From the World-Wide Resourses of the Western Australia
Reserch Senter(*)
		OIL THE NEWS THAT FITS MY VIEWS   #217
                ===============================
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>
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US Centcom News Releases: <http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/release_list.asp>
Iraqi Body Count: <http://www.iraqbodycount.net/> [11,132 as at 05 Jul 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>
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Also Kindly Archived: <http://www.kymhorsell.com/OIL/>

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Selecting latest news stories and other data for you...
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You [only?] know what you're told.
-- Aussie A-G Phil Ruddock, 07 Jul 2004.
   Me no speekee. Why didn't the AUS govt know one of its citizens was
   arrested in Pakistan, sold to US authorities, taken to Egypt, tortured
   with electricity and beatings, and then interned in Guantanamo Bay?

On the Iranian border, you're talking about miles and miles of mountainous
terrain. There's no way you can seal off that kind of a border.
-- Def Sec Paul Wolfowitz, 06 Jul 2004.
   The Bush Admin and the Iraqi regime are cracking down on "foreign
   fighters". But prisoner lists seem to indicate foreigners account
   for less than 2% of security detainees.

I was very, very confident we would find them [...] I have to accept
we haven't found them. We may never find them.
-- PM Tony Blair, 05 Jul 2004.
   Latest fallback. Blair says no WMD have been found in Iraq. That
   only leaves Mosley.

The intel is clear: [Saddam] continues to believe his WMD programme is
essential both for internal repression and for external aggression.
-- Brit PM Tony Blair, 25 Feb 2003

We are asked to accept that, contrary to all intel, Saddam decided to
destroy those weapons. I say that such a claim is palpably absurd.
-- Brit PM Tony Blair, 18 Mar 2003

I don't concede at all that the intel was wrong. I have no doubt at
all that we will find evidence of WMD programmes.
-- Brit PM Tony Blair, 8 Jul 2003

I have to accept that we have not found them and we may not find them.
He [Saddam] may have removed or hidden or even destroyed those weapons.
-- Brit PM Tony Blair, 6 Jul 2004

Saddam Hussein had the intent [ticking off fingers], he had the capability...
-- Pres Bush Jr, 06 Jul 2004.
   In denial. Bush still insists WMD are still to be found in Iraq and rejects
   reports the CIA told him before GWII the programs had been dismantled.

We don't just automatically follow something said by the British or
American govt.
-- Aussie PM John Howard, 07 Jul 2004.
   The Howard govt still believes those WMD are out there and maybe
   they'll turn up by Nov.

Let us pledge that the days of one man or one party government are behind us.
-- UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan, 06 Jul 2004.
   No names. The AU is moving to dispel the "club for dictators" image
   of the OAU.

He [ElBaradei] should demand from Israel government that he should go
inside Dimona...
-- Mordi Vanunu, 06 Jul 2004.
   More goose sauce. The IAEA is moving toward a nuclear-free Middle E policy.

----------------------------------------
Tue, 06 Jul 2004.

US oil breaks above $39 on supply fears
Singapore (Reuters). US oil prices jumped more than 60 cents to break
above $39 on Tue after Iraqi crude exports were halved by sabotage and
amid possible disruptions to Russian and Nigerian supplies.
US light crude climbed 70 cents to $39.09/bbl in the 1st dealings
since the weekend sabotage attacks on Iraqi oil pipelines cut exports.
The market was closed on Mon for the Independence Day public holiday.
London's Brent crude rose 20 cents to $36.50/bbl.
The latest attacks came a little over a wk after Iraq's exports
recovered from earlier sabotage strikes, which halted shipments for
about 10 days in the middle of Jun.
"The longer Iraqi exports stay affected, the closer we may creep to $40/bbl,
especially if there's any other bad news on the supply side," said
David Thurtell, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of AUS in SYD.
"I couldn't rule out prices back to $40, but $42 is not likely," said
Thurtell, referring to a 21-y high at $42.45 struck on Jun 2.
Iraqi exports were running at 984,000 bpd on Mon, down from close to 2
mn bpd before attackers bombed a feeder pipeline running to 2 S oil
terminals and another pipeline linking oilfields in the N and south.
Officials said repairs would take up to 4 days before exports would recover.
Worries over supply disruptions amid an escalation of violence in the
major oil-exporting Middle E region has pushed prices up to an average
$36.83/bbl for US crude so far this y, 19% higher than the average for
2003 at $30.98.
Traders also are concerned that Russia's biggest producer, Yukos, may
have to cut some of its 400,000 bpd of crude and refined products
exported by rail and river in Jul, as it struggles to finance core
operations with its bank accounts frozen.
Yukos, teetering on the brink of bankruptcy with almost $7 bn in tax
arrears, tried to calm markets on Mon by saying it planned no export
cuts this m and had prepaid pumping deals with pipeline monopoly
Transneft until the end of Jul.
The company pumps 1.7 mn bpd and exports more than 70% of output in
the form of crude or oil products, representing more than 1/5 of
Russia's total production and exports.
* UNION THREATENS STRIKE IN NIGERIA
Traders are also keeping a wary eye on Nigeria, where the white collar
oil union, Pengassan, gave on Mon a 21-day deadline to a subsidiary of
ExxonMobil Corp to meet its pay demands or face strike action.
Mobil Producing Nigeria is Nigeria's second-largest oil producer, with
output of 600,000 bpd.
The market is also uncertain whether the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) will go ahead with a planned 500,000 bpd
increase to official production limits from Aug 1 as agreed in early Jun.
Recent comments by Saudi Arabia, the world's top exporter, and Iran,
the cartel's second-biggest producer, that prices had come down to a
satisfactory level have cast some doubt on whether OPEC will carry
through the 2nd output rise in as many months.
"OPEC is playing the market at the moment to make sure that prices
don't fall too sharply," said Thurtell.
The group raised its official production ceiling by 2 mn bpd to 25.5
mn bpd in Jul as agreed by ministers on Jun 3 when US oil prices
were above $40/bbl.
OPEC ministers will review policy in Vienna on Jul 21.

IPO activity in Canada doubles in 1st half of 2004
Toronto (CBC News). Initial public offering activity in Canada more
than doubled during the 1st half of this y over the same period in
2003, according to a survey released Mon by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The survey said there were 47 IPOs with a total value of $2.7 bn,
compared with 22 offerings worth $1.5 bn in the 1st 6 m of last y.
The mining sector was the most active, with 15 IPOs worth $514
mn. Products was 2nd with 8 IPOs worth $471.7 mn, followed by
technology and media with 6 offerings totalling $279.5. The same 3
sectors topped the list in 2003.
The survey noted that market activity for income trusts continues to
decline.
"While the gross value of income trusts for both y was about the same
for the 1st 2 quarters at just over a bn dollars, less than 22% of
total IPO activity this y was income trusts," Eric Slavens, IPO
services leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Canada said. "This
compares to 2003 when almost half of IPOs in the same period were
income trusts."
Slavens said the decline is even more evident when compared to 2002.
In the 1st half of that year, income trusts accounted for about 55% of
the activity and 94% of the total value.
The rapid decline in popularity of income trusts in favour of more
traditional and speculative IPOs shows how quickly investors'
interests can change, Slavens said.
Companies planning to raise equity through an IPO must be mindful of
such swings, he said. "As the past few y have shown, the market can,
and will, turn quickly."

Yukos faces bankruptcy threat
Moscow.  There are fears Russia's largest oil company Yukos could go
bankrupt within days.  Yukos has until Wed to pay a $multi-bn tax
bill, but the company says it needs more time to pay up.  Yukos owes
$5 bn in back-taxes but the company says it does not have the cash at
hand and will go bankrupt if the tax ministry enforces the deadline.
There is no sign of compromise from the Russian authorities and
instead they have lodged another $multi-bn claim.  Adding to the
company's woes, a W banking syndicate has also given Yukos a default
notice on a $1 bn loan.  Analysts believe Yukos has been attacked
because its former chief Mikhail Khodorkovsky criticised Russian Pres
Vladimir Putin.  Khodorkovsky is now in jail and faces related tax
evasion charges.

US holiday dampens global trading
US markets were closed for Independence Day.
Sydney.  Trade on global foreign exchange markets has been
characterised by thin volumes and limited price movements due to the
Independence Day holiday in the US.
In the London session, the USD has made modest gains against the euro
and yen.
The euro fell back after the latest Purchasing Managers Index of the
European services sector dropped more sharply than expected.
Meanwhile, the pound sterling has attained a 2-wk high with
indications Brit companies are regaining some degree of pricing power.
The inflationary implications have led markets to believe the Bank of
England has more interest rate increases in store, but not at this
Thu's policy meeting, as rates have already been raised 4 times in the
UK since last Nov.
AUS's Reserve Bank holds its regular monthly meeting today and is also
expected to hold steady on rates.
However most economists believe there is at least one more rate rise
to come before the year's end.
In the meantime, the Aussie dollar has consolidated above 71 US c overnight.
The local currency took a one cent leap forward on Fri night after the
release of disappointing employment figures in the US and it has
managed to largely hold its ground since then.
At about 7.15 am the Aussie dollar was quoted at 71.20 US c, down just
1/4 of a cent on yesterday's local close.
On the cross rates, it is worth 57.94 euro cents; 77.65 yen; 38.91
pence sterling and is worth $1.099 against the NZ dollar.
Trade resumes on the US equity market tonight after the country's long
weekend.
Ahead of the holiday, NY's DJIA closed on Sat morning [Aussie time] at
10,283, which was a dip of 51 points.
The high tech Nasdaq composite index finished last wk with a 9 point
decline to 2,007.
There has been little change on European exchanges overnight with the
US holiday tending to keep investors on the sidelines.
The Brit share market is slightly weaker with London's FT100 index
falling 4 points to 4,403.
Locally, the Aussie market yesterday edged ahead with the All Ords
adding 3 points to 3,534.
The gold price is at $US397.70/oz.

Swiss bank worker shoots colleagues
Zurich (AFP).  A 56-yo Swiss bank employee shot and critically wounded
2 of his colleagues in a bank in Zurich and then committed suicide,
police said.  The 2 executives, aged 45 and 41, received head wounds
and were in a critical condition following the incident at a branch of
the Zurcher Kantonalbank (ZKB), Zurich city police added.  The
gunman's motives were unknown, but police said they believed a
professional dispute might be behind the shooting, the Swiss news
agency ATS reported.

US panel reportedly plans to assail CIA
Agency said to fail to pass on evidence about Iraqi weapons.
[If unsure, ask Mosley and Ebeling where they are].
Washington (IHT/NY Times).  The Central Intel Agency was told by
relatives of Iraqi scientists before the war that Baghdad's programs
to develop weapons of mass destruction had been abandoned, but the CIA
failed to give that info to Pres George W Bush, even as he publicly
warned of the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's illicit weapons,
according to govt officials.
The existence of a secret prewar CIA operation to debrief relatives of
Iraqi scientists and the agency's failure to give their statements to
the president and other policy-makers has been uncovered by the Senate
Select Committee on Intel, which has been conducting an investigation
into the govt's handling of prewar intel on Iraq's non-conventional weapons.
The Senate committee plans to release a wide-ranging report on the 1st
phase of its investigation this wk. It is expected to provide a
scathing indictment of the CIA and its leaders for failing to
recognise that the evidence they had collected did not justify their
assessment that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
CIA officials play down the significance of the info collected from
family members, saying only a few made claims that the weapons
programs were dead. But the operation to debrief the relatives is
expected to be included among the Senate report's findings.
The report concludes that the CIA and the rest of the intel community
did a poor job of collecting info about the status of Iraq's weapons
programs, and that analysts at the CIA and other intel agencies did an
even worse job of writing reports that accurately reflected the info
that they did have.
Among the many problems that contributed to the committee's harsh
assessment of the CIA's prewar performance were instances in which
analysts may have actually misrepresented info, writing reports that
distorted evidence to bolster their case that Iraq did have chemical,
biological and nuclear programs.
The Senate committee found, for example, that one of the Iraqi
defectors who supposedly provided evidence of the existence of an
Iraqi biological weapons program had actually said that he did not
know of any biological weapons program. In another case concerning
whether a shipment of aluminium tubes seized on its way to Iraq was
evidence that Baghdad was trying to build a nuclear bomb, the Senate
panel found evidence that the CIA had become an advocate, rather than
an objective observer, and selectively sought to prove that the tubes
were for a nuclear weapons program. While the Senate panel has
concluded that CIA analysts and other intel officials overstated the
case that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, the committee has not
found any evidence that the analysts changed their reports as a result
of political pressure from the Whitehouse, according to officials
familiar with the report.
The Senate report is expected to criticise both George Tenet, director
of central intel, and John McLaughlin, his deputy, along with other
snr CIA officials for the way they managed the agency before the war.
Tenet has announced his resignation, effective Sun, and McLaughlin
will serve as acting director until a permanent director is named.
The CIA has scheduled a major farewell ceremony at its HQ for Tenet on
Thu, just as the reverberations from the Senate report are likely to
be hitting the agency.
The possibility that Tenet personally overstated the evidence has been
probed by the Senate panel, officials said. He was interviewed
privately by the panel recently, and was asked whether he told Bush
that the case for the existence of Iraq's WMD was a "slam dunk."
In his book about the Bush Admin's planning for the war in Iraq
entitled "Plan of Attack," Bob Woodward reports that Tenet reassured
Bush about the evidence of the existence of Iraq's illicit weapons
after Bush made it clear he was unimpressed by the evidence presented
to him in a Dec, 2002 briefing conducted by McLaughlin. "It's a
slam-dunk case!" Tenet is quoted as telling the president.
In his closed-door interview with the Senate panel, Tenet refused to
say whether he had used the "slam dunk" phrase, arguing that his
conversations with the president were privileged, officials said.
In hindsight, the Senate panel and many other intel officials now
agree that there was little effort within the US intel community
before the war to question the basic assumption that Saddam was still
seeking to produce illicit weapons. Evidence that fit that assumption
was embraced; evidence to the contrary was ignored or was seen as part
of an extremely clever Iraqi disinfo campaign.
Yet there were some people inside the intel community who recognised
the need for better evidence. In 1998, the UN withdrew its weapons
inspectors from Iraq, severely hampering the CIA's ability to keep
track of Iraqi weapons efforts. In response, Charlie Allen, the CIA's
assistant director for collection and a legendary figure within the
agency, began searching for new sources of info.
He pushed for several new collection programs, including one that
called for approaching members of the families of Iraqi scientists who
were believed to be involved in secret weapons programs. At the time,
the CIA had no direct access to key Iraqi scientists, and so using
family members as intermediaries to find out what the scientists were
doing seemed like the next best thing.
Beginning in 2000, the CIA contacted the relatives and asked them what
they knew or could learn about the scientific work being conducted by
their relatives.  Officials would not say how or where the relatives
were contacted. But it seems likely that the CIA approached them
outside of Iraq, and focused on family members who had the ability to
travel in and out of the country.
The relatives told the CIA that the scientists said they were no
longer working on illicit weapons, and that those programs were
dead. Yet the statements from the relatives were never included in CIA
intel reports on Iraq that were distributed throughout the govt. CIA
analysts monitoring Iraq apparently ignored the statements from the
family members and continued to issue assessments that Saddam was
still developing WMD, Senate investigators have found.
At the time, CIA analysts were deeply cynical about statements from
Iraqis suggesting that Saddam had no WMD, and assumed such talk was
simply part of an Iraqi denial and deception program.
Today, CIA officials say the families' statements were "not at all
convincing.  There was nothing definitive about it," said a CIA
rep. "No useful info was collected from the family members," the rep
added, "and that's why it wouldn't have been disseminated."
The agency's handling of intel on biological weapons has also drawn
congressional scorn. In fact, the CIA relied heavily on 4 Iraqi
defectors to reach its conclusion that Iraq had developed mobile
biological weapons laboratories. But one of the defectors, an Iraqi
scientist, said that he had been working on a technical program known
as a "protein slurry," and said that his work was not related to
biological weapons. He said he did not know of any other biological
weapons activity underway in Iraq.
Senate investigators did not discover that his statements contradicted
the view that Iraq had an active biological program until they read
the original reports of his de-briefings, officials said.
There were also problems with the handling of the other defectors used
to buttress the biological weapons case. Info from one of the
defectors was used even though the Defense Intel Agency warned in the
spring of 2002 that he was a fabricator, and the CIA took statements
from another defector given to German intel without knowing his
identity or learning that he had ties to the Iraqi Nat'l Congress, the
Iraqi exile group led by Ahmad Chalabi.
Chalabi, once a close ally of the Pentagon, fell into disfavour with
the Bush Admin after it became clear that his organisation had
provided disinfo to the US and exaggerated the threat posed by Saddam.

Aust troops pull-out would be serious: Straw
London.  Brit Foreign Secretary Jack Straw says an early Aussie troops
withdrawal from Iraq would have serious implications.  Emerging from
talks with For Min Alexander Downer, Mr Straw thanked the Aussie Govt
for its support in Iraq and described the contribution from the Aussie
troops as very important.  While declining an invitation to comment on
the policy of the Aussie Labor Party to pull the troops out of Iraq by
Christmas, Mr Straw did say such a move would be serious.  "AUS has
been an extremely reliable member of this coalition and I don't think
anybody's anticipating a premature withdrawal," he said.  Both foreign
ministers also declined to comment on the claim by the former Brit
special representative for Iraq, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, that the
coalition were wrong about Saddam Hussein having stockpiles of WMD.
Mr Downer and Mr Straw said they would wait for the final report from
the Iraqi Survey Group.

Norwegian troops exit Iraq
Oslo (AFP).  Norwegian troops are due to return home from Iraq shortly
after the transfer of power to the Iraqi authorities, Norwegian news
agency NTB reported.  "The debate back home has worn down [the
soldiers'] motivation," commanding officer in Iraq, Col Tor Helge
Moen, told NTB on Mon.  The troops had been scheduled to arrive at
Oslo airport on Mon afternoon but their flight was delayed.  The 130
engineering troops had been stationed in SE Iraq under a United
Nations' mandate to help reconstruct the war-torn country.  The
Norwegian Govt's decision last y to send troops to Iraq was
controversial.  A survey published at the end of Mar this y, just
after Spain's newly-elected PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced
that he was ordering Spanish troops out of Iraq, showed that 51.2 per
cent of Norwegians favoured their servicemen's return while just 32.7%
wanted them to stay put.

Norwegian troops back from Iraq
Oslo (The Australian).  Norwegian troops were scheduled to return home
from Iraq today on completion of their mission there following the
transfer of power to the Iraqi authorities, Norwegian news agency NTB
reported.  The 130 engineering troops had been stationed in S eastern
Iraq on a UN mandate to help in the reconstruction of the war-torn
country.  The Norwegian govt's decision last y to send troops to Iraq
was controversial.  A survey published at the end of Mar this y,
just after Spain's newly-elected PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
announced that he was ordering Spanish troops out of Iraq as soon as
possible, showed that 51.2% of Norwegians favoured the servicemen's
return while just 32.7% wanted them to stay put.  "The debate back
home has worn down (the soldiers') motivation," commanding officer in
Iraq, Col Tor Helge Moen, told NTB.  The troops were scheduled to
arrive at Oslo airport.

Latham isolated on Iraq withdrawal: PM
Canberra.  PM John Howard says Fed Opp'n leader Mark Latham is now
completely isolated [?] in his call for Aussie troops to withdraw from
Iraq.  Mr Latham wants the troops home by Christmas, but Brit Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw says the premature withdrawal of Aussie soldiers
would have "serious implications".  Mr Howard has told S Cross Radio
that Brit is not the only country to have concerns about Labor's
policy.  "Both sides of politics in America, both sides of politics in
Brit, the Iraqi Govt, the Aussie Govt and yesterday I met the PM of
Thailand," he said.  "Thailand has 400 to 500 military personnel and
engineers in Iraq, they're making a contribution, the Japanese, the
Koreans.  "This is not just the Americans and the Brit and the
Aussies, there are 33 other countries, they're not cutting and running."
[Even the Americans cut back 10,000 troops during the last rotation].

Former general leads Indonesian vote
Indonesian presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono speaks to
his supporters during his rally in W Java.
Jakarta (Reuters).  Retired general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was
leading Indonesia's presidential race with 33% of the vote based on
early returns, the election commission said.
In 2nd place behind the favourite to win Indonesia's 1st direct
presidential election was incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri with 28%,
according to official tallies on the commission's web site.
The results were based on the votes of about 1% of the 153 mn people
eligible to take part in the world's most populous Muslim nation, a
front-line state in the war on terror.
Former armed forces chief Wiranto was 3rd with 22%. 2 other candidates
were further behind.
If no contender wins more than 50 % of the vote, the 2 leading
candidates will go head-to-head in a Sep run-off.
From primitive tribesmen in far eastern Papua province and Hindu
farmers in Bali to trendy Jakarta office workers and beleaguered
residents of strife-torn Aceh in the west, Indonesians turned out in
force for the landmark election.
Unofficial reports put turnout at more than 80%.
They uniformly expressed delight they could now directly elect their
president after decades of authoritarian rule.
Opinion polls ahead of election day showed Mr Yudhoyono, or SBY as he
is best known, with a 20 to 30% lead over his 4 rivals and a close
battle for for 2nd place between Megawati, Wiranto and moderate Muslim
leader Amien Rais.
Megawati, the daughter of Indonesia's founding president, Sukarno,
proved unable to jump-start a sluggish economy and clean up rampant
corruption during 3 y in power which have seen a wave of militant
Muslim bomb attacks and separatist violence.
"I am very disappointed with the current Govt. Megawati seems weak,"
said Gafur Latuconsina, 54, a rice seller in Ambon, capital of the
Moluccas islands in the far east.
In the old-money Jakarta precinct of Menteng, a frail-looking Suharto,
the autocrat who ruled for 32 y before stepping down amid student-led
demos in 1998, cast his vote early.
"This is a wonderful transition from authoritarian rule to purely
democratic rule in just 6 y and the people of Indonesia are to be
congratulated," said former US president Jimmy Carter, one of 100s of
internat'l poll monitors.
Voters appeared to be attracted to YBH as a calm, courteous and firm
leader who unlike Wiranto, the other former general in the race, was
un-tainted by a human rights scandal during his military career.
Final results will not be announced until Jul 26, but a group of
election watch-dogs was expected to release a "quick count" of results
from representative precincts late on Mon [local time] that proved
remarkably accurate in Apr's legislative elections.
Previously, a nat'l assembly chose leaders in this nation of 17,000
islands and 220 mn people, about 85% of them Muslim.
With all the candidates drawn from Jakarta's political elite, little
divided the top 4 on major policy issues. None called for an Islamic
state and some analysts said the election underlined the compatibility
of democracy and Islam.

Musharraf warns "iron curtain" dividing West, Muslims
An iron curtain is descending between the W and the Muslim world,
Pakistan's Pres Pervez Musharraf has warned.
Islamabad (Reuters).  Political injustices, poverty and illiteracy are
fuelling religious fundamentalism and terrorism, he said in a speech
while on a visit to Sweden, urging rich countries to help Muslim
nations with investment and socio-economic reforms.
"A new iron curtain seems to be falling," he said.
"This iron curtain somehow is dividing the Muslim world on one side
and the W on the other side. This is very dangerous," he told Reuters
in an interview after the speech.
Mr Musharraf, who took power in a bloodless military coup in 1999, is
a staunch ally in Washington's war on terrorism.
Most of Pakistan's 150 mn people are Muslims, and a 3rd of them live
in poverty.
Many people in the Islamic world "feel deprived, hopeless, powerless"
and could be "indoctrinated by distorted views of Islam", Mr Musharraf said.
"Muslim states are seen as the source of terrorism," he said, warning
of new "depths of chaos and despair" and more "terrorism and an
impending clash of civilisations" if the West, particularly the US, and
Muslim countries failed to eradicate the root causes of anger and resentment.
A solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seen as just by
mainstream Muslims might end 75% of global terrorism, Mr Musharraf said.
Creating a Palestinian state side-by-side with Israel behind the
pre-1967 war borders would likely require "political coercion" from
Washington, he said.
Around 600 Al Qaeda militants have been captured in Pakistan, he said,
dismissing criticism from domestic Muslim hard-liners that his military's
crackdown on suspected fundamentalist militants was done to please his
US masters.
"I am not doing it at the behest of the US, but it happens to suit
them also. It is in our nat'l interest."
Mr Musharraf last y narrowly escaped 2 assassination attempts by what
he says were Al Qaeda terrorists.
"We will not allow terrorism to exist in Pakistan. We will root them
out wherever they are," he said.
But he warned that that was not enough.
"If we are just killing terrorists, we are not achieving anything ...
I call them the leaves of a tree. As long as the tree is there, the
leaves will keep growing."
"If you manage to finish off one organisation like Al Qaeda ... you've
chopped off a branch of that tree, but the tree will still grow. You
must identify the root, and the root happens to be political disputes
... the root happens also to be illiteracy and poverty."

Govt tightens loop in Yemen siege
Sana (ABC, Mark Willacy).  Govt troops in Yemen have tightened their
siege of a rebel Muslim cleric, killing at least 35 of his supporters
in fierce battles in the country's mountainous north.  More than 160
soldiers and insurgents have been killed in a fortnight of fighting.
Rebel cleric Hussein al-Houthi is wanted by authorities for allegedly
forming an underground militia to destabilise the Yemeni Govt.  The
cleric has been besieged in his mountain stronghold by Yemeni troops
for more than a fortnight.  In the latest clashes, at least 35 of
al-Houthi's armed supporters have been killed and at least 40 soldiers
have died since the fighting began.  Yemen's Pres Ali Abdullah Saleh
has called on the cleric to surrender, saying he will be given a fair trial.

SARS whistle-blower held over Tianamen letter
HK.  The Chinese doctor who exposed Beijing's SARS epidemic cover-up
is reportedly being forced to undergo "re-education" sessions with
Chinese security officials.
Dr Jiang Yanyong became a nat'l celebrity after he blew the whistle on
China's SARS outbreak, revealing it to be greater than the authorities
were saying.
Since Jun, the 72-yo military doctor has been in detention.
US newspaper The Washington Post has reported that Dr Jiang is
undergoing brainwashing sessions because of a letter he wrote this
year calling for a re-examination of the 1989 Tianamen massacre.
The newspaper quotes sources saying Dr Jiang is being kept in a room
under 24-hr supervision, undergoing forced indoctrination classes and
interrogations about his letter.
There has been no comment from Chinese authorities.
Meanwhile in Hong Kong, an inquiry into the SARS outbreak has
criticised the performance of the territory's top health officials.
After a 6-m probe, a local parliamentary investigation into Hong
Kong's SARS crisis has handed down a report critical of snr health officials.
5 people, including the Secretary for Health, have been accused of
mishandling the outbreak.
The report blamed them for not realising the importance of the disease
when it appeared in neighbouring mainland China and for failing to
take appropriate action.
Hong Kong's embattled Chief Min Tung Chee-hwa has been given a
valuable boost.
He was praised for making the control of the outbreak his Govt's top
priority.

US marine "set free" in Iraq
Baghdad (Herald Sun).  A US marine held hostage in Iraq has been
released, according to a statement said to be from an Islamic militant group.
The statement attributed to the Islamic Retaliation Movement, which
had threatened to behead Cpl Wassef Ali Hassoun, said the Lebanese-born
marine was "returned to his safe base".
Arab television channel Al-Jazeera received the message this morning.
The US marines said they had no news of Hassoun's release and were
still listing him as captured.
"We're not going to comment on what al-Jazeera is saying," said Lt Cpl
T V Johnson.
"When we have more info on his status, which is proven, we'll release it."
There was some confusion over the statement this morning, with one
media outlet interpreting it differently.
The Associated Press reported the group said it was holding Cpl
Hassoun, but that he was safe at a location it did not identify.
Yesterday, the Al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sunna group denied a statement
issued in its name and posted on the Internet a day earlier saying it
had executed Cpl Hassoun.
The US marines confirmed last wk that the soldier went missing on Jun 21.
Al-Jazeera had broadcast a tape from the Islamic Retaliation Movement
showing him blindfolded with a sword over his head.
The group threatened to decapitate him unless all prisoners were
released in Iraq.

Iraqi militants claim US marine taken to safety
Baghdad (AFP).  The fate of a US marine reportedly beheaded in Iraq
over the weekend has become further confused, with a new report that
an Islamic militant group has moved him to safety.
An Iraqi Islamist group said it has moved abducted US marine Cpl
Wassef Ali Hassoun to "a place of safety" after he pledged not to
return to the US armed forces, Al Jazeera television has said.
Al Jazeera said the announcement came in a statement it received from
the Islamic Response Movement, the same group it reported on Jun 27
as claiming to have kidnapped Cpl Hassoun and threatening to behead him.
The group did not say where Cpl Hassoun had been taken, Al Jazeera said.
8 days ago, Al Jazeera showed a brief video of a blindfolded man
dressed in camouflage sitting in a chair with a sword held above his head.
A Marine Corps identity card identified him as Wassef Ali Hassoun.
It quoted the Islamic Response Movement as saying it had kidnapped a
US marine after luring him from a US base.
On Sun, a group calling itself the Army of Ansar al-Sunna denied reports
that said it had decapitated Cpl Hassoun, a Marine of Lebanese descent
from the First Marine Expeditionary Force who has been missing since Jun 21.

