ABBAS RESIGNS AS
PALESTINIAN P.M.Palestinian Prime Minister Mahamoud Abbas resigned Saturday after four months in office. Abbas’ announcement came after Yassar Arafat refused to grant him full control over the Palestinian security services. Parliament speaker Ahmed Qurei has been nominated as the new Prime Minister, though he has not yet accepted the post.
US RESOLUTION ON IRAQ MEETS MIXED RESPONSE

A U.S.-drafted resolution received a mixed response from U.N. members. The draft proposed a larger U.N. role in governing Iraq and peacekeeping, but retained American control. Thus far, Russia and Britain support the resolution, France and Germany have announced that they will not support it, and China has not yet commented. According to Richard Bernstein of The New York Times, President Chirac of France and Chancellor Shroder of Germany said that the American plan “did not go far enough in transferring political control of Iraq to the Iraqis.”
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT

The European Parliament’s annual report on human rights, released Thursday, recommended gays be allowed to marry and adopt children. It urged trans-Atlantic airlines to stop giving personal information required by the U.S. war on terrorism, due to the lack of guaranteed privacy. The report was adopted despite opposition from the conservative European People’s Party, the main parliamentary group.

HAMAS LEADER, ISRAELI COMMANDO KILLED

Mohammad al-Hanbali, 26, a leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas, was killed Friday in a shoot-out with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank. One Israeli soldier was killed and four injured in the raid. Three Palestinians were arrested before soldiers blew up the apartment building where the Hamas militants were hiding.
HONG KONG INTERNAL SECURITY BILL DROPPED

Internal-security legislation was withdrawn Friday by Hong Kong’s chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa. The legislation would replace colonial regulations against sedition, subversion, secession, and treason dating prior to the 1997 handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China. The bill provoked huge protests in July, and Chee-hwa indicated he would wait for a clear public consensus before introducing a new one.