President Bush and his top advisers were informed by the CIA early last August that terrorists associated with Osama bin Laden had discussed the possibility of hijacking airplanes. Until now, the Bush administration has insisted the attacks of September 11 could not have been foreseen by U.S. intelligence.

The London Guardian is reporting President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to set up a joint committee designed to head off Russian opposition to Bush’s Star Wars plan. The agreement is also expected to undermine resistance to national missile defense in western Europe. The initiative will be unveiled when Bush visits Putin in Russia next week.

The murdered Dutch far-right, anti-immigrant politician Pim Fortuyn reached from the grave last night to capture second place for his party in the country’s general election. The ruling Labour Party suffered a humiliating meltdown.

The U.S. government has quietly released to Congress a report refuting the Israeli claim that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is directly implicated in the funding and planning of attacks against Israeli civilians.

Colombian government troops and right-wing paramilitaries are fighting with rebels northwest of Bogotá. Over 30 have been killed. Meanwhile, a U.N. fact-finding team is charging the Colombian government failed to heed danger signs ahead of a rebel attack which killed over 100 civilians in Bojayá earlier this month.

Forty members of Congress called yesterday for unrestricted U.S. travel and increased trade with Cuba. The appeal came one day after former President Jimmy Carter delivered a speech in Havana urging the lifting of the economic embargo. The Bush administration quickly announced that it intends to intensify the embargo by tightening enforcement of financial and travel restrictions to Cuba.