Milosevic trial delayed by his health
The Hague (Reuters).  Judges at the Hague have adjourned the war
crimes trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic after ill
health delayed the start of his defence.
Presiding Judge Patrick Robinson said the bench would make a ruling
later in the day or on Tue on how to proceed after the prosecution
demanded that Milosevic have defence counsel imposed upon him to
prevent further delays.
Milosevic, 62, who has had bouts of high blood pressure, flu and
exhaustion since his trial began in Feb 2002, had been due to start
his defence against charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and
war crimes in the Balkans in the 1990s.
The former Serb strongman had been due to open with a 4-hr statement
in a case widely regarded as Europe's biggest war crimes trial since
Hitler's henchmen were tried at Nuremberg after World War II.
But the trial's presiding judge said the court had received medical
reports which indicated that Milosevic had extremely high blood
pressure and that it was essential for him to rest.
His lawyer, Zdenko Tomanovic, said before the hearing that Milosevic
had been examined by a doctor and did not expect him to make his
opening statement for another one or 2 wk.
The court heard a doctor had recommended rest for Milosevic because of high
blood pressure but that the trial could resume when it returned to normal.
Charged with dozens of counts of war crimes in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo
in the 1990s, Milosevic wants to summon former US president Bill
Clinton and Brit PM Tony Blair in the 150 working days he has for his case.
"Today was the day set by the chamber for the accused to commence the
presentation of his defence but last wk the chamber received 2 medical
reports ... on the health of the accused," presiding judge Patrick
Robinson said.
The court decided to hold a hearing to look at the implications of the
reports, Mr Robinson said.
Milosevic, who graduated from the Belgrade Law Faculty and is conducting
his own defence, has described his trial as a battle for truth against
what he called politically motivated charges that were "false" and "monstrous".
Since the prosecution wrapped up their case in Feb, Milosevic has been
working on his defence from an office with a computer, fax, telephone
and filing cabinets in the tribunal's detention centre.
Milosevic says the tribunal is guilty of inherent bias against him and
the Serb people, branding it an illegal institution designed to cover
up what he says were NATO war crimes sponsored by the US and Brit.
NATO launched a bombing campaign against Serbia in 1999 after accusing
it of ethnic cleansing against the majority Albanians in Kosovo,
forcing Milosevic to withdraw his forces from the province.
Milosevic has also charged that the US, Brit, Germany and Osama bin Laden's
Al Qaeda all supported terrorism by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
Milosevic, who has described himself as a peacemaker in the Balkans,
declined to enter a plea to the charges. Pleas of not guilty were
entered on his behalf by the trial's 3 judges.

US to release more Abu Ghraib prisoners
Baghdad (AFP).  About 300 detainees will be released from the Abu
Ghraib prison outside Baghdad on Mon and Tue, a rep for US-led
multinat'l forces has said.  "We estimate approximately 300 being
released today and tomorrow," the rep said.  The latest release will
leave about 5,500 of the detainees, arrested by the foreign forces on
suspicion of taking part in the insurgency, in the Iraqi prison
system.  According to an AFP photographer, at least 4 buses left the
infamous prison on Mon.  Meanwhile, a Internat'l Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) rep said the organisation had visited 107 detainees aged
below 18 held by the US-led coalition between Jan and May this y.  She
said the juveniles were being held separately from the adult prisoners.

Iraqi lawyer appointed to defend Saddam
Baghdad (ABC, Geoff Thompson).  The legal defence team for deposed
Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, has chosen an Iraqi lawyer to
represent him in court.  Saddam's Jordan-based lawyers say the Special
Tribunal conducting the trial has insisted the defence counsel be an
Iraqi.  The name of the Iraqi lawyer has not been revealed out of fear
of his own security and reprisals, said Issam Ghazzawi, a Jordanian
lawyer claiming to be a member of Saddam Hussein's defence team.  In
court last wk, Saddam had preliminary charges read to him including
crimes against humanity for the killing of Kurds, Shiite Muslims and
religious and political leaders.  His trial is not expected to begin
until next y.

Turkey & the great game in the N of Iraq
Israeli interference in the N of Iraq
[K Gajendra Singh served as Indian Ambassador to Turkey and Azerbaijan
from 1992 to 1996. Prior to that, he served as Ambassador to Jordan
during the 1990-91 Gulf war, as well as serving in both Romania and
Senegal. He is currently Chairman of the Foundation for Indo-Turkic Studies].
Op/Ed (Turks.US).  An article by Pulitzer Prize winning US journalist
Seymour Hersh that Israel has been fishing in the Kurdish region of
the N of Iraq has caused much controversy and exchanges in the
area. The report was based on info from former and current intel
officials in Israel, the US and Turkey.
(Israeli activities in N Iraq were mentioned in "Coming out of
Chakravhyu- US Iraq Exit Policy 15/1/04"
www.saag.org/papers9/paper894.html).
Writing in New Yorker magazine Mr Hersh says that Israel is helping to
build up Kurdish military strength to counter the growing Shiite
militias in Iraq and create a base to spy on Iran, specially its
nuclear programme. Its agents are active in the Kurdish areas of Iran,
Syria and Iraq and provide training to commando units and run covert
operations, which could further destabilise the region and upset Turkey
with whom Israel has almost ally-like relations.
"If you end up with a divided Iraq, it will bring more blood, tears
and pain to the Middle E and you will be blamed," a snr Turkish
official told Mr Hersh. "The lesson of Yugoslavia is that when you
give one country independence, everybody will want it. Kirkuk will be
the Sarajevo of Iraq. If something happens there, it will be
impossible to contain the crisis," he said.
A recent Intel Brief -- an intel newsletter circulated by former CIA
chiefs -- stated that the Israeli actions were placing increasing
stress on its relationship with Turkey, which was already strained
over the Iraq war. "The Turks are increasingly concerned by the
expanding Israeli presence in Kurdistan and the alleged encouragement
of Kurdish ambitions to create an independent state," it said.
"Israel has always supported the Kurds in a Machiavellian way; as a
balance against Saddam," said one former Israeli intel officer. "It's
realpolitik. By aligning with the Kurds, Israel gains eyes and ears in
Iran, Iraq and Syria. The critical question is, 'What will the
behaviour of Iran be if there is an independent Kurdistan with close
ties to Israel? Iran does not want an Israeli land-based aircraft
carrier on its border,'" he added.
According to Mr Hersh, Israel decided to step up its role in Kurdistan
last summer when it was clear that the US incursion into Iraq was
unravelling. Israel feared the results would strengthen Iran. In the
autumn, the former Israeli PM Ehud Barak told US VP Dick Cheney that
the US had lost out in Iraq. Israel "had learned that there's no way
to win an occupation," he told Mr Cheney and the only issue was
"choosing the size of your humiliation."
Since Jul last y, the Israeli govt put into operation what one former
Israeli intel official called "Plan B" to protect itself from the
fallout of the chaos following US failure in Iraq. If the Jun 30
transfer of sovereignty did not go well, "there is no fallback,
nothing," a former Nat'l Sec Council member told Hersh. "The neo-cons
still think they can pull the rabbit out of the hat in Iraq," he added.
"What's the plan?" They say, 'we don't need it.  Democracy is strong
enough. We'll work it out,'" he continued.
It is believed that what Israel has been doing in Kurdistan was not so
unacceptable to the Bush Admin, which has fully supported Ariel
Sharon's policies in Palestine too.
Israel, Shah of Iran and the Kurds Israel's relations with the Kurds
stretch back to half-a-century and can be found even in books on Mossad.
Kurds provided intel to Mossad and caused instability in the Middle
East, thus generally helping Israeli objectives. Israel's strategic
concept required allies against Arabs to make up for its constricted
location with only 4 mn resident Jews surrounded by 200 mn Arabs, who
remain deeply resentful of Israel's occupation of the W Bank, E
Jerusalem, Gaza, the Golan Heights [and Sinai] after the Arab-Israeli
wars. Israel sought cooperation with the other non-Arab Muslim nations
in the region from the very beginning. The US encouraged Israel to
have a secret alliance with Iran and its gendarme in the Gulf. Israeli
and Kurdish politicians once held meetings in Tehran.
After the overthrow of the Hashemite dynasty and the military takeover
in Iraq in 1958, Israel, in cooperation with Iran, gradually began to
arm and train the Kurds in N Iraq to enable them to stand up to the
New Leftist Baghdad regime. Israeli aid was increased in 1963 with the
flow of weapons and military advisors to the region via Iran. Israeli
military instructors organised the 1st course for Kurdish peshmergas
in the mountains of Kurdistan in 1965. Israel also disbursed $50,000
per m to the Kurds.
But in 1975, after the famous handshake between Saddam Hussein and the
Shah of Iran in Algiers, relations between Iran and Iraq were
normalised. Then Israeli assistance to the Kurds via Iran stopped and
the Kurdish revolt petered out. Israel's secret alliance from 1972-79
with the Shah of Iran disintegrated when the Shah was forced to flee
after a year-long political upheaval led by pro-Khomeini
forces. However, during the Iran-Iraq war the Kurds continued their
cooperation with Israel, which was renewed after the 1991 Gulf war.
Tensions in Turkish-Israeli relationship Recently Turkish PM Recep
Tayip Erdogan publicly criticised Israeli PM Ariel Sharon's policies
in the occupied territories, accusing Israel of "state terrorism."
Members of his ruling Justice and Development Party [AK Party], which
has Islamic roots, were much harsher and lambasted US policy in
Iraq. The Turkish-Israeli relationship consequently reached its low
point. Both Turkey's ambassador and its consul general in Israel were
recalled to Ankara temporarily. Now, the New Yorker revelations have
made the differences public. Turks appear to be aware of Israeli
activities in the N of Iraq.
On Jun 23, the Israeli Ambassador to Turkey Pini Aviv denied the New
Yorker magazine report that Israel took advantage of the US occupation
of Iraq by expanding the Israeli presence in the N of Iraq. He told
the Turkish ITV news network that he had reassured the Turkish foreign
ministry that Israel had decided long ago not to meddle in Iraqi affairs.
For Min Abdullah Gul, in public at least, appeared to be convinced by
Israeli denials of reports of training Kurdish peshmergas and spying
on Iran in collaboration with the Iraqi Kurds. "The Israelis tell us
those allegations are not true. But everybody understands both
regional and Turkish sensitivity to this issue, so we have to believe
what we are told," the semi-official Anatolia news agency quoted Gul
as saying.
"I hope our trust [of Israel] won't prove misplaced," he added. The
foreign ministry had heard allegations and rumours and had received
info, but Gul did not specify the sources.
Relations were further strained when Israeli airline El Al suspended
all its flights to Turkey from Jun 25 following the reduction of
Israeli guards permitted at Istanbul airport. According to Radio
Israel, the decision to stop El Al's 6 weekly flights to Istanbul was
taken on the advice of Israel's Shin Bet Security Service. Israeli
Foreign Ministry Rep David Saranga said his office was holding
"intensive and ongoing contact with the Turkish authorities to try to
find a solution."   large number of Israeli tourists find Turkey a
safe destination. There has been wide ranging economic and military
cooperation, but Turkey's almost ally-like relationship is now coming
under great pressure. The AK Party govt is trying to come closer to
its Arab neighbours and Iran.
Earlier, the Turkish media reported that former Israeli Foreign
Ministry Under-Secretary Alon Liel said that, "the idea of an
independent Kurdish state was not distressing to Israel," but added,
"Israel is aware of Turkey's sensitivities on this issue and there was
no attempt by Israel in that direction."
The Turkish media also reported that Israeli Foreign Min Silvan
Shalom, while briefing members of the Israeli Parliament's Foreign
Relations and Defense Committee, said that the relations between
Turkey and Israel should be evaluated from 3 aspects. These were
security, economic cooperation and touristic activities. "We should
place priority on protecting our strategic relations with Turkey,
however, Israel may no longer wait to answer criticism [of state
terrorism] levelled by the Turkish premier," said the Israeli minister.
* History of Turkish-Israeli Relationship
Throughout history, Turks always had a good relationship with the
Jews. When the latter were expelled from Spain, the Ottoman Empire
gave them shelter. Even after the gut-wrenching events of World War I,
when the Ottoman Empire collapsed, Armenians were massacred,
Christians were exchanged with Turks from Greece, Jews continued to
live in Turkey, mostly in Istanbul. They provided the financial acumen
earlier provided by Armenians and Christians. Throughout history there
has been no love lost between Arabs and Turkic people. Turks have
never forgiven them for stabbing the Ottomans in the back in WWI by
the Lawrence of Arabia-led Arab revolt.
In the final analysis, the Sultan Caliph in Istanbul was the guardian
of the Muslim sacred shrines in Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.
Turkey, after the 1967 war, and even after the 1973 war when Arabs
exploited their oil weapon, did not break their relationship with
Israel. While there was no de facto strategic alliance, there was
close cooperation regarding rightist, leftist and revolutionary
student movements, especially during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1971,
Turkish students had picked on and assassinated an Israeli Consular
Gen in Istanbul, who was a former snr Mossad officer.
Israel has also developed a top rate defence industry based on support
and cooperation with the US.
After the end of the Cold War, Turkey, especially its armed forces,
felt a little left out. So Turkey sold itself as a barrier between
Europe and the Middle E and the Caucasus, both cauldrons of
fundamentalism and chaos. Its informal alliance with Israel was
useful, with the latter's influence in Washington being exploited for
US grants of sophisticated arms and equipment.
After the fall of the Berlin wall, there have been far-reaching shifts
in geo-strategic parameters. The potential threats from the Middle E
have grown with many Middle Eastern countries acquiring stockpiles of
chemical and biological weapons, and arsenals of ballistic
missiles. Beyond the potential threats from neighbouring states,
terrorist groups like the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) based in the
region, and others, are another menace in that they could acquire
chemical and biological weapons. Then Sep 11 made things even more
complicated; Turkey could no longer afford to overlook possible new
threats from the Middle East.
While it started changing its orientation towards Israel in the early
1990s, in 1996 Turkey and Israel went public and signed an agreement
for military cooperation.
Much was written about this evolving relationship, with some political
analysts calling it an "axis," an "entente," even an "alliance." Of
course, there are no explicit commitments to assist one another in the
event of an armed conflict, and thus making it an alliance, but a
careful interpretation of the provisions of the document shows that it
opened the door to a much enhanced cooperation between the 2
countries; a cooperation that could reach levels usually seen only
between allies.
Many joint military air and naval exercises have been carried out
since 1996. For example, the so called "Anatolian Eagle" took place in
central Anatolia in early Jul 2001. It included air force units from
Turkey, Israel and the US and the air defence systems of all 3
countries. The exercise simulated defence as well as combat operations
against a comprehensive air attack. "Anatolian Eagle" involved 46
Turkish aircraft of various categories; 10 Israeli F-16 fighter
aircraft, as well as 2 tanker aircraft and helicopters and 6 US F-16
fighter aircraft. Such trilateral military exercises have put in place
a mechanism for advanced military coordination But the Palestinian
cause has always had supporters on the religious right and the
"progressive" left, even in the Turkish mainstream. The Palestinians
remained faithful to the Ottoman Empire throughout World War I,
indeed, many had held high Ottoman posts and inter-married with
Turks. Media coverage of the Palestinian intifada deeply affected much
of the Turkish public. Then, in the Nov. 2002 elections, the people,
by giving 2/3 of the seats to the AK Party that has Islamic roots,
gave a clear indication. Over 90% opposed the US invasion of Muslim
Iraq, which the military was very keen to join.
Turkey's problem with its own Kurds Turkey has serious problems with
its own Kurds, who form 20% of the population. But after 5 y of
comparative peace and quiet in Turkey's SE, there is an upsurge in
violent rebel activity. The rebellion, which began in 1984, against
the Turkish state led by Abdullah Ocalan of the PKK cost over 35,000
lives, including 5,000 soldiers. To control and neutralise the
rebellion, 1000s of Kurdish villages were bombed, destroyed, abandoned
or relocated; mn of Kurds were moved to shanty towns in the S and E or
migrated westwards. The economy of the region was shattered. With a
3rd of the Turkish army tied up in the SE, the cost of countering the
insurgency at its height amounted to between $6 bn to $8 bn a year.
Whenever there has been chaos and instability in the north of Iraq, as
during the Iraq-Iran war in 1980s, or after the 1991 Gulf war, PKK
activity increased in Turkey. Eventually the rebellion died down after
the arrest and trial of Ocalan in 1999, when a cease-fire was declared
by the PKK. After a Turkish court commuted to life-imprisonment the
death sentence passed on Ocalan in 2002, Parliament granted rights for
the use of the Kurdish language, which was one of the root causes of
the Kurdish rebellion. TV broadcasts in Kurdish have already
begun. Until the mid-1980s, the use of the word 'Kurd' was taboo, and
could even lead to imprisonment.
The PKK [also now known as KADEK or Kongra-Gel] shifted most of its
4,000 cadres to the N of Iraq. But they refused to lay down arms as
required under a new Turkish "repentance law," as it provided only
partial immunity.  Many remain ensconced along the border between Iraq
and Iran. The US' priority to disarm the PKK cadres, despite promises
to Turkey, has not been very high. It has its hands full with the
troubles in Sunni and Shiite Iraq.
In fact, the US wants to reward Iraqi Kurds who have remained loyal
and peaceful. But Iraqi Kurds have been ambivalent towards the PKK,
helping them only on occasions. Ankara has entered N Iraq from time to
time -- despite protests -- to attack PKK bases and its cadres and it
keeps many 1000s of troops in the region. Ankara has also said that it
would regard an independent Kurdish entity as a cause for war. Turkey
strongly opposes Iraqi-Kurdish control of the oil-rich northern Iraqi
city of Kirkuk through planned ethnic migrations that would change the
demographics of the city.
Turkey fears that any moves to bolster Iraqi Kurd's autonomy could
pave the way to the formation of a Kurdish state in Iraq, and could
eventually fuel separatism amongst its Kurds in the SE. Turkey also
wants to protect the rights of its ethnic cousins the Turkmen,
traditionally settled around Kirkuk. But since the growing of fierce
Iraqi resistance to US occupation, Turkey has toned down the rhetoric.
The roots of the Kurdish problem were sown during the decline of the
Ottoman Empire and the birth of the Turkish Republic after World War
I, when N Iraqi Kurdistan was detached from the Ottoman Kurdish region
by the Brit and joined with the Arab provinces of Baghdad and Basra to
create Iraq, because of the oil reserves around Kirkuk. N Iraq was
proclaimed as part of the Turkish republic territory by its founders
who were led by Kemal Ataturk. It has been a Turkish dream to
retrieve this land.
* Turkey and Iraqi Kurds
After the New Yorker report, Iraqi Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani of
the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) came to Ankara and met with PM
Erdogan and For Min Abdullah Gul. He dismissed the New Yorker report
as a "total fabrication" at a press conference on Jun 21 and denied
any cooperation between Israel's Mossad and the Kurdish peshmerga forces.
PM Erdogan had earlier called Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) leader Faruk
Abdullah to Ankara who reported that the situation on the ground was
different than stated by Iraqi Kurdish leaders. During the meeting
with Talbani, Erdogan reportedly complained about the Turkmen's lack
of representation in the new Iraqi Admin. Talabani replied that he too
was distressed but the US and that the Iraqi Arabs were responsible
for that. He stressed that his group favoured representation of the
Turkmen on all platforms. Talabani said that his party wanted the
northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk to have a special status with a joint
Turkmen, Arab and Kurdish Admin.
Erdogan underlined that Turkey would not welcome any formulas giving
one group domination over others. "We don't want division of the
region," Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Massoud Barzani said
recently in an interview with Turkish daily Yeni Safak: "Israel is a
reality, a nation and a state. There is a relationship between Israel
and the Arab states," he added.
Turkey's special Iraq representative Ambassador Osman Koruturk went to
Erbil last wk and met with Massoud Barzani, who is expected to visit
Ankara soon. But his rep Nechirvan Barzani said, "The geopolitical
realities are not permitting any relationship with Israel."
For Min Gul stressed that Ankara would continue to closely monitor the
situation in N Iraq. He said that Ankara was keen to maintain the
territorial integrity of neighbouring Iraq and that they cannot
tolerate any "political activities in [northern] Iraq which would
influence the future of Iraq."
Despite assurances to the contrary from Israel and the Iraqi Kurdish
leadership, Turkey remains deeply concerned about the presence of
Israeli operatives in northern Iraq and their cooperation with the
Kurdish community. A retired Turkish general told Turkey's NTV network
recently that the Israeli presence in N Iraq was "natural." It served
Israel's long-standing policy to "tear apart the Arab world by playing
the Kurdish card against Syria and Iran."
* Conclusion
There is now speculation about what the competing powers and players
want in Iraq [and the region] and what might happen. Even the world's
only superpower [the US] could not have things its own way in Iraq. It
is clear that if people are prepared to resist they cannot be cowed
down and colonised. But the chaos and the manoeuverings in the N of
Iraq have become like another "Great game."
The Turkish media wrote: "The US has the unpleasant choice of
alienating its indispensable Turkish ally, or its loyal partners in
Iraq, the Kurds.
The Iraqi Kurds are apparently worried of a Shiite-Islamist-Arab
domination of Iraq that would be reminiscent of Saddam Hussein's days
that deprived them of their basic rights. Above all, they want a
chance of self-rule. The unfolding events threaten the gains that they
have made over the last 13 y since the end of the 1991 Gulf War,
thanks to the US security air umbrella from bases in Turkey. Iraqi
Kurds may decide to move closer to Turkey. Turkey, in turn, is
gradually beginning to perceive the benefits of rapprochement with the
Kurds who will have a say in determining the future of Iraq."
Jalal Talabani has talked of a "strategic vision" vis-a-vis
Turkey. Perceiving that the Iranian and Iraqi Shiites, and the Iraqi
Sunni Arabs together with the rest of the Arab world would have a
strategic dimension that could be detrimental to the fortunes of Iraqi
Kurds, he is anxious to promote a similar relationship between them
and the reliable and powerful neighbour in the north, Turkey. "Kurds
are, as well Turkey, surrounded by Syria, Iran and Iraqi Arabs who are
all extremely sensitive towards any sort of contact with Israel. The
last thing that the Kurds would think of is to take steps that could
create fatal trouble for themselves," he said.
Then there is Turkey. While it has recently not laid any claims on the
N of Iraq as it did in before the Iraq war, it has left no one in any
doubt of its stance on the issue. Once again on Jun 23, Turkish
Foreign Ministry Rep Namik Tan said that regional countries would have
the right to speak on the future of Iraq if the Iraqi people failed to
reach a compromise on the territorial integrity of Iraq and engage in
civil war. "Iraqi people should reach a compromise on this issue. If
the Iraqi people fail to reach a compromise, and if eventually civil
war emerges in Iraq, then the regional countries and the internat'l
community will have the right to intervene," he said, adding that the
most important issue for Turkey concerning Iraq was its territorial
integrity. Tan stressed that the UN Sec Council resolution also
stressed the territorial integrity of Iraq.
A Turkish journalist wrote: "The Iraqi Kurds have raised concerns that
the Shiite and Sunni Arabs can join together and take action against
them after the withdrawal of the US. While the Iraqi Kurds are trying
to increase their advantage despite Turkey, they should also consider
Turkey as a security insurance for their own future. Furthermore, the
Iraqi Kurds admit that the only realistic window for opening towards
the West is Turkey."
We have not speculated on whether a pro-Iran Shiite dominated Arab state
will come into being, but what would be the implications for Saudi
Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon and other countries with Shiite populations.
If the US cannot enforce things according to its plans, how can Israel
hope to shape the region to its own will. Disruption and chaos could
ensue. And if the US were forced to withdraw, even with a face saving
solution with help from the internat'l community, it might look for a
scapegoat. It is not only the Muslim world, but others too who have
been upset by Sharon's bloody and unilateral policies.

US launches deadly air strike on Fallujah
Fallujah (AFP).  At least 12 people were killed in a US air strike on
a suspected militant hideout in Fallujah late on Mon as Iraq's interim
Govt put the final touches on emergency security measures.
The attack occurred at 7.15 pm [local time] when US warplanes dropped
6 bombs "against a Mujahedeen safe house," said a US military rep.
It is the deadliest single incident since the US-led coalition handed
official power to the interim Govt on Jun 28.
Hospital sources said at least 12 people were killed and 5 injured in the
attack on the house in the Sunni Muslim bastion of Fallujah, W of Baghdad.
The attack is the 5th such raid over the past 2 wk in Fallujah, where
previous air strikes targeted suspected safe houses of Al Qaeda-linked
militant Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi.
In a bid to tackle restive towns like Fallujah, nat'l security advisor
Mowaffak al-Rubaie said that emergency security measures will be
unveiled by the end of this wk and will include the right to impose
curfews and arrest suspects more easily.
"We were ironing out the creases, crossing the 't's and dotting the
i's," Mr Rubaie told reporters.
The measures are intended to crush a 14-m insurgency and will include
curfews, restrictions on movement and "pre-emptive arrests," allowing
police to detain people on strong suspicions that they were involved
in misdeeds, Mr Rubaie said.
It was not clear whether such arrests would require a warrant.
The announcement of the sweeping security measures was originally set
for Mon, but the Govt delayed it amid last minute tweaking.
Explaining the delay, PM Iyad Allawi told reporters he wanted to
ensure "human and citizen rights guarantees".
Among other measures expected to be included, was an amnesty for
insurgents not considered hard core supporters of the resistance, a
move analysts believed was meant to fracture the insurgency.

US airstrike kill 12 in Iraq as govt readies emergency measures
Fallujah (AFP).  At least 12 people were killed in a US airstrike on a
suspected militant hideout in Fallujah as Iraq's caretaker govt put
the final touches on emergency security measures.
The attack occurred at 7.15 pm [1515 Z] when US warplanes dropped 4
500-pound bombs and 2 1,000-pound bombs "against a Mujahedeen safe house,"
said a US military rep.  It is the deadliest single incident since the
US-led coalition handed official power to a caretaker govt on Jun 28.
Hospital sources said at least 12 people were killed and 5 injured in
the attack on the house in the Shuhada neighbourhood of the Sunni
Muslim bastion of Fallujah, W of Baghdad.
"I saw 8 bodies pulled out," said volunteer Amer Hassan as he lifted
debris frantically and dozens searched for people buried in the wreckage.
"I saw at least 3 people were injured."
The attack is the 5th such raid over the past 2 wk in Fallujah, where
previous air strikes targeted suspected safe houses of Al-Qaeda-linked
militant Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi.
In a bid to tackle hot-beds like Fallujah, nat'l security advisor
Muwaffaq al-Rubaie said that emergency security measures will be
unveiled by wk's end and include the right to slap down curfews and
arrest suspects more easily.
"We were ironing out the creases, crossing the 'ts and dotting the
'is," Rubaie told reporters.
The measures, intended to crush a 14-m insurgency, will include
curfews, restrictions on movement and "preemptive arrests," allowing
police to detain people on strong suspicions that they were involved
in misdeeds, Rubaie said.
It was not clear whether such arrests would require a warrant.
The announcement of the sweeping security measures was originally set
for Mon, but the govt delayed it amid the last minute tweaking.
Explaining the delay, PM Iyad Allawi told reporters he wanted to
ensure "human and citizen rights guarantees".
Among other measures expected to be included, was an amnesty for
insurgents not considered hard core supporters of the resistance -- a
move analysts described as meant to fracture the insurgency.
Allawi also announced that Iraq would re-establish diplomatic
relations with France, broken off in 1991 after the Gulf War, "very soon".
In rumbling violence, 3 Iraqis were killed and 11 wounded in 4
separate attacks across the country against police and US soldiers.
2 relatives of a district head in the troubled city of Baquba were
killed by unknown attackers late Sun, a rep for the governorate said.
An Iraqi civilian was also killed and 3 wounded when their house was
hit during a rocket attack on a police station in the S city of Basra,
police said.
Another Iraqi civilian was wounded when a roadside bomb targeting a US
convoy exploded nr Samawa on Mon, an Iraqi nat'l guard rep said.
Samawa, 270 km S of Baghdad, is a relatively calm city, with some 500
Japanese ground troops based outside working on reconstruction projects.
5 Iraqi civilians were wounded in an early morning roadside bombing in
the main N city of Mosul, the US military said.
The violence in Iraq and an attack on a pipeline nr the central city
of Karbala Sun pushed oil prices higher on world markets Mon.
The targeted oil duct served Iraq's domestic market meaning the attack
had no impact on the country's all-important oil exports.
But Iraq's oil industry came under threat on Sat with the rupture to a
main S oil pipeline, which caused a fresh fall in exports.
It was not immediately clear if the pipeline had been sabotaged or had
sprung a leak. The rupture was at the site of one of 2 sabotage
attacks last m that effectively halted Iraqi exports for almost a wk.
After a string of deadly car bombings, major attacks have dipped since
the former US-led coalition handed power to Iraq's caretaker govt last Mon.
But officials have warned that the lull might be due to insurgents
plotting their next step.

Iraq vows to crush rebels
Baghdad (Reuters).  Iraq's interim govt has again postponed an
announcement on a security law to curb insurgents but has given no
explanation for the latest delay.
PM Iyad Allawi cancelled a scheduled news conference on the law at
short notice and an official at his office said no new time for the
announcement had been set.
The govt had planned to unveil the measures at a news conference on
Sat, but cancelled it at the last minute.
Despite the delays, For Min Hoshiyar Zebari said the govt would soon
introduce the security law, reinstate the death penalty and offer a
temporary amnesty to insurgents.
"The biggest challenge to the interim govt is security," Zebari told
Reuters in an interview on Mon. "If you don't deliver, people will
turn their back on you."
But he said the govt would not sacrifice human rights or progress
towards elections, due in Jan.
"I would be surprised if it's not announced by the end of the week,"
Nat'l Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie told Reuters, referring to
the revised public safety law.
Zebari said the govt unanimously favoured restoring capital
punishment, suspended during the 14-m US-Brit occupation.
The penalty could apply to Saddam Hussein and 11 of his lieutenants if
they are convicted by a special tribunal.
The 12 men appeared before an Iraqi judge on Thu to hear they would be
charged over the invasion of Kuwait, ethnic cleansing of Kurds,
suppression of Kurdish and Shi'ite revolts, and murders of political
and religious foes over 3 decades.
While vowing to punish Baathists with "blood on their hands",
criminals and foreign militants pursuing their own anti-American jihad
in Iraq, Allawi has spoken of an amnesty for Iraqis who fought the
occupation out of nat'lism.
* BLOODSHED AND SABOTAGE
Violence has racked Iraq since the US-led invasion to topple Saddam
last y. Insurgents have attacked US forces, Iraqi policemen and oil
industry targets across the country.
In the latest attacks, 5 people were killed in Fallujah in an explosion
caused by a missile fired by a US plane, residents said.
The US military had no immediate comment on the report.
Residents said the dead were members of an Iraqi family living in the
NW of the town. US forces have launched a series of airstrikes on what
they describe as safe houses of the network of Jordanian militant Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi in Fallujah.
Police said a roadside bomb had also wounded 5 civilians in the N city
of Mosul on Mon.
An Iraqi civilian was killed and 4 were wounded in the S city of Basra
when mortar rounds fired by guerrillas at the main govt building hit
nearby homes instead.
Guerrillas fired anti-aircraft guns, RPGs and light arms at a US
military medical helicopter on Mon, wounding the pilot and co-pilot, a
military rep said, although the aircraft landed safely.
2 Iraqi civilians were killed and 4 wounded by gunfire outside the S
city of Kerbala when a convoy carrying troops from a US-led multinat'l
force narrowly escaped a roadside bomb attack and then opened fire, a
hospital official said. US and Polish forces patrol the area.
The US military was not immediately available for comment.
Iraqi technicians were trying to repair oil pipelines damaged by
weekend sabotage attacks that halved crude exports, the mainstay of
Iraq's economy, oil officials said.
There was no word on the fate of a Lebanese-born US marine after
conflicting statements from kidnap groups which 1st said they had
beheaded him and then denied it.
Allawi said his govt's 1st wk in office since the hand-over had been
successful.
"We have witnessed a drop in insurgency activities so far. We hope
this drop will continue," he told ABC TV.
But he said militias, including those loyal to firebrand Shi'ite
cleric Moqtada al-Sadr who led a rebellion against the US-led
occupation, must lay down their weapons.
Moqtada's rep said in Baghdad that he was committed to his truce with
US-led troops and his militia will be disbanded once foreign forces
leave Iraqi soil.

