From the World-Wide Resourses of the Western Australia
Reserch Senter(*)
		OIL THE NEWS THAT FITS MY VIEWS   #39
                ===============================
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).

Visit Our Home Page At:
http://www.chickenhead.com/loserscopes/

See the Undeniable Evidence At:
http://www.evil-doers.org/evidence

This Stuff Blogged At:
http://kymhorsell.blogspot.com/

Also Kindly Archived At:
http://www.kymhorsell.com/OIL/
[Yes, folks, the case is significant!]

Iraqi Body Count:
http://www.iraqbodycount.net/
[2,197+ as at 4 May 2003].

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Selecting latest news stories and other data for you...
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The very people who should be strengthening the international
institutions are undermining and playing around.
    -- PM Tony Blair, 1 May 2003.

The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time but it is
worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done.
    -- Pres Bush Jr, 1 May 2003.

We're not proud of it.
    -- Cal govt official, 2 May 2003.
       The state announced a record $US11 bn in borrowings to pay
       payrolls and retire debt.

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Fri, 2 May 2003

Bethlehem. 51 DROWN IN BUS CRASH!  At least 51 people were killed
when a bus carrying trade union members to a S Af May Day rally
crashed into a reservoir and officials fear dozens more may have died.
In one of the country's worst road crashes, rescuers dragged the damaged
bus from the water while divers searched for more bodies.  10
survivors of the accident, which happened 240 km S of Jo'burg, were
rushed to hosp.  Police rep Mary Martins-Enelbrecht and union
officials say an estimated 80 to 90 trade union members were on the
bus when it crashed.

65 bodies recovered from S African bus crash          
Jo'berg.  At least 65 bodies have been recovered after a bus plunged
into a dam in S Africa.  The bus was carrying union leaders to a
May Day rally when the driver lost control.  S African police say
the driver of the bus became disorientated and drove down a gravel
road which led into a dam.  The accident happened shortly before dawn,
near the town of Bethlehem, south of Johannesburg.  Only 10 passengers
managed to escape, as the bus sank into the water.  The survivors say
people screamed as they tried to force their way out of broken
windows.  Most of the people on board were union officials on their way
to May Day celebrations in the Free State Province.  Rescue workers
have recovered the bus from the water and retrieved the bodies of many
of the victims.  Police divers are searching for further remains.

Santa Fe. RESCUERS SEARCH FOR FLOOD VICTIMS!  Rescue workers in
Argentina are using canoes and boats to search for dozens of people
reported missing after heavy flooding killed 9 and forced more than
50,000 from their homes.  Civil defence workers say some 50 people are
unaccounted for after days of heavy rains -- unleashed flooding in
Santa Fe in Argentina's NE.  Troops are helping to relocate and feed
many residents in makeshift camps after homes were inundated by the
overflowing Salado R.

Geneva. 3 SKIERS DIE IN AVALANCHE!  3 skiers have been killed and 2
others injured after being caught in an avalanche in the Swiss Alps.
Police in S Switzerland say rescuers flown into the area have
recovered all of the party of about 10 skiers involved in the
incident nr the 3.2 km high Aletsch glacier.  A search involving
police, a mnt rescue team with 3 dogs and 2 choppers was mounted
after 1 of the party raised the alert on his mobile phone. The
skiers' nationalities have not been revealed.

Riyadh. SHOOTING IN RIYADH!  A gunman has wounded a US civilian
working at a naval base in Saudi Arabia, shooting him 3 times.  A US
diplomat says the American is expected to recover.  The diplomat says
the US civilian was employed by a contractor at Jubail, and seems to
have been shot by someone in a Saudi naval uniform.  The Saudi def
ministry says security forces are looking for the gunman, who fled
after the attack at the King Abdul-Aziz Naval Base.

Kathmandu. SNOWSTORMS STRAND CLIMBERS!  Snowstorms on Mt Everest have
stranded 100s of climbers at their base camp as a record number of
people gather to scale the world's highest mtn.  Crowds of climbers
hope to make the summit to mark the golden jubilee of the first time
the Himalayan peak was successfully climbed.  On May 2, 1953, NZ
Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first to
stand atop the mtn.

USS A. Lincoln. BUSH DECL MAJ FIGHTING ENDED!  Pres Bush Jr has
declared the major fighting in Iraq over -- calling it one victory in
a war on terror that will continue until terrorists are defeated.
Bush made a televised address from the deck of the carrier as it
steamed home from the Gulf, off the Cal coast.  He said in the battle
for Iraq, the US and its allies have prevailed -- and he's thanked the
dozens of nations of the Coal'n for sharing the the hardships of war.

US has prevailed in Iraq: Bush
USS A Lincoln.  US Pres Bush Jr has declared the major fighting
in Iraq is over.  He says the Iraq campaign is "one victory in a war
on terror" which he says will continue until terrorists are defeated.
In the battle of Iraq, the US and our allies have
prevailed," Mr Bush said.  Mr Bush was speaking from the deck of
nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is
steaming home from the Gulf.  The Pres touted Saddam Hussein's
ousting as "a crucial advance" towards stamping out extremist
violence.  Mr Bush stopped short of declaring victory or formally
announcing an end to the campaign in Iraq.  Under international law,
that would trigger the release of Iraqi prisoners of war and bar US
forces from trying to kill deposed president Saddam Hussein if he is
still alive.  Mr Bush acknowledged that several key war aims are yet
to be achieved.  They include ferreting out the banned chemical and
biological weapons central to his case for launching the war and
rebuilding the bloodied nation's battered infrastructure.  "We have
difficult work to do in Iraq," Mr Bush said.  "The transition from
dictatorship to democracy will take time but it is worth every
effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done."

Beirut. SYRIA OFFERS TO DEBATE US!  Syria's For Min says his country
is ready to debate the US in front of the world over the differences
between them.  Faruq al-Shara is in Beirut for talks with Lebanese
officials, ahead of a visit by the US Sec of State Colin Powell.
Powell is en-route to Syria and then to Lebanon the following day.
He's expected to discuss concerns in Washington over anti-Israel
groups operation in the 2 countries.  He'll also be pressing Damascus
on its alleged support for terrorism and pursuit of WMD.

Saddam's doppelganger sought for stage                        
London.  Sporting black berets, khaki jackets and black moustaches, a
group of Saddam Hussein look-alikes is bidding for stage glory playing
the deposed Iraqi dictator.  14 men -- some looking more like Groucho
Marx than Saddam -- have attended an audition in west London for a part
in the satirical play Follow My Leader, due in the West End next
month.  Producer Raymond Gubbay said: "There were one or 2 possibles
and as with all auditions you go away and think about it.  But we have
other avenues."  The real Saddam was well known to employ a number of
doubles to fool potential attackers.  None was known to have been in
the Hammersmith area on Thu morning but Mr Gubbay added
mysteriously: "I had a call from Damascus this morning.  When I
asked him if he had any experience for the part he became very cagey.
Who knows ... it could be the man himself or one of his doubles ... I
have asked him to send pictures."  Mr Gubbay warned that stardom for
the successful candidate would be fleeting.  The part is only a cameo
in an otherwise serious look at contemporary politics.

Castro defends clampdown during May Day celebrations
Havana.  Cuban president Fidel Castro has vigorously defended his
recent actions against dissidents and people trying to flee the island
during a big May Day rally in Havana.  He said they were a necessary
defence against the threat of war from the US.  The BBC
reports 100s of 1000s of Cubans crammed into Havana's vast Revolution
Square.  They heard Fidel Castro at his most defiant.  He said the US
was contemplating a possible military attack on the communist-led
island.  All the events of the last 2 m -- including the arrest
and imprisonment of 75 dissidents and the summary executions of three
hijackers -- he explained as his response to attempts by the US to
destabilise Cuba.

Washington. US THREATENS VETO OF TOBACCO TREATY!  The US told the WHO
this wk it is unlikely to sign the first-ever treaty to curtail
tobacco use world-wide unless the 171 nations that wrote it allow a
clause enabling govts to opt out of any provisions they object to.
The Bush Admin says it needs the so-called "reservations" clause to
ensure that the US can disregard treaty requirements that is considers
constitutionally questionable. But anti-tobacco activists and foreign
diplomats say the American demand is an attempt to water down the
treaty to benefit tobacco companies or to unravel the agreement entirely.  
The draft of the treaty, which calls for nations to adopt tobacco control 
initiatives, was approved at a Geneva conf un Mar.  Since then only the 
US and the Dominican Rep had objects, WHO officials said.

Houston. NASA CLOSING IN ON SHUTTLE EXPLANATION!  An internal NASA
report says nothing would have saved the shuttle Columbia.  The US
Agency says even dumping nearly 16 tonnes of non-essential items --
incl science experiments, water and equipment -- would not have
protected the spacecraft from breakup apart on re-entry after its
left wing was mysteriously damaged.  Dumping the items would also have
required 2 space-walks -- something none of the crew had experience with.  
NASA Admin Sean O'Keefe says the analysis was ordered after questions 
arose from the board investigating the Columbia accident on Feb 1.

