One dead in gas tank explosion: An explosion, believed to have
One dead in gas tank explosion: An explosion, believed to have originated from a leaking gas tank, occurred at a house used as a garment factory in Tambora, West Jakarta, on Monday afternoon, killing one worker and injuring five others, a report said. El- Shinta radio reported that the explosion occurred at the house belonging to Frendly, who owns and runs the factory, on Jl. H. Jamhari in Angke subdistrict.
Bush, Blair nominated for Nobel Prize: U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have been nominated for the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for fighting terrorism and securing world peace, a Norwegian lawmaker announced on Monday. Harald Tom Nesvik, a member of parliament from the right-wing Party of Progress, said he has nominated the two leaders for the coveted peace prize despite their role in ordering war in Afghanistan. -- AP
Troops patrol volatile northern Nigeria areas: Truckloads of soldiers patrolled northern Nigeria's biggest city of Kano on Monday and police said they were on "red alert" to prevent ethnic rioting in Lagos igniting reprisal killings there. Police said they had also reinforced Jigawa state, which borders Kano, a highly volatile city in a largely Muslim region and scene of communal and religious mayhem that killed hundreds last October.-- Reuters
Indian, Russian ministers discuss defense cooperation: Russia and India on Monday discussed military cooperation and the possibility of a trilateral interaction involving China on important international issues, a foreign ministry official said. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, who arrived Sunday, met with India's Defense Minister George Fernandes for a 30-minute chat in the Indian capital on Monday. -- AP
Rights groups say demolitions of Palestinian homes violate international law: Israel has demolished hundreds of Palestinian homes and uprooted thousands of acres of crops in the past 16 months of hostilities in a "flagrant violation" of international law, a human rights group said on Monday. In most of the cases in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, residents were not warned to clear their property before the bulldozers arrived and had to flee their homes in the middle of the night, according to a report by the Betselem organization. -- AP
Top NATO, Russian officials talk about fighting terrorism together: Top NATO and Russian officials gathered in Rome on Monday to talk about how they can increase cooperation in fighting terrorism. The one-day conference builds on earlier condemnations of terrorism and pledges to work together to fight it. It also comes on the heels of a global security conference in Germany. -- AP