In Brief

*SACKED – The family of toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, awaiting trial on charges of crimes against humanity, said it has sacked the Jordanian head of his defence team amid bickering over the handling of the case.

Other members of Saddam’s Amman-based defence team confirmed Rashdan had been suspended, accusing him of acting alone and seeking to be the sole lawyer for the former Iraqi dictator. *UNREST – A Buddhist deputy village chief was beheaded in Thailand’s restive south in what was claimed as a revenge killing for the deaths of 78 Muslims who died in detention last week, police said.*CLASHED – Nigerian unions clashed in court with the oil giant Shell as the labour movement flexed its muscles ahead of a nationwide general strike, which its leaders have warned will disrupt key oil exports.*OPTIMISM – Palestinian officials voiced optimism about Yasser Arafat’s condition, saying the ailing Palestinian Authority president had shown improvement at the start of a crucial week for his political future.*RESHUFFLE – The United Arab Emirates named a new energy minister and its first ever woman minister, also creating a ministry for the presidency, its first cabinet reshuffle in seven years.*PROTESTS – Officials have vowed to “severely punish” organisers of a mass protest in southwest China amid a simmering conflict over farmland requisition for a hydroelectric project, residents said.*CRISTICISM – President George W.Bush was the target of scathing criticism from Asian newspapers, which accused him of pursuing a reckless and divisive foreign policy but doubted much would change even if John Kerry ousted him in the presidential election.- Nampa-AFP*UNREST – A Buddhist deputy village chief was beheaded in Thailand’s restive south in what was claimed as a revenge killing for the deaths of 78 Muslims who died in detention last week, police said.*CLASHED – Nigerian unions clashed in court with the oil giant Shell as the labour movement flexed its muscles ahead of a nationwide general strike, which its leaders have warned will disrupt key oil exports.*OPTIMISM – Palestinian officials voiced optimism about Yasser Arafat’s condition, saying the ailing Palestinian Authority president had shown improvement at the start of a crucial week for his political future.*RESHUFFLE – The United Arab Emirates named a new energy minister and its first ever woman minister, also creating a ministry for the presidency, its first cabinet reshuffle in seven years.*PROTESTS – Officials have vowed to “severely punish” organisers of a mass protest in southwest China amid a simmering conflict over farmland requisition for a hydroelectric project, residents said.*CRISTICISM – President George W.Bush was the target of scathing criticism from Asian newspapers, which accused him of pursuing a reckless and divisive foreign policy but doubted much would change even if John Kerry ousted him in the presidential election.- Nampa-AFP