world

Germany sees end to NATO standoff

By Alyson Brodsy · Friday, Feb. 14,2003 12:39 a.m.

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Germany signaled Thursday that its dispute with the United States over NATO contingency planning for a war in Iraq could end as early as Saturday but France said it had not dropped its opposition.

U.S. soldier sentenced to 30 years in prison

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Feb. 13,2003 11:37 p.m.

SEOUL, South Korea -- A U.S. military court sentenced an American soldier to 30 years in jail Thursday for sexually assaulting a South Korean soldier.

No cost determined for war on Iraq

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Feb. 13,2003 11:36 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Colin Powell, on the eve of another faceoff at the United Nations over disarming Saddam Hussein, said Thursday the American people should be "prepared for a fairly long-term commitment" in Iraq.

NASA changes rules for shuttle investigation

By Alyson Brodsy and Ted Bridis · Thursday, Feb. 13,2003 11:34 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Responding to criticism by some lawmakers, NASA's top official has formally changed some rules for the board investigating the Columbia accident to remove references suggesting the space agency is overseeing the probe of itself.

South Korea will not aid in US attack

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Feb. 13,2003 11:13 p.m.

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea's president-elect said Thursday that he would not go along with the United States in any attack on North Korea to halt its nuclear program, aides said.

Iranian police confiscate hearts

By Alyson Brodsy and Ali Akbar Dareini · Thursday, Feb. 13,2003 12:47 a.m.

TEHRAN, Iran -- Cupid, drop the bow. That's the word from Iranian police, who have ordered shops to remove heart-and-flower decorations and have confiscated other symbols of what religious authorities consider a decadent, Western event -- Valentine's Day.

Governor seeks referendum on Confederate flag in Georgia

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Feb. 13,2003 12:28 a.m.

ATLANTA -- In a move that is certain to inflame race relations in Georgia, the new governor proposed Wednesday a referendum on whether to bring back the old state flag with its big Confederate emblem.

NATO shifts focus to Turkey

By Alyson Brodsy and Paul Ames · Wednesday, Feb. 12,2003 11:51 p.m.

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The United States sought Wednesday to overcome objections by France, Germany and Belgium to NATO preparations in case of an Iraq war. A compromise dealt only with defending Turkey and dropped a request for NATO troops to replace any allied forces sent from the Balkans to the Persian Gulf.

North Korea poses possible ballistic missile threat to US

By Alyson Brodsy and John J. Lumpkin · Wednesday, Feb. 12,2003 11:49 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- North Korea has an untested ballistic missile capable of reaching the western United States, intelligence officials said Wednesday. The North Korean missile is a three-stage version of the Taepo Dong 2, said Vice Adm. Lowell Jacoby, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Israeli security tightens after sniper attack

By Alyson Brodsy and Ibrahim Hazboun · Wednesday, Feb. 12,2003 11:48 p.m.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank -- Israeli forces clamped down on Bethlehem Wednesday, with soldiers patrolling the streets after a Palestinian sniper killed an Israeli army officer who was standing in front of the Church of the Nativity.

Transcripts released from Columbia space shuttle

By Alyson Brodsy and Paul Recer · Wednesday, Feb. 12,2003 11:47 p.m.

SPACE CENTER, Houston -- NASA has released transcripts from some of space shuttle Columbia's final radio transmissions, chronicling the efforts of Mission Control engineers as they became painfully aware of the destruction that was unfolding.

US may cut forces abroad

By Alyson Brodsy and Robert Burns · Wednesday, Feb. 12,2003 11:26 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- The United States is considering cutting and reconfiguring U.S. forces in Europe and South Korea as part of a broader effort to restructure the military for 21st century threats.

Man thought to be Osama bin Laden urges followers to back Saddam

By Robert Reid · Wednesday, Feb. 12,2003 1:36 p.m.

DOHA, Qatar - The purported voice of Osama bin Laden tells his followers to help Saddam Hussein fight Americans even though his government is of "infidels," words U.S. officials said showed the Iraqi leader's ties to the al-Qaida terror network.

Islamic students react to message

By Christina Galoozis · Wednesday, Feb. 12,2003 12:36 a.m.

Muslim students at IU immediately reacted to Osama bin Laden's latest message Tuesday, which calls on Muslims around the world to fight any U.S. led-military action against Iraq. The message aired on the Al-Jazeera network on the Hajj, an important day for the Islamic religion.

Satellite TV broadcasts latest bin Laden audio tape

By Alyson Brodsy and Robert H. Reid · Wednesday, Feb. 12,2003 12:36 a.m.

DOHA, Qatar -- A raspy voice believed to be Osama bin Laden's urged Iraqis to carry out suicide attacks against Americans and draw U.S. troops into combat in Iraqi cities. U.S. officials said the call broadcast Tuesday proves the world must fear Saddam Hussein's ties to the al Qaeda terror network. The appeal was made in a voice tape aired by the Al-Jazeera satellite television station throughout the Arab world and believed by U.S. officials to be authentic. It was broadcast as U.S. officials warned of devastating attacks within the United States and the Persian Gulf, where U.S. forces are massing for a possible attack against Iraq.

Powell warns of Iraqi ties to terrorism

By Alyson Brodsy and Barry Schweid · Tuesday, Feb. 11,2003 11:34 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Colin Powell told a Senate panel Tuesday that what appears to be a new statement from Osama bin Laden shows why the world needs to be concerned about Iraqi ties to terrorism. Powell said he read a transcript of "what bin Laden -- or who we believe to be bin Laden" will be saying on the Al-Jazeera Arab satellite station later Tuesday, "where once again he speaks to the people of Iraq and talks about their struggle and how he is in partnership with Iraq."

Closure set on Israeli border

By Alyson Brodsy and Laurie Copans · Tuesday, Feb. 11,2003 11:33 p.m.

JERUSALEM -- Israeli troops killed an armed Palestinian in the Gaza Strip, and Israel imposed a blanket closure Tuesday on the Palestinian areas during a Muslim holiday because of warnings of possible attacks by militants. The closure, which bars Palestinians from entering Israel, reverses a decision to ease travel restrictions during the holiday, Eid al-Adha, which begins Tuesday. Israeli troops making

US pushes for aid in North Korean dispute

By Alyson Brodsy and Joseph Coleman · Tuesday, Feb. 11,2003 11:32 p.m.

"Unless you have a process prewired, a consensus on what the Security Council would do ... then it's possible that the referral in and of itself would be ineffective," said Scott Snyder, Asia Foundation representative in South Korea. "There is not a consensus in favor of sanctions."

Shuttle wing focus of inquiry

By Alyson Brodsy and Marcia Dunn · Tuesday, Feb. 11,2003 1:04 a.m.

SPACE CENTER, Houston -- After three days of uncertainty, NASA said Monday a piece of broken wing found last week was from space shuttle Columbia's left side -- where all the problems appear to have begun in the final minutes of the doomed flight.

Iraq OKs use of US spy planes

By Alyson Brodsy and Hamza Hendawi · Tuesday, Feb. 11,2003 12:51 a.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq agreed Monday to allow U-2 surveillance flights over its territory, meeting a key demand by U.N. inspectors searching for banned weapons as European opposition to American military action mounted. President Bush, however, brushed aside Iraqi concessions as too little, too late.