World

Hopes that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein might abandon power voluntarily appeared dashed after a Baghdad TV station broadcast comments in which he said "it is impossible" to renounce his duties and leave the country "prey" to foreigners. He acknowledged the military superiority of the US in case of an armed effort to oust him but said: "We cannot do like others – give up and allow the enemy to designate who should govern Iraq." He vowed to resist "with whatever weapons we have in our hands."

A new chorus of international criticism was descending on Israel, after its forces raided the Hamas stronghold of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 13 Palestinians and wounding more than 100 others. Some of the fighting involved firing at the hospital where most of the wounded were taken.

Whether the power-sharing government of Northern Ireland can survive the week was in doubt as its Catholic participants and British Prime Minister Blair sought breathing space in the province's latest crisis. Blair is to meet today with Protestant First Minister David Trimble, who's expected to demand the expulsion from the self-rule administration of Sinn Fein, the Catholic party affiliated with the Irish Republican Army. A senior Sinn Fein official was caught with British secrets in a police raid late last week on his Belfast home. A collapse of the government would force Britain to resume day-to-day control of Northern Ireland.

As expected, leftist presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva easily won the most votes in Brazil's election Sunday. But with returns almost final, he appeared to be 3 percent short of an outright majority, necessitating an Oct. 27 runoff against his closest rival, Jose Serra, the candidate of the outgoing ruling coalition. Serra took 24 percent of the vote, which analysts said puts him too far behind to hope for victory.

The supertanker Limburg was in distress in the sea off the coast of Yemen, leaking oil but with its massive fire finally extinguished after Sunday's explosion. Reports said Yemeni authorities appeared to be on the defensive over claims by the ship's French owners and a French diplomat in Sanaa, the capital, that the blast could only have been caused by a terrorist attack. Both governments were opening investigations into the incident.

Prince Claus, who died in Amsterdam, was the husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. But he was remembered equally for the patience, humility, and gentle wit with which he overcame Dutch resentment at his service in Germany's Nazi army in World War II.