From the World-Wide Resourses of the Western Australia
Reserch Senter(*)
OIL THE NEWS THAT FITS MY VIEWS #214
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In the Run-Up to World War III, Reliably Reporting the News Relevant
to Extreme Right-Wing Democratic Socialists Everywhere
(validated for RiteThink(tm) by the Office of Our Man in Can-berra).
Our Home Page:
The Undeniable Evidence:
Even More Uneniable Evidence:
US Centcom News Releases:
Iraqi Body Count: [9,211 as at 02 Jun 2004].
UN Mailing List:
Some Of The News, Some Of The Time:
This Stuff Blogged:
Also Kindly Archived:
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Selecting latest news stories and other data for you...
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*** Please stand by for further orders from The Leader ***
The Iraqi people have their country back.
-- Pres George Bush, Istanbul, 29 Jun 2004.
Due to security considerations the hand-over of "sovereignty" went
ahead 3 days early.
[There's no use in saying] the previous disagreements have disappeared
-- they haven't.
-- Pres Tony Blair, Istanbul, 29 Jun 2004.
On the surface, the NATO summit in Istanbul was all sweetness and light.
[What the Court has found is] The detention is not unlawful...
-- PM John Howard, 29 Jun 2004.
Illegal detention. The Howard govt is a little sensitive on the issue.
We live under the rule of law... I'm not going to oppose that...
-- PM John Howard, "Lateline", 29 Jun 2004.
Damn!
It's definitely a step in the right direction.
-- Maj Mike Mori USMC [Sah!], 29 Jun 2004.
Sweeping powers. The US Supreme Court says declaring war doesn't
give the Bush Admin a blank cheque on prisoner treatment.
There's only one country that's come out saying the military
commission process is fair for their citizens... and that's Australia.
-- Maj Mike Mori USMC, 30 Jun 2004.
Mori wants to get his hands on a memo analysing the 1940s-style
military commission the Pentagon has set up for trying foreign
terrorist suspects.
I did tell him that the Supreme Court decision had gone through...
-- Terry Hicks, 29 Jun 2004.
The rule of law still applies in America, even for damn foreigners.
I think conditions in Iraq will continue to deteriorate... and I
think Administrations -- whether it's Bush or Kerry -- will continue
to claim progress.
-- Harlan Ullman, "7.30 Report", 29 Jun 2004.
The architect of "shock and awe" is not optimistic about the peace,
particularly in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
If all the resources used in Iraq has been allocated to catch OBL or
break up al-Qaeda, the world would be a better place today.
-- Mark Latham, 29 Jun 2004.
----------------------------------------
Tue, 29 Jun 2004.
US Supreme Court ends legal limbo for Guatmo suspects
HEADLINES:
Oil falls on Iraq hand over
Oil prices slide after US ends occupation of Iraq
US invasion was wrong: Iraqi poll
US forces will stay in Iraq as long as needed: Bush
UN welcomes Iraq back into "family"
Qld firm seals Iraqi air force deal
Negroponte takes ambassador post in Iraq
NATO agrees to help Iraq, Chirac raps Bush
Militants 'execute' US soldier in Iraq
Iraq hand over offers markets little support
Forget troops, Iraq needs aid: Rudd
Congress casts worried eye on Iraq
Bush, Blair hail Iraqi handover
Bush looks for edge from Iraq handover
Aussie Iraqis welcome handover
"NATO has no role in Iraq"
"Fahrenheit 9/11" breaks box office records
Antarctic research ship guns for fish poachers
Aussie seafarers rescued after collision
Brit scientists seek new Antarctic ice station
Bush marks handover with Blair handshake
Canadian liberals to form minority govt
Court deals blow to Bush on combatants
Election slowing employment growth: survey
Funding threatens Vic underworld trials, prosecutors warn
Garrett "learning" about Tas forestry issues
Govt under fire for family payments 'bribe'
Growers uncover "serious flaws" in apple import plan
Harradine calls it a day
Hicks lawyer praises Guantanamo decision
Hicks to get phone call from family
Hicks told of US court ruling
Howard offers conditional support for pulp mill
Howard promises robust [fat?] obesity package
Howard wants family over-payments back
Israel hits Gaza targets after Hamas rocket salvo
Judgement sets investments losses precedent
Kerry offers security policy respectful of allies
Missile fired at Israeli town
Nicaraguan landslide kills 14
No trial until 2005 for man accused of being Canada's worst serial killer
PM launches healthy living program
Palestinian shot in Gaza Strip
Researchers home in on asthma vaccine
Ruling reshapes detention policy of war on terror
States accused of "double dipping" in public hospitals
Tamil Tigers halt peace talks
Tip searched for mother, baby
Trade deficit steady despite favourable conditions
US lawyers welcome "historic" Guantanamo rulings
US resumes diplomatic ties with Libya
US terror suspects can challenge detention
Union chief seeks tougher regional airport security
Unreleased Magna crashes in Adel
World airline traffic soaring
Yudhoyono takes lead in Indonesia polls
Oil falls on Iraq hand over
NY (AFP). Oil prices fell sharply as traders reacted with relief to
reports of the official end of the coalition's occupation of Iraq, 2
days ahead of schedule.
The price of benchmark Brent N Sea crude oil for delivery in Aug
tumbled by $US1.07 to $US33.90 in London.
NY's reference light sweet crude Aug contract dropped $US1.20 to
$US36.35 in early trading.
However, analysts say the restoration of an interim Iraqi Govt in
itself is unlikely to improve near-term prospects for Iraqi oil
exports, which have been disrupted by repeated acts of sabotage on the
country's oil installations.
Oil prices slide after US ends occupation of Iraq
London (The News, Pak). Oil prices fell to a 2-m low in early
trading here on Mon as traders reacted with relief to news of the end
of the US-led coalition's occupation of Iraq 2 days ahead of schedule.
The price of benchmark Brent N Sea crude oil for delivery in Aug
tumbled by 62 cents to $34.35 in London, a level not seen since late Apr.
NY's reference light sweet crude Aug contract dropped 60 cents to
$36.95 in pre-opening electronic trading.
Prices fell after the US coalition's civil administrator Paul Bremer
handed over power in Baghdad to PM Iyad Allawi in a hastily convened
ceremony 2 days earlier than expected. "You could say that the early
hand over has (had) a negative impact on the market," said Prudential
Bache broker Christopher Bellew.
But he said the news had been offset somewhat by the kidnapping of a
US soldier in Iraq. An armed group holding a US soldier hostage
threatened to behead the captive unless Iraqi prisoners are released
in the war-torn country, in a video broadcast by Al-Jazeera television
on Sun. Analysts said the early hand-over of power in Iraq had
deprived insurgents of a set date to focus on. But they added that the
restoration of Iraqi sovereignty in itself was unlikely to improve nr
term prospects for Iraqi oil exports, which have been disrupted by
repeated acts of sabotage on the country's oil installations.
Iraq hand over offers markets little support
NY/Sydney (ABC, Adrian Thirsk). Financial market reaction to the
handover of power in Iraq has been positive but, for the most part,
fairly fleeting.
The most lasting impact has been on the oil price with crude futures
traded in NY now under $US37/bbl.
But the early transfer of 'sovereignty' in Iraq has failed to greatly
inspire trade in the USD, which initially rallied a touch before
dropping back.
It has been a similar pattern on the NY Stock Exchange, where share
prices leaped ahead in early trade, only to surrender all the gains.
At one stage, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 92.5 points, but
it has since closed 15 points lower at 10,357.
There has been an underwhelming sales outlook from General Motors to
worry the market, which is also still focused on the likelihood of
American interest rates being raised this wk.
Investors are fretting about what signals the US Fed Reserve will be
sending with the statement to accompany the expected rate rise.
Meanwhile, the high-tech Nasdaq composite index has lost 6 points to 2,020.
However, there have been gains on the Brit share market, with UK
investors encouraged by the lower oil prices and hopes for less
violence in Iraq.
Broadcaster ITV saw its stock price gain almost 3 % on speculation its
licence fees could be reduced.
