From the World-Wide Resourses of the Western Australia
Reserch Senter(*)
		OIL THE NEWS THAT FITS MY VIEWS   #215
                ===============================
In the Run-Up to World War III, Reliably Reporting the News Relevant
to Extreme Right-Wing Democratic Socialists Everywhere
(validated for RiteThink(tm) by the Office of Our Man in Can-berra).

Our Home Page: <http://www.chickenhead.com/loserscopes/>
The Undeniable Evidence: <http://www.evil-doers.org/evidence>
Even More Uneniable Evidence: <http://www.abc.net.au/cnnnn/profiteering/terrorthon/>

US Centcom News Releases: <http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/release_list.asp>
Iraqi Body Count: <http://www.iraqbodycount.net/> [9,211 as at 02 Jun 2004].
UN Mailing List: <http://www.kymhorsell.com/UN/>
Some Of The News, Some Of The Time: <http://www.chaser.com.au/default.asp?check=No>
This Stuff Blogged: <http://kymhorsell.blogspot.com/>
Also Kindly Archived: <http://www.kymhorsell.com/OIL/>

------------------------------------------------------------
Selecting latest news stories and other data for you...
------------------------------------------------------------

The Fed Govt displayed all the restraint of Meat Loaf at McDonald's.
-- Access Economics report, 05 Jul 2002.
   Goose sauce. In a week when the Howard govt supported research from
   Access against the opp'n, another report was issued critical of
   govt spending.

Say whatever you like about me... but leave them [my family]
out of it please.
-- Opp'n leader Mark Latham, 05 Jul 2004.
   In the lead-up to the federal election, Mr Latham has called
   on the govt to disband the "dirt units".

No by me... not by anyone in the govt.
-- Tony Abbott, 05 Jul 2004.
   The govt has issued qualified denials they are directly involved
   in regurgitating dirt on the opp'n leader.

Some people may choose to have payments by installments... and
they can do that...
-- Min Kay Patterson, 01 Jul 2004.
   Min Patterson seems to have re-reversed herself and will now
   force welfare mothers to attend interviews to explain they're not
   to spend their pre-election $600 family bonanza on ciggies.

Where they've spent it... and literally cant ... we're not going
to sell their house and force them to pay it back.
-- PM John Howard, 01 Jul 2004.
   The PM seems to have re-reversed himself and will not not force
   2,200 families to pay back any over-payments under the pre-election
   bonus bonanza.

We're going to restrict ourselves to the crimes...
-- Iraqi PM Allawi, 30 Jun 2004.
   Show trial. The Iraqi govt says Saddam may try to make his trial a
   "Milosevic style affair" but the interim govt won't allow
   that to happen.

----------------------------------------
Thu, 01 Jul 2004.

	HEADLINES:
VP Cheney coordinated Halliburton Iraq contract
US strikes suspected Iraq terror hideout
US Army calls up 5,600 former soldiers for Iraq duty
Senior Iraqi finance ministry official dies in roadside blast
Now the game really begins in Iraq
Iraq: hand over 
Handover in Iraq fuelling slide in oil prices
World now fears US: ex ambassador
Brit inquiry into Iraq intel to report on Jul 14
Blair worries NATO may fail in Iraq, Afghanistan
Blair expects detailed Iraq security plan soon
60 Serb officials sacked over Karadzic
Astronauts start spacewalk to make repairs
Athens Olympics security starts rolling
Aussie dollar up despite US rates decision
Blair's comments reflect badly on AUS says Hicks lawyer
Brit detains Moroccan over Sep 11, Madrid attacks
Businessman fights court's ASIC decision
Canada in landmark ruling on music downloading
Cassini space probe passes through Saturn's rings
Chocolate factory fire causes power outage
Cosgrove backs troops withdrawal, Labor says
DFAT seeks clarification on missing journalist
Downer backs Beazley over "security risk" claims
Former MP under investigation for sex offences
French forestry worker admits to 6 child murders
Govt won't chase $600 over-payments
Guantanamo prisoners may be moved to US soil
Hicks won't receive justice: Mori
I am the egg man: Katter
Internet job ads increase to new 3-y high
Investigation begins into security breach on internat'l flight
Israeli court orders re-routing of barrier
Kitten torturers discharged from Army
Labor hits out at long-term unemployment figures
Manufacturing growth eases
One killed, 27 injured in Afghanistan blasts
Parents jailed over abalone bra bust
Penguins perish in burn-off
Pilot forced to make emergency landing
Police confirm former Labor senator under investigation
Powell issues ultimatum to Sudan over Darfur
Retail spending bounces back
Russian agents given life for Chechen leader's assassination
SBS journalist missing in Afghanistan
Saddam Hussein "nervous" during hand over
Saddam expected to be charged in Baghdad court
Study shows impact of 9/11 on NY economy
Sudan pledges to move on refugee crisis
Sudan to act on humanitarian crisis
Taxpayers warned against making fraudulent claims
Terrorism obscuring world crises, Sir William says
Tidbinbilla to guide Cassini into Saturn's orbit
Top Saudi Al Qaeda spiritual guide killed
Treaty clears way for Aust police deployment to PNG
US planes bomb Fallujah
US raises key interest rate to 1.25%
US ups Zarqawi bounty


Handover in Iraq fuelling slide in oil prices
NY (NPR).  The early transfer of power in Iraq this wk has accelerated
a downward trend in oil prices. Crude oil prices fell below $36 a
barrel Tue. That's more than 15% off the peak price early this m.

US raises key interest rate to 1.25%
US interest rates to rise.
Washington (AFP).  US Fed Reserve policymakers have raised interest
rates for the first time in 4 y to pre-empt inflation in an expanding
economy that is churning out new jobs.
The Fed Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted unanimously to raise its
target for the fed funds rate, which commercial banks charge each
other overnight, to 1.25% from a 1958 low of 1.00%.
It was the 1st in a series of moves expected to gradually return the
key rate to normalcy, about 4.0% at the current inflation rate, by the
end of 2005.
With inflation low except for some apparently transitory hot-spots, Fed
Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues said they expected
to move at a "measured" pace.
But the policymakers vowed to do whatever is needed if inflation rears
unexpectedly.
"The committee believes that, even after this action, the stance of
monetary policy remains accommodative and, coupled with robust
underlying growth in productivity, is providing ongoing support to
economic activity," the FOMC said.
The latest evidence showed the world's biggest economy was growing at
a "solid pace" and job market had improved, FOMC members said in a statement.
"Although incoming inflation data are somewhat elevated, a portion of
the increase in recent m appears to have been due to transitory factors," 
they said.
Risks to growth and inflation appeared balanced, the FOMC said.
"With underlying inflation still expected to be relatively low, the
Committee believes that policy accommodation can be removed at a pace
that is likely to be measured," the policymakers said.
"Nonetheless, the committee will respond to changes in economic
prospects as needed to fulfil its obligation to maintain price stability."
After a y of no change in rates and 3 y of cuts, investors sweated
about the pace of future increases.
"In 2005, the Fed Reserve could boost the interest rate at a faster
rate if above trend growth chews up excess capacity, raising the core
inflation rate," Wells Fargo Bank chief economist Sung Won Sohn warned.
Mr Greenspan and his colleagues sprung into action only after a jobs
drought broke and prices began to rise.
Since Jan 2001, they had cut rates steeply to offset the popping of
the technology bubble in the late 1990s, the Sep 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks, corporate scandals and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The tightening cycle begins at a delicate time, with Pres George W
Bush fighting for reelection Nov 2.
Fed Reserve members also raised the discount rate, at which the
central bank loans to commercial banks overnight, by the same
1/4-point margin to 2.25%.

Aussie dollar up despite US rates decision
The AUD has increased in value on the back of the decision to raise US
interest rates.
NY/Sydney.  American interest rates are on the way up but other
factors have led to a boost in the Aussie dollar.
As almost universally expected, the US Fed Reserve is raising the fed
funds rate by 0.25% to 1.25%.
In a statement issued at the end of its 2-day policy meeting, the Fed
Open Market Committee (FOMC) says interest rates remain accommodative
but such stimulus can be removed "at a pace that is likely to be measured".
The Fed has also lifted its discount rate to 2.25%.
The moderate tone of the FOMC statement has further allayed concerns
about an aggressive campaign of rate rises.
That has prompted a subsequent decline in the value of the USD.
In a reversal of fortunes from the previous night, the Aussie dollar
has jumped ahead around one cent in the latest offshore trade.
More than 1/2 of the move had been achieved ahead of the rate decision
in the US with a softer Japanese yen boosting the AUD in London trade.
There had also been a weaker than expected reading of business
activity in the Chicago region of the US, putting early pressure on
the greenback.
The Aussie currency has traded as high as 69.95 US cents.
At around 7.00 am, it was being quoted at 69.88 US cents, still up
more than 0.9 cents on yesterday's local close.
On the cross-rates, it was at 0.5732 euros, 75.66 Japanese yen, 38.4
pence sterling and 1.099 NZ dollars.
Prices on the NYSE are up just a little overall in the wake of
interest rate rises.
The DJIA has closed up 22 points at 10,435.
There have again been moderate gains on the high-tech Nasdaq market.
The Nasdaq composite index has risen 13 points to 2,048.
The Brit share market has suffered a one% decline.
London's FT-100 index is down 48 points at 4,464.
The Aussie market yesterday moved ahead on the last day of the FY.
Strong copper prices underpinned an advance by BHP Billiton shares --
up 1.3% to $12.53.
Qantas shares flew up to $3.52 after the airline reported stronger
traffic numbers for May.
The All Ords gained 13 points to 3,530.
At around 7.00 am the gold price was at $US394.40/oz, and oil prices
have bounced back up, with W Texas crude at around $US36.92/bbl.

Powell issues ultimatum to Sudan over Darfur
Khartoum (Reuters).  US Sec of State Colin Powell warned Sudan on Wed
of UN action within days or wk unless it disarms militias killing in
the Darfur region and allows full aid access to more than one mn
refugees. Sudanese Foreign Min Mustafa Osman Ismail said his govt
would combat the Arab militias in the remote W region and improve aid
access to refugees caught up in what the UN has called the world's
worst humanitarian crisis.
"I am pleased with the response that we have received from the
Sudanese govt," Powell said after talks with Sudan's leaders and UN
Sec-Gen Kofi Annan, who was also in Khartoum to highlight internat'l
concern over Darfur.
"There already has been consideration given to UN resolutions...unless
these...kind of commitments [from the Sudanese govt] are actually executed," 
Powell, who visited Darfur as part of his Sudan trip, told reporters.
"We are talking about within days or wks," he said.
US officials and human rights groups accuse Khartoum of arming and
supporting the Janjaweed Arab militias to raid black African villages
in Darfur in a campaign of ethnic cleansing. Khartoum denies the
charges, saying the Janjaweed are outlaws.
Some 10,000 to 30,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the
Darfur crisis in the oil-producing country.
* ARMS EMBARGO
The US called for the UN to impose an arms embargo and travel ban on
Darfur's militias, but a new US-drafted Sec Council resolution
obtained by Reuters would not impose sanctions against the Khartoum govt.
Ismail said Sudan would cooperate with the US and the UN over Darfur,
a vast arid region where tension has often flared between Arab nomads
and African farmers.
"We will combat any militias and Janjaweed so that we secure the
protection of civilians," said Ismail, adding he would seek to speed
up talks with 2 groups from African tribes who launched a rebellion in
Darfur last y.
"We are going to work on lifting any restrictions on humanitarian
aid," he said.
The rebels signed a cease-fire with Khartoum on Apr 8 but both sides
have since accused each other of violations.
Powell received cheers when he visited what aid workers called a show
camp for those displaced by the Darfur fighting.
"We all want them to return to their homes and that will require the
re-establishment throughout Darfur of security, the end of fighting,
the end of the Janjaweed," Powell told aid workers and Darfuris living
in the Abou Shouk camp.
* POWELL CHEERED
Thousands of displaced Darfuris clapped and waved walking sticks to
welcome Powell on his 20-minute visit to the camp, a few miles outside
El Fasher, capital of N Darfur state.
Powell arrived in Sudan on Tue to press the govt over Darfur, which is
badly in need of food and medicine.
Among the Sudanese leaders he met was Pres Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who
promised to disarm the Janjaweed and give relief organisations access
to the region.
But a snr US official said: "[Bashir] has said these things
before. We'll have to see what they actually do."
The chairman of the Commission of the African Union, Alpha Oumar
Konare, urged Khartoum to disarm the militias.
Konare told a conference of African foreign ministers he hoped a
meeting of Sudanese political groups due to begin in Chad's capital
N'Djamena on Jul 2 would help to resolve the crisis.
The conflict in Darfur has spread into neighbouring Chad and Chadian
Pres Idriss Deby said on Tue more than 300 civilians had been killed
in cross-border raids.

Sudan pledges to move on refugee crisis
Khartoum.  Pressure from the UN and the US has pushed the Sudanese
Govt into vowing to ease the deepening refugee crisis in Darfur.
More than one mn people have fled their homes amid ethnic violence in
W Sudan, crowding into refugee camps where disease and starvation are
now threatening to kill 1000s of people, many of them children.
The Sudanese Govt was put on notice today that the internat'l
community will not stand by and let another humanitarian crisis kill
100s of 1000s of people in Africa.
UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan and US Secretary of State Colin Powell both held
talks with Sudanese Govt leaders securing promises that the govt will
disarm the Arab militias responsible for as many as 30,000 deaths and
will remove barriers to humanitarian aid for the refugee camps.
The aim is to feed and shelter those who have fled their villages
while improving security to allow them to finally return home.
Mr Powell warned that he expected changes to start happening within days.
If not, Sudan would face the prospect of UN sanctions.
Dr Craig Elder, from Medicins San Frontieres, says he expects the
death toll in the camps to rise dramatically in the nr future, as it
is too late for an immediate increase in aid efforts.
"With the rates of malnutrition, with the rainy season that will cut
off food supplies and make access and delivery of services more
difficult, with the epidemics of diarrhoea that we will certainly see,
and because of the malaria peak, we are going to see that push the
people just over the edge," he said.

Sudan to act on humanitarian crisis
Khartoum.  Sudan's Govt has vowed to take measures to ease the growing
humanitarian crisis in the W region of Darfur.
The internat'l community has stepped up pressure on Sudan to take
action to stop what has been called the world's worst current
humanitarian crisis.
The US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and the UN Sec-Gen, Kofi
Annan, have made a rare visit to the Muslim-led African state that
once harboured Osama bin Laden.
They are threatening UN sanctions unless the Sudanese Govt reins in
Arab militias, which have been killing tens of 1000s of villagers in Darfur.
Mr Powell said he expected changes to start happening within days.
More than a mn have fled their homes to vast refugee camps and without
proper food, shelter or medical supplies they are falling prey to
disease and starvation.
When Mr Powell touched down in Khartoum he was armed with satellite
photos showing the devastation wrought on villages in the western
Darfur region.  Devastation brought about by militias, commonly
believed to be backed by the Sudanese Govt.
Mr Powell called for action.
"We're running out of time," Mr Powell said.
"Some of these people have been condemned to death where they will die
in Aug and Sep and there's nothing we can do to stop that.
"So we've got to act now, not later, we can't talk, we have to see action."
Fighting in Darfur broke out in Apr last y, with claims black Africans
were being oppressed in favour of Arabs.
Mr Powell issued a blunt warning after his conversation with Pres Omar
Hassan al-Bashir: end attacks by the militias, open access for
humanitarian aid and restart negotiations with the region's 2 rebel groups.
Mr Powell said the US Admin, the UN and the internat'l community are
concerned with the humanitarian situation in Darfur.
"The internat'l community believes that, unless we see more movement
soon in all of these areas, it may be necessary for the internat'l
community to begin considering other actions to include Sec Council
action," Mr Powell said.
Mr Powell's visit has been welcomed by the Sudanese Liberation
Movement, which has been fighting the militias in Darfur.
Adam Shogarz is one of its leaders and he says even though Mr Powell's
visit is late there is still time to act before a crisis.
"Because, you know, the rainy season is coming, and we expect the
situation will go to worse, because we expect diseases and all these
things during the rainy season," Mr Shogarz said.
Aussie, David Overlack has just returned from Darfur with the
Internat'l Committee of the Red Cross.
He says the situation is dire, with the UN calling it one of the
world's worst humanitarian crises at the moment.
"For the Red Cross, it's our biggest overseas operation in the world
to date. But there's a large amount of people who don't have access to
water, clean sanitation facilities, access to health care, just even
basic health care.
"They don't have food. Shelter is difficult to come by.
"We're supporting 4 major hospitals in Darfur, and the things that
we're seeing in the hospitals is malnutrition, diarrhoeal diseases,
malaria, measles, they're very common things, but what we're seeing
here is that people are dying from these very preventable diseases."
The Sudanese Govt rejects claims that it supports the militias and its
ambassador to the UK, Dr Hassan Abdin, insists steps are being taken
to improve the situation in Darfur.
"At least, you know, 6 wk ago, the Govt took practical steps to
accelerate the process of relief," Dr Abdin said.
"To actually rescind or abolish some of the early restrictions on the
movement of NGOs and UN agencies."

Brit inquiry into Iraq intel to report on Jul 14
London (Khaleej Times).  A Brit inquiry into flawed intel ahead of the
Iraq war will publish its report on Jul 14, Brit PM Tony
Blair's Cabinet Office said on Wed.  The investigation, set up by
Blair in Feb after the United States established a similar probe, was
told to look into the structures and processes which led Brit's govt
to believe that Iraq possessed WMD ahead of the war, none of which
have since been found.  Were inquiry chief Lord Robin Butler and his
team to conclude that Blair or his ministers made flawed judgements,
the political damage could be extremely serious to a govt already
under intense pressure about Iraq.  Blair strongly backed the US-led
war despite widespread Brit public scepticism, saying that Iraq's
illegal weaponry posed an immediate threat to the West.

Blair expects detailed Iraq security plan soon
London (Reuters).  Iraq's new Govt and US-led forces are expected to
publish detailed plans within a m on progress in building up Iraqi
security capability, Brit PM Tony Blair said.
Mr Blair said the plan could allow his Govt to sketch out an eventual
reduction in Brit troops in Iraq, although sources said it would not
rule out an increase in numbers in the short-term.
US-led authorities transferred power to an interim Iraqi Govt in
Baghdad 2 days ahead of schedule on Mon, a move hailed by Mr Blair and
Pres George W Bush at a NATO summit in Istanbul.
"The crucial task is now to put in place the training, leadership and
equipment to give Iraqi police, civil defence and armed forces the
capability to take on the terrorists and beat them," Mr Blair told
Parliament in a statement about the summit.
"The determination of the new Iraqi Govt is inspirational but the
challenge, especially around Baghdad is formidable," he said.
"Nonetheless, I hope by the end of Jul the Iraqi govt and the
multinat'l force will agree and publish plans to ensure over time that
this capability exists."
Mr Blair said no decision had been made on whether more Brit troops
would go to Iraq in the near-term but both he and his ministers have
warned of a further upsurge in violence in Iraq before it begins to wane.
Reports have suggested up to 3,000 soldiers are required but that
would be publicly risky for Mr Blair, whose public trust ratings have
plunged over the war and its violent aftermath.

Blair worries NATO may fail in Iraq, Afghanistan
London (VOA/AP).  Brit PM Tony Blair says he is worried some NATO
countries do not realize the sense of urgency needed to defeat
terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In a report to parliament on the just-concluded NATO summit, Mr Blair
expressed concern that the NATO alliance may fail to meet its
commitments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
"What now happens in Iraq and Afghanistan affects us here, as it does
every nation, supportive or not of the actions we have taken," said
Mr Blair. "NATO's focus on these issues shows at least a start to
understanding this threat and its implications. But I worry frankly
that our response is still not sufficient for the scale of the
challenge we face."
Mr Blair said that if NATO does not step forward and provide the
necessary security, both Iraq and Afghanistan could end up becoming
terrorist havens.
"The fact is both in Iraq and Afghanistan, as I say, the problem is
not complicated to describe, the problem is simple to describe, its
security," he added. "I mean, everything else in those 2 countries
would move ahead at speed were the security situation better. That is
precisely what NATO should be able to do. And I think there is still,
at least in certain quarters, not the right sense of urgency in
meeting the challenge that we face."
Mr Blair did not name any specific countries, but there have been
complaints that Spain, Belgium and Turkey have not fulfilled their
pledges for troops and equipment ahead of Sep's election in
Afghanistan, which has been designated as NATO's top priority.
Regarding Iraq, the NATO summit made a general commitment to train the
Iraqi army, but did not endorse a more vigorous peacekeeping
role. France, Germany, Belgium and Spain say individual NATO countries
can provide training, but not under official NATO auspices.
Mr Blair told parliament he hopes a plan will be developed by the end
of Jul to train the Iraqi police and military. He called it a "crucial
task" to give Iraqi security forces the training, leadership and
equipment they need to defeat the terrorists.

US Army calls up 5,600 former soldiers for Iraq duty
Washington (AP).  For the 1st time in more than a decade, the Army is
forcing 1000s of former soldiers back into uniform, a reflection of
the strain on the service of long campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Army officials on Wed announced that 5,674 former soldiers -- mostly
people who recently left the service and have up-to-date skills in
military policing, engineering, logistics, medicine or transportation
-- will be assigned to Nat'l Guard and Reserve units that are
scheduled to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan. The 1st notifications are
to be received Jul 6.
They will be put on active duty for a minimum of 12 m and mostly
likely for 18 m. The Pentagon's policy is to not keep troops in Iraq
or Afghanistan for more than 12 m.
Robert Smiley, the Army secretary's principal aide on troop training
and mobilisation, told a Pentagon news conference that more former
soldiers, in addition to the 5,674, are likely to get called up next
y. He said he could not estimate the number but would not rule out
that it would be 1000s.
Col Debra A Cook, cmdr of the Army Human Resources Command, told reporters 
that although former soldiers in the reserve pool known as the
Individual Ready Reserve are required to verify by mail every y that
they are physically fit, many will be surprised to get called for Iraq duty.
"There's going to be soldiers who, yes, will be shocked," she said.
The Army did not immediately offer a state-by-state breakdown, but
Raymond Robinson Jr, a snr personnel official at Army HQ in the
Pentagon, said many are from California and Texas.
People in the Individual Ready Reserve are distinct from the Nat'l
Guard and Reserve because they do not perform regularly scheduled
training and are not paid as reservists, but they are eligible to be
recalled in an emergency because their active duty hitches did not
complete the service obligation in their enlistment contracts.
It is the 1st sizable activation of the Individual Ready Reserve since
the 1991 Gulf War, though several hundred people have voluntarily
returned to service since the Sep 11, 2001 terror attacks.
The Army is targeting its recall on those who recently left the
service and thus have fresher skills than retirees. Any time the
military calls on its reservists for wartime duty, political
implications arise because of the disruption to civilian lives and
businesses. In this case it may reinforce the perception among some
that Iraq is stretching the Army too far.
Rep Rick Larsen, D-Wash, a member of the House Armed Services
Committee, said Tue that dipping into the Individual Ready Reserve
amounts to conscripting people to fight in Iraq.
"If there was any doubt that this Admin was conducting a pseudo-draft,
this call-up should dispel that doubt," Larsen said.
Sen John Kerry, D-Mass, Pres Bush's presumed opponent in the fall
election, has made similar complaints about the Admin's use of
Reserves and Nat'l Guardsmen. After the Pentagon, stretched by war
needs, declared a "stop-loss" this m to prevent the separation of
troops, Kerry declared: "They have effectively used a stop-loss policy
as a backdoor draft."
The Army said the Individual Ready Reserve members who are recalled
will be given at least 30 days' notice to report for training.
Vietnam veteran Chuck Luczynski said in an interview Tue that he fears
his son, Matt, who is getting out of the Army after 4 y, will be
called back as part of the individual reserves. The son returned home
in Mar after a y's tour in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division, and
he has plans to start a computer programming business.
"I think that's on everybody's mind right now, that they took their
turn, and they would hope everybody took a turn so that a few don't
carry the many," said the elder Luczynski, of Omaha, Neb.
The Army is so stretched for manpower that in Apr it broke a promise
to some active-duty units, including the 1st Armored Division, that
they would not have to serve more than 12 m in Iraq. It also has
extended the tours of other units, including some in Afghanistan.
The men and women recalled from the Individual Ready Reserve will be
assigned to Army Reserve and Nat'l Guard units that have been or soon
will be mobilised for deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan, unless they
successfully petition for exemption based on medical or other limitations.
In Jan, Def Sec Donald H Rumsfeld authorised the Army to activate as
many as 6,500 people from the Individual Ready Reserve, drawing on
presidential authority granted in 2001.
Not until May did the Army begin looking in detail at the available
pool of people.
At that point some Army recruiters caused a controversy when they
contacted members of the Individual Ready Reserve and suggested they
would wind up in Iraq unless they joined a Reserve or Guard unit.
Some complained that they were being coerced to transfer into a
Reserve unit.

Cosgrove backs troops withdrawal, Labor says
Canberra.  Mark Latham says Gen Cosgrove's comments bolster Labor's
case to bring Aussie troops home from Iraq.  Fed Opp'n leader Mark
Latham says recent comments by the head of AUS's Defence Forces
bolster Labor's case to bring troops home from Iraq by Christmas.
Defence Force chief Gen Peter Cosgrove has reportedly told a function
in SYD that replacing foreign troops in Iraq with local security
forces would significantly reduce the level of violence in the
country.  Mr Latham told Channel 9 that Gen Cosgrove is right and his
comments support Labor's case.  "It's a point I've been making for
some time that a lot of the violence in Iraq is obviously uprising
against the reality or perception of foreign occupation and if you
reduce or eliminate that foreign occupation you eliminate a lot of the
violence so I would have thought it's a commonsense proposition," he said.

VP Cheney coordinated Halliburton Iraq contract
Washington (AFP).  A Pentagon e-mail said VP Dick Cheney coordinated a
huge Halliburton govt contract for Iraq, despite Cheney's denial of
interest in the company he ran until 2000.
The Mar 5, 2003 e-mail, from an Army Corps of Engineers official, said
that top Pentagon official Douglas Feith got the job of shepherding
the contract, according to the newsweekly Time that hits newsstands Mon.
Feith had approved the $multi-bn deal "contingent on informing WH [the
Whitehouse] tomorrow. We anticipate no issues since action has been
coordinated with VP's office," said the e-mail obtained by Time.
The newsweekly said it was 3 days later that Halliburton won the
contract, although no other bids had been submitted.
"As VP, I have absolutely no influence of, involvement of, knowledge
of in any way, shape or form of contracts led by the Corps of
Engineers or anybody else in the fed govt," Cheney told NBC's "Meet
the Press" in Sep, Time said.
Cheney had been Halliburton's CEO until 2000, when he accepted the
VP-ial spot. Cheney's rep Kevin Kellems told the magazine that since
2000, the VP "has played no role whatsoever in govt-contract decisions
involving Halliburton."
The e-mail was sent "in anticipation of controversy over the award of
a sole-source contract to Halliburton, we wanted to give the vice
president's staff a heads-up," a Pentagon rep said.
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith was handed the job
of coordinating the contract by his boss, Deputy Secr of Def Paul
Wolfowitz, Time said.
Feith, Wolfowitz and Cheney, along with Sec of Def Donald Rumsfeld and
Cheney's Chief of Staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby, form the core of Bush
Admin "hawks" who pushed for the war in Iraq.

