From the International Desk
Published 5/21/2003 4:55 PM
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Bush vows no let up in terror war

WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush Wednesday vowed no let up in the war against terrorism and in pursuing the national ambition of free markets, free trade and free societies around the world. The U.S. vision, he said, is not only threatened by terrorists and tyrants, but also "by the faceless enemies of human dignity: plague and starvation and hopeless poverty, and America is at war with these enemies, as well." The president's remarks, delivered at a commencement ceremony at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., came on the heels of the Department of Homeland Security raising the nation's alert status to the "orange," or high, indicating a strong threat of terrorist attack.

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U.S. tells Iran not to support al-Qaida

WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- The United States has urged Tehran to stop supporting al-Qaida operatives who it says are working out of Iran, officials said Wednesday. The demand follows media reports the United States also has broken off secret talks with Iran in Geneva. "We have made clear to Iran that we believe that al-Qaida operatives are working out of Iran and Iran needs to meet its international responsibilities," a State Department official told UPI. Under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1373, the official said, all countries are required to "deny safe haven to those who plan, support or commit terrorist acts."

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7th terror suspect named in Buffalo, N.Y.

WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- Prosecutors named a fugitive Wednesday as a seventh suspect in the so-called Buffalo, N.Y., terror cell case. Although six defendants have pleaded guilty, charges were unsealed Wednesday against a previously unnamed seventh suspect, Jaber Elbaneh, 36, of Lackawanna, N.Y. Elbaneh's whereabouts are unknown. The criminal complaint charges him with conspiring with the six remaining defendants and others to "provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization."

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New Iraq draft to U.N. council

UNITED NATIONS, May 21 (UPI) -- U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte Wednesday distributed to members of the U.N. Security Council a revised Iraq-rebuilding draft resolution. The measure lifts sanctions and calls on the Security Council not only to review but also "consider further steps that might be necessary" in a year. The draft also calls on members of the world organization and international and regional bodies to contribute to its implementation. The measure, sponsored by Britain, Spain and the United States, was expected to be approved at a formal meeting of the 15-member council Thursday (at 9:30 a.m. EDT) and take effect immediately.

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NATO agrees to help Polish Iraq force

BRUSSELS, May 21 (UPI) -- NATO ambassadors Wednesday unanimously agreed to help Poland run a peacekeeping force in central Iraq, a move designed to help the alliance overcome a series of bitter rows over how to disarm former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Earlier this month, Washington asked Warsaw to take control of one of the three stabilization zones in Iraq as a reward for its unstinting support. The other two sectors -- in the south and the north of the war-torn country are to be run by Britain and the United States, respectively.

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WHO extends SARS travel advisory in Taiwan

WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- The World Health Organization extended its SARS travel advisory Wednesday to include all of Taiwan as the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in that region continued to mount. "As a result of ongoing assessments as to the nature of outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome, WHO is now recommending, as a measure of precaution, that people planning to travel to Taiwan province, China, consider postponing all but essential travel," the international health agency said in a written statement. Taiwan reported 35 more SARS cases Wednesday, bringing its total to 418 cases and 52 deaths.

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Whitman resigns from EPA

WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- Christie Todd Whitman, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has resigned her post to return to private life, saying it was time for her to go home. Whitman said she personally tendered her resignation to President Bush Tuesday. She will leave the post as of June 27 to return to her "home and husband in New Jersey." No other reasons for her exit were given but Whitman is known to have been less than happy in her time as steward of the nation's environment.

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Psychiatric drug may thwart Alzheimer's

PHILADELPHIA, May 21 (UPI) -- A drug used for 50 years to treat manic depression could provide a one-of-a-kind, two-punch defense against Alzheimer's disease, a dementia-fomenting disorder that affects 18 million people worldwide, scientists said Wednesday. Tested in mice with a form of the neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive senility, the drug lithium delivered crippling blows to two notable hallmarks of the ailment that ravages the brain.

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United may leave bankruptcy early

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill., May 21 (UPI) -- The chief financial officer of bankrupt United Airlines thinks he sees light at the end of the tunnel. Jack Brace said things are going so well, UAL Corp., United's parent company, could emerge from Chapter 11 protection as early as this fall, more than six months ahead of schedule. "We see no impediment to an early exit," Brace told the Wall Street Journal Wednesday. "But we want to come out a completely fixed company, not a partially fixed company." United filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors on Dec. 9 and successfully renegotiated concessions contracts with all its major unions to save at least $2.54 billion a year. Overall, United has cut $4 billion in annual operating expenses.

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Greenspan: Fed watching deflation

WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan, in testimony Wednesday to Congress's Joint Economic Committee, said deflation, which is usually accompanied by a slump in economic activity, was a "very serious issue" and that the Fed had been paying "extensive attention" to it recently. The nation's top banker acknowledged, though, that before the Japanese experience of the 1990s, deflation was seen as unlikely in an economy with a currency not linked to an underlying material of value, such as gold. The Fed recognizes deflation is a possibility, Greenspan said, but it has been successful in developing a framework to fight it.

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Stocks mixed after Fed's comments

NEW YORK, May 21 (UPI) -- Stock prices on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market closed mixed in choppy trading Wednesday as investors digested comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average, which slipped 2.03 points Tuesday, rose 25.07 points to 8,516.43. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index, which lost 1.68 points in the previous session, was down 1.22 points to 1,489.87.

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Dokic stunned in French Open tune-up

STRAUSBOURG, France, May 21 (UPI) -- Croatian qualifier Karolina Sprem recorded the biggest win of her career Wednesday, a 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 victory over the top-seeded Jelena Dokic in the second round of the Strasbourg Open. In a Fed Cup tie last month, Sprem defeated Russian Elena Likhovtseva but lost to Anastasia Myskina. Dokic lost in the final at Strausbourg last year to Italian Sylvia Farina Elia and reached the quarterfinals at the French Open. The 20-year-old Dokic will enter the second Grand Slam of the year next week having lost three straight matches on clay.