WORLD

Dismissing Yasser Arafat as no longer relevant, Israeli leaders retaliated for the latest Palestinian attacks by confining him to his West Bank headquarters, which were rocketed, although he was unhurt. Israeli tanks and troops also rolled back into Palestinian towns. The moves followed two suicide bombings and the ambush of a bus Wednesday that killed at least 10 Israelis and hurt about 30 others. The US and European Union said they planned to continue dealing with Arafat. Arab leaders were calling for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to address the developments. (Story, page 4.)

All five assailants and at least seven security police died in a suicide attack on India's Parliament house in New Delhi. No political leaders were hurt. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident, but suspicion fell on Islamic militants fighting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir, where 38 people died two months ago in a similar raid on the state legislature. Above, police search the Parliament grounds for other attackers who might still be hiding.

Senior politicians in Russia - but not President Vladimir Putin - condemned the US decision to withdraw from the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty, using such terms as "worse than a crime." In an address to religious leaders, Putin did not mention the move, although an aide said the Kremlin would not allow bilateral relations to be derailed. A senior member of parliament, however, predicted Russia would retaliate by pulling out of the START I and START II arms-reduction treaties. (Story, page 6; editorial, page 10.)

New snow was making the plight of holdout Osama bin Laden loyalists even more desperate as their mountain hiding places in eastern Afghanistan came under relentless attack from US warplanes and tribal fighters after a final surrender deadline was ignored. Meanwhile, in his first visit to Kabul, the capital, since being named Afghanistan's new interim administrator, Hamid Karzai was meeting with ousted President Burhanuddin Rabbani, who pledged his backing for the transfer of power. (Story, page 1; related opinion, page 11.)

Police braced for possible violence as tens of thousands of labor and antiglobalization activists gathered in Brussels to protest at a two-day conference of European Union leaders. The protesters planned to demand increased participation for unions in shaping EU policy and more and better-quality jobs.