In Brief

*TERRORISM – US officials decided not to raise the terrorism alert level in response to Osama bin Laden’s threats against the United States in the final hours of the presidential campaign, after President George W. Bush held urgent talks with top national security aides.

*NUCLEAR – Iran is to ask European countries for a timetable as well as concrete commitments over future cooperation in nuclear energy if it is to agree to a permanent halt to uranium enrichment, a foreign ministry spokesman said. *ELECTION – Ukrainians were voting in a knife-edge presidential election fraught with East-West rivalries and judged as a “moment of truth” for the future of democracy in the former Soviet republic.*UNITY – Former Palestinian premier Mahmud Abbas urged Palestinian forces to unite, pledging loyalty to Yasser Arafat, as he moved to the political centre stage with the strongman sick in hospital.*UNREST – Thailand’s human rights commission wrapped up a fact-finding trip into the custody deaths of 78 Muslims last week as more testimony emerged about the detainees’ suffocating journey into detention.*DEFIANT – A defiant Anwar Ibrahim pledged to fight on for reform in Malaysia as he returned to a hero’s welcome after spinal surgery in Germany.*APPEALED- Relatives of Sri Lankan truck driver Dinesh Dharmendran Rajaratnam appealed to his captors in Iraq to free him, saying he had been forced to work there by his Kuwaiti employer.*SACKED – Pitcairn Island mayor Steve Christian has been sacked after being sentenced to three years’ jail for sex abuse crimes.*PROBE – India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party was reeling after a top policeman claimed party leaders fanned the flames during rioting in Gujarat state two years ago which left 2 000 people dead.*REFORM – China will push for a rapid reform of its aviation industry to meet the demands of its fast-growing economy and to boost competitiveness, a senior official said.- Nampa-AFP*ELECTION – Ukrainians were voting in a knife-edge presidential election fraught with East-West rivalries and judged as a “moment of truth” for the future of democracy in the former Soviet republic.*UNITY – Former Palestinian premier Mahmud Abbas urged Palestinian forces to unite, pledging loyalty to Yasser Arafat, as he moved to the political centre stage with the strongman sick in hospital.*UNREST – Thailand’s human rights commission wrapped up a fact-finding trip into the custody deaths of 78 Muslims last week as more testimony emerged about the detainees’ suffocating journey into detention.*DEFIANT – A defiant Anwar Ibrahim pledged to fight on for reform in Malaysia as he returned to a hero’s welcome after spinal surgery in Germany. *APPEALED- Relatives of Sri Lankan truck driver Dinesh Dharmendran Rajaratnam appealed to his captors in Iraq to free him, saying he had been forced to work there by his Kuwaiti employer.*SACKED – Pitcairn Island mayor Steve Christian has been sacked after being sentenced to three years’ jail for sex abuse crimes.*PROBE – India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party was reeling after a top policeman claimed party leaders fanned the flames during rioting in Gujarat state two years ago which left 2 000 people dead.*REFORM – China will push for a rapid reform of its aviation industry to meet the demands of its fast-growing economy and to boost competitiveness, a senior official said.- Nampa-AFP