The banking sector has also been firmer.
London's FT-100 index is up 25 points at 4,519.
The Aussie market yesterday edged lower with winemaker Southcorp
subject to selling pressure after announcing further writedowns of $73
mn and a major restructuring of the business.
The All Ords ended the day 4.5 points behind at 3,519.
The easing back in the value of the American greenback has sent AUD
back up towards 70 US cents.
At around 7.00 am the Aussie currency was being quoted at 69.97 US
cents -- up more than 1/3 of a cent on yesterday's local close.
On the cross-rates, it is at 0.5743 Euros, 75.5 Japanese yen, 38.24
pence sterling and against 1.091 NZ dollars.
The gold price was being quoted at $US400.90/oz and W Texas crude oil
has fallen to around $US36.25/bbl.
World airline traffic soaring
Geneva (Reuters). Internat'l air passenger traffic rose by 19.4%
between Jan and May this y compared with the same period last y, the
global airlines body IATA says.
Freight traffic over the same 5 m was up 12.2%, according to figures
released by the Geneva-based grouping, the Internat'l Air Transport
Association.
"Not only have we recovered from the impact of SARS and war in Iraq,
all major regions of the world are reporting traffic levels above
those of 2000, the last normal y for our industry," Dir-Gen Giovanni
Bisignani on Mon.
In May alone, passengers on all internat'l routes were up 38% on May
last y when the industry was suffering from the impact of the SARS
flu-type epidemic that swept across Asia and reached Canada and
fallout from the invasion of Iraq.
For Asian airlines, IATA said, the recovery was even more dramatic.
Traffic there in May was up by 108% on that of the same month last y,
indicating that the "SARS effect" was well and truly overcome.
IATA said the Jan-May figures showed passenger traffic up 8.8% over
the same period in 2000, just before the onset of a global economic
downturn which set the industry on a steep downward path.
That decline was sharpened by growing global political instability
after the Sep 2001 hijacking attacks in the US, the US-led assaults on
Afghanistan and Iraq, global terrorism, and the SARS crisis.
Earlier this y airline chiefs feared that steep rises in oil prices
would hit the industry's overall global bottom line, but Bisignani, in
a statement on the figures, said a recent decline had helped improve
the situation.
But efficiency gains and cost-cutting would have to remain priorities
for airlines if the industry was to return to full health, he declared.
IATA said that despite the shocks that had rocked the industry over
the past 4 y, its underlying growth rate was 3.6% a year.
However, this is still only half the rate achieved during the later 1990s.
Of the major regions apart from Asia, N America saw a passenger growth
of 32.8% in the 1st 5 m of this y over Jan-May 2003 and Europe saw an
increase of 19.1%, according to IATA.
Nicaraguan landslide kills 14
Nicaragua. Rescuers have recovered the bodies of 14 victims of a
landslide that buried 8 mountain communities in central Nicaragua.
Authorities fear the death toll could rise to 50. Rescuers have been
scrambling to find survivors after a storm late last wk sparked the
landslide on the Musun -- a 1,400-metre mountain in central Nicaragua.
Rising rivers and the destruction of roads delayed the arrival of the
emergency workers, who were finally airlifted to the area by
helicopter. Nearly 1,400 people from the communities affected by the
landslide have taken refuge in the town of Rio Blanco but a rep says
many people are still missing.
Forget troops, Iraq needs aid: Rudd
Canberra (AAP). AUS did not need to keep troops in Iraq to play a
constructive role in its future, Labor foreign affairs rep Kevin Rudd said.
The US handover of power to a new Iraqi Admin was brought forward on
Mon to avoid an escalation in bloodshed in the lead-up to the original
Jul 1 deadline.
Mr Rudd said economic and humanitarian aid was now a priority for Iraq.
"Let's place our military contribution in the context of the 300 to
400 Aussies currently in the country," Mr Rudd told ABC radio.
"They form part of a total foreign force in Iraq of some 130,000 to
140,000.
"When it comes to economic aid and humanitarian assistance, there are
great needs faced by UNICEF, by the UN development program and by
other UN agencies such as the World Food Program in ensuring that
basic economic and humanitarian needs are met."
Aussie Democrats leader Andrew Bartlett said the new regime's biggest
test would be to show they were independent.
"The big test for them is to demonstrate that they are sovereign," Sen
Bartlett told ABC radio.
"That will be a crucial part of whether they will be accepted by the
Iraqi people, whether they will be able to strike out independently
rather than be seen to do the bidding of the occupying forces."
Bush looks for edge from Iraq handover
Istanbul (AP). With the installation of an interim govt in Baghdad,
Pres Bush is banking on an untested group of Iraqi officials to
achieve results that the US-led occupation could not deliver:
security, stability and economic progress.
Iraq's unrelenting violence and bloodshed have thrown a damper on
Bush's re-election prospects, raising Whitehouse anxieties about the
transition of power in Baghdad and the unpredictability of events in
the 4 m until the election.
Security is the most important issue by far, and Bush acknowledges
there will be more attacks -- not fewer -- as terrorists try to
undermine the new govt.
"The terrorists are doing all they can to stop the rise of a free
Iraq," Bush said Mon in Istanbul where he was attending a NATO summit.
Despite the political change of face in Baghdad, no one expects Iraq
to look any differently in terms of car bombings, suicide attacks and
chaos. But with the Nov. 2 election looming, Bush was eager for
anything to dispel m of troubling news.
"It's Iraq that keeps the public believing that we're moving in the
wrong direction," said Brookings Institution political analyst Thomas
E. Mann. "It keeps Bush's approval ratings low. It makes Americans
gloomier about the economy than they otherwise would be.
It energises and unifies the Democrats."
The transfer of sovereignty is a key part of Bush's exit strategy, a
step to try to convince Americans that he has a plan for eventually
extricating the US from a situation that prominent Democrats have
compared with Vietnam.
Bush's poll ratings climbed in Dec on optimism generated by the
capture of Saddam Hussein. But Bush slumped in public opinion surveys
as Saddam's arrest was followed by a sharp increase in violence, a
rise in US casualties, the mutilation and beheadings of hostages and
the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal.
"When Iraq was going reasonably well at the beginning of the year,
Bush's approval ratings were somewhere between 50 and 60%.
That's in the comfort zone," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew
Research Center. "Now they're in the 40s. That's in the questionable zone."
Indeed, Iraq could be the deciding factor in what is expected to be a
close race, according to a variety of pollsters and political analysts.
"If Iraq improves, it will greatly improve Bush's chances of winning,"
Kohut said. "If it stays bad or gets worse, it will truly imperil his
re-election."
Iraq was supposed to be a strong issue for Bush, part of his war
against terrorism. He described himself as a wartime cmdr in chief.
But around the world, the war alienated the US from allies bitterly
opposed to the invasion. Sympathetic feelings toward the US generated
by the Sep 11 attacks began to evaporate as Bush adopted what was
perceived as a go-it-alone approach. "America has never been at a
lower point in the minds of citizens around the world," Mann said.
At home, Americans have been shaken by the steadily rising death toll
of US soldiers and graphic scenes of violence on television screens.
The president's credibility came under question when US weapons
inspector David Kay concluded that the US was wrong in believing that
Saddam Hussein had possessed weapons of mass destruction, an
underpinning of the Admin's rationale for war in Iraq. More doubts
arose when the commission investigating the Sep 11 attacks said it
found no operational link between Iraq and al-Qaeda, another factor
cited in the US invasion.
With 135,000 American troops still in Iraq, responsible for security
and with no timetable for withdrawal, the US role stretches
indefinitely into the future.
"The fact is that the US is going to be held responsible in the world
for success and failure in Iraq, and it's going to be held responsible
over a period of years, not months," said Anthony Cordesman, an Iraq
expert with the Center for Strategic and Internat'l Studies.
He said Iraq faces 2 scenarios: democracy begins to take hold, the
economy improves and Iraq shoulders more of its security
responsibilities ... or internal divisions erupt, the new leaders
cannot effectively govern or get control of the economy and they fail
to manage security forces.
