World Watch

AFGHANISTAN
Casualties Grow — and the War Isn’t Over Yet
The fiercest fighting so far has killed eight U.S. soldiers as well as hundreds of al-Qaeda and Taliban loyalists. The U.S.-led Operation Anaconda, the offensive in the eastern mountains, has met strong resistance. Al-Qaeda suffered heavy losses, but it was bolstered by reinforcements after local leaders “called a jihad,” said U.S. Major General Frank Hagenbeck, the operation’s commander. Local rivalries have further frustrated the coalition. Padshah Khan, a tribal leader allied to the U.S., wants control of Gardez, the provincial capital, and has threatened to attack rival allied Afghans who hold the city. The international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan also suffered its first fatalities last week. Three Danes and two Germans died while defusing missiles. The leaders of Denmark and Germany expressed sorrow at the accident, but said that the losses would not affect their countries’ participation in the Afghan mission.

IRELAND
Narrow Margin

Voters in the Republic of Ireland rejected a government proposal to tighten the country’s strict abortion laws. The proposed change to the constitution would have ruled out the threat of suicide as legal grounds for a termination of pregnancy. Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said he was disappointed with the result, which was carried by less than 1%.

RUSSIA
President Accused
Former media mogul Boris Berezovsky attempted to link his one-time ally President Vladimir Putin to the bombing of Russian apartment blocks that killed over 200 people in September 1999. Berezovsky told a London news conference that Putin knew the country’s special services were involved in the attacks. Putin, who headed the fsb security service before becoming Prime Minister that year, blamed Chechen rebels. Moscow said the accusations were an attempt to detract from investigations into Berezovsky’s shady business dealings.

MIDDLE EAST
A Roundabout Route to Peace
Violence spiraled further, with a series of devastating air strikes and raids by Israel and shootings and bombings from Palestinians. Dozens died last Friday, the bloodiest day since the intifadeh began. As casualties mounted, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon conceded that cease-fire negotiations would have to take place without the seven-day period of total calm that he had demanded. The U.S. said that envoy Anthony Zinni would return to the region this week for another attempt at brokering peace.

SIERRA LEONE
Facing the Music
Rebel leader Foday Sankoh made his first court appearance almost two years after he was jailed under emergency regulations. Sankoh and 49 supporters of the Revolutionary United Front were charged with murder and conspiracy to murder in connection with the deaths of 19 people outside his home in May 2000. The charges came days after President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah lifted a four-year-old state of emergency that allowed detention without trial. Sankoh, who was remanded without bail, is expected to be charged separately by a war-crimes tribunal.

MADAGASCAR
Crisis Deepens
The standoff between President Didier Ratsiraka and opposition leader Marc Ravalomanana threatened to split the island, as the opposition declared a parallel administration in Antananarivo and government supporters proposed relocating the capital to Toamasina (Tamatave) in the President’s heartland. With army support also divided, a second O.A.U. delegation flew in to mediate the crisis triggered by disputed presidential elections in December. The public appeared to ignore a government declaration of martial law two weeks ago.

PAKISTAN
MORE EVIDENCE
A cab driver became the second person to link Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh to the kidnapping of murdered U.S. reporter Daniel Pearl. The driver told a Karachi court that Sheikh had greeted Pearl when he was dropped outside a restaurant on Jan. 23. Pakistani officials say they want to complete their investigation of lead suspect Sheikh before considering a request for his extradition to the U.S.

INDIA
Late Compromise
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee consulted Hindu and Muslim leaders in an attempt to end simmering religious tensions after riots in the western state of Gujarat left more than 600 dead. The hard-line Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) finally agreed to await a court’s verdict on the construction of a Hindu temple at a disputed site at Ayodhya. But Muslim leaders say the VHP’s demand for access to an adjacent site could also trigger more sectarian violence.

VIETNAM
Agent Orange Plea
The head of Vietnam’s Red Cross said it was time to end the silence over Agent Orange — the chemical containing dioxin used during the Vietnam War — and start helping its victims. Nguyen Trong Nhan told a scientific conference in Hanoi that immediate steps should be taken to help those affected, rather than waiting for more research. The U.S. questions Vietnamese findings still linking the chemical with birth defects some 30 years after the spraying stopped.

ZIMBABWE
Last-Minute Campaigning, Mugabe-Style
In the run-up to the presidential vote, incumbent Robert Mugabe reinstated changes to election law that the Supreme Court had earlier ruled illegal. Zimbabweans with dual citizenship and most of those living abroad were barred from voting. The law also gave the government a monopoly on voter education and election monitoring. Critics said the moves were meant to hurt Mugabe’s challenger, Morgan Tsvangirai. As voting began, heavy turnout led Tsvangirai to call for the two-day poll to be extended to ensure broad participation.

AUSTRALIA
Credibility Test
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the future of the Commonwealth was at stake if the organization failed to act against Zimbabwe’s controversial leader Robert Mugabe. Commonwealth Heads of Government delayed a decision on Zimbabwe’s suspension until after presidential elections. The leaders of Australia, Nigeria and South Africa will decide on a course of action on the basis of a report by Commonwealth election observers.

THE U.S.
Steel Wars
President George W. Bush provoked outrage and formal complaints from America’s major trading partners after imposing tariffs of up to 30% on foreign steel imports. E.U. trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said the “shortsighted” move broke international trade rules and filed a formal complaint with the World Trade Organization. Several other countries including Japan and Russia followed suit. Bush said the measures were “temporary safeguards” to allow the restructuring of the U.S. steel industry. But E.U. member states, fearing a diversion of steel imports into Europe, said they would seek compensation.

COLOMBIA
Widening Front
As leftist guerrillas stepped up their attacks following the collapse of peace talks, the government said it might introduce a “war tax” and U.S. legislators voted to expand America’s involvement in the country. The U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution supporting the idea of widening U.S. aid beyond antinarcotics initiatives. In the latest wave of violence, farc rebels bombed municipal installations inside their former safe haven for the first time.