Columbia's re-entry "doomed"
Washington.  The US space shuttle Columbia could not have been saved
once it began its return to Earth, a NASA report has found.  The
report says not even reducing the shuttle's weight or changing its
trajectory could have saved it.  The internal report was written by a
team led by NASA flight director LeRoy Cain.  It examined three
options to reduce the shuttle's weight by as much as 16 tonnes and
concluded none would have reduced the extreme heat of re-entry enough
to save the shuttle.  The report also noted the extreme risk of
shedding unnecessary equipment, such as scientific experiments, and
said it would only be justified by "significant and convincing data"
proving the shuttle would not survive re-entry.  Columbia broke up on
Feb 1, just 16 minutes prior to its scheduled touch-down, killing
all 7 astronauts on board.  Investigators believe heat-resistant
tiles on the shuttle's left wing were damaged at lift-off by pieces of
insulating foam flying off the shuttle's external fuel tank.  That
would have allowed superheated gases to enter and burn up the
spacecraft.  2 weeks ago, an independent board investigating the loss
of the Columbia recommended a comprehensive pre-launch inspection of
each shuttle's heat shield.  The board also called on the US space
agency to enlist the US military's satellites to photograph each
shuttle flight in orbit.

London. MODERATE LOSSES FOR BLAIR!  PM Blair has suffered only
moderate losses today after Brits voted in local elections.  He
angered many by waging war in Iraq, but there's been little sign of a
threat to his supremacy at the polls for English local govts and the
parliaments of Scotland and Wales.  Instead, Blair's main political
opponent, Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, has suffered damage, with a
snr colleague resigning.  [Labour lost 100s of seats, and had its
poorest showing since the 70s. In disturbing news, a far RW party has
made advances in some "ethnic" areas].

Toronto. WHO PLANS SARS ATTACK!  The WHO says global collaboration and
vigilance are the key to cracking SARS -- the disease which has killed
more than 390 people worldwide.  Officials and experts from Britain,
Canada, China, HK and the US have gathered in Toronto to exchange
ideas about how to fight the SARS virus.  Toronto is the area
hardest-hit outside of Asia.  David Heymann of the WHO praised world
efforts to contain the flu-like disease that's now infected nearly
6,000 people.

Canberra. AUS CALLS IN NK AMBASSADOR!  The AUS govt has called in the
NK ambassador amid accusations of state-sponsored drug trafficking by
the reclusive nation.  For Min Alex Downer says NK's ambassador Chon
Jae Hong has been summoned to answer the allegations.  The meeting
follows the discovery last m of $80 mn in heroin carried by a NK ship
in Aussie waters.

Doubts cast over Noongar genealogy plan
Perth.  South-west W AUS Noongars have expressed doubts
over plans to trace the population back to its original 200 families
who populated the area.  The South-West Land and Sea Council wants to
consult Aboriginal elders, anthropologists and use oral histories to
place all of the state's estimated 30,000 Noongars into one of the
original families.  However, Noongar custodian Joe Northover says many
people will oppose the idea, because it would be almost impossible to
trace the "Stolen Generations".  He says genealogy is not part of
Indigenous culture.  "Genealogy is not, I suppose, a traditional way
of looking at things. It is the customs and laws that we abide by
within our own regions, and there are few traditional people left that
still continue those customs and beliefs and carry out those laws," he said.

Canberra. HOSPITAL FUNDING ROW!  Funding for public hospitals is in
crisis tonight after all Labor states rejected a $10 bn offer from the
fed govt.  State health mins failed to reach an agreement with
Commonwealth counterpart Kay Patterson and have left CBR today with no
guarantee of a funding boost.  The fed govt is offering $10 bn over 5
y, with a possible max of $42 bn if states provide matching funding
and improve accountability.  [Patterson has returned to her position
of refusing to meet with the states until they agree to accept her
offer].

Sydney. UNI PLACES ROW!  NSW will reportedly lose almost 6,000 uni
places -- around 1 in 20 -- by 2005, despite a rise in the number of
qualified applicants.  Almost 11,000 places in unis across the country
are expected to go, according to figures obtained through the Senate
estimates process and released by the Fed Opp'n.  The SMH reports the
number reflect cash-strapped unis turning away 1000s of prospective
students after being financially penalised by the Fed Govt for
over-enrolling.

Brisbane. GG HOLLINGSWORTH ROW!  GG Peter Hollingworth faces new calls
for his resignation after a report critical of his handling of child
abuse cases when he was Anglican Archbishop of Bris was tabled in
Qld Parl.  The report was commissioned by Dr Hollingworth's
successor, Dr Phillip Aspinall.  It found Dr H made a serious error of
judgement in allowing a priest to continue his ministry despite
known he was a child abuser.  Dr Aspinall yesterday publicly apologised
to all past victims of abuse.

Brisbane. QLD NIGGER ROW!  A Qld regional sports ground has rejected a
UN recommendation it remove the word "nigger" from the name of one of
its grand-stands.  After a wk of fierce debate, the Toowoomba Sports
Ground Trust has decided to retain the name -- the "ES Nigger Brown
stand".  Trust Chair John McDonald says he hasn't been formally
notified of the recommendations and the sign will remain untouched.
Aboriginal activist Stephen Hagan, who petitioned the UN to rule on
the matter, has promised further legal action.

Sydney. MARKETS!  The All Ords closed 25 pts lower at 2,941, with
banks and resource stocks leading the way.  The FTSE was up 14 pts a
short time ago.

{{
IT'S DAY FORTY-THREE.

9.30 pm
Bingol. The death toll from a mag 6.4 quake has risen to 105.  The
local police chief has been sacked because his men weren't able to
control protesters.  Film showed local police firing automatic weapons
into the air to scare them off.  But they aren't backing down,
complaining over poor construction practices across the region. The
PM has promised to prosecute those responsible for shoddy
workmanship. Another buy was pulled from the school today. He'd been
under the rubble for 30 hrs, saved by the tangle of bunk-beds and
furniture in the school dorm.  The school was only 5 yo.

Sicily. A council employee has reportedly shot dead 5 council
officials, incl the mayor, in a town in N Sicily.
}}

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Sat, 3 May 2003

NY. MARKETS!  The Dow closed up 127 pts to 8,582, selecting from mixed
signals to hear the good news.  Markets around the world followed the
lead.  The FTSE was up 73 pts to 3,953.  The Dax closed 44 pts higher
at 2,986.  In Asia, the Hang Seng ended at 8,808, 91 pts higher.  The
Nikkei closed up 44 pts at 7,909.  Gold was trading around
$US339.45/oz.  The AUD continues higher, in reaction to a weaker USD.

Baghdad. BATTLE FOR BAGHDAD KILLED 1,000!  The battle for Baghdad is
said to have cost the lives of at least 1,101 Iraqi civilians, many
of them women and children.  The figure comes from records at the
city's 19 largest hospitals -- but the actual civilian toll is likely
to be higher.  The hospital records say another 1,255 dead were
probably civilians, incl many women and children.  Uncounted others
who died never made it to hospitals and now are buried in shallow
graves t'out the city.  More than 6,800 civilians were wounded, the
hospital records show.

Beijing. 70 KILLED IN MYSTERY SUB ACCIDENT!  A mysterious accident on
board a conventional sub has killed all 70 officers and crew off
China.  The official Xinhua news agency says the accident happened in
Chinese territorial waters in recent days.  It says it was caused by
"mechanical problems" during training, making it one of the worst
naval accidents in the Communist China's history.  The news agency
says the sub was towed back to an un-ID'd port.  Analysts are
mystified by the speed the Chinese say they recovered the sub.

Mendi. LANDSLIDE KILLS 60!  A landslip has occurred in the S
Highlands of PNG, where repeat national elections were underway.
Unconfirmed reports put the death toll at 61. The people were buried
nr Tari.  A sec at Chevron, which operates gas fields nearby, says
mgt are holding a meeting in relation to the disaster.

At least 51 dead in S African bus crash
Jo'berg.  S African investigators are trying to determine the
cause of a bus crash which claimed at least 51 lives.  Police divers
are still searching for bodies at the site of the accident, south of
Johannesburg.  Rescue workers are resuming their search for the bodies
of the victims.  The bus, which was carrying up to 80 passengers,
crashed into a dam, nr the town of Bethlehem in S Africa's Free
State province.  Only 10 people survived the accident, when the bus
hit the water at high speed and sank.  Police divers and sniffer dogs
are being used to find the remains of those who were killed in the
crash.  Most of the people on board the bus were union officials, on
their way to a May Day rally in a nearby town.  The Congress of South
African Trade Unions says it will provide financial assistance to the
families of the victims.

