From the World-Wide Resourses of the Western Australia Reserch Senter(*) OIL THE NEWS THAT FITS MY VIEWS #36 =============================== In the Run-Up to World War III, Reliably Reporting the News Relevant to Extreme Right-Wing Democratic Socialists Everywhere (validated for RiteThink(tm) by the Office of Our Man in Can-berra). Visit Our Home Page At: http://www.chickenhead.com/loserscopes/ See the Undeniable Evidence At: http://www.evil-doers.org/evidence This Stuff Blogged At: http://kymhorsell.blogspot.com/ Also Kindly Archived At: http://www.kymhorsell.com/OIL/ [Allegedly uncontactable! Don't be surprised if it responds! ;-)] Iraqi Body Count: http://www.iraqbodycount.net/ [1,930+ as at 23 Apr 2003]. ------------------------------------------------------------ Selecting latest news stories and other data for you... ------------------------------------------------------------ I think it is conspicuous they haven't stumbled across anything so far. -- Dr Hand Blix, 22 Apr 2003. Commenting on the US finds on WMD in Iraq to date. Yes. -- Colin Powell, 22 Apr 2003. "Are there consequences of standing up to the US like that?". About those damned Freedom-men, again. We want to leave... as soon as we accomplish our mission. -- Pres Bush Jr, 24 Apr 2003. We will not impose a government on Iraq. -- Pres Bush Jr, 24 Apr 2003. By, for and of the people OK-ed by the Bush Admin. That ain't gunna happen. -- Don Rumsfeld, 24 Apr 2003. If you're asking whether Iraq will end up with a few clerics running everything. Whether he destroyed them, hid em or moved em... we'll find out. -- Pres Bush Jr, Abrams tank factory, 24 Apr 2003. Where the HELL are those Iraqi WMD? We were not lying. But it was just a matter of emphasis. -- Bush Admin official, ABC NEWS, 25 Apr 2003. Emphasing WMD rather than 9/11 and "sending a message" as the real reasons for attacking Iraq. ---------------------------------------- Wed, 23 Apr 2003 Markets 230 killed in storms Blix attacks "shaky" intel on weapons American designs on Iraqi bases confront an explosive history Leave Iraq before the US becomes too invested 3 children found dead in Bris home No role for UN weapons inspectors in Iraq US baulks at return of UN inspectors Multilateral lite Powell says France will face consequences Turkish newspaper warns of terrorist attacks NSW RSL warns anti-war protesters US holding 16 yo terrorists in Cuba Bashir on trial for treason US soldiers tell Iraqi cops who"s boss Palestinian in-fighting US postal workers find powder No biotoxins in Wash, Fla mail scares Serbia goes to condition green Obasanjo elected pres Howard talks Zimbabwe Afghanistan still in chaos China closes schools in SARS fears 4 Aussies suspected of sars 300 Aussies with dengue WHO stands by 10% sugar intake Aussie inflation blows out to 3.4% Pay doctors more $10 bn offered, with a catch C'wealth urged to come clean on drug busts 2nd asylum-seeking boat on the way Indian companies deny Aussie IT sweatshops NY. MARKETS! The Dow closed up 156 pts (1.8%) to 8,485. Gold was up 90 c to $US334.80. In London, the FTSE closed up 29 pts (0.9%) to 3,318. The Dax was up 61 pts (2.1%) to 2,961. In Japan, the Nikkei dived again, down 178 pts (2.3%) to 7,790. The Hang Seng was down marginally. In AUS, the All Ords rose 22 pts (0.7%) to 2,964. Dhaka. 230 KILLED IN STORMS! The death toll from storms that have ravaged Bangladesh has risen to 230. Officials announced the figure as further bad weather hit the capital, Dhaka. The toll incl at least 121 who died when a ferry sank in a storm late on Min on the Buringanga R. Another 52 were declared drowned after another boat carrying a wedding party capsized the same day in the Kishoreganj district. Blix attacks "shaky" intel on weapons NY (The Guardian). The UN chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, yesterday condemned the prewar efforts of Brit and American intel to show that Iraq had WMD, and insisted that, without UN verification, their postwar inspections lacked credibility. "We may not be the only ones in the world who have credibility, but I do think we have credibility for being objective and independent," he said. Mr Blix, who is due to retire from his post in June, briefed the UN security council on his readiness to send inspection teams back to Iraq. Earlier, in a BBC radio interview, he said the coalition had appeared to use "shaky" evidence, including forged documents, as a pretext for making war on Iraq. Afterwards he said it was "conspicuous" that coalition forces had so far failed to find "anything relevant" in their search for proscribed weapons. The Whitehouse, which accused Mr Blix of hindering its drive for internat'l support for the war, is reluctant to see him return to Iraq and has already sent its own teams to search for illegal weapons. It is is recruiting former UN inspectors from the US, Brit and AUS to verify any discoveries. The US desire to sideline the UN, and the info on which the US and Brit based their case for military action, also attracted sharp criticism from the former For Sec Robin Cook. Yesterday Cook said he doubted that there was a single figure in the intel services who believed that a WMD in working order would be found in Iraq, and he called for Mr Blix to be allowed back to Iraq "on the next plane". Avoiding a direct attack on Tony Blair, he accused the Whitehouse of "reinventing the term weapon of mass destruction to cover any artillery shell with a chemical content, or any biological toxin, even if it had not been fitted to a weapon". Dr Blix said that given the concern for safety in Iraq it was too early to send inspectors back, but the decision could not be postponed indefinitely. Speaking in Vienna, the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, backed Mr Blix, insisting that his security council mandate remained valid, despite his team's withdrawal from Iraq before the war began. Earlier in the day Blix used a BBC radio interview to criticise the Bush Admin for its use of questionable intel, including forged documents, in its effort to show that Iraq possessed banned weapons. He said it was "very, very disturbing" that US intel had failed to identify as fake documents suggesting that Iraq had tried to buy uranium from Niger. Brit officials now admit that documents purporting to show that Iraq was trying to obtain uranium to develop nuclear weapons were forgeries. The claim that that Saddam Hussein was trying to procure uranium from Niger, in west Africa, was presented as hard intel-based evidence in the dossier on Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction which the govt published in Sep. The claim was taken seriously by the UN weapons inspectors until, with the help of independent experts, they found that the documents were forged. In early Mar Mohamed El Baradei, dir of the IAEA and chief nuclear inspector for Iraq, contradicted the Downing Street and MI6 claim. He said the documents used to substantiate them were "not authentic". Though intel officials say there was additional evidence pointing to Iraq's attempt to procure U, Whitehall now agrees that the intel documents it sent to the IAEA -- the UN's nuclear watchdog -- and the US were fabricated. Blix also criticised the Americans for attempting to undermine his authority. "They felt that stories about these things would be useful to have and they let it out," he said. "It was not the case. It was a bit unfair and hurt us." American designs on Iraqi bases confront an explosive history Baghdad (SMH). Iraqis were bitterly opposed when a foreign power occupied 2 of their air bases after independence. The controversy over the US' alleged plans to maintain use of 4 Iraqi air bases could resurrect bitter resentments which overshadowed the 1st 25 y of the country's existence. Prior to granting Iraq independence, in 1930 the then colonial power, Brit, imposed a treaty on its client ruler, King Faisal, obliging Iraq to defer to Brit in military and foreign affairs. At the heart of the treaty were 2 air bases -- in Habaniya nr Baghdad and Shui'bha nr Basra -- which for the next 25 y were garrisoned by Brit troops and auxiliaries. From the start, the presence of Brit forces in supposedly indep Iraq aroused deep resentments within the state's increasingly nat'listic intelligentsia and officer corps. Hailing from the Hejaz region of present-day Saudi Arabia, Faisal was installed by Brit as king of distant Iraq in recognition of his leading role in the Arab revolt against the Turks in 1917. The Hashemites therefore had little or no power base of their own in their newly created kingdom, formed from 3 Ottoman provinces seized from Turkey in the aftermath of World War II. From the start the Brit presence in Iraq was neither token nor precautionary. Primacy was given to the Royal Air Force, which was repeatedly used to put down rebellions amongst the Kurds of the north and the Shia Arabs of the south. Brit did not evacuate its 2 Iraqi air bases until 1955, and even then it insisted that Iraq sign a defence treaty giving it access to them in event of war. The new treaty provoked rioting and looting in the streets of Baghdad, and contributed to the nat'list sentiment which finally saw the last of the Hashemite monarchs butchered in a 1958 coup. Little wonder, then, that the US defence establishment reacted with such hostility to last weekend's NY Times report that it too will ask a client Iraqi govt to grant long-term facilities on its soil. The Def Sec, Donald Rumsfeld, angrily denounced the report. "The impression that is left around the world is that we plan to occupy the country, we plan to use their bases over a long period of time, and it's flat false," he said. Leave Iraq before the US becomes too invested NY (Reuters). When the US invaded Cuba in 1898 to liberate it from Spain's oppressive colonial rule, Congress' declaration of war renounced any desire "to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control" over that Caribbean island. But when the war ended, the US set up a govt in Cuba headed by an American general. Before turning over control to the Cuban people in 1902, the American rulers opened Cuba up to US businesses. And, as a condition for gaining its independence, Congress forced Cuba to give the US the right to establish a military base on Cuban soil and to intervene in its affairs -- which the US did 4 times between 1906 and 1920. History, it appears, is about to repeat itself in postwar Iraq. The Bush Admin has put Lt Gen Jay Garner (ret) in charge of Iraq's civil affairs until it decides the time is right to return control of that Middle East country to its people. During this period of American occupation, the US will have a heavy hand in determining what kind of govt will emerge in that country -- and who will lead it. The front-runner for the leadership job appears to be Ahmad Chalabi, a 57-yo Iraqi exile who left his native country when he was 12. His claim to power is based more on the American military troops who protect him than on any widespread popular following among the Iraqi people. To ensure the outcome it wants in Iraq, the Bush Admin undoubtedly will exact an agreement from the civilian leader it installs in Baghdad that allows the US to have a major presence in Iraq for a long time. This past weekend, there were reports that the Pentagon wants to set up at least 4 bases there -- outposts similar to the one that has allowed the US to maintain a military presence in Cuba for the past 100 years. Such a presence may thwart rather than protect the popular will of the Iraqi people. After Iraqis regain control of their country, would American officials allow US troops stationed there to just stand by and do nothing if an Islamic republic -- even a democratically elected one -- came to power? What would these troops be told to do if the new Iraqi govt begins repressing its opponents? In 1912, a decade after the 1st US occupation of Cuba ended, the white-dominated govt massacred more than 6,000 black Cubans, many of them vets of its independence war. They had organised the American hemisphere's 1st black political party to agitate for racial equality. US troops on the island were ordered to protect American citizens and business interests but did nothing to stop the carnage. A few days after the massacre, a Cuban newspaper published a drawing of a white Cuban and an American soldier playing soccer with the heads of 2 dead black leaders -- a depiction of the cooperation the paper believed the US had given the Cuban troops who carried out the massacre. The Bush Admin says it will maintain control of Iraq until order is established and a representative govt can take root. That probably will take y -- and force the US to take sides in the power struggles that inevitably will unfold. That's a formula for disaster. If the goal in attacking Iraq was liberation, not conquest, then the Bush Admin should quickly turn over the running of that country to the UN. The longer the US stays in Iraq, the more vested it will become in trying to shape its new govt -- and the more pressure it will get from American businesses anxious to reap financial gain from the US occupation of that oil-rich country. "We have no ambition in Iraq, except to remove a threat and restore control of that country to its own people," Pres Bush said the night the war began. We'll soon find out whether he really meant it. Brisbane. 3 CHILDREN FOUND DEAD IN BRIS HOME! Scientific police will continue to examine a Bris home today after the discovery of 3 bodies believed to be from the same family. [It's been a bad span for Qld. There have been 3 multiple homicides in the past 3 days]. A family friend found the bodies of 2 girls and a boy in a 2-story brick home on a new housing estate at Bridgeman Downs in Grass Tree Close yesterday afternoon. It's believed the 3 dead were aged between 12 and their late teens. They are all of Indian Fiji descent. Their mother has not been located, while neighbours say the father is still working in Fiji. [Later reports said both the mother and father returned from Fiji this evening]. NY. NO ROLE FOR UN WEAPONS INSPECTORS IN IRAQ! The Bush Admin has made it clear there's no role for the UN weapons inspectors in Iraq. This is despite most Sec Council members wanting the inspectors to finish the job. Whitehouse officials say they want to avoid any kind of deal that would link a lifting of UN sanctions against Iraq to a return of UN weapons inspectors. A rep says the Coalition of the Willing has taken on the responsibility of dismantling Iraq's WMD programs. US baulks at return of UN inspectors NY. The US has opposed allowing UN inspectors to return to Iraq to verify weapons disarmament. The move sets up a possible new UN Sec Council confrontation with Russia, Germany and France. The Sec Council is meeting in closed session to discuss the inspectors' possible return to Iraq. It will also discuss the role the UN may play in the reconstruction of Iraq. But Whitehouse mouth Ari Fleischer says the US and the allies with which it invaded Iraq are doing the job of searching for weapons of mass destruction themselves. He says Pres George W Bush wants to focus on methods that are "the most effective to get the job done". "The coalition has taken on responsibility for the dismantling of Iraq's WMD and missile programs, which is part of the internat'l community's shared goal," Mr Fleischer said. Whitehouse officials have also made clear that they want to avoid any kind of deal that would link a lifting of UN sanctions against Iraq to a return of UN weapons inspectors. Russia wants to link the 2 issues. US forces are yet to find conclusive evidence of Iraqi development of WMD. US officials, aware they would face global anger if no such weapons are found, say they need more time for the search. Beijing. MULTILATERAL LITE! US embassy officials say talks between the US, NK and China [a scheme dubbed "multilateral lite"] aimed at resolving the nuclear issue have started in Beijing. US Asia envoy James Kelly is heading the American delegation, while the NK negotiators are led by Li Gun, an expert on US issues. China is represented by Fu Ying, an Asian affairs specialist. The talks, which are scheduled to last until Fri, are the first since the nuclear standoff between NK and the US erupted in Oct last y, with the revelation that NK has been engaged in a secret nuclear program. Powell says France will face consequences Washington (AFP). US Sec of State Colin Powell said that France would face consequences for its opp'n to the war in Iraq as snr aides to Pres George W Bush met to consider ways to express Washington's anger. Asked in an interview whether Paris would be punished for its anti-war stance, Powell replied bluntly: "Yes." "We have to take a look at the relationship. We have to look at all aspects of our relationship with France in light of this," he told PBS TV last night. Powell's comments came as snr US officials weighed tough measures against France, including side-lining Paris at NATO and limiting its participation in transatlantic forum, had been considered at a high-level meeting this week. Participants in the meeting, held on Mon at the Whitehouse after a similar gathering last wk was postponed, did not arrive at any decisions but are expected to gather again, possibly next week, in an effort to reach