From the World-Wide Resourses of the Western Australia
Reserch Senter(*)
OIL THE NEWS THAT FITS MY VIEWS #218
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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: [11,132 as at 05 Jul 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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They wired him up, and kept zapping him... Tell the truth Mamdouh,
tell us the truth... Then they ramped up the voltage...
-- lawyer Stephen Hopper, 11 Jul 2004.
Suspect interrogation. The Aussie govt has admitted it knew an
Aussie Guatmo detainee was handed over to Egyptian interrogators
after being sold to the US military in Pakistan. He was an
Egyptian, after all, says FM Downer. Habib has stopped writing his wife
and family, believing they're dead and it's a trick of the US military.
For God's sake, vote them out... and never vote them in again.
-- Julian Burnside QC, 11 Jul 2004.
Several 100 protesters were told the Howard govt appears to want
Aussie Guatmo detainees to die, rather than testify about its
complicity in human rights abuses.
We would not have authorised that war [...] if we knew what we know now.
-- Sen Jay Rockefeller, Dem Vice Chair Senate Intel Committee, 09 Jul 2004.
An investigation into whether the Whitehouse was involved in distorting
intel assessments has been postponed until after the Nov elections.
I would have done it again... because he's [Saddam] is a dangerous person.
-- Pres George Bush Jr, 09 Jul 2004.
Pres Bush has stopped claiming WMD will be found any minute in Iraq.
I don't necessarily agree with everything some American Senator
says... I'm an Australian... I'm entitled to put an Australian view...
-- Aussie FM Alex Downer, 10 Jul 2004.
Wait for it... wait for it...
In the end, the right decision was made to overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime.
-- Aussie FM Alex Downer, 10 Jul 2004.
I only know what I'm told.
Of all the mistakes a govt can make, the worst is taking a country to
war, based on an untruth.
-- Mark Latham, 11 Jul 2004.
Let's learn from these errors, and make sure they don't happen again...
-- Mark Latham, 11 Jul 2004.
When Malcolm Fraser agrees with Paul Keating, you know something's
going on.
-- Aussie Opp'n leader Mark Latham, 09 Jul 2004.
While the Howard govt has condoned AUS foreign policy directions
set by the Bush Whitehouse, a bevvy of other politicians have
called on the US to clear orf.
As to whether there will be any training stocks [...] that's to be
determined as well. [...] The US will determine what it needs...
-- Aussie Def Min Robert Hill, 07 Jul 2004.
How high? The AUS govt has finally revealed some details of the
US-AUS "military integration" that will meet America's C21 requirements.
Dick Cheney can be president.
-- Pres George Bush Jr, 07 Jul 2004.
Bush was asked how that sexy John Edwards stacked up against Dick Cheney.
----------------------------------------
Thu, 08 Jul 2004.
HEADLINES:
One killed in fire nr Olympic village
Hurricane kills 3, wounds 143 in E China province
Saddam's nephew arrested: Iraqi Min
Pentagon deputy's probes in Iraq weren't authorised, officials say
Paper raises questions about Iraq's WMD
More dead in Iraq violence
Islamic nations should consider sending troops to Iraq -- Malaysia
Iraq tightens security laws
Iraq passes emergency-powers law to fight insurgents
Iraq confident of debt write off
Filipino workers barred from going to Iraq
CIA analysts to blame for bad intel on Iraq -- GOP senator
"It is the military and intel and secret police that never
10 detainees in Brit ask court for freedom
4 Fatah-linked militants shot dead in Gaza clashes
Ariz wildfire gets close to observatory
CIA attacked for "gross exaggeration" of Saddam's WMD threat -- report
Canada will recount ballots in Alberta district won by Liberals
FBI delays interviews in fighting terror plot
Habib allegations described as hearsay
House votes to overturn Bush rules on Cuba
Iran wants internat'l trial for Saddam
Italy gets credit ratings downgrade
Lay indicted in Enron's collapse -- sources
Missing Marine alive and free, brother says
New bird flu cases part of old outbreak: animal health organisation
Oregon Diocese 1st to File Bankruptcy
Police DNA proposal criticised by civil libertarians
Police contradict claims over Madrid train blasts
Poll shows steep drop in Roh's popularity
President urges MND to study early discharges due to typhoon
Rhetoric from right alarms Israeli leaders
Shame on you, Min tells Bush and Blair
Storm experts converge next wk
UK students shot in Tanzania
US deserter makes 1st court appearance in Canada asylum plea
US forces "stretched" to breaking point
US response to insurgency called a failure
US should 'stand back' from Aust politics, NZ PM says
Yokota provides typhoon relief to island of Yap
Lay indicted in Enron's collapse -- sources
Houston (AP). Kenneth Lay, the former Enron Corp chief executive who
insisted he knew nothing about financial fraud at the energy trading
giant, has been indicted on criminal charges, sources told The AP on Wed.
The action caps a 3-y investigation that has already seen several
other executives charged and, in some cases, already sentenced to
prison for their roles in the company's scandalous collapse.
Lay was expected to surrender to fed authorities Thu, said the sources
who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The specific charges remained under seal. Prosecutors from the Justice
Dept's Enron Task Force presented an indictment to US Magistrate Judge
Mary Milloy in Houston on Wed, and at their request she sealed both
the indictment and an arrest warrant, the sources said.
A hearing before Milloy was scheduled for late Thu morning.
Lay's lawyer, Michael Ramsey, didn't immediately return a call for comment.
The Securities and Exchange Commission was expected to bring civil
fraud charges against Lay on Thu, including making false and
misleading statements and insider trading, a person familiar with the
case said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Prosecutors have aggressively pursued the one-time celebrity CEO and
friend and contributor to Pres Bush who led Enron's rise to No. 7 in
the Fortune 500 and resigned within wk of its stunning failure. Barring
last-minute delays, Lay is the 30th and highest-profile individual charged.
He will be the 2nd Enron CEO to be charged. Jeffrey Skilling, who
succeeded Lay and then stepped down abruptly in Aug 2001, shortly
before the scandal broke, was charged with nearly 3 dozen counts of
fraud and other crimes in Feb.
Waiting to testify for the prosecution is former finance chief Andrew
Fastow, who pleaded guilty to 2 conspiracy counts in Jan. Fastow
admitted to engineering partnerships and financial schemes to hide
Enron debt and inflate profits while pocketing mns for himself.
Enron's collapse led a series of corporate scandals that led to
Congress' passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2 y ago, a package of
sweeping reforms to securities law. Thousands of Enron's workers lost
their jobs, and the stock fell from a high of $90 in Aug 2000 to just
pennies, wiping out many workers' retirement savings.
The charges against Skilling and former top accountant Richard Causey
target actions over several y leading up to Enron's collapse, while
allegations against Lay were expected to focus on his actions after he
resumed the role of CEO upon Skilling's abrupt resignation in Aug
2001, the sources said.
Days after Skilling's resignation, Lay met privately with Sherron Watkins,
then an executive on Fastow's staff, who had sent him a lengthy memo
warning of impending doom from Fastow's myriad schemes to hide debt
and inflate profits.
But Lay told The NY Times last m that he didn't believe the company
had serious problems and trusted other snr managers -- including
Fastow and Causey -- when they reassured him that all was fine.
Skilling and Causey are awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy, fraud
and insider trading. Both pleaded innocent and are free on bond.
Italy gets credit ratings downgrade
NY (Reuters). Italy has become the 1st country in the euro zone to
have its credit ratings downgraded. The ratings agency Standard &
Poor's has reduced the country's rating to AA minus. Agency analysts
say Italian Govt deficits have risen significantly this y and are
expected to rise further next y if planned tax cuts are implemented.
President urges MND to study early discharges due to typhoon
Taipei (CNA). Pres Chen Shui-bian has instructed Min of Nat'l Defense
Lee Jye to study whether to grant military personnel early discharges
to help with reconstruction efforts in the wake of typhoon Mindulle,
an official from the Presid'l Office said Wed.
The official said that the president has asked Lee to find out
immediately if any military personnel currently serving have family
members who died or had their homes destroyed in the Jul 2 typhoon and
to study whether it is possible to grant them early discharges or
longer leave periods so that they can return to their homes to help
with reconstruction efforts.
Typhoon Mindulle wreaked havoc on Taiwan, bringing torrential rain and
causing many mud-slides. Central and S Taiwan were especially hard-hit.
The Central Disaster Prevention Center, using figures compiled from
local fire depts, as well as nat'l and local rescue centres, reported
that the death toll had risen to 25, with 11 still missing and 16
people injured.
The nat'l rescue centre said that between Jun 30 and Wed afternoon,
2,337 people had been rescued, while 5,513 people had been evacuated.
Meanwhile, a rep for the Ministry of Nat'l Defense (MND) said the
ministry has put all-out efforts into disaster relief work, working
around the clock.
The MND deployed an additional 100,000 military personnel and various
types of vehicles and planes Wed to support the disaster relief
efforts in central Taiwan, beginning with inspection and repair of
damaged roads and bridges.
The rep also said that the MND deployed 12,000 military personnel,
flew 70 sorties, made 277 vehicle journeys and made 137 heavy
machinery deployments Tue for reconstruction work in Taichung,
Hualien, Chiayi, Nantou, Miaoli, Changhwa, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Pingtung
and Yunlin counties.
UK students shot in Tanzania
London (SA). Bandits have shot and wounded 2 Brit teenagers in
Tanzania where they were on a diving expedition, the organisation in
charge of the trip said on Sun.
The pair, taking time out from their studies before beginning
university, were hit by a single bullet when their group was set upon
by 7 armed raiders at their camp on Pemba Island in the Indian Ocean
late on Fri, Frontier, which organised the expedition, said.
The bandits stripped the party of 20 Britons of their cash and
possessions, before making off with their boat and engine, a
spokesperson for the London-based organisation said.
The foreign office confirmed that 2 Brit nat'ls had been injured in an
incident and said consular staff were in contact with their families.
BBC online named one of the injured pair as Grace Forster, 18, from
Cambridgeshire, eastern England.
The other victim was believed to be an 18-yo male, the BBC said.
Frontier spokesperson William Hedley-Miller said the injured pair were
flown to hospital in Dar es Salaam but would not be drawn on their injuries.
The remaining Britons were being ferried to the Tanzanian capital, he added.
"Frontier has been operating in Tanzania continuously since 1989 and
this is the 1st such attack," Hedley-Miller said.
Yokota provides typhoon relief to island of Yap
Typhoon Sudal devastated the island Apr 10, destroying trees, homes
and shutting down the island's infrastructure. Crews from Yokota Air
Base, Japan, supported relief efforts to the island by delivering 31
passengers and 102.4 short tons of cargo out of Andersen AB, Guam.
Yokota Air Base, Japan (AFPN). The island of Yap in Micronesia was
devastated by Typhoon Sudal on Apr 10. The typhoon had wind speeds up
to 125 mph for 6 to 10 hr, knocking out the island's power,
communications and infrastructure.
2 C-130 Hercules aircraft, 4 aircrews and 6 crew chiefs returned here
Apr 16 after a 5-day humanitarian mission to the island.
Flying out of Andersen Air Base, Guam, they flew 11 missions and
delivered 31 passengers and 102.4 short tons of cargo supporting Fed
Emergency Management Agency relief efforts.
"I saw Yap back when we were air-dropping supplies to the Micronesian
islands," said 1st Lt Matthew Campbell, a 36th Airlift Squadron
navigator. "When we took the relief to Yap, you could see that most of
the trees had been torn down or stripped of their leaves, and any
building that didn't have a concrete foundation was destroyed. Almost
every roof on the island was also blown away by the typhoon."
One of the crews flew in 56,000 pounds of cargo including 4 industrial
generators to get the island's power running again.
"Since the typhoon knocked out all the power, the islanders had no way
to desalinate their water," said Capt. Jason Fodor, one of the 36th AS
aircraft cmdrs. "We took generators in the 1st day so the islanders
could get their water plant running again. Until we arrived, they were
taking water from the only river on the island and boiling it to have
something to drink."
Relief supplies included water, juice, baby food and other nonperishable
foods the islanders needed. Although they needed these supplies, the
islanders were willing to share what little they had with the aircraft crews.
"When we hit the ground, I was amazed by the local community. They
offered us water and food even though these were some of the supplies
that we were there to provide them," said Staff Sgt Jon Tomasik, a
374th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief. "With all the
hardships that they went through, the whole community was still smiling."
Hurricane kills 3, wounds 143 in E China province
Beijing (Xinhua). At least 3 people were killed and another 143 were
injured, including 6 seriously wounded, in an unexpected hurricane in
Xiaoxian County, E China's Anhui Province, early Tue.
According to local media report, around 2.24 am on Tue, a hurricane
along with lightening and ear-piercing thunder swept through Xiaoxian
in the N part of Anhui, causing great damages to the county.
Apart from the deaths and injured, the hurricane also uprooted 460,000
trees, toppled 18,000 houses, destroyed 16,667 ha of crops, and
injured 1,000 large livestock and 30,000 domestic fowls.
The disaster also destroyed facilities for power transmission and
telecommunications, causing an 8-hr power blackout in the whole
county, said an official with the Civil Affairs Bureau of Xiaoxian County.
In a related case, the office for disaster relief of the neighbouring
Dangshan County also reported that the county was struck by a gale and
hailstone from 11 p.m. on Mon through to 1 am on Tue.
No death or injury were reported yet in the disaster. The natural
disaster caused 73.8 mn yuan [about US$8.89 mn] of direct economic
losses and affected lives of 105,000 local people, according to the sources.
One killed in fire nr Olympic village
Athens (AFP). One man has perished in a bushfire that took hold on a
mountainside overlooking the athletes' village built specially for
this y's Olympic Games in Athens, emergency services said. Some 90
firefighters and 30 trucks plus 6 aircraft and helicopters were
drafted in to curb the outbreak about 4 km from the Olympic village,
60 km NW of Athens. Some dwellings had been threatened and
inhabitants had left their homes, a local mayor told radio. "The
situation is very difficult and dangerous," local deputy fire chief
Andreas Kuis told TV. "But I hope the fire will be contained very
quickly." The Olympic village itself was not under any threat because
the blaze was too far off, the emergency services press dept said.
Strong winds buffeted Athens, along with high temperatures reaching 37
degrees Celsius.
CIA analysts to blame for bad intel on Iraq -- GOP senator
[WAHHHA? Not the UN?]
Washington (KR). A Senate committee has determined that CIA analysts
were primarily to blame for flawed US intel assessments of Iraq's
banned weapons programs, a Republican member of the panel said Wed.
Sen Saxby Chambliss of Georgia told Knight Ridder that a Senate Intel
Committee's review found that CIA analysts had committed "wholesale
mistakes" by improperly analysing data or relying on faulty info.
Their defective judgements were passed to CIA Director George Tenet and
fed into the key prewar intel assessment of Iraq's weapons program
that was given to Pres Bush and Congress in Oct 2002, he said.
Chambliss declined to reveal details, saying the mis-judgements would be
set out in a long-awaited report that the committee is scheduled to
release Fri.
"There were a number of situations where unreasonable conclusions were
reached," Chambliss said. "Some of it related to the info itself. The
info was faulty. Some of it was good info that was not substantiated
and turned out to be incorrect."
Chambliss said the report would absolve Bush and Tenet of accusations
that they had misled the nation with allegations that Iraq had programs
to manufacture WMD. US inspectors have found no evidence of such programs.
"I would say it's a total vindication of any allegations that might
ever have been made about what the Admin did with the info," Chambliss said.
A Senate aide sought to temper Chambliss' remarks.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because the report hasn't been released,
the aide said that while the findings take aim at CIA analysts, they
also fault Tenet for the defective assessment of Iraq's outlawed
weapons programs.
While "we found a lot of problems with the analysis itself ... in the
end he [Tenet] is in charge," said the aide.
The report's publication is expected to unleash a fresh barrage of
political finger-pointing over the failure of US inspectors to uncover
evidence that Iraq had been developing nuclear weapons and stockpiling
chemical and biological weapons.
Even before its release, the report was being criticised by some for not
examining the Admin's use of other info sources, such as defectors supplied
by Iraqi exile groups, against the advice of the CIA and other agencies.
Former CIA counterterrorism official Vincent Cannistraro said he
feared the report would be an attempt by the Republican-led Congress
to absolve top Bush Admin officials who devised the strategy of
invading Iraq.
"Clearly, there's enough criticism to go around," he said.
The Oct 2002 assessment, known as a Nat'l Intel Estimate, that was
given to Bush and Congress said in part: "We judge that Iraq has
continued its WMD programs in defiance of UN resolutions and
restrictions. Baghdad has chemical and biological weapons as well as
missiles with ranges in excess of UN restrictions; if left unchecked,
it probably will have a nuclear weapon during this decade."
The NIE, the conclusions of which the Whitehouse de-classified last
summer, was compiled by the Nat'l Intel Council, a board of snr
analysts who report directly to Tenet.
The report "is going to detail a number of specific instances where,
frankly, I don't think the director of central intel was well served
by the analysts who did the work," Chambliss said.
"I think it will be pretty obvious to anybody who reads this report
that Director Tenet received info from his analysts that was not based
upon a set of facts that would allow somebody to reasonably conclude
what was concluded by the analysts."
The committee and the CIA have been engaged in a contentious battle
over how much of the report can be de-classified.
A snr US intel official said the CIA returned a draft of the report to
the committee on Jul 4 from which 19% of the material had been redacted.
The Senate aide said the panel would continue pressing for further
declassifications even after Fri's release.
CIA attacked for "gross exaggeration" of Saddam's WMD threat -- report
Washington (Independent). The CIA was braced yesterday for a fiercely
critical Congressional report expected to place primary blame on the
agency for the pre-war intel debacle over Iraq's still-unfound WMD.
The preliminary report, by the Senate Committee on Intel, is to be
published today or tomorrow. Its central charge is that the CIA
grossly exaggerated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein, ignoring the
paucity of its own findings on Iraqi's WMD capabilities.
Indeed, knowledge that a public savaging was on the way may have been
the final straw persuading George Tenet to resign last m after a 7-y
stint as CIA director marked by as string of major intel failures,
most notably the failure to prevent the 9/11 attacks and to find
Iraq's alleged chemical, biological and nuclear weapon programmes.
The Senate report is said to fault the CIA in 3 main areas: its
disregard for claims by relatives of Iraqi scientists that Saddam had
abandoned his WMD ambitions, a reliance on bogus info from defectors,
and its insistence that aluminium tubes bound for Iraq and seized in
2001, were proof that Saddam was reconstituting his nuclear programme.
The NY Times said relatives of the scientists repeatedly told the CIA
that the WMD programmes had been scrapped, but the agency failed to
report this to Pres George Bush as he travelled the country warning of
the deadly threat posed by Baghdad.
How and where the CIA made contact with the relatives is unclear. But
from 2000 on they are said to have told the agency the programmes had
been dropped. The CIA did not believe them, a rep telling the paper
"no useful info" had been collected.
Defectors also duped the CIA, which continued to believe one Iraqi
claiming knowledge of Saddam's biological weapons, even after it had
been warned by the Defence Intel Agency at the Pentagon that he was
almost certainly peddling false info.
Other defectors were provided by Ahmed Chalabi, the leader of the
Iraqi Nat'l Congress who is in disgrace with the Bush Admin because
the INC had fed false info that exaggerated the WMD threat.
Finally, the CIA is portrayed as the main promoter of aluminium tubes
as evidence. It said such pipes were intended for centrifuges to
enrich uranium for use in Iraqi nuclear weapons.
In fact, experts at both the US atomic laboratories and in the State
Dept's own intel bureau were highly doubtful that the tubes were of
sufficient quality for centrifuges. But the CIA prevailed.
Overruling his in-house specialists, the Secretary of State, Colin
Powell, went to the UN in Feb 2003 to make his now-infamous
presentation about Saddam's presumed weapons, basing his nuclear
programme case on the aluminium tubes.
The Senate report may, however, have one unexpected consequence: an
early nomination by Pres Bush of a director to replace Mr Tenet. It
had been assumed that the Whitehouse would delay its choice until
after the election, to avoid confirmation hearings at which the WMD
fiasco would be revisited at the height of the presidential election campaign.
But those fears seem to have receded, not least because the report
largely exonerates the present Whitehouse of the charge that it hyped
the Iraq threat, pinning the blame instead on an agency headed by a
man who was appointed by Pres Bill Clinton in 1997.
Another argument gaining ground is that it would be dangerous to leave
the CIA with a weakened leadership when US intel specialists are
openly fearful of further terrorist attacks. John McLaughlin, the
deputy director who takes over as a caretaker when Mr Tenet formally
steps down at the weekend, is also seen as part of a discredited old
guard. James Pavitt, the deputy director in charge of clandestine
operations, is also retiring.
Mr Tenet's reputation also suffered a grievous blow with his pre-war
assurance to Pres Bush, reported in Plan of Attack, the 2004 book by
the journalist Bob Woodward, that the CIA had "slam-dunk" proof Saddam
still possessed WMD.
The agency, and by extension Mr Tenet, are accused of doing a poor job
of gathering evidence about Iraq's alleged illicit weapons, and of
wrongly evaluating what little they did have.
The leading candidate for the job is probably Porter Goss, the Florida
congressman who chairs the House Intel Committee, and served in the
CIA's operations directorate from 1962 to 1971. Others include Pres
Ronald Reagan's former navy secretary, John Lehman, and Richard
Armitage, now Deputy Secretary of State.
Paper raises questions about Iraq's WMD
NY (DW). The NY Times newspaper has reported that US intel officials
had reason to doubt allegations that Saddam Hussein possessed WMD
before the war in Iraq. The report said the CIA had failed to provide
US Pres George W Bush with info suggesting that Iraq had abandoned
its banned weapons programme, long before last y's invasion. It said
that between 2000 and 2003 a number of Iraqi scientists questioned by
the CIA had reported that all work on illegal weapons had ceased. The
paper cited anonymous sources who said the scientists' claims had been
uncovered by a congressional panel probing the CIA's pre-war intel on Iraq.
Shame on you, Min tells Bush and Blair
Edinburgh (PA/Scotsman). An American minister today blamed Tony Blair
and George Bush for the death of a Brit soldier in Iraq as he
addressed mourners at the teenager's funeral.
The Reverend Dr John Mann told around 800 people who gathered to pay
their final respects to Fusilier Gordon Gentle that he was killed
fighting an unjust war.
The 19-yo from Pollok, Glasgow, died in a roadside explosion while on
routine patrol in Basra on Jun 28.
He joined the 1st Battalion Royal Highland Fusiliers just 3 m before
his deployment to Iraq, a decision which was also condemned by his
heartbroken family.
Speaking during the service at St James's Church, Dr Mann said: "I
want to believe that if there is a God in heaven then there will be
justice because I want someone to pay for Gordon's death.
"And only God may judge who is ultimately responsible.
"I can only admonish. I am just a preacher.
"If I were to point them out I would say to Pres George Bush and PM
Tony Blair I have only 3 words of admonishment.
"And I pray that they may someday be inscribed on the tablets of your
hearts. And those 3 words are 'shame on you'."
Filipino workers barred from going to Iraq
Cairo (AP). Armed Iraq insurgents threatened to kill a Filipino
hostage if his country does not withdraw from Iraq, according to a
video that aired Wed. The Philippines responded by barring Filipino
workers from travelling to Iraq.
In the video broadcast by Pan-Arab Al-Jazeera TV, 3 armed and masked
men stood behind the seated hostage, threatening to kill him if the
Philippines doesn't pull out within 3 days.
The group claimed to have already killed an Iraqi security guard who
was accompanying the Filipino, the newscaster said. The statement gave
no details of his capture. A banner on the wall behind the captors
identified them as a previously unknown group called the Iraqi Islamic
Army-Khaled bin al-Waleed Corps.
Pres Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's order Thu applied to contract
workers. She did not refer to kidnappers' demands to withdraw
Philippines troops.
"She just ordered an immediate stop to the deployment of new workers
going to Iraq," Arroyo rep Ignacio Bunye told The Associated Press.
"And then she is asking for an assessment from our Middle E team."
Fifty-one Philippines soldiers and police are part of the multinat'l
force in Iraq. In addition, about 4,100 Filipinos are working in US
military bases in Iraq as cooks, mechanics or in other jobs. The
president also offered govt help for any workers who wanted to come home.
The Philippines special envoy to the Mideast, Roy Cimatu said the
troops' "tour of duty will end towards the end of the month. We will
come up with a recommendation shortly whether we will extend their
tour of duty."
The video did not name the hostage. The footage shows an identity card
that an Al-Jazeera staffer in Qatar later told The AP belonged to the
slain Iraqi guard.
The card, issued by Al-Ghadeer Security Service, bore the name Hafidh
Amer, identified as a security guard. The footage also showed a
weapons authorisation card with the same name.
Al-Jazeera's newscaster said the Filipino is an employee of a Saudi
company that works for the US military.
In the video, the hostage wore a bright orange garment similar to that
worn by the American hostage Nick Berg when he was beheaded by Iraqi
militants led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
The group's namesake, Khaled bin al-Waleed, is one of the cmdrs of the
army of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad gave bin al-Waleed the
title "Sword of Islam."
Al-Jazeera rep Jihad Ballout said the channel received the videotape Wed.
The Philippines has been among the biggest supporters of the US-led
war on terrorism. In addition to sending a small peacekeeping
contingent to Iraq, the Philippines has invited US troops to train
Filipino soldiers in counterterrorism.
Islamic nations should consider sending troops to Iraq -- Malaysia
KL (VOA). The chairman of the world's largest Muslim organisation
says he thinks Islamic countries should consider sending troops to
Iraq to help stabilise the interim govt now in place there. Malaysian
PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Mon that Muslim countries nr Iraq are
perhaps best-suited to send peacekeeping troops. But the head of the
57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference said he has not heard
from fellow members whether they would like to participate in such a
multi-nat'l Islamic force. Mr. Abdullah gave no indication that
Malaysia would send troops to Iraq, but did say his country would like
to participate in the Iraq's reconstruction. Kuala Lumpur was a
strong opponent of the US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.
House votes to overturn Bush rules on Cuba
Washington (AP). The House dealt an election-season setback to Pres
Bush Wed by voting to overturn restrictions his Admin has issued on
the gift parcels that Americans can send to family members in Cuba.
The 221-194 vote would block new rules that took effect Jul 1 barring
people from shipping clothing, seeds, veterinary medicine and
soap-making ingredients to Cubans.
Under the new Commerce Dept rules, no items at all could be shipped to
people how are not immediate relatives such as parents, grandchildren
or spouses. And non-food gifts cannot be shipped more than monthly to
each household of relatives -- down from the current limit of once a m
per individual relative.
The Admin and its supporters have said the restrictions are aimed at
weakening Cuban leader Fidel Castro and his communist govt. Opponents
say the rules -- like others limiting trade and travel -- will do
little to hinder Castro, and have accused Bush of politically
motivated restrictions aimed at courting Florida's Cuban-American voters.
The amendment was offered to a $39.8 bn measure financing the depts of
Commerce, Justice and State next y. The Senate has yet to write its
version of the bill.
Pentagon deputy's probes in Iraq weren't authorised, officials say
Washington (LA Times). A snr Defense Dept official conducted
unauthorised investigations of Iraq reconstruction efforts and used
their results to push for lucrative contracts for friends and their
business clients, according to current and former Pentagon officials
and documents.
John A "Jack" Shaw, deputy undersecretary for internat'l technology
security, represented himself as an agent of the Pentagon's inspector
general in conducting the investigations, sources said.
In one case, Shaw disguised himself as an employee of Halliburton Co
and gained access to a port in S Iraq after he was denied entry by the
US military, the sources said.
In that investigation, Shaw found problems with operations at the port
of Umm al Qasr, Pentagon sources said. In another, he criticised a
competition sponsored by the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority to
award cellphone licenses in Iraq.
In both cases, Shaw urged govt officials to fix the alleged problems
by directing $multi-mn contracts to companies linked to his friends,
without competitive bidding, according to the Pentagon sources and
documents. In the case of the port, the clients of a lobbyist friend
won a no-bid contract for dredging.
Shaw's actions are the latest to raise concerns that snr Republican
officials working in Washington and Iraq have used the rebuilding
effort in Iraq to reward associates and political allies.
One of Shaw's close friends, the former top US transportation official
in Iraq, is under investigation for his role in promoting an Iraqi
nat'l airline with a company linked to the Saddam Hussein regime.
The inspector general's office -- which investigates waste, fraud and
abuse at the Pentagon -- has turned over its inquiry into Shaw's
actions to the FBI to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest,
the sources said.
The FBI also is looking into allegations, 1st reported by the Los
Angeles Times, that Shaw tried to steer a contract to create an
emergency phone network for Iraq's security forces to a company whose
board of directors included a friend and one of Shaw's employees.
Shaw, who held top positions in the Reagan and George H W Bush Admins,
declined to comment for this article. In previous interviews, he has
denied any financial links to the companies involved or receiving any
promises of future employment or other benefit.
Shaw justified his investigations under a special agreement with the
Pentagon inspector general, Joseph E Schmitz. The Aug agreement
created a temporary office headed by Shaw called the Internat'l
Armament and Technology Trade Directorate. Its mission was to
cooperate with the inspector general on issues related to the transfer
of sensitive US technologies or arms to foreign countries.
Shaw frequently cited the agreement in his dealings with reporters and
the military, telling them it allowed him to "wear an IG hat" to
conduct investigations. In a recent letter to the inspector general,
he said the agreement gave him "broad investigatory authority."
That contention is the subject of dispute, however. The agreement
states that Shaw "may recommend" that the inspector general initiate
audits, evaluations, investigations and inquiries, but it does not
appear to give him investigative powers.
"Jack Shaw was never authorised to do any kind of investigation or
auditing on his own," said one source close to Schmitz. "The agreement
was not for that. He's trying to cram more authority into that
agreement than it gives him."
Schmitz cancelled the agreement 2 wk after Shaw was 1st accused of
tampering with the emergency phone network contract.
Schmitz declined to comment, but in his letter cancelling the
arrangement, he praised Shaw for "outstanding leadership."
Shaw used the agreement to win permission to visit Iraq last fall.
