■ United kingdom
Gulf disease recognized
Gulf War syndrome was officially recognized on Monday as a distinct set of symptoms suffered by British army veterans sent to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in 1991. Yesterday's ruling will place renewed pressure on the Ministry of Defense to respond more positively to claims by Gulf war veterans. The case was brought by Daniel Martin, an army medic in the 1991 Gulf War. Veterans have been trying for years to persuade the ministry to acknowledge the existence of a collection of symptoms attributable to cocktails of vaccinations and inoculations against chemical and biological attacks.
■ Turkey
EU sets entry tasks
Turkey will have two years to eliminate torture, establish freedom of religion and assert civilian control over the military if it wants to become a EU member in ten years, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The British newspaper said it had seen a draft in which the European Commission will this month give Turkey a checklist of a nearly 150 short-term tasks for becoming an EU member. The draft fills in the gaps left by last month's decision to begin membership talks with Ankara, it said. European leaders clinched an historic deal on Oct. 4 enabling Turkey to plan for membership.
■ Kuwait
Soldier faces murder charge
A US Army sergeant charged with murdering two colleagues in Iraq faced a formal investigation on Monday. Staff Sergeant Alberto Martinez faces a possible death sentence if convicted of the premeditated murder of commander Captain Phillip Esposito and Lieutenant Louis Allen in a blast in Iraq in June. The murder took place in Tikrit. During Monday's pre-trial probe, nine witnesses were questioned in front of an investigating officer. Senior Master Sergeant Kevin Fitzgerald, an ordnance expert said he saw the remains of a mine in Esposito's room along with the spoon of three grenades.
■ Poland
Intelligence bosses fired
The heads of intelligence services will be fired soon in an overhaul of the agencies, Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz said on Monday. Marcinkiewicz's Law and Justice party won last month's general elections largely on a promise to revamp law enforcement and security agencies, which they say remain influenced by people from the old communist regime. Hours after being sworn in, Marcinkiewicz said the government would dissolve the military intelligence agency (WSI). "The WSI will be eliminated, and replaced by other structures to guarantee Poland's security," Marcinkiewicz said.
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