Iraq battles its leaking borders
Iraq's PM called on Syria and Iran Sun to help check flow of weapons, fighters.
[Other reports find only 90 of 5,700 security prisoners in Iraq are
foreign fighters -- less than 2%].
Tall Afar, Iraq (CS Monitor).  One recent moonless night, a company of
US infantrymen rolled out of an austere camp and deep into uncharted
terrain in the Iraqi desert. Their mission: a 260-km assault on a
suspected terrorist training camp nr Iraq's border with Syria.
Surveillance had spotted some 20 men in black tunics at the small
encampment. Among them was a "high value target," sought for smuggling
arms and foreign fighters from Syria. Yet the mission, which detained
12 people, missed its top man, who apparently disappeared among the
nomadic tribes here that are as shifting as the desert sands. "They
have a very sophisticated tribal communications network throughout
Iraq," says Capt Eric Beaty, whose company led the assault in the
early hrs of Jun 27.
The incident underscores the challenges facing US and Iraqi forces as
they labour to curb the influx since last y of 1,000 to 3,000 foreign
militants tied to a growing string of terrorist strikes.
Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi is appealing to Syria and Iran to help check the
illegal trafficking of weapons, money, and fighters into Iraq. Iraq
intends to enter negotiations soon with both countries on the border
problem, Mr Allawi told reporters Sun.
Senior Iraqi and American officials are quick to blame Syria and Iran
for tacitly supporting car bombings and other attacks that have killed
and wounded 100s of people in the past month, including scores of
Iraqi security forces and civilians. On Mon, Iraqi officials said they
arrested 2 Iranians attempting to detonate a car bomb in eastern Baghdad.
"Now Iraq is open for all terrorists," admits Osama Kashmoula,
governor of Iraq's N Nineveh Province, which shares a 250-km boundary
with Syria. "We've arrested Iranians, Jordanians, Palestinians,
Algerians -- I don't know the number," he said.
US cmdrs agree. "I don't think there's any difficulty pushing weapons
or fighters across the border," says Army Col Michael Rounds, who
commands the main US ground unit in N Iraq, a 5,000-strong Stryker
brigade task force.
In May, Washington imposed $200 mn worth of economic sanctions on
Syria, charging that the country supported terrorism and was
undermining US efforts to stabilise Iraq, in part by failing to curb
the transit of terrorists across its borders.
"Neither of those countries [Syria and Iran] want to see success in
Iraq. They're in many ways terrified of it," said Deputy Defense
Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. "The Iranians and Syrians could do a lot to
control the borders if ... we compelled them to think it was in their
interest," he told a congressional hearing 2 wk ago.
The high-level charges by Iraqi and US officials of terrorist complicity
by Syria and Iran is a message intended in part to rally the Iraqi
public against foreign fighters, who coalition officials acknowledge
could not operate here without homegrown support. They contend that
recent attacks instigated in part by foreign fighters on Iraqi
officials and security forces in Mosul, Baqubah, and other major
cities have backfired.
In Baqubah in late Jun, for example, Iraqi citizens spontaneously
grabbed weapons and took to the streets to fight outside insurgents,
both foreign and from elsewhere in Iraq, US military officials say.
"People of Baqubah realize these are foreigners -- Syrians, Egyptians,
and Afghanis," says Maj Kreg Schnell, the intel officer for the 1ID's
3rd Brigade in Baqubah.
US forces in Baqubah had to adjust their rules of engagement to avoid
killing Iraqi civilians engaged in battling insurgents, says brigade
cmdr Col Dana Pittard.
Controlling the traffic of fighters and weapons, as well as smuggled
goods, is difficult due to the rugged terrain along the eastern border
with Iran, and the presence of close-knit tribes that straddle the W
border with Syria, US and Iraqi officials say.
"On the Iranian border, you're talking about miles and miles of
mountainous terrain. There's no way you can seal off that kind of a
border," Secretary Wolfowitz said.
Iranian Foreign Ministry rep Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters Sun that
Iran wants only "stability and security in Iraq." All Iraq's neighbours
fear a spillover of the violence and chaos that followed Saddam's fall.
"We haven't done any action that may smell of an act of interference
in Iraq's internal affairs from the very beginning, and won't do so in
the future either," Mr Asefi said.
Along the Syrian border, tribes such as the Shamar, Al Jubouri, and Al
Fawzil migrate back and forth from Iraq. Many of the Iraqi border
guards are tribal members with family on either side of the border,
and often turn a blind eye to such smuggling, according to US and
Iraqi officials. No computer database currently exists for tracking
the passage of people and goods across the border, they say.
Meanwhile, border guards driving 2wd vehicles are often outrun by
people crossing illegally in 4wd Land Cruisers. Also, a
long dirt berm built by US military engineers to delineate the Syrian
border is easily traversed in many places by vehicles like Toyota
pickup trucks, they say.
Mon, the NY Times reported that relatives of Saddam Hussein, working from
Syria and Jordan, were smuggling weapons, fighters, and money into Iraq.
Still, progress is continuing in the training and equipping of an
Iraqi border force, which currently stands at about 18,000 men. In
Nineveh Province, 19 of 26 border forts are now fully manned with
1,300 guards equipped with radios, weapons, and vehicles for patrols.
The guards now regularly stop and jail undocumented transients,
including 90 in the past month, US officials say. "When we 1st got
here, it was unheard of for the border police to intercept anyone. Now
they do frequently," says Col Rounds. He is working to add at least
600 more guards from a mixture of tribes and ethnic groups to the border.
US officials have suggested ways to strengthen controls further, such as a
fence along the Syrian border or "non-forgeable" identity cards for Iraqis.
Border controls are vital because once inside Iraq, foreign fighters
are finding sanctuary in cities such as Tall Afar, a diverse city of
227,000 people that has become both a way station and base for attacks
on US and Iraqi forces. "It has links to the [border crossing at]
Rabiah and rat lines from Syria, so its traditionally a way station
between Syria and Baghdad," says Capt Beaty.
Moreover, current Tall Afar leaders have "no real intent of denying
their town to criminals, terrorists, or any type of bad guy" says
Rounds, indicating that provincial officials are prepared to replace
them if they fail to act.

Iran wants role in shaping Iraq's political future, but must tread carefully
Tehran (AP).  The 1st foreign suspects Iraqi authorities have arrested
in a recent wave of vehicle bombings are Iranians, focusing new
attention on just how Iran might be trying protect its own interests
when it comes to its neighbour.
There was no indication, however, the 2 Iranians arrested trying to
detonate a car bomb Mon in an eastern Baghdad residential
neighbourhood were Iranian govt agents.
In fact, Foreign Ministry rep Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters as
recently as Sun that Iran wants only "stability and security in Iraq,"
its neighbour to the W -- a sentiment shared by all of Iraq's neighbours.
"We haven't done any action that may smell of an act of interference
in Iraq's internal affairs from the very beginning, and won't do so in
the future either," Asefi said.
Although Iranians enraged at the damage to Shiite shrines in Iraq have
volunteered to join insurgents in the battle against the Americans,
Iranian officials have said they will stop zealots from crossing the border.
Iran cannot afford a direct confrontation with the US, even though it
fears its longtime foe is cementing influence in Iraq. Iran also wants
to keep its options open by not being seen as favouring any of the
myriad Iraqi Shiite groups that have been vying for power since a
US-led coalition toppled former dictator Saddam Hussein's Sunni Muslim
Admin last y.
Iran, like Iraq, has a majority Shiite population. But while Shiites
run a theocracy in Iran, they had long been suppressed by Saddam in
Iraq. Saddam, whose US-backed war with Iran dragged on from 1980-88
and drained both countries of men and resources, has been replaced by
a US-backed interim Iraqi Admin with plans for elections next y that
are likely to be dominated by Shiite parties -- though not necessarily
ones that see a natural ally in Iran.
The US, which has been at odds with Iran since the US-backed shah was
toppled in the 1979 Islamic revolution, fears Iran wants a
fundamentalist Shiite Admin in its own image in Iraq.
Washington has repeatedly accused Tehran of sending money to various
Iraqi groups, dispatching agents and allowing foreign anti-American
fighters to travel to Iraq through its territory. Iran has
persistently denied the allegations.
Saddam was among Tehran's chief enemies, yet Iran strongly opposed the
war that toppled him. Saddam, at least, was no longer aligned with
Washington -- unlike the rulers in Iran's neighbours to the east,
Pakistan and, in the wake of the US-led war that ousted the Taliban,
Afghanistan.
Iranian political analyst Davoud Hermidas Bavand said it is hard to
believe Iran doesn't have many agents working in Iraq.
"Every regional country would do that," Bavand said.
"But no country will officially admit it has many secret agents
operating in a foreign country."
Members of Devotees for Martyrdom, a loose grouping of Iranian
religious extremists who say it is their duty to fight the US wherever
possible, have said they will go to Iraq as soon as Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gives them the go-ahead.
But, far from sanctioning such activities, Khamenei kept silent when
officials moved to bar volunteers from entering Iraq earlier this y
when fighting between US-led coalition forces and militiamen loyal to
Moqtada al-Sadr resulted in damage to important Shiite shrines in S Iraq.
Instead, the Iranian govt publicly backed a call from Iraq's most
influential Shiite cleric, the Iranian-born Grand Ayatollah Ali
al-Husseini al-Sistani, that all armed groups -- Brit and US soldiers
as well as al-Sadr's forces, withdraw from holy cities in southern Iraq.
Mohammad Ali Samadi, a rep for the Devotees for Martyrdom, said
private Iranian charitable funds were going to a variety of Iraqi
groups. He would not specify the groups.
"Iran enjoys a lot of spiritual influence in Iraq," Samadi told The
Associated Press. "Iran does offer financial support to Shiites, but
as charity. However, it doesn't send any intel agents."
Iraqis in the S holy cities have expressed suspicions that offices set
up there by Iranians ostensibly dispensing charity or providing
assistance to Shiite pilgrims might be covers for Iranian govt agents.
Iran has long maintained close ties with a variety of Iraqi groups,
including Iraq's largest Shiite group, the Supreme Council of the
Islamic Revolution of Iraq, and the 2 powerful Kurdish groups
controlling N Iraq, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan
Democratic party. The Kurdish parties are not Shiite.

Sharon tightens security amid assassination fears
Jerusalem (Reuters).  Israeli PM Ariel Sharon has ordered action to
quell increasingly vocal Jewish radicals amid fears of violence by
opponents of his Gaza pullout plan and possibly even an attempt to
kill him.
The bodyguard around Mr Sharon has been further toughened in recent
months to stop any assassin, such as the one who killed premier
Yitzhak Rabin 9 y ago in an attempt to halt peace talks with
Palestinians, security sources said.
Mr Sharon urged officials "to work in earnest to uproot" incitement.
"It saddens me that I who have spent my life protecting Jews, have to
now be defended against Jews," Israeli media quoted the former general
as saying.
Security sources said there has been no specific info pointing to any
attempt against Mr Sharon's life.
Snr officials are to meet this wk to look at legal means to curb
potentially inflammatory statements from ultra-nat'lists.
Justice Min Yosef Lapid said Mr Sharon had asked for action to "uproot
incitement".
"It starts with incitement and then it moves on to threats. With Rabin
it started in the same way and you never know how it will end," said
one security source.
Once the settlers' champion, Mr Sharon aims to uproot all 21 Jewish
communities from Gaza by the end of next y and 4 of 120 settlements in
the W Bank as part of a plan to "disengage" from ys of conflict with
the Palestinians.
Polls show most Israelis back the initiative to shift the 7,500 Jews
who live in Gaza alongside 1.3 mn Palestinians.
Settlers and religious radicals oppose ceding any land that Israel
captured in the 1967 Middle E war, seeing it as part of a heritage
bestowed by God.
They also reject Mr Sharon's plan, arguing it is a reward for
"Palestinian terror".
The head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, Avi Dichter, told a
Cabinet meeting on Sun he was concerned at rising right-wing extremism
and worried about prospects of an escalation in violence.
"As a result of our unfortunate experience, it would be worth taking
precautions," cabinet member Gideon Ezra, a former deputy chief of the
Shin Bet, told Israel Radio.
He said that even if there was "some exaggeration" of the risks,
Israelis "should be cautious and alert others".
Pro-settler rabbis called on the Shin Bet to show solid evidence for its
warning, but a leading rabbi called on clergymen to be careful "and
not say anything that could be interpreted as a call to fight" the Govt.
Israel's A-G is due to meet Mr Dichter and other security officials
this wk to discuss legal ways to prevent incitement.
A Jerusalem rabbi drew criticism last wk for saying that anyone handing
over part of Israel to a non-Jew could be killed under a historic law
of "Rodef", a licence to kill someone who intends to kill someone else.
Last month, a settler leader also stated that violence -- though not
the use of firearms -- was a legitimate form of resistance against
forced evacuation.
"I cannot promise that the struggle will be clean and sterile. He who
decides to uproot Jews wounds Israeli society severely. I don't want
to predict or threaten, I don't know how far it will go," said Pinchas
Wallerstein of the Yesha settlers' council.

Winnie Mandela given suspended sentence for fraud
Pretoria (Sally Sara).  A S African court has given Winnie Madikizela
Mandela, the former wife of Nelson Mandela, a suspended jail sentence
over a fraud conviction.  The Pretoria High court sentenced Mandela to
a three-and-a-half year suspended jail term.  Large crowds gathered
outside the court as Ms Mandela arrived surrounded by bodyguards.  The
High Court overturned the original conviction of 25 counts of theft
but found that Ms Mandela was guilty of 43 counts of fraud.  She was
convicted of signing documents to obtain false bank loans.  Her
financial advisor, Addy Moolman, has been sentenced to 4 y in jail.

Austrian Pres fighting for his life: doctors
[Later report say Klestil died].
Vienna (AFP).  Austrian Pres Thomas Klestil's life is in "severe
danger" after he suffered a heart attack 3 days before the end of his
term, doctors said.  "His life is in severe danger," Reinhard Krepler,
the head of Vienna's AKH hospital, told a press conference.  "We are
very concerned but we remain hopeful."  Mr Krepler said the 71-yo Mr
Klestil had lung problems which caused a lack of oxygen and a brief
cardiac arrest.

Topless protesters tackle Pamplona bulls
Pamplona (Reuters).  Topless women, some wearing just a g-string, and
men in their underpants have marched through Pamplona demanding an end
to Spain's running of the bulls.
After police stopped animal rights activists from staging a nude
protest last year, the 200 demonstrators cut a deal with authorities
that they could make their case as long as they did not bare everything.
The protesters followed the bull run route through the city's narrow
streets, shouting "Torture isn't culture" and waving placards reading
"Stop the bloody bull fight".
1000s of tourists from around the world travel to the N Spanish town
every y to risk death running with the bulls in the centuries-old San
Fermin festival.
"Slaves and gladiators were tradition too but that doesn't make it
okay," said 34-yo shipping agent Marcus from Stuttgart, Germany.
The wk-long running of the bulls starts on Wed when a dozen bulls are
released onto the city's cobbled streets.
The bulls face certain death in the bull ring after running the 825 m.
Since 1910, 15 people have been killed in the bull runs.
"We want to be an attraction as well," said 26-yo Sabina from Vienna,
sporting 2 pierced nipples and bending over to give a photographer a
better shot of a "Vegetarian Society Approved" tattoo on her buttock.
"Hopefully people will be more interested in what we're doing than the
bulls," added retired miner Robert Lewis, 54, his ample white belly
hanging over his boxer shorts.
A thong-clad Italian woman wore 2 strategically placed slogan-bearing
stickers on her breasts while some women waved banners modestly over
their bare chests.
Some Pamplona residents complained that foreigners were meddling with
Spanish tradition but many were entranced with the spectacle.
"If that's how people want to entertain themselves, that's fine.
[We're here] to see the girls, simple as that," 64-yo retired Pamplona
resident Pedro said.

Thai PM advocates Aust's presence at ASEAN
Canberra.  Thailand says AUS's invitation to the annual Asia summit
should be more than a one-off event.  Thailand's PM gave the
endorsement after witnessing the signing of a bilateral free trade
treaty with AUS in CBR.  ASEAN foreign ministers have invited the PMs
of AUS and New Zealand to the annual Asia summit in Vientiane in Nov,
describing it as a one-off invitation.  But Thailand's PM, Thaksin
Shinawatra, says AUS should have a continuing place at the annual
summit.  "Definitely, Thailand is supporting this summit and if you
were to ask that it should be continued ... we will fully support," he
said.  As well as the free trade treaty, AUS and Thailand have agreed
to a working holiday scheme.

Thai Opp'n supports call for FTA inquiry
Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra ... accused of pushing personal business
interests.
Bangkok (ABC, Peter Lloyd).  There have been calls in Thailand for an
inquiry into the free trade agreement (FTA) with AUS, signed by PM
John Howard and his Thai counterpart in CBR.  Under the terms of the
new bilateral trade deal, Thailand's satellite and communications
giant ShinCorporation would be allowed to invest in Optus and
Vodaphone.  ShinCorp was founded by Thailand's PM Thaksin Shinawatra
and remains a family-run company.  Supinya Klang from the Campaign for
Media Reform said the Thai leader had put his personal business
interests ahead of the nat'l interest.  The Opp'n Democrat Party is
supporting calls for an inquiry into the deal, which is strongly
opposed by Thai farmers and activists who fear the consequences of
striking trade agreements with richer more developed countries.

Businesses predict economic slowdown: survey
Aussie businesses remain very wary about future prospects despite
current performance remaining strong.
Canberra.  After surveying more than 1,200 business owners and
executives across major industries, info provider D&B AUS has found
actual Mar Q sales, employment and profit results have remained very strong.
Looking ahead to the Sep quarter, however, sales expectations have
dropped to a three-and-a-half-y low and profit projections are the
weakest they have been in 15 m.
D&B's Australasian head Christine Christian says businesses are worried about
a interest rate rise and high petrol prices impacting on consumer spending.
"The overall mood is one of caution, a growing number of businesses
are expecting a drop in sales and profits to start the new financial
year," she said.
"Of course, any increase in official interest rates will apply greater
pressure on consumer spending," she said.
However, the Reserve Bank is widely tipped to hold steady on rates
again after the board holds its regular monthly meeting today.
After the US Fed Reserve last wk delivered its 1st increase in
American rates for 4 years, a Reuters poll found 14 out of 21 Aussie
economists thought local rates still had a touch further to rise, but,
with the heat coming out of house prices, not until Aug at the earliest.
The Reserve Bank will announce its decision at 9.30 am tomorrow.

Qld citrus faces AUS-wide ban
Citrus fruit ban to take effect from midnight
Brisbane.  Interstate authorities are expected to impose a ban on Qld
citrus fruit from midnight.  The state's Dept of Primary Industries
says 3 shires on the central highlands remain under quarantine after
an unidentified disease was discovered at an Emerald property.  Dept
rep Chris Adriaansen says other states and territories have indicated
they will not accept Qld citrus after midnight tonight.  "If fruit has
not been received by the relevant markets by midnight then any fruit
that is on the road and hasn't reached there will go into a suspension
store," he said.  "It will not be allowed to be distributed until it
has been fully checked and inspected for any sign of the disease and
then it's up to the interstate authorities as to what they do with
that fruit."  Primary Industries Min Henry Palaszczuk will make an
announcement in Bris this morning before flying to the affected area.

Chilean bill to hit BHP royalties
Santiago (Reuters).  The govt of Chile, the world's leading copper
producer, has sent a long-awaited mining royalty bill to Congress that
it says will only affect producers like BHP when profits are high,
though miners say it will hinder new investment.
The bill, which the Govt hopes will become law in 60 days, is slightly
tougher than a draft proposal floated several wk ago setting out a
sliding charge of between 0% and 3%, depending on profitability.
Most of the world's large miners operate in Chile and the legislation
would hit the royalties of BHP Billiton, Anglo-American, Falconbridge,
Phelps Dodge, Placer Dom, and Barrick Gold.
Once the law is passed, companies will have a three-y grace period
before having to pay up.
The new proposal would introduce a 3% flat charge on net sales of
metallic mineral and a 1% charge on sales by non-metallic miners,
Finance Min Nicolas Eyzaguirre told reporters.
The fee would apply on sales after discounting labour costs and
production factors.
To prevent the new cost from crimping earnings during times of low
market prices, it would apply only when this sales figure is
equivalent to 15% of gross sales or more, the minister explained.
"We don't want to introduce a charge that implies that some activities
that are now profitable will stop being so just because of this
charge," Mr Eyzaguirre told reporters.
"We were careful not to affect those undertakings that have very
moderate profitability," he added.
Chileans have been debating ways to wring more cash out of mines since
being scandalised in 2002 by news that Exxon had not paid profit taxes
on its copper mine in Chile for 25 y, prior to selling the asset for $US1.3 bn.
Govt officials argue that companies use legal loopholes to avoid
paying taxes, which the firms deny.
The royalty means the Govt would collect an additional $US100 mn a y
from the 10 largest private copper miners operating in Chile at a
copper price of 88 cents per pound, according to official calculations.
The funds would go into a special fund for technological innovation,
with the majority earmarked specifically for mining districts.

Qantas crew to meet over London relocation
Qantas will base some staff offshore
Sydney.  Flight attendants across AUS will begin a series of meetings
today to consider industrial action over their opp'n to Qantas's plans
to send 100s of jobs overseas.
Qantas plans to base 400 flight attendants in London and a further 250
in Bris.
They say there will be no job losses and the positions will be offered
to existing crew first.
Flight Attendants Association rep Michael Mijatov says he is concerned
lower pay and conditions will be offered to staff at the London base.
"Its highly likely that if Qantas persists with its current plan its
almost inevitable that we will have industrial action," he said.
"As Qantas grows there won't be any future employment for Aussies here
in AUS.
"What will happen is that people in AUS will be offered fixed term
contracts, or casual employment, whilst the permanent positions will
go overseas on substantially less, substantially inferior conditions."
The 1st meeting will be in SYD today, followed by MEL and Bris over
the next wk.
Qantas rep Michael Sharp says there is no justification for industrial
action at this stage.
"There will be no jobs lost as a result of this initiative," he said.
"The salary packages are competitive. They'll be offered to AUS-based
crew 1st and it's completely voluntary as to whether the crew decide
to accept.
"Qantas has grown jobs by 10,000 over the past decade and it is
through initiatives like this that Qantas can continue to grow jobs."
The airline says the plan to move workers offshore will save the
company $18 mn a year.

Qantas crews may strike over London plan
Sydney.  Members of the Flight Attendants Association of AUS will
begin a series of meetings tomorrow to discuss plans by Qantas to send
100s of its jobs overseas.  Qantas plans to base 400 cabin crew in
London and a further 250 in Bris by the start of next y.  But unions
are concerned lower pay and conditions will be offered to staff at the
London base.  Michael Mijatov from the Flight Attendants Association
of AUS says industrial action is likely.  "If Qantas persists with its
current plan, it's almost inevitable that we will have industrial
action," he said.  But Qantas's Michael Sharp has condemned the
union's stance.  "I think that it's an extraordinary threat and we
certainly believe that there's no justification for industrial action
at any stage," he said.  "This initiative involves no jobs lost, the
positions in London are being offered to AUS based crew first, it's
completely voluntary."

Wild weather cuts power in Tas
Devonport.  Tas's wild weather has again affected power supplies to
1000s of customers in parts of the north, NW and the W coast.  On the
W coast of the state, lightning strikes are believed to have caused 2
disruptions today, affecting more than 2,000 customers.  Aurora crews
are inspecting the 37-km line between Queenstown and Strahan after 12
disruptions over the past 24 hr.  In the NW, line crews have attended
more than 60 separate jobs in the Devonport area since last night.
Other areas affected include Deloraine, Lilydale, Hillwood near
Launceston, Upper Burnie and Latrobe.

Snow isolates Tasn W coast
Murchison, W Tassie.  Much of Tas's W coast is isolated by road today
because of heavy snow on the Murchison and Lyell Highways.  Police say
that at the moment only 4wd vehicles should attempt the
trip.  Sgt Grant Twining says the work of snow ploughs is being made
difficult.  "We've had heavy snowfalls right through the Mt Arrowsmith
Derwent Bridge area as well as through the Bulga Back on the Murchison
Highway," he said.  "That's allowed quite a substantial amount of snow
to fall on the road and Works Tas are doing their best to clear it but
when it keeps falling out of the sky, it makes life a bit hard."

Pressure mounts for wider smoking ban
Hobart.  There is growing pressure on Tasn MPs to amend Govt
legislation for a total ban on smoking in all enclosed public places.
Govt legislation to extend smoking restrictions to nightclubs, gaming
areas and within one metre of a bar will be before Parliament when it
resumes in late Aug.
Prem Paul Lennon does not agree with prohibition and maintains the
Govt's legislation is workable.
MLC Jim Wilkinson has pledged to amend the legislation to ban smoking in all
enclosed public places, saying "it's a health issue not a business issue".
Unionist David O'Byrne, who represents hospitality workers, believes
most of the Labor Party caucus also favour a wider ban.
"If a conscience vote was called, [we believe] that the numbers for a
total ban would be won easily," he said.
Tas's Cancer Council says smoking in all public places, open and
enclosed, will probably become a reality within 5 y.
Council rep Lawson Ride says Parliament needs to amend the legislation
to cover all enclosed workplaces as an important first step.
"We've got hard evidence now that its potentially killing 5 Tas indoor
workers a y and that's just not acceptable. We can't delay on that any
longer," he said.
"It's not fair on the workers that they're the only people who have to
work in an unsafe environment."

Pacific Hydro requests trading halt
Melbourne.  AUS's biggest private-sector wind power operator Pacific
Hydro has requested its shares be suspended on the stock exchange
pending an announcement.
The company and the Vicn Prem Steve Bracks are expected to make a
joint announcement at Portland on the state's W coast on the
establishment of 4 wind farms and a wind farm blade factory in the area.
"Pacific Hydro requests the trading halt as it intends to make an
important announcement in relation to the 1st stage of the Portland
Wind Energy Project on Wed," the company said in a statement.
The Portland project will be one of the biggest wind farm projects in
the world and the largest in the S hemisphere.
Pacific Hydro's website says the 180 megawatt development will
generate enough electricity for 100,000 homes, or a city the size of
Geelong, create a new manufacturing industry in SW Vic, new jobs and
an export market worth up to $100 mn per year.
Last m environment groups and renewable energy firms developing wind
technologies condemned the govt's energy white paper for not raising
the mandatory renewable energy target (MRET), which subsidises
renewable power that would otherwise be uneconomic.
Pacific Hydro said then it would still invest $1 bn in new wind
capacity but would look overseas to spend $500 mn which it had
intended for the development of domestic wind power.

Latham drops to all-time low: poll
Mark Latham denies rumours about his past.
Canberra.  Mark Latham's popularity as Opp'n leader has dropped to a
6-m low, as snr Labor party figures back him after he publicly denied
rumours about his past.
The latest Newspoll published in the The Aussie shows Mr Latham's
standing as Labor leader is at its lowest since he took over from
Simon Crean in Dec, but that the ALP remains well within striking
distance of the Howard Govt if there was an election.
PM John Howard also extended his lead over Mr Latham as preferred PM
in the poll.
Mr Latham has defended his demand that the media and the Govt "lay
off" his family and blames his ex-wife and political enemies for
starting rumours about his personal life.
He says journalists have been asking questions about his younger
sister, and his wife's former dancing teacher.
"What's going on when the media are making inquiries fed by others
about little girls 13 and 15, 20 y ago," he asked.
"I mean, what is going on in Aussie politics?
"I had every reason yesterday to make the point you can scrutinise me,
say whatever you like about me but would you lay off my family."
Yesterday, Mr Latham faced the media to deny a range of allegations
from the existence of a raunchy buck's night video to claims he had
faced sexual harassment charges.
He also pleaded for his family to be left out of any rumours.
* Labor backing
Opp'n MPs such as Simon Crean have rallied behind Mr Latham.
"I think that this Govt is hell bent on concentrating on the past,
that's what it's trying to dig into as far as Mark Latham is
concerned," he said.
"Anyone who is close to their family who knows the toll it takes in
terms of public life, I have great empathy for that."
Foreign Min Alexander Downer is keeping up the pressure on Mr Latham
and says the Opp'n leader should expect close scrutiny.
"I see Mark Latham going to the media, tears in his eyes about being
criticised and of all the people in Aussie politics, Mark Latham would
be the last person to complain about being criticised," he said.
"He has been one of the most vitriolic and abusive politicians that I
have known in my nearly 20 y in Parliament.
"Mr Latham needs to understand if you want to be the PM of AUS you've
got to be big enough to stand up and defend yourself."
* Poll results
The latest Newspoll compiled last weekend showed Mr Latham's rating as
party leader had dropped from 54% to 49%.
Mr Latham's dissatisfaction rating rose 6 points and is now the
highest since he became leader.
More voters are also dissatisfied with John Howard, but he has widened
his lead over Mr Latham as preferred PM to 17 points.
Labor's primary vote has slipped 2%age points to 41% while the
Coalition remained steady on 43%.
On 2nd preferences, Labor continues to lead the Coalition with 51% to
49%, but the margin has narrowed from 52% and 48% 2 wk ago.
Mr Latham partly blamed what he calls a Liberal party "dirt unit" for
the rumours and alleged that staff from Govt minister Tony Abbott's
office were behind it.
That is untrue according to Mr Abbott.
"Not by me, not by anyone in the Govt," he said.
"I think you better ask anyone who's pointing the finger for any
evidence that that person may have."
PM John Howard has denied the existence of a so-called Govt "dirt
unit" targeting Mr Latham, but says the Coalition has the right to
raise questions about his public life.
Deputy PM John Anderson says the Govt is playing fair in the lead-up
to the fed election.
"It's extraordinary the media are reporting a supposed campaign from
us but it's the media who would know if there was a campaign," he said.
"Logically, if you stop and think about it, they'd be the people
because if we were going to run such a campaign we'd be going to the
media saying 'nudge nudge, wink wink, did you know this, did you know that?'
"We haven't been doing any such thing and we wouldn't. John Howard,
John Anderson, Peter Costello, we don't play that sort of dirt politics."
* Beattie backing
Qld Prem Peter Beattie says recent personal attacks on Mr Latham are
unprecedented in Aussie politics.
Mr Beattie believes Aussie voters hate rumours and character
assassinations and the attacks will backfire.
He says the timing is deliberate.
"I don't remember a situation where there's been such a significant
attempt at character assassination against a fed leader this close to
a fed election," he said.
"And [on] the basis of what? So there was a bit of a scuffle at a
Labor Party branch meeting or a gathering or whatever it was.
"So what? As the great lord said, let him who is without sin cast the
first stone."

