We act also because [the Taliban] are funded by the drugs trade. 90% of drugs sold on our streets originate in Afghanistan. -- PM Tony Blair, 2002. Success story. Poppy cultivation is up 40% this y. The US State Dept says cultivation has also spread to new areas. If govt schools want to put fees in place... why shouldn't they be allowed to do so? -- Nat MP Kay Hulls, ABC radio, 23 Sep 2004. OOOPS! Ms Hulls said wealthy govt schools could charge fees and have reduced support from taxpayers. She went on to say the idea has been "tossed around" in Cabinet. I do not support parents paying fees for public school students... I have been totally misrepresented. -- Nat MP Kay Hulls, 24 Sep 2004. Four out of four is far too much. -- Treas Peter Costello, 24 Sep 2004. Looking for a 4th win himself, Mr Costello is backing Port in the footy. So is Mr Latham. These regimes destabilised one of the world's most vital regions... -- Pres Bush Jr, UNGA address, 21 Sep 2004. Mr Bush went on to declare al-Qaeda was now one of the most active groups in post-GWII Iraq. The rule of law starts at home... -- UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan, UNGA address, 21 Sep 2004. Mr Annan says those seeking to impose legitimacy must set an example themselves. The violence is improving... Unfortunately the media is not reporting the bright side of things. -- Iyad Allawi, UN, 21 Sep 2004. The Iraqi interim PM is on the same page with Pres Bush over the media, but apparently in 2 minds over the "1000s of foreign fighters pouring in". The UN and its member nations must respond to PM Allawi's requests... -- Pres Bush Jr, UN, 21 Sep 2004. The US Pres virtually demanded the world help implement his vision for Iraq. I am not going to Tasmania this week. -- PM John Howard, 23 Sep 2004. While Tassie old growth forests have become an election issue, the PM denies he's had to cancel a trip there because a "reception" had been arranged by the state ALP govt. He's put the acid on the policy ... and got himself burned. -- Opp'n Treas Simon Crean, 23 Sep 2004. Black hole? Mr Costello is still demanding the opp'n turn over detailed analysis of its tax policy so the Treas can copy the work of 2 independent research groups. That is the lowest, basest thing I've heard in politics for 20 y ... I demand that candidate stand down ... -- FM Alex Downer, 22 Sep 2004. Who -- me? Mr Downer has reacted strongly after the wife of an Opp'n MP "held [the fed govt] accountable" for the Bali and Jakarta bombings. While she didn't name any Min, Mr Downer immediately put his hand up. ---------------------------------------- Wed, 22 Sep 2004. HEADLINES: 2 US marines killed in Iraq Militants attack Iraq jail, killing a prisoner Firm halts Iraq work to save 10 hostages Zarqawi 'identified' in US hostage killing Bush, in shift, taps into emergency Iraq funds Bush defends Iraq war during UN speech Aussie hostage team to remain in Iraq An early exit from Iraq? Al Qaeda leader granted Aussie tourist visa Anderson warns of tight election Annan tells world leaders to respect law Aust terror fears not a priority: PNG Blair speaks to hostage family Building union criticises Howard's apprentice plan Coles Myer sales drive record profit Council bans Bondi butts Economists warn of wasted prosperity Frosts leave farmers pleading for compassion Gaza settlers challenge withdrawal plan Govt moves to strip Theophanous super Govt sends mixed messages over pre-emption policy: Latham Govt to allow death sentence extraditions, says Civil Liberties Haiti mourns 700 storm victims ICAC prepares Carr contempt ruling Israel to buy 5,000 smart bombs: report Khalid had 24 aliases: Howard Latham promises $1 bn for hospitals Markets welcome US rate increase NSW must accept some James Hardie blame: Brogden PM offers apprentices subsidised tools PM urged to tone down tough line Parmalat eyes stock exchange listing Prisoner accidentally released despite remand order Qantas confirms CBR 'jet incident' Science minister caught in grazing licence 'contradiction' Scientists have hopes for SARS cure Sierra Leone denies bail to Aust policeman Timber crucial to prosperous Tas: Lennon UK begs for release of hostage US launches Sadr City strikes US raises interest rates US takes on tobacco industry Unions expect new James Hardie compo talks Warship incident prompts 'please explain' from E Timor Wentworth voters turn from Liberals: poll Windsor to meet with police over bribe claim Woman falls through window Xerox workers to strike over satellite tracking plan @Markets welcome US rate increase NY/Sydney. US equity markets appear to be comfortable with the direction policy-makers are taking as the Fed Reserve pushed US interest rates a 1/4 pt higher. The move was widely expected and takes the rate to 1.75%. On the NYSE the Dow closed 40 points higher at 10,245, despite a further jump in crude oil prices. The hi-tech Nasdaq composite index added 13 points to 1,921. The UK share market has also moved ahead, with London's FT100 index finishing 30 points in front at 4,608. Yesterday the Aussie market recovered from early losses and closed trade with little change. Coles Myer was among the retailers pushing higher, up more than 2% ahead of today's annual profit report. The James Hardie inquiry findings on asbestos compensation were a catalyst for investors to drive the company's share price almost 4% higher to $5.80 as it came off a trading halt at the end of the session. The All Ords finished one point stronger at 3,642. On FX markets the Aussie dollar was quoted at 70.39 US c at around 8.00 am. That is up almost 1/2 c on yesterday's local close. On the cross rates, it was buying 57.07 euro cents; 39.17 pence sterling and 77.23 yen. The gold price has risen to $US409.15/oz. Oil and W Texas crude futures have jumped to $US47.11/bbl. @US raises interest rates US Fed Reserve language suggests that it foresees stabilising economic conditions that can support higher interest rates. Washington (AFP). US Fed Reserve policy makers have lifted the fed funds rate by a quarter of a point to 1.75%, saying the US economy has "regained some traction" and no longer needs as much stimulus. The Fed Open Market Committee (FOMC) also said in a statement that it sees the risks to the US economy as balanced, allowing a more neutral monetary policy. The vote to increase the interest rate was unanimous and marked the 3rd increase in as many meetings of the FOMC since Jun. The action had been widely expected by financial markets. Fed Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues said that even with these 3 rate hikes, monetary policy remains accommodative and that this should be removed "at a pace that is likely to be measured". The language suggests that it foresees stabilising US economic conditions that can support higher interest rates. "After moderating earlier this year, partly in response to the substantial rise in energy prices, output growth appears to have regained some traction, and labour market conditions have improved modestly," the statement said. The statement added that inflation remains tame despite the recent surge in oil prices. "Despite the rise in energy prices, inflation and inflation expectations have eased in recent months," the statement said. @Parmalat eyes stock exchange listing Parma (AFP). Directors of the company taking over the restructured assets of failed Italian food group Parmalat have launched a project to have its shares quoted on the Italian bourse. According to parent company Parmalat Finanziaria the company, to be called Parmalat SpA, has appointed Mediobanca as sponsor for its bourse listing and Lazard as its financial adviser. To go on the bourse, the company will change its name to Parmalat SpA from its present Assuntore SpA, once a restructuring plan is approved by creditors, a Mediobanca rep said. The plan is expected to be approved by the end of the y. Analysts said Parmalat shares would start trading on the bourse in 1Q05. The former Parmalat was placed under special Admin in Dec after running up debts totalling 14.27 bn euros [about $A25 bn]. Its meltdown sent shockwaves through Italian business circles and sparked a worldwide investigation into possible fraud at the group. Parmalat employs about 1,400 people in AUS, mainly in Bris. @NSW must accept some James Hardie blame: Brogden James Hardie has been heavily criticised over the compensation fund. Sydney. The NSW Opp'n says the State Govt must accept some blame for the failure of James Hardie to properly provide for future victims of asbestos-related diseases. A Special Commission of Inquiry into the company's compensation fund has come down hard, saying James Hardie was well aware despite protesting otherwise, that the amount set aside was manifestly inadequate. The Opp'n has obtained a letter showing the company had given the Carr Govt an opportunity to check the actuarial figures of the fund when it was 1st established. Liberal leader John Brogden says Prem Bob Carr chose not take up the offer. "He's now thumping his chest and saying I refuse to meet with James Hardie," he said. "If only he'd met with James Hardie and satisfied himself y ago then maybe, maybe back then he could have said: 'You don't have enough money to pay for potential liability, as a consequence I will not let you leave this country or I'll make sure if you leave it, you leave it under a cloud'. "He did none of those things." Meanwhile, David Jackson's report has questioned the morality and diligence of some corporate lawyers, advisers and directors involved in setting up the medical research and compensation foundation. The directors who cancelled $1.9 bn in partially paid shares, when the compensation foundation needed more money, did not act illegal. Mr Jackson has no taste for the commercial morality of the transaction. He is critical of James Hardie directors for never actually reading reports calculating asbestos liability. He says the foundation's chairman, Sir Lew Edwards, did not read them either. More surprisingly, he says that while solicitors gave advice to directors about their duties they never discussed the transactions they approved which ended James Hardie legal liability for asbestos victims. @Unions expect new James Hardie compo talks An inquiry report has slammed James Hardie directors. Brisbane. Unions say they expect James Hardie to begin new talks on compensation for asbestos victims by the end of the wk, following a highly critical report on the company's handling of its liabilities. A Special Commission of Inquiry conducted by David Jackson QC found James Hardie knew it had not made adequate provision for the future victims of its asbestos products before it moved off-shore. Labor Council secretary John Robertson says victims want a scheme that delivers full compensation and takes personal circumstances into account. Mr Robertson says their case has been bolstered by the NSW Govt stance that James Hardie will not receive favourable treatment. "The message for James Hardie is clear, that the Govt isn't going to step in and cap off benefits," he said. "They do expect that they, they being James Hardie, will sit down with the victims and the unions to negotiate a settlement. "It sends a very strong signal to James Hardie that the Govt isn't going to step into this and save them from an act that they conducted some y ago, a quite appalling act in poisoning people with asbestos." * Critical report Mr Jackson's report has questioned the morality and diligence of some corporate lawyers, advisers and directors involved in setting up the medical research and compensation foundation. The directors who cancelled $1.9 bn in partially paid shares, when the compensation foundation needed more money, did not act illegal. Mr Jackson has no taste for the commercial morality of the transaction. He is critical of James Hardie directors for never actually reading reports calculating asbestos liability. He says the foundation's chairman, Sir Llew Edwards, did not read them either. More surprisingly, he says that while solicitors gave advice to directors about their duties they never discussed the transactions they approved which ended James Hardie legal liability for asbestos victims. The head of the foundation set up to help James Hardie asbestos victims says he expects the company to meet its financial responsibilities. * Sir Llew's hopes Speaking in Bris, Medical Research and Compensation Foundation chairman Sir Llew Edwards says the company needs to ensure victims are compensated quickly. "I expect Hardies to come to the party with us to come to an arrange," he said. "But as well as this, there needs to be tort reform in this State and I praise the govts, this Govt and previous govts. "There are systems in place which allow reasonable claims to be made and settled very quickly." PM John Howard says if James Hardie is found to be responsible for criminal behaviour, the full rigour of the law should apply. Mr Howard says he is still taking advice about the finding but is prepared to change the law if necessary. "If there are changes to the law that are needed those changes will be made," he said. "I have no sympathy with any company that neglects the long-term health interests of its employees. "Certainly, this is a very critical finding, very critical indeed, and it will be examined very carefully by ASIC, that's the body to investigate whether there have been breaches and that's the body that will be asked to take any action." @Haiti mourns 700 storm victims Aid agencies in Haiti say the death toll from Hurricane Jeanne has surpassed 700. Pt-au-Prince. Haiti's Govt has declared 3 days of nat'l mourning. Most people have been killed in floodwaters raging through the Caribbean island, although some were also trapped in mud slides. In parts of Haiti, the waters are up to 3 m deep. The Red Cross has started emergency operations but says access is difficult and limited. Haiti is prone to floods because of massive deforestation in the country, which has been gutted during the past century by corruption, political chaos and environmental degradation. In an astonishing twist, authorities have no news at all from the nation's 2nd largest outlying island, La Tortue. UN officials could not find the island of 26,000 people while flying over the region by helicopter 2 days ago. @Annan tells world leaders to respect law UN (AFP). United Nations Sec-Gen Kofi Annan has made an impassioned plea to bring about the rule of law across the globe today. Mr Annan told world leaders to respect internat'l law at home and abroad. In a grim summary of the bloodshed in the Middle East, Sudan and Iraq, he opened the annual debate at the UN with an appeal for humankind to protect innocent civilians around the world. "History will judge us very harshly if we let ourselves be deflected from this task or think we are excused from it by invocations of nat'l sovereignty," Mr Annan said. "It is by rigorously upholding internat'l law that we can and must fulfil our responsibility to protect innocent civilians from genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes," he said. Mr Annan has said he would like the rule of law to be a central topic of this y's 2 wk meeting. More than 90 heads of state and govt are attending the meeting. @Bush defends Iraq war during UN speech UN (Reuters). US Pres George W Bush defended the Iraq war before sceptical world leaders on Tue, calling on them to help Iraq develop into a democracy and vowing not to retreat against an insurgency that threatens more violence in the country. In a speech to the UN General Assembly, Mr Bush made no apologies about his decision to go to war against Iraq in 2003 without UN Sec Council backing, based on claims Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, which were not found. He reminded the General Assembly of the Sec Council's refusal to go along with the US-led coalition in backing up a resolution passed unanimously before the war that threatened serious consequences for Iraq. "The commitments we make must have meaning," Mr Bush said. "When we say serious consequences for the sake of peace, there must be serious consequences." Mr Bush appeared at the UN at a time of rising casualties in Iraq and when some law makers in his own Republican Party are questioning his Iraq policy. Democratic presidential nominee Sen John Kerry, in a speech in New York on Mon, accused Mr Bush of "colossal failures of judgement" that have turned Iraq into a haven for terrorists and made America more vulnerable. Mr Bush cited the presence of Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi among the assembled world leaders as an example of a new Iraq on a path to democracy, along with post-Taliban Afghanistan. "The UN, and its member nations, must respond to PM Allawi's request, and do more to help build an Iraq that is secure, democratic, fed, and free," he said. Mr Bush, in a subsequent meeting with Mr Allawi, all but dismissed a CIA report leaked last wk that offered a gloomy outlook in Iraq with the worst scenario being a civil war. "The CIA laid out several scenarios. It said that life could be lousy, life could be OK, life could be better. And they were just guessing as to what the conditions might be like," he said. "The Iraq citizens are defying the pessimistic predictions." For his part, Mr Allawi blamed the media for ignoring good news in Iraq. Mr Bush predicted more violence in the days ahead as both Iraq and Afghanistan attempt to hold nat'l elections -- next m in Afghanistan, and in Jan in Iraq. "The work ahead is demanding. But these difficulties will not shake our conviction that the future of Afghanistan and Iraq is a future of liberty. The proper response to difficulty is not to retreat -- it is to prevail," he said. He cast the Iraq conflict as a moment of opportunity for transforming the Middle E and in a direct challenge to Israeli PM Ariel Sharon, urged Israel to impose a freeze on Jewish settlements in the W Bank and Gaza and to dismantle "unauthorised outposts". Mr Bush got no more than polite applause at the end of his speech. "In hindsight, experience shows that actions taken without a mandate which has been clearly defined in a Sec Council resolution are doomed to failure," Swiss Pres Joseph Deiss said in a speech to the assembly. Sen Kerry is holding out the possibility that if elected, a US troop withdrawal could begin next summer and be completed within 4 y. Mr Bush has given no such timetable. "Today, George W Bush missed another opportunity to bring the world to our side in Iraq. He didn't even try. Instead of showing real leadership and telling the truth about the situation on the ground, he gave more rosy scenarios," said a Kerry campaign rep, Phil Singer. @An early exit from Iraq? Talks with Syria suggests the US may want out in the not-too-distant future. [Tony Karon is a snr editor for TIME.com. His column on internat'l affairs appears every Tue]. Op/Ed (Time). The distinction between what politicians say on the campaign trail and what they really believe is well illustrated by the current Kerry-Bush skirmishing on Iraq: If either man really believes some of the things he's saying, we're in worse shape than we know. For Pres Bush to seriously maintain that he has set Iraq on a steady course towards freedom and tranquil prosperity -- or made it, to quote the talking points provided by his reelection web site "an example of reform to the region" -- he'd have to be ignoring his govt's own Nat'l Intel Estimate on Iraq. If Sen Kerry expects Americans do believe his promise that he'd remedy the malaise with an infusion of troops sent by suddenly-willing foreign govts, he's showing what could only be called a Cheney-esque willingness to play the American electorate for fools when it comes to Iraq. Each man speaks more accurately, perhaps, in pointing out the weaknesses of the other's case. Kerry has finally begun to articulate what many in the intel community, the military, and even the Republican Party's foreign policy establishment have been saying for quite some time -- that the occupation of Iraq has created more problems for US nat'l security than it has solved, and has left America more vulnerable rather than safer. That view echoes the consensus of mostly Republican nat'l security professionals interviewed by James Fallows in the current issue of the Atlantic Monthly. It also appeared to coincide with a barrage of criticism by Senate Republicans of the Admin's handling of Iraq, echoing many of Kerry's points and even, in the case of Indiana's Republican Sen Richard Lugar, questioning the Admin's competence. But go beyond the critique to Kerry's plan for fixing Iraq, and you find the following: "First, the president must secure internat'l support. Second, we must commit to a serious effort to train Iraqi security forces. Third, we must carry out a reconstruction plan that brings benefits to the Iraqi people, and 4th, we must take the necessary steps to hold elections next y." It's not hard for Pres Bush to retort that Kerry is simply demanding something the Bush Admin is already trying to do. Pres Bush likes to taunt that if John Kerry had been president, Saddam Hussein would still be in power. Kerry advocates counter that keeping Saddam contained would have allowed the US to make far more headway in its battle against al-Qaeda, which Operation Iraqi Freedom has not only detracted from, but has also made considerably more difficult. (Rather late in the game, Kerry surrogates have begun to point out that Saddam Hussein did not rank even in the top 3 nat'l security threats to the US at the time of the invasion, but occupying Iraq has weakened US ability to confront more serious challenges such the nuclear programs in Iran and N Korea, and the continued growth of al-Qaeda.) Election-season posturing aside, however, there are signs of a new pragmatism on both sides over how the US exit from Iraq might be managed. While Bush scores points off Kerry's vow to bring the troops back home within his 1st term -- sends the wrong message to the enemy, says the Pres -- conservative columnist Robert Novak claims Admin sources have told him the Bush Admin plans to withdraw from Iraq next y. (This being the same Robert Novak through whom snr Admin officials allegedly named Valerie Plame, the wife of Ambassador Joseph Wilson of Niger uranium probe fame, as a CIA agent.) Novak says his Admin sources tell him that Iraq's election, scheduled for Jan, will be used as a pretext for withdrawing, even though the insurgency will still be raging and civil war will result. While some of what Novak's sources have told him sounds farfetched, there's a soundness to his overall point about an early departure, and a retreat from the neo-conservative dream about remaking the Middle E to American specification. Already, the US focus in Iraq has shifted to crisis-management -- as the Nat'l Intel Estimate suggests, the best hope right now is maintaining something close to the present unstable, but not decisively so, equilibrium. In what respected strategic analyst Anthony Cordesman describes as an admission of policy failure, the Bush Admin this wk reallocated $18 bn earmarked for long-term reconstruction of Iraq to immediate security priorities. That's in pursuit of a strategy based on turning most of the responsibility for day-to-day security in Iraq over to newly-minted Iraqi forces, and establishing the legitimacy of the US-appointed govt of Iyad Allawi by holding elections on schedule. But it's far from clear, thus far, that Iraqi forces will be up to the job or that Allawi will survive an election. It's not even certain that the Iraqi election will go ahead on schedule, given the current level of violence. In the 3 wk of Sep alone, more than 500 Iraqis and some 59 US troops have been killed, and the UN has made clear that it could not certify that a "credible" election could be held under these circumstances. That leaves the US to either launch an offensive to retake Sunni towns form the insurgents in the brief window of opportunity between the US election and the scheduled Iraqi one -- and risk a backlash that could imperil the prospects of political survival for the govt it has appointed -- or else delay the election or allow it to proceed on flawed lines. But if, as Novak suggests, the broad objective has become an exit strategy and Washington is intimately aware of the danger of civil war, then presumably it knows better than to rely for stability only on the unknown quantity that is the Iraqi security forces. That's why reports of discreet talks between the US and Syria in pursuit of cooperation on securing Iraq's borders may portend a new US effort to stabilise Iraq on the basis of political and security agreements with its neighbours. The chances of avoiding a civil war, and achieving some form of stability, will be greatly enhanced if a new political arrangement in Baghdad carries the backing of Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iran. The US sought, and achieved an equivalent agreement in Afghanistan, whose neighbours include Iran. And while it continues to berate Tehran as a member of Pres Bush's "Axis of Evil" and tighten sanctions on Syria as a "state sponsor of terrorism," there's a certain inevitability to the search for back-channel diplomatic agreements. Regional cooperation on Iraq -- pursued, at least in the case of Syria, by the Bush Admin, and also championed by the Kerry campaign -- may be Washington's best hope of withdrawing. Cutting deals with some of the regimes the neocons love to hate would not only signal a quiet surrender on the plan to make Iraq a beachhead for the US export of democracy to the Middle East; it would actually leave some of those very same regimes in an even stronger position due to Washington's newfound dependence on them for Iraqi stability. That was never the desired effect, but it may nonetheless prove to be an unintended consequence. After all, despite the partisan disciplinary requirements of an election season, there suddenly appear to be a lot of Republicans publicly suggesting the US has bitten off more than it can chew in Iraq. @Bush, in shift, taps into emergency Iraq funds Washington (Reuters). The Pentagon has begun tapping into its $25 bn emergency fund for the Iraq war to prepare for a major troop rotation and intense fighting this fall, Admin officials said on Tue, despite the Whitehouse's initial insistence that it had enough money. The Pentagon has already used more than $2 bn from what the Whitehouse dubbed its "contingency reserve" fund for Iraq. The money is being used to ramp up production of armoured Humvees to support the troop rotation, as well as to buy body armour and bolster fuel supplies, the officials told Reuters. The decision to use the $25 bn in Iraq reserves underscores concern within the Admin about the rise in anti-American violence in Iraq. The decision follows last wk's announcement that Pres George W Bush plans to divert nearly $3.5 bn from Iraqi water, power and other reconstruction projects to improve security. The Whitehouse had initially asserted it would not need additional war funding until Jan or Feb, 2005 -- well after the Nov presidential election. Even after requesting the $25 bn reserve fund in May, White House officials insisted it was an "insurance policy" that they hoped not to tap, though they acknowledged that could change if violence flared up. "As we've always said, our troops in the field will have what they need, when they need it," said Chad Kolton, rep for the White House Office of Management and Budget. "In this case, making some of those resources available now ensures that our troops will have the equipment they need going into the fall [rotation]," Kolton added. Democratic presidential candidate Sen John Kerry accused Bush this wk of hiding plans to call up more members of the part-time Nat'l Guard and Reserve after the election. The Bush campaign called Kerry's assertion "false and ridiculous," and Admin officials said the Pentagon decided to tap into the reserve fund because resources were running low as the FY nears its Sep 30 end. * ENOUGH FUNDING? Congressional aides and defence analysts said the use of the reserve funds could be an early sign that the Pentagon will run out of money sooner than the Whitehouse had expected. Bush has so far spent $120 bn in Iraq, not including the $25 bn contingency fund, and officials said he could seek another $50 bn in Feb. With the rate of spending in Iraq already at more than $1 bn a wk, the Pentagon may not have enough money to "get past Christmas," let alone wait until Feb, said John Pike, a defence analyst with GlobalSecurity.org. He said the Whitehouse could need closer to $75 bn next y. Steven Kosiak, a defence analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said the Admin could shift funding around to fill any shortfall. He added that the decision to dip into the reserve fund so soon was further evidence "the war is costing more than the Admin anticipated." Critics have long accused Bush of understating war costs. Before the invasion, then-Whitehouse budget director Mitch Daniels predicted Iraq would be "an affordable endeavour," and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz even assured Congress: "We are dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction and relatively soon." Sen Kent Conrad of N Dakota, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, said tapping into emergency reserves was "another example of this Admin saying one thing and doing another." "This Admin is riddled with flip-flops," Conrad added, echoing a charge [projection!] Bush uses against Kerry. @Anderson warns of tight election Quirindi, NSW. Nat'ls leader John Anderson has warned country voters that only a few thousand votes in a handful of seats could decide the election result. Mr Anderson says it will be a tight election with recent poll results going up and down. He says he takes particular notice of the Newspoll survey, which this wk showed Labor ahead of the Govt on a 2-party preferred basis. Speaking in the N NSW town of Quirindi, in his seat of Gwydir, Mr Anderson says only 8 seats stand between the Govt and a hung Parliament. "I'm hoping for a very clean win but you've seen polls, it's going to be very tight, 3,500 votes in 8 seats could throw us out," he said. @Al Qaeda leader granted Aussie tourist visa The man described as an architect of Sep 11 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was granted a visa to AUS one m before the attacks in the US. Canberra. The Fed Govt has confirmed reports one of Al Qaeda's most snr leaders obtained a tourist visa to come to AUS just 1 m before the Sep 11 attacks. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, often described as both the architect of Sep 11 and Al Qaeda's chief executive, could have come to AUS after Aug 2001. PM John Howard says he is concerned that the mastermind of the Sep 11 attacks in the US was granted a visa. Mr Howard says the system is more effective now as a result of changes made since Sep 11, and a similar application made now would be detected. He says Khalid did not visit AUS. "I'm told that this person has 24 aliases, at least 3 visas, and that once the alias was entered into the visa system, the appropriate alert was there and the visa was cancelled and never used," he said. The Govt will not say how long after the attacks authorities were made aware of his alias and his travel permit was cancelled. Fed A-G Philip Ruddock says Khalid gained a tourist visa in Aug 2001, when the alias he used was not known to Aussie authorities. "After the alias become known the visa was cancelled. It had not been used and we have no record of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed having travelled to AUS under his own name or any his known aliases," he said. * Lesson Al Qaeda experts say Khalid could have been targeting AUS or using this country as a "weak" entry point into the region to plan another attack against the US. Fed Labor leader Mark Latham says it is a worry that a snr Al Qaeda figure held an Aussie tourist visa for about a y before it was cancelled. "I'm not getting into the detail of what he did when he presented at an embassy or whatever but we know from the detail that it's obviously a worry," he said. "These things need to be tightened up so it won't happen again in the future. "Learn the lesson and set up a dept of homeland security to get it right." @Khalid had 24 aliases: Howard Melbourne (AAP). The mastermind of the Sep 11 attacks had 24 aliases and 3 visas which allowed him to be granted a visa to visit AUS, PM John Howard says. Mr Howard said he was concerned that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed had been granted a tourist visa to visit AUS a m before the 2001 attacks on America, but he was confident immigration procedures were tighter now. Mr Howard said Khalid's identity had slipped through the system because he had 24 aliases and at least 3 visas. "Once the alias was entered into the visa system, the appropriate alert was there, and the visa was cancelled and never used," Mr Howard said on ABC Radio in MEL. "Certainly, everything is more effective as a result of all the changes that have been made since eleventh of Sep. However, the aliases involved were not known at that time and, of course, a lot more is now known." Mr Howard said the application for a visa by Khalid proved that al-Qaeda had had an interest in AUS before the invasion of Iraq. "It happened, interestingly enough, before the 11th of Sep, 2001, and it does underline the fact that al-Qaeda had an interest in this country before the terrorist attack on NY and Washington and before the involvement of AUS in Iraq," he said. @Zarqawi 'identified' in US hostage killing 3 blindfolded captives, 2 Americans and a Briton, held by Zarqawi's group. Baghdad (Reuters). Leader of a militant group allied to Al Qaeda, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was "intimately involved" in the killing of American hostage Eugene Armstrong in Iraq, a US intel official has said after the CIA analysed the beheading videotape. The claim comes after Arabic TV channel Al Jazeera said the group had killed a 2nd American captive in Iraq after the lapse of a 24-hr deadline on Tue. Al Jazeera said a statement announcing the killing of American Jack Hensley by the Tawhid and Jihad group was posted on the Internet. It gave no further details. A US official who declined to be named said a body had been found in Iraq but had not yet been identified. There was no immediate indication whether the body was that of Mr Hensley but the official said: "Obviously there needs to be a process of identification and the family needs to be contacted." Earlier CNN reported that a headless body had been found but not yet ID-ed. The video of Mr Armstrong's killing was posted on the Internet by Zarqawi's group, and showed a masked man who read a statement, handed the script to another person, then pulled out a knife and put it to the neck of the hostage. Then there is a cut in the film as the camera zooms in to show a close-up of hands as the hostage is decapitated, which makes it difficult to determine with absolute certainty whether Zarqawi is still the one wielding the knife. "There is high confidence that the voice is indeed of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi," a CIA official said on condition of anonymity after the spy agency conducted a technical analysis of the tape. "He [Zarqawi] was obviously intimately involved in the murder." On an Islamist site, a contributor who has in the past posted messages in the name of Tawhid and Jihad said the group would soon post pictures of the latest "slaying". Mr Hensley's reported death comes a day after the group beheaded American Eugene Armstrong who was also kidnapped along with Mr Hensley and Briton Kenneth Bigley last wk. There was no word on Mr Bigley's fate. In Washington, a US State Dept official said: "We take these reports seriously but I don't think we have a body yet". Tawhid and Jihad had threatened to kill the hostages unless women prisoners were freed from Iraqi jails. The US military says no women are being held in the 2 prisons specified, but that 2 are in US custody and are accused of working on ousted Iraqi Pres Saddam Hussein's weapons program. @Scientists have hopes for SARS cure SARS swept across China last y. HK (AFP). HK and US scientists believe they have found chemicals that can stop the spread of the SARS virus. This discovery has raised hopes a cure for the the pneumonia-like illness is in sight, researchers said today. Joint research by Hong Kong University and the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Centre has created 104 molecules which researchers say render useless the bug that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. "These are like keys, if you like, that fit the lock to stop SARS replicating," Richard Kao, assistant research professor at the Hong Kong University's microbiology dept, said. SARS killed almost 800 people, mostly in HK and China, in a worldwide outbreak last y that infected more than 8,000. Mr Kao said researchers had engineered more than 50,000 molecules to test on laboratory samples of the virus. The next step would be to test the chemicals on animals in a special lab being constructed in HK. "We know they stop SARS but now we need to know how they do it," he said. @US takes on tobacco industry Washington (AFP). The US Govt has embarked on a $US280 bn law suit against major tobacco companies in the largest civil racketeering trial in US history, and if successful, could bankrupt the industry. Making his opening argument before a packed Washington courtroom, govt prosecutor Frank Marine said the case "is all about fraud ... half-truths and deceptions that continue to this day". The Govt accuses tobacco companies of colluding for decades to hide evidence of the health hazards of smoking, marketing directly to teenagers to create lifelong smokers, and lying about the safety of low-tar cigarettes. The defendants include Philip Morris USA -- which controls about 1/2 of the US tobacco market -- RJ Reynolds Tobacco, Loews Corporation's Lorillard Tobacco, Brown and Williamson, which is part of Brit American Tobacco, and the Vector Group's Liggett Group. All are being charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) Act, which was intended to counter mafia infiltration of business. All the companies have strongly denied the charges and have pledged to put up a determined defence. The trial is expected to take 6 m. "Why did the defendants pursue this course of action? Money, pure and simple," said Mr Marine. The defendants have "fraudulently maintained confusion about the causal relationship between smoking and health problems". Furthermore they "developed a unified strategy" to forge an industry-wide response to health concerns, "falsely claiming the causal relationship between smoking and disease was an open question". Mr Marine detailed 145 specific racketeering accusations against the industry, arguing among other things that the defendants "victimised the youth of America". Prosecutor Sharon Eubanks said tobacco groups had "worked consistently toward the goal of casting doubt on the fact second-hand smoke is dangerous". The case, filed with great fanfare during the presidency of Democrat Bill Clinton, took 5 y to get to trial. If the Govt wins, the tobacco industry could be forced into bankruptcy, but industry representatives are confident they will prevail in court. For the Govt "to get any remedy at all ... there has to be a determination by the judge that there is a future likelihood of violations of RICO ... regardless of what the court thinks about the past," said John Wunderli, snr assistant general counsel for Altria. Industry officials say their practices have changed dramatically since a landmark 1998 agreement with state govts over smoking-related health care costs. The industry agreed to pay the states $US206 bn over 25 y, as well as strict advertisement limits, including a ban on TV ads, billboards and sponsoring sporting events. The tobacco industry contributes heavily to the Republican Party, and Pres George W Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove, even served as a Philip Morris consultant in the 1990s. A-G John Ashcroft hailed the action as "an important effort to prevent fraudulent activity and uphold corporate integrity". "We look forward to presenting the evidence supporting our case in court, and to achieving relief, including the recapture of wrongfully obtained proceeds from the sale of cigarettes and preventing cigarette manufacturers from marketing to young people in this country," he said in a statement. However when Mr Ashcroft was a senator for the state of Missouri in the 1990s he fiercely opposed the lawsuit, as well as govt regulation of tobacco. The trial started even though the Govt's right to seek the money under the RICO Act is under appeal in a separate court. @Firm halts Iraq work to save 10 hostages Ankara (AP/Guardian). A Turkish construction company announced Tue that it was halting operations in neighbouring Iraq in a bid to save the lives of 10 employees kidnapped by militants. Meanwhile, state TRT TV reported the body of a Turk, identified as Akar Besir, was found early Tue nr Mosul. The report said Besir was employed as a driver for a firm working for the US military and was kidnapped on Sat. No other details were immediately available. Earlier Tue, Tahsin Top, a Turkish hostage in Iraq whose company withdrew from Iraq was released by his kidnappers, the FM'y said. Top had been abducted N of Baghdad on Aug 5 by kidnappers who threatened to behead him if his Turkish employer did not withdraw from Iraq. Top's company, Atahan Lojistik Internat'l, later withdrew from Iraq. The kidnappers then demanded $45,000 for Top's release. It was not clear if any money was paid. The Ankara-based VINSAN construction company said in a statement it was freezing operations and added that its 10 kidnapped employees were innocent and were trying to support their families. The statement was signed by VINSAN chairman of board Ali Haydar Veziroglu, who was in Baghdad. In a video broadcast Sat by Al-Jazeera TV, a previously unknown militant group calling itself the "Salafist Brigades of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq" said it would kill the 10 hostages if the company did not pull out of Iraq within 3 days. In his statement addressed to the Iraqi people, Veziroglu said his company was not involved in any partnerships with any US firms and was working on a road project. "Asking the Turkish companies including our company to leave Iraqi territories by using illegal and odious deeds is sorrowful and dubious," Veziroglu said. "Dear beloved Iraqi people, we do not deserve this." Veziroglu also called on Iraqi clerics to intervene. Most of the 10 hostages were truck drivers, according to the company. VINSAN was one of 21 internat'l companies taking part in a $160 mn road contract in Iraq. Militants waging a violent insurgency in Iraq have increasingly turned to kidnapping foreigners in an effort to drive out coalition forces and contractors. A number of Turks have been kidnapped and several have been killed, and at least 7 Turkish companies have withdrawn from Iraq to secure the release of kidnapped staff. @UK begs for release of hostage Baghdad (AFP). The Brit Govt has appealed for the release of a Briton held hostage in Iraq in a message aired on Arabic satellite TV channels. A Brit FO rep, speaking on Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya stations, made it clear that Brit was not holding any Iraqi women prisoners and therefore could not meet the kidnappers demands. "The main point they are trying to address is about women prisoners. There are no women prisoners under the UK's control in Iraq," he said. The kidnappers, who have already beheaded American hostage Eugene Armstrong, have threatened to kill Brit hostage Kenneth Bigley if coalition troops in Iraq fail to release all female prisoners. @Blair speaks to hostage family US hostage Eugene Armstrong moments before his beheading. London (AFP). Brit PM Tony Blair has spoken to the family of Kenneth Bigley, the Briton who is being held hostage in Iraq. "It was a private conversation," a Downing Street rep told AFP. The rep declined to reveal details of the conversation, which she understood to have been by telephone. Mr Bigley's family had earlier appealed to Mr Blair to intervene to save his life after grisly images of the beheading of a US hostage appeared on the Internet. Mr Bigley, 62, from Liverpool was abducted with 2 American colleagues last Thu from their home in Baghdad, apparently by members of the Unity and Holy War group. The group is led by suspected Al Qaeda associate Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi. Fuzzy video footage of the beheading of one of the Americans, Eugene "Jack" Armstrong, appeared on the Internet on Mon after a 48 hr deadline passed for the release of 2 Iraqi female scientists held by US forces in Iraqi prisons. @Aussie hostage team to remain in Iraq Canberra. PM John Howard says a specialist team sent to Iraq to look into claims that 2 Aussies were taken hostage will stay there until the matter is resolved. The Horror Brigades of the Islamic Secret Army claimed to have kidnapped 2 Aussies working as security guards in Iraq. A check by embassy staff and the Dept of Foreign Affairs has accounted for all Aussies known to be in the country. Mr Howard says he can not be sure if the claim was a hoax or not, and the team dispatched to deal with the situation will remain. "Well, they are certainly staying there until I am advised by people who know better that they should come home," he said. @2 US marines killed in Iraq Baghdad (The Australian). 2 US marines were killed in clashes in restive Al-Anbar province in W Iraq, the US military said today. "In 2 separate incidents, one Marine assigned to I Marine Expeditionary Force was killed in action Sep 20 and another died of wounds received in action, while conducting security and stability operations in the Al Anbar Province," a statement said, without providing further details. Al-Anbar province includes the city of Fallujah -- which harbours some of Iraq's most radical insurgents and has become a no-go zone for US marines. And its capital, Ramadi, has been rocked by daily clashes between militants and coalition troops. According to Pentagon figures, the latest deaths bring to 1035 the number of US troops killed in Iraq since the Mar 2003 invasion. @Militants attack Iraq jail, killing a prisoner Baghdad (Reuters). Militants attacked the Abu Ghraib prison nr Baghdad with mortars and machine gun fire on Mon night, killing an Iraqi prisoner, the US military said on Tue. Advertisement There were no other injuries, a military statement added. It was the latest in a series of attacks on the jail, which became notorious for torture and executions under Saddam Hussein and for abuse of prisoners by US personnel after his overthrow. The Abu Ghraib complex was attacked with mortars and a car bomb on Sep 12, and hit by 20 mortar shells on Sep 17. The most serious attack was on Apr 20, when mortars killed 22 Iraqi prisoners in the jail and injured more than 100. @US launches Sadr City strikes Baghdad (AFP). The US Army has launched major operations in the Shiite slum of Sadr City late on Tue as the sound of helicopter gun-ships and heavy gunfire echoed through Baghdad. "Right now we are in there. We are fighting the terrorists so we can re-establish civil-military operations and get back to the reconstruction projects that the people of Sadr City want," said Army rep Maj Philip Smith. Sadr City, home to legions of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's followers, is a haven for the fundamentalist preacher's Mehdi Army militia, which has imposed its own rule of law on the streets. @Gaza settlers challenge withdrawal plan Jerusalem (AP). Israeli settlers opposed to PM Ariel Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan have filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court, saying the govt's offer of cash advances to settlers willing to leave their homes is illegal. The lawsuit was the latest challenge to the govt's plan to uproot all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and 4 enclaves in the W Bank. Sharon wants to complete the pullout by late next y. He hopes that cash advances will entice settlers to leave their homes well before then, avoiding confrontations between settlers and troops. Last wk, Sharon's Security Cabinet, a group of 10 snr ministers, approved a set of guidelines for compensating settlers for their losses. Sharon is expected to submit the guidelines for parliamentary approval in Nov. In the meantime, the Security Cabinet decision paved the way for the govt to offer cash advances to settlers who are ready to leave their homes. Govt officials said last wk the first payments -- up to 1/3 of total compensation -- could be made "within days." The lawsuit filed by the Gaza Coast Regional Council said the govt could not use public funds for the advances without proper legislation. "What's wrong is that they are going to pay money that's not based on a law," Haim Sgav, a lawyer for the council, told The Associated Press. A court rep said the govt had one wk to respond to the lawsuit, after which time the court would review the case. He did not say when a ruling would be made. Govt officials played down the lawsuit, saying they did not expect it to cause significant delays. In Gaza, 1000s of Palestinians joined a funeral procession for 2 Hamas militants killed in an Israeli airstrike on Mon. Dozens of armed militants hoisted Palestinian flags, green Hamas flags and chanted angry slogans calling for revenge. An Israeli helicopter fired a missile at the men's car late Mon, saying they were on the way to fire rockets at Israeli targets. The air strike was Israel's 2nd in as many days. A day earlier, another Hamas militant was killed in a similar attack. During 4 y of conflict, Israel has killed dozens of militants in helicopter air strikes. In Apr and May, missile attacks killed the founder of the violent Islamic Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, and his successor, Abdel Aziz Rantisi. Hamas pledged to avenge the latest air strikes with new suicide bombings. @Israel to buy 5,000 smart bombs: report Washington (AP). The US will sell Israel nearly 5,000 smart bombs in one of the largest weapons deals between the allies in ys, a report says. The deal could face political controversy since Israel has used such bombs in fighting with the Palestinians, the Haaretz newspaper said. In one such instance in Jul 2002, a one-tonne bomb meant for a snr Palestinian militant also killed 15 civilians in an attack in the Gaza Strip. The deal is worth $US319 mn and was revealed in a Pentagon report made to the US Congress a few wk ago, Haaretz said. Funding for the sale will come from the US military aid to Israel. The bombs include airborne versions, guidance units, training bombs and detonators. The bombs are guided by an existing Israeli satellite used by the military. As part of the deal, Israel will receive 500 1-t bombs that can destroy 2-m concrete walls, 2,500 1-t bombs, 1,000 1/2-t bombs and 500 1/4-t bombs, the newspaper said. The Pentagon wants the deal to maintain Israel's military advantages and ensure US strategic and tactical interests, Haaretz said. In addition to American bombs, Israel has used US-made F-16 fighter jets in several killings of snr Palestinian militants whom Israel accused of overseeing attacks in the 4 y of fighting. @Warship incident prompts 'please explain' from E Timor Dili. E Timor is demanding an explanation from Indonesia after one of its war ships threatened to board an Aussie tourist dive boat operating well inside E Timorese waters. The incident happened last Sun, 200 m off the W coast of Atauro Island, which lies just N of E Timorese capital Dili. No-one was hurt during the hour-long confrontation which ended when the Aussie boat escaped at high speed and the Indonesian warship in pursuit for 10 minutes before the warship returned to open seas. The Dept of Foreign Affairs in CBR is aware of the incident but says it is a matter for Indonesia and E Timor to resolve. @Sierra Leone denies bail to Aust policeman Freetown (AFP). Sierra Leone's high court has again denied bail to an Aussie police officer employed by the UN-backed war crimes court, who has been accused of sexually-abusing a 13-yo schoolgirl. Judge Samuel Ademosu adjourned hearings until Thu, when he said he might consider restoring bail set for Peter Halloran, who faces 4 counts of sex crimes for a sexual relationship he allegedly had with the young girl whom he hired to work in his home. Defence attorney Nicholas Browne-Marke noted that Halloran, 56, had been in custody for 1 m. "His passport is still with the police and both the Aussie Govt and the High Commission in Ghana are prepared to vouch that he will not jump bail but would make himself available for trial," the attorney said in court. "The defence has no intention of interfering with any witnesses and it will be in the interest of justice for all concerned that he is not punished before being found guilty by the court." Halloran is a snr officer with the Vicn police and is on a y-long UN contract serving as a prosecution investigator for the tribunal charged with trying those responsible for atrocities committed during the W African state's decade of civil war. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing and an internal investigation by the UN tribunal found there was no evidence to support the complaint, which was initially brought by Halloran's house-mate and colleague Manley Cordwell. @Coles Myer sales drive record profit Melbourne. AUS's biggest retailer, Coles Myer, has announced its largest ever annual profit of $576.5 mn. The figure represents a 26% increase on last y. Chief Executive John Fletcher says it is a result every CEO dreams about and should make every shareholder happy. This is the highest annual profit in Coles Myers history, an outstanding result in which all of our major businesses have significantly improved their quality of sales and earnings, he said. We are well on the way to achieving our $800 mn aspirational target in 2006, with many opportunities ahead to further grow our business." The result confirms a turn-around in the company's fortunes from 3 ya, when Mr Fletcher took over the ailing retailer. "Our non-food businesses, the ones that people had almost written-off 3 y, have had an absolute stellar result this y, and our newest business which is Coles Express, has exceeded even our wildest expectations," he said. The company says the Coles Express fuel outlets have exceeded expectations and there had been minimal impact from the end of the shareholder discount. Mr Fletcher says only Megamart, which will be revamped in the coming ms, did not perform well. Coles Myer has declared a final dividend of 29 cents. The retailer's shares have plunged despite the strong result, down by 2% to $9.29. @Economists warn of wasted prosperity Canberra (AAP). A group of eminent Aussie economists has warned AUS's political parties against frittering away the country's economic success. The 6 economists, in an article for The Aussie newspaper on Wed, argue the nation should be salting away bigger surpluses to cover the next economic downturn, while doing more on tax reform. The economists include former Aussie Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairman Alan Fels, the chairman of Allen Consulting, Vince Fitzgerald, the former chairman of ANZ Funds Management, Peter Jonson, 2 leading academic economists, John Freebairn from MEL University and Glenn Withers from Aussie Nat'l University (ANU), and the head of economic consulting firm Lateral Economics, Nicholas Gruen. Dr Gruen said the group was not trying to make party-political points. "It's true we're critical of where the centre of politics is at the moment," he told ABC radio. "That is, we're critical of the fact that, in this election campaign, economic debate has tended to reduce itself to the minutiae of claims about who is going to be better and worse off in the short term." He said the group believed AUS's poor private savings performance could be improved if the superannuation system was simplified and there were further simplification of the tax system. But, he said, he also believed there should be a greater preparedness to borrow to fund economically justified projects. "Being prepared to spend more money on education and also it's a matter of some concern that our private, business investment in research and development [R&D] is lower as a share of the economy now than it was 10 y ago," he said. @Xerox workers to strike over satellite tracking plan Melbourne. Over 250 Xerox workers will go on strike this morning over plans to use global positioning system technology (GPS) to track them throughout their day. Aussie Services Union president Sally McManus says the proposal affects workers who repair Xerox photocopiers and other equipment in offices around MEL and SYD. Ms McManus says most technicians use their cars as an office and their daily movements are already monitored heavily by the company. She says being monitored by satellite GPS technology is excessive. "That will continually monitor and check where they are," she said. "We say that Xerox technicians are already highly monitored and their work performance can be measured in every which way and that this is just one more step towards 'Big Brother' that the members, the workers, aren't prepared to take." @Frosts leave farmers pleading for compassion Western Aussie farmers are pleading with the banks for compassion when dealing with those affected by severe frosts in the wheatbelt. The frosts have stretched from the N wheatbelt through to Esperance, with Lake Grace and Newdegate the worst hit. The full extent of the damage is still being assessed but early estimates suggest up to 400,000 tons of wheat, with a value of about $68 mn has been destroyed. WA Farmers grain section president Peter Wahlsten says many have invested a lot of time and money growing their crops, only to see their efforts plundered by the elements. "I just hope that the banks will stand by them because these really are acts of God and growers that are in this position need all the help they can get," he said. @PM urged to tone down tough line Canberra (AAP). PM John Howard has been urged to tone down his tough talk on foreign policy as latest polling gives Labor renewed cause for celebration. With the election campaign passing the halfway mark, 2 polls showed Labor edging ahead of the coalition on a 2-party preferred basis. Newspoll put Labor in front on 52.5% to the coalition's 47.5%, while the Bulletin-9 poll, out on Wed, gave Labor 50.7% and the govt 49.3%. A Morgan poll was also bad news for the coalition's chances in the Senate. It found the coalition could lose up to 5 upper house seats as support for the Liberal Party and Nat'ls dropped 5 pt to 37%. The Aussie Greens were in the best position to pick up the lost seats as support for that party jumped 7.1 pts to 12%. Opp'n Leader Mark Latham will aim to improve his chances of securing key marginal seats which are crucial to a Labor victory as he continues campaigning in Bris. The polling added to Mr Howard's troubles after he came in for criticism for his pledge to take pre-emptive action against terrorists threatening AUS. Mr Howard was forced to reassure Asian neighbours he had no plans to launch unilateral military strikes on terrorist networks across the region. He promised AUS would always consult another country before taking any action on its soil. Malaysian For Min Syed Hamid Albar warned that countries could take offence at the comments by Mr Howard. "I think such statements must be made with caution, to ensure they do not touch on the sensitivities as well as the sovereignty and territorial sensitivities of certain countries," he said. Malaysia issued the caution as the Philippines ruled out allowing flying squads of Aussie fed police into the country. The coalition has announced a $100 mn plan for special Aussie Fed Police flying squads to help combat terrorism in the region. Mr Howard will shift his campaign to MEL after he announced new defence and security initiatives in N Qld on Tue. @Aust terror fears not a priority: PNG Simon Kaiwi says PNG must focus on domestic security issues. Pt Moresby. A snr PNG political figure says his country has more important security worries than dealing with AUS's fears of terrorist attacks. He says AUS is living with the consequences of its support for the war on Iraq. In a letter to a local newspaper, the president of the ruling Nat'l Alliance Party Simon Kaiwi says AUS, for its own reasons, made the choice to become part of the coalition of the willing in Iraq. He says AUS took on the consequences of that decision. He says PNG is now expected to monitor all its borders for fear of infiltration by terrorists headed for AUS. But Mr Kaiwi says PNG has more important security issues to face, rather than meeting AUS's requirements. He says those external pressures are a test of PNG's leadership. He says that PNG's PM Sir Michael Somare had made the right choice by not becoming involved in the war in Iraq. @Govt sends mixed messages over pre-emption policy: Latham Mark Latham says the policy is confusing. Canberra. The Fed Govt denies it is in disarray over its policy of launching pre-emptive action against terrorists outside Aussie borders. But Labor says the Fed Govt has had 2 different policies in 2 days. Opp'n Leader Mark Latham says For Min Alexander Downer wants pre-emptive action confined to failed S Pacific states. But the PM says it could be taken against any country in South-East Asia. "I welcome the fact that Alexander Downer has junked the doctrine today and left his PM stranded," Mr Latham said. John Howard denies there is confusion. "There's no differences in the messages we're running and there is no incompatibility," Mr Howard said. Mr Latham insists unilateral pre-emptive attacks would have disastrous consequences in the region. @Council bans Bondi butts Sydney. People who stub out on SYD's Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches can expect a $110 fine this summer after Waverly Council voted to ban beach smoking last night. Mayor Peter Moscatt says there will be a grace period while the council mounts an education program and installs new signage along the promenades. Mr Moscatt says the move was necessary to stop the beaches becoming ashtrays. "The main reason, apart from annoying people on the beach, is the number of butts that are building up on the beach," he said. "They don't just go away, so over the y they've just built up and built up. "Every butt that's virtually been at the beach for the last 20 y is still there." @Timber crucial to prosperous Tas: Lennon In charge of prosperity: Mr Lennon says he leads a compassionate govt. Hobart. Prem Paul Lennon has used his State of the State address to highlight the importance of the timber industry to Tas's economy. Mr Lennon has told Parliament that the state is on the cusp of one of its most prosperous eras ever, with the economy in the best shape in memory. He says unemployment stands at 6.7%, compared to 10.2% when Labor got into office in 1998. He says a record 214,000 Tasns are employed and there are more people living in Tas than ever before. Mr Lennon has told Parliament that a hallmark of his Govt is compassion, and that includes keeping Tasns in work. "There is no compassion in throwing hard working timber families on the unemployment scrap heap," he said. "I'm fed up with Tas being used as a political pawn during election campaigns for the sake of preferences in a few marginal seats on the mainland. "There is old-growth happening on the mainland, old-growth taking place in Vic and NSW vast area of old-growth eligible for logging. "There is a human side to this issue and too many people are not taking any notice of it." * Poison Mr Lennon says his Govt has made considerable efforts over the past few y to reducing the use of 1080 poison in forestry. He says Tas uses 4% of AUS's 1080 and from Dec 2005, none will be used in state forests. "This is a Govt that listens and acts in response to genuine community concern, we have made considerable progress in phasing out 1080 in Tas," he said. * Smoke ban As expected, Mr Lennon has also used his speech to announce a total smoke ban in Tas's pubs and clubs by the Jan 1, 2006. He says after that date, smoking will be allowed in those venues only in outdoor areas. Mr Lennon says the hand back of Cape Barren, Clarke and Goose islands to the Aboriginal community is on track. He has called on his parliamentary colleagues to support the hand back, saying it is central to reconciliation. @Wentworth voters turn from Liberals: poll Sydney. A new opinion poll published today shows voters in the blue ribbon SYD seat of Wentworth are turning away from the Liberal Party. The party has held the eastern suburbs seat for 103 y. Earlier this y sitting Liberal MP Peter King lost a bitter pre-selection battle to investment banker Malcolm Turnbull. Mr King is now standing as an independent. The AC Neilson Poll surveyed just over 1,000 voters last weekend and the bad blood between the 2 has the seat on a knife edge, with Liberal support shifting to Labor's David Patch, Mr King and the Greens. On the primary vote, Mr Turnbull is ahead of Mr Patch by 7 points, with Mr King coming in a close third. The Greens polled 12% of the vote with the Democrats on 1 per cent. The poll shows the flow of preferences in this seat will be critical. On a 2-party preferred basis, the ALP received most of the Greens preferences and nearly 1/2 of Mr King's, showing Labor's Mr Patch level with Mr Turnbull. @Windsor to meet with police over bribe claim Tony Windsor ... to meet with police. Canberra. Fed Independent MP Tony Windsor says he has already spoken with the Aussie Fed Police (AFP) about his bribery claims. The Member for New England, in NSW, says he spoke to AFP officers on Mon about allegations he was offered a diplomatic post in return for leaving politics by an unnamed person representing Nat'l Party politicians. Nat'ls Leader John Anderson and PM John Howard deny any involvement. But Mr Howard has accused Mr Windsor of smearing the Coalition by not naming those allegedly behind the bribe. Mr Windsor says he would only be prepared to name those involved to an AFP investigation. Mr Windsor says he will have further talks with police soon. "I've had a couple of conversations with them in relation to sitting down and talking to them about the particular proposal that was made," he said. "We'll be meeting probably within the week." @PM offers apprentices subsidised tools PM John Howard offers apprentices $800 for tools. Melbourne. PM John Howard is expected to announce a plan that would see young people taking up new apprenticeships reimbursed for buying tools. Mr Howard is expected to use a business lunch in MEL today to detail the plan which aims to encourage more apprentices into trades where there are shortages. Mr Howard has already announced plans to support apprentices by extending the living away from home allowance into their 3rd y of training. Today he is expected to unveil a plan to pay for up to $800 worth of tools for new apprentices in trades where there are shortages, such as carpentry, catering and hairdressing. It is estimated that would cost $91 mn over 3 y and help around 100,000 young people taking up apprenticeships from Jul next y. The Opp'n has labelled the move as "policy on the run". Labor's employment, education and training rep Anthony Albanese says the money would not be necessary if the Govt had provided tax relief for new apprentices. Mr Albanese says the plan is not all bad. "The good news is there's an acknowledgement from the Howard Govt that it's presided over a skills crisis, that skills growth as a driver of productivity has dropped 75% over its term," he said. The PM is also expected to promise $18 mn in funding for a new Institute for Trade Skills Excellence to promote improved training for apprentices. @Science minister caught in grazing licence 'contradiction' Canberra. The re-election chances of Fed Science Min Peter McGauran have suffered a blow following a secret Govt report contradicting his stance on an environment issue that could decide his seat. Mr McGauran campaigned strongly in support of high country cattlemen who are fighting to keep their grazing licences in the Alpine Nat'l Park, which falls in the marginal seat of Gippsland. However, the Fed Environment Dept made a submission to the Vicn task-force in charge of the issue, recommending grazing the park should end. Mr McGauran believes the submission does not affect his credibility because it was made by the Aussie Heritage Council, not the dept, even though it was written on a dept letterhead. "The Aussie Heritage Council is a worthy and important advisory body to the Commonwealth Govt but it is not the Dept of Environment and Heritage, and it is not the Min nor the Cabinet, and we take advice from a number of sources," he said. "The council certainly don't agree with it and I don't believe my colleagues do." Labor candidate for Gippsland, Don Wishart, says Mr McGauran must have known about the submission and should be honest with the electorate. A redistribution of the Gippsland seat has slashed Mr McGauran's margin from more than 8% to just 2.6%. @Building union criticises Howard's apprentice plan PM John Howard offers apprentices $800 for tools. Melbourne. AUS's major construction union says the Fed Govt's plan to help apprentices with the cost of tools may backfire. PM John Howard announced a payment of up to $800 for apprentices to buy trade tools to address a skills shortage in traditional industries such as carpentry, metal working and hairdressing. Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) secretary John Sutton says the real problem is low wages for apprentices and the Govt's plan may leave them worse off. "Our apprentices already get a tool allowance in the order of $20 per week, or more than a $1,000 a year," he said. "The way we see the Govt proposal, many apprentices could end up $200 or $300 worse off by the time this proposal of the Fed Govt kicks in." @Latham promises $1 bn for hospitals A human right: Labor has announced a $bn package for the health system. Brisbane. Fed Opp'n Leader Mark Latham has announced a bn dollar funding boost for public hospitals if Labor is elected to govt. Mr Latham hugged a protester dressed as a sheep before touring an oncology ward at the Royal Bris Hospital and announcing his $bn plan. Under a Labor govt $400 mn would go to providing free patient visits to specialist clinics and $350 mn to upgrading hospital facilities, including emergency depts. Another $200 mn would go to more Medicare teams, and medicine university places. Mr Latham says the plan is vital to improving the hospital system. "For Labor this is much more than a financial issue," he said. "We regard good quality health care as a human right." Under an agreement with the states and territories, $800 mn of the package will be funded through competition payments. @Qantas confirms CBR 'jet incident' Canberra. Qantas has confirmed it reported an incident involving a jet S of CBR. The airline has refused to comment on reports that the jet came close to crashing into a mountain. The incident happened on a Perth to CBR flight on Jul 24. The Aussie Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says it will release a statement on the incident S of CBR in the next couple of days. Bureau rep Alan Stray says reports that the jet came close to crashing into a mountain are exaggerated. "We have been working on this for some wks, gathering sufficient info to be able to put something meaningful out to the public and we hope to be in a position to do that in the next 24 to 48 hours," he said. @Woman falls through window Sydney. A woman has suffered internal injuries and a severe cut to the back of her head after falling through a second-storey window in SYD's east. Police say the woman had been attempting to enter a friend's unit in Randwick, but tripped at the top of a flight of stairs. Police rescue teams were called in to extricate her. She has been taken to the Prince of Wales Hospital for treatment. @Prisoner accidentally released despite remand order Darwin. An NT man who was remanded to appear in court on 4 alleged charges of break-and-enter with intent, has been accidentally released back in to the community. Each offence carries a maximum penalty of 20 y. The ABC has learnt that on Sep 14, a public prosecutor arrived at Borroloola, the State's NE, for a committal hearing relating to the 4 offences Robert Raggett allegedly committed. The prosecutor says he was told Raggett had been released on Aug 10 after time served for a previous offence. The prosecutor says he was released despite a Jul hearing ordering him to remain on remand until Sep 14. Correctional Services says it never received any paperwork stating Raggett should be kept in custody. Warrants have now been issued for his arrest. @Govt to allow death sentence extraditions, says Civil Liberties Canberra. The Aussie Council for Civil Liberties has called on the Fed Govt to confirm a change in policy relating to extraditing suspects who face the death penalty in the US. Pres Terry O'Gorman says AUS has a long standing convention not to extradite people if they face the death penalty. Mr O'Gorman says the Howard Govt has indicated they have reached an agreement with the US which opens the way for possibly handing over suspected terrorists who face capital charges. Mr O'Gorman has called on the Govt to publicly confirm the policy change. "Since DNA technology has come, it's been established that a number of people who have been waiting on death row to be executed were in fact wrongly convicted," he said. "We're going to find the risk that an Aussie could be sent to the US, tried for terrorism, convicted then executed, and later down the track found to have been the [victim of a] miscarriage of justice," he said. "It's a bit late once you've killed someone to find that they've been the victim of a miscarriage of justice." @ICAC prepares Carr contempt ruling Sydney. NSW Prem Bob Carr is expected to learn today whether he faces a contempt charge over comments he made about an ongoing corruption inquiry into his former health minister Craig Knowles. Mr Knowles currently holds the Infrastructure and Planning and Natural Resources portfolios and will be in the witness box at the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). The commission has been investigating claims that Mr Knowles bullied and intimidated nurses who blew the whistle on poor patient care at a number of SW SYD hospitals. Midway through the hearing, the Prem infuriated the inquiry head, John Clarke QC, with his public remarks that based on evidence at the time, his minister had been vindicated. During a special hearing last Fri, Mr Carr's legal counsel expressed his regret for the remarks, which he had already withdrawn. Mr Clarke says he will endeavour to hand down his ruling on whether Mr Carr should be referred to the Supreme Court for contempt late this afternoon. It is expected to come at the end of a full day of evidence from Mr Knowles in defence of his his actions. @Govt moves to strip Theophanous super Canberra. The Fed Govt has made moves to strip disgraced former MP Andrew Theophanous of his superannuation entitlements. In 2002, Theophanous became the 1st fed politician to be jailed for taking bribes after he was convicted of accepting money from an illegal Chinese immigrant. He spent nearly 2 y in prison. The County Court heard the Fed Justice Min, Chris Ellison, has authorised the Director of Public Prosecutions to proceed with an application to recover Theophanous' superannuation under the Crimes Superannuation and Benefits Act. The case will be heard at a later date. Theophanous is also facing the prospect of further criminal charges related to his convictions. {{ 1.30 am Major cigarette makers have gone on trial in Washington. The US govt has launched the biggest value suit in history -- claiming damages of $US280 bn -- enough to bankrupt most of the ind'y. 3 am NY. Kofi Annan has opened the session of the UNGA by saying those countries seeking to set an example should observe internat'l law. In his own address to the GA, Pres Bush again justified his invasion of Iraq. He went on to virtually demand the world help implement his foreign policy. Mr Bush also took the occasion to announce a new UN fund that would promote democracy, independent courts and civil rights. The US will start the fund with a donation, and the Pres invited other nations to also contribute. Observers say pro-govt militias in Darfur have now been incorporated into the local police force. They say refugees in the area fear the people now guarding them are the same ones that have killed 1000s, and driven mns them from their homes. 4 am In Ukraine, authorities are reportedly taking seriously claims by a Presid'l contender he's been poisoned. He prev disappeared during the presid'l campaign, only to turn up later, claiming he'd been a victim of dirty tricks. In his first address to parliament since his return, the opp'n leader says his face is partly paralysed due to the operation of "a state kitchen". He says he now worries about what food is safe to eat. The Brit govt says blood from 9 donors may have resulted in an increased risk of CJD in recipients. The donors -- who later went on to die from the brain-wasting disease -- gave blood 23 times between them. It was turned into blood plasma. The govt has now sent out 6,000 warning letters to recipients. It's believed the risk of developing CJD from plasma is much lower than from whole blood transfusions. 4.30 am Within the past 20 mins the US Fed has announced an int rates increase of 25 basis points to 1.75%. It's the 3rd rate rise since Jun. The Pres of the World Bank -- James Wolfenson -- says critics of Russian Pres Putin may be premature. In a newspaper interview, Wolfenson says Putin's new measures to "fight terrorism" aren't necessarily an attempt to return Russia to central control. The FTSE has closed up .6%, buoyed by strong Tesco profit numbers. 400,000 workers are on strike in Israel over delayed payments to public sector employees. They say some workers have not been paid for several ms now. 5 am Another US hostage in Iraq has apparently been beheaded. A web message says video evidence of the killing will appear shortly. A Russian Colonel who had been convicted of killing a civilian girl in Chechnya has withdrawn his application for a Presid'l pardon. He's taken a difficult decision out of Putin's hands. Last y he was convicted of abducting and strangling the 18 yo woman to death. He claims he mistook her for a sniper. Even pro-Russian Chechens were disgusted when permission for the appeal was granted. 5.30 am Oil is up $1 after a Hurricane Ivan-related draw-down in US oil stocks. Oct NYMEX is up $1.05 at $US47.40/bbl. Analysts say expect $50 soon. 6 am Russian Parl is to meet and consider 30 new laws aimed at "strengthening security". Some details of the new leg'n has been leaked to the media. A newspaper reports says the Duma will increase the powers of the FSB, order a full inventory be taken of weapons held by law enforcement, clamp down on travel to certain areas of Russia, and authorities media blackouts during states of emergency. The Howard govt denies it's in disarray over its "unilateral preemptive first strike" policy "only after consultation and in cooperation". PM Howard says there's no confusion. The Dow is up 40 pts. The Nasdaq is 13 pts higher. The markets liked the hike to 1.75% rates in the US. The FTSE is up 29 pts. The AUD is at 70.4 US c. Gold is up $3.10 at $US410.10/oz. Oil has spiked another $1.05 to $US47.40/bbl. 10 am PM John Howard appears to have clarified his position on the Govt's policy of taking pre-emptive action against terrorist groups in neighbouring nations. Fed Independent MP Tony Windsor says he is prepared to name those who he says offered him a bribe, if he is forced to do so at an inquiry. The family of a Brit hostage threatened with execution in Iraq has made a desperate appeal to PM Tony Blair, asking to meet the demands of the man's kidnappers. 11.30 pm 8 top Aussie economists have written an open letter to both sides of politics, warning that govt spending should be aimed at maintaining Australia's economic miracle. Surpluses should be spent on building economic capacity, they say -- education, R&D, and assistance to the commercialisation of research. They have pointed out R&D spending is now down as a share of spending over the level 10 y ago. In the US, a 17 yo boy has been arrested after he said on the Internet he was planning a school massacre. A video was later discovered in which he was seen fantasising about shooting schoolmates, as he practised in his bedroom with an SKS assault rifle. His father was also arrested and changed. ASIC has announced a new investigation into James Hardie. The new probe will concentrate on the CEO and the company's market disclosures related to its asbestos compensation fund. Coles Myer has announced a record profit of $577 mn -- its best full-y profit on record. The number is up 27% on last y. The company is now predicting an even better result next FY. Food and liquor is showing its best profit in 7 y, said the CEO. Midday. The All Ords is up 12 at 3,655. In Japan, the Nikkei is down 1%. The AUD is at 70.43 US c. Coles Myer is down on the back of its record profit numbers. Its share price is down 20 c at $A9.27 (2%) after being at record highs yester on anticipation of good profit numbers. BHP Billiton is up 17 c. Woodside is up 19 c. James hardie is again strongly higher, despite adverse findings in a govt probe. Its share price is up another 30 c to $6.10 (6%). The market sees the govt report as generally positive for the company. It's not legally obliged to provide more compo for asbestos victims. In HK, the Hang Seng has just opened and is up 9 pts. The AUD is higher at 70.43 US c. The greenback is weaker against other majors. Gold is up $1.30. Oil is up another .75 to $US47.10/bll, and climbing. Mark Latham has promised $1 bn in extra spending on public hospitals. The PM has been explaining how an al-Qaeda leader obtained an Aussie tourist visa 1 m before the 9/11 attacks. He used a new alias, says the PM. After 9/11 the visa was cancelled, and was never used. It proves to the PM that AUS had been a terrorist target before the WTC attack, and before AUS's involvement in Iraq. Mr Howard also claimed the beheading of hostages in Iraq "obviously" involved al-Qaeda. Anyone that thought otherwise was "deluding themselves", said Mr Howard. A sign of the times. Beheading videos are on sale in Baghdad markets next to pirated US movies. Peddlers say they are the very best-selling videos. It could be days before the flood sit'n in Haiti is known. The govt says 700 have been killed by tropical storm Jean. But up to 1000 are missing. Winds caused widespread damage. But widespread rain cost many lives. The morgues are full. The heat and humidity threatens disease. The UN is planning to bury many in mass graves. Some aid is beginning to arrive in the N city of Gonaives. The US govt says a meeting in 1953 began a conspiracy among cigarette manufactures to hide the dangers of smoking. The law suit is expected to last 6 m. 6.30 pm There's been another bombing in W Baghdad. Insurgents again targeted a queue of people waiting to joint the Nat'l Guard. 6 people were killed. Elsewhere, in a crackdown by US and Iraqi forces, 15 al Sadr fighters have been killed. There may be good news for the Brit held by the al-Zaqarwi group in Baghdad. The Iraqi govt says one of 2 women bio-weapons scientists is no longer a security threat and may be released. The Justice Min has said she may be released as soon as tomorrow. The insurgents have been demanding the release of all women prisoners held by the US. The US and Brit maintain they will not deal with terrorists, and the idea of releasing the scientists was the Iraqi govt's idea. 1000 have gathered in Grozny to protest at the possible release of a Russian Colonel who murdered an 18 yo he says he mistook for a sniper. Haiti death toll is growing by the hr. The govt says at least 700 died in floods and landslides. But 1,000 are still missing. Officials fear toll will continue to rise. With 75% of the Indonesian presid'l vote counted, SBY maintains a strong lead -- 61 to 39 over Megawati. NSW Prem Bob Carr has escaped contempt charges over comments he made during a corruption inquiry. As Mr Carr was headed to HK, a NSW magistrate handed down his decision. He said a retraction by Mr Carr in a press statement and in writing has satisfied him no action should be taken. Shares in James Hardie have surged another 4% -- making 8% in the past 2 days. Coles Myer is down off all time highs. In Japan, the Nikkei is down 61 pts on a lower-than-expected surplus. The AUD is travelling at 70.52 on the back of a weaker greenback following the US rate increase. 7 pm The toll from the latest Baghdad bomb blast has risen to 11. 8 pm 2 men have stormed into an Internet cafe in China and attacked patrons at random. The men -- in 20s -- reported hacked random customers with knives for 20 mins. They had accomplices block the entrance to the cafe. It seemed to be an act of revenge, say police. 9.30 pm A flight from London to Washington has been diverted because a passenger -- Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens) -- was on board. It's unclear what security threat Mr Islam posed, but US officials say a watch list says he may have financial links to terrorist groups. Mr Islam is now under arrested and will be deported. The plane was in the air before the FBI ID-ed the passenger as being on the no-fly watch list. The aircraft was diverted about 1000 km to Maine where 56 yo Mr Islam was detained and interviewed. 8 insurgents have been killed and 14 US soldiers wounded in fighting in several SE provs of Afghanistan. There's been an upsurge in violence ahead of nat'l elections. A power struggle is underway at the UN. 4 countries are struggling to win veto powers on the Security Council. Brazil, Japan, India and Germany say they will back each other in a bid to win a permanent seat on the Council. The US -- who avoided the Security Council to invade Iraq -- has given the issue added urgency. Japan's PM Koizumi told the UNGA the world must create a new UN for a new era. He reminded members Japan contributes 20% of the UN's budget. It's No 2 behind the US -- who pays 22% of the budget. France -- No 3 -- only contributes 7% of the UN's funds. China says the UN is not like a club -- the members can't demand reform because they pay the biggest fee. Japanese observers say it may be a plan to push militarism in Japan. If it becomes a member of the UNSC, Japan may need to move to drop the war-renouncing clause from its the post-WWII const'n. 1000s of native Americans have been celebrating the opening of a museum dedicated to their cultural heritage on the Mall, in Washington DC. Native Americans funded the museum out of gambling revenues. The building has been 15 y in the making. In Beijing, a 14 m high Swiss-made clock has started counting down to the opening of the Beijing Oly Games. The superstitious organisers have timed the ceremony for 8 pm on the 8th of the 8th, 2008. 10.30 pm Rebels in Darfur have refused to put down their weapons. Observers say villages are still being hit by the Janjaweed. There appears to be on-going heavy fighting between Arab and local militias, say observers. Many villages have been hit again and again, say local people. Villages are still being shot and chased from their homes by pro-govt forces. }} ---------------------------------------- Thu, 23 Sep 2004. HEADLINES: 3 US soldiers killed in Iraq Italian hostages killed, claim Iraqi militants Zarqawi cleric ally killed in US strike: family Suicide bomber kills one in Jerusalem Morphine-free poppy holds key to new pain killers US confirms headless body in Iraq was hostage Turkey vows to assure security of drivers in Iraq Pres Made 'Wrong Choices' in Iraq -- Kerry NZ's Iraq troops to return home NATO to set up military training centre in Iraq NATO to expand Iraq training mission It's Iran More Than Iraq 'Explosive' device found on Virgin plane ALP candidate backs wife's Bali claims ATSIC leader welcomes Tas land return Anderson's Virgin security comments anger union Aussie housing boom perplexes IMF, RBA Brit hostage pleads with Blair to save his life Car bomb explodes nr US convoy in Baghdad Cat Stevens deported amid terrorism fears Claim to free scientists rejected by US Costello stakes [and later reports say "loses"] credibility on ALP tax costings Crean slaps down Costello's 'incompetent' tax analysis Environment groups call for wider 1080 ban Explosive device 'probably a hoax' Fertility drugs blamed for record multiple births Greens, Democrats clash over James Hardie donations Haiti prepares mass graves for flood victims Helicopter carrying politicians crashes in E India Labor tax costings within a wk: Crean Missing tourist survives on diet of wild berries PM criticises Latham's union pledge PM outraged over ALP candidate's Bali claims PM to fund children's cancer centre PNG asked to keep empty immigration centre open Police probe Grampians bone mystery Politicians' visit blamed for Aboriginal riot Rising oil price unnerves US markets Serviceman to stand trial over Darfur rights abuses Taliban threatens Afghan refugee vote Teenager to be charged over stabbing death US Senate confirms new CIA head US releases more Guantanamo prisoners US to send terror suspect back to Saudi Arabia Virgin claims airport security breached Warwick to lose cheese factory @Rising oil price unnerves US markets Rising commodity prices are fuelling concerns about the profit margins. NY/Sydney. Another oil price spurt has sent jitters through Wall Street, with benchmark contracts for crude oil traded in NY well over $US48 a bbl. Rising commodity prices generally are fuelling concerns about the profit margins of American companies, and those concerns are setting in ahead of the looming profit reporting season. Meanwhile, investment bank Morgan Stanley has announced a lower than expected 3rd quarter profit, citing a downturn in the overall share broking business. Shares in the home lending company, Fannie Mae, have slumped almost 7% after a govt review called its accounting procedures into question. There has been a broking house downgrade on Cisco Systems, undermining sentiment in the technology sector. On the NYSE, the Dow closed 136 pts lower at 10,109. Prices on the hi-tech Nasdaq market are down almost 1.9% overall and the Nasdaq composite index has lost 35 points to 1,886. Earlier, the Brit share market hit a 2 y intra-day high before retreating late in the session. London's FT100 index has finished 16 points lower at 4,592. The Aussie market continued to break new ground yesterday, with James Hardie shares rising a further 28 c to $6.08, despite the announcement of an Aussie Securities and Investments Commission probe into how the company set up its fund to compensate victims of asbestos-related diseases. The climbing price of crude boosted local oil producers like Santos, Woodside and BHP Billiton and the banks were all firmer. However, leading retailer Coles Myer was unable to please the market with its $576 mn record profit and its share price slipped 15-cents to $9.32. The All Ords gained 10 points to 3,653. On FX markets the AUD was being quoted at 70.69 US c at about 7.45 am. That is up almost 1/4 of c on yesterday's local close. On the cross-rates, the Aussie is at 57.62 euro cents; 78.15 yen and 39.42 pence sterling. The gold price is at $US407.40/oz. Oil prices are at their highest level in almost a m after a report that Hurricane Ivan has reduced US oil stockpiles to their lowest point since Feb. West Texas crude futures have jumped to $US48.41/bbl. @Haiti prepares mass graves for flood victims Gonaives. Authorities in Haiti authorities are digging mass graves for up to 1,700 victims of flooding caused by tropical storm Jeanne. The crisis is worst in the N part of Haiti, with morgues filling up and towns without electricity. It is so hot, bodies are rotting and the stench is reportedly insufferable. Animal carcasses are littering the streets and open sewers are spewing their contents into the slowly receding floodwaters. There are 711 people confirmed dead but authorities say more than a thousand are still reported missing. Aid officials say it is going to take m of work and mn of dollars to help Haiti recover. The Caribbean island was already ranked among the world's poorest countries before this latest crisis. @US Senate confirms new CIA head Washington (AFP). The US Senate has confirmed Porter Goss as the new head of the Central Intel Agency (CIA). Sens voted 77-17 to allow the Fla representative and former chairman of the House Intel Committee to take over from George Tenet, who resigned in Jul. Mr Goss, 65, spent more than 10 y as a spy before entering politics. He is only the 2nd member of Congress, after the elder George Bush, to become CIA director. Supporters said Goss's background makes him the perfect choice to rebuild the troubled agency, which is facing strong criticism over the failure to head off the Sep 11, 2001 attacks and the info used to justify the Iraq war. Opponents have criticised Mr Goss as being too closely connected to the intel establishment and the Bush Admin. Among those who voted against Mr Goss were Democratic senators Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton and Jay Rockefeller, the top Democrat on the Senate Intel Committee. @NATO to set up military training centre in Iraq Brussels (Xinhua). Member states of the N Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) reached agreement Wed on establishing a military training centre in Iraq for Iraqi security forces. "Today ambassadors agreed to give direction to the military to further develop the mission," NATO rep James Appathurai told reporters after a meeting of the N Atlantic Council (NAC), NATO's top decision-making body consisting of ambassadors from all NATO member states. "That guidance includes ... the establishment of an Iraqi centre of excellency," he said. Local media reported that the military alliance will send about 300 officers into Iraq to set up and run the centre outside Baghdad, broadening NATO's training mission that began last m with the deployment of 40 instructors. The NATO mission will be headed by US Lt Gen David Petraeus, who also heads the much bigger US operation to rebuild Iraq's armed forces. Appathurai said the centre could be operational by the end of the y, adding that NATO "assistance is for training, equipment ... not combat." Wed's agreement implies a compromise between the US, which wanted NATO to shoulder more of the burden of building up Iraq's armed forces, and France, which initially objected to any alliance presence in Iraq, then sought to keep the mission low profile. NATO leaders agreed at NATO Istanbul summit last Jun to launch the training mission, after overcoming reservations from France which opposed NATO "planting its flag" inside Iraq. Local media also reported that despite most NATO member states accepted the plan Fri, France and Belgium insisted on more guarantees that costs of the operation would be mostly borne by countries that participate in the mission. Belgium dropped its objections Tue. France, Belgium, Germany and Spain already have said they will not send instructors to Iraq. In delaying the agreement, France wanted to strictly define the role of the instructors and any NATO soldiers sent to protect them to ensure they would not become embroiled in combat operations beyond self defence. @NATO to expand Iraq training mission Brussels (Reuters). The N Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has agreed to create a military training academy in Iraq, expanding the alliance's small presence in the country after 2 y of feuding over the US-led war. Ambassadors at NATO's HQ in Brussels reached the accord after resolving questions raised last wk by France and Belgium over the mission's financing and its relationship to the US-led multinat'l force. "Today NATO ambassadors agreed on the political directions to the military to enhance NATO assistance to the Govt of Iraq in the training of its security forces," NATO rep James Appathurai told reporters. He stressed NATO was there for training and that it would not have a combat role. The US-led force would help ensure the mission could go ahead in safety, he said. NATO agreed to get involved in Jul after a squabble about whether it should have a role in Iraq at all. France and others that opposed the war fear it could be tantamount to inserting NATO into the Iraqi battlefield through a back door. The alliance currently has a 40-strong operation performing training services in Iraq and the new accord is seen as expanding its presence to some 300. France, Germany and other opponents of the US-led war have said they will not have a presence in the country themselves. The US hailed the agreement as a "significant step by the alliance". "The US is proud to undertake, with its allies, the expansion of the mission in Iraq," Nicholas Burns, US ambassador to NATO, said in a statement. @NZ's Iraq troops to return home [UH-OH!! Iraq's in trouble now!] Wellington (AFP). New Zealand's military personnel in Iraq will be home on Sat, Defence Min Mark Burton said in a statement. The 61 army engineers have been based in Basra, in S Iraq, and were due to leave by the end of the m after a y-long deployment. They are to be flown out on a military Boeing 757 and be greeted by PM Helen Clark at Ohakea base. Ms Clark earlier said it was unlikely any further deployments would be made. "I can't see that at this time. I think Iraq is just too difficult and too dangerous," she told Radio NZ on Wed. @Pres Made 'Wrong Choices' in Iraq -- Kerry Sen John Kerry strongly criticised the Bush Admin's handling of the war in Iraq in a foreign policy speech at New York University, Sep 20, 2004. NY (NPR/Reuters). As violence continues to escalate in Baghdad, Iraq remains a central issue in the presidential election. In an interview with NPR's Robert Siegel, Sen John Kerry assails the Bush Admin's Iraq policies and stresses the need for internat'l support. "Over the course of the last 2 y, the president's made the wrong choices," Kerry says. "[Internat'l support] is the only way to ultimately be successful. The US can't do this alone." If elected president, Kerry says he will have an easier time garnering global backing. "This president has no credibility with those countries. The leadership has been arrogant and disastrous." @Cat Stevens deported amid terrorism fears Washington/London (Reuters). Former pop singer Cat Stevens has been deported to Brit after US officials said his activities could be "linked to terrorism" and his name was put on a US no-fly list. Arab-Americans and Muslims in Brit voiced outrage over the treatment of Stevens, who changed his name to Yusuf Islam when he shelved his singing and song writing career and became a Muslim almost 3 decades ago. He was seen being escorted by US security officials onto a United Airlines flight at Dulles Internat'l Airport bound for London's Heathrow Airport on Wed evening. Homeland Security rep Brian Doyle said Mr Islam's plane was bound for Washington DC but was diverted to Bangor, Maine, on Tue after his name turned up on US lists of suspected terrorists. He was questioned by officials and then taken to Boston to catch a connecting flight in Washington for London. "Why is he on the watch lists? Because of his activities that could be potentially linked to terrorism. The intel community has come into possession of additional info that further raises our concern," Mr Doyle said. A law enforcement official who asked not to be identified said the US had info that Mr Islam, who visited the United States in May, had donated money to the militant Islamic group Hamas. Mr Islam was denied entry to Israel in 2000 after the authorities there accused him of supporting Hamas. The former pop star denied the charges and said his charitable donations were for humanitarian causes. Among the charities he has supported are children affected by the wars in Bosnia and in Iraq, as well as victims of the Sep 11, 2001, attacks against America, which he condemned. A Homeland Security official said United Airlines employees missed Mr Islam's name on the "watch lists" in Brit and that the plane was in flight when officials found a match from the advanced passenger info sent by the airline. United Airlines rep Jeff Green said airline staff in London had cross-checked all the info on Mr Islam and found nothing to stop him getting on the US-bound flight. "All I can say is that we followed all of our procedures and we came up with nothing. To suggest that the blame lies on a United employee is incorrect and unfair," said Mr Green. A leading Arab-American group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), sent letters to Pres George W Bush and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge asking them to explain why Mr Islam was barred from entering the US. "Yusuf Islam is perhaps one of the most widely known and respected personalities in the Muslim world. He has a long history of promoting peace and reconciliation and condemning terrorism," CAIR executive Nihad Awad said. Mr Islam was the 2nd high-profile Muslim in recent m to be barred entry to the US. Swiss-based Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan was prevented from taking up a lecturing post at Notre Dame University in Indiana in Aug after the US authorities revoked his visa with no explanation. CAIR said treating mainstream and moderate Muslims as terrorists sent the wrong message. "This does not help the war on terrorism, it just makes it harder," Mr Awad told a news conference. The incident prompted Brit For Sec Jack Straw to raise the issue in person with US Secretary of State Colin Powell at the UN in NY. "The Foreign Secretary raised the Cat Stevens incident with Colin Powell and expressed concern that this action should not have been taken," a Brit FO rep told Reuters in London. Muslim groups in Brit also decried Mr Islam's deportation. "This incident comes only to confirm the farcical and ultimately Draconian standards and practices exercised by US immigration authorities," said Anas Altikriti, a rep for the Muslim Association of Brit. Born Steven Demetre Georgiou in Jul 1947 to a Swedish mother and a Greek Cypriot father, he changed his name to Cat Stevens when he entered the music world. He had a string of hits in the early 1970s including Peace Train, Moonshadow, Morning has Broken and Wild World before converting to Islam in 1977. @US to send terror suspect back to Saudi Arabia Washington (AFP). The US has announced that Yasser Esam Hamdi, who has been kept in secret as part of the war on terror for almost 3 y, would be sent back to his native Saudi Arabia and stripped of his US nat'lity. Hamdi was captured in Afghanistan in late 2001 while allegedly fighting for the Taliban militia. He has since been held as an "enemy combatant". As a US citizen, Hamdi took a challenge to the Supreme Court which ruled that he must be allowed access to the US court system. "The US and enemy combatant Yasser Esam Hamdi and his counsel have signed an agreement that allows Hamdi to be released from US custody and transferred to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he is a citizen," said Dept of Justice rep, Mark Corallo, in a statement. "The agreement requires Hamdi, once he arrives in Saudi Arabia, to renounce any claim he has to US citizenship and to abide by strict travel restrictions." The statement said Hamdi was taken into US military custody after he "surrendered as part of a Taliban military unit". "Like many other enemy combatants captured and detained by US armed forces in Afghanistan, who have been subsequently released, the United States has determined that Mr Hamdi could be transferred out of United States custody subject to strict conditions that ensure the interests of the US and our nat'l security. "As we have repeatedly stated, the US has no interest in detaining enemy combatants beyond the point that they pose a threat to the US and our allies." The rep said Hamdi's transfer to Saudi Arabia was being arranged. @US releases more Guantanamo prisoners Washington (Reuters). 