World now fears US: ex ambassador
NY (AP).  The last US ambassador to serve in Iraq during Saddam
Hussein's regime said that the Bush Admin's foreign policy has made
America "the most feared threat to global security around the world".
The US-led invasion of Iraq was unnecessary because Saddam's regime
posed no immediate threat to American nat'l security, former
ambassador Joseph Wilson said during a discussion at the New York
Society of Ethical Culture.
Wilson also derided the individuals who leaked to the media the name
of his wife -- undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame -- as
"un-American" and "punks".
Investigators want to know who leaked Plame's name to syndicated
columnist Robert Novak last Jul.
Disclosure of an undercover officer's identity can be a fed crime.
Pres George W Bush, Vice-Pres Dick Cheney and other top Admin
officials have been questioned in the investigation.
Wilson has said he believes his wife's identity was disclosed to
undermine his credibility.
American political and moral support "evaporated" once the war
started, Wilson said, adding that the failure of the coalition to find
stockpiles of WMD or solid evidence of collaborative links between
Iraq and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network has hurt US
credibility worldwide.
"The widespread view is that American leadership is something to be
feared, not embraced," Wilson, citing internat'l polls, told a crowd
of more than 500 people.
The Iraqi invasion was the brainchild of neo conservatives and members
of the religious right within the Bush Admin, said Wilson, a career
diplomat who worked in both Democratic and Republican Admins.
"This was a war of aggrandisement, this was a war to impose upon the
world a vision," he said. "Now that vision has ... met the harsh
realities of Iraq."
Wilson denounced the Bush Admin for claiming that Iraq, under Saddam,
had tried to obtain uranium from the African nation of Niger.
Wilson went to Niger for the CIA to investigate and he found the
allegation, which Bush mentioned in a State of the Union address, to
be highly unlikely.

Study shows impact of 9/11 on NY economy
NY (AFP).  The Sep 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Centre cost NY
City 143,000 jobs a m and $US2.8 bn in lost wages over the next 3 m,
according to a new fed report.  The study, carried out by the Bureau
of Labour Statistics and reported in Wed's New York Times, confirms
that the economic impact of the attack was far beyond anything that
could be attributed to the recession that was already gripping the
city.  Close to 70% of the jobs lost and 86% of the wages lost were in
fields such as insurance, finance and banking.  "The effect was
centred on the jobs that make NY's economy unique," said Michael
Dolfman, regional commissioner of the bureau and author of the report.
"We lost the high-paying jobs, the people who pay more real estate
taxes, higher sales taxes and support various elements of the economy."

60 Serb officials sacked over Karadzic
Sarajevo (Reuters).  Bosnia peace overseer Paddy Ashdown has sacked 60
Bosnian Serb officials over the authorities' failure to arrest top war
crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic.
Those removed included Parliament speaker Dragan Kalinic, leader of
the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) founded by Karadzic in 1990, and
Interior Min Zoran Djeric.
"I decided to remove these people from public and party positions," Mr
Ashdown told a news conference.
He has sweeping powers to remove officials seen as obstructing the
peace process under the 1995 Dayton accord that ended Europe's worst
conflict since World War II.
More than 200,000 people died in the 1992-95 war, most of them Muslims.
"It was Dragan Kalinic's responsibility as leader of the SDS to
prevent fraud, abuse and criminality...  to ensure that the party
founded by Radovan Karadzic was no longer financing him," Mr Ashdown said.
Bosnia's Serb Republic has been under growing W pressure to arrest
Karadzic and other war crimes suspects still at large.
Karadzic is said to be hiding in remote eastern Bosnia, protected by
hardline loyalists.
Bosnian Serb officials insist they do not know the whereabouts of
Karadzic, twice indicted by the Hague war crimes tribunal for genocide
together with his military cmdr Ratko Mladic, who is believed to be in
neighbouring Serbia.
They are accused for the 1992-95 siege of Sarajevo and the 1995
massacre of up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys after the fall of the
eastern town of Srebrenica.
Chief UN war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte said on Tue Karadzic
could be arrested as early as this wk.
"I am still thinking that somebody is looking for Karadzic very hard
and that he will be arrested very soon," she said after briefing the
UN Sec Council in NY.

Athens Olympics security starts rolling
Athens (AFP).  1000s of guards have begun moving into position as
Greece's one bn euro [$US1.2 bn] plan for protecting Athens from an
attack during the Aug Olympics begins to take shape.
Guards were posted at 35 Olympic venues in Athens and 4 other cities
and at vital installations such as power stations, waterworks and fuel depots.
Greece's armed forces were also stepping up border patrols as well as
sea and air surveillance.
Greece's security preparations are 90% ready, Greek Public Order Min
Yiorgos Voulgarakis, the country's civilian chief of police and secret
services, said last wk.
Construction delays at many venues and disputes between the Govt and
suppliers have held up the installation of some security equipment.
But all Games-related installations are expected to have been sealed
to the public for security sweeps by mid-Jul, Greek police sources said.
Traffic and parking around the venues will then be restricted to local
residents.
100s of CCTV cameras have already been installed around the city.
And a zeppelin fitted with high-resolution cameras will cruise the
Athens sky to keep watch over the Games.
Security preparations are in full gear at the Athens port of Piraeus,
where a dozen floating hotels will be berthed during the Olympics.
A fence equipped with sensors is being erected and sonar screening of
the harbour is being tested.
Athenians will not feel the security pinch until Jul 20, when one lane
in major avenues will be restricted to vehicles bearing Olympic accreditation.
Greece expects to spend a record bn euros on Olympic security
deploying 70,000 personnel.
NATO will provide surveillance planes, its Mediterranean fleet and a
biochemical warfare unit to safeguard the Games.
The Athens Olympics are the 1st Summer Games since the Sep 11 attacks
on the US in 2001.
However the 2002 Winter Games went off safely in SLC.
Violence in Iraq and the Middle E has sparked fears of a terrorist
attack during the Games and there have also been a string of
small-bomb and arson attacks by fringe groups.

Top Saudi Al Qaeda spiritual guide killed
Riyadh (Reuters).  Saudi police have killed a top spiritual guide for
the Saudi wing of Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network during a
shoot-out in Riyadh, security sources said.
They named the slain militant as Abdullah al-Roshood, on a list of 26
most wanted suspects, and said his death was a hefty blow to the
ideological hierarchy of Al Qaeda in the world's biggest oil exporter.
The Interior Ministry said a policeman was also killed in the gun
battle, the 1st militant violence since Saudi forces killed the leader
of Al Qaeda in the kingdom 12 days ago.
Saudi Arabia has been battling militants trying to topple the
country's pro-US monarchy for more than a y.
The ministry statement said 6 more policemen and 3 passers-by were
moderately to lightly wounded.
The security sources had earlier said a 2nd militant apart from
Roshood was killed, but the ministry statement, read out on Saudi TV,
said only one militant died.
The ministry statement said the afternoon gun battle broke out after
police spotted a group of militants leaving a house carrying weapons.
A chase ensued and police were still tracking down a number of other suspects.
"A police search of the militant's den showed that it was a factory
for explosives," the statement said.
Al Arabiya television, which is Saudi-owned, said several people were
also arrested.
* Top ideologue
Roshood was one of 4 top ideologues for the Al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia,
security sources said, adding that he had been in hiding for over a y.
After the death of Al Qaeda's Saudi cmdr, Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin, hours
after militants beheaded US hostage Paul Johnson, the group named
Saleh al-Awfi as its new leader.
At least 85 policemen and civilians, many of them foreigners, have
been killed in the shootings and suicide bombings blamed on Al Qaeda.
Last week, Saudi de facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah announced a
limited govt amnesty for militants who surrender.
Officials said the families of their victims could still press for punishment.
Al Qaeda, in an Internet newsletter, denounced the amnesty and said it
was doomed to fail.
The US and Brit, key allies of Saudi Arabia, have urged their 65,000
citizens in the kingdom to leave, citing the possibility of further
militant attacks.

Brit detains Moroccan over Sep 11, Madrid attacks
London (AFP).  Police in Brit say they have detained a Moroccan nat'l
over allegations he is reportedly linked to both the Sep 11 attacks
and the Madrid train bombings last Mar.  The Home Office has told the
AFP news agency 35-yo Farid Hilali is facing possible extradition to
Spain where he is reportedly under suspicion of links to both
atrocities.  A Scotland Yard rep says Hilali has appeared in a central
London court on a European arrest warrant alleging he committed
terrorist offences, but has not provided details of the charges
against him.  She says he will be kept in custody for a week, and will
reappear in court next wk.  Hilali is one of 40 people who have been
charged by Spanish judge Baltazar Garzon as part of his investigations
into the Al Qaeda network in Spain.

Terrorism obscuring world crises, Sir William says
Sydney.  The former G-G, Sir William Deane, has advised Aussies not to
lose perspective about internat'l crises during the ongoing focus on
terrorism.  As the chairman of Care AUS, Sir William has asked for
generous donations to provide relief for more than one mn Sudanese
people displaced in the Darfur region.  Sir William has described the
homelessness and starvation in Sudan as the world's worst current
humanitarian crisis.  He says people should be mindful of the daily
suffering in Africa.  "The plain fact is that in Bali and in NY a
total of 3,000 people died -- every 5 hr of every day that number of
children is dying of starvation which could be prevented," he said.
"We really have to keep a sense of perspective of the desperate need
of people in places like the Sudan and of how much a little can do to
help save the life of a child or of more than one child."

Blair's comments reflect badly on AUS says Hicks lawyer
Adelaide.  The Adel-based lawyer representing accused Taliban fighter
David Hicks says the latest comments by the Brit PM Tony Blair on US
military tribunals reflect badly on AUS.  Mr Blair says the tribunals
set up to hear charges against 4 Brit citizens held at Guantanamo Bay
will not guarantee the standards required by Brit.  He is demanding
the prisoners either be tried under internat'l law, or be returned
home.  David Hicks's Adel lawyer Stephen Kenny says AUS should follow
suit.  "The Brit Govt are simply reflecting internat'l concerns," he
said.  "What it says about the Aussie Govt is that they do not stand
up for the rights of Aussies, that they appear to be taking their
orders from America and that's very disappointing."

Hicks won't receive justice: Mori
Washington (AAP).  Aussie terrorist suspect David Hicks would not
receive justice from a military commission, his US-appointed military
lawyer said.
The US has announced that Hicks, 28, would be among an initial 3
Guantanamo Bay detainees to face a military commission at a date yet
to be decided.
A 5-member tribunal has been formed to try Hicks and 2 other
Guantanamo Bay prisoners alleged to have been bodyguards for al-Qaeda
leader Osama bin Laden.
Hicks has been charged with attempted murder, conspiracy and aiding
the enemy and has been held at the US military base at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, since Jan 2002.
His military lawyer Maj Michael Mori said in an interview his client
would not receive justice within the outdated system.
"The military commission is based on a system that we used back in the
1940s," Maj Mori told ABC TV's Lateline.
"It's antiquated, its out of date, there have been so many advances in
military justice and internat'l law, we can't go back in time and
expect that to provide the same sense of justice that we have today.
"The US doesn't see it as a fair system to try their citizens, there
is only one country that has come out publicly acknowledging the
military commission process is fair for their citizens and that's
Australia."
Maj Mori, who is yet to see all the evidence against Hicks, said the
commission allowed the use of statements that had been made during
interrogation to be used as evidence.
"The commission rules basically accept anything [as evidence], and
that's the problem, not only with statements David Hicks may have made
to interrogators but witnesses, other detainees, that may have made
statements to interrogators," he said.
"We won't know the circumstances [in which that evidence was given],
we won't know how their story might have been manipulated or coerced
over the 2 y that they were interrogated."
The US said it hoped to have at least one of the 3 military
commissions heard this y but was uncertain whether Hicks would be the
1st tried.
The commissions will be held at Guantanamo Bay, where about 600 terror
suspects from 42 countries are being detained.
The hearings will be presided over by retired US Army Col Peter
Brownback and include 2 US Marine Corps colonels, an Air Force colonel
and an Air Force lieutenant colonel, who have not been named.

Guantanamo prisoners may be moved to US soil
LA (AFP).  The US authorities may move 100s of prisoners from their
controversial Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba to the US
following new Supreme Court rulings, the LA Times has reported.
The rulings granted the estimated 600 "war on terror" detainees at
Guantanamo the right to take their cases before US courts.
They have until now been kept in virtual secrecy and without being
charged.
Defence and Justice Dept officials said they were considering moving
the prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to a US military prison, preferably
in a conservative judicial district, the newspaper reported.
Keeping the proceedings in one jurisdiction would avoid moving
prisoners and govt lawyers to fed courts across the country, the
report said.
In a rebuff to Pres George W Bush's post-Sep 11 policy, the Supreme
Court ruled on Mon that US courts had jurisdiction to hear appeals by
Guantanamo inmates challenging their designation as "enemy combatants"
ineligible for usual US legal rights.

Saddam Hussein "nervous" during hand over
Baghdad (AFP).  Deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was "visibly
nervous" when he was handed over to Iraqi authorities on Wed according
to the head of the special tribunal that will read him his charges on Thu.
"It was a surreal experience," Salam Chalabi said, noting that the
hand over took place early Wed.
"We 1st saw Saddam Hussein and he had lost weight. He was not the
towering figure that one used to see on TV before.
"He was nervous, very nervous, because he did not know what was
happening. The whole process took maybe 3 or 4 minutes."
Saddam was wearing Arab dress and no longer had the beard he was seen
with after his capture in Dec 2003, Mr Chalabi said, adding that his
hair was "a bit long" and "black, not grey".
The former dictator is being held at a US base at Baghdad's internat'l
airport, according to humanitarian groups.
Saddam and the 11 other members of his former regime are to be read a charge 
sheet before the special tribunal on Thu, according to an Iraqi official.

Saddam expected to be charged in Baghdad court
Saddam Hussein is expected to be charged later today in a Baghdad court. 
Baghdad (ABC, Matt Brown & Reuters).  Iraq's former dictator Saddam
Hussein is expected to be charged in a Baghdad court today.
When he appears, Saddam will probably be charged with crimes stemming
from the war with Iran in the 1980s and the invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
The govt of Kuwait has called for Saddam to be executed.
He is also likely to be charged with the gas attack that killed 1000s
of Kurds at Halabja in 1988.
Ali Hassan al Majid, a former snr aide to Hussein, better known as
Chemical Ali for his role in the attack, will also be charged.
Plans are underway to televise the event.
One of Saddam's lawyers says he believes the trial will be about
vengeance and settling old scores.
The interim Govt has decided to reintroduce the death penalty.
Earlier, Saddam appeared before an Iraqi judge as the country's new
interim Govt took the 1st step towards bringing him to justice.
The deposed dictator and 11 of his lieutenants were turned over to
face Iraqi justice nearly 15 m after US-led forces overthrew him.
They will stay under US military guard.
"Saddam said 'Good morning' and asked if he could ask some questions,"
US-trained lawyer leading the work of a tribunal set up to try the
former president, Salem Chalabi said.
Mr Chalabi said Saddam was told he should wait until his next court appearance.
Mr Chalabi, who has received death threats since he began work on the
tribunal, said the 67-yo Saddam looked in good health and had sat in a
chair during the closed proceedings.

Now the game really begins in Iraq
[The writer is a US-based independent strategic analyst].
Op/Ed (Financial Express).  The overt US occupation phase of Iraq came
to a close on Jun 28, but its stealthy phase is still continuing. The
holding of the transfer of sovereignty ceremony 2 days earlier than
its original deadline of Jun 30, and the decision to keep it short and
simple, were in recognition of the extremely precarious security
situation that prevails in Iraq.
If it was the beginning of a momentous chapter in Iraq, the secretive,
quiet and an uneventful departure of the former Iraqi administrator, L
Paul Bremer, did not show it.
In the present phase, the activities of the 5 actors -- the US, Iran,
Turkey, Israel and the Iraqi insurgents -- will not only play a major
role in determining the stability of Iraq, but also in formulating the
prospects for the legitimacy of the interim govt. At least for now,
that govt is seen as a puppet and a supplicant of the US at a time
when anti-Americanism is on the rise, not just in Iraq, but also
across the Middle E.
The Bush Admin changed its strategy in Iraq from a largely unilateral
occupation -- even though a number of nations have their forces
present -- to a presumed strategy of multilateralism before handing
over the authority to an interim govt. In that strategy, the UN and
the new Iraqi interim govt were given a visible role.
However, the very modality of the participation of the former
representative of the world body, Lakhdar Brahimi, in the selection of
the personnel of that govt demonstrated that the UN remained
indubitably squeamish about challenging the behind-the-scene scheming
of Washington in that process.
The lingering question was how independent the interim govt was going
to be of US pressure and manipulation after it takes charge. Then,
some representatives of that body had to go to the UN Sec Council and
personally assure the doubting permanent members -- China, France and
Russia -- that they will indeed exercise autonomy, and thereby
establish legitimacy.
For majority of Iraqis, the ball is now very much in the court of the
new govt. It must establish that it is not merely a willing supplicant
in carrying out the wishes of its western master. The continued
escalation or de-escalation of violence in Iraq in the coming ms will
prove whether the interim govt will fail or succeed in that test.
3 actors -- Iran, Turkey and Israel -- are already involved in a
dangerous game of promoting their conflicting strategic presence and
agendas, thereby making Iraq a highly unstable place. Of the 3, Iran's
presence or manoeuvring are the most ancient ones because of Iraq's
historical role as the theological centre of Shi'ite Islam. As such,
Iran regards its role in the future political dynamics of its
neighbour as genuine and highly warranted. What is not clear, however,
is what role Iran should play in influencing the nature of the future
govt in Iraq: whether it should push for a theocracy a la the Islamic
Republic, or a moderate Islamic govt?
From the vantage point of the Iraqi Shi'ites, there is no overriding
evidence that they want the creation of an Iran-style democratic
theocracy, which is more theocratic than democratic, given the
heavy-handed performance of the hard-liners on political reforms. Even
if the notion of separation of religion and politics was to prevail in
Iraq, Iran would still play a crucial role in the power play inside
Iraq, a reality that is deeply resented by the US and Israel.
As a tactical move, Washington must now connive with the Israeli
manoeuvres to frustrate and undermine the Iranian schemes to enhance
its own influence in Iraq since the success of Israel will be
complementary to the American clout and presence in Iraq, or at least
so hope Bush officials.
Israel was playing a behind-the-scene role in helping the Kurds
undermine the Saddam Hussein regime for many decades. Since the Kurds
hated Saddam as much as did the Israelis and the Americans, there was
a powerful basis for that nexus among the 3. But another major regional 
player, Turkey, watched that nexus with considerable consternation.
For Israel and the US, the prospect of the creation of an independent
Kurdish state, while Saddam was in power, was a source of enormous
comfort, and a driving force for destabilising and eventually bringing
an end to that dictator's rule.
For Iran, the creation of an independent Kurdistan means another
independent Sunni state, and an entity that has the historical basis
to be anti-Iranian, given the long-standing hostility of, and
antipathy, to Iran against Kurdish autonomy and independence. Thus, it
is easy for Iran and Turkey to cooperate in nipping in the bud all the
potentials for the emergence of an independent Kurdish state. Even
Iraqi Shi'ite leader grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani opposed the
interim Iraqi constitution, which gave the Kurds veto power. It can be
argued, however, that al-Sistani's opp'n was focused on safeguarding
the Shi'ite power and dominance in the future govt of Iraq, and was
not necessarily based on theological differences between Shi'ites and
Sunnis of that country.
As long as the emergence of an independent Kurdistan remains a tenable
option, Turkey and Iran are likely to set aside their competitive
agendas of regional dominance and focus on eliminating all prospects
of the Israeli presence and influence in N Iraq.
In this backdrop, the delineation of an intrinsically intricate and
clashing strategic perspectives of the US, Iran, Turkey and Israel
emerge with regard to the current situation in Iraq. On their part,
Turkey and Israel have hitherto found many reasons to cooperate in the
past. On the Kurdish issue, however, the govt of Turkey is as
unequivocal about foreclosing all prospects for the creation of an
independent Kurdish state, as the govt of Israel is about upholding
them. Consequently, the Turks have made a decision to minimise the
presence of Israeli operatives of Mossad as a condition for
cooperating with the beleaguered Bush Admin in Iraq.
But the Americans view the Israeli presence, not as much aimed at
facilitating the emergence of an independent Kurdistan as applying
pressure on Iran to minimise its influence in Iraq. The Bush doctrine
has fallen on hard times, given the current deteriorating situation in Iraq.
The Iraqi insurgents may or may not have a comprehensive comprehension
of the interplay among these countries inside Iraq, or their clashing
and competitive agendas. All they want to do for now is to kill as
many Iraqis and Muslim "collaborators" and W occupiers as possible.
They have recently added a new wrinkle to their long-standing strategy
of making Iraq a living hell by choosing soft targets.
If the end of occupation on Jun 28 meant the emergence of a sovereign
interim Iraqi govt, that reality has not yet materialised, since they
appear to be a pawn in the eyes of many.
Apart from others, the basic task for the new Iraqi govt is reducing
unemployment now at 30-60%. The interim govt in Iraq must do all it
can to persuade the Iraqis that the current phase is not the extension
of American occupation under another name.

Iraq: hand over 
Baghdad can't expect much outside help until security is under control 
Iraq's economy is based largely on oil exports Iraq has been granted
its sovereignty from the US; but will the world be rushing to help
Baghdad? Probably not, while the security situation remains so
grave. The likelihood of new foreign-troop commitments is slim, and
reconstruction and economic activity cannot progress meaningfully
without a secure environment.
Prague (RFE/RL).  The state of security in Iraq is the essential
element that will decide how the country fares in the immediate
future.
Iraq's potential for economic development is great. But a continuation
of the bombings, kidnappings, and sabotage will hinder reconstruction
and discourage private investment.
The 1st question to ask, therefore, is how much extra support can Iraq
expect from the internat'l community in terms of military assistance
to control insurgents? The 2nd question is, what further non-military
assistance from foreign govts is possible in the prevailing security
conditions?
This week's NATO summit in Istanbul proved unable to make a
significant contribution to helping Iraq out if its dilemma. Despite
the hopes of US Pres George W Bush, the best the summit could do was
agree to train Iraqi security forces and border guards.
Several NATO members who opposed the US-led intervention in Iraq say
there can be no direct military role for NATO, even in a sovereign
Iraq. And such is the delicacy of the situation that most of the
training will take place off Iraqi soil.
Mark Joyce, a snr analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in
London, said: "It has become increasingly clear over recent days and
wk that the prospects of NATO contributing large numbers of additional
troops to Iraq in the short and medium term was a very unlikely
one. This is what the Bush Admin was pushing for initially, but it
quickly became clear that [such commitments] were not going to
materialise. So they decided instead to settle for NATO playing a very
limited role in terms of training Iraqi security forces."
Beyond the ideological rejection lies a compelling practical reason.
Namely, that the members of the NATO alliance are already feeling
stretched by their engagements in Afghanistan. 
"When you see it against that [Afghan] background, it is hardly
surprising that the idea of NATO sending tens of 1000s of additional
troops to Iraq was never going to happen." 
-- Mark Joyce, a snr analyst at the Royal United Services Inst in London.
"To see why these troops [for Iraq] haven't materialised, you only
have to look at Afghanistan, where there is an urgent need for new
[NATO] troops," Joyce said. "Belatedly, there was an announcement [on
28 Jun] that there would be a temporary increase in troops just before
the [Afghan] elections in Sep. But it remains to be seen whether they
will actually materialise. But when you see [the Iraq question]
against that background, it is hardly surprising that the idea of NATO
sending tens of 1000s of additional troops to Iraq was never going to happen."
If there is little hope for NATO forces, there is likewise diminished
expectations that non-NATO allies in the US-led coalition will
increase their troop numbers.
Countries like Japan and S Korea, as well as Poland and Bulgaria --
chronically worried about casualties -- are more likely to be looking
for opportunities to bring their soldiers home, now that Iraq is a
sovereign state.
The US-led coalition has some 160,000 soldiers in Iraq, nearly all of
them American or Brit. The US forces will be staying in Iraq to
provide security while the raw and often poorly trained Iraqi security
forces develop their skills.
Security analyst Dan Keohane of the London-based Centre for European
Reform says much depends on whether the interim govt under PM Iyad
Allawi can put its own stamp of authority on the country.
"What is really crucial is that the interim govt not only shows that
it is in control, but shows that it is different from the Americans,
and gains the confidence of the Iraqi people. I think that would make
a big difference, because it is very different when you are dealing
with what is effectively an occupier, and when you are dealing with
what is supposed to be your own govt," Keohane said.
As for Iraq's prospects for gaining extra non-military assistance or
investment from abroad, the picture is not bright.
Reconstruction can be expected to continue under the giant $18 bn US
assistance package. But as "The NY Times" reports today, occupation
authorities acknowledge that fewer than 140 of 2,300 promised
construction projects for Iraq are under way.
Mark Joyce of the Royal United Services Institute said the experience
of Afghanistan provides a lesson for Iraq: "Political, economic, and
infrastructural reconstruction are entirely dependent on the provision
of a secure environment, as we have seen in Afghanistan. That limited
reconstruction has taken place in a very few areas of Afghanistan,
which do have relatively secure environments -- Kabul being the most
obvious example. In those areas beyond the NATO-ISAF stabilisation
force, very little reconstruction has taken place. So I imagine a very
similar pattern will develop in Iraq."
Iraq's economy is based largely on oil exports, and substantial
investment is needed to overhaul oil installations that have
deteriorated after 10 y of internat'l economic sanctions.
Pipelines have also become targets for insurgents, significantly
disrupting vital exports.
Outside investors in Iraq's oil industry require a safe environment in
which to work, as well as a clear idea of where the country is headed
in the medium term. Iraq, at the moment, cannot provide those conditions.
Likewise, a much-expanded role for the UN in Iraq must await improved
security conditions.

xxx get ref xxx
Iraq tries to give sovereignty back
But "No Way", says Cheney
Baghdad.  One day after the US transferred sovereignty to Iraq, Iraq
unsuccessfully attempted to give sovereignty back to the US.  The
decision to return sovereignty to the US surprised many in diplomatic
circles, since most had expected the Iraqis to keep sovereignty for at
least 2 days and possibly even longer than that.  But in an official
statement to reporters today in Baghdad, Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi
said that "one day of sovereignty was more than enough, thank you very
much."  Mr Allawi said that he had been "sold a bill of goods" by
former Coalition Provisional Authority chief Paul Bremer III, who had
led Mr Allawi to believe that Iraq was in much better condition than
it actually was.The Iraqi said he had been persuaded by Mr Bremer to
attend a "travelogue-like" slide-show about Iraq with the promise that
he would receive a new set of Samsonite luggage and a 13-inch colour TV
in exchange for 45 minutes of his time.  Once Mr Allawi realized that
Iraq was "nothing like" the country depicted in the slide-show, the
Iraqi leader tried to return sovereignty to Mr Bremer, but found that
he had not left a forwarding address or phone number.

