THE WEEK THAT WAS

By Monitor THE new Kadima party, founded by Ariel Sharon, won the Israeli election but less decisvely than had been expected. Likud, the former governing party, did poorly but Labour, under a new leader, got the second highest number of seats. Kadima began negotiations to form a coalition government. A new Palestinian government formed by the militant Hamas party was sworn–in and its leader Ismail Haniya urged the international community not to punish the Palestinian people by witholding aid. The UN Security Council issued a presidential statement giving Iran 30 days in which to reassure the International Atomic Energy Agency that it was not planning to make nuclear weapons. However the statement said nothing about what might happen if Iran refused to give the required assurance. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Blackburn, the parliamentary constituency of Mr Jack Straw, Britain's Foreign Secretary. Answering public protests about Britain's involvement in the Iraq war, Dr Rice insisted that its benefits could not be judged for decades ahead but would include the establishment of democracy in the Middle East. Grupo Ferrovial, the Spanish infrasructure company, strengthened its interest in buying BAA, the UK airports operator, by employing the Australian Macquarie Bank to act as its advisor in the bid; Macquarie has also been a possible bidder for BAA. NASDAQ, the US electronic stock exchange became the latest suitor for the London Stock Exchange to retire hurt after its offer was rejected as too low.