World
Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his militia to broaden its "second phase of resistance" to include all of Iraq. But 35 more of his followers were killed in clashes with US forces in Baghdad Monday, and his offices there were destroyed. Meanwhile, American Marines reentered the volatile Sunni city of Fallujah, testing the latest truce with resisters there. And US chief administrator Paul Bremer handed over control of seven government agencies - notably the Ministry of Water - to Iraqis.
Ratcheting up the rhetoric before Wednesday's start of new talks on its nuclear weapons program, the North Korean government said their success depends "entirely on the US attitude." The Bush administra- tion, it said, "had better ... stop wasting time" with demands for full and verifiable North Korean disarmament. The Japanese newspaper Rodong Shimbun said it learned that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, while visiting China last month, vowed to discuss only a partial freeze of nuclear activities and even then would demand a reward in the form of energy assistance.
Exit polls on the final day of voting in India's marathon national election showed Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's coalition government would be fortunate to win the 272 seats necessary for a majority in Parliament. Anything less, and Vajpayee's National Democratic Alliance will be forced to woo still more minority parties, risking instability that may not allow it to serve a full five-year term, analysts said. Vajpayee has been campaigning on a booming economy and moves toward peace with neighboring Pakis-tan. But the rival Congress Party has appealed to the rural poor, many of whom have not shared in the prosperity.
In a disappointment for the US in its counterterrorism war, a tribal chief in rural Pakistan waited until the deadline for handing over Al Qaeda and Taliban fugitives to announce that none were in areas under his control. He admitted only to sheltering Afghan refugees. Nek Mohamad and other elders said they'd raise a new 2,000-man force to hunt for foreign terrorist suspects, but it was not clear when that would begin. Earlier efforts have netted no results.
With the average price of gasoline nearing $2 a gallon in the US, the most influential member of OPEC urged a major increase in production when the cartel votes early next month. Saudi Arabia's oil minister said the ceiling should be raised by "not less than 1.5 million barrels a day." OPEC, reportedly at Saudi insistence, voted in April to cut production by 1 million barrels a day, which has pushed import prices for the US to almost $40 a barrel.