US strikes suspected Iraq terror hideout
Baghdad (AP).  The US military launched another airstrike early Thu
against a suspected hideout of terrorist mastermind Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi in Fallujah. It was the 4th attack in a m against
insurgency targets in the city.
The raid came hours after rebels fired mortar rounds at a US base on
the outskirts of Baghdad's airport, wounding 11 soldiers and starting
a fire that burned for over an hour.
That attack, along with a car bomb that exploded outside a police HQ
in Samawah, 150 miles S of the capital, added to the evidence that
insurgents have no plans of letting up attacks -- even after US
coalition authorities handed over sovereignty to an interim Iraqi govt
on Mon.
Fallujah residents contacted by telephone said US jets fired missiles
at a house on the eastern side of the city. Dr Loai Ali of the
Fallujah General Hospital said 4 people were killed and 10 injured.
Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt, deputy operations director for the multinat'l
force, said the attack was launched after "multiple confirmations of
Iraqi and multinat'l intel."
"This operation employed precision weapons to attack the safe house
and underscores the resolve of multinat'l and Iraqi security forces to
jointly destroy terrorist networks within Iraq," Kimmitt said.
Kimmitt did not mention casualties or provide other details in his
statement.
US forces have mounted 4 previous airstrikes against suspected
terrorist hideouts in the past week. On Fri, US jets pounded a suspected 
hideout of al-Zarqawi, killing up to 25 people, US officials said.
Al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant said to be connected to al-Qaeda, is
suspected of masterminding a series of coordinated attacks on police
and security forces last wk that killed 100 people. He is also believed 
to be behind the beheading of 2 hostages, an American and a S Korean.
US authorities Wed increased to $25 mn the reward for info leading to
the arrest of al-Zarqawi, more than doubling the previous offering of
$10 mn. Osama bin Laden has a $50 mn bounty on his head.
Fallujah is believed to have become a stronghold of the al-Zarqawi's
Tawhid and Jihad movement since Marines lifted their 3-wk siege in Apr
and handed security over to a locally raised force commanded by
officers from Saddam Hussein's army.
Residents say the city is now under the control of radical clerics and
their armed followers. The Tawhid and Jihad movement claimed responsibility 
for the beheading of American Nicholas Berg and S Korean Kim Sun-il.
Meanwhile, police slapped a 9 pm to 6 am curfew on the Shiite holy
city of Najaff on Wed, a day after discovering about 150 pounds of
explosives in a white BMW, police Brig Ghalib al-Jazaari said.
One Libyan man who allegedly entered Iraq from neighbouring Syria to
fight US forces was detained in connection with the incident,
al-Jazaari said.
The police chief also said militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr kidnapped 25 policemen Tue in Najaff, 100 miles south of
Baghdad, in response to the arrest of 2 of their colleagues but
released 16 of them on Wed.
Ahmad al-Shibani, an al-Sadr rep, confirmed the kidnappings, but said
all 25 had been freed. "We just wanted to teach them a lesson," he said.
Guerrillas fired at least 10 mortar rounds at the logistics base on
the edge of Baghdad's airport at about 8.15 am, said Lt Col Richard
Rael, their cmdr. The base is operated by the New Mexico Army Nat'l
Guard's 515 Corps Support Battalion.
"We're OK," Rael said. "We'll get back to business as usual."
Black smoke hung over the airport for an hour after one of the 82 mm
mortar rounds struck a petroleum products yard. The fire caused no injuries.
The base has been subject to almost daily mortar attacks, but this was
the 1st time the attacks caused significant casualties and damage.
2 people were wounded in the car bombing in Samawah, which set 2 other
vehicles ablaze, a hospital official said.
With the end of the occupation, about 160,000 foreign troops, mostly
American, remain in Iraq to provide security and train Iraq's new
security services. US officials have warned that the transfer of
sovereignty would not stop assaults.
The US was still looking for US Marine Cpl Wassef Ali Hassoun. On Tue,
his status was changed from "missing" to "captured."
An insurgent group has claimed the kidnapping of Hassoun and has
threatened to behead him unless Iraqi prisoners are released.
Hassoun was shown blindfolded with a sword brandished over his head in
a video aired on Al-Jazeera TV.
Hassoun, of Lebanese descent, was last seen about a wk before the
videotape was broadcast Sun, the military said.
"The circumstances surrounding the Marine's absence initially
indicated that he was missing," a statement by the 1st Marine
Expeditionary Force said. "However, in light of what we have observed
on the terrorists' video, we have classified him as captured."
Separately, a 1AD soldier was killed and 4 others were injured during
a traffic accident nr the Kuwait border on Wed night, the US military
said. The accident was non-combat related, the military said.

Senior Iraqi finance ministry official dies in roadside blast
Baghdad (AFP).  A top official at Iraq's finance ministry and another
civilian were killed this morning in a roadside bomb blast in Baghdad,
a police officer on the scene said.  The official's name was Ihsane
Karim, according to a guard who was part of his escort.  The explosion
took place at about 8.00 am local time in the district of Al Yarmuk in
the W of the capital, an AFP journalist on the scene has reported.

US planes bomb Fallujah
Fallujah (Al-Jazeera).  The town has been the target of frequent US
air raids At least 13 people have been killed after US military planes
bombed a neighbourhood in the Iraqi town of Fallujah.
The US military on Thu said they attacked a safe house belonging to
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian accused by Washington of being a
"terrorist".
Hassan Ali Daly, Aljazeera's correspondent in the restive town, said
US fighter planes targeted a building in the al-Jibail neighbourhood
SW of the town.
US planes had targeted another suspected safe house in Fallujah last wk.
Medical sources said 10 people have also been wounded in the latest
air raid. Efforts were underway to clear the rubble of the house to
rescue possible survivors buried underneath.
* US statement
"On Jun the 30th, multinat'l forces conducted another strike on a
known Zarqawi network safe house in SW Fallujah based on
multi-confirmations of Iraqi and multinat'l intel,"
Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of operations for the US
military in Iraq, said in a statement.
News-agencies quoted some witnesses as saying that 4 bodies had been
pulled from the house.
"The house was completely destroyed. It is basically rubble," said one
resident in Fallujah. "The strike left a huge hole where the building was."
Witnesses said clashes involving small arms and mortar fire had broken
out between US forces and Iraqi resistance fighters on the E edge of
the town.
They said the fighting was still going on.

US ups Zarqawi bounty
Baghdad.  The US has increased the bounty on suspected Al Qaeda
operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to the same as that for Osama bin
Laden.  It has gone from $AU14 mn to $36 mn.  The announcement was
made by the State Dept in Washington not long after US forces in Iraq
attacked and destroyed a so-called "safe house" thought to be used by
al-Zarqawi.  Nearby residents in Fallujah say 4 people were killed in
the strike.  The attack was just the latest in a number conducted by
US forces in a bid to kill or capture al-Zarqawi.

One killed, 27 injured in Afghanistan blasts
Kabul.  One man has died and another 27 people, including children,
have been injured in 2 explosions which have rocked a city in eastern
Afghanistan.  Officials say the bombs have hit 2 security posts in the
city of Jalalabad, early in the afternoon, local time.  They say one
of the explosions has occurred close to a bus station, and the 2nd at
a police post on a main road.  Hospital workers say 5 of the wounded
are children under 14 y of age, 4 others are policemen, one of whom is
in a critical condition.  Last weekend, a bomb exploded inside a bus
carrying female election workers to voter registration sites nr
Jalalabad killing 2 women, and injuring 11 other women and children.

SBS journalist missing in Afghanistan
Kabul (Reuters).  An Aussie journalist and her Afghan assistant and
driver have gone missing in an area of S Afghanistan where Taliban
guerrillas are active, officials said.
Jalani Khan, head of security in Zabul province, said he had received
an intel report that a vehicle used by Carmela Baranowska of AUS's SBS
Television had broken down on the main road between the towns of
Girishk and Kandahar.
"According to the report, this lady's vehicle broke down between
Girishk and Kandahar, but I don't know whether she has been kidnapped
or has left that area," he said.
A man claiming to represent Afghanistan's Taliban guerrillas says that
the hard-line Islamic movement had captured a foreign woman and an
Afghan man.
"My colleagues have informed me that they are holding a foreign woman
and an Afghan man, but I don't know whether that woman is a journalist
or not," Hamid Agha told Reuters.
He gave no other details.
Girishk and Kandahar are in the provinces of Helmand and Kandahar.
The main road also runs into Zabul province.
Ms Baranowska was travelling with her assistant Muhibullah, a
Kandahari who has worked several times in the past for Time magazine
and a driver named Hamidullah, also from Kandahar.
An employee of Kandahar's Noorjahan Hotel said Ms Baranowska checked
out early on Mon morning and was wearing a coverall burqa commonly
worn by women in conservative Muslim Afghanistan.
Haji Diljan, the security cmdr in Girishk, said his men and been
searching for the group.
"But we have no info so far," he said.
Tim McGirk, the Islamabad bureau chief of Time said Muhibullah had
told him he expected to be travelling for a wk and would check in regularly.
He said he had not heard from him since an email on Sun evening.
Diplomats said they were checking reports of the journalist's
disappearance but had no additional details.
A rep for the Dept of Foreign Affairs said it was seeking the
whereabouts of the journalist.
A Foreign Affairs rep said they are seeking the assistance of the
Canadian embassy in Afghanistan to try to establish her whereabouts.
SBS had been unable to contact Ms Baranowska on her satellite phone.
Ms Baranowska, 35, is an award winning television journalist who has
worked in Thailand, Myanmar and E Timor.
The Taliban warned last Nov that anyone seen to be assisting US
interests in Afghanistan would be targets for future attacks,
including journalists and aid workers.
Washington issued a warning that m that the Taliban were looking to
kidnap US journalists to use as hostages to press for the release of
members held by the US.

DFAT seeks clarification on missing journalist
Canberra (ABC/Reuters).  AUS's Dept of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) says it
is attempting to confirm reports that an Aussie journalist who had
been missing in Afghanistan is now safe.
Foreign Min Alexander Downer says AUS has asked Canadian diplomats in
Afghanistan to do everything they can to confirm the whereabouts of
SBS journalist Carmela Baranowska who has been missing for several days.
Jalani Khan, head of security in Zabul province, said he had received
an intel report that a vehicle used by Ms Baranowska had broken down
on the main road between the towns of Girishk and Kandahar.
"According to the report, this lady's vehicle broke down between
Girishk and Kandahar, but I don't know whether she has been kidnapped
or has left that area," he said.
Earlier, a man claiming to represent the Taliban told the Reuters news
agency the group had captured a foreign woman and an Afghan man.
However, another man describing himself as a Taliban rep has denied
the militia is holding a female journalist.
SBS says Ms Baranowska has briefly made contact with the network, but
they still do not know if she is safe.
SBS rep Mike Field told Channel 9 Carmela Baranowska is a highly
experienced freelance reporter working on a story for the Dateline
program on the Afghanistan elections to be held later this y.
He says SBS is worried about the 35-yo woman and is helping
authorities as best it can.
"Somebody was able to speak to her about one o'clock this morning," he said.
"Unfortunately it was an unsatisfactory conversation, bad line dropped
out, unable to re-contact her so we're still not much the wiser."
Nicole Guihot from the Dept of Foreign Affairs says although contact
has been made, authorities remain concerned.
"She has spoken briefly spoken with her employer SBS and also her
mother but based on their brief conversations they were not satisfied
that she was in fact safe, we also understand that internat'l security
assistance force personnel have spoken with her and reported that she
is safe and well, however again we are seeking confirmation of that
advice," she said.
Ms Baranowska was travelling with her assistant Muhibullah, a
Kandahari who has worked several times in the past for Time magazine
and a driver named Hamidullah, also from Kandahar.
An employee of Kandahar's Noorjahan Hotel said Ms Baranowska checked
out early on Mon morning and was wearing a coverall burqa commonly
worn by women in conservative Muslim Afghanistan.
Mr Downer says he is concerned about the situation.
"We obviously want her returned and to be released and so we'll just
do everything that we possibly can, but we are very concerned about
her and about her fate," he said.
"It's a difficult situation."
Ms Baranowska is an award winning television journalist who has worked
in Thailand, Burma and E Timor.
The Taliban warned last Nov that anyone seen to be assisting US
interests in Afghanistan would be targets for future attacks,
including journalists and aid workers.
Washington issued a warning that m that the Taliban were looking to
kidnap US journalists to use as hostages to press for the release of
members held by the US.

Israeli court orders re-routing of barrier
Bidou, W Bank (AP).  Israel's Supreme Court sided with the
Palestinians in a precedent-setting decision Wed, ordering the govt to
reroute part of its W Bank separation barrier nr Jerusalem because it
causes too much suffering.
The ruling -- the 1st major legal decision on the barrier -- cracked a
cornerstone of PM Ariel Sharon 's plan to disengage from the
Palestinians by 2005.
Palestinians rejoiced at the move. A family in this W Bank village
expressed relief at no longer being blocked from its olive trees, and
a little boy rode his bicycle up and down the barrier route waving a
Palestinian flag.
"The wall was choking all of our lives. That's why the decision is
important," said Mohammed Abu Eid, a 54-yo father of 10 whose crops
were uprooted to make room for the barrier.
Israel's deputy defence minister, Zeev Boim, said the ruling would
delay completion of the barrier, which Israel says it crucial for
keeping out suicide bombers. "Now there will be a court appeal on
every m of the fence," Boim told Israel TV's Channel One.
The court said the barrier must be rerouted, even at the cost of
Israeli security. Several officials decried the ruling as a security
menace, but the Defense Ministry -- which oversees the barrier's
construction -- said it would comply.
The court also forced the govt to return land that has been seized and
compensate the Palestinians for their financial losses, making it less
likely the govt can finish the project by next y as planned.
Army planners met Wed evening to discuss the fallout from the court ruling.
The ruling focused on a stretch of barrier nr Jerusalem that would
have separated some 35,000 Palestinians from their crops.
Foundations had been laid along parts of the 25-mile section, and
earth movers had levelled ground and uprooted trees elsewhere in
preparation for construction.
With Wed's decision, similar lawsuits are likely for other parts of
the 425-mile complex of fences, concrete walls, trenches and razor wire.
"We won't stop here," said Mohammed Dahla, a lawyer for the
petitioners. "We will continue our legal struggle against this wall."
The court did not shoot down the barrier itself but rather the chosen
route, which it said "injures the local inhabitants in a severe and
acute way."
The decision comes a wk before the world court at The Hague,
Netherlands, was to issue its own advisory ruling on the barrier
Palestinians decry as an attempt to expand Israel's borders.
1/4 completed, the barrier has already disrupted the lives of 1000s of
Palestinians who have been cut off from their lands and prevented from
reaching other villages and population centres.
"We've been living in hell," cried Fatma Ahmad Abu Eid, a Palestinian
woman whose house had been marked for destruction.  "We had so many
olive trees here until they chopped them down. How can we make a
living now?"
Some Israeli officials have cited the barrier as a key factor in
reducing the frequency of suicide bombings in Israel. There have been
no such attacks in 3 1/2 m, the longest stretch since the Palestinian
uprising began in Sep 2000.
Standing in front of a W Bank house whose front yard had become a
construction site for the barrier, Dahla, the Palestinian lawyer, said
a wall built within Israel's pre-1967 frontier -- along the so-called
Green Line -- would keep out bombers without usurping Palestinian land.
"If they built it on their side of the Green Line, would it not have
exactly the same effect?" he asked. "It's a land grab rather than a
security wall."
The Supreme Court focused on the humanitarian aspects of the barrier,
saying it "severely violated" the freedom of movement and "severely
impaired" people's livelihoods.
Sharon's critics say he's using the barrier to impose a political
reality: a final settlement with the Palestinians that would enable
Israel to keep large tracts of W Bank land.
Under Sharon's plan for "unilateral disengagement," Israel would
complete the separation barrier and withdraw from the Gaza Strip by
the end of 2005.
The planned Gaza withdrawal also has faced difficulties in recent
days, with militants there firing rockets into the Israeli town of
Sderot, killing 2 people.
Israeli troops on Wed encircled the N Gaza town of Beit Hanoun,
tearing up roads in an offensive aimed at halting rocket attacks. A
Palestinian teenager was killed, Palestinians said.
Security officials said Wed that 100s of troops would remain in N Gaza
indefinitely, and that Israel plans to establish a "security zone"
there to halt rocket attacks. Structures would be set up for Israeli
forces, including fortified troop positions, ramps for tanks and other
armoured vehicles, and new roads, the officials said, speaking on
condition of anonymity.
The army and the Defense Ministry declined comment, but Sharon has
promised panicked Israelis in the border area he would stop the
barrages with "wide-ranging actions."

Treaty clears way for Aust police deployment to PNG
Pt Moresby.  Aussie police could be on patrol in PNG by next m after
the signing of a new joint aid treaty.  FM Alexander Downer has
endorsed the treaty at a signing ceremony in Port Moresby.  2 hundred
and thirty Aussie police and 70 public officials including judges,
lawyers and immigration officials will take up posts in PNG under the
$bn package.  It is the result of m of negotiations between the 2
countries, culminating in the signing of the deal.  PNG's Foreign Min
Sir Rabbie Namaliu says the country welcomes the new aid program.
"Our govt has been very up-front about the nature of our problems, we
know we cannot solve them on our own," he said.  AUS's Foreign Min
Alexander Downer says the package will boost PNG institutions.  "And
once that boost is finished then the momentum should be there for the
process just to continue indefinitely into the future," he said.  With
the passage of enabling legislation the 1st police contingent,
destined for Bougainville, could be in place by next m.

Russian agents given life for Chechen leader's assassination
Doha.  A Qatari court has sentenced 2 Russian intel agents to life
imprisonment for assassinating a former Chechen leader earlier this y.
Former Chechen separatist leader Zelimkhan Yanderbiyev was killed when
a bomb exploded under his car in Doha 4 m ago.  Authorities there
arrested the Russian intel officers and accused them of planning the
assassination.  They have been found guilty and sentenced to life in
prison.  In court, the judge said the 2 men had been following orders
from Moscow.  The Russian Govt has denied any involvement in the
murder and says the 2 men were working at the embassy gathering
anti-terrorist info.  Defence lawyers are planning to appeal.

French forestry worker admits to 6 child murders
Paris.  A French forestry worker has confessed to murdering 6 girls in
Belgium and France.  Belgian prosecutors say Michel Fourniret has been
in detention in Belgium since Jun last y for abduction of minors, and
sexual misconduct.  They say he has now confessed to committing 6
murders between 1987 and 2001.  Among the victims was Elisabeth
Brichet, a Belgian girl who was 12 yo when she was kidnapped in Dec
1989.  The announcement has come a short time after the trial and life
sentencing of convicted paedophile, Marc Dutroux.

Labor hits out at long-term unemployment figures
Long-term jobless figures under fire.
Canberra.  The Fed Opp'n says new Govt figures reveal the number of
"very long term" unemployed has risen by nearly 70% over the past 5 y.
The number of people receiving unemployment benefits for more than 5 y
has jumped from about 75,000 people to more than 125,000.
Labor's employment services rep Anthony Albanese says most live in
outer-suburban and regional areas.
And he says the long-term unemployed are not getting the work
experience and training they need.
"Many of these people who've been through the Job Network customised
assistance twice simply aren't getting any assistance now, they've
been unemployed for more than 5 y and they're literally being put on a
shelf by the Govt and forgotten," he said.
The Govt says the number of people on long-term income support has
actually fallen by 15% since 1999.
And it says it is created double the number of full-time jobs in the
past 6 m than Labor did in its last 6 y in govt.

Manufacturing growth eases
Canberra.  Growth in manufacturing activity looks to be easing back
further.  The latest private sector survey of the sector points to
annual growth of just 2%.  The Performance of Manufacturing Index
compiled by the Aussie Industry Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers has
slipped 1.7 points to 50.6 in Jun.  That is only marginally above the
50 level which indicates growth.  The Aussie Industry Group says
manufacturing is being forced to absorb significant cost increases as
high metal and fuel prices reflect strong demand from China and
economic recovery in the United States.  At the same time, a slowing
in domestic demand conditions is being experienced, while it is too
early to judge whether improving exports will fully take up the slack.
The survey's measures of production, new orders, deliveries and stocks
have all fallen in Jun.

Retail spending bounces back
Canberra.  Shoppers are spending up again according to new figures out
today.  The latest official figures show a pick-up in retail activity
during the m of May.  In raw dollar terms, Aussie households have
spent more than $15.5 bn at retail outlets around the nation.  When
seasonally adjusted, that is a rise of 0.5% after a slight decline in
Apr.  The best figures in the latest m have come from household goods
retailers and from recreational outlets, but there has been a slump in
dept store turnover.  The overall result represents moderate growth,
with economists suggesting a softening housing sector and higher petrol 
prices and interest rates might be offsetting strong employment levels.

Internet job ads increase to new 3-y high
Melbourne.  A survey of Internet job advertising has found the FY
ended has finished on a high.  The Olivier Internet Job Index for Jun
has risen 3.1% to a new 3-y peak.  There has been a resurgence in
employment openings in the building and construction sector -- up 19%
in the m.  In total, 17 of the survey's 21 job categories have shown
increases.  Meanwhile, there has been a surge in the latest measure of
job vacancies.  Figures from the Bureau of Statistics show there were
132,000 positions vacant in the 3 m to May.  That is up a seasonally
adjusted 26% on the previous quarter.  Private sector job vacancies
are up almost 28%.

Chocolate factory fire causes power outage
Sydney.  A fire in a chocolate factory in SYD's inner W has left
23,000 people without power this morning.  The New S Wales Fire
Brigade says around 1.00 am, 60 firefighters were called to a factory
in Marrickville in SYD's inner-west.  Fire destroyed the 2-storey
Praline Chocolate factory on Meeks Road.  As a precaution, an
adjoining electricity substation was closed, which caused widespread
power blackouts throughout the inner-west.  In a separate incident,
the fire brigade was called to an apartment block in Ashfield, also in
the city's inner-west, about 11.00 pm.  The fire brigade says 5 people
were rescued from the 3rd floor of the Knox Street building.  The fire
broke out in the building's staircase.  4 people were later taken to
hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and one person had minor
burns to their hand.

Businessman fights court's ASIC decision
Trevor Kennedy is appealing against a Fed Court decision.
Sydney.  SYD businessman Trevor Kennedy is appealing against a Fed
Court decision which found the corporate regulator should have access
to notes Mr Kennedy wrote at the Ritz Hotel in London.  The Aussie
Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) seized 2 handwritten
notes from Mr Kennedy's SYD home late last y, as part of their
investigations into the printing company Offset Alpine.  Mr Kennedy
said he had written the notes in London before a meeting with his
Swiss lawyer in Zurich and that ASIC should not be allowed access to
them because they were protected under legal professional privilege.
But earlier this y the Fed Court ruled that the notes were not
protected.  Mr Kennedy has launched an appeal to the Full Bench of the
Fed Court on several grounds, including that the trial judge was wrong
in ruling that the advice Mr Kennedy sought in Zurich was not of a
legal nature.

Kitten torturers discharged from Army
6 Aussie soldiers have been discharged for kitten torture.
Townsville.  6 soldiers who were found guilty of cruelty to animals in
the north Qld city of Townsville have been discharged.
The Defence Force decided that their behaviour was well below the
standard expected of a soldier.
The Army says the 6 soldiers brought shame and discredit to the Aussie
fighting forces.
They can appeal against the decision.
The RSPCA has welcomed the dismissal and says the sacking should set a
precedent.
"We work very hard to show animal cruelty will not be tolerated in
modern day Aussie society in all different areas," the RSPCA's Qld
chief executive Mark Townsend said.
"This has to be seen as setting a higher benchmark and we hope people
will stand up and realise it will not be tolerated and we aim that
everyone accepts that in AUS."
ADA rep Neil James says the dismissal is appropriate.
"I've never met anyone who shows any sympathy to them. If you go out
and torture kittens you are not exactly going to make the best type of
serviceman that's needed to defend AUS and I think the discharge of
these people just emphasises that."
The Fed Govt has also welcomed the decision.
Asst Def Min Mal Brough says it is appropriate that they be discharged.
"Someone who is capable of that sort of behaviour has no place in the
Defence Forces," he said.
"These people have a right of appeal, they can access that appeal if
they wish, but Defence has made it very clear that we will not
tolerate such behaviour."

Downer backs Beazley over "security risk" claims
Canberra.  AUS's Foreign Affairs Min Alexander Downer has backed Kim
Beazley amid reports 2 Aussie military officers separately tried to
smear the former Labor leader in the lead up to the 2001 election.
The former Army captain, Andrew Plunkett, has told the Bulletin
magazine Mr Beazley posed a security risk because of a friendship with
a high-profile Indonesian person.  But Mr Beazley says the issue has
been thoroughly investigated and found to be false.  Mr Downer says he
has never had any concerns about Mr Beazley's loyalty to AUS.  "Some
of my Indonesian friends are high-profile and some of my Indonesian
friends are low-profile but you know at the end of the day I always
work for AUS and put AUS's interests first," he said.  "I have no
problem with Mr Beazley, I haven't ever had any concerns about Mr
Beazley's loyalty to AUS."

Investigation begins into security breach on internat'l flight
Sydney.  A security breach forced an internat'l flight to return to
SYD last night.
A passenger returned a positive result to an explosives trace
screening but the flight took off without his luggage being checked.
Authorities say the man was a passenger on a Korean Airlines flight
from SYD to Seoul in S Korea.
Before boarding, he was selected for a random bomb trace screening and
returned a positive reading.
But he boarded the flight and it took off without his luggage being
unloaded and checked as required.
The Office of Transport Security was informed and several hours into
the flight the plane was ordered to return to SYD.
The passenger's bags were then screened and passed security tests.
The plane then departed for a 2nd time. An investigation into the
security breach has begun.
PM John Howard says the fact that the plane was searched shows
security at the nation's airports is effective.
"I understand that the plane was brought back and it was searched, and
it was okay," he said.
"Rather than that being evidence of lax security, it's probably
evidence of a determination by the authorities to make sure that
security rules are observed.
"As to the rest of it [Transport Min] John Anderson will investigate
and will say something about it later today."
SYD Airport's boss Max-Moore Wilton says the plane should not have
departed but has blamed the airline involved.

Penguins perish in burn-off
Sydney (AAP).  Protected little penguins have again been killed in a
controlled burn by parks and wildlife officials at a key NSW breeding ground.
The NSW Nat'l Parks and Wildlife Service said 3 little penguins were
found dead after the burn on Montague Island, off the NSW S coast.
The burn was part of a 6 y program aimed at removing kikuyu grass to
help restore Montague's seabird population and stop the island's
population of little penguins from becoming entangled in the weed.
In 2001, more than 40 breeding penguins died when the service set fire
to grass which had overgrown the penguins' breeding burrows on the island.
NPWS chief Tony Fleming said a search had been carried out before the
latest burn to try to remove animals, and even though 3 penguins had
been found dead, the operation was still a success.
"In the bigger picture the burn was a success and it was managed very
successfully.
"It is always regrettable, but we needed to keep in mind the bigger
picture and the possibility of losing the whole penguin population
from a lightning strike in the dead grass.
"There is also evidence that the kikuyu is directly responsible for
causing a lot more deaths than the process of removing it."
The burn area focused on one ha of dry grass and had been studied for
12 m in a bid to identify all the penguins in the area.
Montague Island is one of the main breeding grounds of the little
penguin -- at between 30 cm and 35 cm tall, it is the smallest of all
penguin species.
Once fairly common on the Aussie mainland, colonies of little penguins
are now generally restricted to offshore islands.