In an Oct 28 letter to Army Gen John P Abizaid, head of the US
Central Command, Shaw said he wanted to "investigate those who
threatened the nat'l security of the US through the transfer of
advanced technologies to Iraq."
Specifically, Shaw said he planned to identify countries that had
smuggled contraband weapons into Iraq and catalogue existing
conventional weapons stockpiles.
Although he did not mention it in the letter, Shaw also was interested
in investigating operations at the port of Umm al Qasr.
Last summer, Shaw was visited by Richard E Powers, a longtime friend
and lobbyist. Powers was representing SSA Marine, a Seattle-based port
operations company that had won a controversial limited-bid contract
in the early days of the war to manage the troubled port.
He also was representing a small business owned by Alaskan natives
called Nana Pacific. Under fed regulations, small companies owned by
Alaskan Native Americans can bypass the normal process and receive
unlimited, no-bid contracts.
Powers suggested there were serious problems with dredging at the port
that could be quickly remedied by having a no-bid contract awarded to
Nana, which then could subcontract to SSA Marine, sources said.
Powers did not respond to requests for comment. Public lobbying
records show that Nana and SSA Marine paid Powers $80,000 last y for
his work.
In Dec, Shaw flew to Kuwait to inspect the port. The military refused
to allow him into the facility, however, because of the danger
involved, Pentagon sources said.
Shaw and several staffers then went to the port dressed like employees
of KBR, the Halliburton subsidiary that has a contract to supply the
military with food and other items.
In a KBR hat, Shaw and his staff spent less than an hour at the port,
taking pictures and talking with soldiers, current and former Pentagon
sources said. The group documented well-known problems there,
including the presence of un-exploded mines.
A Defense official in Shaw's office acknowledged that they had entered
the port despite the military's concerns. He described the disguise as
an attempt to conceal Shaw's status, for safety reasons.
He said the military's negative reaction to the proposed visit
convinced him that there was serious trouble at the port.
"This Army 2-star said, 'We won't let you in the country.' I said,
there's something there," said the Defense official, who did not want
to be identified. "Everybody had declared victory at the port. We
looked at the port and there were still tremendous problems."
When coalition officials learned that Shaw was at the port, they made
a frantic effort to locate him, but didn't reach him until after his
return to Kuwait.
"I get this call from [the US military command in Iraq] that said: 'We
have an undersecretary of Defense roaming the countryside. We need to
locate and secure him,' " recalled a former CPA official.
"He's in the country illegally, but we can't arrest him, so we let him
finish the tour."
Shaw spent about a wk in Iraq, meeting with top US and Iraqi officials.
He told several officials that the trip to Umm al Qasr had convinced
him that work at the port had to be accelerated. He then suggested
that the work could be expedited by awarding the contract to Nana,
several former CPA officials said.
"The only time I heard Nana's name was when [Shaw and his team] were
in Baghdad," said a former CPA official involved in the ports. "The
notion was that this might well be a vehicle where you could in fact
get things moving quickly that needed to be done, such as dredging and
so forth."
Soon after Shaw's visit, the CPA granted Nana a construction and
communications contract worth up to $70 mn. Nana then sub-contracted
$3.5 mn in work to SSA Marine, which recently completed the dredging.
Nana also is linked to Shaw's other investigation.
Late last y, Shaw began looking into the award of cellphone licenses
in Iraq after receiving complaints from a longtime friend, Don
DeMarino, who had worked under Shaw at the Commerce Dept.
DeMarino was a director of a consortium called Liberty Mobile, one of
the losing bidders in the contest that awarded the cellphone licenses,
potentially worth 100s of $mns, to 3 other firms.
Relying on info from DeMarino and Liberty Mobile's president, Declan
Ganley, Shaw cast doubt on the validity of the awards by leaking to
several media outlets info that he said showed corruption in the
process, said current and former Pentagon sources.
He also provided the evidence he had gathered to the inspector general.
In Dec, the inspector general's office released a report saying that
no basis had been found for Shaw's accusations. The office referred
part of the complaint to the Brit govt for further investigation of 2
Brit CPA officials involved in the licensing process, according to a
copy of the report obtained by The Times.
Brit authorities exonerated the men. Later, Deputy Defense Secretary
Paul D Wolfowitz wrote to the Brit ambassador clearing them.
"The Brit ambassador in the US has received notification that no Brit
citizens are under investigation by the US" in the contract matter, a
Brit Embassy rep said.
Soon after Liberty Mobile lost the bidding war last fall, Shaw began
pushing Nana to win a no-bid contract to build a communications system
for the Iraqi police, fire and security forces, according to officials
with the now-dissolved CPA and documents obtained by The Times. He
then tried to change the language of the contract to allow the
creation of a cellphone network, according to interviews and documents.
Nana planned to subcontract the construction of the communications
system to a company called Guardian Net. Guardian Net's board of
directors was nearly identical to that of Liberty Mobile. It included
DeMarino, Ganley and Julian Walker, who works for Shaw as a
researcher, according to the documents.
Ganley and DeMarino have acknowledged participating in the attempt to
win a cellphone license. Walker could not be reached for comment.
When CPA officials reported their concerns about the Guardian Net plan
to Pentagon investigators, Shaw stepped up his investigation of the
role of the CPA officials in the licensing process, Pentagon sources said.
Even after the Pentagon cancelled the agreement that Shaw had used to
justify his probe, he unilaterally continued the investigation,
Pentagon sources said.
On May 11, Shaw delivered his report, which concluded that there was
"serious, credible evidence of criminal wrongdoing by US govt
employees pertaining to taking official acts in exchange for bribes."
He acknowledged that the report "directly conflicts" with the Dec
report by the inspector general, which he dismissed as "worthless."
Shaw's report, which The Times has reviewed, claims evidence of a
conspiracy to take over Iraq's cellphone service led by Nadhmi Auchi,
a Brit businessman who has been accused of links to Hussein and who
was convicted last y in a French court in an unrelated kickback
scheme. Auchi maintains his innocence and is appealing.
Auchi, according to the report, paid bribes through a series of
surrogates to win the 3 cellphone licenses and gain control of Iraq's
cellular system.
A rep for Auchi denied Shaw's claims. He acknowledged that Auchi has
an indirect, minor stake in Orascom, one of the cellphone
operators. He denied any ownership interest in the other phone companies.
Shaw's report relies mainly on newspaper articles, rumours and
secondhand conversations reported by the losing bidders or anonymous
sources and "the Arab street," which Shaw calls "a reasonable sounding
board for accepted truth."
In the conclusion to his report, Shaw recommends that all the cellphone
licenses be cancelled and that the contract be awarded to one of the
original bidders -- as long as the bidder uses a technology known as
CDMA, which Shaw describes as superior to other cellular technologies.
Shaw sent his report to the inspector general's office, which turned
it over for further investigation to the FBI. An FBI official
confirmed that the agency had received the report and had just begun
looking into the allegations of bribery.
"While some of the evidence in this report is fragmentary, the dots
are connected in convincing and important ways," Shaw said in the
report. "Below the deadly serious efforts to restore security and
legitimacy to Iraq lies a muted gold rush mentality."
Canada will recount ballots in Alberta district won by Liberals
Ottawa (Bloomberg). Canada's election agency asked a judge to recount
ballots in an Alberta district won by the governing Liberal Party,
raising the possibility that PM Paul Martin will be left with a
smaller minority of seats in the fed legislature.
Tim Uppal, the Conservative Party candidate in Edmonton-Beaumont,
requested the recount, Elections Canada said in a notice posted late
yesterday on its Web site. He lost to David Kilgour of the Liberal
Party by 131 votes of 41,185 votes cast; 167 ballots were rejected.
A reversal would make it even harder for Martin to pass laws after
losing the party's majority in Canada's House of Commons in the Jun 28
election. The Liberals won 135 seats, based on preliminary results,
leaving Martin 20 votes short of the majority needed to pass bills
without support from rival parties.
The recount started yesterday. Elections Canada didn't say in the
notice when it will be completed. Other recounts have been requested
in a Montreal district won by the Liberals and a district of Cambridge
S of Toronto won by the Conservatives.
Poll shows steep drop in Roh's popularity
Seoul. S Korean Pres Roh Moo Hyun's popularity has plunged to 34.9%
from its highest level of 57.8% in Mar, when the Nat'l Assembly passed
the impeachment motion against him, according to a poll last weekend.
The steep drop is attributed to the Roh Admin's decision to push ahead
with its controversial plans to relocate the capital and send
additional troops to Iraq, the Korea Times reported.
Conducted by Hangil Research, the survey of 1,004 people showed that
52.7% opposed the relocation of the administrative capital to
Chungchong province.
The ruling Uri Party is also trailing the opp'n Grand Nat'l Party
(GNP) for the 2nd consecutive month. The GNP recorded a 29.5% approval
rating, while Uri registered 27.1%.
The Uri Party received lower approval ratings in all age brackets.
The Korea Times reported that Mr Shin Jung Sik of Research & Research
said the Uri Party is now engulfed in a substantial political crisis
arising from a recent series of corruption scandals.
Prof Kang Won Taek of Soongsil University also pointed out that
the ruling party disappointed many supporters in recent scandals,
while the conservative GNP showed some departure from its past practices.
'The Uri Party failed to show its much-touted clean image and carry
out any political reforms it pledged to implement in the Apr election
period,' Prof Kang was quoted by Korea Times as saying. 'But the GNP
obviously changed, adopting a practical and mild line under the flag
of its chairman Park Geun Hye.'
However, he said the Uri Party's falling ratings were natural and to
be expected in the middle of Mr Roh's term.
US forces "stretched" to breaking point
Washington (AFP). US forces have been stretched to the breaking point
as a result of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, a top
Pentagon official has testified before a congressional committee.
Gen Richard Cody told a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee
that recent troop deployments have taken a toll on US readiness to
deploy elsewhere, and even to replace troops currently deployed in
combating US-led military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Are we stretched thin with our active and reserve component forces
right now? Absolutely," Gen Cody told lawmakers at the hearing on US
troop rotations.
"We just did the largest move of the Army since World War II, you
can't move 8.5 divisions and 240,000 soldiers without stressing the
force," he said adding the military officials "are concerned about it".
The Pentagon is attempting to meet swelling demands for troops in Iraq
and elsewhere by reforming the army's divisions into more numerous,
more independent and rapidly deployable combat brigade teams.
Military officials also have temporarily increased the size of the
army by 30,000 during the transition, a move Gen Cody said was
indispensable for waging the war on global terrorism.
"This is a different war, that's why it's so important that everyone
understands, and that's why we asked for the 30,000, so we could build
up," he said.
Lt Gen Norton Schwartz, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, testified that it will likely be y before the 35,000-strong Iraqi
army currently being trained by US forces will be ready to take up the slack.
"The bottom line is that this will be done incrementally, and it will
be done in locations around Iraq where transitions can occur and the
Iraqi security forces can be successful," he said.
"If Afghanistan is any indication, it will be several years" before
Iraqi forces are fully ready, said Lt Gen Schwartz, who testified that
there are currently some 17,900 US troops in Afghanistan.
FBI delays interviews in fighting terror plot
Washington (LA Times). More than a m ago, the FBI announced it would
launch a wave of interviews across the country as part of an urgent
effort to root out a suspected terrorist attack planned for the US
this summer.
Preparations for the attack were 90% complete, US A-G John Ashcroft
said at the time. Preparations for the interviews are another
story. It's already Jul, and the FBI is still wk away from launching
the initiative, law enforcement officials confirm.
The interviews were included in a series of measures that the Justice
Dept and FBI announced at a May 26 news conference, calling attention
to what Ashcroft said was "credible intel from multiple sources" that
terrorists planned to hit the US "hard" this summer.
An FBI official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says the delay
shows that FBI officials are being meticulous in deciding whom they
want to interview. A similar effort that focused on Muslim neighbourhoods
before the war in Iraq last y drew complaints of racial profiling.
But the delay also is bolstering a perception that Ashcroft's warning
-- which included poster-size photos of suspects, most of whom had
been previously identified -- was a public relations exercise that
sent mixed signals to citizens, including Arab Americans.
Ashcroft "has attempted to use scare tactics to promote his agenda,
and I think it has been a real failure," said James Zogby, president
of the Arab American Institute, a Washington advocacy group. "He has
done this before. Each time he has done it, people keep asking
afterward, 'What was this all about?' "
The warning was not accompanied by any increase in the nat'l terrorism
threat level, which is administered by the Dept of Homeland
Security. Others complained that the assessment was based on intel
that, while serious and real, had been known to fed agents for months.
And there was speculation from critics that the news conference was a
calculated effort by the Bush Admin to divert attention from its woes
in Iraq. The episode fits a pattern, they say, and shows how Ashcroft's
aggressive style can paradoxically undermine the message he is trying
to convey.
"The entire thrust of the counterterrorism effort in terms of law
enforcement and intel-gathering has been a series of glamorous press
announcements or political speeches," said Michael Greenberger, a
former Justice Dept official in the Clinton Admin and the current
director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security at the
University of Maryland. "It is a miasma of confusion."
A Justice Dept rep, Mark Corallo, defended the alert, saying the A-G
believed the threat of a terrorist attack in the US this summer was
"as serious as we have ever seen." Corallo said he was unaware the
interviews had not yet begun, but that they represented just one part of a
multifaceted anti-terrorism program the dept was aggressively implementing.
"It is a serious threat that we are working around the clock to
mitigate," he said. "This is an ongoing operation. We are doing lots
of things. The interviews will take place. There are other operations
that are going on right now that the public does not know about."
Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert S Mueller III unveiled the interview
program in May as part of a series of measures they were taking to
counter concerns that terrorists would try to exploit several
high-profile events in the US over the coming months, including the
nat'l political conventions. One of the concerns -- the annual meeting
of the Group of 8 industrial countries -- took place last m on an
island off Georgia.
"We ask for your cooperation as we launch a nationwide series of
interviews to gather info and intel on these potential threats and on
these individuals," Mueller said.
He added that agents would be seeking "info about persons that may
have moved into the community recently, persons who seem to be in a
community without any roots, persons that could be either facilitators
or those who are willing to undertake an attack."
The announcement raised immediate concern among immigrant and
civil-rights groups. The FBI interviewed 1000s of Muslims after the
Sep 11 attacks, and 1000s more Iraqi political refugees in the
run-up to the war last y, stirring allegations that the govt was
engaged in racial profiling. Hundreds were jailed for lengthy periods
in the post-Sep 11 roundups, and many were deported for immigration
violations.
The groups have been surprised that the govt has not moved more forcefully.
"It is either a sign of disarray or secrecy," said Laura Murphy,
director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington
office. "If you make this announcement, you ask for public
support. Groups write to you. You would think you would hear action by
now. They made it seem like it was such a serious warning."
The ACLU wrote to Mueller late last m, decrying "the lack of official
info from the govt" about the program and saying that history showed
the interviews to be "a fishing expedition based on little more than
discriminatory presumption."
Murphy added: "We want to know what is going on, and we are trying to
elicit a response."
Some groups took the May warning as an opportunity to try to nurture
closer ties with the govt, but officials so far have not fully
embraced the offer.
Within a wk of the announcement, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a
LA-based Arab American advocacy group, sought the FBI's help in
promoting a campaign to encourage mosques to take a more active role
in working with law enforcement to fight terrorism.
The group is hoping to show investigators that meeting with community
groups can be more productive than targeting individuals.
The campaign, which organisers say was developed in direct response to
the May announcement, has won the support of the FBI office in LA, but
officials in Washington haven't publicly endorsed it.
"We are going on their cue," said Salam Al-Marayati, executive
director of the Muslim council. "I would hope there would be more of a
sense of urgency."
The FBI official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the delay in
interviewing showed that the bureau was being sensitive to such
concerns and that the interviews would be "driven by intel," rather
than by singling out whole groups based on ethnicity or nat'lity.
Agents are reviewing older intel in light of new threat info the
bureau has received in order to pinpoint people it may want to
question, the official said. He said a special FBI task force was
overseeing the effort, although the size of the unit was classified.
"You have got to build a foundation," the official said. "There is
something very specific we are looking for. You do not want to go out
willy-nilly."
He said the interview process would be up and running sometime in mid-
to late Jul.
Police contradict claims over Madrid train blasts
Madrid (AFP). 2 snr Spanish police officers have contradicted claims
soon after the Madrid train bombings made by the govt then in power
that there was evidence to show Basque separatists were responsible.
The Mar 11 blasts on 4 commuter trains killed 191 people and injured 1,900.
Within hours the conservative govt, headed PM Jose Maria Aznar, was
claiming that the explosives were of the type used by ETA separatists.
The then interior minister Angel Acebes told a press conference about
1.30 pm the same day that the explosive was the same as that normally
used by ETA, thereby casting suspicion on the separatist group that
has been conducting a violent campaign for independence for the Basque
country in N Spain.
And a telegram sent around 5.30 pm Mar 11 to Spanish embassies by then
foreign minister Ana Palacio "confirmed that ETA was behind" the
attacks, based on the explosive "which was the one usually used" by
the Basque separatist group.
Bomb disposal chief Juan Jesus Sanchez Manzano told a Spanish
parliamentary inquiry probing the attacks that no one in his squad had
identified the substance titadyne, the dynamite brand regularly used
by ETA since 2000.
He said police had established by 2.00 pm on Mar 11 that dynamite had
indeed been used.
But it had not been until after 2.00 am the following morning that it
was identified as another type, Goma-2 Eco.
"Neither I, nor any member of my team, have ever mentioned the brand
titadyne," Mr Manzano said.
"One of the elementary rules of experts is not to base one's work on
impressions or deductions. We are doing technical work," he added.
He said, however, it was "possible" that a "senior police official not
knowledgeable about explosives" could have made the link between
dynamite and titadyne.
"For whoever is not an expert, it is easy to make the confusion," Mr
Manzano said.
The head of the police intel service Mariano Rayon told the enquiry
that by noon on Mar 13 his services were "certain" that the bombings
were the work of Muslim extremists.
Yet 2-and-1/2 hr later the interior ministry was insisting at a news
conference that the ETA line of enquiry was "the priority".
Mr Rayon said the decisive element was the discovery by his team that
cards for mobile telephones used in the attacks had been bought in a
shop in a district of Madrid with a large Arab immigrant population.
Until then there had been no "decisive" factor in the enquiry.
Osama bin Laden's extremist Al Qaeda network, and not ETA, later claimed
responsibility for the early-morning Mar 11 blasts as retribution for
Spain's participation in the occupying coalition force in Iraq which
Spaniards massively opposed.
Mr Aznar's govt was defeated by the Socialists led by Jose Luis
Rodriguez Zapatero in the general election 3 days after the blasts.
The committee is next due to hear from several police officers while
top Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, an expert on Islamic extremists,
and former Spanish intel chief Jorge Dezcallar, are to testify next wk.
The public enquiry was set to examine specifically the order and
detail of events between the moment the commuter bombs went off and
the general election 3 days later.
The left has claimed that the Aznar govt tried to manipulate the evidence
to put blame on ETA rather than Muslim extremists, potentially more
damaging to it.
16 people have been remanded in custody in Spain, one person has been
detained in Italy and another in Morocco in connection with the attacks.
New bird flu cases part of old outbreak: animal health organisation
Geneva (Reuters). The World Organisation for Animal Health says it
believes the latest cases of bird flu in Asia are probably part of an
old outbreak. New cases have been reported in China, Thailand and
Vietnam in the last 2 days. An outbreak of bird flu earlier this y
killed 24 people in Vietnam and Thailand, and led to the slaughter of
100 mn fowl. The World Organisation for Animal Health has urged
countries in the region to increase their surveillance.
10 detainees in Brit ask court for freedom
Lawyers cite use of torture in US camps
London (IHT/NY Times). Lawyers for 10 non-Brit detainees held without
trial under anti-terrorism laws began an appeal on Wed against their
incarceration, arguing that evidence against them may have been
extracted under torture in US prison camps.
The lawyers went before Brit's Appeals Court in a preliminary case,
seeking permission in part to bring evidence of "the commission of
torture" in camps controlled by the US authorities in Afghanistan,
Cuba and elsewhere.
The question of the methods used to secure info in US facilities has
become more sensitive since the disclosure of the abuse by Americans
of prisoners in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad.
"We say that it is an affront to the public conscience for the state
to rely in judicial proceedings on evidence obtained by torture," said
Ben Emmerson, a lawyer for some of the 17 foreigners who have been
declared terrorism suspects since the Sep 11, 2001, attacks in the US.
He said it did not matter "one jot" whether the alleged torture had
been carried out by Britons or Americans.
The detention of foreign terror suspects without trial or charge --
and in contravention of part of the European Convention on Human
Rights -- has become a sensitive political issue for the govt of PM
Tony Blair.
Human rights campaigners have labelled the body of emergency law --
enacted in late 2001 and permitting detention without trial -- "Brit's
Guantanamo Bay," referring to the US prison camp in Cuba.
Blair is under pressure from human rights campaigners and legislators
to do more to secure the release of 4 Britons held at the actual
Guantanamo Bay facility, and his govt is under assault for using
emergency powers, effectively suspending the presumption of innocence
for foreign terrorism suspects, to detain the foreigners in this country.
The foreign detainees may technically leave Brit if another country
says it will accept them. They may also challenge their detention
before a secret tribunal called the Special Immigration Appeals
Commission. The tribunal, however, is empowered to hear evidence from
the authorities without the suspects or their lawyers being present
and can order detention if it believes there are "reasonable grounds
to suspect" links to internat'l terror networks.
In Mar, one Libyan detainee, identified publicly only as M, was set
free after the secret tribunal ruled that there were no "reasonable
grounds" to detain him. But the tribunal has also ruled that in other
cases the Brit govt has "sound material" to support the suspects' detention.
Emmerson, who represents 8 of the 10 suspects in the current appeal,
said he wished to challenge that decision for a variety of reasons,
including the question of whether the secret tribunal was legally
empowered to consider evidence produced by the ill-treatment of
prisoners.
The 10 detainees represented at the hearing Wed hearing are being held
at locations including 2 high-security prisons and a high-security
psychiatric hospital. Some of them have been detained since Dec,
2001. Of the original detainees, some have left Brit, one has been
sent to house arrest after being judged insane and another is in
psychiatric care after attempting suicide.
The appeal hearings are expected to last into next wk.
Human rights campaigners have opened a separate challenge to the
legality of Brit's decision to set itself apart from parts of the
European Convention on Human Rights forbidding detention without
trial. The House of Lords, which can sit as Brit's highest court, is
set to hear that case in Oct.
Bush has named 9 more Guantanamo prisoners as eligible to be tried by a
US military tribunal, Reuters reported Pentagon officials as saying Wed.
The officials said they had "reason to believe" that the prisoners
were members of al Qaeda or otherwise involved in terrorism against the US.
The move brings to 15 the number of non-US citizens held at
Guantanamo as "unlawful enemy combatants" deemed eligible for such
trials, which would be the first of their kind since World War II.
3 of the suspects have been charged, and Pentagon officials have said
they hope to conduct a trial by the end of the year.
US deserter makes 1st court appearance in Canada asylum plea
Toronto (AFP). 2 US soldiers who are pleading for asylum in Canada
after walking out on their units over fierce objections to the Iraq
war appeared side-by-side in a Toronto courtroom for the 1st time.
Jeremy Hinzman, 25, attended a technical pre-hearing at Canada's
Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) in Toronto, supported by another
fugitive American soldier Brandon Hughey.
The IRB set a refugee status hearing for Oct 20, 21 and 22 for
Hinzman, said board rep Charles Hawkins.
No court date has yet been set for Hughey, whose case was not heard on
Wed. No testimony was taken at the hearing, a legal formality to map
out the parameters of the case.
The controversy surrounding the 2 men has ignited controversy in the
US, and some sympathy in Canada, especially among those who opposed
the Iraq war.
It has also revived memories of the "underground railroad" of
activists which transported 100s of US objectors to the country during
the Vietnam War.
Hinzman, who like Hughey has a website to publicise his case, recently
spoke at an anti-war rally at the US consulate in Toronto.
He served in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne but left the US for
Canada with his wife and son after learning the US army planned to
send him to Iraq.
Military brass denied his request for conscientious objector status,
prompting his asylum claim in Canada in Jan.
Both men argue they face prosecution tantamount to persecution in the
US because of their strong political beliefs and should therefore be
granted haven here.
Hughey, 19, of the US Army 1st Cavalry Division, fled to Canada one
day before his unit was deployed to Iraq. He said if he is returned
home he will face jail time and a dishonourable discharge from the
armed forces.
He told AFP on Wed that he was optimistic that Canada would permit him to stay.
"The essential key to the case is to prove that the war in Iraq is
illegal under internat'l law and represents a violation of human
rights," he said.
Hughey argued that as a US soldier, he was not bound to serve in Iraq
as the war was "illegal" as it involved the invasion of a sovereign
nation without the full backing of the UN.
He is currently living in St Catharines, SW of Toronto, not far from
the Niagara Falls region and the US border, and is hoping soon to get
the legal go-ahead to work for a living.
A lawyer for the 2 men, Jeffry House admitted to AFP that though the
IRB operates at arm's length from the Canadian govt, the case did have
significant political overtones.
"I think there is an irreducible political component to the case," he said.
Canada refused US entreaties to send troops to join US Pres George
W Bush's "coalition of the willing" in Iraq -- a move that soured
relations with its powerful S neighbour.
Habib allegations described as hearsay
Canberra. The fed A-G has described as "hearsay" new allegations that
Aussie Guantanamo Bay detainee, Mamdouh Habib, was tortured.
It has been alleged Mr Habib was mistreated while being held in Egypt.
The SBS Dateline program last night aired allegations that the United
States ordered Mr Habib be sent from Pakistan to Egypt after his
capture in 2001 and it was there he was tortured.
But A-G Philip Ruddock has told Dateline the Govt has no info that Mr
Habib was ever held in Egypt.
"No, we were aware that he was detained in Pakistan. We sought access
to him. Law enforcement officers sought access to him, for
questioning. Consular officers were denied that access," he said.
"We then weren't in a position to get access to him and our enquiries
led to nought.
"And so far as Egypt is concerned, Egypt hasn't confirmed to us that
he was held there."
Labor's Kevin Rudd says the For Min, Alexander Downer, should pursue
the matter while he is in Washington.
"Ask the Govt of the United States to provide a simple chronology of
this individuals treatment," he said.
"And until Mr Downer can provide us with a complete statement from the
United States then frankly these questions will continue to keep coming back."
Mr Ruddock say the allegations will only be raised with the US if the
Govt receives more detailed info.
Mr Habib's Aussie lawyer, Stephen Hopper, has accused the Govt of
knowing about the alleged abuse but that is denied by Mr Ruddock.
Iran wants internat'l trial for Saddam
Tehran (Sapa-AFP/Mail & Guardian). With anger mounting that Saddam
Hussein has not been charged over his invasion of and use of chemical
weapons against Iran, MPs called on Wed for the ousted Iraqi dictator
to stand before an internat'l court.
"The crimes of Saddam, his cronies and his internat'l supporters go
beyond the nat'l Iraqi framework and have an internat'l dimension,"
said a statement signed by 256 deputies in the 290-seat Majlis.
"He should be judged publicly and before an internat'l court
comprising independent judges, among them Iraqis and Iranians," it said.
The statement also hit out at last wk's hearing in Iraq, which it
described as "not free, closed-door, subject to censorship and under
the control of the occupying forces".
Iran announced on Sun that it has prepared a complaint against Saddam
for his Sep 1980 attack on Iran and use of chemical weapons, and will
soon file the dossier with the Iraqi tribunal putting the former
president on trial.
Saddam's 1980 land grab -- which sparked the catastrophic 1980 to 1988
Iran-Iraq war -- did not figure on the original list of charges. Neither
did his extensive use of chemical weapons against Iranian forces.
According to official figures, Iran has 45 000 registered war veterans
with chemical injuries who cost the regime about $20-mn a y to support.
Iran has also alleged Iranian prisoners were tortured and executed in
captivity.
The head of Iran's new conservative-held Parliament, Gholam-Ali Haddad
Adel, has also denounced the trial as "American".
Saddam's nephew arrested: Iraqi Min
Baghdad (AFP). One of Saddam Hussein's nephews has been arrested
along with a Moroccan on the Jordanian border, Iraq's Human Rights Min
said, not giving a date for the arrest.
Mohammed Barzan al-Tikriti was arrested along with a Moroccan Jew
named as George Bin Baki, Bakhtiar Amin told reporters after the
announcement of Iraq's sweeping new security measures.
Mr Amin said earlier the Moroccan was arrested along with 20 other
foreigners at least a few m before.
Regarding the Moroccan, Mr Amin said: "He says he is a holder of an
Israeli passport. We don't know that for sure yet.
"He was arrested with the son of Barzan Tikriti on the Iraq-Jordanian
border when they tried to enter together."
He said the Moroccan also holds Brit, French, Italian and Spanish residencies.
Mr Amin also said there were 20 other foreigners being held at the
security section at the US-run Abu Ghraib detention centre, including
5 Jordanians, 4 Saudis, 4 Syrians, 2 Yemenites, one Egyptian, one
Lebanese, one Palestinian, one Iranian and one Turk.
The Saudis had come to fight a holy war, Mr Amin told AFP.
He named the 4 Saudis as Thamer al-Khalidi, Walid Abdul Wahid, Fahed
al-Shamari and Sultan Barji.
There are 90 foreign detainees in US-run prisons across Iraq, a
military official told AFP last wk.
US response to insurgency called a failure
Washington (LA Times). Almost a y after acknowledging they were
facing a well-armed guerrilla war in Iraq, the Pentagon and cmdrs in
the Middle E are being criticised by some top Bush Admin officials,
military officers and defence experts who accuse the military of
failing to develop a coherent, winning strategy against the insurgency.
Inadequate intel, poor assessments of enemy strength, testy relations
with US civilian authorities in Baghdad and an inconsistent
application of force remain key problems many observers say the
military must address before US and Iraqi forces can quell the insurgents.
"It's disappointing that we haven't been able to have better insight
into the command and control of the insurgents," said one snr official
of the now-dissolved Coalition Provisional Authority, recently
returned from Baghdad and speaking on condition of anonymity. "And
you've got to have that if you're going to have effective military operations."
