■ United states
Clark makes Iraq U-turn
Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark said on Friday he would never have voted for war in Iraq, 24 hours after he told reporters he probably would have supported the Congressional resolution authorizing the US to invade. The retired four-star Army general said his comments had been taken out of context. They were at odds with his public opposition to the war and caught some of his supporters off guard. "I would have never voted for war," Clark said before delivering a foreign policy speech at the University of Iowa. "I'm a soldier. I understand what war's about, but I would have voted for the right kind of leverage for the president to head off war."
■ Canada
Martin takes early lead
Fiscal conservative and former finance minister Paul Martin has taken a commanding early lead in Liberal Party delegate selection this weekend in a race that will effectively decide who becomes Canada's next leader. If Martin maintained the same huge margin throughout the weekend voting, pressure was expected to mount on Prime Minister Jean Chretien to retire earlier than next February as he has planned. Martin took a lead of 382 to 25 delegates -- or 94 percent of those tallied in early counting on Friday night -- in the race against his more liberal rival, Heritage Minister Sheila Copps, according to preliminary figures from the Martin camp.
■ United states
Davis supports early recall
California Governor Gray Davis, buoyed by a week of appearances with well-known Democratic officials, cast his support for a quick recall election after a federal appeals court agreed to reconsider postponing the ballot. Davis' call Friday to bring on the Oct. 7 election defies conventional wisdom that he would benefit from a drawn-out process that would give him a chance to demonstrate his leadership skills. The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals announced Friday it would reconsider a three-judge panel's ruling to postpone the vote, extending the uncertainty that has overshadowed the campaign.
■ Israel
Arabs withdraw resolution
The Arab League withdrew a draft resolution on Friday that called on Israel to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and allow the UN to inspect its nuclear program, but vowed to try again next year. Israel has not signed the NPT and has never officially admitted to having nuclear weapons. However, non-proliferation experts estimate that Israel has from 100 to 200 nuclear bombs. On Wednesday, 15 members of the Arab League submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) general conference of the 137 member states the draft resolution which said Israel was the only nuclear power in the Middle East and should disarm.
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