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/ [Issue this wk: packet filter in place allegedly out of control! ;-)] Iraqi Body Count: http://www.iraqbodycount.net/ [1,930+ as at 23 Apr 2003]. ------------------------------------------------------------ Selecting latest news stories and other data for you... ------------------------------------------------------------ They took the aid... they ran with the aid... and they developed nuclear weapons anyway. -- Ari Fleischer, Washington, 29 Apr 2003. The Whitehouse says they won't reward N Korea for "bad behaviour". Again. In was like defending the Alamo... ah... It was a mass attack of over 200 people... my soldiers were defending their lives. -- US cmdr, Falujah, 29 Apr 2003. US soldiers killed 13 protesters and wounded 75 others who demanded soldiers leave a school being used as an HQ. ---------------------------------------- Mon, 28 Apr 2003 Sharemarket follows wall street down 7 killed by lightning 11 injured in bombing 120 detained by Indon police Iraqi opposition groups gather in Spain Baghdad power-brokers meet to discuss new govt Baghdad city govt in place within days: US official "Spontaneous mayor" of Baghdad arrested by US 4 US soldiers wounded in downtown ambush US commander plays down possible weapons find Hill, Cosgrove meet Garner in Baghdad Iraqi regime change offers hope to Aussie farmers UN should lead hunt for weapons says IAEA chief IAEA calls for selective "zero tolerance" on nukes Terrorism conf SARS vaccine at least a y away: US heath official China quarantines 8,000 50,000 stay away from AUS Missing SARS drugs located People smuggling conference to consider impact of Iraq war No sign of heightened people smuggling: Downer Family court vows to become more ethnically responsive $1 bn in Medicard funding Govt not committed to medicare: ACA Paintings worth mns stolen from Brit gallery Peacekeepers start Burundi mission Mag 6 quake: New Cal Poly trampled by packy Sailors inquest Water restrictions: CBR Water restrictions threaten: SYD Markets Continuous war news Sharemarket follows Wall Street down Sydney. Sharemarket investors returning from the ANZAC Day holiday have taken their lead from Wall Street, pushing share values close to 1% lower this morning. The local All Ordinaries index was down 25 points around midday at 2,937, with stocks lower across the board. At the end of last week, NY's Dow Jones index finished 134 points, or 1.6%, lower as investors fretted about weak US economic growth. Calcutta. 7 KILLED BY LIGHTNING! 7 people have been killed and 12 seriously injured when lightning struck a house during a marriage ceremony in E India. Officials say the accident happened about 600 km from Calcutta, the capital of W Bengal state, when a thunderstorm hit the town of Malbazar. A resident says the marriage ceremony was cancelled after the tragedy. Jakarta. 11 INJURED IN BOMBING! A bomb has ripped through a restaurant area at Indonesia's main internat'l airport today -- injuring 11 people in what officials call a terrorist attack. The blast nr a KFC restaurant is the 2nd in 3 says in the country. The Indon govt says the blasts may be linked to current or pending trials of terror suspects. Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group, went on trial this wk in connection with a series of deadly blasts. Jakarta. 120 DETAINED BY INDON POLICE! Indon police have stepped up pressure against separatists in the E Maluku islands. The Kompas newspaper quotes Maluku Gov Sarundayang as saying 120 supporters of a Rep of S Maluku have been detained for questioning in the provincial capital Ambon. About 1/2 of them were arrested around the 53rd anniversary of the republic's proclaimed last Fri. Following the end of Dutch colonial rule, separatists proclaimed the rep in 1950 and staged a revolt against newly-indep Indonesia. Iraqi opposition groups gather in Spain Madrid. As aspiring Iraqi politicians prepare to meet in Baghdad, Iraqi opposition groups have gathered in Spain. In their Madrid Declaration, Iraqi political groups have agreed to work towards a fed democracy, with a constitution guaranteeing fundamental rights. They also want a provisional Iraqi govt urgently and Saddam Hussein brought to trial for crimes against humanity. But until the final hours of the conference it was uncertain there was enough consensus to even make a declaration. There are major points of contention, like the role of the US in the country's future and the form an Iraqi democracy might take is far from clear. But Iraqi Kurds, Shiite Muslims, constitutional monarchists and communists all say they want democracy, with the help of the UN, Europe and United States. Baghdad power-brokers meet to discuss new govt Baghdad. A meeting is due to be held in Baghdad this afternoon between prominent Iraqis and the retired American general appointed to run the country, Jay Garner. The aim is to make progress towards setting up an interim govt. The BBC's Claire Marshall reports, the last US-organised meeting to try to gather Iraqi people together to talk about the future of their country was a shambles. Held in Nasiriya, only around 80 people attended, with groups fearing that they would be pressured to accept the will of the US. However, Mr Garner, the de facto governor of Iraq now installed in Baghdad, is determined that today's talks should be a success. A broad spectrum of more than 300 religious, ethnic and political figures have been invited. The aim is try to find potential leaders who could play a role in an interim Iraqi administration. Baghdad city govt in place within days: US official Baghdad. A senior US official said a team of Iraqis will be in place in a few days to take over the day-to-day operation of Baghdad amid mounting anger at the lack of basic services since the war. "There is going to be a basic team of Iraqis running the city," Barbara Bodine, the administrator for central Iraq said after a meeting with Baghdad municipal officials of the former regime. "Spontaneous Mayor" of Baghdad arrested by US Baghdad. Mohammed Mohsen al-Zubaidi, an Iraqi exile who had proclaimed himself Baghdad's mayor and begun issuing directives to city workers, was arrested here on Sunday by the US forces, who accused him of exerting authority he didn't have. Zubaidi was arrested at 1300 GMT in downtown Baghdad "for his inability to support the coalition military authority and for exercising authority which was not his," US military spokesman Capt David Connolly said in Baghdad. Soldiers arrested seven others found with al-Zubaidi, Connolly said without identifying them. He said he was unsure where the men were taken but indicated they were in the US custody. Al-Zubaidi, who has cast himself as a volunteer to help Iraq get back on its feet, never discouraged widespread rumours that he was appointed by the US military authorities. American forces, however, have become increasingly adamant in recent days that they have no relationship with him. "He was misrepresenting himself as mayor, a position which he was not appointed to," Connolly said. Hours before the arrest, the US forces interrupted an interview that al-Zubaidi was doing with several TV networks, in which he said: "Our role will end once there is a conference to elect a transitional government." 