The Palestinians will only participate in the US-sponsored peace conference expected to be held next month if general agreement is first reached with Israel on all the fundamental issues, Palestinian Authority officials here said Monday.

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday, October 2, named Lt General Ashfaq Kiyani, Director General of the country’s powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), to be his successor as army chief.

The scene at the entrance to Ingushetia’s second-largest town Karabulak is menacing. The traffic checkpoint has been reinforced and is now manned by federal troops in armoured vehicles.