consensus, the officials said. The officials, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said VP Dick Cheney's office had been particularly vocal in pressing for some kind of broad punitive measures to be taken against France. Dissatisfaction with France has reached such a point that apart from Powell, the State Dept, which has registered opp'n to the punitive suggestions under consideration, appeared to be resigned to the possible moves. Among the ideas discussed at Mon's meeting included bypassing the N Atlantic Council, NATO's governing body, in favour of the alliance's Defence Planning Committee from which France withdrew in 1966, the officials said. But perhaps more significantly, participants also looked at possibly not inviting France to numerous US-sponsored or -hosted consultative policy meetings held regularly with Washington's European allies, they said. Bush's most snr advisors -- Powell, Def Sec Donald Rumsfeld and nat'l security advisor Condoleezza Rice -- did not attend Mon's meeting, but sent deputies instead, the officials said. Powell, Rumsfeld and Rice had been set to meet last Thu to go over the issue of France but that meeting was postponed at the last minute after French ambassador to the US intervened to stop it and the Pentagon asked for a delay to better prepare its arguments. The defence dept is in general agreement with Cheney's office that France should pay some price for its opp'n to the war on Iraq and its refusal to back the deployment of NATO assets to help defend Turkey during the conflict, the officials said. The State Dept, however, wants to move beyond the split over Iraq and focus more on areas of future cooperation with France, including in Iraq where Boucher said there would be "opportunities" to work with allies on reconstruction. Sydney. TURKISH NEWSPAPER WARNS OF TERRORIST ATTACKS! The website of a Turkish newspaper says al-Qaeda terrorists are planning to assassinate Aussie govt officials. The Australian newspaper says the security alert was issued on the eve of ANZAC Day ceremonies in Gallipoli, as Treas Peter Costello prepares to join memorial services at Lone Pine on Fri. DFAT is warning Aussies to be cautious in Turkey -- especially in areas popular with foreigners. Sydney. NSW RSL WARNS ANTI-WAR PROTESTERS! The NSW RSL says protesters should stay away from ANZAC Day events because the nat'l holiday commemorates peace and not war. NSW Pres Keith Hall says people wishing to demonstrate should make a silent protest and step to one side during commemorations. He warns that demonstrators who step in the way should remember that the walking sticks of veterans are very hard. Mr Hall says the war in Iraq has made ANZAC Day particularly poignant and he expects numbers to be up on last y's crowd of around 225,000 in SYD. [Later y 16,000 Aussies attended commemorations in Turkey on ANZAC Day. This y, about 1/2 that number are expected, due to terrorism and SARS fears]. San Juan. US HOLDING 16 YO TERRORISTS IN CUBA! A military officials says the US is holding terrorist suspects as young as 16 at its Cuban detention centre in Guantanamo Bay. Lt Col Barry Johnson has confirmed their presence following a report by AUS ABC TV that juveniles were being held at the vamp. Johnson says the teens are held in cells separate from the adult detainees but are considered enemy combatants. He says all the teens were captured as active combatants against US forces and had been brought to Camp X-Ray after Jan 1. Jakarta. BASHIR ON TRIAL FOR TREASON! A Muslim cleric suspected of leading a violent SE Asian Islamic network has gone on trial in Indon for treason under tight security. Supporters of Abu Bakr Bashir have packed the large hall in Jakarta where the trial is being held [in the Geosciences building]. Scores of police were on hand, wielding water canon, and spectators are being searched before entering the court compound. According to a copy of the indictment, Bashir will be charged with treason, defined as leading efforts to oust the govt from 1993 to 2001. Bashir has already severed one prison term on a charge of trying to start an Islamic militia. He spent many years in exile in Malaysia to avoid a 2nd prison term. He only returned to Indon after the fall of Pres Suharto. Baghdad. US SOLDIERS TELL IRAQI COPS WHO'S BOSS! Baghdad's interim police chief has begun his job, discussing plans for the force, but US troops have made it clear they are still in charge of the city. American military officers have appointed Zabar Abdul Razaq as the interim police chief until a new Iraqi govt takes over. Razaq's first meeting at his new office in E Baghdad was with Lt Col Alan King. King told Razaq the Iraqi police must defer to US troops or face arrest by US forces and treatment as POW's. [In another embarrassment to the US, 4 soldiers have been placed under military arrest after $2 mn in stolen currency was discovered in an esky. The soldiers had been part of a group that took $bns in currency into safekeeping earlier this wk]. Ramallah. PALESTINIAN IN-FIGHTING! In a last-min mediation mission, Arab leaders have pressed Yasser Arafat to end a standoff with his PM-designate, Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen), over the composition of the new Cabinet. The crisis threatens to scuttle a US-backed plan that holds out the promise of Palestinian indep within 3 y. A snr official says Arafat has received phone calls from Arab League Sec-Gen Amr Moussa, the Egyptian Pres, the Qatari For Min, and the Greek For Min. Tacoma. US POSTAL WORKERS FIND POWDER! 4 postal workers have been hospitalised in the US NW after a white powder believed to be poison was found in a sub'n mail distribution centre. Officials in Washington state say postal workers discovered the suspicious powder on the table can called the Tacoma Fire Dept and an army biotech team from the nearby Ft Lewis army base. Around 100 workers were evacuated and the centre's been quarantined in anticipation of test results. [Later reports suggest the powder was nothing]. No Biotoxins in Wash, Fla Mail Scares Tacoma (AP). A Postal Service centre was evacuated Tue after a preliminary test indicated white powder found among some envelopes might be toxic. Later tests found no signs of a harmful biological substance. State and fire dept officials said tests by the Army National Guard and state health officials found no signs of any biotoxin. Samples will be sent to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention for review. Nearly 100 people were cleared from the building after the powder was found about 12:45 a.m. on a table where mail is processed, fire Capt Jolene Davis said. The centre reopened Tue evening. There was a similar scare later Tue morning at a Postal Service distribution centre in Tukwila, just south of Seattle. Tests on a granular substance found in a mail basket there were negative, said Jeff Scobba, a US Postal Inspection Service rep. Elsewhere, 6 Postal Service workers were taken to a hospital in Fort Myers, Fla, after they were exposed to an unknown white powder when they opened a mail container unloaded from a FedEx plane at Southwest Florida Internat'l Airport. Gerry McKiernan, a rep for the US Postal Service in Washington, said Tue night that tests on the substance found there also were negative. Belgrade. SERBIA GOES TO CONDITION GREEN! Serbia's acting Pres Natash Micic says she's ordered the lifting of a state of emergency declared last m after the murder of PM Zoran Djindjic. Micic says that after 42 days those who committed the killing, and also many other crimes, have been found and brought to justice. The state of emergency was declared on Mar 12, just hrs after Djindjic was shot dead in broad daylight outside Belgrade's main govt building. The govt has blamed the so-called Zemun criminal gang for the assassination. Abuja. OBASANJO ELECTED PRES! Nigeria's Pres Obasanjo has won a landmark election victory as observers slam ballot rigging and intimidation in a chaotic vote which left at least 17 dead. Obasanjo beat his closest challenger and fellow former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari by a margin of 2 votes to 1 according to official results released after more than 98% of districts had declared. The head of the nat'l election agency is due to hold a press conf to confirm the result. [A period of instability is expected after the result was rejected by both the opp'n and foreign observers. Obasanjo was said to have won about 62% of the vote]. Canberra. HOWARD TALKS ZIMBABWE! PM John HoWARd and Comm'th Sec-Gen Don McKinnon will hold talks in CBR today. Zimbabwe and its future is expected to be high on the agenda. Mr Howard chairs a 3-nation committee comprising AUS, Nigeria and S Africa, and announced earlier this y Zimbabwe would remain suspended from the Commonwealth until the group's next leaders' meeting in Dec. If they want a visit from King Chuck, they will have to mend their ways! Geneva. AFGHANISTAN STILL IN CHAOS! A human rights group says 18 m after US forces ousted the Taliban in Afghanistan, warlords are terrorising the population and religious fundamentalism is on the rise again. NY-based Human Rights Watch says even the opening of schools and colleges for woman is under threat. The organisation says the internat'l community has allowed warlords and loyal military cmdrs to take control of much of Afghanistan. There are 11,000 US and allied troops still in Afghanistan many hunting Taliban leaders and members of al-Qaeda. Beijing. CHINA CLOSES SCHOOLS IN SARS FEARS! China has closed most schools in Beijing to prevent the spread of SARS. A leading investment bank, JP Morgan Chase, says the country's economy -- ione of the fastest-growing in the world -- will shrink this Q because of the disease. SARS has now killed around 236 people and infected 4,200 world-wide since it first emerged from S China last Nov. Meanwhile, HK is scheduled to announce a major economic relief package to alleviate the effects of SARS on the territory. [Later reports say 9 people died, and 170 more were infected with SARS in China in the past 24 hrs]. Adelaide. 4 AUSSIES SUSPECTED OF SARS! 4 Aussies are under investigation for SARS and authorities have cancelled an int'l sporting event due to fears about the virus, which has killed even healthy young adults. A 52 yo man has been placed in isolation in an Adel hosp after complaining of a fever and cough. Health officials say the man has recently returned from Thailand and spent 4 hrs in transit at Singapore airport. A 23 yo Adel man was also admitted to hosp yesterday with a mild respiratory condition after returning from Malaysia. Townsville. 300 AUSSIES WITH DENGUE! The number of Dengue fever cases in FNQ has topped 300, with fears that many more cases have gone unreported. The Tropical Public Health Unit says 305 people have been diagnosed with the mosquito-borne disease, mostly in Cairns. Unit rep Scott Richie says more have been infected without knowing it and warns people suffering from flu-like symptoms to see a doctor. Dengue-carrying mosquitoes breed in water containers in backyards and bite people indoors, transmitting the disease. Geneva. WHO STANDS BY 10% SUGAR INTAKE! The WHO says it stands by scientific findings advising consumers to limit their intake of sugar. The Geneva-based WHO says it's received letters from US and EU associations representing the sugar and soft-drink ind'y. The letters hotly dispute research that recommends consumers limit sugar intake to 10% of all food and drink consumed each day. But rep Jon Liden says WHO believes the findings represent the best available science in the world and it stands by the advice. Canberra. AUSSIE INFLATION BLOWS OUT TO 3.4%! Inflation in AUS has hit a 7-y high, with petrol and fresh food pushing the numbers above market expectations and the RBA's 2-3% "comfort zone". The ABS released new figures today that show prices jumped 1.3% in the Mar Q, for an annual inflation rate of 3.4%. Most economists had predicted a worst-case value of 3.2%, still above the RBA's upper limit. It's the highest level since Mar 1996, not counting the 6.1% GST-introduced rise in Sep 2000. Analysts say the drought and the Iraqi war have conspired to produce another in what is now a sequence of one-off effects. Canberra. PAY DOCTORS MORE! One of the creators of Medicare (now called Medicard) says the fed govt should bite the bullet and fork out $5 to doctors to encourage them to bulk-bill patients. Prof John Deeble says the govt's proposed shake-up of the scheme is the worst-possible solution to a beaten-up problem. Under the reported new Medicard charges, doctors would be paid from $1 to $6.30 extra to bulk-bill pensioners and low-income families. Reports say the govt's changes would result in middle- and higher-income families paying between $2 and $20 extra per doctor's consultation. Canberra. $10BN OFFERED, WITH A CATCH! PM Howard has announced an extra $10 bn over 5 y for the states and territories in an attempt to end argument over new health funding agreements. If the states meet conditions imposed by the Commonwealth, incl tipping in more of their own budgets, they will qualify for total health funding of up to $42 bn. Mr Howard says he'll write to the states about the offer, while Health Min Kay (I don't attend other meetings other people call) Patterson is to convene a meeting of all health ministers to discuss the new agreement. C'wealth urged to come clean on drug busts Canberra. There are renewed concerns the Fed Govt's tough stance on drugs is having little impact, despite the recent seizure of 50 kg of heroin in Vic. Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform rep, Brian McConnell, says the latest bust was more about govt propaganda than effective control. Mr McConnell says politicians and law enforcers need to place successes in perspective, to ensure the community is not misled. "The Govt and the law enforcement agencies have never told us what proportion that they're capturing, they've never put this in context, they've never said look we've captured 50 kg, this represents a certain proportion of the drugs coming into AUS." Meanwhile, 26 N Korean nat'ls arrested in relation to last week's drug haul at Lorne on Vic's SW coast, have arrived in MEL under police guard. The crew members of the N Korean freighter were extradited from SYD, and are being held at the MEL Custody Centre. Earlier today, 3 Asian men appeared in the MEL Magistrates Court over the same heroin haul. All have been remanded in custody to face a committal hearing in Aug. Meanwhile, another 3 men arrested by Fed Police last Wed in connection with the drug seizure, have appeared in MEL Magistrate's Court earlier today and have been remanded. Canberra. 