World
Terrorists in Iraq closed out their most violent month of resistance to the nation's reconstruction effort so far by killing 14 more foreigners in ambushes in the so-called Sunni Triangle. An Iraqi driver also died, and six other people were hurt in five separate incidents over the weekend. The victims - soldiers, intelligence agents, diplomats, and civilian contractors - were from the US, Spain, Japan, South Korea, and Colombia. But following the lead of President Bush, who told US troops on a surprise Thanksgiving Day visit to Baghdad that terrorism wouldn't succeed in driving out the American mission, Prime Ministers José Maria Aznar of Spain and Junichiro Koizumi of Japan vowed their governments would honor their commitments in Iraq as well. Said Aznar: "We are where we have to be."
Commercial flights from rival India will be allowed to use Pakistan's airspace, President Pervez Musharraf announced in the latest "gesture of goodwill" to improve bilateral relations. India's government offered no immediate comment but confirmed that discussions with a four-member Pakistani diplomatic delegation would open Monday in New Delhi. The cease-fire between the two countries, which began early last week was continuing to hold along the disputed Kashmir frontier Sunday.
The governor of Northern Ireland insisted a viable power-sharing government was still possible despite last week's elections there that gave the most extreme political parties on both sides of the sectarian divide the majority of seats in the new assembly. The Protestant Democratic Unionists (DUP) picked up 10 seats to wrest control from the moderate Ulster Unionists. The DUP opposes the 1998 peace accord that set up the home-rule administration. On the Catholic side, the moderate Social Democratic and Labour Party fell behind Sinn Fein, the political ally of the Irish Republican Army, by a six-seat margin. Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy was resisting calls to convene the new assembly immediately.
Anxiety rose across Taiwan as residents awaited official Chinese reaction to the announcement Saturday by President Chen Shui-bian that he may schedule a referendum in March on "sovereignty." China's leaders have never attempted to unify the island democracy with the mainland, but often threaten war if Taiwan makes any move toward independence. Chen pointed to the 500 Chinese missiles aimed at Taiwan as justification for such a vote.