It was Jul 16, 2003, when Army Gen John Abizaid stood at a Pentagon
podium during his 1st news conference as head of US Central Command
and declared -- after wk of Pentagon denials -- that US troops were
fighting a "classic guerrilla-type war" in Iraq.
Now, after a y of violence and 100s of US combat deaths, some officials and
experts are frustrated that a more effective counterinsurgency plan
has not materialised and that the hand-over of power to an interim Iraqi
govt last wk was unlikely to significantly improve the security situation.
"We're going to have the same cast of characters in Washington and the
same cmdr [Abizaid] in the field," said Andrew Krepinevich of the
Center of Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington, an expert
on counterinsurgency warfare. "What gives you a sense of confidence
we're going to become a lot more competent at something we haven't
shown a great deal of competence at doing for a year?"
Some top American officials bristle at the criticism and say the
US-led coalition's plan has been consistent from the beginning: to
bring security to Iraq in preparation for an eventual hand-over to
Iraqi forces.
"Our strategy is not complicated. It is to train Iraqis as quickly as
we possibly can and as efficiently as we possibly can, and to set the
conditions so they can take charge of their own security," said a snr
official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
And, the Admin argues, US forces handed a strategic defeat in Apr to
both Shiite and Sunni Muslim insurgents, forcing them to lower their
sights. Rather than confronting US forces, those insurgents have
turned to bombing Iraqi infrastructure and attempting to assassinate
leaders of the new Iraqi govt.
"They now cannot defeat us on the battlefield, so they are changing
their tactics," the official said.
Yet one of the biggest problems for US military and intel officials
remains the paucity of hard intel about the structure of the
insurgency.
For example, when Air Force Gen Richard B Myers, chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked recently during Senate testimony
whether the Iraqi insurgency was being coordinated from a central hub,
he responded: "The intel community, as far as I know, will not -- give
you an answer, because they can't give me an answer."
Military experts point out that a counterinsurgency is the most
difficult type of war to wage. With the exception of the successful
Brit effort in Malaya in the 1950s, history is littered with examples
of unsuccessful counterinsurgency strategies carried out by great
powers. As the French learned in Algeria in the 1950s, the US in
Vietnam a decade later and the Brit in N Ireland, the most difficult
part of any such operation is to separate the insurgents from the
civilians from whom they draw strength. This, some top Pentagon
officials say, has been one of the US military's difficulties in Iraq.
"The hope that the Iraqi people, upon having Saddam [Hussein] deposed,
would step forward enthusiastically and embrace this new opportunity,
turned out to be more optimistic than it should have been," Marine Gen
Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently told Congress.
"That, I think, has led to the opportunity for the terrorists then to
be able to operate without fear of being exposed by the population."
The 3-wk desert war during the spring of 2003, ending in the collapse
of Hussein's regime, vindicated the idea that a small US ground force,
combined with $bns worth of military technology, could make quick work
of a larger, yet hollow, enemy army. It was a conventional war that
the US military had trained and been equipped for since emerging from
the jungles of Vietnam 3 decades ago; a strategy executed with success
during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
What came afterward was far more difficult, and US cmdrs over the last
y have used what critics call a trial-and-error strategy against the
insurgency, with varying degrees of success.
Immediately after the fall of Baghdad, US cmdrs set their sights on
capturing the biggest stars in the Baath Party constellation, creating
the notorious deck of cards depicting the most wanted people from
Hussein's regime. Brigades of the Army's 4th Infantry Division carried
out raids throughout the so-called Sunni Triangle in search of Hussein
loyalists such as Izzat Ibrahim, vice chairman of the Baath Party's
Revolutionary Command Council.
The raids netted some important figures. Yet US officials now concede
that focusing too much on the top regime members did not have the
expected impact on the insurgency.
"I think there was probably too great a willingness to believe that
once we got the 55 people on the blacklist, the rest of those killers
would stop fighting," Deputy Def Sec Paul D Wolfowitz told Congress recently.
Defenders of American counterinsurgency efforts argue that the
violence in Iraq over the last y is part of a calculated plan by
members of Hussein's former regime, not the result of mis-steps by the
US-led occupation authority.
"It is the military and intel and secret police that never
surrendered. And they are continuing the fight," said the snr
Admin official.
After a string of bombings last summer -- most significantly, the
destruction of the UN compound in
Aug -- US cmdrs adopted a get-tough approach in central
Iraq. Troops used barbed wire to encircle entire villages, including
Al Auja, where Hussein was born. In Nov, the US launched
bombing raids on suspected insurgent hide-outs in Baghdad.
Ground troops scored successes during the period, developing better
intel about the Baathist insurgents. The 4th Infantry
Division drew up complex family trees of suspected party loyalists,
ultimately leading to Hussein's capture in Dec.
With the new year, the Marines began developing a "velvet glove"
strategy for their imminent deployment to the Sunni Triangle -- in
contrast to the more confrontational approach of the Army's 82nd
Airborne Division, which had responsibility for that area until
Mar. Relying on the Marine Corps "Small Wars Manual," the 1st
Marine Division planned to carry out more foot patrols in cities
such as Fallouja and send Marine platoons into villages to live for
extended periods. They also planned to shun the use of aerial
bombardment or artillery.
But that strategy went by the boards with the killing and mutilation
of 4 American contractors, which precipitated a Marine assault on
Fallouja in Apr. That offensive was cut short after US officials
in Baghdad and Washington decided the bloody campaign was having a
negative impact on the larger American effort in Iraq. The Marines
pulled back, marking another swerve in the counterinsurgency effort.
"We were winning, but we didn't get a win. It's a hard pill to
swallow," complained one Marine operations officer who recently
returned from Iraq, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Now, nobody
knows what's going on inside the city."
In many cases, US troops have been able to adapt on the ground
over the past year. The Army's 101st Airborne, which fought to
Baghdad, then assumed responsibility for Kurdish territories after
the war, is praised by Pentagon officials for bringing Kurdish
leaders into the US fold and keeping the level of violence in
northern Iraq to a minimum.
More recently, the Army's 1AD is credited with
successfully putting down revolts by Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada
Sadr's militia in Najaff and other S towns with a
comparatively limited use of force.
"It was a strategic defeat for Sadr," said the snr Admin
official. The cmdr of the 1st Armored, Maj Gen Martin
Dempsey, "put that mob action down quickly and decisively," the
official said.
Some top US cmdrs express optimism that as the US military
continues to adjust to the difficult warfare conditions in Iraq, the
counterinsurgency efforts will produce more positive results.
"I think we're in good shape going forward," said Maj Gen Charles
H. Swannack Jr, cmdr of the 82nd Airborne Division. "It will
all come out well if we stay the course."
At the same time, many experts point out that counterinsurgency work
is as much a political mission as it is a military one, requiring a
comprehensive strategy involving civilian officials planning
reconstruction projects and elections and military officers
gathering intel and carrying out raids against suspected
insurgents.
In Iraq, some top military officials say, the relationship between
the US military and the Coalition Provisional Authority was often
tense, making such close coordination difficult.
"CPA representatives would not get out in the field to get
on-the-spot input for assessment," Swannack said.
Maj Gen James N Mattis, who commands the 1st Marine Division in
Al Anbar province in W Iraq, has argued for m with US
civilians in Baghdad over the pace of reconstruction and the status
of US forces after the hand-over of power, Marine sources say. "He
did not pull any punches in his communications" to Baghdad, said one
Marine operations officer, speaking on condition of anonymity.
US military officials hope dissolution of the CPA and creation of
an embassy in Baghdad will help mend fences and engender the
cooperation that, experts say, is critical for the counterinsurgency
effort.
Although the Army recently has been incorporating counterinsurgency
work into its training of young soldiers, experts say that for
decades after Vietnam, the Army focused almost entirely on fighting
large tank battles in the desert, not armed militias in Third World
cities.
After the Sep 11 attacks, however, when the doctrine of
overwhelming force against an enemy became less relevant, the Army
found it needed to change course, and quickly. Back it went into the
counterinsurgency business.
Said analyst Krepinevich: "It's like telling Gen Motors to stop
building cars, and then 25 y later telling them you want them to
build a car."
More dead in Iraq violence
Baghdad (UPI). Suspected Iraqi insurgents and Iraqi police backed by
US troops battled in the heart of Baghdad Wed, but there was no word
on casualties.
Witnesses said the street fighting in Sunni-inhabited neighbourhoods
west of the Tigris River erupted when gunmen attacked a patrol of
Iraqi Nat'l Guardsmen combing the area in search of terrorists.
Exploding rockets and machine guns echoed in the usually crowded area,
which was hastily deserted.
US troops and Iraqi policemen cordoned off the scene. Coalition forces
have previously battled with Shiite gunmen in Baghdad's Sadr city, but
it was the 1st time fighting erupted in daylight in central Baghdad.
Earlier Wed, 3 powerful explosions rocked the well-guarded Green Zone
in central Baghdad.
A US army rep said 4 Marines were killed in an attack by suspected
Iraqi insurgents while on military patrol in the province of al-Anbar
in W Iraq. The rep gave no further details.
Witnesses said mortars slammed the HQ of the Iraqi Nat'l
Reconciliation Party of Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi in a posh Baghdad
neighbourhood mostly inhabited by Iraqi officials.
There were no reports of casualties in the attack, which caused minor
damage to the party HQ and nearby luxurious residences.
Missing Marine alive and free, brother says
7 troops killed; car bombing targets civilians
Baghdad (Free Press). A Lebanese-born US Marine whose beheading was
mistakenly reported on a radical Web site apparently has been freed
and is in a "safe place," his family said Tue.
Meanwhile, the violence continued in Iraq this wk. 7 US Marines
assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were killed in W Iraq,
the military said. 2 died in action Mon, while a 3rd died of his
wounds Mon. 4 other Marines were killed Tue.
Family members of Cpl Wassef Ali Hassoun, the 24-yo Marine, said they
had received reliable info that he had been freed.
"We received a sign that he is alive and he is released and everything
is OK," said Hassoun's older brother, Sami Hassoun.
"The sign is something that came directly from him. There is something
that nobody else could possibly know."
But the Marine's whereabouts remained unknown.
A statement by a group called the Islamic Response, given to the Arab
satellite TV network Al-Jazeera on Mon, said it had taken Wassef
Hassoun to a "place of safety" after he promised to abandon the US
military. It indicated that Hassoun had not been killed.
Hassoun has been missing since Jun 20, when he did not report for duty
at a Marine base nr Fallujah, 35 miles W of Baghdad. Some military
officials have said he may have been trying to desert to Lebanon,
where his father lives.
On Sat, 2 Web sites carried a message attributed to the leader of
another militant group, the Army of Ansar al-Sunna, saying it had
beheaded Hassoun. But Sun, the Army of Ansar al-Sunna posted an
Internet message saying that it had not killed Hassoun and that
someone had put a false message on the 2 Web sites.
In other violence Tue, a car bomber killed at least 14 people in the
central town of Khalis, and another kidnapping by militants -- this
time of an Egyptian truck driver -- was reported.
However, for the 1st time, a vigilante group emerged, threatening to
retaliate for the violence, which has often killed Iraqi civilians.
A previously unknown group calling itself the Salvation Movement
threatened Tue to kill Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian radical
accused in numerous attacks.
"This is the last warning: If you don't stop, we will do to you what
the coalition forces have failed to do," said a masked gunman who
appeared in a video with 4 other militants.
A day earlier, US-led coalition forces launched an air strike on a
suspected al-Zarqawi safe house in the militant stronghold of
Fallujah. The attack killed 15 people, witnesses said.
The US military said it had no info on the Salvation Movement and
reiterated that vigilante groups wouldn't be tolerated under Iraqi law.
Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi is expected to introduce some form of martial law
today to curb the violence, though such a measure would rely heavily
on the cooperation of US-led forces in enforcing curfews and rooting
out attackers. Allawi has released few details for what he's referred
to as an "emergency law."
Weapons may not be found: Brit PM Tony Blair said Tue that the
unconventional weapons cited as a justification for the war against
Iraq might never be found.
"We know Saddam Hussein had WMD, but we know we haven't found them,"
Blair said, referring to the former Iraqi president during a meeting
with snr govt legislators. "I have to accept we have not found them,
that we may not find them."
Iraq confident of debt write off
[Rights groups pushing for debt write-offs for other countries
formerly ruled by US-backed dictators].
Baghdad (Herald Sun). The Iraqi govt expressed confidence today that
global lenders would write off its huge $US120 bn foreign debt,
helping to rebuild Iraq's war-ravaged economy and revive the vital oil sector.
Interim Finance Min Adel Abdel Mahdi said apart from the US, other
countries had also showed an inclination to forgive the debt completely.
"It is not just the US which has agreed to write off our external
debt, but many others have told us that they are ready to completely
forgive the loan," said Mr Mahdi.
But he declined to name the countries which had made such an offer,
simply saying, "We are talking to them and they have told us that they
are ready to do it".
Mr Mahdi noted that a meeting of lenders has been organised for late
Oct in Tokyo where further progress on the issue would be possible.
A debt write-off would also help the world economy as Iraq would be in
a stronger position to exploit its vast oil reserves and thus ease
pressure on world crude prices, the minister said.
"Our debt write-off would help in moderating the crude oil prices in
the long term as we would be able to exploit our oil resources
efficiently," Mr Mahdi told a news conference.
The minister said the govt had appointed global professional service
firm Ernst and Young as legal advisers in negotiating the debt issue
with lenders.
"Forgiving our debt is critical to the economy which has been affected
by external and internal wars for many years. We are sure the world
would understand this," he said.
Last m world leaders broke up a 3-day summit without bridging a rift
over US Pres George W Bush's proposal to forgive Iraq's debt.
The proposal faced staunch resistance from many countries, especially
France, at the Group of 8 (G8) summit in the S American state of Georgia.
While the US, which has allocated an $US18.4 bn aid package to Iraq,
was lobbying for a 100% write-off, France expressed willingness to cut
up to 50% of Iraq's debt.
French Pres Jacques Chirac said he was prepared to let Iraq off the
hook on 1/2 the debt, but was scathing about the US request to go further.
"Iraq is a rich country," Mr Chirac said at Georgia.
"How would you explain to heavily-indebted poor countries like Nigeria
that in 3 m we are going to offer more for Iraq than we have done in
10 y for 37 heavily-indebted poor countries? It makes no sense. It is
not decent."
Russia and Canada have also resisted the American move to release Iraq
from its obligations.
An optimistic Mr Mahdi, however, said Iraq was ready to offer
lucrative rebuilding contracts to companies of donor countries, a
demand made by Germany at the G8 summit.
"We are having many proposals from companies operating in these
countries and their contracts are being looked into. Some of them have
agreed to convert their loans into projects," Mr Mahdi said.
Trying to paint a rosy economic picture, the minister said Iraq's
inflation was controlled despite salaries shooting up more than
ten-fold in the past few months.
"This indicates a healthy situation. Inflation is lower than what it
was a y ago. Statistics on this front are being prepared as we have
just started work."
Mr Mahdi said his govt was willing to open the economy to foreign
investors, especially in key sectors such as banking.
"Many banks have shown interest in opening branches in Iraq and we are
looking into their proposals," he said.
Iraq tightens security laws
Baghdad (Asia Times). Against the backdrop of a running battle in
Baghdad on Wed involving small-arms fire, mortars and grenades, Iraqi
officials put the final touches to a new security plan that will
increase detention powers and allow the PM to mobilise the country's
armed forces to deal with insurgents.
Interim PM Ayad Allawi has signed the plan into law, but details are
still being thrashed out and were expected to be released late on
Wed. Snr Iraqi govt officials have told reporters the law will set
curfews in trouble spots, reinstate the death penalty and offer a
partial amnesty to encourage guerrillas to turn in their weapons.
Earlier in the morning in central Baghdad, mortars landed nr Allawi's
home and office in what was believed to be an intentional attack on
his compound.
5 people were wounded -- 3 of them critically -- in the attack.
The security initiative has been delayed several times, even as
insurgents target Iraq's power supply and oil pipelines. At the same
time, a N Atlantic Treaty Organization official is conducting a
fact-finding mission in Iraq to see what kind of military and police
training help it can provide to the govt.
In another development, Sami Hassoun, the brother of an American
marine corporal who was taken hostage last month and reported killed
in Iraq, asserted that his sibling, Wassef Hassoun, is alive and had
been freed from captivity.
Charles Recknagel of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports that
Hassoun's family had publicly appealed to his captors to release him.
An Iraqi Islamic group stated on Mon that it had taken the 24-yo
marine translator to a safe place after he allegedly promised to quit
the army. The group -- calling itself Islamic Response -- faxed the
statement to the Qatar-based satellite news channel al-Jazeera.
2 US civilians and one S Korean have been beheaded by hostage-takers
in Iraq and Saudi Arabia since mid-May. The continuing drama around
Hassoun's capture comes as US forces battle what appears to be an
increasingly well-organised insurgency in Iraq. The insurgents make
frequent use of kidnappings and suicide bombings -- as well as
guerrilla attacks -- to target US troops and allied Iraqi security
forces and officials.
The sophistication of the insurgent operations was highlighted this wk
in a videotape of bombing attacks obtained from militants by the US
weekly magazine Time.
The videotape, aired on Reuters TV, shows carefully orchestrated
suicide bombings against targets in Baghdad and elsewhere. The
explosions are recorded at the moment they occur by accomplices of the
bomber pre-positioned with a video camera nearby. The videotape, which
appears intended to recruit new members to the militants' ranks,
includes some of the bombers reading final statements before embarking
on their suicide missions.
A correspondent for Time magazine who was invited by insurgents to
report on their activities says the militants he met were often highly
trained former members of Saddam Hussein's security forces.
The correspondent, Michael Ware, writes that the insurgents have
increasingly adopted fundamentalist Islamic beliefs. He says "foreign
fighters, once estranged from home-grown guerrilla groups, are now
integrated as cells or complete units with Iraqis".
In one measure of the group's abilities to launch well-coordinated
attacks, bombings in 5 Iraqi cities on a single day late last m left
at least 100 people, including 3 Americans, dead. The attacks occurred
within a few hours in Fallujah, Ramadi, Baqubah, Mosul and Baghdad.
Meanwhile, at least 10 US marines have been killed in the past wk
while conducting "security and stability operations" in Anbar province
in W Iraq.
Allawi, whose sovereign govt took power at the end of last m, says
multinat'l troops must stay in the country to maintain security.
Responding to comments by Syrian and Iranian leaders that "occupying
forces" should leave Iraq, Allawi told the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya TV
station: "Yes, I saw [news of those comments] on TV. There are no
occupying forces in Iraq. There is an internat'l force that is here on
request of Iraq and on the request of the Iraqi govt. Their presence
is essential for maintaining security. The departure of these forces
would be detrimental to Iraq at this stage."
In Baghdad on Tue, Allawi's govt said it had provided intel to the US
military for an air strike earlier in the day in the city of Fallujah,
in which at least 10 people were reported killed. The air strike
purportedly targeted a suspected hideout linked to militant Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi.
Iraq passes emergency-powers law to fight insurgents
Baghdad (Bloomberg). The Iraqi govt, on its 10th day in office,
introduced a law to give PM Ayad Allawi's Admin the power to impose a
state of emergency to combat insurgents.
"There are severe dangers threatening us here, and we have tried to
guarantee justice and also to guarantee human rights," Bikhtiyar Amin,
the minister of human rights, said in a broadcast from Baghdad. The
law, effective today, will enable a declaration of emergency "if and
when it's needed," Amin said.
The interim govt will be empowered to detain people without charge,
restrict the movement of foreigners, ban groups, and seek US military
help in times of emergency. The law can't be used to postpone
elections, scheduled for Jan.
Hours before Amin spoke, mortar bombs exploded nr Allawi's offices in
Baghdad, wounding 5 people, Agence France-Presse reported. The US-led
coalition handed over sovereignty Jun 28 in an unannounced ceremony
amid a spate of bombings, 15 ms after tanks and troops laid claim to Baghdad.
"These cowardly criminals are still desperately attempting to prevent
our rich country from moving forward," Allawi said in an e-mailed statement.
Iraq, the fifth-largest oil producer in the Middle East, resumed
exports through Persian Gulf terminals today, 5 days after they were
reduced by 1/2 because of a leak at a pipeline, shipping officials
said. Allawi said in Jun that the nation has lost $1 bn in oil income
as a result of sabotage.
* Checkpoint Incident
Yesterday, a 4-yo boy was killed and another child was wounded when a
vehicle attempted to run a US checkpoint in W Baghdad, the US military
said. The man driving the vehicle tried to pass by other waiting cars
and didn't obey an order to stop, US military officials told reporters
in Baghdad today.
The man, once he was apprehended, said the brakes on his car weren't
working. US soldiers then tested the car and found the brakes worked
fine, the official told reporters.
A Filipino was taken hostage today and will be killed unless the
Philippines withdraws all its soldiers from Iraq within the next 3
days, Agence France-Presse reported, citing the Arabic- language
al-Jazeera TV station. The Philippines has about 100 soldiers inside
Iraq, according to US figures.
Last month, a S Korean man was beheaded by his captors after S Korea
refused to withdraw its soldiers from Iraq.
An American man, Paul Johnson Jr, was beheaded in Saudi Arabia after
the Saudi govt refused the kidnappers' demand that all al-Qaeda
terrorists be released from the country's jails.
* Patriot Act
The new law in Iraq is "similar to the Patriot Act in the US," Amin
said. It will be "available to us when we feel there is danger to
nat'l security."
The 2001 US act gives the Fed Govt powers to pursue suspected
terrorists and track and intercept communications. It also enables the
Treasury to combat money laundering.
US-led multinat'l forces have a UN mandate to stay in Iraq until the
end of 2005 to maintain security and train local forces. About 645 US
military personnel have been killed by hostile fire in Iraq since the
invasion in Mar 2003, according to the Dept of Defense.
"The Iraqi govt should only use Iraqi forces during a state of
emergency, but if there is a rare case where they cannot handle the
situation, some foreign forces may be asked to help," Iraqi Justice
Min Malik al-Dohan al-Hassan said in today's broadcast address.
Iraq's deposed president, Saddam Hussein, and the former leaders of
his Baath party regime were last wk served with arrest and detention
warrants. The prisoners include Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as Chemical
Ali because of his role in gas attacks, and Tariq Aziz, the former dep PM.
4 Fatah-linked militants shot dead in Gaza clashes
Gaza (AFP). 4 Palestinian militants have been shot dead in the N Gaza
town of Beit Hanoun during heavy clashes with the Israeli army,
medical sources said. According to Dr Mahmud al-Asali, head of the
Kamal Adwan hospital in the nearby Jabalya refugee camp, all 4, who
had links to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, were
in their 20s. Troops swarmed into Beit Hanoun 10 days ago in a bid to
put an end to the firing of Qassam rockets into Israel by Palestinian
militants, shortly after one of the makeshift rockets claimed its 1st
Israeli lives. Dozens of Palestinians in the town have been either
injured or killed since the outset of the incursion, which Israeli
Defence Min Shaul Mofaz said would continue until a planned Israeli
withdrawal from Gaza by the end of 2005.
Rhetoric from right alarms Israeli leaders
Jerusalem (LA Times). The Israeli parliament met Tue night to discuss
reports that far-right Jewish activists were inciting violence to
oppose the removal of Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip.
Pres Moshe Katsav earlier urged rabbis and Jewish leaders in Gaza and
the W Bank to prevent violence by an "extreme rightist minority"
determined to block the planned withdrawal from settlements in the 2 areas.
The actions Tue came after PM Ariel Sharon, who proposed the pullout,
acknowledged concerns for his safety after warnings of growing
extremism among opponents of the plan.
"It pains me that as someone who all his life protected Jews in the
wars of Israel, I now need defence against Jews, for fear someone
might try to harm me," Sharon, a former general, told centrist
political allies Mon night in remarks quoted in the newspaper Haaretz.
Sharon rep Raanan Gissin said: "He's concerned about the atmosphere,
the general attitude that this could very quickly deteriorate into
action. He's pledged that he will carry through -- without a civil war."
Internal Security Min Tzachi Hanegbi told an Israeli TV station Tue
night that he feared that some opponents might have decided to try to
stop the withdrawal by assassinating a key govt figure, such as
Sharon, or an official of the nat'l police or military.
Sharon, who through much of his political career has been a major
supporter of the settlers movement, has proposed withdrawing Jews from
all 21 Gaza settlements and 4 in the W Bank. The move, which would
reduce Israel's exposure to attack in Gaza, has been criticised by
Palestinian officials who fear that the Israeli leader is seeking to
unilaterally draw the borders of their future state.
Avi Dichter, head of the Shin Bet, the country's domestic security
agency, said Sun that there were increasing signs that resistance to
the planned pullout could turn violent.
A-G Menachem Mazuz said he would convene a meeting of judicial
officials and others this wk to discuss possible criminal prosecution
in cases of alleged incitement.
The comments have sparked a debate over the proper bounds of resistance
to the pullout and brought protests from rabbis and activists from the W
Bank and Gaza, who said the warnings of extremism were baseless and incendiary.
"One of the pillars of a democratic regime is that people be allowed
to express themselves in a nonviolent manner," said Rabbi Mordechai
Rabinovitch, secretary of the rabbis council for the W Bank and Gaza.
Rabinovitch said attempts to crack down on protest could spur
confrontations between settlers and Israeli forces.
Opponents plan to protest the pullout plan, approved in principle by
the Cabinet last m, using various tactics that include conducting a
petition drive and forming a human chain from Jerusalem to the Gush
Katif settlement bloc in Gaza.
The govt has yet to approve the evacuations, which Sharon wants to
complete by late next y. About 7,500 settlers live in the Gaza Strip
and a few hundred inhabit the 4 W Bank settlements slated for evacuation.
Fears of violence were stirred last wk after a Jerusalem rabbi was
reported to have declared that anyone removing Jewish settlements
would be subject to the death penalty under an ancient Jewish law
known as din rodef.
The rabbi, Avigdor Neventzal, said, however, that the law could no
longer be enforced, according to news reports. He did not mention
Sharon by name.
The statement nonetheless stoked memories of the 1995 assassination of
PM Yitzhak Rabin by a law student opposed to Israeli concessions under
the Oslo peace agreement with the Palestinians. The gunman, Yigal
Amir, said he acted after hearing right-wing rabbis declare that
anyone ceding the Land of Israel to non-Jews may be killed under din rodef.
Uri Elitzur, chief of staff under former PM Benjamin Netanyahu, fuelled
the latest controversy Mon when he said during a radio interview that
"it is a lot more forbidden to evacuate settlements than to beat up soldiers."
The remarks drew a warning from Justice Min Tommy Lapid, a pullout
supporter. He said Israeli law safeguards free speech but bars incitement.
"If people exploit this very liberal policy on the part of the Justice
Ministry and use the freedom of speech to incite to murder, to din
rodef and to injure soldiers, then I assume that they would be testing
the A-G's tolerance," Lapid said.
In Washington, meanwhile, Secretary of State Colin L Powell told
Israeli For Min Silvan Shalom on Tue to pick up the pace of the
promised dismantling of settlement outposts in the W Bank.
"I explained to the minister that we have some disappointment in the
rate at which outposts had been removed," Powell said.
Shalom defended Israel's record, saying, "We removed tens of outposts
already. There are 28 left."
In other developments, 4 Palestinians and an Israeli military officer
died during an Israeli raid in a refugee camp in the W Bank city of
Nablus. 2 of the Palestinians killed were identified by Israeli
sources as militant leaders suspected of dispatching a suicide bomber
last wk who was thwarted.
But the military acknowledged that 2 civilians also were killed:
an engineering professor at An Najah Nat'l University in Nablus and
his 16-yo son. The 2 were at home when a Palestinian gunman took cover
in their apartment building, the army said. They were killed during
the ensuing combat, according to the military.
The professor, identified as 50-yo Khalid Salah, earned his doctorate
at UC Davis in 1985 and held permanent-resident status in the US, An
Najah officials said. 3 Israeli soldiers were wounded during the early
morning fighting.
In Gaza, Israeli forces fatally shot 2 Palestinians who hurled
grenades and opened fire along a road to the Gush Katif settlements,
the military said.
Ariz wildfire gets close to observatory
Safford, AZ (AP). A mountainside wildfire was within a quarter-mile
of a $200 mn mountaintop observatory Wed, but firefighters were most
concerned about summer homes in 2 small communities that were in the
path of the flames.
Crews continued cutting vegetation Wed in the Mount Graham communities,
where cabins have been drenched with water and wrapped with aluminium
to deflect heat.
Officials were hopeful that they could save the Mount Graham
Internat'l Observatory, which was surrounded by a broad cleared area
and had sprinklers.
The same blaze nearing the observatory was about 1 1/2 to 2 miles from
Columbine, a community of some 15 homes and cabins.
The 2nd blaze was between the observatory and Turkey Flat. It was
within a mile of Turkey Flat on Wed and officials were worried that it
would strike the community of about 74 summer homes, said fire crew
rep Bill Duemling.
The 2 fires had earlier prompted evacuation of the observatory and
both communities.
"That has the potential to build heat and start marching up the
canyon," said Dan Oltrogge, an incident cmdr for the team fighting the
fire. "The weather is not giving us much of a break today."
Officials said the blazes had charred more than 22,100 acres
combined. Both were 10% contained.
Despite the firefighting efforts, some Turkey Flat residents feared
the blaze would reach the community's cabins, many of which have been
passed down in families for generations.
"I just have a feeling that it's going to be all gone," said Judy
Rhoads, adding that she and her grandchildren cry at the thought of
the family's cabin burning.
Richard Lines said he stares at the mountain range from his office
window in Safford each day and fears the fire will sweep through
Turkey Flat, where he owns a cabin.
"It's been kind of gut-wrenching to watch this fire for a week. It
just gets closer and closer and closer," he said. "The closer it gets,
the more your heart goes to your throat."
Home to some of the world's most powerful telescopes, the observatory
encompasses 8 buildings and 8 1/2 acres of pine forest on Mount
Graham's 10,470-foot Emerald Peak. Although its metal structures
should withstand the flames, officials said smoke and heat could
damage delicate instruments.
The observatory has 2 operating telescopes and a $120 mn telescope
that is under construction. When fully operational next year, the
Large Binocular Telescope will be the world's most advanced optical
telescope, capable of producing images nearly 10 times sharper than
those from the Hubble Space Telescope.
Scientists feared that the fires also could devastate the only
population of Mount Graham red squirrels, an endangered species
already imperilled by insect outbreaks, habitat loss and long-term drought.
Elsewhere in Arizona, a fire had blackened 90,500 acres of the Tonto
Nat'l Forest W of Payson, a town of some 14,000 people. The blaze was
22% contained on Wed and was not threatening any homes or communities.
A separate small fire nr the city forced the evacuation of about 85
homes, said Emily Garber, a rep for the crew fighting the fire.
In Alaska, 100s of residents evacuated last wk because of a huge
wildfire NE of Fairbanks were allowed to return home Wed.
Oregon Diocese 1st to File Bankruptcy
Portland, ORE (LA Times). The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland,
Ore, filed for bankruptcy Tue, becoming the 1st Catholic diocese in
the nation to seek financial protection against $mns in potential
sexual-abuse claims.
Though Portland is the first, it probably will not be the last of the
nation's 195 dioceses to seek court protection from the scandal's effects.
The diocese of Tucson is expected to seek bankruptcy protection by
mid-Sep, according to that diocese's vicar general, Father Van
Wagner. Tucson's Bishop Gerald F Kicanas has likened the increasing
sexual-abuse claims to a monsoon.
Others, particularly smaller dioceses with relatively few assets that
can be sold, could follow suit. In doing so, bishops would cross a
line where US church leaders until now had hesitated.
Although the Roman Catholic Church is theologically and liturgically
united, each diocese operates as a separate legal entity.
Major corporations have gone to bankruptcy court in the last few
decades to limit payouts in massive lawsuits involving products
including asbestos and birth control devices. In a Chapter 11
bankruptcy such as the diocese's, an institution continues to operate
while its debts are reorganised. A judge can limit how much a person
who is owed money will get. Plaintiffs who claim injuries must wait in
line along with other creditors.
But bankruptcy also means a bishop could lose large portions of his
authority over the temporal affairs of his diocese. Diocesan
operations would be placed under the scrutiny of a bankruptcy court.
"A bankruptcy judge is suddenly making all the decisions for you,"
said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a rep in Washington for the US Conference
of Catholic Bishops. "This is a completely uncharted area. It's
certainly not the 1st solution of choice."
Portland's archbishop, John G Vlazny, announced his decision in a
letter to parishes. "Today I am doing something I hoped I would never
have to do," he wrote.
At a news conference later, he told reporters, "The pot of gold is
pretty much empty right now."
Vlazny said the archdiocese wasn't trying to avoid its responsibility
to compensate molestation victims but trying to assure fairness in
distributing available funds -- and keep running the day-to-day
ministries that serve 350,000 Catholics and others.
The bankruptcy was not expected to affect local parishes, the
archdiocese said. Under church law, the archbishop cannot seize parish
property or tap assets held in charitable trusts.
The decision to seek Chapter 11 protection emphasised the magnitude of
the still unfolding costs of the scandal, which erupted in 2002 in
Boston and has spread across the nation. The LA Archdiocese, the
nation's largest, is facing about 540 sexual-abuse claims. Those cases
are under mediation in an effort to avoid trials.
Dozens of dioceses have considered filing for bankruptcy, including
the archdioceses of Boston and Dallas. Those 2 avoided bankruptcy.
Boston has closed parishes and sold assets in order to do so. Other
bishops with fewer assets at their disposal or less generous insurance
coverage say they may not have that choice.
"When a dangerous storm is approaching, you should seek shelter. In
its own way, Chapter 11 reorganisation represents an option for
shelter for our diocese," Tucson's Bishop Kicanas said in a recent
letter to his parishioners.
Vlazny, who became Portland's archbishop in 1997, has pointed to a
series of factors that led to his decision.
In the last 4 y, the Portland church has paid more than $53 mn to
settle more than 130 claims, with insurance picking up about 1/2 the
total cost. Since then, 25 more claims have been filed, and 2
plaintiffs had been scheduled to go to court Tue.
Between them, the 2 plaintiffs were seeking $155 mn, Vlazny wrote.
The bankruptcy proceedings put that trial on hold. "Finally, when it
was time for them to face us and be held accountable for the sins of
their crimes and the sins of their cover-up, I don't think they were
stand-up enough to come forward," one of the 2 plaintiffs, James
Devereaux, 51, said in a telephone interview. He said he was molested
by his parish priest between the ages of 8 and 13.
In Feb, the Portland archdiocese released a statement saying the church
had already borrowed "substantial sums" to pay claims, had laid off 20
workers at its pastoral centre and had cut dept budgets by 30% to 50%.
On Tue, a rep declined to disclose how much the archdiocese had borrowed.
Compounding the church's financial straits was the refusal by insurance
companies to shoulder what Vlazny insisted was their share of the
costs. "Major insurers have abandoned us and are not paying what they
should on the claims," he wrote in his letter to parishes.
Church officials declined Tue to identify the insurance companies. There
was no immediate comment from one company, which was identified by a
plaintiff's attorney. But other church officials outside the Portland
diocese said part of the problem was that many of the claims involved
actions that took place y ago and were covered by insurance policies
with dollar limits that were low by current standards.
An attorney who represents a dozen victims in Portland, and David
Clohessy, nat'l director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by
Priests, said they were skeptical about Vlazny's claims of lacking money.
"The statement -- about a pot of gold is so repugnant and so
insulting. This is a criminal proceeding. We're dealing with an
organisation that tolerated the raping of children and covered it up,
and now they are acting as if they are the victim. It is reprehensible,"
Portland attorney David Slader said in a telephone interview.
Clohessy, reached in Cape Cod, Mass, said that "every diocese" had
withheld a detailed accounting of its assets. He said the church
lacked credibility to claim poverty.
"We just have to remember the bishops who cry bankruptcy are, by and
large, the same men who said things like, 'No, we don't have abuse
cases in this diocese,' or, 'No, we don't cover them up.' The onus to
show they're being honest at this point clearly falls on them," he said.
In NY, Father Thomas Reese, editor of the Jesuit magazine America,
said he expected more bankruptcies.
In the past, he said, a troubled diocese could turn to other dioceses
for help.
"But everybody's in trouble. Nobody has any money to spare," Reese
said. "People in the pews are not willing to pony up for this.
They're willing to give money to their parish and Catholic education,
but they don't want to pay to settle these suits, not with their
hard-earned money."
US should 'stand back' from Aust politics, NZ PM says
Wellington. NZ PM Helen Clark has advised the US Govt to stay out of
Aussie politics. US Deputy Sec of State Richard Armitage says Labor
politicians have spoken "candidly and plainly" about internal
divisions over Mark Latham's pledge to pull troops out of Iraq.
Labor's Kevin Rudd recently held talks with Mr Armitage but he says he
is mystified by the comments. The Fed Govt has attempted to
capitalise on the apparent divisions. Helen Clark says it is too easy
to create a reaction even with apparently innocent observations. "It
really is perilous to get into another country's politics and I'm
always very careful not to comment on politics here," she said. "I
suppose I can only give the US politicians the same advice, that
really Aussies have got to have the debate themselves about who is
best to lead them, and other people should stand back and then we all
have a professional duty to work with whoever is elected."
Police DNA proposal criticised by civil libertarians
Sydney. Civil libertarians have criticised a proposal, which could
lead to Aussie police officers providing their DNA to a nat'l database.
Fed Police Commissioner Mick Keelty says police already provide their
fingerprints, and should also provide a genetic sample as a condition
of employment.
Pres of the Aussie Council for Civil Liberties, Terry O'Gorman, says
no-one should be forced to give DNA.
"Police can be morally encouraged to volunteer their DNA but police
should not be required to do so," he said.
"Ordinary citizens are not required to do so except in limited
circumstances, police when they are working are ordinary citizens
[and] they are entitled to their privacy.
"That proposal should not be accepted."
* Silence
Mr Keelty has also stirred civil libertarians by calling for changes
to a defendant's legal right to silence.
Mick Keelty says suspects accused of criminal acts are exploiting the right.
He says a jury should be entitled to consider whether the silence is
an attempt to avoid his or her actions.
Mr O'Gorman says that argument has been thoroughly tested and dismissed.
"2 major inquiries have been held in Vic and in NSW and both inquiries
have travelled to Brit," he said.
"Both inquiries have said that the changes and the right to silence in
the UK has made trials much more technical, much more complex and much
longer and hasn't done anything to improve the crime clear up rate."
Storm experts converge next wk
Brisbane (AAP). Global warming heightens the risk of huge property
damage in rapidly expanding coastal communities, a weather expert has warned.
But minimising that kind of damage will be the key focus of Bris's
Internat'l Conference on Storms next wk.
"Storms become more of a problem simply because more people and more
assets such as buildings are being affected," Rex Falls, a former
regional director of the Aussie Bureau of Meteorology in Qld told AAP.
"With climate change, the predictions, such as we have, become more
serious there, too."
About 250 delegates from around AUS, Europe, North America and the
Asia Pacific region will attend the 5 day conference.
"The majority of the people will be meteorologists and
oceanographers," said Mr Falls, the conference organiser.
"But we are also bringing along engineers with an interest in the way
buildings respond, emergency managers and people who are studying
flooding plus social scientists with an interest in the way people
respond to risk."
The conference has been organised by the Aussie Meteorological and
Oceanographic Society (AMOS), an independent body with an interest in
meteorology, oceanography and related sciences.
The Bureau of Meteorology is a major co-sponsor of the conference.
Dr Sharman Stone, parliamentary secretary with responsibility for the
Aussie Bureau of Meteorology, said that more than 80% of all natural
disasters were meteorological or flood-related.
Internat'l co-operation on forecasting and info exchange was vital,
she said.
"Not only do we need to understand the causes of storms and how to
adequately predict them, we also need to ensure we have appropriate
short and long-term mitigation measures in place," Dr Stone said.
In AUS, the heaviest weather-related insurance losses are caused by
hailstorms, bushfires and floods.
On Jan 18, 1985, what was rated to be AUS's biggest thunderstorm left
a 12 km wide swath of damage, 30 km long from the SW to the N suburbs
of Bris.
Insurance losses topped $300 mn.
But the costliest storm ever in AUS was a hailstorm in SYD in Apr
1999, which caused insurance losses of over $1 billion, Dr Stone said.
{{
6 am
On the day the Iraqi govt has unveiled new Draconian security laws,
insurgents and police and nat'l guards battled on the streets of
Baghdad. The gunfire followed 4 bomb blasts nr the party HQ of PM
Allawi. US forces were called in during the fire-fight, but fired no
shots. 2 Iraqi nat'l guards were killed and 19 wounded in the
exchanges. Police foiled a bomb attack when they discovered a
vehicle packed with 750 kg of explosives.
7 am
Gold has risen almost $10 o'night to $US402.70/oz. After a deal
between Total and the Nigerian govt, prod'n is back online and the
price of NYMEX fell to $US39.12/bbl. It broke $40 before falling
back. Wall St is sharply higher, closing up 21. The Nasdaq was 3 pts
higher. In London, the FTSE ended down 12 pts. The AUD was higher
after the greenback tumbled on expectations of int rates. The Aussie
is trading at 72.25 US c -- up about 1 c.
Former Enron chairman Ken (known as "Kenny Boy" in the Whitehouse) Lay
has been indicted on fraud charges.
After a typhoon hit Taiwan during the wk a dozen people are still
missing. The govt has criticised property development in C Taiwan. In
the face of increasingly bad global weather conditions, Taipei says
land development has placed people in danger.
In China, mud slides and extreme weather continue following a hurricane
earlier in the wk. The severe weather has left 10,000 people
homeless, more than 100 dead and dozens missing.
In Washington, Donny Rumsfeld says the US and AUS will "integrate
their military forces for the 21st century". Def Min Hill has signed
AUS up for the US missile shield, as well as giving the green light
for US training bases in Qld and the NT. Papers say the US is putting
in $70 bn for the project, Japan is chopping in $10 bn, but there is
no word on how much Aussie taxpayers will shell out.
A man at the centre of the SYD airport security scare yesterday, has
been sent to hospital for a medical examination.
Australia's unemployment data for Jun are expected to remain at 23-y
lows. The number of jobs is expected to rebound by 25,000 after an
unexpected decline in May.
A new survey finds 2/3 of mature-age job seekers are let down by the
Howard govt's failing Jobs Network. [Do tell!]
Following claims Aussie Guatmo detainee Mamdouh Habib has been
tortured by Egyptian authorities, the US has released details of his
imminent military commission. Pres Bush has elected 9 more Guatmo
detainees that have become "eligible" for the 1940s-style
hearsay-as-"evidence" and limited discovery tribunals. While the names
weren't released, diplomats were told Habib is one of them.
US Under Sec of State Armitage claims the Australian Opp'n is "split
down the middle" over the withdrawal of its 200 troops from Iraq. But
he seemed to be rather vague on the status or even existence of Aussie
POW's in Guatmo. Labor MP's and officials have questioned how Armitage
could construe their "robust discussions" with the Bush Admin as
"division". FM Downer says Labor has been telling Washington one
thing, and Aussie voters something else. [Projection, if ever I've
heard it ;-)].
3 men have been hurt in the first day of the "running of the bulls" in
Pamplona, Spain.
NZ kiddies will be given meningococcal inoculations. The series of 3
jabs will be free, but not guaranteed to be absolutely painless.
The head of Spain's bomb disposal squad has fronted the parliamentary
inquiry into the Madrid attacks. His evidence has raised new
questions over the former conservative govt's handling of the
bombings. He told the committee that non-one had ID-ed the brand of
dynamite normally used by ETA at the scene of the blasts. The govt
had almost immediately made such a link public. The govt claims
created a perception among voters they had been misled and caused the
govt to be ejected 3 days after the attacks.
S Korea says the invasion of Iraq has caused the N to dig more tunnels
nr the border, and test more missiles.
In another development, "quality food for university students" has
been ordered by the "beloved leader" -- MacDonald-style hamburgers.
Normally, anything associated with the US is treated with enormous
suspicion in Pyongyang. During famines in the 1990s an estimated 1 mn
N Koreans died from starvation.
Italy's credit rating has been reduced to AA-.
3 people are missing after a school trip to Gippsland, Vic.
7.30 am
The the day a Lebanese-born US Marine found his way to Lebanon,
there's a new hostage crisis. Militants have captured a Filipino
truck driver and set a deadline of 72 hrs for the Philippines govt to
withdraw troops and workers from Iraq.
The Royal Flying Doctor says services could be affected by new airport
charges and taxes.
Phone bills could be lowered after a new deal between Telstra and
Optus. But don't hold your breath.
A 78 yo MEL pensioner -- who claims he shot a dingo with baby Azaria
in its mouth -- has passed a lie detector test.
Midday.
"Merely a blip" says the Howard govt. But Aussie unemployment is
unexpectedly up 0.1 points to 5.6%. Full-time emp rose by 39,300
jobs, but PT emp fell by 49,300. Job numbers fell by 8,000, instead
of increasing by an expected 25,000. The govt has reflexively blamed
the opp'n for blocking its IR reforms. The Opp'n says the govt isn't
doing enough to keep mature-age workers in jobs. Labor has released a
$212 mn proposal to keep them in work. In the age bracket 50-64, 1/3
are on some kind of welfare says Labor.
The local markets are weaker, despite a positive lead from Wall St.
The All Ords is down 3 at 5,357. The Dow closed up 21. The Nasdaq
added 3 pts. The Nikkei closed up 3. The Hang Seng is presently up
20. The aud is trading around 72.31 US c. Gold lost $1.30 to
$US401.15/oz. Oil is steady at $US39.08/bbl. In London, the FTSE is
down 12.
6 pm
The All Ords ended up 3 pts. The NAB was higher at $A30.75 [Woo-Hoo!].
6.30 pm
Aussie A-G Phil Ruddock has defended the decision of a SYD lawyer to
join Saddam's defence team. It was an unusual case, said Phil, but
there were no ethical problems with the decision. Marsden is
ethically obliged to help if asked to do so, says Ruddock.
The interim Iraqi govt has defended its new powers. Some Iraqis feel
they go too far. But the Human Rights Min says Iraqis should feel protected.
Manila. Pres Arroyo has stopped any more Phil's going to Iraq after one
was captured by guerrillas. The govt is trying to establish the ID of
the hostage. Rebels gave the Phil govt 72 hrs to withdraw troops, of
the man would be executed. At Manila airport, 120 workers hired by a
Dubai-based contractor were prevented from leaving for Iraq. They
are not happy, because work in Iraq provided one of the few
opportunities to earn hard currency.
A Pal has been shot dead and an Israeli soldier has been wounded in
Beit Hanoun. A firefight erupted when gunmen reportedly ambushed
Israeli soldiers who were on a raid. The army moved in 10 days ago,
to stop militants firing home-made rockets into Israel. During the
latest sweep, soldiers were ambushed, sparking an intense firefight.
1 soldier was critically wounded. 8 Pal gunmen were reportedly
killed. At least 5 were armed militants. The ID's of 2 others is not
known. The army says an officer was seriously injured and evac'd to
an Israeli hospital.
The Pentagon has promised to investigate claims Aussie POW Habib was
tortured in Egypt before being imprisoned in Guatmo. The Pentagon has
not revealed the names of 9 people designated for trial. But FM
Downer has revealed after talks in Washington that Habib is one of
them. The torture allegations will be looked into ... said Rummy.
Downer revealed the AUS govt had known Habib was in Egyptian custody.
In a speech looking ahead to his 4th term, PM Howard complained the
Aussie culture had become more course and less restrained in the past
decade. [Nothing to do with his Admin, of course]. AUS society is
not something to be constantly prodded by politicians, said the PM. He
then went on to complain about the culture of aggression, the
journalistic, voyeurism, and a less restrained and less civil approach
to personal dealings he's seen develop during his 3 terms in office.
Squinting to the right, Mr Howard went on to say the alliance with the
US was important to his govt. There were no new policy announcements.
Moscow. Mikhail Khodorkovsky has failed to save Yukos from
bankruptcy. Bailiffs have started examining records, looking
through share registries, to find the names of shareholders whose
holdings can be seized by the govt in compensation for its crippling
tax bill. Khodorkovsky had offered a deal where he and other major
shareholders would surrender their holdings in return for all charges
being dropped. No deal. Analysts say the company is now not likely
to survive the y. Supporters say it's an attempt for the Kremlin to
gain control of the giant oil company, and get rid of a political opponent.
Pyongyang. Kim Jong-il has presided over the 10th anniversary of the
death of his father -- the first communist ruler of N Korea. Kim
Il-sung founded NK in 1948 after the end of Japanese rule over the
Korean peninsula.
Subscribers to the latest victim in the Aussie Pay TV debacle are
angry. 50 multicultural channels have been unexpectedly pulled.
1000s of viewers paid up to 1 y in advance, at $60 pm. The
privately-owned TARBS had been launched 6 y ago, but been struggling
to pay of a debt of $16 mn. The ACCC says the cased highlights the
need for the consumer ombudsman to monitor the industry.
41 people have been killed and 150 injured in freak weather across
China. Hunan prov is the worst affected. Several people were killed
by lightning, incl 2 children. The weather bureau says more flash
flooding is expected for C China.
Brit has been hit by wild weather. Driving rain has swept Wales and
S England at the height of summer. 1000s of homes have power out.
There's been transport disruption. No cas have been reported.
Mt Graham, AZ. Fire has come within 400 m of an observatory in AZ, in
the midst of installing what will be one of the world's most powerful
optical telescopes.
7 pm
Baghdad. As emergency laws came into effect today, gun-fights raged on
on Haifa St. There was a 4 hr gun battle. From the air and ground US
troops provided support. 4 Iraqi Guardsmen lost their lives in the
shooting. 5 people were injured in insurgent rocket attacks on and nr
the PM's home.
A Moe family missing in a nat'l park have been found, safe and well
this morning. Their car was bogged yesterday. 21 police searched
o'night and found them around lunchtime. The man and 2 daughters
avoided the cold in an emergency hut. It was "not a problem", said
Dad. There were blankets and supplies in the hut.
The All Ords has hit new all-time highs. It closed up 3 pts. News
Corp ended down 2%.
While employment was down 3,800. Over the past decade, FT work has
declined from 84 to 72% of the workforce. PT (1 hr or more) has moved
from 16 to 28%. The number of hrs worked has fallen 8.6%.
Japan closed down .5%. Gold is up $4. Oil is down 38 c. The AUD is
trading at 72.11 US c.
S African-owned Bendigo Mining has raised $100 mn to re-open mines
under the city. The company will dig out the estimated 12 mn oz of
gold left after the C19 rush. An EIS is expected to be finished in a
couple of ms. There is some resistance to the move, with a local park
expected to be removed by the mine. Up to 500 jobs will be created.
The mine will be in full prod'n by 2010.
7.30 pm
The search for a 10 yo boy has ended in tragedy. His body was found
in WA river. He fell in trying to retrieve a soccer ball. The body
was found around 3 pm WA time.
8 pm
Tougher fruit quarantine checks start tomorrow as authorities begin
destroying trees on a C Qld property. NZ's head of Plant Bio-Security
says any growers shipping across the Tasman will have to agree to
annual inspections.
8.15 pm
Supporters of Sen Bob Collins have issued a public stmt defending him
against complaints of sex abuse. Police are investigating 4 separate
complaints. Sen Collins is currently seriously ill in hospital. 6
people from an aboriginal community say they've never heard a word
against him, and Sen Collins is held in high regard in the community
where he worked there in the 1970s.
10.30 pm
Japanese PM Koizumi is facing more pressure in an upper house
election. The Opp'n says it will bring home the troops, if elected.
It's the first time since WWII that Japanese soldiers are serving in a
theatre where fighting is continuing. The Bush Admin will want
troops to stay, but surely this is a sit'n where a sovereign nation can
make a decision, said a rep of the Democratic Party. The Dem Party is
expected to pick up seats. Koizumi also has many opponents in his own
party. While the election can't change the govt, in 1998 the then-PM
was forced to resign after a bad showing in an upper-house election.
Human rights groups say if the US and AUS govts were complicit in
sending Mamdouh Habib to Egypt -- where they knew he was liable to be
tortured -- they are open to prosecution for crimes against humanity.
10.50 pm
ABC "Lateline". Former conservative PM Mal Fraser has criticised US
officials for interference in Aussie politics.
He says Richard Armitage crossed the line a long time ago. Armitage
had said if China invades Taiwan, Australia would have to do a great
deal of the dirty work. That's not his decision to make, says Fraser,
it's Australia's decision as "hopefully, an independent nation".
If such comments had come in "older times" US officials would have
been told to "but out", says Fraser.
The current US admin is "one of a kind" says Howard, because it
doesn't believe in a multilateral world. They have become intolerant
of other countries.
He points to Canada not participating in Iraq and in Cuba policy being
diametrically opposed. AUS is treated differently. Why behave so
crudely in relation to AUS and not Canada? Because Canada has made
efforts to differentiate itself from the US, and America has come to
accept this, says Fraser. Australia has become too close to the US.
AUS agrees with everything they say, and does what they want us to do.
It's not the idea of AUS too many people would support, says Fraser.
Siding with one party before an election indicates an attitude Fraser
says he "just doesn't like".
Other people can have differences, and be respected for it, says
Fraser. But if AUS has any differences, the Bush Admin "wants to
stomp on it".
In the end, it will be counter-productive.
Mr Fraser wouldn't comment on the troop pull-out question. Latham
and Howard could look after themselves, said Fraser.
The military commissions are unjust, says Fraser. It hasn't been
sufficiently noticed that the US Supreme Court said the Pres has acted
beyond his executive power, and people in Guatmo have the right to
appeal to the US system. That was an enormously important decision,
says Fraser.
A Republican-appointed Court had seriously reduced the power of a
Republican Pres.
Fraser says he wants to seen an indep judgement POW's have not been
tortured.
We can't take the Pentagon's word for it, as the Howard govt is doing.
The Pentagon had made so many statements known at the time to be
untrue, or later proved untrue, it has lost the right to have its word
taken for granted, says Fraser.
}}
----------------------------------------
Fri, 09 Jul 2004.
HEADLINES:
World Court to rule Israel's barrier illegal -- paper
Former Baath official killed by bomb
Iraq mortar attack kills 5 US soldiers
Iraq mortar strike sees 11 killed
Iraqi militants threaten to kill Bulgarian hostages
Oil above $US40 after terror warning
US planning to cut military presence in Iraq by 2006: report
Shell turns down Iraq oil deal
Security woes may prevent Iraq PM visit to EU
Iraqis welcome new security law
Iraq insurgency larger than thought
AC/DC street proposal gets council support
Air Canada and WestJet to have expert hunt for documents in "espionage" case
American hostage now in Beurit
Ban on citrus fruit export
Boy, 14, arrested for murders
Bulgarian hostages face death
Bush coordinating war on terror with election
Bush gains slight lead over Kerry -- AP poll
CIA to be cited for "series of failures"
Canada included in massive US recall of lead-laden toy jewellery
Church boss slams detention centres
Enron's Lay proclaims innocence, calls for speedy trial
Ex-Enron CEO Kenneth Lay pleads innocent
Former Enron chief indicted for fraud
Garrett attacks US-AUS joint training bases
Housing finance fall eases interest rate pressure
Howard silent on Fraser's US broadside
India pledges $bn for poverty
Indonesian voting scandal deepens
Item of interest found at Mornington tip
Judge denies Martha Stewart a retrial
Kidnapped Japanese woman re-unites with family
Latham accused of hypocrisy over US comments
Mad scientist faces life in jail
Mbeki meets heads on Darfur
Musicians promised a cut of digital pie
Mystery phone call unwelcome by Taliban founder
PM defends Draper during Adel visit
PNG passes Aussie aid bill
Police seize computers in Morcombe investigation
Priest on sex abuse charges released on bail
Punters tip coalition to win poll
Senior cleric damns Baxter as "disgraceful"
Sharon "favourable" to nuke free Middle East
Sharon sacks minister: report
Shooting stars to dazzle Qld skies
Smoke research plants germination discovery
Stolen $500,000 truck recovered in MEL
Sudan must halt violence or face action: Powell
Sweden welcomes release of Guantanamo detainee
US comments thuggish: Keating
US committee approves AUS free trade deal
US denies reports of spy plane crash
US investigates freed Marine's case
US man gets 5 y for planning abortion clinic attack
US spy plane crashes in S Korea: report
We're not making this up...
Weak technology forecasts lower US stock prices
Wine exports hit new record
Oil above $US40 after terror warning
NY. World oil prices have shot higher, sending crude above $US40, as
the market reacted with shock to a Whitehouse warning that Al Qaeda is
planning a major US attack. NY's benchmark light sweet crude contract
for delivery in Aug soared $US1.25 to close at $US40.33/bbl, the 1st
finish above $US40 since Jun 1. Brent N Sea crude leapt $US1.16 to
$US37.77. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge issued the terrorist
warning, which shattered market nerves even after weekly Govt figures
showed commercial crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories on
the rise.
Shell turns down Iraq oil deal
[Something in the water?]
Baghdad (Reuters). European oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell has turned
down the chance to win the 1st foreign upstream oil production
contract in post-war Iraq, saying the terms on offer from Baghdad's
new interim govt were not good enough.
Despite security concerns, Shell told Reuters on Thu it considered
bidding for production work on the bn-bbl Khurmala Dome field in N Iraq.
"We obtained a copy of the tender but the scope and contract format
are not compatible with our aspirations for long-term risk-reward
contracts," a Shell rep said. Typically oil majors like to secure a
15-20% return on 25-30 y contracts. Shell declined to elaborate on the
terms of offer.
Since the war ended last May work by foreign contractors in Iraq's vast
oilfields, the world's 2nd largest, has been limited mostly to short-term
infrastructure repair contracts led by companies like US Halliburton.
Security worries have severely limited the number of foreign bids for
rehabilitation projects now on offer for 3 Iraqi oilfields.
Shell's leading competitors BP and the US oil majors show no sign yet
of contemplating entry into Iraq.
Baghdad is hoping to award contracts by the end of Aug after extending
the deadline for bids 5 times, industry insiders familiar with the
tenders said on Thu.
They said the tender for Khurmala Dome that took Shell's interest is
worth $100 mn worth of investment, small by Shell standards.
Shell was the only big name oil company that took interest in the
tenders, they said. Small UAE, Irish and Turkish companies also bid
for the projects -- part of a plan to help raise output by 20% by the
end of this y.
* INTEREST LIMITED
"Interest was limited. Oil officials are confident that the projects
will be finally awarded," said one Arab oil executive involved in the tenders.
The other fields up for rehabilitation are the 2.2 bn bbl S
Suba-Luhais at $150 mn and the smaller N Hamrin field at a cost of $80 mn.
Ireland's Petrel is bidding for all 3, Managing Director David Morgan
told Reuters.
Dome, a UAE company, and EverAsia from Turkey also have bid, Iraqi
sources said.
Iraq wants to restore production capacity to pre-war volumes of about
3 mn bpd from some 2.5 mn bpd now.
Funding shortages and security problems have delayed 150 oil ministry
projects. These are separate from $1.8 bn of US-funded projects that
have also run into delay.
But after a reshuffle at the oil ministry, head of projects Ahmad
al-Shamma is planning to move plans forward.
The ministry invited internat'l companies this wk to bid for a
pipeline project in the centre of the country and another tender to
construct a new pipeline linking the Kirkuk fields to the Beiji
refinery is expected to be issued this m.
Weak technology forecasts lower US stock prices
NY/Sydney. Technology stock prices have gone into reverse on Wall
Street after less than inspiring outlook statements from 2 key
companies in the sector.
Internet company, Yahoo, has issued a weak forecast for future sales.
Even though its latest quarterly profits have more than doubled, its
share price has plunged around 7%.
And there has been a knock-on effect to companies like eBay and Amazon.