I am the egg man: Katter
Brisbane (ABC, Ian Townsend for The World Today).  Fed politician Bob
Katter has outed himself and several high-profile barristers as the
culprits who pelted the Beatles with eggs during their Aussie tour in 1964.
Mr Katter's admission ends a 40-y mystery about who threw eggs at the
Fab 4 as they were greeted by screaming fans in Bris in 1964.
The Beatles touched down in Bris just after midnight on a chilly Jun
night in 1964.
About 8,000 fans were there to greet them, along with a group of
non-fans with eggs in their pockets.
Mr Katter has now revealed he was among that group.
"A bloke called Dave Beattie -- a prominent accountant now -- was on
my shoulders and ... everyone let fly with the eggs," Mr Katter said.
"[The Beatles'] truck sped up and they were hiding behind the piano as
all these eggs splattered everywhere.
"The police got me and ran me away and they thought it was screamingly
funny. They let me go and both burst out laughing."
* Shocked
The egg-throwing shocked the Beatles, who put an ad in the paper and
on the radio the next day calling for the throwers to come forward.
A Bris girl, Susan, and her 2 friends owned up even though they were
not the culprits.
"We didn't actually have any real interest in the Beatles," Susan
explains now.
"It was just that everyone was trying to get in to meet the Beatles
and we thought, 'well, we can do it'.
"We were ushered up to the room and [after] a short conversation, we
said 'we better be going'.
"They said: 'Oh no, no, no, don't go. Stay and talk to us, because
we're bored.
"They wanted just people to talk to because they couldn't go out because 
their hotel, Lennon's Hotel, was just surrounded by screaming teenagers.
"While we were there, the real egg-throwers arrived."
* Real culprits
The real culprits were a group of university students.
Mr Katter, now a veteran stirrer and Independent MP for the fed seat
of Kennedy in N Qld, has only now come forward with the full story.
He says that when his group went to meet the Beatles, "the manager
said: 'Would you be game to throw the eggs now?'"
"One of our blokes -- a bloke called Peter McHugh, another prominent
barrister these days -- he shaped up and said 'you want a blue, we'll
give you a blue alright' and this is incredible," Mr Katter said.
"I was explaining that it was an intellectual reaction against Beatlemania 
-- I'd thought this story up on the stairs on the way up of course.
"We were having this intellectual argument and Tony Glynn was another
one [of us] -- he's the deputy chairman of the Bar Association for AUS
and president of the Bar Association in Qld these days -- and the
manager said 'would you be game to throw the eggs'.
"And McHugh's sort of shaping up ... and Gary Williams, the 5th one,
he stepped in between McHugh and Paul McCartney or whoever and he
said: 'Hey, settle down. Obviously you can't throw eggs here, we'll
have to go and find an oval somewhere.
"It was all taken seriously for awhile.
"John Lennon just sort of sat there saying 'everywhere we go now we're
going to have eggs thrown at us'."
Mr Katter says the group managed to make quite a name for themselves.
"Our reputations were made from that point forward," he said.
"We walked around like conquering heroes for the next 2 or 3 y."

Former MP under investigation for sex offences
Darwin.  Former NT senator and fed Labor minister Bob Collins is under
investigation by police in relation to sex offences against 4 young
men.  The alleged offences go back to the 1970s before Mr Collins
entered politics.  It is understood N Territory police flew to Adel
today to interview Mr Collins, who is recovering in Royal Adel
Hospital from a serious car crash 10 days ago.  Police are
investigating 4 complaints that go back nearly 30 y when Mr Collins
worked as a market gardener in Arnhem Land.  He entered N Territory
politics in 1977 and Fed Parliament in the 1980s, where he served as
transport minister in the Hawke-Keating govt.  At this stage no
charges have been laid and the allegations are as yet untested.
Police are yet to officially confirm or deny an investigation is underway.

Police confirm former Labor senator under investigation
Darwin.  NT police have confirmed they have begun an investigation
involving the former senator and fed Labor minister Bob Collins.
Police have issued a brief statement.  Police say they are still
investigating the matter and will not go into any details because
no-one has been charged and the allegations are yet to be tested.  But
the ABC understands 4 men have told police that Mr Collins sexually
assaulted them up to 30 y ago before he entered politics.  At that
time Mr Collins worked as a market gardener in Arnhem Land.  It is
understood police have sent officers to Adel to interview Mr Collins
who is recovering in hospital after a serious car accident nearly 2 wk
ago.  The ABC has been unable to contact Mr Collins to comment on the
allegations.  The N Territory Director of Public prosecutions has
refused to comment.

Govt won't chase $600 over-payments
PM John Howard says the Govt won't chase the over-payments. 
[The statements change from day-to-day: just don't spend it!]
Canberra.  PM John Howard says if families who have been overpaid the
$600 child benefit have already spent the money they will not be
forced to repay it.
Mr Howard has told S Cross radio the Govt has written to 2,000
families who have been overpaid the $600 per child payment encouraging
them to repay the money.
But he says if it has already been spent the Govt will not pursue it.
"Obviously if people are in a situation where they've already spent it
...  we're not going to sort of sell up the houses and chase them, I
mean that would be ridiculous," he said.
And Mr Howard says the $600 will help families buy clothing or even
electrical goods.
"It might buy a new DVD, well what's wrong with that, something new
for the family, what is wrong with that?"
He says he understands why the issue has attracted a great deal of
attention.
The Fed Opp'n has accused the Howard Govt of hypocrisy over its stance.
Opp'n family and community services Wayne Swan says it is clear the
Govt is applying 2 standards to help its election chances.
"So we now have 2 classes of people in this community -- a class of people 
who've been given the Govt's one off payment and a whole lot of other
people who've been hounded by Centrelink to pay back the debts," he said.
"It's about time the Govt set up a fair and accurate family payment
system which delivered money to people on a fortnightly basis."

Pilot forced to make emergency landing
Wangaratta.  A plane has been forced to make an emergency landing at
Wangaratta in NE Vic after smoke filled the cockpit.  The chartered
flight, carrying 7 people, was en route from Essendon Airport to
Albury when the pilot raised the alarm.  Emergency services rushed to
the airport, but the pilot landed safely around 10.30 am.  Airport
supervisor Stephen Larke says it is the 1st time Wangaratta has
experienced a full emergency.  "The pilot initiated his emergency
procedures shutting down the electrics, which dissipated the smoke,
oxygen masks were activated and they made an emergency call to air
traffic service and landed at Wangaratta, which was the closest
airport," he said.

Parents jailed over abalone bra bust
Geelong.  A St Albans couple have been sentenced to jail terms in the
Geelong Magistrates Court today, after trying to smuggle abalone in
their 16-yo daughter's bra.  Police say Fisheries officers who
intercepted the family while they were diving in Sep, found 82
shellfish on the girl.  Adding to their 18 abalone-related
convictions, 49 yo Mot Van Tran received a 12-m sentence, while his
45-yo wife, Den Thi Nguyen, was released on bail after appealing
against her 6-m sentence.

Taxpayers warned against making fraudulent claims
Canberra.  Aussie taxpayers are being warned that capital gains,
rental properties and work-related expenses are all under the tax
office microscope this y.  For AUS's 10 mn taxpayers, the tax return
clock has started running, with the new financial y ticking over at
midnight last night.  This y the tax office expects to audit more than
5,000 taxpayers, focusing on workers in the road transport, financial
advice, real estate, airline and entertainment industries.  Assistant
tax commissioner Elizabeth Goli says there are some specific target
areas.  "Our analysis tells us that there has been under-reporting in
relation to capital gains tax and that for both work-related expenses
and rental properties, people are making common mistakes," she said.
The new financial y also brings the 1st of more than $14.5 bn in tax
cuts, a $3,000 baby bonus, a reduced superannuation surcharge and
broader eligibility for govt co-contributions.

Canada in landmark ruling on music downloading
Toronto (AFP).  Canada's Supreme Court ruled in a landmark judgement
that Internet service providers (ISP) do not have to pay royalties on
music downloaded by customers.
In a unanimous 9-0 decision, the court ruled that ISPs are not
responsible for material web surfers download.
The court ruled that companies that provide access to the worldwide
web are "intermediaries" who are not subject to copyright law.
Wed's ruling was a blow for the Society of Composers, Authors and
Music Publishers of Canada, which wanted the court to rule that ISPs
are liable as they are involved in transmitting recorded music.
But the Canadian Cable Television Association, which represents a
number of ISPs, applauded the Supreme Court.
"This decision is a victory for Canadians who have come to rely on the
Internet as an increasingly important part of their daily lives," said
Jay Kerr-Wilson, the society's vice-president for legal affairs.
"The Court has recognised that the Internet is one of the great
innovations of the info age and that its use should be facilitated
rather than discouraged."
It was not the 1st time the Canadian justice system had frustrated the
recording industry.
In Mar, a fed court delivered a stunning blow to the recording
industry's bid to crack down on websites which offer "free music" on
the Internet for users to download.
A judge ruled in Toronto that ISPs could not be forced to name 29 people 
who had allowed their music files to be uploaded by other enthusiasts.
The Canadian recording industry had asked the judge to force ISPs to name 
the so-called "uploaders" so it could target them with copyright lawsuits.
Recording firms are appealing the judgement, claiming that "music
swapping" costs them $mns in lost sales.

Tidbinbilla to guide Cassini into Saturn's orbit
Canberra.  The Tidbinbilla tracking station outside CBR will play a
crucial role as NASA's Cassini spacecraft arrives at Saturn today.  It
has taken 7 y for the ship to reach the planet and is expected to pass
through the planet's ring system at around 10.00 am.  Tidbinbilla has
aligned all 3 of its antennae dishes to communicate with the
spacecraft as it manoeuvres into orbit.  Glen Nagle from the tracking
station says it is a historic mission.  "This is probably the last of
NASA's great space craft missions," he said.  "Spacecraft these days
are faster, better, cheaper and doing probably a relatively limited
number of science objectives.  "This mission is a spacecraft about the
size of a school bus that is absolutely cram-packed with gear that's
going to give us a real insight."

Astronauts start spacewalk to make repairs
Houston (Reuters).  The 2 astronauts aboard the Internat'l Space
Station orbiting the Earth have begun an ambitious spacewalk, a
mission that was aborted abruptly last wk by a spacesuit failure.
Russian Gennady Padalka and American Michael Fincke have ventured from
the airlock on a planned 6-hr job to restore power to one of 4 large
gyroscopes that keep the 200-tonne station stable in flight, with its
arrays of solar-power panels always aimed at the sun.
Last Thu, less than 2 minutes after Mr Fincke departed the air lock,
Russian ground controllers detected a steady drop in the pressure
inside Mr Fincke's primary oxygen tank and ordered him to return to
the station.
The problem proved to be a backup valve stuck in the "on" position
after it had been tested.
"It's dark but very beautiful," said Mr Padalka as he emerged on Wed
during a nighttime pass over Earth.
Later, as Mr Fincke rode the end of a 15-metre construction boom
operated by Mr Padalka, swinging out some 380 km above the ground, the
sun was shining but visibility was poor.
"The sun is in my eyes," Mr Fincke said.
This is an "empty can" spacewalk with no one inside the station to aid
the astronauts in an emergency.
The complex was designed for a minimum crew of 3, but there is only
enough life support for 2.
That situation will not change until the US space shuttles, with their
massive cargo bays, are cleared for flight once again.
The space shuttles have been grounded since the accident that
destroyed the space shuttle Columbia in 2003. Modifications are being
made to the remaining 3.
There is much about the spacewalk that is not strictly by the book.
Although the astronauts will work on the US segment of the station,
they wore Russian spacesuits because 2 of the 3 US suits on board are
not working.
The astronauts may spend hours at a time beyond the reach of the
Russian antennas that relay signals to the Russian suits. So they may
not be able to talk to the ground controllers or each other.
Mr Padalka and Mr Fincke have worked out simple hand signals to
communicate with each other if needed.
If US ground controllers cannot be heard, they will wave the station's
$1 bn robot arm to get the crew's attention.
The astronauts will speak Russian when talking to Mission Control
Moscow and English to Mission Control Houston.
The gyro they will attempt to set right was taken off-line in Apr
after the failure of a switch.
That was the 2nd of 4 Control Moment Gyroscopes to fail. Should a 3rd
fail before power is restored to the second, the station would be
forced to use up stores of precious fuel to reposition itself.
The 1st failed gyro must be replaced, a task now scheduled for the
first return flight of the space shuttle, tentatively set for Mar or
Apr 2005.

Cassini space probe passes through Saturn's rings
Pasadena (ABC, Suzanne Moston).  History has been made at the
Tidbinbilla Tracking Station outside CBR, with the Cassini spacecraft
successfully passing through Saturn's rings and now decelerating into
orbit.  A small crowd at the tracking station watched via satellite as
NASA technicians high-fived and cheered the mission's success.  It has
been a 7-y journey to reach Saturn and Tidbinbilla played a crucial
role.  Its scientists and engineers have controlled all communications
with the Cassini space-craft via its 3 main dishes.  Glen Nagle from
the tracking station describes the craft as about the size of a school
bus jam-packed with gear that will provide a real insight into deep
space.  Saturn's huge rings are composed of dust particles.

{{
Midnight.
The UN says mns of firearms in Iraq threaten nat'l security.  After a
survey the US says 8 mn firearms fell into private hands after the
US-led invasion.  The Geneva-based organisation says the sit'n
threatens the peace -- not just in Iraq, but the whole Middle E.  The
massive shift of weapons has been "disastrous".  The weapons are
being used to attack Coal'n forces and also commit murders and other
crimes.  Weapons can easily be transferred out of the country,
threatening peace in the region for ys to come.  Iraqi police actions
are "too little, too late".  The survey also found there were 200,000
non-war firearm deaths world wide last y.

Ahmed Qurei says a court decision ordering a change to the route of
the Israeli security barrier didn't go far enough, and the whole
structure should be pulled down.

UN Envoy to Bosnia Paddy Ashdown says he'll publish details on how the
Bosnian Serb govt has helped war criminals evade justice.

0.30 am
More than 20,000 people in C India have defined a govt order to quit
their homes which are due to be submerged under the waters of a dam.

4 am
Riyadh.  In a shootout between police and insurgents, 2 rebels have
been killed, along with a policeman.  Police are also chasing at least
2 other rebels.  Authorities have seized a quantity of explosives and
weapons.  In a 9 min interview after the shooting, another rebel who'd
surrendered under the current Saudi amnesty called on his brothers to
do the same.  He didn't indicate what his crimes were, but it was reported 
he'd offered logistic support to Al-Qaeda terrorists in the Kingdom.

1 person has been killed and a dozen wounded in 2 bomb attacks in
Afghanistan.  A dozen aid workers were also kidnapped after rebels
intercepted a truck convoy carrying supplies to a US base.
Authorities have also started a search for a missing Aussie journalist.

The WHO says a polio immunisation program in N Nigeria has resumed.
Islamic clerics have dropped their objections to the program.
[In later reports, water used to make up inoculations in Nigeria has
been given the thumbs down].

The US Fed has raised interest rates by 25 basis points.  This is the
first time rates have been increased in 4 y.

10 am
Oil is up more than $1 to $US37.20/bbl.

Midday.
6 soldiers have been discharged from the AUS army after they tortured
kittens to death during a drinking session in Townsville.  The men had
earlier been fined $2000 for the offence.  The army says they were
not the kind of soldiers they were looking for.  The Def Assoc says
the behaviour was unacceptable. It was an "horrific act", said a rep,
and people like that don't deserve to be in the AUS def force.

SBS says it's briefly heard from a missing reporter in Afghanistan,
but the contact wasn't long enough to determine her status.

An investigation is underway into a breech of security protocols at
SYD airport last night.  A male passenger had tested positive to
explosives during a screening, but was then allowed to board the
aircraft and proceed to Korea, along with his baggage.  The protocol
requires the passenger's luggage to be taken off the aircraft and
searched.  4 hrs into the flight, it was called back to SYD, and the
search was carried out.  Nothing was found and the the plane was
allowed to fly out again at 4 am.  The airline has been asked to
explain the security breech.

12.30 pm
New figures out today show shoppers are spending up big.  There's been
a pick up in spending in May to $15.5 bn.  Seasonally adjusted,
spending is up 1/2% after a decline in Apr.  But there's been a slump
in dept store turnover.  Overall, the retail sector is still showing
moderate growth.

The All Ords is down 3 pts.

The Carr NSW govt is down in opinion polls.  Newspoll shows Carr is at
6 y low approvals, but is still ahead of the opp'n leader
what's-his-name.  On primary vote the govt is at 29% -- on an equal
footing with the state coal'n.  Carr blames his popularity slump on a
sequence of hard decisions he's had to make.

10 pm
A defiant Saddam Hussein has appeared in court in Baghdad.  No
defence lawyer was present.  He appearing gaunt and shabby, but still
claimed to be Pres of Iraq.  Saddam said the court was "just theatre"
set up for the benefit of Pres Bush and his re-election.  Saddam was
accused of gassing Kurds in Halabja and invading Kuwait.  The former
dictator side-stepped the gassing charge, but defended his Kuwait
invasion, saying it was an Iraqi territory and had been stealing oil
from Iraq.  He refused to sign documents indicating he'd been read his
rights, unless his lawyer was present.

450,000 people have taken part in a pro-democracy rally in C HK.  The
demo will put pressure on China after it denied a transition to full
democratic elections in the special region.  The demo also marks the
7th anniversary of HK's returns to China.  Protesters called for the
removal of Uncle Tung.  The rally went off peacefully.

A section of the GBR has become the biggest area of protected ocean in
the world.  Recreational fishermen say they've been kicked out of
their usual spots.  The Fed Govt says there's still 1/4 mn km2 of GBR
they can still fish.  Some studies have indicated the fishing industry
could loose $22 mn pa from the closure.

Pyongyang has accused the US of spying.  The NK Central News Agency
says there were 150 US missions over the country last m alone.  It
says Washington is preparing to launch a surprise attack.

The AUD is trading at 70.40 US c.  In London, the FTSE is up 15 pts.
Local gold is at $US395.10/oz.

11.30 pm
Pictures have been shown of the Saddam Hussein pre-trial.  They went
out without sound in the West.  But al-Jazeera managed to broadcast
pix and sound.  The judge was also meant to be hidden for security
reasons.  But the pix clearly showed the judge and other court
officials in profile.
}}

----------------------------------------
Fri, 02 Jul 2004.

	HEADLINES:
Unfulfilled promises for Iraq show limits of military force
US newspaper mocks Bremer's "sneaky" departure from Iraq
Saddam Hussein faces trial charges in Iraq
Poland to cut troops in Iraq
Mounting costs of Iraq war
Jordan considers sending troops to Iraq
Cheney says Iraq war has made US, the world safer
Bush increasingly unpopular due to Iraq: poll
Allegations surface Halliburton wasted tax dollars in Iraq
16 killed in Turkish quake: report
2 Palestinians killed as Israeli troops detain 35 in Jericho
6 wounded during Gaza City incursion
AUS signs ASEAN anti-terror agreement
Afghanistan elections face more delays
Aussie PM won't oppose death penalty for Saddam
Aust dollar gains 
Bush "pleased" Saddam on trial
Celebrations erupt as Greece books spot in Euro final
Citrus industry pushes for China access
Commonwealth Bank staff vote to continue industrial action
Court quashes Mickelberg convictions
Cyclists await doping inquiry findings
E Timor assignment ends for AQIS officers
Former clerks convicted over police threats
Home building construction gains momentum
Howard wants Hicks, Habib tried in US
Ill health forces postponement of Milosevic defence
Illegal transactions lead to good behaviour bonds for brothers
Iran says Brit "incorrect" over captured sailors
Kuwait says Saddam must die
Labor promises telemarketing register
Latham "verballed" Cosgrove: Downer
Latham plays down past altercation
Law council calls for sex offender register safeguards
Many Montrealers forget politics to celebrate Canada's birthday
Mud a must for filthy rich buyer
N Korea accuses US of planning attack
Ombudsman calls for accountable terror laws
Police raid Collins home
Powell meets with N Korean counterpart
Rabies-infected organs kill 3 in US
Receivers seal off Nauru MEL office
Relations between Brit and Iran continue to worsen
Review prompts museum overhaul
SA moves to attract big business
SYD street evacuated during siege
Saddam defiant in court appearance
Saddam defiant in face of genocide charges
Saturn pictures yield surprising find
Sudan urged to take urgent action to protect refugees
Sudan villagers tell of burning and rape
Telemarketers signal need for nat'l register
The rise and fall of Saddam
US bombs Fallujah target
US jobless benefit claims rise
US lawyers demand access to Habib
US rebukes Israel on W Bank outposts
US turns away ships for security failures
WA passes stem cell laws
Yudhoyono leads Indonesian poll


US jobless benefit claims rise
Washington (AFP).  The number of new claimants for US unemployment
benefits edged higher last wk, posting the 3rd consecutive increase,
govt data showed.
The number of new claimants climbed 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted
351,000 in the wk ended Jun 26 following a jump of 14,000 the prev wk,
the Labor Dept said.
The result disappointed private economists who had forecast a moderate
fall in claims.
A four-wk average of new claims, which smoothes out weekly blips, rose
2,500 to 347,000.
In raw, unadjusted figures, the number of people filing new claims for
unemployment benefits fell 3,311 to 320,120. There were 394,214 claims
in the comparable period last y.

Aust dollar gains 
The Aussie dollar has gained in value overnight.
Sydney.  There have been further gains in the value of the Aussie
dollar overnight.
Currency analysts say the main impetus appears to have been the strong
Tankan business report published yesterday in Japan.
The local dollar has traded as high as 70.71 US cents during the night.
At about 7.15 am the Aussie dollar was quoted at 70.41 US cents, and
on the cross-rates, it was worth 57.93 euro cents; 76.32 yen; 38.68
pence sterling; and against the NZD it was worth $NZ1.099.
On Wall Street, prices on the NY Stock Exchange fell 1% in the latest
session as investors were unsettled by weak Jun sales figures from
General Motors and Ford, which were down 15 and 8% respectively.
That has been in stark contrast with foreign car makers Honda, Hyundai
and BMW, which are all boasting record US sales for the m.
At the same time, computer chip maker, Intel Corporation, has issued a
disappointing revenue forecast.
A further jump in crude oil prices has been of concern on equity
markets and the looming Independence Day holiday has also started to
dampen activity.
The DJIA has closed 101 points lower at 10,334 and there was a 1.5%
slide on the high tech Nasdaq market.
The Nasdaq composite index has dropped 32 points to 2,016.
The Brit share market has suffered another substantial set back with
shares in supermarket chain, Sainsbury, falling almost 6% after its
2nd profit warning in 4 m.
London's FT100 index is down a further 39 points at 4,425, which is a
slide of 0.9%.
Yesterday, the Aussie market moved ahead again but managed only mild
gains with the All Ords adding 4 points to 3,534.
The gold price is at $US396.05/oz and oil prices have surged higher
after indications OPEC might balk over promised production increases.
West Texas crude has jumped to around $US38.56/bbl.

Sudan urged to take urgent action to protect refugees
The UN is urging the Sudanese Govt to take urgent action to protect
more than 1 mn refugees.
Darfur (ABC, Sally Sara and wires).  UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan is urging
the Sudanese Govt to take urgent action to protect more than 1 mn
displaced people in the country's Darfur region.
Mr Annan has visited some of the worst affected areas of Darfur in
western Sudan and says the refugees will not be forced to return home
without guarantees of protection.
He met with govt officials and some of the estimated 1.2 mn people who
have been displaced by unrest in the region.
Mr Annan says the situation in Darfur is one of the biggest logistical
nightmares the UN has ever faced.
Residents have been forced to flee their homes because of ongoing
attacks by Arab militia groups.
The Sudanese Govt has denied it is supporting the militias.
Mr Annan is urging the Govt to restore order so that families can
return to their villages.
Meanwhile, some 10,000 people in Darfur could die of cholera and dysentery 
in Jul alone unless a massive aid operation can be set up to helicopter 
in food and medicines, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.
A cholera epidemic could break out within wk now that heavy rains have
begun, striking 200,000 to 300,000 of the displaced people in the
troubled Darfur region, a top WHO official told a news briefing.
"We anticipate that if things go ahead as at the moment, 10,000 people
will die in the next m," David Nabarro, head of WHO's unit for health
action in crises, told a news briefing in Geneva after a trip to Darfur.
"However, if we can get a strong, effective relief operation in place
then we can bring that death rate down to less than 3,000 people in
the next m," he said.
Dr Nabarro said this could be done by preparing for diarrhoea,
cholera, dysentery, malaria and other infectious diseases.

16 killed in Turkish quake: report
[Later reports say 19 killed].
Istanbul.  16 people were killed and 50 injured when an earthquake hit
villages in the NE Turkish province of Agri, Turkish media said.
Local officials said many houses had collapsed in the quake, which
struck 3 villages in Dogubayazit district nr the Iranian border at
1.30 am local time, but no one was believed to be still buried in the
rubble.  "I don't think the death toll will rise because it's summer,"
Agri Governor Huseyin Yavuzdemir said, referring to the fact that many
people move to homes in the mountains in summer m to escape the heat.
Istanbul's Kandilli Observatory said the quake measured 5.1 on the
Richter scale.  Earthquakes are common in Turkey, which is
criss-crossed by geological fault lines.  9 people were killed and
dozens injured when a quake of the same magnitude hit Erzurum province
in eastern Turkey in Mar.  A massive quake in Aug 1999 killed some
18,000 people in an industrial area of NW Turkey.

