World at a glance

BAGHDAD: Saddam Hussein on Sunday called for a new eastern alliance to counter US domination, as Iraq claimed victory over the US on the ...

BAGHDAD: Saddam Hussein on Sunday called for a new eastern alliance to counter US domination, as Iraq claimed victory over the US on the 8th anniversary of the mother of all battles.8217; 8220;Iraq proposes the creation of a new grouping of countries which desires serious cooperation in the economic, political and military fields and want to safeguard world peace.8221; Such a grouping was now a must because of 8220;the policy of the United States, Britain and their allies which has become a danger for security and stability in the world.8221; The call was directed at Arab and Asian countries in particular, but 8220;not targeted against anyone,8221; he said in a speech broadcast by Iraqi television and radio exactly eight years after the launch of the 1991 Gulf War.

WASHINGTON: In what could have far reaching implications for India, the CIA has revealed that nuclear test by Pakistan in May last year emitted low grades of weapons-grade plutonium into the atmosphere. 8220;The implications of the preliminary analysis,conducted at Los Alamos national laboratory showed that Pakistan was either separating or producing plutonium without US knowledge and, with it, could build smaller, easy-to-conceal, longer-range nuclear weapons that would be more threatening to neighbouring India,8221; the Washington Post quoted senior US officials citing a CIA report to president Bill Clinton.

LONDON: Former prime minister Margaret Thatcher is preparing to launch a campaign to boost the public image of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, whose fate will be decided this week by the law lords, the press said today. The campaign, financed by politicians, businessmen and other supporters in the capital, will focus on sending 5,000 brochures to decision-makers, the weekly Sunday Telegraph said. The pamphlets, avoiding mention of the 3,000 Chileans who were murdered or who disappeared under Pinochet8217;s 17-year rule, trumpet the merits of Pinochet the man of action and portray him as hero in the fight against communism.