In Brief

*TRIAL – The two lawyers imposed on former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic have asked to be removed from his war crimes trial, sources close to the case told AFP.

*UNREST – Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra told parliament an inquiry team would investigate the deaths of 78 Muslims crushed on trucks after the break up of a demonstration this week. *COMMISSION – The European Union’s new commission appeared headed for defeat in a make-or-break parliamentary vote with a majority of EU lawmakers vowing to veto the executive arm.*CRASH – The US National Transportation Safety Board officially blamed pilot error for the crash of an American Airlines Airbus A300 in New York in 2001 that left 265 people dead.*DEBATE – A national debate raged in Pakistan after President Pervez Musharraf outlined a range of bold new options for divided Kashmir that include independence, joint control with India and demilitarisation.*INQUIRY – Thailand’s premier announced an inquiry into the death of 78 Muslim protesters who were rounded up by troops and crammed into trucks, amid a storm of protest locally and overseas.*GRAFT – President Gloria Arroyo dismissed rumours of an impending military coup as a corruption investigation into the troubled Philippine armed forces widened.*MISSILE – India successfully tested a naval version of its Prithvi-III nuclear-capable medium range ballistic missile, defence sources said *ATTACKS – Australia’s newly re-elected government conceded for the first time that its decision to take part in the Iraq conflict may have increased the terrorist threat to its national interests.- Nampa-AFP*COMMISSION – The European Union’s new commission appeared headed for defeat in a make-or-break parliamentary vote with a majority of EU lawmakers vowing to veto the executive arm. *CRASH – The US National Transportation Safety Board officially blamed pilot error for the crash of an American Airlines Airbus A300 in New York in 2001 that left 265 people dead.*DEBATE – A national debate raged in Pakistan after President Pervez Musharraf outlined a range of bold new options for divided Kashmir that include independence, joint control with India and demilitarisation.*INQUIRY – Thailand’s premier announced an inquiry into the death of 78 Muslim protesters who were rounded up by troops and crammed into trucks, amid a storm of protest locally and overseas.*GRAFT – President Gloria Arroyo dismissed rumours of an impending military coup as a corruption investigation into the troubled Philippine armed forces widened.*MISSILE – India successfully tested a naval version of its Prithvi-III nuclear-capable medium range ballistic missile, defence sources said *ATTACKS – Australia’s newly re-elected government conceded for the first time that its decision to take part in the Iraq conflict may have increased the terrorist threat to its national interests.- Nampa-AFP