US President George W Bush has delivered a strong warning to Congress not to limit the powers of the head of a new Department of Homeland Security, clearly indicating he will veto a measure now before the Senate.

The warning came a day after the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee approved a bill that would deny Mr Bush the power to limit labour rights for the department's 170,000-strong workforce.

''A time of war is the wrong time to weaken the president's ability to protect the American people," Mr Bush said.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2153822.stm


President Mubarak of Egypt has issued a stern warning to the United States against launching an attack on Iraq.
Speaking in Madrid after a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, he said Washington should consider the consequences of such an attack, which could lead to many innocent victims.

Washington accuses Baghdad of trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction and has made it clear that it wants to see a change of regime in the country.

Meanwhile a group of US senators has said it will push for a new regime in Iran, which the senators said presents an equal or greater threat than Iraq in the war on terrorism.

"In the global war on the cancer of terrorism, our next strategic surgical focus needs to be Iran," said Senator Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican.

"There has been an enormous amount of attention and emphasis lately on Iraq, which I think is appropriate. But there has been very little discussion of the equally pernicious and dangerous nature of the Iranian regime," said Lantos, a senior Democrat.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2154564.stm