The Pakistani Taliban denied any role in the botched car bombing in Times Square but praised the suspect for a “brave job”, as New York authorities pressed him on his claims of terrorist training.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched a scathing attack on Pakistan for failing to hunt down al Qaida inside its borders, saying the government knew where the terror leaders were hiding.

African leaders are sticking with their demand for two veto-wielding permanent seats on the UN Security Council, rejecting a compromise some had hoped would ensure the success of proposed UN reforms.

China is objecting to a US and British demand for a Security Council briefing on a United Nations report condemning Zimbabwe’s slum clearance.

The UN Security Council approved a resolution to prosecute Sudanese war crimes suspects before the International Criminal Court, moving quickly after the US reversed a long-standing policy and agreed not to veto the document.

A United Nations-appointed team led by Deputy Garda Commissioner Peter Fitzgerald will arrive in Beirut in the next two days to investigate the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

The US has said that it will conduct “a full investigation” along with the Iraqi government of the reported disappearance from Iraq’s nuclear facilities of high-precision equipment that could be used to make nuclear weapons.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has strongly condemned terrorist attacks in Israel and Russia and the gruesome murder of 12 Nepalese civilians in Iraq. The UN Security Council condemned the Israeli suicide bombings and “all other acts of terrorism”.