Meanwhile, the software producer, Siebel, has warned its Q2 revenue
will be lower than generally thought with some of its bigger clients
delaying their purchases. BMC Software is telling a similar story.
Overall, prices on the high-tech Nasdaq market are down more than
one-and-1/2%. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 31 points to 1,935.
On the New York Stock Exchange, retailers have been under pressure
amid disappointing Jun sales figures.
Wal-Mart Stores has reported its weakest monthly sales increase in
more than a year, with colder weather cooling demand for air
conditioners and pool toys.
The Dow Jones industrial average has closed 69 points lower at 10,172.
On the Brit sharemarket, 7 days of losses have come to an end.
Banks and oil majors have led the way higher.
London's FT-100 index has regained 23 points to finish at 4,381.
The Aussie market yesterday edged ahead again to another record high.
Resource stocks and some of the big banks were the main-stays.
Woolworths confirmed it was mounting a $970 mn takeover bid for Aussie
Leisure & Hospitality Group (ALH) in conjunction with The Bruce
Mathieson Group.
Woolworths shares rose 5 cents to $11.55.
The All Ordinaries index added 3 points to 3,563.
The AUD is being quoted at $72.02 US cents at about 9.30.
That is down less than one-tenth of a cent on yesterday's local close.
On the cross-rates, it is at 0.5810 euros; 78.61 Japanese yen; 38.93
pence sterling; and against the NZ dollar it is at 1.098.
The gold price has risen to $US407.15/oz.
After earlier jumping above $US40, W Texas crude oil is trading at
around $39.44/bbl.
Air Canada and WestJet to have expert hunt for documents in "espionage" case
Toronto (CP). Air Canada and WestJet Airlines are trying to rise
above website spying and dumpster diving.
The bitter-rival companies agreed Thu to find an expert to search for
relevant documents at the discount airline in connection with Air
Canada's lawsuit alleging corporate espionage.
The Montreal-based carrier wants to search the records to look for
evidence that WestJet used info from an Air Canada employee website to
plan its flight schedule and expansion.
"We only have the tip of the iceberg," Air Canada lawyer Earl Cherniak
told an Ontario judge hearing the case.
WestJet lawyer Dan McDonald said Air Canada is seeking to look at a
broad swath of both paper and electronic documents and a process will
have to be established for the expert, most likely a forensic
accountant, to review the files and a confidentiality agreement.
The 2 airlines also agreed Thu to formalise a court order for WestJet
to preserve any documents related to the case, as well as to stop
using any info it may have obtained from Air Canada's employee travel website.
Air Canada alleges that WestJet used a former employee's code to gain
access to the site 243,630 times between May 15, 2003, and March 19,
2004. With that info, WestJet could alter its routes and improve their
expansion plans, Air Canada charges.
Although WestJet hasn't denied having access to the website, the
airline has said the info was also available by other means and that
Air Canada has been losing market share and found itself in financial
trouble due to its own incompetence.
Neither side's allegations have been proved in court.
Air Canada's suit seeks punitive damages of $5 mn, but could involve
$mns more in revenues and profits that Air Canada, which is operating under
bankruptcy-court protection, says it lost because of the alleged snooping.
WestJet has said it intends to file a counter-suit over materials it
says were lifted from an employee's trash by private investigators
working for Air Canada.
WestJet, which has been eating up domestic market share at Air
Canada's expense, stepped up the pressure earlier the year when it
shifted the hub of its operations in Ontario from Hamilton to Toronto
and more than doubled its flights through Canada's largest city.
The Calgary-based airline has also announced plans to begin flights to the US.
Canada included in massive US recall of lead-laden toy jewellery
Montreal (CP). Canada has been included in the largest toy recall in
US history as toy jewelry has been removed from vending machines out
of concern about the potential risk of lead poisoning.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Thu the voluntary
recall of 150 mn pieces of toy jewelry sold in vending machines by 4
toy jewelry importers. The recall has been extended to Canada, said
Carol Pilch, a lawyer for the importers.
"Some of this product has been sold in Canada and it is being recalled
just the same as it is in the US," she said in an interview from
Washington, DC.
Pilch said she notified Health Canada of the recall on Thu afternoon.
It's not known how many of the items were sold in Canada, but the
importers have sent recall letters to nearly 20 Canadian distributors,
asking them to pull their products from machines.
The US regulator has determined that 1/2 of the products contain
dangerous levels of lead, posing a risk of lead poisoning to children
when put in their mouths.
The companies agreed to a widespread recall to eliminate what they
call "confusion" between toys that are safe and those containing lead.
There are about 10,000 distributors in the US. The 4 importers
participating in the recall control more than 90% of the American market.
The US product safety commission approached the importers after tests
on 10 pieces of jewelry revealed they contained lead, said Ken Giles,
rep for the fed regulator. He said the recall was the largest of its
kind in US history.
Health Canada rep Margot Geduld said her agency has been working on
regulatory changes for 3 y that would effectively ban lead in an array
of children's products.
Final consultations were completed last Nov. Once cabinet approves the
changes, the products would be considered a hazardous product under
the Hazardous Products Act.
The agency currently has no authority under the act to control the
import, advertising or sale of unregulated commercial products which
may represent a lead exposure risk.
The recalled toy jewelry was sold in vending machines outside grocery
stores and malls from Jan 2002 through Jun 2004. The items cost as
little as 25 c.
They involve various styles of rings, necklaces and bracelets made in India.
The rings are gold or silver-coloured with different designs and paint
finishes and centre stones in a variety of shapes.
The necklaces have black cords, black ropes or chains that are gold or
silver in colour. They have pendants, crosses or various geometrical
designs and may include fake gemstones.
The bracelets include charm bracelets, bracelets with medallion links
and bracelets with fake stones.
No reports of injury or illness have been received for the recalled
products, said the US commission. Company officials are urging parents
to throw out any of the jewelry.
Lead poisoning in children is associated with behavioural problems,
learning disabilities, hearing problems and growth retardation.
Children's growing nervous systems and organs are especially vulnerable.
The Fed Govt twice wrote to 7,855 manufacturers, distributors,
importers and retailers of costume jewelry in 1999 and 2000 asking
them to stop selling such products or label them as hazardous.
In 2000, Health Canada found that 69% of 95 models of jewelry intended
for children contained significant amounts of lead.
Some had a lead content of up of 100%. Health Canada's recommended
level is less than 0.6%.
Health Canada issued a public health advisory in 2001 advising of the
potential health risks to children who might chew and suck on
inexpensive jewelry.
Former Enron chief indicted for fraud
Houston (Reuters). Former Enron chairman and chief executive Kenneth
Lay has surrendered to fed agents after being indicted on criminal
charges of fraud and making false statements while the energy
powerhouse collapsed into bankruptcy.
In a 65-page fed grand jury indictment unsealed by the United States
Justice Dept, Lay was charged with 11 criminal counts, including
securities and bank fraud.
Lay, a friend to Pres George W Bush -- who called him "Kenny Boy," has
steadfastly denied all wrongdoing.
He appeared calm and relaxed as he entered FBI offices in Houston.
"You guys are up early," the 62-yo Lay said as he strode past a pack
of about 50 reporters and news cameras gathered in front of the FBI
offices. "Nice of you all to show up this morning."
After about 20 minutes inside the FBI offices, where he was fingerprinted
and processed, Lay emerged in handcuffs and was taken to a fed court house.
The 11 counts against Lay were added to an earlier indictment against
Jeff Skilling, who was Lay's hand-picked successor as CEO, and former
chief accounting officer Rick Causey, indicating that they would be
tried together.
Lay's attorney, Mike Ramsey, said he would seek a speedy trial for his
client and may try to separate his case from those of Skilling and Causey.
Ramsey said Lay had been duped by his Enron underlings.
"He [Lay] didn't have any idea of the depth of the problem until after
they filed for bankruptcy," Mr Ramsey said.
"At a company as big as Enron, you have to trust someone."
Houston-based Enron was the nation's seventh-largest publicly owned
company by revenue before it spiralled into a then-record bankruptcy
in the final m of 2001.
Disclosures that the company hid bn of dollars in debt and burnished
its financial statements through the use of complicated, off-the-books
transactions ultimately prompted its swift failure.
* Civil charges
As has been the pattern with most of the 21 other ex-Enron employees
charged with crimes, the US Securities and Exchange Commission also
filed civil charges against Lay.
The SEC, which said Lay made unlawful proceeds of over $US90 mn in
2001, charged him with fraud and insider trading.
Lay, as head of Houston Natural Gas, had executed a 1985 merger that
formed the nat'l pipelines giant that became Enron.
He was Enron's chief executive for most of the company's history,
ceding those duties to Skilling in Feb 2001 until Skilling abruptly
quit in Aug 2001.
Lay stepped back in as CEO until he was forced out in disgrace in Jan 2002.
As Enron steamed toward collapse, Lay's appeals for help to top Bush
Admin officials, including Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, were met
with silence.
The charges come 2-and-1/2 y after the Justice Dept's Enron Task Force
began an investigation that has slowly climbed the corporate ladder.
Former chief financial officer Andrew Fastow, who simultaneously
managed the off-books partnerships that struck questionable deals with
Enron, pleaded guilty in Jan in exchange for a 10-y prison term and
agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
Fastow helped prosecutors bring charges against Skilling, who, under
Lay, was the architect of Enron's expansion into the trading of
everything from natural gas and electricity to Internet network capacity.
Skilling and Causey were charged together and have both pleaded not
guilty to more than 3 dozen counts of insider trading, fraud and lying
on Enron financial statements.
Ex-Enron CEO Kenneth Lay pleads innocent
Houston (AP). Fed prosecutors unveiled charges Thu that placed Enron
Corp founder and former chairman Kenneth Lay at the centre of a
conspiracy to manipulate the company's books in the frenzied wk before
its scandalous collapse.
He returned the punch with an unusual and aggressive public
declaration of innocence, speaking at length at a news conference and
taking questions from reporters after entering a not guilty plea.
"I firmly reject any notion that I engaged in any wrongful or criminal
activity," Lay said, adding that his failure to prevent the company's
bankruptcy did not equate to a crime. "Not only are we ready to go to
trial, but we are anxious to prove my innocence."
Lay was escorted to fed court here in handcuffs 2 1/2 y into a
methodical investigation that has produced charges against some of his
once most highly trusted lieutenants. Prosecutors have aggressively
pursued the one-time friend and contributor to Pres Bush, and this
wk's action made Lay the 30th and highest-profile individual charged.
Prosecutors contend Lay, his hand-picked protege and former Enron CEO
Jeffrey Skilling, and the company's former top accountant Richard
Causey were among principal operators of a wide-ranging scheme to
deceive the public, shareholders, govt regulators and others.
A fed indictment unsealed Thu alleged that Skilling spear-headed the
scheme until he abruptly quit in mid-Aug 2001, less than 4 m before
Enron imploded. Lay resumed as CEO upon Skilling's departure and "took
over leadership of the conspiracy," the indictment said.
In 11 counts of conspiracy, securities fraud, bank fraud and other
charges, prosecutors allege Lay not a CEO blithely unaware of
wrongdoing by his minions, as he has maintained. The indictment
alleged Lay intensified his oversight of Enron's day-to-day operations
and "took control" of a conspiracy to keep Enron's ever-growing
financial crises hidden in the bowels of the company.
Enron's collapse led a series of corporate scandals that led to
Congress' passage of sweeping reforms to securities laws. Thousands of
Enron's workers lost their jobs, and the stock fell from a high of $90
in Aug 2000 to just pennies, wiping out many workers' retirement savings.
The charges allege Lay painted a rosy picture of Enron to employees,
analysts and investors when he had learned in meetings that the
company faced massive losses on shoddy assets and money-losing
business units.
"Rather than come clean and tell the unvarnished truth about Enron,
Lay chose to conceal and distort and mislead at the expense of
shareholders and employees, people to whom he owed a duty of complete
candour," said Andrew Weissmann, head of the Justice Dept 's Enron Task Force.
Lay asserted outside the courthouse that he took responsibility for
Enron's collapse as chairman, but he said "that does not mean I know
everything that went on at Enron."
Lay surrendered to the FBI before dawn Thu and was placed in handcuffs.
Prosecutors allege Lay knew Enron was preparing to announce massive
third-quarter losses and a $1.2 bn write-down in shareholder equity,
yet in a Sep 26, 2001, Internet chat told Enron employees he had
strongly encouraged management to buy Enron stock.
"Some, including myself, have done so over the last couple of m and
others will probably do so in the future," he said in the chat.
"My personal belief is that Enron stock is an incredible bargain at
current prices."
Then on Oct 12, 2001, he told a credit rating agency that Enron and
its auditors had "scrubbed" the company's books and that no additional
write-downs would be forthcoming. 4 days later, the company announced
those big losses, but the shareholder equity write-down was not in
Enron's press release.
The indictment alleges Lay also knew Enron was facing a $700 mn
write-down in its water business, Azurix, but didn't disclose detailed
info. In addition, it alleges Lay knew Enron had reorganised its
energy services unit to hide 100s of mn of dollars in losses.
"We're not trying to conceal anything," Lay told analysts on Oct 23,
2001, according to the indictment. "We are not trying to hide anything."
He also told employees that same day: "Our liquidity is fine; as a
matter of fact, it is better than fine, it is strong."
Prosecutors allege Lay knew Enron had been forced to offer its
pipelines as collateral to get a $1 bn bank loan to maintain liquidity.
Then on Nov 12, 2001, in a call to analysts and in another effort to
combat bad publicity, he said: "We don't have anything we are trying
to hide. I am disclosing everything that we've found."
The bank fraud and false statements to banks counts accuse Lay of
improperly drawing from his lines of credit, and exposing banks to a
higher risk of loss, to directly or indirectly buy and stock on margin.
The indictment added Lay to a case already pending against Skilling
and Causey, both of whom have pleaded innocent. Lay was released on
$500,000 bond -- much less than Skilling's $5 mn and Causey's $3 mn
bonds. Prosecutors had sought a $6 mn bond, saying Lay was a flight
risk. Lay's lawyers had requested that he be released on his own recognisance.
Lay was allowed to keep his passport because he travels internat'ly on
business, but US Magistrate Mary Milloy said if he left the country he
would have to seek permission from the court.
Lay's lawyer, Michael Ramsey, said he would immediately seek to have
Lay tried separately from Skilling and Causey and go in front of a
jury as early as Sep. Ramsey called the charges against Lay a "tag-on"
to the more expansive allegations against Skilling and Causey, since
the Lay allegations target Aug through Dec 2001 while the Skilling and
Causey allegations are spread over several years.
Ramsey also said he wants Lay to be tried wherever a fair jury can be
chosen -- whether that be in Houston or elsewhere.
Lay and Ramsey also cast blame for Enron's collapse on former chief
financial officer Andrew Fastow, who pleaded guilty to 2 conspiracy
counts in Jan and is the govt's most high-profile cooperating witness.
Fastow admitted to orchestrating partnerships and financial schemes to
hide Enron debt and inflate profits while pocketing mn of dollars for
himself. Fastow is waiting to testify for the prosecution.
"Andy is obviously a liar and a thief," Ramsey said. "He admits that."
The superseding indictment, now totalling 53 counts, also accused Lay,
Skilling and Causey of enriching themselves through salaries, bonuses,
grants of stock and stock options. If convicted on all counts, Lay
could receive up to 175 y in prison plus fines possibly totalling more
than $5.7 mn.
In a separate action, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed
civil charges Thu against Lay, accusing him of fraud and insider
trading and seeking recovery of more than $90 mn in what the agency
said were illegal proceeds from stock sales.
Prosecutors also were trying to seize an undisclosed sum of money from
Lay, plus his 33rd-floor Houston penthouse valued at more than $7 mn.
The indictment contains no new charges against Skilling, already named
in 35 counts alleging fraud, conspiracy and insider trading.
Causey was named in 3 additional counts for a total of 34: 2
conspiracy and one securities fraud.
Enron's Lay proclaims innocence, calls for speedy trial
Houston (AFP). Former Enron chairman Ken Lay has maintained his
innocence and demanded a speedy trial after being charged in the
accounting fraud that led to the collapse of the energy trading
company he founded.
"As CEO, I accept responsibility for Enron's collapse," he said
following his arraignment at a Houston district court.
"However, that does not mean that I knew everything that happened at
Enron. I firmly reject any notion that I engaged in any wrongful or
criminal activity."
Lay termed the Enron collapse "an enormous tragedy" but maintained
that the failure of the energy giant "does not equate to a crime".
The 62-yo Lay established Enron in 1986 and held the post of chief
executive officer for the best part of 15 y.
He has steadfastly maintained his innocence in the fraud that brought
it down, laying the blame at the door of his lieutenants, chiefly
former chief financial officer Andrew Fastow.
He has reiterated those allegations and called for a prompt trial so
he could clear his name.
"I hope it will begin by early Sep this y," he said, calling for a
"speedy trial".
"We are anxious to prove my innocence," he added.
Wine exports hit new record
Canberra. Aussie wine exports have risen 14% on the previous
financial year, to new records. The volume of wine shipments reached
580 mn litres, with red wine leading the growth. Lawrence Stanford
from the Aussie Wine and Brandy Corporation says the popularity of
Aussie red wine exports has caused the volume of white wine production
to suffer. "We were busy planting a lot of red wine grapes in recent
y to meet unmet demand but unfortunately at the same time we neglected
our white wine grape planting so we are basically not able to meet
supply for our white wine," he said.
US committee approves AUS free trade deal
US vote due shortly.
Washington (Reuters). A United States-AUS free trade agreement has
sailed through a key committee of the US House of Representatives and
headed for a likely vote next wk by the full House, a rep for the
panel said.
The House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees US trade policy,
approved legislation that would implement the free trade agreement.
The Senate Finance Committee must also vote on the measure, as must
the Senate.
Many US farm groups oppose the deal, with the US beef industry soured
on the gradual additional access Aussie cattlemen would get to the
American market.
US grain groups have criticised AUS's stiff health and sanitary
controls on imports as well as AUS's state-run trading organisation
for wheat, AWB.
American manufacturers hope the proposed free trade agreement will
boost US exports.
The deal would ease or remove many trade barriers between the 2
countries, including phasing out duties and quotas, while maintaining
protections for some of the most sensitive products.
2-way trade between the US and AUS stands at about $AU40.9 bn a year.
The Bush Admin put the AUS free trade negotiation on a fast track last
y, in part to reward the country for joining in the war against Iraq.
Mbeki meets heads on Darfur
Addis Ababa (SA). Pres Thabo Mbeki met with the presidents of Sudan,
Chad and Nigeria in the Ethiopian capital on Thu to discuss the crisis
in Sudan's W region of Darfur.
He joined Sudan's Omar el-Beshir, Chad's Idriss Deby and Nigeria's
Pres Olusegun Obasanjo.
Sources close to the meeting, held on the sidelines of a major summit
of the African Union (AU), said the main point of discussion was the
AU's engagement in Darfur and its possible extension.
The AU has chosen Darfur, where 15 m of conflict have spawned what the
UN has termed the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe, as a test
case for its new trouble-shooting Peace and Sec Council (PSC).
The PSC has already begun deploying ceasefire observers in Darfur and
plans to bolster this mission with an armed protection force of some
300 troops. Nigeria and Rwanda are among the countries to have offered
troops for this force, which AU officials stress is not a peacekeeping mission.
The conflict in Darfur has left more than 10 000 dead and forced more
than a mn people from their homes, including more than 120 000 to
Chad, which has played a mediating role in negotiations between
Khartoum and 2 rebel groups who rose up in Feb 2003.
Pro-Khartoum militias have been blamed for much of the devastation in
Darfur, where a major famine is in the offing.
Thu's meeting follows proposals Beshir made during the AU summit,
according to a Chadian official.
Beshir and Deby are also scheduled to meet in Darfur itself over the weekend.
Sudan must halt violence or face action: Powell
Khartoum (Reuters). Sudan must immediately stop Arab militias from
attacking Africans in Darfur to win "the race against death" in the W
Sudan region, US Sec of State Colin Powell said.
If it does not halt the violence that has driven more than 1 mn people
from their homes and speed delivery of aid, Khartoum may face
unspecified "further measures" by the internat'l community, Mr Powell said.
US officials have said marauding govt-backed militias known as
Janjaweed are conducting ethnic cleansing against Africans in Darfur,
putting 1000s at risk of death from starvation or illness as the rainy
season approaches.
Khartoum has pledged to disarm the Janjaweed, remove them from areas
near refugee camps and provide a "credible" police force in the border
areas between Sudan and Chad, where tens of 1000s of civilians have fled.
Mr Powell, who visited Khartoum and a refugee camp in Darfur last
week, said the Sudanese Govt has not yet done enough to live up to its
promises to rein in the nomadic Arab militias and ensure aid workers
can help the refugees.
Most members of the militias and the black African villagers are Muslims.
"We want to see dramatic improvements on the ground right now. But
despite the promises that have been made, we have yet to see these
dramatic improvements. Only actions, not words, can win the race
against death in Darfur," Mr Powell said.
"We need immediate improvement in the situation and if we don't see
that then the US and the internat'l community will have to consider
further measures," he said in a speech on Africa without elaborating.
A snr State Dept rep said as a 1st step the United States could move
to pass a US-drafted Sec Council resolution that calls for the UN to
impose an arms embargo and travel ban on Darfur's brutal militias.
The draft resolution, however, does not impose sanctions against the
Khartoum Govt.
The US official said the resolution was tough enough for now and said
changes to it, or other actions, would depend on what Khartoum does on
the ground.
"We will continue to press them," Mr Powell said.
"There are too many tens upon tens of 1000s of human beings who are at
risk. Some of them have already been consigned to death because of the
circumstances they are living in now."
Sharon "favourable" to nuke free Middle East
Jerusalem (ABC, Mark Willacy). The head of the UN' nuclear watchdog
has met with Israeli Prime Min Ariel Sharon to promote the concept of
a Middle East free of nuclear weapons.
Internat'l Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed El Baradei briefed Mr
Sharon in his Jerusalem office about his campaign.
Dr El Baradei says Mr Sharon supported the concept.
"The Prime Min this morning affirmed to me Israel policy continues to
be in the context of peace in the Middle East," he said.
"Israel would be looking favourably to the establishment of a nuclear
weapon free zone in the Middle East. I was happy to hear that.
"That's the 1st time I've heard that from the PM of Israel.
"It's not a new policy, but affirming that policy at the level of
Prime Min, I find that to be a quite welcome development and a
positive development."
It is believed Israel is the only country in the region which has
atomic warheads.
Mr Sharon also expressed his fears to Dr El Baradei that Iran was
trying to build an atomic bomb.
CIA to be cited for "series of failures"
[Why not blame the UN?]
Washington (MSNBC). A Senate Intel Committee report to be released on
Fri will sharply criticise the Central Intel Agency for pre-war intel
failures in Iraq, but a snr Senate Democrat charged Thu that it fails
to address evidence suggesting that the Bush Admin knowingly
exaggerated a purported link between al-Qaeda and toppled Iraqi
dictator Saddam Hussein.
And while the Whitehouse will be spared from criticism in Fri's
report, excerpts of the document obtained by NBC News cite the CIA for
a "series of failures, particularly in analytic tradecraft" that "led
to the mischaracterisation of the intel" on Iraq's WMD.
The report will criticise leadership at the CIA, including the
agency's director George Tenet, whose resignation is effective
Sun. The CIA, the report says, "in several significant instances,
abused its unique position in the intel community" by not sharing info
on Iraq's weapons.
As to those false claims about Iraq's nuclear imports in Pres Bush's
2003 State of the Union speech, the report says Tenet "should have taken
the time to read the State of the Union speech and fact check it himself."
Sen Carl Levin, D-Mich, said in a statement that the committee's
report "is an accurate, hard-hitting and well-deserved critique of the
CIA," but charged that it avoids the critical question of the Admin's
possible pre-war exaggerations regarding an al-Qaeda link to the Iraqi govt.
* Prague connection discounted
As an example of the sort of info he said was not included in the
report, Levin cited a CIA statement he received this wk saying that
there is no credible info that Sep 11 hijacker Mohammed Atta met
with an Iraqi intel officer in the Czech Republic city of Prague in
Apr 2001. In fact, the report concludes, CIA analysts "are
increasingly skeptical that such a meeting occurred."
"[The finding] demonstrates that it was the Admin, not the CIA, that
exaggerated the relations between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda," Levin
said at a news conference.
Intel suggesting such a meeting was cited repeatedly by Admin officials,
including VP Dick Cheney, as supporting the assertion of such a link.
Cheney most recently said in a Jun 17 interview with CNBC that the
meeting between Atta and the Iraqi intel agent in Prague "couldn't be
ruled out."
But Levin pointed to published reports that the CIA had doubts that
the meeting took place as early as Dec 2001. He also cited a report by
the independent Sep 11 commission stating that info gathered by the
FBI placed Atta in the US during the wk of the alleged meeting.
The Admin had no immediate response to Levin's charge. But NBC News
has learned that excerpts of the report specifically cite the CIA for
critical lapses of action or judgement.
* Battle with Whitehouse
Democrats on the Intel Committee lost their battle to have Fri's
report incorporate the Admin's statements about pre-war intel.
Instead, a follow-up report examining Whitehouse actions will be
completed after the Nov election.
The report will say that intel analysts did not question the long-held
belief that Iraq had banned WMD and saw ambiguous info as supporting
that view, a Senate source told Reuters this wk.
The report was also expected to criticise intel agencies for using
unreliable and inadequate sources.
* THE FACT FILE
* Iraq intel -- before and after the war
* Chemical weapons
Before: Iraq was believed to have stocked up to 500 metric tons of
chemical warfare agents. It was also said to have concealed
equipment and other items needed for continuing chemical weapons production.
After: No chemical weapons have been found. Some sources say Iraq was
conducting experiments to develop chemical weapons, but no physical
evidence has been found. More time is needed to investigate.
* Biological weapons
Before: Intel agencies believed Iraq had biological weapons and
facilities to develop more of them. Among the weapons believed to be
in Iraq was anthrax, a deadly germ which could be quickly produced
and delivered by bombs, missiles, aerial sprayers or covert
operatives. Mobile laboratories were believed to be used for
developing biological weapons.
After: No weapons have been found and Secretary of State Colin Powell
said in a May 16, 2004 interview with 'Meet the Press" that the
prewar intel on the existence of mobile biological weapons labs was
based on sourcing that was "inaccurate and wrong and, in some cases,
deliberately misleading." Powell originally introduced the threat of
mobile labs during a Feb 2003 speech in front of the UN. Former
chief weapons inspector David Kay and other US officials have said
that one of the main sources of the mobile labs evidence was an
Iraqi defector code-named "Curveball." The defector was later
identified as a brother of one of the top aides of Ahmad Chalabi,
the Iraqi exile who was an important advocate for the US invasion of Iraq.
* Nuclear weapons
Before: There was no evidence Iraq had ever abandoned its nuclear
program. Saddam was trying to get fissile material to produce a
bomb. He also made repeated attempts to acquire high-specification
aluminium tubes that could be used as centrifuges. Iraq was unlikely
to build a nuclear weapon until the end of the decade, but it could
produce one within a y if it acquired weapons-grade fissile material abroad.
After: Iraqi scientists and snr govt officials have made clear that
Saddam still wanted to acquire nuclear weapons. It's not surprising
that no evidence had been found of uranium enrichment facilities
because no agency thought such a facility had been built. It is
unclear whether the aluminium tubes were intended for nuclear or
conventional weapons.
* Missiles
Before: Iraq had a ballistic missile capability that exceeded the
150-km limit set by the United Nations.
After: Iraq had advanced design work for a liquid propellant missile
with a range of 1,000 km. Inspectors have also confirmed that Iraq
was working on prohibited solid-propellant missiles and that Iraq
was secretly negotiating with N Korea to obtain missile technology.
* Unmanned aerial vehicles
Before: Iraq has been trying to modify the MiG-21 and the L-29 jet
trainer aircraft into unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that could be
used for chemical or biological weapons. Iraq said in its Dec. 7
declaration that its UAVs have a range of only 80 km. But one was
detected that went 500 km.
After: Although Iraq revealed some details of its UAV program in a
declaration to the UN in 2002, important design elements were never
revealed. A snr Iraqi official has now admitted that the UAVs were
intended for the delivery of biological weapons.
"They used the thinnest sources to justify the grandest conclusions
about WMD and other activity in Iraq," Sen Richard Durbin, an Illinois
Democrat on the panel, told Reuters.
The main US justification for going to war against Iraq was the view
that Baghdad posed a threat due to stockpiles of chemical and
biological weapons and was attempting to develop nuclear weapons. No
large stockpiles of banned weapons have been found since the US
invasion last y.
Sen Evan Bayh, a Democrat from Indiana, said flawed intel resulted
from a pre-existing belief that Iraq had banned weapons, pressure to
reach conclusions in the face of ambiguity, and that all doubts were
resolved in favour of the pre-existing beliefs.
"It's also important to have a devil's advocate, somebody playing the
contrarian; I'm afraid some of that may have gotten lost," Bayh told Reuters.
Both Republican and Democratic senators on the committee, which voted
on Wed to make the report public, said it would sharply criticise the
intel agencies.
* Reform ideas
Republicans said the report was also meant to be a constructive factor
in the debate of how to reform the US intel apparatus.
"There's no question that if you look at the conclusions, they
literally beg for changes and reform," Senate Intel Committee Chairman
Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican, said.
"It's very critical of the reasoning that was used by analysts at the
CIA," Sen Saxby Chambliss, a Georgia Republican, said. "There were a
number of failures."
Some Democrats have written "additional views" to the report which
will raise questions about whether the Republican Bush Admin,
including the White House and Pentagon officials, pressured the CIA to
fit its conclusions with the Admin's desire to go to war.
"Go to each of the key elements justifying the invasion of Iraq and
you will find a failure of our intel agencies to properly assess the
evidence given to them and to describe it to policymakers," Durbin said.
One main area of focus is the process by which the Oct 2002 Nat'l
Intel Estimate was drafted. That key pre-war report, which compiles
views of various intel agencies, concluded that Iraq had weapons of
mass destruction.
Draft portions of that report are submitted to Admin officials and
various agencies and then the material is adjusted after comments.