2ND ASYLUM-SEEKING BOAT ON THE WAY! A 2nd boatload of Vietnamese people could be attempting to reach AUS. The ABC quotes an Indon embassy rep as saying the Indon navy has escorted 1 boat with 42 Vietnamese into the S China Sea and away from AUS. But she says a 2nd boat has been in Indon waters for the past wk. Meanwhile, Imm Min Ruddock says he believes the first boat is carrying 6 families, some with relatives already in AUS. Melbourne. INDIAN COMPANIES DENY AUSSIE IT SWEATSHOPS! A 2nd Indian-based IT company has denied paying sweatshop wages to Australian-based staff. MEL's Herald Sun newspaper accused Telstra of using 100 Indian "computer experts" on about 1/4 of Aussie salary. The newspaper says Indian-based companies such as Infosys and Satyam are paying their AUS-based staff as little as $800 per m to replace higher-paid Aussie citizens. {{ CONTINUOUS WAR NEWS IT'S DAY THIRTY-FOUR. 9.30 pm Karbala. The celebrations are continuing in Karbala, with approx 1 mn Shias commemorating a religious festival once banned by Saddam. Anti-American sentiment is on the rise, with placards and banners calling on US troops to leave the country immediately. Shiites are calling for a Iraqi state of their choosing, not one "pre selected" by US officials. Calls from leaders for an Iranian-style Islamic state are also growing. Elsewhere, a leading Muslim cleric has been released by the US. He appeared in Baghdad today, saying he'd been beaten and humiliated by US soldiers. Former Republican power broker Newt Gingrich has called for a shake-up of the State Dept. He says the goals of the State Dept continue to support Syria and Saudi Arabia, and that is the exact opposite of the stated goals of the President. He denied he was part of the Rumsfeld vs Powell fight. A Russian statement this evening says a "catastrophic development" is imminent within 24 hrs on the NK nuclear standoff. The statement is at odds with others from the US. While the meaning hasn't been made clear on local TV, indications are it may involve a US air strike on NK. Elsewhere, in the meeting between China, the US and NK in Beijing, the status of the host nation is still being discussed. There is some concern that the Chinese officials attending the meeting are not snr enough to discuss anything. NK wanted direct talks with the US, but the US claimed that would be "appeasement" of the communist dictatorship. It's the first time the 3 have engaged in talks at this level since the 1953 Armistice. If the talks are successful, it could boost the importance of China on the world stage. If the talks fail, it could be a significant loss of face. WHO experts have arrived in Shanghai to verify for themselves local reports that only 2 people have fallen ill from the SARS virus. Elsewhere, Singapore's PM said the SARS outbreak is the biggest crisis in the 40-y history of the island nation. The shopping district is almost deserted. Ankara has warned again that it has intel that Al Qaeda may carry out terrorist operations in AUS before the end of the m. It also says operations may be planned for Israel, Spain, the US and Britain. Airports are among the list of most likely targets. }} ---------------------------------------- Thu, 24 Apr 2003 Oil prices slump as OPEC boosts production NK warns of US hostility 21 missing in mud-slide 2 killed by rebels: Phil Suicide attack kills 2 US marines begin patrolling Iraq-Iran border C'wealth says no favours from US for Iraq contracts UN staff enter N Iraq Shiite pilgrimage ends 58 Aussies off to Iraq SARS tolls climbs Palestinian cabinet agreed 4 Iraqi officials captured Green line opens in Cyprus Quake in W Russia Dems call for co-op with Indon Vaile off to grab some crumbs from Iraq AUS joins race for SARS cure War coins issued for ANZAC day MEL water restrictions threaten Markets Oil prices slump as OPEC boosts production NY. World prices for crude oil have headed sharply lower overnight, promising further relief for motorists and industry. Although a meeting of OPEC oil ministers is tipped to agree to production cuts to head off a glut and support prices tonight, prices of US crude have slumped as new figures showed a huge increase in American oil inventories. West Texas crude is this morning being traded at just over $US28.00 a barrel, down more than 6% on this time yesterday. It is likely that lower petrol prices will bring AUS's inflation measures back in check in the current June quarter. March quarter figures released yesterday showed annual inflation running above the Reserve Bank target range at 3.4%. Those figures were pushed up significantly by increases at the petrol pump. Seoul. NK WARNS OF US HOSTILITY! NK says the key to successful nuclear talks in Beijing with the US will be Washington showing a willingness to change what Pyongyang sees as a hostile policy toward the communist state. The official KCNA news agency says the US should renounce its hostile intent before there can be discussions about dismantling the N's suspected nuclear weapons program. Guatemala City. 21 MISSING IN MUD-SLIDE! At lest 21 people are still missing after a mud-slide buried 3 homes in a tiny village in Guatemala. Local residents of Chichicaste, about 270 km W of Guatemala City, say there was a tremendous noise early in the morning and 3 families are now missing and believed to be buried in the mud. A resident says firefighters are searching in the mud for as many as 22 people listed as missing in the village of some 94 inhabitants. Pagadian. 2 KILLED BY REBELS: PHIL! Muslim separatists say they've killed at least 2 people and taken several policemen and bus passengers hostage in an attack on a town in the S Philippines. A cmdr of the MILF said in a radio interview his forces attacked Kulambugan in the S island of Mindanao and shot up a passenger bus, killing 2 people. Abdulrahman Macapaar, known as Commander Bravo, says the rebels attacked the bus after it allegedly refused to stop at their checkpoint. Jerusalem. SUICIDE ATTACK KILLS 2! Police say a suicide bomber has blown himself up at a train stn in the C Israeli town of Kfar Saba during the morning rush hr, killing him,self an a bystander. At lest 10 others were injured. Police say the bomber was stopped by security guards at the entrance to the stn, preventing greater casualties. A rescue rep says all the wounded have been taken to hosp. The PM's office says the bombing is a vicious attack against Israeli civilians. US marines begin patrolling Iraq-Iran border Doha. Faced with resurgent Shiite political activism, US marines have begun patrolling stretches of the Iraqi border with Iran in order to screen border traffic for hostile infiltrators. Centcom said the patrols involve members of the 4th Light Armoured Reconnaissance Battalion attached to Task Force Tarawa and have been underway in NEern Iraq since Mon. The operation began amid new concern in Washington that Iranian agents bent on stirring up anti-American unrest among fellow Iraqi Shiites might be infiltrating into the country. Whitehouse mouth Ari Fleischer said that the US had made it clear to Iran that it would "oppose any outside interference in Iraq's road to democracy." 100s of 1000s of pilgrims have flocked to holy Shiite city of Karbala over the past few days for religious celebrations, some of which have evolved into loud protests against the US occupation of Iraq. As part of their border patrols, "the Marines will search and interview all people attempting to enter and leave Iraq through Iran," Centcom said. It added that the US troops were prepared to detain all former Iraqi regime officials, third-country nat'ls and suspected insurgents, as well as seize weapons, antiquities and large sums of money from people attempting to remove them from Iraq. C'wealth says no favours from US for Iraq contracts Canberra. Trade Min Mark Vaile says there is no official US policy of favouring AUS or Brit companies in awarding aid contracts for rehabilitation in Iraq. This weekend the minister is travelling to the US with a delegation from AUS companies to meet American companies which have won major aid contracts. Mr Vaile says most of the AUS companies already have expertise in areas such as infrastructure, building and agriculture in Iraq. "There was an interesting article, I think it was in the NY Post in the last couple of days that suggested that when prime contracting companies in the US were looking for contractors, that they should 1st look to Great Brit and AUS," he said. "Certainly at an official level that's not been the case. It's a matter of being the most efficient." UN staff enter N Iraq Ankara. A small team of UN aid officers have entered N Iraq for the 1st time since the US-led invasion, UN officials say. 5 internat'l officers from the UN children's relief agency, UNICEF, and a World Food Program (WFP) officer crossed from Turkey into N Iraq, UNICEF rep Ruth Leona said. Another team of 28 UN officers arrived in Diyarbakir in SE Turkey from their base in Larnaca, Cyprus, and were expected to cross into Iraq on Thu, she said. Their return had been delayed for more than a wk after the US military said it could not guarantee their safety. Internat'l officers pulled out of Iraq more than a m ago ahead of the war. Local aid workers have been transporting and distributing UN humanitarian assistance. Another 700 internat'l UN staff, who withdrew ahead of the war, are on standby to redeploy. They are to join 3,400 Iraqis still employed by the world body once security allows. Karbala. SHIITE PILGRIMAGE ENDS! 100s of 1000s of Shi'ite pilgrims flocked to Iraq's holiest city of Karbala in a pilgrimage banned under Saddam. But the 2nd and last day of the ceremony failed to ignite the large anti-US demos feared by US officials despite calls by clerics for mass shows of anti-Americanism. Meanwhile, the US has rebuffed a diplomatic olive branch from France and warned Iran not to interfere in the internal politics of Iraq in a bid to push its brand of Islamic fundamentalism. Townsville. 58 AUSSIES OFF TO IRAQ! AUS has farewelled more Iraq-bound troops amid reports that up to 30% of soldiers returning from the Gulf could suffer PTSD. The 58 RAAF traffic controllers and support crew will help co-ordinate humanitarian flights to Baghdad Internat'l Airport. Air Force Chief Angus Houston warned the troops who depart tomorrow, that they will be working in an extremely hot and culturally demanding environment. Geneva. SARS TOLLS CLIMBS! As SARS claimed 6 more lives, the WHO has extended its travel warning to incl Beijing, the N China prov of Shanxi, and the Canadian business capital, Toronto. In a statement posted on its website, WHO says its travel warning is issued to protect public health and reduce opportunities for further internat'l spread of the disease. The advice to postpone non-essential travel to the 3 destinations will be re-examined in 3 wks' time. Ramallah. PALESTINIAN CABINET AGREED! After significant internal ructions, Palestinian Pres Yarrer Arafat and his PM have agreed on the makeup of a reform cabinet. Officials say this has defused a power struggle which has delayed a new Middle E peace plan. Arafat's snr aide, Tayeb Abdul-Rahim, says Arafat and Abu Mazem have sorted out their differences after last-min mediation by a snr Egyptian envoy. He says they under the deal, PM-designate Abu Mazem will serve as interior minister [some reports say foreign minister]. Washington. 4 IRAQI OFFICIALS CAPTURED! American forces in Iraq have captured 4 top officials of Saddam Hussein's former govt, incl the head of military intel. The highest-ranking official in the group is Muzahim Sa'b Hassan al-Tikriti, who headed Iraq's air defences under Saddam. He was number 10 [some reports say number 9] on the US list of 55 most wanted. Zuhayr Talib abd al-Sattar al-Naqib, the former head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence, surrendered to US troops today. Nicosia. GREEN LINE OPENS IN CYPRUS! 1000s of Greek and Turkish Cypriots have crossed the UN Green Line across the world's last divided capital, Nicosia, after Turkish Cypriot authorities lifted decades-old restrictions. But a Greek Cypriot rep warns the wall hasn't fallen yet, in a reference to the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The US has welcomed the breach in the division while Greek For Min'y George Papandreou has congratulated Cypriots from both sides. Analysts say the Turkish side finally relented after it was clear the Greek 1/2 of Cyprus was set to enter the EU, leaving them behind. Moscow. QUAKE IN W RUSSIA! A quake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale has shaken the Russian Pacific peninsula of Kamchatka, but there are no reports of casualties or damage. The ITAR-Tass news agency says the epicentre of the quake was about 10 km E of the peninsula. Russia's emergencies ministry has warned residents of the risk of possibly significant earthquakes in the region in coming y. Canberra. DEMS CALL FOR CO-OP WITH INDON! The AUS Democrats say the govt should work with Indonesia to ensure the safety of 2 boats of Vietnamese asylum seekers heading for AUS. Dem leader Sen Andrew Bartlett has suggested the govt arrange for the asylum seekers to be processed by AUS immigration authorities in Indon. He says the govt should take urgent action to ensure the more than 70 asylum seekers are taken off the boats. Canberra. VAILE OFF TO GRAB SOME CRUMBS FROM IRAQ! Trade Min Mark Vaile will head a delegation of Aussie companies to the US, seeking a slice of the Iraqi reconstruction pie. Mr Vaile and about 12 company reps will fly out of SYD for talks in the US for talks with the US Agency for Internat'l Development. Mr Vaile said the companies being represented are major players in the Middle E and some were active in Iraq before the war. Sydney. AUS JOINS RACE FOR SARS CURE! Aussie researchers have joined the race to find a cure for SARS. Research dir of the Vic-based biotech Biota Holdings, Simon Tucker, says the company will work with US investigators in an attempt to beat SARS. By today the virus had infected more than 4,200 people world-wide and claimed 253 lives. One person in AUS remains under suspicion of having the deadly disease. There are no confirmed cases of SARS in AUS. Canberra. WAR COINS ISSUED FOR ANZAC DAY! Images of each of the 5 major internat'l wars in which Aussies have fought are portrayed on a new set of silver coins and medallions launched on the eve of ANZAC Day, 2003. The Perth Mint has launched the pure silver Aus legal tender coins and medallions in recognition of Aus' service in the Boer War, WWI, WWII, the Korean Police Action, and the Vietnam Incident. RSL Pres Maj-Gen Peter Phillips launched the Australians at War Coin and Medallion Tribute Series today at the AUS War Memorial. Melbourne. MEL WATER RESTRICTIONS THREATEN! Tougher water restrictions are looming for MEL in spite of a radical reduction in average daily water use over Easter. MEL Water recorded this wk's average daily water use at 1,110 mn L, about 400 mn L below the average water use for the y. Despite the reduction, water storage in MEL's 4 main catchments have dropped in the past wk to 42%. Sydney. MARKETS! The ASX closed slightly weaker toady, with mixed messages from banking and gains in resources offset by falls in the heavy-weights. The All Ords eased 2.3 pts (0.1%) to 2,962. In the US, the Dow closed up 30 pts (0.4%) to 8,515. NY Gold rose 2.90 (0.9%) to $US331.90/oz. In London, the FTSE closed 48 pts (1.2%) higher to 3,967. The Dax rose 13 pts (0.4%) to 2,974. The Nikkei closed almost even, but the Hang Seng was 52 pts (0.6%) weaker at 8,520. {{ CONTINUOUS WAR NEWS IT'S DAY THIRTY-FIVE. 1.50 am BBC World News. The Whitehouse warned Iran that it must not interfere with the progress of Iraq toward democracy. Following reports that Shiites from Iran were infiltrating communities in Iraq and becoming involved in anti-American demonstrations and agitating for an Islamic state, Whitehouse mouth Ari Fleischer said if the reports were true, it must stop immediately. The WHO has advised against travel to either Beijing or Toronto because of SARS fears. It says it will review the advisory in 3 wks time. An official said there had been evidence that people with SARS had been moving out of the 2 cities. The Mayor of Toronto, Canada's business capital, is ropable, and has demanded WHO officials come to the city immediately. Mel Lastman said the medical evidence didn't support the warning, which he underlined was unprecedented for the organisation. It's safe to live and come to Toronto, he said. Germany says it is ready to hear any proposals to suspend sanctions against Iraq. Germany chairs the UN committee that oversees the sanctions program. A For Min'y rep said Germany was open to any proposal that would enable aid to flow to Iraq. The sanctions incl a trade ban, diplomatic restrictions and travel bans. The Brit Fin Times says it's ironic the US is asking more time in its search for WMD when it was so critical of Dr Hans Blix's efforts earlier this y. The paper says it detects a growing unease in Washington and London at the failure to find even a hint of a smoking gun which the Coal'n insisted was so obvious it could produce aerial photographs of sites as "proof" military action against Iraq was justified. 4 am The US military says some fighting is still going on in Iraq, notably in Saddam's home town of Tikrit. They say the resistance is coming mostly from non-Iraqi fighters. The Pentagon says there are now 150,000 US soldiers in Iraq, more than at the height of the war. 6 am 4 more members of the US deck of 55 have been captured. They incl the former Iraqi mil intel chief and air boss. 100s of 1000s of Iraqi Muslims have ended their pilgrimage to Karbala. It had been expected to devolve into an anti-American protest, but the sit'n has remained relatively calm. The self-declared Governor of Baghdad has created 22 Committees to get the city working again. A businessman and former critic of Saddam, Zubedi has eagerly thrust himself into the power vacuum left by the fall of Saddam Hussein. The Americans don't recognise him. He has the "people's authority" his reps say. Yesterday, Zubedi managed to free a cleric that had been arrested by US forces. He says he'll work with any US officials sent to manage the city. Iraqi oil has started to flow for the first time since the war began. Pumped to Basra, the US says the Back Gold will help Iraq to pay for its reconstruction. It's also expected to reduce the world price, despite OPEC plans to cut output. But there's a fine legal obstacle to the American plan. The UN must OK oil sales before Iraqi oil can be sold on world markets. Until then, US-backed sanctions allow oil to be sold only under UN control. A Fox TV technician has been charged with trying to smuggle Iraqi artwork and weapons into the US. 5 other people, incl up to 4 members of the US military, have also been caught trying to smuggle other items, incl artwork and gold-plated AK-47's found in Baghdad. US officials say they're cracking down hard on "souveniring", to send a strong message that dealing in stolen Iraqi property will not be tolerated. Brit Def Min Geoff Hoon, visiting Iraq, says Saddam is probably still alive and travelling in the country. Elsewhere, US-backed Iraqi leader Ahmed Chalabi says his group, the US-trained Free Iraqi Force (FIF), are tracking Saddam's movements around the country and expect to capture him shortly. There has been a bomb blast in C Jakarta. There are few details of the explosion. In reportedly happened nr the UN HQ in the capital in the early hrs of the morning. 