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WORLD NEWS

Chavez Announces Detention of Americans President Hugo Chavez said a military exchange program with the United States was canceled because U.S. officers in Venezuela were spreading a negative image of his government to the soldiers they were training. Putin: Democracy is top priority President Vladimir Putin says Russia must develop a free and democratic political system and restore business confidence to ensure the country's "place in the modern world." Blair branded a liar as poll rivals blaze away at Iraq invasion The Prime Minister, Tony Blair, faces demands to hold an inquiry into Britain's case for war in Iraq as his rivals in the general election next week home in on his support for the US-led invasion. Taxman grabs tsunami charity cash The charities involved have failed to secure more than £9 million tax relief on money pledged in telephone donations because, under Revenue & Customs rules, it cannot be claimed over the phone. Mexico intrigued by killing of former president's brother The mystery surrounding the murder of the brother of a former president, Carlos Salinas de Gortari, is becoming a national obsession, with the twin revelations that the victim wrote a despondent note shortly before his death and that he was under investigation in France for allegedly laundering money. Vatican asks Condoleezza Rice to help stop a sex abuse lawsuit Alongside predictable exchanges on Iraq, the Middle East and religious liberty, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice in her Feb. 8 visit to the Vatican also received an unexpected request -- to intervene in a U.S. lawsuit naming the Holy See as the defendant in a sex abuse case. Recent News: Sept. 11 Suspects Go on Trial In Madrid Rice backs Belarusian opposition Key facts about al Qaeda trial in Spain British Government Ordered Shutdown Of Fake Ricin Story

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IRAQ

Rice and Cheney push Iraqis to form cabinet Worried about a political deadlock in Iraq and a surge in mayhem from an emboldened insurgency, the Bush administration has pressured Iraqi leaders to end their stalemate over forming a new government. Marines From Iraq Sound Off About Want of Armor and Men In returning home, the leaders and Marine infantrymen have chosen to break an institutional code of silence and tell their story, one they say was punctuated not only by a lack of armor, but also by a shortage of men and planning that further hampered their efforts in battle, destroyed morale and ruined the careers of some of their fiercest warriors. GAMES OF LIFE, DEATH: Center prepares U.S. troops for life in Iraq Jarbar Nahr doesn't exist. It's a fictitious town in a fictitious province of Talatha whose striking resemblance to Iraq is anything but fictional. But the training that soldiers get there before they go to Iraq is very real and could help keep them alive once they arrive. Terrified US soldiers are still killing civilians with impunity, while the dead go uncounted An American patrol roared past us with the soldiers gesturing furiously with their guns for traffic to keep back on an overpass in central Baghdad. A black car with three young men in it did not stop in time and a soldier fired several shots from his machine gun into its engine. The driver and his friends were not hit, but many Iraqis do not survive casual encounters with US soldiers. It is very easy to be accidentally killed in Iraq. US soldiers treat everybody as a potential suicide bomber. Rights Groups Reject Prison Abuse Findings Human rights groups expressed dismay yesterday over the Army's findings exonerating U.S. generals of prisoner abuse in Iraq, and renewed requests for an independent probe to examine the culpability of senior military and civilian defense officials. Recent News: Aid worker uncovered America's secret tally of Iraqi civilian deaths Militants say downed Iraq helicopter, post Web video Serious Mission Creep The shadow Iraqi government General: Insurgents in Iraq planning attacks

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WORLD WAR III

N Korea warned over nuclear test South Korea has warned North Korea not to conduct a nuclear test, following fresh warnings that the North is building up a nuclear arsenal. NKorea will treat UN sanctions on nuclear programme in "do-or-die" spirit North Korea said Monday it would react with a "do-or-die" attitude if the United States brought UN sanctions over the Stalinist state's nuclear programme, saying the US was "getting on its nerves". White House May Go to U.N. Over North Korean Shipments The Bush administration, facing a series of recent provocations from North Korea, is debating a plan to seek a United Nations resolution empowering all nations to intercept shipments in or out of the country that may contain nuclear materials or components, say senior administration officials and diplomats who have been briefed on the proposal. Recent News: China `Welcomes' Apology Made by Japanese PM Koizumi on War 'Iran: The Nuclear Threat'

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