World
President Bush arrived in Moscow for celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. But there were signs that his relationship with Russian President Putin may be fraying. Putin reacted defensively to US criticism that he has amassed too much power and said the Kremlin rejects calls by the Baltic states to repent for its years of domination of them. He also warned against integrating the former Soviet republic of Ukraine into NATO.
Only one of Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's cabinet choices remained unfilled after the Sunni Muslim nominated for the human rights portfolio declined. He said he could not accept the post because it was awarded on a sectarian basis. Four other Sunnis were OK'd by parliament Sunday, among them the defense minister.
Israel will release no more militants from its prisons until "steps are taken against terror" by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said. So far, Israel has freed 500 of 900 Palestinian militants whose release was pledged as a gesture to Abbas when the two sides agreed to a truce Feb. 8. Sharon also has halted the handover of West Bank cities to Palestinian control on grounds that Abbas has not moved to disarm militants.
Angry members of his own Labour Party were calling on British Prime Minister Tony Blair to quit after last week's national election returned him to power but with a drastically reduced majority in Parliament. Labour lost 47 seats in the voting, compared to a 33-seat gain for the opposition Conservative Party. Blair has vowed to serve a full term.
To a boisterous welcome by tens of thousands of people in Beirut, Lebanon's most prominent anti-Syria leader, former Gen. Michel Aoun, returned from 15 years of exile Saturday and said he'd consider running for president. But the occasion wasn't without incident. On the eve of his arrival from Paris a terrorist bomb exploded in a Christian town north of Beirut, killing one person and injuring 28 others.
Despite its tough military rule, Burma (Myanmar) was rocked by the worst violence in decades as bombs exploded Saturday at supermarkets and a convention center in the capital, Yangon. At least 11 people died; 162 others were wounded. The junta blamed ethnic rebels and a self-proclaimed government-in-exile for the attacks, although both denied responsibility.