"Whether things are going to get better or worse by the time of the US
election is something where, at this point, the best analysts in the
world can't do anything more than flip a coin," Cordesman said.
"It is Iraq which basically is undermining what used to be a very
strong lead" for Bush, Cordesman said. "If things go sour in Iraq,
seriously sour, the president may well lose the election. If things
show real progress, then he may well win it."
Congress casts worried eye on Iraq
How do we know we're not just ending up with an unending commitment
with no way out?
-- Sen Edward M Kennedy, D-Mass.
Washington (CBS). As the US transferred political control to an
interim govt in Baghdad, US lawmakers are expressing unease about the
future of Iraq and the 138,000 American troops who will continue to
serve there.
Over the past week, Dems have pointed to rising violence, an uncertain
political process and continued delays in restoring electricity and
other basic services. They question when Iraqis will be able to defend
themselves, how long US troops will have to remain in the country and
whether they have adequate financial support.
While Republicans are more optimistic, some are concerned that US
troops could be endangered if the new Iraqi govt has too much of a say
in military matters. US officials will remain in charge of Iraqi
security but have promised to work closely with the new govt.
In a surprise move Mon, apparently aimed at catching off guard
insurgents who may have tried to sabotage the step toward self-rule,
the American-led coalition handed over sovereignty to an interim Iraqi govt.
The initiative came as Pres Bush met with world leaders for a NATO
summit in Turkey. The Admin and others applauded the move in Baghdad
and said it was a proud day for Iraq.
"I admire the Iraqi leadership ... for wanting to take the reins 2
days early as way to help reduce violence from extremist terrorists
who fear their own future once Iraqis establish their govt and fully
taste freedom," said House Speaker J Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. While work
remains, Iraqis are on the right path, Hastert said in a statement.
Last week, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter,
R-Calif, told Pentagon officials it is important "that we don't have
American military cmdrs who feel that they're compelled to do certain
things because there are Iraqi requests to do it."
Congress gave Mr Bush broad bipartisan support for going to war with
Iraq and united behind him as the US-led coalition sped through the
country and toppled Saddam Hussein's govt.
But criticism grew soon after Mr Bush declared an end to major combat
on May 1, 2003, as US casualties continued to rise and inspectors
failed to find stockpiles of WMD that were the chief argument for the
war. Republicans joined Democrats in denouncing sloppy intel, poor
planning for the postwar occupation and inadequate troop levels.
Complaints have diminished somewhat in recent wk following the
appointment of Iyad Allawi, a former Iraqi exile with close US ties,
as interim PM and Admin efforts to seek more internat'l support for
its efforts in Iraq.
On Mon, the NATO alliance agreed to an Iraqi request to help train its
armed forces.
"Although late in coming there is finally a real diplomatic" effort on the
part of the Admin to get internat'l help, Sen Carl Levin, ranking Democrat
on the Senate Armed Services said Fri at a hearing on the transition.
But with Iraq a central issue in the presidential election, Democrats
have been pressing their attacks and Republicans are rushing to Mr
Bush's defence.
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Mon that it is critical
that Pres Bush get support from allies, "not resolutions, not words,
but real support of sufficient personnel, troops and money to assist
in the training of security forces."
He also said that adequate security is vital to a successful transfer
of power. He said "it is absolutely stunning" that of the $18 bn that
Congress approved for Iraqi reconstruction, only $400 mn has been
spent on security.
Democrats have also been skeptical that an additional $25 bn Mr Bush
requested for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan will be
sufficient. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated Fri
that the cost will probably be $55 bn to $60 bn if troop levels remain
unchanged.
"No doubt, after the election the public will be told what the facts
are on the installment plan," about Iraq spending, the top Democrat on
the House Appropriations Committee, Rep David Obey of Wisconsin, said Tue.
At Fri's hearing, Sen Edward M Kennedy, D-Mass, questioned how
Americans would know when the Iraq mission was a success. "How do we
know we're not just ending up with an unending commitment with no way
out?" he asked.
Wolfowitz said "there's a clear path to success," which he defined
partly as when the enemy is defeated or decides "to come in and join
the new Iraq."
Sen Joseph Biden of Delaware, top Democrat on the Senate Foreign
Rels Committee, said on CBS' "Face the Nation Sun that he did detect
some overall progress in Iraq. "It's going to get worse initially, but
I think it will get better," he said.
Republicans stress the importance of ending Saddam's brutal regime and
setting the stage for an elected govt. They accuse Democrats of
seeking a rapid and potentially disastrous withdrawal of US forces.
Kerry offers security policy respectful of allies
Seattle (Reuters). Dem Whitehouse challenger John Kerry on Thu
proposed a sweeping nat'l security strategy to better combat terror
and repair the damage he said had been caused by what he called Pres
George W Bush's go-it-alone bullying.
"There is still a powerful yearning around the world for an America
that listens and leads again -- an America that is respected, and not
just feared," Kerry declared in what was billed as a major policy
address that he also used to step up his criticism of Bush's handling
of Iraq.
While Kerry vowed to set a different tone than Bush, exactly how his
foreign policy would deviate remained unclear. On key issues like Iraq
and Israel, they share plenty of common ground.
Kerry outlined a security strategy based on 4 "principled imperatives:"
building a new era of US-led alliances; modernising the military to
meet fresh threats; better use of diplomatic, intel and economic
power, and freeing America from its "dangerous dependence" on Middle E
oil. "As president, my number one security goal will be to prevent the
terrorists from gaining weapons of mass murder," Kerry said. "Because
Al-Qaeda is a network with many branches, we must take the fight to
the enemy on every continent and enlist other countries in that cause."
Kerry unveiled his proposal 3 days after Bush delivered a speech to
try to ease worldwide concerns about his embattled efforts in war-torn Iraq.
* EVEN OR AHEAD OF BUSH
These concerns have helped pull Bush's approval ratings to below 50%,
the lowest of his presidency. Surveys show Kerry running even or
slightly ahead of the Republican incumbent in the race for the Whitehouse.
Steve Schmidt, a rep for the Bush campaign, dismissed Kerry's speech
as "harsh political rhetoric" that included no new initiatives
separate from what Bush has already proposed. "In addition, the ideas
John Kerry offered today directly contradict with positions he has
taken in the past," Schmidt said, adding he "ignores the fact that
more than 30 nations stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the US in Iraq."
Kerry backed a congressional resolution that authorised the use of
force in Iraq, yet he has long accused the Bush Admin of inadequately
reaching out to allies for help. "They looked to force before
exhausting diplomacy," Kerry said. "They bullied when they should have
persuaded. They have gone it alone when they should have assembled a team."
Kerry said Bush should try to persuade NATO "to accept Iraq as an
alliance mission" at a NATO summit in Istanbul next m.
But the US signalled on Thu it would not press reluctant NATO partners
to agree on a such a role. "The stakes in Iraq couldn't be higher,"
Kerry said. "If Pres Bush doesn't change course and doesn't secure new
support from our allies, we will, once again feel the consequences of
a foreign policy that has divided the world instead of uniting it."
Kerry also issued a message to terrorists who fed authorities said
this wk may be planning an attack on the US before the Nov
elections. "Let there be not doubt -- this country is united in its
determination to destroy you," Kerry said. "As cmdr in chief, I will
bring the full force of our nation's power to bear on finding and
crushing your networks." Later on Thu at a rally in Green Bay,
Wisconsin, Kerry drew cheers from a crowd of more than 1,000 people,
many of them fellow military veterans, when he vowed, "I will be a
president who never sends our troops into harm's way without enough
troops to get the job done and without a plan to win the peace."
"Fahrenheit 9/11" breaks box office records
LA (AFP). US filmmaker Michael Moore has claimed a major political
coup against US Pres George W Bush after Fahrenheit 9/11 earned more
at the box office than any other documentary in history.
The staggering and record-breaking success of the film could indicate
that it may play a role in influencing voters away from Mr Bush ahead
of Nov's election, some experts said.
According to a final tally of opening weekend receipts, the film that
bashes Mr Bush over the war in Iraq and for an alleged erosion of US
civil rights amid the war against terror, crushed the big-budget
Hollywood competition at the N American box office, taking an
estimated $US23.9 mn.
The film, which opened just a m a ago is the 1st documentary ever to
open in top spot at the US box office.
"These are mind-blowing numbers," Moore told USA Today of the film
that opened on 868 US and Canadian screens on Fri after Miramax chiefs
Harvey and Bob Weinstein bought the rights back from Disney for around
$US6 mn.
Moore has made no secret of his hopes that his movie's tough images
and liberal political argument will help influence voters into
defeating Mr Bush in the Nov 2 presidential election.
Political experts had warned that the documentary, which includes
allegations of links between the Bush family and that of Al Qaeda
terror network leader Osama bin Laden and shows graphic images of the
war in Iraq, would not change voters' minds but simply reinforce
existing beliefs.Fahrenheit 9/11 will premiere in AUS at the MEL Film
Festival on Jul 15, ahead of an official release on Jul 29.
Canadian liberals to form minority govt
Ottawa (Reuters). Canada's ruling Liberals will stay in power after
Mon's fed election, but will lose their majority in Parliament and
need support from the left-leaning New Democrats to govern.
CBC TV said the Liberals, in power for a decade, would not win the 155
seats they needed to control the 308-seat parliament, although they
would win more seats than the Conservative opp'n.
That would produce Canada's 1st minority govt for 25 y -- and many
political analysts expect a new election within a year.
Preliminary results from more than half Canada's 308 parliamentary
districts showed the Liberals with 111 seats compared to 63 for the
Conservatives.
The separatist Bloc Quebecois was in 3rd place with 49 seats.
But the role of kingmaker was likely to go to the left-leaning New
Democrats, which might win up to 20 seats -- well above the 14 they
held when Parliament was dissolved.
"We're encouraged by this trend...but there's nobody popping the
champagne corks yet," Liberal Party rep Steven McKinnnon told reporters.
Results yet to come are mostly in W Canada, the heartland of the
Conservatives.
Opinion polls had indicated that the Liberals -- hit by a patronage
scandal and voter fatigue -- would end up about level with the
Conservatives.
But the Liberals started well by winning 22 of the 32 seats in Atlantic
Canada, a gain of 3 seats from the last election in 2000, and they did
better than expected in the crucial electoral battleground of Ontario.
If the early results are borne out it will a big disappointment for
the Conservatives, who had confidently predicted that they would form
Canada's 1st right-wing govt for more than a decade.
"We didn't win enough in Ontario, end of story. Fear works," said
Conservative strategist Rod Love, referring to constant attacks on
Conservative leader Stephen Harper from Liberal PM Paul Martin.
"Many of us were hopeful that the Canadian electorate, particularly in
Ontario ... wouldn't buy it. But they did."
But an inconclusive election will also be a blow to Martin, who
replaced fellow Liberal Jean Chretien last Dec amid predictions that
the party would stay in power for another decade.
The Liberals are promising balanced budgets and more spending on
social programs, while the Conservatives want to cut taxes while
boosting spending on defence and health care.
Martin says Harper is a right-wing extremist with a hidden agenda to
ban abortion and reduce gay rights. Harper counters with the accusation
that Martin is in charge of a corrupt and dishonest govt, which needs
to be kicked out of office.
Martin suffered enormous damage from a report in Feb which showed
$C100 mn [$75 mn] in govt funds had found its way to firms with close
Liberal ties.
"Don't steal. The govt doesn't like the competition," read the logo on
a T-shirt in Montreal.
Gaining ground sharply in the French-speaking province of Quebec was
the separatist Bloc Quebecois, which wants independence from Canada.
The Bloc, the fed offshoot of a party that narrowly lost a referendum
on pulling Quebec out of Canada in 1995, was heading for a near-record
52 of Quebec's 75 Parliamentary seats.
It has little in common with either the Liberals or the Conservatives
and is widely disliked in the rest of Canada, something that would
sharply reduce its value as a partner in a minority govt.
Yudhoyono takes lead in Indonesia polls
Jakarta (ABC, Peter Cave). With just under a wk to voting day,
Indonesia's former general and security minister, Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, still has the lead in the opinion polls. He is facing some
unusual campaign tactics. There has been an SMS smear campaign
launched against former general Yudhoyono, with text messages being
sent to voters suggesting he is secretly a Christian, which is no
asset in the world largest Muslim nation. Most polls show Mr
Yudhoyono well ahead of his nearest rival, the current Pres Megawati
Sukarnoputri, with another former general Wiranto running 3rd despite
his Golkar party winning this y's parliamentary elections. Even
Wiranto's legendary ability as a crooner has not improved his
lacklustre performance, so he has began opening roadside food stalls,
offering cheap snacks and drinks for the voters.
Election slowing employment growth: survey
Canberra. A new survey has indicated the looming fed election could
be starting to impact on employment trends. Hiring intentions in AUS
are still reasonably robust. A quarterly survey of 7,500 employers by
recruitment firm, Hudson, has found 36% plan to take on more workers
in the 3 m ahead while fewer than 8% say they will be shedding staff.
The net result of 28% is a further small gain on the previous quarter.
Hudson Australasia's chief executive officer Anne Hatton says the rate
of improvement has been slowing. "The looming fed election has
certainly not had a significant impact on the continued growth of
employment, but has certainly slowed somewhat that rate of growth,"
she said. Ms Hatton says other factors impacting on hiring decisions
include the Middle E situation and its impact on oil prices.
US terror suspects can challenge detention
Washington (Reuters). The US Supreme Court has ruled that US courts
have jurisdiction to hear appeals from foreign detainees held as enemy
combatants in the US military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
It also ruled that an American captured overseas in Pres George W
Bush's war on terrorism and held in a US military jail must be given a
chance to contest the govt's decision to detain him.
In a 6-3 decision, the High Court held that "US' courts have
jurisdiction to consider challenges to the legality of the decision of
foreign nat'ls captured abroad in connection with hostilities and
incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay".
The high court divided by a 5-4 vote to rule that Mr Bush has the
power to detain American citizen Yaser Hamdi, who was captured in
Afghanistan as a suspected Taliban fighter and has been held in a US
military jail in the US.
But in the more important part of the ruling, the justices by an 8-1
vote ruled he should get a fair opportunity to rebut the govt's case
for detaining him.
The 3 rulings by the high court on Mon. in cases that pitted civil
liberties concerns against nat'l security arguments, marked a blow to
Mr Bush's assertion of sweeping presidential powers after the Sep 11,
2001, attacks.
2 Aussies, David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, have been held in Guantanamo
Bay for over 2 y. Hicks has been charged but not yet faced trail.
In the Hamdi case, the court said the US Congress correctly authorised
the detention of combatants in the narrow circumstances alleged in the
case, but ruled that he could challenge his detention -- a position at
odds with what the Bush Admin argued.
At least 2 court members -- Justices David Souter and Ruth Bader
Ginsburg -- would have released Hamdi immediately.
They joined the main opinion by 4 other justices who said Hamdi should
have a meaningful opportunity to offer evidence that he is not an
enemy combatant.
The 4, in an opinion written by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, said
constitutional due process rights demand that a citizen held in the
United States as an enemy combatant must be given "a meaningful
opportunity" to contest the basis for the detention before a neutral party.
Hamdi was born in the US on Sep 26, 1980, to Saudi parents, and was
raised in Saudi Arabia. He was captured in Afghanistan in Nov 2001
while fighting with the Taliban, according to US officials.
He initially was taken to the US military base at Guantanamo Bay in
Cuba, but was moved to the US when US officials discovered he was born
in Louisiana.
The justices set aside a US appeals court ruling that Hamdi was
entitled to no further opportunity to challenge his enemy-combatant label.
Ruling reshapes detention policy of war on terror
Supreme Court says 'essence of a free society'
Washington (Baltimore Sun). The Supreme Court delivered a strong
check to the president's wartime powers Mon, ruling in 2 closely
watched cases that US citizens and foreign nat'ls imprisoned as
suspected terrorists can challenge their detention in American courts.
"We have long since made clear that a state of war is not a blank
check for the president when it comes to the rights of the nation's
citizens," Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote for the majority opinion
in one case.
The Constitution, she said, "most assuredly envisions a role for all 3
branches when individual liberties are at stake."
Taken together, the rulings up-ended a central, and controversial,
element of the Bush Admin's war on terror -- the notion that suspected
terrorists can be held indefinitely for interrogation purposes without
access to the courts. Both decisions were by a 6-3 vote, but the
line-up of the justices varied.
About 600 men detained without recourse for the past 2 y at the
military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, now could have a day in
court. US citizens held as "enemy combatants" also are entitled to
legal review, the justices ruled in the case of a Louisiana-born man
captured in Afghanistan in late 2001 and held without charges or trial
at the Navy brig in Charleston, SC.
In a third, related case involving American citizen Jose Padilla, the
court in a 5-4 decision sidestepped questions about his detention by
determining his case was brought in the wrong jurisdiction. Justice
John Paul Stevens, in a dissent, chastised the majority for relying
on that technicality to avoid more important issues.
"At stake in this case is nothing less than the essence of a free
society," Stevens wrote. "For if this nation is to remain true to the
ideals symbolised by its flag, it must not wield the tools of tyrants
even to resist an assault by the forces of tyranny."
In one significant finding for the Admin, the justices ruled that
Congress had given Pres Bush the power to seize and detain US citizens
as "enemy combatants." But the court, in careful and narrowly written
decisions, showed deep concern about unchecked executive-branch power.
"Striking the proper constitutional balance here is of great
importance to the nation during this period of ongoing combat,"
O'Connor wrote in the enemy combatant case of Yaser Esam Hamdi. "But
it is equally vital that our calculus not give short shrift to the
values that this country holds dear or to the privilege that is
American citizenship."
The cases raised the most fundamental constitutional questions to
emerge from the govt's counter-terrorism campaign, with the justices
asked to weigh the balance be tween individual freedoms and nat'l security.
"I think that basically it was a very bad day for the Bush ad
ministration, but not a completely bad day," said University of
Maryland law prof Michael Greenberger, a former Justice Dept official.
"The court today made it emphatically clear that they do have a role
to play."
A broad coalition of civil libertarians and former fed prosecutors and
judges had challenged the Admin's detention policies as an unwarranted
extension of executive power. But the govt's lawyers defended the
methods as legally sound and badly needed in the often murky battle
against terrorism.
In response to the rulings, Whitehouse rep Claire Buchan said Pres
Bush was committed to fashioning a review process for terror detainees
that would address the issues raised by the court decisions.
"The president's most solemn obligation is to protect the American
people," she said.
At the Justice Dept, rep Mark Corallo praised the court's decision on
enemy combatant status, saying that "without the ability to detain
these dangerous individuals, the American people and our soldiers in
combat would face even greater danger from our terrorist enemies."
Corallo said the dept was reviewing the rulings and noted that the
court acknowledged access to the courts in some terror cases may
require some modifications, such as the admission of hearsay evidence.
Groups that had challenged the Admin claimed an important win.
Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights,
which brought the Guantanamo case, said the rulings affirmed "the
right of every person, citizen or non-citizen, detained by the US to
test the legality of his or her detention in a US court."
The legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union, Steven R
Shapiro, said that the "historic rulings are a strong repudiation of
the Admin's argument that its actions in the war on terrorism are
beyond the rule of law and unreviewable by American courts."
Left unclear was what would come next, particularly in the case of
Guantanamo Bay detainees.
About 600 men are imprisoned at the facility in Cuba, and Mon's ruling
raised the prospect of 100s of individual detention challenges and
lawsuits that could land in any of the nation's 94 fed court districts
-- a point raised by Justice Antonin Scalia in a sharp dissent from
the majority decision in that case.
"The cmdr in chief and his subordinates had every reason to expect
that the internment of combatants at Guantanamo Bay would not have the
consequence of bringing the cumbersome machinery of our domestic
courts into military affairs," Scalia wrote in a dissent that was
joined by Chief Justice William H Rehnquist and Justice Clarence Thomas.
In the Hamdi case, only Justice Thomas disagreed with the majority's
opinion that Hamdi -- accused of serving as a foot soldier for the
Taliban and arrested in Afghanistan in late 2001 -- could not be held
without access to the courts.
But the court was far from one voice. Rehnquist joined O'Connor in the
majority opinion, along with Justices Anthony M Kennedy and Stephen G
Breyer. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David H Souter agreed with
the majority opinion but made clear in a separate opinion that they
would have gone further and called Hamdi's detention unauthorised.
Justices Stevens -- who wrote the majority opinion in the Guantanamo
case -- and Scalia, said in a dissenting opinion that Hamdi and other
citizens accused of aiding the enemy should be tried as criminal
defendants. They pointed to the case of the so-called American
Taliban, John Walker Lindh, who pleaded guilty in US fed court.
Court deals blow to Bush on combatants
[The cases are Hamdi v Rumsfeld, 03-6696; Rasul v Bush, 03-334 and
Rumsfeld v Padilla, 03-1027].
Washington (AP). The Supreme Court ruled Mon that the war on
terrorism does not give the govt a "blank check" to hold a US citizen
and foreign-born terror suspects in legal limbo, a forceful
denunciation of Bush Admin tactics since the Sep 11 attacks.
Ruling in 2 cases, the high court refused to endorse a central claim
of the Whitehouse: that the govt has authority to seize and detain
terrorism suspects and indefinitely deny access to courts or lawyers
while interrogating them.
A state of war "is not a blank check for the president when it comes
to the rights of the nation's citizens," Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
wrote in the most significant case of the day, a ruling that gives
American-born detainee Yaser Esam Hamdi the right to fight his
detention in a fed court.
Separately, the court said that nearly 600 men from 42 countries held
at a Navy prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, can use American courts
to contest their treatment. The Bush Admin had argued that US courts
had no business second-guessing detentions of foreigners held on
foreign soil.
The Admin's detention policies have rankled allies overseas and
outraged civil liberties and human rights groups at home.
Deborah Pearlstein, director of the US Law and Security Program at
Human Rights First, called Mon's rulings a broad repudiation of the
Admin's approach.
"The court said any citizen has a right to due process and that the
Admin's position that it has inherent executive authority ... to
detain people is just wrong under the law."
Several defence lawyers said the ruling will trigger a series of legal
challenges on behalf of individual detainees.
"We will be filing 100s of cases before the courts," said Qatari
lawyer Najeeb al-Nauimi, who belongs to a committee of defence lawyers
claiming to represent more than 300 detainees. "The Supreme Court
reinstated our trust in the American judicial system."
The court declined to rule on the merits of a 3rd case arising from
the hunt for terrorists. The justices sent back to a lower court the
case of Jose Padilla, a former Chicago gang member and a convert to
Islam who is being held as an enemy combatant amid allegations he
sought to detonate a radiological "dirty bomb" and blow up apartment
buildings in the US.
The Admin contends that all the men at issue in Mon's cases are enemy
combatants -- neither prisoners of war protected by the Geneva
Conventions nor ordinary criminal suspects with automatic rights to
see lawyers and know the charges against them.
All the cases dealt with rights of prisoners, an issue with added
resonance since recent revelations that US soldiers abused Iraqi
prisoners and used harsh interrogation methods at a prison outside Baghdad.
At oral arguments in the terrorism cases in Apr, an Admin lawyer
assured the court that Americans abide by internat'l treaties against
torture, and that the president or the military would not allow even
mild torture as a means to get info.
The Hamdi ruling is the most significant test so far of executive
power in the fight to root out and contain global terrorism. The case
included multiple holdings and some unusual alliances among
conservative and liberal justices.
8 justices rejected the Admin's treatment of Hamdi on some
grounds. Only Justice Clarence Thomas, by many measures the court's
staunchest conservative, found no fault with the govt.