Argentina floods kill 16; 100,000 evacuated 
BA.  The worst flooding to hit Argentina's farming heartland in memory
has killed 16 people and forced 100,000 from their homes, with some
evacuees taking shelter in cemetery crypts.  Vast tracts of land are
submerged under several m of water in the central farming province of
Santa Fe after a major river broke its banks.  Locals are forced to
navigate the streets in boats, while others are sitting out the floods
on the rooftops of their sodden homes amid fears of opportunistic looting.  
The Salado River burst its banks following 140 cm of rain in 2 days
earlier this week, flooding towns throughout the number 2 soy
producing province.  The average rainfall for the area is 80
centimetres of rain per year.  
1000s of Buenos Aires residents have pooled tons of food and clothing,
which are being trucked to the province.  They are being stored in
soccer stadiums.  But in a land still struggling to emerge from its
worst ever economic crisis, local media said robbers had hijacked a
handful of trucks and stolen the donations they were carrying.  
Some 3 mn hectares of farmland are under water, according to the govt.
Most farmland lies north of the flood and 70% of the soy harvest already 
is collected.  Some highways remain closed and railroads are blocked.

Ten killed, 90 injured in Vietnam bus blast 
Hanoi.  Ten people have been killed and about 90 injured after a bus
exploded in northern Vietnam, hospital sources said on Sat.  Two
victims died late on Fri at Hanoi's St Paul Hospital and one died at
the National Burns Institute, taking the toll to 10.  Seven others had
died on Fri.  A St Paul administrative official told AFP: "We had 22
patients yesterday, four of them passed away, the others are in
serious conditions."  The National Burns Institute said it had
received more than 50 patients, one of whom died overnight.  A police
rep said initial findings suggested explosives transported on the bus
caused the blast, which occurred on Fri morning.

Bingol. QUAKE AFTERMATH!  Police have fired warning shots at angry
Kurds protesting a shortage of quake relief supplies.  The clash came
as rescuers kept up an increasingly-desperate search for some 30 children
still buried under a collapsed school dormitory.  Rescuers are using
cranes and heavy equipment to work through the rubble of the 4-storey
building, despite protests from the parents of missing children.
Sniffer dogs and electronic listening equipment have not located survivors 
since yesterday, but rescue workers insist they still had hope.

Sicily shootings sparked by job fears
Sicily.  A disgruntled town worker who risked losing his job has shot
dead the Mayor of the E Sicilian town of Aci Castello and 4 others,
before fleeing the scene.  Police say the Mayor, Michele Toscano, and
3 town employees were killed inside municipal offices.  1 pensioner
was shot dead in the square outside and another person was injured.
Police have ID-ed the attacker as Giuseppe Leotta, a 32-year-old
municipal worker on a short-term contract, who apparently was
disgruntled over job issues.  Police using helicopters have thrown up
a massive manhunt for Leotta, who is believed to be still armed.  Most
of the town's residents are shut up in their houses in fear.  
Initial reports say Leotta had wanted to speak to the Mayor over
conditions for employees with short-term contracts expiring soon, but
his request was refused.  He returned shortly afterwards and began his
shooting rampage.  The killings did not appear to be linked in any way
to the Mafia, the Sicily-based crime organisation which has kept a low
profile in recent years.

Anti-war protests, violence at European May Day rallies
Berlin (AFP). Mns of people took to the streets across Europe as
annual May Day rallies mixed traditional labour demands with anti-war
protests, with violence marring events in Germany, Turkey and other
countries.
1 mn protestors marched throughout Germany, double last year's number
according to trade union estimates, but in Berlin, where at least 65
rallies were planned, trouble led to almost 100 arrests.  Police used
water cannon and tear gas to disperse about 200 people who pelted them
with fireworks and other projectiles during a 6,000-strong peace rally
in eastern Berlin.
The main march, organised by the DGB trade union congress, targetted
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's controversial cost-cutting package of
social and economic reforms aimed at boosting the flagging German
economy, the European Union's largest.  Banners read: "Berlin needs
work, an education, a future."
In London, scuffles broke out between demonstrators and police after
about 300 people staged a sit-down protest outside the London offices
of the giant US arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
In Istanbul, truncheon-wielding riot police swooped on demonstrators
after they refused to disperse from what police called an illegal
protest in central Taksim square, the Anatolia news agency reported.
About 30 left-wing marchers were detained.
In Austria and France, where govts plan to increase pension
contribution periods to beyond the current 40 y and eliminate early
retirement, quashing the proposed reforms was the main battle cry for
tens of 1000s of protestors.
In Paris, leader of the right-wing National Front, Jean-Marie Le Pen
-- whose shock rise to the 2nd round of 2002 presidential polls
brought supporters out in force last y -- drew only 3,500 backers,
according to police, 10,000 according to organisers, at his
traditional march this year.
Anti-war protests marked rallies in most countries across the continent.
In Athens, several thousand people converged on the heavily-guarded US
embassy shouting anti-US slogans and carrying banners saying: "Work,
not bombs" and "No to the occupation of Iraq."
In Spain, the 2 main trade unions marched together under the slogan
"peace, jobs and no war" and issued a joint statement that May Day
should be "another rejection of those who are proud of having
conducted an unjust and illegitimate war" -- a reference to PM Jose
Maria Aznar's staunch support for the US-led offensive in Iraq.
Swedes carried banners saying: "USA go home" and "Freedom, yes.
Occupation, no." Other protests in Stockholm called for a no-vote in
the Sep referendum on whether to adopt the euro.
In Denmark, 10,000 people according to police marched peacefully
through Copenhagen, condemning the right-wing govt's support for the
war in Iraq.
A minor altercation between anarchists and skinheads in the Czech
capital Prague led to allegations of police provocation. The rest of
the estimated 300 anarchists present demonstrated peacefully, calling
for "peace in huts and war in palaces".
In Portugal, some 30,000 demonstrators according to police took to the
streets of Lisbon to protest a recent sharp rise in unemployment which
demonstrators blamed on the economic policies of the country's
centre-right govt.
Demonstrators in Cyprus, meanwhile, called for reconciliation.  Over
2,000 Greek and Turkish Cypriots gathered at a joint rally in Nicosia
for the 1st time in decades after Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash
eased restrictions on movement across the divided island.
Several 100 Turkish Cypriot unionists crossed the Green Line to join
fellow left-wing Greek Cypriots in a show of unity not seen in
Europe's last divided capital since well before the 1974 Turkish
invasion of the island.
Much further E, some 200 protesters in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek
rallied against the presence of a US military base in the Central
Asian republic, with 1 speaker saying: "We're living under the yoke of
American fascism."
In Russia, where May Day was a major holiday in the Soviet days, 10s
of 1000s of people took part in nationwide rallies but the authorities
coopted the event that was just recently a major day of protest for
the Communist opposition.  In Moscow, only 15,000 mainly elderly
Communist sympathisers turned out, waving red flags and demanding the
resignation of Pres Vladimir Putin, while a rally held by city
authorities drew a bigger crowd of 25,000.

Climber pinned by boulder cuts off arm to live
Denver (Reuters).  A mountaineer pinned by a heavy boulder in an
eastern Utah desert cut off his right arm with a pocketknife after he
determined that was the only way he would survive, officials said on
Fri.  "He's pretty darn tough. He wanted to live. He saved himself,"
Sgt Mitch Vetere of the Emery County Sheriff's Office in Green River,
Utah, told Reuters.  
Aron Ralston, 27, of Aspen, Colorado, used a pocketknife to cut off
his arm below the elbow, then rappelled down a rock wall and hiked
until he ran into some hikers who flagged down a rescue helicopter 60
miles south of Green River on Thu. He had applied a tourniquet to his arm.  
Vetere said Ralston would never have been spotted in the remote area
where he was pinned by the boulder, which rescuers estimated at
between 800 and 1,000 pounds.  
Ralston was hiking into a canyon on Sat when the boulder fell on
him. He ran out of water on Tue and by Thu realized he had to take the
drastic action.  
He was in serious condition on Fri at St Mary's Hospital in W
Colorado, rep Kim Williams said.  A rescuer who went back to see if he
could retrieve the arm said the boulder was too heavy to move,
according to Vetere.

Seoul. NK INCURSION!  S Korea says a NK navy patrol boat briefly
violated its sea border -- amid tensions over the N's suspected
development of nuclear weapons.  Officials says the NK ship sailed
about 1 km into SK-controlled waters -- apparently by accident.  But
it soon retreated as SK navy ships converged on the area.  US
officials say NK claimed last wk in talks with US negotiators that is
already has nuclear weapons and may export, test or use them,
depending on the actions of the Bush Admin.

Islamabad.  INDIA AND PAK TALK!  Pakistan has agreed to restore full
diplomatic ties with nuclear neighbour India.  Pak's For Min Khursheed
Kasuri says Pakistan welcomes India's decision to appoint an
ambassador to Islamabad and Pakistan will reciprocate.

Washington. NEW TERROR ALERT!  The US has warned airports and pilots to
be alert for a potential aerial terrorist attack on the US consulate
in the Pakistani port city of Karachi.  The warnings from the Dept
of Homeland Security [apparently Karachi is "homeland"] and other
officials comes just days after Pakistani authorities arrested 6
al-Qaeda suspects they accuse of planning a massive terrorist attack
in Karachi.  The US consulate in the port city has been closed to the
public since a car bomb exploded outside the building in Jun.

