15 January 2004 Thursday 22 Ziqa'ad 1424 US troops kill eight Iraqis; 5 die in blast TIKRIT, Jan 14: Eight Iraqis were killed on Tuesday in a firefight with US troops near the town of Samarra, north of Baghdad, the US military said on Wednesday. ... Tests show arms found in Iraq not chemical COPENHAGEN, Jan 14: The Danish Army said on Wednesday initial tests showed a cache of mortar rounds found buried in Iraq on Jan 9 did not contain any chemical substances as originally suspected. ... Kennedy says Bush misled Americans WASHINGTON, Jan 14: Fuelled by former treasury secretary Paul O'Neill's blasts at the Bush administration, the US Senate's leading liberal Democrat on Wednesday ... Suicides by soldiers rising, says Pentagon WASHINGTON, Jan 14: At least 21 US troops have committed suicide in Iraq, a growing toll that represents one in seven of American "non-hostile" deaths since the invasion began in March, the Pentagon's top health official said on Wednesday. ... Izzat Ibrahim's four nephews arrested SAMARRA, Jan 14: Four nephews of Saddam Hussein's former number two, Izzat Ibrahim al Duri, were captured in a pre-dawn raid on the Iraqi town of Samarra on Wednesday, the US military said. ... Saddam not to be tried by army: Rumsfeld WASHINGTON, Jan 14: Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday called a US military trial of Saddam Hussein unlikely but did not rule it out, and said the United States reserved the right to change his prisoner-of-war legal status. ... Meeting to discuss UN role in Iraq UNITED NATIONS Jan 14: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, has called a meeting on January 19 to try to determine what role the Iraqi Governing Council and the US-led coalition want the United Nations to play as Iraq moves from US occupation to a democratically elected government. ... US rethinks Iraq election plan WASHINGTON: The US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, admitted on Tuesday that Washington was having to rethink its plan to ask unelected committees to choose an interim Iraqi government, which the country's pre-eminent Shia leader has opposed as undemocratic. ... Fernandes injured in accident PATNA, Jan 14: Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes was injured on Wednesday when his car and a truck collided in thick fog in Bihar, a party leader said. ... Attack on US ship: Israel held responsible NEW YORK, Jan 14: The US State Department on Tuesday determined that Israel's attack of a US warship in 1967 was an act of gross negligence for which it should be held responsible. ... Bomber wanted to 'become shrapnel' GAZA, Jan 14: Palestinian mother of two who killed four Israelis in a suicide bombing on Wednesday professed love for her children before launching an attack that she said was meant to turn her body into "deadly shrapnel". ... Annan for steps to fight Islamophobia UNITED NATIONS, Jan 14: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Tuesday made an impassioned call to counter rising Islamaphobia and anti-Semitism, warning that complacency in the face of intolerance amounts to complicity. ... US,Australia holding talks on missile shield: Backlash from Asia feared SYDNEY, Jan 14: Prime Minister John Howard will meet US military chief General Richard Myers this week for talks expected to focus on Australia's commitment to the US missile defence shield ... Translator faces espionage charges SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 14: Court-martial proceedings against an Arabic translator, Senior Airman Ahmad Al Halabi, accused of spying at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba prison camp, began on Tuesday at the Travis air force base in California. ... France proposes new security structure for Gulf MANAMA, Jan 14: French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin has used a five-nation tour of the oil-rich Gulf to lobby for a "new regional security architecture" following the Iraq war. ... Turkey gambles with Cyprus policy ANKARA: Turkey is gambling that a new drive to resolve the deeply divisive issue of Cyprus will be enough to protect its bid to join the European Union. But some say it may not want to play all its Cyprus cards before getting a firm "yes" to entry into the wealthy bloc. ... Water can be an excuse for future conflict in Middle East ASK Ariel Sharon about the Six Day war and he will tell you that the fighting of that momentous week in 1967 really began more than two years earlier as Israel responded not to Syria's tanks but its bulldozers. ... Scientists clear GM crop for planting LONDON: The first commercially grown GM crops can be planted in Britain this spring, the scientific committee set up to advise UK ministers on releases to the environment said on Tuesday. ...

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