"And in the last draft, all of a sudden, this material that has been
thought to be erroneous by the CIA or has been said to be wrong, is
now back in that report," a govt source familiar with the Senate
report said. "That's the kind of stuff that is problematic."
US planning to cut military presence in Iraq by 2006: report
[OK for the goose, bad for the gander?]
Washington (AFP/Khaleej Times). The US has begun making plans to
reduce its troop numbers in Iraq from the current 135,000 by 2006, as
the new Iraqi govt assumes more security responsibilities, The NY
Times said on Thu quoting snr military officials.
While the current troop levels will likely be maintained throughout
2005, the Joint Staff is working on detailed plans to reduce them by
2006, said an unnamed official.
Other officials said the options revolved around a total of 100,000
troops staying in Iraq after this date, but added that this number
could be increased if the security situation worsened.
The report comes despite signs that the US troop commitment is
insufficient to cope with Iraq's insurgents and warnings that US
forces are being severely strained by the military operations in Iraq
and Afghanistan.
One sign of the crunch is the US army's recently-announced plans to
recall some 5,600 retired troops who are already served in Iraq to
beef up current troop strength -- a move that has prompted some
lawmakers to propose reinstating the draft.
Gen Richard Cody told the House Armed Services Committee on Wed
that military officials were concerned that the largest US troop
deployment since World War II have taken a toll on US readiness and
even its ability to replace forces already deployed.
But Pres George W Bush's approval rating has fallen below 50% as more
and more Americans surveyed by pollsters believe he made a mistake by
invading Iraq. Plans to draw down military forces in Iraq could
improve his prospects for reelection on Nov 2.
Air Force Gen Norton Schwartz told the House committee Wed without
providing specific figures that US forces could be gradually replaced
by Iraqi soldiers and police by 2006.
"The bottom line is that this will be done incrementally and it will
be done in locations around Iraq where transitions can occur and the
Iraqi security forces can be successful," Schwartz told lawmakers.
"We will cascade American forces from those locations to places where
they can be better utilised," he said. "And ultimately, naturally,
we'll reduce the force structure in Iraq."
Indonesian voting scandal deepens
Jakarta (AFP). Indonesia's military said it had sacked an officer and
suspended 21 military drivers for involvement in suspected
vote-rigging at a major Islamic boarding school.
Military HQ said in a statement that the officer, who heads the HQ'
transportation dept, and the drivers had violated orders to stay
neutral in Mon's presidential election.
Some 21 military vehicles were used to take 1000s of people from
Jakarta to Indramayu to West Java to vote at Al-Zaytun school.
The statement said their action was a breach of discipline and
"clearly constitutes a violation of the instruction of the TNI
[military] cmdr on the neutrality of TNI".
The nat'l electoral watchdog has said it is investigating the case.
The number of registered voters at Al-Zaytun on Jul 5, close to
25,000, was more than double the number for the Apr legislative
election. Almost all of them voted for the same candidate, former
military chief Wiranto.
Al-Zaytun, which according to press reports has some 4,000 residents
in normal times, is reportedly closely linked to the military.
Newspapers said 100s of vehicles, some with military markings, took
more than 10,000 voters to the school on the eve of election day and
back to Jakarta the following day.
The military said a Jakarta resident had contacted one of the drivers
and offered to charter the 21 buses at 940,000 rupiah ($A144) each to
bring people from Jakarta. The trip's stated purpose was to attend a
Koranic recital at Al-Zaytun.
With 73.18 mn votes counted, Wiranto is 3rd with 22%.
In the lead is another ex-general, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, with 34%
followed by incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri with 26%.
The military wielded great influence during the 32-y rule of strongman
Suharto, who stepped down in 1998. Its chief Endriartono Sutarto vowed
it would stay neutral in this y's elections.
Punters tip coalition to win poll
Sydney (AAP). Opp'n Leader Mark Latham's election-winning allure
appears to be fading for punters. After m of steady bets on both
major political parties to win the next fed poll, punters have started
to back the coalition in big numbers. Centrebet, AUS's largest online
sports betting agency, said the coalition had moved from paying $1.70
for a $1 bet 3 wk ago to $1.55 as of Wed. 3 bets of $10,000 were put
on the Howard govt in that time to win a 4th term in office, the last
paying $1.60. Only one bet of $40 had been placed on Labor, paying
$2.20, since the spate of rumours surrounding Mr Latham's personal
life began to be publicly revealed late last wk.
Bush gains slight lead over Kerry -- AP poll
[This was almost immediately reversed by new Newspoll and Times polls].
Washington (AP). Pres Bush has opened a slight lead over John Kerry
while regaining the confidence of some voters on the economy and other
domestic issues, according to an Associated Press poll with a silver
lining for Democrats.
The addition of Sen John Edwards to Kerry's ticket appears to have
helped the Democrat in the S and among low-income voters -- a result
the Massachusetts senator had hoped for when he selected the N
Carolina populist over more seasoned politicians.
"I'm more impressed with Kerry now that he chose Edwards," said
Republican voter Robin Smith, 45, a teacher from Summerville, SC.
"I look at Kerry and I don't trust him, but he's got Edwards, who's
more middle-of-the-road, a strong speaker, more able to reach the
common man."
The AP-Ipsos poll found Bush slightly leading Kerry 49% to 45% with
independent candidate Ralph Nader at 3%. The poll had a margin of
error of plus or minus 3.5 points. A m ago, the Bush-Kerry matchup was
tied and Nader had 6%.
The 3-day survey began Mon, the day before Kerry tapped Edwards as his
running mate, and asked registered voters about the newly minted
ticket on Tue and Wed. Half supported the Republican tandem of Bush
and VP Dick Cheney while 46% backed the Kerry-Edwards ticket, just
within that question's margin of error of 4.5 points.
Voters said they were feeling better about the economy and no worse
about Iraq, a sign that Bush may be regaining his political footing
just as Democrats make a high-profile push toward their nominating
convention in late Jul.
"I want Bush in there, because the other guy is like sending a boy to
do a man's job," said Glenn Foldessy, 45, of Streetsboro, Ohio,
outside Cleveland. Foldessy, who usually votes Republican, said
Edwards made the Democratic ticket stronger, but not strong enough.
"We have somebody now who's established and has things on track and if
we destabilise this govt during the war on terror, that's playing
right into the hands of the terrorists," he said.
Troubling signs for the incumbent remain, however, from the number of
voters who believe the country is on the wrong track (56%) to his
anaemic, but improving, job approval numbers. Bush's overall approval
rating hit 50% for the 1st time since Jan, according to the poll
conducted by Ipsos-Public Affairs.
A m ago, the poll showed a hypothetical Kerry-Edwards ticket at 47%
and Bush-Cheney at 44%, essentially a tie.
Since Jun, Kerry has increased his percentage of strong supporters
* from 55% to 64% -- a sign that he has rallied his base. He also
strengthened his support in the S from 39% to 45% and among voters
with incomes from $25,000 to $50,000
* 41% to 50%, the AP-Ipsos poll found.
It was unknown what, if any, credit should go to Edwards. The
self-made millionaire and former trial lawyer has talked of "two
Americas," one for the privileged and another for everybody else.
Republican voter Hal Pruett, a human resources director in
McMinnville, Tenn, said Edwards will help the Democratic ticket in the
GOP-leaning South. "Because he's from the South, people will give them
a close look," said Pruett, 56.
Of the 804 registered voters surveyed, just 49% said they approve of
Bush's handling of the economy, but that's up a few points since May.
Mary Ann Hatton, 44, a Democrat who works in a Lexington, Ky, business
office, said she's finding less reason to blame Bush for the
economy. "I would fault him more on the war" in Iraq, she said.
Less than 1/2, 46%, approve of his handling of domestic issues such as
health care, education and the environment -- a slight improvement
over last m.
Bush gained ground among suburban women, a key constituency that
increased its backing for Bush from 41% in Jun to 52%.
His ratings on handling foreign policy and the war in Iraq, while low,
remained steady or slightly improved. The poll was taken shortly after
Iraqis gained limited control of their new govt.
Bush has been buoyed by a stream of economic data pointing to an
economic recovery, including a plunge in unemployment insurance
applications reported Thu by the Labor Dept.
"The conditions for a Bush victory are all there -- a strong economy,
an improving position in the global war on terror and a growing sense
that there are sharp and clear differences in values between the 2
campaigns," said top Bush adviser Karl Rove.
The economy remains a potent issue for Democrats, said Mark Mellman, a
pollster for Kerry.
"We're still seeing people squeezed between prices that are rising and
incomes that aren't," he said.
Bush coordinating war on terror with election
Op/Ed (The Daily Mis-lead). In the m after the tragic attacks of
9/11, Pres Bush told the American people that he had "no ambition
whatsoever to use [the War on Terror] as a political issue." But
according to a new report, the Bush Admin is now demanding that
internat'l allies coordinate the arrest of al Qaeda terrorists to
coincide with key US political events, so as to maximise political
benefits for the Pres. According to the New Republic, top Pakistani
intel officials have confirmed that the Bush Admin is demanding the
Pakistani govt find as many "high value" terrorist targets
specifically before Americans go to the polls in Nov. By contrast, no
similar urgent push or "timetable" was discussed in 2002 or 2003. Even
more troubling, Pakistani sources admit Whitehouse aides told the
Pakistani Director of Intel that "it would be best if the arrest or
killing of [any high value terrorist target] were announced on 26, 27,
or 28 Jul" -- the first and was safe.
Sweden welcomes release of Guantanamo detainee
[Sweden, understandably, has more "pull" than the Aussie govt].
Stockholm (AFP). Sweden has welcomed the release of the lone Swedish
detainee from the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as
officials here confirmed that he was 25-yo Mehdi Ghezali.
"It is extremely gratifying that the Swedish nat'l from Guantanamo was
finally released," said FM Laila Freivalds.
"He is now free and is heading home to Sweden."
"It was not easy to convince the Americans of the need to follow basic
legal principles in this matter. But we managed to drive home to them
that you do not detain prisoners indefinitely without charging them,"
she added in a statement.
Ms Freivalds' rep Maria Haakansson meanwhile said the freed detainee
was Mr Ghezali, who hails from Arrebro in central Sweden and was
arrested in Dec 2001 in Pakistan, nr the Afghan border, and turned
over to US authorities who shipped him to Guantanamo.
Earlier the US Defence Dept said it had transferred for release a
Swedish detainee.
The announcement came just days after Swedish PM Goeran Persson said a
Swede being held at Guantanamo Bay would soon be released.
Mr Persson met US Pres George W Bush in Washington in Apr to push for
Mr Ghezali's release.
Mr Ghezali has been a prisoner at Guantanamo since Jan 2002.
His family has argued that he was in Pakistan to study at a Koranic school.
Most of the Guantanamo detainees were captured in Afghanistan as part
of the "war on terrorism" declared after the Sep 11, 2001 attacks on
NY and Washington.
2 Aussies, David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, are currently being held at
Guantanamo Bay and both are listed to face a military tribunal.
In its statement, the Pentagon said "the decision to transfer or
release a detainee is based on many factors, including whether the
detainee is of further intel value to the US and whether he is
believed to pose a threat to the US or whether the individual has
committed offences triable by military commission".
The Pentagon said a total of 147 detainees have now left Guantanamo.
American hostage now in Beurit
Beirut (Reuters). A relative of Cpl Hassoun's in Tripoli said the
Marine was now at the heavily fortified US embassy complex in the
hills overlooking Beirut's coastline. "Wassef is at the US embassy,"
Abdelhamid Hassoun told reporters. The US military has declined to
comment on media reports that Cpl Hassoun deserted from his unit, but
a Marine Corps rep said a criminal investigation into Cpl Hassoun's
disappearance was under way. He gave no details. Cpl Hassoun, a
linguist from the First Marine Expeditionary Force, also has family in
W Jordan, Utah. Conflicting statements by different groups on the
Internet fuelled confusion over his fate. Lebanon's Foreign Ministry
at one point confirmed reports of his death before withdrawing its
statement. Later, an Islamist group said he had been moved to safety
after pledging to leave the US military.
US investigates freed Marine's case
Washington (AFP). Investigators are looking into what happened to a
Marine corporal who turned up in Lebanon after reportedly being taken
hostage in Iraq by Muslim extremists who threatened to behead him,
according to the Pentagon.
"Almost nothing that has been reported about Corporal Hassoun has been
accurate," Pentagon rep Larry DiRita said.
Mr DiRita would not comment further on the case of Marine Corporal
Wassef Ali Hassoun who turned himself over to the US Embassy in Beirut.
The Lebanese-born Hassoun, who disappeared from his base nr Fallujah
on Jun 21, was widely reported to have deserted in an attempt to get
to his family in Lebanon, only to be taken hostage.
The Pentagon changed his status from missing to captured last wk after
the Arab satellite TV network Al Jazeera aired a video from an armed
group threatening to behead him.
On Jul 3, a group claiming to be Ansar al-Sunna said it had carried
out the threat, but that was denied in a subsequent message attributed
to the group.
Brig Gen David Rodriguez, of the Joint Staff, said Cpl Hassoun was
safe and turned himself over to US embassy personnel in Lebanon voluntarily.
"We have no additional info at this time as to the event that led to
his arrival in Lebanon. Investigators continue to look into the
circumstances surrounding his situation," he said.
Iraqis welcome new security law
Baghdad (AFP). Fear-struck Iraqis have welcomed a new security law
unveiled by the interim Govt, but hope it will be a short-term measure
ahead of nationwide elections in Jan 2005.
"As an Iraqi, I respect the new law announced by PM Iyad Allawi," said
Adnan Daras, a 31-yo taxi driver in Baghdad, where gun battles raged in
the streets as the long-awaited measures were revealed.
"These laws are essential. How do I know who is entering my taxi?
"It could be a terrorist. I need to protect myself. That is why such
laws are needed, so the police can do their job."
Iraq unveiled emergency measures empowering the Govt to impose
curfews, restrict the movement of foreigners, open mail and tap
telephones, among other things.
The Govt made it clear the legislation was an essential response to a
deadly 14-mo insurgency, which continues to claim victims despite the
Jun 28 hand-over of power to Iraqis by the US-led coalition.
On Thu, the Health Ministry said that, in Jun alone, nearly 400
Iraqis were killed and 1,700 wounded in the violence.
But Mr Daras said these measures cannot be a long-term feature of
Iraqi society.
"The situation in Iraq today demands such strict laws, but it can't be
a permanent feature," he said.
"These laws should be used only as a measure to bring in the much
required democracy by conducting elections in Jan 2005."
People also brushed aside concerns that the new law would put the
country back to where it was under the tyrannical rule of ex-president
Saddam Hussein.
"I do not think so. The situation today is completely different than
what it was like under Saddam," said Ali Aliyah, a 33-yo carpenter.
The toppled dictator's iron fist rule offered no space for insurgents
but it also infringed basic human rights and suppressed an entire
population, he said.
"Iraqis want democracy now. No one can stop that. Even Islam advocates
democracy and what these terrorists are doing is completely
anti-Islam, which is why this new law is necessary," he said.
While many Iraqi civilians were upbeat about their Govt's tough
stance, the police, who will be on the frontline of the measures, were
divided about the move.
Some felt the United States had a heavy influence over the law's content,
while others argued that it was a strong weapon to curb the insurgency.
"The situation today is such that our own people do not trust us," a
colonel with the Iraqi police said on condition of anonymity.
"The new law is influenced by the Americans. If we do something to
stop crime, it becomes a big issue, but the Americans are randomly
killing Iraqis and no one says anything," he said.
On Baghdad's main highways and entry points, there were visibly more
police checkpoints where officer conducted random checks.
"We have not yet received the details of the new law, but we are told
that it is strong and powerful, which is what we need," said Sgt Aamer
Abdul Satar at the Al-Dorah police station in Baghdad.
"It is an Iraqi law and we respect it. But I hope it is strong and can
be used to curb this ongoing foreign-aided insurgency."
Iraq mortar attack kills 5 US soldiers
Baghdad (Reuters). Guerrillas have killed 5 US soldiers and two Iraqi
guards in a mortar attack on Nat'l Guard HQ in Samarra, N of Baghdad.
The attack came on Thu as a Lebanese-born US marine missing from his
unit in Iraq, who was at one point reported to have been beheaded by
his captors, was handed over to US officials in Beirut.
The latest violence erupted a day after Iraq's interim govt announced
a new security law giving itself tougher powers to combat a bloody
insurgency racking the country.
18 US soldiers and 4 Iraqi guards were also wounded when guerrillas
fired mortar rounds at the Nat'l Guard HQ, severely damaging the
building, the US military said. The building is also used by US troops.
A US Army Apache attack helicopter fired Hellfire missiles at a nearby
building after the strike, killing 4 insurgents, the US military
said. American forces used radar to locate the source of the mortar
fire and responded with 120-mm mortar rounds.
The deaths in Samarra, a mainly Sunni Muslim town some 100 km (60
miles) N of Baghdad, brought to 651 the US combat death toll in Iraq
since the US-led invasion in March last y to topple Saddam Hussein.
The Nat'l Guard, renamed by the interim govt, is a 40,000-strong
paramilitary force set up during the US-led occupation, when it was
known as the Iraqi Civil Defence Corps.
Outside Samarra, insurgents opened fire on a convoy of oil tanker
trucks, killing 2 drivers, at least one of whom was Turkish, witnesses said.
* HOSTAGE FREED
Uncertainty over the fate of US Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun,
who went missing in Iraq on Jun 21, appeared to be resolved when US
officials said he was at the American embassy in Beirut.
"He is safe. He appears to be healthy. We're working through the
details of what the next steps are," said a US defence official at the
Pentagon, speaking on condition of anonymity.
State Dept rep Richard Boucher said Hassoun had been at the embassy
since about 11 am EDT [4.00 pm Brit time]. "We were able to go get
him this morning ... He made contact with us."
The marine was picked up in Beirut, Boucher added. A cousin in Lebanon
also confirmed Hassoun was at the embassy.
At one point, he was believed to have been decapitated by his
captors. Later, a statement from an Islamist group said he had been
moved to safety after pledging to leave the military.
But kidnappers kept up the pressure on PM Iyad Allawi's govt,
threatening to kill a Filipino hostage unless Manila withdrew its
troops from Iraq.
In Manila, Pres Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered no more workers to go to
Iraq after Arabic Al Jazeera TV showed footage on Wed of a Filipino in
the hands of gunmen who set a 72-hr deadline for their demands to be met.
Kidnappers have seized dozens of foreigners since Apr to press demands
for foreign troops to leave Iraq, to deter foreigners from working
with US forces or to extract ransoms.
Many hostages have been freed, but at least 4 have been killed,
including an American and a S Korean beheaded by a group led by
Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, accused by Washington of
links with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda.
An audiotape purporting to come from Zarqawi said his group refused a
ransom offer before beheading the US hostage, Nicholas Berg.
Various Islamist Web Sites carried the tape.
In Baghdad, police said an official of Saddam's ousted Baath party was
killed when a bomb hidden in his car exploded outside a rope factory
he owned in the S of the city. Baathists have frequently been murdered
in revenge attacks.
In the N city of Mosul, one policeman was killed and 7 wounded when a
roadside bomb exploded at a roundabout. Another was shot dead when
insurgents fired at a police station, the US military said. 4
suspected insurgents were detained.
* MANILA GOVERNMENT IN EMERGENCY TALKS
Mins met in emergency session in Manila, but made no decision on how
to respond to the demand that the Philippines withdraw its force of
about 50 in what would be a symbolic blow to US efforts to stabilise Iraq.
ABS-CBN TV station identified the hostage, shown by Al Jazeera dressed
in an orange jump suit and kneeling before 3 gunmen, as Angelo dela
Cruz, who worked as a truck driver.
Apart from its small military contingent, the Philippines, a staunch
Asian ally of the US, has about 4,300 civilian workers in Iraq, many
of them employed by contractors and working in US military bases.
Allawi confirmed the US had removed radioactive material from Iraq,
saying Saddam could have used it to develop nuclear weapons. US and UN
officials said on Wed Washington had moved enriched uranium out of
Iraq for safekeeping.
The uranium could not be used in a conventional nuclear weapon but it
could have been used in a so-called dirty bomb.
Iraq mortar strike sees 11 killed
Baghdad (AFP). At least 11 people, including 5 US soldiers and an
Iraqi nat'l guard, have been killed in a massive mortar attack in the
restive city of Samarra, the US military said.
Insurgents rained down 38 mortars on the nat'l guard centre,
destroying the building, said Major Neal O'Brien of the 1ID.
Maj O'Brien had earlier put the number of dead Iraqi guardsmen at 2,
as troops continued searching the rubble for survivors.
After the shelling, fighting raged in Samarra as US troops and Iraqi
guardsmen sought to lure out their enemy and an Apache helicopter
fired missiles at a building, killing 4 insurgents, Major O'Brien said.
"US army and Iraqi nat'l guard are actively patrolling Samarra to gain
contact with anti-Iraqi forces," he said.
20 US soldiers and 3 nat'l guard were wounded in the surprise attack
on the HQ, he said.
The ensuing street battles had a high price for residents of the city,
125 km N of Baghdad, as the local hospital reported dozens of casualties.
"The hospital received 4 bodies and 30 injuries, and residents have
started giving blood," said Dr Mohammed Fadel at Samarra General Hospital.
It was unclear if the 4 dead were the same men whom the military said
it had killed.
Clashes also erupted between US and Iraqi forces and the insurgents
around the city's central Al-Bubaz district and Al-Jubairiya to the
south, according to an AFP correspondent on the scene.
Streets were deserted as dozens of masked fighters armed with
machine-guns and RPG launchers fanned out, amid unconfirmed reports of
residents fleeing the city.
Some put the blame on US forces for the fresh violence.
"The Americans are barbaric," Mohammed al-Samarrai, 45, a hotel owner
in the city, told AFP by telephone from his home, where he had been
holed up since the morning.
"The sound of explosions and shelling has been going on non-stop from
about 11.30 am [local] ... and only stopped briefly now," he said.
Former Baath official killed by bomb
Baghdad (Reuters). A former Baath party official was killed when a
bomb hidden in his car exploded outside the Baghdad rope factory that
he owned, police said.
Iraqi police and US troops sealed off the area where the man's charred
remains lay by the burnt wreckage of his vehicle, destroyed when the
booby trap detonated.
"He was getting into his car when it exploded," said Anmar Yassine,
the snr police officer at the scene, a street in an industrial
district in the S of the capital.
"The factory was open, the workers were still inside but no one else
was hurt," Mr Yassine said.
Police declined to speculate on the motive for the attack, but said
the victim, Ali Abbas, had been the treasurer of a regional committee
of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein's Baath party.
Numerous former Baath party officials have been killed since last
year's US-led invasion, often in revenge attacks by people nursing
grievances about their treatment during Saddam's rule.
Police initially described the blast as a car bomb, which typically
inflicts more casualties than booby-trapped cars intended to kill a
particular person.
Yesterday Iraq's interim Govt announced a new security law giving
itself wider powers to combat insurgents.
Iraq insurgency larger than thought
[Wow! Penny drops!]
Baghdad (AP). The Iraq insurgency is far larger than the 5,000
guerrillas previously thought to be at its core, US military officials
say, and it's being led by well-armed Iraqi Sunnis angry at being
pushed from power alongside Saddam Hussein.
Although US military analysts disagree over the exact size, dozens of
regional cells, often led by tribal sheiks and inspired by Sunni
Muslim imams, can call upon part-time fighters to boost forces to as
high as 20,000 -- an estimate reflected in the insurgency's continued
strength after US forces killed as many as 4,000 in Apr alone.
And some insurgents are highly specialised -- one Baghdad cell, for
instance, has 2 leaders, one assassin, and 2 groups of bomb-makers.
The developing intel picture of the insurgency contrasts with the
commonly stated view in the Bush Admin that the fighting is fuelled by
foreign warriors intent on creating an Islamic state.
"We're not at the forefront of a jihadist war here," said a US
military official in Baghdad, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official and others told The Associated Press the guerrillas have
enough popular support among nat'list Iraqis angered by the presence
of US troops that they cannot be militarily defeated.
The military official, who has logged 1000s of miles driving around
Iraq to meet with insurgents or their representatives, said a skillful
Iraqi govt could co-opt some of the guerrillas and reconcile with the
leaders instead of fighting them.
"I generally like a lot of these guys," he said. "We know who the key
people are in all the different cities, and generally how they
operate. The problem is getting actionable info so you can either
attack them, arrest them or engage them."
Even as Iraqi leaders wrangle over the contentious issue of offering a
broad amnesty to guerrilla fighters, the new Iraqi military and intel
corps have begun gathering and sharing info on the insurgents with the
US military, providing a sharper picture of a complex insurgency.
"Nobody knows about Iraqis and all the subtleties in culture,
appearance, religion and so forth better than Iraqis themselves," said
US Army Lt Col Daniel Baggio, a military rep at Multinat'l Corps HQ in
Baghdad. "We're very optimistic about the Iraqis' use of their own
human intel to help root out these insurgents."
The intel boost has allowed American pilots to bomb suspected
insurgent safe houses over the past 2 wk, with Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi
saying Iraqis supplied info for at least one of those airstrikes. But
the better view of the insurgency also contradicts much of the popular
wisdom about it.
Estimates of the insurgents' manpower tend to be too low. Last week, a
former coalition official said 4,000 to 5,000 Baathists form the core
of the insurgency, with other attacks committed by a couple hundred
supporters of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and 100s of
other foreign fighters.
Anthony Cordesman, an Iraq analyst with the Center for Strategic and
Internat'l Studies, said the figure of 5,000 insurgents "was never
more than a wag and is now clearly ridiculous."
"Part-timers are difficult to count, but almost all insurgent
movements depend on cadres that are part-time and that can blend back
into the population," he said.
US military analysts disagree over the size of the insurgency, with
estimates running as high as 20,000 fighters when part-timers are added.
Ahmed Hashim, a professor at the US Naval War College, said the higher
numbers squared with his findings in a study of the insurgency
completed in Iraq.
One hint that the number is larger is the sheer volume of suspected
insurgents -- 22,000 -- who have cycled through US-run prisons. Most
have been released. And in Apr alone, US forces killed as many as
4,000 people, the military official said, including Sunni insurgents
and Shiite militiamen fighting under the banner of a radical cleric.
There has been no letup in attacks. On Thu, insurgents detonated a car
bomb and then attacked a military HQ in Samarra, a centre of
resistance 60 miles N of the capital, killing 5 US soldiers and one
Iraqi guardsman.
Guerrilla leaders come from various corners of Saddam's Baath Party,
including lawyers' groups, prominent families and especially from his
Military Bureau, an internal security arm used to purge enemies.
They've formed dozens of cells.
US military documents obtained by AP show a guerrilla band mounting
attacks in Baghdad that consists of 2 leaders, 4 sub-leaders and 30
members, broken down by activity. There is a pair of financiers, 2
cells of car bomb-builders, an assassin, separate teams launching
mortar and rocket attacks, and others handling roadside bombs and ambushes.
Most of the insurgents are fighting for a bigger role in a secular
society, not a Taliban-like Islamic state, the military official
said. Almost all the guerrillas are Iraqis, even those launching some
of the devastating car bombings normally blamed on foreigners --
usually al-Zarqawi.
The official said many car bombings bore the "tradecraft" of Saddam's
former secret police and were aimed at intimidating Iraq's new
security services.
Many in the US intel community have been making similar points, but
have encountered political opp'n from the Bush Admin, a State Dept
official in Washington said, also speaking on condition of anonymity.
Civilian analysts generally agreed, saying US and Iraqi officials have
long overemphasised the roles of foreign fighters and Muslim extremists.
Such positions support the Bush Admin's view that the insurgency is
linked to the war on terror. A closer examination paints most
insurgents as secular Iraqis angry at the presence of US and other
foreign troops.
"Too much US analysis is fixated on terms like 'jihadist,' just as it
almost mindlessly tries to tie everything to [Osama] bin Laden,"
Cordesman said. "Every public opinion poll in Iraq ... supports the
nat'list character of what is happening."
Many guerrillas are motivated by Islam in the same way religion
motivates American soldiers, who also tend to pray more when they're
at war, the US military official said.
He said he met Tue with 4 tribal sheiks from Ramadi who "made very
clear" that they had no desire for an Islamic state, even though
mosques are used as insurgent sanctuaries and funding centres.
"'We're not a bunch of Talibans,'" he paraphrased the sheiks as saying.
At the orders of Gen John Abizaid, the US cmdr of Mideast operations,
Army analysts looked closely for evidence that Iraq's insurgency was
adopting extreme Islamist goals, the official said.
Analysts learned that ridding Iraq of US troops was the motivator for
most insurgents, not the formation of an Islamic state.
The officer said Iraq's insurgents have a big advantage over guerrillas
elsewhere: plenty of arms, money, and training. Iraq's lack of a nat'l
identity card system -- and guerrillas' refusal to plan attacks by
easily intercepted telephone calls -- makes them difficult to track.
"They have learned a great deal over the last y, and with far more
continuity than the rotating US forces and Iraqi security forces,"
Cordesman said of the guerrillas. "They have learned to react very
quickly and in ways our sensors and standard tactics cannot easily
deal with."
Iraqi militants threaten to kill Bulgarian hostages
Doha. Militants in Iraq have threatened in a broadcast video tape to
kill 2 Bulgarian hostages within 24 hours unless US-led forces free
prisoners.
The Arabic satellite TV station Al Jazeera said the tape had come from
the Tawhid and Jihad group headed by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,
who has been accused by Washington of links to Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda.
The tape comes after a Lebanese-born US Marine, who went missing in
Iraq and was reported at one stage to have been killed by militants,
turned up at the US embassy in Beirut.
The tape showed 2 men, identified as Bulgarians, sitting in front of
their captors and said they would be killed unless imprisoned
militants were released.
There was no immediate comment from Bulgarian officials and it was not
clear whether the captive Bulgarians were military personnel or civilians.
Bulgaria has been an ally of the US over Iraq and has contributed
troops to US-led forces.
A number of foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq in the past few months.
At least 3 have been killed by their kidnappers, while some have been
freed and others remain captive.