New "pot" laws threaten Canada-US trade
Washington.  The US has warned Canada that its plans to decriminalise
the use of marijuana could damage trade between the 2 countries,
currently valued at a $US1 bn a day.  Canada's PM, John Chretien,
announced this wk that the govt will decriminalise marijuana.
Canada's govt has been forced into this move by numerous court cases
that picked large holes in the country's drug laws.  One judge said
the laws must be changed by this July, or they would be ignored.  But
the govt has taken its time in putting forward the legislation,
possibly for fear of angering its neighbour to the south and hurting
the billion dollars a day of trade between the 2 countries.  Now that
it has been confirmed the legislation will be published shortly,
reaction from the US has not been positive.  Washington fears that
such a move would compromise its zero tolerance policy towards all drugs.

Pt Hercourt. OIL HOSTAGES FREED!  A US oil firm has begun evacuating
workers from oil rigs off Nigeria after reaching a deal with unions
to end a string which had trapped 100 W workers offshore.  The first
of the strikers and their hostages have arrived by chopper at Pt
Harcourt airport, just hrs after the platform's owners, Transocean
Inc, struck a deal with Nigerian union leaders.  One of the first
foreign workers to be released, Brit engineer Paul Barker, says there
were no physical assaults, but there was psychological torture.

WFP docks major rice shipment in Iraq
Umm Qasr.  A vessel from the WFP has docked in the S Iraqi port of Umm
Qasr today, bringing 14,000 tons of rice, in the 1st major shipment by
the UN agency since the war.  It will take more than a wk to unload
the ship, named the Rise.  The WFP says the sacks of rice will be
distributed to different regions of Iraq through 32,000 agents still
in place from the time of Saddam Hussein.  
In the Jordanian capital Amman, WFP rep Khaled Mansur says the rice
was purchased by the agency through a donation by the US.  Umm Qasr is
Iraq's only deep water port and the gateway for goods bought under the
"oil-for-food" program, which let Saddam's regime sell oil under tight
UN supervision to purchase basics.  The program is expected to get
back on track after the return to Baghdad of the UN's humanitarian
coordinator for Iraq, Ramiro Lopes da Silva, and other UN officials.
16 mn people in Iraq were entirely dependent on daily food rations
before the start of the US-led war on March 20.  Mr Mansur reported
shipments are also picking up pace by land, with 29 trucks
transporting 1,084 tonnes of food from Kuwait to the S Iraqi towns of
Basra and Nasiriyah on Thu.

Imams call for peace at prayers in tense Falluja
Falluja.  Muslim prayer leaders are calling on Iraqis living in the
tense W city of Falluja to down arms and end reprisal attacks on US
soldiers, who killed 15 demonstrators earlier in the week.  Local
officials and the military are also calling for peace after Iraqis
threw a grenade into the main base for US soldiers in Falluja on Wed,
wounding 7.
"I want to tell you, to tell all of the people here in Falluja, not to
attack Americans -- if you do they will kill you, do not fight
them... they have tanks, how can you fight tanks?" one Imam told
Iraqis.  "We know what the Jihad is because we are Muslim -- we will
follow it until judgment day.  But now we cannot do anything because
the Americans are here in our city... but having American and Brit
troops here is not forever.  We will wait for a new life. God will
bring us angels."
A US Humvee travelled around the city after prayers ended, with a
soldier shouting through a loudspeaker in Arabic to residents "not to
attack US forces as we are here to help".  Soldiers say the Mayor of
Falluja has held "peace talks" with a major at the US camp.
At Fri's prayer in Baghdad, a preacher called on the US to install a
govt swiftly to maintain law and order, urging Iraqis to close ranks.
"To America and its allies we say: where are your honeysweet promises?
Now is the time to fulfill them," Sheikh Ahmad al- Issawi said.
"Where is the govt? Till now the country is without a govt.  Install a
govt as quickly as possible even if it is an emergency govt."  The
sheikh urged Iraqis to rise above ethnic or sectarian divides.  "We
have to close ranks, we are all Muslims... let's turn a new page and
let's cooperate for a free and independent Iraq."

Two more "most wanted" Iraqis in US custody 
Doha.  The US military has said that 2 more "most-wanted" figures from
Saddam Hussein's former regime are in custody, as US Pres Bush Jr
declared the major fighting in Iraq over.  But US Def Sec Donald
Rumsfeld warned that Iraq remained a dangerous place, as Sec of State
Colin Powell headed to Syria to press Washington's post-war agenda in
the Middle E and push Damascus to end its support for Arab militants.
Meanwhile a US official said Mr Bush is to appoint a career diplomat
as civil administrator to oversee the reconstruction of Iraq, which
remains mired in confusion more than 3 wks after Saddam's regime
crumbled and US troops took control of Baghdad.  
The US military announced that 2 more of the 55 Iraqis on its list of
most-wanted former regime leaders were in coalition custody, bringing
the number of those detained to 17.  The latest were Abd al-Tawab
Mullah Huwaysh, deputy PM and director of the Office of Military
Industrialisation and number 16 on the list, and Taha Muhyl al-Din
Marfu, VP and a member of the Revolutionary Command Council and number
42 on the list, US Central Command said.  The US military provided no
further info about their capture, and the fate of Saddam, number one
on the list, remained unknown.  
Meanwhile, key decision need to be made at the UN by June 3, when the
current 6-m phase of oil-for-food runs out.  The US has said it wants
the 13-year-old sanctions removed as soon as possible.  Critics of the
invasion, notably France and Russia, are against any council decision
which might be interpreted as justifying the war after the event.
They insist that sanctions can be lifted only when the UN arms
inspectors certify that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction --
the reason originally given by US Pres George W. Bush for military
action.  The critics also say mns of people still depend upon the
oil-for-food program -- set up in Dec 1996 to cushion Iraqi citizens
from sanctions -- and it cannot be scrapped at once but must be phased out.

London.  BLAIR LOSES GROUND!  Contrary to earlier reports, Brit PM
Blair's Labour Party has lost ground in local elections, the first
test of public opinion since GWII.  According to the BBC, the main
opp'n Tory Party took 34% of the vote, against a combined 30% between
the Labour Party and anti-war Liberal Democrats.  The LD's, Brit's
3rd political force, recorded its best-ever showing in the council
polls.  But Min for Europe Denis MacShane insists the poll is not a
big defeat for the socialist left 1 y before the national elections.

Blair says he's comfortable before God
London.  Brit PM Tony Blair, a practising Christian, says he is ready
to meet God and answer for those who died as a result of Brit waging
war on Iraq, The Times newspaper said today.  Blair told former Times
editor Peter Stothard on Apr 2 -- the day after US troops shot dead 7
Iraqi women and children at a checkpoint -- that he was ready to meet
his maker and answer before God for "those who have died or have been
horribly maimed as a result of my decisions".  He told the journalist
that any death caused by the war "really gets to you" and admitted
that many others who believe in "the same God" may assess that the
final judgement may be against him.
Mr Stothard closely shadowed Mr Blair and his aides for 30 days before
and during the war, revealing in the pro-war daily how they coped with
opposition to the war from the public, members of the ruling Labour
party and internat'l heavyweights including France and Germany.  Mr
Stothard revealed how Mr Blair was persuaded by one of his advisers to
drop the phrase "God bless you" from his broadcast to the nation
following the start of the war on March 20.  Mr Blair was told that
invoking God's name would be a mistake because "you are talking to
lots of people who don't want chaplains pushing stuff down their throats".
The PM replied by telling his aides that they were a "most ungodly
lot".  In the end, Blair ended his address to the nation with the
words "thank you".  Mr Stothard also revealed Mr Blair's exasperation
at France and Germany's opposition to the war.
Told that French Pres Jacques Chirac would veto any 2nd UN resolution
authorising an attack on Iraq, Blair said: "This is such a foolish
thing to do at this moment in the world's history.  The very people
who should be strengthening the internat'l institutions are
undermining and playing around."

Canberra. HOWARD TO MEET BUSH!  Pres Bush Jr will meet with PM Howard
in SF today to discuss Iraqi post-war reconstruction.  For Min Alex
Downer said yesterday he expects to visit Iraq later this m to open an
Aussie diplomatic mission, which will be headed by career diplomat
Neil Mules, currently dep amb in Indon.  The appointment came as US
Pres Bush declare an end to combat operations in Iraq, although he
stopped short of declaring an end to the war.  Under the rules of
war, such a declaration would require the US to free its POW's.

PM and Bush hold talks "down on the ranch"
LA.  PM John Howard has joined US Pres George W Bush in California to
travel to Mr Bush's Texas ranch for the weekend.  The PM met Mr Bush,
who had just spent the night on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham
Lincoln, where he declared an end to the combat phase in Iraq.  Mr
Howard will stay overnight at the ranch in Crawford, Texas.  Post-war
Iraq, the N Korean nuclear crisis and a proposed US-AUS free trade
pact are among probable topics of discussion.

Damascus. POWELL ARRIVES IN SYRIA!  US Sec of State Colin Powell has
arrived in Syria for talks over the country's support for guerrilla
groups and other policies Washington says do not fit in a changing
Middle E. Powell will meet Pres Bashar al-Assad later today.  He'll be
pressing Washington's view that the ousting of Saddam Hussein and a
possible resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks create a new
sit'n in the troubled region.  Syrian For Min Faroud al-Shara warned
Powell in advance not to make demands.