By a vote of 6-to-3, the court placed Hamdi's case back in the hands
of a fed judge, who presumably can rule on whether he should be released.
Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia and liberal Justice John Paul
Stevens said if the govt had a case against Hamdi it should have
charged him as a criminal, perhaps even as a traitor. Citizens cannot
be held as enemy combatants so long as the usual protections of the
Constitution are in force, the pair wrote.
In one bright spot for the govt, a majority of 5 justices rejected
that view and held that the president had authority to hold Hamdi as
an enemy combatant.
Highlighting that holding, Justice Dept rep Mark Corallo said, "The
military detains enemy combatants to prevent them from continuing to
wage terror and war, as well as to gather intel to thwart further
terrorist assaults."
"Without the ability to detain these dangerous individuals, the
American people and our soldiers in combat would face even greater
danger from our terrorist enemies."
O'Connor's majority ruling often takes a deferential tone toward the
govt, but still makes clear that Hamdi's treatment crossed the line.
"Striking the proper constitutional balance here is of great
importance to the nation during this period of ongoing combat,"
O'Connor wrote. "But it is equally vital that our calculus not give
short shrift to the values that this country holds dear or to the
privilege that is American citizenship."
Hamdi was born in Louisiana in 1980, while his Saudi father worked in
the oil industry there. He grew up in Saudi Arabia. Hamdi's family
says he was an innocent caught in the wrong place at the wrong time --
a 20-yo relief worker swept up in the chaos of Afghanistan in the wk
following the terrorist attack.
The Bush Admin says he was fighting with a Taliban unit and carrying a gun.
After US forces routed the Taliban govt, which the US accused of
harbouring al-Qaeda terrorists responsible for the Sep 11 attacks,
Hamdi was shipped to Guantanamo with other so-called battlefield detainees.
He was eventually transferred to a Navy brig in S Carolina after
authorities verified his citizenship.
Padilla, also being held at the brig, was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare
airport as he got off a flight from Pakistan more than 2 ya, alleged
to have plans to mount terror attacks in America.
Both men have been interrogated repeatedly, and until recently were
not allowed to meet with lawyers.
The Bush Admin had won its arguments in lower court in the Hamdi case
but lost in Padilla.
In the Padilla case Mon, a 5-4 majority led by Chief Justice William
H Rehnquist voted to throw out the lower court ruling on a
technicality. The court's more liberal wing dissented.
Padilla can re-file his case and challenge the govt on stronger legal
footing, although several lawyers said the govt may now choose to file
criminal charges instead.
The Supreme Court left for another day many hard questions about what
rights enemy combatants may be due, and O'Connor noted that the term
remains inexact.
US lawyers welcome "historic" Guantanamo rulings
Washington (AFP). US lawyers and rights groups have called Supreme
Court rulings giving "war on terror" detainees access to US courts a
historic victory against an Admin that sought to hide inmates away.
While the Justice Dept only said it would modify the treatment of
detainees after the rulings, Frank Dunham, the lawyer for Yaser Esam
Hamdi, an Arab-American held for more than 2 y, said his client could
appear before a court within weeks.
"Now it is up to the lower courts, but I expect hearings to start this
summer," the lawyer said.
Hamdi, who was detained in Afghanistan in 2001 and was kept at the
Guantanamo Bay US military base in Cuba and is now in a naval brig in
South Carolina, was one of the main beneficiaries of the landmark rulings.
"It is a historic decision for America as it tells people they have
the right to seek habeas corpus. Mr Hamdi will have the right to a
neutral hearing," said Mr Dunham.
Mr Dunham said the Bush Admins' action was of similar gravity to
Congress suspending habeas corpus during the 1861-65 civil war.
"It is not adding something to the law, it is just preserving
something we have had for 200 y," he said.
"We are reviewing the court's decision to determine how to modify
existing processes to satisfy the court's rulings," said a Justice
Dept rep in a statement that put a brave face on the legal blow to the Admin.
"The Justice Dept is pleased that the US Supreme Court today upheld
the authority of the president as cmdr-in-chief of the armed forces to
detain enemy combatants, including US citizens.
"This authority is crucial in times of war, whether the enemy
combatants are individuals who join our enemies on the battlefield to
fight against America and its allies, or whether they are individuals
who infiltrate our border to commit hostile and war-like acts against
our nation," said the rep.
Rights groups said the rulings were a major boost to their efforts to
get what they consider proper representation for 100s of detainees at
Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba and 2 Americans also held as
"enemy combatants" after the Sep 11, 2001 attacks.
"The United States can no longer hold detainees in a rights free
zone," said Jamie Fellner, director of the US Program at Human Rights
Watch. "They can now have their day in court."
"The Admin's position was as unprecedented as it was dangerous: that
the president should have unfettered discretion to decide who could be
detained without charges, for how long and under what conditions,"
said Ms Fellner.
"The Bush Admin keeps saying 'trust us' on its detention policies and
practices," added Ms Fellner.
"After the revelations of torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere,
it seems the Supreme Court was in no mood to give the Admin a free hand."
Amnesty Internat'l said the rulings show "no leader has the power to
withhold basic rights such as the right to challenge one's detention".
The American Civil Liberties Union called the rulings a "historic"
repudiation of the case made by Pres George W Bush's Admin to be able
to keep detainees in secret and without charge.
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a
nat'l Muslim civil rights group, hailed the decisions as a "victory
for due process".
The US govt had said Guantanamo detainees could not go to US courts
because the military base is not US territory.
Hicks told of US court ruling
Aussie Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks has been told of the latest
legal development in the US Supreme Court concerning his case.
Adelaide. Overnight, the court ruled that American courts do have the
jurisdiction to consider challenges to the legality of the detention
of foreign nat'ls at Guantanamo Bay.
Hicks and SYD man Mamdouh Habib have been held at Guantanamo Bay for
more than 2 y without legal recourse.
Hicks has been charged with conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted
murder and aiding the enemy but is yet to face court.
This morning at Adel's Foreign Affairs office, Hicks's father Terry
told him the news during a half-hr monitored conversation.
Even though Terry Hicks had previously been warned against discussing
legal matters, this morning he took the risk.
"I thought blow 'em, if they're going to pull the plug, they can pull
it," he said.
"I just said to him the Supreme Court's just handed down, you people
can now come under the jurisdiction of the courts.
"I said, 'what do you think of that?' and he said, 'I can't say anything'."
Terry says his son sounded happy.
Greens leader Bob Brown says the Aussie detainees being held at
Guantanamo Bay should now be brought home to face court.
Sen Brown has welcomed a decision which will allow Hicks and Mr Habib
to lodge a US fed court appeal against the legality of their detention.
Sen Brown says the men should be tried under AUS's judicial system.
"It's a big breakthrough for David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, it means
they have access to domestic courts, which is what the Greens have
been calling for all the way down the line and which got me to stand
up in the parliament last y to talk to Pres Bush about the rule of
law," he said.
Hicks to get phone call from family
Adelaide (AAP). Adel man Terry Hicks will speak with his son,
terrorism suspect David Hicks, for only the 2nd time since the 28-yo
was taken into US custody more than 2 y ago.
Mr Hicks will be allowed 15 minutes in a phone hook-up with the US
military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba where Hicks is being held.
He was allowed a similar call around Christmas and expects this call
to be an equally emotional experience.
"Just the voice contact is what I'm looking forward to," Mr Hicks said.
"We'll talk mainly about family matters, I'll bring him up to date on
how the family is.
"It's a very hard conversation because there are so many questions
we'd like to ask but we can't."
But one thing Mr Hicks does plan to do is relay the decision by the US
Supreme Court, which ruled that US courts do have jurisdiction over
detainees held in Cuba.
The decision clears the way for lawyers to return to the District
Court in America and challenge the legality of Hicks' detention,
something his lawyers plan to do.
It is also expected to have an impact on a military commission set to
try Hicks later this year on charges of conspiracy, attempted murder
and aiding the enemy.
