At the 15th NATO and Partnership for Peace conference attended by 250 members in Vienna this past June, Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre addressed the issue of cyberattack against the infrastructure of the United States. All it would take to disrupt the nation's power grids and other critical systems are a home computer, a telephone line, digital dexterity, and a double dose of moxie. Declaring "there are no borders in cyberspace" he said it is imperative "that we prepare now to protect these systems."

Last year the Department of Defense (DOD) conducted Eligible Receiver, an exercise to determine US vulnerability to computer attacks. He described how 35 individuals were selected to participate. They were given funds to buy computers from local stores, only allowed to use off-the-shelf software or software they could download from the internet. They had three months to see if they could disrupt the infrastructure of the United States. Hamre said, "We didn't let them take down the power system of the U.S., but they could have done it." Now a small handful of computer specialists can wage war against the largest country in the world.

A presidential mandate was issued that calls for a plan to implement information assurance measures. This includes creating agencies to coordinate with private companies, setting up a new national infrastructure protection center, and designates a coordinator for infrastructure protection on the National Security Council. A national warning and analysis center is being set up, and funding has been increased fivefold.

Thursday morning people in Alaska scurried into the streets during a strong, rolling earthquake. Measuring at a preliminary 6.4 magnitude, the quake was felt in Anchorage, Kodiak, and Fairbanks, shaking an area about 225 miles by 500 miles. Triggering house alarms and knocking items off shelves, the quake lasted about 45 seconds in Anchorage. The first reaction of one 30-year resident was to wonder where the tsunami was. However, the Tsunami Warning Center reported that there was no danger of a giant wave. In Iliamna, one of the villages closest to the epicenter, they felt nothing.

David Clark is the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in Britain, who has been charged with "bringing government kicking and screaming into the electronic age." Today he unveiled a prototype of the electronic "red box" which traditionally is a leather-bound, lead-lined wooden case in which ministers carried home their paperwork. When Clark took the job 15 months ago, he was astonished that different departments could not even communicate with each other by email.

The first Virtual Red Box was unveiled in January. It used voice recognition technology and an electronic chip in a signet ring to verify identity. The latest model uses a smart card and PIN number. Research is underway for a finger print reader. He added that his office had already been contacted by governments all over the world seeking details about this system.

A building that may be the oldest in the world designed for use as a church has been unearthed in the Red Sea resort of Aquaba, in Jordan. The mud-brick structure was discovered last month in downtown Aqaba. Very likely it was built in the late third century, but more study is necessary to be certain. Older churches have been found on the Euphrates River in eastern Syria and along the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel, but they were first used as homes before being converted into churches. The building has the architectural characteristics of Roman and Byzantine churches that sprang up in Jerusalem and other parts of the Middle East in the 3rd and 4th centuries. It is 28 yards long, 16 yards wide, with its walls, ceiling, and five-aisle basilica still intact. On the floor of one tiny room, 100 coins dating from AD 280 to AD 360 were found. It is believed the building was buried by desert sand during a well-documented earthquake in 363.

Scientists found fresh genetic evidence that Jews who consider themselves part of a priestly class known as Cohanim really are part of an unbroken line extending back thousands of years. Cohanim are said to be descended from Aaron, Moses' brother. They were originally responsible for offering sacrifices and serving as mentors and arbitors. In some congregations they are still given special duties and privileges, such as the honor of reading first from the Torah during a service or presiding over some traditional ceremonies. They aren't allowed to marry widows, divorcees, or converts, and stay away from dead bodies, not attending funerals except for those of immediate family. Jewish belief is that the Temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and that Cohanim will serve again as priests there. For that reason they try to remain spiritually pure. Many Cohanim have surnames of Cohen, Kahn, Kane or similar, but not all men with such surnames are Cohanim. The research evidence is reported in the journal Nature. The scientists looked for variations in the Y chromosomes from 306 Jewish men, including 106 self-identified Cohanim, from three countries. Most Cohanim had the same version of the Y chromosome or close variants. This shows reasonable adherence to the policy of father-son inheritance, which they concluded has gone on longer than 700 years and maybe as long as 3,000 years, which the tradition maintains. The same tests were applied to Levite heritage, but the study could not confirm the same because of too much variety in their Y chromosome variants. That could mean that non-Levite Jews called themselves Levites in the past, or the original Levites could have had a lot of variety in their genes.

