. It was on February 15, 1991,
in the final days of the Gulf War, with the almost-defeated Iraq ripe for rebellion,
that Bush the elder appealed to the Iraqi military and the Iraqi people “to
take matters into their own hands and force Saddam Hussein, the dictator, to step
aside”.
Many
Baathists Banned From Iraq Gov't.
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Between 15,000 and 30,000 Baath Party officials will be banned
entirely from any future Iraqi government, a senior U.S. official said Friday,
adding that the move aims to ``put a stake'' in the heart of Saddam Hussein's
former ruling party.
Sadr
claims leadership of Iraq's Shiite Muslims
Middle East Online, May 16, 2003
NAJAF, Iraq - The son of an assassinated prominent cleric openly claimed the leadership
of Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority Friday, in a fresh display of the power struggle
between three powerful groups based in this holy city.
Shiite
leader in Baghdad warns women, alcohol sellers, cinemas
Middle East Online, May 16, 2003
Fartussi says murder of ‘sinful women’ sanctioned by Islam, gives
week to stop their practices. -- BAGHDAD - Shiite religious leader Mohammed al-Fartussi
on Friday threatened "sinful women," alcohol sellers and cinemas of grave consequences
if they did not stop their practices within a week.
US
police to be boosted by 6,000
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
Iraq's new civilian administrator yesterday promised to bring thousands more military
police into the country, and to step up patrols in an attempt to control widespread
looting and lawlessness.
Fallout
of America's vain hunt for WMD confined to embarrassment
The Independent, May 16, 2003
The continuing failure to discover any evidence of Iraq's alleged chemical, germ
and nuclear weapons, more than a month after the fall of Baghdad, is thus far
a very minor embarrassment for the Bush administration – and probably one
which will grow only if order collapses completely and there is an uprising against
US military occupiers.
U.S.
Gives Revised Iraq Proposal to U.N.
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Stepping up the pressure for a vote next week, the United
States presented a revised resolution to the U.N. Security Council to immediately
lift sanctions against Iraq, but Russia and China signaled Friday they still want
major changes.
US
and Germany move to heal Iraq rift
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
The United States and Germany today made moves to repair a relationship damaged
by fundamental differences in opinion on the war on Iraq. The US secretary of
state, Colin Powell, met the German chancellor, Gerhard Schrφder, this morning
and gave what Reuters described as "guarded support" for lifting sanctions against
Iraq.
Schroeder
Urges Lifting Iraq Sanctions
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
BERLIN (AP) - Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder backed the U.S. push to lift sanctions
against Iraq on Friday, saying they ``no longer make sense'' as he gave a boost
to U.S.-German relations for the first time since an acrimonious split over the
Iraq war.
Powell
Hints At, Retracts Trade-Off on Iraq Sanctions
Washington Post, May 16, 2003
UNITED NATIONS, May 15 -- Secretary of State Colin L. Powell suggested today that
he would consider Russian and French proposals to suspend economic sanctions on
Iraq, retreating from a central U.S. commitment to press the Security Council
to formally lift the 13-year-old embargo by next week....The White House moved
quickly to dispel expectations that President Bush is prepared to offer a major
new concession on the sanctions.
Powell
strikes deal with Russia on debt
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
Colin Powell gave clear assurances yesterday that the new government of Iraq would
repay its $7bn Soviet-era debt to Russia. The US secretary of state's commitment
on the issue, which has become a big sticking point for Moscow, may bring agreement
on a new UN resolution for Iraq a step closer.
Sanctions
still a problem for diplomats
The Times, May 16, 2003
THE United States might be prepared to have UN sanctions against Iraq suspended,
rather than lifted altogether, Colin Powell said yesterday in an apparent attempt
to gain Russian and French support.
A
Mix of 'President . . . and Pope'
Washington Post, May 15, 2003
Army General Given Reins to Remake Mosul -- MOSUL, Iraq -- Lifting off in a helicopter
from the grounds of a Mosul palace that he has made his headquarters, Maj. Gen.
David H. Petraeus began a tour of all that he commands, a vast northern Iraqi
kingdom of desert and wheat fields, military installations and Bedouin camps,
where poetry and strife fill the smallest corners.
