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© St. Petersburg Times, published December 18, 2001
JERUSALEM -- Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Monday, as Palestinian militant groups Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine defied a call by Yasser Arafat to halt suicide bombings and armed attacks and vowed to continue fighting Israel.
In the West Bank, a Palestinian police officer was killed and a second was wounded in the city of Nablus by machine-gun fire from an Israeli tank. The army said an armored force patrolling inside Palestinian-controlled territory opened fire when two armed men in civilian clothes were seen approaching an army post.
In Hebron, soldiers killed a member of Hamas as he tried to escape arrest. In the Khan Younis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Palestinians reported that Israeli gunfire had killed a boy, 12.
Later, Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Israelis in a car near the West Bank town of Ramallah, critically wounding one. Two Israelis were hurt in another West Bank shooting ambush.
TEHRAN, Iran -- A reformer close to President Mohammad Khatami was sentenced to six months in jail for "spreading lies" against the conservative Guardian Council, it was announced on Monday.
The verdict against the official, Cabinet Secretary Abdullah Ramezanzadeh, was widely seen as the continuation of repression against allies of Khatami in order to frustrate his reform movement.
The decision coincided with other crackdowns on reformist politicians, who were mostly accused of vague charges of libel and slander against bodies controlled by hard-liners close to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
BRUSSELS -- As many as 100 news media staff were killed around the world in 2001, the highest toll in six years, the International Federation of Journalists said Monday.
The largest number of deaths -- four journalists and eight other media workers -- was in the United States, mainly as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks. Eight journalists were killed covering the war in Afghanistan, including four reporters taken from a convoy and shot.
"The roll call of media casualties provides a tragic reminder of the price we pay for press freedom and democracy," said Aidan White, general secretary of the organization, which represents journalists in 106 nations.
PORTUGUESE PRIME MINISTER RESIGNS: Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres resigned Monday, taking the blame for the poor showing of his Socialists in Sunday's local elections. President Jorge Sampaio was expected to consult with political leaders on whether to dissolve Parliament and call an early general election.
SUHARTO HOSPITALIZED: Indonesia's ex-dictator Suharto was rushed to a hospital Monday evening with pneumonia. His condition worsened after three days of respiratory distress, his doctor said.