10 am Yesterday the All Ords finished at a 3-m high. O'night, the DJIA closed 30 pts up. The ASX open down, but has since started to rebound. ANZ has announced its profits are up 9% to $1.14 bn. The number is ahead of expectations. The Bank saw a poor performance in credit card business, but that was offset by lending. The AUD is still about the 61 c level at 61.87. Gold is $US332/oz. A land mine explosion in E Afghanistan has killed 3 Afghan soldiers and wounded 6 others. The UN says between 150 and 300 people a month are killed or injured in Afghanistan. Most were planted during the Soviet invasion in the 1980s. Midday. Turkey is withdrawing 1000s of troops from the border with Iraq. McAlester, Oklahoma. For 60 y generations have worked here, producing almost all the bombs dropped by America from WWII to GWII. Most of the work is still done by hand. The bomb makers claim to be the most patriotic workforce in America. They watch the nightly news to see the result of their hard work, but they resile from the death and destruction. "We don't DROP them", says one worker. They make everything here from the standard Mk 82 to large bunker busters. The factory is presently running 24/7, busy replacing the 8,000 bombs dropped on Iraq. The mayor doesn't mind the town is only know for its weapons. "As long as they're good bombs", he told an (AUS) ABC corresp. "As long as they go off when they're dropped", he expanded. American Airlines [aka The Flying Basket Case] will meet tomorrow to decide whether the world's biggest airline will go to the wall. The CEO announced on Apr 21 he was cancelling some of the company's perks for its fat cats. But the ploy didn't work -- workers in the company have rejected the latest round of pay cuts. Last time, some told reporters, they'd voted in favour of wage reductions to help "save the company". [Another one for Don Libby]. Research in the US has found the overweight are at risk of dying of cancer. The largest study of its kind tracked 1 mn Americans. It found 14% of cancer deaths in men could be linked with overweight. And 20% in women. The link was found across the spectrum of almost all types of cancer. And the more overweight, the greater the increased risk of many cancers. Obesity was linked with up to a 100% increased risk of some cancers. For Americans needing yet another reason to loose a few pounds -- now they've got it. PM John Howard says there is no cause for the RBA to raise interest rates, even though inflation continued about the central bank's comfort level of 3%. He said the latest number was yet another of a long series of one-off results that have persisted for several years' now. He says inflation will unexpectedly fall below 3% in the next Q. }} ---------------------------------------- Fri, 25 Apr 2003 Markets Fighting leaves 18 dead: Phil 7 missing after mall blast Tariq Aziz captured Iraqi govt underway Saddam sick or dead BBC chief attacks war coverage NK has nuclear weapons Amnesty accuses EU of hypocrisy WHO says SARS may be starting to decline 2nd Chinese hosp quarantined WHO warns on bird flu Tourism ind'y wants govt funds Brasil warns of satellite re-entry Serb police file new charges against Milosevic Community calls for help to solve murders Aussies gather for ANZAC day Aussies attend pre-dawn ANZAC day service Aussies gather at ANZAC cove RSL appeals for return of flag ANZ to pay $mn fine PM to keep Medicard in some form PM down-plays early election AA CEO quits Markets ANZAC DAY, 2003. Lest We Forget. NY (10 am). MARKETS! The Dow has closed down 72 pts (0.9%) to 8,444. Mixed signals of a continuing slow-down in the US are worrying investors. In London, the FTSE is also down 68 pts (1.7%) to 3,899. The Dax is also down 83 pts (2.9%) to 2,892. Gold is presently trading around $US333/oz. Iligan. FIGHTING LEAVES 18 DEAD: PHIL! Troops backed up chopper gunships have driven out Muslim separatists from a highway they occupied in the S Philippines after a day of intense fighting that's left 18 dead. The local military cmdr says as the MILF rebels fled they released scores of villagers, bus commuters and several policemen they'd been holding hostage. About 500 MILF fighters yesterday took the hostages and attacked govt installations, blocking the 400 km highway linking Iligan and Zamboanga City. Toronto. 7 MISSING AFTER MALL BLAST! A natural gas explosion has levelled a shopping mall in Toronto, leaving 7 people missing, presumed dead. 4 others were injured in the blast. The explosion caused a fire at the complex in W Toronto and tore a hole in the side of a nearby home. A fire dept rep says construction workers had been working on a gas pipe when the blast occurred. Dep Fire Chief Pat McCabe says at this stage no-one had been found alive in the rubble. Washington. TARIQ AZIZ CAPTURED! The US has detained former Iraqi Dep PM Tariq Aziz. A snr def official says no other details are available yet on how he was captured. America's ABC TV says Aziz, the long-time int'l rep for Saddam, gave himself up. He was number 43 on America's deck of 55 most-wanted Iraqis. Aziz was also the most snr Christian of the fallen regime. [In NY, former chief UN weapons inspector Richard Butler says Aziz must be held to account for everything he did. After y of dealing with the Iraqi Dep PM, Butler says there was "no daylight" between him and Saddam Hussein. Aziz was involved in everything Saddam did, says Butler]. Baghdad. IRAQI GOVT UNDERWAY! A snr US officials say Washington's interim administration of Baghdad has begun the process of rebuilding the Iraqi govt. US Governor Lt Gen Jay Garner (ret) has met prospective local leaders who must be enlisted to rebuilt the govt. Garner says he hopes to get Iraq's ministries up and running next wk. Washington. SADDAM SICK OR DEAD! US Pres Bush Jr says he's seen some evidence that air strikes on the first night of GWII have killed or severely wounded Saddam Hussein. Bush told NBC that that scenario would clear up some other mysteries, incl why more oil fields weren't blow, why dams weren't blown, and why the Iraqi defence of Baghdad was so un-coordinated. Bush has cautioned Iran and Syria anew about not interfering in the internal matters of Iraq. But he says the US has not decided about military action against either nation. London. BBC CHIEF ATTACKS WAR COVERAGE! The head of BBC has criticised American broadcasters, saying they risk losing credibility if they persist in showing blatantly patriotic footage of the Iraqi invasion. BBC dir-gen Greg Duke says many US TV networks have lacked impartially during the conflict. Dyke says they risk losing credibility if they persist with their stance. In a speech at a U of London conference, Dyke says he was shocked while in the US by how unquestioning the broadcast news media was during the war. Washington. NK HAS NUCLEAR WEAPONS! US sources say N Korean has confirmed it possesses nuclear weapons in 3-way talks with the US and China. A US official says the N has admitted to having WMD. However the sources say reports on CNN and MSNBC that the Communist state has threatened to test a nuclear device to prove it is a nuclear power were not accurate. The source say talks did not collapse but ended before their scheduled close date. Colin Powell told a press conf that NK should not think it can threaten the US. The US would not respond to intimidation, he said. That is America's job! Brussels. AMNESTY ACCUSES EU OF HYPOCRISY! Amnesty Int'l has accused the EU of hypocrisy over human rights. Dick Oosting, the head of AI's EU office, says Europe lectures the world on human rights while doing nothing to prevent abuses within its own borders. He says there is are no EU-wide safeguards in place to protect Europeans against abuses by their nat'l authorities. Oosting made his comments at an European Parl hearing on human rights. Geneva. WHO SAYS SARS MAY BE STARTING TO DECLINE! The WHO says new cases of SARS in China's S prov of Guangdong are starting to fall. However it says it remains worried about the overall sit'n in China, esp Beijing and Shanxi which have been targeted with travel advisories alongside Guangdong. Julie Hall, from WHO's Global Outbreak, Alert and Response Network, says they are concerned about the transmission of SARS in those areas. The virus has now killed at least 253 people, and infected more than 4,200 world-wide. Beijing. 2ND CHINESE HOSP QUARANTINED! Authorities have sealed off a 2nd hosp in Beijing as the govt struggled to contain the SARS epidemic. A hosp official say visitors were not allowed to enter the Ditan Hospital, which specialises in infectious diseases, but medical workers were allowed to leave the building. Yesterday, officials sealed off the People's Hospital of Peking U. So far, the Health Min'y has reported 39 SARS deaths in Beijing and a nat'l death toll of 110. Geneva. WHO WARNS ON BIRD FLU! The UN's WHO has called on countries hit by a new epidemic of highly-contagious bird flu to exercise special vigilance. The avian influenza's apparently killed at least 1 person after cross the species barrier. An outbreak of the disease -- caused by a virus known as H7N7 -- has recently been reported in the Netherlands and Belgium, following epidemics of similar illnesses in HK. WHO says a test kit for the virus is being prepared and should be ready in 3 wks. Brisbane. TOURISM INDY GOVT FUNDS! A peak tourism lobby group has called on the fed govt for a handout to recover from the effects of the war with Iraq and SARS. The AUS Tourism Export Council's Dep MD Greg Thomas says he supports the fed opp'ns call for the govt to come to the aid of the ind'y. The $17 bn inbound tourism market has been in crisis since Sep 11, 2001 with $bns in potential earnings lost. Brasilia. BRASIL WARNS OF SATELLITE RE-ENTRY! The Brazilian Space Agency says an Italian satellite that went out of action last y may soon crash into the Amazon jungle. The agency says Brazilian authorities have been contacted by the Italian Space Agency, which estimates the satellite is most likely to re-enter on May 1. However they say the BeppoSAX could crash to Earth at any time between next Tue and May 4. The satellite was launched in 1996 to monitor space radiation. It is owned by the state-run Italian Space Agency. Belgrade. SERB POLICE FILE NEW CHARGES AGAINST MILOSEVIC! Serb police have filed charges against Slobodan Milosevic and 8 other people for the murder of the Communist-era Serbian Pres Ivan Stambolic. The Beta news agency says police filed the charges with the Belgrade district prosecutor's office. The prosecutor will investigate the case before deciding whether to issue an indictment. Police late last m found the remains of Stambolic, who they say was kidnapped and shot by special police. Brisbane. COMMUNITY CALLS FOR HELP TO SOLVE MURDERS! The Fijian Indian comm'y in Bris has called for public help in solving a triple murder in Qld. 3 teen and adult children of a couple working in Fiji were found murdered earlier in the wk. While the police haven't released the PM, it's been widely reported the victims were bludgeoned, strangled and drowned. A family friend found the 3 submerged in an upstairs spa at their home in an exclusive sub on Bris's N-side. Pres of the Fed of Indian Communities in Qld, Sarat Maharaj, has called for public help in tracking down the killer. Police have also issued a safety warning to people living in the area. Bangkok. AUSSIES GATHER FOR ANZAC DAY! 100s of Aussie and NZ war veterans are gathering across SE Asia to remember those who died in the region's conflicts. In S Vietnam, official ceremonies are taking place at the Long Tan Cross some 100 km N of Ho Chi Minh City. In Thailand, up to 200 people are gathering in the pre-dawn darkness along a stretch of the infamous Death Railway in the far W of the country. In Malaysia a dawn service is scheduled at Sandakan war cemetery where 2,400 mostly Aussie POW's died during a forced march in Sep 1944. Canberra. AUSSIES ATTEND PRE-DAWN ANZAC DAY SERVICE! 1000s of people packed the Nat'l War Memorial in CBR this morning for the ANZAC Day dawn service. Wreaths were laid and prayers said by young and old to honour those who lost their lives 88 ya at Gallipoli and in battles before and since. The service, attended by Gov-Gen Peter Hollingsworth, also remembered those left behind to mourn the loss of their loved ones in war. Despite warnings of a possible protest at the War Memorial, there were no signs of demonstrators. [In other reports, a quiet protest "for peace" and not "against war" was made in SYD and MEL by a small number of peace demonstrators. It was reportedly unobtrusive, and involved the display of signs showing the white dove. Later reports say record crowds have turned out in SYD, MEL and Perth. In SYD, 30,000 marched. Many fuelled by an early morning drink, former diggers were in good spirits. For once, the weather was fine in MEL. In Perth, 40,000 participated in the commemorations]. Canberra. AUSSIES GATHER AT ANZAC COVE! 1000s are gathering amid unprecedented security at ANZAC Cove in Turkey to honour those killed at Gallipoli. Aussies will be forced to undergo tough security screening to enter the ceremonies, with personal searches and bans on large backpacks ordered by Turkish authorities. People have been ordered to expect long delays entering the Cove for the dawn service, which in recent y has attacked crowds of up to 16,000. Local newspapers say Turkey's security agency has also issued warnings of possible attacks against W-ers. [Later reports said about 7,000 people attended the dawn service]. Brisbane. RSL APPEALS FOR RETURN OF FLAG! An RSL official has appealed to thieves to return an Aussie flag with sentimental value stolen from the SW Bris clubhouse yesterday. Roland Johnson told ABC radio the Forest Lake RSL club, which has 108 members, was robbed while he was attending a funeral. He says thieves stole an Aussie flag used in 100s of funeral services. Mr Johnson says he feels very upset that someone would take this particular flag, because he did 102 funerals with it in 2001, and 97 last y. Sydney. ANZ TO PAY $MN FINE! The ANZ Bank has been ordered to pay more than $1.27 mn in civil penalties by the NSW Consumer, Trading and Tenancy Tribunal. Fair Trading Min Reba Meagher has welcomed the decision as a big win for bank customers in NSW after 88,000 loan contracts across the state contained errors in breech of the NSW Credit Act. Ms Meagher says the failure by ANZ Bank to comply with the legislation has impacted on many families in NSW, and the tough penalty handed down reflects this. Canberra. PM TO KEEP MEDICARD IN SOME FORM! PM Howard has promised that a $900 mn shake-up of the health system, to be announced next wk, won't affect universal access to Medicard. Prev Mr Howard had indicated Medicard was never intended to guarantee universal health cover, a claim that was loudly disputed by the creators of the scheme. Despite Mr Howard's new statement, state govts predict the collapse of bulk-billing will add costs to the public hospital system beyond the $10 mn over 5 y offered by the Fed Govt on Thu. Up to $42 mn was offered on condition the states provide matching funding. Mr Howard yesterday denied Medicard reform would spell the end of "free" doctor's consultations, and told radio 4BC that bulk-billing will remain a part of Medicard. But he didn't say it was a core promise. Canberra. PM DOWN-PLAYS EARLY ELECTION! PM Howard is playing down speculation he will capitalise on the woes of the fed opp'n and go early to the polls. While the fed govt has triggers for a double dissolution election, Mr Howard says he doesn't have enough policy reasons to call an early election. He said yesterday voters punish leaders who call a very early election just to score some political advantage, without good public policy reasons. Meanwhile, Fed Labor leader Simon Crean has dared rival Kim Beazley to challenge him, as a public row following an article in The Bulletin escalates. In the article, Mr Beazley wished he had been PM in the past few months, during the invasion of Iraq. A former Def Min in the Hawke govt, Mr Beazley is the most conservative of the possible Labor leaders. While he has previously indicated support for present ALP leader Crean, Mr Beazley hasn't ruled out a leadership challenged. But Mr Crean says Beazley doesn't presently have the numbers, despite opinion polls showing 4 times as many Aussie would prefer Big Kim as PM than Simon Crean. Current NSW Prem Carr falls in-between. Fort Worth. AA CEO QUITS! American Airlines' chair and CEO Don Carty has resigned after labour leaders and negotiators for the world's biggest carrier reached a tentative deal to help the company avoid bankruptcy. Gerard Arpey, the company's Pres, will take over as CEO, while dir Ed Brennan will be bumped to chair. The boards of the pilots and transp workers unions have approved the new concession package, but the flight attendants, as well as the board, must also approve. Sydney. MARKETS! The Nikkei has closed down at new 20-y lows. The Japanese index lost 155 pts (2%) to end the session at 7,699. In London, the FTSE closed down 18 pts (0.5%) at 3,881. {{ CONTINUOUS WAR NEWS IT'S DAY THIRTY-SIX. 2 am Heading the NBC "Today" news was a report of a vicious storm in Texas. 50 houses were ruined. Some locals have suffered minor injuries. It's tornado season in the region, but officials are still studying the data to see if it was a twister. 