11 more men detained at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been released and flown to Afghanistan to be set free, the Pentagon said on Wed. The US Defence Dept, citing "operational and security considerations," provided no further details on the 11 released prisoners, but it said a total of 539 detainees remained at the American naval base prison. Most of the remaining detainees, including Aussie's David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, are designated as "enemy combatants" by the Pentagon and were taken into custody during the war in Afghanistan and have been held for more than 2 y. Human rights groups have criticised the US for indefinitely detaining prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, most without charges or legal representation. Critics call the military prison a "legal black hole". Wed's announcement followed the release and transfer of 35 Guantanamo prisoners to custody in Pakistan last wk. The latest release brought the number of prisoners who have been flown from Guantanamo to their home countries to either be set free or held for further investigation to 202. "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 the detainee is believed to pose a threat to the US if released," the Pentagon statement said. Prisoners have also been released to Afghanistan, Morocco, France, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden and Brit. Among the prisoners returned to Pakistan last wk was one who the Pentagon for the 1st time formally determined was not an "enemy combatant." That man was caught in May 2002 in Afghanistan. The man's status was changed following a hearing by a military panel at the base. The Defence Dept recently began a series of controversial hearings for each prisoner to determine whether the "enemy combatant" status was legitimate in each case. @Turkey vows to assure security of drivers in Iraq Ankara (Xinhua). Turkish Transportation Min Binali Yildirim said Wed the govt is taking measures to assure the security of Turkish drivers shuttling between Turkey and Iraq, Anatolia News Agency reported. "We are working on alternative roads" after Turkish truck drivers were kidnapped or killed in Iraq, Yildirim, who just attended a conference on Internat'l Highway Transportation in Istanbul, was quoted as saying. He recommended the transportation companies take roads in Syria when their trucks are trying to reach the S of Iraq. Most Turkish truck drivers enter Iraq from the north, by way of Turkey's Habur border gate. On Tue, the Ankara-based VINSAN construction company became the latest Turkish firm to announce suspension of operations in Iraq in a bid to save the lives of its 10 employees kidnapped by militants. The militants threatened to kill the hostages unless the company quits Iraq. Ali Haydar Veziroglu, chairman of the company, told Turkish private NTV by telephone from Baghdad on Wed that he was expecting the release of the kidnapped employees although his firm had not established contact with the hostages or the kidnappers. VINSAN is one of the 21 internat'l companies taking part in a $160 mn road tender in Iraq. @Serviceman to stand trial over Darfur rights abuses Khartoum (AFP). Sudan's Justice Min has said that 10 members of the regular forces are to be tried for human rights abuses in Darfur, the area which the United Nations says is currently the scene of the world's worst humanitarian disaster. Min Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin told reporters that the men had been stripped of their immunity after some had been "caught red-handed" and some arrested on evidence suggesting they had committed human rights abuses. Mr Yassin refused to give any other details and would only add: "The move is in line with an agreement with the UN for arresting and trying anyone suspected of committing a crime in Darfur". The UN says 50,000 people have died and 1.5 mn others displaced at the hands of militia gangs since a revolt broke out in the region 19 m ago. Amnesty Internat'l Sec-Gen Irene Kahn said after a trip to Darfur that the Sudanese Govt was "in a state of denial" over the conflict. "This is a crisis that is still going on," Ms Kahn told reporters in London. "People are being killed, raped and pushed out of their homes." Sudanese officials have said they are responding, albeit grudgingly, to a UN Security Council resolution adopted last Sat which threatens sanctions if Pres Omar al-Beshir's Govt fails to restore peace in Darfur after 19 m of conflict. @Claim to free scientists rejected by US Rihab Rashid Taha, is also known as "Doctor Germ". Baghdad (BBC). US officials in Baghdad have dismissed an announcement by the interim Govt that one of 2 Iraqi women scientists held in an American-run prison will be released tomorrow. The officials say neither women will be set free in the nr future. Justice Min Malik al-Hassan said earlier the decision was not linked to demands for their freedom by a militant group that took 3 W engineers hostage in Baghdad last wk. The Tawhid wal Jihad (Unity and Holy War) group claim to have beheaded 2 American hostages and have threatened a 3rd man -- a Briton. The group seized the 3 last Thu and threatened that unless all women prisoners were released, the hostages would die. Mr Hassan said the detention of the 2 high-profile women scientists was being constantly reviewed. He said they planned to release Dr Rihab Rashid Taha tomorrow and say Huda Ammash could be free within wks. But the Americans point out the pair are in the physical and legal custody of the US and the US authorities have no plans to release them. @US confirms headless body in Iraq was hostage Baghdad (Reuters). The US embassy in Iraq confirmed on Wed that a decapitated body found in Baghdad was that of US hostage Jack Hensley. "There was positive identification of the body and the family have been notified," a rep said. @Brit hostage pleads with Blair to save his life Baghdad (ABC/AFP/Reuters). A video posted on an Islamic web site and allegedly recorded by Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi's group in Iraq has shown Brit hostage, Kenneth Bigley, pleading to PM Tony Blair to save his life. "I need you to help me now Mr Blair, because you are the only person on God's earth who can help me," says the man dressed in orange overalls, whose voice breaks down several times in the footage. "This is possibly my last chance to speak to you." In the video the hostage, whose face is blurred, introduces himself as Ken Bigley from Liverpool. Zarqawi's group also posted a video on the Internet showing the apparent beheading of US hostage Jack Hensley. In the video, Mr Hensley is shown dressed in orange overalls typical of US jails and associated around the world with images of Muslims detained at Guantanamo Bay. One of 5 masked captors was shown reading a statement before the men held the captive down, slit his throat with a large knife then decapitated him. They are then shown shouting Islamic slogans while one holds up his severed head. He kneels blindfolded and motionless with his hands tied behind his back in the 4-minute tape. * Italian's killed Meanwhile, an Islamic group in Iraq claims in a statement posted on an Internet site not often used by Iraqi militants that it has killed 2 female Italian hostages. The group, calling itself the Jihad Organisation, said it had killed the women because Italy had not obeyed its call to withdraw its forces from Iraq. Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, who worked on projects to help Iraqi children, were the 1st W women to be kidnapped in Iraq. They were seized on Sep 7 along with 2 Iraqi colleagues, from a charity office where they worked in the heart of Baghdad. * Bigley's plea In the Bigley video, he is seen sitting in front of a flag bearing the name of Tawhid al Jihad (Unity and Holy War), the group which has beheaded 2 American nat'ls who were abducted with him in Baghdad last wk. The video could not be authenticated. Both videos were released after the recovery of the body of Mr Hensley. Mr Bigley is the last survivor of the 3 hostages taken last wk by militants. The body of Mr Hensley was found beheaded in the same gruesome manner as his colleague Eugene Armstrong. The Bigley family's hopes have been raised by Iraqi officials who say they have been considering for a m to release 2 female prisoners, Rihab Taha and Huda Ammash known as "Dr Germ" and "Mrs Anthrax". The US says it controls their fate and neither will be released. Brit For Sec Jack Straw said: "It would be idle to pretend that there was a great deal of hope". He says the Bigley family is now preparing for the worst. @Italian hostages killed, claim Iraqi militants Baghdad (Reuters). An Islamic group in Iraq claims it has killed 2 female Italian hostages in a statement posted on an Internet site not often used by Iraqi militants. The group, calling itself the Jihad Organisation, said it had killed the women because Italy had not obeyed its call to withdraw its forces from Iraq. Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, who worked on projects to help Iraqi children, were the 1st W women to be kidnapped in Iraq. They were seized on Sep 7 along with 2 Iraqi colleagues, from a charity office where they worked in the heart of Baghdad. A group with a similar name, the Islamic Jihad Organisation, said on Sep 12 that it would kill the hostages in 24 hr if Italian troops did not leave Iraq. "We in the Jihad Organisation in Iraq announce that God's verdict has been passed on the 2 Italian prisoners by slaughtering, after the Italian Govt, headed by the vile [PM Silvio] Berlusconi did not listen to our one condition to withdraw from Iraq," the statement said. "We warn the Italian Govt that we will continue to strike, and to strike every foreigner living in Iraq," said the statement, which was dated Sep 22. It was not possible to authenticate the message. A purported statement by the previously unknown Islamic Jihad Organisation had said earlier in the m: "We will extend our deadline 24 hr from the issue of this statement, after that, if we don't see Italian soldiers withdrawing from Iraq we will implement execution". That statement, which was followed by a tour of Gulf countries by Italian FM Franco Frattini to appeal for the hostages' release, appeared on another web site which often carried statements which turned out to be false. That site is currently inaccessible. @3 US soldiers killed in Iraq Tikrit (AP/Boston Globe). 3 US Army soldiers were killed in separate incidents in N Iraq on Wed, officials said. One soldier was killed by a roadside bomb about 5 km S of Tikrit, said Maj Neal O'Brien, rep for the Army's 1st Infantry Division. The soldier was travelling in his vehicle on the main highway when he spotted a suspicious object at the side of the road nr Uja, the village where Saddam Hussein was born and where members of his family and tribe still live, O'Brien said. The object turned out to be a bomb, which detonated and killed the soldier, O'Brien said. Another soldier died of his wounds following an attack on a patrol in the northern town of Mosul, about 200 km N of Tikrit, US command said in a statement. The 3rd soldier was killed when a car bomb exploded nr a traffic control point in Baghdad, a military statement said. 4 other soldiers were wounded in the blast. The names of the soldiers were withheld pending notification of their next of kin. As of Tue, 1,037 members of the US military had died since the beginning of the Iraq war in Mar 2003, according to the Defense Dept. Of those, 787 died as a result of hostile action. The figures include 3 military civilians. @Zarqawi cleric ally killed in US strike: family Baghdad (Reuters). The spiritual mentor of Al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Muslim cleric who justified Zarqawi's beheading of hostages in Iraq, has been killed in a US air strike, according to associates and relatives. They said Omar Youssef Jumah, known as Abu Annas al-Shami, whose religious edicts or fatwas were heeded by his fellow Jordanian, died on Fri while hiding to the W of Baghdad. The report could not be independently confirmed. Shami called himself grand mufti, or spiritual guide, of Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad group, which says it has beheaded 2 Americans this wk and is threatening to kill a Briton. His wife in the Jordanian capital Amman was contacted on Sun by Iraqi friends to tell them of Shami's death in an overnight air raid, a family member told Reuters. "They were told of the martyrdom of Abu Annas, who had left Jordan to fight in Iraq for God's cause," the relative said. Shami and several comrades were being sheltered by local people from the Zouba tribe, from which anti-American insurgents draw support, close to Baghdad's main prison at Abu Ghraib, on the highway to the Sunni Muslim stronghold of Fallujah. US aircraft have bombed buildings from Baghdad to Fallujah in recent wks in strikes aimed at Zarqawi's group, which has claimed responsibility for some of the worst violence in Iraq. Islamist sources in Jordan said the Sunni cleric went to Iraq after last y's US invasion. In edicts published on Islamist websites, Shami said Islam permitted the beheading of hostages who cooperated with the US military. @Car bomb explodes nr US convoy in Baghdad Baghdad (Reuters). A suspected suicide bomber has detonated his vehicle nr a United States military convoy in Baghdad's up-scale Mansour district, wounding 3 people, according to police and witnesses. Witnesses said US troops had moved into the area shortly before the blast. Reuters TV showed 2 Humvees on fire and a thick column of black smoke. A policeman at the scene said 3 people were wounded, while another said he believed the attack was carried out by a suicide car bomber, who was killed. "I saw a big ball of fire and then heard a huge explosion," said Haider Mousawi, a rep for Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi, who added that US forces had been guarding a local council meeting. "It was definitely a car bomb," Mr Mousawi said. The blast followed an earlier suicide car bomb attack in Baghdad that killed at least 11 people. @Taliban threatens Afghan refugee vote Kabul (Reuters). The Taliban has distributed leaflets promising divine reward for anyone who kills those distributing voter registration cards to Afghans in refugee camps in Pakistan, a local news agency reported. The leaflets, circulated in refugee camps in Pakistan, also warned Afghans not to accept registration cards for the Oct 9 presidential elections, saying this would make them liable to "exemplary punishment", the Afghan Islamic Press said. "Whosoever takes part in the election ... will stand under the flag of Bush and will face the wrath of Allah in the world hereafter," the Pakistani-based agency quoted the leaflets as saying. "Those who are given cards will be rewarded by Allah if they kill those distributing cards." The leaflets urged Afghans to unite in Jihad, or "holy war" under Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar. "Jihad against the US and its allies is a religious obligation for the Muslims as it was against the Soviet Union," they said, referring to Afghan resistance to Red Army occupation in the 1980s. "Down with the US and their slaves!" Backers of Taliban ally Gulbuddin Hekmatyar have also distributed leaflets in refugee camps in Pakistan warning Afghans not to take part in the election, which US-backed Pres Hamid Karzai is favourite to win. Registration of Afghans living in Pakistan is due to take place from Oct 1 to Oct 3 and will be carried out by the Internat'l Organisation for Migration (IOM), a UN affiliate. There are no firm numbers on eligible Afghan voters living as refugees in and outside camps in Pakistan but the IOM says it has the capacity to register up to 800,000. A victory for Mr Karzai would be viewed as a foreign policy success for US Pres George W Bush, who himself faces an election in Nov. US-led forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001 for refusing to give up Osama bin Laden and other Al Qaeda figures behind the Sep 11 attacks. About 17,000 US-led foreign troops are still hunting Taliban guerrillas and their allies. More than 1,000 people have been killed in militant-related violence in the past y. The dead have included election workers and 16 civilians killed by Taliban in Jun after being found with voter cards. @It's Iran More Than Iraq Op/Ed (CS Monitor). 2 y from now, during either a Kerry or Bush presidency, Iran will probably be much more of a security issue for the US than Iraq. Yet the campaigns of the 2 presidential candidates remain focused on Iraq, even though their approaches for stabilising Iraq are far less different from their solutions for preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. On Tue, Iran announced it would go full steam ahead and make the precursor materials that could be used to produce atomic bombs. Its Muslim leaders defied a warning on Sat from the 35-nation board of the Internat'l Atomic Energy Agency that they not enrich nearly 40 tons of raw uranium into weapons-grade uranium. The converted uranium could be used for either peaceful nuclear power or for bombs. Under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran has a right to produce such material. But the IAEA says Iran won't need such fuel for 10 y. And it found out last y that Iran broke its treaty obligations by secretly running an enrichment program and clandestinely buying nuclear technology and know-how. IAEA inspectors were purposely fooled -- and could be fooled again. The agency's board also warned Iran it might refer the issue to the UN Sec Council in Nov for possible sanctions. Adding to this tension was Wed's news that the US is selling 4,500 smart bombs to Israel, where some officials warn of strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities if the Islamic republic appears close to making an atomic weapon. John Kerry says he would open talks with Iran on a host of issues, and offer to supply Iran with peaceful nuclear power if it gave up any intentions or abilities to produce nuclear weapons. Pres Clinton tried that approach with N Korea, but the deal failed when the N was caught resuming its weapons production. Pres Bush tried to engage Iran but gave up last May and is now seeking a confrontational approach, although he has let Brit, Germany, and France take the lead on negotiations. Mr Kerry has said Iran is a bigger issue than Iraq. And he's been more up-front in clearly distinguishing his stance on Iran than he has been on Iraq. Perhaps he should return to the issue and again offer a clear choice to voters, who have as much stake in whether Iraq can become peaceful and democratic as they do in whether Iran, a supporter of terrorism, has nuclear weapons. @Suicide bomber kills one in Jerusalem Jerusalem. A female suicide bomber has blown herself up at a checkpoint in the French Hill neighbourhood of Arab E Jerusalem. At least 2 people have died, including the bomber, and several others have been wounded in the 1st such attack in the city in 7 m. Israeli Police rep Gil Kleiman has described the scene. "We have a woman suicide bomber who blew herself up at a checkpoint or a bus stop in Jerusalem. "This bus stop has seen a number of attacks by terrorists in the last 4 years. What we know now is we have one dead, we have a number of wounded. "They've all been taken to hospital," he said. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades -- a radical offshoot of Yasser Arafat's Fatah party -- has claimed responsibility for the bombing. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a member of the group told AFP that the attack was in retaliation for the recent killings by Israeli forces of a number of snr members of the group. Speaking at the UN, Israeli For Min Silvan Shalom said he had info that at least 3 people had been killed. "It shows that the Palestinians wouldn't like to abandon this tool of terrorism against us," he told reporters. "I think the world should be united in its combat against terrorism," he said shortly after meeting Sec-Gen Kofi Annan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. "It's not a problem of Israel any more. Terrorism can hit anywhere," he said. @Helicopter carrying politicians crashes in E India Shillong, N India (Reuters). A helicopter carrying 8 people, including a govt minister and 2 lawmakers, has crashed in mountainous NE India, a police officer said. He said there was no immediate word about the fate of the people on board the helicopter, which went down nr Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya state. Initial reports spoke of low visibility in the area. State Community and Rural Development Min Syprian Sangma and 2 members of the Meghalaya state assembly were on board the helicopter run by a state-run transport company. The helicopter was flying from Guwahati, the largest city in the NE, to Shillong, the officer said. Helicopters are a common mode of transport in the mountainous NE. @Aussie housing boom perplexes IMF, RBA Aussie house prices have boomed. Vienna. The Internat'l Monetary Fund (IMF) has nominated AUS as one of the countries where recent house price increases are difficult to explain in terms of economic fundamentals. The assessment comes as the Reserve Bank of AUS (RBA) has indicated it is unsure about near-term prospects for the Aussie housing market. The Reserve says the sector "warrants close attention in the period ahead". In an IMF report to be included in its semi-annual World Economic Outlook, it says many industrial countries have experienced a boom in housing prices since the mid-1990s which has been unusual in both its strength and duration. It says that prices in AUS, Ireland, Spain and the United Kingdom have risen by 50% or more since 1997. The IMF says even an orderly correction would clearly weaken economic growth and an abrupt correction could have more serious adverse effects. The Washington-based internat'l lender recommends an "early but gradual" approach to raising interest rates, allowing households to adjust to higher rates and minimising the risks of a house price bust. In an RBA review of stability in the financial sector, it has noted that house prices have "declined a little in 2004" after a 20% increase last y. It says the turnaround in housing, and the broader slowing in household credit growth, are welcome outcomes from a financial stability perspective. It says risks remain of either a "pronounced fall" in house prices or, by contrast, the market re-igniting driven by strong economic growth and a favourable labour market. @Warwick to lose cheese factory Brisbane. The S Qld Darling Downs town of Warwick will lose its cheese factory after news the owner, Parmalat AUS, will close the operation. The company denies the closure is connected with financial woes experienced by its Italian parent company. A total of 44 jobs will be lost, with the company blaming the high production costs of manufacturing the small range of speciality cheeses for the closure. Warwick Mayor Ron Bellingham says it is a blow to the town. "I'm absolutely devastated at that news. Despite assurances that that factory was going to continue, we are now in a situation that we've lost those jobs," he said. Staff will either be retrained or relocated to its Bris plant and Parmalat has been quick to reassure local dairy farmers their milk will still be collected. @Politicians' visit blamed for Aboriginal riot Ther Alis. 2 Fed Country Liberal Party (CLP) candidates have been accused of provoking a riot in an Aboriginal community in Central AUS. The fight broke out yesterday in the community of Willowra, 300 km N of Alice Springs. The community's chief executive officer, John Bennett, says the fight involved spears, machetes and nulla nullas and began in the community store. He says a house was set on fire, a car trashed and people were injured. Mr Bennett says a visit by CLP Sen Nigel Scullion and the CLP candidate for Lingiari, Maisie Austin, provoked the riot because the 2 politicians had brought a family with them that had been asked to leave 3 wk earlier after a meeting of local elders. Mr Bennett says he was not made aware of the visit. "You must have permits et cetera," he said. "I'm presuming because it's a political party that everything is in order, and no one knew about this meeting until the fights erupted." Police will return to the community today to conduct further inquiries. However, Mr Scullion says the riot had nothing to do with his visit and he rejects any claims that it did. He says tension was in the community before he arrived and he does not need to follow any protocols or require a permit to visit the community. "Look, I don't think I need to talk to anybody, particularly not the administrator, when I go out to a community," he said. "I've spoken to members of community already and I was on the way out. "I don't know about any other protocols, I certainly don't necessarily inform anybody [in] particular." @ATSIC leader welcomes Tas land return Hobaaaaaart. Tas's outgoing ATSIC commissioner Rodney Dillon says the return of land to the Aboriginal community is something that needs to be tackled in stages. Prem Paul Lennon has told Parliament the return of Cape Barren, Goose and Clark Islands to the Aboriginal people will enable the State to begin healing wounds that have existed for more than 200 y. In his State of the State address yesterday, Mr Lennon said the land's transfer to the Aboriginal community is on track. He urged his parliamentary colleagues to support the move, saying a "new Tas" must include reconciliation. Mr Dillon says the land's return is welcome, and while he also wants other areas of the land returned, he says a different approach is needed. "We've tried in the past of getting big areas of land and it hasn't worked," he said. "Now we've got to chip away and negotiate on area in specific places and get areas all around the State." Non-Aboriginal residents of Cape Barren Island will still have access to foreshore areas and infrastructure once the hand-over is complete. @PNG asked to keep empty immigration centre open Canberra. AUS has asked PNG to allow its vacant immigration centre on Manus Island to stay in place for another 2 y. PNG's PM has previously indicated he wanted the centre closed when an agreement for its operation expires next m. The Manus Centre has been vacant since May this y when its last resident, Aladdin Sisalem, was granted a visa to live in AUS. The centre can house up to 1,000 asylum seekers and remains on one wk operational standby. An agreement for the centre's operation is due to expire late next m, and while PNG has indicated it wants the centre to close, it is understood Aussie officials have sought a further 2 y extension to allow a new facility on Christmas Island to be completed. A rep for AUS's For Min Alexander Downer says the Govt would discuss the centre's future with PNG closer to the expiry of the existing agreement, while the Labor Opp'n says it would close the centre if it wins office. @Virgin claims airport security breached A suspicious device was found on a Virgin Blue 737. Sydney. Virgin Blue says a device found on one of its jets had to have been carried on board by someone with a security pass and access to the airfield. Fed Police are investigating the discovery of the potentially explosive device on a plane in SYD on Mon morning. Virgin Blue declined to comment publicly for security reasons but told the ABC a toilet roll containing powder was found on a plane that had just flown from Qld's Sunshine Coast to SYD. A rep says the airline alerted Aussie Protective Services within 15 minutes of finding the device and made the plane available to be searched by police. He says the device may have been put on board in SYD and a staff member took the device to the nearest protective service officer in the terminal, but has since been made aware of the correct procedures. Transport Workers Union snr airline official, Glen Nightingale, has rejected suggestions that baggage handlers might have put the device on the plane as part of its campaign to improve airport security training. "We're up for the people to be trained at these airports in security training, so this is rather frightening," he said. "It's absurd to think that after 3 y of the Transport Workers Union fighting the Fed Govt to improve the security, that there would be any connection is just ludicrous." The Office of Transport Safety and Fed Police are investigating the incident. @'Explosive' device found on Virgin plane A suspicious device was found on a Virgin Blue 737. Canberra. The Aussie Fed Police (AFP) have confirmed they are investigating an incident referred to them by Virgin Airlines on Mon. While they have refused to discuss the incident's details, it is believed an explosive device was found in the cargo hold of a plane that flew from Maroochydore to SYD. Virgin Blue says the device found on one of its jets must have been carried on board by someone with a security pass and access to the airfield. It is not known whether the device was in the hold when the plane during the flight. The airline has declined to comment publicly for security reasons but has told the ABC a toilet roll containing powder was found on the plane. The device is believed to have been discovered by baggage handlers about 11.30 am on Mon and was taken into the terminal. The Office of Transport Safety will be looking at Virgin's handling of the incident. A rep says the airline alerted Aussie Protective Services within 15 minutes of finding the device and made the plane available to be searched by police. He says the device may have been put on board in SYD and a staff member took the device to the nearest protective service officer in the terminal, but has since been made aware of the correct procedures. Fed Opp'n's transport rep Martin Ferguson says the incident raises major concerns about security. "In essence was there a major security breach and, worst still, if there's a prank, how those responsible were allowed to get away with this," he said. @Explosive device 'probably a hoax' The 'explosive device' appears to be a hoax [Later reports indicate it may have been a homemade firework that fell out of a teen-agers baggage during flight]. Sydney (AAP). Deputy PM and Transport Min John Anderson says an incendiary device discovered aboard a Virgin Blue airliner appears to have been a hoax. Mr Anderson told SYD's 2UE radio station that he could rule out the possibility the Transport Workers Union pulled the stunt, which is being investigated by Aussie Fed Police. "At this stage on my advice you are not looking at something that could have potentially blown a plane out of the air having got through security," he said. "I am relatively confident that if this had been a serious nasty, our security arrangements would have picked it up. "The judgement was formed that this was a hoax. I hope that was the right judgement. I am not in a position to give a definitive answer." Meanwhile, the owners of SYD Airport say appropriate security procedures were followed when baggage handlers found an incendiary device on a Virgin Blue plane. Baggage handlers at SYD airport discovered the device in the cargo hold of a Virgin Blue jet on Mon. An initial NSW Police report has concluded it contained thermite, a chemical used in grenades. It was found wrapped in a cardboard toilet roll tube with a firework sparkler attached as a 30-second fuse. Virgin's head of commercial operations David Huttner said the baggage handler who found the device had not followed proper procedure. "The guy who informed the APS [Aussie Protective Service] took the device to them," Mr Huttner said. "While he was trying to do the right thing he didn't follow procedures properly." Mr Huttner rejected reports that the airline delayed informing police for more than an hour after the device was found. "We informed the Aussie Protective Service within 15 minutes," he said. He said the airline believed an airport worker with an agenda was responsible, and probably meant for the device to be found. "We believe it was an airport worker with an agenda," Mr Huttner said. "It [the device] was not something that goes boom, it was something that burns which means somebody had to be there to light it. "It was clearly placed there by somebody who had access to the airfield because it didn't go through checked baggage. "It wasn't taken on by a passenger because it was in the cargo hold and we don't know if it flew from Maroochydore [in Qld] to SYD or if it was placed on the plane in SYD. "We believe it was