PM promises to cut red tape binding small business
Canberra.  The Fed Govt has promised to cut red tape for the nation's
small businesses.  PM John Howard says tonight he will announce
measures to lift the compliance burden for business owners but has
given no further details of the policy.  Mr Howard told S Cross Radio
the changes will significantly help small businesses.  "We are all the
time looking at ways of reducing the red tape, the compliance burden
for small business," he said.  "Small business is the driver of the
economy, 62% of employment growth of the last few y is come from small
business."

Latham challenges Howard over "dirt unit"
Canberra.  The Fed Opp'n Leader says he believes the PM knows about a
group within the Govt which is allegedly spreading rumours about Mark
Latham's past.
John Howard has denied any knowledge of a Govt campaign to target the
Labor leader's private life.
The stoush comes as Mr Latham's popularity as Opp'n leader has dropped
to a 6-m low.
Mr Latham raised, and responded to, fresh rumours which he says are
circulating about his sister and his wife, going back to when they
were teenagers.
He says there are reports that an unnamed minister and a govt staffer
are spreading such claims, and he says Mr Howard must be aware of what
he calls the govt's "dirt unit".
"I'd be very surprised if he didn't know about both those activities
that are happening at taxpayers expense within his Govt," Mr Latham said.
The PM says Mr Latham is wrong.
"We do not have a dirt unit and I reject emphatically this attempt by
Mr Latham to blame the Liberal Party," Mr Howard said.
Mr Latham says the claims about his sister and his wife are hurtful
and prompted his decision to publicly respond to the rumours.
* Poll result
The latest Newspoll published in the The Aussie shows Mr Latham's
standing as Labor leader is at its lowest since he took over from
Simon Crean in Dec.
But it also shows that the ALP remains well within striking distance
of the Howard Govt if there was an election.
PM John Howard also extended his lead over Mr Latham as preferred PM
in the poll.
The latest Newspoll compiled last weekend showed Mr Latham's rating as
party leader had dropped from 54% to 49%.
Mr Latham's dissatisfaction rating rose 6 points and is now the
highest since he became leader.
More voters are also dissatisfied with John Howard, but he has widened
his lead over Mr Latham as preferred PM to 17 points.
Labor's primary vote has slipped 2%age points to 41% while the
Coalition remained steady on 43%.
On 2nd preferences, Labor continues to lead the Coalition with 51% to
49%, but the margin has narrowed from 52% and 48% 2 wk ago.
* Move on
Vicn Prem Steve Bracks believes it is time for Mr Latham to put aside
rumours about his private life and start pushing Labor's policies in
the lead-up to the election.
Mr Bracks says muck-raking is an expected and fair part of politics,
but it is time to move on.
"He's re-invigorated the Labor Party, a lot of young people are saying
they want to get involved and active for the 1st time in many years
and I think that's part of his cut through approach," he said.
Mr Bracks told S Cross Radio, while he is not aware of a specific
"dirt unit" run by the Fed Govt, all political parties look into the
antics of their adversaries.
He says sometimes such investigations go too far.
"Well of course it's fair enough for people to try and find issues and
try and find matters of public policy difference, and matters of
mal-administration if that is happening, now this is normal public debate that
happens," he said.
"When it's about personalities, I think that's where most sensible
political leaders will say to those people who are doing it, draw the
line on that."

Police deny chasing Hickey in Redfern
Sydney.  The officer in charge of the investigation into the death of
Aboriginal teenager Thomas Hickey has told a coronial inquest the
17-yo was not being chased by police at the time he suffered fatal
injuries.  When Thomas 'TJ' Hickey was impaled on a fence post after
crashing his bike, the claims about police involvement in his death
fuelled a riot at Redfern in inner SYD.  Detective Snr Constable
Michael Kyneur has led the investigation into 17-yo's death.  He has
told the inquiry before coroner John Abernathy that while it was
possible police were following TJ Hickey on the day to see where he
went, they were not pursuing or chasing him in the police definition
of the terms.  Senior Constable Kyneur says the police wagon seen behind
the 17-yo shortly before his accident could have had its lights on for
several reasons but would not have been authorised to carry out a pursuit.

Chinese fossils found in mail parcel
Adelaide.  Aussie Customs officers say illegal imports of fossils are
increasing because of their availability on the Internet.  3 dinosaur
fossils from China have been found in an airmail parcel at the Adel
mail centre.  Border enforcement manager Grant Coulter says the
fossils were detected using X-ray technology and then authenticated.
He says AUS is working to protect China's fossils and artefacts being
exported but it is difficult because of their availability on the
Internet.  "People's interest in ancient times has existed forever and
you could say that the Internet and the like has helped open people's
access to the world and to buying things like fossils," he said.

Bendigo slams door on killer kitties
Bendigo, Vic.  Bendigo council, in central Vic, is said to be the 1st
country council in the state to adopt a night-time curfew for cats.
The move is to help protect native wildlife and reduce the number of
accidents involving cats after dark.  Mayor Greg Williams says the
sunset to sunrise ban on wandering cats is more about education than
enforcement.  "As we know, cats are very, very efficient predators,
but it's also about cat fights and noise as well, disturbing residents
at night," he said.  "So now we're encouraging residents to lock their
cats up at night - we think that's responsible and it's in the cat's
interest too if you think about it because they're not running around
out on the roads at night."

Missing gangland documents prompt doubts
Melbourne.  The Vicn Opp'n has cast doubt Govt claims that it can not
find any correspondence on underworld matters between the offices of
the Police Min and Chief Commissioner between Jan and May this y.
During that period a number of MEL underworld figures were murdered.
Vic's The Age newspaper requested the documentation under freedom of
info laws but was told there was no correspondence regarding police
corruption or underworld killings.
Acting Opp'n leader Phil Honeywood says he has had a similar case
which took almost 12 m to process.
"The Govt said the document in question did not exist even though I had the
title of the document, and they claimed they didn't have it," he said.
"Then it came out in a court case that of course the document did exist.
"When the Police Min stands up and claims to The Age that there are no
documents between himself and Christine Nixon's office, you really
have to wonder whether they've just been loose with the truth again,
when it comes to their definition of a document."
A rep for Police Min Andre Haermeyer says he has regular verbal
briefings with the Chief Commissioner, in relation to Ceja and Purana
taskforce matters.
He says the briefings are of a general nature.

Missing boys spark police searches
Sydney.  Police have appealed for community help to find an 11-yo boy
who disappeared from SYD's W over a wk ago.  Police say Dillon Potger
was last seen by friends playing in Heber Park in Hebersham on Sun
Jun 27.  His family reported him missing when he did not come home
from the park.  Dillon has been described as being of Aboriginal
appearance, 130 centimetres tall with a slight build.  He was last
seen wearing blue tracksuit pants and a white t-shirt with a Saint
Dominic's school emblem on the front.  Meanwhile, a police search has
begun for a 13-yo boy who has also been missing from his W SYD home
since Sun.  Mathew Norman was last seen about midday on Sun when he
left the Cambridge Gardens home to go to a supermarket.  He was last
seen wearing a red or orange long sleeve shirt, dark pants and a blue
bicycle helmet.

Cult organ donations under investigation
Melbourne.  The Vicn Govt has ordered an investigation into a
religious cult that claims to be organising organ donations in Vic,
interstate and abroad.
The Jesus Christians cult uses the Internet to encourage people to
donate their kidneys and parts of their livers as sacrifices for God.
Under Aussie health regulations, a kidney donor must be a relative,
friend or have an emotional connection to the person requiring a transplant.
Prem Steve Bracks told S Cross Radio that cult's actions must be stopped.
"We want to take action to make sure that these matters aren't
occurred (sic) and people aren't influenced unduly to do things that
are against their own personal interests," he said.
"[We want to make sure] any donation of organs is done with your eyes
open, with full awareness and full clinical and other advice is given."
Health Min Bronwyn Pike says no one should be coerced into giving up
their organs.
She also warned the practice could lead to a black market in human organs.
"If we don't stamp this thing out right now then we move ourselves
into very difficult territory," she said.
"There are places in the world where organs are sold, where they're
given, or people are coerced to give their organs, and we don't want
to have anything to do with that kind of practice here in AUS."
Ms Pike says the cult members are apparently attributing the idea to a
bible verse in the book of Paul.
"[The verse] says that you have to make your body a living sacrifice.
What St Paul had in mind of course was caring for other people and
living in a way that supported and nurtured other people," she said.
"I don't think he had this in mind at all and it's a complete
misunderstanding and misinterpretation and it's most unfortunate."

Court hears accused thinks she's Jesus
Brisbane.  A Bris court has been told that a woman charged with the
attempted murder of her elderly aunt last wk believes she is Jesus
Christ.  The 26-yo was refused bail on the grounds she poses a danger
to herself and others.  Juliet Elizabeth Mills describes herself as a
healer.  She is charged with the attempted murder of 87-yo Audry
Thompson, who was found unconscious in her Windsor unit and remains
critically ill in hospital.  Mills is also charged with entering a
dwelling to commit an offence, acts intended to commit grievous bodily
harm and robbery with actual violence.  Her lawyer told the court
Mills insists she is Jesus Christ and says she is not mentally ill.
No plea was entered and Magistrate James Herlihy refused bail, saying
Mills posed a risk to herself and others.  Mills is expected to appear
in court again late next m.

{{
1 am
Analysis in Pakistan say they've ID'ed 30 new terrorist groups they
say are modelling themselves on al-Qaeda.  The trend is new extremist
groups is to break away from any centre control and become more dispersed.

2 am
The new Iraqi govt has delayed steps it was to announce to combat the
continuing insurgency.  A news conf was postponed for the 2nd time.
Last wk, a rep for PM Allawi said guerrillas might be given amnesty
because acts of resistance during GWII were legitimate acts of
resistance to the invaders.

Yemen.  10 Shia rebels have been killed during an on-going siege in
the N.  The govt says it's surrounded a radical cleric in the mtns.
The Pres says military forces have been sent in alert the cleric
refused to surrender and stand trial.

Jakarta. First estimates have put SBY at 33% and in lead in Presid'l
elections.  Current Pres Megawati is running 2nd, ahead of former Gen
Wiranto.  An official result is not expected for 3 wks.  Participation
in Jakarta was put at 80% -- an unexpectedly high rate.  Indonesia has
153 mn voters.

Manila. 70 children have been rescued in the Philippines after police
raided a "safe house" for a child porn ring.  Some of the rescued kids
were as young as 5 yo.  7 suspected ring members, incl a Japanese man,
were arrested on Sat in a holiday resort town 70 km S of Manila.
They suspects are likely to be charged with violating a trafficking
law -- a crime that carried a penalty of life in prison.  The police
raid was led by a Dutch national who's a rep for a child welfare group.

2.30 am
Police in Manila have arrested a terrorist who's listed as the
country's 7th most wanted member of the Abu Sayaff group.

3 am
There are reports of loud explosions in Fallujah.

6 am
The US has confirmed 5 missiles have hit a "Mujahedeen hideout" in
Fallujah.  Locals say 12 bodied were pulled from the compound after
the raid.

Beijing.  Dissidents say a SARS white-blower has been sentenced to a
long term in a "re-education camp".  The govt is not commenting.

7 am
A new opinion poll in The Australian shows support of opp'n leader
Mark Latham has fallen to a 6 m low.  Only 49% of Aussies approve of
Mark Latham's performance, compared with 54% last m, according to the
latest Newspoll.  But the poll also finds Labor would narrowly win an
federal election, with TPP support for the opp'n at 51% to 49% for the Coal'n.

7.45 am
The Iraqi PM's office says it was Iraqi intel that allowed the
targeting of a compound in Fallujah.  It was a sign the people of
Iraq would not tolerate terrorism, the rep said.  Doctors at the
local hospital in Fallujah say the dead incl at least 1 woman and at
least 3 children.  The US dropped 2 tonnes of bombs on the compound.
It's now a 9 m hole in the sand.  Locals say people were farming when
they were bombed.

Midday.
PM John Howard and his Thai counterpart, Thaksin Sinawatra, have
witnessed the signing of a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in CBR.

Thailand says AUS's invitation to the annual Asia summit should be
more than a one-off event.

Aussie dairy farmers have rejected claims that today's free trade deal
with Thailand will destroy Thailand's domestic industry.

6.30 pm
Hanging on by a thread, Megawati could yet finish 2nd in the Indon
Presid'l elections after a day of counting.  Wiranto is very close
behind Megawati.  His campaign has indicated it may not accept 3rd
place unless a number of irregularities in the voting are cleared up,
first.  A recount has been ordered after a large number of votes were
declared invalid.  Voters had punched a hole while their ballot was
folded -- accidentally putting more than 1 hole in the paper.
Electoral officials say they'll count ballots where the voter's
intention is clear.  SBY is on 33%, Megawati on 24.9%, and Wiranto
23.8% and on a rising trend.  It's unclear which candidate will come
in 2nd, given the large number of invalid ballots.  Megawati once had
a base of 33%.

5 Palestinians and 1 Israeli soldier have been killed in an exchange
of gunfire nr Nablus.  Israeli troops elsewhere killed a leader of
al-Aqsa in Jenin.  A 14 yo Palestinian youth was killed in Gaza by
Israeli soldiers.  He was reportedly standing in the street of Han
Younis shortly after rebels fired mortars into a nearby settlement,
injuring one person.

The IAEA is about to dish the dirt on the Israeli nuclear program.
Just before ElBaradei is due to arrive in Tel Aviv, Israeli
authorities have released new video of its nuclear facilities.  But Mr
ElBaradei is continuing to push for a nuclear-free Middle E.  Unlike
its Arab neighbours, Israel has never signed the NNPT, and is not
subject to sanctions or inspections.  Authorities neither confirm nor
deny Israeli has nuclear weapons capabilities.  Analysis assume it has
up to 200 warheads.

John Kerry is close to making an announcement about his VP
running-mate.  The announcement could be made as soon as tomorrow.
It's expected to be NC Sen John Edwards.  2 officials close to the
campaign point to the fact Edwards interrupted his holidays and flew
to DC last wk to secretly meet with Kerry.

Yukos shares have plunged another 10%.

There's been an Aussie consumer spending spree in Jun.  Aussies
appeared oblivious to suggestions of a retail slowdown.  Card trade
was up 3% in Jun -- a considerable leap from the .3% rises in the prev
3 m.  There is no link to the $600 family bonus says Treas Costello.
They're spending because of high employment and low int rates, says Costello.

The All Ords has closed up 17 pts, with gold miners in demand.  The
NAB was trading higher at $A30.63. [Whoo-hoo!]  The Nikkei closed down
66 pts on concern over Sun's upper house elections.  Wall St starts
tonight after the Jul 4 holiday.  The AUD is stringer at 71.66 US c.

Bangkok.  UNAIDS has issued its annual report ahead of of next wk's
AIDS conf.  The report shows AIDS is spreading unchecked through Asia.
Nearly 3 mn people died from AIDS last y, world-wide.  There were 1.1
mn new cases last y.  Sub-Saharan Africa remains the hardest hit
region.  There were 3.4 mn new infections there last y.  There are
growing fears AIDS could now spread through the general popn.  There
has also been a rise in the cases in AUS.  New cases in AUS were 650
in 1998 have jumped to 800 in 2002.  Swaziland has the highest rate of
infection in the world, at 40% of the popn.  The UN says there's been
a decline in cases in Brazil and Thailand.  But in India, Russia and
Cambodia cases are up.  Outside S Africa, India has the biggest number
of AIDS sufferers.  Health workers put it down to the low status of
women in India.  They can't refuse sex with infected partners.  In
Russia, injecting drug users are fuelling the spread of the disease.
The UN says the number of health care workers world-wide must quadruple
to handle the growing epidemic.

7 pm
Police have confirmed they've found human remains wrapped in a blue
tarpaulin at the Mornington tip, in SE Vic, at 11.30 this morning.
They've been searching the tip since a man admitted to killing his
wife and baby girl, 3 m after he'd claimed his wife had run away.

8.30 pm
2 US Marines have been KIA in Anbar, W Iraq, and 1 was fatally
wounded.  US Marines have lost 10 men in the last wk in operations
around Anbar, whose main city is Fallujah, where they suspect Zaqari
is based.

Palestinian prisoners in N Israeli have rioted, pouring boiling oil
over a guard during the disturbance.

Addis.  A special adv to UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan has urged creditor
countries to forgive the debts of the world's poorest nations.  Prof
Sax has called on rich nations to forgive the $200 bn debt to
sub-Saharan African countries.  If the debts wasn't forgiven, he says
the countries should spend the money on helping their populations.  If
the choice was in servicing debt or saving the lives of mns of
starving children, there was no choice he told BBC.

9.30 pm
A car has exploded in Baghdad, destroyed 1 other car and a nearby
building.  No-one was injured.

London. Tony Blair has FINALLY admitted chem and bio weapons in Iraq
may never be found.  He said the absence of WMD did not mean Saddam
did not pose a threat to the region or the world at the start of GWII.
He said the weapons may have been moved, hidden or destroyed.  [Or
never have existed, like the CIA was saying at the time].  Until now,
the PM had insisted the weapons existed, and had justified the
invasion, more than any other coal'n leader, on that basis.  Blair
told a Parliamentary committee it had become obvious to him at the
time there was a network of unstable states attempting to develop
WMD, and has a record of ignoring UN resolutions, and Iraq was a place
to take a stand on the issue.

10.30 pm
The FTSE is down 0.8%.  The AUD is trading around 71.72 US c.  Local
gold closed at $US398.35/oz.

Sen John Kerry has announced his VP running mate will be John
Edwards. The announcement was made in an email to supporters, sent
just a few mins ago. The official announcement is expected in a few hrs.

There are reports a US Marine being held hostage in Iraq may have been
freed.  The family of the hostage in Lebanon say they've been visited
by someone with reliable info.

11 pm
Total says it's stopping oil and gas prod'n in Nigeria because its
staff is threatening to strike.  The company produces 10% of Nigeria's oil.

11.05 pm
Pittsburgh, PA.  John Kerry is making the formal announcement of his
VP running mate.  The crowd of 400-500 seems to like the choice of Sen
John Edwards.  Well... neither of them is George Bush.  Someone must have
known ahead of time. People in the crowd are holding "Kerry/Edwards" signs.
}}

----------------------------------------
Wed, 07 Jul 2004.

Iraq, Nigeria outages push oil higher
London (Reuters).  Oil prices set new one-m highs on Tue as output
disruptions in Iraq and Nigeria heightened fears over supply security
and added momentum to a wk-long rally.
US light crude climbed $1.07 to $39.46/bbl, after touching $39.70, as
weekend pipeline sabotage that cut Iraqi oil exports almost in half
and a stoppage in Nigeria combined to heighten fears over supply.
London Brent crude rose 76 cents to $37.06/bbl.
US oil has gained almost 4 dollars since last Tue after markets interpreted
comments by Saudi Arabian Oil Min Ali al-Naimi's that oil prices were
"fair" as a sign that OPEC saw no need to push prices lower with more supply.
Other OPEC members have said they were happy with prices, prompting
speculation that the group may refrain from rubber-stamping a
pre-planned 500,000 barrel per day output quota increase for Aug at
its next meeting, on Jul 21. Although extra OPEC oil, mostly from
Saudi Arabia, has brought the market down from its early Jun peaks,
when NY futures reached a record $42.45/bbl, fears remain over the
security of supply at a time when production capacity is stretched to
meet strong demand growth.
Bulls received a boost on Tue when French oil major Total said it had
declared a force majeure on 225,000 bpd of Nigerian exports following
a union protest.
The fields had been shut in since Fri, and had reopened briefly on Mon
before white collar union PENGASSAN called again for a halt. Total
said it could not say when production might restart, but that it
planned to meet union leaders later on Tue.
On Mon, PENGASSAN issued ExxonMobil's Nigerian subsidiary with a
21-day ultimatum to meet pay demands or face a strike.
With Iraq still suffering from sabotage attacks and with traders
fearing supply disruptions at Russian oil giant Yukos, analysts said
US oil could easily top $40 again.
"We could well test the highs again," said Edward Meir at brokerage
Man Energy. "We are seeing these incidents just hitting the supply
situation, and who knows, that could keep going on."
Iraqi exports were running at about one mn bpd on Tue, down from about
1.8 mn before attackers bombed a pipeline running to 2 S oil terminals
and another linking oilfields in the N and S.
An official said exports could recover as soon as Wed after testing,
now that repairs are completed.
Traders also are worried that Russia's biggest produce r, Yukos, may
have to cut some of its crude and refined products exports, as it
struggles to fund operations with its bank accounts frozen.
Yukos, teetering on the brink of bankruptcy with almost $7 bn in tax
arrears, pumps 1.7 mn bpd and exports more than 70% of output in the
form of crude or oil products, representing more than one-fifth of
Russia's total production and exports.

Air Canada reports passenger traffic up 13.6% in Jun
Montreal (CP).  Air Canada reported a 13.6 increase in passenger
traffic in Jun compared to the same m a y ago when the troubled
airline was still struggling with the aftermath of the SARS crisis,
which affected travel to its major base in Toronto as well as to Asian
cities it serves.
The Montreal-based airline said Tue its main line flew 3.72 bn revenue
passenger miles -- the number of paid-for seats multiplied by the
distance they flew -- in Jun compared with the prev y. At the same
time it increased overall capacity by 9.7%.  Air Canada's load factor
-- the proportion of seats that were filled -- increased to 79.4%, up
from 76.7% for the 2003 period.
In the domestic market, capacity decreased by 0.3% while traffic rose
by 7.6% resulting in a domestic load factor of 78.1%, up from 72.4% a y ago.
The airline, Canada's largest, has been operating under court-protection
from creditors since Apr 2003. It expects emerge from court protection
in Sep as a smaller airline with lower labour costs, reduced debt and
a smaller fleet that will be still have more planes than either
WestJet or Jetsgo.
"This 3rd consecutive m of record system load factors is a clear
indication that our commercial strategy is paying off," Montie Brewer,
Air Canada's executive vice-president, commercial, said in a statement.
"Our continued strong performance in the highly competitive domestic market
reflects positive consumer response to Air Canada's new fare products
which allow customers to choose the fare that best suits their needs."
Traffic at Jazz, Air Canada's regional airline subsidiary, flew 4.7%
more revenue passenger miles in Jun 2004 than in Jun 2003.
Capacity decreased by 0.4%, resulting in a load factor of 67.8%,
compared to 64.5% in Jun 2003.
Air Canada has been operating under protection from creditors under
the fed Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act since Apr 1 last y.

Higher oil dampens markets
Oil supply shortages spook traders.
NY/Sydney.  There has been an overnight surge in world prices for
crude oil.
Oil futures in NY have jumped more than $US1/bbl to their highest
level in a m.
An industrial dispute in Nigeria has again halted production.
At the same time, Iraqi exports were halved at the weekend after an
attack on a key pipeline.
There are also concerns about supplies out of Russia, with the leading
producer, Yukos, battling to stay afloat with its bank accounts frozen
in a dispute over unpaid tax.
A short time ago, W Texas crude was sitting at $US39.56/bbl.
In London, N Sea Brent has risen more than 2% to $37.18/bbl.
The oil price move has been one of the factors weighing on American
equity markets as they have re-opened after the Independence Day holiday.
A series of profit warnings from technology companies has also
unsettled investors.
Lehman Brothers has trimmed its forecast for Intel's third-quarter
earnings and lowered its rating on a number of other tech stocks.
On the economic front, there has been a disappointing measure of
activity in the US services sector.
Although the Institute for Supply Management's latest survey shows it
growing for a 15th consecutive month, the pace of growth has dropped
off reasonably sharply.
On the NY Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones industrial average has closed
63-points lower at 10,219.
There has been a slump of 2.2% on the high-tech Nasdaq market.
The Nasdaq composite index has dropped 43-points to 1,963.
The Brit share market has also been in decline led lower by the
financial sector.
London's FT-100 index is down 33-points at 4,371, its weakest finish
since Mar.
The Aussie market yesterday moved back into record territory.
The resources sector was the engine as the market attained new highs.
The All Ords added 17-points to 3,551.5.
The Aussie dollar has been in retreat overnight.
A short time ago, it was being quoted at 71.35 US cents, down almost
one-third of a cent on yesterday's local close.
On the cross-rates, it is at 0.5809 euros; 78.16 Japanese yen; 38.75
pence sterling and against the NZ dollar it is at 1.099.
The gold price is at $US392.15/oz.

Oil rise to up petrol price
Supply fears have spooked oil markets.
Sydney.  Supply concerns in 3 of the world's key oil producers have
sent crude prices surging back up towards $US40/bbl.  Aussie motorists
have been warned to brace for higher petrol prices as a result.
Insight Consulting's Marina Williams-Wynn says a rise in Aussie pump
prices is inevitable.  "Either exceeding or getting very close to the
$1 mark as the oil price spikes," he said.  On the New York Mercantile
Exchange, W Texas crude futures have jumped to their highest level in
a month, now at $US39.56/bbl.  Production has been halted again in
Nigeria as industrial conflict flares.  In Russia, there are ongoing
concerns as the leading producer, Yukos, faces financial collapse
because of a $3 bn plus tax bill and its bank accounts have been
frozen.  In Iraq, a weekend attack on a key pipeline has severely
curtailed exports.

AIDS becomes "disease of women" as worldwide spread accelerates
Women are now on the front line, so our strategy for fighting AIDS
must change.
UN (Independent).  The worst epidemic in human history is spreading
round the world at an accelerating rate and is increasingly affecting women.
Latest figures show that 4.8 mn people became infected with HIV last
year -- the highest number in any y since the AIDS epidemic began. The
total living with HIV/AIDS rose to 37.8 mn and there were 2.9 mn deaths.
Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, which published its 4th
biennial report on the disease yesterday, said AIDS was becoming "more
and more a disease of women". Having largely affected men in its early
stages, the proportion of women infected had risen to almost 50%
globally and to 57% in sub-Saharan Africa.
In every country of the world, from N and S America to Eastern Europe
and Central Asia, the proportion of women infected is growing. The
200-page report highlights the "feminisation" of the epidemic, which
it says presents a major challenge to policy makers.
Dr Piot said HIV/AIDS started as a disease of gay men in the West, men
who visited prostitutes in Africa and injecting drug users in Russia
and the Far East, who were also chiefly male. But as the course of the
epidemic lengthened from y into decades there had been a gradual
build-up of infections in women.
Among people aged 15 to 24 in S Africa, twice as many women and girls
are infected as men. Women are more biologically susceptible than men,
because they are exposed to a larger dose of virus during sex, and
their first sexual experience -- often non-consensual -- is likely to
be with a man 5 to 15 y older, who may already be infected, Dr Piot said.
"That is what is really driving the epidemic in S Africa," he added.
"If sexual intercourse started between boys and girls of the same age
the epidemic would die out."
One of the main planks of the AIDS prevention strategy -- the ABC
message [Abstain, Be faithful or use a Condom] -- would have to be
re-thought because it was "pretty irrelevant" for many young girls and
women, he said. "We have got to revisit some of our prevention
strategies. When sex is violent and non-consensual, abstention is not
an option for women.
Fidelity has to apply to both sides, and asking for a condom when you
are married is difficult in any culture."
Dr Piot said the strategy had to be focused on changing the behaviour
of men while relying on technology -- especially the development of
microbicides -- to protect women. "In order to make sure women become
less infected we have to target men. That is fundamental. We have got
to have long-range efforts to change the norms in society," he said.
Efforts to develop microbicides -- creams placed in the vagina before
intercourse which would kill the HIV virus -- had reached the trial
stage, he said, and held out greater promise for protecting women than
an AIDS vaccine.
"That would dramatically change the course of the epidemic like the
contraceptive pill did for birth control," he said.
He added that efforts to empower women by improving their educational
opportunities and social position were also essential, and where to
place the focus of prevention efforts was an area of continuing debate.
The report, released a wk before the opening of the Internat'l AIDS
conference in Bangkok on 11 Jul, highlights the growth of the
epidemic in Asia, which now accounts for almost one in 4 of all new
infections in the world.
The fastest-growing epidemic is in Eastern Europe, where it is driven
by the use of injectable illicit drugs. There has been a rapid growth
of women infected in the region. The age of those infected is also
low, with 80% under 30.
In W Europe and the US infections are also on the rise, but only 30%
are aged under 30.
Worldwide funding for HIV/AIDS has risen fifteen-fold in the past 7 y
and the numbers with access to anti-retroviral drugs has doubled.
But the numbers are still low, with only 7% of people in developing
countries on drug treatment.
Hilary Benn, Brit's Internat'l Development Secretary, announced #116m
new funding for UN agencies to tackle AIDS yesterday.
Dr Piot said there was some good news from sub-Saharan Africa, where
the epidemic is stabilising as the number of people becoming infected
is no longer outstripping the number dying. "There is a slowing down,
especially in E Africa," he said. "From Addis Ababa [in Ethiopia] to
Lilongwe [in Malawi], we are seeing a decline in new infections,
especially among young people."
The experience of Thailand showed that AIDS was "a problem with a
solution," he said. In 1991 there had been 140,000 new infections,
which had dropped to 21,000 last y. That had been due to the "massive
promotion of condoms and encouraging men to reduce their partners and
use of commercial sex workers".

