World Watch

MIDDLE EAST
Bush Demands New Palestinian Leaders
In a speech delivered at the white house U.S. President George W. Bush outlined his vision for peace in the Middle East. President Bush called on the Palestinians “to elect new leaders, leaders not compromised by terror.” He went on to say, “when the Palestinian people have new leaders, institutions and security arrangements, the United States will support the creation of a Palestinian state.” Permanent statehood would come only after talks on the main divisive issues: borders, Jerusalem and the future of the Palestinian refugees. Israel would have to stop building settlements in the West Bank and withdraw its troops to positions they held before the current intifadeh began in September 2000. Bush mentioned no sanctions for Israeli failure to comply, placing the burden for moving toward peace squarely on the Palestinians.

RUSSIA
Law of the Land
The lower house of the Russia’s parliament approved a bill allowing the sale of farmland, restoring private ownership of land, which was abolished after the 1917 Revolution. In a concession to opponents, President Vladimir Putin said there will be no rush to sell land until a proper registry has been set up. Even then, there will be no immediate sell-off. The law bans foreigners from owning farmland, though they will still be allowed to lease it. The bill now goes to the upper house before officially becoming law with Putin’s signature. Meanwhile, the flooded Sunja River washed away oil-storage facilities in southern Russia. The resulting oil slick moved toward the Caspian Sea, threatening to cause environmental catastrophe.

MIDDLE EAST
In a Corner
In response to suicide bombs in Jerusalem, Israeli troops took over seven of the eight main towns in the West Bank, imposing curfews and declaring Hebron a “closed military zone.” Israeli tanks and gunships destroyed Palestinian police headquarters in Hebron to try to dislodge militants from the compound. The army said that about 40 people were holed up inside, including 15 militants from the Tanzim, an armed group within Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction. About 150 others surrendered during breaks in the bombardment.

TANZANIA
Train Tragedy
At least 281 people died and 800 were injured after a passenger train collided with a freight train in Igandu, in the central Dodoma region about 400 km west of the country’s largest city, Dar es Salaam. Witnesses said the passenger train was climbing a hill when its brakes failed. It then rolled backward, picking up speed, until it plowed into the freight train heading up the same line just behind it. Twenty-one of the passenger train’s 22 cabins derailed, making it difficult for rescuers to get to the injured.

INDIA
Attacks Resume
Eight Indian soldiers and five suspected militants were among 20 people killed in separate incidents in Indian-administered Kashmir. Various radical groups took responsibility for the attacks, which came as Defense Minister George Fernandes said that Indian forces would remain deployed in Kashmir until fall elections.

PHILIPPINES
Lost at Sea
President Gloria Arroyo called off a search for the body of the Muslim rebel Abu Sabaya, believed to have died in a battle with Philippine troops at sea. The army said Sabaya’s body was probably eaten by sharks. He was the main spokesman and one of the leaders of Abu Sayyaf, a guerrilla group that became notorious for using kidnappings in pursuit of its goal to carve out a Muslim state in the southern Philippines. President Arroyo also announced that the army had overrun four Abu Sayyaf camps on the island of Jolo.

SOUTH KOREA
Border Battle
At least four South Korean soldiers were killed and 19 injured when a North Korean naval vessel sank a South Korean military speedboat on patrol in the Yellow Sea. North Korean officials said that shots were fired only defensively, and both sides claimed that the battle — the worst in three years — took place in their respective territorial waters.

AUSTRALIA
Mass Breakout
More than 30 asylum seekers went on the run in South Australia after activists helped to stage a mass escape from the Woomera detention center. A search was mounted across 200,000 square kilometers of desert by police and dogs with helicopter and plane support. Authorities said that the harsh conditions would make it hard for anyone to get far without a vehicle. The breakout occurred as the largest hunger strike at the camp since January entered its fifth day and after four detainees had stitched their lips together in protest at Australia’s refusal to grant asylum.

CANADA
Promises, Promises
The leaders of the world’s seven richest countries signed an agreement with four African heads of state promising Africa $6 billion in annual aid, the cancellation of $1 billion in debt, help in eradicating polio and a peacekeeping force — all in return for reform. The seven countries, which with Russia make up the Group of Eight industrial nations, developed their plan in response to an African initiative called the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Canada mounted its largest peacetime security operation for the G-8 summit. Antiglobalization protesters were allowed no nearer than Calgary, 90 km away from Kananaskis, the meeting site. The only security breach: documents diagraming protocol arrangements for the G-8 leaders were found in a Kananaskis picnic area — by a London Times reporter.

ARGENTINA
We Want Work
Police in Buenos Aires fired rubber bullets and tear gas into crowds of unemployed demonstrators, leaving two dead and at least 90 injured in the year’s worst riots. In response to the deaths, thousands of antigovernment demonstrators took to the streets. Teachers and state workers also went on strike in protest against government repression and the country’s economic crisis. The march by some 10,000 people — from manual workers to professionals to grandmothers — was well-organized and peaceful.

U.S.
Wild Fires
A blaze the size of Los Angeles burned out of control in the western state of Arizona. More than 30,000 people were evacuated in an area that President George W. Bush declared a disaster zone. Some 2,000 firefighters struggled to ensure it did not overwhelm the town of Show Low, home to 7,700 people. Dry forests, high temperatures and a lack of winter precipitation made fires likely. And the U.S. Forest Service said that environmental legislation had let flammable underbrush choke the forests. The fires threatening Show Low are thought to have been started by people, though it is not known why or by whom.

PAKISTAN
Al-Qaeda Proves It Can Still Fight Back
Ten Pakistani soldiers were killed in a gun battle with al-Qaeda fighters in Pakistan’s tribal northwest. The soldiers closed in at night on a village in the Waziristan region to arrest the fighters hiding in the house of a local elder. As troops approached, the al-Qaeda loyalists opened fire. After a four-hour battle, two fighters were killed and one, an Uzbek teen, was captured; 32 others escaped. Soldiers found a cache of heavy arms including rocket-propelled grenades before the compound was razed to the ground.

MEANWHILE
Peace Pills
In a finding reminiscent of the happy drug soma in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, U.K. researchers have discovered that maximum-security prisoners given pills containing vitamins, minerals and fatty acids committed 37% fewer disciplinary offences than inmates who popped placebos.