6 am First pictures have been shown in AUS of an air base in W Iraq captured by around 100 Aussie SAS troops. A special medal is being considered for each member of the force, who managed to trick 1000s of Iraqis into thinking they were being attacked by a much larger force. The air base had more than 50 MiG jet fighters concealed around it. Some were buried in sand, some had their wings removed and were hidden in gullies. The AUS War Museum wants at least 2 for display. While the troops wanted to blow up the rest, they are being kept to re-form an Iraqi Air Force. The base also contained a maze of underground tunnels and storage areas. Not only were masses of records seized, but about 8,000 tonnes of munitions were captured by the Aussies. Despite saying he would never spend 1 day as a prisoner of the Coal'n and would suicide rather than surrender, Dep PM Tariq Aziz has been captured by US forces in Iraq. There's been another school shooting in the US -- the 3rd in as many weeks. A heavily-armed 14 yo in Pennsylvania has shot and killed the school principal about 15 mins before classes were due to start. The boy then killed himself with a handgun. 11 am Tariq Aziz will reportedly not be tried for war crimes under the deal negotiated for his surrender to US forces. Governor Lt Gen Garner of Iraq says the "governmental process" in Iraq will start sometime next wk. Ch 10 says N Korea plans to demonstrate it has nuclear weapons in "a series of tests". This contradicts earlier reports. Colin Powell said after the Beijing conference ended early that neither the US nor nations in the region will be "intimidated by bellicose statements" from the Communist country. The world death toll from SARS has reached 262, with almost 5,000 infected. Despite some soothing reports about the sit'n being under control, other experts say the number of infections could reach 1 bn before the end of the y. In Vietnam, WHO says no new cases have shown for 10 days -- the incubation period for the disease. The death rate is presently 6% but even that's expected to climb. [Another method of calculating the death rate shows a much higher figure]. Take 6% of 1 bn if you want to see why some experts are warning SARS will be bigger than HIV/AIDS. In AUS, one suspected SARS victims has been cleared. But a 9 yo NSW boy is still in hosp. He came under observation 3 wks ago. It's been a controversy for a decade, but Iraqi cancer cases are reportedly on the rise, especially in S Iraq. Local doctors say they're seeing an increase in leukaemia cases in children. And they say it's an old story. They say there were 35 cancer deaths in S Iraq before 1988. Then came GWI. Last y there were 644 cancer deaths. The govt of Saddam Hussein had a rep of manipulating health statistics, but doctors want to prove prove they have a growing problem on their hands. Beside cancer, they say there are an increasing number of birth defects. Deformities incl hair lips, weak hearts, and cleft palates. No-one is too sure whether the affect is due to the effect of UN sanctions, DU ammo used during GWI, or pollution from burning oil-wells. Oil prices have swung wildly following new announcements from OPEC. After announcing production increases, the group has effectively cut production by 2 mn bpd. But with Iraqi production possibility coming back online, there are fears of an oil glut. With OPEC continuing to aim at $25/bbl, the US expects prices in American markets to fall to $23/bbl. OPEC has announced another meeting in Jun, when it expects to announce more production cuts. 6 pm PBS. US analysts are proposing a new body to administer the Iraqi oil-for-food program, cutting the UN out of the loop. At present, France has a major say in administering the funds, and has proved uncooperative in handing over to the US more than $US80 bn in the Iraqi account. A new body would also avoid having to satisfy the Sec Council -- with the same troublesome members -- that sanctions should be lifted, and would allow the US to use Iraq's own income to pay for a large part of the military effort, which saw Pres Bush Jr ask for $75 bn just ahead of the announcement of his decision to attack. 9.30 pm The Philippines has recorded its first fatalities. A nursing asst who had recently visited Canada died. Later her father died. He was already diagnosed with terminal cancer. Pres Bush Jr says Iraq's WMD may have already been destroyed. At the Abrams tank factory in Ohio, Bush stopped just short of declaring GWII over. China has denied it's about to declare marshal law to control the SARS crisis. The denial comes as roadblocks are set up around Beijing to prevent infected people fleeing the city. 4,000 citizens with symptoms have been ordered not to leave their homes. The French PM is presently visiting Beijing, and he pledged France's support to fight the disease. But he also cut short his trip due to fears of catching the virus. The Chinese toll rose by 5 today, giving a total of 155 dead from the virus. In HK, 6 more died today, leaving the toll there at 115. For the first time, 2 people died in the Philippines. In the US, Johns Hopkins may have the 1st possible SARS case in the US. It's treating a doctor from a nearby hospital. In Canada, the toll remains at 16. The Prem of Ontario has demanded the WHO rescind its travel advisory. But the WHO had defended its warning, saying it was a matter of preventing the spread of the disease. Meanwhile, 3 major conventions have been cancelled in Toronto, and there are concerns over its economic outlook. The global death toll from SARS stands at 277. 9.50 pm A bus has been hijacked by an armed gunman from the N German city of Bremen. The hijacker is said to be a man of "S European appearance". He forced the driver along a motorway. The police were following, and managed to stop the bus a short time ago. But shots were fired and they have let the bus proceed. There is no indication what the man's motives are. }} ---------------------------------------- Sat, 26 Apr 2003 Liberation Day in Italy. 18 dead from attacks in Kashmir The hunt for SARS Aussies join SARS fight 1 Aussie SARS case Asian health ministers meet for SARS crisis talks Canada reels from latest SARS deaths as panic grips Beijing Global SARS control measures under way 2 US soldiers killed in Afghanistan Concern over US attempts to control Iraqi oil More Iraq oil starts to flow Captives talking, says US 17 yo captured after bus ride Rebels blow dump in Baghdad US army sec resigns Iraqi clerics push for Muslim rule Iraqi opposition groups gather for historic meeting Iraqi refugee repatriation to get underway Saddam may have destroyed WMDs: US US civilian head of army resigns US cracks down on "blood" diamonds IAEA has no conf of NK nukes US to take "hard look" at N Korea nuclear claims Russians blast off to ISS Belgians get ANZAC day gift US denies plans to cut East Timor aid Aussie lifesavers off for winter Aussie beef consumption drops Aussie domestic violence on rise National road toll rises to 27 Srinagar. 18 DEAD FROM ATTACKS IN KASHMIR! At least 18 people are dead and nearly 50 injured after the bombing of a courthouse, a suicide attack on a security post, and a military ambush and attacks on politicians in Indian Kashmir. 3 people -- 2 of them women -- were killed and 40 injured in a bomb explosion outside a courthouse in the town of Patan, 27 km N of Srinagar. Meanwhile, 3 Indian border guard, 2 Islamic militants and a civilian were killed today in a suicide attack by rebels on a security camp. HK. THE HUNT FOR SARS! The WHO has called for a global hunt to track down every possible case of SARS, after revealing another sharp rise in the mortality rates from the disease in recent wks. The WHO appeal has come at a meeting of Asian health ministers and int'l experts in KL as SARS claimed another life in neighbouring Singapore. Several govts have already intro'd sweeping emergency measures to curb the spread of the disease, quarantining 1000s of people. Melbourne. AUSSIES JOIN SARS FIGHT! A MEL scientist has flown to the Philippines to help with the global fight against the deadly SARS virus. The Alfred Hosp's snr infection control officer Glenys Harrington will join the WHO's team trying to find a cure for the disease. Ms Harrington was invited to join the int'l experts gathering at the WHO Western Pacific regional HQ in Manila. Canberra. 1 AUSSIE SARS CASE! Only 1 case of suspected SARS case remains under investigation in AUS, with the country so far quarantining itself from any spread of the deadly virus. A 9 yo NSW boy first suspected of having SARS on Apr 7 remains under observation. Quarantine measures stepped up in the wake of the deadly outbreak have managed to keep the virus from spreading in AUS, as the global death toll continues to rise. Almost 5,000 around the world have so far been affected by the virus. Asian health ministers meet for SARS crisis talks KL. Health ministers from around East Asia are meeting in Malaysia today to draw up guidelines for the fight against the spread of the SARS virus, which is continuing to claim more victims. More than 270 people have now died - mostly in China, HK, Singapore and Canada. There are plenty of things on which the delegates seem likely to agree. They are talking about sharing information on the SARS virus. It is proposed that details about the movements of those who are found to be infected are also shared, so the various nat'l health authorities can trace and screen those who came into contact with SARS patients. Malaysia is also keen to promote the idea of a regional disease control centre which could have a life beyond SARS tackling future epidemics in East Asia. But when it comes to guidelines for border screening, for designating certain cities or regions as infected zones, and possibly to restricting the movement of people between countries, agreement maybe harder to come by. Canada reels from latest SARS deaths as panic grips Beijing Beijing. Canada reeled from 3 more SARS deaths on Fri as the death toll in HK and mainland China continued to mount, sparking scenes of panic in Beijing. As 14 SARS deaths and more than 200 new cases were reported worldwide, WHO officials visiting Shanghai warned China's biggest city could expect a "substantial" rise in suspected cases in the coming week. The warning came as China announced that it would invest 3.5 bn yuan $4US21 mn in a nationwide public health network capable of dealing with health emergencies like the ongoing outbreak of SARS. Toronto's latest deaths were another serious blow to the city, which is struggling to rebuild its internat'l image in the wake of a damaging WHO travel advisory which is due to be reviewed on Tue. They follow remarks by PM Jean Chretien that the outbreak was "quite contained" in Canada. Canada's death toll now stands at 19, the largest outside Asia, and one official warned it may rise. WHO expert David Heymann said there was no evidence that the virus was mutating into a more deadly form and said the chances of bringing SARS under control were good. Meanwhile China's $420 mn public health venture was announced by VP Wu Yi, Xinhua news agency said. But a WHO team in Shanghai warned the city could expect a "substantial" rise in the number of suspected SARS cases in the coming week. Under a new definition adopted by Shanghai health officials only 3 days ago, the new classification of suspected SARS would greatly expand the number of suspected cases, said WHO team member Daniel Chin. China's health ministry announced five new deaths from SARS and 180 new cases, but more than 100 cases were in Beijing where the WHO said the situation was serious. The authorities in the city have placed 2 hospitals treating SARS patients in total isolation, quarantined 4,000 residents in their homes and set up police road blocks to prevent sick people fleeing. But as the price of foodstuffs surged on the back of panic-buying and rumours the whole city would be isolated, the govt was forced to formally deny it was on the verge of declaring martial law. The mysterious respiratory illness 1st emerged in the S Chinese province of Guangdong 5 m ago and has now killed at least 276 people, mostly in Asia, and infected more than 4,800 people in some 30 countries. HK on Fri announced 6 new deaths and 22 new cases, bringing the death toll in the traumatised city on the S Chinese coast to 115. Global SARS control measures under way Geneva. Global efforts to control the spread of SARS are being stepped up as the number of cases continues to rise and deaths are reported in more countries. More than 270 people have now died, mostly in China, HK, Singapore and Canada while nearly 5,000 people in 25 nations have been infected. The Philippines reported its 1st 2 deaths from the disease while the authorities in Taiwan have quarantined over 1,100 medical workers after 25 cases were reported at a hospital. France is introducing new laws that could require suspected sufferers to be admitted to hospitals against their will. Singapore has introduced isolation and electronic tagging of suspected sufferers, with a threat of jail for those who violate quarantines. And Asian health officials are meeting in Malaysia today to discuss a proposal for a strict pre-travel screening at borders, and travel bans on suspected SARS sufferers. In addition there are indications that the mortality rate from SARS is also on the rise, with some experts suggesting it could now be approaching 10%. Kabul. 2 US SOLDIERS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN! 2 US soldiers have been killed and several other US and Afghan soldiers wounded in a clash with unknown attackers in SE Afghanistan. The US military says the attack took place this morning nr a rocket launch site previously used by Afghan forces E of Fire Base Shkin nr the Pakistan border. A coal'n platoon was attacked by approx 20 enemy personnel while investigating a report of suspicious activity nr the launch site. The attackers fled across the border into Pakistan when reinforcements arrived. Concern over US attempts to control Iraqi oil Washington. American diplomatic sources have confirmed that Washington is working on proposals for a new UN resolution to address the changed situation in Iraq. Among the ideas reported to be under consideration are a complete lifting of economic sanctions and a phasing out of the UN's role in controlling Iraqi oil revenues. US diplomats say these proposals that were leaked to the Washington Post have not yet been formally laid out in a draft UN resolution, but they may well arise in some shape or form in the coming weeks. UN officials have greeted the ideas cautiously. One area of concern is the legality of any attempt to take over control of Iraq's oil. Doha. MORE IRAQ OIL STARTS TO FLOW! Iraq has turned on the taps of a key N oil field, as efforts mount to appoint an advisory team to examine privatising the country's enormous petroleum industry and possibly opening it up to foreign ownership. The new flow of crude oil from the Jasmbur field nr the city of Kirkuk was but a trickle and only supplied power plants in N Iraq. But it's the latest sign that Iraq's once-booming oil sector is slowly coming back to life. Baghdad. CAPTIVES TALKING, SAYS US! The US says captive Iraqi leaders are providing useful information in its drive to prove Iraq has WMD and terrorist links. US Def Sec Donald Rumsfeld says former Dep PM Tariq Aziz and at least 11 other of the 55 most wanted have been captured by the US, and more will follow. US forces also netted a former top Iraqi spy hrs after capturing Aziz. A US official says Farouk Hijazi was detained nr Iraq's border with Syria. Hildesheim. 