Brando cremated in private LA ceremony
LA (AFP).  Late Hollywood legend Marlon Brando has been cremated in a
private ceremony in LA attended only by family, according to his long
time friend Jay Kanter.  "The funeral took place over the weekend in
LA," he said.  "Marlon was cremated in LA. Just family was present,"
he said of the arrangements that Brando himself had dictated before
his death.  Brando, hailed as one of the greatest actors in movie
history, died of lung failure at age 80.  Kanter, who was a friend of
Brando's for around 50 y, said he did not know what would become of
the reluctant star's ashes amid speculation that they may be sprinkled
on his private island in Tahiti.

Sudan decrees end to relief restrictions
Khartoum (Reuters).  The Sudanese Govt, under internat'l pressure to
help displaced people in the W region of Darfur, has ordered an end to
restrictions on the movement of relief organisations and imports of
relief supplies.
Int Min Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein, who has special responsibility
for Darfur, issued decrees on relief work just days after visits by
United States Secretary of State Colin Powell and UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan.
Easier access for aid to Darfur was one of the main demands Mr Powell
and Mr Annan made, along with more effort by the Govt to disarm Arab
militias known as Janjaweed, who have been driving non-Arab villagers
off their land in Darfur.
More than a mn people have fled their homes in Darfur because of the
conflict, most of them for fear of the Janjaweed.
About 200,000 have crossed the border into Chad.
"In order to guarantee the freedom of movement of all those working in
aid organisations, the decree directs all the apparatus of the state
to facilitate the entry visa procedure and lift all procedural, financial
and any other restrictions upon them," an official statement said.
A 2nd decree exempted all humanitarian goods from customs duty and
import restrictions.
Ben Parker, rep for the UN humanitarian coordinator for Sudan,
welcomed the decrees.
"It's good to hear of practical implementation of what we agreed and
signed on Sat. We hope this marks the beginning of bigger and more
effective relief operations throughout Darfur," he said.
Mr Powell said last wk the UN Sec Council might have to pass a
resolution on Darfur if Khartoum did not act fast.
Mr Hussein, a general who is Pres Omar Hassan al-Bashir's special
representative in Darfur, also decreed that police and army forces
should mobilise throughout Darfur and police should set up stations in
all camps for displaced people.
Sudanese Foreign Min Mustafa Osman Ismail said the Khartoum Govt had
already started disarming the Janjaweed militias.
Rebels in the remote region said the operation was a cover for
preparations for a new wave of ethnic cleansing.
They said a large Govt force was being mobilised in the regional capital.

Blair admits WMD may never be found in Iraq
London (Herald).  Tony Blair conceded yesterday that WMD may never be
found in Iraq, but he defiantly insisted that Saddam Hussein had been
a threat in WMD terms.
During his twice-yearly appearance before the House of Commons liaison
committee of snr MPs, the PM accepted that there was little point
insisting that the arsenal of weapons would be found, since they had
not yet been found.
However, he was equally sure that the weapons had been there and could
have been hidden, removed or destroyed.
He said: "What I have to accept is that I was very, very confident
that we would find them. I was very confident when I spoke to you this
time last y that the Iraq Survey Group would find them. I have to
accept that we have not found them -- that we may not find them."
Mr Blair was speaking against a backdrop of speculation about the
Butler inquiry into the use of intel in the run-up to the Iraq war,
which is due to publish its findings next Wed.
Lord Butler is expected to criticise the role played by the intel
agencies, but the PM has warned against believing that Saddam never
held WMD.
In Iraq yesterday, a previously unknown militant group threatened to
kill Abu Musab al Zarqawi a day after US-led coalition forces launched
an air strike on a suspected safe house used by followers of the
Jordanian militant in Fallujah. The attack killed 15 people, witnesses said.
In a video sent to the al Arabiya TV station, a rep for the "Salvation
Movement" questioned how al Zarqawi could use Islam to justify
assassinations, kidnappings and the killing of the innocent.
A man on the video said: "He must leave Iraq immediately, he and his
followers and everyone who gives shelter to him. We swear to Allah
that we have started preparing . . . to capture him and his allies, or
kill them and present them as a gift to our people."
At Westminster, as the MPs grilled the PM, hoping for some admission
of error, Mr Blair argued: "I do not believe there was not a threat in
relation to WMD.
"Whether they were hidden, removed or destroyed, he was in clear
breach of UN resolutions. I genuinely believe that those weapons were
there and that is why the internat'l community came together as they did."
Later, the PM told BBC Radio that he continued to believe the war in Iraq
was necessary. In a pre-recorded interview with DJ Steve Wright, he said:
"I do believe it was necessary. I think, even if the nature of the
threat turns out to be different in one respect or another respect
than the nature of the threat that we thought of at the time, none the
less I don't think there is any doubt that Saddam was a threat.
"If he had continued in power, I have got no doubt at all he would
have ended up once again, as he had before, menacing his region and
the wider world. And I think the world is a better and safer place
without Saddam."
Charles Kennedy, the LibDem leader, said Mr Blair was making himself
look silly by his refusal to accept that Iraq did not have WMD.
Michael Ancram, the shadow foreign secretary, said: "In the run-up to
war, Tony Blair was quite clear about the threat posed by Iraq. As
military operations commenced, he made clear the reason for going to
war was to remove Saddam Hussein from power and disarm Iraq of its
WMD. If all these remarks were honestly meant, then the PM now owes
the country a full explanation."

Blair finally admits it: "We may never find WMD"
London (Independent).  Tony Blair admitted for the 1st time yesterday
that weapons of mass destruction may never be found in Iraq and, in a
remarkable U-turn, even suggested that Saddam Hussein may have
destroyed his arsenal.
The PM, who has previously dismissed the idea that Saddam's weapons
had been destroyed as "palpably absurd", told a committee of MPs:
"I have to accept we have not found them and we may not find them. He
may have removed or hidden or even destroyed those weapons. We don't know."
Mr Blair finally made his admission after insisting since last y's
conflict that weapons would eventually be discovered and that the
pre-war intel was right. But he rejected growing demands for him to
"say sorry" over the Iraq war and insisted it was right to remove
Saddam, describing him as an "evil person" and a "tyrant" that the
world was well rid of.
His move was seen at Westminster as a pre-emptive strike before the
publication a wk today of the Butler report into Brit's pre-war intel,
which is expected to criticise the security services and the use by
the Govt of the material they provided. Mr Blair is expected to admit
that mistakes were made -- but to defend the decision to topple Saddam.
During a 2-and-1/2 hr interrogation by the Commons Liaison Committee
yesterday, Mr Blair was asked whether it was a mistake to put so much
emphasis on WMD rather than regime change before the war. He replied:
"I say it is very important not to go to the other extreme and say:
'Because we have not found actual stockpiles of WMD, therefore he was
not a threat.' " Insisting Saddam was in breach of UN resolutions, he
said: "I was very, very confident we would find [WMD]." He added: "I
genuinely believe that those weapons were there and that is why the
internat'l community came together as they did."
In America, it emerged that a senate inquiry had uncovered evidence
that the CIA was told by relatives of Iraqi scientists before the war
that Baghdad's weapons programmes had been abandoned. But the CIA
failed to pass the info to Pres George Bush, according to officials.
The existence of a secret pre-war CIA operation to debrief relatives
of Iraqi scientists has been uncovered by the Senate Select Committee
on Intel. The panel has been investigating the govt's handling of
pre-war intel on Iraq's unconventional weapons and it plans to issue a
wide-ranging report this wk on the 1st phase of its inquiry.
It is expected to contain a scathing indictment of the CIA and its
leaders for failing to recognise that the evidence they had collected
did not justify their assessment that Saddam had illicit weapons.
Mr Blair's remarks were welcomed by some Labour MPs but did not go far
enough for his anti-war critics. Charles Kennedy, the leader of the
Liberal Democrats, said: "The PM diminishes himself and his office by
not acknowledging what everyone else accepts, which is that there was
no serious threat from WMD in Iraq.
"When Jeremy Greenstock [the former Brit envoy to Iraq] is prepared to
appear on television and frankly admit this, the PM just looks
silly. It's time he came to terms with the reality."
Michael Ancram, the shadow For Sec, said: "In the run-up to war, Tony
Blair was quite clear about the threat posed by Iraq. As military
operations commenced, he made clear the reason for going to war was
'to remove Saddam Hussein from power, and disarm Iraq of its weapons
of mass destruction'. If all of these remarks were honestly meant,
then the Prime Min now owes the country a full explanation."
Mr Blair told yesterday's hearing that Brit did not have the
"machinery" in place to ensure that the remaining Brit detainees at
Guantanamo Bay would not pose a security threat if they were released.
He confirmed that he had raised their cases with Pres Bush recently,
but did not believe the US was being "unreasonable" in holding on to
them until Brit could give assurances they would not be a security threat.
The PM defended the close relationship he has with Pres Bush, saying
other countries would "give their eye teeth" for it.
* DOCUMENTING THE UNDOCUMENTED BLAIR RETREAT:
[Not a Greig Ebeling, but it will have to do...]
The intel is clear: [Saddam] continues to believe his WMD programme is
essential both for internal repression and for external aggression.
-- Brit PM Tony Blair, 25 Feb 2003
We are asked to accept that, contrary to all intel, Saddam decided to
destroy those weapons. I say that such a claim is palpably absurd.
-- Brit PM Tony Blair, 18 Mar 2003
I don't concede at all that the intel was wrong. I have no doubt at
all that we will find evidence of WMD programmes.
-- Brit PM Tony Blair, 8 Jul 2003
I have to accept that we have not found them and we may not find
them. He [Saddam] may have removed or hidden or even destroyed those weapons.
-- Brit PM Tony Blair, 6 Jul 2004

Hill hails radar system
Canberra (AAP).  Trials of the Aussie Jindalee over-the-horizon-radar
showed it could detect ballistic missiles being launched [farmer AND
technology expert -- does this guy know no bounds?], Defence Min
Robert Hill said.
Sen Hill, who signs a memorandum of understanding committing AUS to
work with the US on missile defence research, said the Jindalee trials
demonstrated the potential for early detection of missile launches.
He said the latest trials, led by the Defence Science and Technology
Organisation, were conducted in Apr around Darwin in the presence of
US officials.
"Although the report on this research is still being finalised, the
trials demonstrated the feasibility of applying JORN [the Jindalee
over-the-horizon-radar network] to missile defence," he said in a statement.
"The research examined whether AUS's over the horizon radar technology
could improve the detection of ballistic missiles during the early
boost phase, therefore allowing earlier interception."
Sen Hill said this was precisely the sort of work the Govt envisaged
when committing to the missile defence program.
He said there was no immediate threat to AUS from ballistic missiles
but this collaborative work put AUS and its scientists at the
forefront of leading edge research and development.
Existing missile detection systems depend on satellite based systems
which detect the infra-red plume of a missile launch. But that may not
always detect the missile until it breaks cloud cover.
Sen Hill said the latest trials were aimed not only at detecting the
target but also whether additional and more accurate info about the
missile trajectory could be obtained using multiple receiving systems.
For convenience the Darwin trials used an aircraft as a target rather
than a missile.
Sen Hill said missiles were a more demanding target than an aircraft
in level flight and a further trial of the technology was proposed for
later this y using missile launches from a test range in the US.
Subsequent work would investigate the automatic detection and tracking
of the missile signatures and the fusion of this info with info from
other sources.
AUS and the US will decide whether to develop these promising
beginnings into a joint research project, he said.
This work is an extension of a research project launched in 1995 to
determine whether the Jindalee radar system could detect an actual
missile launch.
Called Dundee, that project culminated with the launch of 4 surplus US
rockets from a range on the NW WA coast in late 1997.

Hill claims "son of star wars" success
Canberra (ABC/Reuters).  Fed Defence Min Robert Hill says preliminary
trials of AUS's over-the-horizon radar technology, nr Darwin, have
successfully detected a target.
Sen Hill made the announcement on the eve of talks in Washington,
where he will sign a joint Memorandum of Understanding that provides a
25-y framework for Aussie-US co-operation on missile defence, known as
"son of star wars".
He says the trials examined the potential of high frequency radar to
improve the detection of ballistic missiles at launch.
The trials were conducted during Apr.
Sen Hill says the Darwin trials used an aircraft as a target rather
than a missile.
He says further tests of the technology are planned for later this y,
using missile launches from a test range in the US as targets.
Earlier he defended plans to help the US missile system although AUS
faces no current threat from ballistic missiles.
"From an Aussie perspective, we are looking well into the future. We
don't have any threat against us from ballistic missiles at this
time. But the day might come when we have," Sen Hill said.
The initial US system, costing more than $US50 bn over the next 5
years, is designed to shoot down any inbound N Korean ballistic
missiles that could be fitted with nuclear, chemical or biological warheads.
Sen Hill is also expected to sign agreements for a joint training
base, which is likely to be based nr Darwin or Townsville, and to
improve "inter-operability" between the 2 militaries.

US secretly removed Iraqi nuclear materials -- official
The US and Brit launched their war against Iraq in Mar 2003 on the
basis that Saddam possessed WMD stockpiles.
Washington (AFP).  The US has secretly removed more than 1.7 tonnes of
enriched uranium and other radioactive materials from Iraq that could
potentially be used to manufacture a "dirty" radiological bomb or
support a nuclear weapons program, according to the US Govt.
The move came ahead of the Jun 28 hand over of power from the US-led
coalition of occupying powers to Iraq's interim Govt now formally charged
with running the country while trying stamp out an escalating insurgency.
The announcement follows an admission by Brit PM Tony Blair, in a
significant change of stance, that he now accepts weapons of mass
destruction (WMD) might never be found in Iraq.
The US and Brit launched their war against Iraq in Mar 2003 on the
basis that Saddam possessed WMD stockpiles.
The operation, which took place last m, involved 20 US nuclear experts
from the US Energy Dept's secret laboratories as well as an
undisclosed number of US troops.
"This operation was a major achievement for the Bush Admin's goal to
keep potentially dangerous nuclear materials out of the hands of
terrorists," Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said in a statement.
"It also puts this material out of reach for countries that may seek
to develop their own nuclear weapons."
Working at Iraq's former nuclear complex, the team packaged the low-enriched
uranium and roughly 1,000 other highly radioactive devices, loaded
them on a military plane and flew to the US on Jun 23 The enriched
uranium will be stored temporarily at an undisclosed Dept of Energy
facility, while the devices will be further examined at a US Govt
laboratory, officials said.
The dept said the operation was consistent with "relevant United
Nations Sec Council resolutions" and aimed to "ensure the safety and
security of the Iraqi people".
Radiological sources that could be used for medical, agricultural or
industrial purposes have been repackaged but have not been removed,
the officials said.
The Internat'l Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iraqi officials were
briefed in advance about US plans.
IAEA rep Mark Gwozdecky said the agency had sent a letter to the UN
Sec Council notifying it of the removal.
The nuclear research complex at al-Tuwaitha, SE of Baghdad, played a
key role in an Iraqi drive to illicitly build nuclear weapons prior to
the 1991 Gulf War.
It was dismantled in the early 1990s under UN ceasefire resolutions
ordering Iraq to abandon its quest for WMD.
The Jun 28 transfer of power has made it the responsibility of the
Iraqi Ministry of Science and Technology.

Pilot slammed over "friendly fire"
[Wrist slap -- it was only friendly fire, after all].
Barksdale AFB, LA (AP).  A US fighter pilot who mistakenly bombed
Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan in 2002, killing 4, was found
guilty of dereliction of duty and was reprimanded and docked a month's
pay, or nearly $5,700.
Maj Harry Schmidt, 38, "acted shamefully" during the episode,
"exhibiting arrogance and a lack of flight discipline," Air Force Lt
Gen Bruce Carlson wrote in the reprimand.
Schmidt, a former instructor at the Navy's "Top Gun" fighter pilot
school, had blamed the bombing on the "fog of war," saying he mistook
the Canadians' gunfire for an attack by Taliban forces. He said his
superiors never told him that the Canadians would be conducting
live-fire exercises nr Kandahar airport that night.
He was originally charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault,
but the charges were reduced last y to dereliction of duty.
His mission cmdr, Maj William Umbach, who was in a 2nd F-16, also was
charged with assault and manslaughter. However, those charges were
dismissed last summer and he was reprimanded for "leadership failures"
and allowed to retire.
The case against the 2 Illinois Nat'l Guardsmen has been closely
watched in Canada, where many were outraged by the bombing and the 2
days it took Pres George W Bush to publicly apologise.
The 4 soldiers who died were the 1st Canadians killed in combat since
the Korean War.
8 others were wounded.
Schmidt was found guilty after a closed, non-judicial hearing held
last wk at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. The Air Force had
announced last m that it would not court-martial Schmidt; he could have
received a sentence of up to 6 m in prison if convicted at a court-martial.
Schmidt remains in the Air Nat'l Guard but has agreed never to fly Air
Force jets again.
In videotape of the mission taken from Schmidt's F-16, he can be heard
telling air controllers that he and his mission cmdr were under attack
and requesting permission to open fire with his 20 mm cannon.
"Hold fire," an air controller responded.
4 seconds later, Schmidt said: "It looks like a piece of artillery
firing at us. I'm rolling in, in self-defence."
He released a 225-kg, laser-guided bomb 39 seconds after the "hold
fire" order.

India will not send troops to Iraq: foreign minister
[If it'd been AUSTRALIA -- this would be a "disaster"].
Deli (AFP).  India will not send troops to Iraq but will help in
humanitarian and rehabilitation work, including training Iraqi oil
industry personnel, FM Natwar Singh told parliament on Tue.
Last m after a meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell in
Washington, Mr Singh had said India could take a fresh look at sending
troops following the hand over of power to an interim Iraqi Admin.
When that statement drew criticism from opp'n parties and communist
allies supporting ruling Congress party, the foreign minister said there
was "no reconsideration" of India's decision not to send troops to Iraq.
The question of sending troops to Iraq does not not arise," he was
quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency.
"Even if asked, India will not send its troops... I am saying it in
black and white," he said.
India's previous Hindu nat'list govt, which was ousted by Congress in
recent elections, had opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq and turned
down US requests to send troops to Iraq without a clear UN mandate.

39 soldiers in Nevada being recalled to active duty for Iraq
Las Vegas (AP/LV Sun). Up to 39 soldiers in Nevada are among 5,600
nationwide being recalled to active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan, an
Army rep said Tue.
Most of the Individual Ready Reserve members due to begin receiving
notification this wk recently left the Army as truck drivers,
mechanics, supply clerks, administrative clerks or combat engineers.
They will be kept on active duty for at least 18 m but not longer than
2 y, said Andrea Wales, a rep for the US Army Human Resources Command
in St Louis.
"The ones who are mostly targeted for this are people who used to be
active duty or reserve soldiers who recently got out and who have
these skills," Wales said.
Individual names and home-towns were not immediately available. Each
soldier will have 30 days to report after being notified.
Most of the top 20 jobs to be filled are support-related, in fields
that also include food service, construction, petroleum supply and
engineering, Wales said.
Texas, NY and Florida have the largest numbers of soldiers who may be
recalled.
People in the IRR are different from those in the Nat'l Guard and
Reserve because they do not take part in regular training and are not paid
as reservists. They are eligible for recall because they have not finished
their reserve duty commitment.
This is the 1st large-scale use of former soldiers in the Individual
Ready Reserve since 1991.

Aussie tapped as UN military head in Iraq
Canberra (AFP).  An Aussie colonel has been tapped as the new UN
military advisor to the United Nations in Iraq, Defence Min Robert
Hill has announced.
Col Neil Thompson will replace a compatriot, Col Jeff Davie, as the
world body's snr military officer in Baghdad, charged with providing
military and security advice to the UN's Iraq envoy.
"Col Thompson's appointment is a clear demo of AUS's continuing
commitment and support for the UN during this critical phase of
establishing Iraqi sovereignty," Sen Hill said.
Col Thompson was awarded AUS's Conspicuous Service Cross for his work
in evacuating the injured after the deadly Bali bomb blasts in Oct 2002.
UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan is expected to announce his choice for Iraq
envoy soon.
New Zealander Ross Mountain, his acting envoy, is currently based in
neighbouring Jordan because of security concerns.
Security is a top priority for Mr Annan, who pulled all internat'l UN
staff out of Iraq last y after the bombing of the UN's Baghdad offices
on Aug 19, which killed 22 people.