4 US soldiers wounded in downtown ambush Baghdad. Four US soldiers, conducting a public-health assessment, were wounded when their Humvees were ambushed in downtown Baghdad, a US military spokesman said. The soldiers, in two Humvees, were stopped in midmorning traffic when an assailant approached and fired at them from a small-calibre weapon, said Capt David Connolly. One of the soldiers' injuries was serious, he said without elaborating. US commander plays down possible weapons find Doha. The Commander of US forces in Iraq, General Tommy Franks, says his troops will search several thousand sites in their hunt for chemical and biological weapons. However he is playing down the latest possible discovery of chemical weapons. General Franks says information provided by local Iraqis has multiplied the number of sites which now must be searched. US troops have found about a dozen large drums in N Iraq, and initial tests have indicated one contained a mixture of a nerve agent and mustard gas. But General Franks is cautious about declaring any discoveries until analysis is complete. "We do not want to come across like Baghdad Bob and say we have it before we have it but we do believe that it is there," he said. US officials say an additional 1,000 personnel will be added to the teams trying to interview Iraqis with knowledge of weapons programs and hunting for evidence. Hill, Cosgrove meet Garner in Baghdad Baghdad. AUS Defence Force chief General Peter Cosgrove and Defence Min Robert Hill have visited Baghdad to discuss the nation's rebuilding program. The pair held talks with retired US General Jay Garner, who is overseeing the program to restore Iraq's civil infrastructure and basic services. General Garner told them the reconstruction is ahead of schedule. But he says more help is needed to rebuild roads, reinstate power and water, restore law and order and establish Iraqi govt ministries. AUS has already nominated specialist areas in which it could contribute, such as niche military capabilities and agriculture. Iraqi regime change offers hope to Aussie farmers Canberra. There are renewed hopes AUS farmers can recover $US100 mn lost in the 1991 Gulf War. Wheat marketer AWB says the recent regime change in Iraq has seen it begin a fresh push to reclaim the money, which was never paid when Iraqi funds were frozen. Rep Peter McBride says the downfall of Saddam Hussein represents the best chance it has of recovering the money. The news has been greeted with cautious optimism by farmers, with many having written off their chances of ever being paid. SA West Coast farmer Leon Stott lost $AUD140,000 and says while he is not celebrating yet, his hopes are high. UN should lead hunt for weapons says IAEA chief Geneva. The head of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, says he sees no reason why the US should take over the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Dr ElBaradei was responsible for supervising UN inspections before the war. There is no need, as he put it, "to change horses mid course," he said. He urged that GWII be brought to a closure by the international community and the UN. "We are the people who are perceived to have the independence and impartiality which will send our report with the same degree of acceptability everywhere", he said. IAEA calls for selective "zero tolerance" on nukes Geneva. The head of the IAEA has called for zero tolerance for countries developing WMD, in reference to North Korea. Mohammed el Baradei says the world must send a uniform message to countries developing such weapons. He has called for a resumption of intrusive inspections in North Korea, which kicked UN inspectors out of its Yongbyon nuclear facility late last year. Last week, North Koreans confirmed to American negotiators in Beijing that they had produced nuclear weapons. The exact nature of their arsenal remains a mystery. Sydney. TERRORISM CONF! AUS's defences against terrorism will come under the spotlight at a national security conf in SYD today. Robert Cornall, sec of the Comm'th A-G's Dept, has opened the 2-day forum that will bring together internat'l security experts, governments, business and community groups. Mr Cornall says it's vital for the private sector to take part in security planning because public infrastructure such as transport and telecom are in the hands of corporations -- not govts. SARS vaccine at least a y away: US heath official Atlanta. One of America's top public health officials says a vaccine for SARS is at least a y away. US Centre for Disease Control director Dr Julie Gerberding says wearing face masks in public is not an effective way of stopping the spread of the disease. Dr Gerberding says developing an effective treatment for SARS will take at least one y and in an effort to reassure the public she says the disease is not as communicable as the flu and can be contained. She says despite the WHO warning not to travel to the Canadian city of Toronto she would this week, adding that the disease was "very contained" there. Worldwide, SARS has now killed more than 300 people and infected at least 5,000. Beijing. CHINA QUARANTINES 8K! About 8,000 people have been quarantined in China's capital, Beijing, after having close contact with SARS patients. The state-run Xinhua news agency reports that as of midday Sun a total of 7,672 people had been quarantined while 1,384 had been discharged from quarantine. It says quarantine measures are in place at a residential quarter of Renmin Hosp and resid'l buildings at 3 universities. A construction site in Beijing's Dongcheng district has also been isolated. Brisbane. 50K STAY AWAY FROM AUS! New figures show the impact of the war in Iraq and the SARS virus scare resulted in a drop of almost 50,000 visitors to AUS last m. The ABS' preliminary arrival figures for Mar reveal a 10.7% decline in internat'l visitors compared with the same m in 2002. With airlines cutting back services and people reluctant to travel, the number of visitors from Brit was down nearly 20%, NZ was down 9% and Japan was down 13%. Missing SARS drugs located Melbourne. Police have just found a missing container of SARS-related drugs, stolen from the MEL docks. The container has been found in Footscray, and police will undertake an inventory to discover if any of the drugs are missing. The drugs have been valued at more than $300,000. The drugs were in a 7 m white refrigerated P&O container, which was loaded onto a prime mover and driven away. It came from the UK and was bound for SE Asia. Senior Detective Adrian Smith says the drugs Salmeterol and Beclomethasone are only used to treat respiratory illnesses. But he says due to the outbreak of the SARS the value of the drugs could have increased significantly. Police are hopeful the drugs are yet to move offshore as they need to be kept refrigerated and the container would be quite difficult to move without attracting attention. People smuggling conference to consider impact of Iraq war Canberra. A high level conference on people smuggling in Bali this wk will consider the potential impact of the war in Iraq. The For Min Alexander Downer, the Justice Min Chris Ellison and the Immigration Min Phillip Ruddock will attend the week-long conference, with senior officials from the Indonesian Govt. Mr Downer has told Channel Nine it is a follow up to a similar conference held a y ago. "One of things we want to do to is have a look at what kind of border controls countries have put in place, how effective they've been in sharing intelligence, how good the cooperation between police forces has been and so on. "And then of course compare information on how we think the people smuggling rackets are going, not only post-Afghanistan, but of course now getting in to the post conflict stage in Iraq as well," he said. No sign of heightened people smuggling: Downer Canberra. The For Min says