■ Iraq
Saddam card wows troops
Christmas arrived early this year for some 30,000 US troops in Tikrit who caught Saddam Hussein near his home town a week ago -- and how better to celebrate than with a captivating card? The Saddam Santa card features a picture of the heavily bearded former dictator as he looked when he was pulled from his hiding hole last weekend -- except Saddam is depicted in a Father Christmas hat and his whiskers are whiter than white. The picture and others like it are springing up as decorations around the barracks of a US army unit in Iraq and have become popular as greeting cards. Pictures of Saddam taken after he was pulled out of a hole in the ground 15km south of Tikrit also drew criticism from the Vatican, which said they were degrading.
■ United States
Soot ups global warming
Soot, mostly from diesel engines, is blocking snow and ice from reflecting sunlight, contributing to "near-worldwide melting of ice" and as much as a quarter of all observed global warming, top NASA scientists say. The findings about the snow and ice albedos -- their power to reflect light falling on the surface -- raise new questions about human-caused climate change from the Arctic to the Alps. Soot comprises carbon particles that are, along with salts and dust, byproducts of burning fossil fuels and vegetation. In developed countries, the biggest source is diesel fuel. NASA officials found soot was twice as potent as carbon dioxide in changing surface air temperatures in the Arctic and the Northern Hemisphere.
■ United States
`Drunk' pilot bailed
A veteran Virgin Atlantic Airways pilot accused of showing up drunk to fly a plane on Friday with almost 400 passengers from Washington to London was released from a Virginia jail on Monday after posting US$25,000 bond. Authorities ordered Richard George Harwell to surrender his passport and not to leave the country. Harwell, 55, was dressed in an orange jumpsuit when he appeared for his hearing on a closed circuit TV link from jail.
■ United Kingdom
Britain targets Syria
Britain plans to combine with France and Germany to put pressure on Syria over weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and Iraq, a London newspaper said yesterday. The report follows Libya's surprise agreement on Friday to dismantle its weapons arsenal and give up its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. The plan, according to The Guardian, is for a joint initiative by Britain, France and Germany and is modeled on a similar tripartite effort which persuaded Iran to accept nuclear inspections. The goal, the paper said, would be to persuade Syria, facing the threat of UN sanctions, to sign up to the chemical weapons convention.
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