placed in a way that it would be found and draw the attention that it did today. @Anderson's Virgin security comments anger union Anderson says he can not rule out that the incident was a union stunt. Sydney. Fed Transport Min John Anderson says the Govt has started re-assessing training levels for airline staff after the discovery of an incendiary device on a Virgin Blue airlines jet on Mon. Mr Anderson says he can not rule out the possibility the incident was a union stunt to raise awareness of transport security issues. The cardboard roll was filled with a flammable substance believed to be thermite and was found in the jet's cargo hold after it arrived in SYD from Maroochydore on Qld's Sunshine Coast. Virgin says the device was given to an Aussie Protective Service Officer inside the terminal, breaching correct procedure. Pilots Federation industrial relations manager Laurie Cox says it is absurd to suggest unions would do such a thing. "The Deputy Prime Min has made a statement which I believe is highly irresponsible at this point in time," he said. "[I] think it [is] about time the Govt had a fair look at it's aviation policies. "It is completely out of control, we've seen that on airspace, now we have stupid statements coming out like 'this is a union stunt' to do something about security." Mr Anderson says it is a serious matter and the Aussie Fed Police and Govt officials are investigating the incident. "On the surface it would appear there has been a breach of protocol, we need to get to the bottom of that," he said. "I do not want to pre-empt the police finding, I make that point but I do want to assure people that whenever these things happen we seek to get on top of them as quickly as we possibly can." Mr Anderson says there may be a problem with security training for Virgin staff compared to those at airlines like Qantas. "There may be an issue there. I can tell you we are engaging in training exercises, doubling and re-checking training levels right now as a result of this," he said. "So we've already swung into action on that one, but we will do whatever's necessary here. "We do not intend to leave any holes unplugged." The SYD Airport Corporation has responded to the incident saying it believes that its responsibilities for security at the airport were carried out appropriately. The corporation has promised to cooperate fully with an investigation by the Office of Transport Security. PM John Howard has told S Cross radio that he can not comment on the incident until it is fully investigated. "The Aussie Fed Police are investigating it right now and when that investigation has reached a stage where something can be said, either by the police or the Transport Min then a statement will be made," he said. "I don't know the results of that investigation as I speak, therefore beyond saying obviously it deserves investigation and that is being undertaken." @Fertility drugs blamed for record multiple births Canberra. A new report has revealed a record number of Aussie mothers are having multiple births. The increased use of fertility drugs is be touted as one of the reasons. In 2001, more than 250,000 babies were born, representing a birth every 2 minutes. The average age of mothers was 29, with an increasing number of women opting to defer pregnancy until their mid-to-late 30s. Women over 35 accounted for a quarter of the almost 4,200 sets of twins born. The increase has been attributed to the age of mothers, use of fertility drugs and assisted reproductive technology. The proportion of women having Caesarean sections increased to 25 per cent, while post-natal hospital stays averaged 4 days. The data is contained in the annual Mothers and Babies report by the Aussie Institute of Health and Welfare. @Environment groups call for wider 1080 ban Hobart. Tasn Prem Paul Lennon's announcement of a ban on 1080 use in state forests from Dec next y has prompted calls for wider bans on the poison. In his State of the State address, Mr Lennon announced that Forestry Tas will not use 1080 poison by Jan 2006. Wilderness Society rep Geoff Law says 1080 kills 97,000 wallabies and brushtail possums each y. Mr Law says the 1080 ban in state forests is a positive step but it must be broader. "Forestry Tas's use accounts for only 23% of 1080 poison used in the State, why not deal with the lot," he asked. "We need the farmers and Gunns to deal with the other 77%." The Tasn Conservation Trust has also weighed into the debate, saying the Prem should ban all landholders using 1080. The trust says Mr Lennon has tackled the wholly-owned Govt Business Enterprise, but private landholders can still do as they please. Trust rep Alistair Graham says it is also upsetting that Mr Lennon is to pay compensation to Forestry Tas for any costs associated with phasing out the poison. "It's something you see in natural resources policy in Tas all the time, whether its Labor of Liberal, which is they set up de facto compensation arrangements, which means you can have very good laws and arrangements but it costs public money in order to implement them," he said. Gunns executive chairman John Gay agrees, saying the $4 mn cost of the ban amounts to a hefty appeasement of conservationist concerns. "Here's another example of the Greens costing taxpayers more money," he said. Mr Gay says his company will also consider ways of reducing 1080 use. "We'll assess the situation in 2005 and we'll have a look at it in our business too," he said. He says other methods of protecting plantation seedlings are expensive. @Costello stakes [and later reports say "loses"] credibility on ALP tax costings Fed Treasurer Peter Costello sees a $700 mn hole. Canberra. Fed Treasurer Peter Costello says he will stake his economic credibility on his claim of a $700 mn hole in Labor's tax and family package. Independent analysts have dismissed Mr Costello's assessment as wrong. Yesterday Mr Costello said Labor's costings failed to take into account the payment of next y of the low income tax off-set covering this FY. 2 independent economic modellers, who costed the policy before its release, have confirmed the tax off-set is included. Mr Costello has insisted his numbers are correct. "The facts are these: there is a $700 mn short hole, shortfall if you want, to fund a low income tax off-set and Labor's working tax bonus," he said. He says only 85% of the cost of the low income tax off-set has been included. "Whichever way you do it on their figures, there's a $500 mn hole and on my figures there's a $700 mn hole," he said. Labor treasury rep Simon Crean says Mr Costello has missed the mark. "This, the so-called knock out punch for Peter Costello, all he's done is knock himself out," he said. Labor is expected to hand the policy to the Treasury for an assessment within a wk. @Crean slaps down Costello's 'incompetent' tax analysis Canberra. The Fed Labor Party says Treasurer Peter Costello has egg on his face after making wrong allegations that Labor's tax and family policy is under-funded by $700 mn. Yesterday Mr Costello released his analysis of Labor's policy costings, saying he has found a number of errors. He described the policy as dodgy because it failed to take into account the way a $235 a y tax off-set is paid to low-income earners. 2 independent economic modellers, who costed the policy before its release, say the Treasurer's analysis is wrong and the tax off-set is included. Mr Crean says Mr Costello's office is incompetent. "It says that the office is a major embarrassment because it's got the figures wrong," he said. "They've had the document for 15 days, they haven't been able to lay a glove on it and all they've done is end up with egg on their face. "The Treasurer, without the resources of Treasury, is all at sea." However, Mr Costello is standing by his claims of a $700 mn hole in the Labor policy. He says only 85% of the cost of the low income tax off-set has been included. "Whichever way you do it on their figures, there's a $500 mn hole and on my figures there's a $700 mn hole," he said. @Labor tax costings within a wk: Crean Canberra (AAP). Labor would submit its tax policy to Treasury for costing within the next wk and was confident of its figures, Labor treasury rep Simon Crean said. Treas Peter Costello on Wed accused Labor of hiding a $2.7 bn hole in its tax and family package as both sides upped the stakes in the debate over economic credibility. But Labor stood by its costings and was backed by respected University of CBR modellers who analysed the tax and family package for the ALP. Mr Crean now says Mr Costello has been unable to back his assertions, made from calculations in his office, not by independent modellers. Mr Crean said the Treasury costing would be made within the wk, but would not specify which day. "Obviously, if Treasury finds problems with the figures we will make adjustments accordingly," he told ABC radio. "But we're confident about the figures and let's wait and see. "But the issue today is not whether we'll submit, because we will, the issue today is that the treasurer has made a claim which is untrue and he's not been able to back it up. "He's done it not by getting it tested outside, just by his own office." Mr Crean said Labor had not been standing still since the Pre-election Fiscal Outlook (PEFO) was released last wk. "PEFO [the Pre-election Fiscal Outlook] didn't come out until 10 days ago and we said then we wanted a discussion with Treasury to get the parameters right. We have. "Since that time, we have submitted 44 items, all of them savings measures, to Treasury. "We had to get the ground rules right, in terms of the charter of Budget honesty, but we did not wait, and we did not rely only on Treasury doing our costings. "We were prepared to go off to independent assessment." @PM to fund children's cancer centre Melbourne. The PM is today expected to promise a $10 mn contribution towards a children's cancer centre of excellence, based in MEL. The Royal Children's Hospital in MEL has already collected $8 mn towards a cancer centre of excellence from public donations, benefactors and the State Govt. In MEL today, it is expected John Howard will promise to match that and kick in another $2 mn to help fit out the centre. That will include a dedicated cancer ward in the children's hospital, with increased beds for patients, better long term accommodation for parents and counselling for families. The Coalition is also expected to unveil a nat'l initiative on cancer care before election day. @ALP candidate backs wife's Bali claims Cate Molloy says she holds sitting Liberal MPs accountable for the Bali bombings. Brisbane. Fed Labor Party candidate Ivan Molloy says he supports the sentiments of his wife, a Qld state politician, who blames the Liberal Party for the 2002 Bali bombings. The candidate for the Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax has dismissed suggestions he should be dis-endorsed. His wife Cate Molloy said she holds sitting Liberal MPs accountable for the Bali bombings and the recent Aussie Embassy attack in Jakarta. Mrs Molloy now says she regrets any hurt she might have caused, but Mr Molloy is standing by his wife's right to comment. "She has a right to speak out on any issue she chooses and in this case I also support her sentiments," Mr Molloy said. FN Alex Downer is demanding that Mr Molloy be dis-endorsed but the candidate does not think he should be. "How dare Downer and Howard try to have me dis-endorsed when they've lied, spent 8 y lying to the Aussie people," he said. Liberal Member for Fairfax, Alex Somlyay, is offended by the Molloys' comments and says others are too. "I know that decent Labor people in my electorate are offended by this man," Mr Somlyay said. "Mark Latham should tell the people whether or not he agrees with Ivan Molloy's comments, if he doesn't agree with them, Ivan Molloy should withdraw them unreservedly or he should be dis-endorsed." The ALP in Qld says Fed Labor does not share the Molloy's controversial views on Bali. @PM outraged over ALP candidate's Bali claims Canberra. PM John Howard has backed calls for a fed Labor candidate to be sacked for endorsing claims the Liberal Party was to blame for the 2002 Bali bombings. FM Alex Downer has demanded Labor dump the candidate for the Qld seat of Fairfax, Ivan Molloy. Mr Molloy has backed the comments by his wife Cate Molloy, a member of the Qld Parliament, who blames sitting Liberal MPs for the Bali bombings and the recent Aussie embassy attack in Jakarta. Mr Howard says it is an outrageous slur and Labor leader Mark Latham should remove Mr Molloy from Labor's ticket. "The Liberal Party is constantly called upon to deal with people who do things that are regarded as unacceptable, or to say things that are unacceptable," he said. "Here is a Labor candidate endorsing the proposition from his wife, a Labor member of Parliament, that Liberal members of the Fed Parliament were responsible for the Bali attack. "That's an outrageous claim. What is Mr Latham doing about it and what pressure is he being put under to do something about it?" @PM criticises Latham's union pledge Melbourne. PM John Howard has dismissed Labor leader Mark Latham's pledge to criticise unions if they do the wrong thing. Mr Latham says his govt would not be pro-union. The Coalition has stepped up its criticism of Labor's industrial relations policy this wk. This morning on Channel Nine, Mr Latham tried to blunt that attack promising he would treat business and the union movement evenly. "If a business does something wrong, such as James Hardie -- and we've stood up to them and Labor's said this is the wrong thing and we've handed back the donations we've received -- if a union does the wrong thing I'll say that as well, and we'll give them a bit of a spray and a serve," he said. Mr Howard immediately rejected that pledge. "The whole policy is a special deal for the trade union movement," he said. "It is laughable that Mr Latham should pretend he is going to be even handed." On S Cross Radio Mr Howard insisted Mr Latham would hand greater control on industrial relations to the unions. @Greens, Democrats clash over James Hardie donations Sydney. The leaders of the Aussie Greens and the Democrats have clashed during a live TV debate over the merits of taking political donations from private companies. The Labor Party and the Liberals have agreed to hand over donations they have received from the James Hardie company to victims of asbestos-related diseases. The Democrats say they took a similar decision last m and the Greens say they do not accept corporate donations in the 1st place. On the ABC's Lateline program, Bob Brown and Andrew Bartlett have argued over the issue. Bartlett: "So why is it okay to take money from unions and not from business, why isn't that influence?" Brown: "I think the lot should be stopped." Host: "Okay, let me just..." Bartlett: "Well you take money from unions, why isn't that influence?" Host: "Well, Bob Brown?" Bartlett: "Because you're anti-business, you're pro-union." Brown: "Well, Andrew, we've got an ethical screen that we put donations through. Bartlett: "So you're calling the Democrats un-ethical?" Brown: "Well, I'm saying, yes in taking money from James Hardie you were un-ethical, yes." @Missing tourist survives on diet of wild berries Mt Bartle Frere, FNQ. A Brazillian tourist missing for 3 nights on Mt Bartle Frere in Qld's far N lived on berries to survive his ordeal. Guilherme De Andrade, 24, had been missing since Mon afternoon, when he became separated from a fellow hiker. This morning he walked out from the base of the mountain tired and bruised, but still in one piece. Mr De Andrade stumbled across another tourist who had heard of the search effort and who drove him to nearby SES volunteers. He says he survived the 3 nights on water and wild berries. He has been discharged from hospital and is now talking to Innisfail police. @Police probe Grampians bone mystery Bendigo, Vic. A forensic anthropologist has been called in to examine what are believed to be human bones found in Vic's Grampians over the weekend. The remains were discovered by a group of school students from Bendigo and has raised speculation they could belong to a MEL photographer who went missing more than 25 y ago. Photographer Rex Sutherland sparked a major search in 1978 when he failed to return from a photographic trip in the area. However Detective Snr Constable John Bongiourno says it is far to early to make any assumption. "At this stage we have a number of files which are of interest to us in relation to this matter," he said. "However, until the examination is conducted, it is too early to speculate on which missing person's file we may exactly be looking at." @Teenager to be charged over stabbing death Sydney. A teenage boy is expected to be charged later today over a fatal stabbing at a S SYD petrol station. Jeffrey Jin, a 43-yo, was stabbed to death during an armed robbery at a service station in Peakhurst in Dec last y. Police arrested a 17-yo at his home in Roselands in the city's SW this morning Detective Superintendent Peter Cotter says Mr Jin lost his life in an un-provoked attack "It was an abhorrent crime and it was a very violent and vicious and un-provoked attack by the person wielding the knife," he said. "All we can say is Mr Jin, from our observations, was particularly compliant and that's all we can emphasise to any armed robbery victims is to be compliant. "Tragically and unfortunately on this occasion, he lost his life." @Morphine-free poppy holds key to new pain killers Melbourne (Reuters). Aussie scientists have discovered how a naturally morphine-free poppy blocks production of the narcotic, in a finding that could lead to the development of more effective drugs. The opium poppy is the source of codeine, morphine and other analgesics, as well as opium and heroin. But the mutant poppy known as top1 produces neither morphine nor codeine. In a report in the science journal Nature, researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) describe how the plant makes precursors of the narcotics which have been developed into new synthetic analgesics. "We are already using this knowledge to produce other designer changes in poppies to serve human pharmaceutical needs better," the CSIRO's Philip Larkin said. "The new poppy variation can produce, at very high yield, thebaine and oripavine [rather than morphine and codeine]. These 2 alkaloids are preferred starting points for the subsequent manufacture of a new generation [of] powerful analgesics." Alkaloids are organic compounds from plants which are used as drugs. The drugs derived from the plant include buprenorphine and oxycodone, which are safer and better tolerated by patients than morphine and codeine. "Buprenorphine and other derivatives of thebaine and oripavine such as naltrexone are also playing a major role in treatment of opiate addiction," Dr Larkin added. The morphine-free poppy was discovered in 1995 in Tas, which grows 40% of the world's legal opiates. It was 1st sown as a commercial crop in 1997 and now makes up about 40% of the entire Tasn poppy crop. Dr Larkin and his colleagues studied the mutated plant's genetic make-up and identified differences between it and the opium poppy. They found that the mutated plant blocks a biochemical process that would normally produce morphine and codeine and leads to the accumulation of thebaine and oripavine. "This is a good example of plant genetics working hand-in-glove with drug design, discovery where not only new drugs are brought to market but new plants are deployed to do much of the difficult chemistry for us," said Dr Larkin. "Plant-based pharmaceuticals are very important and the genetic revolution will increasingly enable us to develop plants to sustainably and efficiently manufacture new generation drugs." {{ 0.30 am The US military says 2 American soldiers have been charged with the premeditated murder of 3 Iraqi civilians. A statement named the pair, but gave no other details of the case. The US says an investigation team is still examining the evidence. Elsewhere, a Brit soldier is presently facing murder charges. Another US soldier who shot a handcuffed prisoner in the head was initially charged with murder, but convicted of a lesser charge. 1 Israeli has been killed in a suicide bombing in Jerusalem. 2 studies in Antarctica have shown glaciers are flowing into the sea much faster than in the past. From a set of sat images, researchers say glaciers are moving 8 times faster than in the past. They put the changes down to the melting of a major ice shelf 2 y ago. Islamic leaders have joined church leaders in the UK to call on the group holding a Brit prisoner in Iraq to release him. Brit's tory opp'n leader Michael Howard has called for limits to immigration into Brit in a key speech in London. Mr Howard says there should be an annual quota for refugees and migrant workers and a point system for immigrants, similar to the one used in AUS. He also says his govt would pull Brit out of the UN refugee convention and force immigrants to learn English. The son of an immigrant himself, Mr Howard says the system should be firm -- but fair> He says immigration can't continue at its present "un-controlled levels", and needs a "totally new approach". Mr Howard says present immigration has negligible benefits for Brit. 1 am There's been a disagreement between the Iraqi interim govt and the US Admin. Prev the Iraqi Justice Min told the BBC bio-scientist Taha would be released tomorrow. The Iraqi Nat'l Security Adv says 1 woman in US detention would be released "soon". She's being held at a US-controlled jail in Baghdad. The Iraqi govt says the judiciary has decided there is not enough evidence to hold Taha. But her release would "take a few days", said one Min. Now the US says no release is imminent and the 2 prisoners are in the custody of the US, not the Iraqi govt, says the US embassy. 1 Israeli has been killed and more several wounded in a N Jerusalem suicide bombing. The attack happened in the French Hill area -- also the been scene of many prev attacks because of its proximity to Arab E Jerusalem. It's believed the attack was carried out by a female suicide bomber. 20 people have been killed in the E Baghdad Shiite district of Sadr City. Elsewhere, there have been 2 bomb attacks in W Baghdad. 6 people were killed outside a shop when one bomb exploded. A 2nd bomb exploded in the up-market Mansur district of Baghdad. There are presently no details of the 2nd blast. Relief workers in NW Haiti are struggling to get aid to 1000s of people forced to leave their homes. In Gonaives, more bodies are being found. There are growing fears of disease. Oxfam says 1/4 mn people are affected by the disaster. 4,000 homes have been destroyed and much of the town is covered with 1/2 m of water. The main part of the town is inaccessible. 2 weightlifters in the Paralympics have failed drug test. The man and woman are both from Azerbaijan. They were found to have taken illegal anabolic steroids. 1.30 am The death toll in the N Jerusalem bomb attack has risen to at least 2. Iranian Pres Hatami has criticised Parliament for voting to place tough restrictions of foreign investment. He said the measures would paralyse the economy. 6 am The Dow has closed down 135 pts to a 3 wk low. The Nasdaq lost 35 pts. The dive came on the back of a slew of low earnings and profit warnings. Cisco lost 3% in its share price after a downgrade by Deutchebank. Eastman Kodak says its digital products are taking off and will develop into 1/2 its sales next y. The FCC has just fined CBS $US550,000 for a "wardrobe malfunction" during the Superbowl. NYMEX oil hit mew a record of 48.05/bbl. It's now seen 5 days of rises. [In AUS oil is presently 48.35 with a bullet]. The FTSE closed down 16 pts. Gold is trading at $US406.30/oz. The AUD is worth 70.66 US c. 20 people are dead and 200 injured in fresh violence in Baghdad. A new video on an Islamic web site shows the remaining Brit hostage in Baghdad pleading with Tony Blair to save his life. This morning, a bag containing the body of a 2nd US hostage was found by a road in Baghdad. ASIC has begun an investigation of the James Hardie liability fund. The NYSE has also reportedly begun its own inquiry. The bodies of 2 men have been found in a Coburg house after a fire o'night. Police are treating the first as suspicious. [Later reports say 2 bros may have died accidentally]. There's been a "security incident" on a Virgin airlines flight. Observers say security procedures were lacking when a potentially explosive device was found in the cargo hold of the flight from Maroochydore to SYD. The suspicious device was found when the plane landed in SYD. Against safety guidelines, ground crew took the device into the SYD terminal to be x-rayed, even though didn't know what it was. It later turned out to be thermite bomb with a sparkler fuse. Officials suspect the device was planted by a disgruntled member of staff. Virgin has been criticised for its handling of the incident. 2 indep modelling agencies have rejected Treas Costello's claim the opp'n tax policies have a "700 mn black hole". Simon Crean says Costello is simply asserting the figures are wrong. He says the Treas is blustering and people in Mr Costello's office have done calculations that are just wrong. With Costello saying Labor has yet to submit policies to the Treasury for costing, Mr Crean says Labor has so far submitted 44 items for costing to the Treasury. Rene Rivkin is to begin a 16 day jail term from today to complete his periodic detention sentence. 6.30 am Emergency workers are to resume a search for a Brazilian tourist in FNQ. He was lost in bad weather on Qld's highest mtn, nr Innisfail. The search was suspended yesterday. The tourist became separated from a group of bushwalkers on Mon. He was carrying no food or water. [He was found by 2 back-packers before 11 am]. In the US, there's concern that black voters -- who mostly vote Democrat -- are being actively "discouraged" from voting in the up-coming presid'l election. 5 mn black voters have been struck from electoral rolls because they have served a prison sentence. After serving their jail terms, felons must re-apply to be returned to the voting rolls. Mns more have been sent flyers warning if they have any unpaid fines they will be arrested at polling places. At the UNGA, Israel has called for the world body to immediately deal with Iran and stop its nuclear weapons development program. The Liberal Party has followed Labor and will turn over $70,000 in donations from James Hardie to asbestos victims' groups. An article in "Nature" says the CSIRO has discovered a powerful painkiller based on a derivative from a mutant poppy. Researchers have found 2 compounds -- precursors to codeine and heroin -- that are non-addictive and legal. The US military says more Pak prisoners have been flown home after more than 2 y detention in Guatmo. 539 detainees remain in Cuba. More than 200 have been set free in recent wks, or transferred to custody in Pak. Yusuf Islam [aka Cat Stevens] has been deported from the US. It's been revealed he was prev deported from Israel 4 y ago, on suspicion he gave money to Hamas. Since 9/11 Mr Islam has spoken out against terrorism, and most recently protested at the Beslan siege and massacre. He has also fallen out with hard-line clerics in the UK. US officials said they wouldn't explain or justify their decision to expel him from the US. Mr Islam would remain on "no fly" list because of "recent intel", said officials from the Dept of Homeland Security. 10 am US officials in Baghdad have dismissed an announcement by the interim Govt that one of 2 Iraqi women scientists held in an American-run prison will be released tomorrow. The N Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has agreed to create a military training academy in Iraq, expanding the alliance's small presence in the country after 2 y of feuding over the US-led war. The US embassy in Iraq confirmed on Wed that a decapitated body found in Baghdad was that of US hostage Jack Hensley. A suspected suicide bomber has detonated his vehicle nr a US military convoy in Baghdad's up-scale Mansour district, wounding 3 people, according to police and witnesses. The spiritual mentor of Al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Muslim cleric who justified Zarqawi's beheading of hostages in Iraq, has been killed in a US air strike, according to associates and relatives. Midday. After a record close yesterday, the All Ords is down 3 pts. Oil is weighting the market down. But Woodside is also down 8 c at $A19.42 on profit taking. Even James Hardie is down 6 c at $A6.02. Coles Myer is off 11 c at $A9.21. In Japan, the Nikkei is on holiday. The Hang Seng is down 32 pts. The AUD is headed for 71 US c. In its 1/2 y review, the Res Bank has issued another warning about record levels of debt in Aussie households, and the ratio of interest payments to income. Oil is higher as US reserves were announced to be at their lowest in ms. Traders say the price will hit 50/bbl in the next 6 m. The AUD is trading at 70.74 US c. Gold is up .56 at $US407.81/oz. Oil spiked another $1.25 at $US48.35/bbl. Officials from Virgin Airliners have withdrawn behind a press release. It says the company won't comment on security matters that are under investigation. The cardboard tube found on a plane must have been placed there by some-one with a security pass, say observers. In the past, unions have expressed concerns about airline security. Security at Maroochydore has reportedly been stiffened up after the find. Treas Peter Costello this morning seems to have egg on his face about a claimed "black hole" on opp'n tax policy. On radio this morning the Treas agreed that under a given assumption the Labor policy is sound. An Israeli chopper has launched an attack in a camp in S Gaza. It's unclear what the target was. The attack followed a suicide bombing in N Jerusalem that killed 2 and wounded 15. A female suicide bomber exploded her 5 kg device after she was challenged by 2 police when she tried to line up at a police pick-up point. Al Aqsa says the bombing was in revenge for Israeli killings in the W Bank. Elsewhere, Israeli bulldozers have demolished the family home of the bomber, who was ID-ed as an 18 yo resident of a refugee camp. In Haiti, estimates of dead are nearing 2,000. 2 days after the storm finished, water levels are starting to drop. But more bodies are being discovered. Aid is on the way. The small UN chopper fleet is being pressed into service. At a business gathering in SYD last night James Hardie was nominated for "best crisis communications". Not, surprisingly -- it didn't win. It was decided the NAB was prepared to talk about its FX loss. Although even then, the speaker played down the significance of the rogue trading debacle. NAB said it will take 2-3 y to trade out of the loss. With Hardie nominated again this y, observers say the traders who vote for the awards are out of touch with the public. 6.30 pm The All Ords has toppled from its record levels and closed down 6 pts. News Corp was down 2.2%. James Hardie was down 2.1% after 2 days of gains. The AUD is trading at 70.90 US c -- 4 wk highs -- partly buoyed by strong metals. The Hang Seng closed up 8 pts. 2 Italian female aid works have reportedly been expected in Iraq. But the insurgents have supplied no proof of the claim. The killings were announced on a web site. But the Italian govt says the site is not normally used by Iraqi militants. The claims followed the recovery of the body of a 2nd executed US hostage in Baghdad. The Iraqi FM has parroted the Brit and US position that his govt will not negotiate with terrorists. His statement followed comments from the Justice Min, who said one of 2 female POWs might be released as soon as next wk because there was no reason for her to be held. The Justice Min was also contradicted by US officials a short time later. With the comments of the FM, it appears the US Admin has over-ruled the interim govt, bringing into question who is in charge of post hand-over Iraq. US ABC has been given access to a secret military assessment of Iraq. The news broke after a US soldier was killed and 4 others wounded in a Baghdad car bombing. There have been at least 20 deaths in the past 24 hrs. 1039 Americans have died so far in GWII. The assessment says US forces must get tougher before any progress can be made in Iraq. It says the Iraqi interim govt has begun well, but civilians are yet to be won over. Large portions of Iraq are secure. But Baghdad and C Iraq remain problems. Even the civilian leaders say violence is likely to intensify ahead of Jan elections. The assessment says it will be 6 to 12 m before Iraqi forces can handle important strategic missions. Meanwhile, NATO has agreed to send 300 instructors to Iraq to run an officer training centres. Haaratz says armed militants have tried to infiltrate an Israeli outpost, and many have been killed in the following fight. The army has refused to confirm the story. The report has come after a female bomber killed 2 and wounded 17 in N Jerusalem. The bomber was ID-ed as an 18 yo woman from a refugee camp nr Nablus. Sharon says it was a "grave attack" that will "force Israel to continue its fight against terror". PM Qurei says it will give Israel the pretext for continued assassinations. Hrs after the Jerusalem bombings, tanks entered Han Yunis camp. Several Pals were wounded during the incursion. Just before, a dozen Pals were wounded in the camp when it was attacked by Israeli choppers. Aussie Guatmo detainee Hicks has boycotted a review of his legal status. He has refused to take part because his lawyers are barred from the proceeding. It's reported Hick was concerned any remark could be used at his later military trial, when legal rep would be allowed. Lawyer Stephen Kenny says at the review a prisoner is supposed to prove why they should not be held as an enemy combatant. The process is unfair, since the prisoner has been incommunicado for up to 3 y. Kenny and other lawyers have written a letter to the US govt protesting at the tribunals, calling them "inherently unfair". A group of 11 Afghans has arrived home from Guatmo. They were among 46 POW's released on the weekend without fanfair. They were immediately released. They have been imprisoned for up to 3 y. One of the Afghans said he had been beaten in US custody. Another said he had suffered many interrogations, but had not been abused. A row between the US and Brit is brewing after Cat Stephens was deported by US authorities. Jack Straw has complained personally to Colin Powell. Muslim groups on both sides of the Atlantic have been angered at the incident. It was "a tragic and sad day" said a rep for American Muslims. Mr Islam had worked for peace and justice and had been denied entry into the US, he said. It's been revealed Mr Islam had visited the US as recently as 4 m ago -- without any problem. He arrived back in the UK a short time ago. The death toll is rising in Haiti. The UN says the toll is just over 2,000 confirmed dead. 1,200 are confirmed missing. 