Zarqawi's group has claimed responsibility for the beheading of 2
civilians, an American and a S Korean.
Another group killed an Italian civilian, but later freed 3 of his colleagues.
Militants claimed responsibility for killing captive US soldier Keith
Matthew Maupin but there has been no independent confirmation.
Bulgarian hostages face death
Baghdad (AP). The insurgent group loyal to Jordanian militant leader
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has threatened to execute 2 Bulgarian hostages if
the US military does not release all Iraqi detainees within 24 hr,
according to a video on al-Jazeera TV.
The Tawhid and Jihad group sent al-Jazeera a video showing the 2
unidentified Bulgarians sitting with their hands cuffed, flanked by 3
masked men, 2 carrying rifles and one carrying a rocket propelled
grenade launcher.
On the wall behind them was their group's black flag with a golden circle.
Al-Jazeera's news-reader read the group's demands.
The group had previously claimed responsibility for the beheading of
US businessman Nicholas Berg and S Korean translator Kim Sun-il.
It was also believed to be behind a series of attacks on police and
security forces in Iraq that killed 100 people in the days leading up
to the coalition forces' hand-over of power to an Iraqi interim govt
last m.
Security woes may prevent Iraq PM visit to EU
Brussels (Reuters). Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi is unlikely to go through
with a visit to European Union HQ next wk because of the worsening
security situation in his country, diplomats said Thu.
Allawi had accepted an invitation to meet EU foreign ministers next
Mon to discuss how the 25-nation bloc can contribute to Iraq's
reconstruction following the formal end of the US-led occupation.
"We're getting indications that the trip is unlikely to take place,
but nothing has been confirmed," a snr EU diplomat said.
A NATO official said he could not firmly confirm or deny anything, but
added: "My understanding for the moment is that he [Allawi] is not
coming at all."
The EU diplomat said Allawi, who took office on Jun 28 at the head of
an interim govt, would probably stay in Baghdad to handle the deteriorating
security situation. The PM's own home came under rocket attack Wed.
"In the best case scenario, he will send his foreign minister. In the
worst, no one at all," the diplomat said. Guerrillas killed 3 more US
soldiers and an Iraqi guard in a mortar attack on Nat'l Guard HQ in
Samarra, N of Baghdad, Thu, a day after the interim govt announced a
tough new security law.
Kidnappers have threatened to kill a Filipino hostage unless Manila
withdraws its troops from Iraq in the latest of a spate of kidnappings
of nat'ls of the US-led coalition.
EU diplomats said Wed Allawi had accepted the invitation to Brussels
as part of a rapprochement between the EU, several of whose members
opposed the US-led invasion last y, and the new Iraqi authorities.
French For Min Michel Barnier said Thu Paris hoped to restore full
diplomatic relations with Baghdad "in the next few days."
Paris was the most outspoken opponent in the UN Sec Council to
military action, thwarting attempts by the US and Brit last year to
obtain explicit UN backing for the war to oust Saddam Hussein.
Mystery phone call unwelcome by Taliban founder
Kabul (AFP). Afghan intel agents have spoken with fugitive Taliban
founder Mullah Mohammed Omar after commandeering a satellite phone
being used by his top aide, an Afghan official has claimed.
Mullah Omar, along with Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has escaped a
US-led dragnet which now numbers some 20,000 coalition soldiers since
the ousting of his Islamic fundamentalist regime in late 2001.
A man believed to be Mullah Omar's aide, Mullah Sakhi Dad Mujahid, was
captured earlier while carrying a satellite telephone containing the
phone numbers of top members of the ousted fundamentalist regime,
Kandahar intel chief Abdullah Laghmanai told AFP.
"We contacted Mullah Omar by Mullah Mujahid's phone," he said, adding
that at 1st Mujahid was forced to talk to his boss on the phone.
"But when he [Omar] realised the situation ... he cut off the phone."
"Salam-aleikum [Peace on you], where are you?" Mullah Omar asked
Mujahid, according to Mr Laghmanai who did not say when the call was made.
Mullah Mujahid, as he is known locally, was arrested during a raid in
Dara-i-Noor, some 70 km N of S Kandahar city.
The area is in the rugged border area between south-central Uruzgan
and Kandahar provinces and known to US military officials as the
"Taliban heartland".
Mujahid served as Mullah Omar's secretary under the Taliban's
1996-2001 rule, according to Laghmanai.
"Currently he was serving as Mullah Omar's military assistant," he said.
Kandahar military rep Gen Abdul Wasay confirmed the arrest of the
snr Taliban official.
"The arrest of Mullah Mujahid will pacify Taliban's activities in the
area," where he was captured, he told AFP, without elaborating on
further details.
Mr Laghmanai said subsequent efforts to contact Mullah Omar on the
phone had been unsuccessful as the one-eyed Taliban boss refuses to
answer phone calls "from strange numbers".
"Maybe Omar has found out that his friend is under our control," he
said. "He doesn't answer his telephone."
Mujahid was earlier transferred in handcuffs to Kabul for further
investigations which authorities hope could lead to the arrest of
other militants, including Mullah Omar.
"Once the investigation is done, we hope to capture Mullah Omar, if
not, at least we would get close to capturing him," an intel official
preparing to carry out the interrogation in Kabul said.
"He has been just brought to Kabul, we will start investigating him
very soon," the official, who asked to not be named, told AFP.
The official, himself involved in the anti-Taliban fight said Mujahid
was a "big Taliban member".
More than 2-and-1/2 y after Mullah Omar's fundamentalist regime was
toppled by a US-led military offensive for harbouring bin Laden, both
men are still on the loose despite massive internat'l efforts to
capture them and $multi-mn prices on their heads.
Thousands of US-led troops are in Afghanistan to hunt militants
including Mullah Omar and bin Laden, blamed for the Sep 11, 2001
attacks on America.
Mr Laghmanai claimed that intel reports as well as info received from
Mujahid suggested Mullah Omar was hiding in Pakistan's tribal areas nr
Kandahar and close to the SW Pakistani city of Quetta.
"The info Mujahid provided, and also our intel, suggests that Omar is
in Pakistan's tribal areas," he said.
Meanwhile, Afghan officials have arrested 3 foreigners, including an
American, who were allegedly conducting a private war on terror in Kabul.
"3 foreigners who had formed a self-made group and were claiming their
aims were to act against those carrying out terrorist attacks, have
been arrested," Interior Min Ali Ahmad Jalali said.
4 Afghans were also arrested along with the foreigners for allegedly
illegally holding 8 people in a private jail in a house near the
Intercontinental Hotel in W Kabul, he said.
"They did not have any legal connection with anyone and the United
States was also chasing them," Mr Jalali said. "They are actually rebels."
Sharon sacks minister: report
Jerusalem (AFP). Israeli PM Ariel Sharon sacked the country's
infrastructure minister after he was exposed for trying to frame a
cabinet colleague, public TV reported.
Sharon sent a letter to Yossef Paritzky, saying the dismissal would
take effect in 48 hr, the report said.
The news coincided with reports that Sharon was preparing to hold
talks with Shimon Peres, head of the country's second-largest party,
Labour, to join a coalition govt.
Paritzky, from the junior coalition Shinui party, was exposed by
public TV for attempting to ruin the public career of fellow Shinui
member, Interior Min Avraham Poraz, in party primary elections 2 y ago.
On tapes played in the Channel 1 report, Paritsky was heard speaking
with a private investigator, telling him: "I have thought about
bringing Poraz down. I want to screw him, I'm telling you to stitch
him up."
The Shinui leader, Justice Min Tommy Lapid, whose party has 5 seats in
the cabinet and is the 2nd largest coalition partner after Sharon's
Likud faction, was one of the 1st people to demand his head.
"After the newscast I told Paritzky that he has to resign. He said he
was taking note of my request," Lapid told army radio.
"The only thing you can do when you find such pus is to take a scalpel
and clean the wound as quickly as possible. And I have to tell you the
wound is very painful."
In the wake of his exposure, Paritzky said he was sorry and asked
forgiveness from Poraz, saying, "I messed up during the political struggle."
Sharon announced that he would start talks with the Labour party next
wk on forming a govt of nat'l unity.
"I have called a meeting Sun with [Labour leader] Shimon Peres to discuss
the possibility of enlarging the coalition," Sharon said in comments
at an economic forum in Jerusalem reported by the Israeli news media.
Sharon's govt has had no majority in parliament since hard-line members
of his coalition pulled out last m to protest his plan to withdraw
from all 21 Gaza Strip settlements and four others in the W Bank by
the end of next year.
World Court to rule Israel's barrier illegal -- paper
The Hague (Reuters). The World Court will rule on Fri that Israel's W
Bank barrier contravenes internat'l law and must be dismantled,
Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported.
The court will declare that the barrier infringed Palestinian rights,
according to the paper, which quoted documents it said it had obtained
on the ruling.
"The construction of such a wall accordingly constitutes breaches by
Israel of its various obligations under the applicable internat'l
humanitarian law and human rights instruments," Haaretz quoted the
documents as saying.
The paper said on its Web site that 14 out of the 15 judges voted in
favour of the ruling, with only American Thomas Buerghenthal dissenting.
Shi Jiuyong of China, the court's head judge, will start reading the
ruling on the legality of the barrier at 9 am EDT. Likely to run to
many pages, the ruling could take as long as 3 hr to read.
Israel has said it will not accept what is expected to be among the
most watched rulings in the 58 y of the World Court, based in The
Hague. The case has underlined the paralysis of Middle E peacemaking
after y of violence.
The Jewish state says the network of fences, ditches and walls has
already improved security, but Palestinians call it a land grab.
Palestinians have been looking to the Internat'l Court of Justice or
World Court -- the UN ' highest legal authority -- to declare illegal
Israel's construction on land that it captured in a 1967 war. They
hope this might in turn trigger a campaign for sanctions against Israel.
"We put tremendous faith in this court," Palestinian Pres Yasser
Arafat told reporters on Thu.
Haaretz said the ruling would declare: "The wall, along the route
chosen, and its associated regime, gravely infringes a number of rights
of Palestinians residing in the territory occupied by Israel, and the
infringements resulting from that route cannot be justified by military
exigencies or by the requirements of nat'l security or public order."
* SUICIDE BOMBINGS
The UN General Assembly, where pro-Palestinian feeling is strong,
sought an advisory opinion in Dec and The Hague court held hearings in
Feb. The ruling is non-binding.
Israel has already completed 125 miles of fences and walls that should
eventually stretch for 730 km.
The barrier has cut off 1000s of Palestinians from farms, schools,
relatives and jobs, but Israelis credit it with stopping suicide
bombings and shooting attacks that have killed 100s of Israelis during
nearly 4 y of conflict.
Amaani al-Alami, who lives at Ar-Ram in the W Bank, said she might
have to shut her kindergarten when 20-foot slabs of concrete are
lifted into place for the latest section, stopping children getting to
her school.
"I hope that the World Court will help us," she said.
If the Haaretz report is confirmed, Palestinians might lobby in the
General Assembly for sanctions against Israel -- similar to the move
to ostracise apartheid S Africa after the World Court ruled its
occupation of Namibia illegal in 1971.
Israeli officials are relying on the veto of their ally, the United
States, in the UN Sec Council to defeat any attempt to push through
any punitive measures.
Ron Kehrmann, an Israeli from Haifa whose 18-yo daughter was killed in
a suicide bombing last y, said his daughter would still be alive if
the barrier had gone up sooner, and that a World Court ruling could
exacerbate tensions.
"I hope they will not interfere too much between us and the
Palestinians," he told reporters outside the court.
Last week, Israel's High Court ruled that sections of the barrier
should be moved to ease Palestinian hardship and ensure access to
farmland, schools and cities, but it also recognised Israel's security
need to build inside the W Bank.
PNG passes Aussie aid bill
Pt Moresby. The Papua New Guinea Parliament has formally endorsed a
key new aid deal with AUS that provides for the deployment in PNG of
100s of Aussie personnel.
PNG's For Min Sir Rabbie Namaliu says the endorsement of the Enhanced
Cooperation Package (ECP) will ensure the accord is fully implemented.
AUS is to spend $800 mn on PNG's law and justice sector over the next
5 y, with the 1st deployment expected later this m.
AUS would be sending 230 police officers including 4 judges and other
officials into the areas of policing and economic management within
the public service.
Sir Rabbie Namaliu and his Aussie counterpart, Alexander Downer,
signed the ECP Treaty in Port Moresby last wk.
Sir Rabbie says with the endorsement of the Treaty formal instruments
would be prepared for signing in CBR later in the year.
Meanwhile, PNG is yet to pass laws to enable Aussie lawyers who would
be working with the Public Prosecutor and A-G's office to practice in
the country.
Boy, 14, arrested for murders
Lincoln, NM(AP). The 14-yo son of the manager of a ranch owned by ABC
TV journalist Sam Donaldson was arrested on charges of murdering his
father, stepmother and stepsister after the bodies were found at the
ranch, authorities said.
Cody Posey was arrested at a friend's home nr the Chavez Canyon Ranch
Wed evening, Lincoln County Sheriff Tom Sullivan said.
The bodies were found at the ranch in south-central New Mexico after
Donaldson went to the manager's house on Tue and discovered an
"obvious crime scene," Sullivan said. Deputies searched the area and
found the 3 bodies in a shallow grave. No other details of the
slayings were released.
The dead were identified as Delbert Paul Posey, the teen's father;
stepsister Mary Lee Schmid, 14; and stepmother Tryone Posey.
Cody Posey was detained on 3 counts of murder and 4 counts of
tampering with evidence. An initial court appearance was scheduled for
Thu, Sullivan said.
In a prepared statement, Donaldson said he and his wife, Jan, hired
Paul Posey to work at the ranch in Oct 2001. "Jan and I are so very,
very sorry about the loss of these fine people," he said.
District Attorney Scot Key said Cody Posey would be tried in juvenile
court but could face an adult penalty if convicted. He said punishment
could range from probation under juvenile law to 30 years in prison,
the standard sentence in New Mexico for an adult convicted of murder.
"We've never seen a triple murder, and the circumstances of a juvenile
committing a crime against family members hasn't been experienced
here," Key said.
The Donaldsons were in Santa Fe in N New Mexico during the Fourth of
Jul weekend, when the slayings apparently occurred.
"We didn't see them Tue morning or Tue afternoon, so I went over --
and on the porch was a large stain that was instantly recognisable,"
Donaldson told Albuquerque TV station KOB-TV. He then called the
sheriff's office.
Donaldson described Cody Posey as "withdrawn, like any typical
teenager."
Mad scientist faces life in jail
London (PAAIN). A deranged scientist branded by police as Brit's
worst stalker is facing life imprisonment after targeting 200 victims.
The court found Richard Jan, 37, conducted a terrifying 7-y campaign
he called World War 3 against health officials, solicitors and many
others he regarded as part of a "Grand Coalition" desperate to section
him under Brit's Mental Health Act.
London's Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court heard that a local councillor
and her family he fire-bombed at home were lucky to escape with their lives.
A social worker he particularly detested twice ended up in hospital
after late-night attacks ms from her front door. Jan also torched her car.
Many others variously found themselves on the receiving end of his
"trademark" car tyre slashing, being bombarded with silent and
threatening phone calls, followed home, or pestered with unwanted
pizzas and taxis, and, on one occasion, a pest control officer.
By the time Jan was eventually arrested people had left their jobs,
fled their homes and changed their identities.
Last m the biochemist was found guilty of 2 counts of arson with
intent to endanger life and one of causing a public nuisance between
Nov 13, 1996, and Feb 7, 2003 -- a charge police felt was best able to
embrace the many other aspects of his campaign of hatred.
On that occasion Judge Henry Blacksell adjourned sentencing for a
psychiatric report, but warned Jan, from Streatham, SW London, he
could face life imprisonment.
India pledges $bn for poverty
[India: back on track :)].
Delhi. India's new Govt has pledged bn of dollars to tackle poverty
while promising sustained economic growth in its budget for the next
financial year. New Finance Min Palaniappan Chidambram said his
Govt's aim would be to maintain growth with equity. Mr Chidambram
promised to wipe out revenue deficit by the year 2008-2009, and set
the new target at 4.4%, down from 4.6 per cent the prev y. He also
levied an across-the-board 2% tax boost to fund education and free
lunches in state-run schools. Mr Chidambram also increased military
spending by almost 18%.
Kidnapped Japanese woman re-unites with family
Jakarta. A Japanese woman kidnapped by N Korea during the Cold War is
pleading for privacy on the eve of a reunion with her family. The
reunion in Indonesia has attracted blanket media coverage in Japan. A
tired Hitomi Soga appeared overwhelmed as she arrived at the luxury
Jakarta hotel. Her family is expected to arrive from Pyongyang this
afternoon. In a brief statement, she pleaded for privacy and thanked
the Indonesian Govt for making the reunion possible. 2 y have passed
since Hitomi Soga last saw her husband and children. In 2002, after
spending a quarter of a century in N Korea, she was allowed return to
Japan, but her family had to stay in the communist country.
Judge denies Martha Stewart a retrial
NY (AFP). A fed judge in NY has denied domestic diva Martha Stewart's
request for a new trial, clearing the way for her sentencing to go
forward next wk.
US District Court Judge Miriam Cedarbaum turned down Stewart's request
to hold a hearing or grant a new trial following the indictment of an
expert govt witness for perjury at her trial earlier this y.
"There is no reasonable likelihood that this perjury could have
affected the jury's verdict and overwhelming independent evidence
supports the verdict," Judge Cedarbaum said in her ruling.
Stewart, 62, and her former broker, Peter Bacanovic, were convicted in
March on charges that included conspiracy, obstruction and making
false statements stemming from Stewart's sale of nearly 4,000 shares
in biotechnology company ImClone Systems.
Stewart, who founded a $multi-mn home decorating business that
includes magazines and books, is scheduled to be sentenced on Jul 16.
Stewart's attorney Robert Morvillo said in a statement that he was
"very disappointed" with the judge's ruling.
US man gets 5 y for planning abortion clinic attack
NY (AFP). A man charged with plotting to firebomb gay bars and a
clinic where abortions are performed has been sentenced to 5 y
imprisonment. A fed judge in Miami also ordered Stephen John Jordi to
undergo mental health treatment. Jordi had pleaded guilty in Feb to 3
charges of attempted arson. A criminal complaint filed in Nov claimed
Jordi planned to firebomb abortion clinics, apostate churches and gay
bars in the eastern US.
US spy plane crashes in S Korea: report
Seoul (AFP/Reuters/Kyodo). An American U2 spy plane has crashed S of
the S Korean capital Seoul, according to media reports.
KBS TV and Yonhap news agency reported only that the high altitude
surveillance plane had crashed, without providing further details.
Pyongyang has accused US spy planes of increasing surveillance
missions over the country since Pres George W Bush took office.
A U2 crashed in Jan last y in a remote region S of Seoul.
The US pilot survived unharmed while 3 people on the ground were injured.
The crash comes as US Nat'l Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice is due
to visit S Korea on Fri as part of a 3-nation Asian tour and after the
3rd round of 6-nation talks on N Korea's nuclear ambitions, held in
Beijing last m.
At the talks the US and N Korea presented proposals for solving the
issue for the 1st time since the talks were launched in Aug 2003.
However, differences between Washington and Pyongyang over the North's
alleged uranium enrichment program scuttled any breakthrough in the standoff.
The US offered Pyongyang 3 m to shut down and seal its nuclear weapons
facilities in return for economic and diplomatic rewards.
China urged Washington to soften its tone and has indicated its and
North Korea's displeasure over the deployment this m of 10 F-117
Nighthawk stealth fighters in S Korea.
Around 37,000 American troops are based in S Korea.
The 2 halves of the peninsula are still technically at war, more than
50 y after the end of the Korean war.
US denies reports of spy plane crash
Osan, Korea (AFP). The US Air Force has denied S Korean media reports
that an American U2 spy plane had crashed in S Korea.
"There was no accident involving US aircraft today," Arthur Bosker, a
rep of the 7th US Air Force based in Osan, S of Seoul, told AFP.
Another snr US military official told AFP: "All US aircraft are safe
on the ground. The reports are not true."
Local media including YTN cable news TV earlier reported that a high
altitude surveillance plane had crashed on the southern outskirts of
Seoul without providing further details.
YTN later corrected its report through an anchor who said: "The report
turns out to be not true."
A U2 crashed in Jan last y in a remote region S of Seoul.
The US pilot survived unharmed while 3 people on the ground were injured.
Around 37,000 American troops are based in S Korea to help counter any
threat from the Stalinist North.
The 2 halves of the peninsula are still technically at war, more than
50 y after the end of the Korean war.
Pyongyang has accused US spy planes of increasing surveillance
missions over the country since Pres George W Bush took office.
AC/DC street proposal gets council support
Melbourne. A proposal to rename a MEL lane way after rock band AC/DC
has won in-principle support from city councillors. MEL City Council
last night considered the plan to rename Corporation Lane, which
contains popular night-spots, after the band. The council says it
still needs to hear public submissions on the proposal before a final
decision is made later this m.
Ban on citrus fruit export
Diseased citrus trees to be burnt
Brisbane. The destruction of a thousand trees on a central Qld
property at the centre of an exotic disease scare will begin today.
Qld's citrus industry has been hit by an interstate ban on its fruit,
after citrus canker was discovered at the Emerald orchard. The Dept
of Primary Industries says it will take a few days to destroy the
trees and signs of re-growth will be monitored for up to 18 months.
Rep Chris Adriaansen says the trees will be treated with copper. "We
then start to look at cutting the trees off at or nr ground level,
those trees will be stacked burnt," he said. "There is a requirement
to kill off any re-growth from those stumps that are left in the ground
using herbicide and that process will continue until we're confident
that the trees are completely dead and all remnants in the ground are
completely dead."
Housing finance fall eases interest rate pressure
Canberra. Aussie housing finance has fallen by a seasonally adjusted
2.6 per cent in May, according to figures released by the Aussie
Bureau of Statistics. Analysts had predicted a 1% fall and the data
will further ease expectations that the Reserve Bank will raise
interest rates in the nr term. Unadjusted figures showed a rise of
7%. Approvals for the purchase of new dwellings fell 5.3%,
established dwellings fell 2.5% and construction finance fell 2.9%.
The Reserve Bank (RBA) left rates unchanged for a 7th consecutive
month this wk at 5.25%. The RBA, worried about record levels of
household debt, raised rates twice in Nov and Dec. Analysts expect a
25 point rate rise before the end of the y.
Church boss slams detention centres
Adelaide (AAP). The World Council of Churches wants the fed govt to
end its policy of mandatory detention of asylum-seekers.
WCC general secretary Rev Dr Samuel Kobia has visited the Baxter
Detention Centre, where 256 people are being held, and said it
reminded him of "Guantanamo Bay without the shackles".
"The policy that the govt of AUS is following today, as far as the
treatment of asylum-seekers and having these detention camps is
un-Christian," Dr Kobia told ABC radio.
"My very 1st impression as I entered that gate was to see the level of
maximum security as a centre.
"I just reminded me of what I have seen in Guantanamo Bay but without
the shackles and the uniform."
He said he had no quarrel with the fact the govt had to process people
who came here.
"But I don't think that the way they're going about it is the right way.
"We do have, in other countries in the world, where there [is
processing] of asylum-seekers, they follow the procedures laid down by
the UN and they do it in a very humane way.
"I say to the Aussie govt that the time has come to abolish this
policy altogether and to go back to the way the country was in terms
of being open and receiving asylum-seekers, knowing full well that
these people are not criminals."
Senior cleric damns Baxter as "disgraceful"
Adelaide. A snr world religious figure has called on the Fed Govt to
scrap its mandatory detention policy after visiting the Baxter
detention centre in SA's north. The head of the World Council of
Churches, Sam Kobia spent 3 hr inspecting the centre where 256 people
are being held and came out upset by what he saw, calling it
un-Christian. "I think it's wrong, it's disgraceful and this is
something that should stop," Dr Kobia said. "It can only remind me
it's Guantanamo Bay without the shackles and the uniform." Dr Kobia
will open the Nat'l Council of Churches forum in Adel today. The World
Council of Churches represents more than 300 churches, denominations
and church fellowships around the world and some 400 mn Christians.
US comments thuggish: Keating
Sydney (AAP). The US was labelled dumb and thuggish as Labor figures
told Washington to stay out of Aussie politics.
The attack was prompted by US Deputy Secretary of State Richard
Armitage, who claimed Labor was split over its policy to withdraw
troops from Iraq by Christmas.
His remark drew a rare and colourful contribution from former PM Paul
Keating, who denied the ALP was split over Iraq and added: "... the
party will not be thugged by US officials."
"Beating up on friendly foreign political parties is not only
unsightly, it is also dumb and counter-productive in the longer term,"
he said in a statement to AAP.
"There is no division in the Labor Party about the value or
maintenance of the US alliance nor about policy on Iraq."
Mr Keating accused Mr Armitage of making an unwarranted and untimely
partisan intervention in the Aussie political debate.
"In my own experience of presidents Bush [senior] and Clinton, no
behaviour of this kind towards what the US might regard as a client
state, was ever contemplated or attempted," he said.
Mr Armitage had said it was clear from meetings he had with Aussie
political visitors that Mr Latham's policy of withdrawing Aussie
troops from Iraq had split the ALP down the middle.
Pres George W Bush has called Labor's policy disastrous, while
Vice-Pres Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell have also
weighed into Labor over the issue.
Foreign Affairs Min Alexander Downer said Mr Armitage's comments had
exposed Labor divisions on the Iraq issue.
"There are some people in the Labor Party who are saying one thing to
the US to cuddle up to the Americans, and they are saying another
thing to the Aussie public," Mr Downer told ABC radio.
"I think that is an extraordinary display of not just division, but
incoherence."
However Opp'n leader Mark Latham and New Zealand's Labour PM Helen
Clark also said the US should stay out of Aussie politics.
Mr Latham criticised both Mr Armitage's remarks and those of left-wing
American filmmaker Michael Moore, who on Wed labelled Mr Howard
disgraceful for his support of Mr Bush.
Mr Latham said the Aussie people wanted to make up their own minds
about who they would support at the fed election.
Howard silent on Fraser's US broadside
Canberra. PM John Howard has refused to comment on his former boss's
demand that the United States "butt out" of Aussie domestic politics.
Former Liberal PM Malcolm Fraser and former Labor PM Paul Keating
yesterday said Washington had gone too far in its further criticism of
Labor's Iraq policy.
"I have a long standing practise of not commenting on anything Mr
Fraser says," Mr Howard said.
US Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, said after meeting
with a number of Labor MPs in Washington it was clear the party is
"split down the middle" over its policy to remove Aussie troops from
Iraq by Christmas.
Labor denies that but Mr Fraser has told Lateline the comment is unforgivable.
"If it had been in older times American officials would have been told
to butt out," he said.
He added that Aussie's do not like being told what to do.
Mr Armitage did hold talks recently with Opp'n front-bencher Sen
Stephen Conroy and former leader Kim Beazley, but both men have
refused to comment about their meeting.
Mr Keating has accused the US of political thuggery and described the
comments by Mr Armitage as dumb.
The Opp'n's Kevin Rudd says the criticism coming from Washington will
not change Labor's policy.
"What the Bush Admin wanted was for both sides of Aussie politics to
unite in support for the military invasion in Iraq," he said.
"We in the Labor Party took a different view."
He says there is no room for compromise on the Opp'n's plan to
withdraw the troops.
The Prime Min has accused the Opp'n leader of hypocrisy in his
response to the Bush Admin's criticism of Labor's Iraq policy.
Labor leader Mark Latham says the US should stay out of AUS's domestic
affairs.
Speaking on S Cross Radio, John Howard has described such remarks as
"super sensitive", and says Mr Latham has commented on US politics in
the past.
"Mark Latham himself with his attack on Bush when he said he was the
most dangerous and incompetent American Pres in living memory was
hardly being diplomatic and gentle," he said.
"I mean this is very much another case of it's okay for Mark Latham to
blaze away but if somebody returns the fire so to speak then that's wrong."
Latham accused of hypocrisy over US comments
Canberra. The PM has accused the Opp'n leader of hypocrisy in his
response to the Bush Admin's criticism of Labor's Iraq policy. US
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage says he believes the ALP is
"split down the middle" over its policy of withdrawing troops from
Iraq. Labor leader Mark Latham says the US should stay out of AUS's
domestic affairs, and his comments have been echoed by former PMs Paul
Keating and Malcolm Fraser. Speaking on S Cross Radio, John Howard
has described such remarks as "super sensitive", and says Mr Latham
has commented on US politics in the past. "Mark Latham himself with
his attack on Bush when he said he was the most dangerous and
incompetent American Pres in living memory was hardly being diplomatic
and gentle," he said. "I mean this is very much another case of it's
okay for Mark Latham to blaze away but if somebody returns the fire so
to speak then that's wrong."
Garrett attacks US-AUS joint training bases
Sydney. Labor's newest fed candidate, Peter Garrett, has criticised
an agreement between AUS and the US to establish joint training areas,
saying there was no consultation on the issue.
3 Aussie defence bases in Qld and the NT are to be upgraded as part of
a new joint military training network with the US.
Yesterday Opp'n leader Mark Latham said Labor supported the new
agreement, describing it as a positive step forward.
Mr Garrett has told Channel 9 there should have been a full and
thorough discussion.
"The thing that I object to more than anything else is the fact that
we've got Aussie foreign policy being determined by officials, and
senior Aussie officials, in Washington, and then Aussies get told
about it," he said.
"The merits or otherwise of those issues need to be fully discussed by
people, not simply unilaterally announced and then dumped on people in
the middle of an election campaign, following on from comments from
American foreign policy or defence officials, which actually end up
increasing the tempo of the debate."
Mr Garrett says he accepts the Labor Party's support for the joint
training facilities.
Greens leader Bob Brown has backed Mr Garrett.
"It is a matter that should be before the Aussie parliament," he said.
"Peter Garrett is right there, Labor is caught in the position where
it is saying yes to a deal made in the US without it having seen the
fine print and I think Mark Latham should insist on seeing the fine
print first."