Unfulfilled promises for Iraq show limits of military force
Op/Ed (USA Today).  Who can forget the made-for-the-history-books
moment on May 1, 2003?  That was the day the US mission in Iraq
shifted dramatically from destroying a brutal regime to building a new nation.
14 m later, the image of Pres Bush landing on an aircraft carrier that
just returned from the war is indelible. As he declared major combat
operations over, Bush outlined a blueprint for bringing democracy to
Iraq. Far from whimsy, the next phase, he said, would be the way to
shape Iraq's -- and the region's -- future, as well as to safeguard
the US from terrorism.
As the sun glinted off the sea and a "Mission Accomplished" banner
underscored the unexpectedly quick US military success -- only 6 wks
and 138 US troops lost -- the telegraphed subtext was clear.
The reconstruction plan would unfold as smoothly as an invasion that
had proved so many skeptics wrong.
But, as the still-relevant 19th century Prussian military strategist
Carl von Clausewitz warned: "No battle plan ever survives the 1st
contact with the enemy." That applies also to the postwar phase.
Bush's vow on the carrier deck to locate weapons of mass destruction,
rebuild a shattered infrastructure and create a govt "of, by and for
the Iraqi people" remains unfulfilled.
Yes, the US has rid Iraq of a tyrant. Today, Saddam Hussein and 11 top
members of his regime are to appear in an Iraqi court, one step toward
their trials for war crimes. Some rebuilding is underway. And the US
has planted seeds of a representative govt. An appointed leadership
reflecting Iraq's main groups formally took charge from US authorities
on Mon, an interim constitution has been adopted, and elections are
scheduled for early next y.
Yet those achievements have been overshadowed by a bloody insurgency
that is putting Bush's goal of creating a prosperous democracy at
risk. The reality today is that no WMD have been found, and the
persistent violence has halted most reconstruction projects and
sabotaged such economic life supports as oil pipelines. Meanwhile, the
temporary Iraqi govt still has to win legitimacy from ordinary Iraqis
while relying on 160,000 US and other foreign troops for security.
The far-bleaker picture on the ground than the US might have imagined
a y ago provides 2 sobering lessons:
Strategic objectives are never as easy to achieve as they seem at the
outset of a campaign. And finding a way out of a conflict,
particularly when it entails nation-building, is far more daunting
than getting into one.
That is why military force should always be used judiciously to
advance US interests. As a candidate in 2000, Bush wisely warned of
the risks of such a difficult enterprise as nation-building. Yet, as
president, he reversed course after launching the US war on terrorism.
Now that the US has committed itself to rebuilding Iraq, it can't just
turn tail in the face of a continuing security nightmare. A hasty
retreat could damage Iraqi and US interests by encouraging a civil war
and increasing the possibility that Iraq could turn into an
Afghanistan-like terrorist base.
Poor US planning for a postwar Iraq is partly to blame for today's
difficulties. After Saddam's army melted away, US forces failed to
police the streets to ensure order. The Pentagon rejected a sensible
State Dept plan to get basic social functions up and running. Other
missteps included a decision to disband the Iraqi army, which could
have helped thwart a budding insurgency, and the failure to win
greater internat'l support.
The prisoner-abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib has only inflamed Iraqi opp'n
to the US occupation.
Just as important, the US ignored relevant lessons of history. In the
1920s, the Brit also attempted to bring some representative govt to
Iraq. After getting hopelessly bogged down in a culture that resisted
outsiders, the Brit gave up and installed a strongman, though they were 
forced to keep troops in the country until the 1950s to maintain stability.
Likewise, US troops are preparing for a long stay in Iraq, which will
have the biggest -- and most fortified -- US Embassy in the world. They 
can be most effective staying in the background and letting the new
Iraqi govt call the security shots as it prepares for Jan's elections.
Ultimately, the US may have to settle for an Iraqi system that falls
short of American-style democracy, as long as basic US security
interests are met. They include ensuring that Iraq does not destabilise 
the region or its oil supplies, and preventing the country from
becoming a terrorist focal point.
Such an outcome is hardly the bold vision Bush described during the
stirring celebration aboard the aircraft carrier. And even achieving a
more modest goal of stability is not guaranteed.
The US experience in Iraq for the past 14 m underscores the danger of
promises that -- to borrow yet more von Clausewitz advice -- can't
withstand the harsh realities of both war and the occupation that follows.

Poland to cut troops in Iraq
[Just as long as Australia doesn't pull out ITS 200 troops!]
Warsaw (AFP).  Poland plans a big cut in its 2,600 troops in Iraq
early next y but the new interim Govt there will decide exactly when
they leave, Polish Defence Min Jerzy Szmajdzinski said.
"Our forecast is that developments in Iraq will allow us to
significantly reduce our presence in Iraq at the start of 2005", he
told a televised parliamentary session of the Lower House, the Diet.
But he said the Polish contingent was in Iraq "at the express request
of the authorities of that country and it is they who will determine
how long we will be there".
He added that details of the scaling down of the Polish presence would
be published in Sep.
Poland is in charge of a multinat'l brigade of 6,200 troops in a
majority Shiite Muslim area S of Baghdad which is part of the
150,000-strong US-led force in Iraq.
PM Marek Belka told Parliament last wk that the adoption of a UN Sec
Council resolution backing the new interim Govt had created a "new
situation" in Iraq.
He was speaking after an opinion poll said that 74% of Poles opposed
the military presence there.

Jordan considers sending troops to Iraq
[The Poles are pulling out...]
London (Reuters).  Jordan has said it was willing to send troops to
Iraq, becoming the first Arab state to do so, if Baghdad's new interim
Govt requested it.
King Abdullah, whose country would also be the 1st of Iraq's neighbours 
to send troops, was speaking in a TV interview with BBC program Newsnight.
He said he had not yet discussed the issue with Iraqis.
King Abdullah's comments were welcomed by US officials and reflect a
major shift in his country's views on the internat'l military presence
in Iraq, now that Washington has handed power to Prime Min Iyad
Allawi's interim Govt.
"My position has been beforehand not to send troops ... because of
Jordanian history with Iraq," he said.
"I felt that all countries that surround Iraq have their own agendas,
so maybe we're not the right people to go in for the job."
"However, now there's an interim Govt and, we hope, a fully
independent process very soon in Iraq. I presume, if the Iraqis ask us
for help directly it will be very difficult for us to say no," he said.
"My message to the Pres and PM is: tell us what you want, tell us how
we can help and we have 110% support for this," he said.
Iraq's former Governing Council, the US-backed authority that preceded
the interim Govt sworn in this wk, firmly refused to have any troops
from neighbouring countries on its soil, raising the possibility any
offer now by Jordan might also be turned down.
US officials welcomed the prospect of Jordanian troops in Iraq but
were at pains to portray any such move as a service to Iraq rather
than the US.
"A key thing to keep in mind is that the world and internat'l
community are no longer responding directly to the US.
They're responding to the sovereign nation of Iraq," said a snr
official who asked not to be identified.
"To have a neighbour, to have Muslim troops contribute to the stability 
of the country, would be important because they [Iraq] need assistance
on security. To have fellow Arabs patrolling I'm sure would be welcome."
In a response to a US request, Turkey said last y that it was ready to
send troops to Iraq but then withdrew the offer when the Governing
Council opposed the move.
At the time, Jordan criticised Turkey's troops offer.
Before last y's Iraq war, Jordan trod a diplomatic tightrope, wanting
to avoid its mistake over the 1991 Gulf War when it refused to join an
anti-Iraq coalition that led to isolation by oil-rich Gulf states.
Public opinion in Jordan, whose population is mostly of Palestinian
origin, is strongly opposed to US policy in the region and to Jordan's
1994 peace treaty with Israel.

Bush increasingly unpopular due to Iraq: poll
Washington.  US Pres George W Bush is becoming increasingly unpopular
because of his Iraq policy, the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll
shows.  To the question whether "removing Saddam Hussein from power
was worth it," voters said "no" by 51 to 40%.  "Americans still
believe that Saddam Hussein was a bad guy and still support the
military. But the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows most
voters believe the Iraq policy has failed, increasingly mistrust the
Pres, worry that we will stay too long, and -- even if, as they
suspect, conditions worsen -- want Americans to get out sooner rather
than later," the WSJ said.  "A majority of Americans," said the paper,
"now believe that the Iraq war has not been worth the costs; key swing
voters in this closely divided presidential race feel that even more deeply."

Mounting costs of Iraq war
Op/Ed (CBNNEWS).
"Following are the key findings of a study by the Institute for Policy
Studies and Foreign Policy in Focus."
[Full report with citations available at:
http://www.ips-dc.org/iraq/costsofwar/costsofwar.pdf].
I. COSTS TO THE US
A. Human costs
US MILITARY DEATHS
Between the start of war on Mar 19, 2003 and Jun 16, 2004, 952
coalition forces were killed, including 836 US military. Of the total,
693 were killed after Pres Bush, declared the end of combat operations
on May 1, 2003. Over 5,134 US troops have been wounded since the war
began, including 4,593 since May 1, 2003.
CONTRACTOR DEATHS
Estimates range from 50 to 90 civilian contractors, missionaries and
civilian worker deaths. Of these, 36 were identified as Americans.
JOURNALISTS DEATHS
30 internat'l media workers have been killed in Iraq, including 21
since Pres Bush, declared the end of combat operations. 8 of the dead
worked for US companies.
B. SECURITY COSTS
TERRORIST RECRUITMENT AND ACTION
According to the London-based Internat'l Institute for Strategic
Studies, al-Qaeda's membership is now at 18,000, with 1,000 active in
Iraq. A former CIA analyst and State Dept official has documented 390
deaths and 1,892 injuries due to terrorist attacks in 2003. In
addition, there were 98 suicide attacks around the world in 2003, more
than any y in contemporary history.
MILITARY MISTAKES
A number of former military officials have criticised the war,
including retired Marine Gen Anthony Zinni, former cmdr of the US
Central Command, who has charged that by manufacturing a false
rationale for war, abandoning traditional allies, propping up and
trusting Iraqi exiles, and failing to plan for post-war Iraq, the Bush
Admin made the US less secure.
LOW US CREDIBILITY
Polls reveal that the war has damaged the US govt's standing and
credibility in the world. Surveys in 8 European and Arab countries
demonstrated broad public agreement that the war has hurt, rather than
helped, the war on terrorism. At home, 54% of Americans polled by the
Annenberg Election Survey felt that the "the situation in Iraq was not
worth going to war over."
LOW TROOP MORALE AND LACK OF EQUIPMENT
A Mar 2004 army survey found 52% of soldiers reporting low morale, and
3/4 reporting they were poorly led by their officers. Lack of
equipment has been an ongoing problem. The Army did not fully equip
soldiers with bullet-proof vests until Jun 2004, forcing many families
to purchase them out of their own pockets.
LOSS OF FIRST RESPONDERS
Nat'l Guard troops make up almost one-third of the US Army troops now
in Iraq. Their deployment puts a particularly heavy burden on their
home communities because many are "first responders," including
police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel. For example, 44%
of the country's police forces have lost officers to Iraq. In some
states, the absence of so many Guard troops has raised concerns about
the ability to handle natural disasters.
USE OF PRIVATE CONTRACTORS
An estimated 20,000 private contractors are carrying out work in Iraq
traditionally done by the military, despite the fact that they often
lack sufficient training and are not accountable to the same
guidelines and reviews as military personnel.
C. ECONOMIC COSTS
THE BILL SO FAR
Congress has already approved of $126.1 bn for Iraq and an additional
$25 bn is heading towards Congressional approval, for a total of
$151.1 bn through this y.
Congressional leaders have promised an additional supplemental
appropriation after the election.
LONG-TERM IMPACT ON US ECONOMY
Economist Doug Henwood has estimated that the war bill will add up to
an average of at least $3,415 for every US household. Another
economist, James Galbraith of the University of Texas, predicts that
while war spending may boost the economy initially, over the long-term
it is likely to bring a decade of economic troubles, including an
expanded trade deficit and high inflation.
OIL PRICES
Gas prices topped $2 a gallon in May 2004, a development that most
analysts attribute at least in part to the deteriorating situation in
Iraq. According to a mid-May CBS survey, 85% of Americans said they
had been affected measurably by higher gas prices. According to one
estimate, if crude oil prices stay around $40/bbl for a y, US gross
domestic product will decline by more than $50 bn.
ECONOMIC IMPACT ON MILITARY FAMILIES
Since the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 364,000
reserve troops and Nat'l Guard soldiers have been called for military
service, serving tours of duty that often last 20 m. Studies show that
between 30% and 40% of reservists and Nat'l Guard members earn a lower
salary when they leave civilian employment for military
deployment. Army Emergency Relief has reported that requests from
military families for food stamps and subsidised meals increased
"several hundred%" between 2002 and 2003.
D. SOCIAL COSTS
US BUDGET AND SOCIAL PROGRAMS
The Bush Admin's combination of massive spending on the war and tax
cuts for the wealthy means less money for social spending. The
$151.1-bn expenditure for the war through this y could have paid for:
close to 23 mn housing vouchers; health care for over 27 mn uninsured
Americans; salaries for nearly 3 mn elementary-school teachers;
678,200 new fire engines; over 20 mn Head Start slots for children; or
health-care coverage for 82 mn children. Instead, the Admin's FY 2005
budget request proposes deep cuts in critical domestic programs and
virtually freezes funding for domestic discretionary programs other
than homeland security.
Fed spending cuts will deepen the budget crises for local and state
govts, which are expected to suffer a $6-bn shortfall in 2005.
SOCIAL COSTS TO THE MILITARY
Thus far, the Army has extended the tours of duty of 20,000
soldiers. These extensions have been particularly difficult for
reservists, many of whom never expected to face such long separations
from their jobs and families.
According to military policy, reservists are not supposed to be on
assignment for more than 12 m every 5-6 y. To date, the average tour
of duty for all soldiers in Iraq has been 320 days. A recent Army survey 
revealed that more than 1/2 of soldiers said they would not reenlist.
COSTS TO VETERAN HEALTH CARE
About 64% of the more than 5,000 US soldiers injured in Iraq received
wounds that prevented them from returning to duty. One trend has been
an increase in amputees, the result of improved body armour that
protects vital organs but not extremities. As in previous wars, many
soldiers are likely to have received ailments that will not be
detected for y to come. The Veterans Admin health care system is not
prepared for the swelling number of claims. In May, the House of
Representatives approved funding for FY 2005 that is $2.6-bn less than
needed, according to veterans' groups.
MENTAL HEALTH COSTS
A Dec 2003 Army report was sharply critical of the military's handling
of mental health issues. It found that more than 15% of soldiers in
Iraq screened positive for traumatic stress, 7.3% for anxiety, and
6.9% for depression. The suicide rate among soldiers increased from an
8-y average of 11.9 per 100,000 to 15.6 per 100,000 in 2003. Almost
1/2 of soldiers surveyed reported not knowing how to obtain mental
health services.
II. COSTS TO IRAQ
A. HUMAN COSTS
IRAQI DEATHS AND INJURIES
As of Jun 16, 2004, between 9,436 and 11,317 Iraqi civilians have been
killed as a result of the US invasion and ensuing occupation, while an
estimated 40,000 Iraqis have been injured. During "major combat" operations, 
between 4,895 and 6,370 Iraqi soldiers and insurgents were killed.
EFFECTS OF DEPLETED URANIUM
The health impacts of the use of depleted uranium weaponry in Iraq are
yet to be known. The Pentagon estimates that US and Brit forces used
1,100 to 2,200 tons of weaponry made from the toxic and radioactive
metal during the Mar 2003 bombing campaign. Many scientists blame the
far smaller amount of DU weapons used in the Persian Gulf War for
illnesses among US soldiers, as well as a 7-fold increase in child
birth defects in Basra in S Iraq.
B. SECURITY COSTS
RISE IN CRIME
Murder, rape and kidnapping have sky-rocketed since Mar 2003, forcing
Iraqi children to stay home from school and women to stay off the
streets at night. Violent deaths rose from an average of 14 per m in
2002 to 357 per m in 2003.
PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT
Living under occupation without the most basic security has devastated
the Iraqi population. A poll by the US Coalition Provisional Authority
in May 2004, found that 80% of Iraqis say they have "no confidence" in
either the US civilian authorities or in the coalition forces, and 55%
would feel safer if US and other foreign troops left the country immediately.
C. THE ECONOMIC COSTS
UNEMPLOYMENT
Iraqi joblessness doubled from 30% before the war to 60% in the summer
of 2003. While the Bush Admin now claims that unemployment has
dropped, only 1% of Iraq's workforce of 7 mn is involved in
reconstruction projects.
CORPORATE WAR PROFITEERING
Most of Iraq's reconstruction has been contracted out to US companies,
rather than experienced Iraqi firms.
Top contractor Halliburton is being investigated for charging $160 mn
for meals that were never served to troops and $61 mn in cost overruns
on fuel deliveries. Halliburton employees also took $6 mn in kickbacks
from sub-contractors, while other employees have reported extensive waste, 
including the abandonment of $85,000 trucks because they had flat tires.
IRAQ'S OIL ECONOMY
Anti-occupation violence has prevented Iraq from capitalising on its
oil assets. There have been an estimated 130 attacks on Iraq's oil
infrastructure. In 2003, Iraq's oil production dropped to 1.33 mn bpd,
down from 2.04 mn in 2002.
HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE
After more than a decade of crippling sanctions, Iraq's health
facilities were further damaged during the war and post-invasion
looting. Iraq's hospitals continue to suffer from lack of supplies and
an overwhelming number of patients.
EDUCATION
UNICEF estimates that more than 200 schools were destroyed in the
conflict and 1000s more were looted in the chaos following the fall of
Saddam Hussein. Largely because of security concerns, school
attendance in Apr 2004, was well below prewar levels.
ENVIRONMENT
The US-led attack damaged water and sewage systems and the country's
fragile desert ecosystem. It also resulted in oil well fires that
spewed smoke across the country and left un-exploded ordnance that
continues to endanger the Iraqi people and environment. Mines and
un-exploded ordnance cause an estimated 20 casualties pm.
HUMAN RIGHTS COSTS
Even with Saddam Hussein overthrown, Iraqis continue to face human rights 
violations from occupying forces. In addition to the widely publicised
humiliation and abuse of prisoners, the US military is investigating
the deaths of 34 detainees as a result of interrogation techniques.
SOVEREIGNTY COSTS
Despite the proclaimed "transfer of sovereignty" to Iraq, the country
will continue to be occupied by the US and coalition troops and have
severely limited political and economic independence. The interim govt
will not have the authority to reverse the nearly 100 orders by CPA
head Paul Bremer that, among other things, allow for the privatisation
of Iraq's state-owned enterprises and prohibit preferences for
domestic firms in reconstruction.
III. COSTS TO THE WORLD
HUMAN COSTS
While Americans make up the vast majority of military and contractor
personnel in Iraq, other US-allied "coalition" troops have suffered
116 war casualties in Iraq. In addition, the focus on Iraq has
diverted internat'l resources and attention away from humanitarian
crises such as in Sudan.
INTERNATIONAL LAW
The unilateral US decision to go to war in Iraq violated the UN
Charter, setting a dangerous precedent for other countries to seize
any opportunity to respond militarily to claimed threats, whether real
or contrived, that must be "preempted." The US military has also
violated the Geneva Convention, making it more likely that in the
future, other nations will ignore these protections in their treatment
of civilian populations and detainees.
THE UN
At every turn, the Bush Admin has attacked the legitimacy and
credibility of the UN, undermining the institution's capacity to act
in the future as the centrepiece of global disarmament and conflict
resolution. The recent efforts of the Bush Admin to gain UN acceptance
of an Iraqi govt that was not elected but rather installed by
occupying forces undermines the entire notion of nat'l sovereignty as
the basis for the UN Charter.
COALITIONS
Faced with opp'n in the UN Sec Council, the US govt attempted to
create the illusion of multilateral support for the war by pressuring
other govts to join a so-called "Coalition of the Willing." This not
only circumvented UN authority, but also undermined democracy in many
coalition countries, where public opp'n to the war was as high as 90%.
GLOBAL ECONOMY
The $151.1-bn spent by the US govt on the war could have cut world
hunger in 1/2 and covered HIV/AIDS medicine, childhood immunisation
and clean water and sanitation needs of the developing world for more
than 2 y. As a factor in the oil-price hike, the war has created concerns 
of a return to the "stagflation" of the 1970s. Already, the world's
major airlines are expecting an increase in costs of $1 bn or more pm.
GLOBAL SECURITY
The US-led war and occupation have galvanised internat'l terrorist
organisations, placing people not only in Iraq but around the world at
greater risk of attack. The State Dept's annual report on internat'l
terrorism reported that in 2003, there was the highest level of
terror-related incidents deemed "significant" than at any time since
the US began issuing these figures.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
US-fired depleted uranium weapons have contributed to pollution of
Iraq's land and water, with inevitable spillover effects in other
countries. The heavily polluted Tigris River, for example, flows
through Iraq, Iran and Kuwait.
HUMAN RIGHTS
The Justice Dept memo assuring the Whitehouse that torture was legal
stands in stark violation of the Internat'l Convention Against Torture
(of which the US is a signatory). This, combined with the widely
publicised mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by the US intel officials,
gave new license for torture and mistreatment by govts around the world.

Allegations surface Halliburton wasted tax dollars in Iraq
A Halliburton insider alleged Wed the company purposely wasted tax
dollars in Iraq.
Houston (KPRC).  Former Halliburton employee Marie DeYoung said the
company made no effort to hold down costs because everything was
passed on to taxpayers.
DeYoung showed News2Houston documents detailing the alleged waste,
which included $50,000 charges for sodas ($45 per case) and $1 mn per
m to clean clothes.
The former Halliburton worker said the company responded to her
complaints, saying, " We can be as dumb and stupid as we want in the
first y of war ... nobody's going to care. They're using war an excuse
but it's not the war. It's very bad management," DeYoung told News2Houston.
In a later statement from Halliburton, the company said the soda
problem has been corrected and the laundry charges were being investigated.
The company said the allegations are not true and that the company is
cavalier about taxpayer money.

Cheney says Iraq war has made US, the world safer
New Orleans (Reuters).  VP Dick Cheney said on Thu the Bush Admin's
war on terrorism had brought "decisive and relentless action" against
extremists and said the world and America were safer because of it.
In a speech meant to build positive election-y momentum from the wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan, Cheney implicitly blamed the former Admin of
Bill Clinton for failing to act against mounting terrorism in the 1990s.
"Terrorists were on the offensive around the world, emboldened by many
ys of attacks," when he and Pres Bush took office in Jan 2001, Cheney said.
But "all that has changed [as] ... we answered that challenge [from
Islamic extremists] with decisive and relentless action," he told
Republican supporters at the Nat'l D-Day Museum in New Orleans.
"America is safer and the world more secure because Iraq and
Afghanistan are now partners in the struggle against terror, instead
of sanctuaries for terrorist networks," he said.
Public opinion polls show Bush lost support among voters with the
growth of violence and instability in Iraq after last y's US-led war.
Cheney spoke 3 days after the US restored sovereignty to Iraq and on
the day that Saddam appeared in an Iraqi court to face legal charges
from his days in power.
The Admin hopes such events will turn the page on the US intervention.
In the speech, Cheney repeated his position that Saddam's regime had
"long-established ties with al Qaeda," the radical Islamist group
behind the Sep 11, 2001 attacks on America. An independent US
investigative panel has said it found no evidence of collaboration
between Iraq and al Qaeda.
* WAR ON TERRORISM
Cheney's remarks were a new attempt to regain the initiative from
critics and persuade American voters that the Bush-Cheney combination
is the best team to keep the country secure.

Yudhoyono leads Indonesian poll
Indonesian presidential candidates end campaigning. 
Jakarta (ABC, Peter Cave).  Campaigning has ended in Indonesia in the
lead-up to the 1st direct presid'l election in the country's history.
The final polls show that former general and security minister Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono maintains a huge lead over the other 4 contenders.
According to the polls, former general Yudhoyono is on 43% and almost
30 points ahead of his nearest rival, another former general Wiranto.
Just a few points separate Wiranto, the current Pres Megawati
Sukarnoputri and the Nat'l Assembly chairman Amien Rais.
The polls indicate that the last challenger, Vice-Pres Hamzah Haz is
not even in the race on 2%.
Polls can be wrong of course, as they were in India earlier this y,
but most observers agree that the leading polls in Indonesia are both
scientific and accurate.
The main question, which will be answered on Mon when 153 mn eligible
voters go to the booths, will be whether Mr Yudhoyono will be elected
next wk or in a runoff in Sep.

US turns away ships for security failures
NY.  On the 1st day of new global rules to protect ships and ports
from terrorist attacks, the US has turned away 6 out of 265 ships for
failing to have valid security certificates.  The rules, which have
the backing of the UN, require port facilities, owners of large ships
and unloading companies to make stringent plans to prevent attacks.
Fears of a Sep the 11 style attack on shipping have prompted the
industry to overhaul security.  From today, ships in ports everywhere
must be certified under a new internat'l maritime code as having
appropriate security equipment, security procedures and suitably
trained staff.  However many in the industry say disruption to trade
is inevitable, as nearly 1/2 the world's ships and ports do not yet
meet the required standard.

Sudan villagers tell of burning and rape
El-Fashir, Sudan (AP).  First come the airplanes. Then the horsemen
who burn, rape and kill. Over and over, terrified villagers told the
same story Thu as UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan got a firsthand look at the
crisis engulfing Sudan's Darfur region.
Annan, accompanied by govt ministers and snr UN staff, toured one of
the 137 camps where some of the 1 mn people chased from their homes
over the past 16 m have sought shelter.
Sitting on mats shaded by trees, he chatted with camp elders and women
who described the waves of attacks humanitarian workers have likened
to ethnic cleansing.
Human rights groups accuse the Sudanese govt of backing militias of
Arab herders, known as the Janjaweed, in a campaign to forcibly remove
African farming communities from the vast W region where they have
coexisted, and in some cases inter-married, for centuries. Camp
residents echoed their accounts Thu.
"First the planes were flying over us and bombing us. Then the
Janjaweed came," said a 20-yo woman, who gave her name only as
Zahara. "They started to shoot and burn. They took all our
belongings. They took men and slit their throats with swords. The
women they took as concubines."
Zahara, a mother of four, lost her parents in the panic and has no
idea what happened to them. She is now among the estimated 12,000
people living in makeshift shelters of branches and plastic sheeting
at Zam Zam camp, just S of the N Darfur town of El-Fashir.
Here, at least, there have been no attacks, residents said. But women
say they don't dare venture out for fear of meeting the militias they
say regularly abduct and rape African women and girls.
Annan -- who is on a 3-wk tour to the Middle East, Africa, Asia and
Europe -- has raised the possibility of sending in internat'l troops
if Sudan's govt can't safeguard its people in Darfur.
In a meeting with Sudanese Cabinet ministers Wed, he said he wanted to
see progress in the next 24-48 hr in resolving the conflict, which has
killed up to 30,000 people and left some 2 mn in desperate need of aid.
The US called on the UN to impose an arms embargo and travel ban on
the Arab militias in a draft resolution submitted Wed to coincide with
a visit to Darfur by Secretary of State Colin Powell. Powell presented
the Sudanese govt with a timetable to implement its promises to disarm
the militias, lift restrictions on humanitarian workers and negotiate
a settlement to the 16-m uprising.
The Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Army, 2
groups drawn from the region's African tribes, took up arms in Feb
2003 over what they call unjust treatment by the govt in their
struggle with their Arab countrymen in Darfur. A cease-fire was signed
Apr 8, but both sides accuse each other of violations.
The rebel movements also are confronting Arab militias blamed by humanitarian 
groups for attacks that have razed 100s of villages in the area.
The govt denies any complicity in the militia attacks and says the
warring sides are clashing over land and scarce water resources.
"The govt did not use the Janjaweed or ask them to come in [the conflict]," 
Osman Keber, governor of N Darfur, told Annan on Thu. "We do not deny
that they did a lot of atrocities, but they came by their own agenda."
He underscored that rebels are also committing abuses and reiterated
the govt's pledge to improve security and disarm all armed groups.
In their talks with Annan, Cabinet members said the govt planned to
double the number of nat'l police in the region to 6,000.
Annan welcomed this commitment Wed, saying: "I think we are all agreed
... without security, the people are not going to go back to their villages."
"I am happy to hear that the govt accepts its responsibility for
protection," he said.
But for the villagers sheltering at Zam Zam, the news was no consolation.
"The ones who hit us with planes, we don't trust them," said 19-yo
Sakina Mohammed Idris.
She said she was among 42 girls captured in her village by turbaned
raiders and forced on a 21-day journey on foot through the desert.
Along the way, the women were raped. When the militiamen tired of
them, they were released.
"They spoiled me 3 times," she said bitterly.
While the governor insisted stability is returning to the N of the region, 
humanitarian workers said attacks continue, particularly in the W.
Over the past week, 100s of desperate refugees congregated at another
site nr El-Fashir, hoping for assistance. But when Annan arrived to
meet with them Wed, the settlement was deserted.
Only their donkeys remained.
Social Affairs Min Ahnoun Mohammed Ebrahim pointed to heavy flooding
in the area and said the refugees had been moved overnight to a better
camp already serviced by UN agencies and aid groups.
But UN officials said that place was already overcrowded and the
refugees were certain to be turned away.
A UN rep in NY said humanitarian workers were investigating the
disappearance of about 5,000 refugees from the site.

