Bush condemns Philippines bombing: U.S. President George W. Bush

Bush condemns Philippines bombing: U.S. President George W. Bush
denounces the deadly bombing in the Philippines and will work
"shoulder to shoulder" with the Philippine government to hunt
down its authors, the White House said on Tuesday. "The president
condemns the bombing in the Philippines this morning," spokesman
Ari Fleischer told reporters after the powerful bomb attack at
the busiest airport in the rebellion-torn southern Philippines.
-- AFP

Israel rejects U.S. criticism: Israel on Tuesday rejected U.S.
criticism of its killing of Palestinian civilians during
increasingly deadly raids into built-up Palestinian areas. "We
are active everywhere because there cannot be even the smallest
sanctuary of immunity for the terrorists," said a senior Israeli
official who asked not to be named. He said Israel's raids were
"legitimate self-defense operations". -- AFP

Bush assures India of pressure on Pakistan: U.S. President George
W. Bush assured India on Tuesday that Washington continued to
press Pakistan to halt infiltration of Muslim guerrillas into
disputed Kashmir, an Indian government source said. Bush
telephoned Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to discuss
Washington's push for a new UN resolution authorizing military
action against Iraq, the source said. On Monday, Vajpayee accused
the United States of weakness because he said it had failed to
convince Pakistan to stop supporting Islamic militants fighting
India's rule in Kashmir. -- Reuters

UK law firm presses case of jailed Saudi academic: A London law
firm, Salfiti & Co., called on Tuesday for British judicial
authorities to take action against the Saudi Arabian government
over the case of a dissident academic allegedly tortured and held
without charge since 1995. Salfiti said Saudi Interior Minister
Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz had business and property in the
United Kingdom, and suggested London should use that to pressure
him over the case of jailed academic Said al-Zuair, a reformer
arrested in 1995 over his allegations of official corruption.
--Reuters

Iran proposes vote in Iraq on power transition: Iran's Foreign
Minister Kamal Kharrazi called on Tuesday for a UN-supervised
referendum to bring about a power transition in Iraq and avert a
U.S.-led war against its western neighbor. Addressing a
conference, Kharrazi also urged Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to
reconcile with opposition groups to avoid bloodshed. Kharrazi
stressed that Iran's proposal was different from a United Arab
Emirates proposal floated last week to exile Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein to avert a war. In addition to a referendum,
Kharrazi called for "national reconciliation" between the Iraqi
opposition leaders and the current Iraqi regime. --Reuters