17 YO CAPTURED AFTER BUS RIDE! Prosecutors say a 17 yo Lebanese native who hijacked a bus in Germany today has demanded the release of 4 al-Qaeda guerrillas. Police grabbed the youth, a naturalised German citizen, after a 170 km chase across N Germany. There were 5 hostages on the bus when the 7 hr drama ended shortly after 4 pm. State prosecutors say the youth had demanded the release of 4 al-Qaeda guerrillas, incl top suspect Ramzi Binalshibh, who was arrested in Pakistan last y and turned over to the US. Baghdad. REBELS BLOW DUMP IN BAGHDAD! Attackers have fired flares into an arms dump nr Baghdad, setting off a huge chain of explosions that wounded a US soldier and caused civilian casualties. Capt Patrick Sullivan says hostile forces fired 4 rockets into an ammo storage area and 1 of them set off a chain of explosions. A Reuters photographer at the scene at Zaafaraniya, on the outskirts of the capital, says it appears there have been considerable civilian casualties. [Later reports say up to 14 may have died. The explosion happened 10 km S of Baghdad around midday. The US says hostile forces fired flares into the cache. But another report says it was a controlled demo that went wrong]. Washington. US ARMY SEC RESIGNS! The US Def Dept says Thomas White has resigned as sec of the US Army. The Dept didn't give any reason for his resignation. Def Sec Don Rumsfeld has expressed his appreciation to White for his service, 1st as a career Army officer then as the Army's top civilian leader for the past 2 y. Iraqi clerics push for Muslim rule Baghdad. Iraqi clerics are continuing their push for a religious govt, preaching fiery anti-American sermons in Baghdad. A senior Sunni Muslim cleric urged Iraqis to reject the US presence in their country, likening it to the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. Another cleric at Baghdad's biggest Shi'ite mosque said the ruler of a future govt should be a just Muslim, who should not take any decision that contradicts holy Islamic law. However, US Def Sec Donald Rumsfeld has ruled out a religious govt. "They want the coalition to help provide stability and security as Iraqis form an interim authority and eventually choose a free Iraqi Govt and then they will want us to leave to be sure and that's what we would want as well," he said. "This much is certain, a vocal minority clamouring to transform Iraq in Iran's image will not be permitted to do so." Iraqi opposition groups gather for historic meeting Madrid. Spain's PM, Jose Maria Aznar, has opened the 1st internat'l gathering involving Iraq's opposition political groups since the end of the war. This historic meeting brings together a range of representatives from the Iraqi opposition to Saddam Hussein, for the 1st time. Among the participants are Shi'ite Muslim groups, political parties from Iraqi Kurdistan and an association that calls itself Iraq's National Congress. There are also Iraqi artists, journalists and intellectuals. The meetings are looking at how to develop Iraq's constitution, and social and economic models for the country. It is a diplomatic coup for Spain's PM. After the weekend's proceedings, the participants will issue a declaration on the future of democracy in Iraq. Iraqi refugee repatriation to get underway Geneva. The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees says it is preparing to repatriate up to half a mn Iraqi refugees. A rep for the UNHCR says over $A190 mn has been allocated to the plan over the next 8 months. However he has cautioned it will be some time before the refugees can actually make the journey home, saying there is still a long way to go before the necessary conditions are in place. Close to a mn Iraqis live in countries neighbouring their homeland, most of them in Syria, Jordan and Iran. Saddam may have destroyed WMDs: US Washington. After m of insisting Iraq has WMD, the White House has flagged the possibility that Saddam Hussein may have destroyed his banned weapons. White House rep Ari Fleischer has speculated to journalists in Washington that the fear of being caught red-handed might have been enough to drive Saddam Hussein to have them destroyed. But US Pres George W Bush has continued to express confidence that US forces will, in time, find evidence of the weapons programs. US civilian head of Army resigns Washington. The civilian head of the US army, Thomas White, has resigned. No reason has been given for the departure of Mr White, whose official title was secretary of the army. In the brief official announcement of Thomas White's resignation, the US Def Sec Donald Rumsfeld thanked him for his service. But it clearly has not been a happy relationship between the 2 men who have been at odds over Mr Rumsfeld's plans to transform the US military into a lighter, more flexible force. And there has been periodic speculation that Thomas White might resign, or be fired, for at least a year. He became embroiled last y in a row with the defence secretary over the army's cherished new crusader artillery project, which Mr Rumsfeld cancelled because he said it was a relic of cold war thinking. But Mr White, a retired general and Vietnam veteran, also had problems because of his links to the failed energy company Enron. Because of that he was something of a controversial figure, even within the US army. US cracks down on 'blood' diamonds Washington. US Pres Bush Jr signed a law yesterday aimed at halting trade in uncut diamonds, saying the trade helped fund African civil wars and possibly provide a source of financing for Osama Bin Laden's al Qaeda network. Mr Bush said in a statement after signing the legislation that these so-called "conflict" or "blood" diamonds have been used by rebel groups in Africa "to finance their atrocities committed on civilian populations and their insurrections against internat'lly recognised govts." The new law clears the way for the US to implement an internat'l agreement to curb trade in uncut diamonds. Diamond importing and exporting countries agreed to the pact, known as the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, last Nov after more than 2 years of negotiations. It went into effect in Jan with more than 50 countries participating. The scheme would track diamonds from mines to stores with the aim of halting trade in uncut stones that rebel groups in such countries as Sierra Leone, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have used to finance wars and commit human rights abuses. A broad coalition of human rights, religious and humanitarian groups backed the legislation, which was approved by Congress earlier this month. The Clean Diamond Trade Act requires diamond dealers to keep records of all diamond shipments and make such records available to US law enforcement authorities. Americans buy 65 to 70% of the world's diamonds, including rough diamonds, polished stones and jewelry containing diamonds, according to the US GAO. The US imports relatively few rough diamonds compared to other countries, but still purchased approximately $US 816 mn worth from 53 countries in 2000, the GAO said. Countries participating in the Kimberley Process will hold their meeting next wk in Johannesburg, South Africa. Vienna. IAEA HAS NO CONF OF NK NUKES! The UN's chief nuclear monitor Mohamed ElBaradei says his agency has received no confirmation of NK's claim that it has nuclear weapons. He says he still hopes that an agreement can be reached for NK to come back to the NNPT and that the IAEA will be able to resume its inspections to ensure the peaceful nature of all nuclear activity there. The US said today it would take a good, hard look at NK's claims about its nuclear weapons. US to take "hard look" at N Korea nuclear claims Washington. The US says it will take a "good, hard look" at N Korea's claims about its nuclear weapons to separate bluster from fact. Crisis talks between the US, N Korea and China wrapped up in Beijing yesterday. During the talks N Korea told the US it had nuclear weapons. US State Dept rep Richard Boucher says the N Koreans must now verifiably end their nuclear weapons program. "North Korea needs to get rid of these nuclear weapons programmes for it to express any progress in relationships, not only with us, but with others in the world," he said. Baikonur. RUSSIANS BLAST OFF TO ISS! A Russian rocket has blasted off from Kazakhstan with a 2-man crew on the first space flight since the Columbia shuttle disaster 3 ma. The Soyuz rocket, carrying US astronaut Yury Malenchenko, is due to dock with the Int'l Space Stn early on Mon. All US space missions have been grounded since the Columbia shuttle disintegrated and burnt up on entry, killing all 7 crew members, on Feb 1. After the shuttle, a Soyuz looks like a beer can. But until the American space program is fixed, it's the only way into space. After years in decline, the Russians now have a chance to prove they alone can keep manned spaceflight alive. Melbourne. BELGIANS GET ANZAC DAY GIFT! Belgians will have a greater understanding of AUS's role in WWI battles fought in their country following a visit by Veterans' Affairs Min Danna Vale today. Ms Vale will give the In Flanders Field museum in Leper an ANZAC Day govt -- an interactive exhibition outlining AUS and NZ involvement in the major battles on the Ypres Salient battlefields. The exhibition, titled Australian Battles at Ypres, 1917, shows that ANZAC soldiers spear-headed 5 of the 11 major assaults against German lines. [Amusingly, armchair Brit historians have argued with me that this is all a big lie]. US denies plans to cut East Timor aid Washington. The US on Fri denied a report that it was thinking of cutting aid to East Timor by 40% to divert the funds to the operation to rebuild Iraq. "Our economic support to East Timor is not decreasing," said the State Dept in a written answer to a question taken at rep Richard Boucher's daily press briefing. "We provided $25 mn in foreign assistance to East Timor in 2002 and are providing $25 mn in 2003. This is the largest US aid program in East Asia on a per capita basis." The report, out of Tokyo, quoted East Timor's For Min Jose Ramos Horta as saying that US officials were considering cutting aid to East Timor by 40%. Sydney. AUSSIE LIFESAVERS OFF FOR WINTER! Lifesavers pull their flags out of the sand this weekend for the last time this season. Surf Life Saving Sydney dir Stephen Leahy says patrol duties for the 2003 summer season end at 4 pm tomorrow. In the off-season, an emergency response group of lifesavers will be on 24 hr call to assist police and emergency services. Surf Lifesavers have patrolled SYD's beaches since Sep, providing voluntary patrol and rescue services. Brisbane. AUSSIE BEEF CONSUMPTION DROPS! A beef conf in Qld has been told that beef consumption has almost 1/2-ed in AUS since the 1970s. Qld Prim Ind Min Henry Palaszczuk says Aussies consumed about 65 kg of beef annually in the 70s, but this had dropped to 36 kg in 2001. He says consumption of chicken increased from less than 20 kg to 33 kg per person pa over the same period. He says beef's dominant position has been eroded by the growth in chicken and pigmeat consumption. Canberra. AUSSIE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ON RISE! A nat'l study shows domestic violence rates have reached alarming levels and urgent action is required to protect families. Today marks Nat'l Stop Domestic Violence Day, with Family and Community Services Min Amanda Vanstone warning the prevalence of violence is intolerable. A nat'l study shows 1 in 5 women who've been in a de facto relationship have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a partner. Sen Vanstone says today is a call to action to ensure violence within the family isn't tolerated. National road toll rises to 27 Canberra. The National Easter/ANZAC holiday death toll stands at 27 after fatal accidents across the nation o'night. Police are asking drivers to be extremely careful about travelling over the next 2 days of the holiday. The NSW toll rose to 8 overnight. In the state's C W 1 person is dead and 2 teenagers are in hospital after a triple vehicle crash nr Coonabarabran. Police say a Mercedes, a four-wheel drive and truck collided on the Newell Highway about half an hour from the town. On the far S coast a 7-yo child died when a car hit a tree on the Princes Highway south of Eden. And in Darwin one teenager is dead after a car rolled on Jenkins road nr Weddell, not far from Palmestone. Qld's Easter Holiday road toll has risen to 11 after a fatality on Bris's Centenary Highway early this morning. And 15 people have died on Tasmanian roads so far this year, but no-one has been killed over the ANZAC Day long weekend. Two people died over the Easter break. {{ CONTINUOUS WAR NEWS IT'S DAY THIRTY-SEVEN. 2 am Timed to coincide with World Mosquito Day, a UN report says 3,000 African children die of malaria every day. About 30 mn African are infected with the parasite each y. Measures as simple as misquote nets could save many of those lives, the organisation says. But the nets -- worth about $8 each -- are beyond the means of millions in developing countries. It says work on malaria vaccines could save millions. It also calls for donor countries to remember one of the world's biggest killers. Another Iraqi leader was been detained nr the Syrian border yesterday. The US has prev said he was one of the former regime that was being harboured in Syria. It's suspected there may have been Syrian co-operation in the capture. The former head of the Iraqi intel service was involved with a plot to assassinate Pres Bush Sr in 1991. Elsewhere, American military officials are said to be "grilling" former Dep PM Tariq Aziz, who surrendered himself on Fri. BBC World News quoted a US newspaper story that says the Whitehouse plans the US to have a "consultative role" in administering Iraq's oil under a Resolution it plans to push through the UN Sec Council next wk. The Res would effectively give America "temporary control" of the world's 2nd-largest oil reserves, and would also drop all sanctions against Iraq that have been in force for the last 12 y. The UN sanctions prevent an "Iraqi govt" from freely selling oil on the world markets. Kurdish leaders are warning the US to carefully select which Islamic leaders to allow to form an Iraqi govt. A rep told BBC World News that the US should limit its selection to a coalition of secular Sunni and Shias from C and S Iraq. He pointed out that only the Kurds presently supported the concept of a federal govt. DW Radio. Robin Cook says it's deeply concerning that WMD have not yet been found in Iraq yet. He says based on the evidence of the Iraqi defences, it seems unlikely Iraq had WMD before the war started. It's difficult to believe that Coal'n forces have been in the country for 7 weeks and the industrial facilities needed for chem or nuclear weapons had not been found. Perhaps Iraq had destroyed its weapons at some time in the past. Brit Def Sec Hoon has been saying somewhat the same. Cook sees that as a tribute to UN inspectors and the policy of containment. 2.14 am DW radio. A 25 yo man who commandeered the No 120 bus in Bremen has given himself up after a chase of 120 km. 7 hrs after it began the 15 remaining passengers were released unharmed. Several passengers were able to flee in the first few minutes of the drama. The man had fired one shot during the hijack, but no-one was injured. Police say the man had demanded to speak to the mayor of Bremen and also made some political demands. The details were not released. This is the 2nd hijacking in the pat 2 wks. The culprit is believed to be from Turkey. [Later reports say the man was 17 and of Lebanese origin]. The Indonesian Pres is in Poland on a mission of military co-operation. Indonesia is presently under a US arms embargo, which has been in force since 1995. Before visiting Poland, Megawatti Sukarnoputri was in Russia, where she signed a military agreement with Pres Putin. 3 people have been killed in a bomb blast outside a courthouse in Indian-administered Kashmir. The explosion followed another suicide attack on a military base. At least a dozen Pakistani soldiers have been killed when a military chopper crashed in the N of the country. An army rep said the chopper was on a routine trip to a region in the Himalayas. Uganda has pulled out at least 650 soldiers it had sent into the NE of the Democratic Republic of Congo. 2.45 am DW radio. In Rome, some are celebrating the fall of Mussolini. And the birth of democracy. But there are differences of opinion. PM Silvio Berlisconi is treating it as a Communist festival. Some are calling for an Italian nat'l day that celebrates the fallen on both sites of WWII -- incl the fascists. London. The UK's growth rate has almost stagnated. While Britain had managed to keep ahead of the growth rates in continental Europe, new data from the Office of Statistics shows GDP growth in the first 3 m grew only 0.2%. The forecast growth in the Budget had been 2-2.5%, but analysts now question the target. One of the biggest areas hit has been tourism. They say the downturn in French tourism may be replaced by Americans. Ind'y groups want the VAT abolished on tourism-related activities. New data from the US shows GDP growth has slowed to an annualised 1.6%, based on the first 3 m of 2003. Following the news, the DJIA dived a matching 1.6%. In Europe, the markets are down. The Dax has fallen 1.7% in trading so far, while the French bourse is down 1.3%. 2.50 am A new union deal has seen American Airlines manage to stave off Chapter 11. The group working on the EU's constitution will allow any state to withdraw from the Union. Reps from Brit and Denmark say the exit clause would quieten Euro-skeptics. But critics say it could be used as a bargaining chip in difficult negotiations. 3 am In Zimbabwe, a 3-day trade union strike organised to protest the govt's tripling of the price of fuel, has ended. While the govt cracked down on union and opp'n groups, incl the Movement for Democratic Change, during the strike the govt has agreed to raise the salaries of agricultural workers, and promised other increases would follow. The MDC says at least 12 members were arrested at the group's HQ as the strike ended. France is the latest country to bring in measures to combat the SARS virus. The govt will now allow the enforced isolation and treatment of people suspected of suffering from the disease. There have been 5 SARS cases in France so far. 3.10 am 3 US soldiers have been killed in a gunfight in E Afghanistan. US military officials say a firefight between US and Afghan forces and about 20 Taliban took place nr the town of Shkin [which I thought was in Pakistan]. They say reinforcements have been sent to the region. 3.50 am Iraqi "most wanted" card packs are selling for up to $US350 -- even for copies of the 55-card deck issued to US forces. A number of web sites are also setting themselves up. One company says it's sold 1 mn packs already. In London, Brent crude is selling for $US24.08/bbl. China is spending $US400 mn to set up a health network in the wake of the SARS outbreak. 