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INTERNATIONAL
European Union (EU)
Jan. 13-The European Commission says that it is bringing EU finance ministers before the European Court of Justice because they allowed France and Germany to violate the union's stability pact. The pact sets ceilings on euro-area countries' budget deficits. Last November, governments overruled a commission recommendation to take disciplinary action against the 2 countries, whose deficits exceed the EU limit of 3% of GDP.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Jan. 11-Israeli authorities begin walling off Jerusalem from the Arab village of Abu Dis, joined to the city for generations. Israel, which is building a security barrier through much of the West Bank, had not previously built the barrier in so populated an area or so close to Jerusalem's center and holy sites.
Jan. 14-A young Palestinian mother blows herself up at the entrance to a security checkpoint in the Gaza Strip, killing 4 Israeli security personnel and wounding 7 people. The militant group Hamas, which claims responsibility, had not conducted a suicide bombing in 4 months, security officials say.
Jan. 21-A Tel Aviv court charges a real estate developer with paying bribes to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's family business and his son in a complex scheme that could lead to criminal charges against the prime minister. Labor party leaders call on Sharon to resign. He denies any wrongdoing.
Jan. 29-A suicide bomber blows up a Jerusalem bus less than a block from Sharon's residence, killing 10 Israelis and the Palestinian attacker. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a West Bank militia, claims responsibility. Despite the attack, Israel frees more than 400 prisoners in an exchange with the Lebanese Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Jan. 27-NATO's top commander in Europe says member states are not providing enough troops for reconstruction in Afghanistan, which he calls a "defining moment" for the alliance as it adopts a broader agenda in the world. Gen. James Jones of the US Marine Corps says NATO's plans to expand beyond the capital, Kabul, and the northern area of Kunduz require more troops than the current NATO deployment of 5,500.
United Nations (UN)
Jan. 27-In response to a request by US and Iraqi officials, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan says he will send a team to Iraq to assess whether...