PM defends Draper during Adel visit
Canberra. PM John Howard has defended Trish Draper, who was recently
at the centre of controversy over an overseas trip she took with her
ex-boyfriend, during his 3-day visit to Adel. Mr Howard told ABC
local radio that he fully supports Ms Draper. "She is a person who
has identified with many of the battlers of her electorate," he said.
Mr Howard said Ms Draper has dealt with the travel controversy. "She
has repaid the money even though she was entitled under the rules that
then operated to do it." The NE Adel seat of Makin is one of the
nation's most marginal.
Item of interest found at Mornington tip
Vic police have confirmed they have found human remains at a tip.
Melbourne. Forensic tests will be carried out today to determine
whether the discovery of an item at a Mornington Peninsula tip is
related to the murder of a MEL woman and her daughter. Police have
been searching the site for 10 days for the remains of Anna Kemp and
her daughter, Gracie Sharpe. Human remains were found concealed in a
blue tarpaulin on Tue, but have not been formally identified. Ms
Kemp's husband, John Sharpe has been charged with their murders.
Police will continue their search today.
Police seize computers in Morcombe investigation
Brisbane. Police on Qld's Sunshine Coast investigating the suspected
abduction of Daniel Morcombe have searched a number of homes in the
Maroochydore area. The 14-yo was last seen at a Palmwoods bus stop in
Dec. Detectives have seized a number of computers from the homes.
Stolen $500,000 truck recovered in MEL
Melbourne. A stolen truck with an engine worth $500,000 has been
found dumped in Port MEL this morning. The truck, belonging to a
company called Exhaust Control Industries, is an older-style AUS Post
truck with the words "powered by natural gas" painted in blue on the
side. It has an experimental natural gas powered engine designed as a
quieter and more environmentally sound alternative to diesel. It was
stolen from bayside Mordialloc, S of MEL, sometime between last Fri
and Sat and has been located on Todd Road, near the Westgate Bridge.
Priest on sex abuse charges released on bail
Melbourne. A MEL priest accused of child sex charges has been
released on bail. Catholic priest Frank Klep, 61, was arrested at MEL
Airport a fortnight ago after being deported from Samoa. He is facing
charges of indecently assaulting a teenage boy in the 1970s while he
was teaching at a MEL secondary college. The MEL Magistrates Court
refused his bail application after ruling he posed an unacceptable
risk of flight. A prosecutor did not oppose today's application in
the Supreme Court on the condition Klep not teach anyone under the age
of 18, not apply for a new passport and tell police if he intends to
leave Vic. The court was also told the Salesian Order had agreed not
to assign Klep any duties which would cause him to leave the jurisdiction.
Musicians promised a cut of digital pie
Brisbane (ABC, Matthew Liddy). The profits from file-sharing programs
which allow users to swap music files will be shared with artists once
litigation settles down, according to an executive involved in digital
download services.
Kevin Bermeister is the chief executive of AltNet, which distributes
content via peer-to-peer (P2P) applications such as Kazaa.
Mr Bermeister has told a Bris conference that file-sharing companies
are exploring ways to return money to the artists whose songs drive
the P2P market.
"As the progression of the litigation [against P2P companies] moves on
... there will in fact be a return of profits to artists," Mr
Bermeister told a session on digital rights at Q Music's Big Sound conference.
"I know of certain actions that are already providing a return of
profits to artists. There are funds established, there are
distribution methods being explored for moving profits back to artists.
"In addition to that, there's obviously the potential for digital
rights-managed content to be injected into search strings of users to
choose those particular files, through which a direct relationship is
established between the label, the artist and the fan.
"I'm witness to actions that will end up seeing distribution back to
artists," he added.
The conference session was appropriately titled "Digital Rights Ho'
Down", given Mr Bermeister -- whose home was raided in connection with
the music industry's ongoing lawsuit against Kazaa -- was sitting on
the panel next to the man chiefly responsible for the anti-piracy fight
in AUS, Michael Speck from the Aussie Record Industry Association (ARIA).
The pair traded the odd barb but in the end were in agreement on at
least one thing: that down-loadable music is here to stay.
* 'Another place to get music to punters'
"The Internet is the next market segment," Mr Speck said. "It's clear
that's the case."
But the anti-piracy chief was at pains to point out that the Internet
does not revolutionise the way the music industry works.
"It's a place where none of the laws of nature or business are turned
upside down," he said. "It must be a place where you can protect your
property, where if it belongs to you, you make the choice about how
it's delivered.
"The Internet is just another place to get music to punters," Mr Speck added.
He believes the music industry will emerge triumphant from its fight
against the file-sharers.
"You can be sure that eventually the Internet market will be a place
where businesses that are clearly and unequivocally operating legally
will be the primary sources of product," he said.
"The future is one where the copyright owner has rights that they can
protect and enforce in that marketplace, and we're clearly headed in
that direction."
But Mr Bermeister says the major players in the record industry have
failed to embrace the demands of the new market.
"AltNet has embraced file-sharing partners, provided technologies to
those file-sharing partners, provided technologies to artists and
labels and independent operations," he said.
"We've tried very hard to create relationships with the majors ...
only to be attacked and targeted by litigation and attempts to control
the activities of the file-sharing parties.
"I think that is a sad set of circumstances because in this
environment, the market has already spoken. The users have already
shaped what it is that they want and we need to listen and embrace and
modify and change and build on those strengths."
* Who pays?
The panel identified Internet service providers (ISPs) and hardware
manufacturers as potential sources of revenue for artists since they
benefit from users' demands for down-loadable music.
Mr Speck says ARIA is "in dialogue with Internet service providers on
a continual basis".
He told the audience of musicians and record company staff that "it
should make all of you angry that this multi-billion dollar industry
derives, in AUS at least, up to 20% of its revenue" from file-sharing
without any of that money going back into the music industry.
"The ISPs are in the background all the time," said Steve Johnston,
who's in charge of digital rights management for the UK's Association
of Independent Music.
"Their entire businesses are being driven by that traffic. People are
getting broadband connections to get hold of all that free music and
not any of that money has gone back to rights holders and creators."
But Mr Bermeister added: "I don't think you can really target the ISPs
specifically here. The Internet is a new market and a new medium.
"There are CD-ROM manufacturers, there are computer manufacturers,
there are MP3 players like iPod for example who all derive a benefit,
including the ISPs, from the activities of access to content on demand.
"I think that to try to channel anger at any one particular group who
derive a benefit is pointless.
"There really has to be a recognition that it is the art that is
driving demand. Through that, there can be a progression towards a
model that benefits artists to a much greater degree than artists
currently benefit through the deals that are offered by the major
music labels."
Mr Bermeister concludes that the "net result in the economics of the
future market will be more direct revenue to the artist and a more
evenly spread marketplace".
Shooting stars to dazzle Qld skies
Star-gazers in the S Hemisphere are preparing to be dazzled by a wk of
increased meteor showers.
Brisbane. The Cosmos Centre at Charleville in Qld's SW says the next
7 days are expected to see a big increase in cosmic activity, as small
rocks and dust particles enter the earth's atmosphere and burn up.
The centre's Jane Morgan says the meteor showers will look like
falling stars and will give their best performances after midnight.
"Falling stars, don't ever wish on one because all you're really doing
is wishing on dust and dirt and a bit of junk that's coming through,
but that's what it looks like," she said.
"People will begin to notice over the next couple of nights an
increase in the amount of falling stars, then when we get into the
high level of activity it can be a really spectacular sight."
According to astronomer Paul Floyd the meteor shower, called the
Southern delta-Aquarid, will be active from now until mid-Aug and will
be most spectacular on Jul 27.
He says it is one of the most predictable S hemisphere meteor showers
that the casual stargazer can observe and he recommends looking at the
showers after midnight local time.
The S delta-Aquarid meteor shower gained its name because the meteors
appear to radiate from the constellation Aquarius -- the water bearer.
Smoke research plants germination discovery
A chemical in smoke can prompt plants to germinate.
Perth. Western Aussie researchers have discovered a chemical that is
expected to deliver benefits worth $mns to agriculture, mining, and
environmental conservation across the world. The team has found a
chemical in smoke can prompt plants to germinate. The team has been
searching for the mystery-molecule for the past 11 years and beat 3
other groups in the US, S Africa, and Germany, to isolate the
compound. Researcher Kingsley Dixon says the find has enormous
implications for land rehabilitation and farming. "Having a few
percentage increase in things like germination of carrots can actually
make a $multi-mn difference in the bottom line," he said. "What we've
found with our chemical is that it is promoting germination by a few%
in a number of important crop species."
We're not making this up...
Toronto (Reuters). A blind Quebec student, who was denied entry to
English classes at a Canadian university because his guide dog
responds only to French commands, will be allowed to attend class, the
school said on Wed.
Yvan Tessier was turned away from an English immersion course at the
University of New Brunswick because he would be forced to give his
dog, Pavot, instructions in French.
Students in the course are expected to communicate only in English, at
all times, during the intensive 5-wk course. That was to include
talking to the dog, but the university relented, saying in a statement
that Tessier will be allowed to use "essential commands in his native
French language to his guide dog."
Earlier, Tessier said he would file a complaint with the human rights
commission if the university stuck to its decision.
"They don't have the openness of spirit to understand that it's better
for me and my mobility to operate with my guide dog. It's only 17
commands in French; it won't compromise the English program," he said
from Fredericton, NB.
Tessier has been guided by the black Labrador retriever for the past
two years. Pavot was trained by the Quebec-based Mira Foundation
specifically for French speaking clients.
"We were astonished by this," said Pierre Noiseux, a rep at the
foundation which placed Pavot with Tessier.
"The dog doesn't speak French or English. He doesn't know how to spell
'en avant.' He doesn't know it's French. He just knows that 'en avant'
means forward."
The uni, in the E Canadian town of Fredericton, New Brunswick, said it
turned Tessier away because it did not have enough time to prepare for
his special needs.
"In the past, the service has been provided that we do teach their
guide dogs commands in English, so the dog learns English as well," a
university rep told CBC TV.
Tessier said it would take too long to teach Pavot English commands.
The Mira Foundation said it was also dangerous to teach the dog new
commands just as Tessier arrives in unfamiliar surroundings.
"He's in a new city, he needs a dog that will be really alert,"
Noiseux said. "Sure we could take the dog, bring him back and
recode. But why would I do that? The guy is French."
{{
Midnight.
After talks with the Sharon govt, Ahmed ElBaradei says he's been
assured Israel is in favour of a nuclear-free Middle E. However
Israeli has concerns about the nuclear program of Iran.
There's been more fighting in N Gaza. Up to 8 Pals have been killed
and 5 Israeli soldiers injured in Beit Hanun.
There's been a sustained mortar barrage on a US military HQ in C Iraq.
At least 4 US soldiers have been killed in Samarrah. 1 Iraqi soldier
was also killed. 20 US soldiers were injured. 3 civilians were also
injured in the barrage of around 36 shells.
African leaders say an AU force deployed to Sudan will defend civilians
as well as protect peace monitors.
Georgian soldiers have exchanged fire with troops from S Osettia.
Earlier, S Ossetia forces disarmed 40 Georgian soldiers because they
were illegally carrying weapons in the break-away Prov. 2 Georgians
have been wounded and another 1 1 abducted.
A pub in the Rep of Ireland has become a cause celebre by allowing
smoking indoors despite anti-smoking laws passed 3 m ago. The pub
owners say old people have been forced out-of-doors to smoke, and
that's unfair.
China has overturned the US patent on Viagra because the American
company that makes it had not provided enough info on how a key
ingredient was manufactured. Pfizer says the info was not requested
at the time, and it will appeal the decision.
The LTTE has denied responsibility for a suicide bombing in Colombo
yesterday. They suggest it was a rebel Tamil group. The bomber had
apparently targeted the offices of a Tamil govt MP.
2.30 am
1 woman has been killed and 4 others injured in N Afghanistan. Their
vehicle hit a land mine. They group were registering voters for the
up-coming elections. It's the 2nd attack on electoral workers in the
past 2 wks.
3 US nationals and 4 Afghans have been arrested in Kabul for
organising a vigilante operation. A privately-run jail has been
raided, and the prisoners the vigilantes were holding have been set
free. The group were holding up to a dozen "suspects" in the jail .
The Afghan govt said the operation was illegal and the group had also
been sought by US authorities. There are reports dozens of vigilante
groups have been operating in Afghanistan, working for the huge
rewards offered by US and Afghan forces for Taliban fighters and other rebels.
6 am
At least 11 soldiers have killed -- 5 of them American -- after 38
mortar shells were fired into the nat'l guard HQ in Samarrah.
Civilians also believed to have been killed in the attack. Dozens of
masked fighters were later seen swarming through the streets of the city.
The Iraqi Health Ministry says 388 Iraqis have been killed and around
1,800 wounded in the m of Jun.
US Nat'l Security chief Tom Ridge has warned that al-Qaeda is planning
a summer attack on the US. The attack is calculated to affect the
election, says Ridge. But he gave no details. There were "credible
reports", says Ridge. Admin officials say the news won't change US
resolve in its War on Terror. Congressional leaders were briefed on
the threat during the day. The terror network was "moving forward to
disrupt the democratic process" Ridge told a press conf. But the US
won't raise threat level from yellow, he added. Some Americans have
questioned this and prev warnings. Democrats say the warning itself
could be calculated to have effect on election.
Oil price reacted sharply to news of a planned terrorist attack on the
US. NYMEX added 1.25 to close above $40 at $US40.33/bbl.
5 Israeli soldiers have escaped death, but several suffered injuries,
from a roadside bomb. Elsewhere, 7 accused Pal militants were killed
in a village in N Gaza.
Aussie Opp'n leader Mark Latham, former PM Paul Keating, NZ PM Helen
Clarke, and former Liberal PM Mal Fraser have told the US to keep out
of AUS politics. The warning came after US officials incl the Pres,
the VP, the Sec of State, and the Dep Sec of State all criticised the
Labor policy of pulling out Australia's 200 troops from Iraq by the
end of the y.
A Lebanese-born US Marine has arrived safely at the US embassy in Beirut.
Houston. Former Enron big-wig Ken Lay faces 175 y in jail and $10s of
mns in fines if convicted of fraud. He's pleaded not guilty to 11
charges of fraud, mis-management and deception. Earlier, he turned
himself in to Houston police. It's 2.5 y after the Justice Dept first
launched its Enron task force. At a press conf Lay said he and his
family continued to grieve over his failure to save the company. The
crash wiped out the retirement savings of 1000s of employees. But
failure was not a crime, said Lay. 1 m before the $900 bn collapse,
Lay had told investors and employees the company was doing fine, and
there was no truth in rumours it was close to financial collapse. Lay
took control of the company in 2001. The collapse cost 5,000 lost
jobs and 20,000 current and former employees lost their pensions. Lay
and family continue to live in a $7 mn home.
6.30 am
The Dow has closed down 68 pts. The Nasdaq also ended down 38. Wall
St was reacting to news of a planned al-Qaeda attack in the US. The
AUD is trading around 72.03 US c, on greenback weakness. Gold is up
5.50 to $US407.45/oz.
Aussies gambled $128 bn last y. Politicians are now calling for a
nat'l summit on gambling.
Masked Iraqi gunmen have threatened to kill lawyers representing
Saddam Hussein.
London police have raided dozens of properties in a crack-down on
crime gangs. 500 police raided 22 addressees. They seized axes,
swords and a gun. 13 Tamil men have been arrested. Police say they
were responding to dozens of murders over the past decade. The men
are accused of sending money back to Sri Lanka to fund Tamil rebels.
The "folded paper" problem has reportedly affected up to 40 mn votes
in the Indon election. The debacle has opened up the possibility of a
legal challenges to any result.
WA researchers have found a chemical in smoke that signals plants to
germinate after bush fires. Originally found to be active in parts
per trillion in native Aussie plants, it's also been found to work in
a few percent of key crop plants. The research could generate $mns in
revenues. A patent has been taken out on the prev-unknown chemical.
The work has been reported in "Science".
10 am
A fierce gun battle with Israeli troops has left at least 8
Palestinians dead in the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun.
Fear-struck Iraqis have welcomed a new security law unveiled by the
interim Govt, but hope it will be a short-term measure ahead of
nationwide elections in Jan 2005.
A former Baath party official was killed when a bomb hidden in his car
exploded outside the Baghdad rope factory that he owned, police said.
Former PM Paul Keating says comments by the US Admin about Labor's
Iraq policy are an unwarranted intervention in Aussie domestic politics.
Philippine Pres Gloria Arroyo has announced measures to stop any more
Filipinos going to Iraq to work after an Arabic TV station reported
that a Filipino worker had been taken hostage there.
US forces have been stretched to the breaking point as a result of
military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, a top Pentagon official
has testified before a congressional committee.
The Howard Govt has seized on comments by the Bush Admin that the
Opp'n is divided over its plan to bring Aussie troops home from Iraq
by Christmas.
AUS's independent music sector may follow the lead of record labels in
the UK and Europe and use its collective muscle to challenge the major
brands in the digital marketplace.
Midday.
2 Bulgarians have been captured by Iraqi rebels.
There's been a gun-battle in front of the Tripoli family home of a
kidnapped US soldier. Crowds had taunted the family they were US
collaborators. 2 people were killed in the fracas. Later, a grenade
went off in a shop owned by a relative. Meanwhile, the US is
investigating whether the kidnap drama was an elaborate hoax.
The US air def system [again!] under scrutiny after a plane carrying
the Gov of Kentucky was almost shot down over Washington, DC. The
incident happened during the funeral of Ronald Reagan. ABC News says
the evacuation of the Capitol was caused by the appearance of the
Governor's plane. It was another "confusing incident", say observers.
At 4.24 pm the plane entered the restricted air space around DC. The
FAA knew it was the Governor's aircraft, but failed to tell other
agencies. At 4.31 an alarm was sounded, and the Capitol was evac'd.
Fighters jets were scrambled on a shoot down mission. NORAD said they
were poised to fire, when an all-clear was signalled. Officials
realised the plane was about to land at a Washington airport. NORAD
then ordered a standout. There's to be another investigation by
Congress. The FAA said changes would be made and a repeat of the
incident would not happen again.
The Aussie economy is coming off the boil. According to new data home
lending approvals fell by 2.6% in May.
The All Ords has closed weaker. The US fell on news that growth there
is slowing. In AUS, News Corp is down 6 to $12.14. Gold and oil are
higher after the US al-Qaeda warning. Bur the All Ords ended down 10
at 3,553. Wall St closed down 69. The Nasdaq lost 31. In London,
the FTSE is up 23 ending a 7-day slump. The Nikkei is up 50. The
Hang Seng is up 31, straight off the bat. The AUD is trading around
72.37 US c. Gold is down 1.90 at $US406.05/oz.
Oil is up 1.25 at $US40.33/bbl.
Yukos officials say the company can't trade properly with its assets
and bank accounts frozen. In Germany, Pres Putin has side-stepped
questions over Yukos, saying foreign investors should concentrate on
the strong Russian economy. Back in Russia, there's been a run on a
bank. Alpha bank is Russia's 4th largest.
4.15 pm
Gold is higher at $US406.10/oz.
A formerly MIA Lebanese-born US Marine has been sent to Germany for
interrogation after appearing in Tripoli. The Pentagon has refused to
confirm or deny any number of rumours about what had been believed to
be a kidnapping by Iraqi insurgents.
4.30 pm
A SYD man has been ordered to forfeit a $100,000 surety after his
son fled to Lebanon. The man was wanted in connection with a shooting
incident at a SYD police stn. The father says he has the money, but
blames the govt and police for not stopping his son getting on an
aircraft and fleeing the country.
Bankruptcies in AUS dropped 10% last y to the lowest level since 1995.
There were just over 20,000 bankruptcies, incl around 4,000 business
bankruptcies.
5 pm
Phil Pres Arroyo has sent a special envoy to Iraq to help negotiate
the release of a Phil truck driver. The envoy may also may try to
extend the time limit of 72 hrs. But he has only 1 day to work on the release.
The Vic govt has made a desperate plea for private funding for the
Clayton-based synchrotron. Already, Vic taxpayers have paid $150 mn
into the project. The rest has come from unis and govt research
organisations. But there's a $30 mn shortfall. The state opp'n says
Vic industry is suspicious of funding the Bracks govt's dreams. The
project is due to be finished in 2007.
5.15 pm
Aussies are about to be polarised, with the ABC set to screen a BBC
doc that shows the procedure of abortion. "My Foetus" sparked outrange
in the UN when it was shown there.
PBS News Hour. The leak investigation continues. Media lawyers went
to Washington today to quash subpoenas of journalists from NBC and the
NY Times. Tim Rusert is one of those subpoenaed. While hearings are
closed-door, analysts say lawyers were likely to argue the media's
right to keep sources secret is important for the public good. But
shield laws are very limited in federal court. The WashPost has
allowed its reporter to testify in the grand jury. It's believed
testimony from that source would tend to exonerate one suspect
"Scooter" Libby, a member of Cheney's staff. Pres Bush has already
been questioned for 70 mins -- a very long time by grand jury
standards. Mr Bush hired a special lawyer for the appearance -- also
regarded as a very unusual move.
6.30 pm
George Tenet was fondly farewelled by the CIA today. He told those
gathered their work would be judged favourably in the future. But
it's believed the Senate investigation into pre-GWII Iraq intel will
be damning, putting much of the blame for the failure to find the
touted WMD stockpiles and programs on the heads of sloppy analysis by
CIA agents.
US choppers have fired missiles into a compound in Samarrah, killing
4 people the US claims were insurgents.
Iraqi gunmen have attacked a truck convoy, killing 2 drivers -- one
Turkish and the other Iraqi.
Saddam's only US lawyer has made a submission to the American courts,
saying his client is being denied basic legal and human rights and
calling on the courts to have the detention ruled illegal.
Sweden has managed to have a citizen in Guatmo released by the US.
The Swedish FM said the govt had tried to have him either stand trial
in a US civil court, or have him released. Sweden had now succeeded,
she said. The Pentagon continues to claim Guatmo detainees will get
fair trials. 594 remain at Guatmo. 147 have been set free so they
don't need to test the system.
The Would Court will tonight announced its decision on the Israeli
barrier. An Israeli paper says the Court will declare the wall
illegal and call for its destruction. The decision would be
non-binding. The Israeli military says last y the fence stopped 90%
of attempts to infiltrate into Israel. A Palestinian parliamentary
committee says Pal MP's have been involved in building the wall. The
Civil Affairs Min denies his companies have been involved. PM Ahmed
Qurei reportedly owns an implicated cement company.
PM Sharon is to open formal talks on Sun with Labour to form a govt of
nat'l govt. The announcement follows the resignation of a key govt ally.
1000s have taken to the streets in Gaza in support of 7 militants
killed by Israel earlier this wk.
The killer of the former Swedish FM Lindh has had his life sentence
quashed. He's been moved to a psych hospital. The guilty verdict
still stands.
A former Croatian Gen is standing trial at the War Crimes Trib'l. He's
already been sentenced to 12 y in Croatia. He was transferred to The
Hague yesterday. He's facing 5 charges of killing Serb civilians in
Croatia during the Yugoslav wars.
Athens. 1 man dead as firefighters battle bush fires nr the Olympic
site. 1000s of children were evac'd from 4 summer camps. Dozens of
homes have been destroyed by the fire.
Preparations for the Olympic Games are on track. The roof is on the
main stadium. But it's still a construction site. And ticket sales
have been lack-lustre. IOC observers say everything will be finished
on time. Only 1/2 the tickets have been sold. There's been a #1 bn
over-spend on the venues.
A lack of electricity and high summer temps have forced Iraqis into
desperate measures, incl swimming in the polluted Tigris R.
7 pm
The AUD is pushing ahead. It's presently at 72.33 US c. The rise is
caused by a weaker greenback. Gold is up 1.4%. Silver is up 5%.
Copper is down .6%. Wheat is down. The All Ords closed down 4 pts.
But NAB shares were up c to $A30.85 [Woo-Hoo!]. In Japan, the Nikkei
closed up .9%. The Hang Seng in HK ended up .6%.
MEL police have seized $A1/2 bn in fake goods from China. Everything
from handbags to children's toys was found in 2 containers. The AFP
is now investigating.
Morwong or Sea Bream? Another Aussie world first. A research group
is moving to standardise fish names across Australia. Some species
have several local names. It's proving to be an emotive issue, with
local fishers and retailers pushing to keep their term for more than
4,000 species of fish.
7.30 pm
The AOC has withheld the final endorsement of an Aussie cyclist. It
says an inquiry into horse growth hormone vials found in Adel could
upset his chances to participate in the Olympics.
The FTSE is presently down 18.
Police have broken up a dispute on Groote Island, NT. The row
started last night and continued into the morning. The crowd of 300
was armed with clubs, axes and spears. It was fuelled by drinking and
cannabis use. Police have put more officers on standby.
The era of bullock teams working in the Tassie forests is coming to an
end. Now. Sandy Richards is heading to retirement in the state's NE.
He says Tassie Forests have told him there is no room for him in the
industry any more.
8 pm
Relatives of bombing victims have been gathering nr the ICJ in The
Hague, ahead of the decision on the barrier later tonight. While the
finding will be non-binding, it can be the basis for later action in
the GA or UNSC. Haaretz says it's seen docs that say the ICJ will
rule the barrier illegal by 14 to 1.
Melbourne. 74 yo Governor John Landy is resting after heart surgery.
Prem Bracks wished him a speedy recovery.
The NT has just reported the largest whale standing in its history.
54 pilot wales died on an off-shore island. The longest animals were
up to 4 m. The animals were already dead when spotted by tourists.
Sir Edward Pelliewe Is is 700 km SE of Darwin. It's not known why the
animals stranded. Officials say there's no beach to bury them on.
It's expected they will decay and be eaten by crocs and sharks.
8.30 pm
The long-awaited US Senate intel report is due to be released today.
It's expected to be a scathing indictment of the CIA and
poorly-sourced evidence that Saddam had WMD. Observers expect
Republicans to fall back to "everyone was fooled -- not just us".
Indonesia is preparing to host the reunion of a meeting between a US
soldier who apparently defected to N Korea and his Japanese wife and
family. The soldier deserted the NK 40 y ago. Charles Jenkins
married his wife there, after she was abducted and taken to NK. She
was later allowed to return to Japan, where she wants Jenkins to join
her and their children. Sgt Jenkins is afraid the US will still
prosecute him for desertion during the Korean war -- which carries a
theoretical penalty of death.
A NY jury has found 2 top execs of a cable TV company guilty on 18
counts of fraud and conspiracy. The founder of cable TV company
Adelphia and his son have been found guilty of fraud. 2 others were
acquitted. The decision comes after a 16 wk trial. It was complex
case, with 1000 documents submitted in evidence. The men were accused
of hiding $2 bn in company debt from shareholders and using company
money for personal use. Adelphia was the 5th-largest cable company in
the US, operating in 30 states. Unlike Enron, there's no connection
with Pres Bush. The company left debts of $7 bn after its collapse.
Prosecutors say the family had used the company as their personal ATM.
Adelphia had also made loans of $1 bn to the family. The company is
still fighting for survival, and is about to emerge from Chapter 11.
News just in. Cigarette maker Philip Morris has agreed to pay a $1.25
bn "fine" to the EU. The money will be paid over 10 y. It's to
settle a dispute out of US courts. The announcement has followed an
EC legal action in US courts. The company was accused of helping to
smuggle contraband cigarettes into European countries. PM is not
admitting any guilt, but is paying the money to help the EU fight
counterfeiting and smuggling, and to have the chagres dropped. The EU
estimates 190 bn counterfeit cig produced pa.
9 pm
It was not the CIA that led the public to believe that [Iraq has
stockpiles of WMD], says Carl Levin. He says the Bush Admin also
deserves part of the blame for the intel failures before 9/11 and GWII.
10 pm
The Iraqi govt has ack'ed there have been a spate of assassinations of
former Baath Party officials and others in past wks. Yesterday, a
former official was killed by a bomb planted outside the factory he
owned. The Int Min has announced that crimes under the Saddam regime
should be settled in the courts, not by assassination in the streets.
10.30 pm
An interstate ban on Qld citrus has been partially lifted. Farms in
the C region of Qld will stay quarantined until further notice. But
all fruit leaving the state from elsewhere must be dipped in "approved
disinfectant" [Num!] before it will be allowed out.
A new study suggests the numbers of the oceanic White Tip shark may
have sharply declined in the Bay of Mexico over the past 50 y.
Without anyone previously noticing. In the 1950s, fishermen had to
get their catch into the boat quickly, before the sharks turned up.
The study suggests the White Tip was once the most abundant large
vertebrate in the ocean, and once outnumbered the ubiquitous N
American bison at its height. It's worrying it may have fallen so
far, so fast. While most researchers agreed there are fewer big fish
in the oceans than their used to be, the study may draw too many
conclusions from too small a data set.
11 pm
The ICJ has started to give its "advisory opinion" of the W Bank barrier.
The Pres of the Court has begun with a lengthy preamble.
Journalists say he seems to be reading verbatim from the same
documents that were leaked on the Internet.
The Judge began by saying the only authentic document was the actual
text of the judgement.
Observers expect the final decision to be given in a couple of hrs.
Israeli govt reps say the decision is not a legal event, but a
political event, and the Pals didn't go to the UN or ICJ with clean hands.
The ruling is believed to state the barrier can't be justified by
military or security needs, and will call for compensation for Pals
who have been affected.
Israel says the fence is temporary and will come down when Pals give
assurances that terrorist attacks will stop.
If the decision goes to the UNSC Israeli will count on a US veto.
Israel says 1,000 Israelis have been killed in the past 3 y in suicide
bombings, but since the N part of the fence has been completed the
number has been substantially reduced and the measure is therefore effective.
The Pals say anyone with any sense would understand the wall is
punitive and in contravention of internat'l humanitarian law. They
are happy Israel will be held accountable for being an occupying power.
Speaking before the UN AIDS conf, a Swedish prof says the "3 by 5"
project can not be implemented because of lack of funds. The project
intends to deliver AIDS drugs to 3 mn AIDS sufferers by 2005. There
had been a substantial shortfall in donations.
In Moscow, bailiffs have begun freezing bank accounts of Yukos oil.
The company says 2 accounts related to its operations in Siberia have
been frozen and will threaten oil production.
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