UN Report Clear Kofi
March 29, 2005 --
Oil, Food Probe Clears Annan, Raps Son
An inquiry into the U.N. oil-for-food scandal concluded on Tuesday that Secretary-General Kofi Annan had not interfered in the awarding of a contract to a firm that employed his son but faulted him for not investigating the issue properly. (Reuters)
Oil Report to Say Aide to Annan Shed Files
Iqbal Riza, the former head of Secretary General Kofi Annan's staff, will be criticized Tuesday in a report of the commission investigating the oil-for-food program for having thrown away documents on the program, according to a person who has seen the report and a former United Nations diplomat. (NY Times)
Link to the Independent Inquiry's Report: (Oil for Food Report)
Q&A: Oil-for-Food Scandal (BBC)
Qatar Minister Does Not Believe Qaeda Behind Attack
Qatar's foreign minister said on Monday he did not believe al Qaeda was behind a suicide bombing that killed a Briton in the capital Doha but declined to speculate on who might have carried out the attack. (Reuters)
Al Qaeda Funding Return of the Taliban: Top U.S. Commander
Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network is making fresh efforts to stage a comeback by the Taliban and regain a foothold of its own in Afghanistan, the commander of US forces in the country said on Tuesday. (AFP)
Al Qaeda Suspect Tells Sanaa Court of Plot To Attack British Embassy
The purported chief of an Al Qaeda cell in Yemen, one of eight suspects facing trial on charges of plotting to attack Western targets in Sanaa, told a court here Monday he had planned a strike against the British embassy at the behest of the network's Saudi branch. (Middle East News)
Justice Minister: We Have More Info On Al Hariri Assassination
Lebanese Justice Minister Adnan Adoum told Asharq al Awsat newspaper the authorities were aware of the existence of the HSBC surveillance tape which shows a truck right before al Hariri's convoy was attacked. Adoum said they have "much more" information about that but would not give details. (Asharq Al Awsat)
Minister: Group Associated With Al Qaeda Planned Attacks
A network associated with al Qaeda carried out a number of armed attacks against Western citizens and interests in the country, Somaliland's information minister told Al Jazeera television. However, the prisoners who were visited by al Jazeera denied any affiliations with al Qaeda or any other terrorist groups. Somaliland declared its independence from Somalia in 1991, but it is not internationally recognized as a separate state. (Al Jazeera)
Iran Put Plan to Respond to Possible U.S. Attack
An article in Al Hayat today quotes Iranian military sources as saying that Iran's political and military leadership put a strategy to respond to any possible US attack on the country. It preparation for the possibility of a loss of contact between the army and the central command, which sources said the U.S. may try to cause to prevent the leadership from giving orders to attack. The military leadership therefore already gave orders to all sections of the army and the Revolutionary Guard to respond within an hour without waiting for orders. The targets were predetermined and would include U.S. bases and troops in neighboring countries especially Iraq, Bahrain and Qatar. The sources said Iran would also attacks Israel. (Al Hayat)
