From the World-Wide Resourses of the Western Australia
Reserch Senter(*)
		OIL THE NEWS THAT FITS MY VIEWS
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If we decide to employ force, in 21 days it'll all be over. They're
not going to believe what we do to them.
	-- Gen Barry McCaffrey, US Army ret, talking about
	   "battlefield Baghdad", Feb 2003.

I try to visualise how horrific war would be.
	-- PM John Howard, speaking about the threatened war with Iraq
	   which he supports, 21 Feb 2003.

----------------------------------------
YOU DIN AST!
The FBI has issued an advisory condemning "patriotic hacking" by
American citizens on their govt's behalf. Aware of possible Iraqi
counterattacks and other consequences of an all-out cyber war, the
bureau's Nat'l Infrastructure Protection Center has reminded US
citizens that hacking is illegal, whatever the reason. It notes that
hacking on both sides of the up-coming Iraqi conflict is likely to
escalate as tensions rise. The NIPC is basing its advice on its Apr
2001 experience, when China held the crew of a US surveillance plane
after it collided with a PRC fighter jet. Chinese hackers retaliated
in kind, and then some, after US hackers commandeered web sites in China.

----------------------------------------
Mon, 24 Feb 2003.

Beijing. QUAKE! An earthquake has killed 89 people in NW China. An
official with the seismological bureau in Xinjiang prov says many
people have been injured, but the total isn't yet known. The official
Xinhua news agency says the quake, which measured 6.8 on the Richter
scale, affected an area about 40 km E of Jiashi County.

Tokyo.  UN VOTE ON IRAQ SOON AFTER MAR 7!  US Sec of State Colin
Powell says he expects the UN Sec Council to vote on a new res on Iraq
shortly after Mar 7.  Mr Powell was speaking in Japan after talks with
the PM and Foreign Min.  He told them Iraq clearly is in breach of UN
orders to destroy WMD.  The US is preparing to table a new UN res on
Iraq and Mr Powell says he would expect it to go to a vote shortly
after the chief weapons inspector makes his next report on Mar 7.
"We're into a period of intense diplomacy beginning after the tabling
of the resolution. It isn't going to be a long period of time from the
tabling of the resolution until a judgement is made as to whether the
resolution is ready to be voted on or not," he said.  A new res is
expected to pave the way for an attack on Iraq.  Mr Powell has now
arrived in Beijing.

Miami (DPA).  US COPS RUN OVER FRENCH TOURISTS!  In a tragic end to a
beach vacation, 2 French tourists were run over by a police car on
the beach in Miami, and one died of her injuries, the Miami Herald
reported today.  According to the report, the policeman driving the
all-terrain vehicle was chasing a thief on the beach.  With 100s of
horrified sunbathers looking on, he ran over the 26 and 27-yo sisters
with the 2-tonne vehicle.  Matters were made worse when the policeman,
trying to back off the 2nd victim, ran over the 1st victim a 2nd time,
eyewitnesses told the paper.  The survivor, 26, was reported to be in
a critical but stable condition.

Pt Moresby. ETHNIC CONFLICT! 7 people are dead after attacks in PNG's
capital, 3 of them killed in an ethnic clash over a robbery.  Police
say the ethnic fighting was sparked by a shop robbery on Fri morning
that led to 3 men from Goilala being slashed to death by a group of S
Highlanders.  In other weekend incidents a highlands taxi driver with
killed on a main city rd, the body of a man was found at the bridge nr
the internat'l airport, and a S highlands man was shot dead in the
outer suburbs.

Beijing (AFP). ETHNIC CLASHES!  100s of people were injured and one
may have been killed in massive clashes between ethnic Tibetans and
Chinese Muslims in NW China, a report said yesterday.  The
clashes, which have forced Chinese authorities to deploy extra troops,
began in Qinghai province's Jainca county in mid-Feb, Radio Free Asia
said.  The initial dispute followed the sale of a motorcycle by 3
Tibetans to a group of Muslims, according to the radio's Tibetan
service.  Violent clashes ensued, leaving 100s injured and numerous
Muslim shops and restaurants ransacked, the radio quoted unnamed
Tibetan sources as saying.  The radio also cited unconfirmed reports
that at least one person has been killed.  "Local security forces
intervened, but no one was arrested," one source told the radio.  As
of Fri, troops were still out in force patrolling the area, which has
seen tense relations between Tibetans and Muslims for y.

West Warwick. US CLUB FIRE AFTERMATH! Police have discovered another
body in the debris of a nightclub destroyed by fire last wk, raising
the death toll to 97. RI Gov Donald Carcieri says fire marshals came
across the body early yesterday, but he had waited for confirmation
before making the announcement.  He says 42 bodies have now been pos
ID-ed.  80 survivors are still in hosp, and almost all of them are in
bad shape. About 2 dozen victims are reportedly on respirators.

Mexico.  MEXICO BREEDING MAN-EATING FLIES!  Tucked away in S Mexico's
jungly Chiapas state, scientists work around the clock using radiation
and powdered blood to produce one of the area's most cutting-edge
exports -- man-eating flies.  Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of
Chiapas, better known for spawning an armed rebellion in 1994 by
guerrillas fighting for Indian rights, is home to the world's only New
World screwworm plant, breeding mn of insects each week.  Named for
the corkscrew motion with which they burrow into flesh, the screwworm
larvae can kill their victim -- human or animal -- in 5 days. The
worm's Latin name, cochliomyia hominivorax, means "fly that devours men."  
In the 1950s, US scientists pioneered a strange but effective way of
eradicating the pests. The flies are zapped with high doses of
radiation to sterilise them then released into the wild to mate with
their fertile counterparts.  The females only mate once, so if they do
so with the sterile flies, they will not reproduce.  Using this
technology, the US by 1982 wiped out the bug that had threatened
swathes of the nation's livestock.  
With the aim of gradually eradicating the worm from the American
continent, the fly-producing factory in S Mexico was started in 1976
by a joint US-Mexican govt commission and by 1992 Mexico was declared
free of the screwworm.  But there have been recurrences in Mexico
recent y, some, ironically, due to errors at the fly factory that
allowed mn of the killer flies to escape.  Machine failure at the
plant caused an outbreak of the disease in Jan that Alvarez described
as a "disaster."  
But thanks to the 27-yo plant, the flies have been mostly wiped out in
the S US, Mexico, Libya and across most of Central America.  
Despite stringent security procedures such as numerous fly traps in
and outside the plant, special clothing and the stationing of boxes of
sterile flies around the perimeter to mate with fertile escapees,
there have been outbreaks.  Last month, the plant had its worst ever
when a radiation machine malfunctioned. Millions of fertile flies were
sent into the wild in Mexico and Panama. To date 50 cases of the
disease have been found in animals in Panama and 44 in Chiapas.  
The damage could escalate and take m to repair.  "It's a disaster for
us. We're on nat'l alert," said Alvarez.  "The outbreak gives us an
inkling of what could happen if the flies were used as a biological
weapon in a terror attack. It could be very dangerous."