Colin Powell goes to Syria "to listen"
Damascus.  US Secretary of State Colin Powell has arrived in the
Syrian capital, Damascus, on his 1st visit to the Middle East since
the end of hostilities in neighbouring Iraq.  After weeks of harsh
words and threats from Washington, Colin Powell says he has come to
Damascus to listen.  He wants to hear how Pres Assad plans to respond
to Washington's list of major concerns.  They include Syria's alleged
support for remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime, its development of
chemical weapons and its backing for Palestinian and Lebanese groups
Washington classifies as terrorist.  Relations are said to be at a
crossroads and Mr Powell will make it clear the direction they take is
up to Syria.  Syria has taken some steps in recent weeks to ease
tension.  It may no longer fear it is next on the list for military
action after Iraq.  But some in Washington are still pushing for
economic and diplomatic sanctions.

Failed Iranian asylum seekers get marching orders
Canberra.  Failed Iranian asylum seekers in AUS's detention centres
have been sent letters by the fed Immigration Dept offering them money
and airfares to return to Iran.  The letter has been sent to around
110 Iranians in detention.  It says that if they do not accept the
offer, the Govt will plan to remove them involuntarily.  AUS and Iran
agreed in March to promote the voluntary return of Iranians.
Co-convenor of the Justice for Asylum Seekers Network, Mark Purcell,
says the offer amounts to duress and could lead to more self-harm
attempts in detention centres.  "I would expect that if people are
under duress, as is the explicit Govt strategy, then people will feel
very, very anxious and do anything to express that distress," Mr
Purcell said.

Gaza City. 100S OF MOURNERS TURN OUT!  10s of 1000s have filled the
streets to mourn the deaths of 12 people killed by an Israeli raid.
Firing rifles into the air and hosting bodies over their heads, they
warned their new PM Abu Mazen against an attempt to disarm militants,
Mazen was sworn in 2 days earlier with a promise to crack down on the
militants and work for the success of a new internationally backed
Mideast peace plan.

Brit cameraman killed in Israeli crossfire
Gaza.  Israeli forces in the S Gaza Strip have shot dead a Brit
documentary cameraman.  Israeli military sources say James Muller was
hit during a night-time exchange of fire with Palestinian gunmen in
the Rafah refugee camp.  The Israeli officials have expressed their
regret at the death, saying the army will release a statement on the
incident.  Witnesses say Mr Muller was hit in the back of the neck,
and died later in hospital.  He and 2 colleagues had been filming a
documentary in Rafah on how children have been affected by the ongoing
violence between Israel and the Palestinians.

US warns Israel: watch out for civilians
Washington.  The US State Dept has urged Israel to take all
appropriate precautions to stop its armed forces killing Palestinian
civilians.  The warning follows a 15-hour gun battle in the Gaza strip
yesterday in which 12 Palestinians were killed, among them 3 militants
and a two-year-old child.  Israel says the Palestinians could bring an
end to the violence if they accept responsibility for security.  The
Israeli Govt rep, Avi Pazner, warns that unless that happens, any move
towards peace will be impossible.

Brit town welcomes daring do-gooder
Tunbridge Wells.  A caped crusader in Brit has reportedly been
sweeping through an English town, performing good deeds and scaring
off villains.  The Kent and Sussex Courier says it has received
letters from residents of the town of Tunbridge Wells, SE of London,
who saw the man fighting evil in a mask and cape.  In 2 separate
incidents, the man reportedly rushed to the assistance of a woman and
a man, who were being bothered by a group of youths.  Another woman
wrote to say the caped crusader had returned her purse, after it was
stolen.  The identity of the masked man remains a mystery.

HK. IT'S NOT OVER WITH SARS!  New SARS deaths have been reported in
China, HK, Singapore and Taiwan.  Medical researches warn that the
illness is rapidly mutating and could pose an increased threat to
already compromised populations.  Prof Dennis Law of the Chinese Uni's
Fac of Med says the mutation of the virus means the genetic structure
of the genome of the virus has changed. He says it can either change
it into a more virulent strain, or it could make it a tamer virus.

Medical conference numbers affected by SARS
Brisbane.  A medical conference in Bris has been affected by the
spread of SARS.  At least 1 speaker, who was scheduled to address the
annual conference of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, has
died in Asia.  The president of the college, Professor Kingsley
Faulkner, says the SARS virus has made it difficult to gather
internat'l experts together.  "One of our leading speakers from
Singapore has unfortunately died just during the week, and there's a
suggestion that maybe someone else has also, and we've lost about 30
of the people coming for the conference and a bunch of overseas
presidents from sister colleges," he said.  "So it just emphasises
that people that work in the health system, of course, are
particularly exposed to this particular problem."

SARS: death toll climbs, virus mutates 
Gevena.  The death toll from SARS in Asia continues to rise, along
with warnings that the respiratory illness is rapidly mutating.  In
China, 11 more people have died, in HK, eight, in Taiwan, 4 have died
from SARS and there has been one more death in Singapore.  The WHO
says the global toll from the atypical pneumonia stands at 417, with
over 6,000 confirmed or probable infections.  Meanwhile, the Chinese
University's Faculty of Medicine says the SARS virus is mutating,
which could mean it might become even more dangerous, or possibly
become weaker.

SARS Virus Mutates
Geneva/Beijing (Reuters).  Chinese officials said on Fri SARS was at
its peak in Beijing, but HK scientists said the microbe was mutating
and the World Health Organization warned that China still lacked the
equipment and expertise to fight it.  WHO also removed the US and Brit
from the list of countries affected by SARS, following a 20-day period
without local spread of the flu-like disease.  Canada, China --
including HK -- Taiwan, Mongolia and Singapore remain on the list of
countries where nat'l authorities reported the virus is being spread
locally as opposed to being imported from elsewhere.  In Beijing, the
dep dir gen of the Municipal Health Bureau, Liang Wannian, said SARS
was peaking in the capital, the hardest hit city in the world with 91
deaths and more than 1,600 cases.  SARS has killed close to 200 people
in China and infected nearly 4,000 since it emerged in the S province
of Guangdong late last year. Globally, it has infected more than 6,300
people in 30 countries, killing more than 400.

WHO Says China Lacks Weapons
Geneva/Beijing (Reuters).  The WHO says China had a great deal more
work to do in containing the virus, which kills between 6 and 10% of
its victims.  "A WHO field visit to one large hospital not officially
designated as a SARS hospital demonstrated the urgent need to review
strategies for infection control procedures," WHO said in a statement
posted on its Web site.  Health-care workers have been hard hit by
SARS since the beginning because they see patients who may not know
they have the contagious infection. WHO says doctors and nurses should
wear specific types of face masks, gloves and even goggles when
treating suspected SARS patients.  WHO also said China's govt needed
to do more to reassure worried citizens.  WHO said China was facing a
critical period.  "The next few m will prove crucial in the attempt to
contain SARS worldwide, which now greatly depends on whether the
disease can be controlled in China," WHO said.  Scientists are hoping
that, like its close relative the common cold, SARS will prove to be a
seasonal disease and will wane in the summer months, giving public
health experts a chance to come to grips with it.  David Heymann, the
WHO head of communicable diseases, said if China did not stamp out
SARS, there would always be the danger that it would continue to
"seed" the disease throughout the world.

One dead, one injured in Wilcannia truck accident
Sydney.  1 man has died and another has been seriously injured in a
truck accident nr Wilcannia in the far west of the state.  A
semitrailer overturned just before 4.00 am 15 km east of Wilcannia
towards Cobar.  One man who was freed from the wreckage by rescue
crews is due to be air-lifted to Broken Hill suffering head injuries.
A fire brigade crew from Broken Hill is on its way to the scene this
morning to deal with hazardous chemicals on board the truck.
Gaza. JOURNALIST KILLED BY ARMY!  A freelance Brit journalist has been
shot dead by an Israeli rank in the Gaza Strip.  The journalist has
been ID-ed by witnesses and colleagues as James Miller.  He was
apparently filming a documentary on the Israeli army's house
demolitions in the city of Rafah when the tank opened fire.  A man
saying he's also a Brit journalist says the victim and 2 other
colleagues were filming and waving a white flag as they walked toward
the tank, when it opened up.

Canberra. CBR OFFERS IRANIANS GOLDEN HANDSHAKE!  The fed govt has
offered failed Iranian asylum seekers up to $10,000 to return home in
a take-it-or-leave-it deal.  In a letter to around 265 Iranians in
immigration detention, the DFAT has offered up to $2,000 per
individual or $10,000 per family if they agree to return home within
28 days.  But the letter also warns they'll receive nothing if they
wait to be forcibly deported. The package was offered under an agreement 
struck with the Iran govt by Imm Min Philip Ruddock in Mar this y.