Mr Hicks said he was not sure if authorities monitoring his call would
allow him to discuss the Supreme Court ruling.
"But regardless, I'm going to do it anyway," he said.
"I'll just drop it in conversation."
One thing he knows he can't do is raise issues about his son's
detention and treatment in Cuba.
If he does, he will be asked to move on to other topics, or the call
will be terminated.
"Anything to do with David's detention and treatment, we can't ask,"
Mr Hicks said.
Hicks lawyer praises Guantanamo decision
David Hicks was charged after 2 y at Guantanamo Bay.
Adelaide (AFP/ABC). The lawyer for an Aussie man detained at the
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base has welcomed a US Supreme Court ruling
permitting judicial appeals from foreign detainees held as enemy combatants.
US Marine Corps defence counsel Maj Michael Mori said the ruling
meant he was "another step closer to getting David Hicks out of there".
Hicks's Adel-based lawyer, Stephen Kenny, says despite the Supreme
Court ruling, it could be 3 y before his client's legal challenge to
detention can be heard.
Mr Kenny says the decision challenges the Aussie Govt's belief that
Hicks is being treated fairly.
"If the A-G insists on maintaining his line that it's a fair system, I
again challenge him to bring out his legal advice that says it's a
fair system," he said.
"If he can't then he needs to insist on bringing David home and if
David's done anything wrong to prosecute him in AUS in a fair system."
PM John Howard has told Channel 9 the US court decision does not alter
the Aussie Govt's view on the detention of David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib.
"It ruled that the detention has been lawful and that it's lawful not
only in relation to American citizens but also in relation to
foreigners but the court has additionally ruled that people detained
can appeal within the American legal system, so if that is correct
then that doesn't really alter the stance that the Govt has taken," he said.
Joe Marguilies, who represented the 2 Aussies before the Supreme
Court, says he is concerned about the other Aussie Mamdouh Habib.
"I want to see him right away, and I want assurances about his welfare
as soon as possible," he said.
Lawyers are expected to seek access Mr Habib and over 60 other
detainees within the next wk.
Maj Mori has said in the past that his client has been denied
"fundamental" privileges given to civilians or soldiers facing
court-martial.
Hicks's father Terry says he hopes to speak to his son thinks that the
Foreign Affairs Dept may not allow the topic to be discussed:
"I probably won't even get the chance to tell him what's happened
today. Is that fair?" he said.
"I don't think it is but I will be asking them, I will be asking the
Foreign Affairs Dept whether I can let him know the good news, they
are quiet funny in some ways about what you can talk about."
Hicks, who comes from Adel, is one of 2 Aussies being held at
Guantanamo, along with SYD man Mamdouh Habib.
The US Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision on Mon that the "US'
courts have jurisdiction to consider challenges to the legality of the
decision of foreign nat'ls captured abroad in connection with
hostilities and incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay".
The case, involving about 600 detainees from 42 countries at
Guantanamo, was one of 2 landmark decisions handed down by the court
in the controversy over tactics used by US authorities since launching
the 'war on terror' after the Sep 11 attacks in 2001.
The US govt has charged Hicks with conspiracy to commit war crimes,
attempted murder and aiding the enemy.
Virtually all the other detainees have been held without charge and
access to court.
According to the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a New
York-based interest group which has taken up the case of Guantanamo
detainees, Hicks has spent several m of his confinement in solitary
confinement awaiting charges.
US invasion was wrong: Iraqi poll
Baghdad (AP). Nearly 60% of Iraqis believe that US-led forces were
wrong to invade their country, but half think that democracy is what
their country needs most in the next 5 years, according to a new poll.
The survey said that though many Iraqis strongly oppose the coalition
forces, nearly 60% believe that the US must help rebuild Iraq if it
wants the country's interim govt to succeed.
"The Iraqis know what they want for their political future --
democracy. To them it means freedom, justice, equality. They just
don't know how to get there," said Christoph Sahm, the director of
Oxford Research Internat'l, the Brit-based consultancy that has
conducted 4 such polls in Iraq in the past 9 m.
The initial results of the latest poll were published as the coalition
transferred sovereignty to the interim Iraqi govt in Baghdad 2 days
earlier than expected.
Asked how life had changed since Saddam Hussein was driven from power,
44% of Iraqis said it was much better or somewhat better, 32% said it
was about the same, and about 25% said it was somewhat worse or much worse.
A large majority -- 87% -- said regaining public security must be the
top priority in Iraq, with many citing fighting between insurgents and
coalition forces and rampant crime.
The poll found a commitment to democracy, but confusion about how that
should happen in a diverse and unstable country of Shi'ites, Sunnis
and Kurds.
Asked what Iraq needs in the next 12 m, half said a strong Iraqi
leader and 31% said democracy. But looking further ahead -- the next 5
y -- 50% said democracy and 36% said a strong Iraqi leader.
The survey showed confusion among many Iraqis about who they would
vote for in an election, no matter which political party, politician
or religious leader was running.
Asked about the invasion of Iraq, 59% said it was somewhat wrong or
absolutely wrong, while 41% said it was somewhat or absolutely right.
More than 80% of Iraqis said they had no confidence in US and Brit
forces. Asked about the presence of these forces in Iraq, 58% opposed
it, and 42% supported it.
Asked to characterise the forces, 72% called them either occupiers or
exploiters, while nearly 28% called them liberators or peacekeepers.
Sahm said one reason the popularity of the coalition forces had fallen
to its lowest point in the last of the 4 surveys was the abuse of
Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.
Nearly 70% of those questioned said they had been surprised to hear
about the human rights abuses by American forces there.
But only a 3rd said the coalition forces should leave now.
Militants 'execute' US soldier in Iraq
Baghdad (AFP/Reuters). Al Jazeera TV has aired a video tape showing
what militants said was the execution of a US soldier captured in Iraq
in Apr.
The video showed a man, wearing greenish overalls and seen only from
the back, in a dark room. A gunman fired one shot and the body fell
into a hole.
US defence officials said the family of a Private Keith Matthew
Maupin, 20, had been told about the existence of the video, but that
there was no confirmation he had been killed.
The video was reportedly too grainy to confirm the man's identity.
Al Jazeera quoted a statement from a previously unheard of group as
saying the soldier was killed because of US policy in Iraq and in
revenge for what it described as their "martyrs" in Iraq, Saudi Arabia
and Algeria.
The group was identified as the "Implacable Power Against the Enemy of
God and the Prophet".
PFC Maupin, of Batavia, Ohio, has been missing since Apr 9 when his
military fuel convoy was ambushed nr Baghdad.
He was a member of the US Army Reserve's 724th Transportation Company
based in Illinois.
His captors sent video footage of him to Al Jazeera a wk after he was seized.
The poor-quality tape showed PFC Maupin dressed in military fatigues
sitting on a floor, held captive by masked and heavily armed guerrillas.
At one point, he identified himself in a soft voice.
One guerrilla read from a statement, saying: "We are willing to
exchange him for Iraqis held by the American enemy... This is the fate
of all American soldiers in Iraq."
On Sun, militants appearing on Al Jazeera threatened to kill a US
Marine, Cpl Wassef Ali Hassoun, if prisoners in Iraq were not freed.
The US military said Cpl Hassoun was reported missing from his unit on
Jun 21.
A snr Defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the
Army notified PFC Maupin's family "that there's a rumour Al Jazeera or
an Arab network may have a tape of an execution, but we do not know if
it's their son or not".
"We wanted to make sure they knew about it since there was some media
speculation out there," the official said.
"In the meantime, we have not found the young man nor have we changed
his casualty status. He is still listed as captured. We don't know his fate."
UN welcomes Iraq back into "family"
UN (AP). UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan welcomed Iraq "back into the family of
independent and sovereign nations" Mon and called on all Iraqis to
assist the new, interim govt.
The UN Sec Council also welcomed the handover of power and the
official end of the American and Brit occupation and reaffirmed "the
independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Iraq."
Annan's top adviser on Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi, said the "former
occupying powers" and the new govt must now demonstrate to the Iraqi
people that the 150,000 foreign troops in the country are there to
support the govt in maintaining security -- and that they will be leaving.