NY fraudsters cash in on terror tragedy
NY (LA Times).  Hustlers who profited from Sep 11 are being nailed and
jailed.  Cyril Kendall, father of 12, reported his youngest child dead
-- last seen on the 91st floor of the World Trade Centre on Sep 11,
2001.  Gerard Rinaldi reported the death of his wife, last seen
working in the Windows of the World restaurant in the N Tower.
Ricardo Frutos listed 3 dead relatives, killed as they toured the 42nd
floor of the WTC straight off a flight from France.
These were deeply disturbing tales -- not for the people who reported
them but for the detectives who exposed them as frauds.  "Basically,
these people were vultures," said Sergeant Daniel Heinz, whose special
frauds squad has spent longer than a y dismantling the elaborate
edifice of lies built by people seeking to profit from the worst
terrorist attack in the US.
For all the heroics of the WTC tragedy, there is a sad
and twisted coda in the bulging pink file folders of the frauds squad.
18 m after the towers collapsed, the squad's 9 detectives are still
investigating suspicious claims about dead people who, all too often,
are either very much alive or never existed at all.  Kendall collected
$US190,867 from charities, Rinaldi collected $13,500 and Frutos
received $47,000 before they were charged with filing false death
claims for imaginary victims or, in Rinaldi's case, for his
unsuspecting estranged wife.  After entering guilty pleas, Rinaldi was
sentenced to 6 m in jail and Frutos got one to 3 y. Kendall
pleaded not guilty and is free on bail.
The squad has arrested 38 people over false death claims, 158 death
reports have been investigated and about 3 dozen cases are still open.
A sense of weary fatalism has settled over those who have spent the m
since Sep 11, 2001, trying to separate truth from fiction in the 1000s
of claims of lost people, lost jobs and lost possessions.  Officials
at charities and relief organisations know that every disaster brings
out hustlers, but the persistence and audacity of the World Trade
Centre frauds has still been disillusioning.

NY (Reuters). CEO'S SAY WAR MAY HURT US!  America's most powerful
corporate executives said looming war threats and terror scares could
put a damper on the economy this y, but while some companies will
delay spending on goods and equipment because of political
uncertainty, most said they are not making significant changes to
their business plans.  Leaders of some of the nation's biggest
companies said political tensions and uncertainty were the primary
reason economic growth would be suppressed this y.  But if those
potential threats to the economy are alleviated, growth in the US will
probably accelerate, the executives said during a meeting of the
Business Council of chief executives in Florida.  
The govt has raised its terror threat level and troops are massing in
the Middle East. But many company leaders say they are making few, if
any, changes to their overall business strategy to account for the
risk of war or other contingencies.	
Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and chief executive of General Electric Co,
said consumers are "hanging in there."  "The financial system is
fundamentally strong," Immelt said. "If the consumer keeps spending,
we'll be fine."  
Some leaders warned, however, that even if the US secures a quick
victory in Iraq, or if war is averted altogether, other risks remain
that could continue to suppress the economy.  
"If we don't go (to war), we still have that problem to deal with,"
said Vernon Loucks, the former chairman and chief executive of Baxter
Internat'l Inc.  "We'd still have terrorism, and we'd still have Osama."

Saddam's troops face a stark choice: join the allies or die
London (The Telegraph).  Allied commanders hope to persuade 1000s of
Iraqi troops to join forces with Brit and US soldiers in their attempt
to oust Saddam Hussein from power.  Snr military officers believe 100s
of 1000s of Iraqi soldiers would rather switch sides and live rather
than stay loyal to their leader and face certain death in
battle. Allied commanders think that once the invasion begins, the
progress of armoured tank divisions moving towards Baghdad could be
severely slowed if they are forced to take large numbers of Iraqi
troops prisoner.  Assimilating them among Western troops would also
present the invading army as a liberating force to the Iraqi people. 
A snr defence official said: "Iraq has a huge army and the last thing
we need to be doing is feeding and housing literally 100s of 1000s of
prisoners of war.  "The message to the Iraqi generals will be simple:
return to your homes or join us. The alternative is death."  The
defecting troops "could be used as a force to attack troops loyal to
Saddam or to help restore order in liberated cities".
The Brit component of the coal'n will have 2 missions -- to seize
the S city of Basra and protect the oil fields to the S of
Baghdad.  At the same time a large "hearts and minds" operation will
be launched in which advancing troops will treat sick and injured
Iraqis and supply them with food, shelter and clean drinking water.
US and Brit war planners are convinced most Iraqi troops will not
fight, and believe the war will be won relatively quickly with minimal
casualties -- possibly on both sides.

Jerusalem.  SHARON SIGNS ON WITH SETTLERS' PARTY!  Israel's PM Ariel
Sharon has signed an agreement with the hardline political party
representing Jewish settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, almost
certainly ending hopes of his Govt including the Labour Party.  Mr
Sharon now has the minimum number of MP's required to govern but in
doing so has moved Israel's ruling coal'n significantly to the right.
The NRP represents about 200,000 settlers and is vehemently opposed to
a Palestinian state.  After signing the coal'n document NRP leader
Effi Eitam told army radio that Mr Sharon's Likud Party agreed to
enlarge the settlements to accommodate the natural growth of their
populations.  Mr Sharon has already signed an agreement with the
Shinui Party which supports a secular Israel and wants many benefits
taken away from the ultra-orthodox community.  Labour leader Amram
Mitzna has consistently vowed never to join a Sharon govt unless there
is an agreement to evacuate the settlements in Gaza and to scale back
those on the West Bank.

Seoul. UN MUST HELP WITH POST-WAR IRAQ!  AUS has told the US that the
UN must play a role in any transitional arrangements after a war in
Iraq.  It has been reported America is planning for a US-led military
administration to take temporary control of Iraq immediately after the
expected war.
However Foreign Min Alexander Downer does not think that will be the
case.  "We've made it clear to the US that we think it's very
important that the UN has a key role if there is to be military
conflict," he said.  "Of course we don't know that that's actually
what's going to happen, but in the event that... does happen, that the
UN has a key role in the architecture of post-conflict Iraq."  Mr
Downer says is heading to Seoul where he will discuss the new Security
Council res on Iraq with US Sec of State Colin Powell.  He says
the new res will be Iraqi Pres Saddam Hussein's last chance.
"You can't keep passing resolution after resolution and giving more
and more last chances, that obviously isn't an appropriate way of
dealing with a dictator," he said.  "So once the 2nd resolution is
passed unless remarkably Saddam Hussein decides fully to cooperate
with the UN then no doubt he will be forced to disarm militarily."

Canberra.  AUS WARNED OF GROWING ISOLATION!  The chances of the UN
Sec Council passing a res explicitly authorising an attack
on Iraq were minimal, a former AUS ambassador to the UN said yesterday.
Richard Woolcott, a foreign affairs adviser to 7 govts and AUS's last
representative on the Sec Council, said divisions in the council
had sharpened since the last res, warning Iraq to disarm, was
passed last y.  It was more likely, he said, that other nations
would react against the "unconscionable pressure" applied by the US to
follow it into a war.  AUS was isolated internat'y, being among
the few countries to agree that disarming Saddam Hussein justified "a
devastating and very costly war".
In a stinging criticism, Mr Woolcott debunked 5 "myths" which, he
said, the Govt relied on to support its position on Iraq.
The 1st was that Iraq presented a threat to AUS's interests. It had
been "perfectly well contained" for more than a decade and, if it
presented a threat to anyone, it was not AUS.
Second, that failure to agree to war would render the UN
irrelevant. In fact, the Sec Council had been hamstrung by
superpower rivalries for most of its history and, before Iraq, a
number of nations, particularly Israel, had got away with being
"serial resolution defiers".
The 3rd myth, Mr Woolcott said, was that AUS's deployment of troops
was not a commitment to war. This was a deception of the people by the
Fed Govt, more serious than that of the "children-overboard" affair.
The fourth govt-sponsored myth was that AUS enjoyed the broad support
of the world.
The fifth was that going to war against Iraq was in AUS's nat'l interest.
The cost of the war also came under fire from the leader of the AUS
Democrats, Andrew Bartlett, who condemned the Govt for its failure to
provide figures on the cost of AUS's involvement.  "It is likely to be
at least half a bn just for deployment, let alone the flow-on costs to
the AUS economy with the increase in the price of petrol and all those
things", he said.