there is no sign of heightened people smuggling activities, even though 2 boats carrying possible asylum seekers from Vietnam are now in Indonesian waters. Alexander Downer will join the Justice Min and the Immigration Min at an international people smuggling conference in Bali this week. But he says it does not appear the 2 boats from Vietnam have anything to with organised people smugglers. Mr Downer says one of the boats has broken down and will not be going any further, while Indonesian authorities are investigating the other. Family Court vows to become more ethnically responsive Sydney. The Family Court has vowed to become more responsive to the needs of ethnic communities. Family Court chief justice Alastair Nicholson says clients and litigants from multicultural backgrounds have raised a number of concerns about the operation of the court. He says they have particular concerns about a lack of knowledge of AUS Family Law and problems in understanding court procedures. Justice Nicholson is meeting with representatives of multicultural communities today. He says it is important their needs are taken into account. "If you look at the 99 figures, 42% of divorces were granted to couples where one or both partners was born overseas and that in itself is a pretty good reason for us to be more culturally sensitive about these things," he said. Canberra. $1 BN IN MEDICARD FUNDING! The fed govt has announced a $917 mn package in Medicare reforms to increase the availability of bulk-billing and boost doctor numbers in the bush. PM John Howard and Health Min Kay Patterson say the package will strengthen the availability of bulk-billing and reduce the up-front costs of going to the doctor for those who aren't bulk-billing. She says $562 mn will go towards getting doctors into rural areas and another $80 mn has been set aside for doctors to move to outer metro areas. Govt not committed to Medicare: ACA Canberra. The AUS Consumers Association (ACA) says the Medicare reforms show the Fed Govt is not committed to rescuing bulk-billing or Medicare. The ACA's health policy officer, Martin Goddard, says the changes come nowhere nr meeting the costs of running a general practise. "The message to doctors and patients from the Govt is that they are not serious about saving Medicare, they are not serious about saving bulk-billing or Medicare," he said. "I expect a lot of doctors who have been holding off leaving bulk-billing are going to get that message and we're going to see a further decline in bulk-billing, maybe a dramatic one." Paintings worth millions stolen from Brit gallery London. Paintings worth $US2.5 mn were stolen over the weekend from one of Brit's leading art galleries. The works that disappeared included those by Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Paul Gaugin. They were taken from Manchester's Whitworth Art Gallery some time between late Sat evening and lunchtime yesterday. Peacekeepers start Burundi mission Bujumbura. A contingent of African Union peacekeepers has arrived in Burundi amid worsening unrest. More than 100 troops from South Africa have set up camp in the Burundian capital, Bujumbura. The soldiers are the 1st of more than 3,500 African Union peacekeepers to be sent to Burundi. The multi-national force will also include soldiers from Ethiopia and Mozambique. The deployment comes after more than a m of increasing violence between rebels and Govt troops. More than 300,000 people have been killed since Burundi's civil war began in 1993. The peacekeepers will attempt to enforce a ceasefire signed in Dec last y. Strasbourg. MAG 6 QUAKE: NEW CAL! An earthquake measuring 6 on the Richter scale has struck nr Loyaute Is to the E of the French Pacific terr'y of New Caledonia. France's Strasbourg Observatory of Earth Sciences say the quake strick at 0203 AEST. Lucknow. POLY TRAMPLED BY PACKY! A powerful politician who defined the law by keeping a private zoo at his residence has been trampled to death by his elephant. Police say Ram Lakhan Verma, a former govt min in Uttar Pradesh state, was killed when the elephant gored and then crushed him as he tried to control it. District police chief Rajkumar says villagers responded by shooting and injuring the elephant. Perth. SAILORS INQUEST! An inquest resumes today into the deaths of 4 young sailors in a fireball aboard HMAS Westralia off Perth almost 5 ya. W AUS coroner Alastair Hope is examining why the sailors died when fire engulfed the engine room of the ship on May 5, 1998. It was AUS's worst peacetime naval disaster since the 1964 Voyager incident. Canberra. WATER RESTRICTIONS: CBR! Despite recent rain in the national capital, Canberra residents face tougher water restrictions from tomorrow. The ACT and the neighbouring town of Queaneyan will move to Stage 2 restrictions at midnight because dam levels have dipped below 45%. The mandatory restrictions mean they'll only be able to use sprinkler system from 7 am to 10 am and 7 pm and 10 pm on alternate days. All fountains must be switched off, incl fountains that recycle water. Sydney. WATER RESTRICTIONS THREATEN: SYD! The NSW govt says compulsory water restrictions will be in force by the end of May unless more rain falls in country areas. Energy and Utilities Min Frank Sartor says it appears that very little of the heavy rain in SYD and other coastal areas over the weekend fell in the water catchment areas. He told ABC radio that if the trend continues towards mid-to-late May, there will be compulsory water restrictions. Sydney. MARKETS! The All Ords closed down 1% today. The Nikkei ended another 1.2% lower, a new 20 y record. At 10 pm, the FTSE is up 11 pts. {{ CONTINUOUS WAR NEWS ITS DAY THIRTY-NINE. 8 pm Another chem weapons find has cycled through the same stages as numerous others. Initially, chemicals in drums found N of Baghdad were believed to be a cocktail of sarin and VX nerve gas. Now the US military says it's unlikely they are chem weapons. Nearby, they also found a number of missiles and drums of rocket fuel. Many of the missiles were still in their containers. At least one was on a launcher. It's unclear what targets the missiles were intended to strike. 11 pm China may close its Shanghai and Shanxi stock exchanges to help avoid the spread of SARS. It would be the first time the Shankers exchange has been shut in 13 y. World-wide there has now been 319 deaths from SARS. More than 4,800 cases have been reported in 25 countries. Baghdad. AUS Def Min Sen Robert Hill is visiting Iraq. In one of Saddam's 72 palace, the Aussie SAS is in residence. Their quarters are floored with Italian marble and lined with gold inlay work. AUS def chief Gen Cosgrove told reporters the scale of Saddam's homes were at the same time staggering and obscene. The palace will be the home for Aussie companies who will shortly arrive to divide up remaining contracts to rebuild the country. }} ---------------------------------------- Tue, 29 Apr 2003 Markets 5,000 die every day from work-related causes 1 killed, 7 wounded in chopper attack Rebel leader killed by former allies Arafat refuses to be side-lined Iraqis sched next meeting Hill goes to Rumsfeld US warships arrive home US cas reaches 137 KIA Huge ammo dump found: Afg NK offers deal Korean talks stall at last min HIV experts says SARS overblown WHO says China is SARS key Mongolia registers 1st SARS case NZ has SARS case Qld plans for SARS Plant virus found in Adel India & Pak hold phone talks Record drug recall Vic govt plans for female top cop Key shuttle parts found 1/2 mn Aussies underemployed Aussie rights to be weakened Howard says death of Medicard exaggerated 20% of Qld govt fleet in prangs Markets Continuous war news NY. MARKETS! The Dow Jones closed up 164 pts to 8,470 following good data on domestic consumer sentiment. Gold was up 1.30 to $US334.70/oz. [London Gold was trading around $330]. In Europe, the FTSE is presently up 70 pts to 3,940. The German bourse has rocketed up 116 pts to 2,954. The Nikkei is falling further, presently down 92 pts to 7,608. In HK, the Hang Seng is trading up 27 pts to 8,435. Geneva. 