contributions

By CHRISTIAN WIENBERG
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — In a potential rift, Danish troops in Iraq have stopped handing over prisoners to British commanding forces because the Iraqi government reinstated capital punishment, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
Denmark — like Britain — is obliged under the European Convention on Human Rights not to extradite prisoners who could face the death penalty, which is banned in the European Union. But Britain insisted Tuesday that European human rights (…)

The Epidemics Control Center, adepartment of the Iraqi Health Ministry, announced that the number of recorded epidemic infection during one month reached 35,274,which led to 304 deaths, the local newspaper Al Nahdhah reportedMonday.
An official at the Center said that the epidemics were dividedinto three types, namely, those that transfer through drinkingwater or food, those that transfer through breathing, and thosethat transfer in other ways.
He pointed out that eight cases of (…)

Bush challenges Democrat on stance
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Arizona (CNN) — Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry said Monday he would not have changed his vote to authorize the war against Iraq, but said he would have handled things "very differently" from President Bush.
Bush’s campaign has challenged Kerry to give a yes-or-no answer about whether he stood by the October 2002 vote which gave Bush authority to use military force against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
The (…)

by Ray McGovern
"Pre-election period … pre-election plot … pre-election threats": these rolled off National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice’s lips no less than seven times Sunday on CNN’s Late Edition as she discussed the likely timing of a terrorist attack. She stayed on message.
Dr. Rice said the government had actually "picked up discussion" relating to "trying to do something in the pre-election period," and added that information on the threat came from "active multiple sources." (…)

Polish troops in Iraq have handed over military authority in two provinces to US marines because of worsening security in the holy city of Najaf.
The move came amid renewed fighting in Najaf as Iraqi and US forces battled supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.
The cleric rejected an appeal for his men to leave, saying he would defend Najaf with his last drop of blood.
The BBC’s Alastair Leithead in Baghdad says the new interim government is facing its first big test.
The news that (…)

By Peter Symonds
The US-installed interim Iraqi government is abandoning any pretence of democracy and openly implementing police state measures in a bid to crush widespread armed resistance to the occupation of the country.
Prime Minister Ayad Allawi signalled a further toughening of his regime’s stance during a visit on Sunday to Najaf, where US and Iraqi forces are battling the Madhi Army militia of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Following a meeting with US Marine commanders, he (…)

By TERENCE HUNT
President Bush chose Porter Goss, a Republican congressman and onetime spy, on Tuesday to lead the CIA as the troubled agency struggles to repair its tarnished reputation, confront new terror threats and face the uncertainty of a massive intelligence reorganization.
"He knows the CIA inside and out," Bush said of Goss, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who served as a clandestine CIA officer during the 1960s in Central America and Western Europe before (…)

by Richard Gott
To the dismay of opposition groups in Venezuela, and to the surprise of international observers gathering in Caracas, President Hugo Chávez is about to secure a stunning victory on August 15, in a referendum designed to lead to his overthrow.
First elected in 1998 as a barely known colonel, armed with little more than revolutionary rhetoric and a moderate social-democratic programme, Chávez has become the leader of the emerging opposition in Latin America to the (…)

Motorists and air travellers hit as crude prices reach new record
by Larry Elliott
The price of crude on futures markets rose to record levels in both London and New York last night after the threat of sabotage by rebels forced Iraq to shut down production in its southern oilfields.
Fears of prolonged disruption to supply led to a fresh wave of speculative buying in markets already rattled by the prospect of dearer energy, prompting a slowdown in the global economy.
After falling (…)

Oskar Lafontaine, a former German finance minister and chairman of the Social Democratic Party, said Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder should resign, adding that he will support a protest movement against Schroeder’s policies, the Spiegel weekly magazine reported.
Asked in an interview whether he wants Schroeder to be replaced, Lafontaine said: Of course. It can’t go on with Schroeder.’’ Schroeder’s policies, which include increased pressure on the unemployed to accept low-paid jobs and reduced (…)