The German government on Wednesday committed forces for another year to the US-led anti-terrorism Operation Enduring Freedom, a mission under which German ships patrol off the Horn of Africa. Outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Cabinet approved extending the country's participation until Nov. 15 next year, a government statement said. Parliament must approve the extension in a session to be held Nov. 8, a week before the current mandate expires. Both of Germany's biggest parties support the mission, launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, meaning the extension should pass easily.
■ UNITED KINGDOM
Stamp branded `insensitive'
Britain's state-owned Royal Mail apologized on Wednesday after Hindus complained about a new Christmas stamp which depicts the image of a Hindu couple with a Christ-like baby. "The Royal Mail has apologized if people feel we have been insensitive," said company spokesman Patrick O'Neill. "It was not intentional. We wanted to look at the theme of the mother and child for this Christmas and how that theme is represented in international art." The image for the stamp, which has a face value of ?0.68 (US$1.20) -- the amount needed to send letters to the Indian sub-continent -- was sourced from a painting that hangs in a museum in Mumbai, India.
■ UNITED KINGDOM
Nuclear attack possible
A chemical and biological terrorist attack was in prospect and a nuclear attack could not be ruled out in Britain, a former head of British intelligence said in remarks published yesterday. Sir Richard Dearlove, who retired last year as head of the Secret Intelligence Service, said the July 7 bombings that killed 52 London commuters did not amount to a "strategic terrorist event," the Daily Telegraph reported. Dearlove, who was taking part in a debate on terrorism arranged by the London law firm Ashurst, said the July attacks on three subway trains and a bus "bore the characteristic of a locally planned and carried-out event."
■ UNITED STATES
Man admits to mass murders
A man convicted of raping and murdering an Alabama woman has confessed to at least 12 more slayings in four other states, and may be linked to four more killings, authorities said on Wednesday. Alabama Attorney General Troy King branded Jeremy Bryan Jones "a monster who would kill without remorse." Jones, 32, of Oklahoma, faces a possible death sentence Dec. 1 for the killing of Lisa Marie Nichols, 44, in Alabama. During his trial last month, Jones maintained his innocence in the presence of his mother and girlfriend, but privately gave detectives details of the crimes, including victims' names and the locations of the killings, sheriff's Detective Paul Burch said.
■ ITALY
Forgeries made case for war
An aide to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and an intelligence director were to appear before a parliamentary commission yesterday to respond to allegations that Italy knowingly gave the US and Britain forged documents suggesting former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was seeking uranium in Africa. Cabinet Undersecretary Gianni Letta and Nicolo Pollari, the director of Italy's SISMI intelligence agency, will be questioned by members of a parliamentary commission overseeing secret services, said Micaela Panella, a spokeswoman for the commission.
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