RI police identify

RI police identify
2 suicide bombers (2x15)

Police identify two suicide bombers in last month's attacks on
Bali island

Police said on Wednesday they had identified two of three suicide
bombers killed in last month's attacks on crowded restaurants on
the Indonesian resort island of Bali. The pair were identified by
their initials MN and MS, said police spokesman Aryanto
Budihardjo. Both come from Java island, which neighbors Bali, he
said. Aryanto gave no more information on the pair, saying the
police chief would hold a news conference on Thursday. Police
have released pictures of the heads of three bombers, which were
recovered from the scene of the Oct. 1 attacks that killed 20
people, not including the bombers. They have so far announced few
leads in their investigation into the attacks, which were blamed
on the al-Qaeda linked terrorist group Jamaah Islamiyah. -- AP

Blair cites foiled
terror plots (2x15)

Blair cites foiled plots in appeal on anti-terror laws

Prime Minister Tony Blair said two plots had been foiled since
the July 7 bombings in London as he tried to win over opponents
to his antiterrorism laws ahead of a high-stakes vote on
Wednesday. The government meanwhile summoned home early two
senior Cabinet ministers from overseas to bolster its chances of
winning the vote amid opposition to the proposals from both
inside and outside the ruling Labour Party. A rejection of the
measures -- including one that extends the period for which
suspects can be held without charge from the current 14 days to
90 days -- would be Blair's first legislative defeat since coming
to power in 1997. The legislation also calls for a ban on those
who glorify terrorism, sell extremist books, receive or provide
terrorist training, or prepare to commit attacks. -- AFP

Assad speech chance
to avert showdown (2x15)

Assad speech may be last chance to avert showdown (2x15)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will make an address to the
nation on Thursday that may be his last chance to avert a
showdown with the United Nations over the killing of Lebanon's
former prime minister. Members of the ruling Baath Party said
Assad would call for progress on domestic political reforms and
declare his desire to work with a UN probe into the killing of
Rafik al-Hariri, in which the UN has implicated Syrian officials.
But Baath sources said they did not expect Assad to respond
explicitly to a demand by chief UN investigator Detlev Mehlis to
be allowed to question six Syrian officials in Lebanon over the
Feb. 14 assassination. -- Reuters