Sydney. PRESCRIPTION DRUG AMONG RECALLED PRODUCTS!  Despite govt
assurances, an anti-depressant has become the first prescription drug
to be included in AUS's largest drug recall. Medical groups have
advised patients taking Allegron 25 mg pills dispensed since Apr 15 to
contact their doctor or treating psychiatrist.  The Daily Telegraph
reports leading psychiatrists have warned there's no alternative to
Allegron, for which 65,000 scrips were issued last y.  Pan took over
production of the drug last Sep.

Sydney. WHEAT VIRUS FOUND AT 3RD LOCN!  A wheat virus that could
threaten the nation's crops has been found at a 3rd site.  The
Australian newspaper says the wheat streak mosaic virus has been
found at a research facility in Toowoomba in Qld.  The Leslie Research
Centre, W of Bris, was quarantined yesterday after plants tested
positive to the same virus that forced the CSIRO the destroy years of
work at 2 facilities in CBR, the paper reported.

Melbourne. MEDICARD OPPONENTS ORGANISE!  Doctors, community groups,
unions and opp'n parties have joined forces in opp'n to the Howard
govt's proposed changes to Medicard.  Reps of the groups met at ACTU
HQ in MEL yesterday to condemn to PM's $900 mn plan to modify the
health-care system.  ACTU pres Sharon Burrow says she's putting the
govt on notice that the union movement is mobilising to defend the
fundamental principle of universal health care.

{{
IT'S DAY FORTY-FOUR.

2.50 am
BBC World News.  The entire crew of a Chinese sub has perished in an
unexplained accident.  The vessel has been recovered, and has been
towed back to port.  About 70 crew died inside territorial waters due
to technical reasons, said the state-run media. It's unclear what
happened, that would allow the sub to be recovered so quickly. It
wasn't a nuclear sub, and there is no indication a third party was
involved.

3 am
Nigerian oil workers have agreed to release about 200 hostages they're
holding on off-shore oil rigs.  The breakthrough came after
discussions between the workers and the rig owners.  In addition to
the 200 foreign workers, about 170 Nigerian staff on board didn't take
part in the strike and kidnapping.  All those freed will be flown to a
S Nigerian port city.

The WHO says the Iraqi health system needs funding of $20 mn per m
after years of war, economic sanctions and under-investment.  Before
1991 the country boasted a modern health system and trained staff.
That has gone.  The 1st step says WHO is to jump-start hosp and health
centres with a small amount of money, so the health sit'n won't get
worse.  The money will see staff paid, floors cleaned and garbage
removed.  Without maintenance, outbreaks of disease will be inevitable.

84 yo former PM Andrioti has been acquitted of connections with the
Mafia for a 2nd time. He'd been tried and acquitted about 4 ya, but
the charges had been re-instated.

An explosion on a bus in Vietnam has killed a dozen and injured 70
more.  There are few details as yet, but the explosion is said to have
been "sudden" and unexpected. The blast happened S of Hanoi.

Midday.
Texaco says its Q1 profits were up a whopping 46%. It's share price
rocketed up $US2 on the news.

The state of Cal has announced it will borrow a record $US11 bn.  The
money will be used to pay payroll and other running costs and
debts. One state official told PBS "We're not proud of it".

7 pm
ABC TV has shown the last-known tape made by Saddam Hussein.  It never
made it to air.  An Iraqi TV official handed it over to an agency.
Saddam seems tired and confused, but still defiant. He is apparently
un-injured.  The tape was made on the day American troops streamed
into C Baghdad. The current where-abouts of the former Iraqi dictator
are still a mystery.  Rumours are varied -- Saddam has run to Syria,
or a C Asian republic, or is still in sub'n Baghdad.

In Fallujah, clerics were calling for calm and order.  The town has
been the location of several anti-US protests that have resulted on
dozens of deaths.  But in Baghdad, the message at Fri prayers wasn't
as moderate.  One Imam called on Americans to "leave us alone".  It
was time for the US to go home, he argued.
}}

----------------------------------------
Sun, 4 May 2003

Moscow. 12 KILLED IN CHOPPER CRASH!  12 people have been killed in a
chopper crash.  A huge bucket suspended from the firefighting
helicopter whip-lashed into its rotor blades after dumping water on
fires, bringing the machine down and killing the crew.  The accident
happened in Russia's far-E Siberia.  The 12 dead incl 4 Russian
journalists who were covering efforts by the emergency ministry to
bring the forest fires in the region under control.

Zamboanga. 3 KILLED IN CLASHES: PHIL!  Officials say at least 3 people
have been killed in the S Philippines, as security forces fought a
band of about 70 suspected Muslim guerrillas who stormed a remote
town.  The officials say the rebels kidnapped at least 20 civilians,
incl the mayor's wife and son, as they withdrew.  They say sporadic
fighting is continuing in the town of Siocon, on Mindanao Is, about
800 km S of Manila.

Abidjan. CIVIL WAR REKINDLED BEFORE CEASEFIRE!  Clashes between rebels
and govt forces have erupted again in Ivory Coast, just hrs before a
countrywide ceasefire was due to take effect.  A rebel rep says
fighting is continuing after a govt attack on rebel positions in the W
town of Danane.  Rebel rep Antoine Beugre says govt leaders known the
ceasefire accord starts within hrs and that's why they launched the
offensive now.  Govt officials couldn't immediately be reached for
comment.

Kas. GREECE AND TURKEY SEEK PEACE!  Greek and Turkish For Mins have
held symbolic talks in Turkey's coastal town of Kas, agreeing that
peace is vital on their common birder and in Cyprus.  Greece's George
Papandreou and Turkey's Abdullah Gul say they've decided both states
should simultaneously present the UN with accords banning landmines on
the border between the 2 historic and often bitter rivals. 100s of
illegal immigrants and other civilians have been killed by landmines
on the border.

Bingol. RESCUERS STILL DIG THROUGH RUBBLE!  Rescuers are continuing
to sift through the rubble of a ruined school for children still
buried underneath.  But hope of finding any more alive is fading fast,
2 days after the quake hit the poor area of E Turkey.  The quake
struck the mostly Kurdish town of Bingol in the small hrs of Thu,
killing at least 147.

Crawford. BUSH SAYS HOWARD IS JUST LIKE A TEXAN!  Ties between the Bush
Whitehouse and AUS Fed Govt are on a new high with Bush saying Howard
is a man of steel.  After a o'night stay at the Pres'l ranch in C
Texas, Mr Bush said hr's proud that Mr Howard is his friend.  He also
says Howard's ready hand and knowledge of the outside world helped
him make a series of tough decisions.  Mr Bush invited Mr Howard and
his wife Janette to spend the night at the ranch nr the village of
Crawford, to thank him for AUS's strong support in the US war against Iraq.

Basra. BASRA KIDS BACK TO SCHOOL!  Children have returned to school in
the S Iraqi city of Basra, more than 6 wks after they closed for GWII.
An education dept officials says it was a "priority" to re-open the
schools.  However, Basra U remains closed.  The official says 95% of
schools were looted after the fall of the regime, but the shortage of
furniture and supplied won't stop the students.

Paris. JOURNALISTS ACCUSE US OF WAR CRIMES!  An internat'l journalists
watchdog has accused the US of committing war crimes against
journalists in Iraq.  The accusation comes from Sec-Gen Robert Mneard
of Reporters Without Borders (RSF). He says US attacks on Baghdad's
hotel housing foreign journalists and on the office of an Arab TV stn
were war crimes.  2 journalists were killed by a tank round fired
into the upper floors of Baghdad's Palestine Hotel where many
correspondents were based.

Dubai. US RELEASES MORE POW'S!  The US military says it's released
another 342 Iraqi soldiers captured during GWII. They were released
within the past 24 hrs.  The US-led coalition that toppled Saddam
Hussein still detains 3,600 POW. Since war has not been declared, nor
declared to be at an end, there is no requirement to release them.
Centcom says 5,745 Iraqis captured during the war have now been
released, incl 2,894 who were determined to be non-combatants.

Beirut. HEZBOLLAH REJECTS POWELL'S CALL!  Hezbollah has rejected US
Sec of State Colin Powell's calls for Lebanon to end the militant
group's presence in the country's S and replace it with Lebanese
troops.  The rejection has come from Hussein Khalid, a political asst
to Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah.  He says there is nothing
in Hezbollah's dictionary called withdrawal, because that would
finally result in the deletion of Hezbollah and Lebanon from the
current political map.

Kastellorizo. EU SEEKS SECURITY AGREEMENT!  EU For Mins have agreed to
draft the bloc's first common European security strategy in a bid to
avoid future damaging diplomatic rifts like the Iraq crisis.  Greek
For Min George Papandreou announced the plan after mins from 25 EU
countries and future members states debated European defence and
transatlantic ties.  The min's mandate EU foreign police chief Javier
Solana to produce a first draft before a summit in Greece in mid-Jun.

Canberra. POSSIBLE SARS CASE: AUS!  A Qantas flight attendant has
been diagnosed with a possible case of SARS, sparking a frantic
effort to contact more than 350 passengers and crew who shared her
flight from Sing.  The 25 yo woman was yesterday placed in isolation
after Fri showing symptoms of SARS.  The attendant had been on QF32
from Sing, which touched down in SYD last Sun with 341 passengers
and 19 crew.