Iraq zeroes in on Vietnam analogy
[Bush Admin reverses itself on another front].
Op/Ed (Consortium News).  For the past year, the Bush Admin has argued
that Iraq is not another Vietnam, which in some ways was true. In S
Vietnam, the US was propping up the Saigon govt, but the regime was
regarded as "sovereign." In Iraq, until Jun 28, the US was simply
occupying Iraq after eliminating the old govt.
The supposed step forward that occurred when the US granted
"sovereignty" to Iraq has now created a parallel closer to the Vietnam
War. As in S Vietnam, US forces in Iraq have the job of defending a
dependent govt that couldn't survive on its own.
There was even the feel of Vietnam-style desperation on Jun 28 when
former US administrator Paul Bremer pushed the "sovereignty" ceremony
2 days ahead of schedule to avoid an expected round of attacks and
then held the event behind the high walls of the US compound in
Baghdad. After messing up the news networks' pseudo-dramatic "countdown
to handover," Bremer rushed to the airport and flew out of the war zone.
The hasty transfer meant George W Bush missed out on the grand
"sovereignty" celebration that was originally envisioned. The Bush
Admin had to settle for the staged "historic" moment of Bush being
handed a note from nat'l security adviser Condoleezza Rice at the NATO
summit in Turkey, saying "Mr Pres, Iraq is sovereign." Bush scribbled
back, "Let freedom reign!"
The Admin and the US press corps played the scene as a genuine news
event, as if Bush was surprised and didn't really know that the
furtive ceremony in Baghdad had been moved up a couple of days. Under
that unlikely scenario, Bush dashed off his comment extemporaneously,
not as part of a prearranged scene.
Some critics have noted that the phrase normally is "let freedom
ring," but it could be that political adviser Karl Rove had decided to
alter the phrase slightly so it would seem fresher -- and then had to
make sure that Bush knew not to write, "Let freedom rain!"
* Fahrenheit 9/11
Whether intentional or not, the "Iraq is sovereign" note-passing also
represented a kind of cheesy counterpoint to the scene of Bush in the
Florida classroom on Sep 11, 2001, being told by chief of staff
Andrew Card that "the nation is under attack" -- after the second
aircraft hit the World Trade Center.
The real news event of Bush continuing to sit in the classroom for 7
minutes has finally been highlighted in Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit
9/11," a scene that is shocking to many Americans, in part, because
the nat'l news media had shielded them from the fact that Bush sat
frozen with no clue how a president should behave in a crisis. In the
do-over scene in Turkey on Jun 28, Bush is supposedly on top of his
game, dashing off a memorable one-liner and shaking hands with fellow
world leader, Brit PM Tony Blair.
Still, the larger reality in Iraq is that the "sovereignty" theatrics
have not improved the prospects for either the Iraqi people or the
140,000 US troops whose job it is to quell a nat'listic uprising by
killing young Iraqi fighters who -- for whatever their ideological
thinking -- want foreign troops off their nation's soil.
Bremer insists that the new govt will "exercise full sovereign
authority on behalf of the Iraqi people," but that power falls short
of anything resembling classical definitions of "sovereignty." Of
course, the concept of "sovereignty" has been abused before. During
World II, France and other occupied European countries technically
maintained their sovereignty under puppet regimes. During the Cold
War, the same was true for nations of Eastern Europe.
But the overriding fact for the Iraqis is that their country is still
controlled by a foreign military presence and governed by compliant
"leaders" who can function only under a strict set of external
rules. Not the least of these rules is that the foreign troops can
open fire on pretty much any Iraqi target with minimal requirements
for "consultation" with the new Iraqi officials.
Plus, while Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority may have ceased
to exist on Jun 28, its binding decrees will remain in place
indefinitely. The interim Iraqi govt also looks like a reshuffled
version of the disbanded "Governing Council," which was appointed by
Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority.
Then as now, the principal criterion for the Iraqi "leaders" is that
they be acceptable to the Bush Admin. Whether or not they have the
"sovereign" right to order out the 160,000 foreign troops, the
possibility is moot because the interim officials were selected
because they wouldn't order the foreign troops out of Iraq.
Ayad Allawi, the new Iraqi PM, is a former CIA operative who also has
worked for other foreign intel services. Beyond his history of
dependence on foreign money, Allawi allegedly engaged in some of the
same terrorist tactics to destabilise Saddam Hussein's govt that he is
now decrying when the tactics are used in an effort to overthrow his govt.
Several former intel officials say that during the early 1990s, Allawi
ran an anti-Saddam exile organisation that sent agents into Baghdad to
plant bombs and sabotage govt facilities under the direction of the
CIA. The NY Times reported that Allawi's group, the Iraqi Nat'l
Accord, used car bombs and other explosive devices smuggled into
Baghdad from N Iraq in attacks that resulted in many civilian casualties.
Ex-CIA officer Robert Baer, recalled that one bombing "blew up a
school bus" in which "school children were killed." [NYT, Jun 9, 2004]
But the NY Times disclosure has largely disappeared into the memory
hole, already. When US correspondents, such as NBC's Tom Brokaw, went
to Baghdad to interview Allawi, they furrowed their brows in asking
Allawi how he will contend with the inhuman brutality of Iraqi
"terrorists," but they tactfully avoided questioning Allawi about his
own use of terror tactics.
Through Allawi, the Bush Admin also expects to extend its control of
Iraq's internal security and foreign policy for years, even if a new
govt is elected next y. Under Bremer's orders, Allawi will have the
authority to choose Iraq's nat'l security adviser and a nat'l intel
chief, whose terms will last 5 y.
The prospects of an elected govt early next y also are growing
dicier. The promised Iraqi elections, already postponed until Jan
2005, may be postponed again due to the continuing violence, Allawi
said. [BBC, Jun 27, 2004]
* Geneva Rules
Though Iraq's new "sovereignty" may mean little in the day-to-day life
in Baghdad, Washington may see it as a way to avert requirements that
the Geneva Conventions impose on occupying forces.
By calling Iraq "sovereign," some of those responsibilities -- and
some of the blame for violations -- shifts to the new govt.
Bremer's announcement technically ending the occupation, therefore, is
reminiscent of assertions made after the invasion when Bush Admin
officials insisted the Americans were not occupying Iraq and therefore
didn't have to comply with the internat'l legal requirements of an
occupying power.
When the Internat'l Committee of the Red Cross warned in Apr 2003 that
US forces were violating the Geneva Conventions in failing to live up
to responsibilities as an occupation army, Brig Gen Vincent Brooks
replied, "Right now we're still a liberating force, and that's how
we're approaching our operations."
The Red Cross told the Admin that the concept of "a liberating force"
is not recognised in internat'l law. By the definitions of the Geneva
Conventions, a foreign power is an occupying power if it operates
"effective control" over a territory.
Now, by saying Iraq is "sovereign," Washington is again claiming not
to be an occupying power, even though its forces remain in effective control.
But several human rights organisations have noted that if the
occupation is officially over, there is no legal basis for the US to
continue detaining 1000s of Iraqis without charges. Amnesty Internat'l,
Human Rights Watch, and the Red Cross say that in order to be in
compliance with internat'l law, the US must either charge or release
the Iraqi prisoners currently being held.
"In the absence of an occupation or an internat'l conflict, no one can
be detained under internat'l humanitarian law without being charged
with a recognised crime," Human Rights Watch said.
Amnesty Internat'l goes even further and insists that the prisoners
must be immediately released. If the "occupation effectively ends with
the handover, then internat'l humanitarian law requires that all
prisoners of war, detainees and internees must be released by the
occupying powers," Amnesty said.
Yet, despite internat'l law and the Red Cross estimate that 70 to 90%
of the prisoners were rounded up by mistake, the US military has
announced that it will continue holding without charge the 4,000 to
5,000 Iraqis in its custody. Meanwhile, the Bush Admin is claiming
blanket immunity for US forces in Iraq, including immunity from
prosecution by Iraqi courts for killing Iraqis or destroying local property.
That was accomplished simply by extending Bremer's Order 17, which
grants all foreign personnel immunity from "local criminal, civil and
administrative jurisdiction and from any form of arrest or detention
other than by persons acting on behalf of their parent states." The
immunity is in effect until Iraq holds elections, whenever that may
be. [Reuters, Jun 28, 2004]
* Sovereignty?
The extension of immunity is only one of the limitations of
sovereignty that were instituted by the Coalition Provisional
Authority before it was dissolved on Jun 28.
In the lead-up to the "handover of power," Bremer issued a number of
edicts that placed constraints on Iraq's right to self-rule. The
Washington Post reported that Bremer issued 97 legal orders as of Jun
14, orders which are defined by the US occupation authority as
"binding instructions or directives to the Iraqi people." Since the
interim govt does not have the power to make laws, Bremer's declarations
will effectively serve as the law until a permanent govt is established.
Even if elections take place as scheduled, those election results also
may already be pre-ordained by another Bremer edict. He ordered an
election law that gives a 7-member commission the power to
disqualify political parties and any of the candidates they support.
Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman testified
to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Apr that "anti-American
candidates" might be blocked. "That's why we're going to have an
embassy there," he said. "It's going to have a lot of people and an
ambassador. We have to make our views known in the way that we do
around the world." [Washington Post, Apr 23, 2004]
Bremer also has appointed Iraqis hand-picked by his aides to
influential govt positions, installed inspectors-general for 5-y terms
in every ministry, and named a public-integrity commissioner who will
have the power to refer corrupt govt officials for prosecution. Bremer
even formed and filled commissions to regulate communications, public
broadcasting and securities markets.
Mahmoud Othman, a member of the recently dissolved Governing Council,
complained, "They have established a system to meddle in our affairs."
[Washington Post, Jun 27, 2004]
US officials have suggested that the purpose of the world's largest US
embassy will be to influence, if not dictate, official Iraqi
policy. At the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Grossman
was asked what the Bush Admin would do if the Iraqi govt pursues
policies "that are in contradiction to what American foreign policy
might be," such as forging closer ties with Iran or the Palestinian
Authority. Grossman intimated that those policies would not be
tolerated, which is "why we want to have an American ambassador in
Iraq." [Washington Post, Apr 23, 2004]
With extremely limited official powers, the new interim govt may be
even further handicapped in the face of an intensifying insurgency.
Hundreds have been killed over the past couple wk in targeted attacks
on Iraqi police stations, Army recruitment offices and other symbols
of the "new govt." As the LA Times put it, "Iraq's insurgent movement
is increasingly potent, riding a wave of anti-US nat'lism and
religious extremism."
The insurgency has grown increasingly effective over the past year,
and has made it clear that not only Americans but those seen as
collaborators are targets. The newly adopted practice of beheading
hostages and distributing the footage over the Internet may not be
making the insurgents many friends across the world, but it has proven
effective in solidifying global opinion against the war in general.
The recent beheading of a S Korean hostage sparked a wave of protest
in S Korea against the govt's participation in the war and its plans
to send additional troops. While the S Korean govt did not alter its
plans, the protests revealed widespread public opp'n and could serve
to reinvigorate the anti-war movement.
While the occupation's counter-insurgency attacks and the
anti-occupation resistance are becoming increasingly grisly, the
bigger story may be that the real nat'l uprising is yet to come.
The Iraqi people know that they have had success in expelling
colonialists in the past, particularly in their victory over the Brit
Empire in 1921. Many are eager for a replay of that triumph and --
having seen how the insurgents in Fallujah essentially expelled the US
Marines -- are confident they can do it. Some insurgents are
predicting a Fallujah-type uprising on a nat'l scale.
In comments made to W journalists before "sovereignty," several Iraqi
resistance fighters asserted that the "big battle" is yet to begin and
the "liberation of Baghdad" is near. Asia Times quoted one as saying,
"The Americans have prepared the war, we have prepared the
post-war. And the transfer of power on Jun 30 will not change
anything regarding our objectives. This new provisional govt appointed
by the Americans has no legitimacy in our eyes.  They are nothing but
puppets." [Asia Times, Jun, 25, 2004]
These statements could be dismissed as propaganda or bravado, but they
echo similar comments made m ago, which have turned out to have been
based in reality. In the early days of the insurgency, one resistance
fighter claimed, "We have many more people and we're a lot better
organised than the Americans realize. We have been preparing for this
for a long time, and we're much more patient than the Americans. We
have nowhere else to go." [Newsday, Jul 10, 2003]
* "Wars Are Unpredictable'
As the m have dragged on, and the violence has persisted, it appears
Washington may be belatedly coming to realize what a threat the
resistance poses. Deputy Def Sec Paul Wolfowitz testified to the House
Armed Services Committee that military planners might have underestimated
how persistent the anti-American forces would be even after the
leaders of Saddam Hussein's regime had been killed or captured,
conceding that the US may be in Iraq for several years. [NYT, Jun 22, 2004]
Def Sec Donald Rumsfeld told reporters that the situation in Iraq is
not what the Admin had hoped for prior to the invasion in 2003. "Wars
are unpredictable, and post-war recoveries are unpredictable,"
Rumsfeld said. [BBC, Jun 27, 2004]
But while acknowledging that fact now, he arrogantly rebuffed pre-war
advice warning the difficulty of subduing a resistance and rebuilding
a shattered nation.
When George W Bush took the nation to war in Iraq last y, there was
never any comprehensive explanation of what post-war Iraq would look
like and what the overall plan for "regime change" would be, beyond
the Admin's expectations of a "cakewalk."
Before the war, Consortiumnews.com was among the news outlets, citing
potential problems. One story in Feb 2003, a m before the invasion,
observed, "it is not clear how the US will police a population that is
certain to include anti-American radicals ready to employ suicide
bombings and other terror tactics against an occupying force." [See
Consortiumnews.com's "Iraq's 'Liberation Day.'"]
It is now obvious that Bush was overly optimistic about the outcome.
His Admin simply didn't prepare for establishing order immediately
after Saddam Hussein's govt was ousted and had no long-term strategy
to deal with a nat'listic uprising. As Knight-Ridder newspapers
reported almost a y ago, when the insurgency seriously began to take
root, the architects of the Iraq War "didn't develop any real post-war
plans because they believed that Iraqis would welcome US troops with
open arms and Washington could install a favoured Iraqi exile leader as
the country's leader."  [Miami Herald, Jul 12, 2003]
Still, the Bush Admin doesn't appear to have come to grips with how
fragile its predicament in Iraq is. It's lumbering ahead with its
plans of installing a favourable govt and establishing permanent military
bases. So far, its principal response to challenges in Iraq has been a
decision to send an additional 15,000 troops. [CNN, Jun 25, 2004]
* Vietnam
Besides sending more troops, the Admin doesn't seem to have any
workable strategy for defeating the insurgency. One likely strategy to
be tried will be the introduction of Iraqi govt paramilitary forces to
duplicate the kind of assassination programs that decimated the Viet
Cong infrastructure in Vietnam and wiped out almost a generation of
leftist dissidents in Central America. In the $87 bn package approved
by Congress last Nov, $3 bn was appropriated for a paramilitary unit
manned by militiamen associated with former Iraqi exile
groups. [American Prospect, Jan.  1, 2004]
According to a former US intel officer familiar with the plan, "It
could be expected to be fairly ruthless in dealing with the remnants
of Saddam." [Telegraph, Apr 1, 2004]
But while these paramilitary forces may kill some leaders of the
insurgency, they also are certain to kill many civilians, further
fuelling the resentment that is feeding the resistance.
If previous counterinsurgency campaigns are a guide, there is little
reason to think that the plan for Iraq will succeed in crushing the
Iraqi resistance any time in the nr future, if at all. Unlike in
Central America, there is no well-entrenched ruling elite backed by
loyal security forces.
Perhaps the closest comparison to the situation in Iraq is the Vietnam
War. In that conflict, the US was defending a fragile South Vietnamese
govt -- which was widely seen as a puppet of the US -- against a home-grown
insurgency that had previously fought occupiers from France and
Japan. The only way the Saigon govt could survive was with massive US support.
But as former Def Sec Robert McNamara and other architects of the war
now concede, they failed to understand the enemy and underestimated
the determination to expel the American forces. In Iraq, the
architects of the war assumed that the overwhelming military power of
the US, showcased by the "Shock and Awe" bombing campaign at the
start, would be enough to scare the Iraqis into submission.
* Few Accomplishments
Except for the three-wk military campaign to seize Baghdad, not much
has gone right. A new report by the Gen Accounting Office found that
in a number of ways Iraq is worse off now than before the US invasion,
including security, infrastructure and the functioning of the legal
system. 20 mn Iraqis are living with less electricity now than they
were before the invasion.
Also, there are doubts about the effectiveness of training Iraqi
security forces. The GAO noted that Iraq's new civil defence, police
and security units are suffering from mass desertions. On some
occasions, those trained and armed by the US have joined the insurgents
in battling the occupation forces. During the siege of Fallujah in
May, many of the US-recruited Iraqi security forces that were supposed
to help defeat the insurgents abandoned their posts or joined the militants.
The London Telegraph has reported that US-trained police officers and
units of Iraq's new army have formed a united front with Muslim
fundamentalists in Fallujah to fight the Americans. One Iraqi
Lt told the Telegraph that, "Resistance is stronger when you are
working with the occupation forces. That way you can learn their
weaknesses and attack at that point." [Telegraph, Jun 27, 2004]
Even the Admin's claim of "progress" in gaining NATO's agreement to
help train Iraqi forces may be less than meets the eye.
French Pres Jacques Chirac said he is firmly opposed to seeing the
NATO flag fly in Iraq. And, while NATO may be contributing to the
training of security units, the NATO member states are not offering
Washington any new military forces.
* Legal Status
The Bush Admin also has suffered defeats within the diplomatic
community. Washington was forced to withdraw a resolution before the
UN Sec Council that would have extended immunity for US forces from
the Internat'l Criminal Court.
The previous Sec Council resolution provided that no forces would be
under the court's jurisdiction if their nations had not ratified the
treaty creating the ICC, effectively granting the US blanket immunity
from the court. But the US exemption was set to expire on Jun 30. So
the Admin sought the 2-y extension.
However, facing unusually strong opp'n in the Sec Council and from UN
Sec-Gen Kofi Annan, the Bush Admin decided to withdraw its draft
resolution on Jun 23. Now, US forces could be subject to prosecution
in a variety of UN authorised operations.
Abuses such as those that took place in Abu Ghraib prison
theoretically could be prosecuted as war crimes, provided that the
American legal system is unwilling or unable to deal with the
perpetrators, as provided for in the Rome Statute of the Internat'l
Criminal Court. Still, Shantha Rau of the Coalition for the Internat'l
Criminal Court said the Bush Admin has little reason to fear Americans
facing prosecution. Even if the court has jurisdiction over the
Americans, it is unlikely to pursue a case against American forces,
with a glut of cases stemming from conflicts in Uganda and Angola.
Still, the failure to secure an exemption is in marked contrast to the
Bush Admin's position of a couple y ago when it appeared that the US
was forging a new world order in which all nations were expected bow
to American will. Since 9/11, the Admin has pursued a dogmatically
unilateral approach to internat'l relations, asserting US
exceptionalism and demanding that the US essentially be placed above
internat'l law.
In Sep 2002, the Admin issued a new Nat'l Security Strategy statement
that spelled out its doctrine of pre-emptive war and its goal of world
domination. The essential concept of the strategy was to deter,
through military pre-eminence, the possibility of any country or
alliance of countries to ever surpass or equal the power of the US.
To this end, the document argued, the US must adopt a policy of
pre-emptive regime change to remove actual or potential adversaries
and replace them with friendly regimes. The document complained that
"the major institutions of American nat'l security were designed in a
different era to meet different requirements," and so, "all of them
must be transformed."
Besides permanent US global dominance, the Whitehouse asserted the US
president possessed nr dictatorial powers. In a series of legal
memoranda, the Admin argued that neither domestic nor internat'l law
could apply to Bush's prosecution of the "war on terror."
In order to carry out his "cmdr in chief" authority, the Admin argued,
there could be no constraints on his actions.
In particular, they asserted, Geneva Conventions do not apply to the
US in this war, because the war on terror was not a war envisioned
when the Conventions were signed in 1949.
Going beyond theoretical legal arguments, George Bush actually signed
an order in Feb 2002, in which he stated, "I have the authority under
the Constitution to suspend Geneva." [AP, Jun 22, 2004]
Bush also used new definitions to grant himself exemptions from
internat'l law, such as the creation of a category called "enemy
combatants," who supposedly aren't covered by the Geneva Conventions
or US constitutional safeguards. [For details, see
Consortiumnews.com's "Bush's 'Apex' of Unlimited Power."]
* Internat'l Push-Back
But in the recent bilateral US-European Union declaration on Iraq, the
relevance of the rule of law was upheld and the Geneva Conventions,
particularly, were defended. "We stress the need for full respect of
the Geneva Conventions," the declaration read.
Along with the Sec Council's refusal to extend US immunity from the
ICC, it is apparent that the internat'l community is trying to rein in
the excesses that have become common place since Bush launched the war
on terror almost 3 y ago. The internat'l community appears to have
grown weary of the Bush Admin's unilateral declarations about which
internat'l laws apply and which ones don't.
The American political system also has taken some steps to limit
Bush's assertion of near-unlimited power. The US Supreme Court ruled
that detainees being held without charges as "enemy combatants" may
have access to US courts.
However, Bush's conservative base continues to bluster against the
idea of any constraints on US actions abroad. Right-wing Fox News
commentator Bill O'Reilly referred to Iraqis as a "prehistoric group"
and advocated that we "bomb the living daylights out of them."
Earlier, during the siege of Fallujah, O'Reilly used his radio program
to urge the military to "level" the city. "We know what the final
solution should be," he said, leaving listeners to wonder whether he
meant a nuclear strike.
Bush, too, has shown a tough-guy contempt for internat'l law.  When
asked once whether his decision to exclude anti-war nations from
reconstruction contracts was in compliance with internat'l law, Bush
sarcastically replied, "Internat'l law? I better call my lawyer."
How Bush will react if the situation in Iraq goes from bad to worse is
anybody's guess, especially if he succeeds in gaining a 2nd term in
the Whitehouse. Bush could interpret an electoral victory as a carte
blanche to seek "final solutions" not only in Iraq but within the US
political process.
But, in the meantime, Iraq is looking more and more like a Vietnam War
without the jungle, a nat'list struggle waged against foreign domination
while Washington rushes in more troops to prop up a tottering puppet regime.
* Back to front
Consortiumnews.com is a product of The Consortium for Independent
Journalism, Inc, a non-profit organisation that relies on donations
from its readers to produce these stories and keep alive this Web publication.
To contribute, click here. To contact CIJ, click here.

Yudhoyono confident ahead of 2nd round
Jakarta (ABC, Peter Cave).  As counting continues in Indonesia's
presidential elections, front runner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says he
is confident heading into a second round election in Sep.  It is still
unclear who his challenger will be.  Mr Yudhoyono will not gain the
50% plus one he needs to be elected outright so he will now go to a
run-off with whoever comes second.  He will face a much tougher battle
the 2nd time around and says he will have to conduct a much more
effective campaign and communicate better with those who do not make
the 2nd round.  "Because for me, both Wiranto and Megawati has his or
her own strength and weakness, so in politics I have to be ready for
competing for the second round in the run-off," he said.

Republicans dismiss Kerry running mate
Washington (AFP).  Sen John McCain, who just a couple of wk ago was
being courted as a possible running mate for Democratic presidential
candidate John Kerry, is being touted as the latest weapon in the
Republican quest to reclaim the Whitehouse.
Pres George W Bush's re-election campaign unveiled an new ad called
First Choice stressing that while Sen Kerry might have picked N
Carolina Sen John Edwards as running mate amid great fanfare, he did
so only after failing to convince the conservative maverick Sen McCain
to defect.
"It's not a bad choice for his 2nd pick," Massachusetts Sen Mitt
Romney told CNN.
"His 1st choice, of course, was John McCain, but John McCain
disappointed him by supporting the Pres," said Sen Romney, a Republican.
The First Choice ad shows Sen McCain expressing support for Mr Bush's
"war on terror".
"America is under attack by depraved enemies who oppose our every
interest and hate every value we hold dear," Sen McCain says in the ad.
Mr Bush, he says "has not wavered, he has not flinched from the hard
choices. He was determined and remains determined to make this world a
better, safer, freer place."
Sen McCain and Sen Kerry, who are both Vietnam War veterans, consider
themselves close friends.
Sen McCain rebuffed repeated attempts by Sen Kerry, his colleague in the
US Senate, to join the Democratic ticket in the Nov 2 presidential election.
Top Republicans taunted the Kerry campaign, saying that in choosing
Sen Edwards, Sen Kerry was forced to settle for 2nd best.
"Given the fact that John Kerry had John McCain as his number one
pick, the fact that he's out there stumping for Pres Bush says volumes
about John Kerry and about Pres Bush," Sen Romney said.
"I think John McCain will always be a very prominent part of the
Republican Party, and will play a very prominent role in any campaign,
including the Pres's."

Iraq aided US raid on safe houses
[Signs of the old regime starting to re-surface].
Baghdad (IHT/AP).  US forces dropped 2 tons of bombs on a purported
militant safe house in Fallujah, killing at least 10 people, according
to officials, and turning the building into a 9-m-deep pit of
sand and rubble. Prime Min Iyad Allawi of Iraq issued a statement
later saying that his govt had provided intel to the US military for
the strike.
Elsewhere, the military announced Tue that 3 US marines assigned to
the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were killed while on duty in W Iraq.
2 died in action Mon in the Anbar Province, while a 3rd died of his
wounds later in the day. Their names were withheld pending
notification of their families.
The Fallujah attack on Mon was the 5th airstrike in the past 2 wk in
the area where the US military says there are safe houses used by
followers of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant.
The interim govt has been trying to determine how to deal with the
insurgents, and the airstrike came just hrs after it postponed an
announcement of new security laws.
Meanwhile, Iraq's vital oil exports were at nearly half their usual
level as workers struggled to repair a key pipeline that had been shut
down after looters broke into it, officials with the S Oil Co and
traders said Mon.
In Fallujah, about 45 kms, or 30 miles, W of Baghdad, rescue workers
picked up body parts after the US raid, witnesses said.
Men gathered around the deep pit where the house had stood and pulled
out clothes, including a young child's shirt, from the rubble.
"Is this acceptable to the Iraqi govt?" asked one angry man, who
declined to identify himself. "Where are human rights?"
Dr Diaa Jumaili of Fallujah Hospital said 10 bodies had arrived there,
although most were dismembered. Previous US airstrikes in Fallujah have
killed dozens of people.
The military said it had dropped 4 225-kg, or 500-pound, bombs and 2
larger bombs. The attack used guided weapons and underscored the
resolve of coalition and Iraqi forces "to jointly destroy terrorist
networks within Iraq," the military said.
Allawi has promised tough measures against the insurgents.
* Brit ambassador arrives
The 1st Brit ambassador to Iraq in more than a decade, Edward Chaplin,
arrived in Baghdad on Tue, Agence France-Presse reported from Baghdad.
"He got here this morning," said Vic Whitford, an embassy rep.
Brit's newly established embassy is in the highly fortified Green Zone
of the city.

Fresh bird flu outbreak in China
Beijing (ABC, John Taylor).  China has reported a fresh outbreak of
bird flu.  China's Ministry of Agriculture last night confirmed a new
outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in central Anhui province.  State
media reports authorities have started culling poultry within a
three-km radius of a chicken farm in Chaohu city.  China declared in
Mar it had stamped out the disease but warned it could spread as the
temperature rises and water birds migrate.  Migratory birds are being
blamed for the fresh outbreak.

Deadly bird flu resurfaces in SE Asia
Bangkok.  A strain of bird flu that is deadly to humans has resurfaced
in Thailand, while China and Vietnam authorities have also confirmed
the virus.  Thailand's Deputy Agriculture Min Newin Chitchob says the
deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has been confirmed in the province of
Ayuthaya and Prathumthani, close to the capital Bangkok.  The Govt has
ordered a mass cull of chickens in a 5-km radius around the affected
farms.  The same region was affected by a mass bird flu infection
earlier this year which triggered a nationwide cull of 10s of mn of
poultry.  Vietnam declared itself free of bird flu 3 m ago but
authorities in Hanoi say they are now trying to contain another
suspected outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain.

Bird flu case suspected in Thailand
Bangkok (AFP).  The Thai govt's hopes of declaring the country free of
bird flu was delivered a fresh blow with a new suspected case of the
virus that ravaged its poultry flocks earlier this y.
The authorities were anxiously awaiting the results of laboratory
tests but officials have sealed off a farm in the central Ayutthaya
province where some 7,000 of 44,000 chickens died.
Newin Chidchob, deputy minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives said
test results should be known in a few days but Thailand was
well-prepared to control any outbreak.
"I instructed the livestock development dept last night to strictly
control transportation of the poultry and impose restrictions not to
allow any outsider to visit the farm," Newin said.
The poultry farmer, Veera Sripramong, told local television he had
already been told that it was bird flu, but livestock officials
declined to confirm the outbreak.
Veera said he discovered some of his birds were developing the
symptoms of bird flu 2 wk ago.
"The authorities will come to destroy my birds today because they
confirmed it was bird flu," he said.
Thailand slaughtered at least 36 mn chickens and other poultry and
slapped quarantine regulations on affected zones earlier this y in an
effort to halt the spread of bird flu, which hit 41 of its 76 provinces.
At least 12 people were infected with the disease, of whom 8 died. The
4 others made a full recovery. The disease swept through 10 countries
in Asia and also killed 16 people in Vietnam.
Farming officials declined to comment on press reports that the
authorities were due to cull chickens at 5 farms around the latest
suspected case.
Newin said he had already notified Thailand's importers of cooked
chicken such as the EU, Japan, and S Korea.
The EU last wk extended a ban on importing fresh chickens from
Thailand and 9 other Asian nations from Aug to Dec to protect itself
against any possible spread of bird flu.
Thailand's last confirmed case was in May in the northern city of
Chiang Mai that officials said may have been accidentally triggered by
research on the disease.
Thailand, whose $bn poultry industry was devastated by the outbreak,
has planned several times to declare itself free of bird flu following
the initial wave of outbreaks in Jan but fresh cases have scuppered
the plans.

Hicks movie to premiere in Adel
Adelaide.  A movie about Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks, Pres
versus David Hicks, by award winning filmmaker Curtis Levy will be
screened in Adel tomorrow The S Aussie man has been held by the US for
more than 2 y at the prison camp and has been charged with conspiracy
to commit war crimes, attempted murder and aiding the enemy.  At the
Adel Festival in Mar this y, a play was performed depicting a day in
Hicks's life in captivity.  Mr Levy says his documentary explores
David Hicks's journey from a stockman and rodeo rider in SA, to his
imprisonment in Guantanamo Bay.  He says Hicks's experience is one of
the most remarkable and frightening stories to come out of the war
against terror.  "It's about an ordinary Aussie that gets involved in
events that are happening beyond his control," he said.

US took Habib from Pakistan: report
[Diplomats say Habib was "interrogated" in Egypt after US arrest].
Islamabad (AAP).  The Pakistani govt said the US requested Aussie
terror suspect Mamdouh Habib be taken to Egypt for interrogation,
where he was allegedly tortured.
SBS's Dateline program, to be aired tonight, will report the admission
by Pakistan's Interior Min Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat.
Habib, with Adel-born David Hicks, is one of 2 Aussies detained at
Guantanamo Bay in Cuba by the US as part of its war on terror
following the Sep 11 attacks in 2001.
The SYD Morning Herald said the Dateline program also contains an
interview with a former Qatari justice minister who says Mr Habib was
tortured and interrogated in Egypt "in a way in which a human cannot
stand up", to the point where Mr Habib would admit to anything.
Tarek Dherghoul, a Brit man who knew Habib at Guantanamo Bay and who
has since been freed, told the program: "[Habib] said something about
a dog being put on him as he was naked. Cigars put out on his body,
blindfolded."
US lawyer Steve Watts, from the Centre for Constitutional Right in NY,
claims the US routinely engages in a policy know as "rendition", which
he described as "state-sponsored abduction".
This is a process in which US authorities remove people to countries,
such as Egypt, where the use of torture as an interrogation technique
is allegedly commonplace.
Mr Watts said this was what had happened to Mr Habib.
Dateline sets out allegations about the treatment of Mr Habib,
beginning with his capture in Pakistan in Oct 2001 and his
interrogation there.
The AUS govt has confirmed he was interviewed 3 times by ASIO and
Aussie Fed Police in Pakistan.
Mr Habib was moved after 6 m from Egypt to Afghanistan and then to
Cuba in Apr 2002.
The SMH quoted a rep for A-G Philip Ruddock as saying that despite
ASIO's and the AFP's contact with Habib, AUS "had no role in his
transfer if he did go to Egypt".
["I knoh no-theenk, no-theenk!"].

US tortured Habib in Egypt: report
Aussie terror suspect Mamdouh Habib was allegedly tortured in Egypt
before being sent to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, according to Qatar's
former minister of justice, Dr Najeeb Al-Nauimi.
Doha.  SBS's Dateline program tonight explores allegations about the
treatment of Mr Habib, beginning with his capture and interrogation in
Pakistan in 2001.  It claims to have unearthed the mystery of what
happened to Mr Habib before he became one of the 2 Aussie citizens
being detained at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba by the US.  He has been held
there for over 2 y without trial.  The former Qatari justice minister
says Mr Habib was tortured and interrogated in Egypt "in a way in
which a human cannot stand up".  The use of torture as an
interrogation technique is allegedly commonplace in countries such as
Egypt.  Although the Aussie Govt has confirmed he was interviewed 3
times by ASIO and the Fed Police in Pakistan, a rep for A-G Philip
Ruddock says that AUS "had no role in his transfer if he did go to
Egypt," the SYD Morning Herald has reported.

Israel not involved in Iraq interrogations: US
[Note: qualified denial].
Baghdad (Reuters).  The US military has denied that Israel had been
involved in any interrogations of prisoners held in Iraq.
The comment came after a US Army Gen, once in charge of Iraq's Abu
Ghraib prison, said that she met an Israeli interrogator during her
time there, appearing to confirm speculation that Israel might have
helped the US-led coalition.
"I can definitely say that ... Israel has not been involved in
interrogations here in any way, to include providing interrogators,"
Army Lt Col Barry Johnson, a rep for the US detainee operations in
Iraq, said in an e-mail response to a query from Reuters.
Army Brig Gen Janis Karpinski, who was responsible for Iraqi prisons
at the time photographs were taken showing naked Iraqi detainees being
abused and sexually humiliated by the US military, told the BBC that
she met the Israeli at a Baghdad interrogation centre.
"He was clearly from the Middle East, and he said: 'Well I do some of
the interrogation here and of course I speak Arabic, but I'm not an
Arab. I'm from Israel,'" she told BBC radio.
The United States has long denied Israeli involvement in Iraq, an
issue that would likely anger the Arab world.
"My initial reaction was to laugh, because I thought maybe he was
joking, and I realised he was serious," said Brig Gen Karpinski, who
has been suspended from her command for failings at Abu Ghraib.
She has not been charged with any crime.
"He didn't elaborate any more than to say he was working with them,"
Brig Gen Karpinski said.

Zarqawi's brother-in-law arrested in Jordan: family
Amman (AFP).  Jordanian authorities have arrested a brother-in-law of
suspected Al Qaeda operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, following his
appearance in a documentary on Al Jazeera television, according to
family sources.
Saleh al-Hani, 38, was arrested at his home in Zarqa, NE of Amman, by
plainclothes policemen who gave no explanation for his arrest, the
sources told AFP.
Hani, who is married to one of Zarqawi's sisters, was seized just days
after he took part in a program aired on the Doha-based Arab satellite
news channel, the sources said.
A journalist, Hani contributed articles to Al-Jihad, a magazine
published in Afghanistan where he had 1st met Zarqawi before marrying
one of his 6 sisters, Hani told Al Jazeera.
TV correspondent Yasser Abu Hlale said Hani's remarks in the program
were biographical and not of a political nature.
The program also aired the 1st ever video pictures of Zarqawi.
The US last wk increased the reward for the capture of Zarqawi from
$US10 mn to $US25 mn, equal to the bounty on the head of Al Qaeda
chief Osama bin Laden.
US-led forces in Iraq have blamed Zarqawi for at least 25 attacks in
Iraq, including the Mar 2 suicide bombings in Karbala and Baghdad
that killed some 170 people, still the bloodiest day of the insurgency.
Zarqawi's 1st wife and their 4 children live in Jordan, where his
family also consists of 2 brothers. His mother died in Mar.
He spent around 8 y in jail in his native Jordan before being released
under a royal amnesty in 1999.
He had been sentenced to 15 y of hard labour in a case involving
membership of an Islamist group.
A m after his release he left for Afghanistan.
The family in Jordan has repeatedly said they have not seen him or
spoken to him on the telephone since.
His wife, Omm Mohammed, told the Jordanian newspaper Al-Dustour last
month that Zarqawi was "a friendly and good man" who could not kill
women and children.
One of his sisters told AFP on Mar 4: "He is innocent. It is impossible
for him to be linked with attacks that have any religious connotations".

Masked Iraqi group tells Zarqawi to leave or die
Baghdad (BBC).  In Iraq, a group previously unheard of has publicly
warned the Jordanian militant, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, to leave the
country or die.  The group, calling itself the Salvation Movement,
made the threat in a video broadcast on the al-Arabiya TV network.  A
number of men, holding weapons and with their faces covered, accused
Zarqawi of murdering innocent Iraqis and defiling the Muslim religion.
Zarqawi is believed to have strong links to Al Qaeda.  He has been
accused by the US of being behind a string of suicide bombings and the
beheading of an American and a S Korean hostage in Iraq.

Car bomb kills 9 at Iraqi funeral
Baghdad (ABC/Reuters, Geoff Thompson).  A car bomb attack in Iraq has
killed at least 9 people and injured 37 nr the restive town of Baquba
NE of Baghdad.  It is the worst such attack since the handover of
sovereignty to Iraq's new interim Govt on Jun 28.  In the 9 days
since the earlier-than-expected handover of sovereignty, there have
not been any of the spectacular attacks that many had predicted.  That
unexpected lull has now been brutally upset by a car bombing in
Khalis, 55 km NE of Baghdad.  The attack came as mourners gathered at
a house yesterday afternoon to pay their respects at the funeral of 2
Iraqi officials shot dead on Sun.  A suicide car bomber drove right
into the funeral gathering before his car exploded.  "The driver drove
towards tents set up for a memorial service," said Gen Walid Abdul
Salam, police chief of Diyala province, home to Khales and Baquba.
Baquba was the scene of street fighting and attacks in late Jun that
killed dozens of people, mostly Iraqi policemen and insurgents.

