World
A remote-controlled car bomb exploded in Beirut, Lebanon, killing the son of a senior Palestinian radical leader. His aides immediately blamed the attack on Israel's secret service and vowed revenge. Jihad Jabril was in change of military operations in Lebanon for his father's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, a group on the State Department's list of terrorist organizations. But it also has long been at odds with Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat and has rejected any peace deals with Israel. Below, a crowd gathers to look at the destroyed car.
A second Palestinian suicide bomber in two days killed only himself as police stopped him at a checkpoint in northern Israel. Meanwhile, there were conflicting claims of responsibility for Sunday's blast in Netanya that killed four people and injured more than 50 others. Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine each said one of their militants had carried out the attack. Analysts said the incident increased pressure on Arafat to reform his security forces as well as on Israeli Prime Minister Sharon to retaliate forcefully.
An effort to impose international pressure on India to "see reason" and engage in dialogue over bilateral tensions was begun by Pakistan's government. In the meantime, two more people died as the rivals engaged in a fourth straight day of cross-border shelling or in raids by suspected Islamic guerrillas in Kashmir. India has refused to talk, blaming Pakistani President Musharraf for doing too little to stop the guerrillas.
In a flurry of developments on its first day of independence, East Timor's government officials were sworn in, presented the UN with an application for membership, and signed a deal with Australia guaranteeing 17 years worth of revenues from oil and gas production off its coast. It also announced that President Jose Gusmao's first overseas visit will be to Indonesia, East Timor's former ruler, to sign an agreement upgrading the Indonesian diplomatic mission to an embassy.
The future appeared bleak for the political party that grew out of Sierra Leone's rebel movement and analysts were calling it a spent force. In the wake of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah's swearing-in Sunday for a new term, official results from the election a week ago showed the Revolutionary United Front won no seats in parliament and its presidential candidate took only 1.7 percent of the vote.
