Witness outlines militants’ plans

Amman, Jordan Islamic militants planned to detonate an explosion that would have sent a cloud of toxic chemicals across Jordan, causing death, blindness and sickness, a chemical expert testified in a military court Wednesday.

Col. Najeh al-Azam was giving evidence in the trial of 13 men alleged to have planned what would have been the world’s first chemical attack by al Qaeda.

The accused include al Qaeda’s leader in Iraq, Abu-Musab Al-Zarqawi, and three other fugitives tried in absentia.

Jordanian security agents foiled the plot in April last year. They say had it been carried out, thousands would have died.

U.N. official resigns amid allegations

United Nations A senior U.N. purchasing official under investigation in the oil-for-food probe resigned after allegations he helped his son get a job with a company that did business with the United Nations, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Alexander Yakovlev’s office was sealed at the request of the Independent Inquiry Committee, which is probing claims of fraud in the oil-for-food program.

Yakovlev, 52, worked in the procurement department, which oversees awarding of U.N. contracts. He was accused of helping his son get a job with a New York-based firm describing itself as a supplier of “branded product and services providing a diverse range of high-quality capital equipment.”