World

Saddam Hussein and his sons heaped scorn on the ultimatum by President Bush that they leave Iraq in 48 hours or be toppled and disarmed by force. Hussein appeared on TV in military uniform, calling Bush "pathetic" and telling his cabinet that Iraq would win a military showdown. His older son, Uday, said Bush was "unstable" and that "wives and mothers of Americans who fight us" will not have "a safe spot" anywhere on Earth.

International reaction to Bush's ultimatum ranged from endorsement (by Japan), to regret (by Canada; Mexico; India; Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country; and the Vatican), to strong criticism (by Germany's chancellor and French President Jacques Chirac). Russia's foreign minister warned that war might well split the international coalition against terrorism.

Members of new Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Cabinet were in an "urgent" meeting amid expectations that they'd ask parliament to vote again as soon as Wednesday on allowing US forces to use Turkish soil and airspace for war with Iraq. Despite a Bush administration statement to the contrary, Erdogan's economy minister said $15 billion in US aid in exchange for permission was "still in effect." The first vote fell just shy of passage March 1.

Day 1 of a nationwide strike against the government of Zimbabwe brought roadblocks, a bus-burning, and stoning of motorists in the capital, Harare. But there were no early reports of arrests, despite police warnings that violence would be dealt with ruthlessly. The action, organized by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, is the first major challenge to hard-line President Robert Mugabe since his controversial reelection last year. Zimbabwe is enduring its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1980.

Approval will be sought in parliament by the end of the week for a new agreement on trying Khmer Rouge leaders for genocide, Cambodia's prime minister said. After almost six years of negotiations with the UN, the parties settled on a tribunal that would give Cambodia the larger number of justices. But its government would not be able to block the tribunal's investigations or prosecution work. The Khmer Rouge are blamed for 1.7 million deaths during their 1975-79 rule, due to torture, overwork, and other causes.

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