14 killed in car bombing in Baghdad
3 US Marines die in clashes.
Arab TV reports kidnapping of Egyptian truck driver.
Vigilante group threatens retaliation against al-Zarqawi.
Baghdad (AP/Baltimore Sun).  Insurgents detonated a car bomb Tue
outside a tent packed with 100s of Iraqis mourning victims of an
earlier attack, killing 14 people and wounding dozens.
Meanwhile, an insurgent group in Iraq said Wed it had kidnapped an
Egyptian truck driver and it released a video to the al-Jazeera TV
station showing the man.
The group, calling itself the "Iraqi Legitimate Resistance," said it
took the man, who identified himself as Alsayeid Mohammed Alsayeid
Algarabawi, captive in Iraq while he was driving a truck of fuel for
US forces from Saudi Arabia.
In the video, 4 armed members of the group stood armed with rifles
around Algarabawi, who was sitting holding his open passport to the camera.
The station did not say whether the group made any demands or
threatened to kill its captive. Al-Jazeera rep Jihad Ballout in Qatar
said the channel received the video Tue.
The car bomb blast left a yard-wide crater in the ground, set 5 cars
on fire and burned the tent in the central town of Khalis, the heart
of Iraq's orange-growing region. Dismembered corpses lay on the
floor. White plastic chairs where mourners had been sitting in orderly
rows were broken and twisted.
The bombing underscored insurgents' determination to carry out attacks
more than a wk after the US transferred power to an interim govt led
by PM Iyad Allawi.
However, for the 1st time, a vigilante group emerged threatening to
retaliate for the violence, which has often killed Iraqi civilians.
On Tue, a previously unknown group calling itself the "Salvation
Movement" threatened to kill Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian
Islamic radical accused in numerous attacks.
"This is the last warning. If you don't stop, we will do to you what
the coalition forces have failed to do," said a masked gunmen who
appeared in a video with 4 other militants.
A day earlier, US-led coalition forces launched an airstrike on a
suspected al-Zarqawi safe house in the militant stronghold of Fallujah.
The attack killed 15 people, witnesses said.
3 US Marines assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were
killed in W Iraq, the military said Tue. 2 died in action Mon in Anbar
province, while a 3rd died of his wounds Mon.
Also in Anbar, insurgents gunned down a son of the head of the city
council in Ramadi, 70 miles W of Baghdad. Hussein Amer Ali Suleiman,
18, was the younger son of Sheikh Amer Ali Suleiman, the head of
al-Dulaimi tribe -- the biggest in Anbar.
The bombing in Khalis, nr the city of Baquba, apparently targeted
local officials attending the wake for a victim of an attack Sun that
targeted the council's chairman and killed his brother. Hundreds of
mourners were drinking black coffee symbolising grief when the car
blew up within yards of the tent, said Maj Gen Walid Al-Azawi.
The governor of Diyala province, Abdullah al-Juburi, had just left the
wake when the blast went off. Guerrillas have been targeting local
officials and police throughout Iraq because they are seen as collaborators
with Americans.
Violence has rocked Baquba, 35 miles NE of Baghdad, in recent
weeks. US 1ID soldiers hammered insurgents who tried to seize govt
buildings and police stations only days before the Jun 28 power handover.
Some of those assaults were blamed on al-Zarqawi's network, which
launched a series of car bombings before the handover that killed
nearly 100 people, many of them civilians. His followers have also
claimed responsibility for the beheading of American Nicholas Berg and
S Korean Kim Sun-il.
In a videotape sent to Al-Arabiya television Tue, the "Salvation
Movement" questioned how al-Zarqawi could use Islam to justify
assassinations, kidnappings and the killings of innocents.
"He must leave Iraq immediately, he and his followers and everyone who
gives shelter to him and his criminal actions," said a man on the
video, speaking in an Iraqi accent.
"We swear to Allah that we have started preparing ... to capture him
and his allies or kill them and present them as gift to our people,"
the man said.
The speaker stood alongside 4 other men, all with their faces covered
with Arab head scarves, flanked by RPGs, pistols, rifles and an Iraqi flag.
Allawi's govt has been trying to figure out how to deal with the
violence. His defence minister met with snr NATO officials Tue to
carve out a possible role for the alliance in the country, and Iraqi
officials said they would announce a new security law Wed.
In other attacks, a roadside bomb targeted a Brit military convoy
today, killing one civilian and injuring 2, said Capt Mushtak Taleb,
an Iraqi police rep. No Brit forces were wounded.
And in Baghdad, the US military said troops fired on a car that failed
to heed warnings to stop at a checkpoint Mon, killing one child and
wounding another.

3 US marines die in central Iraq: military
Baghdad.  2 US marines were killed in action and one died later from
wounds received during an operation in a restive Iraqi province, the
US military said.
"2 marines assigned to First Marine Expeditionary Force were killed in
action and one marine died of wounds received in action Mon in the
[centre-west] Al-Anbar province while conducting security and
stability operations," the military said in a statement.
Iraqis gather at the scene of a US military air strike on a suspected
safe house of fugitive Islamist Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi that killed 12
people and wounded 5 others in the restive Iraqi city of Fallujah.
Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi described the raid, which gouged a deep crater in
the SE Shahuda district of Fallujah, as a 'precision strike'.
The marines have now lost 10 men in just over one wk on various
operations around Al-Anbar province, home to the restive city of
Fallujah from where US officials suspect alleged Al-Qaeda operative
Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi and his supporters are operating.
US-led military forces have carried out several air raids on what they
say are dens of the Jordanian Islamist in Fallujah, including their
2nd major strike Mon since the transfer of sovereignty to an Iraqi
govt 2 days earlier.
At least 12 people died in Mon's raid when US warplanes dropped 6
large bombs, hospital and military sources said.
The attack is the 5th such raid over the past 2 wk in Fallujah, 50 km
W of Baghdad, where previous air strikes targeted other suspected safe
houses used by the Al-Qaeda-linked Zarqawi.
PM Iyad Allawi issued a statement describing Iraq's involvement in the attack.
"After consultations between Iraqi govt officials and multinat'l
forces-Iraq, Iraqi security forces provided clear and compelling intel
to conduct a precision strike this evening on a known Zarqawi safe
house in SE Fallujah," Allawi said in the statement released late Mon.
It was the deadliest single incident since the US-led coalition handed
power to a caretaker govt on Jun 28 and the 2nd such airstrike in the
newly sovereign Iraq.
"We are working together with the multinat'l forces," said top govt
rep Gurgis Sada on Tue.
Iraqi security forces also offered info to the US-led military in the
run-up to the previous airstrike on the night of Jun 30, he told AFP.
But "this is the 1st time that PM Allawi has made [such] an announcement,"
Sada said, explaining that it was to raise awareness about the
coordinated work being carried out to tackle hot-beds like Fallujah.
"It was a success," the rep declared, when asked about the outcome of
the latest attack.
Hospital sources said at least 12 people were killed and 5 wounded in
the strike on a house in the Shuhada neighbourhood of the restive
Sunni Muslim city.
The identity of the victims was unclear.
In a bid to crush an insurgency that rose up during the US-led
occupation, Iraq's caretaker govt is preparing a set of emergency
measures that include curfews and special detention powers to be
announced this wk.
It will also separately unveil an amnesty for insurgents not
considered hard-core supporters of the resistance -- a move analysts
described as intended to fracture the rebellion.
The announcement of the sweeping security measures was originally set
for Mon, but the govt delayed it amid last-minute tweaking.
The PM's office and the interior, justice and human rights ministries
were all actively involved in drafting the rules, said Sabah Kadhim,
rep for the interior ministry.
"This is the spirit of a new and democratic Iraq, unlike the old days
when people just woke up to hear about a new decree," he said.
Meanwhile, the US military was still unable to confirm the whereabouts
of a Lebanese-born marine after a militant group claimed he had been released.
The Islamic Retaliation Movement, which had previously threatened to
behead Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun, said on Mon the marine was "taken
to a safe place," without specifying where, after agreeing "not to go
back to the US army."
US Marine rep Lt Col TV Johnson reiterated on Tue that the military
had no news of Hassoun's release and were still listing him as
captured since he disappeared on Jun 21 from his base nr Fallujah.
An Iraqi child died and another was wounded when US soldiers shot at
the car their father was driving after it failed to stop at a
checkpoint in Baghdad Mon night despite repeated warnings, the US
military said Tue.
Checkpoints are considered combat areas and soldiers have the right
under the rules of engagement to shoot if a vehicle approaching them
fails to stop.

4 US marines killed in Iraqi operation
Baghdad (AFP).  4 more US marines have been killed in action in Iraq's
restive Al-Anbar province, the US military said, taking its death toll
in the region to 14 in just over 1 wk.
US officials suspect alleged Al Qaeda militant Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi and
his supporters are operating in Fallujah and surrounding Al-Anbar province.
"4 marines assigned to First Marine Expeditionary Force were killed in
action Jul 6 in the Al-Anbar province while conducting security and
stability operations," the US military said in a statement.
US-led military forces have carried out several air raids over the
past wk on what they say are Al Qaeda safe houses in Fallujah.
On Mon, 2 marines were killed in action and one died later from wounds
received during an operation in the area.
An Islamist website later carried a statement attributed to a Zarqawi
group claiming responsibility for the deadly attack.
"With God's help, about 100 of the Omar battle lions laid an ambush
Mon for the soldiers of Satan, the Americans, in Al-Saqlawiya region,
W of Baghdad," said the statement signed by Tawhid al Jihad's military wing.
"Thanks be to God, the toll was 2 helicopters down, including an MH-47
Chinook, and 2 Humvees destroyed with their occupants on board," it
said on the a website.
The claim has not been verified.
The latest deaths raised to at least 644 the number of US soldiers
killed in action in Iraq since last y's US-led invasion.

Iraq violence continues as Blair finally admits the obvious
Baghdad (Channelnewsasia/AFP).  3 US marines and an Iraqi child were
killed while a car bombing cost several more lives as Brit Prime Min
Tony Blair admitted that mass destruction weapons may never be found
in Iraq.
In a positive development, a Lebanese-born US marine once feared to
have been beheaded by his Islamist kidnappers was freed, according to
the foreign ministry in Beirut and one of his brothers in N Lebanon.
A top militant group also released a haunting video of what it said
were some of the most deadly attacks of the Iraqi insurgency,
featuring suicide bombers' last moments and a series of massive blasts.
Iraqi police said several people were killed and wounded in a car bomb
attack Tue in Khales, nr the restive town of Baquba, NE of the capital.
"Several people were killed and others injured," said Gen Walid Abdul
Salam, police chief of Diyala province where the incident occurred.
The bomb exploded nr a house where a memorial service was being held
for 2 Iraqis killed in an attack Sun in Baquba.
In an all too common human tragedy in Baghdad, an Iraqi motorist was
shot dead by US troops on Tue as he tried to overtake a military
convoy, according to police and witnesses.
He was shunted into a wall by a Humvee vehicle and shot 3 times at
close range, one witness said.
The victim lay in a pool of blood, his face covered with a
blood-soaked cloth, as his distraught father vowed to join the
insurgency against the foreign forces in Iraq.
"God curse the Americans!" he shouted. Relatives at the scene said the
victim had been due to get married Thu.
US soldiers also shot dead an Iraqi child and wounded another when the
car their father was driving failed to stop at a checkpoint in the
capital late Mon, the US military said.
The military earlier said that 2 marines assigned to the First Marine
Expeditionary Force "were killed in action and one marine died of
wounds received in action Mon in the Al-Anbar province while
conducting security and stability operations."
The marines have now lost 10 men in just over one wk on various
operations around central-west Al-Anbar province, home to the restive
city of Fallujah from where US officials suspect alleged Al-Qaeda
operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi and his supporters are operating.
US-led forces have carried out several air strikes on what they say
are the Islamist mastermind's dens in Fallujah, including one on Mon
that was their 2nd major raid since the Jun 28 sovereignty transfer
to an Iraqi govt.
The interim govt said Mon it was consulted before the US bombing of a
suspected rebel safe-house in Fallujah that killed at least 12 people.
In a related development, a slick video allegedly released by
Zarqawi's group purporting to show some of the most devastating
attacks of the insurgency has been circulating in Fallujah for the
past wk and has now been handed to W media.
Bearded young men were shown reading their final statements before
hugging their friends and climbing into vehicles laden with explosives.
The vehicles are then shown disappearing in balls of flame as they
reach their target.
The video, whose contents cannot be verified, was apparently released
by Zarqawi's Tawhid wal Jihad [Unification and Holy War] group.
A previously unknown armed group, the Salvation Movement, meanwhile,
threatened in a video to kill Zarqawi if he did not leave Iraq.
"The apostate, criminal Zarqawi and his henchmen must leave Iraq
immediately," said a statement read by one of the apparently Shiite
Muslim group on the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya satellite news channel.
"Islam has nothing to do with this criminal," it said, referring to
attacks attributed to Zarqawi, a Sunni Muslim.
In London, Blair, referring to the banned weapons used to justify last
y's US-led invasion, said during an exchange with snr MPs: "I have to
accept that we haven't found them, that we may not find them."
"We don't know what has happened to them," he added. "They could have
been removed. They could have been hidden. They could have been destroyed."
He made no apology for invading Iraq, saying the decision to do so was
taken by Washington and London after many y of UN resolutions condemning
president Saddam Hussein's pursuit of chemical, biological and nuclear arms.
The Brit premier had previously insisted on the need to wait for the
findings of the Iraq Survey Group, which has been hunting for such
weapons since the launch of the invasion in Mar 2003.
The 1st Brit ambassador to Iraq in more than a decade, Edward Chaplin,
arrived Tue in Baghdad where he met with For Min Hoshyar Zebari, an
embassy rep said.
Meanwhile, Lebanese sources said US marine Corporal Wassef Ali
Hassoun, who was threatened with beheading, was safe and had been
released, but US military officials still listed him as captured.
"We have received a call that reassured us. My brother is alive and
has been freed, said Sami Hassoun, who lives in Lebanon, of his
brother. He refused to give any further details.
Lebanon's foreign ministry only said its embassy in Iraq had informed
Beirut that the 24-yo marine "was in a safe place."
On Mon, a statement attributed to the Islamic Retaliation Movement --
Armed Resistance Wing said Hassoun was safe and had been released. His
presumed captors said the marine had been taken to a safe house because
he had promised to take off his US uniform.
On the economic front, an Iraqi oil ministry official said that vital
oil exports would be restored to previous levels in the next 4 to 5
days as technicians repair a breach in the country's S oil pipeline network.

Iraq insurgents abduct Egyptian
Baghdad (AP).  An insurgent group in Iraq said they had kidnapped an
Egyptian truck driver working in the country and released video to the
al-Jazeera TV station of the man.  The group, calling itself the
"Iraqi Legitimate Resistance," said they took the man, who identified
himself as Alsayeid Mohammed Alsayeid Algarabawi, captive while he was
driving a truck of fuel for US forces from Saudi Arabia.  In the
video, members of the group stood armed and masked around Algarabawi.
The station did not say whether the group made any demands or
threatened to kill its captive.  Al-Jazeera rep Jihad Ballout in Qatar
said the channel received the video on Tue.  Other militant groups
have captured and threatened to behead several foreign Muslim
hostages, creating an uproar among many Muslims, including other
militants. Nearly all the captured Muslims have been released unharmed.

Iraq's PM poised for martial law
Baghdad (CS Monitor).  10 days after taking office, PM Iyad Allawi is
poised to give himself sweeping powers to declare martial law in parts
of Iraq. Many Iraqis may welcome the new emergency law as a means to
combat the insurgency and curb crime. But the Iraqi govt has
repeatedly postponed its unveiling, because of US concerns that it
grants Mr Allawi too much power.
According to a draft copy of the law, Iraq's interim PM will be able
to close off entire towns and cities, impose curfews, restrict
communications, and limit travel in and out.
Once signed by Iraqi leaders, the emergency law would give Allawi
power to declare martial law for a set period of time, either in
specific areas or nationwide. To impose martial law in a specific
area, Allawi would have to get approval from his 32-member cabinet.
To declare it nationwide, he also needs approval from the Iraqi
president and 2 VPs.
There's no mention of the cabinet or the president having the ability
rescind the law.
If martial law is declared, according to this draft, Allawi would have
the power to:
* Take command over all police, intel, army, and other security forces
  in that area.
* Create special civilian courts for people accused of major crimes --
  anything from murder, rape, and kidnapping to destroying govt
  property -- if the criminal courts are swamped.
* Appoint civilian or military administrators in areas under martial rule.
* Release any defendant from custody, if Allawi deems it necessary for
  reasons of security.
* Monitor and restrict mail, telegrams, and wireless communications in
  affected areas.
* Freeze the assets of anybody accused of crimes that undermine nat'l
  security, as well as those who are accused of providing shelter,
  funding, and assistance to suspected insurgents.
The Law for Defense of Nat'l Safety, states that it will only be used
"in case of a grave threat to the country's internal or external
security, or in case of an armed action that threatens the govt's
stability." The law, along with another measure offering a general
amnesty for insurgents, was supposed to be announced Mon. Moments
before the press conference began, Iraqi officials postponed it. But
officials say they expect it to be unveiled Wed.
To become law, the draft will have to be signed by Allawi, Iraqi Pres
Ghazi al-Yawer, 2 VPs, the deputy prime minister, and all ministers.
They are expected to sign it despite objections by some that it grants
Allawi too much power.
In Iraq, where kidnappings, assassinations, and robbery are now
routine, many Iraqis have become hungry for strict law and order.
"We hope there will be martial law," says Evan Esho, a Baghdad
resident. "If the police and the security hang these criminals -- 5 of
them, every day, in the street -- then things will get better.
"It's not about human rights," adds Mr Esho, who describes himself as
an "almost-engineer" [he confesses he recently flunked his final
exams]. "We all believe in freedom. But we want the govt to rule this
country with an iron hand."
Fuelling such sentiments are the almost daily attacks, often on
Iraqis. A car bomb exploded Tue in a town NE of Baghdad, killing 13
people who were attending a wake for the victims of a previous attack,
the Associated Press reported.
But other Iraqis reject the idea of martial law, seeing it as an
extension of the US-led occupation and a reprise of Saddam Hussein's
regime. "If there is martial law, there will be arbitrary searches and
arrests," says Abu Ghayeb al-Kubaisi, a chicken farmer. "They will use
the excuse of fighting terrorism or nat'l security. If someone has an
enemy, he will use that as a pretext for getting this person arrested."
Mr Kubaisi had just spent 3 hr at a checkpoint on Baghdad's outskirts.
A resident of Ramadi -- a prime candidate for martial law -- he
described baking in the 120-degree sun while Iraqi troops held him at
the checkpoint. "I think they took them to Egypt and Israel to teach
them Israeli methods," he says with disgust. [Egypt has been under
emergency law since 1981].
Indeed, in many Arab countries, emergency laws, once declared, have
dragged on for y or decades. "Emergency rule is often the Achilles
heel of Arab constitutional systems," says Nathan Brown, an expert on
Arab legal systems at George Washington University in Washington. "In
many countries, emergency rule becomes a permanent state that allows
rulers to bypass the constitutional order completely."
In Iraq, say some analysts, emergency law is particularly risky now.
The interim govt wields a shaky authority. And with the country's
nat'l assembly not yet convened, there is no legislative body to act
as a check on the executive branch.
"There is no parliament yet, so there is virtually no possibility of
oversight of the use of emergency powers," says Professor Brown.
"Even where oversight exists in theory, the weakness of constitutional
institutions generally means oversight in practice is quite weak. In
Iraq, it seems to be totally absent."
The new amnesty law would offer a full pardon to insurgents, including
those who have participated in attacks against US troops, provided
they were not involved in "murder and rape of Iraqis." The draft says
nothing about the murder of foreigners.

Few detainees in Iraq are foreign fighters
[Another Bush Admin myth shot down -- again].
Washington (HoustonChronicle/Reuters).  Only 90 of the more than 5,700
people in custody in Iraq as security risks are foreign fighters,
defence officials said today, a figure that suggests the Bush Admin
may have overstated the role of outside militants in the deadly insurgency.
The officials, who asked not to be identified, said the US military
command handling security detention facilities in Iraq confirmed a
report in USA Today that fewer than 2% of those in custody were
foreigners.
The small percentage indicates the war in Iraq may not have attracted
very many Islamic militants from other countries.
The Bush Admin has insisted that foreign insurgents are playing a key
role in Iraq, led in part by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Jordanian-born Zarqawi is leader of the Jama'at al-Tawhid and Jihad,
which has claimed several deadly suicide bombings, assassinations of
Iraqi officials and the kidnapping and beheadings of a S Korean and an
American hostage.
Of the 90 foreign captives, about half are from Syria and others are
from Arab countries including Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Yemen and Saudi
Arabia, defence officials told Reuters.
The Admin has repeatedly accused both Syria and Iran of giving support
to the insurgency by making it easy for foreign fighters to cross
their borders with Iraq.
Private defence analysts told Reuters the issue was not the number of
foreigners in custody, but whether they represented impressionable
suicide candidates or hard-core, well-trained "terrorists" who opposed
the US and its allies everywhere.
"The question here is not how many foreign fighters are involved, but
who are they?" said Daniel Goure of the Lexington Institute, a private
Washington think tank.
"Are they chiefly your average Joe from the Syrian mosque or the Brit
mosque caught up in all the rhetoric?" Goure asked.
"Or are they people we should be more deeply concerned about --
perhaps with military and intel training from Syria and elsewhere? If
these are serious, committed, well-trained ex-bin Laden jihadists,
it's a significant factor," said Goure, using the term jihadists to
mean militant Muslims battling the West.
Even though there are relatively few non-Iraqis in custody, US
officials believe those foreigners are involved in organising or
financing attacks against US forces, one snr defence official said.
"I think these people [foreign fighters] give backbone, a ruthless
drive, to the insurgency," one snr defence official told Reuters.
"They recruit. They organise. They finance."
But analyst Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and
Internat'l Studies in Washington said that "the overwhelming mass of
those involved in the insurgency are Iraqi nat'ls who are simply
opposed to the US invasion and foreign occupation."
"That doesn't mean that there are not small, dispersed cells of
foreign fighters, including some loosely affiliated with al Qaeda,"
Cordesman said, adding that it was doubtful if such groups around the
country had "a central nervous system."
USA Today reported that US-led military forces had detained 17,700
people -- including some 400 foreign nat'ls -- in Iraq since last Aug
who were considered to be enemy fighters or security risks.
Most were freed after a review board found they didn't pose
significant threats, the newspaper said.

Anti-doping body condemns cycling probe
Canberra.  The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has heavily criticised
Cycling AUS's handling of the latest drug allegations, and is now so
concerned it plans to write to the Fed Govt about the matter.  Last
Sat, 5 cyclists accused of injecting illegal substances were cleared
by an independent inquiry headed by former Supreme Court judge Robert
Anderson.  Cycling AUS has refused to release the findings of the
report, not even to the World Anti-Doping Agency.  The head of the
agency Dick Pound told AM that AUS has badly handled numerous drug
inquiries and our reputation as a leader in the fight against drugs in
sport is waning as a result.  "The info has been known and available
since some time last year, and it's taken a very, very long time for
this to come to any kind of resolution," he said.  "Keeping the
results of investigations secret is not conducive to any public
confidence in the process or the sport."  A rep for the Aussie Sports
Commission said WADA had not requested a copy of the report.  He said
the report may be released this wk, although the commission must 1st
gain clearance from those interviewed for the report because of
provisions of the Privacy Act.

UN official says organisation needs reform
Sydney.  A snr United Nation official based in AUS has admitted the
organisation is out of touch with current world situations.  A
terrorism conference in Bris has been told the UN needs urgent reform.
AUS's UN director Juan Carlos Brandt says the organisation -
especially its security council -- still reflects 1940s political
conditions.  However he has defended its record.  "We've had a very
good record in our 60 y of existence. I think the record the UN speaks
for itself," he said.  The 191 member organisation has also been
accused of an appalling record on counter-terrorism strategies.  While
Mr Brandt agrees the UN could have done better, he says the criticism
is not entirely fair.  "The UN has been working on terrorism issues
for a long time, even before 9/11," he said.

Ban on citrus fruit export
Citrus fruit ban to take effect from midnight
Diseased citrus crop to be destroyed
Brisbane.  About 1,000 citrus trees on an Emerald orchard in central
Qld are expected to be destroyed on Fri.
An interstate ban was placed on all Qld citrus last night after the
disease citrus canker was detected on the property.
An eradication program is underway on about 40 central highlands properties.
Chris Adriaansen from the Qld Dept of Primary Industries says trees on
the affected property will be removed.
"The block of the infected trees is in the order of about a 1,000
trees on the quarantined property and rather than using bulldozers,
which obviously have a tendency to stir up more dust and potentially
do all sorts of things there, we'll do a very controlled exercise
which will see the trees chain-sawed at ground level and then stacked
and burnt from there," he said.
The interstate ban on Qld citrus has not affected prices yet.
Rob Clarke from the marketer Favco says values at Bris's Rocklea
market this morning remained unchanged.
He says the disease does not affect the fruit.
"Prices are not affected because the fruit that's actually been
delivered in the last 48 hrs has been transshipped to SYD, as there
will be a shortfall in the S states," he said.
"Fruit that could be sent before midnight last night would be accepted by NSW."
Mr Clarke says many growers will be able to postpone picking the fruit
which is still okay to eat but he expects prices will drop if the ban
lasts for more than a wk.
"There is certainly a large number of fruit that can remain on the
tree for a number of weeks," he said.
"However, if we were to lose 2 to 3 wk of marketing, fruit would be
backed up and prices would be affected internat'ly and domestically."
A N Qld citrus grower says he will be forced to leave fruit to rot on
the trees as a result of the interstate ban on Qld citrus.
Tully lime producer Derek Finlayson has just started picking and says
the ban is a knee-jerk reaction which will cause a glut on the Bris market.
"[It] costs us to look after the crop and pick them and pack them and
send them away and, if the Bris market is flooded with things like
limes already, they're not going to want mine at a premium price so
it's going to impact on those returns definitely."

Ban on citrus fruit export
Quarantine breach possible source of citrus disease
Canberra.  Fed Agriculture Min Warren Truss says a quarantine breach
could have allowed the citrus canker disease to enter Qld.
Qld's citrus exports have been banned in all other states.
Mr Truss says the citrus canker disease could have entered AUS in a
number of ways, but he cannot rule out a quarantine breach.
"It's too early at this stage to make any assessment that the disease
has come in as a result of breach of quarantine," he said.
The infected property will be monitored, along with 40 others around
the state, to eradicate the exotic disease.
Citrus canker is highly contagious for citrus trees and causes
blemished fruit and the plants to dieback.
AUS's Chief Plant Protection Officer, Graeme Hamilton, says if the
outbreak is not controlled, the results could be devastating to the industry.
"This is a very serious disease. It's one of the major internat'ly
recognised quarantine diseases for citrus," he said.
The Qld Citrus Growers group says it could be m before the industry
returns to normal after an interstate ban was imposed overnight.
The growers' president Nick Ulcoq says the impact on the industry will
be felt for some time.
"For the people in the quarantine zone it's probably going to be
months," he said.
"For the rest of Qld hopefully several wk but as I said, that's
probably being a little optimistic," he said.
* Links denied
Authorities say this is the 1st confirmed outbreak of the disease in
Qld although it surfaced in the N Territory in the early 1990s.
Mr Truss, denies a link between the discovery of citrus canker on a
property in Central Qld and an investigation 3 y ago.
Qld Primary Industries Min Henry Palaszczuk has criticised the Aussie
Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) for suppressing the original
investigation.
In 2001, AQIS signed a confidentiality agreement with the operators of
the property, amid rumours it imported plant material.
Mr Truss says too much time has passed since the initial investigation
and the recent outbreak for there to be a link.
"There was extensive monitoring of the disease status of the properties
in that region for 18 months, that surveillance concluded in Mar
2003 because there'd been 2 production seasons that had passed without
any signs of disease being evident," he said.

Interest rates unchanged at 5.25pc
A rate rise is expected before the end of the year.
Canberra.  The Reserve Bank of AUS has left interest rates on hold at
5.25% for the 7th consecutive month.
No change had been forecast by financial analysts.
The Aussie dollar eased slightly after the RBA decision.
The dollar was trading at 71.38 US cents compared with 71.43 just
before the decision.
The news will come as a relief for consumers, mortgage holders and business.
Analysts have tipped there will be a rate rise before the end of the year.
Earlier this wk, Access Economics warned extra spending in the May
Budget could place upward pressure on interest rates.
The Aussie Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Survey of Investor
Confidence released yesterday showed expectations that the Reserve
Bank will move on interest rates before the end of the y is beginning
to take effect in the business world.
For the 1st time in 10 y, interest rates has made the top 10 list of
constraints on investment.
The 9 members of the Reserve Bank board met yesterday to discuss
official monetary policy.
The central bank raised rates by 25 basis points in both Nov and Dec.
Unprecedented levels of household debt encouraged last y's twin rate increases.

Chinese ceremony unveils Inglewood wool
Shanghai.  There has been a special ceremony in the Chinese city of
Shanghai to unveil the world's finest bale of wool.  The Chinese
company HYX purchased the 11.9 micron bale for $675,000 at a SYD
auction 3 m ago.  It was grown on Bim and Rick Goodrich's property at
Inglewood in southern inland Qld using a line of the Saxon sheep.
Rick Goodrich says they are hopeful of sending even more fine wool to
China.  "We are looking at sending more product over there and when we
started this thing 4 or 5 y ago this is the exact goals that we had,"
he said.  "And to find someone on the other side of the world in the
most exciting environment market on the planet basically, you know
it's a pretty exciting time for Primerino."

Super warning for casual workers
Canberra (AAP).  Casual and itinerant workers would not know if an
employer was neglecting to pay their superannuation under changed
reporting requirements, the Aussie Consumers Association (ACA) said.
ACA finance policy officer Catharine Wolthuizen said the
superannuation reporting requirement was implemented to protect the
rights of casual and itinerant workers.
Those workers were regarded as most at risk from non-payment of their
compulsory superannuation, she said.
"If those reporting requirements aren't being adhered to or aren't
even required any more, then they [the workers] have much less change
of knowing what their entitlements are and chasing them up when they
are not being paid," she said on ABC radio.
Under a plan announced by PM John Howard, red tape would be cut to
reduce the paperwork burden on AUS's 1.2 mn small businesses.
The key change means small businesses will no longer have to report
superannuation contributions to workers 4 times a year.

Murray project will lead to regional drain: report
Melbourne.  A new report predicts municipalities along the Murray
River will be hit hard economically and socially by the impact of
restricted water allocations.  Latrobe University predicts the return
of 500 GL of water to the Murray will lead to the loss of $100
mn a y to the community.  It also predicts more than 3,000 jobs will
be lost.  Berrigan Shire mayor John Bruce says the Fed Govt must
consider the socio-economic impacts of the Living Murray project.  "If
agriculture isn't producing a product because of a lack of water,
there has to be a spin off to the small business in the town," he
said.  "The agriculture industry hasn't got the dollars to spend in a
town in the small industry that service those towns so... there'd be a
loss of income to small business and therefore there's got to be a
loss of employment."