Manila (LA Times).  ARROYO WARNED OF ANTI-US BACKLASH!  A Muslim
leader has warned that letting US troops fight in the Philippines
could trigger an anti-American backlash.  "I am afraid this might be
fraught with danger," said Parouk Hussin, Governor of the autonomous
region in Muslim Mindanao. "People are very poor, but everyone owns a gun."
Pentagon officials said last wk that the US would send 3,000 troops to
the Philippines to help hunt Abu Sayyaf Islamic militants.
There is growing criticism that the Philippine Govt would be acting
illegally if it lets US troops fight in the Philippines.  A rep for
Philippine Pres Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said at the weekend that US
troops would serve only as trainers for Filipino soldiers.  "The
bottom line here is that there will be no aggressive combat role for
American troops," rep Ignacio Bunye said. He said the news reports
from the Pentagon, attributed to unnamed officials, were wrong.
The Philippine constitution bans foreign troops from fighting in the
country. Govt critics accuse Dr Arroyo of negotiating a secret deal
with the US in violation of the law. Some of Dr Arroyo's critics in
Congress describe such an agreement as treason.
The US has classed the Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist group. The group's
leadership had links in the 1990s to Osama bin Laden, but it is
unclear whether any connection still exists. It is best known for the
spectacular kidnapping of foreigners from tourist resorts, which
netted it millions of dollars in ransom.
On Sat, the Philippine military said it had recovered the body of one
of Abu Sayyaf's leaders, Mujib Susukan, who was wounded last week. The
US had offered $US100,000 for his capture or death.  The predominantly
Islamic region is one of the poorest in the Philippines.  It is
estimated there are 30,000 guns on Jolo alone.

Beijing.  US FOOD AID FOR NK!  The US will soon announce it will
resume food supplies to N Korea, despite the intensifying crisis over
the communist state's suspected nuclear weapons program.  US Sec of
State Colin Powell, who arrived in Beijing yesterday during a quick
tour of key NE Asian nations, also indicated he would be asking
Chinese leaders to exert more pressure on their N Korean allies.  Mr
Powell was speaking before leaving for the inauguration of S Korean
Pres-elect Roh Moo Hyun today.  "They have leverage," Mr Powell told
reporters travelling with him, citing China's role as the Pyongyang
regime's largest source of basic food and fuel, provided in a
concessional barter trade.  Chinese policy-making circles have been
focusing on the N Korea problem, with the country's academic and govt
specialists on N Korea summoned to a secret meeting in Beijing late
last week.  Meanwhile, in Japan, media reports said the country would
launch its 1st 2 spy satellites on Mar 28, giving it independent
surveillance. By midyear Japan will have four satellites, able to be
positioned above any target at 24 hours notice.

Seoul. SK CALLS FOR DIALOGUE! S Korean Pres Kim Dae-Jung says dialogue
between the US and the North is the key to solving the nuclear
standoff.  In his final speech to the nation, Kim said the S
resolutely opposed the N's nuclear program, and the N must abandon the
development of nuclear weapons.  He said that more than anything,
dialogue between the US and NK was the key to a solution.

Seoul (Reuters). PLEASE STAY! S Korean Pres Kim Dae-jung said on Mon
that Seoul's security alliance with the US would remain vital to the
Korean peninsula and regional security even after any reunification
with N Korea.  "Realistically, for the maintenance of peace on the
Korean peninsula, N-S reconciliation and the solid S Korea-US security
alliance must be continued, " Kim said.  "For the stability of NE
Asia, the presence of US troops in S Korea is necessary now and after
reunification," he said in his final address to the country before
handing power to elected successor on Tue.  The US maintains 37,000
troops in S Korea under a bilateral alliance that was set up in 1953
at the end of the 3-y Korean War.

Seoul. SUBWAY ARRESTS! 7 people have been arrested in connection with
a subway fire in Daegu that killed more than 130 people last wk.
Police say the 7 include the drive of one of the 2 trains destroyed in
the blaze, and 5 other subway staff, as well as 56 yo Kim Dae-Hak
who'd accused of starting the fire.  Kim, who was badly burned in the
fire, still in hosp, has been formally charged with arson and
manslaughter. Investigators say the subway staff were charged with
negligence.

Kuala Lumpur. SUMMIT! The 116-nation Non-Aligned Movement has begun a
2 day summit in KL which is expected to be dominated by Iraq, North
Korea and internat'l terrorism.  S Af Pres Nelson Thabo Mbeki is
due to report on progress since the last summit 5 ya, before passing
the chairmanship to Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohammad. UN Sec-Gen Kofi
Annan is then scheduled to address the meeting.

KL.  COUNTRIES UNITE AGAINST WAR!  Call it a gathering of the bad and
the worst. Attendees at tomorrow's Non-Aligned Movement Summit in
Kuala Lumpur include a rollcall of the world's great pariahs.
Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe will be there -- Malaysia being one of the
few countries to offer warm welcomes to men who have undeniably
plunged prosperous countries into economic ruin -- joining key
representatives of the US's "axis of evil".  Iran's supreme leader,
the Ayatollah Ali Hoseini Khamenei, is the most snr of the ill-fated 3
to arrive, and Iraq is represented by Vice-Pres Taha Yassin Ramadan --
along with a truckload of documents he says will convince the 114
members of his country's innocence in the hunt for WMD.  N Korea's Kim
Yong-nam, the president of the People's Assembly, rounds out the
troika. Already, he has thrown the summit into its expected
controversies, by demanding -- apparently unsuccessfully -- that the
summit's declaration call on the US to cease its aggression towards N Korea.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the world's 2 fragile nuclear adversaries,
Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf and India's Atal Bihari Vajpayee, will
probably keep their distance from each other after India called for
the res to stand against "state-sponsored terrorism", in a
clear reference to Pakistan and disputed Kashmir.
Of course, of the movement's 114 members -- set to increase to 116 by
tomorrow -- there are many more mild-mannered leaders also present.
East Timor's Xanana Gusmao and Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai will
represent potential alternatives to unpopular regimes.
The gathering is presided over by a slightly less iron-fisted despot,
Malaysia's Mahathir Mohammad but, even with such a roll of
heavy-hitters, there isn't much chance it will actually achieve
anything.
The problem is the non-aligned movement, which was launched in 1955 as
a "third way" grouping against the Cold War superpowers, in recent y
represents a group of people who are largely not aligned with each
other or even, in many cases, with their own citizens.  Now it seems
that anti-American sentiment will form the only basis for some unity
in the grouping, which is almost entirely made up of developing
nations in Africa, the Middle-East, Asia and S America.

Canberra.  CBR BACKFLIPS AGAIN ON SPY!  The fed Govt has performed
another embarrassing backflip in its claims about a snr AUS spy who
killed himself after a botched investigation.  It now says the dead
man did have authority to pass on secret documents to allied countries
under certain circumstances, a claim that contradicts a revised
position adopted by the Govt only 3 m ago.
The issue is central to a looming court case into the death of Merv
Jenkins, the snr AUS intelligence officer in Washington DC, who hanged
himself in 1999 after being accused of wrongly handing secret
documents to allied countries.  The case, which threatens to reveal
highly sensitive details about AUS's intelligence links with the US,
hinges on competing claims about what documents Jenkins was allowed to
pass on.
His widow, Sandra Jenkins, is suing the Govt for compensation, saying
her husband was hounded to his grave by a heavy-handed and unwarranted
investigation. The father of 3 committed suicide at his Washington
home 2 days after being interviewed by officials from the depts of
Def and Foreign Affairs.  Ms Jenkins said exchanging intelligence
information with allied countries was an integral part of her
husband's job as US liaison officer for the Def Intelligence
Organisation. 
The Govt initially agreed with this, but said Jenkins was investigated
because he ignored requests not to pass on specific material.
However, last Nov the Govt abruptly changed its position, amending its
defence statement to "deny" rather than "say" Jenkins was authorised
to pass on classified documents.  But last week, it sent another
letter to Ms Jenkins's solicitor, Brian Hatch, to "clarify" its
position. 
The Govt now argues that Jenkins was allowed to pass on material
classified as AUSTEO (for AUS eyes only) but only if "appropriate
clearances, approvals and processes had occurred".  These included
seeking high-level approval from the agency that wrote the material
and also writing "cleared for release to the US" on the document.  
But the Govt's latest position contradicts claims previously made by
the Dept of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In a media release dated Dec
2000, DFAT stated that passing AUSTEO documents to foreign nat'ls
"is expressly forbidden under long-standing AUS security instructions".

