World
The army may demolish, without warning, homes of Palestinian attackers, Israel's Supreme Court ruled. Several affected Palestinian families had sought a 48-hour notice order, after nine homes were blown up Sunday amid a surge in violence. Israeli forces Tuesday killed two Palestinian militants one of them suspected in a deadly Tel Aviv bombing July 17. Interior Minister Eli Yishai, meanwhile, threatened to revoke the citizenship of Israeli Arabs linked to attacks, a position that won backing from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Nine Hindus participating in a religious pilgrimage were killed, and 31 were injured, in the deadliest single attack in a month in disputed Kashmir. Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani claimed the pre-dawn raid was carried out by Al Mansoor, which he maintained was the renamed Lashkar-e-Taiba. The Pakistan-based group was banned in that country as part of a promised crackdown on Islamic militants.
Some 4,000 student protesters broke down the front gates to parliament in Jakarta, Indonesia, before running into police barriers. The demonstrations were against attempts by minority-party legislators to derail constitutional reforms. The People's Consultative Assembly is considering changes such as direct elections for president a choice it now makes and adoption of traditional Islamic law in the world's largest Muslim country.
Myanmar's military junta will begin talks "very, very soon" with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, said United Nations envoy Razali Ismail. The discussions would involve "necessary political and constitutional issues," the Malaysian diplomat said, after visits to both sides in the capital, Yangon. Since her release in May from 19 months of house arrest, Suu Kyi hasn't met any senior officials.
Anglo American said it would distribute anti-AIDS drugs to its South African workers diagnosed as HIV-positive. The London-based company is South Africa's biggest, employing some 130,000 workers in the mining industry. The company didn't say how much the plan might cost, but a spokeswoman said it estimated about 23 percent of workers may have the disease, a major health problem in South Africa.
At a prison hearing in Italy, the reputed Russian mobster accused of conspiring to fix the pairs and ice dancing results at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City refused extradition to the US. Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov's decision means US authorities must make a formal request for him within 40 days. He also faces fraud and corruption charges in Italy.
