In Brief

* FUNERAL – Saudis and foreign dignitaries were to pay their respects to King Fahd in a funeral which is the final act in a 23-year reign that saw him steer the kingdom through the most turbulent decades in its history.

* NUCLEAR – Iran defiantly took the first steps towards a resumption of sensitive nuclear work which risks plunging talks with the European Union into crisis and exposing Tehran to UN Security Council action. * BYPASSED – US President George W.Bush appointed John Bolton ambassador to the United Nations, bypassing the Senate where his nomination stalled amid charges the blunt diplomat would hurt US credibility.* REGRETTED – Japan’s lower house of parliament adopted a resolution on the 60th anniversary of World War II stating Tokyo regrets the “suffering” it caused in Asia but avoiding the word “aggression” used in a similar statement in 1995.* MILITARY – Japanese defence planners said the rise in Chinese military spending raised questions about Beijing’s intentions and whether it was going beyond the needs of self-defence.* OBESITY – Demand for super-sized facilities for extremely obese patients led an Australian hospital to open a specialist ward for their heaviest visitors, a hospital spokesman said.* UNREST – Young Thai Muslims are being urged by extremists to sacrifice their lives for an independent Islamic state in Thailand’s restive south, the interior minister said.* ATTACKS – Australia backs the trial by a US military commission of one of its citizens on terror charges despite allegations that the process is rigged, Prime Minister John Howard said.- Nampa-AFP* BYPASSED – US President George W.Bush appointed John Bolton ambassador to the United Nations, bypassing the Senate where his nomination stalled amid charges the blunt diplomat would hurt US credibility. * REGRETTED – Japan’s lower house of parliament adopted a resolution on the 60th anniversary of World War II stating Tokyo regrets the “suffering” it caused in Asia but avoiding the word “aggression” used in a similar statement in 1995.* MILITARY – Japanese defence planners said the rise in Chinese military spending raised questions about Beijing’s intentions and whether it was going beyond the needs of self-defence.* OBESITY – Demand for super-sized facilities for extremely obese patients led an Australian hospital to open a specialist ward for their heaviest visitors, a hospital spokesman said.* UNREST – Young Thai Muslims are being urged by extremists to sacrifice their lives for an independent Islamic state in Thailand’s restive south, the interior minister said.* ATTACKS – Australia backs the trial by a US military commission of one of its citizens on terror charges despite allegations that the process is rigged, Prime Minister John Howard said.- Nampa-AFP