Worldwatch

It’s The Economy, Drongo
AUSTRALIA As the Oct. 9 election nears, polls show the rivals — the coalition led by Prime Minister John Howard, and Mark Latham’s Labor party — neck-and-neck. You might predict that Howard would press his staunch support for the war in Iraq. After all, Latham, 43, has pledged to bring Australia’s 920 troops in Iraq home by Christmas. That couldn’t be further from Howard’s position. In addition to supporting the war, Howard — after the Sept. 9 bombing attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta, which killed at least 10 — renewed his support for pre-emptive strikes on terrorist bases, and announced plans for “flying squads” of Australian police to hunt terrorists in the region.

But with many voters either opposed to Australia’s decision to join the war or uneasy about leaving the fight early, both parties have sought to keep issues of national security out of the headlines. Howard is pushing his record of prolonged economic prosperity. “Australian families want security, and the greatest security that we can give them is the assurance that their interest rates will be kept as low as possible,” Howard, 65, told supporters in a speech at his campaign launch in Brisbane last week. Latham promises he would match Howard’s record on the economy while building a “ladder of opportunity” for all Australians through his commitment to education, health care and a more enlightened social policy. We’ll soon know if the voters wish to climb on. — By Lisa Clausen

Going Green
RUSSIA After years of deliberation, the Cabinet of President Vladimir Putin endorsed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate change and sent it to

parliament for approval, expected in three months. The move paves the way for the treaty to finally come into force, which can only happen when nations accounting for 55% of the world’s greenhouse-gas emissions sign up to it. Although 120 countries have ratified the protocol, the U.S. — the world’s largest emitter — rejected it in 2001, meaning the only way the threshold could be met was for Russia to join. The treaty requires industrialized countries to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 2012.

Unbroken Circle
MIDDLE EAST The Palestinian Cabinet declared a state of emergency as Israel continued a major military operation inside the Gaza Strip, intended, it said, to stop Palestinian militants firing rockets at villages in southern Israel. More than 50 Palestinians and five Israelis died in some of the bloodiest fighting of the four-year-old intifadeh, as Israeli tanks rolled into northern Gaza and troops sought to create a buffer zone along the border. Palestinian militant group Hamas said it would continue its rocket attacks.

Oil on Troubled Waters
NIGERIA A truce between the government and Niger Delta rebels calmed fears of regional unrest that had helped send oil prices spiraling to more than $50 per bbl. The Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force said it would disarm after the government agreed to discuss its demands for greater regional autonomy and a share of oil wealth. The NDPVF rescinded an Oct. 1 deadline for foreign oil workers to leave.

Grower Pains
PERU Riot police stormed an Inca temple in the southeastern city of Cuzco to free 19 foreign tourists briefly held by coca farmers protesting the government’s U.S.-sponsored efforts to eradicate their crop. The increasingly restive coca growers say the plant is a part of Andean culture and their livelihoods depend on it; officials say it is mostly used to produce cocaine.