Ill health forces postponement of Milosevic defence
The Hague (Reuters).  The UN Nations war crimes court is to postpone
the start of Slobodan Milosevic's defence from next wk because of his
ill health, the lawyer of the former Serb strongman has said.
Milosevic is charged with genocide and crimes against humanity in
Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s in what is widely regarded as
Europe's most significant war crimes trial since Hitler's henchmen
were tried after WWII.
Milosevic had been due to launch his defence on Jul 5 after the
prosecution rested its case in Feb but his lawyer, Zdenko Tomanovic,
said doctors had forbidden the former president to work all of next wk.
"The doctors will monitor his health and will re-examine him at the
end of next wk to see if he is able to work then," Mr Tomanovic told
Reuters, giving no details on what was wrong with his client.
Describing Milosevic's health as "pretty bad" because of his heavy
workload, Mr Tomanovic said he had been informed by the court in The
Hague that the defence would not get under way next wk.
It would be the 3rd postponement of the beginning Milosevic's defence,
originally due to start on Jun 8. The trial has repeatedly been held
up because of his bouts of high blood pressure, flu and exhaustion.
But Tribunal rep Jim Landale said no formal postponement decision had
been taken yet. "The schedule stands until the judges change it," he
said in The Hague.
Mr Tomanovic told Beta news agency he expected the court to make a
formal announcement on Fri.
A Brit judge who presided over the 1st 2 y of Milosevic's war crimes
trial died on Thu and The Hague tribunal paid tribute to him as a
champion of justice.
Sir Richard May, who stepped down earlier this y for health reasons,
died in his home town of Oxford early on Thu morning aged 65.
He served at the Internat'l Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY) from 1997 to 2004.
Sir Richard was renowned for forcing the defiant former Yugoslav president 
to stick to trial procedure and regularly admonished Milosevic, who
opted to defend himself, for making political speeches in court.
"We are not impressed by your political points. You have made them a
great many times.  They do not improve with repetition," Sir Richard
told Milosevic at one hearing.
Sir Richard was replaced by Brit's Iain Bonomy, who joined Jamaica's
Patrick Robinson and S Korean O-Gon Kwon on the bench.
Prosecutors rested their case in the 2-y trial in Feb after calling
around 290 witnesses. Milosevic wants to call 1,400 witnesses
including Brit PM Tony Blair and former US Pres Bill Clinton.
Milosevic, who has described himself as a peacemaker in the Balkans
and does not recognise the UN court, has dismissed the charges as
politically motivated "lies" and declined to enter a plea.
Pleas of not guilty were entered on his behalf.

AUS signs ASEAN anti-terror agreement
Jakarta.  AUS has formally signed an agreement with the 10 Association
of South E Asian Nations (ASEAN) members to work together to eliminate
terrorist cells in the region.  FM Alexander Downer and Indonesian For
Min Hassan Wirayuda, signing on behalf of ASEAN, put pen to paper at a
short ceremony in Jakarta last night.  Mr Downer said terrorist cells
operating across boundaries in South-East Asia remain a huge threat
despite concerted efforts to combat them.  "I think it's very
important that we continue to build on the very solid foundations we
have," he said.  "Especially with Indonesia, but also with Malaysia
and Singapore and the Philippines in the area of counter-terrorism.
"There's a long way to go [and] still a big job to be done but we're
working at doing this on an ASEAN-wide scale."

Rabies-infected organs kill 3 in US
Atlanta (AFP).  3 people who died after receiving organ transplants
from the same donor were found to have contracted rabies from the
donated organs, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
in the United States have confirmed.  The deaths are the 1st reported
cases of rabies being transmitted in this manner, as the often-fatal
disease is usually transmitted by the bite of a rabid mammal.  The
organ donor had undergone routine donor screening and testing but
rabies testing is not part of that process, the CDC said in a
statement.  The donor's lungs, kidneys and liver were transplanted on
May 4 into four recipients.  One died during surgery of non-rabies
related causes and 3 died of rabies afterwards.

US lawyers demand access to Habib
NY (ABC, Lisa Millar and wires).  Lawyers for Guantanamo Bay
detainees, including Mamdouh Habib, have written to US Def Sec Donald
Rumsfeld demanding access to the men.
The Centre for Constitutional Rights has sent the letter just days
after the US Supreme Court's ruling that detainees can have access to
the American legal system.
The centre's legal director, Jeffrey Fogel, says he is not sure
Mamdouh Habib even knows of the landmark decision.
"We need to meet with them to find out what they want and to inform
them what their rights are and that needs to be done as quickly as
possible," he said.
Mr Fogel says he has a team of lawyers who will be ready to meet with
the detainees within 10 days, if approval is given.
Mr Fogel is also asking Mr Rumsfeld to tell the other detainees about
the court's decision.
Meanwhile, the United States might head off legal challenges to
detentions of suspected Al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners at Guantanamo
Bay by releasing those who it deems no longer need to be held.
A Pentagon rep says that although no decision has been made on how to
respond to the Supreme Court, the Defence Dept does not want to hold
people that "need not be held".
But he did not say how that process would be determined.

Howard wants Hicks, Habib tried in US
[...because they're not guilty of anything in AUS, he says].
Canberra.  PM John Howard says he has not been advised that the United
States wants Aussie detainees David Hicks or Mamdouh Habib to be
released or repatriated.
He was responding to reports the US could try to head off legal
challenges to the detentions of suspected Al Qaeda and Taliban
prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by releasing those who it deems no
longer need to be held.
But Mr Howard has told S Cross radio that he would not be comfortable
with either Aussie coming home without facing trial.
"I haven't been told that they could be part of it," he said.
"If they came back to AUS, according to the advice I have, they could
not be prosecuted and they would just go free."
Earlier, lawyers for Guantanamo Bay detainees, including Mamdouh
Habib, say they have written to US Def Sec Donald Rumsfeld demanding
access to the men.
The Centre for Constitutional Rights has sent the letter just days
after the US Supreme Court's ruling that detainees can have access to
the American legal system.
The centre's legal director, Jeffrey Fogel, says he is not sure
Mamdouh Habib even knows of the landmark decision.
"We need to meet with them to find out what they want and to inform
them what their rights are and that needs to be done as quickly as
possible," he said.
Mr Fogel says he has a team of lawyers who will be ready to meet with
the detainees within 10 days, if approval is given.
Mr Fogel is also asking Mr Rumsfeld to tell the other detainees about
the court's decision.

Saddam Hussein faces trial charges in Iraq
Baghdad (KR).  After hearing a 7-count charge sheet that alleged he
ordered the wholesale killing of 1000s of Iraqis and unlawfully
invaded a neighbouring country, Saddam Hussein on Thu scoffed at an
investigative judge and called the whole process a "farce."
"Everyone knows that this is a farce by Bush, the criminal, in an
attempt to win the election," he said.
The trial of Saddam is widely seen as the 1st test of the new Iraqi
govt, which received sovereignty less than a wk ago.
"To try Saddam is to try all of the former regime for the crimes they
committed," said Iraqi Deputy Min of Foreign Affairs Hamid al Bayati.
When asked what his name was, for the record, Saddam said, "I am
Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq."
Asked later if he was the former president of Iraq, Saddam said "the
current president."
As part of his newly minted status as a criminal detainee of the Iraqi
govt -- he was a Prisoner of War until Wed -- Saddam now has access to
private attorneys. He refused on Thu to sign a document saying he
understood the charges against him, saying he preferred to wait until
he's accompanied by a lawyer in future hearings.
During the proceedings Thu, Saddam spent about 25 mins sitting in a
plain leather office chair seeming at times annoyed and at others
disinterested.
He questioned the qualifications of the judge, and taunted him for
being associated with the American presence in Iraq.
"With what decree has this court been established? This court has been
established by the coalition forces," Saddam said.
"For your sake," Saddam told the judge, "you should remember that you
are a judge and you have to judge in the name of the people -- do not
mention anything of the occupation forces. That would be shameful for you."
The judge, who was not named, listened quietly to Saddam, interrupting
only when Saddam said the Kuwaitis were "dogs who wanted to turn our
women into 10 dinar prostitutes."
For all of his bluster, though, the Saddam who sat in court on Thu was
a far different man than the one whose word was once law, and whose
whims were carried out at the snap of a finger or, more often, the
clap of a rifle.
Instead of his trademark hand-tailored Italian suits, Saddam wore a
charcoal pinstriped suit bought by US military officials from the
racks of a Baghdad dept store.
He looked to have lost several pounds since being found in a dirt hole
nr his hometown of Tikrit in Dec. A salt and pepper beard has replaced
his bushy, proud moustache.
The court hearing took place in a dormitory building adjacent to a
mosque on a US military base nr the Baghdad airport. Saddam was
brought there by helicopter, and then transported in an armoured bus in
a convoy of US military humvees.
As he walked into the ad hoc courtroom, he passed under an inscription
from the Quran reading "In the name of Allah, most gracious, most merciful."
It was the same building used last m in a hearing for one of the US
soldiers accused of abusing prisoner's in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison.
Though there were no specific charges -- the court appearance was
meant to inform Saddam generally of the investigation against him --
the list of crimes spanned more than 15 y and included what will most
likely be categorised as war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity:
* The murder of Iraqi religious figures.
* The systematic killing of political party officials during a 30 y span. 
* A campaign of murder against the Kurdish Barzani clan during the
  early 1980s.
* The forced displacement of Kurds in N Iraq in the late 1980s.
* A chemical weapons attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988.
* Invading Kuwait in 1990.
* The violent suppression of Kurds and Shiite Muslims during uprisings
  during 1991.
Saddam was joined in court by 11 other defendants, including Ali Hasan
al Majid, known by the nickname of "Chemical Ali" for his role in the
Halabja attack.
After Thu's hearing, investigators for a special war crimes tribunal
will continue the dual track of documenting the atrocities, and
working to establish that Saddam was directly responsible for ordering
the crimes. Iraqi officials have signalled that they will be
reinstating the death penalty in anticipation of a Saddam conviction.

Saddam defiant in court appearance
Saddam Hussein fronts an Iraqi court. 
Baghdad (AFP/Reuters).  A defiant and unrepentant Saddam Hussein has
appeared in court to hear a string of charges for which he could face
the death penalty.
A visibly tired Saddam defended his Aug 1990 invasion of Kuwait and
refused to sign legal papers after 7 charges were read against him, an
official of the Iraqi Special Tribunal said.
Insisting he was still president of Iraq during the 30-minute hearing,
the ousted dictator, speaking in a hoarse voice, questioned the
jurisdiction of the tribunal.
"This is all a theatre.  The real villain...  is Bush," said a
thin-looking Saddam, referring to US Pres George W Bush.
The 67-yo former strongman also insulted Kuwait.
"How could you defend those dogs?" he asked, only to be rebuked by the
judge that "such language is not permitted" in a court of law.
The toppled dictator was transported to the courtroom in an armoured
bus flanked by 4 Humvees and an ambulance after flown there in a helicopter.
Upon arrival, he was led handcuffed and with a chain around his waist
into the building by 2 Iraqi prison guards, while 6 more guards stood
to attention at the door.
The handcuffs and chains were taken off before he stepped into the courtroom.
Saddam, who has lost weight since his capture in Dec but sported a
tidier beard, was dressed in a dark outfit.
During the hearing, Saddam looked around and made hand gestures at the
judge as charges were read out against him that included the invasion
of Kuwait and bloody suppression of an uprising by Iraq's Shiite
majority in 1991.
"Kuwait is an Iraqi territory.  It was not an invasion," Saddam
declared according to a tribunal official who attended the hearing.
Before the hearing ended, Saddam was presented with a document to sign
to acknowledge that he understood what was going on, understood the
charges and that his rights had been read, but he refused to sign it.
Saddam's defence team, which has not yet been allowed to enter Iraq,
on Thu again slammed as "illegal" the Iraqi Special Tribunal trying
the deposed dictator.
"This court is illegal since it was designated by an illegal
authority, created by the occupation," one of the lawyers, Jordanian
Ziad Khassawneh, said in Amman.
* Saddam's cohorts
Mins after Saddam left the courtroom, his former presid'l sec Abed
Hamid Mahmud was brought in.
10 other top members of the former regime were due to follow including
former deputy PM Tareq Aziz and Saddam's first cousin "Chemical" Ali
Hassan al-Majid.
Officials said videotape of the ex-president in court would be
carefully checked before they are released to the public.
The faces of those involved, except for Saddam and 11 former aides who
are due to appear later in the day, will be obscured to guard against
any attacks by supporters of the disgraced despot.
The footage will be the public's 1st glimpse of Saddam since footage
was released of a bearded and dishevelled former strongman after his
arrest by US troops.
Justice Min Malek Dohan al-Hassan said Saddam would be condemned to
death if found guilty.
The death sentence -- suspended by the US-led coalition -- was
restored after Mon's hand over of power to an interim Govt.
Thu's hearing began what is likely to be a tortuous and protracted
process to apportion blame for the numerous atrocities committed in
Iraq during Saddam's 24-y reign.
Majid, nicknamed Chemical Ali for the 1988 gassing of the Kurds, and
ex-vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan are among Saddam's former chief
aides who will also be read their charges on Thu.
Former defence minister Sultan Hashim Ahmed, who was rumoured to have
collaborated with the US military during the invasion in spring 2003,
was also named in a tribunal statement on Tue.
They have been held under tight security at Camp Cropper, a US
military detention centre at Baghdad's former internat'l airport,
according to a humanitarian organisation.
They will remain guarded by multinat'l forces who fear a jailbreak if
they are handed over to Iraqi custody.
* Preliminary charges
An Iraqi judge told Saddam that he would face charges relating to 7
crimes committed over 3 decades.
Here are the 7 preliminary charges the deposed Iraqi leader faces:
* invading Kuwait, 1990
* suppressing Kurdish and Shi'ite uprisings, 1991
* Anfal ethnic cleansing campaign against Kurds, 1987-88
* gassing Kurdish villagers in Halabja, 1988
* killing political activists over 30 y
* killing religious figures, 1974
* killing 1000s of the Kurdish Barzani clan, 1983

Saddam defiant in face of genocide charges
Baghdad (Reuters).  Downcast but defiant, Iraq's former dictator Saddam
Hussein has appeared before an Iraqi judge questioning the judge's
authority and saying the "real criminal" was US Pres George W Bush.
Saddam was led to the US-guarded courtroom in handcuffs and chains and
was read 7 charges that may lead to formal indictment for war crimes,
crimes against humanity and genocide.
"I am Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq," he repeated, before grilling
the unnamed young judge about his authority.
Video footage of the 67-yo Saddam, his face worn and deeply lined with
heavy bags under the eyes, was broadcast around the world soon after
his 30-minute court appearance.
He was wearing a dark, grey pinstriped jacket and a white formal
shirt, and had a trimmed, mostly grey beard.
It was the 1st public view of Saddam since he appeared wildly unkempt
in photographs and videotape shot after his capture in Dec.
Saddam refused to recognise that he was guilty of a crime by invading
Kuwait in 1990, jabbing his finger towards the judge and saying: "I'm
surprised you're charging me with that as an Iraqi, when everyone
knows that Kuwait is part of Iraq."
The judge told him these were legal procedures but Saddam interrupted
him: "Law, what law?" he asked.
"You are putting Saddam on trial when the Kuwaitis said they could buy
Iraqi women for 10 dinars on the street. The Iraqi soldiers went to
defend the honour of Iraq, so what right do these dogs have?" he said,
drawing a reprimand from the judge.
"This is all a theatre," Saddam said. "The real criminal is Bush."
Saddam faced the court 3 days after the US handed formal sovereignty
to an interim Iraqi Govt, 15 m after the US-led invasion of the country.
Saddam arrived in a US helicopter at a military base, and was then
driven in an armoured bus to the makeshift courtroom in one of his
former palaces nr Baghdad Internat'l Airport.
2 burly Iraqi guards escorted him into the courthouse where his chains
were removed.
His handcuffs were taken off inside the courtroom itself, where he sat
facing cameras.
The arraignment was the 1st step towards the trial though it may not
start for many ms.
Apart from the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, the preliminary charges
against Saddam referred to the suppression of Kurdish and Shiite
revolts after the 1991 Gulf War, poison gas attacks and other
massacres of Kurds, the killing of religious leaders in 1974 and the
killing of political figures over 3 decades.
Hearing the charge that he ordered the gassing of 1000s of Kurds in an
attack at Halabjah in 1988, Saddam shrugged it off, saying he had
heard of the incident through the media.
The proceedings took place at Camp Victory, a US base nr the main
airport, where the US military is thought to have held the former
president in solitary confinement at a high-security detention centre
known as Camp Cropper.
Similar hearings were held later for 11 of his former aides, including
former deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz, Saddam's 1/2-brothers and
Hassan Ali al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali" for his alleged role in
using poison gas on Kurds and Iranians.
The US military handed the 12 men over to Iraqi legal custody on Wed,
but will continue to guard them.
Without a lawyer to represent him, Saddam refused to sign a statement
acknowledging he had been charged and read his rights.
One foreign lawyer hired by Saddam's wife to represent him said the
absence of a defence attorney breached Saddam's rights.
Told by the judge that counsel would be provided later if he could not
pay for his own, Saddam offered a sardonic reply: "Everyone says, the
Americans say, I have $mns stashed away in Geneva. Why shouldn't I
afford a lawyer?"
Other foreign lawyers said Saddam could not get a fair trial in Iraq.
One said he should face an internat'l tribunal.
Many Iraqis want him executed, though some say that is too merciful:
"They should put Saddam in a cage and send him around the world in a
travelling zoo," said shopkeeper Samir Majid.
Iraqi Deputy Foreign Min Hamid al-Bayati said "the regime that
committed the most terrible crimes in the world" was now on trial.
"I think the Iraqi people will be satisfied with the death penalty and
no less than that," he said.
Kuwait also reiterated its call for Saddam to be executed: "Saddam's
remarks today are the biggest evidence of megalomania," Info Min
Mohammad Abulhasan said.
Iraq's interim Govt is considering restoring the death penalty,
suspended during the US-Brit occupation.
PM Iyad Allawi wants to show Iraqis the occupation is really over, despite 
the presence of US-led foreign troops and to prove it can curb violence.

Kuwait says Saddam must die
Kuwait City (AFP).  Saddam Hussein is a "war criminal" who must face
capital punishment, Kuwait's Info Min said, referring to the ousted
Iraqi president's Aug 1990 invasion of the emirate.
Saddam is a "war criminal who committed genocide against the Iraqi and
Kuwaiti people", Mohammed Abulhassan told AFP.
"We demand that he face the maximum punishment, which is death for his
crimes," the Min added, in the 1st official reaction to Saddam's
latest defence of his army's 7-m occupation of neighbouring Kuwait.
At a 1st court appearance on Thu, Saddam was unrepentant as he
declared, "Kuwait is an Iraqi territory. It was not an invasion," a
tribunal official said.
Saddam also insulted the emirate.
"How could you defend those dogs?" he asked, only to be rebuked by the
judge that "such language is not permitted" in a court of law.
"Saddam is a criminal in the full sense of the word. He killed [many
of] his people.  He is responsible for war crimes and crimes against
humanity," Mr Abulhassan said.
"The man who created mass graves... is not expected to feel guilty or
repent. He is a hard-core criminal," he added.
The head of Parliament's foreign relations committee said Kuwait was
unperturbed by Saddam's territorial claims.
"His claims do not affect us at all. We are recognised by the United
Nations, the Arab League and also by the new Iraqi govt.
Saddam's claims are for consumption purposes," Mohammed al-Saqer told AFP.
Occupying Iraqi forces were driven out of tiny oil-rich Kuwait by a
US-led multinat'l coalition in the 1991 Gulf War.

The rise and fall of Saddam
Saddam Hussein displayed a range of emotions during his brief
appearance in court.
Baghdad (AFP).  Images of the greying prisoner in the dock were
splashed on TV screens across the world, but for decades Saddam
Hussein ruled his country with an iron fist, his image omnipresent and
his very name a source of fear.
The gaunt-looking Saddam, who heard an array of capital charges read
out against him on Thu, may have been less dishevelled than in footage
taken after his capture last Dec, but he was still a pale reflection
of the figure who stared out of every schoolbook in Iraq for some 2
generations.
The despot, who held the power of life and death over his subjects
during his long y in power, will now depend on their mercy if he is
convicted on the list of 7 charges that include war crimes and crimes
against humanity.
Saddam had continued to exert a profound influence over his people
even after his fall on Apr 9, eluding US-led forces for m as many
ordinary Iraqis shrank from cooperating with the occupier for fear of
his return.
But the poor boy born in a mud-hut village, who came to live in the
grandest of palaces, was finally found cowering at the bottom of a
hole on an isolated farm after daring to defy the US superpower one
time too many.
He had paid the ultimate price in defeat and disgrace, his statues
trampled into the dust, his ubiquitous gloating portraits torn to
shreds and set ablaze after the occupation of his capital.
It was a stunning reversal of fortunes for the 67-yo Arab nat'list,
who declared his determination to die at home and taunted enemies with
outrageous bravado.
Those y after he took absolute power in 1979 saw a modern Arab state
reckoned the cradle of civilisation transformed into an impoverished
pariah, its fabulous oil wealth squandered.
Supported in his military adventures when the target was Iran's
clerical regime, the tide turned against him in the W when 1000s of
Kurds were gassed to death 15 y ago.
Saddam guided Iraq through the 1980-1988 bloodbath with Iran and the
rout of the 1991 Gulf war over Kuwait, emerging each time to claim
Pyrrhic victories over the corpses of his people.
He defied attempts through the United Nations to ensure his disarmament, 
crushing UN sanctions and 4 nights of US and Brit missile strikes in
Dec 1998.
A lust for power matched only by a ruthless streak had brought Saddam
to the helm he determined never to leave, whatever the cost.
He 1st made a name trying to murder Iraqi leader Abdul Karim Kassem in 1959.
Wounded in the leg, he fled abroad but returned 4 y later and was
jailed in 1964.
Within 2 y he had escaped and resumed clandestine work for the Baath
party cause.
In 1968 he took part in the coup which brought the party to power,
marking the start of his affair with brute force.
As party deputy secretary general and vice president of the
all-powerful Revolution Command Council (RCC), he was already
considered the real power behind the throne under president Ahmad
Hassan al-Bakr.
Bakr lost his grip over the next decade as Saddam strengthened his own
and the president finally retired for health reasons.
Saddam seized the mantle on Jul 16, 1979, becoming state president,
general secretary of the party and president of the RCC.
"He who inspires fear", but once failed to win a place for officer
training, assumed all the trappings of state, taking the title of
field marshal and cmdr-in-chief of an army he led to decimation.
He brooked no dissent, extending frequent purges of snr figures to
family and friends.
Those who failed to make it into exile were detained, murdered and
buried in the mass graves that have been uncovered across the country
since his fall.
The cruelty of the state is amply documented by rights groups.
Informers were encouraged, the media muzzled and few if any dared
voice criticism.
Iraqis at the press conference announcing his capture called for his death.

Bush "pleased" Saddam on trial
Washington (AFP).  US Pres George W Bush welcomed deposed Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein's appearance in an Iraqi court, Whitehouse mouth Scott
McClellan said, hailing it as an "important step" for the war-torn country.
"The president is pleased that Saddam Hussein and his regime leaders
are going to be brought to justice by the Iraqi people in an Iraqi
court for the atrocities his regime committed," McClellan said.
"This is an important step that will help the Iraqi people bring
closure to the dark past of Saddam Hussein's brutal dictatorship," he
added, noting that Saddam is "going to face justice he denied Iraqi
people, including 100s of 1000s of innocent Iraqis who were victims of
his brutality".
"Justice and the rule of law are part of the new Iraq with Saddam
Hussein removed from power," he said.
Speaking in New Orleans, Louisiana, VP Dick Cheney also welcomed
Saddam's appearance before an Iraqi court, saying the former dictator
"will face the justice he denied to millions".
Bush launched his war to oust Saddam in Mar 2003, saying he posed an
imminent threat to the US. Saddam, who was driven out of Kuwait in
1991 by Bush's father, former president George Bush, was toppled in
Apr 2003.
Captured by US forces in Dec, he appeared in court to hear a string of
charges for which he could face the death penalty, in a landmark
moment for the new Iraq.
The 67-yo former dictator refused to sign legal papers after 7
preliminary charges were read against him.
Saddam dismissed the court as "a theatre" and denounced Bush as the
"real villain".
Bush watched his rival's televised court appearance, the 1st time the
public has seen the deposed dictator since his Dec capture, when
pictures of a scraggly, bearded Saddam were beamed across the world.
Asked about Saddam's defiance in court, McClellan said: "I am not
interested in responding to everything he is going to say in court;
he's going to say all sorts of things."
Iraqis took legal custody of Saddam, but his captivity is ensured by
US-led forces.
"We believe Saddam Hussein will face justice by the Iraqi people and
be held accountable for the atrocities he committed," McClellan said.
The Whitehouse rep decried the "grave atrocities" committed by
Saddam's regime against the Iraqi people, saying: "His regime was
responsible for the systematic murder, torture and rape of innocent Iraqis."
Saddam was responsible for burying victims in "mass graves" and
creating "torture chambers and rape rooms," McClellan said.

Aussie PM won't oppose death penalty for Saddam
[But who in Iraq is asking for his OK?]
Canberra.  PM John Howard says handing down the death penalty to
Saddam Hussein, if he is found guilty, would not make him a martyr.
Iraq's former dictator has faced his 1st court appearance overnight
and the country's interim Govt recently decided to reintroduce the
death penalty.  Mr Howard told S Cross radio he would not oppose
Saddam's execution if that is what the Iraqi people decide.  "I'm
opposed to capital punishment in AUS but I also respect the right of
other countries to decide their own penalties," he said.  "That was a
view I took in relation to the people who murdered 88 Aussies in Bali
and it's the view I will take in relation to Saddam Hussein."