5,000 DIE EVERY DAY FROM WORK-RELATED CAUSES! The ILO says about 2 mn people die each y worldwide from work-related causes ranging from disease to accident -- the equivalent of 5,000 workers every day [about 10% of the daily death toll]. The organisation says 270 mn accidents are reported each year in workplaces around the world, and 355,000 of them are fatal. 160 mn cases of work-related illnesses are registered each y. The data is in a study released to coincide with the World Day for Safety and Health at Work. The report says fatal accidents are 4 times more likely in developing countries that in developed nations. The ILO says the financial cost of accidents and work-related disease is around $A2 bn pa -- about 4% of GWP. Gaza City. 1 KILLED, 7 WOUNDED IN CHOPPER ATTACK! One person has been killed and at least 7 others wounded when 2 Israeli attack choppers fired rockets at a car nr the S Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis. An official says at least 7 other people were injured in the targeted assassination, in which 2 rockets were fired from 2 Apaches. Earlier today in the W Bank town of Bethlehem, 2 militants of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade were killed by Israeli tank fire. Abidjan. REBEL LEADER KILLED BY FORMER ALLIES! The handline leader of Ivory Coast's 3 rebel factions has been killed during a flare-up in fighting between rebels and their former battlefront allies from savage W African wars. A rebel statement says Sgt Felix Doh, leader of the Ivorian Popular Movement of the Far West, was ambushed nr the Liberian border on Fri and was executed by men loyal to notorious regional warlord Sam Bockarie. There's no suggestion that Doh's killers were linked to Pres Laurent Gbagbo's forces. Jerusalem. ARAFAT REFUSES TO BE SIDE-LINED! Despite agreeing on the make-up of a Palestinian cabinet, leader Yasser Arafat has insisted he won't be side-lined by the political shake-up. He says Israeli PM Sharon is not ready to pay the price for peace. Arafat was speaking to Maariv on the eve of a landmark session of the Palestinian parliament that would confirm incoming PM Abu Mazen and his cabinet. Baghdad. IRAQIS SCHED NEXT MEETING! 300 selected Iraqi leaders have agreed to hold a general national congress within 4 wks to set the rules for a post-Saddam transitional govt. The meeting was again boycotted by several groups, incl a leading Shi'ite organisation. The resolution came after a day-long meeting in Baghdad, which was opened by Governor Lt Gen Jay Garner (ret). Meanwhile, Iraq's former Dep PM Tariq Aziz -- who surrendered to American forces last wk -- has reportedly told the US Saddam survived both attempts to assassinate him. The US "decapitation attacks" killed at least 14 civilians and wounded dozens more. Canberra. HILL GOES TO RUMSFELD! Def Min Robert Hill is meeting with US Def Sec Rumsfeld in Qatar today to discuss post-war reconstruction in Iraq. A rep said Sen Hill would meet Rumsfeld for talks about the best way to move ahead. Sen Hill has been in the Gulf for several days, making a lighting raid on Baghdad on Sun. Perth. US WARSHIPS ARRIVE HOME! 5 US warships which played a vital role in the Iraqi war have arrived in WA with their 6,600 personnel. 4 of the vessels have docked at Fremantle, while the 5th has berthed in Bunbury, in the state's SW. The flotilla incl the 84,000 tonne aircraft carrier, USS Constellation, 2 guided-missile cruisers and a combat support ship. US Consul-Gen in WA Oscar de Soto says military planes from the Constellation flew 100s of sorties t'out the campaign. Washington. US CAS REACHES 137 KIA! While US casualties still continue, the Pentagon says a total of 137 American personnel have been killed so far in GWII. 495 others were wounded. Of those KIA, 114 were killing in fighting or friendly fire incidents. 23 others died in accidents. In addition to the wounded, 66 other personnel were injured by accidents. The latest figures followed the Def Dept's announcement that the remains of Edward Anguiano have been recovered. He was killed on Mar 23 when the convoy he was part of took a wrong turn at Nasiriyah and was destroyed by enemy forces. Bagram AFB. HUGE AMMO DUMP FOUND: AFG! US Special Forces have discovered a massive haul of explosives in a cave complex in NW Afghanistan. A US military rep says Special Forces were acting on a tipoff. They discovered 204 tonnes of explosive in 17 caves nr Maimana, capital of Faryab prov. The heal incl 80 tonnes of high explosives and the rest was from small arms ammo. Washington. NK OFFERS DEAL! US Sec of State Colin Powell says N Korea has offered to scrap its nuclear weapons and missiles programs, but says it wants "considerable concessions" from the US in return. Powell says the offer was made during the multilateral lite talks between the US, NK and China last wk in Beijing. Powell didn't indicate what concessions the N Koreans had asked for, but they're believed to incl a signed non-aggression pact with the US. The Sec of State says the Bush Admin is "examining" the plan with friends and allies such as AUS, Japan, Russia and even SK. Seoul. KOREAN TALKS STALL AT LAST MIN! Cabinet-level talks between the 2 Koreas have stalled at the last min over SK's demand the North scrap its nuclear ambitions. The 2 countries were to wrap up the 1st inter-Korean ministerial meeting since Pres Ron Moon-hyun took office in SK in Feb, by issuing a joint statement. However, diffs over wording have hampered progress. NK has rejected SK's demand that the statement contain Pyongyang's pledge to abide by a pact on de-nuclearising the Korean peninsula. Washington. HIV EXPERTS SAYS SARS OVERBLOWN! HIV/AIDS experts say people around the world are over-reacting to the SARS virus, creating a sense of panic that could overwhelm commonsense measures for continuing the disease. Cal-based David Baltimore, who won the 75 Nobel in medicine for work on how viruses cause disease, says sensational media coverage has fanned the flames. AIDS kills virtually every untreated person it infects -- and 20 y into the AIDS epidemic there is still no cure and no vaccine. Bangkok. WHO SAYS CHINA IS SARS KEY! WHO says SARS has now peaked in 4 Asian countries, but is still a cause of concern in China. WHO's chief of communicable diseases, David Heymann, has demanded better cooperation from China after it reported a rising death toll and 100s more cases. He says China is the key to the epidemic world-wide because SARS couldn't be removed from the human population if it can't be contained in China. Swiss health-care group Roche says it aims to launch a lucrative diagnostic test for the virus by the end of Jul. Ulan Bator. MONGOLIA REGISTERS 1ST SARS CASE! 2 Mongolians who visited N China have become the N Asian country's first confirmed SARS cases. Health Ministry rep B Tumortogoo says the 2 patients are among 8 people quarantined in Ulan Bator, the Mongolian capital, after showing symptoms of SARS. Tumortogoo says the 2 confirmed cases are members of a family who were hospitalised in early Apr after visiting a hospital in the