Sydney. POLICE MAY INVESTIGATE RED CROSS!  There may be a police
investigation into allegations the AUS Red Cross blood service failed
to issue a warning about tainted blood products more than a decade
ago.  It is alleged the service may have breached state laws in 1990
when it failed to tell a patient about receiving blood from a donor
who subsequently tested positive for hepatitis C.  The Tainted Blood
Product Action group says the complaint also accuses the blood service
of failing to act against the infected donor who lied on declaration
forms.  The group says the complaint is being considered by the NSW
crime command while the Red Cross says it expects the investigation
will not proceed.

Melbourne (AAP). WAG AGAINST WAR!  3 fed politicians have endorsed a
"wag against war protest", encouraging Vic high school, uni and TAFE
students to cut classes to attend an anti-war strike.  Democrat Sen
Natasha Stott Despoja, Greens Sen Kerry Nettle and Dr Carmen Lawrence
of the ALP are encouraging students to miss classes to be part of the
action be held in MEL next month.  Students are planning to converge
outside the city's State Library from 2pm on Wed Mar 5 then march
through city streets.
However, a spokesperson for the Vic education dept said if high school
students didn't get notes from their parents, wagging to attend the
protest could lead to punishment.
A rep for Greens Sen Kerry Nettle said high school students under the
age of consent would be encouraged to seek permission from their
parents.  He said attending the protest was not likely to affect
students academically.  
A spokesperson for Sen Stott Despoja said the AUS Democrats supported
student protest in response to a possible war against Iraq.  "We do
not support truancy but we also believe that tertiary students are
capable of making up their own minds as to their involvement," the rep said.

Sydney. TEN GRABS MARKET!  The Ten Network ended 2002 with a record
28.7% of the TV ad market after achieving spectacular revenue growth
of 18.5% for the full y, according to official figures.  Ten's grab
of TV revenue was 1st evident last y when it lifted its share of the
TV ad pie by 20.4% in the 1st six m of the y.  The latest figures from
official auditor KPMG show Ten achieved revenue growth of 17% in the
six m to Dec.  In contrast to Ten's full-y revenue growth of 18.5%,
total TV advertising revenues rose just 3.9%.  Ten's share of the TV
revenue pool is now $631.9 million. The strong growth is a victory for
Ten executive chairman Nick Falloon, who until early 2001 was a loyal
lieutenant to Channel Nine owner Kerry Packer.  
Nine managed to grow its share of the 5-city market just 2%
to $845.7 million. The loser was Seven with a 4.4% fall in revenue to
$724.09 million.  
Ten has been able to bolster its revenue share by achieving higher
ratings.  Nine, though it achieved much lower revenue growth,
benefited from maintaining its status as AUS's top-rating station.
Seven continues to suffer after failing to build on its ratings
success in 2001.

Canberra. CORRECTING THE RECORD!  It was previously reported Fed Treas
Peter Costello had denied the Budget would benefit from a $multi mn
tax windfall from the spike in world oil prices.  Previously, Treas
officials said an expected increase in up to $700 mn in tax revenue
could pay for Australia's participation in Gulf War II.  Although
newspapers claimed the Fed govt denied there would be any windfall,
Treas Costello had simply told reporters the government didn't control
the price of oil. The subtle art of denying a different question!

Canberra. SUN POWER! The Fed Opp'n has called on the Govt to continue
the solar energy rebate, threatened with a cut in the up-coming
Budget. The govt hasn't confirmed the future of the Photovoltaic
Rebate Program, which offers cash rebates to people who install solar
power systems.  However, funding may be capped and the program could
eventually be cancelled because high debate for the rebate has used up
a large part of the $31 mn allocated by the Fed Govt 3 ya.

Canberra. DEFENCE BUDGET! The federal govt has against warned this y's
Budget is likely to be tough, with very little new spending outside of
defence, despite prev claims it was sitting on a $600 mn
windfall. Treas Peter Costello says worsening global economic
conditions and the drought, as well as increased defence spending,
will mean this y's Budget will be especially tight.  However, Opp'n
rep Bob McMullan accused Mr Costello of jeopardising Medicare and the
bulk billing system because of his failure to control govt spending.

Sydney. MARKETS!  The All Ords closed up 1% to 2837.  The AUD was at
2.5 y highs at 60.19 US cents (other reports said it reached 60.28 at
one point).  Oil was $US35.95/bbl, and gold was up $US2 at $US353/oz.
BHP Billiton announced a 2% H1 profit slump.

----------------------------------------
Tue, 25 Feb 2003.

Beijing. CHINA'S WORST QUAKE IN 50 YEARS! Rescue workers and search
dogs are combing rubble in NW Xinjiang for survivors of an earthquake
that's killed 260 people and injured 1000s of others.  The quake
measured 6.8 and was the deadliest to strike Xinjiang since the
Revolution of 1949.  Officials in Bachu county, the worst-affected
area, say the quake has injured 4,000 people.  Villagers in Bachu,
near Kashgar, stayed outdoors in near-freezing temps overnight,
fearing further damage to their homes from aftershocks.

Seoul. TESTING, TESTING!  North Korea has launched a short-range
anti-ship missile into the sea between the Korean Pen and Japan.  The
move has dramatically raised the stakes in the stand-off between the
US and the Communist country.  The SK Defence Min'y says it believes
the missile was a small conventional one, and not one of the
long-range ballistic Taepo Dong rockets.  The test-firing occurred
just as world leaders arrived in Seoul to see the swearing-in of new
Pres Rho Moo-hyun.  NK said it was "acting in self-defence" and
renewed calls for direct talks with the US.  AUS has condemned the
test.  For Min Alex Downer, in S Korea for talks with US Sec of State
Colin Powell, said it was "an exercise in drawing attention to
themselves".  NK's long-range missiles are believed able to reach far
beyond Japan and possibly hit populated parts of the US West Coast, as
well as the entire continent of AUS.  Both the US and Japan have urged
NK not to conduct missile testing during the current crisis.
[Colin Powell later played down the missile test, saying N Korea had
issued a warning to fishing boats in the region indicating something
was about to happen].

Canberra/Washington (The Age).  AUS SEEKS UN ROLE FOR POST-WAR IRAQ!
AUS is lobbying the US to ensure the UN has a central role in
administering Iraq after Saddam Hussein is toppled.  The lobbying
comes amid signs there are deep divisions in the US Govt over what
role the UN will have in Iraq after any war.
Some Pentagon officials are eager to ensure the UN doesn't
"complicate" the US administration of Iraq. Others, incl some
Senators, believe postwar admin will be cheaper and more politically
palatable to the region if there is a greater UN presence.
AUS For Min Alex Downer said yesterday he had "made it clear" to the
US that the UN should take a central role in Iraq.  Post-war Iraq would not
be ruled by anything "as simple as a US-led military administration",
said Mr Downer.  He said a democratic govt would not be established
"straight up", but the US would support one in the medium-term.  US
officials have previously been planning on governing Iraq for up to 2 y.
Aussie observers attended a secret 2-day meeting in Washington over
the weekend, to assess US plans for running Iraq after the war.
The Pentagon is pushing for AUS to make a greater contribution to
postwar Iraq than the $A10 mn humanitarian aid discussed so far.
PM John Howard is now said to be resisting US efforts to draw AUS into
the administration of postwar Iraq, or supplying peacekeepers, despite
his strident public support for Pres Bush and US military action.