Howard defends detention stance
[May remove kids from concentration camps, provided people smugglers
don't step up operations].
Canberra (AAP).  PM John Howard stood by the govt's immigration
detention policy as it received muted support for its release of all
but one child from behind barbed wire.
Immigration Min Amanda Vanstone On Mon said only one child associated
with illegal boat arrivals remained in detention, down from a peak of
842 in 2001.
The child was a newborn baby whose mother refused a place at a
residential housing project in S AUS because she wanted to be with the
child's father.
The opp'n, minor parties and human rights advocates cautiously
welcomed the news, but queried why the govt took so long and what its
plans were for the 96 children still in alternative detention.
Mr Howard said he understood the concerns about detaining children.
"But if you are to run an immigration policy that is effective, then
if people seek to come here illegally and they bring their children
with them, or if they overstay their legal entitlement to be here and
children are in their family, sometimes it is unavoidable," Mr Howard
said on Bris radio 4BC.
"We are endeavouring as far as possible, and consistent with the
maintenance of a strong policy and consistent with deterring people
from resuming the illegal boat trade, to get children out of detention."
Mr Howard said AUS had sent a strong message that people smuggling
would not be tolerated.
Despite the move, refugee advocates estimate there are still a total
of 96 children in alternative detention: 2 children in Baxter
detention centre, 14 in the Port Augusta residential housing project, 30
at Villawood, 3 at Maribyrnong, 11 on Christmas Island, 19 on Nauru
[all expected to leave next wk] and 17 in community detention.
Aussie Democrats leader Andrew Bartlett said it was dishonest of the
govt to not count those living in alternative facilities.
"Frankly, wild animals get a better controlled release program in AUS
than asylum seekers," Sen Bartlett said.
Human Rights Commissioner Sev Ozdowski said while the removal of
children from detention was welcome, others in residential facilities
faced an increased risk of mental health problems the longer they
remained detained.
"The presumption against detaining children for long periods of time
needs to be enshrined in legislation," Dr Ozdowski said.
"Long-term detention destroys the mental health of children and robs
them of their childhood."
Opp'n immigration rep Stephen Smith said the govt should come clean on
whether it planned to make the policy change permanent.

Afghan refugees arrive for settlement in AUS
[PM's reversed on vow never to let Afghans set foot on Aussie soil].
Canberra.  A 2nd group of Afghan refugees, released from detention on
the Pacific Island of Nauru, arrived in AUS last night.  A rep for the
Dept of Immigration says 15 children and 20 adults arrived in Bris and
will be sent to live in the ACT, Adel, SYD, regional Vic and MEL.  He
says all those arriving have been in Nauru for about 2 y and have been
given secondary movement visas that will last from 3 to 5 years.
Another 76 Afghan refugees are due to be released from Nauru over the
next few wks.

Security scare at SYD airport
A SYD Airport terminal was cleared after a security scare.
Sydney.  The secure section of SYD Airport's internat'l terminal had
to be cleared this morning after a man without a boarding pass tried
to get on a Qantas flight.
Passengers due to board several internat'l flights were sent back for
a second security clearance.
The Dept of Transport says the man was stopped at the door of a Qantas
flight to LA when he could not produce a boarding pass.
Lloyd Capps says his wife rang him when her flight to LA failed to take off.
"They were told that there was an incident, that someone had been
found on the tarmac with a bag and the person was next sighted as not
having a bag," he said.
"They don't know how the person got there, so people were taken off
the flight and re-screened."
Everyone who had gone through security screening had to get a 2nd
security clearance, delaying several flights this morning.
The SYD Airports Corporation describes the re-screening as a
precautionary measure, but has confirmed that Fed Police are investigating.
The man was apprehended and is being questioned by the Aussie Fed Police.

Work begins on AUS's largest wind farm
400 jobs will be created.
Melbourne.  Vicn Prem Steve Bracks has announced the start of
construction of AUS's largest wind farm at Portland on the state's SW coast.
Standing in front of a massive wind tower, the Prem said the 120
turbine wind farm project will create around 400 new jobs.
As part of the project, Danish company Vestas will establish AUS's
only wind farm blade factory at Portland.
It has been more than a y since the project received planning
permission, and there was speculation the blade factory would not be built.
Renewable energy company Pacific Hydro now expects the 1st stage of
the wind farm to be finished by May next y.
Energy Min Theo Theophanous says delays to the project have been
largely unavoidable.
"The original company that was to do the blade factory, NEG Micon, was
taken over by Vestas and that created some delay in the process, but
I'm very happy to say that Vestas has been prepared to take up its
obligations," he said.
It has been more than a y since the State Govt gave the project
planning permission and original claims that the project would create
more than a thousand jobs have been revised downwards.
Mr Theophanous says the project could allow Portland to produce wind
components for the entire South-East Asian market.
"We have the capacity to be able to develop a huge multi-billion
dollar industry," he said.
He says the Fed Govt must increase mandatory renewable energy targets
(MRET) to assure the industry's long term future.

PM, Abbott deny smear campaign claims
["It's not us -- Latham deserves it"].
Canberra.  The PM says he is angry the Opp'n leader has not yet
produced any evidence to back up his assertion that the Govt is trying
to smear his reputation.
Mark Latham has promised to shut down any taxpayer funded
organisations that are peddling gossip about the Opp'n.
John Howard says Mr Latham's allegation that the Govt has a "dirt
unit" which is spreading rumours about his private life is just a
figment of the Opp'n leader's imagination.
"I really am angry at this false claim by him, he's entitled to
protect his family [but] his family is not being attacked by me and
it's not being attacked by anybody in the Liberal Party," he said.
In the past, taxpayers have spent about a mn dollars a y on what is
called the Govt Members' Secretariat.
Mr Latham has indicated Labor would abolish the organisation.
"Taxpayers' money has got to be used for a good positive public
purpose not what amounts to a political purpose," he said.
The Govt says the secretariat provides assistance to politicians, but
has denied it has been trawling for info about Mr Latham's private life.
Fed Health Min Tony Abbott has also been forced to deny any
involvement in a "dirt unit" aiming to smear the reputation of Mr Latham.
Mr Abbott has told the ABC's Morning Program in Perth that just
because he helped set up a fighting fund to attack One Nation, it does
not mean he is involved in any "dirt unit".
He says One Nation was a mutant political gene.
"The practical effect of One Nation was to destroy a Coalition Govt in
Qld, to destroy a Coalition Govt in Western AUS," he said.
"I don't think we should have off-the-air, right-wing parties
destroying perfectly good conservative govts."

Latham promises no mandate on ethanol
Canberra.  Fed Opp'n leader Mark Latham says a Labor Govt would not
place a mandate on ethanol in fuel.  Qld's sugar industry is calling
for 10% compulsory content to support the sector's move into bio-fuel
production.  Speaking in Townsville today Mr Latham says Labor will
take a different approach.  "We're not going to be mandating at that
level or that strategy," he said.  "Our approach is to have the energy
target of 5% which does help the ethanol industry rather than getting
into the mandating in petrol debate where there's mixed messages and
mixed evidence."

Labor candidate muddles Latham's troops home policy
Townsville.  The fed Labor leader has been embarrassed by one of his
candidates over Labor's promise to bring Aussie troops out of Iraq by
Christmas policy.  Mark Latham is in the Qld army town of Townsville
campaigning in the marginal coalition held seat of Herbert.  It is a
marginal seat which includes one of the army's largest bases.  Last wk
Labor's candidate, Anita Phillips, made this blunder about Mr Latham's
pledge to bring the troops home by the end of the year.  "I think it's
still a long time till Christmas, and I don't know if Latham ever said
which Christmas," she said.  Mr Latham has tried to play down the
issue.  "She supports the policy and as you say, it was a wk
ago. That's the main thing, she supports the policy," he said.  The
Foreign Min Alexander Downer seized on the bungle saying Labor's own
candidate has shunned the party's policy.

Protesters attempt to block PM in Adel
Adelaide.  Protesters in Adel have tried to block a car carrying the
Prime Min to a function in Adel's west About 20 protesters, mostly
students, greeted John Howard but three young anti-nuclear activists
tried to block the PM's car.  One of them sat in front of the car
while another was tackled by police.  They were moved from the path of
the car before it came through.  The protesters chanted loud slogans
as John Howard entered the building to attend a community function.

More reforms needed to ensure growth: ALP
Sydney.  The ALP says there needs to be a "third wave" of reforms to
AUS's trade practice and Industrial Relations law to ensure continued growth.
Labor has outlined the policy at the Nat'l Small Business Summit in
SYD, less than 24 hr after John Howard launched his Small Business
Report to the same forum.
The Opp'n's Small Business rep, Bob McMullan, says to ensure AUS
remains competitive in a strengthening world economy, reforms are needed.
Mr McMullan welcomed changes to the Trade Practices Act flagged by the
Govt, but says they do not go far enough.
"The Govt's been incredibly timid in their response, because their
close links to big business prevent them from making some of the
changes that need to be made," he said.
He says Labor would make all 17 changes to the Act recommended by the
Senate Committee.
He has also criticised the Govt's changes to superannuation as quite
minor adjustments, but indicated Labor supports policies that cut
costs and red tape associated with the GST.

Former Uluru police officer unconvinced by Azaria claims
Sydney.  The snr police officer who was stationed at Uluru when Azaria
Chamberlain disappeared says he is not convinced by the latest claims
relating to the case.
The former N Territory Police Officer Frank Morris says he watched a
nat'l television program last night featuring MEL pensioner Frank
Cole's story.
Mr Cole claims he shot a dingo at the time Azaria disappeared in 1980
and found a dead baby in its mouth .
Mr Morris says he has been re-examining his journal and photos since
the latest claims came to light and Mr Cole's statements are
inconsistent with his records.
"Even just the initial statement that they panicked when the car came
along," he said.
"Where the clothes were found, no car lights would ever have found
them in there, they were almost at the base of the rock and a place
that in the night time you just wouldn't find, you wouldn't even know
it was there.
"He also said that they started digging a hole to bury the clothes and
they were disturbed by a car, well there was no area where anyone had
been trying to dig."

I may have heard a gun shot: Chamberlain
Sydney.  Michael Chamberlain has revealed he may have heard a gun shot
the night his daughter Azaria disappeared from a camp site at Uluru in 1980.
The comments could support new claims by a MEL pensioner that he shot
a dingo that night which had the baby in its mouth.
Mr Chamberlain says he 1st received a 9-page document detailing the
new claims in 2000.
He says he can understand why Frank Cole was reluctant to come forward
and forgives him for keeping quiet.
But in a new twist, Mr Chamberlain has told Channel 7 he might have
heard a gun shot that night at Uluru -- a memory which could
corroborate Frank Cole's claims.
"I tried to think back on the night when we lost Azaria, did I hear
any shots during the night? And something in the deep recesses of my
mind said yes, you did," he said.
NT and Vicn police are investigating Frank Cole's story.

Charges possible in new Azaria revelations
Darwin.  The NT Director of Public Prosecutions has not ruled out
laying charges against a MEL pensioner who claims to have shot the
dingo that supposedly killed Azaria Chamberlain in 1980.  The 78-yo
man never went to authorities throughout the Chamberlain's ordeal.
Frank Cole claims he unlawfully used a firearm at Uluru 24 y ago,
shooting a dingo that had Azaria Chamberlain in its mouth.  But he
says he did not report it to the authorities because he feared
prosecution.  The N Territory Police have confirmed they will obtain a
statement from Mr Cole about his claims.  But they will not reveal
when this will happen.  DPP Rex Wild says the issue is in the hands of
the police and he cannot lay charges on his own volition.  Mr Wild
says only when he receives Mr Cole's statement from police will he
decide what action to take.  Azaria's father, Michael Chamberlain,
says Mr Cole should not be prosecuted if he provides evidence to the Crown.

Woman beats 24-yo arrest warrant
Adelaide.  A 48-yo woman living in SA has successfully defeated a
24-yo WA extradition warrant.  Jane Loveridge's past caught up with
her earlier this y.  In 1980 Jane Loveridge was awaiting sentence on
heroin charges when she escaped from Banyup jail.  A warrant was
issued for her arrest and was revived earlier this y.  For Jane
Loveridge it was the shock of her life when police turned up at her
door in the tiny rural town of Mundoora in the mid-north of SA.  She
had spent almost 10 y there with her husband and 2 of her children.
She and her lawyer commenced a desperate legal battle to block the
impending extradition.  Today Justice Brian White cancelled the order,
effectively giving back Ms Loveridge her life and freedom.  However a
deal stitched up with a current affairs program meant she was
tight-lipped when leaving court.  "I can't say anything at the moment,
we're happy," she said.

Sunspots reaching 1,000-y high -- scientist
Zurich (BBC).  A new analysis shows that the Sun is more active now
than it has been at anytime in the previous 1,000 y.
Scientists based at the Institute for Astronomy in Zurich used ice cores
from Greenland to construct a picture of our star's activity in the past.
They say that over the last century the number of sunspots rose at the
same time that the Earth's climate became steadily warmer.
This trend is being amplified by gases from fossil fuel burning, they argue.
* 'Little Ice Age'
Sunspots have been monitored on the Sun since 1610, shortly after the
invention of the telescope. They provide the longest-running direct
measurement of our star's activity.
The variation in sunspot numbers has revealed the Sun's 11-y cycle of
activity as well as other, longer-term changes.
In particular, it has been noted that between about 1645 and 1715, few
sunspots were seen on the Sun's surface.
This period is called the Maunder Minimum after the English astronomer
who studied it.
Ice cores record climate trends back beyond human measurements It
coincided with a spell of prolonged cold weather often referred to as
the "Little Ice Age". Solar scientists strongly suspect there is a
link between the 2 events -- but the exact mechanism remains elusive.
Over the past few thousand y there is evidence of earlier Maunder-like
coolings in the Earth's climate -- indicated by tree-ring measurements
that show slow growth due to prolonged cold.
In an attempt to determine what happened to sunspots during these
other cold periods, Dr Sami Solanki and colleagues have looked at
concentrations of a form, or isotope, of beryllium in ice cores from Greenland.
The isotope is created by cosmic rays -- high-energy particles from
the depths of the galaxy.
The flux of cosmic rays reaching the Earth's surface is modulated by
the strength of the solar wind, the charged particles that stream away
from the Sun's surface.
And since the strength of the solar wind varies over the sunspot cycle,
the amount of beryllium in the ice at a time in the past can therefore
be used to infer the state of the Sun and, roughly, the number of sunspots.
* Latest warming
Dr Solanki is presenting a paper on the reconstruction of past solar
activity -- entitled Cool Stars, Stellar Systems And The Sun -- at a
conference in Hamburg, Germany.
He says that the reconstruction shows the Maunder Minimum and the
other minima that are known in the past thousand years.
But the most striking feature, he says, is that looking at the past 1,150 y
the Sun has never been as active as it has been during the past 60 y.
Over the past few hundred years, there has been a steady increase in
the numbers of sunspots, a trend that has accelerated in the past
century, just at the time when the Earth has been getting warmer.
The data suggests that changing solar activity is influencing in some
way the global climate causing the world to get warmer.
Over the past 20 y, however, the number of sunspots has remained
roughly constant, yet the average temperature of the Earth has
continued to increase.
This is put down to a human-produced greenhouse effect caused by the
combustion of fossil fuels.
This latest analysis shows that the Sun has had a considerable influence
on the global climate in the past, causing the Earth to warm or chill,
and that mankind is amplifying the Sun's latest attempt to warm the Earth.

Blair to pressure US over Kyoto
London (AFP).  Brit PM Tony Blair said that climate change was the
greatest long-term problem facing the world and that the US should be
encouraged to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
"The Kyoto agreement... amounts to effectively a one% reduction in
emissions, whereas the evidence we have is that we require a 60%
reduction in emissions by 2050," Blair said.
"The single biggest long-term problem we face is the issue of climate
change," he said.
The Kyoto Protocol requires wealthy industrialised countries to make
an overall cut of 5.2% in emissions of carbon dioxide gases by 2012.
Blair, who was speaking in the House of Commons, Brit's lower
legislative chamber, admitted he did not share the US' view on Kyoto.
Washington has so far refused to ratify the treaty.
But he said it would be wrong to give up trying to convince Washington
to change its mind, underlining that it was not only US Pres George W
Bush that was opposed to ratifying the treaty, but the US Congress as well.
"I don't think we should give up on dialogue with the US," Blair said.

UN urges action after gorilla habitat destroyed
UN (Reuters).  The United Nations is urging Rwanda, Uganda and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to protect vital ape habitats
on their borders after a huge swathe of forest was cut down on the
Congolese side.
The UN was responding to reports that 1,500 hectares of mountain
gorilla habitat had been cleared in the Congo part of Virunga Nat'l
Park, threatening one of the planet's rarest and most magnificent wild animals.
There are only about 700 mountain gorillas left in the world in the
lush mountains straddling Rwanda, Uganda and the anarchic Congo, and
any loss of remaining habitat could push one of humanity's closest
relatives to extinction.
In all of Virunga there is only about 425 square km of suitable
gorilla habitat and so the loss of even 15 square kms is huge.
"Reports of extensive forest destruction and human encroachment [in
Virunga] ... have profound implications for the future viability of
this ecosystem," Klaus Toepfer, the UN's top environment official,
said in letters to the environment ministers of the 3 countries.
"Evidence from satellite, aerial and ground surveys indicates that
habitat destruction has occurred in some areas at a rate of up to 2
square km a day," said Mr Toepfer, who is head of the United Nations
Environment Programme.
Reports said settlers had illegally cleared the forest in Virunga, a
World Heritage Site, between Apr and Jun.
The border area has been a scene of tension in recent wk after Congo
accused Rwanda, which has twice invaded its giant neighbour in the
past 8 y, of backing renegade troops who briefly seized an E Congolese
town in early Jun.
Rebel groups have used the gorillas' forest home for bloody incursions
into all 3 countries.
Mr Toepfer said the gorillas had improbably thrived in the face of war.
"Despite more than 10 y of conflict in the region, the population of
mountain gorilla has increased by 17% since 1989 and their habitat has
largely been protected throughout this period," he said.
Mountain gorillas, reclusive but massive animals which live in family
groups, are one of the very few tourist draws in the war-torn area and
generate an estimate $2 mn annually for the region.

Scientists map coastal sea temperature
Scientists have mapped the temperature of the sea surface around the
whole of AUS for the last 10 y.
Canberra.  For the 1st time scientists have mapped the temperature of
the sea surface around the whole of AUS going back 10 y.
The database has been set up by the CSIRO and charts changes in
temperature and ocean currents.
Oceanographer David Griffin says it has pinpointed a unique stretch of
coastline off the border of SA and Vic.
He says this region has colder water in summer than in winter and is a
high activity area for commercial fishing.
"The narrow stretch of coast there, the Bonney upwelling, is the only
part of AUS where this cold water comes to the surface," he said.
"There's such a contrast -- AUS is such a contrast with the rest of
the world where that happens in many places and is the basis of their
fishing industries.
"In AUS we only have that tiny region of cold water and most of our
fisheries do not rely on that sort of what we call a temperate ecosystem."

{{
Midnight.
A car bomb has exploded on Iraq, nr Baquba.  1 unconfirmed report puts
the number of dead at 13.  Reports are still coming in.

The Spanish govt has begun its investigation into the Madrid bombings.
The first witness was a caretaker who saw a van used by the
terrorists.  The find was key to turning around the thinking on who
was responsible for the attack.

UN Sec-Gen Annan has told a conf in Africa the disaster in Darfur
could destabilise the region.

1 am
Reports from Baquba say at least 6 people are dead.  Doctors say 35
injured are in the local hospital.  The blast occurred nr where people
were gathered to mourn 2 victims killed in a shooting on Sun.

Internet sovereignty.  There's some confusion over who controls the
Iraqi Internet domain.  Under a transfer of power in the mid 90s, the
.IQ domain was ceded to a company in Texas. The CEO of that company is
currently under indictment for business irregularities. Now, Iraq has
called for its address to be given back to it. But the Cal-based
authority for TLD's can drag its feet in such cases. It took YEARS to
transfer control back to Pitcairn Island -- population 75.

Judges in The Hague have decided the 2 yo Milosevic trial will resume
on Jul 14, provided the accused war criminal's health is up to it.

2 am
After a deadly airstrike in Fallujah, the interim Iraqi govt has
warned Syria and Iran they may be next.  The warning has fuelled
allegations Mr Allawi is a US puppet.  Reps for the Iraqi govt say the
warning was needed.  But Iran and Syria say it's the way Iraq was
behaving under Saddam Hussein.

7 am
22 people are dead and a dozen are missing in C Taiwan after flooding
was triggered by a typhoon.

1000s are homeless in SW China amid flooding.

China has confirmed a new outbreak of bird flu.  Authorities have
started culling birds within a 3 km radius of the outbreak in SW
China.  Beijing had declared the outbreak over in Mar, but warned it
could return with warmer weather.

The Dow has closed down 64 -- to a 1 m low.  Traders were spooked by a
barrage of comments from analysts.  The Nasdaq also closed down 43
pts.  In London, the FTSE ended down 33 pts.  The AUD is trading at
71.24 US c after spiking to 71.90 o'night.  Oil has jumped more than
$1 to $US39.65/bbl o'night on supply concerns.  There's a strike in
Nigeria, and sabotage in Iraq.  Gold slumped $5.70 to $US392.55/oz on
profit taking.

PM Howard says pubs and clubs in Tasmania should impose more
anti-smoking bans because it was a "filthy habit".

Ch 9 says 14 people have been killed in the Baquba bomb attack -- the
biggest since the hand-over.

A 2nd group of Afghan refugees from Nauru has arrived in AUS.  PM
Howard has once vowed the refugees -- some of them from the infamous
Tampa "children overboard" episode -- would never set foot in AUS.

A German researcher says he's analysed ice core data that's enabled
him to determine sunspot activity over centuries.  The sun is more
active now than it had been for 1,000 y, he says, and speculates
global warming is greatly influenced by solar activity, and not just
the rise in CO2.  The result comes amid renewed pressure on the Bush
Whitehouse to sign up to the Kyoto protocol.
[Later reports from the horse's mouth show the paper argues that since
sunspot activity has been largely static for the last 2 solar cycles,
yet temps continue to climb even more sharply than before,
human-induced climate change is also a big possibility].

A $855 mn lawsuit has been filed against a Saudi bank in NY on behalf
of half-a-dozen US families.  It accuses the bank of laundering money
to pay Palestinian militants who launched attacks on Israelis.

The US has taken action against China and Vietnam.  It's imposed
tariffs of 7% to 100% on prawns, which the US Commerce Dept say are
being dumped at artifically low prices.

7.30 am
While not mentioning the Bush Whitehouse by name, a UN AIDS conf has
been told that an extreme policy of "abstinence only" was a failed
strategy that is responsible for 1000s of deaths a y.  The US
delegation to the conf is the smallest ever.  The Whitehouse is
blaming budget cuts, but observers say the Bush Admin simply doesn't
want to listen to views counter to its own religious policies.

The NY Post has red faces, running a headline that Kerry had chosen
Dick Gephardt.  A rival paper sent the editor a case of champagne and
congratulated him on the front page.

10 am
A forensic scientist who examined evidence over baby Azaria
Chamberlain's disappearance has raised doubts about claims that the
baby's body was taken and buried in a MEL backyard.

Authorities are moving today to stop all supplies of Qld citrus fruits
from entering W AUS.

Fed Ag Min Warren Truss says a quarantine breach could have allowed
the citrus canker disease to enter Qld.

Fed Opp'n leader Mark Latham says a Labor Govt would not place a
mandate on ethanol in fuel.

Michael Chamberlain has revealed he may have heard a gun shot the
night his daughter Azaria disappeared from a camp site at Uluru in 1980.

The ALP says there needs to be a "third wave" of reforms to AUS's
trade practice and Industrial Relations law to ensure continued growth.

The Aussie Quarantine Service has confirmed the exotic citrus disease
citrus canker has been detected on a property in Emerald in central Qld.

The PM says he is angry the Opp'n leader has not yet produced any evidence
to back up his assertion that the Govt is trying to smear his reputation.
[When people talk of "no evidence" versus "poor evidence", they're
probably trying to hide something].

The snr police officer who was stationed at Uluru when Azaria
Chamberlain disappeared says he is not convinced by the latest claims
relating to the case.

Midday.
As expected, the Reserve bank has left int rates on hold at 5.25%.

A Brit soldier has been killed when a roadside bomb exploded next to a
convoy in Basra.  The interim govt is now unsure of who's organising
the bombings.  The US has confirmed only 100 of the 6,000 prisoners in
its custody are foreign fighters.

Lawyer for Habib, Mr Hopper, says he'll prosecute the AUS govt if it
turns out it knew Habib was tortured in Egypt after being handed over
to US authorities. The former Qarati Justice Min last night told SBS
"Dateline" he knew "absolutely" that Habib was tortured by Egyptian
authorities.  Habib had been arrested in Pakistan, and sold to the US
military. The US had then transported Habib to Egypt, where he was
interrogated, before being transported to Guatmo.  Hopper says he's
still trying to obtain AUS federal funding so he can travel to Guatmo
and visit his client.

Counting continues in Indon.  SBY has picked up about 40% -- well short
of the 50% he needs to avoid a 2nd runoff.  Megawati has about 27%,
ahead of Wiranto on 22%

The All Ords is down 5 pts, following Wall St.  Airline stocks are
lower after the spike in oil prices.  Qantas is down 2.25%.  In Japan,
the Nikkei is down 138 pts.  The Hang Seng is also down 104.  The AUD
is trading around 71.42 US c.  Gold is up .70 to $US393.45/oz.  Local
oil is up $US1.25 to $US39.65/bbl.

In Russia, there's confusion on the markets after Yukos says it will
not be able to pay its tax bill -- due today.  The company says its
assets and bank accounts have been frozen by the Russian govt.  The
World Bank says the case has soured Russia's reputation on world
markets, with uncertainty over whether Yukos is a single case or a
systemic problem, and -- if the latter -- who will be next.

A new US study suggests cough medicines are a waste of money.
[Biggggg surprise].  The study looked at 2 of the most common
ingredients.  100 children were randomly given 2 active ingredients or
sugar water.  Researchers found there was no difference between the
groups.  Parents indicated the children didn't coughed less, get any
more sleep or allow the parents to sleep better, if they took the real
cough syrup.  In addition, some of the active ingredients are associated
with side-effects like insomnia, hyper activity and hallucinations.
[Look, a lifetime of cough syrup for breakfast hasn't done Mosley any
observable harm!].

4 pm
A security scare has been sparked at SYD airport after a man tried to
get onto an LA-bound aircraft without a boarding pass.  Passengers
have been delayed for up to 4 hrs.

6.30 pm
After 4 explosions nr the home of Iraqi PM Allawi, he's signed new
powers into law allowing him to declare martial law for up to 60
days, conduct searches and lock up suspects without charge or trial.

Australia's only pay TV network has gone off the air after it went
bust and creditors refused to tip in more.

The Nikkei has ended down 90 pts.  The AUD is at 71.90 US c -- 6 wk highs.

AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty says he wants officers to set an example
and give DNA samples when they join the federal police.  Officers
already are fingerprinted when they join.

9.30 pm
There's been a suicide bomb attack in Colombo.  A woman walked into a
police stn and set of an explosive.  5 police have been killed.  The
Tamil Tigers have a signed truce with the govt, and it's not know who
is responsible for the attack.
[Later reports say the woman had been detained nr an official's home
and had set the bomb off when taken to the police stn].

10 pm
2 police officers giving evidence at the inquest into the death of a
17 yo boy in SYD appear to have contradicted each other.  SYD police
have always maintained they were not chasing "TJ" when he became
impaled on a fence and died.  Witnesses have claimed a police car was
seen following the teen, and one says the boy was side-swiped by a
police stn wagon.

The Opp'n has called on PM Howard to accept that WMD will probably not
be found in Iraq -- following statements made by PM Tony Blair before
a Brit parliamentary committee. But Mr Howard says he doesn't
automatically follow what the US and UK say. But he will have to check
that position with his boss overnight.

10.30 pm
Def Min Robert Hill is tonight in Washington, DC, and about to sign up
Australia to the US "Star Wars" program.

11 pm
The Hang Seng has ended up 36 pts but the Nikkei ended down 90.  In
London, the FTSE has pushed up 10 after 6 days of losses.  Gold is
higher at $US398.65/oz but local oil down at $US39.15/bbl.

BBC World News.  The Iraqi Human Rights and Justice Mins says the govt
will guarantee human rights under the new security laws.  The laws
were designed to protect human rights and liberties.  The
deteriorating security sit'n right now urges such laws because it the
public safety is threatened.  Under the laws, areas can be cordoned
off and curfews be imposed.  Political groups can be banned, and
public meetings cancelled.  Mail can be read, phones tapped, and
people carrying weapons -- a common thing in Iraq -- can be arrested.
In exceptional cases the multinational forces might be called on to
help enforce the laws.  The govt says people can be arrested under
court-issued warrants, but warrants might not be needed in exceptional cases.

Mortar shells have landed in C Baghdad, nr offices used by PM Allawi.
US choppers have fired missiles into a Baghdad suburb.

The OECD has criticised the Russian govt over the Yukos sit'n.  The
organisation accuses the Putin govt of "highly selective law
enforcement".  Elsewhere, a company rep has declared Yukos will not be
able to pay its $3.5 bn tax bill, which is due at midnight tonight.

Hamas has blamed Israel for an explosion in Gaza that wounded 3
bystanders, incl a child.  Reps say the blast happened when an
unmanned aircraft fired a missile at a car travelling in the main
street in the E of Gaza City.  2 men who had been in the car then
fled.  Hamas said they were members, but didn't name them.  The
Israeli military has made no comment.  This would appear to be a
failed assassination attempt.

6 Yemenis have been charged with the bombing of the USS Cole and
belonging to al-Qaeda.  The men refused to plead, and called for lawyers.  
The prosecutors said the men planned and trained for the attack
for 3 y.  The chief suspect was charged in his absence.  He's
presently in US custody at an unknown location.

The Brit govt has announced a new attempt to introduce a religious
hatred law.  Home Sec Blunkett said extremists used religion to stir
up hatred.  A prev attempt to intro the law was unsuccessful.

11.30 pm
The HK Health Min is to resign after the release of a report critical
of the govt's handling of the SARS outbreak last y.  Observers say the
resignation will reduce pressure on the increasingly unpopular regime
of Tung Chee-hwa.

The Sudan govt still maintains it has nothing to do with the fighting
in the Darfur region of Sudan. A rep told BBC rebels were spread all
over the region and were creating trouble. The Arab militias were
simply responding to the trouble-markers, he insisted.
}}
========================================
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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.

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