Volkswagen has agreed to settle claims for back wages with individuals who were forced into slave labor at their factories during World War II. The lawyer, also representing former slave laborers from other German firms, expected the decision by VW to make it difficult for other companies to continue refusing to honor these claims. The German government has compensated Nazi slave laborers for health damage and imprisonment, but has refused to honor wage claims. Technically, according to the government, they were working for private companies. The attorney, Klaus Von Muenchhausen, had threatened to sue VW unless a settlement was reached by July 31.

Border Patrol agents with infrared nightscopes spotted 33 illegal immigrants at the entrance of a 400-foot long tunnel that runs underneath the U.S.-Mexico border. The passage under the frontier from Tijuana was discovered in 1993 by the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was believed to have been first used by narcotics traffickers. The DEA said that once the smugglers had been dealt with, the tunnel wasn't their problem anymore. However, the Border Patrol thought the DEA had sealed up the entrance with steel and concrete. The night they detained the illegal immigrants was the night they discovered the tunnel was open. A Border Patrol officer estimated that hundreds of people may have used the tunnel in tthe past two weeks to illegally enter the U.S.

Lawmaker and retired general Lev Rokhlin was found dead at his country home Friday at the age of 51. His wife accepted blame for the murder, saying she had killed her husband with his own gun "on grounds of personal hostility." Many Russians, including members of parliament, refuse to believe this, and state prosecutors on Tuesday said they had not ruled out other possibilities. Rokhlin was a fierce critic of President Yeltsin's military reforms.

Rokhlin commanded the troops that stormed Grozny, capital of breakaway Chechnya, during Moscow's bloody and ill-fated attempt to subdue the region. Later elected to parliament, he set up a movement "In Support of the Army and Military Industry" and urged servicemen to disobey the Kremlin's orders. He claimed the planned reforms would destroy Russia's once mighty but now underfunded and demoralised armed forces.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky said a "hidden civil war" was being waged in the country, saying Rokhlin had been killed because he knew too much. The deputy speaker of the opposition-dominated State Duma lower chamber (where Rokhlin had sat) said he thought foreign security forces may have been involved in the murder. The children said they had received a phone call from their mother who was at the country house saying that she was under pressure to take responsibility for the murder. Officials have dismissed the relatives' allegations and instead speculated that Rokhlin and his wife both had drinking problems, which might account for the tragedy.

The government of Belarus has now asked foreign envoys to remove the furnishings from their residences or have them confiscated. They must notify the authorities of their decision of which they will do by 11 am or the government will enter the residences, remove the furnishings and take control of the buildings. After earlier bullying all countries involved recalled their ambassadors. Now seizing their belongings is simply in contradiction with the Vienna Convention, which spells out the rights and duties of diplomatic missions and the countries that serve as hosts to them. One diplomat expressed doubt that these actions were merely to facilitate the upgrading of utility and sewer lines. He said the government apparently has some other purpose in mind, but did not care to speculate on what.

The oldest son of the former commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard fled his country with $1,000 and ended up seeking political asylum in the United States. He says he wants to spread the word that the Iranian government is an oppressive regime that assassinates opponents and sponsors terrorism. He claims they are giving arms or money to Hamas or the Palestinians to fight Israel, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, and Algeria. Speaking of Iran's moderate president Mohammad Khatami, who has tried to improve relations with the U.S. since taking office last year, the young man said the power is "not in the hands of Khatami. It's under the supervision of Khamenei," the country's supreme leader.

When he first showed up at the embassy, the sophomore with a slight build had trouble convincing authorities that he was who he said he was. Three officials brought in from Washington verified his identity. Asked about Islamic news reports that he had been kidnapped, he laughed and said he left and applied for asylum of his own free will. After graduating high school, he claimed to have worked in the Revolutionary Guard, as a special inspector acting as his father's eyes and ears to root out wrongdoing at several cities and military bases. At home he became privy to mail and telephone calls that helped him assemble a picture of what was happening in his country. He hopes to convey that a lot of terrorist activities that take place are done by the government, and that the people do not know anything about the truth. When he reached the United States, he stayed a month with a friend in New Jersey, before heading to Los Angeles "because this is the capital of the Iranian community in the United States."