Iran seeks U.S. help to keep al-Qaeda fighters out: Tehran sought
Iran seeks U.S. help to keep al-Qaeda fighters out: Tehran sought help from Washington on Tuesday to arrest al-Qaeda fighters who may have fled to Iran from Afghanistan, in a conciliatory gesture to the United States after days of angry exchanges. Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi strongly denied U.S. charges that Tehran had helped Taliban and al-Qaeda militants to flee a U.S. military assault on neighboring Afghanistan. -- Reuters
UN sanctions claim 1.6 million Iraqi lives: More than 1.6 million Iraqis, including nearly 675,000 children aged under five, have died from diseases and malnutrition caused by UN sanctions in force since 1990, Iraq's health ministry said on Tuesday. A total of "1,629,639 people, including 674,780 children under the age of five, have died from various diseases such as diarrhea, cardiac and respiratory problems, as well as malnutrition," by end-2001, it said in a statement carried by the INA news agency. -- AFP
Lao prime minister meets Chinese president in Beijing: Laotian Prime Minister Boungnang Vorachit met with Chinese President Jiang Zemin in Beijing on Tuesday, state media reported. Xinhua news agency said Boungnang thanked China for its long-term aid to Laos while Jiang said Sino-Lao relations were growing stronger. Boungang arrived in China for a five-day visit on Sunday. -- AFP
War of words worsens between Israel and Iran: Israel denied suggestions by Tehran that it might attack Iran's nuclear power plant, deepening a war of words on Tuesday before a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to the United States. Israel's army chief Gen. Shaul Mofaz said on Tuesday Israel is prepared to handle an Iranian missile attack following a warning against Israeli aggression by Iran's defense minister, public radio reported. -- Agencies
Police name suspected kidnappers of U.S. journalist: Pakistani police on Tuesday named three suspected kidnappers of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl, as his newspaper appealed for private communication from the captors 13 days after his disappearance. Police said two militants, Mohammad Hashim Qadeer and Mohammad Bashir, were the "prime suspects so far" believed to have kidnapped Pearl in this southern city. --AFP
Argentine president announces elections will be held in September 2003: Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde announced on Tuesday that presidential elections will be held in the crisis-struck country next September, making it clear he fully intended to run a strong government until then. --AFP
Malaysia may extradite terrorist suspects to U.S. if proof sufficient: Malaysia may be forced to extradite any terrorist suspects it has detained to the United States if there is sufficient evidence of their involvement in terrorist acts, or the planning of such action, against the U.S., a news report said on Tuesday. --DPA