Sydney (Media Watch).  NO NEWS COVERAGE OF AUSSIE TROOPS! Fairfax,
News and the ABC have all rejected a new contract offered by the AUS
govt for the accreditation of journos covering Gulf War II.
Although the send-off of Aussie forces was covered by all local media
wks ago, there has been no word of the operations of Aussie ships or
troops in the Gulf since.  When the last ships left, Dep PM John
Anderson said it was up to journalists whether they covered the
action.  But the reporters must sign the agreement before they are
permitted to join Aussie forces in the Gulf.  Observers say the govt
document seems to be related to what journos now have to sign to cover
US military conflict.  Although the conditions restrict reportage,
allegedly to prevent another Vietnam-era publish backlash, at least
American journos are able to deluge world media with US training ops
in N Kuwait.  But we are not able to do the same with our own forces.
The funny thing is, AUS journos CAN cover the US troops.  CBR has
also issued a directive that Aussie journos must see the US Command HQ
when they arrive in the Gulf. The US is not only running the war,
they're running the media, too.

KL. REGIONAL RECALCITRANT STRIKES! Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohammad,
incoming Pres of the Non-Aligned Movement, has compared the victims of
the Bali bombings with "collateral" casualties in Afghanistan and
Iraq. He's slammed Israel and W nations for causing a global upsurge
in terrorism, saying religious extremists are only reacting to blatant
double standards in the treatment of Palestinians and Iraqis.  He says
innocent people who died in the attacks on Afghanistan and those who
have been dying from lack of food and medical supplies in Iraq due to
UN sanctions are considered "collaterals" by the W.

KL (The Age). WEST AIMS AT WORLD DOMINATION!  Malaysian PM Mahathir
Mohammad has accused the US and allies of using the war against
terrorism and its confrontation with Iraq as a pretext to re-assert W
domination of the world.  He warned that a successful US invasion of
Iraq would quickly be followed by attacks on North Korea and Iran, as
the US tried to impose its religion of "democracy" on the whole world.
In a fiery speech at the opening of the summit of Non-Aligned Movement
Dr Mohammad said the real global terrorist threat didn't come from
Muslim extremists, but from rich nations determined to impose their
values and economic supremacy on the world's poor.  "Applying
sanctions, starving people, denying access to medicine in order to
force the acceptance of democracy hardly seems to be democratic", he said.
Mahathir said mns had died because they refused to be converted to the
"new religion".  The 77 yo leader said the 9/11 attacks had "removed
all restraint" by W nations, who now no longer respected borders,
internat'l law or moral values.
The Non-Aligned Movement represents about 55% of the world's
population. While Dr Mahathir's speech drew some applause from its 114
member nations, the Iraqi crisis has deeply divided them.

Canberra. PM OFF TO NZ! PM John Howard has confirmed he'll travel to
NZ next m for talks with his Kiwi counterpart, Helen Clark. The PM's
office says Mr Howard will go to NZ for 3 days of talks between Mar 8
and 10.  With the looming war in Iraq and a nuclear standoff on the
Korean Pen, the meeting will be dominated by security issues. But also
on the agenda will be country-to-country trade issues, as well as
developments in the S Pacific.

NZ. CYANIDE!  The AUS, UK and US embassies in NZ have reportedly been
the target of envelopes containing a white powder.  One tested
positive for cyanide. Letters threatened revenge for any attack on
Iraq.  The envelopes were intercepted by the postal service. All
letters seem to have been written by one person.  Embassy staff are
now on alert, being warned about anything they eat, especially in
public.  The attack tends to contradict PM John Howard's claim that
his backing for US military action in Iraq did not increase the threat
of terrorism against AUS or Aussies O/S.

Frankfurt. GERMANY HEADS FOR RECESSION!  Germany's economy is inching
toward recession for the 2nd time in as many y.  And there are few
signs of improvement.  Observers expected the index of W German
business confidence will be little-changed over Feb. Another survey of
31 economists say the German economy will shrink 0.1% last Q.
Concerns about a stronger Euro and looming war in Iraq are hurting
German exports. At home, consumers are also spending less. Deutsche
Bank and MAN are laying off workers.  The economy has barely grown
since H2 2001, eroding support for Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
Germany accounts for about 1/3 of the $US7 trillion economy of the
Euro-using countries.

Baghdad. IRAQ MARKETS SOAR!  Iraqi war fears have badly shaken world
markets over the past few m, but the Baghdad Stock Ex has surged 50%
in the same time.
The Exchange, founded in 1991, doesn't have hostile takeovers,
e-trading, or even an air conditioner. But it is IS one of the hottest
markets in the world at present. Since the start of Aug 2002, when a
war with Iraq began to solidify, the DJIA has fallen 7%, the FTSE has
declined 10.6%, and the DAX has fallen 25.8%.
But the benchmark Baghdad Stock Index has gone from 1317 to 1933 -- a
rise of 47%.
Colin Powell's speech to the UN also seems to have increased the index
by 2%.  All the other stock markets on the planet fell.
In contrast with Wall St, the Baghdad exchange is housed in a run-down
concrete building sandwiched between military buildings in a Baghdad
side street.  Instead of posh watering holes outside, there are canvas
covered stalls selling falafel, bean soup and tea.

NY. NO, NOT THE OIL! World oil prices are racing higher as the US and
its allies circulate a draft UN Res pushing for military action
against Iraq.  Icy temps in the US and low world fuel supplies are
also pushing prices up. NY's benchmark light sweet crude for Apr
delivery has shot up 90 US cents to $US36.48/bbl.  In London, the
price of benchmark Brent N Sea oil for Apr has surged 91 cents to
$US33.18/bbl.

Sydney. THE AUSSIE CRACKS 60 CENTS!  The AUD reached 60.65 US cents
on strong buying out of Japan and Europe o'night, levels not seen
in almost 3 y.  Observers say the USD is still under pressure, and the
prospect of int rate cuts in Europe are holding back the Euro.  They
say the Lil Aussie Battler is moving higher at least partly due to
higher local int rates in comparison to the US, Europe, and Japan,
where money is essentially free.  While the higher dollar is good for
importers, the farm sector will take an estimated hit of $1/2 bn.

Sydney (The Age). THE REAL AUD STORY!  It might feel like the AUD is
moving, but it's basically an illusion.  It's like sitting in a car
wash, with the impression of the brushes moving toward you, when you are
actually moving toward them.  The USD is now moving down on us. The
reality is the AUD in the past y has not moved much against most
currencies, and against W currencies it has gone down about the same
number it's gone up against.  This time last y the AUD was 58.71 Euro
cents; at 4 pm yesterday it stood at 55.78 Euro cents.  Against the
NZD the Aussie has slumped from $NZ1.23 to $NZ1.07 over the past y. 
Against the Swiss franc it fell 6% over the same period.  Westpac
believes the greenback has further to fall, and isn't likely to bottom
out until late this y.  By then it predicts the AUD will be 65 US cents.

Jerusalem. ISRAEL SHIFTS TO RIGHT!  Israel's govt-in-making took a
sharp turn to the right yesterday, prompting Labour to end talks on
forming a "unity govt".  Partnership between Sharon's Likud and the
C-L Labour would have put a more moderate face on the govt, ahead of
anticipated requests from the US to pressure Israel for territorial
handovers after a war on Iraq.  But Mr Sharon has chosen as coal'n
partner the far right National Religious Party whose major
constituency are Israeli sellers in Gaza and the West Bank.  Labour
leader Mitzna broke off talks after the announcement, saying Sharon
has missed an "historic opportunity" in refusing to agree to a
framework for peace with the Palestinians.  Mr Sharon has said Labour
could join the coal'n govt "later".  With Sharon's selection of NRP
and centrist Shinui, he could lead a shaky govt of 61 members in the
120-seat Knesset.  The linking of NRP and the anti-religious Shinui is
a paradox.  But the NRP has agreed to support the repeal of laws
allowing religious students to avoid military service, as well as laws
allowing some civil marriages.  Mr Sharon will now have to explain to
Washington why he's relying on the NRP's vote, following his promises
to Pres George Bush he would back a plan for an indep Palestine by 2005.