Iraq:
senior UN relief official discusses lack of security with US authorities
United Nations News, May 16, 2003
16 May – As the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator asked the United
States authorities in Iraq to improve security, other UN officials turned their
focus to the refugee problem, calling for return or compensation for up to 1 million
people displaced internally by Saddam Hussein and preparing for the repatriation
of up to 500,000 external exiles.
Iraq:
UN rights chief calls on US to preserve past abuse evidence at mass graves
United Nations News, May 15, 2003
15 May – The top United Nations human rights official today called on the
United States and its coalition partners to ensure the immediate protection and
integrity of mass grave sites in Iraq in order to preserve evidence of serious
human rights violations committed by the ousted government.
U.S.:
Iraqis Won't Return Missing Artwork
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
WASHINGTON (AP) - Thousands of antiquities missing from the Iraq National Museum
have been found but not returned because citizens won't hand them over to either
their American occupiers or remnants of the hated former government, U.S. investigators
say.
UN
Rights Boss Wants Iraq Mass Graves Protected
Washington Post, May 15, 2003
GENEVA (Reuters) - U.S.-led forces must protect the sites of mass graves discovered
in Iraq and allow forensic experts to preserve evidence for possible prosecutions,
the top United Nations human rights official said Thursday. U.N. High Commissioner
for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello said action was especially urgent because
families were already picking through piles of bones, believed to be of victims
of ousted president Saddam Hussein's rule.
Hussein
Loyalists Blamed For Chaos
Washington Post, May 14, 2003
U.S. Commander Vows to Step Up Baghdad Patrols -- BAGHDAD, May 14 -- The U.S.
military commander in Iraq declared tonight that remnants of Saddam Hussein's
defeated government, who he said are challenging the U.S. occupation, pose a greater
threat to rebuilding the country than the persistent street violence that has
plagued Baghdad.
Iraq
Disorder Worries Senators
Washington Post, May 15, 2003
Veteran senators from both parties, expressing some of the strongest congressional
concern to date about the civil disorder in Iraq, appealed to Defense Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld yesterday to quickly bring the situation under control.
Boxes
of Cash May Be Husseins' Plunder
Washington Post, May 15, 2003
U.S. investigators believe that the $950 million in cash that American troops
recently found stashed in boxes in several locations around Baghdad is most of
the $1 billion that Saddam Hussein's family secretly removed from the Iraqi central
bank only days before the U.S. war began, officials said yesterday.
Iran
Said to Be Producing Bioweapons
Washington Post, May 15, 2003
Opposition Group Names Anthrax as First of Six Pathogens in Intensive Effort --
Iran has begun production of weaponized anthrax and is actively working with at
least five other pathogens, including smallpox, in a drive to build an arsenal
of biological weapons, according to an opposition group that previously exposed
a secret nuclear enrichment program in the country.
Iran
Hostages Seek Suit's Reinstatement
Washington Post, May 13, 2003
Case Reflects Hill-White House Divide -- Lawyers for the 52 Americans taken hostage
in Tehran a generation ago took their case to a federal appeals court yesterday
in a bid to overturn a lower court ruling that dismissed their anti-terrorism
suit against Iran. Attorney Thomas V. Lankford, representing the U.S. Embassy
workers taken captive on Nov. 4, 1979, at the beginning of the Iranian revolution,
told a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that
Congress had passed specific legislation that allowed the former hostages' landmark
suit to be reinstated.
Iran
Rejects Claim of Sheltering al-Qaida
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran on Friday denied U.S. claims that it shelters members
of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network and seeks to develop weapons of mass
destruction. The denial followed the assertion a day earlier by Defense Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld that U.S. authorities believe there are senior al-Qaida leaders
in Iran.
US
accuses Iran of stockpiling chemical arms
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
Iran, already accused by the Bush administration of hiding attempts to build a
nuclear bomb, faces fresh allegations about its chemical and biological weapons
programmes. Washington is now accusing Tehran of stockpiling nerve agents and
pursuing a chemical weapons programme, while an Iranian resistance group yesterday
alleged that Iran has an aggressive bio-weapons effort under way.
Iran
says it has no biological weapons
Al-Bawaba, May 16, 2003
Iran strongly denied on Friday allegations by an exile opposition group that it
had biological weapons. A senior government official said the charge made by the
National Council of Resistance of Iran that Tehran had biological weapons armed
with anthrax, smallpox and typhoid was false. "I strongly deny that we have biological
weapons because we do not need any banned weapons," the official told Reuters.