900 were injured by Hurricane Jean. Many un-ID'ed victims will be buried in mass graves. UN soldiers have stopped starving residents in Gonaives plundering relief trucks. 9.30 pm The IMF says AUS is one of several developed countries with an over-active housing sector. The world body says house prices are about 20% over-valued in AUS. The Italian govt is scrambling to verify the claims of a web site that 2 aid workers have been killed. A 2nd web site now claims the workers have been killed. 3 Israeli soldiers and 3 militants have been killed in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Army says 2 militants tried to infiltrate a Jewish settlement. They were shot and killed in exchanges. A 3rd militant fled the scene, and was later shot dead. 3 militant groups have groups claimed responsibility for the attempted infiltration. The Quartet -- Russia, the EU, UN and US -- have given a gloomy assessment of the "road map". They say no advances have been made in Middle E peace. The Bush Admin has praised Syria for dismantling its bases in Lebanon. 60 buses have reportedly crossed over into Syria, carrying Syrian soldiers. In all, 3,000 troops will be pulled back. The US has now urged that all 18,000 Syrian troops be withdrawn from Lebanon. Powell said the partial withdrawal "was a positive step" and the US took note of it. He reminded that a UN Res called on the Syrians to do more. Weather experts are warning hurricane Jean could yet have more in store. It's now over the Mid Atlantic, but is threatening the Bahamas. It could hit the SE US over the weekend. Back in Brit, Yusuf Islam says he's stunned by his treatment in the US. He says he was "socked and amused" by the incident. Megawati has presided over her last parl'y session. With 87% of the election votes counted, SBY has an "unassailable lead". Megawati has nevertheless refused to concede defeat. She instead launched into a spirited defence of her Admin. The first ENRON staff have gone on trial. 4 staff are charged with fraud over the sale of Nigerian barges. Fasto could play a key role in the new trials. It's the first of 3 cases against staff of ENRON and its auditors. 10 pm The AUD is higher at 71.43 US c. Oil is up $1.22 at $US47.94/bbl. 1.5 mn measurements of 11,000 Brit women has confirmed they are not rake-thin catwalk models. Who knew? Designers in AUS say they have also noted an increase in "bigger body shapes". 11.30 pm Oil price have unexpected declined after a new record as the US govt considered the release of emergency reserves to American industry. Big refiners have asked for the release to keep up fuel production. }} ---------------------------------------- Fri, 24 Sep 2004. HEADLINES: [If you believe this] We are succeeding: Iraq PM tells US Congress 12 dead, 36 missing in China boating accident US regulator may investigate James Hardie US warplanes attack insurgents in Iraq UK, Iraq stand firm against kidnappers' demands Syria willing to cooperate on Iraq Portugal considers extending Iraq mission Italy in anguish over fate of aid workers in Iraq Iraq's Allawi joins Bush in tying Iraq to terror war Group says it released a Canadian hostage in Iraq Gorbachev criticises Iraq war Bush to 'stay the course' in Iraq Bush appeal for help in Iraq falls on deaf ears in UN 2 arrested in Bali drug bust Vic rock climber killed in US accident ACCC warns business off illegal online trading ALP brands apprentice scheme as too little, too late Abusive ALP senator apologises to veterans Airport workers without security cards Aussie arrested in Bali drug bust Authorities stand firm in hostage crisis BBC drops pogo Pope series after complaints Bashir facing bombing charge Beattie dismisses Energex whistleblowing claims Beattie stands up for Molloy Brit hostage's mother pleads for son's release Cat Stevens philosophical over 'ridiculous' deportation Coalition offers rural voters $160 mn boost Coalition plans to boost apprenticeships Coalition regional projects to boost business Dollar climbs as oil price creeps towards record high Drug running suspect arrested in Bali End of bush track for survivor of mustering mix up Flammable device on flight a fake: govt French hostages to be freed Israel claims Iran as top terror source JI links ground SYD man Latham accuses Coalition of school privatisation plan MP to speak with police over bribery claims Mission extended for Mars robots N Korea missile test 'not imminent' NSW advised to consider SYD water recycling Penniless PM disappoints Newcastle stadium Perth boast cheapest house prices Politicians warned off Tas forest debate Rising oil price sparks stock sell-off Sierra Leone trial begins for Aussie policeman Suspected JI supporter appeals against passport seizure Virgin 'prank' renews airport security fears Woman gives birth after ovarian tissue transplant @US regulator may investigate James Hardie Under investigation: James Hardie may have breached corporations laws. NY. The US' corporate regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, may launch its own investigation in James Hardie's handling of its asbestos liabilities. The Aussie Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has already announced a formal investigation of the company, after a special inquiry found breaches of the corporation's laws by the company. James Hardie is listed on the NY Stock Exchange and does 85 per cent of its business in the US. Nick Styant-Browne, of the US law firm Hagens Berman, says the SEC will be very concerned about the finding that false and misleading info was released to investors. "It seems to me that the SEC will be quite concerned to examine the issues that were looked at by the Jackson inquiry," he said. "In particular, the failure to disclose to the market the full circumstances surrounding the restructure, because that failure to disclose was really the same to the market in both AUS and the US." Mr Styant-Browne says there is "every prospect" that the SEC will examine whether it is appropriate to take legal action against James Hardie. "I think James Hardie shares that view, and it's reflected in its attempt to try and pre-empt the SEC by conducting its own internal investigation," he said. James Hardie has decided to appoint independent lawyers to conduct an investigation. The company must file its annual report with the SEC by the end of the m. "Filing the 20F document has a number of sensitive aspects to it from James Hardie's perspective," Mr Styant-Browne said. "It requires James Hardie to report any change in its financial circumstances, and specifically, to talk about any change, either qualitatively or quantitatively, in its market risk. "Both of those issues are going to be highly sensitive for James Hardie in terms of the American market." @Dollar climbs as oil price creeps towards record high NY/Sydney (ABC/AFP, Adrian Thirsk). The AUD has reached its highest level in a m, boosted in part by climbing oil prices. The interest rate outlook in the US has since trimmed back some of the local dollar's gains. In NY trade, the Aussie dollar hit 71.62 US c and is the strongest it has been against the American greenback since late Aug. At 9.10 am it was still up 1/2 c on the night at 71.35. The US dollar regained some ground with minutes of the US Fed Reserve spelling out that there will need to be "significant cumulative" increases in American interest rates to meet the central bank's objectives for inflation. Oil prices in New York touched $US49/bbl overnight, with the possible impact on economic growth weighing on the USD. Crude oil futures were up 11 US c to $US48.46/bbl at the close of trade. With the latest rise, the futures price edged closer to the all-time record close on Aug 19 of $US48.70 and the intra-day record of $US49.40 on Aug 20. In London, Brent oil futures for Nov delivery closed at $US45.13, up 20 cents. Meanwhile, the US Energy Dept says it will release "a limited" amount of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to off-set shortages caused by Hurricane Ivan, but the market doubts it will be enough. @Rising oil price sparks stock sell-off Investors fear rising fuel prices will cut consumer spending. NY/Sydney. High oil prices have continued to preoccupy Wall Street in the latest trading session, as NY's benchmark crude oil contract touched on $US49/bbl. That is despite a hint from the Whitehouse that the Govt might release some supplies from its strategic reserve to boost stockpiles. Inventories have been falling after a number of oil platforms were knocked out by Hurricane Ivan. Investors believe rising fuel prices will curtail consumer spending and squeeze company profits. Oil prices have pulled back after reaching their highs for the night but remain well above $US48/bbl, and that has been enough to help send prices lower again on the NYSE. The Dow has closed 70 points down at 10,039. Stocks most sensitive to the broader economic direction, including 3M and Caterpillar, have been under selling pressure. However, the hi-tech Nasdaq market has managed to stay just in positive territory, with the Nasdaq composite index adding less than one point to finish at 1,886. Earlier, the UK share market continued to pull back from its previous highs. Bank and oil company shares were sold off, partly offset by gains in the tobacco sector on talk that Japan Tobacco is mulling over a possible European acquisition. London's FT100 index has ended the session 24 points lower at 4,568. Yesterday the Aussie market had a rare setback after its recent run into record territory, with a 2% slide in News Corporation shares, to $11.52, setting the tone. Clothing and footwear retailer Colorado saw its share price jump 5% to a record high close of $5.86 after a post-tax profit of nearly $14 mn. The All Ords shed 7 points to 3,646, and during overnight trade on the SYD Futures Exchange the Share Price Index 200 contract closed down 7 points at 3,638. On FX markets the AUD was being quoted at 71.32 US c at about 7.15 am. That is a jump of more than 1/2 c on yesterday's local close. On the cross-rates, it is buying 58.12 euro cents; 79.02 yen and 39.68 pence sterling. The gold price has risen to $US410.15/oz and W Texas crude futures are at $US48.37/bbl. @12 dead, 36 missing in China boating accident Beijing (AFP). 12 people have been killed and 36 missing in a boat accident on the Yellow river in N China's Shanxi province, state media has reported. Rescuers have recovered 12 bodies and are still searching for the missing. Another 17 have been rescued, Xinhua news agency said. "Senior officials have rushed over to the scene to inspect the situation," an official of Linyi county govt told AFP. The boat that was carrying scores of farmers capsized early in the day when they were on their way to work in cotton fields, Xinhua said. It was probably overloaded at the time, the agency added. @Gorbachev criticises Iraq war London (PAAIN). Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has condemned the Iraq war as an affront to democracy. During a visit to London, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate said the US-led campaign undermined internat'l law. "I regard the invasion of Iraq as undermining internat'l law and undermining democracy because mn of people spoke out against it," he said, adding that "it was done without the mandate of the UN Sec Council." Gorbachev said in the age of internat'l terrorism it was necessary to destroy nuclear weapons, not just control them. He acknowledged that military intervention, with UN approval, was necessary where terrorist infrastructures exist, but argued terrorism should be fought by stopping its financial backers and alleviating world poverty. Gorbachev visited Brit in support of the WMD Awareness Program -- a network of non-govt'l organisations which aims to fight against the proliferation of WMD. Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for helping bring an end to the Cold War. @BBC drops pogo Pope series after complaints London (Reuters). Brit's BBC TV has scrapped plans to broadcast an animated series that depicts the Pope on a pogo stick in a fictional Vatican after complaints from outraged Catholics. "Despite all of the creative energy that has gone into this project and the best efforts of everyone involved, the comic impact of the delivered series does not outweigh the potential offence it will cause," BBC 3 controller Stuart Murphy said. A controversy over the show erupted earlier this y after excerpts of the program, Popetown, appeared on the Internet, prompting Catholic groups to complain to the BBC and parishes circulated petitions against the program. The BBC said it was exploring ways to recoup some of the 2 mn pounds [about $A5 mn] the 10-part series cost. The series, which features the voices of American comedian Ruby Wax and model Jerry Hall, pokes fun at office politics using the Vatican as the firm, the Pope as the boss and the tribulations of a central character called Father Nicholas. In one scene, the pontiff bounces around on a pogo stick. "I knew when we developed the series that there was risk involved but unfortunately, once we saw the finished series, it became clear that the program fell on the wrong side of that line," Mr Murphy said. Alan Marke, managing director of Channel X, the independent production company commissioned to make the program, said in a statement he was disappointed but sympathised with the decision the BBC faced. The BBC and Channel X said they are working on other projects together. @Portugal considers extending Iraq mission Lisbon (AFP). The Portuguese Govt is in talks with its coalition partners in Iraq on whether to extend the mission of its forces in the country beyond Nov, PM Pedro Santana Lopes said. "It is obviously a question which the Govt wishes to discuss with the Pres of the Republic, as well as in consultations with our allies," he was quoted as saying on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in NY. "The decision will be taken in good time," Mr Santana Lopes added following talks with UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan, according to Lusa news agency. "Until Nov the men of the GNR [nat'l guard, military police] will remain present to fulfil their mission. The rest, from Nov to Jan, is still in the process of elaboration," he said. Portuguese Pres Jorge Sampaio has spoken out against the US-led war and invasion of Iraq, although Portugal's centre-right Govt has been a staunch supporter of Washington's Iraq policy. Lisbon deployed 128 military police to the S Iraqi town of Nasiriyah in Nov 2003 to take part in the internat'l stabilisation force in the war-torn country. Their mission expires this Nov. @Bush appeal for help in Iraq falls on deaf ears in UN Member countries are reluctant to send troops despite his portrayal of the US mission as a battle against terrorism UN. Despite a speech to the General Assembly this wk that was friendlier and more optimistic than any of his previous deliveries, US Pres George W Bush still faces a sceptical crowd. There was no burst of applause for him on Tue, even when he talked about the world's common struggles against poverty and disease. And the applause, when it came at the end, was muted, the Boston Globe reported. This was in contrast to the persistent applause that greeted him after the terror attacks of Sep 11, 2001. Before his speech, UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan gave a stern address warning that even the world's most powerful countries must keep to the rule of law, which many interpreted to be a rebuke of US actions in Iraq. And just after Mr Bush's motorcade left the UN, more criticism followed. Spain's PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told a news conference that he withdrew troops from Iraq because peace demands 'more heroism than war'. Pres Joseph Deiss of Switzerland told the General Assembly that the US-led project in Iraq was 'doomed to failure'. The criticisms reflect the hurdles that Mr Bush faces in persuading UN member states to join him in rebuilding Iraq, 18 m after he ordered the invasion of Iraq without explicit UN endorsement, the Globe said. The big struggle now is to persuade other countries to take part in a military force that will protect UN workers, a crucial 1st step to ensuring a large-scale return of the world body to help with elections scheduled for Jan. 'It has not been an easy process,' said a UN official involved in the efforts to put together a smaller force of about 150 soldiers to guard the UN compound in Iraq. 'The ones that are already there are already stretched and for the ones who aren't there, it's a political decision.' US officials spear-heading the effort to put together a brigade-sized force of soldiers to protect UN workers outside of Baghdad have met a similar cool response. US officials have approached at least 22 countries to send troops to the special force, which would operate under the command of the US-led Multinat'l Force, but so far no positive responses have come by, despite the unanimous passage of a UN resolution earlier this y that urged countries to contribute troops. In his speech, Mr Bush linked the violent insurgency in Iraq with recent terrorist attacks in Russia, Spain, Israel and Turkey. He portrayed the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan as twin fronts in the battle against terrorism -- and as evidence that democracy can take hold across the globe. A wave of car bomb blasts, gun battles and kidnappings by insurgents is raising questions about whether Iraq's interim govt, backed by the US military, will be able to hold elections as scheduled by the end of Jan. A surge in violence has killed more than 300 Iraqis in the last 2 wk, creating a security nightmare for interim Prem Iyad Allawi. At least 4 towns and cities are largely in rebel hands and even areas of Baghdad are partly controlled by insurgents, Reuters reported. @Iraq's Allawi joins Bush in tying Iraq to terror war Washington (Bloomberg). Allawi said most of Iraq is "completely safe" and he pledged that terrorists won't prevent elections from being held in Jan as planned. "These terrorists understand all too well that success in Iraq will be an enormous blow for terrorism worldwide," Allawi said during a news conference with Pres George W Bush at the Whitehouse. "If we stop fighting the terrorists in Iraq they would be free to plot and plan attacks elsewhere, in America and other free nations," Bush said. Allawi's comments echo Bush's re-election speeches linking the Iraq war to terrorism and saying progress is being made in Iraq. Bush highlights Iraqi election plans, increased use of electricity and child immunisations in a bid to counter Democratic rival John Kerry's criticism that he's failed to address a country "in crisis." More than 86% of the 1,037 US military deaths have occurred since Bush declared major combat over in May 2003 and two beheadings have occurred this wk. The Army 1st Cavalry Division's 1st Brigade Combat team has been hit by more than 800 mortar rounds since arriving at its Baghdad base, Camp Hope, in Apr, the US-led coalition reported. * 'No-Go' Zones "Most people would tell you that that the US and the Iraqis have retreated from whole areas of Iraq," Kerry said during a campaign stop in Columbus, Ohio, after Allawi spoke to Congress in Washington. "There are 'no go' zones in Iraq today. You can't hold an election in an 'no go' zone." Kerry, a 4-term Massachusetts senator, called for speeding up the training of Iraqi forces and holding an internat'l conference on Iraq. Allawi said 14 to 15 of Iraq's 18 provinces are safe. "If you look at Iraq properly," he said in the Whitehouse Rose Garden, "there are no problems. It's safe. It's good." "I understand why, faced with the daily headlines, there are those doubts," Allawi said. "But these doubters underestimate our country and they risk fuelling the hopes of terrorism." Allawi and Bush "are here to put their best face on the policy," Kerry said. "I think the PM is obviously contradicting his own statement of a few days ago when he said the terrorists are pouring into the country." Kerry will argue tomorrow that the Admin is misleading the US, said Kerry adviser Mike McCurry. "The war in Iraq is not the war on terrorism," McCurry said, outlining a speech Kerry will give in Philadelphia. "The war on terrorism is not being prosecuted because of the situation in Iraq." * 'Raging Counterinsurgency' Representative Ellen Tauscher, a Cal Democrat who returned from a trip to Iraq, said Bush "continues to mislead the American people." "What we find ourselves with is a raging counterinsurgency," Tauscher, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a conference call arranged by the Kerry campaign. "Iraqi citizens have little of the day-to-day health and safety comforts necessary to win their hearts and minds." Iraq's crude oil production in Aug was at 1.85 mn barrels a day, compared with 2.8-3 mn barrels a day before the war, the Washington-based Brookings Institution said. The country's goal is to produce 2.8 mn to 3 mn barrels a day by Dec. The availability of cooking and motor fuel is within 5% to 10% of the goal set for the country, said Michael O'Hanlon, a Brookings Institution analyst. In Aug, 4,707 MW of electricity were generated, an increase from 4,400 generated before the war. * Election Schedule Allawi said Iraqis are seeking to take over establishing security in their country and will expand security forces to 250,000 by the end of next y from 50,000 now. "Let me be absolutely clear -- elections will occur in Iraq, on time in Jan, because Iraqis want elections on time," he said in his speech to Congress. "Despite the setbacks and daily outrages, we can and should be hopeful for the future." Bush said that if Gen John Abizaid, the cmdr of the US forces in the Middle East, asked him for more troops in Iraq, he would "listen" to him. Bush said the 2 met this morning and Abizaid didn't request additional troops. Iraq doesn't need more US troops for stability, Allawi said. "What we need is to train more Iraqis because this is ultimately for Iraqi security forces to take responsibility for their own security," he said. * 'Life's Not Perfect' "The level of violence may very well increase between now and the Iraqi elections," US Def Sec Donald Rumsfeld said today at a Senate hearing. "If there were to be an area that was -- where the extremists focused during the election period and an election was not possible in that area at that time, so be it. You have the rest of the election and you go on. Life's not perfect." Allawi's visit comes at an important time, said Peter Feaver, a Duke University political scientist. "Allawi doesn't pretend that there aren't challenges, but he is more optimistic about the future than Kerry presents." Bush has an edge in nat'l polls, leading with 46% support to 43% for Kerry in a Sep 17-19 survey by Zogby Internat'l because he changed the debate to terrorism, according to John Zogby, head of the Utica, New York-based polling firm. Of the top 5 issues mentioned by voters, terrorism is the only one on which Bush outpolls Kerry. Asked about polls showing Iraqis want Americans to leave, Bush said Allawi and his cabinet are making decisions for their country. "I saw a poll that said the right-track wrong-track in Iraq was better than here in America," Bush said. "It's pretty darn strong. I mean, the people see a better future." * 'Wrong Direction' "We agree with him that things are going in the wrong direction in this country, but to suggest conditions are worse here at home than in a deteriorating country heading toward civil war is ridiculous," said Kerry adviser Joe Lockhart. The NY Times reported Sep 19 that US troops will try to retake Fallujah and other Iraqi areas held by rebel fighters before the y is over. The plan depends partly on the readiness of Iraqi military and police forces to control Fallujah and other cities following a US offensive, Insurgents control one provincial capital, Ramadi, and threaten US control of Baquba, the newspaper said. * 'Predictable Speech' Allawi "gave a good speech," Sen Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, said in a conference call posted on his Web site. "In many ways, it was a predictable speech. I thought he was realistic in noting this is going to be a long, tough, difficult road." Hagel, who called Sun for more help from allies in the region, said he sent a memorandum to Secretary of State Colin Powell and Bush's Nat'l Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice detailing what he thinks needs to be done. One of the key problems in the Vietnam War was a lack of communication between the Whitehouse and Congress, he said. Bush, after a campaign stop in Bangor, Maine, this afternoon, briefly boarded a plane carrying Army Reserve and Nat'l Guard troops to Iraq and Kuwait. "God bless you all," Bush told the troops. "May God keep you safe." @[If you believe this] We are succeeding: Iraq PM tells US Congress Success ... interim PM Iyad Allawi speaks to the US Washington (AFP). Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi told a joint session of the United States Congress that despite setbacks, "we are succeeding in Iraq". Speaking in English after receiving a warm, standing ovation, he said: "It's a tough struggle with setbacks, but we are succeeding. "My friends, today we are better off. You are better off. And the world is better off without Saddam Hussein," Dr Allawi said. "We Iraqis know that Americans have made, and continue to make, enormous sacrifices to liberate Iraq, to assure Iraq's freedom," he said. "I have come here to thank you, and to promise you that your sacrifices are not in vain." Dr Allawi also told Congress the "overwhelming majority" of Iraqis are grateful to the US for ousting Saddam Hussein. "Your decision to go to war in Iraq was not an easy one but it was the right one. "In Iraq, we confront both an insurgency and the global war on terror, with their destructive forces sometimes overlapping," Dr Allawi said. "I can tell you today they will not succeed." He is due to meet with Pres George W Bush later in the day at the Whitehouse. @Bush to 'stay the course' in Iraq 'It's hard work in Iraq...We see it on our TV.' -- Bush Washington (AFP/Reuters). US Pres George W Bush says he and Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi will "stay the course" in Iraq and insisted nat'l elections will be held in Jan despite a worsening insurgency. But Def Sec Donald Rumsfeld has raised the possibility that Iraq could conduct only limited elections in Jan, excluding places where violence was considered too severe for people to go to polls. US Pres George W Bush, standing with Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi, has said that violence may worsen in Iraq ahead of elections scheduled for Jan 2005 but warned against weakness at this "decisive moment". "My message is that we will stay the course and stand with these people so that they become free. It's in our nat'l interest," Bush said. "Terrorist violence may well escalate as the Jan [2005] elections draw near," the Pres said at a joint press conference in the Whitehouse Rose Garden. "The terrorists know that events in Iraq are reaching a decisive moment. If elections go forward, democracy in Iraq will put down permanent roots and terrorists will suffer a dramatic defeat," said Mr Bush. But Mr Rumsfeld has thrown into doubt the scope of the poll. "Let's say you tried to have an election and you could have it in 3/4 or 4/5 of the country. But in some places you couldn't because the violence was too great," Mr Rumsfeld said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. "Well, so be it. Nothing's perfect in life, so you have an election that's not quite perfect. Is it better than not having an election? You bet," he said. Mr Allawi insisted that elections would be held in Jan despite concerns raised by many, such as UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan, that they may have to be delayed because of security concerns. "The Iraqi elections may not be perfect," Mr Allawi said. "They may not be the best elections that Iraq will ever hold. They will undoubtedly be an excuse for violence from those who disparage and despise liberty...But they will take place and they will be free and fair." At the White House and in a speech to a joint session of the US Congress, Mr Allawi painted a picture of steady progress in Iraq on the political, economic and security fronts and said most Iraqis support the US military presence. "Your decision to go to war in Iraq was not an easy one, but it was the right one," Mr Allawi told the assembled law makers 3 m after his fledgling Govt took power. "Thank you, America." Recent polls have shown that most Iraqis want US-led forces to leave the country. Mr Allawi's visit came as Mr Bush's credibility on Iraq has drawn fire, not just from his Democratic rival in the Nov 2 elections, Sen John Kerry, but even from experienced foreign policy hands in his own Republican party. Accused of painting up-beat scenarios not in tune with the violent reality on the ground, Mr Bush insisted: "You can understand it's tough and still be optimistic. You can understand how hard it is, and believe we'll succeed". "It's hard work in Iraq. Everybody knows that. We see it on our TV," he said. "My message is that we will stay the course and stand with these people so that they become free. It's in our nat'l interest we do so." Speaking after 2 US hostages were beheaded in Iraq, Mr Allawi acknowledged that "these last few days have been difficult for us Iraqis, for you Americans and for all our allies". "If we stop fighting the terrorists in Iraq, they would be free to plot and plan attacks elsewhere, in America and other free nations. To retreat now would betray our mission, our word and our friends," warned Mr Bush. The Pres said that the snr cmdr overseeing the roughly 140,000 US troops in Iraq, Gen John Abizaid, had not asked him to send more troops when they met in the Oval Office earlier in the day. But "if our cmdrs on the ground feel it's in the interest of the Iraq citizens to provide more troops, we'll talk about it," said Mr Bush. "If he were to say that, I'd listen to him." @Bashir facing bombing charge Jakarta (AAP). Firebrand cleric Abu Bakar Bashir is to be charged with involvement in the 2003 JW Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta, Indonesian authorities say. Media reports also said Bashir would be linked to the recent Aussie Embassy bombing in the Indonesian capital, although this could not be immediately confirmed. However, prosecutors said they still had no plans for him to face court over the 2002 Bali nightclub blasts which killed 202, including 88 Aussies. Indonesia's A-G's Office said it had finished drawing up charges against the suspected Jemaah Islamiah spiritual leader over the Marriott bombing and would forward his file to the S Jakarta District Court next wk. "The prosecutors will submit the case file to the court next wk, if not this wk. The S Jakarta court will try him," office rep Kemas Yahya Rahman said. As well as the bombing charges, Bashir also would face court for involvement in possession of illegal explosives. The court will set a trial date when the charge sheet is received. Bashir has already been tried and acquitted of being the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah. He was re-arrested in Apr as he walked out of prison after serving 18 m for minor immigration offences. His detention sparked rioting by his supporters. But efforts to prosecute him again suffered a blow in Jul when Indonesia's highest court struck down retroactive anti-terror laws used to convict the Bali bombers as unconstitutional. Kemas said police investigators had agreed not to pursue charges against Bashir for the Bali bombings, despite earlier signs they may use ordinary charges of murder. "We have dropped the Bali bombings from the charges because of the ruling," he told the Jakarta Post. He said Bashir would be charged with involvement in the Marriott bombing, which killed 11 Indonesians and a Dutch banker last Aug, as well as the illegal possession of explosives found last y in Semarang, Central Java. Police confiscated a huge cache of explosives, weapons and documents that allegedly pointed to Bashir's connection to JI during a raid on a house. "We are sure that we have strong evidence and witnesses to charge him with terrorism," Kemas said. "He could get the death penalty if found guilty." @JI links ground SYD man Bashir has visited Nesirwan's home. Sydney. A SYD man has had his passport seized by authorities who have declared he has links to terror group Jemaah Islamiah (JI). Solicitor Steven Hopper says Aussie Customs officials confiscated his client Kusmir Nesirwan's passport at SYD Airport about a wk ago. "About a wk later he got a notification from the Dept of Foreign Affairs that said his passport was taken on the basis that he was a leading member of the support group for Jemaah Islamiah," he said. Mr Hopper says the confiscation is based on a security assessment made by ASIO that Mr Nesirwan was "likely to engage in conduct that might prejudice the security of AUS or a foreign country". Mr Hopper says his client denies the allegations and will take legal action to get his passport returned. Fed A-G Philip Ruddock says he cannot comment on the case, but says Mr Nesirwan has a number of avenues of appeal. Mr Ruddock says Mr Nesirwan is not the only person to come under scrutiny for alleged links with a terror organisation. "People who receive adverse security assessments can be the subject of restrictions on their movements and