UN Report Clear Kofi

INVESTIGATIONS

Oil-for-Food Investigation

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

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)

Afghanistan

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)

Yemen

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)

Lebanon

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)

Somaliland

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

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)

Algeria

Authorities Kill Senior Algerian Rebel-Source

Algerian authorities have killed a senior member of the country's main Islamic militant group with suspected ties to al Qaeda, a security source said on Monday. (Reuters)

U.S.

U.S. Says Rights Are Key to Relations

Report is critical of allies but omits mention of U.S. abuses. (Washington Post)

Saudi Royals Were Questioned Before Departure, FBI Says

The FBI detained, identified and questioned members of the Saudi royal family and their entourage before allowing them to leave Las Vegas a week after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., an FBI official said Monday. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

Singapore

Singapore Warns of Regional Networking Among Terror Groups

The Jemaah Islamiyah terror group is consolidating its resources and reaching out to other Islamic militant organizations in the region despite a law enforcement crackdown, a top Singaporean official said Tuesday. (Sun Star)

Saudi Arabia

25 Saudi Suspects Repatriated

Within the framework of a security pact signed between the two countries, Saudi Arabia and Yemen yesterday exchanged a total of 33 wanted criminals including 25 Saudis, according to the Interior Ministry. (Arab News)

Sudan

Sudan Says It Has Arrested 15 for Darfur Crimes

Sudan has for the first time arrested military and security personnel accused of killing and raping civilians and burning villages in Darfur, the justice minister said on Monday. (Reuters)

LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

Libya

Libya's Bulgarian Medics Appeal

Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor have appealed to a Libyan court against their death sentences imposed for infecting 426 children with HIV. (BBC)

IRAQ NEWS

Panel's Report Assails C.I.A. for Failure on Iraq Weapons

The C.I.A. and other intelligence bodies were criticized by a panel studying U.S. intelligence failures regarding illicit weapons. (NY Times)

Minister: Security Forces Have Surrounded Al Zarqawi

Iraqi security forces have surrounded Iraq's most-wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the country's interior minister said on Monday. (AP)

Romanian Journalists Kidnapped In Iraq

Romanian president calls on coalition forces in Iraq to help secure release of three journalists kidnapped last night. (The Guardian)

Sunni Arab Linked To Allawi Chosen As Speaker Nominee

The second Iraqi parliamentary session ended Tuesday without designating a speaker as scheduled, but a Sunni Arab linked to outgoing Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has been selected by Sunni Arab politicians as the nominee for the post. (Xinhuanet)

Sunni Leader Insists on Timetable for U.S. Withdrawal

Sheik Harith al-Darimade said he would continue to view the armed resistance in Iraq as legitimate until the U.S. military offered a timetable for its withdrawal. (NY Times)

Liberals Hit Back At Iraq's New Islamists

Attempts to stop prime ministerial candidate with suspected links to Iran. (The Guardian)

U.S. Soldier Faces 20 Years in Jail for Killing Iraqi Driver

A U.S. soldier goes on trial in Germany accused of killing a critically injured Iraqi man. (The Guardian)

France Has 'Reassuring' News on Iraq Hostage — PM

The French government has "reassuring" news about a French reporter who was kidnapped in Iraq in January, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said on Tuesday. He gave no details. (Washington Post)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Mideast Policies Prove a Boon to Religious Parties

While it is common knowledge that the Bush administration is out to democratize the Middle East and back secular governments friendly to the U.S., just the opposite is happening. (Arab News)

In the Real World, Iraq Does Matter

The government is wrong to think the war concerns only a minority. (Guardian)

We Could Breathe Easier

The government must increase the security of toxic chemicals in transit. (Washington Post)

U.S. Obstructs Global Justice

When a United Nations commission of inquiry recommended this year that gross human rights abuses in Darfur be referred to the new International Criminal Court, Pierre-Richard Prosper, the U.S. ambassador at large for war crimes issues, made headlines by rejecting the idea. "We don't want to be party to legitimizing the ICC," he said. (LA Times)

A 'Second Independence' Beckons

In the war years, whenever a car bomb exploded in Beirut, fighting escalated and the internal divide among Lebanese groups deepened. On February 14, the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a massive explosion that ripped through the hotel district in Beirut ignited the spark of unprecedented national unity. Lebanese, drawn from all communities openly expressed their desire to see Syrian troops and security services withdraw from Lebanon. The taboo of Syrian control over Lebanon was broken in word and deed. (The Daily Star)

The Insider Daily Investigative Report (DIR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to investigative news, including international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DIR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman and Brinda Adhikari of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.