World Highlights

Two people were shot dead when a soldier opened fire into the crowd at an opposition gathering in the Ugandan capital Kampala yesterday, a week ahead of a presidential election, witnesses and police said. The shooting came within hours of a judge's ruling that the trial of opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who is facing treason charges his supporters say are politically motivated, would be adjourned until after the February 23 election.

Germany's top court yesterday threw out a law allowing the shooting down of hijacked planes to thwart any September 11-style attack and prevent mass casualties on the ground. The ruling sparked intense debate over the role of the military in defending the country against terrorism, exposing divisions inside the governing coalition of conservatives and Social Democrats (SPD).

Hamas made its first parliamentary appointments yesterday as Israel prepared to decide on its strategy towards the Palestinians after the Islamic militant group takes up the reins of power. Hamas named Mahmoud al-Zahar from Gaza, one of its most hardline leaders, as head of its majority faction in the legislature, which convenes on Saturday for its first session since the group won the January 25 election.

Thousands protested after charred and still smoldering ballots were found on a garbage dump in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, reinforcing the claims of fraud levelled by Rene Preval, a former president opposed by the same wealthy elite who helped drive Jean-Bertrand Aristide into exile two years ago.

President Jacques Chirac yesterday ordered back an asbestos-laden French warship bound for an Indian scrapyard, just days before a state visit to India overshadowed by an embarrassing legal wrangle over the vessel. Mr Chirac ordered the retired aircraft carrier Clemenceau back to France pending a final decision on how to dispose of the 27,000-tonne ship. He also demanded a fresh audit of the amount of deadly asbestos on board.

The US government was unprepared to react to the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Katrina and quicker involvement by President George W. Bush might have improved the response, according to a congressional report written by Republicans and released yesterday. The report by the US House of Representative's panel investigation the storm is critical of the response by governments at all levels calling the botched effort "a failure of initiative".