By JAMES PALMER
Cash, diamonds and the drop
A US counter-intelligence officer has been accused of spying for Russia and betraying fellow agents during the 1980s, The Independent reports.
Robert Philip Hanssen appeared in a Washington court yesterday. He allegedly made a "dead-letter drop" of classified documents near his home for $1 million in cash and diamonds, the paper says, adding that if he was
convicted, he may face the death penalty.
The Times says Hanssen was "a neighbour above suspicion", publishing extracts from a letter allegedly exchanged between him and his Russian spymasters.
On its front page, the paper says he was inspired at the age of 14 by a book by Kim Philby, the British spy who fled to Russia.
"Recent changes in US law now attach the death penalty to my help to you as the KGB?" reads one letter. He misquoted poetry in another.
The Guardian says FBI agents were sent to their death because of Hanssen's actions, adding that the cloak and dagger era lives on despite the demise of the Cold War.
Moscow has shown no inclination to rein in its spies, the paper says.
Hanssen was faceless even to the Russians, The Washington Post says, they called him Ramon, or simply "B".
Refining sanctions
The British government has confirmed it will take more account of the suffering of the Iraqi people and refine its sanctions, The Independent reports on its front page.
The news comes after the paper reported yesterday that ministers were set to ease sanctions the day before US and British planes bombed radars south of Baghdad.
The International Herald Tribune says the US and Britain are pondering how to focus more tightly on thwarting Saddam Hussein's efforts to build
weapons of mass destruction while softening humanitarian consequences.
The airstrikes have received widespread condemnation, the paper says, with French foreign minister Hubert Vedrine saying they have no legal basis.
The Telegraph says sharpening sanctions will be on the agenda of talks between Blair and Bush when they meet at Camp David this week.
Rail Rage
Angry commuters in South Africa set Pretoria railway station on fire yesterday, The Independent reports.
Commuters regularly become violent over delays in South Africa, but usually resort to smashing windows.
This time they caused £4.4 million worth of damage.
Barak backs out
Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak will not take up Ariel Sharon's offer of a place in a coalition cabinet as defence minister, The Independent reports.
He will resign from parliament the paper says.
Barak complained in a letter that Sharon had started treating his defeated Labour party like a soldier who must follow orders, reveals the paper, amid growing allegations that Israel is pursuing an illegal assassination policy against the Palestinians.
The Guardian says Barak's decision is yet another of his famous u-turns, adding that his departure might delay or shelve entirely Sharon's plans for
a unity government.
Russian Star Wars
Russia has presented plans to Nato for an alternative missile defence system for Europe to counter George W Bush's plans for an NMD, The Independent reports.
The plans are much less sophisticated than those of
Washington, the paper says. The system would be developed with the US, The Financial Times says, but does not differ much from previous suggestions
from Russia.
It centres more on political solutions rather than building new hardware, the paper says.
The Herald Tribune says the Russian offer is a bid to "woo" Western allies already skeptical about US plans, describing it as a limited theatre-based
centre intended to address the threat of "rogue" sates often cited by Washington.
Hostage talks
Negotiations to secure the freedom of a Briton and two Danes held hostage by suspected tribal gunmen in Bangladesh start today, The Independent reports.
Dramatic notes have been written to the hostages to relatives, one of which is reproduced in today's Independent.
"We are all doing fine and taken well care of," reads one note.
Beijingers take up the broom
A million Beijingers took to the streets of the Chinese capital to clean up for the International Olympic Committee at the weekend, The Independent
reports.
The Communist Party has invested serious political capital in its bid to host the 2008 Olympics, the paper says.
The pictures tell the story:
*The Independent shows a man carrying his crippled daughter on a bike trailer being ushered out of public view.
*The Telegraph shows a woman spray painting a brown lawn green, and a policeman impounding bicycles, which are seen as the cause of traffic congestion.
Sub's lookout was distracted
One crew member of the USS Greeneville, who was tracking nearby ships before the Navy sub's collision with a Japanese fishing vessel, told investigators that he was distracted from his job by civilians on board,
The Washington Post reports.
Mugabe attacks British press
Zimbabwe's president Mugabe yesterday said he would not tolerate "dirty, interfering hands" in his internal affairs, blaming the British media for smearing his country with false reports of violence, The Telegraph reports.
The Times says a British military team will remain in the country to train up the armed forces, despite the diplomatic tension.
The High Commission in Zimbabwe have dismissed reports that the team will be advising on counter-insurgency training.
They are being kept there to stop Chinese or North Korean forces moving in and working with the Zimbabweans in their place, the paper says.
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