News digest: Oct. 1, 2001

The day's events | Losses

THE DAY'S EVENTS

• Administration officials said President Bush has approved a multimillion-dollar relief package to prevent a refugee crisis in Pakistan. Fearing a U.S. strike, Afghans are fleeing their country for neighboring Pakistan.

• Rear Adm. Ali Shamkhani, Iran's defense minister, warned the United States not to use its airspace during any military strikes against Afghanistan. "We will strongly defend our airspace and will confront (U.S.) planes if they use our airspace," Shamkhani said at a Monday news conference.

• More than 100 members of Congress visited New York Monday to tour the rubble of the World Trade Center towers.

• U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations. The UN today began a weeklong debate on international terrorism that will include more than 150 countries.

• The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk left a Japanese Naval base this morning to join "Operation Enduring Freedom."

• Gen. Hugh Shelton retired Monday as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Air Force Gen. Richard Myers was sworn in as his successor.

• Members of Afghanistan's Northern Alliance and former Afghan King Mohammed Zahir Shah announced they have reached agreement about setting up a transitional government to oppose Afghanistan's ruling Taliban regime. Their next step will be to assemble a grand council of Afghan leaders to elect the governmental representatives.

• President Bush visited Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters to thank workers for their unyielding recovery efforts in New York and at the Pentagon.