N Chinese city of Hohhot. Wellington. NZ HAS SARS CASE! NZ has had its first case of SARS. The Health Min'y says a woman, discharged yesterday from the isolation unit at Hawke's Bay Hospital after 10 days in seclusion, fitted the criteria for having the disease. Ministry director of public health Colin Tukuitonga says that following discussions with the SARS technical advisory group, details of the case have been forwarded to the WHO. Brisbane. QLD PLANS FOR SARS! Qld police have been given powers to detain SARS sufferers who refuse treatment. The Qld govt has declared SARS a notifiable disease under the Public Health Act. Health Min Wendy Edmond has told state parliament the move, which follows NSW's lead, is part of a broad approach to tackling the deadly disease. Adelaide. PLANT VIRUS FOUND IN ADEL! A devastating plant virus with the potential to slash wheat production in AUS has been found in a wheat plant breeding C in Adel. The discovery of the wheat streak mosaic virus in crops at the SA R & D Inst's Waite Campus has prompted govt officials to place the entire area under quarantine. The same virus was found in a CSIRO research lab in CBR earlier this m. New Delhi. INDIA & PAK HOLD PHONE TALKS! The PM's of India and Pakistan have discussed ways to improve their bilateral relations. Their phone conversation marks the first high-level talks between the nuclear-armed rivals since they came close to war last y. A Pakistani govt statement says PM Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali also invited Indian PM Atal Behari Vajpayee to visit Islamabad. India and Pak have not held formal talks since Jul 2001 and came close to war over Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state. Sydney. RECORD DRUG RECALL! In what is AUS' largest-ever drug recall, people who take vitamin or nutritional supplements are being advised to stop because of action by medical authorities. More than 200 products made by Pan Pharmaceutical are being immediately withdrawn from sale. The action's been taken by the Therapeutic Goods Admin which suspended Pan's license for 6 m. It also makes some over-the-counter medicines incl paracetamol, codeine, antihistamines and pseudoephedrine. Melbourne. VIC GOVT PLANS FOR FEMALE TOP COP! The Vic govt has backed a bid by the state's top police officer to gain exemption from anti-discrimination laws to attract more women to the force. Prem Steve Bracks has told MEL 3AW chief commissioner Christine Nixon's affirmative action plan to lift the proportion of women in the force from 17.4% is "appropriate". Vic Police is hoping an exemption from the laws will allow them to have separate male and female recruitment lists, allowing more women into the academy. Cape Canaveral. KEY SHUTTLE PARTS FOUND! Investigators have found pieces of a key seal from the leading edge of Columbia's left wing that could revise an emerging theory on what caused the orbiter to break up during the last mins of its return to earth. Florida's Orlando Sentinel newspaper says it's obtained NASA documents showing 2 parts of a T-shaped seal thought to have filled the gap between a pair of critical reinforced carbon-carbon panels were ID-ed last wk. The find narrows the possible location of a breach in Columbia's protective heat armour. Canberra. 1/2 MN AUSSIES UNDEREMPLOYED! More than 1/2 mn Aussies are now working fewer hrs than they want to. The ABS says there were 574,300 employed people who worked less than 35 hrs during the survey wk in Sep last y. The vast majority -- 526,400 -- were working PT and said they were available to work additional hrs. Another 47,900 worked PT for economic reasons, such as being stood down or there being insufficient work for them. Sydney. AUSSIE RIGHTS TO BE WEAKENED! Key welfare bodies say the national human rights watchdog will become lame if changes being considered by the fed govt are implemented. A Senate committee is examining possible changes to the Human Rights and Equal Opp'y Comm'n -- incl limits on its power to intervene in court cases only with the prior approval of the A-G. Other changes, under consideration, will limit HREOC's power to recommend compensation payments and cut the number of commissioners. Canberra. HOWARD SAYS DEATH OF MEDICARD EXAGGERATED! But PM Howard says comments from the Opp'n that govt reforms would lead to the death of Medicard are "absurd". [Probably squinting to the right at the time, as is his wont]. The govt plans to pay doctors almost $500 mn in incentives to bulk-bill concession card-holders although they'll remain free to charge other patients what they want. Mr Howard says the pillars of Medicard have been "enhanced" by his announcement of a 17% increase in hospital funding and the reinforcement of the universal availability of the Medicard rebate. While the AUS Dems have indicated they are willing to do a deal with the govt over the parts of the complex legislation they like, the Greens and Labor plan to block it in the Senate. That would provide the govt with another potential double-dissolution trigger at a time when the ALP is plagued with leadership troubles, incl record low polling for leader Simon Crean and an undeclared challenge from former leader Kim Beazley. Brisbane. 20% OF QLD GOVT FLEET IN PRANGS! More than 1 in 5 cars in the Qld govt's fleet were involved in accidents in the past FY. Figures released by Public Workers Min Rob Schwarten show there were 2,675 accidents reported for insurance claims in 2001/02. The govt's QFleet has 12,600 cars and 69 of them were written off last FY. The total cost to QFleet's insurer in the period was $5.1 mn, with the organisation spending $1.1 mn on replacements. Sydney. MARKETS! The All Ords ended the day 37 pts (1.2%) higher at 2,971. It closed strongly based on leads from most O/S markets. With Pam shares suspended, rival Blackmores' has benefited. The AUD was on the slide, falling well below 62 c at 61.84 US c. Gold is trading around $US332.60/oz. In Japan the Nikkei was closed for a holiday. HK was relieved at the SARS conference statement, and the Hang Seng rocketed up to end the session 309 pts (3.6%) higher at 8,4744. {{ CONTINUOUS WAR NEWS IT'S DAY FORTY. 3 am Der Spiegel reports that 22 tonnes of aluminium tubes were intercepted Sat, believed to be on their way to NK. The tubes could be used to make up to 400 gas centrifuges for use in the enrichment of uranium. Originally, the tubes were to be delivered to China, but Investigation revealed the recipient might be a front for NK. The German govt vetoed the deal just as a French ship carrying the tubes left Germany. It was subsequently halted. The Germany company that makes the tubes says it is not involved in exporting prohibited items, and indicated another German company was responsible. Vietnam appears to be the first Asian country to contain the outbreak of SARS. The WHO warns the sit'n in China is far from controlled. Experts put Vietnam's success down to an early start, and the govt actively supporting health services. Speed and transparency -- a "third world" Communist country sets an example! US Def Sec Donald Rumsfeld has addressed US troops at Centcom, Doha, telling them the world was entering an era when the US must actively seek out and preemptively attack terrorist groups and states. At a news conf in London today, Tony Blair said France remained an important ally of the UK. Europe should be a partner with America, and not see itself as a competitor. If Europe saw itself as a superpower, the world would return to an era of Cold War. He said Brit was prepared to work with the US and do whatever it wanted. I'm reading between the lines again! 