World
Saying, "Now the whole world has turned down America's calls," the chief of the Iranian delegation to the International Atomic Energy Agency boasted that his country had scored a decisive victory over the Bush administration. The IAEA approved a resolution Monday to be sent to the UN Security Council that contains no recommendation for economic sanctions against Iran over what the US government suspects is a secret program to develop nuclear weapons. The Bush administration said it reserves the right to take the case to the council on its own. Meanwhile, Hassan Rohani, Iran's chief delegate, repeated a vow that the enrichment of uranium - suspended in a deal with other IAEA nations - will be resumed within "months, not years."
The political crisis in Ukraine deepened as opposition leader Viktor Yuschenko broke off negotiations with his presidential rival, Viktor Yanukovich, and rejected an offer to name him prime minister if he'd concede defeat. Yuschenko also was considered likely to reject Yanu-kovich's suggestion that both men drop out of the race. Meanwhile, parliament failed to pass a vote of no-confidence in a Yanukovich government, but outgoing President Leonid Kuchma said he'd support a new runoff election to resolve the matter.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was "very disappointed" at revelations that his own son may be more closely linked to the Iraq oil-for-food scandal than previously thought. Kojo Annan was first an official of - and later a consultant to - a Swiss company hired by the UN to monitor Iraqi imports under the oil-for-food program in the late 1990s. The company, Cotecna, is being investigated for its alleged role in the scandal. Kojo Annan left in 1998, but still was receiving yearly payments of $30,000 from it as recently as February, the probe found. Congressional investigators estimate that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein illegally skimmed more than $20 billion from the program.
While no incursions have been reported yet, thousands of Rwandan soldiers may already be "dealing" with rebels from their own country in neighboring eastern Congo, President Paul Kagame said. Congo's government announced Monday it is sending 10,000 troops to the region, the scene of much of the fighting in a five-year regional war. About 11,000 UN peacekeepers also are deployed there to try to prevent the conflict from reigniting.
On grounds of ill health, renowned political dissident Raul Rivero was freed from a prison in Cuba - the fourth such person to be released this week. He'd served 20 months of a 20-year sentence for alleged conspiracy to overthrow the Castro government. Analysts said the releases appear to be a gesture to appease critics of Cuba's human-rights record.