US bombs Fallujah target
Fallujah (AP).  US jets pounded a suspected safe house of terrorist Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi in Fallujah, hours before Saddam Hussein appeared in
an Iraqi court to answer charges of war crimes and genocide stemming
from his 2-decade rule.
The missile strike, the latest in a series targeting the man suspected
of masterminding deadly attacks and beheadings in Iraq, killed 4
people, according to a doctor in the insurgent-controlled city.
In other violence before Saddam's court appearance, a homemade bomb
exploded nr the northern city of Mosul as a military convoy passed by,
killing a coalition soldier and wounding 2 others, the military said.
The soldiers' nat'lities were not immediately revealed.
A roadside bomb detonated nr a central Baghdad hospital, wounding a
snr Iraqi Finance Ministry official and killing 2 of his guards,
police and hospital officials said.
Ehsan Karim, the head of the ministry's audit board, suffered slight
injuries, said Col Adnan Hussein, head of the Interior Ministry's info office.
Another roadside bomb exploded in the Amiriya district of the capital
after a US patrol passed through. Several Iraqi bystanders were killed
and injured, Hussein said.
The US attack on the safe house was launched after "multiple
confirmations of Iraqi and multinat'l intel," said Brig Gen Mark
Kimmitt, deputy operations director for the multinat'l force.
"This operation employed precision weapons to attack the safe house
and underscores the resolve of multinat'l and Iraqi security forces to
jointly destroy terrorist networks within Iraq," Kimmitt said.
Kimmitt did not mention casualties in his statement, but Dr Loai Ali
of the Fallujah General Hospital said 4 people were killed and 10 injured.
There was no word on whether Zarqawi was in the house.
The raid came hours after rebels fired mortar rounds at a US base on
the outskirts of Baghdad's airport, wounding 11 soldiers and starting
a fire that burned for more than an hr.
US forces have mounted 3 previous airstrikes against suspected
terrorist hideouts in recent days. US jets pounded a suspected Zarqawi
hideout, killing up to 25 people, US officials said.
Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant said to be connected to al-Qaeda, is
believed to be behind a series of coordinated attacks on police and
security forces last wk that killed 100 people.
He is also believed to be behind the beheading of two hostages,
American Nicholas Berg and S Korean Kim Sun-il.

US newspaper mocks Bremer's "sneaky" departure from Iraq
Washington (Xinhuanet).  A leading US newspaper published on Thu a
by-line story, complaining that former American overseer Paul Bremer
sneaked out of Iraq while 100s of 1000s US troops have to remain in
the dangerous country.
"Paul Bremer scuttled out Baghdad so fast, he didn't even wait for the
new ambassador, John Negroponte, to arrive so he could pass along some
safety tips," said the article on the NY Times.
The article's writer, Maureen Dowd, believed that Negroponte is
assuming "the most perilous diplomatic post in the world".
Dowd also criticised US Pres George W Bush for his claim about Iraq.
"The president acted as if Iraq was in control but our forces can't
come home because Iraq's still out of control.
"American troops are still trapped in Iraq and being killed there, and
5,600 ex-soldiers are being involuntarily recalled in America's
undeclared draft," the article said.
The article also quoted Bremer who talked about his feeling of
returning home as saying: "Well, its like having a rather large weight
lifted off my shoulders...I'm delighted to be back."
With a sigh, the article said: "If only our soldiers could say the same."

Iran says Brit "incorrect" over captured sailors
Tehran (AFP).  Iran has defended its arrest last wk of an 8-man Brit
Royal Navy unit, asserting that London's contention they were forced
into the Islamic republic's waters was "incorrect".
"We are surprised by the Brit Defence Min's incorrect remarks,"
Iranian Foreign Ministry rep Hamid Reza Asefi said in a statement.
"Upon taking custody of the Brit sailors, the Brit charge d'affaires
in Tehran signed a letter confirming that they had entered Iranian
territorial waters illegally and unintentionally.
"The Brit apology is evident in this letter, and in addition [For Sec]
Jack Straw talked to the Iranian For Min.
He too said the sailors had unintentionally entered Iranian
territorial waters," Mr Asefi said.
Brit's Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said on Wed that the eight
servicemen were "forcibly escorted" across the nat'l boundary from Iraq.
The 6 marines and 2 sailors were detained for 3 days in Iran last
week, during which they were paraded blindfold on television and
forced to publicly apologise for what they called a "mistake".
Iran insisted that the boats were intercepted only after they entered
Iranian waters on the Shatt al-Arab waterway that divides southern
Iraq from Iran.

Relations between Brit and Iran continue to worsen
London (ABC, Philip Williams).  Relations continue to deteriorate
between Brit and Iran over last m's detention of 8 Brit sailors in the
Persian Gulf.  Brit Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon criticised Iranians
for blindfolding the 8 men.  They were shown on Iranian television
with their eyes covered.  Despite admissions made by 2 of the men on
television that they had strayed into Iranian waters, they now say it
was Iranian forces that forced them across the border with Iraq.  But
a rep for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the Brit Govt had already
admitted that the 3 boats had strayed off course and could not
understand the change of story.  The Brit Opp'n has demanded the
Iranians issue a full apology, describing the detention of the men as
outrageous.  Mr Hoon says the Iranians have yet to comply with the
agreement to return all the Brit equipment, as the relationship
between the 2 countries takes another turn for the worse.

Afghanistan elections face more delays
Kabul (AP).  Afghanistan's nat'l elections -- beset by deadly Taliban
attacks, feuding warlords and political squabbling -- are in jeopardy
and may have to be delayed again, a top govt official said Thu.
After wk of assurances that the vote would take place in Sep, Farooq
Wardak, a snr member of the Afghan election management body, said the
group cannot meet a deadline to schedule a vote that m.
Afghan law says the polling date must be set at least 90 days in
advance, making Fri the last chance to announce a Sep 30 election.
Wardak said the group would not reach a decision on a date until at
least next wk. "Much more consultation is required," he told The
Associated Press as he shuttled between meetings. "I'm hopeful that
next wk we'll have a decision."
Wardak initially said the govt would "stick to" the 90-day requirement
for scheduling the election date. But after meeting with top UN
official Jean Arnault and Pres Hamid Karzai, he backed off, saying
there was "always flexibility."
"If all the preparations are in place, the end of Sep is still
possible," Wardak said.
Karzai has pledged repeatedly to hold elections in Sep, despite
mounting violence and concern that warlords and drug barons will use
guns and wealth to cement their power.
Presid'l and parliamentary elections were already delayed from Jun,
and Oct is seen as the last chance to hold a vote before snow closes
high mountain passes until spring 2005.
Wardak said the govt statistics office had yet to deliver population
estimates needed to decide on the distribution of parliamentary seats.
He also said only 4 of 20 political parties consulted by the election
body insist on the parliamentary vote being held this fall.
The votes are supposed to be held simultaneously, but observers say
there is a possibility officials could separate them, holding the
presidential vote in Oct and the parliamentary election next y.
Karzai argues that blocking the new Parliament would betray Afghans'
hopes, some 3 y after the ouster of the hard-line Taliban regime and
more than 2 decades after the nation was plunged into a series of
ruinous wars.
Internat'l officials have been cautioning for m that security is
simply not adequate to hold the election.
The UN warns that warlords and faction leaders -- some in govt -- must
disarm their private armies to keep the vote credible.
A UN rep acknowledged Thu that setbacks in disarming private militias
have affected deliberations on the date of the election.
"There is indeed a debate," UN rep Manoel de Almeida e Silva said. "Of
course, if the debate goes on, that will have an impact on the
election date."
In Mar, Karzai used a promise to disarm 40,000 irregular fighters by
the end of Jun to win pledges of $bns in internat'l reconstruction
aid. But only 9,700 soldiers have given up their guns.
Violence has plagued the run-up to the vote.
Last wk, a bomb in the E city of Jalalabad killed 2 election workers
and wounded 13 other people. The same city was hit by twin bomb blasts
Wed that killed 4 people.
Afghan officials say gunmen searched civilians in the Taliban
stronghold of Uruzgan Jun 25 and killed as many as 17 after finding
they were carrying voter registration cards.
Some 60,000 foreign troops and newly trained Afghan security forces
are being marshaled to shield polling stations, and Afghans seem keen
to sign up.
So far, 5.5 mn of the estimated 9.5 mn eligible Afghans have
registered to vote, including 2 mn women, and the total is rising by
125,000 a day.
Andrew Wilder, head of the Afghan Research Evaluation Unit, an
independent Kabul-based research group, said Afghans' hopes of
democracy could founder if the vote is scarred by violence.
That could be bad news for Pres Bush, who is running for re-election in Nov.
"The majority of press coverage is going to be negative," Wilder said.
But Hazrat Gul, a 45-yo trucker from Logar, said the country can't wait.
"The election will put Afghanistan back under the rule of law and
prevent any more violence," Gul said at a Kabul fruit stall. "In the
provinces today, every cmdr is president. We need neutral people."

Powell meets with N Korean counterpart
Jakarta.  US Secretary of State Colin Powell has held an unscheduled
meeting with his N Korean counterpart on the sidelines of the ASEAN
meeting in Jakarta.  It is the highest level meeting between officials
of the 2 countries since a nuclear crisis prompted by Pyongyang's
nuclear program erupted 2 ya.  Before the meeting, Mr Powell said the
solution rests with N Korean acknowledging its nuclear programs as an
initial step towards dismantling them.  "This is how you denuclearise
a peninsula and unless there is acknowledgement of that opening
position on the part of the N Koreans then we're not on a path towards
the denuclearisation of the peninsula," he said.

N Korea accuses US of planning attack
Pyongyang.  North Korea is accusing the US of spying and Pyongyang
says Washington is preparing a surprise attack.  The official Korean
Central News Agency is quoting military sources saying US spy planes
flew more than 150 missions over the communist country last m alone.
Pyongyang claims the reconnaissance flights indicate that Washington
is always on the lookout for a chance to launch a surprise attack.  It
is not the 1st time N Korea has accused the US of spying.  The 2
countries are locked in a stand-off over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

US rebukes Israel on W Bank outposts
Jerusalem (AP).  An Israeli list of its unauthorised W Bank outposts
drew a rare public rebuke Thu from US officials, who said Israel is
failing to keep a promise to dismantle dozens of the enclaves.
Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported Thu that the Israeli list includes
28 outposts, 16 of which are in the process of receiving govt
approval. A snr Israeli govt official declined to comment on the
report, but confirmed that the list had been handed to US officials.
Paul Patin, a rep for the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, criticised Israel,
saying: "You can't create an illegal outpost one day and subsequently
declare that it's legal."
American officials have expressed growing impatience with Israel over
the W Bank outposts. Under the US-backed "road map" peace plan,
endorsed in Jun 2003, Israel is required to dismantle dozens of outposts.
But it has removed only a small number, and scores dot the barren
hilltops of the W Bank. Some have grown into small communities, with
synagogues, playgrounds and state-funded roads.
The US and the Palestinians have criticised the outposts as seeds of
future settlements that prejudge peace negotiations.
Israel already has established some 150 established settlements, home
to 230,000 Israelis, in the W Bank.
The Palestinians hope to establish an independent state in all of the
W Bank and the Gaza Strip.
US Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer last wk called on PM Ariel Sharon to
fulfil a commitment to dismantle the outposts.
Kurtzer noted that Israeli officials had pledged to turn over a list
of outposts to the US within 30 days after Sharon visited the
Whitehouse in Apr.
The Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Israeli 
Defense Ministry presented an outpost list to Kurtzer earlier this wk.
"Joint teams will now be established between the Ministry of Defense
and Ambassador Kurtzer's office to determine which of the outposts is
legal and which is not," he said.
Defense Min Shaul Mofaz, meanwhile, ordered the army to review the
route of the unbuilt section of Israel's separation barrier in the W
Bank, security officials said on condition of anonymity.
Only 1/4 has been built.
Sharon said he was ready to change the route. "We need to simplify
things and not create ... closed-off Palestinian enclaves since we
have not succeeded in creating convenient conditions for moving
through the fence," the Haaretz daily quoted Sharon as saying.
Mofaz proposed the review in a meeting with snr security officials
Thu, a day after Israel's Supreme Court ordered the govt to reroute a
key segment nr Jerusalem.
The court said the original path would have caused too much hardship
to 1000s of Palestinians and violated internat'l law.
Later Thu, Sharon met Mofaz and Israel's justice minister to discuss
the ramifications of the Supreme Court ruling on the barrier. A govt
official said Sharon made no decisions, telling Mofaz to come back
with detailed proposals.
Security officials say Mofaz wants army experts to review the unbuilt
3/4 of the 425 mile barrier to make sure it meets the court's criteria.
Israel has long maintained that the barrier is crucial for keeping out
Palestinian attackers who have killed 100s of Israelis in nearly 4 y
of fighting.
Palestinians say the divider, which at times dips deep into the W
Bank, amounts to a land grab.
Next week, the world court at The Hague, Netherlands, is to issue an
advisory ruling on the barrier's route, at the request of the Palestinians.
In new fighting in the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers killed 5
Palestinian gunmen in a shootout nr the main road, the army said.
Elsewhere, a 9-yo Palestinian boy was killed by Israeli army fire.

2 Palestinians killed as Israeli troops detain 35 in Jericho
Gaza (AFP).  2 Palestinians including a 9-yo boy were killed by
Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip on Thu as 35 suspected militants were
detained in a major operation in the W Bank town of Jericho.
The boy died after being shot during an incursion in the Brazil
neighbourhood of the S Gaza town of Rafah, medical sources said.
Around 15 armoured vehicles had entered Rafah, which was the scene of
a major Israeli offensive around a m ago, in an operation that the
army said was designed to find tunnels used to smuggle in weapons from
under the border with Egypt.
An Israeli source had no info on the fatal shooting but said that
there had been "several incidents in which Palestinians launched
anti-tank missiles and threw grenades at the forces".
"Our forces returned fire," he said.
Medics also said that they had received the body of a 26-yo follower
of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas who had been shot dead in a
gunfight with Israeli forces in N Gaza.
Meanwhile, a day after ordering the Govt to change the route of parts
of its W Bank separation barrier, the Supreme Court also called a
temporary halt to work on another section.
And the Israeli military accused the Palestinian Authority of allowing
the sleepy W Bank town of Jericho of becoming a "shelter for
terrorists" after it arrested around 35 suspects.
At least 20 jeeps and 5 tanks moved into Jericho at around 5.00 am
local time, with aerial cover provided by 2 helicopters, where they
remained for around 5 hr.
All entrances were sealed off while a curfew was imposed.
The sound of sporadic gunfire could be heard throughout the morning as
troops searched through houses although only 4 injuries were reported.
Jericho is the only autonomous Palestinian town that has escaped
re-occupation by the Israeli army at any stage since the start of the
intifada, but the Israelis have long believed its status has enabled
it to become a hiding place for some of the most wanted militants.
The cmdr of the operation, Col Roni Belkin, said that the army had
decided to act after repeated requests to the Palestinian Authority to
carry out arrests themselves had failed to bring action.
"We have found that Jericho has come to be a shelter town for
terrorists," Col Belkin told AFP.
"Most [of the detained suspects] were managing terror or had committed
terror acts themselves. Despite repeated requests to the PA apparatus,
no action had been taken."
He said that around 35 people had been arrested, from a variety of
Palestinian factions.
Palestinian negotiations minister Saeb Erakat, who is himself from
Jericho, slammed the latest violence for undermining efforts to
advance the peace process.
"These acts will destroy all the efforts that are being made to end
the crisis in the peace process and to bring stability back," he told AFP.
Israeli PM Ariel Sharon was expected to convene with senior security
and legal officials later Thu to discuss a new route for the W Bank barrier.
Defence Min Shaul Mofaz and Justice Min Tommy Lapid were expected to
join the discussions after the Govt agreed to respect a ruling by the
supreme court on Wed which ordered modifications to the barrier's
route nr Jerusalem.
The judges ruled that while the barrier could be justified for
security reasons, the army was also bound to take into account the
impact on residents.
The ruling will mean changes to a 30-km stretch of the barrier that
affects around 35,000 Palestinians.

6 wounded during Gaza City incursion
Gaza (AFP).  6 Palestinians were wounded, one seriously, when Israeli
troops mounted a brief incursion into Gaza City on Thu, which ended
late in the evening.  Medics said the 6 Palestinians were wounded by
Israeli gunfire in the city's Zeitoun neighbourhood and included a
Palestinian television cameraman.  Earlier, the Islamic militant
movement Hamas claimed that gunmen from its military wing had
surrounded an Israeli special forces unit inside a residential
building in Zeitoun.  The army would not comment on the incident.
However, Israeli military sources said troops had shot and either
wounded or killed 2 armed Palestinians nr Zeitoun.  "Troops at the
Netzarim junction spotted 3 armed Palestinians who were preparing a
shooting attack. They opened fire and identified 2 hits," the sources
said.  The 3rd gunman fled the area and a search was underway to
locate him, they added.

E Timor assignment ends for AQIS officers
Dili.  AUS's last quarantine officers in E Timor have been withdrawn
in line with a reduction in the military's deployment there.  Aussie
Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) officers have been in E Timor
since the 1st rotation of Aussie troops in 1999.  Since that time,
about 200 officers have worked in E Timor inspecting equipment along
with clothing and personal items belonging to police and troops
returning to AUS.  A number of pests and diseases posed a threat,
including virus-carrying mosquitos, siam weed and a giant African
snail.  AQIS rep Gary Tucker says the strict inspections of about
10,000 personnel and 14,000 bulk items, like helicopters and vehicles,
meant there were no incursions.  "In the majority of the work, it was
the cleaning of the vehicles and equipment and as there was large
numbers of personnel rotating, we would put in additional staff," he
said.  Mr Tucker says most inspections will now occur when personnel
arrive back in AUS.

Receivers seal off Nauru MEL office
Melbourne.  Nauruan authorities have asked receivers for more time
before they vacate their landmark MEL building in Collins Street.  The
receivers have already sealed the MEL office of former Nauru Pres,
Rene Harris, on the 50th floor.  Other Govt bodies, including Air
Nauru and a corporation which supplies the island with food and other
essentials have been ordered out by today.  The receivers are acting
for America's General Electric Corporation.  A rep for the Nauruan
Govt, Helen Bogdan, says there has not been enough time to find and
move to another building, and the receivers have been asked for an
additional 2 wk.  Ms Bogdan says it is important that the govt bodies
can continue to function.  "The Nauru Phosphate Corporation and the
Nauru Corporation are vital to the operations of Nauru, it's upsetting
for anybody to have to move out, vacate their offices under these
circumstances but it seems to be unavoidable," she said.

Many Montrealers forget politics to celebrate Canada's birthday
Montreal (CP).  With festivities to enjoy and colourful floats to
watch, many parade-goers at Canada Day celebrations in Montreal had
anything but politics on their minds Thu.
"No, no, no," said Rose Blake, 67, when asked if this wk's fed
election gave Canada's birthday any special meaning this y. "I just
love a parade, any parade." Sitting in a lawn chair at a downtown
corner, Blake said she was convinced the bitter election campaign and
the strong Bloc Quebecois showing in Quebec were the last things on
people's minds.
"That's done, people will get over it," she said, waving her hand dismissively.
Linda Agcaoili, 68, handing out miniature Canadian flags nearby, agreed.
"Canada Day has nothing to do with any politics or any election,"
Agcaoili said, looking up at the dark grey clouds and fiddling with
her golf umbrella as thunder rolled overhead.
"The parade is about people coming together to celebrate and forget
about politics and hopefully forget their differences."
Multicoloured floats wound their way downtown as a few thousand
Montrealers crowded on the sidewalks with miniature Canadian flags
sticking out of everything from handbags to hairdos.
Despite the tense election campaign, parade-goers were ready to celebrate.
"It was such a bitter election," said Kim Edwards, 37, who was
partying with her husband and 3 kids.
"We were wondering what the atmosphere would be like but it's great.
Everybody is just friendly and having a good time."
Brenda Bishop and her friend Marjorie Jorden, both in their 60s, said
the parade was a good way to celebrate the end of the campaign.
"The election is over, we have stability, a good economy," Bishop said
as she bought 3 oversized Maple Leaf flags. "This is a great day."
However, other Montrealers said that with the Bloc surge in Quebec --
the party won 54 out of 75 seats in the province -- it was important
for Quebecers to be seen celebrating Canada's birthday.
"I've come [to the parade] before but I feel it a little more this y,"
said Jose Santafosta, 53, who was accompanied by his wife and baby.
"It's a little worrying how well the Bloc did. We've already had 2
referendums, now that could happen again. It's a little tiring."
Cheryl Musgrave, 18, agreed.
"It's important to come. It shows people that we can live in Quebec
and still be proud to be Canadian."
In Quebec City, a few hundred Quebec sovereigntists demonstrated
against Canada Day, which they said is imbued with "colonialism."
The protest was organised by the Mouvement de liberation nat'le du
Quebec, a splinter separatist group.

Celebrations erupt as Greece books spot in Euro final
[OK, a sports item. But it's an "underdog story"].
Porto/Brisbane (Reuters/ABC).  Greece will play hosts Portugal in the
Euro 2004 final after defeating the Czech Republic 1-0 in a silver
goal, extra time victory in Porto.
Defender Traianos Dellas scored the winner with a header from a corner
with just seconds remaining in the 1st 1/2 of extra time.
The Czechs almost took the lead in the 3rd minute of normal time when
a powerful volley by midfielder Tomas Rosicky rattled the bar.
The 2nd 1/2 was evenly balanced although the Czechs had several
1/2-chances nr the end of normal time.
There are rowdy celebrations in MEL's Greek precinct as locals
celebrate Greece's move into the final.
Hundreds of Greek Aussies gathered at Lonsdale Street to celebrate
Greece's victory over the Czech Republic.
Flares and firecrackers are being let off under the watchful eye of
police and the Fire Brigade.
Shops are being opened and Greek flags put up to celebrate the moment.
Many fans burst into tears when Greece scored a goal in the dying mins
of extra time with others simply speechless at the result.
Wild celebrations have also broken out in inner SYD as members of the
Greek community celebrate their victory.
Adel's Greek community is expected to celebrate long and hard today
after the win.
Several hundred Greek supporters crowded into a N Adel cafe this
morning to watch the match.
After the win, Adel United player, Michael Valkanis said their spirits soared.
Qld's Greek community is still celebrating Greece's shock win.
Bris's Greek Club was packed as supporters watched the game on the big screen.
Club manager Chris Zavros says the win is significant.
"This is the best they've ever done in any world cup or Euro Cup
competition, of course leading up to the Olympics its going to be a
great milestone for the Greeks," he said.
Greek fans plan to do it all again early on Mon morning when Greece
meets Portugal in the decider.

Cyclists await doping inquiry findings
Cyclist Mark French's allegations prompted an inquiry into alleged
drug taking.
Canberra.  The finished report on alleged drug taking in AUS's sprint
cycling team is due to be handed over in CBR later today.
Retired Supreme Court judge Robert Anderson is expected to hand his
completed report to board members of Cycling AUS, the Aussie Sports
Commission and the Aussie Olympic Committee (AOC) late today.
The 7-day inquiry was carried out at the request of Sport Min Rod Kemp
after allegations from disgraced cyclist Mark French.
He claimed that up to 5 members of the cycling program at the Aussie
Institute of Sport (AIS) injected prohibited substances.
French has since been banned for life by the AOC after being found
guilty of drug trafficking.
Mr Anderson's report is also likely to touch on whether there was a
breakdown in management at the Aussie Institute of Sport's Adel
training base and whether the Sport Commission responded appropriately
to the issue.
* Protest
Meanwhile Aussie rider Brad McGee has quit the AOC drug education
program in protest at the current doping inquiry.
The Olympic medal hopeful, who is not involved in the investigation,
says he is upset the sport has been smeared by French's claims.
McGee's manager Kerry Ruffels says his client is angry the AOC has
called for the riders to prove their innocence rather than be proven
guilty, before being picked for the Athens Olympics.
"For the other riders, nothing's been proven," Ruffels said.
"It's quite alarming that some of these guys, particularly Shane Kelly
who for 10 y running finished on the podium at every world championship, 
it's just so sad to see a guy like him embroiled in a dispute."
Ruffels says McGee has launched his own campaign against doping.
Kelly, meanwhile, has been dropped from the program of events at Prime
Min John Howard's Olympic fundraising dinner in MEL on Sat night.
He was to have been part of an Aussie team competing against
internat'l riders at the function at the MEL Velodrome.
Organisers of the dinner say the late change was made to avoid
potential embarrassment to Mr Howard with the outcome of the inquiry
still uncertain.
They said they were not aware of the identities of the riders under
investigation when they made the decision.

Review prompts museum overhaul
[More emphasis on European discovery].
The Nat'l Museum of AUS in CBR is to be completely overhauled.
Canberra.  The museum's new director, Craddock Morton, has announced
the response to a critical review.
The Carroll review described parts of the museum as boring and
lamented the lack of emphasis on explorers.
Mr Morton says the museum will now completely change its multimedia
theatre, Circa and redevelop the Horizons gallery and the Nation
gallery reflecting European exploration and AUS's development.
He says all permanent exhibitions are to be refurbished to improve the
way stories are told in the museum.
The plans are part of a 4 y development strategy for the museum.
Mr Morton denies the changes reflect concerns the museum has presented
a black arm view of history.
"There will be stories about Aboriginal people's experience and their
relationship to white settlement," he said.
"Their relationship to their own development and similar sorts of
stories, that will be the case, as it is now."
The Fed Opp'n has called for greater independence for nat'l
institutions after the reshaping plans were announced.
Opp'n rep for the arts Kate Lundy claims it is the result of Fed Govt
attempts to impose its own view of history.
"But certainly a Labor govt will re-establish the independence of
nat'l institutions like the Nat'l Museum and put an end to this quite
appalling and unjustified political interference in the exhibitions of
our nat'l institutions," she said.

Citrus industry pushes for China access
Canberra.  The citrus industry will step up efforts to enter the
Chinese market, after confirmation its major competitor has gained
market access.  The Aussie Govt and growers have been pushing to enter
the 1-bn strong Chinese market for 10 y, and say it is disappointing S
Africa has gained access after starting to lobby only 3 y ago.
Industry leaders say it is a promising sign the Chinese market is
opening up, but Sunraysia Citrus Growers' chairman Peter Crisp says
access is needed now to compete with the cheap S African product.  "We
have to have access to China now by the next market season because
South Africa won't go now, they're too far into their crop, so we've
got to be able to meet them now as far as timing goes and hope our
superior product holds our market share," he said.

SA moves to attract big business
Adelaide.  The SA and Fed govts have unveiled a $45 mn fund aimed at
attracting investment to Adel's southern suburbs.
The fund is a response to the announcement that Mitsubishi will shut
down its Lonsdale plant next y, putting about 700 people out of work.
Fed Industry Min Ian Macfarlane came to Adel today join state
Treasurer Kevin Foley in urging businesses to apply for assistance
from the Structural Adjustment Fund.
Mr Macfarlane says he has already been approached by companies keen to
use it.
"I've had approaches from companies in general fabrication and
manufacture," he said.
"Most excitingly in terms of the long-term future of SA, I've had an
approach from a company interested in bringing technology to AUS in
the high-tech end of the industry in electronics and associated
industries, which before now has not been established here before in AUS."

Home building construction gains momentum
Residential construction work in AUS on the increase. 
Canberra.  There are early signs of a possible 2nd wind for
residential construction work in AUS.  Figures from the Bureau of
Statistics for May show a seasonally adjusted increase of 1.5% in
building approvals.  Local councils have stamped applications for
almost 140,700 new homes.  Approvals for medium density units are up
10.5% in the m, after a nr 6% rise in Apr.  However, private sector
free-standing house approvals are down 3.5% in May.  But the overall
trend has now been positive for 2 m after falling for 6 m in succession.

