World
Macedonian officials were proposing a new set of demands that could potentially delay the conclusion of a peace settlement with ethnic Albanians, a Western diplomat said. He did not offer further details. Macedonian and Albanian leaders earlier reported they were close to finalizing a peace plan after agreeing to give Albanians more jobs in the police force as part of a reform package. Policing had been a big obstacle to achieving a final deal to help ethnic Albanians, who make up 30 percent of Macedonia's two million people but face widespread discrimination.
Israeli Defense Minister Benyamin Ben Eliezer said security forces captured a Palestinian suicide bomber as he was about to carry out a kamikaze attack in Tel Aviv. Israel also released a list of seven "main terrorists" it wants arrested by Palestinians and implied they would be targeted for attacks if they remain free. The Palestinian Authority said it would not make arrests until Israel reins in its own attacks.
In a last-ditch effort to salvage Northern Ireland's peace accord, the Irish Republican Army agreed on a plan to gradually disarm but offered no commitment on when it will start. Britain, Ireland, and Catholic leaders welcomed the move, but some Protestant politicians expressed doubts that the IRA had offered enough. Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble triggered a political crisis by resigning last month as the senior Protestant in the Northern Ireland administration. His post must be filled by Aug. 12 or the power-sharing regime will be dissolved or suspended.
Citing poor health, Bolivian President Hugo Banzer resigned, handing power to Vice President Jorge Quiroga, who has been filling in since Banzer sought treatment for cancer in the US last month. Quiroga, who will be sworn in as president today, will hold the office until next summer's presidential election. He's barred by term limits from running for the office. Above, an Andean woman holds posters of Banzer as she awaits his arrival in Sucre, the capital.
Afghanistan's Taliban rulers arrested 24 international aid workers, including two Americans, and said they would remain in jail until the hardline Muslim militia completes an investigation into charges they spread Christianity. Promoting any religion other than Islam is punishable by death in the 95 percent of Afghanistan controlled by the Taliban. The workers are part of a group run by a German-based Christian relief agency.
Former Ukrainian victims of Nazi oppression began to receive their first compensation for slave labor during World War II. The survivors will receive 65 percent of their payments by January 2003, followed by the remaining amount over several years. Payments to Nazi victims range from $700 to $6,800, depending on the nature of the oppression.