4 am At a press conf in Washington, Don Rumsfeld says of the 7,000 Iraqis originally detained by US forces, about 3,000 have been freed. Elsewhere, Tariq Aziz was apparently picked up at his sister's house in Baghdad last night in a pre-arranged operation. Neighbours say the electricity and phones to the area were cut off, and US troops using night-vision equipment arrived and drove Aziz off in a convoy. US officials indicate the former Dep PM is not a POW. His exact status is yet to be decided. Baghdad. Another Fri, more demonstration after prayers. "We won't sell our country", chant one crowd. "We are all brothers", yell others, indicating the Sunni and Shiite Islamic groups are now working together to form a govt. Still under construction, one Baghdad mosque was started by Saddam. It was going to be the biggest in the world. He was trying to curry favour with the Islamists. But Saddam was denounced at the mosque today as an unbeliever. The imam called for Sunni and Shiite to unite and form a representative govt. Nearby, another mosque, another cleric calling for the US to leave the country immediately. Meanwhile, the US is worried about the influence of Iran on Iraq's Shi'ite majority. The US says it wont allow the establishment of an Islamic state. Another cause of US concern is the return of a leading Shiite imam after 20 y in exile. He's the brother of the leader of the most powerful Shiite group, based in Iran. The US is trying to keep out the group's Badr corps from S Iraq. Rumsfeld and other officials have warned the group will still be treated as enemy combatants -- even though they were fighting against Saddam. But it's not just the Shiites in Iraq. After Fri prayers Sunnis also spilled out of the Baghdad mosques and called for the US to leave the country. It's been revealed that children as young as 13 and 14 are being held by the US at its military based in Cuba. The US says the children are killers, and would take up arms again, if released. One is said to be the son of a known Al Qaeda leader. There is no way to independently verify anything the US military and Admin says about the children. Until recently, they had denied children were being held as enemy combatants. 7 pm In the US, the Dow closed down 1.5% as investors collected profits for a 2nd day. AUS ABC TV has shown part of the SARS situation in Beijing. A man with a high temp and suffering breathing difficulties arrives at an ER for SARS treatment. But he's turned away. There are too many patients. Presently 3 major Beijing hospitals are locked down, overloaded with SARS cases. The man's relatives put him on a bus to look for another hospital. Most of them aren't wearing masks. But they believe he has the virus. Scenes like this, repeated a 100 times, lead some experts to believe the disease is out of control in China. 7.15 pm Batam Island. A Vietnamese boat has made it just to Singapore. The boat they bought for $9,000 finally quit, after breaking down repeatedly. 21 people off the boat said they wanted to go back to Vietnam. But today, that number has fallen to 7. The rest want to go on to Australia. It's unclear whether the group is free to move on. They were locked up overnight. But, typically, Indonesian policy is confused. Another boat was allowed to proceed last wk. Oklahoma. Cock fights! There's a move to ban the blood sport, with critics saying it makes rural Americans look like animal abusers, hicks and knuckle-draggers. While the TV cameras weren't allowed to see the birds cut each other with razors strapped to their legs, advocates say it's a $US100 mn pa business that many people enjoy. They say it's a matter of city folks trying to tell them how to think and act. They say they hope the influx of Mexicans and Philippines will help to keep the sport growing. }} ---------------------------------------- Note these dates or move to France! Apr 27 Magellan killed by MILF in Philippines, 1521. Independence Day in Togo. Apr 28 James Monroe born, 1758. Z-80 introduced. Apr 29 Jules Henri Poincare born, 1854. Solve conjecture and win big prize! William Randolph Hearst born in SF, 1863. The zipper patented by Gideon Sindback, 1913. "Hair" premiers on Broadway, 1968. Emperor's Birthday in Japan. Apr 30 Karl Friedrich Gauss born, 1777. Fairly bright. Queen's Birthday in Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles. The Workers Day in Uruguay. May 01 Kate Smith born, 1909. First BASIC program run at Dartmouth, 1964. It's Beltaine. Feast of the Celtic sun god, Bel. It's Labor Day in many places, Boy's day in Japan, and Law Day in the US (decl by Eisenhower). May 02 Dr Benjamin Spock born, 1903. How to ruin a generation. It's Constitution Day in Japan, and King's Birthday in Lesotho. ---------------------------------------- Sun, 27 Apr 2003 8 killed in torrential rains Suspect nuclear-related shipment to N Korea intercepted: report SK will demand end to nukes 6 killed in ammo dump blast Iraqis protest US presence after Baghdad blast Reason for war: 9/11, not WMD "Suspicious" chemicals found in Iraq: US 5 killed in rebel raid on Kashmir radio station Garner asks Iraqis to play role in new Govt Govt urged to act over depleted uranium weapons Jakarta airport bomb blast injures 11 Bali bombing links to Jakarta blast Link found between Saddam and Al Qaeda: report Massive ecstasy haul seized in SYD Mideast "road map" could be released next week: US official US Iraqis will form govt US Forces seize airfield US working on new assassination weapon More SARS deaths as expert warns of higher mortality rate WHO may reconsider Toronto warning Taiwan bans visitors from SARS "big four" US offers to help China fight SARS Internet cafes closed to combat SARS SARS imported into AUS Holocaust museum marks 60th anniversary Costello predicts budget surplus Ecstacy seized Beijing. 8 KILLED IN TORRENTIAL RAINS! State media reports at least 8 people have been killed after torrential rains caused a landslide in NW China's Xinjiang region. Xinhua news agency reports heavy rain caused a hillside to collapse on Fri, burying the homes of 4 families in mud. Suspect nuclear-related shipment to N Korea intercepted: report Berlin. The German govt has intercepted a shipment of German-made aluminium tubes probably destined for use in N Korea's nuclear programme, according to a German magazine. The weekly magazine Der Spiegel said in its issue due to be published on Mon that 22 tonnes of aluminium tubes, essential in the manufacture of enriched uranium, were loaded onto a French ship in Hamburg in early Apr just as German fed vetoed the shipment. The German govt alerted the French authorities, who ordered the ship's captain to unload the containers in Egypt. Officially the tubes were on their way to a Chinese aeronautics company, but according to Der Spiegel Berlin believes this company was a front for N Korea. The German firm's business contact was a N Korean national, it said. The paper said the head of the German company, called Optronic and which is based at Koenigsbronn in S Germany, had been detained for questioning. The prosecutor's office in Stuttgart confirmed it had opened an investigation into a local firm suspected of contravening foreign trade regulations, but gave no further details. On Thu, in the 1st direct high-level contact between the US and N Korea since the crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear programme erupted last Oct, N Korea confirmed it possessed nuclear weapons. Seoul. SK WILL DEMAND END TO NUKES! SK says it will demand the N abolish its nuclear weapons programs during Cabinet-level meetings in Pyongyang. Meanwhile the communist state has vowed to stand up to US imperialists. A 5-member S Korean delegation is scheduled to fly to Pyongyang tomorrow for 3 days of talks. The meetings come just days after a snr US official said NK claimed in talks this wk in Beijing to have atomic weapons that it might test, sell, or use depending on US actions. Baghdad. 6 KILLED IN AMMO DUMP BLAST! 100s of Iraqis have dug through the ruins of destroyed homes and screamed at US troops, blaming them for explosions at a US-held weapons cache that pummelled a resid'l area, killing at least 6 people. The US military is blaming unknown attackers who they say fired flares into the sprawling open dump, laden with 80 Iraqi missiles. The flares set off a cascade of warheads, rockets and mortars that hit homes for kms around. The disaster sparked protests in the stricken Zafaraniyah neighbourhood and city centre. Iraqis protest US presence after Baghdad blast Baghdad. Hundreds of Iraqis have held protests after an explosion at a weapons dump in Baghdad killed up to a dozen civilians. The US military is blaming unknown Iraqi attackers for the blast. Six members of the one family were killed when their house was flattened by the blast. US military central command says someone fired a flare into the weapons dump, causing it to explode. Moments after the blast, 100s of Iraqis gathered nearby, angry that the US military had not moved the weapons out of a residential area. One banner read, "the Americans are killing Iraqis with the weapons of Saddam Hussein". But the US military has blamed the former regime for the blast, saying it placed the weapons dump in a civilian area. Reason for war: 9/11, not WMD Washington (US ABC TV). To build its case for war with Iraq, the Bush administration argued that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, but some officials now privately acknowledge the White House had another reason for war -- a global show of American power and democracy. Officials inside govt and advisers outside told ABCNEWS the administration emphasised the danger of Saddam's weapons to gain the legal justification for war from the UN and to stress the danger at home to Americans. "We were not lying," said one official. "But it was just a matter of emphasis." Officials now say they may not find 100s of tonnes of mustard and nerve agents and maybe not 1000s of L of anthrax and other toxins. But US forces will find some, they say. On Thu, Pres Bush raised the possibility for the 1st time that any such Iraqi weapons were destroyed before or during the war. If WMD were not the primary reason for war, what was? Here's the answer officials and advisers gave ABCNEWS. The Sep 11, 2001, attacks changed everything, including the Bush administration's thinking about the Middle E -- and not just Saddam Hussein. Senior officials decided that unless action was taken, the Middle E would continue to be a breeding ground for terrorists. Officials feared that young Arabs, angry about their lives and without hope, would always looking for someone to hate -- and that someone would always be Israel and the US. Europeans thought the solution was to get a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. But American officials felt a Middle E peace agreement would only be part of the solution. The Bush administration felt that a new start was needed in the Middle E and that Iraq was the place to show that it is democracy -- not terrorism -- that offers hope. Beyond that, the Bush administration decided it must flex muscle to show it would fight terrorism, not just here at home and not just in Afghanistan against the Taliban, but in the Middle East, where it was thriving. Has the war done what the officials ABCNEWS talked to wanted? It seems to have improved the behaviour of the Syrians and maybe the Iranians, they said, although there is still concern that Iran will meddle in Iraq. And it may have even put some fear in the N Koreans, they added. Plus, they said it probably has helped the Middle E peace process. But will Iraq be the model that can persuade young Arabs there is more to life than hatred? Too early to know, they said. Their point: We are deeply worried about the Shiites. It will be a tragedy if radical, anti-American elements gain control in post-Saddam Iraq. One official said that in the end, history and the American people will judge the US not by whether US officials find canisters of poison gas or vials of some biological agent. History will judge the US, the official said, by whether this war marked the beginning of the end for the terrorists who hate America. "Suspicious" chemicals found in Iraq: US Washington. The Pentagon says US troops scouring N Iraq for weapons of mass destruction have found drums of what is described as "suspicious" chemicals. An official says a mobile lab has arrived at the scene to conduct tests on the nature of the chemical. It declined to give further details but American news reports say the unmarked barrels were found nr an ammunition dump that also contained 150 gas masks. They say a preliminary test of one of the barrels showed a mixture of three chemicals, including a nerve agent and blistering agent. There have been several false alarms in the course of the Iraq war when US troops say they found suspicious substances. None of these finds has been confirmed as chemical agents. 5 killed in rebel raid on Kashmir radio station Kashmir (Reuters). Authorities in disputed Kashmir thwarted an attempt by separatist guerrillas to raid India's main state-run radio and TV station, but 3 rebels and 2 guards were killed in the clash. A snr police official told Reuters the militants 1st detonated a car loaded with explosives outside the complex in the heart of Srinagar, summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, to divert the attention of guards in the high-security area. One militant was killed at the entrance to the complex and 2 were chased and killed in a gun-battle outside a nearby mosque in pouring rain, he said. 2 security force personnel were killed and 6 more injured, he added. Responsibility for the incident was claimed by 2 rebel groups with no known links to each other. A rep for the militant group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, based in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, told Reuters his group had carried out the attack. A less known rebel group, the Al-Madina Regiment, had earlier called newspaper offices in Srinagar to claim responsibility. The same group had owned up to a suicide attack on a paramilitary camp on Fri in the town of Bandipura, north of Srinagar, in which 3 soldiers and a civilian were killed. 2 of 3 militants involved in Fri's attack were also killed. Sat's incident follows a series of guerrilla attacks in the Himalayan region on Fri that killed 10 people, including 6 soldiers. The violence comes after India and Pakistan toned down their rhetoric over Kashmir, with Indian PM Atal Behari Vajpayee last wk urging talks to end 13 y of a bloody revolt in the region. Police said in a statement 77 people, including 48 rebels and 10 security force personnel, were killed and more than 70 wounded in violence in the last one week. Garner asks Iraqis to play role in new Govt Baghdad. The head of the US civil administration responsible for reconstruction in Iraq has appealed to Iraqis to play an active part in forming their new govt. The former American general Jay Garner in a radio address to Iraq says basic services will be restored in a matter of weeks. He has also called on Iraqis to return to work. "Along with the military we are working to keep your streets safe," he said. As security continues to improve this security job would be done more and more by Iraqis. Govt urged to act over depleted uranium weapons Canberra. The AUS Democrats are calling on the Govt to pursue an international ban on the use of DU in weaponry. The US admitted in March, before the war in Iraq began, that it would use ammunitions tipped with depleted uranium in combat. Democrats defence rep Sen Andrew Bartlett says the Govt should commit to monitoring all AUS gulf veterans over the next decades. He says the Govt should follow the UK's lead in offering troops testing for depleted uranium. Jakarta airport bomb blast injures 11 Jakarta. A bomb blast ripped through a KFC restaurant at Jakarta's Sukarno-Hatta airport on Sun, injuring 11 people, one of them seriously. Police said a low explosive was used. The explosion took place around 6.30 am at the F2 domestic terminal, Jakarta Police rep Prasetyo said. 11 people were injured in the explosion, one of them seriously, he said. Mr Bachtiar and Mr Prasetyo said the explosion took place in the public side of the airport, before the entrance to the restricted area where airline check-in counters are located. The ElShinta radio quoted people in the area as saying there was a strong smell of sulphur following the blast, which shattered glass panels in the area. One of the witnesses, Jihan, 32, who was slightly injured in the blast and was being treated at a nearby hospital, said that he believed the blast came from a handbag put under one of the seats. A bomb exploded on a sidewalk behind the UN headquarters in central Jakarta on Thu morning but there were no injuries. Jakarta. BALI BOMBING LINKS TO JAKARTA BLAST! Extremists accused of the Bali bombing have been linked to a bomb explosion at Jakarta's int'l airport which injured at least 6 people. Indon's security minister Susilo Bambang Yudoyono says there appears to be a correlation between the trials of Jemaah Islamiyah leaders and the explosion at 6.30 am today. The attack comes as For Min Alex Downer prepares to lead a delegation of AUS ministers to Bali tomorrow for a meeting on people smuggling. Link found between Saddam and Al Qaeda: report Washington. Secret