World
In another antiterrorism strike, Israeli troops seized two wounded Palestinian militants from a West Bank hospital. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade confirmed that both are members and one was involved in bombings that killed Israelis. Meanwhile, key members of Hamas were in hiding, with orders not to use cellphones to avoid giving away their locations to Israeli intelligence. And Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas scheduled a meeting of the Legislative Council for next week, apparently to try to shore up support in his power struggle against Yasser Arafat.
Traces of weapons-grade uranium were found at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, according to a confidential new report by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Agency inspectors have visited Iran five times this summer, but the report says "additional work" is required before the IAEA can conclude whether a weapons program is under way there. The Tehran government didn't contest the finding but said the equipment on which the traces were found already was contaminated when purchased abroad.
Relations between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan appeared headed for another low ebb as senior political leaders from New Delhi sought to assign blame for Monday's terrorist bombings in Bombay. No group claimed responsibility for the attacks, which killed or hurt a reported 200 people, but police were focusing on two pro- Pakistan Muslim militant groups. Despite the recent thaw with Pakistan, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani said the attacks raise "doubts about our neighbor." Pakistan's Information Ministry dismissed the remarks as "baseless allegations."
Mop-up operations were under way in southeastern Afghanistan after the most intensive assault on suspected Taliban positions in weeks. US troops and Afghan militiamen, aided by jets, killed at least 14 insurgents and "the number may be higher," an American military spokesman said. But a Taliban leader claimed via satellite telephone that the dead were civilians and that his fighters still controlled the area.
Official final returns from Monday's national election in Rwanda were not yet released, but incumbent President Paul Kagame's lead was so huge that the outcome was not in doubt. Reports said Kagame had a 94 percent to 3.5 percent edge over his nearest challenger, with half the vote tallied. That challenger, Faustin Twagiramungu, rejected the tally as "not possible" and "not democracy" and planned a protest to the Supreme Court.
