by MONITOR
AMERICA marked the fifth anniversary of the terrorist strikes of September 11th 2001. In a nationwide TV broadcast President Bush said that Osama bin Laden, the head of al-Qaeda which organised the attacks, would eventually be captured; he also linked America's security to a successful outcome in Iraq. A meeting of NATO failed to produce promises of the extra troops needed in Afghanistan; earlier Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of State, said that Afghanistan was in danger of becoming a dangerously failed state. Hamas, the elected governing party in Palestine, agreed to form a national unity government with Fatah and other parties. The president, Mohammad Abbas, is expected to take charge of negotiations with Israel, which Hamas still refuses to recognise. In Britain the in-fighting in the Labour Party over its future leadership died down but the date of Prime Minister Blair's departure from Downing Street remained unclear. The deputy chairman of Russia's central bank, Andrei Kozlov, was shot dead; he had been in charge of eliminating corrupt practices in the Bank. Bulletin Headlines of the Week:
l SUNDAY/MONDAY: A British Helping Hand in Majorca (Age Concern and the British Consulate are opening a help line in Majorca).
l TUESDAY: British Supporters Come Under Attack (A bar crowded with football fans was attacked after a Real Mallorca game).
l WEDNESDAY: Woman Dies In Alaro Storm (Violent storms and heavy rain continued for a third day).
l THURSDAY:What A Night! (5'600 bolts of lightning were counted over the Balearics).
l FRIDAY: Germans Want Balearic Power Supply (The Balearic energy supplier GESA would be part of a take over of Spain's ENDESA by the German E.ON).
l SATURDAY: In The Eye Of The Storm (For the third day in a week the stormy local weather took the headlines).
THE WEEK THAT WAS