World

March 18, 2002

Five people – among them the wife and daughter of a US diplomat – died and 45 others were hurt when suspected Islamic militants threw hand grenades into a Protestant worship service in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. Despite tight security around the city's diplomatic enclave, the attackers escaped. The incident was the second of its type in Pakistan since the government pledged its support to the US counterterrorism effort in neighboring Afghanistan. Above, a policeman inspects the scene after the attack. (Story, page 7.)

Special US envoy Anthony Zinni was meeting with Yasser Arafat as the Monitor went to press, but with no sign that his efforts to broker a cease-fire between the Palestinians and Israel was succeeding. He is to be joined today by Vice President Cheney, who is scheduled for meetings with senior Israeli leaders. Israeli tanks rolled back into the West Bank city of Bethlehem after Palestinians sprayed a Tel Aviv suburb with automatic weapons fire, killing one person and wounding 15 others, and detonated a suicide bomb in Jerusalem, injuring bus passengers. (Story, page 7.)

Cheney was striking out in each of his attempts to win support for new US offensives against Iraq. He was expected to hear a now-familiar rejection Sunday by Qatar's leaders as he did earlier in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, Egypt, and Oman. Senior Iraqi officials, meanwhile, were engaged in a counteroffensive, as President Saddam Hussein said his country could not prevent – but would be able to resist – US military attacks.

A Roman Catholic archbishop known for his frequent criticism of Colombia's leftist rebels was assassinated after conducting a wedding mass in Calí late Saturday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The Rev. Isais Duarte Cancino often angered both of the two largest rebel groups, the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the National Liberation Army, as well as powerful cocaine cartels with his criticisms of their tactics.

Declaring, "We have dealt a stunning blow to imperialism," Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe took the oath of office for a new six-year term. He invited the opposition Movement for Democratic Change to "work with us" in overcoming challenges to Zimbabwe, but vowed to accelerate the seizure of white-owned farms. The inauguration was boycotted by Western diplomats, although many African heads of state attended. (Story, page 6.)

Perhaps the largest demonstration yet staged by antiglobalization activists turned violent in Barcelona, Spain, as European Union leaders wound up a conference in the port city Saturday night. Dozens of people were hurt, and police arrested 98 others in running battles on the streets. The bulk of the protest by an estimated 250,000 people was peaceful, however.