3.45 am The Fin Times has revealed a resurgence in francophobia. People were asked which country was the most reliable ally of the UK. 73% nominated the US. 4% said AUS. When it came to the least reliable ally, more than 1/2 nominated France. Men were more likely than women to say France. No other country reached double digits as the UK's least reliable ally. Elsewhere, in France, a similar poll found last y that 63% of Freedom said the US was France's most reliable ally. But earlier this m the same question found only 31% of the population still thought the US was their most reliable ally. The FTSE is up 1.8% led by the banks. There was also some good news on American consumer sentiment. 4 am BBC World News. The Brit Astronomer-Royal, Sir Martin Reith, has written a book -- "Our Final Century" -- about the end of the world. He gives civilisation a 50/50 chance of surviving the C21. Like others, he says the main threats are from bio- and cyber-technology and the increasing ease with which individuals can wield significant destructive power. He says the risk of surviving the C20, in retrospect, at 20%. We were lucky to escape a nuclear holocaust, he says. Wreath says he has a special perspective on the topic. As an astronomer he knows the time ahead is far greater than the time back to the start of the universe, and it was therefore important not to close the possible "bright future" off. Def Sec Don Rumsfeld has revealed the N Koreans not only made threats, but offered a deal. He says the conditions were being examined. China, the host country in the meetings last wk, says NK offered to scrap nuclear weapons, allow back UN weapons inspectors, and cease missile testing. In return, it wanted the normalisation of relations with the US. The offer has been confirmed by Sec of State Colin Powell. He says NK wanted something substantial in return for their offer, but it's not clear yet what. NY. The SEC has fined 10 firms of market analysts a total of almost $US1.4 bn for misleading investors. The Commission found, using company emails, companies were hyping shares in companies they knew were worthless. It found so-called independent research had been bought and paid for in deals with the companies they recommended. Other measures incl a re-structure of the 10 firms to separate their research arms and marketing. Special observers will be installed to ensure business advice is objective. BBC World News. Fallujah. 13 Iraqi civilians were killed last night when American troops opened fire on a crowd. The incident happened in a town 50 km W of Baghdad. Local officials say at least 75 people were wounded in the firefight, which lasted several hrs. The victims were all unarmed civilians. The Americans say they were fired on first. Centcom says men armed with AK-47's attacked a US base set up in a school. Locals say a crowd of 300 was protesting against the US occupation of the school at around 8 pm local time. A US military rep says in general American soldiers have the right to defended themselves, incl the use of deadly force as they see fit. That didn't mean US troops would open fire on protesters, said the rep. There was already significant anti-American feeling in the town, but the killings are bound to increase the hostility presently growing against what some see as an occupying force. Centcom says 4,000 more troops are being sent into Baghdad to end lawlessness there. A Brit Gen says imposing security was a priority in the capital. An Aussie patrol has come under fire during a patrol in Baghdad. A rep says they were fired on by a group of unknown gunmen. The patrol managed to break away without injury. They suspect the group was a gang of common criminals. 11.15 pm Baghdad. There's been another massive blast reported in the Iraqi capital. A black plume of smoke is rising into the sky. There are no details of injuries or damage at present. }} ---------------------------------------- Wed, 30 Apr 2003 Markets US troops kills 13 At least 15 injured in suicide bombing AUS wants Iraq note job Netherlands wins aid gong Koreas pledge solution SARS battle plan Milosevic charged with attempted murder AUS schools suspend Asian links Drug co rejects it's done wrong Continuous war news NY. MARKETS! The Dow closed up 32 pts (0.4%) to 8,503. It was buoyed by good consumer sentiment data. Gold was trading in NY at $US334/oz. Europe ended their sessions generally down. The FTSE lost 13 pts (0.3%) to 3,928. The German Dax was down 45 pts (1/4%) to 2,909. Falluja. US TROOPS KILLS 13! American soldiers have killed at least 13 people during a demonstration W of Baghdad, in bloodshed sure to escalate anti-US anger. Witnesses in Falluja, 50 km W of Baghdad, say US troops opened fire without warning on 300 unarmed demonstrators who were demanding the soldiers quit a local school they were using as a barracks. [If it's Iraqi troops using a school as a military HQ it's a war crime!] The Falluja hosp dir says 13 people were killed and at least 75 injured in the tragedy. US military cmdrs said they came under fire from the crowd. They say they reserve to use deadly force in any way they see fit. Tel Aviv. AT LEAST 15 INJURED IN SUICIDE BOMBING! A huge explosion has wrecked a Tel Aviv restaurant nr the US embassy win an apparent suicide bomb attack. Rescue services say at least 15 people have been hurt, while other sources are saying dozens have been killed and wounded. Witnesses say the bomb blew the front off the restaurant on Herbert Samuel street along the TA beachfront. Police cmdr Yossi Sedbon told Army Radio the explosion was apparently set off by a suicide bomber. Canberra. AUS WANTS IRAQ NOTE JOB! PM Howard says he'd like AUS to get the contract to re-print Iraq's new bank notes. The current, highly devalued bank notes carry Saddam Hussein's portrait. Which is now banned! In an interview with The Bulletin, Howard says AUS is very good at printing money and has done this for about 20 other countries. The PM says AUS expects to be consulted on all major decisions over the US government of Iraq, incl the selection of the govt. Canberra. NETHERLANDS WINS AID GONG! Foreign Policy and the Centre for Global Development have release their first annual Commitment to Development Index. It grades 21 developed nations on whether their aid, trade, migration, investment, peacekeeping operations, and environmental policies help or hurt developing nations. The Netherlands finished in first place this y, followed by Denmark, Portugal and NZ. Seoul. KOREAS PLEDGE SOLUTION! N and S Korea have pledged to seek a peaceful solution to their differences. The Yonhap news agency reports the pledge was in a joint communique issued after 3 days of meetings. The cabinet-level talks in the NK capital, Pyongyang, stalled over SK's demand the N immediately cancel its nuclear weapons program. The 2 countries are scheduled to meet against next m to discuss economic cooperation and press ahead with projects such as reconnecting roads and rail links. Bangkok. SARS BATTLE PLAN! Asian leaders have unveiled a 6-pt battle plan to combat the deadly SARS virus, as the outbreak in China shows signs of escalating. The 10-member ASEAN and China have revealed the measures after the Bangkok meeting, as the region attempts to halt the spread of SARS. The new measures incl the screening of internat'l travellers in the region on departure and arrival, greater exchange of info and the setting up of an internat'l hot-line network. Belgrade. MILOSEVIC CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER! Former