Gaza City. STOP WITH THE MISSILES! The Palestinian leadership has
called on militants to stop firing home-made rockets at Israel. It
says such attacks haven't resulted in any Israeli army or settler
casualties, and only lead to savage acts of vengeance by the Israeli
army.  The leadership had made the call following its weekly meeting
in the W Bank city of Ramallah, chaired by Yassar Arafat.  It's also
once again urged all factions to sign up to a proposed 1 y moratorium
on attacks on Israel.

Jerusalem. WHAT'S WITH THE SNOW! Jerusalem has been paralysed by snow
which has isolated it from the rest of Israel.  Schools, offices and
markets remain closed and all rds between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are
impassable, along with several other main access roads.  In the city
itself, the roads are covered by 20 cm of unseasonal snow, with the
exception of some key routes which snowploughs worked on overnight to
keep open. Road traffic's reduced to a minimum, with the public
transport system shut down.

Amritsar. CRASH KILLS PARTY MEMBERS! A truck crowded with members
if India's ruling party has plunged from a mtn road into a gorge,
killing 17 party members and injuring 25 others.  Police say the truck
was packed with slogan-shouting members of PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's
BJP.  They were returning from an election rally by Shatrugham Sinha,
a popular movie star turned Fed minister, when the accident took place
at Narwa village in N India.  Police say the truck was carrying at
least 58 passengers at the time.

Horsham. ANOTHER 3-RIG COLLISION!  2 drivers are dead after 3 rigs
collided in NW Vic, near the NSW border.  Police were called out early
today to search the mangled wreck of twisted metal. 1 body is still
trapped.  It's reported 2 rigs collided head on on the main trucking
route from Adel to Mel shortly before dawn.  A 3rd rig subsequently
hit the wreckage, but that driver walked away without a scratch.
Police say they don't know whether road conditions played a part in
the accident, but say the weather was clear even though it was still
dark at the time of the crash.  They say it could take some time to ID
the 2 dead drivers.

Bogota. AMERICAN POWS! Colombian rebels have declared 3 kidnapped US
Def Dept contractors to be prisoners of war.  The rebels have
announced by email that the men will only be released as part of a
prisoner exchange accord with the Colombian govt.  The Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia, AKA FARC, captured the 3 Americans on Feb 13
after their aircraft crash-landed in S Columbia during what Colombian
officials said was an "intelligence mission".

Rio. ARSON ABOUT IN RIO! Heavily-armed drug gangs have carried out a
wave of bomb and arson attacks in Rio de Janeiro, terrorising
residents and tourists gathered for this wk's annual Carnival.
Military police have been placed on alert and security reinforced
around the city, incl around the prisons amid fears the traffickers
will try to break out colleagues from jail. 3 homemade bombs were
thrown at 3 appt blocks in the beachfront neighbourhood of Ipanema,
shattering windows.

NY. UN SHOWDOWN! A draft res to be submitted to the UN Sec Council by
the US today says Iraq has failed to take the final opportunity to
disarm.  The Council will hold a closed-session meeting to discuss the
Iraq issue today.  The draft res, to be co-submitted by Brit
and Spain, says Iraq has not co-operated fully with the UN over its
disarmament demands.  It's understood it doesn't mention military
action and sets no explicit deadline. Both measures are intended to
bring wavering countries on-side with the US and its allies.  The US
has indicated it will press the Council for a vote on the res by
mid-Mar.  Pres Bush says he's giving the UN a final chance to enforce
its prev decisions over Iraq.

Washington. IRAQ DECLINES TO DESTROY MISSILES! Iraqi Pres Saddam
Hussein has reportedly challenged US Pres Bush to a televised debate
about the Iraqi crisis.  Dan Rather says in an exclusive interview the
Iraqi leader envisioned a televised debate along the lines of the US
Presidential campaign debates.  He says Saddam also indicated he would
not destroy the outlawed Al-Samoud 2 missiles by the weekend, as
demanded by UN inspector Hans Blix. Whitehouse mouth Ari Fleischer
rejected the debate idea.

NY. FRANCE TELLS SADDAM TO DESTROY MISSILES!  France has urged Baghdad
to take further steps to avoid war, and quickly destroy its illegal
missiles, a task Iraq is supposed to start no later than Fri, but has
so far not agreed to.  Iraq says the missiles have been found to be
capable of flying only slightly further than the UN limit of 150 km,
and wants to debate the order to destroy them, along with other
missile parts and fuel.  Dr Hans Blix says the issue is
non-negotiable, and the missiles must be destroyed.  The question has
arisen at a bad time for UN members calling for more time, arguing
that Iraq will move to show it is co-operating with the UN disarmament
process.  France says a decision to destroy the weapons would be a
good indication of the willingness of Iraq to abide by UN disarmament
res.  But Iraq's weapons monitoring chief, Gen Husam Mohammad
Amin has refused to discuss whether Iraq will destroy the missiles,
but says Baghdad is "seriously considering" the UN demand issued last Fri.

Washington. KITTY HAWK READY! A massive deployment of US naval power
against Baghdad is nearing completion, with the arrival in the Gulf of
a 5th carrier, the USS Kitty Hawk.  A USN official says the aircraft
carriers, surface warships, submarines and supply ships now number 60
in the Gulf and 34 in the C and E Med.  The Japan-based Kitty Hawk is
expected to move through the Straits of Hormuz within days, putting 3
carrier battle groups within striking distance of Iraq.

Washington. BLACKHAWK DOWN! 4 US soldiers are dead after their chopper
crashed on a night-training mission in Kuwait.  American officials say
the UH60 Blackhawk troop transport crashed nr Camp New Jersey, one of
several encampments for US troops massing on Kuwait's N border for a
possible attack on Iraq. They say the crash is under investigation.

Sydney. FLOODS! Natural disaster areas have been declared in parts of
N NSW after heavy rain and flash flooding in recent days.  Prem Bob
Carr says the shires of Bingara, Mudgee, Manilla, Narraba, Narrabri,
Uralla, Moree Plains, Parry and Tamworth City can now access a range
of assistance. He says 100s of SES volunteers in the N Tablelands, N
Rivers and Mid-N Coast regions responded to more than 300 calls for
assistance over the weekend.

Melbourne. FIRES! Vic's great NE bushfire is likely to burn until last
next m, despite being largely contained after last wk's rain.
Firefighters are set to head off on foot toward the isolated E front
of the fire in the Snowy R Nat'l Park today, trekking the 40-60 km to
where it's burning in isolated forest.  Dept of Sust and Env rep Mike
Leonard says the fires aren't likely to be extinguished until what he
calls the autumn break.

Canberra.  CABINET MEETING! Fed Cabinet meets for a 2nd day today to
thrash out the economic implications of deploying troops to the
Persian Gulf, while developing a strategy on domestic issues. PM John
Howard called the special 2-day meeting to help the govt focus on
domestic issues incl higher education and welfare reforms.  But the
implications of AUS's commitment to the military build-up in the
Middle East, and the possibility of a war in Iraq are also being discussed.

