Message-ID: <20564976.1075852558575.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 11:34:16 -0700 (PDT) From: the_economist-politics-admin@lists.economist.com To: jdasovic@enron.com Subject: The world this week: Politics 20th - 26th October 2001 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ANSI_X3.4-1968 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-From: The_Economist-politics-admin@lists.economist.com X-To: jdasovic@enron.com X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \JDASOVIC (Non-Privileged)\Deleted Items X-Origin: Shankman-J X-FileName: JSHANKM (Non-Privileged).pst ADVANCED SEARCH Thursday October 25th 2001 Subscribe | E-mail & Mobile Editions | Screensaver OPINION WORLD BUSINESS FINANCE SCIENCE PEOPLE BOOKS & ARTS MARKETS DIVERSIONS Visit Economist.com's Business Marketplace for all of your outsourcing needs Business service providers: Promote your company to active buyers and subscribe and reply to posted RFPs. Buyers: Search the directory to find qualified vendors who can meet your needs. Try the directory now PRINT EDITION THE ECONOMIST Special report Fighting terrorism Taliban defectors The fight against terrorism is reshaping old alliances and rivalries Full contents Subscriptions Customer service As a registered user of Economist.com, you can sign up for or cancel the text and HTML versions of this newsletter or change your e-mail address by amending your details . To stop receiving this newsletter, please visit http://economist.com/members/email.cfm , log in and complete the form. If you received this newsletter from a friend and you would like to have your own free subscription, please go to the Economist.com registration page Politics this week October 25th 2001 From The Economist print edition Air raids America's war against terrorism seemed to enter a new phase after details were released of a raid by airborne forces on a target inside Afghanistan, though expected follow-up attacks did not materialise. Air raids on the country continued: Taliban spokesmen claimed many civilian casualties. America admitted that some "collateral damage" may have occurred. See article: Fighting terrorism E+ More anthrax Reuters Two Washington postal workers, from the office that handled the contaminated letter sent to Tom Daschle, the Senate majority leader, died from inhalation anthrax, the most deadly form of the disease. Several other workers from the same office were suspected of having the disease, as was a worker from a sorting office in Trenton, New Jersey. Mass testing of postal workers began in Washington, DC, New Jersey and New York. See article: Coping with the anthrax outbreak E+ Anthrax spores were also found in a military building that handles mail addressed to the White House. John Potter, the postmaster-general, said he could not guarantee that any American mail was safe. See article: The postal service's troubles Canada relented after threatening to circumvent a patent on Cipro, an antibiotic for the treatment of anthrax, and obtain supplies from a generic-drug company. Bayer, Cipro's maker, agreed to provide as much of the drug as Canada needed to allay public fears. The United States threatened to override the patent if Bayer did not drop its prices-which it then did. See article: Patents, anthrax and antibiotics E+ The House of Representatives approved the president's anti-terrorism measures, which will now be taken up by the Senate. Israel defiant In a ferocious week-long assault that claimed more than 40 Palestinian lives, Israeli tanks and infantry reoccupied parts of six Palestinian-controlled cities. The declared aim was to arrest militants, including the group that killed an Israeli minister last week. America brusquely demanded that the tanks be withdrawn. The Israelis took their time. See article: Pull back the tanks, says Bush to Sharon E+ After militants in central Nigeria killed 19 soldiers, armed men in civilian clothing attacked four villages, killing some 200 people. The army denied responsibility. Renegade soldiers are suspected. A group of Commonwealth ministers visited Zimbabwe to investigate whether the government had acted on promises, made last month at a meeting in Nigeria, to end farm invasions and restore the rule of law. Few expected them to come up with a positive answer. Amnesty International reported that government-backed murders were increasing. A South African mob attacked hundreds of Zimbabwean immigrants living in shacks near Johannesburg, accusing them of stealing jobs, and of various crimes. Hostility towards Zimbabweans has been rising across the country. The fatal shore At least 350 people, mostly Iraqi asylum-seekers, died when their overladen boat sank after leaving Indonesia bound for Australia. Australia said it had identified an Egyptian in Jakarta who had organised the voyage. Thirteen people died in shooting incidents in Indian Kashmir, bringing to at least 150 the toll since militant protest flared after America started bombing Afghanistan. In a separate development, 20 Pakistanis training in Afghanistan for operations in Kashmir were reported killed by American bombs. Innocent and guilty Under heavy pressure from America and its own political wing, the Provisional (ie, mainstream) IRA began putting some of its weapons "beyond use". No details or numbers, but Northern Ireland's first minister, David Trimble, gave the news a hearty welcome. See article: The IRA has put the peace process back on track E+ Britain's government eased the country's drug laws. Possessing small amounts of cannabis will no longer result in arrest and medicinal use is likely to be sanctioned. See article: Britain's liberties AP Italy's final appeals court cleared the prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, of involvement in bribing tax inspectors dealing with three companies in his Fininvest group. However, the court found several Fininvest managers guilty for their role in the bribery. In Berlin, the Democratic Socialists-heirs of the communists who ran East Germany for the Russians-took 23% of the vote in the election for a new state administration. See article: Ex-communists near power in Berlin E+ Macedonia's official police began patrolling areas formerly controlled by ethnic-Albanian guerrillas. Hardly had they left one village than its police station was blown up. Bad news for the peace deal, still not put into law by the parliament. See article: A bombshell in Macedonia E+ In Galicia, Spain's north-western province, over 50% of the vote in a regional election went to the governing People's Party, ensuring a fourth consecutive term as premier for its leader, Manuel Fraga. See article: Charlemagne: Manuel Fraga, premier of Galicia E+ Two trucks crashed head-on and caught fire in Switzerland's St Gotthard road tunnel. Ten people died and more than 80 are still missing. Swap or default? Domingo Cavallo, Argentina's economy minister, made an unannounced visit to New York, apparently to try to persuade bankers of the virtues of a debt swap that rating agencies say may amount to a default. The government held back planned economic measures, after talks with provincial governors over budget cuts dragged on. After 30 years of debate, Mexico's transport ministry at last decided on the site for a new international airport for Mexico city. It will be built on the dried-up bed of Lake Texcoco. The city's mayor said he would challenge the decision in the courts. See article: Mexico's overdue new airport E+ A leading human-rights lawyer was murdered in Mexico. Investigators suspected the army of being behind her death. Access all the articles in this newsletter Subscribe to receive unlimited access to 40 or more premium articles each week from The Economist magazine and full access to our paid archive of over 20,000 Economist articles going back to 1997. To enjoy the complete benefits of a subscription to Economist.com, sign up now for one full year at US$59, a saving of over 50% on the monthly subscription rate. SEARCH The Economist Economist.com Global Library The web The EIU Economist TV Advanced search GO TO ECONOMIST.COM ? Copyright 2001 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights reserved. Legal disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions