From the World-Wide Resourses of the Western Australia
Reserch Senter(*)
OIL THE NEWS THAT FITS MY VIEWS #204
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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:
The Undeniable Evidence:
Even More Uneniable Evidence:
US Centcom News Releases:
Iraqi Body Count: [9,211 as at 02 Jun 2004].
UN Mailing List:
Some Of The News, Some Of The Time:
This Stuff Blogged:
Also Kindly Archived:
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Selecting latest news stories and other data for you...
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Pres Bush should pull his head in.
-- Greens Sen Bob Brown, 04 Jun 2004.
The Greens have condemned Pres Bush's criticism of Opp'n leader
Mark Latham as interference in Australia's internal affairs. The
last time LBJ backed Harold Holt during the Vietnam war.
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Sat, 05 Jun 2004.
HEADLINES:
US navy planning "show of force" in oil-rich W Africa
Oil price slides as tensions ease
Intel, jobs data, lower oil boost US stocks
Voters don't believe PM on abuse
US, Brit offer new Iraq resolution
US submits new draft of Iraq resolution
UN says US-led forces violate Iraqi's rights
Shiite elders broker fragile ceasefire in Iraq holy city
Pope appeals for return of Iraq's sovereignty
Iraqi police capture Zarqawi aide
Iraqi PM calls for end to insurgency
Iraq's new PM defends presence of US troops
Iraq violence rages after new govt makes security top priority
I won't budge: Latham defies Bush on Iraq
Howard ends US visit with Iraq commitment
Attackers kill 4 US troops, Russians leave, as Iraq heads to sovereignty
5 more US soldiers slain in Iraq
17 suspected Taliban killed in Afghanistan: report
9/11 survivor awarded record damages
Adel Archbishop to stay put
Air Canada pilots assure passengers "essential-service" airline will survive
Anti-Bush protests banned in Paris
Archbishop denies receiving sex abuse warning
Brereton to quit politics
Bush begins Europe trip with Vatican visit
Bush treating AUS like 51st state: Fraser
Bush, Kerry political ads can't handle the truth
Death of 5 US soldiers pushes post-May toll to 600
Elderly couple convicted on cannabis charges
FBI denies mishandling tip off
Games roof finally slides into place
HK hosts Tiananmen anniversary vigil
Howard departs US defending Bush
Hundreds expected at RM Williams auction
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's Defence Min Najib Razak -- who was to join
Internat'l database to track stolen, lost passports
Japanese minister sparks row with killing comments
Koreas open cross-border roads
Labor unveils nat'l water policy
Leaders gather for D-Day ceremonies
Legends escort torch through MEL
Majority of Israelis support Gaza pullout
Min defends WA extraditions
Morgentaler warns Canada's abortion rights at stake in fed election
PNG aid package progressing: Downer
Qld signs historic land use agreement
Rumsfeld regrets Tenet resignation
Rumsfeld tells Asia to expect more terror strikes
Russian market explosion kills 9
Singapore warns of shipping attack plan
Stocks boosted by Intel, jobs data
Stolen children return for "healing ceremony"
Taliban told US it would give up Osama: report
UN report highlights risks to marine life
UN urges safe havens for fish from trawlers
US to lay Hicks, Habib charges
US troops wounded in Sadr City ambush
What's in a quack?
Oil price slides as tensions ease
NY (AFP). Crude oil prices in NY have dropped for a 3rd straight day
on Fri, with supply fears easing in the wake of Thu's OPEC decision to
boost output.
New York's reference light sweet crude Jul contract fell 79 c/bbl to
$US38.49 at the close, retreating further from Tue's all-time record
high above $US42/bbl.
The decline was a sign of easing jitters in the oil futures markets in
the wake of OPEC's decision to boost production quotas by 2.5 mn bpd.
New York prices have tumbled nearly $US4 in the past 3 days after
hitting an intra-day record of $US42.45/bbl.
Markets tensions also eased this wk by strong US inventory figures for
crude oil and petrol going into the N American vacation season.
This has helped dampen some of the speculation that pushed up prices.
"We have ample near-term supply of both gasoline and crude," said
analyst Jim Still at Refco.
"A lot of anxiety has been lifted ... and there's still heavy fund selling."
US navy planning "show of force" in oil-rich W Africa
Abuja (AFP). A US navy carrier battle group will make a "show of
force" in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea off W Africa as part of an
unprecedented global operation to demonstrate America's command of the
high seas, a US diplomatic source told AFP on Fri.
The foray by a heavily armed battle group into the waters off Nigeria,
Sao Tome, Equatorial Guinea and other African oil producers, comes at
a time when fuel prices are topping the US political agenda and
security crises in the Gulf region are pushing demands for greater
diversification in energy supplies.
The Abuja-based diplomat told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that the
Gulf of Guinea was "a place where there is not normally an American
presence" and described the operation as "a show of force".
"Operation Summer Pulse '04 aims to demonstrate the capabilities of
the US navy; before we only had 2 or 3 operations involving aircraft
carriers at any one time," he said, adding that now 7 carrier groups
are to be deployed in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the Mediterranean
and the Gulf of Guinea.
"The navy wants, through this exercise, to demonstrate to the world
that even with all its current responsibilities, it can still position
half-a-dozen aircraft carriers with all the necessary support ships
in the 4 corners of the world at the same time," he said.
In Washington, a statement on the Pentagon website, said: "Beginning
this wk and continuing through Aug, the Navy will exercise the full
range of skills involved in simultaneously deploying and employing
carrier strike groups around the world.
"Summer Pulse '04 will include scheduled deployments, surge
operations, joint and internat'l exercises, and other advanced
training and port visits," it added, although the Nigerian military
told AFP it had no knowledge of any upcoming joint programmes in the
Gulf of Guinea.
The US diplomatic source said that future joint exercises were under
consideration, but that the planned visit of a US navy admiral had
been postponed until "Aug or Sep".
Intel, jobs data, lower oil boost US stocks
Economic hopes boost Wall Street.
NY (Reuters). Stocks on Wall Street rose on Fri on Intel Corp's
positive outlook, a strong jobs report and lower oil prices.
The blue-chip Dow and broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose for the
second wk in a row, but the technology-filled Nasdaq fell for the week.
The markets got a boost as NYMEX crude oil futures ended down 2.1% at
$38.45/bbl, settling below $40 for the 3rd consecutive day, in a
sell-off after OPEC's agreement to raise output quotas and a rise in
US crude and gasoline inventories.
A Labor Dept report before the market opened showed US employers added
248,000 jobs in May, a tally that exceeded Wall Street's expectations
of a 216,000 rise and signalled a strengthening economy.
Intel, the world's largest computer chip maker, added to the optimism
with a forecast late on Thu that second-quarter revenue may be better
than previously expected.
"Oil down 2% is certainly helping equities worldwide," said Tom Schrader,
managing director of US equity trading at Legg Mason Wood Walker.
"The fact that our economic numbers came out stronger than expected is
helping equities here in the US. Intel's comments last night after the
bell are helping the tech market, which is helping the broader market."
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 46.9 points, or 0.46%, to
10,242.8, S&P 500 gained 5.9 points, or 0.53%, to 1,122.51 while the
technology-based Nasdaq Composite added 18 points, or 0.94%, to 1,978.
The strong jobs data helped to make the case that the Fed will raise
interest rates at its Jun 29-30 meeting, many analysts said, but they
added the rate hike is already priced into the stock market.
The lower oil prices helped oil-sensitive stocks like airlines. Delta
Air Lines rose 5 cents to $5.76 and Southwest Airlines added 26 cents,
or 1.7%, to $15.60.
Intel led stocks higher, rising 73 cents, or 2.7%, to $28.14.
Semiconductor maker Texas Instruments and networking equipment maker
Cisco Systems were up after Intel's report.
Stocks boosted by Intel, jobs data
NY (Reuters). Stocks rose on Fri as Intel Corp's positive outlook
lifted the technology sector, and a strong jobs report and lower oil
prices boosted investors' confidence about the US economy.
The blue-chip Dow and broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose for the
2nd wk in a row, but the technology-filled Nasdaq fell for the week.
The markets got a boost as NYMEX crude oil futures ended down 2.1% at
$38.45/bbl, settling below $40 for the 3rd consecutive day, in a
sell-off after OPEC 's agreement to raise output quotas and a rise in
US crude and gasoline inventories.
A Labor Dept report before the market opened showed US employers added
248,000 jobs in May, a tally that exceeded Wall Street's expectations
of a 216,000 rise and signalled a strengthening economy.
Intel, the world's largest computer chip maker, added to the optimism
with a forecast late on Thu that Q2 revenue may be better than
previously expected.
"Oil down 2% is certainly helping equities worldwide," said Tom Schrader,
managing director of US equity trading at Legg Mason Wood Walker. "The
fact that our economic numbers came out stronger than expected is
helping equities here in the US. Intel's comments last night after the
bell are helping the tech market, which is helping the broader market."
The DJIA rose 46.91 points, or 0.46%, to 10,242.82. The Standard &
Poor's 500 Index gained 5.87 points, or 0.53%, to 1,122.51. The
technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index added 18.36 points, or
0.94%, to 1,978.62.
Trading was light, with 1.12 bn shares changing hands on the NY Stock
Exchange , well below the 1.4 bn daily average for last y. About 1.41
bn shares were traded on Nasdaq, below the 1.69 bn daily average last y.
Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE and Nasdaq by 2 to 1.
For the week, the Nasdaq slipped 0.41%, while the Dow rose 0.54% and
the S&P 500 added 0.16%.
The strong jobs data helped to make the case that the Fed will raise
interest rates at its Jun 29-30 meeting, many analysts said, but they
added the rate hike is already priced into the stock market.
"The jobs report just confirms that we are in a very solid economic
expansion," said Frederic Dickson, market strategist at fund firm
D.A. Davidson & Co "We should feel very comfortable about consumer
spending continuing to a be a big contributor to the economy going
into the fall."
The lower oil prices helped oil-sensitive stocks like airlines. Delta
Air Lines Inc rose 5 cents to $5.76 and Southwest Airlines added 26
cents, or 1.7%, to $15.60.
Intel led stocks higher, rising 73 cents, or 2.7%, to $28.14.
Semiconductor maker Texas Instruments Inc and networking equipment
maker Cisco Systems Inc were up after Intel's report.
Texas Instruments rose 87 cents, or 3.6%, to $25.21 and Cisco added 43
cents, or 1.9%, to $22.78.
The Philadelphia Stock Exchange semiconductor index was up 1.6%.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc shares slipped after the largest US private-sector
employer promised to give raises to some of its workers, including 1.3
mn US employees. The world's biggest retailer called on employees to
counter critics who say Wal-Mart mistreats its staff. Its shares fell
1 cent to $56.69.
General Mills rose $2.20, or 4.8%, to $47.85 on reports that the food
company may be the target of a $22 bn bid by Nestle SA but Nestle said
it has no plans for a major transaction.
Air Canada pilots assure passengers "essential-service" airline will survive
Toronto (CP). Air Canada pilots want Canadians to book their flights
without worrying about the airline's future despite m of confusion
about its survival.
The Air Canada Pilots Association, calling the airline an "essential
service" for the country, will launch a 3-wk advertising campaign in 3
major newspapers on Tue to tell passengers the airline is on the rebound.
"Our airline, Air Canada, is not only going to survive, it's going to
thrive and prosper," said Capt Jean-Marc Belanger, French-language rep
for the 3,100-member pilots association.
Union president Don Johnson said the ads, appearing under the banner
This is Your Captain Speaking, will tell Canadians that Air Canada is
going to continue to fly.
"There is still work to be done," Johnson told a news conference Fri,
adding the union "once again restates its commitment to work with
management and potential investors to secure the airline's future."
The union agreed to $38.5 mn of the $200 mn in labour-cost reductions
the airline had to achieve last m in order to meet the conditions of
an $850-mn investment to be underwritten by Deutsche Bank.
The Montreal-based company, which has lost money every y since 1999
and has been operating under court-protection from its creditors since
Apr 2003. The company is currently working towards emerging from
court-protection by the end of Sep.
The pilots' $200,000 ad campaign is scheduled to run 3 days a week for
3 wk in some of the country's largest-circulation daily newspapers --
The Globe and Mail, Nat'l Post and La Presse.
Johnson said the ads are designed to re-assure passengers their safety
remains the paramount concern of the pilots, and said the union would
make no concessions that affected travel safety.
"We've seen emotional reactions in the public domain and a certain
amount of confusion -- a great amount of confusion -- as to the future
of our airline," said Belanger. "We're here to set the record straight."
Like pilots avoiding turbulence or thunderstorms in flight, he said,
the pilots' union is taking a "cool, calm, collected approach which is
solution-oriented."
Johnson called Air Canada "an essential service."
"Domestically, we have 60% of the service in Canada and internat'ly,
90%," he said. "If Air Canada were to fail, there would be a period of
time -- and who can speculate how long that would be -- where the
airline would shut down. This is a big country. It's very difficult
for people to get around with the main airline shut down."
The pilots repeated their call for govt intervention to "level the
playing field" for airline competition.
"I think the Competition Bureau and its mandate are being exercised in
a partisan manner," said Johnson. "It wasn't long ago that Air Canada
tried to match fares against one of its competitors in the Maritimes
and one of the issues became Air Canada's avoidable costs.
However, when our competitors lower their fares to $1 to get a
market share in a place where we're flying, no one objects to that."
Belanger noted increased security costs for air travel after Sep 11,
2001 were borne by the govt in the US but in Canada "the passengers
and the airlines are paying for it."
Johnson said the union also planned to push the govt for help with
other costs that airlines face, including navigation fees, airport
rents, and fuel taxes.
The fed Liberals, both under the leadership of Jean Chretien and Paul
Martin, have consistently declined to provide direct aid to Air Canada
and said they expect the company and its various stakeholders will
come up with a private-sector solution to the airline's problems.
However, a proposal for making up Air Canada's huge pension shortfall
over 10 y, rather than the 5 y currently required under fed law, would
need approvals from the Finance ministry and cabinet. The pension issue
has been one of the major stumbling blocks to Air Canada's restructuring.
Johnson also expressed frustration about "pundits and so-called
experts" who have "debated the future of Air Canada for years."
"There is only one side to this story," said Johnson. "Air Canada will
survive. We will emerge from the restructuring process. And we will
thrive. How can we be so sure? Because as pilots, we know Air Canada.
We know its planes and its people. We understand the ups and downs of
the industry and we know what makes it succeed."
In another development Fri, Air Canada reported preliminary traffic
figures that show the carrier's passenger load factor for May -- the
proportion of seats filled -- was its highest ever at 78.5%.
Air Canada's mainline airline flew 25.4% more revenue passenger miles
than in May 2003, while its regional subsidiary Jazz flew 4.5% more --
the number of paid-for seats multiplied by the distance they flew.
Rob Peterson, the Montreal airline's chief financial officer, said the
results are "a solid indication of the success of Air Canada's product
offerings in a highly competitive industry environment."
The airline, which obtained court protection from creditors on Apr 1,
2003, has had that protection extended until Sep 30 after recently
negotiating further cost cutting deals with its unions and arranging
new financing.
Russian market explosion kills 9
Samara (AFP). 9 people have been killed in an explosion outside a
bustling open-air market in the central Russian city of Samara.
More than 40 others were injured when a powerful plastic explosives
device went off shortly after noon, local time.
Officials had initially said the market blast was likely set off by 2
faulty gas canisters, but changed their theory after Fed Security
Service (FSB) agents inspected the site.
Local prosecutors have opened a 2-count criminal inquiry into the case
-- on charges of terrorism and murder.
"We have dismissed the possibility that this was caused by gas
canisters. Our main hypothesis now is that it was an act of
terrorism," a local police rep said by telephone from Samara.
Samara regional prosecutor, Alexander Yefremov, told news agency ITAR-TASS
the explosive device was planted nr railway tracks that run behind the
clothes and household goods open-air market, one of the city's largest.
He estimated that some 300 people were shopping and selling goods when
the blast went off.
Samara is located some 800 km E of Moscow.
TV footage broadcast on state-controlled Russia television showed
scenes of wreckage, with bloodied bodies being covered by aluminium
sheets and debris from trading stalls scattered across a wide area.
Iraq's new PM defends presence of US troops
Ayad Alawi's address came on the same day the UN said they would
design an election to select a 275-member nat'l assembly in Jan.
Baghdad (NY Times). In his 1st address to the Iraqi people, the new
PM today defended the presence of American and Brit forces on Iraqi
soil and warned that their departure would amount to a "catastrophe"
for the country.
Ayad Alawi, appearing in a televised address 3 days after being chosen
PM, said his countrymen, "as Iraqis, can never accept occupation," and
he vowed to reclaim the country's full sovereignty on Jun 30.
But his speech amounted to a vigorous defence of the continued
presence of American troops at a time when some public opinion polls
have reported that a majority of Iraqis want American, Brit and other
foreign troops to leave the country immediately.
Dr Alawi's address came on the same day that UN officials announced
they would design a system of proportional representation to choose
members to the 275-member nat'l assembly in elections to be held Jan 2005.
The announcement by the UN capped a wk of significant steps intended
to put this war-ravaged country on the path toward democratic
elections, a process that some Iraqis and UN officials hope could
begin to drain some of the anger that is driving the insurgency.
Dr Alawi, wearing a Western-style coat and tie, told Iraqis that the
democratic elections expected next y were inextricably bound up with
the guerrilla insurgency, and that the former could not succeed
without the defeat of the latter.
"Our govt has decided that only the restoration of security and the
safeguarding of citizens' dignity, honour and wealth will enable us to
successfully proceed on the political course and achieve the transfer
of full sovereignty," Mr Alawi said in a speech that was carried by
stations like Al-Arabiya and Al Jazeera, which broadcast across the
Arab-speaking world.
"Targeting the multinat'l forces, led by the US, to force them out of
Iraq would be a catastrophe for Iraq, especially before the completion
of the building of security and military institutions," Dr Alawi said.
Dr Alawi seemed to be suggesting that there would be a substantial
difference between the occupation, which he told Iraqis was about to
end, and the situation after Jun 30, when, he suggested, the Iraqi
govt would have greater control over American forces. Mr Alawi's
remarks echoed those made by his foreign minister in a speech before
the UN Sec Council, which is trying to draft a resolution laying out
the limits of Iraqi sovereignty and the freedom of the American
military to operate in that country.
"I should also mention here that the coalition forces, too, have
sacrificed the blood of their sons to the terror attacks designed to
force them to leave Iraq," he said.
Dr Alwai, a secular Shiite, was chosen earlier this wk in a
UN-sponsored selection process to lead the govt that will take over
when sovereignty is restored here Jun 30. His govt, which includes
more than 30 other snr leaders, is supposed to guide the country
toward democratic elections, which UN officials say will most likely
be held in Jan of next y.
Dr Alawi, a neurologist, is known for his association with the Central
Intel Agency, which supported his efforts and that of his group, the
Iraqi Nat'l Accord, to topple Saddam Hussein in the 1990's.
Dr Alawi's speech followed the announcement earlier in the day of the
creation of an Iraqi commission to oversee preparations for the
elections, and of the basic framework for the elections themselves.
Carina Perelli, the director of the UN' electoral assistance division,
said her team had decided to hold elections based on a system of
proportional representation, under which voters across the country
would select a list of candidates, with each list typically backed by
political parties. The number of votes tallied by a party nationwide
would determine how many of its candidates who appeared on its list
would take office.
Under the system, the%age of votes received by a particular party would
roughly equal the%age of seats they would be awarded in the nat'l assembly.
I won't budge: Latham defies Bush on Iraq
Washington (SMH). The Opp'n Leader, Mark Latham, has refused to give
ground after an unprecedented attack by Pres George Bush over his
pledge to withdraw Aussie troops from Iraq, plunging Labor's relations
with the US to a new low.
"Nothing Pres Bush has said today changes our hopes and expectations
about the future," Mr Latham said after Mr Bush described Labor's
proposed pull-out as "disastrous" and implied that he should not be
elected PM.
"Labor never wanted the troops there in the 1st place. We intend to
have them home by Christmas."
Analysts described Mr Bush's strong attack on Labor policy at a
Whitehouse press conference with the PM, John Howard, as an unprecedented
intervention in Aussie domestic politics that would put the alliance
under strain if Mr Latham and Mr Bush won elections later this y.
Mr Latham issued a declaration on Iraq policy, repeating Labor's
claims that the Govt's policies were making AUS a bigger target and
diverting resources from the "real" war on terrorism.
He also said the recent revelations of prisoner abuses had given
terrorists the best recruitment campaign they could wish for, that
Aussie troops had been sent to war "for reasons that were not true",
and the war was contributing to higher petrol prices.
Mr Latham restated his position that Labor supported the alliance but
reserved its right to disagree over Iraq. "Labor strongly supports the
American alliance first established by the Curtin Labor Govt during
World War II."
In Washington, Mr Howard called on Mr Latham to address the issues
raised when Mr Bush said Labor's withdrawal pledge would embolden
terrorists and reveal the West as weak. "Mr Latham has not addressed
the issues raised by Mr Bush -- he should do so."
He defended Mr Bush's strong condemnation of Labor's promise to
withdraw the troops, saying "obviously he feels very strongly, and I
understand that".
Mr Howard insisted that the words were Mr Bush's and denied that
Labor's position on Iraq had been canvassed during his 1 hr meeting
with the Pres immediately before.
But sources at the meeting said the leaders had discussed their
political opponents -- Democrat John Kerry and Mark Latham -- and
domestic politics in their respective countries.
A leading strategic analyst, Hugh White, said Mr Bush's comments were
unprecedented and foreshadowed problems for the alliance if Mr Latham
and Mr Bush won the elections.
"What does Bush expect to happen if Latham wins the election?" said Mr
White, head of the Aussie Strategic Policy Institute and a former head
of strategy in the Defence Dept.
"I think he has made it much harder for Latham to compromise by going
in so hard. It's quite a worrying development." A former head of the
Dept of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Dick Woolcott, said: "What the Pres
has said has gone very close to intervening in our domestic politics
in an election atmosphere .."
The shadow treasurer, Simon Crean, told ABC radio: "We will work with
the govt that the Americans elect just as I'm sure the Pres of the
United States will work with the govt that the Aussie people elect."
Bush, Kerry political ads can't handle the truth
Op/Ed (USA Today). Voters in 30 states that are not expected to be
closely contested in this y's presidential election are missing the
onslaught of TV ads Pres Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry are
airing. They should consider themselves fortunate.
Voters in the other so-called battleground states, where the election
is likely to be decided, aren't as lucky. The 2 campaigns, armed with
record funds, are bombarding voters with attacks on the rival candidate
that are filled with exaggerations, omissions and misleading statements
peddled as "facts."
While deceptive ads are hardly new to politics, what makes this y
different is how early the barrage has begun and how often the
commercials are running. And truth is the principal victim: One
non-partisan study has found that most viewers believe the ads.
Political consultants may be convinced that campaigns that play loose
with the facts win elections, but the country loses. Voters are
deprived of a chance to weigh the real differences between
candidates. And polls show that mudslinging campaigns persuade many to
stay home rather than vote.
How each side has distorted facts:
Bush. His ads claim Kerry would raise taxes by at least $900 bn in his
1st 100 days, wants to repeal the anti-terrorist USA Patriot Act and
has repeatedly voted against much-needed defence programs.
The facts: Kerry has no such tax plan. He has called for greater
judicial supervision of investigations conducted under the Patriot
Act, not the law's repeal. And the defence spending shifts Kerry
backed had been sought by VP Cheney when he was Defense secretary
under Bush's father.
Kerry. His ads charge that 3 mn jobs have been lost during the Bush
presidency and accuse Bush of saying that "sending jobs overseas makes
sense." By contrast, the ads claim Kerry "cast a decisive vote that
created 20 mn new jobs" a decade ago.
The facts: At its worst, the drop in employment from 2001 through
mid-2003 was 2.7 mn. Recent gains put the net loss at 1.6 mn through
Apr. A Whitehouse economist, not Bush, said out-sourcing jobs overseas
lowers consumer prices; he did not say domestic job losses were a good
thing. And Kerry's "decisive" vote was for a 1993 deficit-reduction
bill, backed by nearly every Democrat, that certainly wasn't the sole
cause of the economic boom that followed.
The claims in the ads are being closely monitored by news
organisations and independent watchdogs such as Fact check.org, run by
the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
The centre's survey of 18 battleground states found that the ads are
having their intended effect: The public is buying the false claims.
Majorities believed that Bush "favours sending American jobs overseas,"
Kerry "voted for higher taxes 350 times" and 3 mn jobs have been lost
during Bush's presidency. A plurality agreed that "John Kerry wants to
raise gasoline taxes by 50 cents a gallon," parroting the Bush
campaign's recycling of a 10-yo quote that Kerry has long since repudiated.
Bush and Kerry have sharply differing views on many issues, from taxes
and trade to health care and the environment. Highlighting them
honestly would allow voters to make informed choices.
Stretching the truth only gives voters another reason to stay home on
Election Day.
Morgentaler warns Canada's abortion rights at stake in fed election
Fredericton (CP). Dr Henry Morgentaler put the women of Canada on
alert Fri, warning that their hard-won abortion rights could be at
stake in the fed election.
Morgentaler, Canada's leading abortion-rights crusader, said in an
interview Fri he is concerned the Conservative Party has a hidden
agenda to diminish and possibly eliminate a woman's right to choose
abortion. Morgentaler, who is involved in a legal battle with the
provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia over access to abortion
services, called on Conservative Leader Stephen Harper to clarify his
intentions on the hot-button issue.
"I'd like to have an iron-clad guarantee from Mr Harper that he would
not introduce new legislation on abortion, that he would not hold a
referendum and he would not allow a private member's bill to act as a
Trojan horse to do that," Morgentaler said in an interview from Toronto.
"To me, it looks like they have a hidden agenda."
He also issued an open letter to Harper, warning that his evasiveness
on the abortion issue represents a clear danger to women's rights in Canada.
But Morgentaler said the Tories don't pose the only threat when it
comes to protecting abortion rights.
In the Maritimes, where abortion services are severely restricted,
Morgentaler said the fed Liberal govt has failed to enforce the Canada
Health Act to guarantee equal access to all women.
"It's important that a new govt enforce the Canada Health Act in all
provinces so that women in Fredericton get the same privileges and
access to abortion as they do in Toronto," said Morgentaler.
Harper's effort to portray the new Conservative Party as socially
moderate was undermined this wk when he revealed that he would allow a
free vote in Parliament if a private member's bill was tabled on abortion.
As well, Harper said although a Conservative govt would not table
govt-sponsored abortion legislation, he limited that pledge to the
govt's 1st term in office.
On Fri, Harper dismissed Morgentaler's claim that the Conservatrives
are trying to chip away at women's rights.
"We're proposing nothing that would limit a woman's right to choose,"
he said. "Absolutely nothing. And I have no intention of tabling such
legislation."
Harper added that he has come under fire from anti-abortion groups for
his position.
Meanwhile, PM Paul Martin has promised to uphold abortion rights in
Canada, despite the fact that his Liberal govt has not taken action
against the New Brunswick govt for limiting abortion availability.
New Brunswick does not fund abortions carried out in Morgentaler's
private clinic in Fredericton. Nova Scotia has similar restrictions,
and no abortion services are available at all on Prince Edward Island.
In New Brunswick, Medicare covers abortions that are performed in
approved hospitals during the 1st 12 wk of pregnancy, provided the
woman has had a certificate signed by 2 doctors, including a
specialist, deeming the procedure to be medically necessary.
Morgentaler has filed lawsuits against New Brunswick and Nova Scotia,
alleging that the provinces are not abiding by the Canada Health Act.
"It"s completely unjustified on the part of the provincial govt not to
fund the Fredericton clinic," he said of the New Brunswick case.
"There are about 500 women a y who have to pay out of their own
pockets for a service which the Fed Govt considers an insured,
medically necessary service."
Bush begins Europe trip with Vatican visit
Pres Bush is in Europe for celebrations to commemorate 2 major Allied
victories in World War II.
Rome (Reuters). US Pres George W Bush has arrived at the Vatican for
his meeting with Pope John Paul.
The Pope opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq and has spoken out
against US troop abuses of Iraqi prisoners.
Mr Bush, in Rome for 36 hr to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the
city's liberation in World War II and to meet with Italian leaders,
was to see the ailing 84-yo pontiff in his private study in the
Vatican's Apostolic Palace.
Onlookers on the boulevard leading to St Peter's square were kept
behind police cordons.
Some applauded as the Mr Bush's motorcade passed, others greeted him
with whistles of disapproval.
In their 1st face-to-face meeting since the pope failed to convince Mr
Bush not to invade Iraq, the US Pres was to award the Pope the Presid'l
Medal of Freedom, the highest US civilian award, for his long y of service.
In opposing the US-led invasion of Iraq last y, Pope John Paul sent
top envoys to both Mr Bush and former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and
made many public appeals for a diplomatic agreement.
Vatican officials have expressed dismay over the abuse of Iraqi
prisoners by US soldiers, which has inflamed the Arab world and
embarrassed Washington.
Last wk the Pope publicly condemned torture as an affront to human
dignity, seen as a veiled reference to US abuse of Iraqi prisoners at
Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
The Pope and Mr Bush both oppose abortion and homosexual marriage.
From Italy, Mr Bush will travel to France where he will meet Pres
Jacques Chirac, another strong critic of the US-led war in Iraq.
The US Pres will then travel from Paris to Normandy for ceremonies
marking the 60th anniversary of the Allied D-Day landings.
Rumsfeld regrets Tenet resignation
Singapore (AFP). US Defence Sec Donald Rumsfeld says he regrets CIA
director George Tenet's decision to resign and that his work helped to
save lives on the battlefield.
Mr Tenet resigned as Central Intel Agency chief overnight following
mounting criticism over intel failures before the invasion of Iraq and
the Sep 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US.
Mr Tenet said he was leaving to spend more time with his family
"George Tenet is an enormously talented public servant," Mr Rumsfeld
said in a statement issued to reporters with him on board a US naval
boat in Singapore.
"I join the Pres in regretting George's decision to leave the Govt and
wish him the very best.
"The work of George Tenet and the CIA has helped to save lives on the
battlefield. America's war fighters will lose a friend and comrade
when he departs his office."
Mr Rumsfeld, who said he spoke by telephone with Mr Tenet, denied the
Pentagon had undercut the CIA by trying to exert greater control over intel.
"That's just not true. It's people who don't know what they're talking
about," he told reporters.
"What we've done is we've taken a lot of intel functions and arranged
to have an undersecretary for intel, provide better management, better
oversight within the dept which makes life easier for the director of
central intel, not more difficult," he said.
"And that is George's view, it has been George's view, and it is
George's view today," he said.
Mr Rumsfeld said the Pentagon and CIA have "knitted together about as
well as it ever has been knitted together."
"We set up a process where we had lunch every Fri and it's worked," he said.
"It's given us the ability to surface issues fast in a way that enable
us to make sure the bureaucracy, and the natural inclination of big
institutions to stove pipe things, was not successful," he said.
US Pres George W Bush expressed similar sentiments to Mr Rumsfeld in
announcing he had accepted Tenet's resignation.
"He told me he was resigning for personal reasons. I told him I'm
sorry he's leaving. He's done a superb job on behalf of the American
people," Mr Bush said overnight.
"He's been a strong leader in the war on terror. And I will miss him."
Mr Rumsfeld is in Singapore for a short visit primarily to attend a
major regional security conference.
He spent the morning on board the USS Essex, which is docked in
Singapore, where he over-saw the re-enlistment of 32 sailors and marines.
He is due to deliver the keynote address to the Asia Security
Conference on Sat.
Bush treating AUS like 51st state: Fraser
US Pres George W Bush has criticised Labor's plan to withdraw troops
from Iraq.
Canberra. Former Liberal Prime Min Malcolm Fraser says the US Pres
George W Bush should not treat AUS as though it is a US state.
Yesterday at the Whitehouse, Mr Bush described Opp'n leader Mark
Latham's troop withdrawal by Dec proposal as "disastrous".
Mr Fraser joined those criticising Mr Bush for his comments on Labor's
plan to have Aussie troops home from Iraq by Christmas.
"I'm quite sure all Aussies know Mr Bush's views but he really should
try to preserve protocol and not treat AUS as though we're a state of
the US," he said.
"Pres Bush should keep out of Aussie politics, his comments were
partisan and unnecessary.
"His views on the subject are well but AUS will have its own political
debate and Aussies will make judgement accordingly."
Labor leader Mark Latham has released a statement defending his plan
to bring Aussie troops home from Iraq by Christmas but is keeping a
low profile after Mr Bush strongly criticised the plan.
The Govt says Mr Bush's comments are broader than a criticism of Labor.
Mr Howard said Mr Bush's attack on the Opp'n leader was warranted and
not an interference in Aussie domestic politics.
"I don't think he did weigh into our domestic political climate," Mr
Howard said at the Nat'l Press Club in Washington.
"I might, for the record, make the observation that at no stage in my
discussion with Pres Bush was the subject of the Aussie Oppn's
position on Iraq raised."
A fed Labor backbencher has also warned Mr Bush to "mind his own
business", and not speak on Aussie domestic political issues.
Tasn Labor MP Sid Sidebottom hit back at Mr Bush and says Mr Latham
has better things to do than publicly respond to the Mr Bush's comments.
"Mark never ducks for cover," he said.
"No doubt he's got more important things to be worrying about that
what George Bush is saying in the presence of John Howard."
"He should mind his own business".
Head of the Aussie Defence Association Neil James is not surprised by
Mr Bush's comments.
"Some elements of the Labor Party have been having a go at the
Americans lately and this is obviously a reasonable opportunity for
the Americans to lash back," he said.
"You'd have to assume that a Republican Pres and a Liberal Prime Min
are going to ideologically agree on a few things."
Foreign Min Alexander Downer says after Spain's decision to withdraw
its troops from Iraq, Mr Bush's comments are bigger than an Aussie
domestic debate.
Howard ends US visit with Iraq commitment
Washington (Reuters/AFP/ABC). PM John Howard said Iraq is nearing a
crucial phase as the final countdown to Jun 30 and the return of
Iraq's sovereignty draws close as he wound up his 5th visit to
Washington during the Bush Admin.
"We're approaching one of the most crucial phases of this operation,"
Mr Howard said, adding that Aussie troops would not depart Iraq until
their mission was finished.
"We intend to leave them there until the job assigned to them is completed,"
Mr Howard stressed following his talks with US Pres George W Bush.
"Internat'l terrorism is investing an enormous amount to frustrate the
ambitions of the coalition," he said.
Asked about CIA director George Tenet's resignation, Mr Howard said
the CIA director was "a good intel friend of our agencies".
Mr Tenet resigned following mounting criticism over intel provided
before the Iraq invasion and warnings before the Sep 11 attacks.
Asked if he would have taken a different pre-war stance in hindsight
because no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, Mr
Howard replied: "I thought the intel was strong".
"I'm not gifted with that sort of wisdom [but there is] no change in
[the] Aussie Govt's view of the wisdom of that action," he said.
However, he said the revelations of abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu
Ghraib prison by US soldiers had harmed peoples' perceptions.
"It can't be denied of course that the prisoner abuse issue ... has
challenged the will and resolve of many," Mr Howard said.
"I share the concern that people have understandably expressed."
Mr Howard expects to receive a full report soon from the US on the
treatment of the 2 Aussies held by US forces at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Earlier, Mr Howard also said one of the men, David Hicks, could go on
trial before a military commission "as early as Aug".
Mr Hicks and Egyptian-born Aussie Mamdouh Habib have been held without
charge at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay for more than 2 y.
He said it was important that both cases be "brought to the next stage
as soon possible, as they have been in detention for a very
considerable period of time".
"I expect to have the results of that in the not-too-distant future,"
he said.
Mr Howard said he has received "assurances from the US Govt that they
[Mr Hicks and Mr Habib] have not been treated inhumanely".
He also said Mr Habib would likely be eligible for trial shortly but
that if both men were returned to AUS they would likely face no charges.
There is "no crime under Aussie law with which they could be charged,"
he said.
Mr Howard will travel to Brit for meetings with PM Tony Blair before
heading on the France for the D-day commemorations.
Howard departs US defending Bush
Washington. PM John Howard is on his way to London for talks with
Brit Prime Min Tony Blair, bidding farewell to Washington by playing
down the US Pres's comments about troop withdrawals from Iraq.
Yesterday at the White House, George W Bush described a troops
withdrawal by Christmas, as proposed by Opp'n leader Mark Latham, as
"disastrous".
Former Liberal Prime Min Malcolm Fraser has added his voice to criticising
Mr Bush, accusing him of interfering in Aussie domestic politics.
Mr Howard said Mr Bush's attack on Mr Latham was warranted and not an
interference in Aussie domestic politics.
"I don't think he did weigh into our domestic political climate," Mr
Howard said at the Nat'l Press Club in Washington.
"I might, for the record, make the observation that at no stage in my
discussion with Pres Bush was the subject of the Aussie Oppn's
position on Iraq raised."
Mr Howard said Iraq is nearing a crucial phase as the final countdown
to Jun 30 and the return of Iraq's sovereignty draws near.
"We're approaching one of the most crucial phases of this operation,"
Mr Howard said, adding that Aussie troops would not depart Iraq until
their mission was finished.
"We intend to leave them there until the job assigned to them is
completed," Mr Howard stressed.
Mr Howard and Mr Blair are expected to hold further talks on Iraq.
The PM will travel on from Brit to France, joining other world leaders
including Mr Bush, Mr Blair, French Pres Jacques Chirac, German
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Russian Pres Vladimir Putin and Queen
Elizabeth II for the D-day commemorations on Sun.
Anti-Bush protests banned in Paris
Paris (AFP). Protesters have been barred from entering central Paris
during the US Pres George W Bush's visit to the French capital.
France has deployed a massive security force ahead of Mr Bush's visit
to Paris on Sat, with 5,000 police officers and 1,500 soldiers
patrolling the capital.
With all of France on red alert -- the country's second-highest terror
threat level -- for this weekend's commemorations of the D-day landings
in Normandy, Paris was bracing for Mr Bush's arrival and a cluster of demos.
Off limits are the US embassy, off the Place de la Concorde, and
French Pres Jacques Chirac's Elysee palace.
From 8.00 pm (1800 Z) on Fri until 6.00 pm on Sun, traffic will be
blocked in and around the US embassy -- where Mr Bush and his wife
Laura will spend Sat night -- including along a section of the famous
Champs-Elysees.
Thousands of anti-war protesters against the arrival in France of Mr
Bush and Russian Pres Vladimir Putin were to be joined by trade union
activists marching against social security reform, as well as
supporters of gay marriage.
Passers-by in the area will be systematically searched on Sat, and
extra metal barricades have been placed along the Place de la Concorde.
Another area stretching from the Arc de Triomphe E to the Opera
Garnier, S to the Tuileries gardens and across the Seine to PM
Jean-Pierre Raffarin's Matignon residence will also be under close watch.
Section of the Tuileries gardens will be closed to visitors throughout
the weekend, as soldiers with infrared goggles guard the gardens and
the Elysee.
"I don't see how we could do anything more... aside from putting an
aircraft carrier on the Seine," one gendarme told AFP on condition of
anonymity.
For the 1st time, soldiers were on patrol at the capital's religious
sites, including the Notre-Dame cathedral, the Paris mosque and the
American church on the Left Bank.
Popular tourist destinations were also under surveillance, including
the Louvre museum, the Eiffel Tower and the Versailles palace outside
Paris, along with major dept stores.
4 boats carrying French Foreign Legion bomb disposal experts began
patrolling the Seine on Thu, along with firefighters and police.
Interior Min Dominique de Villepin said earlier this wk that France
was looking to meet the "great challenge" of providing "exemplary
security" for Mr Bush's visit.
According to French officials, their US counterparts said they were
satisfied with the security operation.
FBI denies mishandling tip off
Newark (AP). The head of the FBI's Newark office denied mishandling a
man who told agents he had been trained as a hijacker for Osama bin Laden.
The man, identified in media reports as Niaz Khan, a Briton of
Pakistani descent, walked into the Newark office in Apr 2000 and told
of plans to hijack US airliners.
After his claims were investigated, he was turned over to Brit
authorities and eventually freed.
Khan was named by The Wall Street Journal and NBC Nightly News, both
of which interviewed him.
The families of Sep 11 victims cite the episode as another example of
lapses by authorities who might have foiled the 2001 attacks if they
had only been more vigilant.
Joseph Billy Jr, the agent in charge of the Newark office, said the
man's claims were taken seriously.
"An investigation was done on this matter when he came to us," Billy
told The Associated Press.
"Nothing was discounted. We spent several wk with him around the clock
trying to verify the info that he gave us."
The FBI shared info with other agencies and turned the man over to
Brit authorities, Billy said.
"None of the info that he gave us was ever able to be confirmed or
denied," Billy said.
Patty Casazza, whose husband, John, died in the Sep 11 attacks, called
the FBI's handling of the case "another brand of negligence".
"How many warnings do you have to have until news of a hijacking is to
be deemed credible?" she asked.
A House-Senate committee's Dec 2002 report said the man told the FBI
he had learned hijacking techniques and received arms training in a
Pakistani camp and he was to meet 5 or 6 people in the US.
"Some of these persons would be pilots who had been instructed to take
over a plane, fly to Afghanistan, or, if they could not make it there,
blow the plane up," the report said.
Although Khan passed polygraph testing, the bureau was unable to
verify any aspect of his story or identify his contacts in the US, the
report said.
Rumsfeld tells Asia to expect more terror strikes
Singapore (Reuters). Pledging close security ties and military
support from Washington, Def Sec Donald Rumsfeld warned Asia on Sat
that "there is more to come" in terror attacks that have rocked the
area and the world.
"Though the way we organise may evolve and change, the US is a Pacific
nation. And we will most certainly maintain our security presence with
modernised deterrent capabilities in the region," he said in an Asia
policy speech.
Addressing defence ministers and analysts at a security forum in the
prosperous island republic, Rumsfeld noted that terrorists had
launched a string of deadly strikes in Bali, Indonesia, the
Philippines, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Morocco.
He praised "vigilant Singapore" for thwarting a major terrorist
attack. Authorities in the city state arrested dozens of suspected
militants in 2001 for planning attacks on W targets, including US
military installations.
"But let there be no doubt: there is more to come," Rumsfeld added,
stressing an oft-repeated theme that it was impossible to snuff out
all attempts by al Qaeda and other militant groups to carry out
bombings and other strikes.
He said that in the new era of terrorist threats, close US cooperation
with allies and friends in Asia was more essential than ever. And he
warned that terrorism "cannot be appeased -- it must be confronted."
Asia, Rumsfeld said, was one of the world's fastest growing centres
for opportunity, prosperity and knowledge, adding that its economic
and democratic evolution in recent decades was a model for the
"breathtaking transformation" that the US-led coalition is seeking in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
But in his prepared remarks to the annual meeting sponsored by the
Internat'l Institute of Strategic Studies, Rumsfeld did not openly ask
for peacekeeping troops and money to help US forces in Iraq.
* PREDICTS SUCCESS IN IRAQ
Instead, he predicted that the rise of a free and self-governing Iraq,
where nearly 900 US troops have been killed since last year's invasion,
would "deny terrorists a base of operations, discredit their violent
ideology and may well provide more momentum for reformers across the region."
Noting that some critics of the war in Iraq continued to question
whether transformation of Iraq was possible, Rumsfeld said: "I suggest
they come to Asia."
The secretary listed 4 key principles guiding Washington's security
ties in the world following the Sep 2001 attacks on the US:
* Strengthening partnerships with existing allies and friends and
working with new ones such as Yemen and Uzbekistan;
* Developing greater flexibility to deal with the unexpected;
* Focusing on more rapidly-deployable military capabilities rather
than depending on static Cold War stationing of large numbers of
troops abroad;
* Breaking down artificial barriers between regions in US planning
because today's dangers "know no boundaries."
Rumsfeld again assured the ministers that a US plan to withdraw about
3,600 of 37,000 troops stationed in S Korea and move them to Iraq did
not represent a reduced security commitment to Asia because the US
military was armed with more potent weaponry than during the Cold War.
[Later reports from S Korea indicate the US plans to pull out 1/3 of
the troops it has stationed on the peninsula].
"We are committed to the security of our allies and friends, whether
against traditional challenges or new," he said.
Senior defence officials and security experts from Japan, S Korea,
Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, AUS and other Asian
countries attended the security forum.
Some govts in the region are concerned about what they see as a lack
of direction in US policy on Iraq and worry that people in their
countries oppose support for the US-led military coalition.
The secretary was travelling to Bangladesh later on Sat for talks with
its leaders. Although the country has no troops in Iraq or Afghanistan,
it has a tradition of sending "blue helmet" peacekeepers to global
trouble spots under UN command.
The UN has no such military authority in Iraq, but the US and Brit are
pressing the UN Sec Council for a new resolution on Iraq under which
the world body could issue a mandate for an internat'l peacekeeping force.
Japanese minister sparks row with killing comments
Tokyo. A snr Japanese politician says a horrific murder by a
schoolgirl shows that Japanese women are becoming stronger. Japan is
still trying to work out why an 11-yo girl stabbed a classmate to
death. Disaster Prevention Min Kiichi Inoue says it may be the first
case in Japan where a young woman has committed such a terrible act.
The snr politician went on to suggest that the number of lively and
strong females is increasing, and that the difference between men and
women is shrinking. Women's groups have labelled the comments
"crazy", and the Chief Cabinet Sec has conceded they were inappropriate.
UN says US-led forces violate Iraqi's rights
The US military has breached internat'l law in Iraq.
NY (Reuters). The UN Nations' top human rights official has said
US-led occupation forces have mistreated many ordinary Iraqis and
called for the appointment of an internat'l ombudsman to monitor the
troops behaviour.
Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan also
suggested in a new report that US soldiers accused of gross abuses in
Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison could be guilty of war crimes.
The US tried to soften criticism of the coalition in Iraq in the UN
rights by lobbying for the report to be toned down, which delayed its
release by 5 days.
There have been "serious human rights problems" under the Coalition
Provisional Authority (CPA) including the jailing of large numbers of
people "without anyone knowing how many, for what reasons ... and how
they were being treated," he said.
His report, for the UN's Human Rights Commission, cited Iraqis
speaking of "arbitrary arrests and detention as an ongoing phenomenon"
since US-led forces invaded Iraq in Mar 2003.
In a clear reference to the Abu Ghraib incidents, Mr Ramcharan said
"wilful killing, torture or inhuman treatment" of detainees were a
grave breach of internat'l law.
Such acts, he added, "might be designated as war crimes by a competent
tribunal".
US and Brit authorities commented on the report before its release and
the report accepted the removal of Saddam Hussein "must be counted a
major contribution to human rights in Iraq".
But it cited various reports of troops' mistreatment of Iraqi men,
women and children, and declared that coalition forces in the country
had in effect "immunity" from any impartial jurisdiction for wrongful
acts and rights abuses.
Mr Ramcharan, a Brit-trained barrister from Guyana and long-time UN
official, said the coalition authorities "should appoint immediately
an internat'l ombudsman or commissioner" on human rights.
A UN rep announced Tue that the release of the report, originally due
Mon, had been delayed until Fri because the Pentagon and the
US-occupation Admin, the Coalition Provisional Authority, had asked
for more time to contribute their sides of the story.
The CPA had submitted its info Sat to the UN rights agency and the
Pentagon had delivered its report Tue, according to the US officials.
In announcing the delay in the release of the report, the UN rep
denied its content had been altered at the demand of the US but
allowed that the new info would be incorporated into the final version.
Singapore warns of shipping attack plan
Singapore. Singapore says Islamic terrorists want to disrupt world
trade by attacking shipping in S E Asia.
The island's PM issued the warning when opening a meeting of Asia
Pacific Defence Mins.
Goh Chok Tong says a terrorist attack on internat'l waterways running
through S E Asia would have a catastrophic impact on oil supplies for
N E Asia.
"The vital lifelines of Japan, Korea and China pass through S East
Asia," he said.
"Such an attack would seriously disrupt the internat'l trade and
energy supplies."
Mr Goh says terrorists would aim for maximum economic disruption and
to erode public support for the US.
However, Mr Goh says the chance of war over Taiwan poses a greater
internat'l threat than the Iraq conflict.
China is refusing to attend the Singapore defence talks because of the
presence of one Taiwanese delegate.
Mr Goh believes any push by Taiwan for formal independence would cause
war between China and the US.
"If Taiwan pushes beyond a certain red line, the Chinese leaders must
respond or be rejected by their people," he said.
"The result will be war and a permanent rise in Chinese nat'lism and
hostility.
"The consequences of such a war will make Iraq seem a small problem."
Meanwhile, Malaysia has ruled out the deployment of US Marines in the
vital Malacca Strait after Def Sec Donald Rumsfeld said he hoped US
forces would be hunting terrorists in S E Asia soon.
Mr Rumsfeld made the remark as he visited Marines and sailors aboard
the helicopter carrier USS Essex in neighbouring Singapore, which
supports the idea of US involvement in protecting the strait that
carries a 3rd of world trade.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's Defence Min Najib Razak -- who was to join
Rumsfeld later at a major regional security meeting in Singapore --
told reporters the country was firmly against foreign intervention as
its sovereignty was at stake.
He says the entry of the US is still open for Singapore but Malaysia,
would not agree to the entry of a 3rd nation.
The Malacca Strait cuts between peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian
island of Sumatra, with the tiny island of Singapore at the foot of
the narrow waterway.
Mr Rumsfeld did not mention the strait specifically in his exchange
with the Marines in Singapore, but the comment came amid US and
Singaporean efforts to improve maritime security.
Internat'l database to track stolen, lost passports
Santiago. Trade ministers at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) meeting in Chile have agreed to set up a database to track down
lost and stolen passports. A new strategy has been approved to
counter terrorists and illegal immigrants travelling on false
passports with trade ministers from 21 APEC countries agreeing to a
system known as the Regional Movement Alert List. For the 1st time,
authorities will have access to a common data base listing lost or
stolen passports. It will make it easier to detect those travelling
on stolen passports that have been doctored, including those used by
asylum seekers. AUS, the US and Chile sponsored the new initiative,
which is due to start at the end of the y and will be formally
announced tomorrow.
Leaders gather for D-Day ceremonies
Normandy (AFP). World leaders will stand side-by-side this weekend
with army veterans and tourists to commemorate the D-day landings in
Normandy, the turning-point in WWII.
Exactly 60 y after Allied forces poured from landing-craft in the
biggest seaborne invasion of all time, Sun Jun 6 will see a series of
nat'l and internat'l services of remembrance at cemeteries, memorials
and battle sites along the 100 km stretch of coast in NW France.
French Pres Jacques Chirac will be joined by some 20 heads of state or
govt including US Pres George W Bush, whose presence in Rome and Paris
in the days preceding the anniversary is expected to trigger
widespread demos against US policy in Iraq.
However the ceremonies' tone will be one of reconciliation and shared
values, with both France and the US apparently eager to rebuild
diplomatic bridges broken over last y's invasion.
"Thank you to those who liberated France and Europe," said French
Prime Min Jean-Pierre Raffarin on a visit to Poitiers on Fri, echoing
numerous expressions of trans-Atlantic friendship.
"France is not an ungrateful country...and knows how to like people
who gave it a future."
According to a top aide travelling to Italy with Mr Bush on Fri, he
will not use his address on Sun to draw comparisons between the
Normandy landings and the Iraq war, an analogy deeply resented by
opponents of US policy, but instead honour those who died 60 y ago.
An enormous security operation has been launched to avert the risk of
Al Qaeda or other terrorist attacks, with some 19,000 French soldiers,
gendarmes and police mobilised in addition to visiting leaders' own
security details.
For the 1st time D-day commemorations will be attended by a German
leader, a sign that after 60 y the wounds of Nazi conquest have
definitively healed.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will attend a Franco-German ceremony at
the Caen peace memorial as well as an all-German service at Ranville
cemetery.
But several opp'n conservatives and commentators have questioned his
patriotism for not visiting an official German war cemetery near Bayeux
where more than 2,000 soldiers are buried.
Mr Schroeder said the issue was "too important and too sensitive" to
be marred by "political games," and urged critics to keep what is
happening on Sun free of party political, power political machinations.
Vladimir Putin will also be the 1st Russian leader to attend, in a
tacit acknowledgement that for most of the post-war period Soviet
historians had downplayed the significance of the Normandy landings.
Brit's Queen Elizabeth II and PM Tony Blair, Aussie Prime Min John
Howard, Canadian PM Paul Martin and leaders from NZ, Poland, Belgium,
Norway and the Netherlands are among the other dignitaries attending.
D-day was the long-awaited opening of a 2nd front in Europe to relieve
pressure on the hard-pressed Russians and build on Allied successes in
N Africa and the Middle E.
After m of preparations, American, Brit and Canadian troops were sent
to secure a foothold in Nazi-occupied France.
After 3 airborne divisions parachuted overnight behind German lines,
an armada of 4,300 ships bombarded the coast and unleashed the
landing-craft against the beaches dubbed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.
Except at Omaha beach, where the Americans suffered heavy casualties,
the landings were an unqualified success, leading to the fall of
Normandy in Jul and then the Allied sweep through N France into
Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
"The free Europe we know today could not exist, had not the tide of
war been turned in Normandy in 1944," said Brit's Prince Charles.
Memorial services on Sun will remember the some 4,000 Allied troops
who died on D-day, and the 55,000 killed in the Normandy campaign.
Many of these lie in 22 Allied cemeteries, such as the Colleville-sur-Mer
US memorial overlooking Omaha beach where Mr Bush will deliver his speech.
As a symbol of Franco-American friendship, an exact copy of the
Liberty Bell, the bell cast in 1751 and sounded at key moments in US
history, was unveiled on Fri in a ceremony at the seat for the Lower
Normandy regional assembly at Caen.
Taliban told US it would give up Osama: report
Berlin (Reuters). US and Taliban officials met secretly in Frankfurt
almost a year before the Sep 11 attacks to discuss terms for the
Afghans to hand over Osama bin Laden, according to a German TV documentary.
No agreement was reached and no further negotiations took place before
the suicide hijackings in 2001, which bin Laden subsequently hailed in
a videotape as the work of his Al Qaeda network.
ZDF television quoted Kabir Mohabbat, an Afghan-American businessman,
as saying he tried to broker a deal between the Americans and the purist
Islamic Taliban rulers of Afghanistan, who were sheltering bin Laden.
He quoted Taliban foreign minister Mullah Wakil Ahmed Mutawakil as
saying: "You can have him whenever the Americans are ready. Name us a
country and we will extradite him".
A German member of the European Parliament, Elmar Brok, confirmed that
he had helped Mr Mohabbat in 1999 to establish initial contact with
the Americans.
"I was told [by Mohabbat] that the Taliban had certain ideas about
handing over bin Laden, not to the US but to a third country or to the
Court of Justice in The Hague," Mr Brok said.
"The message was: 'There is willingness to talk about handing over bin
Laden', and the aim of the Taliban was clearly to win the recognition
of the American Govt and the lifting of the boycott," he said,
referring to the internat'l isolation of the Taliban.
Mr Brok said he was not in a position to judge how credible the offer
was but he passed it to the US ambassador to Germany, John Kornblum.
He said Mr Mohabbat was then summoned to Washington to be interviewed
by US officials.
This led in turn to the German meeting, which ZDF said took place between
Taliban ministers and US officials in a Frankfurt hotel in Nov 2000.
The documentary, broadcast on Thu evening, said the Afghans put forward
"several offers" and there was talk of holding further negotiations at
the US embassy in Pakistan on where and when bin Laden would be handed over.
In fact, no more talks took place before Sep 11.
But negotiations did resume 5 days after the attacks, in the Pakistani
city of Quetta, ZDF said. This meeting has been previously reported in
US media.
Mr Mohabbat said the Americans pressed in Quetta for the hand-over of
bin Laden within 24 hr, but the Taliban were unable to meet that demand.
Within weeks, US-led forces intervened in Afghanistan to drive the
Taliban from power and kill, capture or disperse Al Qaeda fighters
based in Afghan training camps.
Bin Laden still has not been captured.
Mr Brok said he had not personally taken part in either of the reported
meetings between the Taliban and the US but believed there had been a
"political decision" not to pursue negotiations after the one in Frankfurt.
He told ZDF: "I have to say that I consider this offer [on bin Laden's
hand-over] very much more seriously with hindsight than I did at the time".
9/11 survivor awarded record damages
NY (Reuters). A NY woman who suffered internal injuries and crushed
legs when she was hit by falling debris in the Sep 11, 2001 attacks
has been awarded $US8.6 mn by the US Victims Compensation Fund, her
lawyer has said. The award, the biggest grant yet, was given to 33-yo
Deborah Mardenfeld. Ms Mardenfeld had just come from a subway under
the World Trade Centre when falling debris from the 2nd plane to hit
the towers split open her back, punctured her intestines, sliced off
her buttocks and badly damaged her legs. She was hospitalised for
more than a year, underwent repeated reconstructive surgery and needs
more operations. "It's not like she won the lottery," attorney Guy
Smiley said. "She's not jumping for joy. She feels at least
comfortable that her economic future is secure." The fund has settled
more than 2,500 personal injury claims with the average award to
victims' relatives of victims about $US1.85 mn.
Voters don't believe PM on abuse
Canberra (AAP). The majority of people believe PM John Howard knew of
the abuse of Iraqi prisoners before Apr despite his claims to the
contrary, a new poll has found.
The Morgan poll found 50% of electors believe Mr Howard knew of the
abuse before it was publicised in Apr although just 22% thought he
should resign over the issue.
According to the poll, 40% of people believe Defence Min Robert Hill
should resign over the issue.
The results of the poll were similar to a Morgan poll conducted in Feb
2002 on Mr Howard's knowledge of the children overboard scandal when
51% of people believed he knew before the election that children had
not been thrown overboard.
The latest poll has also found 56% of people approve of the way Opp'n
Leader Mark Latham is handling his job while 48% approve of Mr
Howard's performance as Prime Min, a drop of 17%.
However, Mr Howard continues to be viewed by the electorate as the
better PM at 50% compared to 38% who think Mr Latham would be better
in the role.
The poll also found 51% of Aussies believe AUS should not have a
military presence in Iraq.
The telephone poll was conducted on Wed and Thu and polled 569 people AUS-wide.
US to lay Hicks, Habib charges
Howard raised the Hicks case with Bush.
Washington. Aussie Guantanamo Bay detainees David Hicks and Mamdouh
Habib could find shortly what charges they will face at their military
trials. PM John Howard said he had strongly put the case to US Pres
George W Bush in Washington this wk that their cases are "brought to
finality". Mr Hicks' lawyer Stephen Kenny maintains Mr Howard should
have rejected the military commission in favour of a more public
trial. "The truth is that the Aussie Govt has failed to stand up for
its citizens and this is not acceptable" he said. "If Mr Howard is
really interested in truth and justice, then he would have asked Pres
Bush that an Aussie citizen receive the same standard of justice that
an American citizen in a similar situation received. "He would not
simply ask that the cases be brought to finality."
Iraq violence rages after new govt makes security top priority
Baghdad (AFP). 5 civilians were killed in the central Iraqi shrine
town of Kufa Thu as violence raged after the new transitional govt
made restoring security its top priority.
15 civilians were also wounded in the early morning clashes between
militiamen loyal to Shiite radical leader Moqtada Sadr and US troops,
medics said.
The bloodshed was a new blow to efforts to establish a truce in the
area after ferocious fighting Wed which saw 9 Iraqis killed and 44
wounded in clashes in Kufa and the adjacent holy city of Najaff, as
well as the Baghdad suburb of Sadr City.
A group of mainstream Shiite politicians and other dignitaries on Wed
blamed US troops for the collapse of the latest ceasefire announced
the previous day by provincial governor Adnan al-Zorfi.
The 2 sides differ widely over truce arrangements -- US cmdrs insist
their troops maintain the right to patrol but Sadr's Mehdi Army
militia considers the mere presence of US armour in the Shiite holy
cities as an aggression.
The fresh fighting in Kufa came after 2 deadly blasts rocked the
capital Wed, as insurgents opposed to the US-led coalition pressed
their efforts to sabotage the hand-over of power.
Coalition officials have repeatedly warned that violence is likely to
escalate as the clock ticks down to the Jun 30 deadline for the return
of sovereignty.
At least 4 people were killed and 34 wounded when a car bomb rocked
the mainly Sunni neighbourhood of Adhamiyah Wed, said Doctor Abdullah
Saheb of Baghdad's Al-Numan hospital.
Later, in what appeared a botched car bombing in the nearby Harthiyah
district, one person was killed and another wounded when a vehicle
exploded, said police officer Salah Hassan.
5 more US soldiers slain in Iraq
Baghdad (AFP). 5 US soldiers were killed during fighting in a Baghdad
neighbourhood, as US and Brit diplomats fine-tuned proposals in a
revised draft UN Sec Council resolution.
The new resolution worked on Fri will endorse the Jun 30 transfer of
power in Baghdad to the interim govt unveiled in Baghdad on Tue, and
offers Iraq's interim govt the right to send home US-led troops.
In the previous version, only the next Iraqi govt due to be elected by
the end of Jan would have had the authority to ask the forces to leave.
But the apparent concession seemed to bear little real import after
Iraqi For Min Hoshyar Zebari said on Thu that US-led troops would have
to remain for "some time" to prevent a slide into chaos and civil war.
Fri's revised draft also nodded to other questions raised by council
opponents, including Russian pressure over the UN inspectors who
monitored Iraqi weapons programs under Saddam Hussein.
China, France, Germany and Russia had all called for various changes
to the text, including strengthened language making clear that Iraq
would have full sovereignty after the occupation formally ends Jun 30.
Meanwhile in Iraq, 5 US soldiers were killed when their convoy was
attacked on the edge of Sadr City, a Baghdad slum of 2 mn people that
include supporters of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr. The slum is
named after the cleric's father, murdered during the regime of ousted
dictator Saddam Hussein.
More than 800 US troops have been killed in Iraq since the Mar 2003
invasion. Of those, 490 have died in action since US Pres George W
Bush declared major combat in Iraq over on May 1 last year.
Militiamen and US soldiers had clashed in the neighbourhood just hours
before the attack, witnesses said.
Witnesses said attackers fired a rocket-propelled grenade at one of the
1st vehicles in a convoy that was then rocked by a roadside bomb after
it ground to a halt -- a now familiar pattern of attack on US patrols.
A burnt-out Humvee smoldered, billowing plumes of black smoke as
military medics tended wounded soldiers and at least 2 military
ambulances could be seen.
At least one local resident who lives no more than 20 metres from the
site of the bomb attack was seriously wounded by the explosion, said
the victim's father Abdullah Zeidan.
Some 10,000 Iraqis are believed to have died in the conflict since the
US-led invasion.
Iraqi police started to patrol Najaff late Fri as part of the truce
framework, and no armed militiamen could be seen on the streets, an
AFP correspondent reported.
Iraq's new PM, Iyad Allawi, promised to Iraqis in a television address
that the interim govt will guarantee security, tackle the economic
crisis and hold elections.
US submits new draft of Iraq resolution
Iraqi For Min Hoshyar Zebari appears this wk before the UN Sec Council
to discuss the new Iraq resolution.
UN (CNN). The US on Fri submitted a revised draft resolution on Iraq
to the UN Sec Council.
The draft is the 3rd version of a resolution intended to formalise
Iraq's return to sovereignty at the end of Jun and authorise the
presence of multinat'l troops. The text is under review by technical
experts, who may suggest minor language changes.
No Sec Council meeting is planned for Fri. The US and Brit had been
aiming for a vote on the resolution early next week, but council
members said late next wk at the earliest would be more realistic.
Ambassadors from the council nations are expected to leave Fri
afternoon for a private retreat to get a briefing from UN envoy
Lakhdar Brahimi, who has helped select the interim Iraqi govt.
Brahimi is expected to address the Sec Council formally, possibly Tue.
Russia criticised a previous draft, with Deputy For Min Yuri Fedotov
saying the resolution needed "some hard work."
Any resolution on Iraq needs the support of at least 9 members of the
15-nation council without a veto from the 5 permanent members --
Russia, France, China, Brit and the US.
Key questions concern the level of support for the new interim govt
within Iraq and the question of its legitimacy internat'ly, Fedotov
said Thu.
The interim govt will lead Iraq from the transfer of sovereignty Jun
30 to Jan, when elections for a transitional nat'l assembly are
scheduled. The top job of the caretaker body is to help pave the way
for elections.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shiite Muslim
leader, gave tacit approval to the interim govt this week.
He noted the govt lacked the "legitimacy" of elections, but his
statement of support gave a much-needed boost to the interim body.
The elderly, Iranian-born cleric, who holds a huge sway over Iraq's
60% Shiite majority, urged the new govt to get "a clear Sec Council
resolution enabling the Iraqis to restore full sovereignty" and work
hard to end Iraq's occupation.
Hoshyar Zebari, Iraq's interim foreign minister, met Thu with the Sec
Council to discuss the new resolution.
Attackers kill 4 US troops, Russians leave, as Iraq heads to sovereignty
Baghdad (AFP/Channelnewsasia). 4 US soldiers were killed in an attack
on their convoy nr a Baghdad slum, underscoring the relentless
insecurity in Iraq which provoked Russians helping rebuild the country
to pull out a 3rd batch of workers.
In an ominous religious development in the holy city of Najaff, supporters
of Shiite Muslim radical leader Moqtada Sadr shouted down a rival
cleric at one of the holiest shrines in Shiite Islam, the Ali Mausoleum.
But in a hopeful sign, a truce appeared to go into place in the holy
city of Najaff and nearby Kufa where US forces and Sadr's Mehdi Army
have fought for around 2 m.
"We have withdrawn our fighters from the streets of Kufa and Najaff,"
Abu Jafaar, a Sadr aide, told AFP, one of whose correspondent checked
city streets and verified that no armed militiamen could be seen.
And US Army Capt Douglas Duecker said US forces had agreed to pull
back from some positions in the 2 cities and hand security around holy
sites to the Iraqi police as part of a truce framework with Sadr's militia.
The situation was more uncertain in the cleric's other major stronghold,
the teeming Baghdad Sadr City slum. There, US-led occupation forces
had battled again with militiamen, just hours before the attack on the convoy.
Because of the insecurity, Russian energy company Interenergoservis
decided to haul all its expatriate staff home.
The company, specialising in electricity projects, said last month it
would pull out all of its staff, leaving a few specialists to shut
down operations in electricity plants for a few days.
3 company employees have been killed in Iraq in 2 separate incidents,
prompting the foreign ministry to demand that the company mothball its project.
On the political front, just days after Iraq's caretaker govt was
installed, Sheikh Jaber Khafaji, speaking on behalf of Sadr, said
Iraqis would not accept a govt seen as a US stooge.
"Our govt should be properly elected and the Iraq people will never
accept a govt appointed by the occupation forces," he said at a mosque
in Kufa.
Grand Ayatollah Kazem al-Husseini al-Hairi, an Iran-based Shiite
authority, demanded that Iraq's newly appointed executive prove its
worth to the people.
Hairi is Sadr's spiritual guide.
"The Iraqi nation has been patient for about 14 m and will keep being
patient for 7 more m to come," he said in a statement handed out to
residents here by an office he has in Najaff.
The caretaker Iraqi govt is due to rule the country from its regaining
sovereignty on Jun 30 until general elections can be held late next Jan.
Hairi said the govt would need to prove its "patriotism and
sincerity", and listed sovereignty, ownership of Iraqi resources,
nat'l unity, security, prosperous standards of living and preparing
for elections as the main tasks.
At the UN, in an attempt to stamp internat'l legitimacy on the new
Iraqi leadership, the US and Brit worked on a draft resolution over
which France and Russia -- both members of the security council --
expressed reservations. The draft would also authorise US-led troops,
remaining in Iraq after the hand-over of power, to take all necessary
measure to ensure stability.
The UN said on Fri that elections were technically possible to
organise in Iraq by late Jan, but reserved judgement on whether
spiralling insecurity could lead to their postponement.
"From a technical point of view, the time is sufficient to have
credible and genuine elections," Carina Perelli, a UN elections
expert, told a news conference in Iraq to unveil an eight-member
electoral commission.
But questioned about rampant insecurity in Iraq, Perelli said: "The
jury's still out ... Obviously, we will not advise the commission to
be reckless".
Pope appeals for return of Iraq's sovereignty
US Pres George W Bush meets with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.
Vatican (Reuters). Pope John Paul has called for the rapid return of
Iraq's sovereignty with UN involvement during a meeting with US Pres
George W Bush.
The 84-yo pontiff said it was everyone's wish to see the situation in
Iraq normalised as fast as possible.
"It is the evident desire of everyone that this situation now be
normalised as quickly as possible with the active participation of the
internat'l community and, in particular, the United Nations organisation,
in order to ensure a speedy return of Iraq's sovereignty, in
conditions of security for all its people," Pope John Paul said.
The Pope, who strongly opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq last y, met
Mr Bush in the Vatican while 1000s of armed police lined major roads
in Rome and anti-war demonstrators began to gather to protest against
the presidential visit.
As Mr Bush arrived at the Vatican, some onlookers behind police
cordons applauded while others whistled in disapproval and held up
peace banners.
Later the Pope, seated next to the US Pres, said the recent
appointment of a head of state in Iraq and the formation of an interim
govt were encouraging steps towards a normalisation in that country.
"May a similar hope for peace also be rekindled in the Holy Land and
lead to new negotiations, dictated by a sincere and determined
commitment to dialogue, between the Govt of Israel and the Palestinian
Authority," he said.
Speaking with some difficulty in English, the Pope, who has
Parkinson's disease, said the threat of internat'l terrorism "remains
a source of constant concern".
He cited Sep 11, 2001 -- when suicide hijackers flew jets into the
World Trade Centre in NY -- as "a dark day in the history of humanity".
In an indirect reference to a scandal over US troops' abuse of Iraqi
prisoners, the Pope said that "in the past few wk other deplorable
events have come to light which have troubled the civic and religious
conscience of all".
The tenor of their meeting was cordial, however, with the Pope paying
tribute to the commitment of the US Govt and humanitarian agencies,
and ending his address to Mr Bush by saying "God bless America".
Mr Bush, describing John Paul II as "a devoted servant of God who has
championed the cause of the poor", presented the pope with the
Presid'l Medal of Freedom, his country's highest civilian award.
He told the Pope his govt would work for human liberty and human
dignity, in order to spread peace and compassion.
"We appreciate the strong symbol of freedom that you have stood for,
and we recognise the power of freedom to change societies and to
change the world," Mr Bush said.
* Liberation celebrations
Mr Bush, accompanied by Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi, his staunch ally
in Iraq, later laid a wreath at the Ardeatine Caves outside Rome to
commemorate one of Italy's biggest wartime massacres of civilians by Nazis.
The commemoration is part of the celebrations of the 60th anniversary
of the liberation of Rome by Allied troops, the official reason for Mr
Bush's visit.
He will also visit France for D-day celebrations in Normandy on Sat and Sun.
Carabinieri police saturated the historic city centre, with heavy
concentrations of the paramilitary force along the main thoroughfares
and piazzas, as well as at bridges, rail stations and airports.
Helicopters droned overhead.
Around 10,000 anti-war protesters, mostly students, were on the
streets early on Fri, but the main demo organised by the Communist and
Green parties was not scheduled to begin until mid-afternoon.
The main centre-left opp'n parties, who oppose the visit, said however
they would not take part in demos out of respect for the US soldiers
who died in the liberation of Rome.
The US president's passage to his early morning appointments at the
Vatican and the presidential Quirinale palace, where he paid a brief
call to his Italian counterpart Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, were unimpeded
as security forces outnumbered the early protesters.
Special trains from Venice and Naples carrying anti-war demonstrators
to Rome were delayed by around 90 minutes in what many protesters felt
was a deliberate ploy by the authorities to disrupt planned street protests.
Around 1,000 demonstrators arrived in Rome by train from Milan to join
the street protests, rail authorities said.
"We're here to tell Bush he's really not welcome, but we want to say
it with a peaceful demo," a youth with a megaphone said as the 1st
marchers, many waving multicoloured peace flags, took to the streets
in eastern Rome.
Closer to the centre, a group of young people set tyres ablaze on a
bridge over the Tiber river.
Violence was confined to a few isolated incidents. In one, hooded
youths launched a firework rocket at the front of a barracks housing
Air Force personnel, while others blocked streets with smoldering
rubbish skips.
There were no immediate reports of arrests.
Romans appeared to have stayed at home instead of braving major
traffic disruption and the city appeared almost deserted in places.
Rome's public bus company Atac reported 50% fewer passengers compared
to a normal Fri.
US troops wounded in Sadr City ambush
Baghdad. Several US soldiers have been injured in Iraq in an ambush
by fighters loyal to the radical Shiite cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr.
Moqtada al-Sadr's fighters hit one of the vehicles in a US Army convoy
with a RPG, bringing it to a stop in Sadr City in Baghdad's eastern
suburbs. The fighters then detonated a roadside bomb. A US Army rep
said several insurgents were killed in the subsequent battle and 3 US
soldiers were injured. As the fighting in Baghdad continued a rep for
Moqtada al-Sadr said his militia would stop carrying weapons and
dissolve the informal judicial system they had established in the holy
city of Najaff. Tension between al-Sadr's forces and local townspeople
there is growing.
Shiite elders broker fragile ceasefire in Iraq holy city
Najaff. American troops and militia loyal to the cleric Sheik Moqtada
al-Sadr have agreed to withdraw from the centre of Iraq's holy city of
Najaff in the latest attempt to shore up a fragile cease-fire. A group
of Shiite elders brokered the latest cease-fire in Najaff as local
residents protested against the attack last wk on a local anti Sadr
cleric. If the agreement holds it will be a significant breakthrough
after months of fighting, but previous agreements have dissolved in a
resurgence of bloodshed. Sadr still faces arrest on charges of being
involved with the murder of a pro-American cleric last year, and
fighters loyal to Sadr successfully ambushed an American military
convoy in Baghdad's eastern suburbs, killing at least 4 American
soldiers.
Iraqi police capture Zarqawi aide
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is the alleged mastermind of Al Qaeda operations in Iraq.
Baghdad (Reuters). Iraqi police have captured a close aide to Al
Qaeda operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and the captive is cooperating
with investigators, the US military says.
The aide, Umar Baziyani, was seized on May 30.
No details were given about where he was captured.
US military rep Lt Col Dan Williams says he is in Iraqi police custody
and is providing info.
"His capture removes one of Zarqawi's most valuable officers from his
network," Lt Col Williams said.
He said Baziyani was wanted in connection with a series of attacks on
US and allied forces in Iraq, but gave no details.
Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born militant accused by Washington of supporting
Al Qaeda, is suspected of being behind a series of large-scale deadly
attacks in Iraq, including the recent car bomb assassination of the
head of the Iraqi Governing Council.
In Mar, he was believed to have been behind multiple suicide bomb
attacks in Baghdad and Kerbala which killed more than 100 people as
they were carrying out religious ceremonies at shrines in both cities.
The US military has put a $US10 mn price on his head.
US, Brit offer new Iraq resolution
Talks will continue this weekend.
NY (AFP). The US and Brit made apparent concessions over the role of
coalition troops in Iraq in a new draft UN resolution distributed Fri
at the Sec Council.
With council ambassadors headed to a weekend retreat with UN Sec-Gen
Kofi Annan and his Iraq envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to discuss the Jun 30
transfer of power, the 2 allies revised the text amid hopes of getting
a vote in the coming days.
"We are making good progress," deputy US State Dept rep Adam Ereli
said in Washington. "I think we are moving toward a consensus."
The new draft came a day after Iraqi For Min Hoshyar Zebari gave
strong backing for the measure but called for some changes, saying
Iraq also wanted the council to approve the resolution soon.
The latest version, obtained by AFP, spells out that the mandate of
US-led troops who will remain in Iraq after the hand-over would expire
at the end of 2005, when a new constitutionally elected govt is due to
take office.
Several council nations had insisted on fixing a date, even though Mr
Zebari stressed Thu that Iraq would need the presence of those forces
for "some time to come" to stave off chaos and civil war.
The draft also indicates that the interim govt, which was unveiled Tue
and will take over from the US occupation on Jun 30, would have the
sovereign power to ask those forces to leave the country.
A key blank that remains to be filled, however, is the exact relationship
between the US-led internat'l troops and the interim leadership, which
is due to be set out in a separate agreement between the 2.
Diplomats said they expected those letters to be drawn up by early
next wk.
In addition, the text addresses Russian opp'n over the hunt for
weapons of mass destruction (WMD), cited as the main reason for the
invasion last y that brought down Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
It states that the council would eventually reconsider the mandate of
UN weapons inspectors, who left Iraq on the eve of the war and have
not returned.
Russia has said the inspectors should be allowed to return to Iraq to
wrap up their work.
No WMD have been found, leading to charges that the US, Brit and AUS
misled about the justification for the war.
Mr Zebari on Thu gave strong support for the resolution, which would
endorse his caretaker govt but also give the US-led multinat'l force
scope to take any measures needed to ensure stability.
Brit ambassador Emyr Jones Parry on Thu said the Iraqi minister had
delivered a "ringing endorsement" of the text and that he expected a
vote soon.
At the weekend retreat, the council will hear from Mr Brahimi, who
conducted m of negotiations leading up to the formation of the
caretaker govt.
"We are looking forward to hearing from Ambassador Brahimi over the
weekend, listening to his views and what he considers to be the
important points about the political process ongoing in Iraq," Mr
Ereli said.
Iraqi PM calls for end to insurgency
Baghdad. Iraq's interim PM has called for an end to the insurgency
aimed at driving US-led forces out of Iraq. In his 1st speech to the
nation, Iraq's new PM Iyad Allawi warned that the insurgents waging
war on the US-led coalition are bringing "nothing but evil" to Iraq.
He delivered his address following the death of several more US
soldiers, killed in an ambush by Sadr loyalists. As Iraqis across the
country watched, the new PM urged them to unite against those
attacking US forces. Iyad Allawi said "defeating terrorism is a duty
of all Iraqis" and thanked the US-led coalition for "liberating" Iraq.
In the holy cities of Najaff and Kufah Sadr loyalists have agreed to
lay down their guns as US forces withdraw from key sites. American
soldiers will stay away from sensitive sites in the cities and Iraqi
security forces will patrol in those places. Previous cease-fires
have not lasted long but a US Army rep called the latest deal a breakthrough.
Death of 5 US soldiers pushes post-May toll to 600
Baghdad (AFP). The death toll of US troops killed in action in Iraq
has exceeded 600 as 5 US soldiers were killed in an attack on their
convoy on the edge of Sadr City.
The attack, which witnesses said involved a RPG and a bomb, was
launched on the convoy just hours after clashes broke out between
troops and militiamen in the same neighbourhood.
"4 soldiers were killed and 5 wounded in an explosion on their convoy
in Baghdad at around 1.10 pm [local]," a military rep told AFP,
adding that the nature of the device used was under investigation.
The deaths brought the number of US soldiers killed in action in Iraq
to 600 but the military announced later that a 5th soldier had died in
the attack.
According to the US military, 601 of its soldiers have now been killed
in action since the invasion of Iraq in Mar 2003.
Of those, 490 have died in action after US Pres George W Bush declared
major combat in Iraq over on May 1.
"Every single one of these is sad. Every single one is unnecessary," a
coalition military rep said.
"There is a growing determination that no death or injury is going to
deter us from completing the mission," he added.
Witnesses said attackers fired a RPG at one of the 1st vehicles and
the convoy was rocked by a roadside bomb after it ground to a halt, a
now familiar pattern of attack on US patrols.
Other witnesses said a television cameraman was wounded in the leg
when soldiers fired warning shots to ward off a crowd.
17 suspected Taliban killed in Afghanistan: report
Kabul (ABC, Geoff Thompson). US-led forces say they have killed 17
militants in a clash in southern Afghanistan. If the report is
confirmed, the fight would be the deadliest encounter with Taliban
fighters in almost a year. South-eastern Afghanistan is the focus of
the resurgent Taliban's campaign against the foreign presence in the
country. 2 days ago, the killing of 5 Doctors Without Borders workers
north of Kabul sparked fears the Taliban insurgency was spreading.
This latest incident in Kandahar province, while an apparent victory
for US forces, underlines how much of Afghanistan beyond Kabul is
still violently contested. About 300 Afghan troops working with US
forces engaged militants in a mountainous region. A local Afghan
official disputes the American tally of 17 dead saying only 13
suspected Taliban were killed.
Koreas open cross-border roads
Seoul (AFP). S and N Korean officials announced that they had reached
an agreement to open cross-border roads and make test runs on 2
railways across their heavily fortified frontier in Oct.
Under the accord, which followed a meeting of economic officials in
the N Korean capital, the 2 sides will open 2 roads, one across the
western part of the inter-Korean border and the other in the east.
They will also test-run 2 railways running alongside the 2 roads, a
media pool report from Pyongyang said.
The 2 sides also agreed to set up by the end of the m a joint agency
to run an industrial park being built in N Korea's Kaesong city nr the
border and appoint a S Korean to oversee it.
The sprawling park, mainly to house 100s of South Korean garment and
other labour-intensive plants, will be reached by the W cross-border
transport links.
Electricity for the complex will come from the South after the
state-run Korea Electric Power Corp completes building the necessary
power lines by late Sep.
South and N Korean officials at the Pyongyang meeting also said they
needed to speed up work on a demo complex in the park to ensure that
South Korean firms move in and begin production, officials from Seoul said.
South Korean officials also said they agreed to give 400,000 tonnes of
rice aid to the N this year.
The breakthrough is expected to expand cooperation and contribute to
stability on the peninsula, Yonhap news agency said.
The agreement at the Pyongyang economic talks followed a breakthrough
in separate military talks in a S Korean resort where the 2 sides
agreed to ease tension along the world's last Cold War frontier.
General-level officers of the Koreas agreed to set up a hot line and
to avoid accidental armed clashes in the disputed W sea border.
The 2 Koreas are still technically at war as they have yet to sign a
peace treaty to replace an armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War.
Majority of Israelis support Gaza pullout
Jerusalem (AFP). A sharp majority of Israelis remains in favour of
Israeli PM Ariel Sharon's plan to unilaterally evacuate settlements in
the Gaza Strip, a poll published in the daily Haaretz revealed.
Almost 60% of those polled said they supported the plan, while 34%
voiced their opp'n. The remainder expressed no opinion.
Support was notably strong among left-wing respondents, with 80%
favouring the evacuation of all 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.
65% of those who vote for Israeli candidates of Arab descent said they
back the plan.
61% of those who voted for Mr Sharon's right-wing Likud Party said
they support the plan while 20% said the opposite.
Likud Party members massively rejected it in a May 2 referendum however.
Respondents from extreme-right and ultra religious parties were most
opposed to the Gaza pullout, at 81 and 72%, respectively.
Mr Sharon sacked 2 far-right ministers on Fri, ahead of a Cabinet vote
on the evacuation Sun.
The poll, which reflected similar surveys conducted since Mr Sharon
announced his plan in Feb, was carried out on a sample of 500 people
with a 4.5%age point margin of error.
HK hosts Tiananmen anniversary vigil
HK. Tens of 1000s of protesters have held a candlelit vigil in Hong
Kong to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre.
The difference between Hong Kong and the rest of China was starkly
illustrated last night. Whereas mainland authorities stopped any
moves to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre,
in HK tens of 1000s of people held a candlelit vigil. The centrepiece
was a likeness of the Goddess of Democracy crafted by students in
Beijing 15 y ago at the height of the Tiananmen protest. Under the
"One Country, 2 Systems" policy HK residents enjoy more rights than
other Chinese. Anxiety has risen over the past y that communist China
is going back on promises made to HK in the 1997 hand-over from Brit.
PNG aid package progressing: Downer
Canberra. FM Alexander Downer says a new aid package for Papua New
Guinea is one of the most significant developments in AUS's foreign
policy in years. Mr Downer was speaking after talks aimed at getting
the $1 bn programme up and running. The Enhanced Co-operation
Programme has been stalled for m over the issue of legal immunity for
the 300 Aussie police and public servants who would work in PNG under
the plan. After talks with PNG ministers in Port Moresby, Mr Downer
said good progress had been made. "I see this as one of the most
important things that AUS has done in a long time in terms of its
internat'l relations," he said. AUS is seeking immunity from local
prosecution, fearing its officers could be undermined by vexatious
legal action. Officials from the 2 countries will hold further talks
next wk, with the hope a treaty can be signed by early next m.
Legends escort torch through MEL
Aerial skier Lydia Ierodiaconou started the MEL leg of the torch run.
Melbourne (ABC, Kellie White). The legends of AUS's 1956 Olympic team
have escorted the Olympic torch on a vintage tram through MEL.
Vicn Governor John Landy was on board. "We've paid our fare, it's
absolutely kosher," he joked.
Also on board were Kevin Gosper and swimmers Dawn Fraser, Faith Leach
and John Konrads, who was just 14 when he swam in the MEL Games in '56.
"I was the baby of the team and I was so honoured to be walking, I had
the privilege of walking in the Olympic Village next to the great Dawn
Fraser," Konrads said.
Fraser said: "The flame is sort of igniting all the athletes together
and it's very important."
The torch has arrived in Albert Park and is heading to the MEL Cricket
Ground, where it will do a lap at half-time at the Essendon-Hawthorn
AFL match.
Earlier, more than 1,000 members of MEL's Greek community gathered in
the city to see the torch.
The loudest cheers for the relay so far came in Lonsdale Street where
1000s of Greek-Aussies have caught a glimpse of the flame.
AFL legend Ron Barassi and shooter Russell Mark have carried the
flame, which began its 60-km journey on time and without incident at
the Royal Children's Hospital.
Aerial skier Lydia Ierodiaconou was the 1st of 133 torch bearers.
"It was very exciting to kick it off today," she said.
Champion diver Irena Lashko has also carried the flame.
Athens will be her 4th Olympics and her 1st for AUS.
"[It's] just about, you know, history, and this is really, really
making me be proud to be part of AUS's team," she said.
The theme of today's relay is Pass the Flame, Unite the World.
Games roof finally slides into place
More work is needed to finish the Athens' Olympic stadium
Athens (Reuters). Greece has confounded critics of its Olympic
preparations as the futuristic roof over the main Games stadium took
shape with the delicate meeting of 2 giant arches to support the
translucent blue structure.
3 wk after the 1st arch was pushed into place, the 2nd 78 metre high
white steel structure slid along tracks to meet the first arch to
construction workers' celebrations.
"The sliding is done. It is finished," engineer Costas Mathiopoulos
told Reuters. "It happened in about 24 hr."
With the arches in position workers now must install 1000s of blue
carbon plastic-like panels that will offer shading against soaring
summer temperatures.
It also opens the way for urgent landscaping work around the stadium
that still resembles a huge construction site, 70 days before the Aug Games.
The roof had been the Internat'l Olympic Committee's biggest worry
about Games preparations.
Organisers see the roof, designed by award-winning Spanish architect
Santiago Calatrava, as a Games' architectural legacy that will light
up Athens skyline for the future.
Many architects regarded the roof as an engineering challenge
bordering on the impossible because of weights involved.
The 2 arches span more than 300 metres each, are nearly as tall as the
SYD Harbour Bridge and spread across the stadium like a giant blue
spider's web.
They will carry 18,000 tonnes of panels and lights as well as
broadcasting and security cameras.
Archbishop denies receiving sex abuse warning
Adelaide. Anglican Archbishop Ian George has denied receiving a phone
call or seeing a letter a snr church colleague in Tas says he sent to
him warning of a sexual abuse allegation against former church youth
worker, Robert Brandenburg. The retired Bishop of Tas Phillip Newell
says he sent the letter the day after making a phone call to Dr George
on the same issue in Jul 1998, m before Brandenburg's behaviour was
revealed. Dr George reiterated he does not intend to resign. "Well
at the moment I see no reason to do so, the Diocesan council have
firmly encouraged me to follow this through," he said. "We have a
vitally important meeting of the Synod which I have to chair on Jun 19
in which we will be considering the recommendations of the report and
the legislation going to General Synod about professional standards
all of which are inter-linked and we have to consider that."
Adel Archbishop to stay put
Adelaide. Adel's Anglican Archbishop Ian George says he will not
stand down despite new calls for his resignation. Dr George says he
did not see a letter or take a phone call from former Bishop of Tas
Phillip Newell in Jul 1998, warning of a sexual abuse claim against
former church youth worker Bob Brandenburg. It was the following y
that Brandenburg committed suicide after being charged with sex
crimes. With only 2 m to go before retirement, the Archbishop says he
has been encouraged to stay on by the Diocesan Council. "I've had 2
meetings with the Diocesan Council this wk and they encouraged me to
go on and really get the processes moving faster for improvement of
our response to people in difficult situations and especially those
who have been abused...so that's what I intend to do," he said.
Qld signs historic land use agreement
AUS's 1st Indigenous land use agreement over an entire township is
being marked today.
Brisbane. The Ewamian people have surrendered native title over the
far northern Qld townships of Einasleigh, Forsayth, Mt Surprise and
Georgetown. In return, they receive access to their traditional
country through 3 reserves along with land and housing in
Georgetown. Min for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy Stephen
Robertson says it shows how far society has come. "What we are doing
is recognising the traditional ownership of the land for the Ewamian
people but also meeting the aspirations of the Ewamian people to
secure housing and reserves of significant land without going down the
path of having the matter heard before court," he said.
Hundreds expected at RM Williams auction
Toowoomba. Hundreds of people are expected to attend a clearing sale
of property that belonged to the late RM Williams. Saddlery, tools
and machinery will be auctioned at the legendary bushman's property at
Hodgsonvale, S of Toowoomba. Auctioneer Phil Black says the sale of
RM's stirrups, spurs and pack saddles has already prompted massive
interest. "We've had inquiry from almost all states and territories
in AUS and we're expecting a few people to turn up on the day," he
said. "That's one of the nice things about this auction is that
there's going to be a lot of people, both bush and city people. "He
was held in high regard right throughout AUS and I think a large
number of people would like to have a little piece of something he
once owned or treasured."
Stolen children return for "healing ceremony"
Phillip Ck Mission, NT. Aboriginal families whose children were
forcibly taken from them in the 1940s will return to the site of the
former Phillip Creek Mission in the N Territory for a healing ceremony today.
In 1946, 16 part-Aboriginal children were removed from their families
at the mission, 49 km from Tennant Creek, and taken to Darwin.
At least 8 of those children will return to Phillip Creek today with
their extended families.
Psychologist Helen Kane has worked with the group on the project and
says one mother is still living in the Barkly region.
Ms Kane says the woman was reunited with her daughter in the 1980s and
is very excited about today's ceremony.
She says the ceremony is a move to put "sorry business" behind them.
"The elders have said they'll be doing a dance that is the mother's
dance and they haven't done that since the children were taken," he said.
"It's a very old dance, it's a very old story and they will do it for
the last time, for the 1st and last time since the children were taken.
"So it's a very special time for them."
She says the healing ceremony will spark happy and sad emotions and
the step is an example for people all around AUS.
"A group haven't expressed this statement before, that they want to
move on, they want to heal," she said.
"They don't want to stay locked in the past and they want to put that
behind them.
"It's a very powerful statement for the nation and I'm really excited
that it's happening here and I'm excited for the group."
Labor unveils nat'l water policy
Canberra (AAP). Fed Labor unveiled plans for a new nat'l body
focusing on water reform and incentives for city dwellers to re-use
storm and waste water as part of its nat'l water policy.
Opp'n environment rep Kelvin Thomson launched Labor's Framework for a
Nat'l Water Policy, providing a blueprint for the future of one of the
country's most important resources.
The framework commits a Labor govt to setting up a Nat'l Sustainability
Advisory Council to advise COAG on water reform implementation.
Labor also wants to give incentives to encourage the re-use of
storm water and waste water in cities and promote water-saving measures
such as rainwater tanks, special shower heads and tap fittings.
The framework calls for a dramatic reduction in the amount of water
being discharged from ocean out-falls and a nat'l system for
classifying AUS's major rivers to identify those needing protection.
"Labor believes we can have a strong economy and a healthy environment
but unless we get the basics right, both will suffer," Mr Thomson said.
Mr Thomson said Labor hoped that this m's COAG meeting would not see
the fed govt's delivery timetable for key water reforms slip even further.
"As a result of the govt's inaction, farmers still face uncertainty
over water entitlements, environmental flows remain unclear, the Murray
has not received a litre of extra water, water rural investment and
job creation has been stifled, and the community remains divided," he added.
Brereton to quit politics
Sydney. ALP heavyweight Laurie Brereton says he is quitting politics
and will not contest the fed election, due later this y.
The 58-yo member for Kingsford Smith in SYD's SE announced his
decision to his electorate council this evening.
Mr Brereton joined the Labor Party at 15 and entered the NSW
Legislative Assembly in a by-election for the seat of Randwick in 1970.
He later became Member for Heffron before entering Fed Parliament in 1990.
In 1991, the Member for Kingsford Smith was appointed parliamentary
secretary to the PM.
Following the 1993 election, Mr Brereton was appointed minister for
industrial relations. In this role, Mr Brereton introduced several
reforms to AUS's industrial relations system including increased
access to enterprise bargaining under the Aussie Industrial Relations
Commission, and new nat'l standards to guarantee a fair minimum wage.
In addition to his work with industrial relations, the Labor stalwart
was minister for transport from Dec 1993 to Mar 1996, and served as
shadow foreign minister from 1996 to 2001.
Elderly couple convicted on cannabis charges
Perth. An elderly Perth couple risks losing their assets after being
convicted of serious drugs charges. Florence Davies, 77, and her
81-yo husband David have been convicted of possessing cannabis with
intent to sell or supply. A District Court jury took 6-and-1/2 hours
to convict the couple over 19 kg of cannabis found during a police
raid on the couple's home in Perth's S suburbs 2 y ago. Police valued
the haul at up to $264,000. The couple denied they knew anything
about the drugs. Their son Tyssul, a convicted drug dealer who served
time over part of the haul, told the court he was to blame. The
prosecution has indicated it does not intend pursuing an immediate
term of imprisonment. But it is yet to decide whether to apply for
them to be declared drug traffickers, which could result in them
having their assets seized.
Min defends WA extraditions
Perth. WA Justice Min Michelle Roberts has defended the cost of
extraditing prison fugitives back to the state, after a man was
yesterday sentenced to 40 days in jail for escaping legal custody.
Francis Dennis Pallas had been on the run for 2 decades. Yesterday,
Pallas was sentenced in the Perth Magistrates Court to 40 days jail on
top of the remaining 3 wk of his sentence, for escaping Wooroloo
prison 20 y ago. He was extradited to W AUS from Qld. Ms Roberts
says the Govt is determined to bring back all prison fugitives. "Now
that's about 40 people. We've got addresses for about 26 of them and
now we've got our 12th man back," she said. "I think that's good
news, good news for the community." Ms Roberts says even if prisoners
only serve a small extension to their jail term, the strong message it
sends to those in the justice system is worth the effort.
[From the "fish files":]
UN report highlights risks to marine life
UN. The UN Environment Program has warned that aggressive fishing is
threatening ocean corals. It says oil exploration, waste dumping and
telecommunications cables pose further risks. The warnings were
contained in a report issued ahead of World Environment Day tomorrow,
which this y focuses on risks to marine life. The UN report says
particularly damaging is bottom trawling, which involves pulling huge
weighted nets behind ships. The nets drag along the sea floor
scooping up all the marine life in their way, from valuable fish to
inedible species and delicate corals.
UN urges safe havens for fish from trawlers
Oslo (Reuters). The world should do more to set up protected zones in
the oceans to shield depleted fish stocks from the ravages of trawlers
and pollution, the UN said on Sat.
"Society can no longer view the world's oceans as a convenient dumping
ground for our waste, or as an unlimited source of plenty," UN Sec-Gen
Kofi Annan said in a statement to mark World Environment Day on Jun 5.
"Wanted! Seas and Oceans: Dead or Alive?," is the slogan for the 2004
Jun 5 annual event marked around the world.
Annan said almost 75% of fish stocks, from cod to tuna, are caught
faster than they can breed. And plastic waste alone -- like supermarket
bags -- kills a mn sea birds a year, 100,000 sea mammals and countless fish.
Saying urgent action was needed, Annan noted that govts agreed at an
Earth Summit in Johannesburg in 2002 to try to restore depleted fish
stocks by 2015 and to set up more protected marine areas, like
wildlife parks on land, by 2012.
"This last goal...is especially important," he wrote. "Less than 0.5%
of marine habitats are protected -- compared with 11.5% of global land area."
"Studies show that protecting critical marine habitats, such as warm-
and cold- water coral reefs, sea grass beds and mangroves can dramatically
increase fish size and quality," he said.
But one expert said that some ecosystems may be so depleted that it
may be impossible to revive stocks by banning fishing.
* COD STOCKS FAIL TO RECOVER
"It's like if you load too much on a camel -- you can't expect him to
jump up again if you remove the load that has just broken his back,"
Katherine Richardson, a professor at Aarhus University in Denmark,
told Reuters.
When large fish like cod are almost gone, smaller species may thrive
and gobble the young of any survivors. Cod stocks off Newfoundland,
Canada, have failed to recover despite a 1992 ban.
Activists around the globe plan to clean up beaches, plant trees and
encourage people to shift to renewable energies like solar or wind
power to mark Jun 5, the date a 1st global summit on the environment
was held in Stockholm in 1972.
In Greece, divers aim to remove waste including dumped cars and
refrigerators nr Athens. About 300 people were expected to turn up to
clean the beach at Thoothukudi in India.
On Fri, the UN Environment program sounded the alarm about threats to
little-understood cold-water corals, saying that the less glamorous
cousins of tropical corals were vital "kindergartens for fish."
Greenpeace also called for an immediate ban on high-seas bottom trawling.
Events scheduled for Sat even include exhibits at the Brit Atomic
Weapons Establishment (AWE) -- which maintains the nation's nuclear
arsenal -- to educate staff about how to protect the environment at
work and at home.
"Like any other large industrial complex we are aware that our operations
can have the potential to harm the environment," AWE said in a statement.
What's in a quack?
Brit researchers have discovered that ducks have distinct regional accents.
[Just this wk an American visitor discovered Vic crows have a
different accent from NY crows...]
London (AFP). To the untutored ear it might just sound like a load of
quacking, but Brit researchers have discovered that the country's
ducks -- much like its people -- have distinct regional accents.
Ducks from London make a rougher sound which resembles shouting so
that fellow birds can hear them above the hubbub of city life, whereas
their country cousins make a softer sound, the study found.
The differences were uncovered after academics at London's Middlesex
University recorded the calls of ducks at a city farm in the capital
and at a tranquil location in Cornwall, SW England, the Guardian
newspaper said.
There was a clear difference in sound, English language lecturer Vic
de Rijke told the paper, with the London ducks "much louder and (more)
vocally excitable".
"The Cornish ducks made longer and more relaxed sounds, much more
chilled out.
"The cockney (London) quack is like a shout and a laugh, whereas the
Cornish ducks sound more like they are giggling," she said.
"London ducks have the stress of city life and a lot of noise to
compete with, like sirens, horns, planes and trains."
The result was that the ducks' accents mimicked those of the humans in
their home region, Ms de Rijke said.
She noted that the London accent tends to use short, more guttural
vowel sounds whereas those in Cornwall are open and drawn out.
{{
Midnight.
BBC World Service. Analysts say with the sacking of 2 members of his
cabinet, Sharon's Gaza pull-out should pass by 1 vote. But then he
may face another crisis. Another right wing party could threaten to
pull out of the govt coal'n, forcing him into a minority govt.
The Russian Duma has given its final approval to a Bill that will
restrict street demonstrations. When it began passage 2 m ago the
leg'n triggered a storm of controversy. The original version banned
gatherings outside govt and politicians' offices and homes. The latest
version only bans meetings outside Presid'l homes and some govt buildings.
Gold is trading lower at $US387.85/oz.
6 am
Oil is down another $1 to $US38.47/bbl. The AUD his lows o'night of
68.76 US c. It's finished at 69.57 US c.
A rep for Moqtada al-Sadr says militias and US forces have agreed to
withdraw from Najaff and nearby Kufa, and hand over security to Iraqi
police. The cities now appear quiet after days of fighting. US
observers called the agreement "a breakthrough".
The new Iraqi PM has gone on TV and called on Iraqis to unite and
fight terrorism. He says defeating terrorism is the duty of all
Iraqis. He address came just after 4 US soldiers were killed in Sadr
city, Baghdad.
PM Howard has wound up his 5th visit to Washington by defending Pres
Bush from accusations he's interfering in domestic Aussie politics.
Mr Howard says Pres Bush's attack on Mark Latham was "appropriate",
and denies he prompted the US Pres to make the comments. Elsewhere,
former Lib PM Fraser has criticised the Bush comments saying they were a
"significant interference" in AUS internal politics. Mr Bush was
treating AUS as though it were a 51st state of the US, says Fraser.
Last night on ABC Lateline, former PM Hawke defended the ALP's policy
to withdraw troops from Iraq by the end of the y.
7 am
No Bush no War. 10s of 1000s protesting against Bush visit to Rome
carried rainbow peace flags. Elsewhere, PM Berlusconi has again
ruled out a pull-out of Italian troops from Iraq.
The costs for the Olympic Games is continuing to blow out. Greek
authorities can't give a clear picture of the final cost, but the
prev Socialist govt estimated the bill at 4.6 bn euro. There have
been budget overruns of 60% for some projects. The security cost
alone has sky-rocketed past the SYD Olympic Games. The Athens
security budget is 1 bn euro. Observers say the final total is
expected to come in around 10 bn euro -- about 7% of Greece's GDP. A
massive financial burden for a small country.
Just hrs after authorities confirmed 2.5 mn signatures had been
gathered to force a Presid'l recall election, an ad blitz has hit TVs
in Venezuela. In neighbouring Argentina, the leftist Pres has accused
"certain sectors" of trying to destabilise his admin. BA has been hit
with a crime wave.
A French mayor has vowed to continue with the country's first gay
wedding today despite threats from the C govt to immediately declare
it invalid.
133 torch bearers will carry the Olympic flame through inner suburban
Melbourne today. The flame is due to visit Federal Square and end up
in the MCG before catching a flight to Tokyo.
Wall St has closed up on strong job data, lower oil prices, and a
positive outlook from Intel Corp. The Dow closed up 47 at 10,243
(1/2% higher over the wk). The Nasdaq ended up 18 at 1,979 (down
1/2%). NY gold closed up $US2.80 to $US391.70/oz. After volatile
trading o'night the AUD is now trading around 69.5 US c, up 3/4 since
last night's late local close.
In SYD the Lib member for Epping says it's a "joke" that people
affected by tunnelling for a new train line to Epping are being
offered free tickets to movies.
NSW doctors have been warned to look out for symptoms of meningococcal
disease as AUS heads into the peak season for the disease.
An elderly Perth couple have been convicted of possessing cannabis.
19 kg was found hidden in the ceiling cavities of their home in S
Perth. The haul was valued at $164,000. The couple have denied
they knew anything about the drugs. Their son is a convicted drug
dealer and said he was to blame. A Perth court is yet to decide
whether they're drug traffickers, in which case their assets could be
seized.
Midday.
The death toll of US troops killed in action in Iraq has exceeded 600
as 5 US soldiers were killed in an attack on their convoy on the edge
of Sadr City.
US Pres George W Bush says an Aussie troop withdrawal from Iraq by
Christmas would be "disastrous".
US Pres George W Bush has been accused of interfering in Aussie
domestic politics, after he criticised Labor's plan to withdraw troops
from Iraq by Christmas.
Former Liberal PM Malcolm Fraser says the US Pres George W
Bush should not treat AUS as though it is a US state.
American troops and militia loyal to the cleric Sheik Moqtada al-Sadr
have agreed to withdraw from the centre of Iraq's holy city of Najaff
in the latest attempt to shore up a fragile cease-fire.
Greece has confounded critics of its Olympic preparations as the
futuristic roof over the main Games stadium took shape with the
delicate meeting of 2 giant arches to support the translucent blue structure.
Iraq's interim PM has called for an end to the insurgency aimed at
driving US-led forces out of Iraq.
Iraqi police have captured a close aide to Al Qaeda operative Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi and the captive is cooperating with investigators,
the US military says.
PM John Howard said Iraq is nearing a crucial phase as the final
countdown to Jun 30 and the return of Iraq's sovereignty draws close
as he wound up his 5th visit to Washington during the Bush Admin.
Pope John Paul has called for the rapid return of Iraq's sovereignty
with UN involvement during a meeting with US Pres George W Bush.
The UN's top human rights official has said US-led
occupation forces have mistreated many ordinary Iraqis and called for
the appointment of an internat'l ombudsman to monitor the troops behaviour.
The US and Brit made apparent concessions over the role of coalition
troops in Iraq in a new draft UN resolution distributed Fri at the Sec Council.
The US is trying to soften allegedly harsh and inflammatory criticism
of the coalition in Iraq that is expected to be contained in a UN
human rights report to be released this wk, US officials said.
5.30 pm
Shiite militias from the al-Sadr brigades have attacked US troops
despite cease-fires in Najaff and Kufa. An RPG hit a military vehicle
in NE Baghdad, killing 1 US soldier and wounding 3 others. US cmdrs
say the vehicle was flipped by the blast.
6 pm
Canadian wage-earners have been upset this wk after a "computer
glitch" saw 1000s of payroll cheques held up. New s/w had been
installed across the country, and it had "gone badly astray". The
hitch affected wage earners as well as large corporates.
A UN rep says there is no technical reason elections in Iraq can't be
held next Jan. An 8-member electoral commission has been appointed.
The Iraqi parliament's 275 seats will be distributed on a proportional
basis, with no minimum number of votes. 1/4 of the seats will be
reserved for women. Authorities may use Iraq's food ration database
as the basis for an electoral roll. Originally, the UN said the roll
was too flawed to use. But now they may have forced to use it. A rep
for Moqtada al-Sadr, who'd originally proposed the food roll idea,
said it was a pity so much time had been lost quibbling over the
accuracy of the rations list. US officials say other factors stand in
the way, incl a legal framework for elections.
Shopping centre guards in the LA's fashion district have been accused
of a rent-a-cop extortion racket. Illegal immigrants selling counterfeit
DVD's say security guards have come by threatening to confiscate the
DVD's unless they handed over up to 1/3 of their weekly income. 9
vendors have now filed complaints about guards who were demanding
payment. LA police are investigating. Some guards are getting money
and leaving vendors alone, but other guards not involved in the rackets
have seized property anyway. 34 guards have been dismissed over the
row. Another 21 continue to patrol. Secure-a-Cop -- the company
contracted to provide the service -- have refused to be interviewed.
The city pays $US1 mn pa for the guards. City reps say before the
guards, few people went to the area to shop. The guards responded to
50,000 citizen calls last y, taking a considerable load off the LAPD.
A 3rd version of the Res on Iraq has been circulated by the US and
Brit. The prev version stipulated the final govt to be elected in Jan
could ask foreign military forces to leave. But Zebari wanted the
interim govt to also have same power.
Philippines Pres Gloria Arroyo says her govt will not soften its
stance on terror, despite the Philippines being No 3 on the Al-Qaeda
hit list in the region. She said her govt would take all precautions
for the safety of its citizens.
10 pm
Speaking at a final press conf in Italy, Pres Bush said he was
confident the UN would accept the latest draft of a Res to ratify the
Iraq hand-over. He was about to leave for France which is not in
complete agreement on the details.
US Def Sec Rumsfeld is in Singapore. He told a conf there were more
terror attacks to come, and the fight against Islamic extremism was
closer to its beginning than the end. It was difficult to assess the
affect of the war on terror to younger minds, said Rummy. He urged
Asian countries teach students mathematics. Rummy also has talked
with officials about re-distributing US soldiers around the world.
Aussie Def Min Hill said if there were ways AUS could assist, it would
[US not-a-bases in Australia?!].
PM Howard has been awarded the US Liberties Medal for his friendship
toward the US and Israel. It's the highest award the Jewish community
in the US gives out.
D-Day anniversary celebrations are well advanced with vets from all
the countries that took part in Normandy, NW France. There are 12,000
vets from Brit alone. Rebuilt and modern vessels are making the
journey across the Channel to celebrate the invasion 60 y ago.
After completing its 66 km journey around and across MEL, the
Olympic touch is headed toward Tokyo. Andrew Gaze said he was
delighted to run the final leg into the MCG. Most of MEL's Greek
community turned out to see the flame.
In PNG, talks have resolved a dispute over a $1 bn aid package from
AUS. FM Downer flew in for talks amid a long-running dispute over
legal protections for AUS personnel working in PNG. PNG officials
said a broad agreement was reached. Officials from both sides will
hold more talks next wk. A new joint treaty could be signed and put
to the PNG parliament as early as next m.
S Korea has agree to supply 400,000 tonnes of food aid to the N. Road
and rail links are being re-established through the DMZ. The
decisions mark another step in the gradual process of reconciliation.
Trips between S and N will still need special permission. Only
officially sanctioned business trips can enter area nr the border.
Police have arrested a man who tried to enter SYD airport with 2,000
blank credit cards. Police also raided a house where they found false
medicare cards, equipment, and another 500 blank credit cards.
Malaysian, Chinese, and S African citizens were arrested in connection
with the credit scam that police say is worth $mns. Using false ID's
is becoming a problem. The max jail term for offences is 2 to 12 y jail.
}}
----------------------------------------
Sun, 06 Jun 2004.
HEADLINES:
New clashes in Nigeria's oil delta
The fog persists in Iraq's future
PM backs policy over polls on Iraq
Mixed reactions: Kurds are marginalised in the reviving Iraq
Iraq dominates Howard, Blair meeting
Critical 9/11, Iraq reports to target CIA
Bush, Chirac discuss Iraq ahead of D-day celebrations
Bush Welcomes Letter on Iraq Security
Allawi slams US over Iraq army
AFP investigates $150 mn superannuation fraud
APEC ministers hope to restart trade talks
Alice students snatch nat'l film award
Army misconduct investigation adds another 16 cases
Aussie D-day veterans receive Legion of Honour
Aussie leaders pay tribute to Reagan
Aust, NZ to sign biotechnology alliance
Blair would win election: poll
Books program focuses on community life
Burma criticised for failing to stop forced labour
Businessman on bulldozer levels Colorado buildings
Competition watchdogs air disagreement
Contractors killed on road to Baghdad Airport
D-Day veteran tells of scale of invasion
Darfur rebels seize 16 Sudanese working for UN: Sudanese govt
Drought takes tighter grip on NSW
Fallujah clashes threaten truce
France honours Aust WWII veterans
French Govt moves against gay wedding
Garrett touted as potential Labor MP
Govt to reveal $12 bn transport plan
Groups praise Labor bag ban plan
Half of France feel no moral debt to US
Hicks trial "a step closer"
Latham promises to ban plastic bags
Lebanon trip to interview terrorism suspect stalls
Mainland protests oppose Tas wood-chipping
Martian rover faces risky crater test
Newly-wed Dye arrested in wife-beating probe
Olympic torch leaves AUS
Parachute drops begin tribute to D-day heroes
Reagan "helped save the world"
Renegade congo leader agrees to UN plan
Ronald Reagan dies
Shark Bay hits out at green claims
Study to paint portrait of stalking's impact
Thatcher pays tribute to 'American hero' Reagan
US declares Sadr defeated
Veterans retrace D-Day route to Normandy
Watch Venus's travels online, doctors warn
New clashes in Nigeria's oil delta
Lagos (AP). Soldiers in gunboats clashed with ethnic militants in the
rivers of Nigeria's oil delta Fri, and militants and villagers claimed
that dozens of fighters and civilians were killed. A navy rep denied
there were casualties.
Residents of Port Harcourt, the oil-rich Niger Delta's main city,
which is several kms from where the clashes occurred, reported
hearing pre-dawn gunfire at the time of the attack.
Hundreds of soldiers and police have deployed to the nearby villages
of Ogbakiri, Buguma and Tombia since last wk _ apparently to stem
months of fighting between 2 rival ethnic Ijaw militant factions.
Villagers in Oduoha said they woke to gunfire before dawn.
Community leader Lloyd Eyime said he went outside his house and saw
soldiers in gun-mounted speedboats firing upon his riverside community.
"They have been burning houses and shooting at people, both young and
elderly," Eyime said.
Residents fled into mangrove swamps and dense bush, he said.
When Eyime returned, he said, he found about 30 bodies lying about the
otherwise abandoned village.
"Right now where I'm hiding, I can see flames from one of my cars that
was set ablaze by the soldiers. As I'm talking to you, I don't even
know the whereabouts of my wife and children," he said, speaking to
The Associated Press by cell phone.
Kenneth Etu, a village elder from Ogbakiri, said he saw 15 dead bodies.
"We were sleeping and we heard shooting," he said. "Everyone was running."
Dokubo Asari, one of the 2 feuding ethnic Ijaw cmdrs involved, said
his men were fighting back.
"We shot at them and one of their gunboats sank," Asari said.
A snr navy official in Port Harcourt denied that anyone had been
killed or injured. Most villagers deserted their communities during
fighting before security force members began arriving, he said.
"We've been sending troops there since last wk. They heard we were
coming and they deserted towns and villages. There have been no
killings. Everything is quiet," the navy officer said, speaking on
condition he not be identified.
A govt rep for the area's River state said he did not know of any
killings but defended the deployment.
"The military have had to come in because of the escalating nature of
the violence by the cultists," state rep Emma Okah said, referring to
the factions, which are often called "cults" in SE Nigeria.
It was impossible to determine independently the situation in the
riverine area of swamps and jungle.
Nigeria's military regularly plays down ethnic, political and
religious violence in a bid to stem retaliatory attacks. On 2
occasions -- in 1999 and 2001 -- authorities denied army massacres of
100s of civilians until witness accounts made them indisputable.
Political, religious and ethnic unrest has killed more than 10,000
people since Pres Olusegun Obasanjo was 1st elected in 1999, ending 15
y of brutal military rule.
The clash on the eastern side of the oil-rich Niger Delta appeared
unrelated to ethnic bloodletting pitting ethnic Ijaw and Itsekiri
militants in the W delta. Since last y, that fighting has killed 100s
and shut wells accounting for between 7 and 25% of Nigeria's daily oil
production.
Ijaws and Itsekiris pledged peace on Tue, although tensions remain
high and oil companies have been hesitant to return to facilities
abandoned since last y.
Nigeria is the world's seventh-largest oil exporter and the
5th-largest source of US oil imports.
APEC ministers hope to restart trade talks
Santiago. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade ministers
meeting in Chile have signed a declaration aimed at restarting World
Trade Organisation talks that collapsed last Sep in Mexico. It called
for a set date to abolish agricultural export subsidies and promised
to step up efforts to increase market access. The end of Jul is the
deadline for reviving trade talks and APEC trade ministers are pushing
hard for success. Aussie Trade Min Mark Vaile says the APEC agreement
could deliver a big boost. "This has probably been one of the
positive outcomes of any APEC meeting I have been to," he said. "We
really are on the cusp of something, by the end of Jul that we can
lock away, that will open the door to the future." The next major
meeting of the World Trade Organisation is at the end of Jul in
Geneva. It is seen as a last chance for this round of trade talks.
Parachute drops begin tribute to D-day heroes
Sainte-Mere-Eglise, Normandy. Hundreds of Brit and American
parachutists dropped into NW France on Sat to launch poignant
commemorations of the D-day landings on Jun 6, 1944, which hastened
the end of World War II.
At the W end of the coast where the liberation of Europe from Nazi
occupation began, grey parachutes blossomed open in lead-grey skies in
a spectacular re-enactment of the capture by the US 82nd Airborne
Division of the village of Sainte-Mere-Eglise.
The aim was to seize the village at 1.00 am, 5 hours before 135,000
Allied troops began landing on the 100 km beaches to launch the
largest seaborne invasion in history.
Sainte-Mere-Eglise was the 1st village liberated, but many of the US
soldiers who dropped there, carrying heavy guns and other equipment,
drowned in deep ditches and flooded land before they could even fire a shot.
At the village of Ranville, members of the Brit First Parachute Regiment,
were to re-enact the legendary operation to capture Pegasus Bridge
across the Orne River and secure the eastern flank of the beach landings.
Brit's Prince Charles paid tribute to the 90 paratroopers who flew in
darkness aboard 3 wooden gliders and crash-landed just after midnight
on or close to the bridge in a surprise attack which has entered the
annals of military history.
They were among 380 Brit gliders which floated into Normandy that night.
Other parachute drops were scheduled to commemorate the US 101st Airborne,
which suffered serious losses while attempting to secure the western
flank nr Omaha Beach.
Except at Omaha, the landings commanded by US Gen Dwight D Eisenhower
were an unqualified success, leading to the fall of Normandy in late
Jul and then the Allied sweep through northern France into Belgium,
the Netherlands and Germany.
Operation Overlord, as it was dubbed, had been in the planning since
Aug 1943 and was meticulous and imaginative in its scope and detail.
A huge disinfo campaign including phoney generals and fake armies
fooled Adolf Hitler into thinking the invasion when it came would be
further north.
But 4,000 Allied troops were killed on the 5 beaches -- code named Utah,
Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword -- on the 1st day and another 55,000 were
to die in the Normandy campaign.
More than 20 world leaders will attend a ceremony on Sun to pay homage
to bravery of those who took part in the landings, including US Pres
George W Bush, French Pres Jacques Chirac and Brit's QEII.
For the 1st time, they will stand alongside the leaders of Germany and
Russia putting the accent heavily on reconciliation, aiming to lay to
rest the ghosts of the past, and rebuild ties badly frayed by the
US-led war on Iraq.
Mr Chirac, a staunch opponent of the war on Iraq, thanked Americans
for helping to liberate Nazi-occupied France 60 y ago.
"The French say 'thank you' to the Americans and they will not forget
what they have done 60 y ago. And that is very, very important in our
minds and in our hearts," he said an interview given in English to the
NBC TV channel.
In a letter to the French newspaper Ouest France, Mr Bush also sought
to rebuild bridges, saying "countries that shared the same values"
like France and the US were "capable of getting together to accomplish
what pessimists considered impossible."
"Europe owes them peace and freedom" said Sat's Ouest France front
page headline over a picture of some of the 9,387 white crosses at the
US cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer.
A former Brit paratroop colonel, Nick Nichols, summed up the feelings
of many veterans about the German participation in this year's commemoration,
saying: "Some wounds will never be healed, but we recognise that many
of them died and we should give them time and space to remember too.
Many of them fought gallantly and after all they were soldiers."
Mr Schroeder, who lost his own father in the war, also struck a
conciliatory note in open letter also published in Ouest France.
"The Germany which had to be defeated in this war to end the Nazi
nightmare is no longer the same country which I have the honour to
represent today in these ceremonies commemorating Jun 6, 1944," he said.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin also welcomed his unprecedented
invitation to the 60th anniversary in a message in Ouest France.
"In Russia we will forever pay homage to the courage of our brothers
in arms, and honour all those who sacrificed their lives in the fight
against the worst evil of the 20th century."
Half of France feel no moral debt to US
Paris. Fewer than 50% of French people think France has a moral debt
to the US 60 y after the Allied D-day landings, according
to an opinion poll published on Sat.
The poll of 1,000 people on May 25 and 26 showed 48% of respondents
thought France, which was liberated by US and other Allied forces
during World War II, had a moral debt to the US.
50% thought it did not.
The poll was published by Le Parisien newspaper hours before US Pres
George W Bush was due to arrive in France for the anniversary of the
D-day landings on Jun 6, 1944.
It also showed growing French criticism of the US.
44% of people polled were critical of the US, up from 36%
in a similar poll in Mar 2003 and compared to 34% in Oct 2000.
A further 29% of respondents said they were worried by the US
in the poll published on Sat.
US-French relations have soured since France bitterly opposed the US-led
war in Iraq and because of differences over a draft UN
resolution on the future of Iraq for which Mr Bush is seeking French backing.
France honours Aust WWII veterans
Salute: This weekend marks the 60th anniversary of D-day.
Canberra. A group of Aussie World War II veterans will be awarded
France's highest military honour today, on the 60th Anniversary of
D-day. The Legion of Honour will be bestowed to 5 veterans during a
ceremony at the Aussie War Memorial in CBR today. Group Capt Hamilton
Connolly, Frederick Cowpe, Robert Cowper, Ian Hill-Smith and Laurence
Turner will receive the honour from the French ambassador. 4 other
veterans will receive their honours in France, while a 10th veteran
will receive his award at a later date. The awards recognise AUS's
role in the D-day landings and the subsequent Normandy campaign to
liberate France. G-G Michael Jeffrey will address the ceremony, which
will conclude with a flyover by a vintage Mustang aircraft as a
reminder of the role Mustangs played in providing air cover for the
Allied forces during the landings.
Aussie D-day veterans receive Legion of Honour
Paris (AFP). France has awarded its highest distinction, the Legion
of Honour, to 99 US and 3 Aussie D-Day veterans in a Paris ceremony on
the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy.
French Defence Min Michele Alliot-Marie, For Min Michel Barnier and
junior tourism minister Leon Bertrand presided over the ceremony at
the Hotel des Invalides.
AUS's ambassador to France William Fisher and US Veterans Affairs Sec
Anthony Principi looked on as the veterans received medals from
France's top military brass, including armed forces chief of staff Gen
Henri Bentegeat.
French Pres Jacques Chirac will bestow the honour upon a 100th US
veteran and an Aussie at a multinat'l commemoration in the Normandy
town of Arromanches on Sun.
The US veterans and their families who travelled to France aboard a
chartered Air France flight funded by French companies and
individuals, are staying in top-flight hotels and will travel to
Normandy on Sun on a special train.
Some 20 heads of state or govt, including US Pres George W Bush, are
expected in NW France this weekend to mark the 60th anniversary of the
D-Day landings, which paved the way for the liberation of Europe from
Nazi occupation.
The Legion of Honour, or, in French, the Legion d'Honneur, was created
by Napoleon Bonaparte in May 1802 for valour in military or civil service.
Veterans retrace D-Day route to Normandy
A mn poppies have rained down on the English Channel as a ferry full
of Brit veterans heads for Normandy.
Normandy (ABC, Philip Williams). About 12,000 D-day veterans have
joined a flotilla of ships heading for the beaches of Normandy which
they stormed 6 decades ago.
They will join many 1000s more to commemorate the beginning of the end
for the Nazis' European occupation.
As the flotilla followed the route taken 60 y ago, a Lancaster bomber
released 1 mn poppies over the English Channel.
Prince Charles unveiled a statue honouring a surviving officer from a
parachute brigade that lost more than 1,500 men on the 1st day of the
Normandy invasion.
At the same time, 100s of American and Canadian parachutists made
their jumps as their tributes to the veterans.
In Paris, 3 Aussie veterans received the French Legion of Honour, the
highest award possible, at a special ceremony.
A 4th Aussie veteran will be presented with his Legion of Honour by
French Pres Jacques Chirac later today and 4 more will receive theirs
in a ceremony at the Aussie War Memorial in CBR.
Prime Min John Howard has joined 17 heads of state gathered to honour
those who fought in a battle that eventually claimed more than 250,000.
D-Day veteran tells of scale of invasion
Darwin. A D-Day veteran has told how you could have walked from
France to Brit over the ships steaming across the English Channel when
he was flying with the Air Force the night before the invasion of Normandy.
Neil Conway, who has lived in Darwin for 40 y, was part of the RAAF's
76 Squadron and was on a mission bombing road junctions behind the
landing beaches in Normandy.
Mr Conway says as he was flying back from France across the English
Channel, he was confronted with a sight he will never forget.
"You could have walked walked from England to France without getting
your feet wet, just walking on boats," he said.
"There was 1000s of them and the air was full of gliders and glider
tugs, paratroop carriers and God knows what coming straight at me.
"I realised then that the invasion was on."
Mr Conway says it was a turning point in the Second World War.
"That was when we started to win the war," he said. "Up till then it
was virtually at a stalemate.
"The Brit and the Allies had been kicked out of France and the only
ones taking the war to Germany was bomber command, which I was a part of.
"We were the only ones actually fighting the Germans in Europe."
Mr Conway says it is important for the younger generation to remember
the D-Day invasion because it was the beginning of the end of the war.
Blair would win election: poll
London (AP). PM Tony Blair is unpopular with voters, but his Labour
Party would still win a nat'l election, a poll indicates.
The survey by pollster ICM suggests that Labour would win by a greater
margin if treasury chief Gordon Brown, rather than Blair, led the
party into Brit's next election.
The poll of voters in 202 closely contested constituencies found
Labour supported by 28% of respondents, compared to 33% who backed the
Conservative Party and 26% for the Liberal Democrats.
In an election, those%ages would give the Tories 43 more seats than
they now hold but give Labour a majority of 107 in the 659-seat House
of Commons, according to the poll for the News of the World newspaper.
Blair, whose popularity has been battered by the divisive Iraq war,
must call a nat'l election by mid-2006, but many expect a vote to be
held next y.
Asked if Blair was doing a good job, 60% of poll respondents said no
and 35% said yes.
58% felt Brown was doing a good job, while 36% disagreed.
The poll estimates that with Brown at the helm, Labour would win a
160-seat majority in the Commons.
ICM interviewed 1,522 people over 18 between Jun 1 and Jun 3. The
margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 points.
Critical 9/11, Iraq reports to target CIA
Chief's resignation not related, agency says
Washington (AP). As attention turns to who will run the CIA,
investigators are about to issue reports that are expected to
castigate the spy agency and its top leaders for intel failures on Sep
11 and Iraq. A version of one report has been in the CIA's hands for 3 wk.
A day after CIA Director George Tenet's sudden resignation
announcement, many in Washington were still grappling for an
explanation, despite assurances from Tenet and others close to him
that he simply wanted to spend more time with his wife and teenage son.
Upcoming reports are expected to place significant blame for recent
intel failures on the CIA, especially the Senate Intel Committee's
investigation into the flawed weapons estimates on Iraq.
The date of its public release was unclear Fri, although Senate
officials expect it out by summer. This summer, the president's
commission investigating the Sep 11, 2001, attacks is also expected to
release a report critical of US intel.
"That had no bearing whatsoever on Director Tenet's decision," said
CIA rep Mark Mansfield. "As he said yesterday, it was a personal decision."
Sen Carl Levin, D-Mich, and congressional aides have said the intel
committee report is expected to be highly critical of the agency for
overestimating the threat posed by Iraq. The report is expected to
identify titles and positions of a number of people.
One congressional aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity because
of the sensitive nature of the subject, said the CIA was given all but
the conclusions 3 wk ago for declassification and fact-checking. The
document makes clear the extent of the problem behind the Iraq weapons
estimates, the aide said.
Still unclear is whether Pres George W Bush will nominate Tenet's
replacement soon or steer clear during the presidential election
campaign, avoiding debate over intel failures in what could be a tough
confirmation fight. Bush has asked Tenet's deputy, John McLaughlin, to
temporarily head the agency after Tenet leaves on Jul 11.
Darfur rebels seize 16 Sudanese working for UN: Sudanese govt
Khartoum (AFP). Rebels in Sudan's W Darfur region abducted 16
Sudanese nat'ls working as UN aid workers, a snr govt official said.
Sudanese minister of state for foreign affairs, Nejib al-Khari Abdel
Wahab, said the Sudanese, all employees of the UN Development
Programme (UNDP), were taken hostage by rebels of the Sudan Liberation
Movement (SLM).
He added they were abducted in Malit east, in N Darfur State.
He said the UN has made contact with the rebels, adding that they have
admitted that they are holding the aid workers and promised to release them.
Abdel Wahab condemned the incident and said he regretted the threats
posed to the safety and security of employees of the UN and other aid
agencies, particularly given the efforts they are exerting to restore
stability in the Darfur region.
Officials for the SLM could not immediately be reached for comment.
When contacted in Nairobi, Ben Parker, the rep for the UN humanitarian
coordinator in Sudan, declined to confirm or deny the abduction.
Earlier, the state-owned Sudanese Media Center reported that 4
civilians died in separate rebel attacks in the same region.
It said rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) ambushed a
vehicle that was carrying a patient to hospital nr al-Fashir, the main
city in N Darfur State, killing 3 people.
The report added that another group of armed men also commandeered a
vehicle loaded with workers in S Darfur State and fled towards Kobri
Masko area.
It also accused SLM rebels of raiding villages E of Kutom in North
Darfur State. They commandeered a vehicle and took with them some 250
sheep, according to the centre, without saying when the incidents took place.
The reports could not be immediately verified.
The internat'l community has accused the Sudanese govt of impeding
access of aid workers to the region, despite growing concerns about an
imminent humanitarian disaster.
At least 10,000 people are believed to have died in Darfur since early
2003 when armed conflict broke out between 2 major rebels groups in
the region and Sudanese forces and their Janjawid Arab militia allies
in the area.
An estimated one mn people have fled the impoverished region following
attacks by govt troops and the militias on black African civilians,
with up to 100,000 of them taking refuge in neighbouring Chad,
according to UN figures.
The Sudanese govt and the main rebel groups in the area, the SLM and
the JEM, signed a cease-fire in Apr. But the govt and rebels continue
to accuse each other of violating the truce.
Lebanon trip to interview terrorism suspect stalls
Sydney. Efforts to interview Aussie man Saleh Jamal, who has been
arrested in Lebanon on terrorism charges, have stalled. The NSW Crime
Commission's counter-terrorism unit has applied to Lebanese
authorities to interview Jamal, who is being held in a Beirut jail.
Police had hoped the investigators would leave AUS today but delays
caused by "bureaucratic paperwork" mean the officers might not be able
to travel for several weeks. The officers want to interview Jamal
about his activities in AUS. Jamal was arrested in Lebanon after
leaving AUS without a valid passport and while on bail for his alleged
role in a shooting attack on Lakemba police station in SYD.
Army misconduct investigation adds another 16 cases
Inquiries into abuse of Iraqis, Afghans increased to 85 in all
Washington (WashPost). The Army reported on Fri 16 more criminal
investigations into possible misconduct by US soldiers against
detainees and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The revised figures brought to 85 the number of inquiries by the
Army's Criminal Investigation Division into detainee deaths and
alleged assaults and thefts by US soldiers in the region. Counting 22
other investigative actions by cmdrs in the field, the cases now total
107 and have involved at least 111 Iraqis and Afghans, Army officials said.
Much of the increase reflects a surge in accusations by Iraqis and
Afghanis in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, according to a
snr Army official. The widely publicised revelations about
mistreatment of detainees at the prison on the outskirts of Baghdad
encouraged others to come forward with complaints about the conduct of
US troops, the official said.
Whether most of the accusations involve recent incidents or ones that
occurred some time ago could not be determined from the list provided
by the Army.
But at least one of the new death investigations was triggered by the
killing of an Iraqi last wk after a high-speed car chase nr Kufa, a
restive Shiite city in south-central Iraq.
A brief statement issued Fri by the US military command in Baghdad
said the killing, which occurred on the afternoon of May 21, may have
violated the rules of engagement that govern when US soldiers can use
deadly force.
In releasing the updated figures, the Army provided no info about the
people, places or times involved. In the past, military officials have
cited concerns about privacy rights and judicial process to justify
keeping disclosures to a minimum.
Fri's tally did identify many of the cases as already completed. But
even for these, the Army offered nothing that would shed light on any
of the outcomes.
"I have absolutely no idea whether anyone was charged or not in most
of them," an Army rep said. The new numbers were based on data
available as of May 28. They showed 36 death investigations, a rise of
3 over the last report 2 wk ago. Of these, 31 involved Iraqis and 5 Afghans.
Cases of alleged abuses totalled 49 -- 45 of them involving Iraqis. The
investigations in Iraq divided into 24 assault cases, such as kicking
or punching, 2 sexual assault cases and 19 theft cases. The investigations
in Afghanistan included one sexual assault case and 3 other assault cases.
In a related development, the Acting UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights released a report Fri that said the mistreatment of detainees
at the Abu Ghraib prison could amount to war crimes.
The report by Bertrand Ramcharan noted that "willful killing, torture
or inhuman treatment" of detainees constitutes a grave breach of
internat'l law, adding that such acts "might be designated as war
crimes by a competent tribunal." The report called for "full accountability"
regarding the mistreatment of prisoners at detention facilities
throughout Iraq and recommended a "high-level internat'l ombudsman" be
designated to monitor US and other occupation troops while they remain
in the country.
State Dept rep Adam Ereli declined to comment on whether US soldiers
may have committed war crimes at the Abu Ghraib facility, but defended
the US military justice system as sufficient to deal with those
responsible for the abuses.
Hicks trial "a step closer"
David Hicks will face trial this y, the PM says.
Canberra. The Fed Govt says it is disappointed that no charges have
yet been laid against Aussie Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks. But
the Govt insists the prosecution of the terrorism suspect is moving
forward. Prime Min John Howard says the case against Mr Hicks is
progressing towards a military trial this y. "The charges against Mr
Hicks by the prosecutors have been presented to what's called the
appointing authority," Mr Howard said. But For Min Alexander Downer
says that does not mean charges have been laid. "It's a step forward
but we're disappointed the charging has taken quite as long as it's
taken," Mr Downer said. The For Min says he expects charges are
imminent, possibly in the next 2 to 3. The US has held Mr Hicks
and fellow Aussie Mamdouh Habib at its Guantanamo Bay military prison
in Cuba for more than 2 y without charge.
The fog persists in Iraq's future
Op/Ed (LA Times). As the military and security situation in Iraq has
deteriorated, the US and the UN have pinned ever-higher expectations
on the appointment of a new interim govt. That process, completed Tue,
did not go quite as either the US or the UN expected. The future of
Iraq is not much clearer, and the popular legitimacy of the new govt
is an unknown.
The politicians of the old US-picked Iraqi Governing Council simply
out-flanked the UN special envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, in forcing their own
choices for a Shiite PM, Iyad Allawi, and a Sunni, Ghazi Ajil Yawer,
for the more ceremonial post of president.
One of the 2 deputy PMs will be a Kurd.
Political analysts believe the US was weakened by military stand-offs
in Fallujah and Najaff and by the still-developing prison abuse scandal.
It could not arrest militant cleric and militia leader Moqtada Sadr,
much less provide the muscle to get Brahimi top choices installed.
At least former exile leader Ahmad Chalabi, whose false claims of
Iraqi WMD played a major part in leading the US to invade, has been
shoved aside. Allawi, though he has received CIA funding and support,
is now a critic of the US and an avowed foe of Chalabi, whose own y of
US funding belatedly ended last m.
Pres Bush said 2 wk ago that it was "time to take the training wheels
off" and let an interim govt replace the US-led Coalition Provisional
Authority on Jul 1. That's more an insult than a declaration of
confidence in the new govt ability to protect itself, the frightened
cadre of foreign workers in Iraq or the ordinary Iraqis who are
desperate to lead normal lives. A longtime exile, Allawi has little
base of support inside Iraq. With the wholesale resignation of the
Governing Council, his biggest local backers have left the scene.
Perhaps it is not a portent that Tue was punctuated by a mortar attack
and 2 deadly car bombings in and nr Baghdad. But the attacks were
business as usual in a city increasingly too dangerous for walking
around or conducting legitimate business.
More than 800 US military personnel have been killed in Iraq since the
war began, most of them since Bush declared "major combat" effectively
over more than a y ago. More than 130,000 troops will stay on after
Jul 1. But to whom will they answer? Allawi said he wanted control
over US forces except when they had to defend themselves. What
constitutes self-defence will not be a question settled easily, if at all.
Allawi's cabinet is neatly divided among Iraq's diverse and competing
groups. Whether its members can even be protected from assassination
precedes the question of whether they can govern effectively. That, in
a nutshell, is the continuing US problem in Iraq.
Mixed reactions: Kurds are marginalised in the reviving Iraq
London (KurdishMedia). The Contour of the New Iraq is taking place
but how has this shaped the hearts and minds of the people?
The last few wk have seen a vital and eventful time in both Baghdad
and the UN Sec Council. Crucially, the dawn of a new era is upon
us. On the 1st of Jul 2004, Iraq will once again become a sovereign
country with a pre-selected Interim Govt in sole charge of Iraqi
affairs. In principle, perhaps this is the most significant date in
Iraq's history; in reality many people doubt the effectiveness and
composition of the new UN Resolution and most importantly the new
govt. None more so than the Kurds. They have raised serious doubts
about their new role as partners in a new united democratic,
pluralistic and free Iraq. This is a chance for them to air their
views and respond to the new Iraq.
The main question is whether what was agreed in Baghdad and the UN Sec
Council i.e. the shape of the new Iraqi govt, served the interest of
the Kurds or otherwise.
KurdishMedia.com conducted interviews with people to get their
reactions. Here we publish the opinion of a number of diaspora Kurds.
Aram Azez, Journalist, Canada:
In my opinion, the Kurdish people have not been sold-out or betrayed
by the US, but by their irresponsible leaders who represented them in
Baghdad. The Kurdish position in the new Iraq govt is weaker than it
was during the Saddam era. During Saddam's period in power, Kurds had
2 Presid'l Deputies, Taha Miheddin Maaruf who was considered as a
"cartoony representative" and Taha Yassin Ramadan who was in a better
position. But now, Kurds have only Taha Miheddin in Baghdad.
I believe, those who without being elected by the Kurdish people, and
still don't even ask the people's opinion about their fates, but call
themselves Kurdish representatives, must apologise to the Kurdish
people for the failure that these "5 leaders" have done on their behalf.
Aryan Baban, a Kurd from US:
I do not know how history will ever forgive our Kurdish party leaders
for their actions since 1991. They totally ignored the will of Kurdish
nation. Since the liberation of Iraq, both PUK and KDP are brain-washing
Kurds to rebuild a dictatorial regime like Iraq.
Finally they succeeded it. Iraq for another time will be built in Jun
30, 2004 by old Baathist's and old Arab chauvinists with help of our
Kurdish leaders. The future is not optimists for Kurds. PUK and KDP
are both busy accumulating money by the mn and they do not care about
anything else. Just go back to S of Kurdistan to see for yourself.
Until now there is no regular electricity for example. Instead of
thinking of the welfare of our nation and taking advantage of this
golden opportunity, they are busy with their selfish interests. They
even make people forget that there are 2 Admins and people are getting
tired of asking when both Admins will be united. The reason is money.
Both PUK and KDP members are very comfortable with they way the
situation is. What makes everyone sick to our stomach is both leaders
are talking about peace and compromise among Iraqi forces and hold
congress in Hawler, but they are not trying to unite both Admins.
Jalal Talabani was gladly talking about he can mediate between US and
Al-Sadr but he cannot do it for the Kurds. He wanted to open a bank
account in Najaff and Karbala to help the victims when he was Pres of
the Iraqi Governing Council but ignored Halabja and Anfal victims and
he even did not ask UN or US to open an account for them. Massaud
Barzani is even worse than him. He bravely talks about Kurds and
Kurdistan in S Kurdistan but when he is in Baghdad or Pres in the
Iraqi Council, nobody even hears anything from him.
Both leaders betrayed Kurds again. If you ask me if Kurdish
aspirations were met, I say Kurdish aspiration is going die because of
PUK and KDP. And mark my words for it. We are sold out again. USA
always acts this way and does not care about anyone. But I do not
blame anybody except Kurdish leaders. They are criminals.
Hadi Elis, Canada, a Kurd believing in an Independent Kurdish State,
with saying that having in mind Greater Kurdistan:
What do you think about the shape of the new govt in Baghdad?
A quick look at the list of the PMs and the Cabinet members, and the
history of the Govts of Iraq will show that by the size, amount of
Ministries rewarded, there is no change in the attitude of Govt
forming in Iraq. 5 posts in 33 does not make any sense by the
comparisons of the Kurdish contribution to old and new Iraq, or by
the%age of the population of Iraq. If the Kurds are around 30% then at
least 10 posts should be given to the Kurds.
However my opinion is Kurds must get their rights based on ethnic and
territorial criteria's today in order to have a legitimate position to
declare their statehood, in any case this project of New Iraq doesn't
work as expected.
I don't think Kurds got what they were expecting as their natural
rights in being the main force of opp'n and military force of defeating
the Baathist govts and Saddam Hussein. When you give 1000s of martyrs,
think about 1000s of rural and urban settlements destroyed, bombarded
by chemical weapons, having ANFAL operations and a Genocide issue,
then the Kurds definitely deserved better treatment, starting from the
1st Post-Saddam govt to Interim Law, to the new constitution.
If today Iraq can call itself Iraq, still, it is because Kurds kept it
as it is.
Is this a "Kurdish sell-out" by the US? Of course it is a
"Sell-Out". Where in the world US went in and did the right thing, I
do not know any single positive example. Even Germany and Japan after
WWII did not receive fair treatment, as many W political scientists
would like to claim as successful examples. Why was Jay Garner
replaced by Paul Bremer? When a civilian replaces a military man, it
doesn't mean the issue will be dealt with in a more civil matter. On
the contrary Paul Bremer's attitude was anti-Kurdish from the
beginning. When he started cancelling UN programs, appointing his men
at the posts of key positions. He was there to do the Job the way US
wanted it to be done. Don't blame Bremer alone; blame Washington and
the Bush Admin altogether. Does the US treat the issues how it can
solve the issue with receiving the maximum interests?
Kurdish Leadership and Kurdistan Regional Govt must act with the same
approach.
They have been dealing with US over a quarter of century, and still
not learning from the mistakes.
Kurds in the IGC were too weak to negotiate on behalf of Kurds.
However they were thinking if they stay quite, not playing a role of
opp'n, they might receive a better treatment from the Americans. On
the contrary if you make noise you will receive attention, if you make
noise you get bargaining power. Kurdish leadership was in an illusion
in expecting a fair and just treatment from US. Don't forget what
Kissinger said to us not to be confused between covert action and a
humanitarian mission. For us, the US war on Saddam looked like a
humanitarian mission, in fact it was a covert action to save the
situation from getting worst, specifically Kurds in Turkey and Kurds
in Iraq were getting close to create the conditions for a Kurdish
state. In my opinion US declared war on Iraq to stop this process from
reaching its destination, and I see the arrest and hand over of Ocalan
connected to this.
Do you think that the Kurds formally part of the IGC should acknowledge
their failure to the Kurds and resign from their new govt'l positions?
Definitely. This will create an opportunity to do the things which
done wrong in the 1st place. Kurds has to show their power and weight
in the project of new Iraq, and this is the key for the survival of
new Iraq. Without Kurds getting what they deserve according to their
position and their contribution, the new Iraq does not deserve to exist.
Do you think the Kurds have been treated as 2nd class citizens in
Iraq? Yes. Because Shia and Sunni are still thinking with the old
Iraqi mentality, Arabs 1st and Kurdish later. Kurdish land is Iraqi,
Kurdish Oil is Iraqi, Kirkuk is Iraqi, etc.
They do not want to see the Kurds as equal to themselves. At least
they are not ready to accept that yet.
Do you think it is in the interest of Kurds for Iraq to regain its
sovereignty? No. Iraqi Sovereignty is based of denial of Kurdish
rights. Kurdistan and rest of Iraq together is creating something
else, I like to be called the US of Mesopotamia.
Then may be there is a point to discuss the issue of sovereignty.
Does the problem lay in the representation of Kurds in the new interim
govt or other otherwise? For me the main problem is the position of
the Kurdish De Facto State, its evolution and the transformation. The
Kurdish self-determination, and its relation and the connections with
the other problems of the ME have to be dealt in a new way of thinking.
It must start with the recognition of Kurdish right to self-determination,
not only in Iraq but in all occupied parts of Kurdistan.
Allawi slams US over Iraq army
Baghdad (Reuters). Iraq's new PM, Iyad Allawi, has condemned
Washington for disbanding Saddam Hussein's army and says his govt
could issue a law reinstating some former Baath party members next wk.
He stressed Iraq would no longer threaten its neighbours but called
the US dissolution of the army last y one of many grave errors since
Saddam's fall and said he would rebuild strong security forces to
combat violence plaguing the country.
"Mistakes, big mistakes, were made including dissolving the army,
police services and internal security forces," Allawi, a CIA-backed
former exile opponent of Saddam, told Al Jazeera television on
Sat. "We have begun to rectify these mistakes."
"Iraq does not assault neighbours or brothers but Iraq must be strong
and able to defend itself if necessary," he said.
Saddam sent his army into Iran and Kuwait and fired rockets at Israel
during his 3 decades in power. After its catastrophic defeat last y,
the US governor of Iraq, Paul Bremer, dissolved the 375,000-strong
army and imposed a campaign of "de-Baathification" to clear out the
old regime.
But Allawi, who broke with the Baath party in the 1970s, has made
clear that Iraq needs the expertise of many who worked under Saddam if
it is to rebuild security and intel services that can quell Islamist
militants and sectarian militias once 150,000 mostly American troops
leave the country.
He had already said Baathists innocent of major crimes should be
rehabilitated: "The decision will be announced next wk," he told Al
Jazeera of plans for a law to that effect.
* ATTACKS ON FOREIGNERS
Sat saw a spate of attacks, including one that wounded would-be
recruits to the new Iraqi army, one that killed a US soldier in
Baghdad, 2 apparently aimed at foreign civilians and one that killed
the brother of the man believed to have betrayed Saddam's sons to US forces.
But as the US occupying authority prepares to hand power to the new
interim govt at the end of Jun, violence at last seemed to have abated
around Najaff, 2 m after rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr launched a
Shi'ite uprising in the south.
Wrangling over a UN resolution to endorse the hand-over of sovereignty
to Allawi's Admin on Jun 30 also looked close to being resolved. The
US and Brit offered a third draft giving Baghdad's interim govt the
right to ask US-led forces to leave.
A roadside bomb killed one US soldier and wounded 3 close to a
district known as a stronghold of Sadr support in Baghdad. 5 soldiers
were killed nearby on Fri.
On the capital's main airport highway, 2 civilian vehicles of a type
favoured by foreign contractors were set ablaze and witnesses saw at
least 2 charred corpses.
In the N city of Mosul a foreign security guard was killed and 2 were
wounded when their vehicles came under fire, and a rocket wounded 17
Iraqis at an army recruiting post.
Salaah al-Zeidan, brother of the Iraqi believed to have led US troops
to Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay last y, was killed in an attack on his
car along with 3 family members.
US troops killed Uday and Qusay at Zeidan's brother's house in Mosul
in Jul. Local people believe Nawaf al-Zeidan, a distant relative of
Saddam, fled Iraq with a $30 mn reward.
* RESOLUTION NEARS
US officials would like to see a UN resolution passed in the coming
week, and US Pres Bush Jr said he was optimistic: "I am confident we
will get one soon," he said on a visit to Rome.
Sec of State Colin Powell said a letter sent by Allawi to the Sec
Council on Sat detailing how his govt would oversee foreign troops
should bring a deal closer.
Russia said it was still not entirely satisfied.
2 m ago the prospects looked dim for an Iraqi govt, with no popular
mandate and few security forces, to take over the running of the country.
But the siege of the violent city of Fallujah ended when the US Marines
cut a deal with former generals in Saddam's army and the guerrillas
who had fought them.
In the south, US-led troops have squeezed Sadr's fighters out of town
after town, helped by pressure from Shi'ite elders. The young cleric
offered a truce on Fri in his last bastion, Najaff. It seemed to be
holding on Sat as police returned to patrol the centre while
guerrillas and US troops withdrew.
Crucially, US cmdrs softened a demand that Sadr turn himself in on a
murder charge, leaving his fate in Iraqi hands.
Setting the seal of the Shi'ite establishment on the deal, Sadr was
granted an audience with Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the snr cleric in
Iraq. "He thanked Moqtada al-Sadr for solving the crisis and ending
the resistance," a Sistani rep said.
"Brother Moqtada al-Sadr will talk with legal authorities via
committees overseen by the nat'l security adviser," and will disband
his militia, Allawi said.
Bush Welcomes Letter on Iraq Security
Paris (Reuters). Pres Bush on Sat welcomed a letter from Iraq's new
PM setting out a framework for security in Iraq as a positive step
forward. Bush told a news conference after talks with French Pres
Jacques Chirac that the letter set out the "parameters of security and
the security cooperation in Iraq." He signalled this was important in
his efforts to seek agreement on a UN Sec Council resolution on Iraq.
Contractors killed on road to Baghdad Airport
Baghdad. Insurgents have launched deadly attacks against security
contractors and army recruits in Iraq. US forces have also come under
renewed fire in the capital, Baghdad. Private security contractors
were killed in a gun battle with insurgents who ambushed them on the
way to Baghdad Airport. At least one of the 2 4wd's they
were travelling in exploded and both were gutted. Trails of blood
marked the median strip and body parts were wrapped in a black plastic
bag at the scene. Earlier in the day US soldiers came under renewed
attack in Sadr City in eastern Baghdad, and evacuated their casualties
by air. In the N city of Mosul, militiamen fired rocket propelled
grenades at an army recruitment centre, seriously injuring aspiring
Iraqi soldiers and civilians.
US declares Sadr defeated
The US believes it has defeated the Mehdi army.
Baghdad (AFP). The US military says it has defeated the outlawed
militia of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr across central Iraq and
denies there was any truce with the radical preacher.
Brig Gen Mark Hertling, one of the top US cmdrs in charge of Najaff,
said: "The Moqtada militia is militarily defeated.
"We have killed scores of them over the last few wk and that is in
Najaff alone.
"Over the past several days, Moqtada's militia has lost much of their
stomach for fighting," he said.
Brig Gen Hertling also declared victory in the central cities of Kut,
Diwaniyah and Karbala, each dogged by fighting over the past 2 m.
"We have also destroyed their weapons stores and their offensive
capability," he said.
"What remains of them, which is a very small force, will take
advantage of the governor's announcement to disperse if not disband."
* 'Lies'
But an official from Sadr's Najaff office, Sayyed Hossam al-Husseini,
dismissed Brig Gen Hertling's comments.
"The Americans are spreading lies," he said. "If they had destroyed
the Mehdi army as they said, they could have entered Najaff but they
could not.
"We have not withdrawn our forces and we won't until they do the
same," he added.
But Brig Gen Hertling praised Najaff governor Adnan al-Zorfi, appointed
last month, for playing a political role in the defeat and stressed
that US patrols and checkpoints were still active around Najaff and its
twin city of Kufa.
"There is no truce between the coalition forces and the militia ... we
have not conceded anything to Sadr," he said.
"We have told him that when we encounter any armed forces, we will
destroy them. We have done just that," Brig Gen Hertling said.
"We have not pulled back from anything. We are conducting the same
patrols we have already conducted and we are executing checkpoints in
Najaff and Kufa right now."
* Iraqi police
Calm returned to Najaff late on Fri after Mr Zorfi announced that Iraqi
police would patrol in sensitive areas around the shrines, which
include some of the world's holiest sites in Shiite Islam, the US
military said.
"That was a brilliant move on his part, because it was one of the
things the militia was asking for... [and] made it possible for the
militia to lay down their arms and leave town," said Brig Gen Hertling.
"The governor has taken his city back under control, in an unbelievably
historic and courageous act. He has re-established his police force
and we are helping them train and we are helping him to arm them.
"Bottom line, yesterday was a good day for Najaff. The militia have
been defeated, or have left."
Brig Gen Hertling denied any similarities to what was seen by Iraqis
as a US defeat when marines withdrew from Fallujah, leaving the
troublesome Sunni Muslim city in police hands after wk of fierce
fighting in Apr.
"The people of Najaff did not ask us to leave; in fact, many of the
businessmen and moderate clerics have asked us to help them get rid of
Sadr's militia," he said.
The radical cleric unleashed a deadly uprising against US-led
coalition forces in early Apr after the coalition shut down one of his
newspapers for inciting violence and arrested one of his key aides.
The US military has repeatedly insisted that he face justice for his
alleged role in the murder of a rival cleric last y, and a warrant for
Sadr's arrest has been issued.
Shiites close to the negotiation process in Najaff told AFP the US
military had wavered its insistence that his Mehdi Army disband and
Sadr face justice.
"Without an active militia, Moqtada al-Sadr is a much less formidable
influence in Najaff, and other areas of the south," Brig Gen Hertling said.
Fallujah clashes threaten truce
Fallujah (Reuters). Fighting between US Marines and guerrillas has
erupted in the Iraqi town of Fallujah on Sat evening, threatening a
month-long truce under which US troops left security to an Iraqi
force. Locals said US armoured vehicles had entered N Fallujah in
breach of an agreement to stay out of the area, and that at least one
vehicle had been hit by a RPG. There was no word on casualties and
the US military had no immediate comment. In Apr, Marines fought
fierce battles with insurgents in Fallujah 50 km W of Baghdad, and
100s of Iraqis were killed. The fighting outraged many Iraqis and US
forces agreed a truce to end the fighting.
Bush, Chirac discuss Iraq ahead of D-day celebrations
Paris (AFP). US Pres George W Bush has met his French counterpart,
Jacques Chirac, in Paris to discuss differences over Iraq, on the eve
of celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the D-day Allied landings.
Speaking after their meeting, the leaders emphasised their countries'
cooperation in several world trouble spots and expressed a search for
common goals.
But Mr Chirac rebuffed an attempt by Mr Bush to draw a parallel between
World War II and the conflict in Iraq, where he said "disorder reigns".
"We are in a very precarious situation" concerning Iraq, the French
leader told a media conference after a one-hr discussion with Mr Bush.
Mr Chirac says agreement on a new US resolution giving sovereignty to
an interim Iraqi govt should be reached "in the next few days" as long
as the US cedes full powers.
"There is no alternative to restoring peace in Iraq and therefore to
restoring security in Iraq," he said.
While promising "full sovereignty" by Jun 30 and elections by Jan next
year, Mr Bush said the US-led "multinat'l forces will remain in Iraq
to help this new govt succeed in its vital work", at the request of
the caretaker Admin.
He gave no indication when those forces might withdraw, an omission
believed to be one of Mr Chirac's main objections to the current draft
resolution.
The meeting between the 2 men was the 1st since Sep 2003.
Mr Chirac presented his "very cordial welcome" to the visiting Pres,
with whom he said "dialogue is still easy" despite the noticeable
cooling of French-US relations since the lead-up to the Iraq war.
Mr Bush thanked Mr Chirac for his "hospitality" which was to extend
into Sun local time, when the 2 are to join leaders from 14 other
countries in Normandy to mark the D-day anniversary.
Recalling that historic campaign, Mr Bush made allusion to the Iraq
conflict in similar though broader terms than those he used in
speeches just before visiting France.
He stressed "the timeless lessons that D-day teaches: that sacrifices
must always be borne in the defence of freedom".
Mr Chirac, while making a point to thank Americans for their
"sacrifices" to free France in World War II, rejected any parallel,
saying that "history does not repeat itself, it's very difficult to
make historical comparisons".
Mr Bush also issued one of his strongest condemnations yet of the
mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of US forces, which was
recorded in 100s of photographs and in video footage.
"I was humiliated, as was most of my country," Mr Bush said.
The soldiers "stained our honour and the world will see a full
investigation of that humiliation, which will stand in stark contrast
to what happens in states run by tyrants", he said.
High security surrounded Mr Bush's time in Paris, with 2,000 police
and soldiers deployed in the capital's streets to protect the US Pres.
Entire blocks in the city's heart around Mr Chirac's palace and the
nearby US embassy were closed to traffic.
An anti-Bush march that gathered at least 12,000 people, according to
police, or double that according to organisers, was kept well away
from the presidents' meeting on the other side of the city.
A much smaller demo of a few hundred Americans opposed to the war in
Iraq took place the same day in front of the Whitehouse in Washington.
The families of some US soldiers serving in Iraq were among the protesters.
The rallies followed on from protests in Rome, which Mr Bush visited
for 36 hr before heading to Paris.
Iraq dominates Howard, Blair meeting
John Howard has met Tony Blair at Chequers.
London (ABC, Kirsten Aiken). Prime Min John Howard has met Brit PM
Tony Blair for talks at Mr Blair's official weekend residence,
Chequers, ahead of official D-day commemorations. Discussion of Iraq
dominated the leaders' 2-hr meeting. Mr Howard says he and Mr Blair
reaffirmed their commitment to seeing the job through and rejected
Labor leader Mark Latham's pledge to withdraw troops by Christmas. Mr
Howard echoed the criticism put by US Pres George W Bush several days
ago in Washington DC. "I think to follow any policy other than the
policy that is being followed in Iraq by Mr Blair's Govt, by Mr Bush's
Govt, by my Govt, would be a disaster," Mr Howard said. Mr Howard
says Mr Latham's view on troop withdrawal differs from the main opp'n
parties in both Brit and the US.
Renegade congo leader agrees to UN plan
Bukavu (AP). A renegade leader said Sat he was complying with UN
orders to withdraw from a city in eastern Congo and denied his troops
were moving toward other strategic towns.
Gen Laurent Nkunda, whose troops seized Bukavu Wed, said he would
withdraw his remaining soldiers by Sun -- 2 days after the UN took
charge in the city. Nkunda said he withdrew all troops except those
protecting key installations and his snr officers.
Nkunda's troops seized Bukavu from govt forces -- the most serious
setback yet to the transitional govt set up after Congo's 1998-2002
war. The war drew in armies from 6 nations, with Rwanda and Uganda
backing rebels who in the E and NE.
A UN military observer said that Nkunda had withdrawn the bulk of his
force, but UN officers were pushing him to finish the pull out.
"There are still troops in Bukavu," UN rep Sebastien Lapierre said.
"There were reported [outbound] movements but this has to be confirmed."
Contradicting earlier statements, Nkunda's troops were not marching on
a key town in eastern Congo, the UN said. Earlier reports said
soldiers were leaving Bukavu, marching to capture more towns in the E
1/2 of this vast central African country.
Peacekeepers investigating the reports found "there was no movement of
troops at all" toward Walikale, said UN rep Jacqueline Chenard.
The reports said soldiers were moving toward Walikale. The city is
between Bukavu and Congo's main eastern city of Kisangani.
During the 1998-2002 war, Nkunda was a cmdr in the main rebel group,
the Congolese Rally for Democracy, which joined the transitional govt
last Jun.
Another UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, had said
earlier that another renegade force appeared to be moving S toward
Lake Tanganyika. Residents of Uvira, a small port on the lake, said
they also saw troops outside the town, but it was unclear whether they
were renegades or govt troops.
But Nkunda denied all reports that his troops were going anywhere
except to designated camps.
"I just want people to be very careful with their statements," Nkunda
said in Bukavu. "I am open about my actions and will stand by whatever
decision I take."
In the capital, the initial U.N reports created panic within the govt.
Presid'l rep Koudoua Kassango renewed accusations that Rwanda was behind
the uprising and said the UN, at best, was doing nothing to stop it.
"They are hiding something from us, there is no doubt about it,"
Kassango said about the peacekeepers. "That's the feeling which is
shared by the population and by the authorities. We are really disappointed."
In Walikale, Mayi-Mayi tribal fighters skirmished with troops that had
previously fought for the Congolese Rally for Democracy, forcing the
UN to withdraw its unarmed military observers, Chenard said.
The town is now controlled by the former rebel troops who are part of
the new nat'l army, she added.
In NY, UN rep Fred Eckhardt said Fri that aid workers were preparing
to assist about 100,000 people displaced by the fighting.
The capital, Kinshasa, was calm Sat after 2 days of violent protests
against the govt and UN' failure to prevent the fall of Bukavu. But
some internat'l flights to Kinshasa remained cancelled.
A top medical official in Kinshasa, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said at least 12 people had been killed and 83 wounded in
the 2 days of rioting in the capital. He said he believed the death
toll could be higher, with others shot during looting not reported.
French Govt moves against gay wedding
Bordeaux (AFP). A shopkeeper and a male nurse have exchanged rings
and kisses in France's 1st gay wedding.
However, the conservative govt immediately moved to annul what it
considered an illegal ceremony and punish the mayor who carried it out.
Noel Mamere, mayor of the Bordeaux suburb of Begles and a leading
figure in the opp'n Greens Party, celebrated the wedding of 31-yo
Bertrand Charpentier and 34-yo Stephane Chapin in a blaze of publicity
at the municipal building where he works.
"I'm proud of this wedding. I don't consider myself an outlaw," Mr
Mamere told the couple, who arrived at the building in a brown
Rolls-Royce to applause from gay rights supporters, while dozens of
opponents held a small protest nearby and 200 police kept watch.
"Our wedding is a first. I hope many more will follow," he said.
Mr Charpentier and Mr Chapin made their vows in front of Mayor Mamere
before exiting to a rain of rice and camera flashes.
Smiling broadly, they kissed several times and posed for photographs
for a crowd of journalists and well-wishers.
But the French Govt quickly made good on its longstanding threat to
block the marriage and punish Mamere.
"I have started a sanctions procedure against the mayor of Begles,"
Interior Min Dominique de Villepin told journalists in Paris one hour
after the wedding ended.
De Villepin added: "I intend to make sure the law of the republic and
the authority of the state are respected."
Interior ministry officials said the punishment being considered could
lead to Mr Mamere either being suspended as mayor for up to a month,
or sacked from his post with no possibility of recovering it for a year.
Justice Min Dominique Perben ordered that a request declaring the
marriage invalid be lodged with a court in Bordeaux "immediately" and
called for a judicial inquiry into the entire matter.
The state prosecutor in Bordeaux, Bertrand de Loze, said he would on
Mon begin a legal investigation against Mr Charpentier and Mr Chapin
after verifying that the marriage had been recorded in Begles's
municipal records.
Mr Mamere responded by telling AFP that the Govt was "making a
mistake" by going after him.
"There are many things worse for society than a wedding of 2 people
who love each other. If they want to start legal action, they'll have
to prove that I committed errors. Today I am happy, I am not worried
at all. I am defending a just cause," he said.
The centre-right govt of Pres Jacques Chirac is determined to keep gay
partnerships restricted to a French civil contract known as PACS that
took effect in 1999, which confers some but not all the rights of a marriage.
Mr Raffarin, Mr Chirac and other officials have interpreted French law
to say that a marriage must exclusively be between a man and a woman.
The relevant text -- article 75 of the country's Civil Code -- is less
precise, saying that a mayor "will receive a declaration from each
party that they want to take each other for husband and wife".
Mr Charpentier and Mr Chapin have said they will take their case to
the European Court of Human Rights if the marriage is rendered void.
Belgium and the Netherlands are currently the only 2 countries in
Europe that recognise same-sex marriages.
The decision by Mr Mamere to go ahead with Sat's ceremony was the
focus of intense media attention in France.
Foreign journalists, too, have been following the matter, which comes
after the controversy triggered by a sudden rush of gay marriages in
some US cities earlier this y.
Olympic torch leaves AUS
A delighted Andrew Gaze ran the last leg of the relay.
Melbourne. The Olympic torch is making its way to Tokyo after
completing a 60 km journey across MEL.
133 torch bearers took part in the relay, which kicked off at the
Royal Children's Hospital.
Thousands of people witnessed the flame as it made an honorary lap of
the MCG stadium, home to the 1956 Olympics.
The flame was carried by Olympic greats Herb Elliott and Betty
Cuthbert, as well Athens Olympians swimmers Matt Welsh and Brooke Hansen.
After its MCG visit, the flame reached its final destination at
Federation Square.
Olympian Andrew Gaze says he was delighted to be running the last leg
of the relay.
"It was a big thrill to be here at Federation Square and to light the
cauldron in front of a massive crowd," he said.
"I was really surprised at how many people turned up, and I guess it
just once again shows how the love of sport that Melbournians have.
"And certainly hearing some of the accents out there, quite clearly
the Greek community has come out and supported it as well."
* Olympic legends
Earlier, the legends of AUS's 1956 Olympic team escorted the Olympic
torch on a vintage tram through the city.
Vicn Governor John Landy was on board. "We've paid our fare, it's
absolutely kosher," he joked.
Also on board were Kevin Gosper and swimmers Dawn Fraser, Faith Leach
and John Konrads, who was just 14 when he swam in the MEL Games in '56.
"I was the baby of the team and I was so honoured to be walking, I had
the privilege of walking in the Olympic Village next to the great Dawn
Fraser," Konrads said.
Fraser said: "The flame is sort of igniting all the athletes together
and it's very important."
In Lonsdale Street, more than 1,000 members of MEL's Greek community
gathered to see the torch.
AFL legend Ron Barassi and shooter Russell Mark have carried the
flame, while aerial skier Lydia Ierodiaconou was the 1st of the torch bearers.
"It was very exciting to kick it off today," she said.
Champion diver Irena Lashko also carried the flame. Athens will be her
fourth Olympics and her 1st for AUS after having represented Russia.
"[It's] just about, you know, history, and this is really, really
making me be proud to be part of AUS's team," she said.
Tourism Min John Pandazopoulos said it was a special day for MEL's
Greek community.
"It's the 3rd time the torch has come through to MEL but it's a great
celebration for all of us as we head to Athens," he said.
Burma criticised for failing to stop forced labour
Geneva (BBC). The Internat'l Labour Organisation (ILO) says forced
labour remains a serious problem in Burma, despite a commitment last y
by the govt to eliminate the practice. The ILO's report is being
presented to the organisation's annual meeting in Geneva. The labour
agency says the use of forced labour on large nat'l infrastructure
projects has stopped, but now villagers are drafted to work on mainly
local projects like road building. Normally households must provide
workers on demand to village heads. Other cases involve forced
recruitment into the army for jobs like carrying equipment, often
close to the frontline. There's anecdotal evidence of porters being
used by troops to act as human minesweepers. The ILO has heard of one
15-yo boy who ran away 2 m after he was allegedly recruited against
his will by the army. He was subsequently arrested and sentenced to 4
y imprisonment for desertion.
Businessman on bulldozer levels Colorado buildings
[Later found dead].
Granby, CO (AFP). A disgruntled businessman at the wheel of an
armoured bulldozer has gone on a rampage through the business district
in the ranching Colorado town of Granby, demolishing buildings and
terrifying residents.
The man, in his early 50s, smashed into several buildings, severely
damaging them, and knocked down telegraph polls and power lines in the
bulldozer modified with what appeared to be steel plates.
Unconfirmed reports on local media said the man was armed and that
shots had been fired from the bulldozer, but police could not confirm
the claims.
Police SWAT teams, Nat'l Guard troops and emergency crews watched
helplessly as the man ploughed the bulldozer into building after
building in the town of Granby in the W state of Colorado for about 90 minutes.
The rampage targeted the library and city hall of the small town,
which lies about 144 km NW of Denver.
Other businesses and shop-fronts were also badly damaged.
Police tried to block the path of the tank-like vehicle with another
tractor but failed.
The bulldozer, however, later became trapped in the wreckage of a dept
store that it had devastated.
CBS News quoted friends and neighbours of the man as saying he had
earlier threatened to wreck the town with a bulldozer after he had
become enraged by a business zoning dispute with town officials.
No injuries were immediately reported.
Ronald Reagan dies
Washington (ABC, Leigh Sales and agencies). Former US
president Ronald Reagan has died at the age of 93, after a decade-long
battle with Alzheimer's disease.
His wife, Nancy, and family members had gathered at his bedside at his
house in LA.
The White House and Mr Reagan's office in California have confirmed
that the former president has died.
Mr Reagan, a film star turned politician, was US president for 2 terms
-- from 1981 to 1989.
He assumed office for the Republican party in 1981, with the US
economy stagnant and the nation embroiled in the Cold War.
"What I'm describing now is a plan and a hope for the the long term -
the march of freedom and democracy which will leave Marxism-Leninism
on the ash heap of history," he said at the time.
Mr Reagan passed 25% tax cuts while at the same time
increasing defence spending, leading to record deficits.
Yet slowly, the US economy recovered and Mr Reagan was re-elected in 1984.
He went on to define the Reagan doctrine and took steps towards ending the
Cold War, holding his 1st meeting with the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev.
They signed a treaty eliminating some types of nuclear weapons and Mr
Reagan made a speech in Berlin, making what seemed at the time an
impossible request: "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall."
His presidency was not without fault. The Iran Contra scandal --
involving the secret, illegal sale of US arms to Iran to help finance
Nicaraguan rebels -- tarnished the later y of his Admin.
* Reaganomics
More than a decade after he left office, Mr Reagan remains an icon to
the US Republican party and a hero to those Americans who remember him
as the man who brought down the "Evil Empire".
Reagan was the quintessential Cold Warrior in foreign policy who
defined his own domestic agenda, which became known as 'Reaganomics'.
Born on Feb 6, 1911, in Tampico, Illinois, to an alcoholic shoe
salesman and a mother of strict Puritan upbringing, Mr Reagan earned a
degree in economics and sociology from Eureka College in his home state.
He was student body president, captain of the swimming team and a
member of the football team at the small college.
After serving in the Army, he worked as a sportscaster and announcer
for a radio station in Davenport, Iowa.
He moved on to Hollywood, where he starred in 50 forgettable films,
including Bedtime for Bonzo and Knute Rockne, All American, in which he
played his most famous role, the college football hero known as 'The Gipper'.
In 1947, he was elected to the 1st of 6 terms as president of the
Screen Actors Guild, his 1st taste of politics.
Mr Reagan was a Democrat until 1962 but his political career took off
as a Republican when he won election as California governor in 1966
and again 1970.
* Assassination attempt
In 1976 he narrowly lost the Republican presidential nomination to
Gerald Ford. 4 y later he won the nomination and the presidency,
trouncing incumbent Jimmy Carter by winning 43 of 50 states.
On Mar 30, 1981, barely 2 m after his inauguration, Mr Reagan was shot
and wounded in an assassination attempt in Washington that left his
press secretary, James Brady, permanently handicapped.
The assailant, John Hinckley, was later ordered confined to a mental
institution.
Reagan followers credit his tough stand against Moscow and his
expensive arms build-up as responsible for the collapse of the Soviet
Union and the end of the Cold War.
He was succeeded as president by George Bush Sr when his 2nd term
ended at the start of 1989.
Mr Reagan's 1st marriage to Jane Wyman ended in divorce while he was
still an actor in the 1940s.
They had 2 children, Maureen and Michael, who was adopted.
In 1952, he married actress Nancy Davis. They had 2 children,
Patricia and Ronald.
Reagan "helped save the world"
Paris (AFP). US Pres George W Bush says former president Ronald
Reagan, who died today, restored the US and helped save the world.
"He leaves behind a nation he restored and a world he helped to save,"
Mr Bush said in Paris.
"He had the confidence that comes with conviction, the strength that
comes with character, the grace that comes with humility and the
humour that comes with wisdom," Mr Bush said of his predecessor.
"A great American life has come to an end," he added.
Mr Bush was informed of Mr Reagan's death by White House Sec-Gen
Andrew Card after he had dined in Paris with French Pres Jacques
Chirac on Sat evening.
"It's a sad day for America," Mr Bush responded, according to White
House rep Clare Buchan.
Mr Bush later said he had spoken to Mr Reagan's widow, Nancy, "and I
offered her and the Reagan family our prayers and condolences".
He said that under Mr Reagan, "America laid to rest an era of division
and doubt". "Under his leadership the world laid to rest an era of
fear and tyranny," he said.
Mr Bush's father, George Bush Senior, was Mr Reagan's VP and close
friend, and he succeeded Mr Reagan as US president.
"This is a very sad day for our country," Mr Bush Snr said. "Though
Ronald Reagan has been ill for a long time, the finality of all of
this is going to hit the American people very hard.
"Barbara and I mourn the loss of a great president and for us, a great
friend."
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has also paid a warm
tribute to Mr Reagan, calling him "the voice of America, in good time
and in grief".
"Ronald Reagan's love of country was infectious," Sen Kerry said in a
statement. "Even when he was breaking Democrats' hearts, he did so
with a smile and in the spirit of honest and open debate.
"Despite the disagreements, he lived by that noble ideal that at 5 pm
we weren't Democrats or Republicans, we were Americans and friends.
"Now, his own journey has ended -- a long and storied trip that
spanned most of the American century -- and shaped one of the greatest
victories of freedom."
Thatcher pays tribute to 'American hero' Reagan
London (AFP). Former Brit PM Margaret Thatcher has reacted to Ronald
Reagan's death by remembering him as "a truly great American hero".
"Pres Reagan was one of my closest political and dearest personal
friends," Baroness Thatcher said in a statement.
"He will be missed not only by those who knew him and not only by the
nation that he served so proudly and loved so deeply, but also by mns
of men and women who live in freedom today because of the policies he pursued.
"Ronald Reagan had a higher claim than any other leader to have won
the Cold War for liberty and he did it without a shot being fired,"
she added.
"To have achieved so much against so many odds and with such humour
and humanity made Ronald Reagan a truly great American hero."
Current Brit PM Tony Blair has hailed Mr Reagan as "a good friend of Brit".
"The prime minister heard with sadness the news of the death of
president Reagan," a statement from Downing Street said.
"At home, his vision and leadership restored nat'l self-confidence and
brought some significant changes to US politics, while abroad the
negotiations of arms control agreements in his 2nd term and his
statesmanlike pursuit of more stable relations with the Soviet Union
helped bring about the end of the Cold War," it said.
"He will be greatly missed by his many friends and admirers on this
side of the Atlantic," it said.
Aussie leaders pay tribute to Reagan
The Aussie Govt has paid tribute to former US president Ronald Reagan,
who died today aged 93.
Canberra. Deputy PM John Anderson has told Channel 10 that Mr
Reagan's legacy will be his key role in helping to stamp out communism
in Russia.
Mr Anderson says the former president was often misunderstood in that
area of foreign policy but he believes he had determination and a
clear policy vision.
"That great achievement is something that he'll be remembered for,
should be remembered for," Mr Anderson said.
"He did away with [the] scourge of communism as it threatened ... we
forget how much it threatened people for many of those decades."
Foreign Affairs Min Alexander Downer says former Pres Reagan was one
of the truly great figures of the 21st century.
"He'll always be remembered as the man who's initiatives eventually
led to the end of the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the
tearing down of the Berlin Wall," he said.
"That is a wonderful legacy for a man of tremendous courage and great
decency."
Labor leader Mark Latham says it is a sad day.
"He was a president who answered his critics in many important
respects," Mr Latham said.
"He was a great communicator. He was someone who was very much loved
by the American people."
Mr Latham also noted Mr Reagan's acting achievements, describing him
as a great character in world politics.
Former PM Malcolm Fraser says he has fond memories of his dealings
with Mr Reagan.
"He regarded AUS as a good friend and a good ally, so far as I was
concerned," he said.
"I met him on a number of occasions, he was always very warm hearted,
very open. He was a very good man to deal with."
Mr Fraser was PM for 2 y of Mr Reagan's presidency.
Meanwhile, Opp'n front-bencher Wayne Swan says Mr Reagan had a close
relationship with Labor PM Bob Hawke.
"The Aussie alliance and the relationships between Aussie political
leaders and American political leaders have been great over the
years," Mr Swan told Channel Seven.
"Take the relationship between Bob Hawke and Ronald Reagan -- it was a
very strong relationship. They had their differences.
"The American alliance is much bigger than individual differences over
individual policies."
Mr Swan says AUS's relationship with the US would remain strong under
a Latham govt.
Newly-wed Dye arrested in wife-beating probe
HK (AFP). Champion jockey Shane Dye has been arrested by HK police on
suspicion of beating up his wife, 8 days after the couple's wedding.
The MEL Cup-winning jockey was being quizzed on suspicion of assault
occasioning actual bodily harm after police were called to the home he
shares with his Aussie wife Emma Sullivan.
The 38-yo is the 2nd most successful jockey in Aussie racing history
with 94 Group One winners.