Melbourne. OPINION POLLS!  A new SBS/Newspoll of 1,200 people has
found support for war has increased, despite massive demonstrations
across the country for peace during Feb.  Support for a unilateral
strike on Iraq has risen from a low of 6% to 38%. This was 8 pts up on
the Jan number. Support against a strike without UN sanction has
fallen 8 pts over last m to 53%. With a UN mandate, support for a war
to disarm Baghdad stands at 67% (up 6), with those opposed at 27% (down 5).

Canberra. DEFENCE REVIEW! A long-waited strategic review outline AUS's
defence priorities post Sep 11 and the Bali bombing is tipped for
release this wk.  The review updates the Defence 2000 White Paper,
drafted before the peril of global terrorism and its threat to AUS hit
the newspapers.  The report will also fine-tune AUS's defence
capability plan.  The review is expected to elaborate on tactics for
supporting global security and preparing for and dealing with terrorism.

Sydney. MORE STUDENTS TO PAY! The number of places for
full-fee paying students is set to double, while students slow to
complete their degrees could lose funding.  The SMH reports a $1.5 bn
re-vamp of higher ed could result in up to 1/2 of all uni places being
allocated to full-fee students. The paper says the package is now
being reviewed by the govt's Expenditure Review Committee.

Sydney. NUKES NOT ALL BAD! A new report says Brit nuclear test
veterans who participated in AUS and the Pacific face no greater
cancer risk than the general population.  However the study, by a UK
govt-appointed body, has found they may face a slightly increased risk
of leukaemia.  The study analysed cancer rates and deaths for men from
the UK who participated in atm nuclear tests between 1952 and 1967.
It was the 3rd investigation of the group of 21,000 affected UK
servicemen and civilians.

Sydney. SMOKING BAN NO ALL BAD! A research review has rejected
concerns that a ban on smoking in pubs would be bad for business. The
review of nearly 100 studies claiming smoking bans would reduce income
in restaurants and bars is published in Tobacco Control.  The
reviewers say the studies were 4 times more likely to use subjective
rather than objective measures and were 20 times less likely to be
peer-reviewed. They say the studies were also funded partly or wholly
by the tobacco industry.

Melbourne. HORNET FLY-OVER STILL ON! Vic Prem Steve Bracks has
resisted calls to scrap the fly-over at next m's Formula One GP.  Fed
Labor MP Michael Danby, the Member for MEL Ports, says the
taxpayer-funded spectacle is a waste of money given the constraints on
this y's Fed Budget.  He said last y's Hornet flyover cost more than
$528,000.  But Mr Bracks told radio 3AW the spectacle would go ahead.

Brisbane. SCHOOLIES GO HOME!  The Qld govt is under pressure to scrap
the tradition of schoolies week, following the release of prev
unpublished figures on last y's event that shows it was the most
violent ever.  Reports say the tradition began in the 80s, following
suggestions from visitors to Florida.  Submission to a govt review
show for the 1st time the Gold Coast business community is giving
the "celebration" the thumbs down.  In the Surfers Paradise police
precinct last Nov/Dec 131 assaults were reported, 79 of them serious,
including attacks with knives. 5 rapes were reported in the same
period.  Although Schoolies' Week accounts for only 3 wks of the 2 m
period, police said it accounted for the majority of the reports.
Between 1996 and 2001 the average number of assaults reported in the
Nov/Dec period was 94, and the average number of rapes less than 3.
Qld Prem Beattie has undertaken a Schoolies review.  Most of the
submissions "express serious concern".  A survey done by Surfers
Paradise Mgt Assoc found local businesses found 64% reported better
turnovers outside the Schools period.  Crowds expected at this y's
event are expected to exceed 30,000.

Melbourne. UNI FUNDS HEAD NORTH!  MEL Uni is said to be angry that
federal research money is heading N, under what they call a "perverse"
new funding arrangement.  The uni has formally contacted Ed Min
Brendan Nelson through its lawyers, challenging the Fed Govt's $527 mn
Research Training Scheme under an unusual exercise of its rights under
administrative law.  VC Alan Gilbert said last night he'd retained the
services of a leading MEL QC to defy what he described as a "bizarre"
system of allocating research money.  Under the 2 y of the operation
of the Scheme, SYD Uni has pulled ahead of MEL Uni in its allocation,
even though MEL Uni outperforms SYD on the selection criteria.  Dr
Nelson's office last night defended the Scheme as "sound".  The G8
unis have scheduled a meeting for next wk to discuss the RTS.

Sydney. NEW RULES FOR BOSSES!  The NSW Supreme Court yesterday spelled
out for the 1st time what is expected of the chairmen of AUS's
leading companies, and some of them will need to prune their board
portfolios as a result. But they may end up being more highly-paid for
the work they retain.  Judge Robert Austin rejected an argument from
One.Tel's lawyer that chairmen have the same responsibilities as other
directors, apart from ceremonial functions such as chairing meetings
for directors and shareholders.  The judge backed the ASIC position
that chairmen must push for systems that enable directors to carry out
their jobs, incl monitoring the financial health of the company.

Sydney. MARKETS BATTERED!  The local markets took a battering today,
with the All Ords down 2% to fresh 3.5 y lows after the news of an NK
missile test.  In the US, Wall St also closed down 2%.  Most Aussie
big caps dived, with Telstra, the NAB and Southcorp in the lead.
Southcorp, AUS's biggest wine-maker, announced a profit slump of 90%
due to discounting in the UK.  It's value promptly fell 20%, losing
$600 mn in value. The former boss got a nice $3 mn going-away present,
however.  Telstra was down to 1997 prices.  At AMP there was a
boardroom bloodbath ahead of an expected announcement tomorrow of a
$900 mn loss because of its UK operation.  4 directors plus the
chairman have fallen on their swords.  Chairman Wallace will get a
payout of $1.5 mn and won't have to face shareholders at the
AGM. Since Mar last y the company's share price has fallen 30%, wiping
$16 bn off company value.  Most dirs now have less than 6 m experience
with the company.  Don't worry, it's only your super. The only good
news was for gold miners, with the metal up $US3/oz to $US359/oz. Oil
also rose by about 1% to $US37.09/bbl.

----------------------------------------
Mon, 26 Feb 2003.

Beijing. QUAKE AFTERMATH!  The death toll from China's biggest quake
in the NW for 50 y his risen to more than 260, with 4,000
injured. It's reported 10,000 homes were destroyed in the jolts,
leaving 27,000 homeless (some say 50,000).  The sit'n is made worse by
freezing weather and the general poverty of the region.  The Army has
been called in for the massive clean-up.  Rubble is being searched by
hand because of fears of injuring anyone still trapped. But no-one has
been pulled alive from the ruins in 24 hr.  The Red Cross says it's
running out of medical supplies.

London. BLAIR CRITICISES DISARMAMENT PLAN! Brit PM Tony Blair has
dismissed a Franco-German plan for peaceful disarmament of Iraq,
saying it's absurd to think UN inspectors can find lethal weapons
without Baghdad's full co-operation. He told parliament the inspectors
are not a detective agency.  As the US and UK release their proposed
2nd Sec Council resolution that implicitly authorises the use of force
against Iraq, France and Germany, backed by Russia, have circulated a
rival proposal that would extend and beef up UN inspections for at
least 2 m.  In other reports Iraq has turned over 100 new documents
that detail the destruction of Iraqi WMD in the 1990s. Dr Blix says
the UN will examine them carefully. An initial review seems to show
they answer some outstanding questions about Iraq's past bio weapons
program.  Brit has agreed to delay the vote on a 2nd resolution to
give Saddam more opportunity to co-operate. Extra time also gives the
allies more time to canvas support for strong action against Iraq.
Current betting has the Sec Council at 4 in favour, 5 against and 6 in
the middle.