Canberra. 90 AUSSIES IN SARS QUARANTINE!  About 90 Aussies are
reportedly in quarantine and under police guard in a C Indian city
after an SA man was admitted to hosp with SARS-like symptoms.  AUS
embassy officials are aware of the reports but are unable to provide
details.  The Deccan Chronical reports about 70 Aussies were confined
to a YMCA youth hostel as Secunderabad last night.  Another 20 from
the same group were asked not to leave their rooms at the nearby
Mahindra Hills accommodation.

Astana. ISS CREW BACK ON TERRA FIRMA!  Russian officials say the ISS
crew returned to earth are in good condition after landing on the Kazakh
steppe.  Spotters found the capsule after a search of more than 2 hrs.
The landing ended the mission that was interrupted by the Columbia
disaster, which resulted in the grounding of the entire NASA shuttle
fleet and forced a change of travel plans for astronauts last stranded
at the Space Station.  Russian mission control announced the capsule's
landing at 6.19 am -- about 3.5 hrs after it undocked from the ISS.

Sydney. DOCTORS ANGRY WITH FED GOVT!  Doctors say they're angry with
the fed govt's proposed $10 bn public hospital funding offer, capping
a bad wk in health.  Funding for public hospitals is in crisis after
Labor states rejected a take-it-or-leave-it deal from the Howard govt
on Fri.  The govt was offering $10 bn in funding.  But the states say
the deal actually rips out $1 bn from the current agreement and the
goal-posts have been moved since the announcement of proposed
Medicard reforms this wk.

Sydney. HEALTH PILLS MADE WITH FLOOR SWEEPINGS!  A former worker at
disgraced Pan Pharmaceuticals says staff were ordered to sweep
pill-making powder off the factory floor and put it back into the
machines.  The man, who doesn't want to be named because he still
works in the industry, was employed as an analytical chemist at what
was then known as Pan Labs in the 90s.  He told the Nine Network he
witnessed "grave safety breaches" while at the labs, incl powder on
the floor being swept up and dumped back into the production.

Sydney. WHERE IN THE WORLD IS AL GORE?  Former US VP Al Gore will meet
NSW Prem Bob Carr when he visits SYD last this m to speak about
environmental issues.  A champion of env causes, Mr Gore will speak about
Global Security and a Sustainable Future at a dinner hosted by Mr Carr
and former fed Lib leader Prof John Hewson.

Melbourne. CHURCH CALLS FOR HOUSING OFFER!  The Uniting Church has
called on the Fed Govt to offer homes to about 11,000 Tuvaluans should
their tiny island be swept into the Pacific Ocean by rising sea
levels.  Church leader Rev James Haire says Imm Min Philip Ruddock's
insistence he won't make such a special provision, lacks generosity.
3 ya Tuvalu's govt appealed to AUS and NZ to take in its people if
rising sea levels flooded the island.  Sea levels have been rising
about 2 mm a year for the past 100 y.

{{
IT'S DAY FORTY-FIVE.

4 am
US Sec of State Powell has warned Syrian and other countries about any
group Washington classifies as terrorists.  Powell warned Syria and
Lebanon they must not support terrorist groups, incl Hezbollah on the
Israeli/Lebanon border.  He said there was a new strategic dynamic in
the Middle E since the Iraqi campaign.  He wanted co-operation with
Syria. But there would be "performance measures" involved in that
cooperation.

Pres Bush says Tariq Aziz is not co-operating with the US.  The former
Dep PM was captured 9 days ago. Previously, he was said to be
co-operating with US officials, and giving them important info.  But
now Bush says Aziz didn't know how to tell the truth when he was in
office and didn't now.

Spam has been the subject of a meeting in Washington.  ISP's and
anti-spam groups say companies that send it out should be
blacklisted.  It's not the dubious content, but the sheer volume
they say.  But senders say it's a legitimate marketing ploy.  An
estimated 40% of all emails are unwanted product ads.

In Nigerian, former oil well hostages are slowing being choppered from
the oil wells off Nigeria.  The govt is "managing access" to the former
hostages.  The whole incident has been a PR disaster for oil companies
and the Nigerian govt.

French PM Chirac has addressed an Islamic group in France.  He told
them not to let their faith be hijacked by extremists.  The PM told a
new Islamic Council to be a voice for moderation in France's 5 mn
Muslim community.

The US wants an international force to help stabilise Iraq.  A meeting
in Europe is examining the proposal.  Under the plan, Iraq would be
divided into 3 -- Brit, US and Polish sectors.  The Polish For Min said
his country wants a UN mandate before the idea goes ahead.  Poland
contributed 200 troops to GWII.  Having backed the US in the war, it
will "rewarded" with a key role.  Some 2,000 Polish troops could be in
charge of a sector of Iraq within 3 m.  But the EU doesn't want to be
seen siding with the US.

Baghdad. Schools have re-opened. Teachers are worried if they will be
paid. Parents are so worried about security they don't like their
children to go outside, let alone to school. The pictures of Saddam
at the from of the class has been removed. The students now chant
"long live Iraq" not "long live Saddam". But the textbooks still carry
his pictures in the front pages.

7 Iraqi doctors and pharmacists have returned to Basra after 13 y in
exile.  Patients turned up today after the surgery was opened by a
Brit poly today.  It will be a free-of-charge surgery.  It has 2
ambulances and drugs.  The pharmacy was set up by the WHO.  There
are 27 new staff -- all Iraqis who had health care experience.  The
surgery is expected to carry out 13,000 consultations a m.

Jordan is questioning a Japanese photographer who was caught with a
RPG in his luggage. It exploded when it was examined at an airport
security point, killing a screener and injuring otherwise.

Ivory Coast has signed an agreement to end the civil war.  Prev
clashes had undermined French-brokered accord in Jan.  The army and
rebels have now signed their own official end to the civil war.  But
there is now news of skirmishes in the E of country.  That's the way
of things here.  The rebel cmdr who signed the ceasefire is now the
Sports Min in the Govt of Unity.  The war began with a coup attempt
last Sep.  The French and locals now pushing out Liberian forces
inside the border.  It's thought that the Liberian govt is
supporting the de-stabilising, although they say they aren't.  1000s
have been killed in the civil war, and the economy has been devastated.

Rescuers have given up hope of finding anyone in the dormitory of a
school nr Bingol.  It's been 36 hrs since anyone has been found alive.
The dogs have been withdrawn, and heavy lifting gear is now pulling
away slabs of concrete.  It's a subtle sign that they're no longer
searching for trapped victims.  13 students are still missing.  1/2 of
those in the dorm were found alive.  The officials response in Bingol
was amazingly swift, for Turkey.  But away from Bingol, it's now clear
the response has been slow.  It's only now that supplies begun to
arrive in many areas.
}}

----------------------------------------
Mon, 5 May 2003

Sydney (midday). MARKETS!  The markets are marginally (0.1%) higher
this morning, despite a 37% decline in AMP -- a loss of $4 bn in its
value.  The insurer is taking a big hit following the announcement of
plans to de-merger.  It also issued more shares, depressing the price
even further. AMP raised $1.2 bn to fund the split, but mum and dad
investors will lose $mns.  The group will spin off its loss-making
Brit arm into a separate company. Analysts say the mgt's split antics
are to shift the focus from expected lower profits in the pipeline.
Gold is trading up at $US340.85/oz. Oil is trading around
$US25.56/bbl.  The AUD is still handing around 3-y highs at 63.03 US c.
[Elsewhere, former LP Pres Elliott has been found guilty of trading
while insolvent].

Riverside. 1 KILLED AS TORNADO FLATTENS KC!  A powerful tornado has
hit Kansas City, flattening several buildings and killing at least 1
person.  The tornado left a swath of destruction 1/2 km wide in some
places.  State officials say 4 twisters touched down in the region.
Storms earlier unleashed tornadoes in Nebraska, dumping rain and some
hail over most of the drought-parched state.

Washington. WMD WILL BE FOUND: US!  Top US officials say they are
still confident some banned weapons will be found in Iraq.  US troops
have yet to turn up anything significant, after a dozen false alarms.
Def Sec Don Rumsfeld told Fox News Sunday he never believed WMD would
be easy to find, and his intel showed Saddam Hussein regularly tried
to conceal them from UN weapons inspectors.

Baghdad. MASS GRAVE UNEARTHED NR NAJAF!  Iraqis have dug up corpses
from a mass grave at a farmland site nr the Shi'ite holy city of
Najaf.  Scores of bodies were uncovered, some with blindfolds and
hands tied, apparently executed during the US-inspired 1991 Shi'ite
uprising.  Meanwhile, civilian police have re-appeared in Baghdad as
Iraq grapples with the brutality of former dictator Saddam Hussein's
rule and the lawless aftermath of the US-led invasion that ended it.