numbers of people have been the subject of such assessments and restrictions," he said. "You don't always hear about it but that does happen from time to time." Kusmir Nesirwan, an Indonesian, has lived in AUS since the 1970s. He has welcomed Abu Bakar Bashir, alleged spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah, and fellow cleric Abdullah Sungkar in his home. @Suspected JI supporter appeals against passport seizure ASIO assessed Kusmir Nesirwan as a security risk. Sydney. A SYD man who has had his passport seized by authorities because of his alleged links to terror group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) has lodged an appeal against the decision. Solicitor Steven Hopper says Aussie Customs officials confiscated Kusmir Nesirwan's passport at SYD Airport about a wk ago when his client tried to board a flight to Indonesia. He says an appeal has been lodged against the decision. "About a wk later he got a notification from the Dept of Foreign Affairs that said his passport was taken on the basis that he was a leading member of the support group for Jemaah Islamiah," he said. Mr Hopper says the confiscation is based on a security assessment made by ASIO that Mr Nesirwan was "likely to engage in conduct that might prejudice the security of AUS or a foreign country". Mr Hopper says his client denies the allegations and does not support any terrorist activity. "He's the subject of continual harassment by ASIO and the Fed Govt. They have no evidence against him," he said. Fed A-G Philip Ruddock says Mr Nesirwan has a number of avenues of appeal. "Let me say, in relation to adverse security assessments, we provide an opportunity for people to appeal and I make the point again that ASIO deals with these matters very conservatively," he said. "In circumstances where there are concerns the capacity to travel is limited by either cancelling passports or other action that can be taken. "It's in my judgement that it's unlikely that they'd be wrong but it doesn't mean to say that they can't be." Mr Ruddock says Mr Nesirwan is not the only person to come under scrutiny for alleged links with a terror organisation. "People who receive adverse security assessments can be the subject of restrictions on their movements and numbers of people have been the subject of such assessments and restrictions," he said. "You don't always hear about it but that does happen from time to time." Mr Nesirwan, an Indonesian, has lived in AUS since the 1970s. He has welcomed cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, alleged spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah, and fellow cleric Abdullah Sungkar to his home during their visits to AUS in the 1990s. @Cat Stevens philosophical over 'ridiculous' deportation London (Reuters). The pop star formerly known as Cat Stevens, Yusuf Islam, has returned to Brit after his deportation from the US over "potential" terrorism links sparked a diplomatic row. "The whole thing is totally ridiculous," Mr Islam, 57, said on arrival at London's Heathrow airport. "Half of me wants to smile, half of me wants to growl." Brit For Sec Jack Straw raised the issue with US Secretary of State Colin Powell in person at the United Nations. Mr Straw "expressed concern that this action should not have been taken", a FO rep said. Mr Powell told reporters: "Our Homeland Security Dept and intel agencies found some info concerning his activities that they felt under our law required him to be placed on a watch list and therefore denied him entry". Mr Islam, who changed his name after converting to the Muslim faith in the 1970s, was travelling with his daughter on a United Airlines flight on Tue from London to Washington when American officials diverted it 970 km to Bangor, Maine. "It's crazy," Mr Islam said as he was mobbed by reporters at Heathrow. "Everybody knows me from my charitable work and now there have to be explanations, but I'm glad to be home." Asked if he felt victimised, he added: "Absolutely. But you know, for God's sake, people make mistakes. I just hope they have made a big mistake. "I wasn't handcuffed or anything like that. They treated me very well," he added. "A lot of security officers are very pleased because they got my autograph." @Woman gives birth after ovarian tissue transplant Brussels (Reuters). A woman has given birth to the 1st baby born after an ovarian tissue transplant in a medical breakthrough that brings hope to young cancer patients whose fertility may be damaged by treatment. The healthy baby girl, named Tamara, weighed 3.72 kg and was born at 17.05 Z at St Luke's Hospital in Brussels. The mother is 32-yo Ouarda Touirat and a hospital rep said: "the mother and baby are in excellent health". Doctors removed and froze ovarian tissue from Ms Touirat before she had chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma. @Group says it released a Canadian hostage in Iraq Fallujah (AP/Boston Globe). A militant group said Thu it had released a Canadian hostage, claiming that her company had met its demand to withdraw from Iraq. The group, calling itself The Brigades of the Victorious Lion of God, said Fairuz Yamulky worked for a firm that provided equipment for several US bases. The Canadian govt on Thu confirmed the release of Yamulky, the chief operating officer for GSF Cement and Sand Company. Yamulky's release. There was no immediate confirmation of whether her company had agreed to leave Iraq. Relatives of Yamulky, an Iraqi Kurd whose family fled Iraq to Canada in 1991, told The Calgary Sun newspaper that the 38-yo had been snatched from her vehicle by gunmen on a Baghdad street on Sep 5. Yamulky told her father after her release Tue night that she was beaten during her captivity, her father, Kamal Yamulky, told the newspaper. The US military had no immediate info. "We decided to release the hostage, Fairuz Yamulky, after it has been agreed that there would be no dealing with the US forces," the group said in a statement released Thu in Fallujah, a city W of Baghdad. The statement claimed the company Yamulky worked for said it would pull out of Iraq. The group's claims couldn't be authenticated. The group also released a DVD that shows a woman with disheveled dark hair, speaking in Arabic, saying she's a Canadian working for a company that equips US bases. Addressing some company executives and officials she named, she said: "I urge you and I ask you to preserve my life by cooperating and negotiating with this group." @Authorities stand firm in hostage crisis Baghdad (AP). Authorities insist they won't give in to militants' demands to free female Iraqi prisoners despite the plea of a tearful Brit hostage begging Brit to save his life in a video released by his captors. Meanwhile, Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said that increasing violence must not be used as a pretext for delaying elections scheduled for late Jan. Al-Sistani "stresses the necessity of holding elections on time and the necessity of preparing the atmosphere ... under internat'l supervision to be credible and transparent," Hamed al-Khafaf, an aide to the ayatollah, said in a telephone interview from Beirut. Iraq's Shi'ite majority is eager to hold elections since they expect to dominate whatever govt emerges. UN chief Kofi Annan, however, has questioned whether elections can take place if violence does not ease. Violence has intensified in recent wk -- with insurgents setting off near-daily car bombs. For a second day, US forces battled Shi'ite militiamen in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City, with US warplanes firing on insurgents. Hospital officials said at least one person was killed and 12 were wounded, many of them children. The fighting and rash of kidnappings have shown the vulnerability even in the capital, where Brit hostage Kenneth Bigley and 2 American colleagues were abducted from their home last wk. The 2 Americans were beheaded -- their slayings shown on grisly videos posted on the internet -- and their bodies dumped not far from their Baghdad residence. Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi expressed his condolences for the American hostages' deaths in an address before a joint session of Congress in Washington. "Yet as we mourn these losses, we must not forget the progress we are making or what is at stake in Iraq. We are fighting for peace and democracy," he said. In a video made public Wed, Bigley appealed to Brit PM Tony Blair to intervene and meet his kidnappers' demands. "I think this is possibly my last chance," he said. "I don't want to die." Bigley's brother, Paul, accused the US of wrecking efforts to save his brother's life after US officials and Allawi quickly quashed a comment by an Iraqi official that one of the female prisoners would be freed by Thu. "That was a shadow of light in a big, long, dark, damp, filthy, cold tunnel. Now this has been sabotaged," Paul Bigley told the BBC. Bigley's wife appealed to the kidnappers to release her husband. Sombat Bigley, a Thai woman, said she had seen the video with Bigley's plea for help. "We have been married for 7 y and I love him very much ... I desperately want to be reunited with my husband," she said, reading a Thai-language statement in front of news TV cameras in Bangkok. The 62-yo Bigley was being held by a militant group led by Jordanian-born terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The group has already beheaded Americans Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley, demanding the release of all female prisoners in Iraq. @Italy in anguish over fate of aid workers in Iraq Rome (AFP). Italy has sought to play down the credibility of reports claiming the murder of 2 female Italian aid workers taken hostage in Iraq, but failed to ease gnawing anguish over their fate. "The Govt has undertaken a series of actions, and for the moment, no proof has been found" to back up the alleged execution of Simona Torretta and Simona Pari, it said in a statement. However, the Govt added that it was still probing both that claim and an earlier one posted overnight on the Internet by a group calling itself the Jihad Organisation. The group claimed it had "slaughtered" the 2 women because PM Silvio Berlusconi had not withdrawn Italy's 3,000 troops from Iraq. Italy immediately questioned the authenticity of that report, and said the "multiplication" of claims merely confirmed their low credibility and "leads us to believe we are probably in the middle of a media terrorism". Nevertheless, the statement heightened concern over the fate of the women, particularly as another militant group earlier this wk executed 2 American hostages, posting the grisly video images on the Internet, and has threatened to kill a Brit colleague. A rep for the influential Sunni Committee of Muslim Scholars in the Iraqi capital said Ms Pari and Ms Torretta were probably still alive and being held by a group with no relation to the insurgency against the US-led occupation. "I do not think they killed them because the material gain from holding them is big," Muthana al-Dhari told AFP at the committee's HQ in Baghdad's Umm al-Qura mosque. "I have my doubts about the whole operation from the start because the style and method all indicate that the kidnappers are an organised gang with no connection to the resistance." Mr Dhari said the motive behind their kidnapping was inconsistent with the goals of the insurgency, which has claimed in several statements that it would only go after those cooperating with and aiding the US-led occupation. In Baghdad, the Italian embassy said it was checking out the claim by the Jihad Organisation and could not say whether it was genuine or fake. @French hostages to be freed Dubai (AFP). A previously unheard-of Damascus-based Iraqi opp'n group say 2 French journalists held hostage in Iraq for more than a m will be released soon, Al-Arabiya TV reported. "I announce ... good news regarding the release soon of the 2 French journalists," Fadhel al-Rabii, a rep for the Iraqi Nat'l Forces, told the Dubai-based TV station from Damascus. "I affirm that the 2 journalists will be freed in the course of the next 3 days," Mr Rabii said, adding that his group had played a positive role in negotiations to secure their liberty. Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot, along with their Syrian driver and interpreter, Syrian Mohammed al-Jundi, have been held since Aug 20 by a group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq. However, Damascus-based diplomats said they had not heard of the group and organisations that opposed former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from the Syrian capital were unaware of anyone called Rabii. The group is also unknown in Baghdad. An official from the London-based Islamic Observatory earlier said that according to a statement attributed to the Islamic Army in Iraq it was releasing 2 French journalists for them to cover the "activities of the resistance". A day later, French Interior Min Dominique de Villepin said he could not confirm the authenticity of the statement, but PM Jean-Pierre Raffarin expressed optimism. @Brit hostage's mother pleads for son's release London (AFP). The elderly mother of Kenneth Bigley, a Brit engineer held hostage in Iraq by Islamic militants threatening to kill him, has made a desperate plea for her son's release as hopes for his safety fade. In a direct TV address to the captors, 86-yo Elizabeth Bigley begged: "Would you please help my son? He is only a working man who wants to support his family". Fighting back tears, she said: "Please show mercy to Ken and send him home to me alive. His family needs him. I need him," before breaking down. Earlier in the day Sombat Bigley, Mr Bigley's Thai wife, had also added her voice to the family's desperate appeals to the Tawhid al Jihad group to spare the Briton's life. Brit PM Tony Blair talked by phone with the family during Thu, a rep for his office said, refusing to give details of the conversation. Mr Bigley was snatched from his Baghdad home one wk ago, along with 2 US colleagues who have since been decapitated. His captors have been demanding the release of women detained in US-run Iraqi prisons. Despite fears that Mr Bigley could also be killed very soon, Mr Blair's office made it clear on Thu that it would continue to refuse to make any deals with the captors. A rep for Mr Blair said there was no change to Downing Street's stance. "We're following the situation very closely, and our feelings are very much with Ken Bigley and his family," the rep told AFP. "The Govt is doing all it can to secure his release, [but] we have no intention of negotiating with terrorists." Mr Bigley's wife made her appeal for his safe release in her native language, video-taped in Bangkok. "I plead for your mercy now and beg that you release Ken so that I may be with him again and so that he may also be reunited with his family in England," she said, visibly shaken. Mr Bigley himself appeared in a fuzzy video seen on Thu on the Internet, in which he appealed to Mr Blair: "I need you to be compassionate as you always said you were and to help me to live..." "I don't want to die. Please, please release the female prisoners. I need your help, Mr Blair. You are now the only person on God's earth that I can speak to." The family has repeatedly implored Mr Blair to give in to the hostage-takers' demands, and say they will hold him responsible if the engineer loses his life. While Mrs Bigley has remained in Thailand, other members of Mr Bigley's family have been gathered in his home town of Liverpool, in NW England. Another brother, Paul Bigley, told BBC radio earlier that he was angry about the actions of US officials, who he said had "sabotaged" a move on Wed by Iraq's judicial authorities to release one female detainee, biological weapons scientist Rahid Rashid Taha. "Is this a puppet [Iraqi] Govt, or are the Americans moving the goalposts to suit their own means again?" asked Paul Bigley. "What's going on here? Leave the Iraqis to do their own Iraqi business." @UK, Iraq stand firm against kidnappers' demands London/Baghdad (Reuters). The Brit and Iraqi Govts have said they will not bow to the demands of militants threatening to kill a Brit hostage despite tearful pleas from the captive and his family. The kidnappers say they will kill Kenneth Bigley unless all Iraqi women are freed from US-run jails but have set no deadline and made no comment on the Briton's fate. The interim Iraqi Govt said in a statement that PM Iyad Allawi was not willing to allow the release of 2 Iraqi women, who are former weapons scientists, in US custody in Iraq. "The Govt renews its call on the terrorists to release Kenneth Bigley forthwith and without condition," it said. In a speech to the US Congress in Washington, Mr Allawi reiterated that Iraq's fledgling security forces would prevail against the insurgents and the widespread violence which threatens elections scheduled for Jan. "In Iraq, we confront both an insurgency and the global war on terror, with their destructive forces sometimes overlapping," he said. "I can tell you today they will not succeed." Brit For Sec Jack Straw said the United Kingdom Govt would not negotiate with hostage-takers either. "Of course our hearts go out yet more to him and to his family," Mr Straw told the BBC. "But I'm afraid to say it can't alter the position of the Brit Govt. "We can't get into a situation of bargaining with terrorists, because this would put many more people's lives at risk, not only in Iraq but around the world." After meeting Mr Allawi, US Pres George W Bush vowed that he would "stay the course" in Iraq. Mr Bigley, 62, and Americans Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley were seized by gunmen in Baghdad last Thu. The Tawhid al Jihad group led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi says it killed Mr Armstrong and Mr Hensley because the US military rejected its demands. US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the murders would not change the country's policy of not negotiating with hostage-takers. "We deeply regret the loss of these 2 men who went to help the Iraqi people. And my heart goes out to their families when I consider the manner of their death and I extend deepest condolences to the families," he said. "One thing we have learned over time is that you can't negotiate with these kinds of terrorists. You can't give in to them because all it does is incentivise [sic] them to do it again and therefore our policy will remain unchanged." The US military says it holds only 2 female prisoners in Iraq. Rihab Taha and Huda Ammash, dubbed "Dr Germ" and "Mrs Anthrax" by US forces, and are accused of working on former Pres Saddam Hussein's weapons programs. Iraqi officials said a review process by Iraqis and US forces had recommended 10 days ago that 3 "high-value detainees", including Taha, should be considered for release. A Govt statement said Mr Allawi did not want Taha to be freed and that discussions on her possible release were unrelated to the kidnappers' demands. Militants in Iraq have seized more than 100 hostages since Apr. Most have been released but about 30 have been killed. Meanwhile, nothing has been heard about the fate of 2 female Italian aid workers kidnapped in Iraq, with the Italian Govt dismissing two Internet statements saying they had been killed and there was no evidence to confirm the claims. @US warplanes attack insurgents in Iraq Baghdad (AP). US warplanes fired on insurgent targets in the east Baghdad slum of Sadr City on Thu. Iraqi doctors said one person was killed and 12 were injured, many of them children. The US military said they launched an operation overnight aiming to "disband and disarm" militia loyal to the rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and open way for reconstruction projects in the city. The Thu attacks followed a day of fierce clashes between American troops and fighters loyal to al-Sadr. US warplanes and helicopters roared overhead and residents said loud explosions could be heard for hours. Militia fighters returned fire with machine guns, they said. An American Bradley fighting vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and caught fire, according to a US military report. It was not clear if there were any casualties. The aim of the operation, dubbed "Iron Fist 2," is to maintain pressure on al-Sadr by seizing weapons caches and detaining or killing his lieutenants, said Maj Bill Williams, an acting battalion cmdr in the 1st Cavalry Division. The Americans believe that Sadr have been increasing his authority in Sadr City after last m agreement to stop hostilities between his followers and US troops, using the lull in fighting to improve his position. "The main problem is that he has the militia," Williams said. "Our goal is to pressure him to disband and disarm." The military says that the insurgents have laid down booby traps throughout Sadr City and have repeatedly fired mortars toward an American base on its outskirts. Naim al-Kaabi, an official with al-Sadr's office, said the US bombardments lasted until the morning, but said there was no street fighting. US vehicles patrolled the slum Thu morning. At least one person was killed and 7 injured, said Dr Qassim Saddam of Imam Ali Hospital. The nearby Al-Sadr General Hospital received 5 injured children, Dr Atheer Al-Okabi said. The Iraqi Int Min'y had no immediate info on the attacks. It was the 3rd night of violence in the Shiite stronghold as US forces crackdown on al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army. Hospital officials said at least 10 people were killed and more than 90 injured in Wed's clashes, but US military officers monitoring the fighting put the Iraqi death toll that day at around 40. There was no word on US casualties. "The intent is to provide security for the people of Thawra so we can get back to the business of reconstruction," said 1st Cavalry Division commanding general Maj Gen Peter Chiarelli in a Wed statement. Thawra is an old name for Sadr City. The district is now named for Muqtada al-Sadr's father, a revered cleric killed under Saddam Hussein's regime. [Next target:] @Israel claims Iran as top terror source UN (AFP). Israel has claimed Iran has replaced Saddam Hussein as the number one source of terrorism and has called on the internat'l community to stand up to Tehran. "There was a time when the problems of terror, Islamic fundamentalism and Iranian nuclear ambition were seen as local problems -- Israel's problems," FM Silvan Shalom said in a speech to the UN General Assembly. "The internat'l community now realises that Iran -- with missiles that can reach London, Paris, Berlin and S Russia -- does not only pose a threat to the security of Israel but to the security and stability of the whole world," he said. "Iran has replaced Saddam Hussein as the world's number one exporter of terror, hate and instability," Mr Shalom said. "I call on this assembly to address head-on the active involvement of Iran and Syria in terrorism," he said. The minister also said the assembly, which has passed 100s of resolutions criticising Israel and holds regular meetings on the Palestinian conflict, should pursue other work. "The Palestinian side spends more energy fighting Israel here at the UN than it does fighting terrorists in its own territory," Mr Shalom said. "I call on this assembly to end its obsession with Israel and to ensure that UN resources are allocated more equally and more effectively," he said. "We must not let the Palestinian desire to vilify Israel distract our global community from the obligation to address the needs of all people," he said. He appealed for a special assembly session to address anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance. @N Korea missile test 'not imminent' Tokyo (Kyodo). Japanese FM Yoriko Kawaguchi has said that N Korea is unlikely to test fire a ballistic missile in the immediate future. "We have reports, info about their possible missile activities. And we are paying attention to the situation," Ms Kawaguchi said at a news conference following a foreign ministerial meeting on an early implementation of the 1996 nuclear test ban treaty. "But info that we have as of now indicates that this firing is not imminent. So we'll keep watching the situation," she said. Japanese Govt sources in Tokyo said on Thu that Japanese and US reconnaissance info indicates that N Korea may be preparing to test fire either a Rodong or a Taepodong ballistic missile or conduct a missile engine combustion test. Under the Pyongyang Declaration, signed by Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi and N Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang in Sep 2002, N Korea committed itself to a moratorium on missile launches. @Syria willing to cooperate on Iraq Washington (AFP/Daily Times). The US believes Syria is now willing to cooperate with Iraqi authorities and the US-led coalition on patrolling the Syria-Iraq border, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said here on Wed. "I hope that the Syrians now understand the need for all of us to do as much we can in a tripartite manner, Syria, the Iraqi interim govt and the coalition, to stop illicit, improper traffic across that border," he said. "It's a tough military mission and a tough political mission, but I sense a new attitude from the Syrians, but of course, it all depends on actions, not just attitudes," Powell told reporters. A snr State Dept official later allowed that Damascus had made similar promises to Washington in the past that had gone unfulfilled but said there were indications Syria would follow through. "We've seen a little more than words this time, but not enough yet to draw conclusions," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity. "We're very much in a 'we'll see' kind of mode now." Powell's comments came after he met for a 1/2 hr with Syrian For Min Faruq Al Shara on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, amid signs of a possible thaw in strained relations between the countries. He said his conversation with Shara was "a good, open, candid" and "rather positive discussion" that focused on a range of US concerns about Syrian policy on Iraq, Lebanon and its support for alleged terrorist groups. Powell described as "positive" Syria's recent redeployment of troops from bases S of Beirut but said the move did not go far enough in meeting UN Sec Council demands for foreign interference in Lebanon to end. @End of bush track for survivor of mustering mix up Mareeba, FNQ. Legendary Cape York bushman Bill Toohey will be laid to rest tomorrow in Mareeba, in far N Qld, after a life spanning 84 colourful ys. "Wild" Bill Toohey leaves behind a legacy of legends that will be passed on for generations. Guns were drawn and shots fired when Mr Toohey and another party became involved in a dispute over a cleanskin heifer while mustering on Merluna Station 37 y ago. Both men crawled off into the bush to die -- Mr Toohey admitting later that he had slashed his wrist with a stock knife in an attempt to speed up the inevitable. Miraculously, both recovered, regaining consciousness in adjoining beds in a Cairns Hospital ward. Surgeons removed 7 bullets from Mr Toohey, but that was more than police could get from either party. They refused to comment and no charges were laid. The other party still lives on the Tablelands, but said yesterday the incident was ancient history and he would not be commenting. @Perth boast cheapest house prices Perth. The real estate boom around the nation has left Perth with the cheapest housing of any Aussie capital city. House prices are continuing to rise in Perth but at a very slow rate. In Aug the median house prices increased by less than 0.5% to reach $241,000. That is 9% higher than a y ago but well short of the 20 per cent plus growth experienced in many city suburbs the prev y. Real Estate Institute of W AUS president Jim Henneberry says Perth now has the lowest priced property market in the nation. He says Perth is now even cheaper than the normally sleepy real estate market of Tas. Mr Henneberry says interstate investors are now flooding into Perth to take advantage of the cheaper prices. "24% of all sales in the m of Aug were to investors and they, of course, weren't all local, they were from interstate, so interstate is buying up properties in WA," he said. @NSW advised to consider SYD water recycling Sydney. A NSW Govt advisory panel on water has recommended more restrictions and the recycling sewage and storm water to help cope with increasing demand. The panel was put together by Prem Bob Carr last y, with its recommendations to form part of the Govt's overall water strategy. The final report says desalination should not be ruled out but only considered at a time of catastrophic drought. The State Opp'n has urged the Govt to accept the recommendations. Energy Min Frank Sartor says the report forms just part of the input the Govt is receiving on the issue. "That report is one of the inputs into the Govt as it prepares its metropolitan water strategy," he said. "It will of course be superseded by the Metropolitan water strategy and that will be a comprehensive strategy which will cover all the issues necessary to secure SYD's water supply." Opp'n energy rep Brad Hazzard has backed the report's recommendations. "Frank Sartor is pushing the desalination line, it's clear from the expert report that re-use should be the focus," he said. "What the Opp'n is saying is the Govt should stop squabbling amongst itself and accept its own panel's recommendations." @Airport workers without security cards Sydney (AAP). Many contract airport workers reportedly do not have air security identification cards 18 m after the Fed Govt ordered ASIO to re-screen all holders for terrorist traits. The SYD Morning Herald reports 65,000 background checks have been completed, but not for most contractors. The news comes as investigations continue into the discovery of a potentially explosive device in the cargo jet of a Virgin Blue jet. The newspaper said the ASIO security card checks were introduced last y among several anti-terrorism measures. Transport Workers Union snr airline official Glenn Nightingale said identification cards had been a concern since the Sep 11 attacks, particularly for contract airport staff who could work with a visitor's pass rather than an air security card. @Flammable device on flight a fake: govt The 'explosive device' appears to be a hoax Sydney (AAP). An incendiary device found aboard a Virgin Blue plane at SYD airport was a fake designed to look like a real bomb and could have been planted as a stunt, the Fed Govt said. The discovery of the device, later identified by NSW police as containing thermite, a flammable compound used in some types of grenades, resulted in a major security breach when it was taken off the plane by a baggage handler and carried into the terminal. Aussie Fed Police (AFP) confirmed an investigation was underway into the incident on a Virgin Blue 737-300 jet on Mon. The plane had originated from the Sunshine Coast airport at Maroochydore. Virgin Blue's head of commercial operations David Huttner said the baggage handler who found the device had not followed proper procedure. "The guy who informed the APS [Aussie Protective Service] took the device to them," Mr Huttner said. "While he was trying to do the right thing he didn't follow procedures properly. However, the airline had informed the APS within 15 minutes of finding the device. The airline believed an airport worker could have been responsible, and probably meant for the device to be found. "We believe it was an airport worker with an agenda," Mr Huttner said. "It [the device] was not something that goes boom, it was something that burns which means somebody had to be there to light it." Dep PM and Transport Min John Anderson said it was not a terrorist act and security would have picked up a terrorist bomb. "At this stage on my advice you are not looking at something that could have potentially blown a plane out of the air having got through security," he said on the John Laws radio program. "... the judgement was formed that this was a hoax." He later told ABC radio: "It's not a serious bomb; it's made to look like one." However, it appeared there had been a breakdown of security protocol, Mr Anderson said. @Virgin 'prank' renews airport security fears Not funny: Mr Anderson says the prank does not show lax airport security. Sydney. Virgin Airlines has been directed by Workcover to retrain its staff in how to correctly deal with suspicious packages after the discovery of an incendiary device on a flight from Maroochydore to SYD. A SYD baggage handler who spotted the device in a plastic bag in the hold of the plane took it into the passenger terminal to be x-rayed. The action potentially exposed 1000s of people to danger. Transport Min John Anderson believes the device is a prank by an airport worker. He has promised to get to the bottom of it. "We don't know at what point it was put on," he said. "It may very well be that it was put on board in SYD by someone who had access to the aeroplane on the tarmac." However, the theory that the device is probably a prank has not deterred those calling for security upgrades around the country's airports. Labor's transport rep Martin Ferguson is one. "It just reinforces the correctness of our policy to demand further passenger screening," Mr Ferguson said. But Mr Anderson says this was not a lapse involving passengers. "I'm increasingly concerned that what we've seen here is an example of somebody in a position of trust, who's done something very stupid," he said. He believes security arrangements at airports are sufficient to detect real bombs and terrorists. @Politicians warned off Tas forest debate Hobart. Former Tasn Liberal premier and current director of timber company Gunns, Robin Gray, has weighed into the forestry debate. Mr Gray has warned PM John Howard not to interfere in the State's forestry industry. Mr Howard is looking at ways to phase out old-growth logging in Tas and is expected to announce the Coalition's policy platform soon. Mr Gray says it would be devastating for the State if Mr Howard "sprung" a surprise before polling day. "I've been through this whole thing before over the Franklin Dam and then over the Wesley Vale pulp mill," he said. "I've seen Tas sold out for