Washington. THE EMPIRE STRIKES! Coal'n warplanes taking part in
patrols over Iraq's no-fly zones have attacked 5 missile sites in N
and S Iraq.  The targets incl a battlefield rocket launcher within
range of American troops gathering in N Kuwait.  They're the latest in
an increasing series of attacks in no-fly zones in Iraq as the US and
Brit build a force of 200,000 troops in the Persian Gulf for a
possible invasion of Iraq.  In other news, Turkey's parliament is set
to authorise the deployment of US troops to bases in S Turkey. The
parliamentary vote follows Cabinet approval for the plan yesterday.
The Turkish govt had been holding out for $bns in assistance from the
US in exchange for using the country as a springboard into Iraq.  It's
understood the plan allows for Turkish troops to enter N Iraq, much
against the wishes of local Kurds.  Ankara has long objected to the
establishment of a Kurdish state in N Iraq which it claims will act to
encourage civil unrest in its own Kurdish population in S Turkey.

Washington (NBC). PAID ADVERTISEMENT! The new Whitehouse Office of
Global Communications made its first foray onto the morning news, to
explain the purpose of the new office.  The Bush Administration
understands the importance of responding to the global explosion in
anti-Americanism. Left unchecked, these irrational sentiments,
harboured by billions of mentally inferior foreigners the world over,
could contribute to an international consumer climate in which
American corporations and products stand at a competitive
disadvantage.  The OGC advises on the strategic direction and themes
that United States government agencies use in the ideological
reeducation of foreign audiences. The Office assists in the
development of communications programs that disseminate a few simple,
powerful, and seemingly truthful messages about America's current
government. These will be aimed not only to convince foreigners to
keep their place, but also to reassure Americans that their President
has not single-handedly made them the object of unprecedented mass
derision and hatred.

Athens. UN PEACE PLAN!  UN Sec Gen Kofi Annan has given his backing
for an Olympic Truce during the 2004 Games in Athens -- urging
warring nations to put down their arms during the event.  At a
signing ceremony for the truce in the Greek capital, Annan says just
paying lip service to the ancient Greek idea is not enough.  In
ancient Greece warring city states had to lay down their arms during
the Games to secure the participation of athletes and free passage for
spectators.  Offenders were banned from future Olympics.

Alabama (6.30 am).  SHOOTOUT! 4 people are dead and another wounded
after a man went on a shooting rampage at an employment agency.
Police have cornered the suspect and a standoff is still in progress.

Huntsville (midday). A gunman has opened fire at a temporary
employment agency in the S US, killing 4 people and wounding 1.  The
shootings happened in downtown Huntsville, Ala.  3 of the victims were
pronounced dead at the scene and another, a 55 yo man, died during
surgery at Huntsville Hosp.  A 46 yo man who was shot once is in a
stable condition.

Philadelphia (NBC). SNOWBALL RAGE!  A 10 yo girl is fighting for life
today after a snowball fight turned ugly.  Police say it all started
with a friendly snowball fight between kids outside a neighbourhood
church.  The snowball fight turned into a fist-fight when parents
became involved. One of the parents, whose child had been hit by a
snowball, apparently went home and returned with a 9 mm handgun. He
fired randomly into a crowd of children, hitting the girl in the head.
Neighbours and officials are at a loss to see how the situation could
degenerate so far.

Caracas. BOMB ATTACKS!  4 people have been injured in twin bomb
attacks nr the diplomatic missions of Spain and Colombia in the
Venezuelan capital.  Spain and Colombia are 2 countries criticised by
Pres Hugo Chavez for their stance on the Venezuelan strike crisis.
The attacks came on the heels of a series of often-violent protests
during a 2-m long strike aimed at ousting the Pres.

Jerusalem. WHAT, MORE SNOW? Snow continues to fall across Israel,
Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. In downtown Jerusalem its reached 30 cm, a
50 y record.

Amman. A cold front has swept through the Middle East, bringing heavy
snowstorms to Jordan and Syria.  6 members of 1 family died in NW
Syria when their house collapsed under the weight of snow.  Streets in
both the Jordanian capital Amman and the Syrian capital Damascus are
blocked and offices are closed for the day. The cold weather has also
brought rain to low-lying areas of both countries, which had been
suffering a severe drought.

NY (6.30 am).  MARKETS!  The bears are tearing through Wall St, after
consumer confidence plunged to a 9 y low.  Soaring oil prices, war and
a cold winter have not helped.  Numbers for sales of existing homes
shot up 3% in Jan to a 40-y high on the back of record-low mortgage
rates at 5.88%.  In other news the markets didn't like, 4 former execs
of Quest face 12 counts of cooking the books to the tune of $33 mn in
2001Q2.  Initially the Dow plunged 140, but then bounced back about
100 pts to 7823.  The Nasdaq is still down 13 pts to 1308.

Geneva. SWISS ECONOMY!  Switzerland's fabled economic stability has
suffered a blow with some of its ind'l flagships announcing they'll
together cut more than 3,600 jobs.  The 2nd-largest Swiss bank, Credit
Suisse Group, chemicals group Clariant and nat'l airline Swiss say
they're making cuts to stem financial losses over the past y.  The
jobless rate crept up to 3.8% in Jan against 2.8% for the whole of 2002.

Canberra. US CANT GO IT ALONE! AUS has called on China and other
nations to play a greater role in the North Korean nuclear crisis,
saying American cannot go it alone.  For Min Alex Downer yesterday met
US Sec of State Colin Powell in Seoul where he tried to convince the
US to engage in direct talks with NK over the nuclear standoff.
However Washington continues to oppose bilateral talks because of the
threat to regional stability and global non-proliferation efforts.

Sydney. FREE TRADE NOT ALL GOOD!  A new study has found a free trade
agreement with the US could hurt local farmers and the AUS economy as
a whole.  The study, prepared by indep firm ACIL Consulting and
reported in the SMH, says a free trade deal could cost the economy
more money than it injects.  It says the US would have most of the
bargaining power because it needs the agreement less than AUS.

Canberra. VIETNAM!  AUS and Vietnam are marking 30 y of diplomatic
relations today.  On Feb 26, 1973, the Whitlam govt announced the 2
countries had agreed to establish diplomatic relations -- marking a
reconciliation following AUS involvement in the Vietnam war, which
ended in 1972. For Min Alex Downer says since then the relationship has
grown and diversified, with trade between the 2 countries now worth
more than $2.3 bn pa.

Canberra. NEW DEF PLAN!  The Fed Govt has unveiled a new report
recommending a shake-up in AUS's defence to deal with the threat of
terrorism and WMD. The report took 3 y to complete, and follows on
from a white paper on defence released in Dec 2000. Def Min Robert
Hill says the report underlines the fact that AUS's strategic
environment is being shaped by the twin threats of terrorism and
terror weapons, as well as instability in AUS's immediate region.
Some observers have criticised AUS's defence posture for 30 y, saying
any 90-deg turn now is an indictment of past govt's that took
responsibility for planning out of the hands of military officials and
gave it to bureaucrats.

Canberra. QLD TO BENEFIT FROM GST CARVE-UP!  The Commonwealth Grants
Commission has released recommendations for dividing up GST revenue to
the states. Qld, the ACT, and the NT are now better off under the GST
for the first time.  Under the GST package, the federal govt
guarantees minimum funding for all states to ensure they'll be no
worse off under the new tax system. Since the revenue is linked to
consumption spending, states with larger rural populations would
normally be worse off. Critics say consumers in NSW and Vic are now
subsidising those in rural states.

Canberra. GBR THREAT!  An official report says the Great Barrier Reef
is under threat from erosion and runoff.  Farmers and ind'y leaders
are being urged to do their bit to fix the ailing area, which has been
suffering from deteriorating water quality since European settlement.
Pollution, particularly from ag methods, is hurting rivers entering
the reef's lagoon. The report by the Productivity Commission says soil
erosion and runoff of fertilisers and chemicals are a significant
threat, particularly to the inner reefs.

========================================

(*) 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.

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