27 January 2004 Tuesday 04 Zilhaj 1424 Iraq not yet stable for polls, says minister BAGHDAD, Jan 26: Security in Iraq may be too precarious to hold early elections, the country's interior minister said on Monday ... HRW slams Bush, Blair over Iraq invasion LONDON, Jan 26: US and British leaders George W. Bush and Tony Blair are wrong to retroactively justify the invasion of Iraq on humanitarian grounds ... Japan orders ground troop dispatch to Iraq TOKYO, Jan 26: Japan ordered the dispatch of its main army contingent to help rebuild Iraq on Monday after the junior party in the ruling coalition approved the mission. ... 3 US troops missing BAGHDAD, Jan 26: Hopes were bleak on Monday of recovering alive three US soldiers lost when a boat capsized and a helicopter crashed in northern Iraq. ... Blair faces big test over fees, Kelly probe LONDON, Jan 26: British Prime Minister Tony Blair braced on Monday for possible defeat at the hands of rebellious Labour MPs in his bid to triple university tuition fees, at the start of one of his toughest weeks in office. ... US in a fix over paying heed to Iraqis' election demand WASHINGTON: Retired Gen Anthony Zinni began warning that ousting Saddam Hussein, let alone invading Iraq, risked destabilizing the entire Middle East back in 1998 ... Blair thought Chirac was out to get him: biography LONDON: British Prime Minister Tony Blair thought French leader Jacques Chirac was out to get him by exploiting acrimony over Iraq to supersede him in Europe, according to extracts of a new biography of Blair published on Monday. ... Eurocorps to lead Afghan force, says Germany BERLIN, Jan 26: The five-nation Eurocorps army will be able to take over leadership of the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan at the end of the year, German Defence Minister Peter Struck said on Monday. ... Powell says he's worried about Russian democracy MOSCOW, Jan 26: US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Monday he was worried about Russia's democracy in unusually blunt comments that underscored widespread concerns the Kremlin is turning increasingly autocratic. ... Vajpayee's relative thrown out from speeding train NEW DELHI, Jan 26: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's grand nephew was thrown from a speeding train and killed on Saturday night when he tried to stop a bunch of drunken youths harassing women passengers. ... BJP objects to Priyanka's candidature NEW DELHI, Jan 26: India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday took a swipe at the heirs of the country's most influential political family, Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi, questioning their political credentials ahead of polls. ... US Congressmen meet Qadhafi TRIPOLI, Jan 26: US Congressmen met Libyan leader Moamer Qadhafi here on Monday pledging to "forget the past" on a landmark mission aimed at paving the way for renewed diplomatic relations after decades of hostility. ... Rover hit 'scientific jackpot', says Nasa PASADENA, Jan 26: Nasa scientists said they hit a "scientific jackpot" on Sunday as Opportunity, the second of two roving US Mars probes, transmitted astonishing images from the planet's surface. ... Japan cements alliance with US TOKYO: By deciding to send troops to Iraq, Japan has cast aside decades of pacifism, boosted its standing in the international community and further cemented Tokyo's alliance with Washington, analysts say. ... BCCI case: BoE rejects charges LONDON, Jan 26: Bank of England lawyers on Monday rejected as "paranoid conspiracy allegations" the charges that officials had deliberately lied over the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) in 1991. ... Ten die in Europe's winter storms PARIS, Jan 26: Police closed highways, trains were held up and flights cancelled Monday as winter storms battered parts of Europe which have left at least 10 people dead since the weekend. ... Mass graves disappear in Algeria LONDON: The Algerian authorities have destroyed the first evidence to appear of the graves of the hundreds, if not thousands, of people believed to have been kidnapped and killed by army-backed anti- Islamist militias in the 1990s ... Oldest land creature found in Scotland LONDON: The first creature to emerge from the sea and breathe fresh air, a tiny millipede, took its first faltering steps in the small coastal town of Stonehaven just south of Aberdeen in northern Scotland. ... Bird flu kills 6-year-old in Thailand BANGKOK, Jan 26: Thailand's bird flu crisis escalated on Monday with the announcement of the first confirmed human death and five suspected fatalities from the disease that has now spread across a vast swathe of the country. ... Truck carrying goods for Japanese army attacked TOKYO, Jan 26: A truck transporting equipment intended for the Japanese army was attacked near Baghdad on Sunday and the Jordanian driver killed, a defence agency spokesman said. ... Yugoslavia, Rwanda massacres were avoidable, says Annan STOCKHOLM, Jan 26: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Monday that the slaughters in Yugoslavia and Rwanda in the 1990s could have been prevented if the world had taken action as he opened the first international genocide conference in over 50 years. ... 'Rings' hobbits take big step to Oscar BEVERLY HILLS, Jan 26: The tiny "Hobbits of the Shire" took a giant step toward earning Oscar gold on Sunday as the final part of the epic fantasy, "The Lord of the Rings: ...

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