Commonwealth Bank staff vote to continue industrial action
Sydney.  The Commonwealth Bank has been accused of threatening and
cajoling staff not to take part in nat'l industrial action today.
Finance Sector Union (FSU) members meeting to demand a 5.5% pay rise
and improved staffing have been encouraged by the union to report intimidation.
A thousand bank staff at a meeting in SYD broadcast to 50 other venues
around the country have voted for ongoing industrial action.
FSU nat'l secretary Paul Shroder says the Commonwealth has a habit of
pressuring customers and staff The union's assistant secretary,
Sharron Caddie, says staffing levels are also a key concern.
"Commonwealth Bank staff are striking to demand that the bank address
chronic under-staffing and a lack of relief across the bank," she said.
"This strike is about the tools that they need to be able to provide
excellent customer service and have a good day at work."
The bank expects to keep many of its branches open today despite the strike.
Commonwealth Bank rep Brian Fitzgerald says a great deal of effort has
been put into keeping the bank's 1,000 branches open.
"We're hopeful that the majority of our branches will remain open
today to serve our customers," he said.
He also says the bank has been monitoring staff numbers and employees
are not being threatened into meeting sales targets.
"There are performance indicators that people have to aspire to
achieve and we've not changed those at all. We talk to our staff and
we set any performance indicators and we will continue to talk to our
staff," he said.

Ombudsman calls for accountable terror laws
Canberra.  Commonwealth ombudsman John McMillan expects there will be
a need for better accountability as terrorism laws are bolstered
across AUS.  Prof McMillan says while state and fed police
cooperate in nat'l security, there is less certainty about whether the
state or commonwealth ombudsman should handle complaints about law
enforcement.  Prof McMillan was speaking at an Administrative Law
Conference in Hobart.  He says although new anti-terrorism legislation
preserves the role of the ombudsman, there are still gaps.  "Where
there are jurisdictional divisions, there can easily be jurisdictional
gaps and confusion and I think we need now to sit back and reflect on
whether the nat'l accountability mechanisms are as efficient,
harmonised and coordinated as the law enforcement systems to which
they apply," he said.

Latham "verballed" Cosgrove: Downer
["...and that's my job!"].
Canberra (AAP).  FM Alex Downer accused Opp'n Leader Mark Latham of
verballing Defence Force Chief Peter Cosgrove over Gen Cosgrove's
comments on troops in Iraq.
Gen Cosgrove said on Thu that ending the violence in Iraq depended on
the number of foreign troops there being cut and the Iraqi govt taking
responsibility for internal security.
Mr Latham seized on the statement, claiming it supported Labor's plan
to withdraw Aussie forces by Christmas.
Gen Cosgrove was reported in The Age newspaper as saying that
empowering Iraq to take responsibility for internal security and
getting the number of overseas troops -- not least Americans -- out of
the country, would reduce terrorist attacks.
"I think Gen Cosgrove has been monstrously verballed by Mark Latham,
if I may say so," Mr Downer told ABC radio.
"Gen Cosgrove's making the point that once the Iraqis themselves are
able to take control of their own security, that will be preferable to
foreigners having to look after their own security.
"That's a statement of the obvious.
"But what Mr Latham has extrapolated from this is that all foreign
troops should get right out of Iraq and get out of Iraq now."
Mr Downer said that if all foreign troops got right out of Iraq now,
that would lead to Iraq descending into a state of complete anarchy.
"No-one is arguing that foreign troops should stay indefinitely but we
are arguing that we should stay until the job is done," he said.
"The job will be done when the Iraqis are able to take control of
their own security rather than having to depend on foreign forces there.
"There we have Mr Latham on his 8th different position on the troops
out by Christmas."

Latham plays down past altercation
Fed Opp'n leader Mark Latham has played down a 15 yo altercation.
[Operation Get Latham!]
Canberra.  Opp'n leader Mark Latham has described a physical
altercation which took place when he was working with the Liverpool
council in SYD as "trivial".
Mr Latham's character is expected to come under scrutiny during a
TV program to air this weekend.
Mr Latham has revealed the program will detail an incident 15 y ago where 
he says one of his constituents took a "swing at him", during an argument.
Mr Latham says he grabbed hold of the man but did not hit him.
Mr Latham told S Cross Radio that constituent Don Nelson took a swing
at him during an argument but he did not hit back.
"No, no I grabbed hold of him," Mr Latham said.
But Don Nelson has told radio 2GB a different version of events.
"Mark Latham was on my right and out of the corner of my eye I saw the
fist coming in my direction and I threw my head to one side to try and
avoid the punch," he said.
Mr Latham said was insignificant and in the past.
"It's ancient history that's being recycled under the banner of
investigative journalism," he said.
"I look back and think about it, that something that couldn't even get
in the local Liverpool papers 15 y ago is spoken in this way, [it] is
so bizarre it's amusing.
"When I got this job 7 m ago there was a lot of scrutiny, a lot of
people came out and said a lot of things about me and I handled that
at the time so I don't really feel there are any secrets."
Earlier, PM John Howard told S Cross Radio it was not appropriate for
him to comment on the incident involving Mr Latham, but Mr Howard says
he has never hit anyone during his political career.
"No, I think I may have lost my temper as a very young child and
thrown a punch at one of my young brothers, one of my older brothers,
but I think he probably threw a punch at me too," he said.
Mr Howard says he has never assaulted an adult.

WA passes stem cell laws
Perth.  WA is set to join the rest of the nation in allowing embryonic
testing and stem cell research.  State Parliament has passed new laws
which allow couples to screen embryos for serious disease or disorders
during in vitro fertilisation procedures.  Embryos can be made
available for medical research if they are no longer required and the
couples give their consent.  Health parliamentary secretary Sue Ellery
says some MPs sought to have testing and research limited to certain
diseases or abnormalities.  "Given the nature of changing science and
changing technology, the technical advice was that really that would
be limiting ourselves," she said.  "Because as new tests are created
and became available... if they're not included in the list, the
research couldn't be used to provide that kind of pre-implantation
testing."  Laws to prevent human cloning have also been passed.

Labor promises telemarketing register
Labor's Lindsay Tanner said people would then be able to relax at home
without unwanted marketing calls.
Canberra.  Aussies who do not like getting calls from telemarketing
companies would be able to put their names on an official "do not
call" list under a plan being promoted by the Labor Party.
Labor says if it is elected, the Aussie Competition and Consumer
Commission (ACCC) would set up a "do not call" register and any
telemarketing companies calling people on that list could face fines
of up to $10,000.
Labor's communications rep Lindsay Tanner said people would then be
able to relax at home without unwanted marketing calls.
"It would ensure that people can enjoy their own quiet time at home
without being pestered by constant phone calls from people trying to
sell them things," he said.
But Communications Min Daryl Williams says the idea is ill-considered
and heavy handed.
Mr Williams says the Labor approach could cost 1000s of jobs in the
telemarketing industry.
He says the Govt is working with the industry to find a solution to
nuisance calls without limiting legitimate business practices.

Telemarketers signal need for nat'l register
Canberra.  Direct phone marketers admit there is a need for a nat'l
"do not call" telemarketing register but say it should be set up in
consultation with the industry.
The Labor Party is promising to ban unwanted telemarketing calls if it
wins this y's fed election.
The Opp'n's communications rep, Lindsay Tanner, says Aussies do not
want to be interrupted by unsolicited phone calls.
Aussie Direct Marketing Association chief executive Rob Edwards says
the Labor Party is on the right track but it would be wrong to just
adopt the US model.
"The US model was brought about in response to telemarketing being out
of control in that country," he said.
"We don't have that same level of intrusion in this country, in the US
they are getting 12 and 15 calls a day."
But Communications Min Daryl Williams says the idea is ill-considered
and heavy handed.
Mr Williams says the Labor approach could cost 1000s of jobs in the
telemarketing industry.
He says the Govt is working with the industry to find a solution to
nuisance calls without limiting legitimate business practices.

Former clerks convicted over police threats
Melbourne.  2 former articled clerks have been sentenced for
threatening a Vic police officer over their underworld client's court
proceedings.  Ali Aydin, 29, and Helmut Kirsch, 47, were found guilty
in the County Court of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The court heard the 2 men threatened Detective Snr Constable Ben
Archibald with civil and criminal action unless he agreed to act
favourably in relation to a bail application for their client Housam
Zayat.  Zayat later became a victim in MEL's gangland war.  The court
heard Aydin also threatened to reveal the detective's home address to
violent criminal Nick "The Bulgarian" Radiv.  The judge convicted and
sentenced Aydin to 12 m jail.  Kirsch was sentenced to 15 m jail,
which was wholly suspended due to time already served.  Outside court
he said both would appeal against their sentences.

Illegal transactions lead to good behaviour bonds for brothers
Melbourne.  A former Nat'l AUS Bank (NAB) accountant and his brother have
been released on good behaviour bonds after admitting to a series of
illegal financial transactions.
Williamstown brothers Michael and John Fares admitted withdrawing $1.3
mn from their Westpac Bank account in numerous small amounts and
making deposits in their NAB accounts last Dec.
The MEL County Court heard Michael Fares was the NAB's tax manager and
was investigated for insider trading after the pair made a $10 mn
profit on AMP share options in the lead up to the NAB's share acquisition. 
However, no charges were laid.
His lawyer told the court the brothers wanted to hide the transactions
from the bank, not the Govt, because they feared their account would
be frozen because of the investigation.
Judge Michael Strong said the explanation was implausible but the forfeiture 
of $1.1 mn under proceeds of crimes laws was a large enough penalty.
He released the pair on good behaviour bonds.

Law council calls for sex offender register safeguards
Canberra.  The Law Council of AUS says the proposed nat'l sex offender
database needs safeguards.  State and territory police ministers
agreed to implement the register at a meeting in Hobart on Wed.  The
council says some states plan to leave the disclosure of info on the
register to police.  Council president Bob Gotterson QC says that
could expose officers to bribes from offenders wishing to avoid being
monitored.  "Under the scheme we propose, is that where it is intended
to release to ...  members of the public info on the register, then
the releasing authority would need to go to a magistrate and convince
the magistrate that the release is appropriate in all the
circumstances," he said.

Police raid Collins home
Darwin.  Police are investigating sex offence allegations against Bob
Collins.  NT police have raided the home of the former Fed Labor
senator and minister Bob Collins as part of an investigation into
sexual assault allegations made against him.  No charges have been
laid and the allegations are yet to be tested.  The ABC has learnt
that police have received complaints from 4 men who allege Mr Collins
indecently assaulted them when he lived in Arnhem Land in the 1970s.
Police have confirmed they are investigating and yesterday raided Mr
Collins' Darwin home as part of their inquiries.  It is understood a
computer was seized in the raid.  The claims are yet to be tested and
Mr Collins' family said yesterday that he had yet to be contacted by
police.  Mr Collins is in the Royal Adel Hospital where he is still
recovering from a serious car crash.  His family has asked the media
to respect his privacy

SYD street evacuated during siege
Sydney.  Police have evacuated a SYD street where a siege is underway.
Police have evacuated a street in Banksia in SYD's south, where a
siege is underway after shots were fired from a house this morning.
Police had gone to the Banksia Road home for another purpose just
after 10.00 am when the siege developed.  A number of shots were then
fired by a man believed to be in his twenties.  The man can be seen
standing in an archway in front of the house, while police in
bullet-proof vest are stationed outside.  Police rep Norris Smith says
negotiators are attempting to make contact with the man and to resolve
the incident peacefully.  Motorists are asked to avoid the area.
Several other people are inside but it is not known how many, or
whether any children are inside.

Court quashes Mickelberg convictions
The WA Court of Criminal Appeal has quashed the Mickelberg brothers'
convictions.
Perth.  The WA Court of Criminal Appeal has quashed the Mickelberg
brothers' convictions over the 1982 Perth Mint swindle.
More than 2 decades ago, Ray and Peter Mickelberg were convicted for
stealing 68 kg of gold from the Perth Mint.
They made 7 unsuccessful attempts to have their convictions quashed.
Their 8th appeal was launched after one of the investigating officers,
the late Tony Lewandowski, confessed to helping fabricate evidence
against them.
The pair was not in court today to hear the court's 2-1 decision in
their favour.
But their lawyer, Malcolm McCusker QC has called this a great day for
justice in WA.
Mr Lewandowski's mother, Irene Burns, says she is elated for the
Mickelbergs and is proud of her son for coming forward.
"This is the reason that he did confess, to get a good outcome, and
he's done it," she said.
"The Mickelbergs have come through fine, and I'm happy for them."
It is yet to be revealed whether the brothers will pursue compensation.

Saturn pictures yield surprising find
Pasadena (Reuters).  The spacecraft Cassini has sent its 1st images of
Saturn's majestic rings back to Earth, showing surprisingly sharp
edges and ripples of energy within the mysterious formations.
Scientists also got a bonus from the early data: the sounds of Saturn,
as the craft passed through the "bow shock", or leading edge of the
planet's magnetic field, which ebbs and flows like the ocean.
The noise had a deep quality, rising to a guttural crescendo at the
point where Cassini met the field.
Though they had little time to analyse what they were seeing and
hearing, scientists said the data could help them explain the birth of
the entire solar system.
"If you want to understand how the solar system was formed, you go to
Saturn," Carolyn Porco, leader of the Cassini imaging science team, said.
Program manager Robert Mitchell said the craft was in perfect health
after a 7 y journey and had entered orbit so precisely that team
leaders were now debating whether they needed to make a corrective
move planned for Sat.
The early photos, taken from the unlit side of the rings, were black
and white and full of electronic "noise," but were clear enough to
show fine ring structures and edges that were unexpectedly sharp,
given all the colliding particles.
"Ring scientists love sharp edges. They're very mysterious -- they
have to be held sharp by some mechanism," Dr Porco said.
A 2nd set of images, taken from the sunlit side of the rings, arrived
about 2 hr later and was far sharper, showing the rings and gaps in
much greater detail. With illumination, the close-up view of the "A"
set of rings made them look something like the surface of a vinyl record.
Scientists were thrilled with the quantity and clarity of the images
which are the closest pictures of the rings that will be taken during
the mission, in some cases 5 times sharper than those taken by the
Voyager missions more than 20 y ago.
The images showed "density waves," disruptions in the particles in the
rings caused by the energy of moonlets passing outside them, that
scientists said could best be compared to the pattern of bunching and
thinning out seen in traffic jams.
In addition, they showed "bending waves," where the rings had been
warped by the effects of the passing moons.
Scientists were also able to construct their 1st full image of the
planet's magnetosphere, using a new instrument flying for the first
time on Cassini.
The Voyager probes had only partly been able to capture the magnetic
bubble that surrounds the planet.
Mission scientists, many of whom have devoted more than a decade to
the Cassini project, cheered and called the photos "beautiful" and
"mind-blowing".
"It's so flawless it almost seems faked, but it's not," Dr Porco said
in live commentary from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The truck-sized probe slipped through the rings and entered orbit around 
Saturn on Wed night, after travelling 3.5 bn km since its Oct 1997 launch.
Along the way, it used the gravity of Venus, Earth and Jupiter to
slingshot itself out to the 6th planet from the sun.
Cassini is set to spend at least 4 y studying the planet, its rings
and some of its 31 known moons.
On its back it carries a smaller craft, Huygens, which is designed to
break away in Dec and plummet onto the surface of Titan for a brief
study of that moon's atmosphere.
That portion of the mission was designed largely by the European and
Italian space agencies.
The $US3 bn mission has been hailed as a model of internat'l
cooperation, with scientists from 17 countries participating.

Mud a must for filthy rich buyer
London (Reuters).  A dollop of mud scooped up during last weekend's
Glastonbury music festival in Brit has sold for 490 pounds [about
$A1,265] on the Internet auction site ebay.
The sale should recoup the cost of the admission ticket and more than
compensate for the heavy rain.
"Stored in a plastic bag this should arrive nice and damp with the
early Glastonbury dew still soaking into it," read the seller's description.
The mud was collected from the front of the main Pyramid stage where
Oasis, Morrissey and Paul McCartney performed.
Bidding began at 99 pence.
The Glastonbury festival, which dates back to 1970, has been
criticised for becoming over-commercialised in recent y as
mobile-phone charging points replace hippy campfires.
But the mud's owner has promised to donate 1/2 the final auction price
to charity.
Festival fans can still snap up mud, in some cases with an
accompanying rubber Wellington boot, for a few pence on the web site.

{{
Midnight.
US Sec of State Colin Powell is in the Darfur region of Sudan, to see
for himself the massive humanitarian crisis.

Bailiffs have been to the Yukos HQ in Moscow to enforce the govt's tax
claim.  They left empty-handed -- for now.  In Russia, authorities
can demand payments from banks where companies hold accounts.  Yukos
has been found to owe $US3.4 bn in taxes, penalties and interest.
Pres Putin said Wed the decision has not been in Russia's interests --
a signal, say observers, the govt may step in to prevent the oil giant
going bust.

Vessels that fail to comply with new UN maritime regulations could
now be turned away from ports.  The US, in particular, is threatening
to turn away ships that don't meet the new standards -- despite the
fact 10% of US ports and about 1/2 its register vessels don't comply.
It's the biggest crackdown on world shipping in history.  Ships must
be certified and have appropriate staff, security procedures and
equipment in place to prevent terrorist attack.  Only 1/3 of world
ports have reached the required standard, even after 2 y to prepare.

Iran has rejected a Brit govt statement that says 8 Brit military
personal had been forced into Iranian territorial waters.  Iran says
the men had admitted they entered Iran's territorial waters by mistake.

BBC says the pix of Saddam's appearance in court could enflame feelings
in Iraq, where the interim govt had hoped the trial would calm the
sit'n.  The BBC says Iraqis working for them have been arguing over
the disrespect being shown to the former Pres of Iraq, and complain
the pix and proceedings are still under the control of the Americans.

1 am
NZ has passed a law making it illegal for citizens to fight as
mercenaries in foreign wars, or train soldiers in other countries.
The penalty is up to 15 y jail.

1.30 am
Israeli choppers have launched new attacks in Gaza.  Several people
have reportedly been injured.  At least 1 missile was fired.  The army
says it shot at a group trying to plant explosives nr Israeli
soldiers.  Earlier, the army started a fresh incursion into the S Gaza Strip.

2 am
100s of people have stormed a state TV stn in Mongolia, demanding
their party be given the victory in last wk's disputed nat'l
elections.  The MDC opp'n party said the govt had dominated the media
and demanded broadcasting time for itself.  Observers say the govt
used about 98% of the broadcast time in the lead-up to the election.
The opp'n has claimed victory after gaining the support of 3 indeps in
the otherwise evenly divided parliament.  Voting is to be re-held in 2
disputed areas.  There was a turnout of around 70%.  Until now, the
ruling former Communist party had repeatedly won 72 of 76 seats.

2.30 am
India.  Politicians have visited a district in Uttar Pradesh, where 50
farmers killed themselves in the past 6 y after failing to pay off loans.

Pres Musharraf says Pak will conduct further nuclear tests in the next
y or 2, and has not agreed with the US to end testing.

8 am
Security forces in Riyadh have battled suspected al-Qaeda militants
for a 2nd night.  In another shoot-out, 1 guerilla was killed and a
police officer injured.  Police say their find of a terrorist safe-house 
last night led to a 2nd location where they found more explosives.
They say they've foiled a significant terrorist attack in the Kingdom.

Midday.
US Pres George W Bush has welcomed deposed Iraqi leader Saddam
Hussein's appearance in an Iraqi court, Whitehouse rep Scott McClellan
said, hailing it as an "important step" for the war-torn country.

Saddam Hussein is a "war criminal" who must face capital punishment,
Kuwait's Info Min said, referring to the ousted Iraqi president's Aug
1990 invasion of the emirate.

In a makeshift courtroom in a Baghdad palace complex where he once
indulged friends with hunting and fishing trips, Saddam Hussein
arrived in handcuffs on Thu to face charges of crimes against humanity.

Lt Gen Ricardo Sanchez stepped down as the top US cmdr in Iraq today
to be replaced by a four-star general as he returns to his old job as
a US cmdr in Germany.

6.30 pm
Gen Wiranto says he agrees with the death penalty for human rights
abuses. The Gen is, himself, under indictment for war crimes in E
Timor. He's tried to down-play the charges by selecting as running
mate an official from Indonesia's peak human rights body.

8 pm
A bomb attack on a bus in E Turkey has killed 5 people [later reports
say 6 killed and 25 wounded].  Authorities believed the attack was carried 
out by Kurdish rebels who've been fighting for an independent homeland.

8.30 pm
China is cracking down on SMS messaging.  Beijing says it's trying to
stop the spread of pornography and "fraudulent" messages.  But a
company developing s/w for the Chinese govt has touted its ability to
detect "false political rumours" and "reactionary remarks".

A study into Brit police has found the number of people of Asian
appearance stopped by police has risen 300% in the past y.  The report
says that figure is "unacceptable".  It recommends police be
counselled on how to use the controversial "stop and search" powers
after changes to Brit's terrorism laws last y.  Stop and searches had
caused nr riots in the 80s.  They had declined during the 90s, but
after the introduction of Brit's new terrorism laws they are on the
rise again.  There were 3,000 Brits of Asian origin searched in 2002-3
-- 4 times the prev y.

9 pm
The ABC says it has referred a complaint from the govt to its
complaints tribunal.  The complaint has come from FM Downer.  It
concerns a BBC doc aired on Aussie TV.  Mr Downer says the episode of
"The 3rd World War" dealing with the Bali bombing incorrectly claimed
the AUS govt had been warned about the possibility of the Bali attack,
but had failed to act.  [Mr Downer has apparently been interviewed for
the doc].  The doc said the US had indicated a travel warning 2 days
before the bomb attack, but Australia had indicated "business as
usual".  The ABC says the prog was previewed and was in accord with
its guidelines.
["Media Watch", 05 Jun said Mr Downer had tried secretly -- in the
manner of gutless tories everywhere -- to have the program pulled, or
edited to his liking, before it was aired. But the ABC had
refused. But the broadcaster had edited an advertising spot for the
program, to remove the controversial claims].

TV stns have agreed not to air ads that exhibit compulsive eating or
drinking. It's now part of their voluntary code of practice.

9.30 pm
The Turkish embassy in Baghdad says 2 Turkish aircon engineers have
been released and are on their way home.  They promised to stop
working for US forces in Iraq.  So did their company.

Violent opp'n to the interim govt and US forces continues to grow in
Iraq.  A series of rockets were fired at C Baghdad hotels used by
foreigners, incl journalists.  1 hit the Sheraton.  There were no
cas.  A pickup truck was found flipped over nearby, containing
rocket launchers.  [It was later described as an improvised automatic
rocket launcher].  Insurgents had fired rockets from the vehicle, but
ended up setting it alight, said a Coal'n rep.  Ordinance on the
vehicle had exploded, said the US cmdr.  Meanwhile, the US has changed
cmdrs in Iraq.  Ricardo Sanchez has been replaced by George Casey.  In
Jordan, King Abdullah says he will send troops if Baghdad wants
assistance with security.

US taxpayers are footing the bill for Saddam's trial to the tune of
$US75 mn.

The Aussie lawyer for Guatmo detainee Habib hopes to meet his client
soon for first time, after more than 2 y.  Stephen Hopper says
lawyers in the US have asked for access to the terrorist suspect
after the US Supreme Court decision this wk.  he says the Bush Admin
has denied access until now.  The US govt has until tonight to give
reasons to the Court for continued denial of access.  Elsewhere, a
human rights group has written to Rummy for access.  Meanwhile, the
US is reportedly thinking of re-locating 100s of Guatmo detainees to
US jails, and may release others, to avoid "clogging up" the US court
system.  In AUS, PM Howard says he doesn't think it's a good idea to
let any of the detainees go without trial.

Israeli PM Sharon says he's willing to move the barrier closer to
Israel.  The announcement came as Pals demanded demolition of the
structure.  2 more Pals were killed in S Gaza strip in an exchange of fire.

In Nepal, the mayor of a tourist town has been killed by Maoist
rebels.  The killing comes despite a deal struck by the PM with with
the opp'n yesterday, to form a multi-party govt.  The PM says making
peace with the Maoists is the govt's top priority.

The Dow has closed down 101 pts.  The Nasdaq also ended lower.  In
AUS, the All Ords ended down 3 pts.  The NAB is trading about $30 at
$A30.16.  In Japan, the Nikkei lost 174 pts.  The Hang Seng closed
down 66 pts.  The AUD is steady at 70.25 US c.  In London, the FTSE is
presently down 14 pts.  The German Dax is 16 pts lower.  Gold is lower
at $US394.37/oz.  Crude oil is higher at $US38.34/bbl.

10 pm
Jakarta.  The NK For Min and US Sec of State Colin Powell had a 20 min
sideline conf at the ASEAN forum.  Both later said there had been
progress.  The NK FM said Pyongyang would no longer regard the US as a
permanent enemy.  Aussie FM Downer says the 6-party talks have started
to gain traction.

Auckland.  2 Israeli men have admitted trying to gain false NZ
passports.  They were arrested in Apr.  Originally they had faced 3
charges, but 2 have been dropped.  Both pleaded guilty to trying to
obtain the NZ passports.  The NZ govt says it won't comment on the
case until after sentencing in 2 wks.

London.  A Brit soldier is to stand trial for shooting a 13 yo boy in
Iraq last Sep.  No date has been set for the trial, or even
preliminary hearing.

11 pm
Opinion on Saddam is diverse, following his court appearance.  At a
talk radio stn in Baghdad -- one that could not have existed under
Saddam's rule -- almost 1/2 (45%) of the callers want the former
dictator executed. But almost as many (42%) want him released ASAP.
Many said the real criminal -- the one that should be on trial -- is
Pres George W Bush.

11.15 pm
"Lateline" says 5 Aussie cyclists will be cleared of drug offences.  A
judge investigating the claims made by an Aussie cyclist that he was
not the only one injecting drugs in a room in the Adelaide Inst of
Sport has found there is insufficient evidence to back up the claims.
One witness says the cyclist is an unreliable witness.  Lateline says
2 of the accused cyclists were not even in Adel at the time.

11.30 pm
Officials in Afghanistan say the Sep presid'l and parl elections
elections are likely to be delayed a 2nd time.  They had originally
been sched for Jun.  The delays are due to increased violence in
Afghan.  There are increasing warnings from internat'l observers
violence will prejudice any elections.

Moscow. Yukos says its oil production could be shut down because its
bank accounts have been frozen by the Russian govt.  Observers say
there is a "political element" to the prosecution of the company.  How
can it pay its back-taxes when its accounts have been frozen?  The
company produces 1.72 mn bpd -- about 1/4 of Russia's supply.  It's
now predicted Yukos will have to sell its 35% stake in a rival oil
company to pay its back-taxes.

The Iraqi FM (a Kurd) says he expects the govt to reject an offer of
troops by Jordan.  He said if the offer were accepted certain
countries on the borders would complicate the security sit'n.  The
Kurds have been worried about Turkish troops operating in N Iraq.  But
the FM indicated letters have been sent to Egypt, Bahrain and Oman
asking for help in restoring security.

US employment numbers have disappointed.  There were 112,000 jobs
created last m.  But Wall St had expected 1/4 mn.  The data could be
a problem for Pres Bush, with his claims he's been putting the US
economy right.

17 warheads dating from the 1980s have been found in Iraq.  They
reportedly have been found to contain mustard gas, but not nerve agents.
}}
========================================
(*) Who is responcible for W.A.R.S?  A small group of dedicated
sandgrubbers, bannana-lickers and 5th columnists on the run from
support payments and sundry legalese in their home countries. Mention
us at any Uncle Harry's Suburban Bunker and get a 10% discount on cop-killers!
Special deals for multiple posting aliases!

All speling macroizated for correctitood by Mcrosotf Speelchek.

*** Please stand by for further orders from The Leader ***