Emma Sullivan, 26, who tied the knot with Dye on May 28, was treated
for injuries at Hong Kong's Prince of Wales Hospital before later
being discharged. The nature of her injuries were not released.
Dye's arrest comes as his successful racing career in HK hangs in the
balance.
Late last m, the HK Jockey Club took the unprecedented step of
downgrading his licence for next season following surveys which showed
widespread public dissatisfaction with his riding.
"There is criticism of him on performance issues in general and he is
perceived as inconsistent," said Jockey Club executive director
Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges.
The racing body's decision means Dye will only be allowed to race for
3 m next y in HK, where he has amassed 248 winners since moving to
the territory.
Previously Dye had acquired superstar status in AUS during a
glittering career which saw him notch victories in the MEL Cup and the
prestigious Cox Plate as well as the Golden Slipper.
But while his win on Tawriffic to claim the 1989 MEL Cup was a high
point, Dye was perhaps best known for his performance in the Caulfield
Cup in 1992, which saw him beaten on heavy favourite Veandercross.
Dye's poor ride in the race was partly responsible for his love-hate
relationship with Aussie racing fans.
Alice students snatch nat'l film award
Ther Alis. 2 Alice Springs university students will have their short
film screened at an internat'l film festival after winning a major
Aussie award.
Tobias Robinson and Matthew Russ entered the 15-15 Film Festival
competition, which takes entries shorter than 15 minutes and made in
under 15 hr.
Their film Bottle Horror won the festival's animation category and
beat some of their teachers' attempts to the award.
Their multimedia lecturer, Ronny Reinhard, says the students are
shocked by their win.
"Personally they think it's not their best work and it was just something
that they whipped out quickly to go in this competition," he said.
"I can understand why they're saying [that] because if you see their
other work, it's pretty extraordinary as well."
Mr Reinhard says the students' film will be screened at the Barcelona
Film Festival later this y.
He says the pair entered the competition for fun, so the award is a
big bonus.
"It gives them encouragement that what they're doing in an isolated
little place like Alice Springs has currency in ... the big smoke
which is where they're judged, in places like MEL," he said.
Aust, NZ to sign biotechnology alliance
Prems to ink trans-Tasman alliance on biotechnology.
Canberra. AUS and NZ will sign a memorandum of understanding at the
biotechnology conference Bio 2004 in SF this morning. The
trans-Tasman Biotechnology Alliance will help both countries attract
more investment in the lucrative biotechnology industries. Vicn Prem
Steve Bracks will sign the document with other Aussie premiers, along
with NZ's Science and Technology Min. He says it will build on the
alliance already forged between Vic, NSW and Qld. "Here we have all
states in AUS joining together, with also New Zealand, to form a
biotechnology alliance and take that to the marketplace, to the world
and say that AUS as a total, New Zealand as a partner is a good place
to invest," he said.
Competition watchdogs air disagreement
Sydney. AUS's 2 peak consumer watchdogs appear to be at logger-heads
over the effectiveness of the current competition regime and possible
solutions. Aussie Consumers Association chief executive Peter Kell
has told Radio Nat'l's Background Briefing program that the mere
disclosure of fees and commissions has not been sufficient to curb
excesses in the marketplace. Mr Kell says other solutions are needed,
"such as banning the soft dollar payments we're seeing out there at
the moment and we also need to introduce laws that prohibit unfair
contract terms". But Aussie Competition and Consumer Commission
chairman Graeme Samuel does not favour giving courts the ability to
retrospectively alter terms in a contract. "It can lead business to
make decisions which can ultimately disadvantage consumers, where
business takes a decision that it will simply remove choices for
consumers," Mr Samuel said.
Books program focuses on community life
Melbourne. About 30 student teachers from the Vic University of
Technology, in MEL, will visit central AUS and the Barkly region in
Jul to create books about life in Aboriginal communities. The books
will be used as educational aides in those communities' schools.
Program rep Lawry Mahon says children in the remote communities can
relate to books about their own areas and with their own people in
them better than books containing culturally foreign details. He says
the student teachers will visit 13 communities to "work with the kids,
go out hunting or gathering or just playing games". "[We'll] take our
digital cameras and take lots of pictures and make those activities,
turn those activities into a little kids' books so they'd have
Aboriginal kids' faces on the front of them," he said. "Just to get a
bit of literature in the classroom that had Aboriginal stories and faces."
Drought takes tighter grip on NSW
Sydney. New figures out today show the drought in New S Wales has
worsened. 4 m ago the situation had improved with half the state
drought declared but the latest figures show 80% of NSW is suffering.
Agriculture Min Ian MacDonald says the state's southern, Hunter and
Riverina areas have slipped back into drought conditions. "The only
good areas of the state are in the N and NE, and a small area before
the S coast, down around Mollymook," he said.
Govt to reveal $12 bn transport plan
Roads plan to include dual-lane highway from MEL to Bris.
Govt to launch new roads plan.
Canberra. The Fed Govt has foreshadowed a $12 bn road transport plan
it will unveil tomorrow. Transport Min John Anderson says the
distribution of funds under the Govt's new road funding body, Auslink,
will ensure port, road and rail transport is planned much more
effectively. Mr Anderson says it will also deliver on infrastructure
projects of nat'l importance. Mr Anderson says he has been planning
the major announcement for about 2-and-1/2 y and says a key part will
be ensuring double-lane divided roads for the Hume and Pacific
highways. "It is time that we looked at MEL to SYD to Bris and we'll
be announcing a reasonable timetable tomorrow for ensuring that they
are connected by dual carriageway in due course," he said. "It'll
need to go beyond MEL, in S towards Adel and beyond Bris to the
north." The new plan will cost about $12 bn over the next 5 years.
Latham promises to ban plastic bags
Sydney (AAP). Plastic bags would be phased out under a fed Labor
govt, Opp'n Leader Mark Latham said.
"I think it is a very good thing to do right around the country," Mr
Latham said while launching the policy in SYD.
"Plastic bags are a terrible form of pollution in our waterways and
our oceans.
"This Labor policy I'm announcing today is a significant contribution
to all our other environmental commitments."
Oyster Bay, in SYD's south, became the 1st SYD suburb to ban plastic
shopping bags last week.
Labor will aim to cut plastic bag usage by 50% by the end of
2005, with a 100% ban kicking in by the end of the 2006.
Legislation banning plastic bags would come into force by the end of 2007.
Environmental group Planet Ark's founder John Dee welcomed the plan,
which starts with a 25% reduction in plastic bag usage by the end of
this year.
"With Aussies using 6.7 bn plastic check-out bags every year, Mark
Latham's new policy to ban plastic bags is most welcome," Mr Dee said
in a statement.
"Planet Ark has been campaigning for a plastic bag levy since Mar 2002
when Ireland introduced their 25% levy on plastic check-out bags," Mr
Dee said.
He said the move had reduced usage in Ireland by 90%.
Last year, Planet Ark started its 'Plastic Bag Free Town' campaign,
which has resulted in a number of Aussie towns banning the use of
plastic bags in all retail outlets.
Coles Bay, in Tas, was the 1st to impose the ban and has prevented the
use of 350,000 plastic bags.
Mr Dee said the S coast NSW towns of Kangaroo Valley, Huskisson and
Mogo will soon follow.
In plastic-bag-free zones, retailers only offer reusable options such
as calico and paper bags.
Mainland protests oppose Tas wood-chipping
Sydney. Thousands of people from mainland states have turned out to
protest against the wood-chipping of Tas's old-growth forests.
SYD, Bris, Adel and Perth held large gatherings yesterday as the
Wilderness Society used World Environment Day to raise the stakes in
the wood-chipping debate.
It is rallying support for fed intervention to stop export
wood-chipping of native forests and new nat'l parks to be created to
protect areas like the Styx Valley.
Nat'l forest campaigner Virginia Young says growing numbers of Aussies
are passionate about the issue.
"We will have quite a strong workforce coming out of these events to
further that [and] to keep the momentum building," she said.
"[It will] keep awareness in the community building about how important
these forests are and how important it is to take a stand now and to
act, to help save Tas's forests in the lead-up to the fed election."
The society wants the protection of Tas's old-growth forests to become
a key fed election issue.
Ms Young says the society is not out to embarrass the Tasn Govt but to
initiate change.
"Everything that Tasns seem to do seems to have been ignored by the
State Govt," she said.
"It really has reached the point now where we've got to call for fed
intervention."
Groups praise Labor bag ban plan
Sydney. Plastic shopping bags could be banned in AUS by 2007 if the
Labor Party is successful in introducing the policy. If elected,
Labor plans to reduce the number of bags used by 25% each y
and legislate against their use by 2007. AUS currently uses more than
6.5 bn check-out bags each year, which environmental group Planet Ark
says kill 1000s of animals and take mn of y to break down. The
organisation's founder, John Dee, says Labor's plan is an enormous
step forward. "The Fed Govt has said it wants to see a voluntary
phase-out of plastic bags over the coming years, however what Mark
Latham is proposing is a 100% reduction by the end of 2006," he said.
"From that point of view, the fact that Labor are publicly committing
to this is extremely good news for the environment. "It's great news
because we only use plastic shopping bags for minutes, yet they can
last for 100s of y and just kill huge numbers of wildlife. "So this
policy, if Labor gets into power, will be great news for the
environment and great news for wildlife."
Shark Bay hits out at green claims
Shark Bay. Shark Bay Shire president Len Moss has hit out at the
Conservation Council after it raised concerns about plans to increase
tourism accommodation at the W Aussie Monkey Mia dolphin resort, north
of Perth. A bid to double resort accommodation to 1200 people will be
open for a month-long public environmental review starting this wk.
Mr Moss says the area's World Heritage listing is threatening the
town's viability. "Any development in Shark Bay at the moment that's
being held up by these green zealots is going to drastically affect
the future of Shark Bay," he said.
PM backs policy over polls on Iraq
Sydney (AAP). PM John Howard said his belief in the correctness of
the US-led campaign in Iraq was strong and he would never bow to
opinion polls on the issue.
Mr Howard said it would be cynical to say his current overseas trip,
including visits to US Pres George W Bush and Brit PM Tony Blair, was
to say goodbye to them in view of their poor poll results over Iraq.
"[I went] to America mainly to lobby for the free trade agreement and
of course we've talked about Iraq," he told Channel 9 in a
pre-recorded interview.
"I have never looked at the polls when it comes to Iraq.
"I've taken a position that has been out of favour at various stages
because I believe in it very strongly and I will continue to maintain
that position, irrespective of what the opinion polls say."
Mr Howard said he had often said it would be a hard task to win the
next election.
The Liberal-Nat'ls coalition had a good chance but was clearly the
underdog.
"But I believe very strongly in relation to what we've done in Iraq
and I will allow, as I must, in a democracy, the judgement of the
Aussie people to be made," he said.
Mr Howard visited the US before his trip to the UK to see Mr Blair and
attend D-Day 60th anniversary commemorations in Normandy.
Garrett touted as potential Labor MP
Sydney. A Fed Opp'n front-bencher says environmentalist and former
Midnight Oil front-man Peter Garrett would make a terrific addition to
Labor's ranks.
The NSW Labor Party has confirmed Garrett is being considered as a
candidate for Laurie Brereton's seat of Kingsford Smith in SE SYD.
Mr Brereton has announced he will retire from politics at the next fed
election.
Labor's Wayne Swan says he does not know if Mr Garrett has been asked
to stand but would welcome him if he has.
"He'd be a great addition to the Caucus if he was willing to stand and
we don't know if he's willing to stand but he's committed," Mr Swan said.
"He's passionate and he's a very strong environmentalist so he'd be a
great addition to the team.
"Mark Latham's fresh approach, fresh idea and I think Peter Garrett
would be part of that."
The general secretary of Labor's NSW branch, Eric Roozendaal, says Mr
Garrett's name has been raised in discussions over the safe Labor seat.
But he would not say whether Mr Garrett had indicated any interest in
joining the Labor Party.
"It's certainly being discussed," Mr Roozendaal said. "I can't say
what Peter Garrett's thinking or not thinking but certainly his name
has been speculated and we'll be considering a number of candidates
when we have our discussions tomorrow.
"We'll be having a look at all the potential candidates over the next
couple of days and trying to work out a pre-selection process by the
end of the week."
Study to paint portrait of stalking's impact
Unique Tasn research is studying the impact of stalking on victims.
Hobart. There are about 20 cases of stalking reported in the state
each year, with victims harassed or terrorised in person or by phone,
mail or email.
Past studies have concentrated on the perpetrator but the Tasn
research is focusing on victims and their trauma.
University of Tas researcher Lauren Sculthorpe is testing the physical
as well as the emotional impact of the crime.
"Usually it's quite substantial," she said. "Obviously [it happens to]
mainly single women so they might be living by themselves [and feel]
complete intimidation, feelings of loss of control over being able to
handle the situation, being vulnerable basically to this other person."
Ms Sculthorpe hopes the study will lead to strategies to help victims
cope and educate professionals on the front line of contact, such as
police and women's support groups.
"So really getting it out there in terms of what the victims are
actually experiencing," she said.
"This actually goes on in Hobart. There actually are strangers
stalking people they've never met before, turning up at their houses,
in their backyards, following them around and that it is a real threat."
Ms Sculthorpe says victims display anxiety, depression, sleeplessness,
and suffered intimidation and feelings of loss of control.
She measured participants' heart and respiration rates, which the preliminary
results show dramatically rise as victims recall their experiences.
The research is due to be completed by the end of the year.
AFP investigates $150 mn superannuation fraud
Canberra. Aussie Fed Police officers are investigating an attempt to
defraud an Aussie superannuation scheme of $150 mn. The fraudsters
managed to transfer about $150 mn out of the Commonwealth Super Fund
about 6 m ago. A fed police rep says the inquiries are complex and so
far no-one has been arrested. The fund's chief executive, Steve
Gibbs, has told Channel 9 most of the money has been recovered. "It
got past one level of our security and as you know, it was an
attempted fraud so we actually managed to stop the monies and no
monies were actually lost," he said. Asked if the money was ever
transferred out of the CSS's account, Mr Gibbs said: "The monies were
transferred out of the CSS's accounts and the monies were in various
stages but the monies were frozen before the fraudsters had any
ability to move those monies out."
Watch Venus's travels online, doctors warn
Melbourne. People interested in Tue's transit of Venus across the sun
have been warned that looking directly at the sun could leave them blind.
The College of Ophthalmologists says devices such as sun glasses,
welder's masks or darkened mirrors will not protect them from damaging
their retinas.
College president Peter Henderson says people who are interested in
the transit of Venus should watch it on an Internet webcast.
"People should think of it like a laser burn," he said.
"We just don't look at lasers and we don't look at the sun for the
same reason.
"You just have to look normally -- what happens is you only glance at
the sun.
"The problem is that when there's something happening across the sun,
you tend to try and look there a little bit longer and that's what
does the damage."
Dr Henderson says the dangers from looking at the sun, even while
using protection, are well documented.
"People who are stoned and drug-affected, sitting watching the sun,
gazing at the sun, they get a burn at what we call the macular, which
affects the central vision," he said.
"That can be mild to very severe [and] you can actually blind yourself
so that you are legally blind, by looking at the sun.
"With modern technology we've just got a great advantage to be able to
see the great detail which is available by webcams -- people should be
watching it through that."
Martian rover faces risky crater test
Pasadena (AFP). NASA has decided to send one of its Martian rovers
into a volcanic crater in the hope of finding evidence of water there,
even at the risk of being unable to retrieve the craft after it
completes its mission.
NASA's associate administrator for space science, Edward Weiler, says
the rover, Opportunity, will be able to enter Endurance Crater early
next wk.
"Layered rock exposures inside Endurance Crater may add significantly
to the story of a watery past environment that Opportunity has already
begun telling us," Dr Weiler said in a statement.
He expressed confidence that Opportunity would be able to descend into
the crater, examine exposed diagnostic rock and then drive back out of
the hollow.
"However, there's no guarantee of getting out again, so we also
considered what science opportunities outside the crater would be
forfeited if the rover spends its remaining operational life inside
the crater," Dr Weiler said.
Endurance Crater has been attracting scientists because of its thicker
and older layers of rock than those examined previously by NASA's 2
rovers scouring the surface of Mars.
During its earlier exploration of Eagle Crater, Opportunity found
small-scale rock textures and evaporite mineral compositions
indicating a body of salty water once covered the site.
Scientists believe that rock formation inside Endurance Crater could
yield better evidence that water once existed on Mars.
But the slope between the rim of the crater and the layered outcrop
targeted for examination is about 25 degrees.
"We have done testing that says we can do 25 degrees, provided the
wheels are on a rock surface and not loose sand," said Richard Cook, a
project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
Opportunity and its twin rover, Spirit, have been exploring the Mars
surface since their arrival on the red planet at the beginning of the year.
{{
Midnight.
BBC World Service. Pres Bush spoke of "a new internat'l spirit of
unity" on Iraq. He was speaking in Rome after talks with Italian PM
Berlusconi. Europe has been split on Iraq. But Pres Bush says he
feels a spirit of change. Asked again about POW abuse, Bush said he
was repulsed by the photos. He said the war on terror equates with
the struggle against communism in Europe (apparently unaware of
Communists in the Italian govt).
10s of 1000s of war vets from a dozens nations have come to the
beaches of NW France. "Welcome to our Liberators" said local signs.
France has deployed 20,000 security forces. 20 heads of state will attend
D-Day commemorations, incl for the first time the German Chancellor.
3 US contractors have been killed in Iraq. Vehicles were ambushed on
the road to the Baghdad airport.
A bomb nr a roadside has killed at least 2 US soldiers as their patrol
passed by.
US reps say there has been a recent upsurge of the violence in
Afghanistan. The increase is put down to US led forces fighting
against insurgents. Cmdrs say the insurgents seem to be operating
within Afghanistan and are not fighters making cross-border raids.
French FM de Villepin says he will take legal action against a mayor
who married 2 men. 200 police surrounded the town hall in Bordeaux
where right-wingers protested outside during the ceremony. The mayor
-- a leader in the local Greens Party -- could now be sacked or fined
up to $US2,000 for disobeying C govt orders. Same-sex marriage is
recognised in Belgium and the Netherlands.
The ILO says forced labour remains a problem in Burma. Despite promises
from regime last y the ILO says there is still forced labour working on
road projects. There is also conscripting against will into the Burma army.
Ayatollah al-Sistani and Moqtada al-Sadr have met in Najaff. A rep
for al-Sadr said the rebel cleric had thanked the Ayatollah for
interceding in in the standoff between the US military and al-Sadr to
help bring a peaceful resolution to the standoff in Najaff and Kufa.
4 am
BBC "Letter from Delhi". Italian is the flavour of the month in
Delhi. After the shock win of the Congress and Sonia Ghandi people
are kissing on the cheek and saying "ciao". Politicians have taken a
couple of steps up in the polls. While opinion polls in India have in
the past put pimps and black marketeers several notches above
politicians as being beneficial to society, Sonia's renunciation of
the PM-ship has played into the Hindu tradition of renunciation.
Perhaps all politicians are not just interested in lining their own
pockets? PM-elect Singh has also returned the $2,000 he had borrowed
for campaigning expenses. He says he hadn't needed to spend it.
While Congress has taken steps toward the light, the BJP and Vajpayee
have reportedly been "shattered" by their loss. In an unenlightening
statement Tue, the former PM said complacency had defeated his govt.
UN officials in DRC say fighting has spread in the E of the country.
Following the fall of Bukavu, another key town has fallen from govt
control into rebel hands.
[Later reports say the rebel Gen later left the town, saying his
"mission" there was finished].
5 am
Pres Bush and Pres Chirac have held a joint conf stressing the points
on which they agree over the Iraqi transition. The press conf was
held after the 2 leaders met for talks in Paris. Bush said
"absolutely" the ability of the interim govt to determine its own
security needs was the definition of sovereignty.
It's rare for a US Def Min to visit Bangladesh. But Don Rumsfeld has
flown into Dhaka and met with the PM and Pres. He is on way back from
Sing to Wash, brooching the possibility of Bangladesh sending troops
to Iraq. The Bang FM initially told a press conf the subject had not
been raised. Bangladesh is the world's largest source of peacekeeping
forces. Later, speaking to the local press in Bangla, the FM admitted
the issue was discussed, but only casually.
African heads of state meeting in Dar es Salam, Tanzania, have emphatically
agreed that elections slated for Oct in Burundi will go ahead as scheduled.
The interim Burundi govt had wanted to delay the poll for 1 y. The
Burundi opp'n had disagreed.
Amsterdam. On "Rave Day" 1000s have marched in protest, claiming
Dutch drug laws are too strict. Local govts in the Netherlands are
also protesting at C govt policy to ban the sale of cannabis to
foreigners in border areas. The govt is also trying to cut back the
number of legal "coffee shops". Critics say the policy will only
force the traffic in marijuana underground.
1 mn poppies have been scattered in the English Channel as part of the
D-Day commemoration.
5.30 am
Rebels in the Darfur region of Congo have abducted 16 UN aid workers.
The action has come 1 day after the UN said it would send in more observers.
67 foreign tourists in N Pak have been evac'd after Shia demonstrated
about the wording in school textbooks. Pak is majority Sunni.
Polls show less than 1/2 of those eligible to vote in EP elections
will turn out. While EU politicians have launched a campaign to
combat the apathy, polls show about many voters intending to turn out
will back Euro-skeptic parties.
Insurgents in Mosul have fired RPG's into an army recruitment centre,
wounding many men lining up to join the military.
6.15 am
A group linked to al-Qaeda has claimed resp for an ambush in Algeria
that killed 10 soldiers and wounded another dozen. The group says its
war against the secular govt has not finished.
A few mins ago AFP says the children of 93 yo Ronald Reagan have
gathered at his bedside. Earlier, the family claimed reports of a
sudden deterioration in Reagan's health were exaggerated. US networks
say Reagan developed pneumonia 2 days ago.
6.20 am
US networks say Ronald Reagan has died. Reagan came to power in the
1980s, riding a wave of nat'l self-doubt He said govt was the problem
and he couldn't stand by to watch mediocre leaders lurch from one
crisis to another. Reagan over-saw a 25% across-the-board tax cut and
controversial spending cuts. But defence saw significant increases.
The national debt tripled and unemployment rose to 10%. Reagan's
approval fell to 41%. Surviving an assassination attempt Reagan also
survived Iran-Contra, a terror attack on Marines in Lebanon, and the
Challenger tragedy. Reagan was not an intellectual, and saw the world
as a battleground between good and evil. "We weren't just marking
time, we made a difference", he said at the end of his regime.
The Mail reports Brit MP's are investigating 5 paras in connection
with the death of a 17 yo Iraqi earlier this y. It's not clear
whether the investigation is new, or was prev cited by the govt as an
on-going case. 3 other paras have reportedly left the service and are
being sought by authorities. The teen died when the 8 Brit soldiers
stopped a family at a roadblock.
10.30 am
An oil official has been shot dead by gunmen in Nasiriyah, S Iraq.
The UN envoy to Burma has expressed frustration at being unable to
make headway toward democracy reforms. He told an audience the
"democracy forum" being held in Rangoon was a sham, and the junta had
imposed unacceptable restrictions on religious and political leaders.
He said such tactics had never worked in any other country, and would
not work in Burma.
The UNSC has been called to an urgent closed-door session. It's
expected the US and Brit will intro their latest Iraq transition Res.
It's reported the SC is reading letters from the new interim Iraqi leader.
Nigerian soldiers have shot dead 17 rebels in central Delta state.
11.30 am
A new opinion poll in the UK shows Tony Blair's govt will be returned
in up-coming elections, but with a reduced majority. The newspaper
poll conducted in about 200 marginal seats found Blair would be
returned with a 107-seat majority -- down about 100 seats. Blair is
expected to be routed in up-coming EP elections.
Aussie FM Downer says Pres Bush's attack on Mark Latham will only
stiffen the opinions already held by voters. Elsewhere, the PM and
snr Mins are trying to use the comments to score points against the
Opp'n leader.
Midday.
In a turn-about, Indian games companies are out-sourcing the design of
some computer games to Brit so characters in the games will appeal to
a western audience.
D-day anniversary preparations are well advanced for the arrival of
veterans from all the countries that took part in the landing 60 y ago
to liberate Europe from German occupation.
Fewer than 50% of French people think France has a moral debt to the
US 60 y after the Allied D-day landings, according to an
opinion poll published on Sat.
Thousands of French police and soldiers are on duty for ceremonies
marking the 60th anniversary of the D-day landings on the coast of Normandy.
France has awarded its highest distinction, the Legion of Honour, to
99 US and 3 Aussie D-Day veterans in a Paris ceremony on the eve of
the 60th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy.
A D-Day veteran has told how you could have walked from France to Brit
over the ships steaming across the English Channel when he was flying
with the Air Force the night before the invasion of Normandy.
Veterans of World War II have gathered at the scene of one of D-day's
most dramatic episodes to see Brit's Prince Charles inaugurate a
replica of the famous Horsa gliders that brought in airborne troops
for the capture of the key Pegasus bridge.
Hundreds of Brit and American parachutists dropped into NW France on
Sat to launch poignant commemorations of the D-day landings on Jun 6,
1944, which hastened the end of World War II.
Former US president Ronald Reagan has died at the age of 93, after a
decade-long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
US Pres George W Bush says former president Ronald Reagan, who died
today, restored the US and helped save the world.
The Aussie Govt has paid tribute to former US president Ronald Reagan,
who died today aged 93.
Former Brit PM Margaret Thatcher has reacted to Ronald Reagan's death
by remembering him as "a truly great American hero".
Before occupying the White House for 2 terms, former US
president Ronald Reagan, who died today, spent nearly 3 decades in
Hollywood making movies.
PM John Howard has met Brit PM Tony Blair for talks at Mr Blair's
official weekend residence, Chequers, ahead of official D-day commemorations.
SA Prem Mike Rann has joined 100s of delegates attending an internat'l
biotechnology conference in San Francisco to promote S AUS as a viable
base for further expansion in the industry.
5 pm
12 Yemenis have been convicted of the bombing of the USS Cole in
Aden. The attack killed 12 crew. There was heavy security in Sana
for the court announcement. The defendants appeared in closed
session. The judge subsequently agreed to an adjournment. The
prosecution wants more time for inquiries.
Aussie PM Howard has refused to rule out an Aug election. He said
after his return he will be making a series of policy announcements.
But his deputy -- John Anderson -- says the poll is likely to be
closer to Oct. Elsewhere, Democrats were putting the finishing
touches on their election strategy today. They say they are set to
fight off the challenge from the Greens.
It's 60 y since D-Day. At least one German general interviewed by DW
Radio insisted Germany was only defending itself from the machinations
of the Allies during WWII.
10.30 pm
Malaysia has ruled out using US forces to protect shipping in the
Straights of Malacca. Malaysia and Singapore have differed over the
handling of the terrorism threat to shipping in the region.
10.45 pm
13 Iraqis have been killed and 10 injured in a bombing 15 km S of
Baghdad. The bomb went off at the gates of a US HQ. The injured incl
2 US soldiers. Earlier, 13 people were killed when a convoy was
attacked N of Bagdad. The dead incl 2 Poles and 2 Americans working
for a security company in Iraq.
}}
----------------------------------------
Mon, 07 Jun 2004.
HEADLINES:
World pays tribute to D-Day heroes
US troops take low profile in Iraq
UN peacekeepers killed in DR Congo ambush
US labels Israeli pullout vote "courageous"
Wheelchair-bound Palestinian killed during demo
UN Sec Council debates revised Iraq resolution
Letter on Iraqi prisoners uncovered
Iraq to bring back death penalty
Iraq -- The Case for Immediate US Withdrawal
Blair joins Howard on staying in Iraq
2 children die in house fire
ACCC moves to stop Adel Brighton takeover
ALP members aim to block any Garrett move
ALP no place for Garrett, says Greens leader
All Ords hits new high
Allies didn't die in vain: Schroeder
Astronomers prepare for rare transit of Venus
Aussie PM pays tribute to D-day heroics
Aust may host US military training
Aust pushes for expanded marine protection
Barghouti handed 5 life terms
Call for inland roads not to be forgotten
Capsicum spray scare prompts casino evacuation
Diseases, drugs under microscope at medical conference
Dissident general leaves E DR Congo town
Doctors trial diabetes vaccine
Embattled broadcast watchdog chief resigns
Flint resigns as ABA chairman
Govt pumps $12 bn into roads, rail
It's a laneway to the top for AC/DC
Latham joins "Play School" criticism
Lees's compensation bid to take time
MEL team to trial melanoma vaccine
Media escapes contempt charges in Falconio case
Mixed results for Kennedy in ASIC court action
NT urges more generous offer over gas field royalties
Navy ships to join Pacific exercise
Newspaper job ads fall for 2nd month
Residents evacuated after volcano erupts
Saudi militants kill Brit cameraman
Sharon compromises on Gaza pullout
Sharon faces moment of truth on Gaza plan
Stolen Generations case may go before UN
Super safe, fund chief vows
NT urges more generous offer over gas field royalties
Darwin. The NT Chief Min, Clare Martin, is calling on the Fed Govt to
make E Timor a more generous offer over royalties from the Sunrise gas
field in the Timor Sea.
Ms Martin made the call while opening an internat'l oil and gas
conference in Darwin.
The Chief Min says the dispute between AUS and E Timor over the
lucrative Sunrise field could mean the resource is not developed for years.
She has called on the Fed Govt to 'de-link' the hotly disputed issues
of royalties and maritime boundaries which are holding up the project.
Instead she wants AUS to make a generous one off royalty offer.
"The Timor Leste needs an assured income for its future growth and
stability and the Aussie Govt can deliver that through Sunrise if the
field's development is able to move ahead," she said.
East Timor's PM Mari Alkatiri says his Parliament will not ratify the
agreement for Greater Sunrise until AUS shows good faith and
establishes a time frame to negotiate sea boundaries.
"To stop issuing licences and every kind of concession in areas of
overlapping claim and agree to on the basis of time frame of 3 to 5
years," he said.
"If we are not able to resolve by negotiation and then a 3rd plan can
be asked to resolve it."
The Fed Govt says it will continue to provide generous assistance to
the fledgling nation of E Timor.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Min for Industry, Tourism and
Resources Warren Entsch says the current arrangements are a win-win
situation for AUS and E Timor.
"Considering AUS's longstanding and valid claim and internat'l law to
the extent of its continental shelf the 9010 square km of Timor Sea
Treaty is further evidence of AUS's determination to contribute to the
economic development of Timor Leste," he said.
All Ords hits new high
Sydney. The Aussie share market has had a record-breaking run today,
with the All Ords reaching a new all-time high. In early afternoon
trade the index climbed almost 0.5% or 16 points to just below 3,483.
The rally follows strength in the US market which was boosted by
positive jobs data. Just before 2.00 pm the All Ordinaries had settled
back to 3,479.
Residents evacuated after volcano erupts
Jakarta (AFP). Residents living nr an active volcano in N Indonesia
are being evacuated after the Govt declared a heightened state of
alert. Mount Awu has been producing small eruptions, spewing flames
and thick smoke since the 2nd wk of May. It last erupted in 1992.
Hundreds of residents living on the slopes of the volcano in north
Sulawesi are being evacuated after scientists raised the alert level
for a possible eruption.
World pays tribute to D-Day heroes
Normandy (AFP). Pres Jacques Chirac, in thanking all the Allies for
the liberation of France from Nazi rule, insisted that Germany had a
right to be at the events.
World leaders have paid a powerful tribute to the Allied forces who
stormed the Normandy beaches in the D-day landings 60 y ago to
liberate Europe from Nazi occupation.
For the 1st time, the ceremonies included Germany, whose forces
resisted the 135,000 Allied troops who waded ashore in the biggest
seaborne invasion in history and the 20,000 who were parachuted or
flown in to assist them.
The inclusion of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has stirred a
polemic, with some veterans expressing anger that he should be allowed
to participate.
But French Pres Jacques Chirac, in thanking all the Allies for the
liberation of France from Nazi rule, insisted that Germany had a right
to be at the events.
"As we commemorate those decisive moments in our history, I wanted
Germany to remember with us those hours when the ideal of freedom
returned to our continent.
"We hold up the example of France-German reconciliation, to show the
world that hatred has no future, that a path to peace is always possible."
He was speaking after 142 veterans from 14 countries paraded past the
dignitaries and guests to a standing ovation, bringing tears to the
eyes of many.
The ceremony at Arromanches, midway along the 100-km stretch of
coastline, was launched with a 21-gun salute and the French nat'l anthem.
It contrasted with an earlier more solemn memorial at the US cemetery
in Colleville-sur-Mer, lined with endless rows of white crosses.
The graveyard overlooks Omaha Beach, scene of the bloodiest fighting
in which some 2,000 US troops were killed, half of the total deaths on
that one day.
"You will be honoured ever and always," US Pres George W Bush told a
large congregation of US war veterans gathered at the cemetery.
He said those who stormed the beaches had witnessed "scenes of daring and
self-giving that went beyond anything the army or the country could ask."
Seeking to turn a page on recent transatlantic tensions, Mr Bush and
Mr Chirac both drew on the friendship forged on the beaches 60 y ago.
"In the trials and total sacrifice of the war, we became inseparable
allies," Mr Bush said.
"The nations that battled across the continent would become trusted
partners in the cause of peace. And our great alliance of freedom is
strong, and it is still needed today."
"France will never forget," Mr Chirac added.
"She will never forget that 6th of June, 1944, the day hope was reborn
and rekindled.
Russian Pres Vladimir Putin was also taking part in the ceremony for
the 1st time.
He has been invited in view of the extraordinary sacrifice made by the
Red Army in winning a war that claimed the lives of 9 mn Soviet troops.
The weekend has been full of symbolism -- parachutists reliving the
historic drops behind enemy lines, poppies strewn at sea to symbolise
the rivers of blood and gatherings at dawn on the beach at the hour
when the landings began.
At Arromanches, Mr Chirac also awarded France's highest medal the
Legion of Honour to 14 veterans from 14 different countries, including AUS.
Earlier at a joint Brit-Canadian ceremony at Juno Beach, Queen
Elizabeth II hailed the landings a "major triumph."
"The operation itself was a resounding success, but it was only
achieved with the sacrifice of many courageous and determined allied
servicemen including a large number of your Canadian colleagues who
landed here with you on Juno Beach," she said.
Allies didn't die in vain: Schroeder
Normandy (AFP). German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has vowed that
Germany bears the responsibility to ensure history does not repeat
itself and thanked the Allies for ending the Nazi dictatorship and
assisting his country's more recent reunification.
Mr Schroeder is the 1st German leader to attend French D-Day celebrations,
a move which stirred controversy among some World War II veterans.
He sought to allay such concerns, saying those killed in World War II
had not died in vain and pledging to help safeguard peace and freedom
in Europe.
"We in Germany know who caused the war," he said at the 1st ever joint
French-German commemoration of the storming of the Normandy beaches on
June 6, 1944.
"We know our responsibility for history and we take it seriously.
"Thousands of Allied soldiers died on a single, cruel day. They paid
the highest price for freedom.
"German soldiers were killed because they were sent on a murderous
drive to oppress Europe," he told French Pres Jacques Chirac at the ceremony.
* Great emotion
At the Caen Peace Memorial ceremony where the 2 leaders unveiled a
plaque, Mr Chirac told Mr Schroeder it was a "moment of great emotion".
"On this day of remembrance and hope, French men and women welcome you
more than ever as a friend. They welcome you as a brother," he said,
giving Mr Schroeder a warm embrace.
Earlier, as the German leader arrived at the village of Ranville to
pay his respects before the grave of an unknown German soldier buried
at an Allied cemetery, he was met by applause from local residents.
"Finally we are at peace," said 69-yo Marcelle Richard, who remembers
the SS rumbling past her family shop.
Polish teacher Ilona Wtosinska, who moved with her class from Poland,
said: "We suffered but what use it is to suffer any longer. Life goes on."
Mr Schroeder, who lost his father in the war, said: "Europe has
learned its history and we Germans are not going to suppress it.
"Europe's citizens and politicians are responsible for ensuring that
war-making, war crimes and terrorism have no chance.
"The fall of the Hitler dictatorship was the work of the Allies in the
West and the East," he added.
* Reconciliation
He vowed to the victims: "Your death was not in vain. We live in peace
and freedom and for that we thank you."
Mr Chirac added that reconciliation was the best tribute to those who
had died.
"Such suffering and destruction could not have been endured in vain,"
he said.
"We owe it to our dead to give a sense to their sacrifice by committing
ourselves with one voice to the only path which can ensure peace in
Europe -- that of the reconciliation between our 2 countries and
between our 2 great peoples," he said.
Mr Schroeder in return thanked France and Mr Chirac personally for
extending the hand of friendship to his country.
"My country has found its way back into the circle of civilised communities.
It was a long path to a successful and stable democracy," he added.
"Without the hand which France in its generosity and political wisdom
stretched out to us, we would not have found been able to complete the
path which led us to reunification."
Aussie PM pays tribute to D-day heroics
Normandy (ABC, Fran Kelly and AFP). Tens of 1000s of Allied veterans
who survived the D-day campaign of World War II have been honoured in
poignant ceremonies 60 y after the decisive battle.
Almost 3,000 Aussies served in the D-day campaign and at least 212
died in the battle.
In a special AUS-New Zealand memorial at the village of Noyers-Bocage,
Prime Min John Howard paid tribute to their bravery.
Mr Howard says the lessons from the invasion 60 y ago should be
remembered today.
"For too long too many in the world had ignored a gathering threat and
that recognition of history is something that should always remain
with us," Mr Howard said.
Mr Howard says both AUS and NZ are peace-loving but will always fight
for a "just cause" or when the US tells us to.
"Aussies and NZers were part of that undertaking and we have never
been people reluctant to play our part and to fight alongside others
in pursuit of a just cause," he said.
"If ever there was a just cause, it was the liberation of Europe from
the yoke of Nazi Germany."
5 Aussie veterans and 11 NZers attended the ceremony, including a
celebrated NZ pilot, John Pattison, who shot down 2 German aircraft
during the invasion and was himself shot down twice.
The ceremony honoured in particular the 151 pilots of Typhoon
fighter-bombers killed in the conflict, of whom several were Aussies.
The Typhoon was widely used for risky, low-level rocket attacks.
NZ Prime Min Helen Clark says the NZ pilots flew in their own unit,
486 Squadron Royal Air Force, which was formed in 1942.
She says they faced "exceptional danger and high loss of life" because
of the nature of their mission, including rocket attacks on German VI
and V2 missile emplacements.
Blair joins Howard on staying in Iraq
Chequers (The Australian). Tony Blair and John Howard have vowed to
"go the distance" in Iraq -- refusing to rule out sending additional
resources as the US prepares to transfer power to the Iraqi interim govt.
As the new Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi last night urged the coalition's
troops to stay on to protect safety and security, Opp'n Leader Mark
Latham yesterday stood by his pledge to ensure Aussie troops were home
by Christmas.
Speaking after a 2-hr meeting with Mr Blair at the Brit Prime Min's
country residence, Chequers, Mr Howard said there was no suggestion of
sending extra troops -- but extra non-military support was an option.
"We would not rule that out. There were no specific requests, but I've
said before that it is possible there might be some marginal augmentation,"
he said.
"I notice already the foreign minister of Iraq has made it very clear
to the Sec Council that any premature withdrawal would be disastrous
and risk chaos ... and has expressed the view that the coalition
forces should remain until their tasks are completed."
In a joint statement, Mr Blair and Mr Howard pledged "our ongoing
support for the new Iraqi Admin as it works to establish a stable and
prosperous Iraq".
AUS announced last wk it would write off a $600 mn debt incurred by
Iraq from wheat sales in the late 1980s as a gesture of support for
the rebuilding process.
Mr Howard also backed US Pres George W Bush's decision to attack Mr
Latham's plan to bring AUS's troops home from Iraq by Christmas as
"disastrous".
"Apparently it's okay for the Leader of the Opp'n in AUS to describe
Pres Bush as the most dangerous [president] in living memory, yet it
is wrong for the Pres, in answer to a question from an Aussie
journalist, to express a view not about the character of [Mr Latham]
but about a policy that person supports," Mr Howard told the 9 Network.
For Min Alexander Downer also defended Mr Bush's intervention,
describing Aussie politics as a "fringe issue" for the Americans.
Mr Latham maintained his pledge and accused Mr Howard of placing the
nation at greater risk of terrorist attack.
"I'm worried about the things that have gone wrong in Iraq and the
failings of the Howard Govt -- the fact that the Govt's failed
policies in Iraq have made a bigger target of AUS," he said. "They've
also diverted resources away from the real war against terror,
catching bin Laden, breaking up al-Qaeda and terrorist networks in
Southeast Asia."
Mr Allawi told the BBC yesterday he had outlined his position in a
letter sent on Sat to the UN Sec Council.
"After a year, things would be discussed and negotiated again with the
Sec Council. But we are adamant that the multinat'l forces should be
employed in Iraq in co-ordination with the Iraqis to secure the
country from its enemies," he said.
US troops take low profile in Iraq
Since Iraq has little capacity to refine its own gasoline, the US govt
pays about US$1.50 a gallon to purchase fuel in neighbouring countries
and deliver it to Iraqi filling stations.
Baghdad (AP). The US military appears to be softening its tough
tactics -- keeping combat operations to a minimum -- in a shift
designed to avoid alienating its Iraqi allies who take power at the
end of the month.
The new stance has seen the US military halt offensives in the
rebel-held cities of Fallujah and Najaff without achieving its goals of
capturing radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr or the killers of US
contractors. Those deaths led to the bloody 3-wk siege of Fallujah
in which 10 Marines and 100s of Iraqis died.
The siege of Fallujah outraged many Iraqis, who felt that the
Americans used disproportionate firepower against the city.
"What happened in Fallujah and other places will not be repeated,"
said Iraq's incoming PM, Iyad Allawi, who heads the interim govt
taking office June 30. Allawi said US forces will not be allowed to
launch future offensives in Iraq without his permission.
One top US military official in Iraq, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said US goals in Fallujah and Najaff haven't been dropped,
just delayed long enough to accomplish them without unnecessary loss
of life.
And in Najaff, the US Army's offensive is slowing because American
troops devastated al-Sadr's rebel fighters in 2 m of gritty combat,
said Army Brig Gen Mark Hertling. Hertling bristled at the notion that
the Army was curbing its operations.
"Softer stance? We took a hard line with these guys and killed over a
thousand," Hertling wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
"Concessions? We agreed to stop hunting down what was left of the
militia long enough for them to disband."
But military analysts agree that the Americans' once broad freedom of action
in Iraq will be restricted after some authority is returned to Iraqis.
Lowering the US military's profile may be the only way the US can keep
its forces inside Iraq after it declares its occupation at an
end. Another US offensive could turn Iraqis and Allawi's fragile govt
against the Americans.
"From here on, US forces are going to be in Iraq at the pleasure of
the Iraqi govt," said David Phillips, an Iraq analyst at the Council
on Foreign Relations in NY. "If we pursue a confrontational approach,
it either derails the political process by radicalising Iraqis or it
could prompt Iraq to request that US forces leave the country."
US occupation leaders say they would honour demands to leave.
Allawi's interim govt, selected in large measure by the US,
is the most pro-American regime Iraq is ever likely to have and represents
the best path to achieving US goals in Iraq, said Judith Yaphe, a
former Iraq analyst at the CIA and a snr fellow at Nat'l Defense University.
The US is better off dropping its non-negotiable demands and handing
the interim govt security missions that increase its prestige, such as
patrolling Fallujah and Najaff, Yaphe said.
"We've got to find a softer way ... if we want this govt to survive.
We have to work with them," Yaphe said. "What is good for the US
military is not to have more people killed in mindless operations."
The Marines' Apr siege of Fallujah is widely seen as the mistake
driving this new policy. That operation stoked hatred of the US
occupation and was eventually resolved by a compromise that left the
city to a new security force whose members included some of the
militants the Marines had been fighting.
It wasn't supposed to be that way, said Maj Gen James N Mattis, cmdr
of the 1st Marine Division, which led the assault on Fallujah.
"All along we had intended a softer approach, using civil-military
operations ... unless someone chose to fight, and then we would
fight," Mattis said. "Welcome to war with all its complexities and
shifting centres of gravity."
Opp'n to US offensives has sprung from other quarters as well. A
leaked Brit govt memo said American operations were counterproductive.
"Heavy-handed US military tactics in Fallujah and Najaff some wk ago
have fuelled both Sunni and Shiite opp'n to the coalition, and lost us
much public support inside Iraq," The Sun Times quoted the memo as saying.
Allawi, in an interview with Associated Press Television News, said he
will work to make legitimate soldiers out of renegade militias who
fought the US military in Fallujah, Najaff and elsewhere -- a process
backed by some US cmdrs.
"Of course we deal with some folks who have been the enemy," Mattis said.
"Wars eventually have to end, don't they? It's not like this sort of
war ends in one big moment. It will end in lots of little moments."
In the meantime, US troops are keeping a low profile as a flurry of
diplomacy plays out inside Iraq and at the UN. There, the US and Brit
are wrangling for a Sec Council resolution that leaves their forces in
control of Iraq's security until, perhaps, 2006.
Hence the softening of once-rigid demands. In Fallujah, few are
clamouring for the surrender of foreign fighters or repeating Pres
Bush's call that the killers of the 4 US military contractors -- who
were burned and their bodies hung from a bridge in March -- be handed over.
In Najaff, US troops who have been fighting al-Sadr's militia have
agreed to allow the police to take over the city's security, reducing
the chances of clashes. US demands for al-Sadr's arrest and the
disbanding of his militia, though officially still goals, appear to
have been deferred.
The remnants of al-Sadr's militia may wind up transformed into a
legitimate security force that patrols the city.
A similar climb down has already happened in Fallujah, where a mixture
of former rebels and Iraqi soldiers once loyal to Saddam Hussein have
kept the restive city calm for weeks.
Hertling and Mattis insist they still have the mandate and firepower
to fight Iraqi guerrillas. Gun battles, raids and ambushes continue
daily. But most US actions here are in response to rebel attacks,
which the military deems self-defence.
In Najaff, the Army's relentless targeting of al-Sadr's militia
convinced them to heed demands of the local governor, who ordered them
off the streets, Hertling said.
"Over the past several days Moqtada's militia has lost much of its
stomach for fighting, and I think what remains of them, which is a
very small force, will take advantage of the governor's announcement
to disperse if not disband," Hertling said.
A potential compromise with al-Sadr is being considered, with the
arrest of a snr lieutenant for the 2003 killing of a rival cleric --
the crime that initiated the warrant for al-Sadr's arrest, Yaphe said.
The arrest opens the way for the quashing of al-Sadr's warrant, Yaphe said.
The Americans' pragmatic approach hinges on the idea that sovereignty
can be handed to Iraqis even if parts of the country remain out of the
control of the US-led coalition.
The benefits of that might even become apparent to US voters, said Phillips:
"The Admin would like nothing more than to reduce the force level
before the election in Nov, to give the idea that we achieved our goals."
Barghouti handed 5 life terms
Snr Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti refused to recognise the
jurisdiction of the Tel Aviv court.
Tel Aviv (BBC/AFP). A court in Israel has sentenced a leader of the
Palestinian uprising, Marwan Barghouti, to life imprisonment for his
role in the killing of 4 Israelis and a Greek monk.
Barghouti, who was the head of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement in the
West Bank, received a life sentence for each of the killings.
Barghouti has denied orchestrating attacks on Israelis.
In a tiny courtroom the man some see as a possible future leader of
the Palestinians made his last public appearance for some time.
Dressed in dark brown prison overalls, Barghouti dominated the short hearing.
Asking politely to speak, and doing so despite a number of requests
from the judges to sit down, he restated his opp'n to Israel's
occupation and that the continuation of the intifada was the only way
to get independence for the Palestinians.
Finally silenced, the judge said Barghouti would serve 5 consecutive
life sentences for murder and a further 40 y for attempted murder and
membership of a terrorist organisation.
As he was led away, Barghouti gave a victory sign and said the
intifada would triumph.
A Palestinian lawmaker, he refused to recognise the jurisdiction of
the Tel Aviv court.
Barghouti said throughout the case he opposed the killing of innocent
people in a Palestinian uprising that began in 2000.
Supporters have said he has no intention of appealing against the
verdict or asking the court for a reduced sentence.
* Outrage
The Palestinian Authority immediately rejected the decision and
demanded Barghouti's release.
"We reject this sentence and do not recognise this unfair decision,"
Palestinian PM Ahmed Qurie told Voice of Palestine radio.
"Marwan Barghouti is a member of the Palestinian parliament and a
nat'l leader and the Israeli occupation forces have no right to
sentence him."
Palestinian Negotiations Min Saeb Erakat said the court had no
jurisdiction over Barghouti and called on Israel to release him immediately.
"This sentencing of Marwan Barghouti is illegal and invalid because
the Israeli court has no power to sentence him as an elected member of
the Palestinian Legislative Council," Mr Erakat told AFP.
Qaddura Fares, minister without portfolio in the Palestinian Cabinet,
also condemned the sentence as illegal.
"Everything was illegal from the beginning and the occupation is
illegal so the decision is illegal," he told AFP, saying that Israel's
real intention in trying Barghouti was to send a strong message to the
Palestinians about the intifada.
Dissident general leaves E DR Congo town
Bukavu (AFP). Dissident Gen Laurent Nkunda has left the E Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) town of Bukavu, hours after he promised to
completely pull out his men who had captured it 4 days earlier.
Witnesses said Gen Nkunda left the town aboard a 4wd
vehicle at 1.00 pm local time and headed in the direction of the
airport, which lies 30 km to the north.
This morning Gen Nkunda, whose capture of the capital of Sud-Kivu
province sparked fears that DRC's fragile peace process was falling
apart, told journalists he had decided to pull his men out to the area
of the airport as a "show of goodwill."
Noting that Gen Nkunda had reneged on a similar pledge Thu,
Sebastien Lapierre, the Bukavu rep for the UN's peacekeeping mission
in DRC (MONUC), told AFP: "We will watch him very closely to see if he
respects it this time."
Around midday, 2 trucks left the provincial governor's mansion in
Bukavu, where Gen Nkunda had set up his HQ.
Around the same time a MONUC official said about 700 of Gen
Nkunda's men were heading in the direction of the airport.
"I am unilaterally taking the decision to pull my men out beyond the
airport as a show of goodwill," Gen Nkunda, who is normally based
in adjacent Nord-Kivu, told a news conference in Bukavu.
Gen Nkunda said he would not leave "a single man" in the town,
himself included, and that his movement was "truly finished."
He claims to have 4,000 men under his command.
"I am leaving control of the town to MONUC," he said after meeting the
force's regional cmdr, Gen Ian Isberg.
In all, some 88 people have been killed in clashes in the area since
May 26, according to a tally of casualties collated from several sources.
Around 200 other dissident troops led by Col Jules Mutebusi, who were
the 1st to engage regular forces in Bukavu on May 26, are expected to
remain billeted in camps inside Bukavu, according to MONUC and Gen Nkunda.
Both Gen Nkunda and Col Mutebusi are in the Congolese Rally for
Democracy, a Rwandan-backed former rebel group whose political leaders
are now in a unity govt in Kinshasa and many of whose troops now serve
in the country's theoretically integrated new army.
DRC Pres Joseph Kabila has accused Rwanda, which had troops in eastern
DRC during the 1998-2003 war, of backing Gen Nkunda, a charge
rejected by Kigali.
Rwanda closed its border with DRC, which passes by Bukavu, overnight Sat.
Saudi militants kill Brit cameraman
Riyadh (Reuters). A W diplomat says a Brit cameraman has been shot
dead and another Brit journalist wounded when gunmen opened fire on
them as they filmed in an Islamist militant area of the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
It is the 4th deadly attack on Westerners in the kingdom, the world's
biggest oil exporter, in 5 weeks.
The diplomat says the 2 journalists were in a car with a Saudi driver
in the Suweidi district, filming the house of an Al Qaeda militant
killed last y in a security crackdown, when they came under fire.
The wounded journalist was not in a serious condition, the diplomat
said. No further details were available.
The Saudi Interior Ministry said in a statement that unknown men fired
at 2 people of Brit nat'lity in a poor district of Riyadh, resulting
in the death of one and the wounding of the other.
The attack comes a wk after Al Qaeda militants killed 22 people, 19 of
them foreigners, in a shooting and hostage-taking spree in the eastern
Saudi oil city of Khobar.
The attack helped push world oil prices to record highs before
producers pledged to raise output.
The Suweidi district, W of Riyadh, is a stronghold of Osama bin
Laden's Al Qaeda followers and 15 of the 26 most wanted militants in
the kingdom, including the leader of the group in Saudi Arabia,
Abdulaziz al-Muqrin, hail from there.
Security sources say the gunmen fled after the shooting. Saudi security
forces set up roadblocks and patrols across the capital after the attack.
Saudi Arabia has been battling Al Qaeda militants for more than a year
and security forces have arrested many suspected militants in Suweidi
in recent months.
Authorities are still hunting for 3 men who carried out the Khobar
attack and managed to escape.
Foreign Min Prince Saud al-Faisal said on the weekend that militants
were going after soft, random targets.
He called on foreign govts to hand over Saudi dissidents abroad with
alleged links to the violence that has rocked the kingdom.
At least 80 people have been killed since May last y in a string of
suicide bombings and attacks on Westerners blamed on Al Qaeda.
Security forces have killed or arrested 9 on the list of 26 top militants.
Aust may host US military training
The US may use Aussie sites for military training.
Singapore (ABC, Graeme Dobell). The US is close to an
agreement to build a major military training centre on Aussie soil.
The US would spend tens of $mns to upgrade one of AUS's existing
training bases in Qld or the Northern Territory.
Def Min Robert Hill says Aussie and US forces would use the centre for
air, sea and land exercises.
After talks with US Def Sec Donald Rumsfeld in Singapore, Sen Hill
told the ABC the US and AUS could sign an in-principle agreement for
the centre next m.
"It's to enhance mutual capability, ensure inter-operability and to
assist a critically important ally," Sen Hill said.
He says an in-principle agreement could be signed at annual
ministerial talks in Washington next m.
Sen Hill says the US would not pre-position equipment at the centre
and it would not be termed a US base.
The Territory Chief Min Clare Martin says there will be significant
economic spin-offs for whoever hosts the base and she believes the
Territory is the logical choice.
"We have a significant Defence presence and certainly we have those
relationships established and we have land and goodwill from Govt,"
she said.
"Qld's been loud and clear about saying put this joint training
facility in Qld and we've been equally loud and clear about saying put
it in the Territory," she said.
The Aussie Industry Defence Network agrees there would by a multitude
of benefits to Darwin if a joint US training facility was built in the NT.
Nat'l president Mike Turner says one of the benefits to the Territory
would be the influx of overseas military personnel.
"Especially if it were to be located within the Territory probably the
only location where those guys could rest and relax on the way in or
the way out would be Darwin so from the local point of view there
would be considerable benefit in accommodation and entertainment
avenues for the expenditure of USDs within the town," he said.
UN peacekeepers killed in DR Congo ambush
DRC (BBC). An ambush on a convoy of S African UN peacekeepers in the
Democratic Republic of Congo has left 2 soldiers dead and 9
wounded. The 2 S African peacekeepers were killed close to the town
of Goma in the E of the Democratic Republic of Congo. A spokesperson
for UN peacekeepers told the BBC 30 S African soldiers travelling in 2
trucks were ambushed N of Goma. The peacekeepers returned fire but 2
died at the scene and 9 wounded soldiers were later evacuated by
helicopter. The spokesperson said witnesses identified the attackers
as belonging to ethnic Hutu rebels. The rebels include members of the
Interahamwe militia, who were involved in the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
Diseases, drugs under microscope at medical conference
Cairns, Qld. New infectious diseases and the threat of SARS will be
discussed at the 10th Internat'l Conference on Emergency Medicine in
Cairns in far N Qld this wk. Doctors from around the world will
present papers on a range of topics from the latest street drugs to
the danger of ladders in the work place. Dr Ian Knox, from the
Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, says there is a lot AUS
can learn from its internat'l counterparts. "Clinical issues like
emerging infections diseases such as SARS, a focus on new and
innovative treatments like hyperbaric treatments [will be discussed],"
he said. "We'll also be talking about professional issues, like how to keep
doctors in practice because there is a work force shortage. "There'll
also be management issues...covered, like emergency dept over-crowding."
Letter on Iraqi prisoners uncovered
An Aussie army lawyer drafted a letter that said Iraqi prisoners in
Baghdad may not be covered by the Geneva Convention, it emerged.
Canberra (AAP). Major George O'Kane was working for the US Judge
Advocate, Col Marc Warren, in Baghdad last Dec when he drafted the
letter responding to Red Cross concerns about prisoner abuse by their
American guards.
In the letter, a copy of which has been obtained by ABC television's 4
Corners program, Major O'Kane said that where required by military
security, detainees would not be fully covered by the Geneva Convention.
The army took the legal view that "where absolute military security so
requires, security internees will not obtain full Geneva Convention
Protection", the Dec 24 letter said.
The letter was in response to Red Cross concerns, specifically about
prisoners deemed to have "ongoing intel value", whom the Red Cross
found naked and in total darkness, 4 Corners will report.
Major O'Kane's response explained that the condition of those
prisoners needed to be seen "in the context of ongoing strategic
interrogation", and under the circumstances "we consider their
detention to be humane".
The letter was signed by Gen Janis Karpinski, the former cmdr of
all prisons in Iraq.
Gen Karpinski is the most snr officer suspended as a result of the
prisoner abuse scandal, and stands accused of failing to pay
sufficient attention to what was happening at the Abu Ghraib prison.
In France for D-Day commemorations, PM John Howard said that despite a
bad 6 wk since photographs of American guards torturing and
humiliating Iraqi prisoners were released, AUS's decision to join the
war would be vindicated by history.
"If I had my time over again I would have done the same thing and
history will vindicate that," Mr Howard told CNN.
"And if a democratic Iraq does emerge it will act as a catalyst for
ongoing change in that part of the world.
"[Public support for the war] goes up and down a bit according to the latest
news. It's been a bad 6 wk but the next couple of m could be different."
But Opp'n Leader Mark Latham said AUS's best role would be to provide
economic, humanitarian and civilian aid under UN leadership, not a
long-term military role.
Asked on the 9 Network if Labor would keep troops in Iraq if formally
requested to by the new Iraqi govt, Mr Latham said: "Well, no.
"We make our policy in AUS's interests, according to AUS's priorities
and we have set that out."
FM Alex Downer queried what Mr Latham meant by UN leadership and which
countries would provide the troops.
"Would France, Germany and Russia suddenly change tack and support a
complete UN takeover of Iraq, just because a Latham govt had been
elected in AUS?" Mr Downer said in a statement.
"How will recalling 850 Aussie Defence Personnel from the Middle E to
join their more than 50,000 colleagues in AUS make us safer?"
Mr Downer said Mr Latham's comments made it clear that Labor had no
plan for Iraq.
Iraq -- The Case for Immediate US Withdrawal
[Joanne Landy is co-director of the Campaign for Peace and Democracy
and a member of the New Politics editorial board].
Op/Ed (ZNet). It's hard to see how the Bush Admin is going to win the
war in Iraq. Despite all the official bravado, a cloud of doom is
descending on the Whitehouse, and with good reason: internat'l outrage
is mounting at US behaviour at Abu Ghraib prison and throughout Iraq,
more and more Americans are concluding that the war is going badly,
and Iraq is proving uncontrollable with reports, in May, that only 35%
of Iraqis want US forces to stay. ("The State of Iraq: an Update" by
Adriana Lins de Albuquerque, Michael O'Hanlon and Amy Unikewicz, New
York Times, May 16, 2004.)
Shamelessly, after so much vilification and ridicule of the United
Nations, the Admin is now hoping that the appearance of UN control can
rescue its war. Yet, as the NY Times pointed out in describing the
selection of the interim Iraqi govt, UN control is illusory: ". . . it
has become clear that the UN special envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, played a
secondary role in setting up the new govt. People close to the envoy
say the choices, especially that of the PM, Iyad Allawi, were
essentially negotiated between the US and the Iraqi Governing Council,
which the occupation authorities put together last y." ("Iraq's New
Govt Faces Bargaining Over Its Power" by Steven R Weisman, posted on
The NY Times website June 2, 2004.)
Will Congress continue to serve as a handmaiden to the war effort, and
will the American people permit this war to continue? So far, Congress
is going along with the Admin; as we go to press it is in the process
of disgracefully acquiescing in Bush's request for $25 bn more for the
war. At the same time, however, popular support is falling
precipitously. A Newsweek poll reported in early May that approval of
Bush's handling of Iraq has dipped to 35%, compared with 44% in
Apr. Some 57% of respondents said they disapprove.
This is a critical time. While the majority of Americans are not
likely in the next few wk to favour the complete withdrawal of US
troops from Iraq, people are starting to consider the option
seriously. But to turn this questioning trend into massive popular
opp'n to Admin policy, we in the peace movement have to make the case
against keeping US forces in Iraq. The American public certainly
hasn't heard any talk of withdrawal from John Kerry, who has spoken
essentially about ways to salvage the operation: send 40,000 more
troops and "internat'lize" the situation while leaving US forces in
control. Kerry in effect advocates reconstituting the coalition that
conducted the 1991 Gulf War with the imprimatur of the Sec Council,
which gave the US war crucial cover. NY Times columnist Tom Friedman,
as usual, has put the argument succinctly and baldly: "The deeper we
try to penetrate Iraqi society, especially with tanks and troops, the
more legitimacy we need." (Apr 11, 2004)
Notably, Bush himself is reluctantly coming to adopt something akin to
Kerry's view of the need for UN cover. Today, Kerry is willing to
grant more concessions than Bush on giving marginally greater say to
the UN and the other great powers, and on sharing the bounty of
reconstruction contracts with other powerful countries -- but as the
US' stark position becomes more untenable, Bush may well be willing to
make similar concessions in order to preserve the essence of US control.
The war against Iraq was wrong, 1st and foremost because it
constituted an expansion of US imperial power, but also because of the
economic, political and military straitjacket it would predictably
impose on the Iraqi people. If the Iraqis themselves had overthrown
Saddam Hussein, they might have created opportunities for building a
truly democratic state responsive to the needs of the population --
though of course there is no guarantee that this would have been the
outcome of an internal revolt against the Baathists. The Bush Admin's
action, however, replaced Saddam Hussein's dictatorship with a
governing council wholly accountable to the US, with members to be
added, replaced or fired at will, and designed to carry out US
policies on all essential matters.
Meanwhile, the US intended all along to keep tens of 1000s of troops
in Iraq long past any formal hand-over of "sovereignty" in order to
insure the perpetuation of its domination of Iraq and strengthen its
military presence in the region. The kind of democracy the Admin
anticipated for Iraq was at best a govt managed by compliant pro-US
politicians, with formal elections but little or no effective
challenge from grassroots unions, independent human rights and social
justice organisations, or democratic left-wing political parties. Now
it is questionable whether even such a show democracy will actually be
allowed, though it is still possible.
The Bush Admin's repugnant plan for empire is proving to be a
spectacular failure. It would appear that many Iraqis were initially
ambivalent about the US occupation, resenting foreign domination while
also hoping, mostly out of desperation, that the US might bring a
measure of law and order and some democratic freedoms. Over time the
occupation has become increasingly unpopular and now more and more of
even the previously uncertain are turning against it. At the same
time, throughout the Middle E and the Muslim world generally, popular
hatred of the US, along with a craving for revenge, is growing
exponentially. As the US becomes known as more brutal, torturing
prisoners and lashing out not only against the insurgents but also
against 1000s of Iraqi non-combatants, the most authoritarian and
theocratic elements in Iraqi society are strengthened because they
seem to be the only ones willing and able to confront the US. A May
poll in Iraq indicating that Moqtada al-Sadr's popularity has surged
reveals how the US has increased the attraction of repressive
fundamentalists. ("Iraqi poll shows big jump in support for rebel
cleric Sadr," by Roula Khalaf, Financial Times, May 20, 2004.) An
example of the power fundamentalists have gained under the occupation
is the University of Basra, where the Financial Times reports that if
a female student "wants to attend her classes, she is forced to cover
her head with a hijab or risk the wrath of Shia extremists, backed by
armed militias, who are intimidating students across the campus."
("Female students taught harsh lessons," by Lina Saigol, Financial
Times, May 13, 2004.)
The campaign to win the American public over to a policy of immediate
withdrawal is critical because while a US victory in Iraq seems highly
unlikely under either Bush or Kerry, the war can be drawn out for m or
even years, with the attendant deaths of tens of 1000s of Iraqis and
1000s of Americans. Those of us who advocate immediate and total
withdrawal of US troops are told that doing so will jeopardise Iraqi
freedom, but in fact the dynamic is exactly the opposite. The only way
the people of the US can act to end this symbiotic syndrome in Iraq --
in which retrograde elements in Iraq feed off of the brutality of the
US occupation, while the occupation legitimises itself by pointing to
these retrograde elements -- the only way we can enhance the
possibility, however remote, of secularism and democracy in that
country, is to force the US govt to withdraw its troops.
Beyond that, the US could help prevent a repeat of the awful scenario
unfolding in Iraq today by undertaking a new, economically
egalitarian, and democratic foreign policy -- a keystone of which
would be an end to the US' one-sided support for Israel and de facto
hostility to the demand of the Palestinians for their own state.
Only such a foreign policy would have a real chance of promoting
popular resistance to dictators like Saddam Hussein and political
Islamic fundamentalists like Osama bin Laden or Moqtada al-Sadr. Of
course, changing US foreign policy in such a basic way would require
deep changes at home; corporate capitalist America, under either of
the 2 parties, is incapable of pursing a consistently democratic and
just foreign policy. We need an independent progressive mass party,
free of corporate control and, ultimately, a socialist America. An
important step towards this goal is building a movement for a new
foreign policy.
Such a peace movement could win important specific victories -- like
forcing a withdrawal from Iraq -- while learning from its experience
and educating others about the limits of reform in both domestic and
foreign policy spheres as long as capitalism holds sway.
The Bush Admin and many leading Democratic Party politicians say that
the US cannot just "cut and run," that "failure for the US in Iraq is
not an option." The defenders of US empire do indeed have an
investment in being "bitter enders," because they understand that the
ability of the US to exert its power globally will be undermined by a
defeat in Iraq. The rest of us, however, have no such stake in
continuing this nightmare.
Many progressives believe that the UN can resolve the Iraqi crisis in
a positive way. In general, however, it is highly improbable that the
UN can stand up for social justice and true democracy since it is
dominated in the Sec Council by countries that have a deep interest in
preserving the unfair global status quo. Any one of the 5 permanent
UN Sec Council members -- the US, Brit, France, Russia or China -- can
veto any initiative, though usually council members defer to the US as
the pillar of the established global order. The council departed from
this pattern when it refused to give the US a rubber stamp for the 2nd
Gulf war, but despite the reservations of many key countries about the
brazen way that the US is trying to manipulate the Iraqi govt, the UN
is extremely unlikely to actually act to prevent the US from
completing its construction of 14 permanent military bases in Iraq and
keeping its troops in the country. Nor is it likely to challenge the
behind-the-scenes US domination of Iraq by the more than 100 American
advisers inserted into the country's governing institutions.
An indication of the Sec Council's compromised position is that it has
done nothing to challenge the neoliberal economic policies imposed by
the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, such as privatisation of the
country's economy and a 15% ceiling on taxes. Nor did the council
utter a word of protest when in July 2003, US troops attacked members
of the Union of the Unemployed engaged in peaceful protests against US
military and corporations' treatment of the jobless, or when leaders
of the Union were arrested in Aug 2003. Truly free elections in a
truly democratic Iraq would likely result in a mandate for withdrawal
of all foreign occupying forces, a reversal of Paul Bremer's
Chicago-style economics, and an insistence by the Iraqi people that
they have a right to control their own resources. Yet the UN looks
prepared to give its blessing to a "transition" that will keep 1000s
of US troops in the country, in a position to exert overwhelming power
and influence over the forthcoming elections and Iraqi political life.
Moreover Brahimi and the UN have not blocked the US' back door work to
preserve its power under the new caretaker govt. The Wall Street
Journal reports:
As Washington prepares to hand over power, US administrator L Paul
Bremer and other officials are quietly building institutions that will
give the US powerful levers for influencing nearly every important
decision the interim govt will make. In a series of edicts issued
earlier this spring, Mr. Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority
created new commissions that effectively take away virtually all of
the powers once held by several ministries." ("Behind the Scenes, US
Tightens Grip On Iraq's Future" by Yochi J Dreazen and Christopher
Cooper, Wall Street Journal, May 13, 2004.)
Given the UN Sec Council's current role as accomplice to the US in
Iraq it would be naive to expect it, if it were given greater
authority, to suddenly change course and promote a vibrant democracy
that could totally expel the US, even though many of the Sec Council's
members may well wish to diminish somewhat the extent of US power.
One need not support the Iraqi forces currently leading the fight
against the US to favour immediate and complete withdrawal of US
troops. Though accurate facts about the military confrontation are
hard to come by, and we certainly have no reason to trust American
claims, it is quite possible that the anti-US struggle has been
captured, at least for now, by viciously reactionary elements --
Baathists and political Islamic fundamentalists, the latter bent on
installing a repressive religious order on the country. But whether or
not reactionaries have achieved control of the anti-occupation
struggle (and we hope that they have not), the realities in Iraq
reveal the gap between the fantasy of a benevolent superpower and the
actual role that the US plays in strengthening the opponents of the
trade unions, women's groups, secular forces and human rights
organisations that are the only hope for a democratic Iraq.
Some former anti-war activists say that however they might have felt
about going into Iraq in the 1st place, the US can't now just abandon
the country, and that the demand for withdrawal of American troops
should be postponed until there is some assurance of democracy and
security there. Some have retreated from calling for immediate
withdrawal to calling for withdrawal "at the earliest possible
moment," which leaves room for prolonging the occupation indefinitely
since the criteria for "possible" are quite ambiguous. To adopt this
approach would be to fall into a trap, to make a terrible mistake
analogous to the debilitating call of some in the anti-war movement at
the time of the Vietnam War for "negotiations" rather than immediate
withdrawal. The peace movement today needs to go to the American
people and convince them that, directly contrary to the arguments
given by the Bush Admin and its supporters in both parties for staying
in Iraq, the only hope for beginning to strengthen the struggle for
democracy and security in that country lies in bringing the troops
home now. Beyond Iraq, successful popular pressure for immediate
withdrawal could be the beginning of a movement for a new, democratic
and non-imperial US foreign policy that would be in the real interests
of both the American people and the people in the rest of the
world. What a joy that would be!
Iraq to bring back death penalty
Baghdad (AFP). Iraq is to restore the death penalty after the return
of sovereignty later this m, in a measure which could affect ousted
Pres Saddam Hussein.
Justice Min Malik Dohan al-Hassan today said: "The death penalty is
suspended in Iraq, but with the return of sovereignty, nothing obliges
us to maintain this suspension.
"We want to re-institute it for very specific cases."
The death penalty was suspended in Iraq by then US Central Command
chief Gen Tommy Franks in Apr last y, as the US-led coalition
invaded the country and toppled Saddam's regime.
On June 12 last y, the coalition adopted the 1969 Iraqi criminal
legislation, but maintained its ban on the death penalty.
"Under Saddam Hussein, there were some 120 crimes punishable by death,
but we are going to narrow it down to those who, for instance, were
responsible for mass graves or plundering the country's oil wealth,"
the minister said.
In 2002, the 214 executions carried out in Iraq put the country in
third place behind China and Iran in the grisly ranking of states
where the death penalty is applied, according to campaign group Hands
off Cain.
The justice minister, less than a wk after his appointment, was
adamant that Saddam deserved no less than the firing squad.
"Some people ask me if Saddam Hussein can escape a death sentence.
For me, his case is very simple. He was the head of the armed forces
and he deserted.
"According to his own laws, his crime is already punishable by death,"
he said.
The US adviser to the Iraqi justice ministry forwarded a request from
the coalition for the death penalty to be abolished, but Mr Hassan
said he rejected it.
"I told him the social situation and the cultural level were not the
same in Iraq and his country," he stressed.
"A sentence should contain a deterrent element. The harshness of a
sentence and its deterrent element should be decided on the basis of
local social values.
"If you condemn a criminal in Iraq to 10 y in prison, it won't prevent
him from doing it again."
Mr Hassan cited a case in which Saddam slapped the death sentence on
Iraqis who had been found guilty of a string of car thefts. "The
phenomenon stopped immediately," he said.
His fellow minister in charge of finance, Adel Abdel Mahdi, concurred.
"In the present circumstances, we cannot but reinstate the death
penalty. We have already discussed the issue in the Governing Council
and the majority was favourable to the death penalty," he said.
When Saddam was captured last Dec, the UN and the European Union
voiced their opp'n to the idea of restoring the death penalty, but Mr
Hassan remained unimpressed.
"There are still many countries like the US that resort to the death
penalty. Why shouldn't Iraq have the right to do it?" he asked.
UN Sec Council debates revised Iraq resolution
NY (AFP/Reuters). Ambassadors to the UN Sec Council have been
debating a revised resolution on Iraq drafted by the US and Brit. The
resolution seeks internat'l support for the return of Iraq's
sovereignty after the hand-over of power to an interim govt in 3
wk. The US says it is aiming to get a vote on the resolution no
later than Wed. Diplomats say a consensus is emerging even though
France has is seeking to amend the draft. That amendment would give
the interim govt a virtual veto over US-led military operations unless
it agrees with them.
Sharon faces moment of truth on Gaza plan
Moment of truth for Israeli PM Ariel Sharon.
Jerusalem (BBC/AFP). The Israeli Cabinet is meeting to debate the
controversial plans put forward by Prime Min Ariel Sharon for a
unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the W Bank.
Mr Sharon is determined to get the plan approved by the Cabinet, even
though it has been rejected by his Likud Party.
Mr Sharon's bitterly divided Cabinet is expected to vote on the
disengagement plan later in the day.
Having failed to win a majority, the PM manufactured one by firing 2
ministers on Fri.
In a bizarre twist one of them, Benny Elon, went into hiding to avoid
receiving the letter of dismissal which takes affect after 48 hr.
He has turned up for the Cabinet meeting, but the A-G has ruled he
cannot vote.
Another potential spanner was thrown into the works with the Supreme
Court recommending Mr Sharon delay the vote after a legal challenge
over the sacking of the ministers.
However, the court later authorised the vote to go ahead as scheduled.
If the vote goes Mr Sharon's way as expected, Israel will evacuate all
21 Jewish settlements in Gaza as well as 4 in the N West Bank by the
end of next y.
Sharon compromises on Gaza pullout
Ariel Sharon ... compromise reached on pullout plan.
Jerusalem (ABC, Jane Hutcheon and Reuters). The Israeli Cabinet has
approved a compromise plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip but there
is to be no formal announcement on evacuations of Jewish settlements
until next y.
The long-awaited Cabinet vote only came after PM Ariel Sharon fired 2
ministers late last wk in his attempt to pass the Gaza withdrawal plan.
Despite this, the watered-down proposal does not include any details
about the evacuation of settlements and by what date.
This gives plenty of time for the plan's detractors to further delay
any action.
After the vote, Mr Sharon said in a speech that Israel intends to
withdraw its soldiers and settlers from the Gaza Strip by the end of
next y.
Under the compromise between Mr Sharon and hard line ministers, the
Cabinet gave in-principle support to his strategy to disengage from
Palestinian conflict but put off dismantling any Jewish settlements
until further votes are held.
Political sources say ministers voted 14-7 for a proposal envisaging
the removal of all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and 4 of 120 in
the W Bank.
The pullout would be completed in 4 stages by the end of next y.
* Permanent hold
The "revised disengagement plan" also declares Israel's intention to
keep a permanent hold on occupied W Bank land where the bulk of its
240,000 settlers live.
If the plan is put in motion, it would mark the 1st time Israel has
removed settlements built in either the W Bank or Gaza Strip, lands
seized in the 1967 Middle E war.
"Most of the people of Israel understand the tremendous significance
of the plan," Mr Sharon told a US Jewish youth group.
"It is a decision that is good for Israel's political standing,
economy and the demography of the Jewish people in the land of Israel."
A preface to the approved document stipulates that the vote is not a
green light to begin the removal of settlements, a concession that
helped Mr Sharon win support from 3 dissident ministers of his Likud Party.
Likud members rejected Mr Sharon's proposal in a May 2 referendum,
touching off a political crisis that threatened to fracture his
coalition and led him to fire 2 Cabinet ministers on Fri.
In one of the biggest changes from his original plan, Mr Sharon has
agreed that implementation of each of the 4 withdrawals will be put to
a Cabinet vote, suggesting hard line ministers could still abort the
process later on.
* 'Circumstances'
"Circumstances at the time," the revised plan said, will determine
"whether to evacuate settlements, and if so, which ones and at what pace".
Meanwhile, "preparatory work" will begin on settlement evacuation, an
apparent reference to finding new homes for the 7,500 Israelis who
live in hard-to-defend enclaves in Gaza, which has a Palestinian
population of 1.3 mn.
Political sources say Mr Sharon promised the Cabinet no settlements
would be removed before March next y.
Mr Sharon has staked his credibility on pushing through the plan,
which he has also pledged to put before Parliament.
US Pres George W Bush has endorsed Mr Sharon's proposal.
Palestinians say they welcome any withdrawal from land they seek for a
state but they suspect Mr Sharon's plan is a ruse to trade impoverished
Gaza for large parts of the W Bank.
Wheelchair-bound Palestinian killed during demo
Kalandiya camp (Reuters). Israeli soldiers have shot dead a man in a
wheelchair during a demo, according to medics and witnesses in the W
Bank. They say the man, Arafat Yakoub, 31, had been shot twice before
in confrontations with troops. Medics say Mr Yakoub was shot in the
head when troops opened fire on stone-throwing demonstrators nr a
checkpoint at Kalandiya refugee camp, N of Jerusalem. An Israeli
military source says the troops opened fire on several Palestinians
suspected of trying to infiltrate an Israeli industrial zone nr the
camp. The source said the Army was investigating the incident.
Kalandiya residents say Mr Yakoub was paralysed when soldiers shot him
in a 1989 confrontation. He was wounded again in a 2002 incident.
US labels Israeli pullout vote "courageous"
Washington (BBC). The US has described as "courageous and historic" a
decision by Israel's Cabinet to take a cautious step forward in the
Prime Min's controversial plan for a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
The decision has resulted in Israel's For Min planning a quick trip to
Cairo to explain its full intent to the Egyptian Govt.
But a complete Gaza withdrawal is still a long way from reality.
Mins voted 14-7 to approve the plan in-principle.
It envisages the removal of 25 Jewish settlements in the occupied Gaza
Strip and W Bank.
Prime Min Ariel Sharon said Israel had taken a crucial step for the future.
He said by the end of 2005 there would be no Jewish presence left in Gaza.
If carried out, the plan would mark the 1st time Israel has removed
settlements in Gaza and the W Bank since it seized the territories in 1967.
But there is no guarantee it will happen.
The vote is not a green light to begin dismantling settlements. That
decision has been delayed until next y and it will depend on the
circumstances at the time.
Flint resigns as ABA chairman
Canberra (AAP). Prof David Flint has resigned as chairman of the
Aussie Broadcasting Authority (ABA). But Professor Flint has denied
that he was hounded from office, saying the decision to go was his and
his alone. He says he believes it's in the public interest to resign,
with the imminent introduction of legislation to merge the ABA and the
Aussie Communication Authority. Professor Flint says he wants the
merger to progress seamlessly with a minimum of controversy.
Embattled broadcast watchdog chief resigns
Prof David Flint has announced his resignation.
Canberra. Head of the Aussie Broadcasting Authority (ABA) David Flint
has resigned from the position only 4 m before the end of his term.
Prof Flint says his decision to stand down is because of the upcoming merger
between the Aussie Broadcast Authority and the Communications Authority.
He also admits his resignation is in the public interest.
His term as ABA chairman has been plagued by controversy.
Recently it was revealed Professor Flint had written fan mail to
broadcaster Alan Jones and not disclosed it during the cash for
comment inquiry.
The Fed Opp'n has also previously accused Professor Flint of political
bias because of his membership in the Liberal party.
David Flint today insisted he had never exhibited any actual bias.
Prof Flint says he has not been forced out of the job by recent controversies.
"I don't think my position has become untenable and the board has indicated
to me that they could continue to work effectively with me but I think
there is a public interest in my vacating the office rather than
waiting for what would be a matter of a few further weeks," he said.
His resignation is effective at the end of this wk.
Fed Opp'n communications rep Lindsay Tanner has welcomed Prof Flint's
resignation.
"The ABA has effectively been crippled in recent times, virtually unable
to do its job properly, it's been brought into disrepute and it's to
Professor Flint's credit that he has finally got the message," he said.
It's a laneway to the top for AC/DC
Laneway to hell? AC/DC may have a MEL lane named after them.
Melbourne. Rock guru Molly Meldrum says it would be appropriate to
name a MEL laneway after Aussie rock group AC/DC. The MEL City
Council is considering renaming Corporation Lane to AC/DC. The alley
off Flinders Lane is close to Swanston Street where the band made its
famous It's a Long Way to the Top film clip in 1975. Meldrum says the
film clip was made for the ABC's Countdown program, which he hosted.
"All the ABC cameramen and staff from Ripponlea, we decided to do a
film clip of AC/DC doing It's a Long Way to the Top in Swanston Street
with a tram," he said. "That probably, over the whole history, is one
of the most famous videos in rock and roll."
ACCC moves to stop Adel Brighton takeover
Adelaide. The Aussie Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has
launched legal action to try to stop Boral's takeover plans for cement
maker Adel Brighton. The ACCC has opposed Boral's bid, but the
company indicated it would push ahead with its plan. The regulator
wants the Fed Court to stop the building products maker from taking
any steps to acquire or exercise substantial influence or control over
Adel Brighton. The ACCC says the takeover would substantially lessen
competition in the market.
Newspaper job ads fall for 2nd month
Canberra. The number of job vacancies advertised in AUS's
metropolitan newspapers has dropped for the 2nd consecutive month.
The latest job ads survey compiled by the ANZ shows there was a 2.8%
fall in positions vacant advertised in May. But the number
of Internet job ads climbed by almost 5%, pushing up the total number
of vacancies posted online and in newspapers by almost 3.5%. ANZ snr
economist Melanie Hay says the strength of Internet job ads indicates
any fall in employment creation will be modest. "All in all I think
it points to a moderation in employment growth," she said.
"Employment growth's more likely to increase by around 20,000 per
month in the next few m as opposed to gains of around 40,000 on
average over the last 3 m."
Call for inland roads not to be forgotten
Canberra. Livestock transporters have welcomed the release of the Fed
Govt's AusLink transport plan but are keen to ensure some funding is
retained for smaller regional highways. The Deputy Prime Min has
announced the Govt will spend $11.8 bn over the next 5 y to improve
road, rail and port access around the country. Funding has been
allocated to upgrade the Hume and Pacific Highways on the E coast, and
put in a major highway between Perth and Bunbury in the west. But
Robert Gunning from the Aussie Livestock Transporters Association says
it is important to keep inland roads up to scratch too. "There can't
be enough emphasis on those sorts of issues...if we forget that a
journey for a livestock transporter and for many people, typically
starts at a farm and wanders along through a succession of locals
roads and state roads and it may only be at the end of the journey
that you get onto a nat'l highway," he said.
2 children die in house fire
NSW authorities say 2 children have died in a house fire at Matraville
in SYD's east.
Sydney. Police say a woman and her 3 children were rescued from a
terrace home earlier today. But police say a 2-yo boy and a 4-yo
girl have died. A Prince of Wales Hospital rep said the woman and the
surviving child are in a critical condition. Emergency crews say the
2-storey terrace home in Matraville was well alight when they
arrived about 4.00 am. Investigators are sifting through the
debris at the scene to try to determine the cause of the blaze. The
NSW Fire Brigade Commissioner Greg Mullins says the fire was intense.
"Every plastic fitting, even the light fittings have melted so it was
extreme heat, terrible conditions for the people who were trapped in
there," he said. Commissioner Mullins says the front door was
dead-locked which stopped the family from escaping.
Stolen Generations case may go before UN
Canberra. Legal avenues are being explored to take the case of the
Stolen Generations to the UN Human Rights Commission. Barrister
Michael Shaeffer, who represented Peter Gunner and Lorna Cubillo in
the failed Fed Court case against the Govt, says not all legal avenues
have been exhausted. Mr Shaeffer made the statement during the
gathering of more than 200 people at the N Territory's Phillip Creek,
renamed Kumunjayi Creek, 40 km N of Tennant Creek. It is the site
where 16 part-Aboriginal children, including Lorna Cubillo, were
forcibly removed from their families in 1946 and taken to the Retta
Dixon home in Darwin.
Mixed results for Kennedy in ASIC court action
Sydney. The Fed Court has ruled that SYD businessman Trevor Kennedy
cannot claim legal professional privilege over a computer hard-drive
seized during investigations into the Offset Alpine affair. But he
can still claim privilege for some individual documents on the
computer. The Aussie Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
raided Mr Kennedy's SYD offices in Nov of last y and made a copy of
the hard drive of the computer used by his personal assistant, as part
of investigations into the Offset Alpine printing company. Last m
Justice Catherine Branson in the Fed Court ruled that the search by
ASIC was legal and today she decided that Mr Kennedy could not claim
privilege for the entire hard drive. Legal representatives for ASIC
and Mr Kennedy are now going through the individual documents on the
hard drive to try and determine which should be protected under legal
privilege. The matter will return to court next wk.
Navy ships to join Pacific exercise
Sydney. 3 Aussie Navy ships will sail out of SYD today to participate
in a multi-nat'l naval exercise. HMAS Newcastle, Success and
Parramatta will head to Hawaii, where the region's largest internat'l
maritime exercise, Rim of the Pacific, is being held next m. The
exercise brings together naval forces from 8 countries including
Canada, Japan, Chile and the UK.
Doctors trial diabetes vaccine
Melbourne (ABC, Sophie Scott). Aussie doctors are close to perfecting
a vaccine which could prevent children from developing type one diabetes.
Children with a close relative with diabetes are being given insulin
which they inhale to stop themselves developing the illness.
Even though she is not a diabetic, 14-yo Heather Aitken takes a
regular dose of insulin.
Her mother has type one or insulin dependent diabetes.
And tests on Heather have shown the 1st signs of the disease in her
blood, putting her at high risk.
"I wanted to take part in this trial to have a bigger chance of not
getting diabetes," Heather said.
But instead of injecting the substance, doctors at MEL's Walter and
Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) are giving children such as Heather
inhaled insulin.
Initial trials have shown that inhaling the substance is even more
powerful than injections in stopping the body's attack on itself,
which leads to diabetes.
"The people we have given the insulin to have demonstrated both immune
and metabolic responses that indicate this treatment might be
working," Prof Len Harrison, from WEHI said.
"It feels a little bit ticklish. Its a lot better than the thought of
having to have needles," Heather said.
Doctors say the insulin works like a vaccine, boosting the patient's
immunity for several years.
"We are very hopeful. The initial results are very, very promising and
the next trial is going to take us forward and gets us the definitive
answer," Associate Professor Peter Colman, from the Royal MEL
Hospital, said.
More than 100,000 Aussies suffer from type one diabetes, and the
incidence of the disease is increasing.
Doctors are hopeful this approach will work not only for diabetes but
a range of other diseases.
"If we can prevent type one diabetes by this approach, which is a
relatively safe form of vaccination, then it will be a model for other
auto immune diseases, like multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis,"
Prof Harrison said.
One hundred patients will receive the treatment for one year, doctors
will follow their progress for a further 5 y.
MEL team to trial melanoma vaccine
Melbourne. A MEL medical team has been awarded a grant to head up an
internat'l cancer trial. The 'Joint Austin Health Ludwig Institute'
will receive $870,000 from a leading US cancer charity to conduct
phase 2 of vaccine trials to treat melanoma. The institute's
Associate Professor Jonathan Cebon says the treatment works by
targeting a molecule on cancer cells known as NY-ESO-1. "We've got
results that do excite us about how this vaccine affects the immune
system," he said. "So the next step is to say okay, this is acting on
the immune system, now what does that do to patients who have got
cancer such as malignant melanoma. "Does that activation of the
immune system against this target NY-ESO-1 result in the cancer
shrinking or perhaps disappearing?"
Aust pushes for expanded marine protection
AUS is leading a push to expand the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Hobart. Hobart-based Nat'l Oceans Office director Max Kitchell will
head a delegation to the UN today in an effort to convince 60
countries of the need to protect marine bio-diversity. Mr Kitchell
says scientists are concerned about the impact of illegal fishing on
valuable marine resources in internat'l waters. He says AUS will be
arguing for marine protected areas. "Preventing illegal fishing --
that's an issue of compliance which has to be addressed," he said.
"There are issues around sea mounts, underwater mountains essentially,
coldwater corals, hydrothermal vents, unique features for which there
are propositions at the moment that there should be a moratorium on
trawling over those areas."
ALP members aim to block any Garrett move
Sydney. Members of the Labor Party say they will attempt to stop any
move to have environmentalist Peter Garrett installed as the party's
candidate for the SYD seat of Kingsford Smith at the fed election.
The incumbent MP, Labor stalwart Laurie Brereton, has announced he
will leave politics at the next election.
State Labor Party figures say Mr Garrett is one of the people they are
considering for the position.
Mr Garrett has not commented on the speculation but a rep says the
former Midnight Oil front-man is "considering his options".
Maroubra branch member Johnno Johnson says members want local
candidates rather than someone from outside the electorate.
"All of the local candidates are party members," Mr Johnson said.
"They have local involvement. We don't want our party as a political
spittoon where people can just spit us out."
Maroubra branch president Pat Bastick said: "We want people like our
own, the ones that we'll select. And there'll be a big field in it and
there are some terrific young candidates."
The local ALP executive in the electorate last night passed a
resolution demanding a rank-and-file ballot on the seat's pre-selection.
It also passed a resolution asking Labor's head office not to nominate
its preferred candidate.
The general secretary of the NSW ALP, Eric Roozendaal, will meet party
officers today to discuss pre-selection plans for the seat.
Fed Labor leader Mark Latham has said Mr Garrett would be welcome in
the ALP's election team.
ALP no place for Garrett, says Greens leader
Power and the Passion? Labor has offered Peter Garrett a safe seat in SYD.
Sydney. The leader of the Aussie Greens, Bob Brown, says it's
incongruous that Peter Garrett would consider standing for the Labor
Party in the next fed election.
Labor leader Mark Latham says the rock singer and conservationist has
been offered the fed seat of Kingsford Smith in SYD's E suburbs, following
Laurie Brereton's weekend announcement that he is quitting politics.
The Greens have spent y pursuing Mr Garrett to stand for the party.
Sen Brown says the Labor Party is no place for a passionate environmentalist.
"I think that at the start it's pretty difficult to see Peter standing
for the party that sent the chain-saws into Tas's forests in record
numbers," he said.
"Peter has been very critical, in fact he thinks the Labor Party along
with the Liberals should be ashamed of their policies of cutting down
Tas's forests and the 1080 poisoning.
"Major parties tend to eat up people who come in from outside. You've
got the example of Cheryl Kernot there, without the impact being made.
"I mean they invite you to come in and then eat you up and spit you out
and I think that, well I know that that's why many people join the Greens."
* Brawl
Local party branch members in Kingsford Smith are demanding a local
member be endorsed for the safe Labor seat.
Mr Garrett has not commented on the speculation but a rep says he is
"considering his options".
Local ALP stalwart Johnno Johnson says members want local candidates
rather than someone from outside the electorate.
"All of the local candidates are party members," Mr Johnson said.
"They have local involvement. We don't want our party as a political
spittoon where people can just spit us out."
The NSW Labor Party executive is meeting later today to discuss the
option of using a special rule to nominate Mr Garrett as the preferred
candidate, avoiding a rank-and-file ballot.
Maroubra branch president Pat Bastick said: "We want people like our
own, the ones that we'll select. And there'll be a big field in it and
there are some terrific young candidates."
The local branch executive of the ALP passed a resolution last night
demanding a rank-and-file ballot on the seat's pre-selection.
It also passed a resolution asking Labor's head office not to nominate
its preferred candidate.
* Unions
The union movement says the ALP will face a big backlash if Mr Garrett
is installed as the party's candidate.
Michael O'Connor from the forestry division of the Construction,
Forestry, Mining and Energy Union warns there will be a massive
backlash from workers.
"They'd be horrified that the Labor Party would give somebody who is a
celebrity an arm chair ride," he said.
Mr O'Connor says the Labor Party should have learnt from the debacle
of drafting high profile candidates like Cheryl Kernot that the ALP
needs people who know the party and the labour movement.
Govt pumps $12 bn into roads, rail
The Govt is funding a nationwide road and rail upgrade.
Canberra. Fed Transport Min John Anderson says every state and
territory will benefit from major road projects announced today.
The $11.8 bn AusLink transport plan includes upgrading the Pacific and
Hume highways to create a 4-lane road between MEL, SYD and Bris.
Mr Anderson says a radical redesign of the nation's land transport
network is required to better coordinate roads and railways.
Mr Anderson says the funding is a wise investment of taxpayers' money
in quality infrastructure and will produce "the 1st properly
integrated transport network since Federation".
There is also funding for Vic's Geelong ring road, Calder Highway and
the planned Deer Park bypass, while Qld's Ipswich Motorway will be upgraded.
Mr Anderson says a key objective is to improve the existing highways
between capital cities.
"It's time we got serious about linking our major cities across the
nation with dual carriageway all the way," he said.
"The Hume and the Pacific we hope to have up to dual carriageway
status now all the way, the whole way, by about 2015-2016."
A dual carriageway will also be built between Perth and Bunbury.
* Rail, freight links
Mr Anderson says the Govt will spend $1.8 bn upgrading rail networks,
including freight links to the nation's ports.
"If we don't upgrade rail, the way the number of trucks are increasing
on our highways, we'll only build new traffic snarls as we spend
taxpayers' money improving the roads," he said. "We've got to do both."
The plan sets aside $870 mn to upgrade NSW's interstate railway network.
"The amount of freight carried around AUS is forecast to double by
2020 and interstate road freight is forecast to triple," Mr Anderson
said in a statement.
"Traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions will increase
dramatically unless we take action now.
"The existing framework for planning and funding AUS's land transport
infrastructure will simply not be able to cope."
The Shadow Min for Transport and Infrastructure, Martin Ferguson, says
today's announcement is just an election stunt.
"What has occurred today is that the Commonwealth has sought to
parachute in to each state and territory announcements that suit its
electoral prospects," Mr Ferguson said.
"There has been no genuine endeavour to sit down and negotiate with
the state and territory govts, to reach understandings about who has a
responsibility for which project, with a guarantee that the projects
will be completed with full commitment of financial resources."
But Ross Turnbull from the NRMA has welcomed the plan.
"We're delighted that they plan to have the Pacific Highway completed
by 2016 and the Hume Highway completed by 2012," he said.
"That means this incredible situation -- it's incomprehensible that
there is not a divided highway between Bris, SYD, CBR and MEL -- there
is a plan now is place to do that and we think that's fantastic."
Latham joins "Play School" criticism
Mark Latham has agreed with Govt criticism of a Play School segment.
Canberra. Fed Opp'n leader Mark Latham has joined the Govt in
criticising the ABC's Play School program for broadcasting a segment
portraying lesbian parents.
The popular children's show aired the story of a girl going to a fun
park with her 2 mothers.
PM John Howard has accused the ABC of running a "politically correct
agenda" and other snr govt ministers have strongly criticised the program.
The ABC says the passing reference to a child with 2 mums was in
keeping with the program's philosophy to show the diversity of family
types in AUS.
Speaking on Channel Nine, Mr Latham says parents, rather than the ABC,
should educate their children on such matters.
"I've actually got a child who watches Play School and I'm happy for him
over the y to be exposed to the many aspects of our diverse society," he said.
"But I'd rather make that choice as a parent and leading down that
path according to our own values and decisions within the home rather
than it coming through TV."
Super safe, fund chief vows
Aussie Fed Police are investigating an attempted $150 mn super fraud.
Canberra. Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme (CSS) chief executive
Steve Gibbs has reassured members about their funds after an attempted
fraud of $150 mn. Aussie Fed Police have been investigating the
attempted theft which happened on Christmas Eve last y. The fraud was
thwarted after JP Morgan, custodian for half of the CSS fund, received
a fax authorising the transfer of large sums from overseas accounts.
Mr Gibbs says most of the money has been recovered and members are not
affected. "Obviously we were concerned when we 1st learned about it
but as it turned out we haven't lost any money," he said. "Not one
member of our scheme has lost one cent and so we think people should
take comfort from the fact it was detected and none of our members
have lost money."
Capsicum spray scare prompts casino evacuation
Perth. Police believe capsicum spray may have been used to create a
security scare at Perth's Burswood Casino late yesterday.
Police say a security video shows 3 youths entering the casino and
discharging a spray nr gaming tables around 5.30 pm AWST yesterday.
The alarm was raised when one woman was taken to hospital coughing up
blood and others complained of sore eyes, throats and respiratory problems.
The incident triggered the evacuation of 2,000 people from the casino.
Police initially feared the air-conditioning system may have been
contaminated with poisonous gas but this was later ruled out after
tests by the Fire and Emergency Services Authority.
Superintendent Russel Williams says people were moved immediately out
of the casino.
"Precautionary action was taken to evacuate the casino and some 2,000
patrons into the car park," he said.
"Subsequently Fire and Emergency Services conducted tests on both the
air-conditioning and the atmosphere and declared it safe and people
were allowed to return."
Police say the alleged offenders were identified on security video and
are expected to be apprehended and questioned this morning.
Lees's compensation bid to take time
Darwin. A victim compensation application lodged by the girlfriend of
missing Brit backpacker Peter Falconio is yet to be resolved. Joanne
Lees was allegedly assaulted on a remote N Territory highway almost 3
y ago. Bradley John Murdoch is facing charges for her assault and the
murder of her boyfriend Mr Falconio. In Aug 2002, Ms Lees lodged 2
separate claims for compensation. One was for grief and the other for
mental distress. Ms Lees could receive up to $25,000 in compensation
and legal fees. A Justice Dept rep says there has not been a published
decision or judgement about the claim. He says it is unlikely the
application will be finalised until the end of criminal proceedings.
Media escapes contempt charges in Falconio case
Darwin. The NT Supreme Court says it will not charge media
organisations with contempt of court for allegedly filming into the
building during the hearing of the man accused of murdering Brit
backpacker Peter Falconio. Bradley John Murdoch is charged with the
murder of Mr Falconio and the unlawful assault of Joanne Lees. In a
letter to all media that covered Mr Murdoch's committal proceedings
the Supreme Court's support services said they were simply reminding
the media of the rules. But it said if similar events occurred in the
future more serious action would be taken. It is alleged a couple of
media organisations filmed the key witness Joanne Lees through the
grill on the side of the basement car park, in addition to filming
witnesses on the balcony of the Supreme Court building. The letter
said such actions reflect badly on the media. At the start of
committal proceedings, the media was advised not to film in or into
the court building.
Astronomers prepare for rare transit of Venus
Darwin. Astronomers believe Darwin and Perth will be the best places
in AUS to watch tomorrow as the planet Venus passes in front of the
sun, an event that only happens twice every 243 y.
Charles Darwin University astronomy tutor Geoff Carr says Venus will
begin its 6-hr pass in front of the sun at 2.38 pm ACST tomorrow.
Mr Carr says people cannot look at the event with the naked eye but
says it may be safe at sunset.
"As the sun touches the horizon, or it's about one diameter off, you
can look at it safely and you should be able to see Venus as it sets,"
Mr Carr said.
However, the College of Ophthalmologists warns that devices such as
sunglasses, welder's masks or darkened mirrors will not protect those
wanting to watch Venus's transit from damaging their retinas.
College president Peter Henderson says people who are interested in
the event should watch it on an Internet webcast.
"People should think of it like a laser burn," he said. "We just don't
look at lasers and we don't look at the sun for the same reason.
"You just have to look normally -- what happens is you only glance at
the sun.
"The problem is that when there's something happening across the sun,
you tend to try and look there a little bit longer and that's what
does the damage."
Dr Henderson says the dangers from looking at the sun, even while
using protection, are well documented.
"People who are stoned and drug-affected, sitting watching the sun,
gazing at the sun, they get a burn at what we call the macular, which
affects the central vision," he said.
"That can be mild to very severe [and] you can actually blind yourself
so that you are legally blind, by looking at the sun.
"With modern technology we've just got a great advantage to be able to
see the great detail which is available by webcams -- people should be
watching it through that."
Mr Carr says he is anxious for good weather for tomorrow's transit and
recent rain has kept him on tenterhooks.
"I've been watching the weather more intently over the past wk than I
have in my life," he said. "I'm really hoping we get a break in the
clouds in the afternoon just to glimpse it.
"A perfectly clear day would be ideal but I really want to see what
the black drop effect looks like from Darwin."
{{
Midnight.
Marwan Barghouti has been sentenced to life in prison for his part in
5 murders. Barghouti is the head of the Fatah movement in the W Bank.
He rec'd 40 y for attempted murder and membership of a terror organisation.
Sharon's Cabinet is still debating the Israeli PM's revised Gaza
pull-out plan. After sacking 2 hard-line Mins it's believed Sharon
could win the vote. But there's a last-min hitch. A supreme court
judge has asked for the vote to be delayed while he considers a
challenge to 2 Cabinet dismissals. [Laster, he said there was nothing
in the case to prevent decision and the vote could go ahead].
Gorbachev has praised Reagan for making possible the dialogue that
ended the Cold War. Across the US, flags have been lowered to
1/2-mast.
A renegade Gen has left a DRC town he'd captured earlier, saying
his mission had been accomplished. The UN in carefully monitoring the
withdrawal.
6 am
The AUS Fed Govt is to announce a new spending program on roads and
rail. The package is worth $11.8 bn over 5 y. It aims to develop an
integrated road and rail network, with upgrades in every state of AUS.
The centrepiece is a 4-lane highway from Bris to MEL. It will later
be extended to Geelong and Adel. Auto groups say over the same period
motorists will pay $15 bn in GST.
8 am
BBC says one of its reporters has been shot dead in Riyadh. Another
journalist was injured in the same incident.
The AUD is trading around 69.83 US c. Gold is down $3.20 to
$US391.70/oz. Oil is down $1.39 across the wk to $US38.49/bbl.
Vietnam's state-owned oil company has plunged into a crisis after
execs falsified a $15 mn contract. 4 employees were arrested in
connection with fraud. The company has been mired since 2 execs were
arrested last y on corruption charges.
The FM's of India and Pak have agreed to bury the hatchet. The dialog
process will be carried froward, they say. Congress has pledged to
continue peace talks initiated by the prev admin. The 2 countries
have fought 3 wars over Kashmir.
The UN says Afghan elections are facing a funding shortfall. Despite
pledges of $10s of mns from the internat'l community, no money has
been rec'd. There's a $30 mn shortfall. The internat'l community has
given $95 mn for a voter registration program that started in Dec.
9.45 am
The US wants a vote Tue for the new Iraq Res. France wants an explicit
clause on the power of the Iraqi interim govt over military forces in
the country.
There's a resurgence of attacks in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq.
Scores have been killed in recent days. US cmdrs admit there's an
increase in the attacks. Fighters loyal to al-Sadr blew up police stn
in the W subs of Baghdad today. It was a massive explosion. US
soldiers had fortified the building, but that had angered militias.
It was in the heart of their territory in Sadr city. US soldiers had
just left when militias moved in and blew the building up. There's
been a semi-official PM of the fighting in Najaff. Iraqi police say
as many as 1,000 al-Sadr fighters have been killed in the past 2 m.
ID papers on some of the dead in Najaff showed they came from Syria,
Iran and Afghanistan.
Midday.
The PM, John Howard, is in Normandy for the D-Day celebrations where
tens of 1000s of veterans have gathered to commemorate the allied
victory against Nazi Germany during World War II.
France has awarded 8 Aussies its highest military honour at ceremonies
marking the 60th anniversary of D-Day in CBR and Paris.
A D-Day veteran has told how you could have walked from France to Brit
over the ships steaming across the English Channel when he was flying
with the Air Force the night before the invasion of Normandy.
3 Aussie Navy ships will sail out of SYD today to participate in a
multi-nat'l naval exercise.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has vowed that Germany bears the
responsibility to ensure history does not repeat itself and thanked
the Allies for ending the Nazi dictatorship and assisting his
country's more recent reunification.
Fed Opp'n leader Mark Latham says environmentalist and former rock
singer Peter Garrett would be a welcome addition to the Labor Party
and an effective parliamentarian in CBR.
PM John Howard has accused the ABC of running a politically correct
agenda by allowing the children's television program Play School to
introduce the issue of lesbian parents.
The ABC has been criticised for allowing Play School to broadcast a
children's story allegedly involving a same sex couple.
US Pres George W Bush has paid tribute to former president Ronald
Reagan, as a courageous leader who served the cause of freedom.
World leaders have paid a powerful tribute to the Allied forces who
stormed the Normandy beaches in the D-day landings 60 y ago to
liberate Europe from Nazi occupation.
9.30 pm
S Korea says the US has indicated it will withdraw about 1/3 of the
force it has stationed on the peninsula since the 1950s. About 3,000
US soldiers will be re-deployed to Iraq.
}}
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