Yugo Pres Slobodan Milosevic has been charged with attempting to kill an opp'n politician, while dozens of his loyalists were indicted in the Mar 13 killing of Serbia's PM. Milosevic was charged with organising a criminal gang that tried to kill Vuk Draskovic in Jun 2000. Police have also charged Milosevic's secret police chief and former army chief of staff, who allegedly organised the gunmen's escape in a military chopper. Canberra. AUS SCHOOLS SUSPEND ASIAN LINKS! Several Aussie unis have suspended courses and engagements in countries at high risk of SARS. AUS VC's Comm'ee chief exec John Mullarvey says the committee's surveyed unis on how they're responding to the outbreak of SARS. He says unis have taken appropriate precautions to ensure the continued safety of both students and staff. Canberra. DRUG CO REJECTS ITS DONE WRONG! A dir of suspended drug company Pan says it has yet to be established it's done anything wrong. The TGA suspended Pan's license for 6 m after safety and quality fears triggered AUS's biggest medical recall. Pan non-ex dir Colin Henson says the board has yet to ID anyone in the origination that's at fault. [Of nothing?] He told ABC that Pan's problems are only "alleged" at this stage. {{ CONTINUOUS WAR NEWS IT'S DAY FORTY-ONE. 0.30 am BBC World News. London. Museum officials from key countries are meeting to develop strategies to recover 1000s of looted Iraqi artefacts. The meeting has heard from local eyewitnesses relating the damage done and the pieces lost. Following a call from religious leaders, some artefacts were returned to the Museum. But some famous pieces were returned in badly damaged condition. Leading Museums around the world plan to co-operate with internat'l police agencies to recover stolen items. The Brit Museum has promised to provide the Baghdad Museum with high-quality casts from its own collection from the history of writing. In Brit, archaeologists have been critical of what they see as the poor efforts of US and Brit troops in protecting artefacts, which were protected under the articles of war. There are also plans to make it an offence in the UK to deal in any of the stolen artefacts. [Later reports said one Museum official had camped out at the building to try to protect it. He said some "looters" had taken items, promising to bring them back. And they had done so. Effectively, they had taken the items into safekeeping during the period of pillage suffered by Baghdad. He said about 50 items a day are presently being returned. Fewer items than previously believed may have been stolen. But the number is still in the 10s of 1000s of artefacts missing or destroyed]. 1.15 am Fallujah. More people are now on the streets, demanding the US leaves Iraq. They are calling for the death of any Americans they find. US helicopters are overhead, an implicit threat if the crowd decided to act. Locals say the Americans fired on a student protest. The demo follows the killing of 13 civilians by US troops in a demonstration Mon night. Centcom has confirmed the deaths. Riyadh. Donald Rumsfeld has announced the US will withdraw all its forces from Saudi Arabia. About 10,000 US troops would pull out by the end of summer. The US has had at least 5,000 troops in the country since GWI, 1991. Rumsfeld said there was no need for the troops to remain. He said the Saudi govt had not applied pressure for the withdrawal. It was a "very mutual agreement", he said. The move has already begun, with air operations moving to Qatar. The American presence has always been a sore point with the majority of the Saudi population. While this had been a key demand of Osama bin Laden, reps for the US military deny the terrorist network has won. They point out more US troops are in the region than ever before. Analysts say while OBL had been prev focused on his homeland, his network has expanded his operations to opposite all secular Arabic countries. US officials say that talk that the US doesn't need Saudi oil now it's conquered Iraq are "rubbish". Colombo. Asian heads of govt meeting in Bangkok to thrash out a regional strategy to combat SARS. China says it's now taking "tough measures" that would bring the disease under control. In the Maldives, there's another gathering. 7 SE Asian nations meeting there say they will intro quarantine and other measures to combat the spread of SARS. Delegates warned the meeting not to be complacent about the virus. The countries plan to adopt a common strategy, involving screening and quarantine of patients. They would pool their resources. Not all nations have measures in place at immigration points. Some say they can't scan people for fever because equipment is not in place. Some still have air links to HK and other virus hot-spots. The meeting was told Sri Lankans are going home from other countries in the region, because of fear of the disease. Experts warn the threat is very real. Many of the S Asia population of 1 bn live in crowded cities. It's imperative to combat the virus immediately, the meeting was told. Some delegates warned that poor health service in some nations may not cope with an outbreak of SARS cases. BBC World News. Moscow. Brit PM Blair has come to Russia to meet Putin. The meeting, at Putin's residence, is a mission to mend links broken by the row over GWII. Putin had backed only a political solution to the Iraq problem. He had predicted a US attack would destabilise the world situation as a whole. Reporters say the meeting went on much longer than expected. It was a positive sign, they said. Some bridges need to be rebuild. There have been warnings in Moscow in the couple of days before Blair arrived. Many writers warned Putin not to give concessions to Brit, since Russia had opposed the war. There is local confusion over what Blair exactly wants from Putin. There have been no details released ahead of time about the agenda. Lots of newspaper articles are telling Putin not to give way. It's an unscheduled meeting. Putin was to visit the UK in early summer on a state visit. The Kremlin says Brit requested the meeting in "a unilateral way", and Russia had been only short notice of Blair's intended visit. It's believed that Blair has come to put his POV to Putin over sanctions and the shape of the UN as an organisation post-Iraq, and how the world will be operated in the future. Russia says it wants a multi-polar world. But Blair said last wk that would be a "fatal mistake". Following the meeting, Putin apparently had not changed his position. The Russian Pres told reporters he would not allow extensions of the food for oil program. [Such proposals would allow the US Admin of Iraq's resources to release large quantities of oil onto world markets, possibly driving the price lower and affecting a resurgent Russia oil industry]. Putin said Russia opposed the lifting sanctions unless the US could prove there were no WMD in Iraq. He indicated only UN weapons inspectors would be acceptable to Russia. The UN would also have a role in distribution humanitarian aid, the Russian Pres said. WMD had been a major plank in the Coalition's case for war against Saddam Hussein. Analysts say Russia may shift on this 2nd issue. But today the line was renewed by Putin. Some observers warn that France and Germany may adjust their policies post-GWII, and isolate Russia. Others say Russia still has considerable impact in the UNSC, and could hold out. Brussels. There's a breeze blowing through Western Europe. And it's set to turn up the heat. 4 anti-GWII EU countries -- Luxembourg, France, Germany and Belgium are meeting to plan joint "future military co-operation". After a 2 hr mini-summit, the 4 say they will launch a joint military planning system by next y and NATO would not be involved. The 4 countries plan to develop their own rapid reaction force. They would set up a new military union other European countries would be invited to join. The 4 say they want the EU to have a stronger def capability and say they will go it alone if they have to. Officials say the meeting is not anti-US or anti-NATO, and they want to strengthen the NATO alliance. Other nations not invited to the pow-wow, like Italy, are special. Brit and its allies in GWII say they do not want to undermine NATO, either. Brit analysts say any scheme that excludes Brit will have little credibility. 