a few cheap votes in SYD and MEL and the damage that that did to Tas, we've only just recovered from. "It would be just a tragedy if John Howard was to take Tas down that path again." Meanwhile, Opp'n treasury rep Simon Crean says he has not been asked to work out how much compensation would have to paid if a Labor Govt phased out clear-felling in Tas's old-growth forests. Labor leader Mark Latham is expected to release a plan for ending the controversial forestry practice before polling day. Mr Crean says he has not examined the compensation issue but he is certain the environment can be protected and jobs will not be lost. "We can achieve both, that I'm convinced about," he said. "I'm convinced that if we can get resource security and encourage a value adding industry in this State, and the country for that matter, then of course you can get better value jobs." @Latham accuses Coalition of school privatisation plan Nat'ls MP Kay Hull says public schools should introduce fees for high-income parents. Canberra. Opp'n Leader Mark Latham has jumped on comments by a Coalition MP who thinks rich parents should pay more for public schooling. The Nat'ls' Kay Hull says public schools should introduce fees for parents earning more than $100,000 pa. She also wants poorer country schools to receive more govt money and the establishment of a nat'l benchmark for Aussie schools. Mr Latham says Ms Hull wants to privatise the Aussie schooling system. "We've got a snr Govt MP with a plan to bring in fees for govt schools now," he said. "Not content with the privatisation of health, they now want to go down the route of privatisation of our govt schools. "Kay Hull's a snr Govt MP, she's the head of the social affairs parliamentary committee and the social affairs she wants for society is to have fees in govt schools. Well, that's not on." @Penniless PM disappoints Newcastle stadium Newcastle. The Hunter Sports Centre Trust may have to look elsewhere for funding to redevelop Newcastle's Energy AUS Stadium after the PM announced the Fed Govt has no plans to commit money to the project. The trust had been seeking a $22 mn commitment. Energy AUS Stadium is currently undergoing a major renovation, with more than $30 mn provided by the NSW Govt. For the past 2-and-1/2 y the Hunter Sports Centre Trust has been seeking a commitment from the Fed Govt to provide money to rebuild the original stadium at the ground. The trust's hopes were high after John Howard announced multi-mn dollar funding packages for the refurbishment of stadiums in Penrith and MEL, but yesterday those hopes were dashed. "Well, we don't have any proposal to do that. I have indicated that I will be making, as well as the 2 I mentioned, a statement about the upgrading of Kogarah in SYD, but we don't have any proposal in relation to Newcastle," he said. Trust chairman Ted Atchison says it has been led down the garden path. "It's extremely disappointing and contrary to what we were led to believe," he said. @Coalition plans to boost apprenticeships Canberra. The Fed Coalition has unveiled a plan to provide $71 mn over 4 y to help almost 25,000 more people into apprenticeships, if it is re-elected. Education Min Brendan Nelson says the Coalition would create 4,500 pre-vocational training places in the trades, another 4,000 school-based training places, and would help 15,000 school leavers, the unemployed and those over 45 to move into apprenticeships. Doctor Nelson says a re-elected Coalition govt would also change regulations to remove red tape for applicants and to stop apprentice poaching. @ALP brands apprentice scheme as too little, too late Canberra. The Fed Opp'n says the Coalition's $71 mn plan to help young people into apprenticeships is "too little, too late". Education Min Brendan Nelson this wk announced incentives to encourage 25,000 youngsters into training places for trades, as well as financial assistance for mature age apprenticeships. Opp'n rep for training Anthony Albanese says the money is a drop in the ocean but at least it is a start in redressing the apprenticeship imbalance. "At the moment, under the govt scheme, people who work on their counter at the local fish and chip shop ... while they're at school, when they go post-school to get an apprenticeship get told that they're ineligible for govt subsidies because they've already done a new apprenticeship," he said. @Coalition offers rural voters $160 mn boost Anderson will unveil the policy in the marginal, Nat'ls-held seat of Page. Sydney. The Fed Nat'ls leader will today unveil the Coalition's policy for regional AUS today. John Anderson will announce that a re-elected Coalition Govt would spend more than $160 mn on measures to help rural students and attract doctors to regional areas. Mr Anderson will unveil the policy in the marginal, Nat'ls-held seat of Page, on the NSW N coast today. The policy promises to provide targeted assistance to disadvantaged country areas, such as those suffering from drought. Students from country areas would also benefit. Allowances would be increased for those studying at city boarding schools and those who stay at home and undertake "distance education". There will also be $15 mn for regional communities to build medical centres and attract nurses and doctors to country areas. Mr Anderson will announce 2 regions would be able to apply for grants to develop new businesses and build infrastructure. One region covers W Qld and W NSW, while the other region covers the N rivers and NSW north coast. @Coalition regional projects to boost business Coalition pledges almost $160 mn over 5 y on regional programs. N NSW. A re-elected Coalition govt would create 6 regional icon projects to create jobs and generate business opportunities. Fed Nat'ls leader John Anderson has launched the regional policy in N NSW today. The Coalition parties have pledged to spend almost $160 mn over 5 y on regional programs to increase employment, improve medical services and help with the cost of education. Mr Anderson denies the program has been aimed at marginal seats. "It doesn't, if you look at the spread of them across AUS, they are in a range of urban and rural areas and in a range of seats," he said. A key element is a plan to increase the annual boarding allowance from just over $4,000 to $6,000 per student pa. The allocation to education would also see money flow to school term hostels. A medical infrastructure fund would be developed to help recruit and retain general practitioners in regional areas. The aim of the icon projects, which would receive just over $27 mn, would be to revive local pride as well as providing economic opportunities. @Abusive ALP senator apologises to veterans Canberra. The Fed Opp'n has been embarrassed after one of its front-benchers was forced to apologise for being rude to a group of ex-servicemen. The Govt wants Labor's veterans affairs rep Mark Bishop to be reprimanded over the incident. The Totally and Permanently Incapacitated Ex-Servicemen's Federation says Sen Bishop behaved rudely and petulantly when he was confronted over Labor's veteran's policy at its nat'l conference in CBR earlier this wk. Federation president John Ryan says the Sen swore at him. In a written statement, Sen Bishop has apologised for any embarrassment he caused. He says he has spoken to Mr Ryan and they have resolved their differences. However, Sen Bishop does admit to being annoyed by what he says is the federation's political agenda to criticise Labor policy. The Govt says the Sen should be reprimanded over his behaviour, labelling it a test for Opp'n Leader Mark Latham to prove he is serious about higher standards of ministerial conduct. @Beattie dismisses Energex whistleblowing claims Beattie is expected to make a statement to Parliament next wk. Brisbane. Qld Prem Peter Beattie has rejected suggestions that the late Energex chief executive officer Greg Maddock had been planning to expose the Govt over its handling of the energy sector. Mr Maddock took his own life last wk. "I'm not aware of any of that sort of thing," Mr Beattie said. "Look, I had a good relationship with Greg, I'm not aware of any of that sort of stuff." Out of respect for the family, Prem Peter Beattie has been reluctant to comment on investigations into Mr Maddock's expenses. Mr Beattie has also been tight-lipped about matters raised by the auditor-general but the Prem is expected to make a statement to Parliament next wk about the govt-owned corporation. Energex's acting CEO has told staff there was no allegation of misappropriation and queries over certain expenses have been dealt with. Qld's Energy Min John Mickel will represent the State Govt at Mr Maddock's funeral today. Energex supplies gas and electricity in Qld, NSW and Vic. @Beattie stands up for Molloy Brisbane. Qld Prem Peter Beattie says calls for Labor's candidate in the fed seat of Fairfax to be disendorsed are a cheap shot. PM John Howard says Ivan Molloy should be sacked for agreeing with his wife, state MP Cate Molloy. Mrs Molloy claimed that every Liberal MP was to blame for the Bali bombings but has since apologised for the statement. Mr Beattie says Mrs Molloy's comments were wrong but he has rejected calls for her husband to be disendorsed. "I think that's a bit rude, that's just the normal argy bargy you'd get in a political campaign," he said. "I mean of course her husband's going to stand by her ... what sort of partner wouldn't stand by your wife or your husband?" @Drug running suspect arrested in Bali Bali. An Aussie man has been arrested in Bali for allegedly attempting to export drugs to AUS. The man is believed to have attempted to ship the drug, pseudoephedrine. The 37-yo man was arrested in Kuta on Tue. Bali police have shown his lawyer large quantities of pseudoephedrine tablets in bottles, that it has alleged he planned to freight to AUS. The nature of the drug means it is unlikely the man will face the harshest charges under Indonesian law, which could carry the death penalty. The man has been offered assistance by Aussie consular officials. @Aussie arrested in Bali drug bust Jakarta (ABC, Tim Palmer). An Aussie man has been arrested in Bali for allegedly planning to ship an illegal quantity of the drug pseudoephedrine to AUS. The drug is a key component in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Darwin resident Christopher Currall, 37, was arrested on Tue in the beach resort of Kuta, after allegedly trying to freight the drugs to AUS. Indonesian police say tens of 1000s of pseudoephedrine tablets and quantities of powder, packed in bottles, had been concealed in concrete based flower pots that were to be shipped to Darwin. The Aussie Fed Police say Currall's arrest resulted from a joint operation with Indonesian police. While narcotics smuggling can bring the death penalty in Indonesia, offences involving pseudoephedrine fall under different category and police say Currall would face a maximum 15 y in jail if convicted. @2 arrested in Bali drug bust Darwin. NT police have confirmed the Aussie man arrested in Indonesia in relation to the importation of pseudoephedrine is a Bris resident. An internat'l drug operation involving Territory police, Aussie Fed police, Customs and Indonesian authorities has resulted in 43,000 ephedrine tablets and 1.5 kg of the drug in powder form being seized. Acting Cmdr Colleen Gwynne says 3 Territory properties were also raided, leading to further seizures and the arrest of a second man, a 29-yo from Darwin. She says the 2 men arrested were known to each other. "He was actually from Bris, had spent some time in Darwin and the man we arrested in Darwin had close associations with him," he said. "At this stage there's been 2 arrests, that being the Territory man and the 37-yo Bris resident in custody in Denpasar." @Vic rock climber killed in US accident Melbourne. A member of the winning team in this y's 3 Peaks race in Tas has been killed during competition in the US. Vicn Nigel Aylott was climbing down a rocky hillside in Washington State this wk, when he was struck on the head by a loose 135 kg boulder. 2 others were injured in the accident. Mr Aylott was the runner in the Devonport-based API Mersey Pharmacy team which finished this y's 3 Peaks race in record time. @Sierra Leone trial begins for Aussie policeman Freetown (AFP). Prosecutors have opened a High Court sexual assault case against a snr Aussie police officer employed by the UN-backed war crimes court for Sierra Leone. Peter Halloran, 56, a snr officer with the Vicn police, has been indicted on 4 counts of sex crimes for an illegal sexual relationship he allegedly had with a 13-yo Freetown schoolgirl. His Aussie housemate and colleague Mandy Cordwell 1st filed the complaint against Halloran and was the 1st witness called by the prosecution. She told the court she 1st saw the young girl on May 31, and learned from Halloran that he had engaged her to work as a nanny for his girlfriend's toddler, who was to arrive in coming m on a visit. 3 days later she saw the girl in Halloran's room, sitting on the bed eating a bowl of rice. "I asked the girl how long she had been there and she replied 2 days," Ms Cordwell testified, adding that she had broached the subject with one of the other court employees who also shared the house. "I was concerned that the girl was still in the room on Jun 3 so I went upstairs and found her making the bed. I later collected a pair of black shoes, a blue school uniform and blue jeans from Halloran's room." Ms Cordwell said she presented her concerns to the Special Court's chief of investigations Allan White. Court rep Peter Andersen told AFP in Aug that the war crimes tribunal had investigated the matter and found no evidence of wrongdoing. Halloran is on a y-long UN contract serving as a prosecution investigator for the tribunal charged with trying those who bear the "greatest responsibility" for atrocities committed during the west African state's decade of civil war that ended in 2001. In custody at Freetown's maximum security prison since last m, Halloran has consistently denied any wrongdoing. The girl's 2 brothers also face charges of procurement, according to the indictment. @ACCC warns business off illegal online trading Canberra. Aussie businesses trading online have been warned against duping customers out of refunds and warranties. The Aussie Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says the Internet is not exempt from the Trade Practices Act. More than 1/2 of 260 sites surveyed by the ACCC tried to block warranty rights or limit consumer liability. ACCC deputy chairman Louise Sylvan says businesses caught breaching the Act face big fines. "We are talking in particular about the rights of consumers to warranties on their products, the rights of consumers to seek refunds if there is a problem with the product," she said. "These are matters that are guaranteed under the Trade Practices Act, regardless of how consumers shop." @MP to speak with police over bribery claims Sydney. Independent Member for New England Tony Windsor says he will meet with the Aussie Fed Police (AFP) on Mon over claims he was offered a diplomatic post on the condition that he leave politics. Mr Windsor says he will only release the names of those involved in the alleged bribe if asked to by investigators from the AFP. The member for the N NSW seat says he firmly rejected the offer from an intermediary, who offered the post if he agreed not to contend the seat of New England at this election. Nat'ls' leader John Anderson and PM John Howard have denied any involvement in the claims. @Mission extended for Mars robots Pasadena (AFP). NASA has announced that its Mars robots Spirit and Opportunity would work 6 m longer than expected. NASA made the decision after re-establishing radio contact with the twin rovers, which had spent 12 days behind the Sun. "Although Spirit and Opportunity are well past warranty, they are showing few signs of wearing out," said Jim Erickson, project manager for both rovers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Cal. "We really don't know how long they will keep working, whether days or months. We will do our best to continue getting the maximum possible benefit from these great nat'l resources," he said. The robots completed their mission in Apr, which was to find evidence of water on Mars. Spirit, in Gusev crater, was headed in the direction of "Columbia Hills," where scientists hope to find rocks older than the volcanic ones examined so far. Spirit's goal is more than 3 km from its landing spot. Opportunity, on the far side of Mars from Spirit, is inside "Endurance" crater, which is the size of a stadium and is headed for layers of rock dubbed "Burns Cliff," NASA said. {{ Midnight. Passenger panic has struck again in Russia. A flight from Russia to Egypt was held up for 4 hrs with suspicious passengers demanding 2 Egyptian women be removed because they had been late boarding. Officials say the women were late because they faced extra security checks. Eventually, the 2 were taken off the flight, with passengers refusing to let the aircraft take off. Passengers on other Russian flights have prev demanded Caucasians and Chechens be removed because of fears of suicide bombers. One pilot had also refused to take off with Chechen passengers on board. Interim Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi has addressed a joint session of Congress in what many see as a scripted spot for the Bush re-election campaign. He told the pollies US-backed forces are defeating terrorists in Iraq and his govt was making progress toward democracy and freedom. He thanked the US for removing Saddam Hussein. He said it was tough going and there had been set-backs, But there would be no compromise with terror. The EU enlargement commissioner says all outstanding issues with Turkey have been resolved. Turkish officials have promised to push through liberalisation measures for the country's legal code. The head of the Chinese Env Min'y says ind'l development in China is not sustainable. He's told BBC that China's resources could only support 1/2 the population it has now. He says top levels of govt are discussing new measures to stop Chinese citizens adopting the consumer habits of the West. He says China has been examining its progress and is intent on avoiding the mistakes made by the the developed world. The EU is sending investigators to Athens after Greece admitted its deficit was larger than was permitted for it to join the EU. The Lib Dems in Brit are continuing their annual conf. Opp'n to the Iraq war has defined the party as distinct from the other majors. Iraq could yet be the defining issue in the next election, if the sit'n there doesn't improve. Charles Kennedy called on PM Blair to provide a cast iron guarantee the UK would not support unilateral action against the US's next target -- Iran. He ruled out any coal'n with Labor after the next election. There would be no deals, no nods and no compromises, said Kennedy. The Lib Dems have also been up-front in outlining tax increases for the rich, and a new local tax to pay for universal education and health programs. Lib Dems say they're not content to be a 3rd party, but will go into the next election with a view to moving toward the governing party. 3.30 am Russia has taken the first steps toward ratifying the Kyoto protocol. The Env Min'y has indicated it is ready to accept all conditions of the treaty. It now needs the agreement of 4 other Ministries. China has indicated the last speaker of an exclusively female language has died. Linguists believed the dialect may have been a unique example. 4 am A new Times poll shows Pres Bush is ahead of Kerry 48 to 45. Voters are evenly divided on which area is the more important in the election. They're split 44 to 44 on Security/Terrorism and Economy/Jobs. Bush wins the majority of the male vote, but Kerry has a narrow lead with women. Commentators point out Al Gore had an 11 pt lead with women. But the most unusual feature of the poll shows a whopping 58% of voters say there should be "major changes" with Pres Bush's policies. Even 25% of Reps said Mr Bush should make major changes. Only a tiny minority agree with Bush's current positions. While almost 70% said Bush had a clearly-defined message and they knew what he would do in any given sit'n, only 34% said the same of Kerry. 10 am Fed Transport Min John Anderson says the Govt has started re-assessing training levels for airline staff after the discovery of an incendiary device on a Virgin Blue airlines jet on Mon. Qld Prem Peter Beattie says the Virgin security incident proves the need to upgrade security at regional airports. The NSW Govt has stepped up the pressure on James Hardie to fully fund victims compensation by offering its support to the ACTU for global "black bans" on its products. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) is meeting Virgin Airlines officials over the discovery of an incendiary device in the cargo hold of a flight from Maroochydore in Qld to SYD. The NT Govt says it will join a ban on James Hardie products if the company fails to fully meet its asbestos compensation liabilities. Unions want the Vicn Govt to dump any shares its agencies have in James Hardie Industries. In a gift to opp'n leader Mark Latham a Coal'n MP says families earning moire than $100,000 pa should pay to send their children to govt schools. She then seemed to go further, indicating it would only be reasonable for all Aussie families to pay to send their children to school. Mr Latham says the Coal'n is planning to privatise education, just like it's tried with the health system. Charging fees for govt schools is "not on", said Mr Latham. The PM said the idea of fees in govt schools was not govt policy. The distraught mother of the Brit hostage in Iraq has pleaded with her son's kidnappers in a video. She was taken to hospital after making it. In Iraq, locals say US jets kill 200-300 daily, and the US and Brit are worried about just 1 or 2 of their citizens. In the US, Iraq's US-backed leader painted an optimistic picture and the American public. In a stage-managed appearance before Congress Allawi said the insurgency was "small". While US cmdrs have indicated they may need more troops, Allawi later told a Rose Garden press conf what was needed was to train more Iraqi soldiers. Japan has sent ships to the Sea of Japan after a top-selling newspaper says NK is preparing to test a medium-range missile there. PM Koizumi prev played down the prospect of a missile test. The Dow closed down 70 pts, with oil prices unnerving the market. The Nasdaq ended even. The FTSE lost 24 pts. In AUS, the All Ords is presently down 10, with News Corp weighing on the market. News was hit after bad news was reported for a local NY stn. Village Roadshow was down on news that "Catwoman" is not doing well. Lihir Gold is up 3%. In Japan, the Nikkei is down 144 pts. The Hang Seng is 67 pts lower. Westpac has started something by cutting its 3 y mortgage rate yesterday by .5%. More banks have announced similar moves today. The AUD is 71.23 and drifting lower. Gold is down .80 at $US409.05/oz. Oil is up 1 c to $US48.36/bbl. It dropped back slightly after the US said it would tap its strategic reserves. But futures contracts are up 50% so far this y. Oil demand is at a 24 y high. But the price has so far had little effect on the US economy. There's been "hardly a peep from anyone", say puzzled analysts. Sometime it must hit consumer spending power, and hence corporate profits. But optimists point out in 1980 oil was $80/bbl in today's money. 8 out of 10 Aussies own mobile phones, and sales are still booming. Now the ind'y wants to know whether they've made AUS a "better place". The indy has turned to the Academy of Soc Sciences in CBR. Reps say mobiles has raced away faster than anyone's been able to understand them. The research will be paid for by Telstra, Optus and other companies. But the Academy says the study won't be just a PR exercise, and it will speak it's mind on anything discovered. The study is expected to shape features on mobiles for y to come. MEL is bracing for a foreign invasion with the Grand Final tomorrow. Most are tipping the Bris Lions to win their 4th in a row. Crowds for the Parade trough the CBD were today were down slightly -- from 100,000 to about 80,000. Some players got to ride in the back of limos. Some players jogged behind police and community marching bands. The captains of both contending teams got to hold up the cup. And what footy parade would be complete without the umpires? You could hear the boo-ing from the suburbs. In Athens, AUS is at number 2 after China on the medal tally on day 5 after winning another 3 gold o'night. 2 US forestry workers have displayed unusual tenacity to survive a small aircraft crash. Families had been told there had been no survivors in the crash. The plane had been carrying 4 passengers and a pilot when it slammed into a Montana mtn. But 2 days after the search was given up, 2 survivors -- a man and women -- turned up alive. They had scrambled down the mtn, spending 2 nights in freezing temps. They hiked 5 mi down the mtn, carrying serious burns and a fractured spine. One phoned his mother just as she was writing his obit for the local paper. The sheriff says he regrets calling off search early. 6 pm The All Ords has closed down 10 pts after trading in a 15 pt range. It's been the market's first -ve wk in 5 wks. The Dow was 8 pts down for the wk. The Nikkei ended down 125 pts at a 5 wk low on oil and econ worries. The AUD is stronger at 71.20 US c. 6.30 pm In a highly unusual move, the US Sec of State has made a personal appeal to Arafat to step down. Colin Powell has told Yassar Arafat to go now, for the sake of his people. The US says internat'l aid may be cut unless PM Qurei is empowered. Meanwhile, Palestinians and Jewish peacenicks have clashed with soldiers nr Hebron about the barrier. 5 Palestinians were injured and 3 Israelis arrested. It was rocks versus gas grenades. Elsewhere, 3 Israeli soldiers were buried after they were killed in an attempted incursion last night. Responsibility for that attack was claimed by 3 groups, incl Islamic Jihad. After appearing before Congress, PM Allawi has been contradicted by both Pres Bush and Def Sec Rummy. Allawi said the insurgency in Iraq was small, and promised elections would be held on time in Jan. He said the sit'n was misrepresented by the media. As recently as a few days ago Allawi had said 1000s of foreign fighters were pouring across the border to fight against the govt. In his speech to the UN, he indicated Iraq was in critical need of assistance. In the Rose Garden Bush was as optimistic as Allawi, but said admitted terrorist violence might escalate as the Jan election draws nr. Allawi was more up-beat. He said 15/16 provinces were safe enough to allow elections "tomorrow". Elsewhere, Rummy told a Senate hearing it may be the case that some areas of Iraq would not take part in the election. "So be it", he added. 5 mortars have been fired at the Italian embassy in Baghdad tonight. 2 Iraqi women were injured in the attack. The US has conceded it's not winning the war against drugs in Afghanistan. Production is expected to jump another 40% this y. The trade has spiralled since the fall of the Taliban. The US says eradication efforts "can't rise to the necessary level because of the security sit'n". Japan is playing down the prospect of a NK missile test. SK says they've detected "missile-related activities". Despite the down-play, Japan is on alert. US Sec of State Powell has issued a warning the test would not change the US approach to NK nuclear problem. The UN is discussing the biggest shake-up since its post-WWII formation. The world body is considering adding 5 new permanent members to the Security Council. The current 5 permanent members -- the winners of WWII -- have the power of veto. Jack Straw has argued before the GA to admit new members. France added its weight to calls for expansion. The US wants just Japan to be added to the list. Italy doesn't like Germany winning permanent status. No-one has nominated any Arab country as a prospect. FM Downer says he was acting on advice from ASIO when he suspended the passport of a SYD butcher as he was trying to fly out to Indonesia. According to ASIO, the man may have links with JI. The butcher's lawyer says the claims are "ridiculous". Officials in Chile have recovered railway track off the Chilean coast, allegedly used to weight bodies disposed of at sea by the former Pinochet regime. A search for the evidence was ordered by a judge after former military officials claimed the Pinochet govt had disposed of left-wing opponents by secretly executing them and dumping the bodies out to sea, so no evidence would ever be found. An attempt to launch a mass action against tobacco companies in AUS has been struck down after a 2 y battle. Lawyers said it effectively spelled the end of actions in AUS. Companies would be breathing a $multi-mn sigh of relief today, said lawyers. Philip Morris Ltd said it welcomed the "common sense decision". that prevented one litigate making claims on behalf of many unnamed and unknown claimants. It's likely all tobacco claims will now have to be pursued individually. 7 pm The mystery of the explosive device on the Virgin air plane has been solved. A teen has come forward, saying it was a home-made fireworks that must have fallen out of his baggage. Police say they will take no action against the teen. One of the Fed Govt's energy consultants has contradicted claims from PM Howard. Mr Howard has always said AUS is on track to meet its carbon emission reduction -- without having to sign up to Kyoto. But the consultant says even if the govt's plans for carbon sequestration are on track, emissions will blow out within 5 y. He says other techniques offer more reliable and quicker solutions. Green groups have seized on the comments. But Mr Howard has continued to claim he "has advice" his govt's policies are the correct ones. 10 pm An Israeli woman has been killed in a Palestinian mortar attack on a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, 35 families have signalled they will accept compensation in return for accepting the Sharon pull-out plan. Others say they will never leave the N Gaza Strip. 11 pm The govt of Sudan has given a cautious welcome to a suggestion it should give more autonomy to the regions. The idea for a looser fed structure came from UNHCR commissioner Rude Lubbers [xxx]. Sudan is Africa's largest country. The Sudan Justice Min told the BBC an autonomy agreement reached with the S of the country could provide a basis for a similar agreement in the W Darfur region. Some kind of federal system was already govt police, he added. It was just a question of how much power should be devolved. The C govt's agreement with rebels in the S followed 20 y of brutal civil war. The head of the UN team organising elections in Iraq has criticised suggestion from Def Sec Rumsfeld that only limited elections might be possible in Iraq. Rumsfeld has shrugged and said "so be it", to the idea some areas might not take part in Iraqi nat'l elections, scheduled for Jan. The comments have prompted unhelpful speculation. The UN official says different groups in Iraqi have subsequently been speculating whether they will be included in the poll, and whether the elections will be credible. Gunmen have kidnapped 2 Egyptian engineers from their Baghdad office. The insurgents burst into the offices of a phone company and taken the pair. Another 4 were kidnapped on Wed from the same company. The US State Dept has confirmed Afghanistan is seeing a record poppy crime this y. It warns cultivation is occurring in areas of Afghan prev not used for that purpose. It warns that the illegal drugs trade is endangering democracy in Afghanistan. Russian Pres Putin has re-affirmed his commitment to democracy. His comments following internat'l unease at his prev-announced plan to fight terrorism in Russia. Putin said he wouldn't allow his war on terror to limit the freedom of the press. He was addressing a forum of internat'l media execs. Observers say Putin was trying to convince the world he would not change direction now. A disabled athlete from Cuba is to be stripped of his medal in Athens after testing positive for illegal steroids after winning a judo gold. 11.15 pm Vic's highest blood alcohol reading has been registered. A driver had a blood test that read .448 -- 9 times the legal limit -- after being taken to hospital after rear-ended another car. The driver has claimed in she could not remember anything that happened during the accident. She also admitted to being an alcoholic. Experts say any reading over .4 can be deadly. Fed police have interviewed a 13 yo boy after he said a home-made fire-cracker had fallen from his baggage on a flight from Maroochydore to Sydney. Police say the firework would not have exploded even when lit. NSW is considering trialing desalination plants as the full impact of climate change becomes more apparent. The idea was floated by Prem Carr after the state's panel on water resources issued a report on NSW's next 20 y of water use. They've warned of permanent water restrictions and demanded more recycling. Carr has prev derided the idea of desalination as "too polluting". He now says new technology means it needs lower energy and is less polluting now. In Perth, WA is building the S hemisphere's biggest desalination plant. But Mr Carr favours a number of smaller plants. After 3 decades, the "lost letters of Nelson Mandela" have turned up, giving a unique insight into his decades in jail. Leaders of India and Pak are moving ahead with their peace process, meeting in NY for discussions. 11.30 pm Iraqi volunteers in Baghdad are handing out 1000s of leaflets, calling on insurgents to spare the life of a Brit hostage. The leaflets are also asking for anyone with info to call. Despite the insistent of key govts of "no deals with terrorists", negotiations are apparently going on in the background, say observers. The terrorists' web site has given no new clues about calls for clemency. 300 tribal elders in SE Afghanistan have reportedly ordered local people to vote for Pres Karzai on pain of having their houses burned down. The region is formerly a stronghold of the Taliban. The Taliban have threatened to burn down the houses of anyone who votes. }}