Iraqi intelligence documents found in Baghdad have provided the first evidence of a direct link between Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network and Saddam Hussein's regime, the London newspaper Sun Telegraph reported. It said it had found files on Sat in the bombed headquarters of the Mukhabarat, the Iraqi intelligence service, which showed that an Al Qaeda envoy was invited secretly to Baghdad in March 1998. The aim of the meeting had been to establish a relationship between the Iraqi regime and Al Qaeda based on their shared hatred of the US and Saudi Arabia, the Sun Telegraph said. Massive ecstasy haul seized in SYD Sydney. Fed Police have seized AUS's largest haul of ecstasy powder during a major operation in SYD. 5 men are expected to appear in a SYD court later this morning. Police seized 170 kg of ecstasy powder with an estimated street value of more than $90 mn during a series of raids across SYD yesterday. Police say the powder could be manufactured into more than 400 kg of ecstasy tablets. It is alleged the drugs were hidden in freezers which were shipped to SYD from Malaysia. Five men have been arrested and charged with the importation of a prohibited substance. They are expected to appear in a SYD local court later this morning. Police allege one of the men, a Dutch national who resides in Malaysia, is the organiser of the shipment. Mideast "road map" could be released next week: US official Washington. An international "road map" for Middle E peace will be unveiled as early as next wk once Palestinian legislators endorse new PM Mahmoud Abbas, a US official said on Sat. The Palestinian Legislative Council is widely expected to approve Mr Abbas's appointment on Tue at a special session in the West Bank city of Ramallah. "The road map will be issued as soon as (Abbas) is confirmed, it could be just a matter of days," said the official, who is based in the Middle E but declined to be named. The US and its so-called "Quartet" partners, the UN, EU and Russia, produced the plan in an effort to stem a bloody uprising by Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip territories captured by Israel in 1967. Under the plan, Palestinians would get statehood by 2005 in exchange for reining in militants, and Israel would get security. A snr Palestinian minister, Nabil Shaath, said he expected the road map to be released on Wed. Israel was more circumspect on the latest effort to end the 31-month-old Palestinian uprising that has included suicide bombings against the Jewish state. Meanwhile, Israeli PM Ariel Sharon may meet with US Pres George W Bush in Washington next m at a concert there to celebrate the anniversary of Israel's creation, a rep said on Sat. Mr Bush has been invited to act as the host of honour at the May 19 concert, to mark Israel's 55th birthday, and Mr Sharon will attend if the situation at home permits him to travel, rep Raanan Gissin said. Washington. US IRAQIS WILL FORM GOVT! US def officials say the Pentagon is sending to Baghdad teams of Iraqi exiles to help rebuild the govt of postwar Iraq. The group comprises small teams of individuals selected for the kinds of expertise needed to revive govt ministries such as oil, public health, ind'y and transportation. US dep sec of def Paul Wolfowitz says about 150 Iraqis who have been living in the US or Europe have volunteered to go back, and a small number has already gone. Baqubah. US FORCES SEIZE AIRFIELD! US forces have seized an airfield in the N Iraq city of Baqubah nr the border with Iran. Officers with the 4th Inf say US troops detained 40 Iraqis but met no resistance as they moved into the airfield on the N edge of the city. They say local residents also pointed US troops to a stash of 12 Iraqi missiles apparently left there several wks ago. US forces now control at least 5 air bases in the country. Washington. US WORKING ON NEW WEAPON! US scientists are working on a new missile able to strike distant targets with lightning speed, all but denying future enemies of Washington a chance to escape. Govt sources say the program has taken on added importance after 2 attempts to kill Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein using cruise missiles and bunker-buster bombs. In the 2nd attack, it took the US military just 38 mins, from the moment it received an intel tip, to redirect a B-1 bomber, reprogram weapons systems and level several buildings. More SARS deaths as expert warns of higher mortality rate London. The worldwide SARS death toll continued to climb on Sat as a leading Brit expert warned the mortality rate from the mysterious disease could be double that suggested by the WHO. Canada recorded its 20th death, a 77-year-old man from Ontario province, casting doubt on official comments that the outbreak is under control. 6 deaths in HK and Singapore's 19th fatality were among 15 fatalities in Asia, bringing the global toll to 292. As US Pres George W Bush offered to help beat the epidemic in China, where drastic measures are being taken to halt the rampant SARS, a Brit expert on infectious diseases said the mortality rate had reached 10% -- double WHO estimates. WHO, which said on Fri the mortality rate had reached 5-6%, did not confirm Dr Anderson's figures, but said they appeared plausible. Asian nations earlier vowed to form a united front to halt the spread of the killer virus as the WHO called for a global hunt to track down every case of the disease. The determined pledge came at the end of a meeting of Asian health ministers and international experts in KL. The respiratory illness that 1st emerged in the S Chinese province of Guangdong nearly 6 m ago has now infected nearly 5,000 people in 26 countries. Several govts have already introduced sweeping emergency measures to curb the spread of the disease, quarantining 1000s of people and sealing off entire buildings, hospitals and schools. The health ministers meeting in Kuala Lumpur ahead of an emergency regional summit in Bangkok next wk turned their attention to the problem of preventing the virus from spreading internationally. In a communique issued after the meeting, the 10-member ASEAN plus China, Japan and South Korea affirmed the need to bar SARS suspects from going to other countries. Toronto. WHO MAY RECONSIDER TORONTO WARNING! Although Canada has recorded its 20th SARS death, a WHO rep has confirmed the agency is re-considering the travel warning it issued last wk for Canada's largest city. The WHO travel warnings to Toronto announced Wed have evoked howls of protest from Canadian officials who called it unwarranted and damaging to the economy. Taiwan bans visitors from SARS "big four" Taipei. Taiwan is to ban people from China, HK, Singapore and Canada from visiting the island as the govt reported its 1st known victim of the SARS virus. Taiwan's Dept of Health says a 56-year-old man in Taipei was infected by his brother, who lives in a residential compound in HK, where at least 320 people have been infected. Taiwan residents returning from the 4 areas will be put into quarantine for 10 days to try to curb the spread of SARS. US offers to help China fight SARS Washington. US Pres Bush Jr has offered to help China beat its SARS epidemic, praising Beijing's efforts to fight the disease as "extraordinary", state media reported on Sat. Bush offered "any possible support and assistance" in a telephone call to his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, Xinhua news agency said. Mr Hu said China was willing to strengthen cooperation with the international community in the fight against SARS but added that he was confident China would eventually contain the outbreak. Mr Bush also pledged to continue to look for a diplomatic solution to the N Korean nuclear crisis, after trilateral talks in Beijing ended in disarray amid Pyongyang's apparent statement that it possesses nuclear weapons. Hu said the Beijing talks, which ended on Fri, had been a "good beginning" and reiterated China's call for a non-nuclear Korean peninsula. Beijing. INTERNET CAFES CLOSED TO COMBAT SARS! Cinemas and Internet cafes in Beijing have been closed to halt the spread of SARS. Authorities have shut down all entertainment businesses where groups gather, incl theatres and karaoke bars. Xinhua news agency says it's an open-ended measure, as the businesses will only be allowed to restart once the outbreak of SARS is under control. Beijing has also closed down all public libraries until May 8 and stopped marriage registrations. Sydney. SARS IMPORTED INTO AUS! Health min Kay Patterson has revealed the SARS virus has been imported and is being stored in high-containment facilities in AUS. Sen Patterson says the lethal virus was imported into AUS last Thu on the recommendation of Chief Comm'th Med Off Richard Smallwood. She told the Nine Network the virus was imported to help AUS scientists develop a diagnostic test. She says another high-containment lab is also looking at whether animals can spread the disease. Melbourne. HOLOCAUST MUSEUM MARKS 60TH ANNIVERSARY! The Jewish Holocaust Museum in MEL is marking the 60th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising with an exhibition.Resistance 1943 opens tonight at the museum in Selwyn St, Elsternwick, and will run for 4 m. Museum rep Stan Marks says the exhibition includes excerpts from memoirs of survivors and a partially-burned torah scroll saved from a synagogue in Poland. Canberra. COSTELLO PREDICTS BUDGET SURPLUS! Treas Peter Costello says the fed govt will deliver a budget surplus of more than $2 bn. Mr Costello says the small surplus follows a y when the govt has been restricted by its military commitment to Iraq, high oil prices and the drought. He told ABC TV the forecast surplus of a bit over $2 bn will be a pretty major achievement given the events of the past y. The fed Budget will be handed down on May 13. [In related news, Mr Costello has declined to say whether he would remain in politics if PM Howard continued on as PM after this y]. Canberra. ECSTACY SEIZED! Police have seized AUS's largest haul of ecstacy powder -- a 170 kg shipment worth an estimated $92 mn on the street. 5 men have been arrested over the seizure made during a series of raids in SYD yesterday. The AFP says the shipment, found in freezers imported from Malaysia to AUS by sea, was 85% pure ecstacy. They say it could be made into more than 440 kg of ecstacy tablets. {{ CONTINUOUS WAR NEWS IT'S DAY THIRTY-EIGHT. 4.30 am Explosions are still continuing at a Baghdad ammo dump US military cmdrs are saying was attacked by rebels. An official at a local hosp says at least 12 are dead following hrs of explosions, which say rockets and mortars fly 100s of m into nearby suburbs and explode. Don Rumsfeld is off on a your to the Gulf. The US Def Sec will discuss his long-term plans for the region with leaders in several countries. He will also thank Gulf allies for their assistance in the Iraq war, and meet the troops. The Pope has written to Cuban Pres Fidel Castro, expressing concern at the recent speedy execution of hijackers. The Pope write that he hoped the Castro showed clemency to 75 other dissidents still in the country's jails. There have been 6 cases of SARS in Brit so far. Students are being put into quarantine for 10 days, if they come from affected areas. But the govt says there are no plans to take precautions similar to Asia. The govt has its critics, who say there are symptoms of SARS apathy in the UK. 11 pm Another 21 people have died from SARS in HK. Baghdad. Anti-US demos have continued, following a blast at a city ammo dump. Some of the protesters are shouting pro-Saddam slogans. Cuba. In a long TV address, Fidel Castro has accused the US of provoking hijackings in the country to foment an Iraq-style takeover. The US Admin says the idea is preposterous. But Pentagon hard-liners say it's a good idea. GWII has re-ignited fears in Cuba of a US invasion. }} ---------------------------------------- Mon, 28 Apr 2003 NY. MARKETS! The Dow closed down 134 pts (1.6%) to 8,306. The FTSE is down 29 pts (0.8%) to 3,870. In Germany, the Dax is down 53 pts (1.9%) to 2,838. Gold is trading around $US334/oz. Mexico City. BUS CRASH KILLS 27! A bus an a truck have collided head on, killing 17 and injuring 24. Fed police say yesterday's accident happened in the N state of Sonora nr the Mexican border with the US. A rep says the truck hit the bus after the truck strayed into the oncoming lane of traffic on a highway nr the border with Arizona. All of the dead were travelling in the bus and came from different states in N Mexico and the truck driver was injured. Bamako. 31 TOURISTS STILL CAPTIVE! A diplomat says 31 European tourists missing in the Algerian Sahara desert are apparently still alive and well. The Mali official says the 31 have been spotted and Algerian authorities are working to obtain their release. He says he's heard talk in Algiers of a random being demanded for the tourists, some of whom have been missing since Feb. Algeria has deployed 1000s of soldiers in the hunt for 15 Germans, 10 Austrians, 4 Swiss, a Dutchman, and a Swede missing in the vast desert. Seoul. NK STONEWALLS S! South Korea says NK negotiators have stone-walled high-level nuclear talks in Pyongyang. Seoul officials say the S has demanded that the N abandon any atomic weapons development. However they say chief NK delegate Kim Ryong Song has instead tried to steer the Cabinet-level talks toward inter-Korea economic projects. Also they say he's refused to confirm a claim made during talks last wk with US and Chinese officials that NK is making nuclear weapons. Baghdad. US CAPTURES NUMBER 49! The US says it's captured the Iraqi official who was in charge of liasing with UN weapons inspectors. It says the capture of Gen Hossam Mohammad Amin brings to 13 the number of Iraqis seized from the US list of the 55 most wanted officials from Saddam Hussein's ousted regime. Amin is the former head of Iraq's Nat'l Monitoring Directorate. He was in charge of liasing with the UN weapons inspectors scrutinising the extent of Iraqi cooperation with UN Sec Council Resolutions from Baghdad to disarm. NY. IRAQ SCIENTIST SAYS HE LIED! The NY Times says a leading Iraqi scientist says he and his colleagues lied to UN weapons inspectors about bio and chem weapons. Nissar Hindawi, who worked in Iraq's bio weapons program in the 80s, told the paper what he told the inspectors were all lies. He now says Iraq produced huge quantities of liquid anthrax and botulinum toxin. He says there were ordered to destroy it, but he doesn't know whether that happened or not. [Now, if we can find someone that isn't a self-confessed liar or who's in the know, THEN we're onto something!] {{ CONTINUOUS WAR NEWS Midnight. IT'S DAY THIRTY-NINE. 2 US soldiers have been injured in Baghdad when they were attacked by unknown gunmen. 1 US soldier was killed and another injured in a "rollover incident" during a gunfight in Tikrit. 2 US Bradleys approaching a checkpoint rolled over as they responded to gunfire with unknown attackers. US officials from the interim US govt of Iraq met with former Baghdad city govt officials today to to arrange to get city services like garbage pickup back online. 2 am Another of the US's most wanted in Iraq was captured today. The Gen, who was a significant figure during weapons inspections, was number 49 on the list of 55. 8 am SARS has claimed another 24 lives overnight. There have been 290 deaths from the disease so far. Canada has seen 20 fatalities so far. There are 1/2 doz suspected cases still in hosp, and officials say they are now seeing very few cases. But the WHO has warned the virus could become the first global epidemic of the C21, if it makes its way to countries that don't have first-class health care facilities. 10.30 am As a nurse tried to jump out a hosp window to escape quarantine, Taiwan recorded its first SARS death. In China, officials are building a 1,000-bed SARS hospital from scratch nr Beijing -- a sign they believe the worst is yet to come. US forces have reportedly moved into the 6,000-yo city of Ur to protect it from a repeat of the lotting and burning in Baghdad and other cities. The Americans have been stung by criticism of their failure to protect the Baghdad Museum, where more than 100,000 items were stolen or destroyed. Under the protection of US troops, work has being again at historical sites like Ur and Babylon. Russia says it can't destroy its chemical weapons stockpile, which it was due to complete by 2007. Under a UN agreement, Russia was to have destroyed 1% of its stockpile by the end of the y. But officials said yesterday they don't have the money to do it, and have called for internat'l aid. SARS has infected another victim. The AUS lobster and abalone industries. Reps say demand from Asia has dried up, with people staying home and not going out to restaurants. Some say the worst is yet to come. }} ======================================== (*) Who is responcible for W.A.R.S? A small group of dedicated sandgrubbers, bannana-lickers and 5th columnists on the run from support payments and sundry legalese in their home countries. Mention us at any Uncle Harry's Suburban Bunker and get a 10% discount on cop-killers! All speling macroizated for correctitood by Mcrosotf Speelchek. *** Please stand by for further orders from The Leader ***