2 am The wires are reporting the surrender of the governor of Basra. Prev the Brits had claimed at least twice he'd been killed in attacks on his residence in the opening days of GWII. Sirens sounded in Israel today, signalling 2 mins of silence for Memorial Day. 2.15 am DW Radio. Toronto. A meeting of key nations is to meet in Toronto on Wed to discuss the SARS crisis. The meeting will come despite a WHO travel advisory over travel to the Canadian business capital Canadian officials say they hope the UN health body will drop their advisory, which is expected to have a significant impact on the Canadian economy. They say the disease is well-contained in Canada. Berlin. The German conservative opposition are vehemently opposed to the creation of a military alliance between France, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium. It says Germany doesn't have the money to spend on creating the new organisational structures, which would duplicate NATO functions anyway. Reps said the long-standing agreement between European nations had been to use NATO facilities for self-defence. The most significant criticism of the idea has come from Brit. Tony Blair has warned a new def pact could spark a 2nd Cold War. Other US allies have also called on the 4 nations to abandon the plan to create a mutual self-defence force. Reps for the 4 nations deny anyone was excluded from the mini-summit, saying an invitation had even been sent to Brit. But it had been declined. Analysts say the real issue is the relationship between Europe and the US -- between uncritical support of US policies, and mutual co-operation based on freedom of opinion and constructive criticism. 4 am The Dow is down 0.1%. The Nasdaq is up 0.3%. And the FTSE is up 0.1%. BBC World Service. Toronto. Within the past 30 mins the WHO has withdrawn its Toronto health advisory. The travel advisory had only been announced last wk. The organisation says it's satisfied the measures in place are adequate to control the spread of the disease. There have been 21 deaths from SARS in Toronto in the last 2 wks. The announcement has been welcomed by Canadian officials and business leaders. They feel vindicated. But they worry people still may be put off following the WHO announcement. Oslo. Around 3,500 Iraqis in Norway have been told to go home. The Norwegian govt says if they don't go home quickly repatriation measures will be put in place. A govt rep said 2,000 of the group had applied for asylum and been refused. They were mosley Kurds from N Iraq, she said. They should have left y ago, but Norway had not been able to deport them, the rep said. 1,500 other Iraqis had applied for asylum, but their cases had not finished. These are from N and S Iraq, The rep denied Norway had pre-judged these last cases by including them in the total they govt announced. In an argument familiar to tory-watchers everywhere, she argued no plans have been announced or dates set. They will benefit by going back to their home country, she concluded. Washington. The US says it will not make economic concessions in return for NK's abandoning its nuclear program. Bush regime mouthpiece, Ari Fleisher, says NK will not be rewarded for "bad behaviour". He says NK had received aid, "ran with the aid", and then developed nuclear weapons anyway. [So he means "rewarded again" ;-)]. London. Cadbury says it's going to encourage children to get fit by issuing tokens when they purchase chocolate and other sweets which can later be redeemed to buy sports equipment. Health groups are up in arms, saying the idea is contradictory and stupid. They say to buy a basketball under the scheme a child would have to eat 2 kg of fat, and it would take weeks to work off the calories. Cadbury says they are tackling obesity in the UK. London. Analysts have been expecting it. You can't run a Hollywood studio from Paris. Vivendi is to sell off Universal studios. At the height of the 90s tech bubble, Jean-Marie Mercier transformed a French water utility into the a global media empire, but incurred crippling debts to do it. About 11 bn euro is owed at present. But that's down from 20 bn euro at its height. Mercier was ousted last y. The company will now concentrate on French TV and telecom. 5 am London. The FTSE has ended down 0.35% at 3,928 pts. BP announced 5% growth. Profits were $3.7 bn in the Q -- a record. Leicester. The political future of the city is being decided in local election. And it may be bad news for Blair. The former Labour stronghold could be another casualty of GWII. Labour has been in control of the council for 24 y, but its fortunes have been declining. It only has a 1 seat majority at present. Local elections on Thu will elect councils across the country. 38 mn will choose their local reps. Issues, in theory, should be local. But it will be the first opportunity for a GWII protest vote. One former Labour rep has set up a new 1-issue party -- the "no-war protest vote" party. She says people should be given a chance to express their views about the policies of her former party. Labour had chosen to ignore them in the run-up to GWII. It would be a "lesson in democracy", she said. She said a door-knock shows people under 40 are overwhelmingly against the war. Elsewhere, the Liberal Democrats opposed the war. They were charged with political opportunism before the war. But they think they stand a good chance and are unapologetic for their anti-war stance. 5.15 am A team of US experts has concluded the vast Iraqi marshes, once 1/2 the size of Switzerland, can be re-created. Saddam drained the marshes as part of a campaign against the so-called "marsh Arabs" of S Iraq. The marshes are now only 5% of their former size. The rest is a desert wasteland. A report has been published by "Eden Again". It says the project is technically feasible and worthwhile. It could be done step-by-step with the co-operation of local people, who would divert some of their water into what is now desert. 6 am A previously-unknown Iraqi resistance group has announced Saddam Hussein will make a statement within the next 2 or 3 days. As companies squabble for the lucrative contracts, the cost of rebuilding Iraq has been estimated at more than $200 bn. Delegations from Aussie companies are presently in the US trying to land their share of the spoils of war. The Bulletin claims ASIO is severely under-staffed. There are only 600 full-time staff to monitor 20 mn people. The organisation has few Arabic speakers and lost the confidence of the Islamic community after it conducted raids last y. The mag says the peak intel organisation is headed by career diplomats and a scientist, not intel experts. The global death toll from SARS has passed 330. 6.20 am Oil is travelling around $US25.21/bbl. }} ======================================== (*) 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 ***