Kuwait: 2 Marine corporals injured in accidents

Two U.S. Marines were injured in separate accidents in Kuwait, where thousands of American troops are deploying, military officials said Sunday.

A Marine corporal suffered head injuries Saturday when he fell off a trailer while securing cargo at Kuwait’s Ahmed Al Jaber air base and was being treated at a Kuwaiti military hospital, said a U.S. military spokesman.

The corporal was expected to be transferred — possibly to a U.S. military hospital overseas — once his condition stabilized.

Another Marine corporal received head injuries in a vehicle accident Saturday near a Kuwaiti naval base and was flown to Landstuhl, Germany.

London: Blair aide opposes unsanctioned attack

Britain should not join a military attack on Iraq without United Nations authorization, a government minister said Sunday as polls showed similar opposition from many members of Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Labor Party.

International Development Secretary Clare Short said it was Britain’s duty “to try to hold the world together by sticking with the U.N. route.”

Asked if that meant Britain should not go along with any unilateral military action by the United States, Short responded, “That is the logic of the position.”

Blair, the staunchest supporter of President Bush’s tough stance on Iraq, and his senior ministers have said they would prefer a new U.N. Security Council vote before any military action but have not ruled out joining a U.S.-led war without one.

Lebanon: U.S. inquiries lead guerrilla leader to flee

A Palestinian guerrilla leader who masterminded the 1985 hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro in which an American passenger was killed said Sunday he was forced to cut short a working trip last week to Cairo because the United States was looking for him.

The Iraqi-backed Palestine Liberation Front said last week that its leader Mohammed Abbas was formally invited to Cairo for talks among various Palestinian groups that were sponsored by Egyptian authorities and aimed at forging a united Palestinian stance in negotiations with Israel.

“We were unable to hold the talks in the desired manner because of the developments surrounding my presence in Cairo, which were the reason for cutting short the visit and leaving Cairo before achieving what was on the schedule,” Abbas said.

Russia: Four soldiers killed in land-mine accident

Four Russian servicemen were killed in clashes, while four soldiers died when their vehicles struck land mines in the breakaway republic of Chechnya, an official said Sunday.

Also, federal forces killed six rebels during sweeps in Chechnya, the Interfax news agency said Sunday.

Two soldiers were killed Saturday and four others were wounded when rebels staged 10 attacks on Russian positions and outposts, the official in the Kremlin-backed Chechen administration said.

Argentina: Onetime dictator dies

Former Argentine military dictator Leopoldo F. Galtieri, who in 1982 led Argentina into the Falkland Islands war against Britain, died Sunday. He was 76.

Galtieri, who was suffering from pancreatic cancer, was admitted Saturday to the Central Military Hospital in Buenos Aires when his condition deteriorated, the hospital said.

The general was the third of four presidents under the military regime that ruled Argentina from 1976 until 1983. He was appointed in November 1981 and forced to resign by the Armed Forces in June 1982, shortly after the Argentine troops surrendered in the Falklands.