Khatami,
Bashar Coordinate on Postwar Mideast
Arab News, May 16, 2003
DAMASCUS, 16 May 2003 — Iran’s President Mohammad Khatami held coordination
talks on the post-Iraq war Middle East with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad
here yesterday, as Washington issued a fresh warning to both their countries.
Saudis
Shocked Into Action by Attacks
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Attacks on three residential compounds in Riyadh have
thrown Saudi Arabia into turmoil, forcing its leaders to acknowledge that they
may have been too complacent about terrorism. U.S. officials said more attacks
could be ahead, warning Americans in Jiddah to take precautions.
U.S.
Seeks Access to Probe Saudi Bombings
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. law enforcement officials on Friday praised Saudi Arabia's
investigation into the deadly car bombings as an adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah
said both countries are ``in the crosshairs'' of the al-Qaida terrorist organization.
Saudis
face up to life as a soft target of Islamists
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
Interior minister blames terrorist attacks on 'other countries' as civilians realise
their vulnerability --Criticism of security precautions taken against al-Qaida
attacks by Saudi Arabia and British companies in the kingdom mounted yesterday
as the interior minister blamed foreign influences for the violence.
Fresh
terror warning awaits FBI team in Saudi
Middle East Online, May 16, 2003
A 60-strong team of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officers has arrived
in Saudi Arabia amid a fresh terror warning and US demands the kingdom step up
efforts to combat terrorism, in the wake of the Riyadh suicide bombings.
Iraqi-Jewish
expats to seek compensation for lost assets
Haaretz, May 16, 2003
NEW YORK - In the wake of the war in Iraq, Iraqi Jews residing in the United States
and Europe are weighing the possibility of filing class-action suits demanding
compensation in lieu of property and assets that they were forced to leave behind.
Americans
want to join the Convention
EU Observer, May 16, 2003
US representatives should have the opportunity to observe proceedings and debates
in the European Convention and members of the American executive branch ought
to be associated with the work of separate European Councils. These are some of
the wide-ranging ideas presented in a joint declaration by a group of prominent
American politicians and former ministers. The group includes former US Secretary
of State Madeleine K. Albright, Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security
Advisor to the President of the United States and Alexander M. Haig, former Supreme
Allied Commander of Europe.
JOINT
DECLARATION: Renewing the Transatlantic Partnership - Acrobat document
Center for Strategic and International Studies, May 14, 2003
The Declaration below has been endorsed by Madeleine K. Albright, Harold Brown,
Zbigniew Brzezinski, Frank C. Carlucci, Warren Christopher, William S. Cohen,
Robert Dole, Lawrence S. Eagleburger, Stuart E. Eizenstat, Alexander M. Haig,
Jr., Lee H. Hamilton, John J. Hamre, Carla A. Hills, Sam Nunn, Paul H. O’Neill,
Charles S. Robb, William V. Roth, Jr., and James R. Schlesinger.
Jordanian
Man Faces German Terror Charge
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
BERLIN (AP) - German federal prosecutors announced terror charges Friday against
a Jordanian man accused of belonging to a radical Palestinian network that was
allegedly preparing attacks in Germany.
French
complain about smear campaign in American press
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
In an unprecedented formal complaint, France yesterday accused the Bush administration
of conducting an organised smear campaign against the French government through
a series of unattributed and unsubstantiated leaks to the United States press.
One
US, one market, one media mogul
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
The war in Iraq has sharpened fears among US media pundits that objectivity has
gone out of the window in the service of a handful of media tycoons. In a recent
article, the Los Angeles Times railed against the shameless editorialising on
the Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox News during the conflict, denouncing the "swirling
sands of spin" and criticising the "hyperventilating" anchors.
Republicans
'used anti-terror agency' to find political foes
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
Fifty-one Texan Democrats who skipped town in the dead of night to defeat a controversial
piece of legislation were tracked down after Republicans reportedly used a federal
anti-terrorism agency, it emerged yesterday.
U.S.
Boosts Screening of Visa Applicants
The Guardian, May 16, 2003
WASHINGTON (AP) - Hoping to keep terrorists out of the United States, the Bush
administration is planning a sharp increase in the number of face-to-face interviews
with visas applicants, American officials said Friday.