Washington. US SOLDIER SHOT!  The US military says an American soldier
patrolling the streets of Baghdad has been shot in the head and
wounded by an un-ID'd Iraqi civilian.  Centcom officials say the
serviceman from the 3rd Inf is in a stable condition in a field
hospital.  It follows 2 similar attacks in other parts of Iraq, just
days after US Pres Bush Jr declared an end to major combat operations
in the theatre.

Jerusalem. MIDDLE E INCHES FORWARD!  Israel and the Palestinians have
edged close to resuming peace talks.  Israeli PM Sharon says he will
head negotiations personally and Palestinian PM Mazen says he is ready
to meet the RW-er.  In Ramallah, in his first interview since being
sworn into office last wk, Abu Mazen says he is ready to meet Sharon
and crack down on illegal weapons.  However he's also insisted that
Israel must lift its de facto siege on Yasser Arafat.

NY. HOWARD TELLS UN!  PM Howard says the UN has a role in post-war
Iraq, but has to recognise the reality of what the US has achieved
there.  Mr Howard, who will meet Sec-Gen Annan tomorrow, says paying
for the rebuilding of Iraq will be a focus of their discussions.  He
says while the UN can make a "sensible and practical" contribution to
Iraq's reconstruction, the Coalition of the Willing also has
responsibility to help [under international law!].  
[Mr Howard also tried to claim credit for the idea of the Pres's
b'cast from the USS A Lincoln. "It mas in my mind first", he told
startled Aussie reporters].

NY. AUS PREPARES FOR EASY STREET ON WAR DEALS!  PM John Howard says
Australia's economic future could be "guaranteed" with a free trade
agreement with the US and other deals.  Mr Howard, fresh from an
o'night stay on the Pres'l ranch outside of Crawford, says a FTA with
the US would help enmesh Australia to a country that would only become
more important to the world economy.  He says along with the FTA,
stronger economic ties with China, Japan and Korea [and other
insignificant powers, compared with the US!] would help safeguard the
economic future of AUS.

HK. CHINA CRACKS DOWN ON SARS!  China has taken strict measures to
contain the SARS outbreak in Beijing, placing close to 16,000 people
under quarantine as further deaths were recorded in Asia.  It's also
revealed that evidence has been found to conclude the virus can
survive on common surfaces for hrs [I thought that had been
previously discovered].  China also sacked officials nationwide for
failing to implement tough measures to contain the deadly disease.
There are now some 197 recorded deaths and 4,125 confirmed or
probably cases in the world's most populous country.

Canberra. AUSSIE SARS CASES ISOLATED IN INDIA!  2 Aussie teens
suspected of contracting the deadly SARS virus are isolated in an
Indian hospital, while members of their group remained quarantined in
a youth hostel.  A group of 89 Aussie missionaries had been under
police guard in their accommodation in C India after a 19 yo from Adel
and an 18 yo showed symptoms of SARS.  Chief SARS coordinator for the
state of Andhra Pradesh, Kandala Venu, indicated it's unlikely the
Aussies have contracted the disease.
[Reports at midday say the 19 yo had been cleared of SARS].

Perth. INQUEST CONTINUES!  5 years to the day since the disaster, the
inquest into the deaths of 4 sailors in a fireball on board HMAS
Westralia resume.  WA Coroner Alastair Hope is examining the deaths
of the sailors in an engine room fire aboard the ship, as it sailed
off Perth's coast on May 5, 1998.  A Navy board of inquiry, held after
the incident, found the fire was caused when a newly-installed
flexible fuel host burst, spraying diesel on hot engine fittings.

Canberra. HOWARD PROTECTS GG!  PM Howard says GG Hollingworth has done
nothing to warrant his sacking.  Speaking from NY, Mr Howard continued
to defend the embattled head of state saying there was no proper basis
for the GG to lose his job, following the release of a church report
into the treatment of sexual abuse cases in the Anglican archdiocese
of Bris.  The report, tabled in Qld Parl, criticised Dr Hollingworth
for failing to act properly against a pedophile priest during his
tenure as archbishop.

Canberra. PRESSURE MOUNTS ON GG!  Pressure for GG Hollingworth to
resign from his vice-regal office continues to mount, with hints from
several snr govt mins to quit the post for "personal reasons".  Acting
PM John Anderson says the GG should "carefully consider his
responsibilities".  Treas Peter Costello kept the pressure on by
saying Hollingworth's future was "up to him".
[Joe Hockey also joined the queue].

Melbourne. KEEPING UP THE PRESSURE ON THE LEADERS!  Treas Peter
Costello and former ALP leader Kim Beazley have one thing in common --
making sure speculation about the leadership of their parties
continues.  Mr Costello made sure the PM's chummy appearance with the
US Pres was accompanied with a reminder that his leader had set a
possible mid-y retirement date.  Elsewhere, Beazley spoke to reporters
after a conference speech, using it as an opportunity to advise his
leader how to score points on the govt [stay awake?].

Melbourne. REMAINS RETURNED!  The remains of 300 Aboriginal people
taken from their graves more than a century ago are to be returned to
their descendants today.  The remains will be returned to the
Ngarrindjeri in the lower Murray Lakes and Coorong area in SA.
Organised by the National Museum of AUS, it's the largest repatriation
of ancestral remains since the program began 4 ya.

{{
IT'S DAY FORTY-SIX.

Midnight.
BBC World News.  The latest SARS toll.  World-wide 450 have died.
More than 6,000 are infected.

It was a nervous moment made worse.  The first descent from the ISS
since the shuttle disaster went awry when the Russians lost contact
with the capsule.  Russian officials are now trying to explain what
went wrong.  The Soyuz landed more than 400 km from its target.  After
mission control lost contact a search had to be arranged.  The 2 NASA
astronauts and Russian cosmonaut opened the hatch themselves and got
out before help arrived, hrs later.

Israel has offered talks with Sharon to the new Palestinian PM.  But
there are strings attached. The Israelis say Abu Mazen must renounce
violence and crack down on terrorism.  The Palestinian govt says the
Israelis must agree to the peace plan announced by the US, incl the
establishment of a Palestinian state by 2005 and the withdrawal from
illegal settlements on the W Bank.

Schools are to remain closed in Beijing for 2 more weeks because of
SARS fears.  They were due to re-open this wk.  But the govt has
announced 7 more deaths, 4 of them in the capital.  Elsewhere, HK
says it's recorded 5 more deaths, but only 8 new cases -- the lowest
number since statistics started in Mar.

The Philippines govt says 22 were killed in fighting nr a town in the
S.  The dead incl 8 civilians.  Authorities are blaming the MILF group
for the fighting. They say they're using choppers to track the
retreating rebels.

Iraqi police officers have returned to the streets of Baghdad.
They've been asked not to wear their old uniforms.  They will operate
under US supervision.  100s turned up to register for work at the
police academy.  They turned up un-armed, although they were asked to
bring em if they had em.  Their presence on the beat has barely been
noticed.  The high-profile patrolling is still from the US military.
There is no police infrastructure to support the Iraqi police.  Most
police stns were ransacked and burned in the rioting after the fall of
the regime.  There are daily shootings and robberies.  Many citizens
carry their own weapons to ward off attackers. Military officials say
there are too many guns on the streets.

Burma has released 21 political prisoners.  The event marks the
anniversary of the release of Aung San Suu Kyi after 19 m of house arrest.
Human rights groups say Burma still holds more than 1,100 politicals.

1.10 am
The torture chambers of Kenya have been revealed, shocking many
citizens. The operation was conducted in the blackened multi-storey
basement of what looks like a modern office building in C Nairobi.
The civil servants who worked in the floors above apparently didn't
know about the doings below street level.  Victims say they were tied
naked beneath dripping water.  All they were given to drink was the
sewage in their cells.  The revelations have come after the
resignation of Pres Arap Moi. The hunt is now on for the culprits.
While a chief torturer has been ID-ed, he's gone to ground.  His
current wife denies her husband was involved. Elsewhere, there are
rumours that apparachiks in the torture regime have been promoted and
are working for the current govt.

8 am
300 people a day are using a free sat phone service that's been set up
in a tent in Baghdad. The service allows Iraqis to ring anywhere in the
world free for 2 mins.

9 am
Don Rumsfeld is now putting his faith in low-ranking Iraqi military.
Following news Dep PM Tariq Aziz is refusing to give up new
information, Mr Rumsfeld says he expects low-ranking rather than
higher-ranking military will lead the US to evidence of Iraq's hidden
WMD program.

Midday.  
Baghdad.  Fuel prices are soaring in Iraq.  For a population used to
cheap fuel, many are frustrated and angry.  With 3 bn bbl waiting to
be tapped, there's barely a drop in Baghdad.  The longer the lines at
the bowser, the shorter the tempers.  Fist-fights have broken out.  The
US army guarding some, but at others there's chaos.  Fuel prices are
still 2 c/L -- theoretically.  But with the lines, an instant black
market has sprung up.  For those that can't or won't wait in the queue
-- 60 c/L.  On the Jordan border, consumers can still by petrol direct
from a tanker. At 50 c/L.
}}

========================================

(*) 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!

All speling macroizated for correctitood by Mcrosotf Speelchek.

*** WATCH OUT FOR THAT AIRCRAFT CARRIER! ***