"We are all keeping our fingers crossed," said Brahimi, who helped put
together the new govt.
"We hope that this is going to be a true beginning and those who are
opposing occupation will now consider that opposing occupation is not
necessary anymore and that both sides -- the govt and these people --
will try and find a common ground to build Iraq," he told reporters at
UN HQ.
Annan, who had just arrived in Dubai at the start of a 3-wk trip to
the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe, said in a statement issued
by his office that the UN will "do everything possible, as
circumstances permit, to help the Iraqi people" in the difficult
process of returning to normalcy.
"Today, the Sec-Gen welcomes the state of Iraq back into the family of
independent and sovereign nations," the statement said.
"He calls upon all Iraqis to come together in a spirit of nat'l unity
and reconciliation, through a process of open dialogue and
consensus-building, to lay down secure foundations for a new Iraq."
The Sec Council called on all Iraqis to fully and "peaceably"
implement the political timetable it endorsed earlier this m.
That plan includes elections by Jan 31.
Council members urged all countries and regional and internat'l
organisations to support the interim govt during the political
transition "and in its efforts to bring economic reconstruction,
peace, unity and stability to Iraq."
"The members of the council condemn, in the strongest terms, the
continued violence in Iraq, which should not be allowed to disrupt
Iraq's political and economic transition," the council said in a
statement read by the current president, Philippines Ambassador Lauro Baja.
Negroponte takes ambassador post in Iraq
Baghdad (ABCNews/AP). John Negroponte, the new US ambassador to Iraq,
arrived in Baghdad Mon to take over political contact between
Washington and the fledgling Iraqi interim govt.
The former American envoy to the UN reached the Iraqi capital late
Mon, hours after the handover of sovereignty to Iraq's new govt.
L Paul Bremer, the top civilian administrator of the US-led
occupation, flew from Baghdad about 2 hr after the handover ceremony.
Pres Bush named Negroponte, 64, as ambassador to Iraq on Apr 19.
Dep Sec of State Richard Armitage said that with Iraqi sovereignty
restored, the State Dept would assume from the Pentagon the dominant
role in shaping Bush Admin policy on Iraq.
"The Dept of State is taking the lead now," Armitage said.
The US-led Coalition Provisional Authority transferred control of Iraq
to an interim Iraqi govt on Mon, 2 days earlier than expected. A few
hours later, Negroponte arrived, also ahead of schedule. He had been
due in Baghdad at the end of the week.
"The US govt and the US Embassy will hit the ground running," the
State Dept deputy rep Adam Ereli said.
Armitage, in an interview with Nat'l Public Radio, said the Iraqis
were ready and "it had a subsidiary benefit, we thought, of perhaps
somehow confusing the plans or what we believe are plans, to disrupt
the proceeds by the anti-coalition militants."
US plans call for a US Embassy that probably will be the largest in
the world, with some 1,000 Americans assisted by 100s of Iraqis.
Negroponte will be assisted by a handful of US ambassadors who
volunteered for duty in Baghdad.
At the same time, though, Admin officials say the United States
intends to maintain a low-key presence, deferring to the interim Iraqi govt.
Armitage described the US as a partner, working with Iraqi officials
to improve the "scary situation" in Iraq.
He said Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sun night called all the
foreign ministers and defence ministers of the countries that were
part of the US-led coalition to advise them of the early transfer of
power to Iraqis.
Nearly 140,000 US troops remain in Iraq and there are no plans for
their removal.
NATO agrees to help Iraq, Chirac raps Bush
Istanbul (Reuters). NATO leaders have tried to put bitter rows over
Iraq behind them with a deal to train the new Baghdad govt's security
forces, but France soured the mood by opposing a formal role for the alliance.
In a further upset to a carefully fostered image of renewed
transatlantic harmony, French Pres Jacques Chirac rapped US Pres
George W Bush for his support of Turkey's bid to join the European
Union, saying it was none of his business.
Mr Bush, in Istanbul along with Chirac and 2 dozen other NATO leaders
for a 2-day summit, hailed the formal handover of power in Iraq
earlier in the day, but said the interim Govt may need to take tough
measures against insurgents.
"I do not believe it is [NATO's] mission to intervene in Iraq," Mr
Chirac, a fierce opponent of last year's US-led war, told a news conference.
He said a formal NATO presence in Iraq would "not be in keeping" with
the decision taken by alliance leaders earlier.
At the opening session of their summit, the leaders issued a vaguely
worded statement responding positively to a request from Iraqi PM Iyad
Allawi to help train security forces.
There were no details in the training deal, reflecting continued
disputes over how overt a role the alliance should play in Iraq.
France says NATO's flag should not fly in Iraq.
NATO also agreed to boost troop numbers in Afghanistan to bolster
security during Sep elections.
Numbers on the ground will increase by no more than 2,200 from 6,500
currently, with 1,200-2,000 more on standby outside Afghanistan.
"We have agreed today a major expansion of NATO's role in
Afghanistan," said NATO Sec-Gen Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
"We made a commitment to help and we will meet it."
He has cited the alliance's plans to widen its peace mission as proof
that it can project stability far from nat'l borders. Critics say NATO
is doing too little, too late.
The Kabul govt welcomed the NATO plan but stressed the troops should
be deployed where they were most needed.
* French ire
Under-scoring continued Paris-Washington tensions, Mr Chirac said Mr
Bush "not only went too far but went into a domain which is not his
own" by urging the EU on Sun to give summit host Turkey a firm date to
start entry talks.
He said Mr Bush's comments would be comparable to France seeking to
advise Washington on its relations with Mexico.
Iraq has overshadowed NATO's talks. Mr Bush, who faces a tough
re-election battle this y amid growing discontent over US involvement
in Iraq, said the handover of power to Dr Allawi's govt, was "a day of
great hope for Iraqis".
Mr Bush and Brit Prime Min Tony Blair praised the early transfer
although US officials accept it was done to try to avert bloodshed on
Wed, the scheduled handover day.
Dr Allawi is considering a declaration of martial law to confront the
threat posed by Jordan-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whose
followers have been blamed for a spate of kidnappings, killings and
bombings before the handover.
"He will not cower in the face of brutal murder and neither will we,"
said Mr Bush.
The agreement for NATO to help Iraq falls far short of the
boots-on-the-ground role Washington had sought for the alliance, which
was scotched by French and German resistance.
* Protests
Leftist protesters objecting to NATO hurled paving stones and petrol
bombs at riot police on Mon, but were kept far from the summit centre.
Police responded with baton charges, tear gas and water cannon. Around
30 people were injured.
In a separate protest, Greenpeace activists dangling from a vast
suspension bridge over the Bosphorus strait unfurled a 30-m banner
showing a dove of peace with a nuclear missile in its beak and the
phrase "Nukes out of NATO".
The leaders from an alliance which now stretches into the once-Soviet
Baltic states were shielded by an unprecedented security curtain drawn
around Istanbul for the summit.
One of the leaders' biggest challenges is how to transform an alliance
geared for so long to counter Soviet might into a credible force to
counter new security threats.
The allies agreed on a set of measures to defend against terrorism,
including steps to protect civilian aircraft from shoulder-fired
missiles, and endorsed a blueprint for a NATO theatre missile defence
capability.
Def mins also signed agreements to improve the alliance's access to
air and sea transport that would help deploy large numbers of troops
quickly to distant hot-spots.
NATO nations pledged in 2002 to modernise their armed forces and they
have since set up a quick-reaction force for rapid deployment to
hot-spots. But with defence budgets declining or stagnant in most
European countries, progress has been slow.
"NATO has no role in Iraq"
Istanbul. France's Pres Jacques Chirac welcomed Mon's transfer of
sovereignty in Iraq but said it was not NATO's role to intervene in
the country.
"The return of sovereignty to Iraq is in our view a necessary
condition ... for the restoration of peace, democracy and development
in this country," Chirac said at a news conference here at a NATO summit.
"However, I do not think that it is NATO's role to intervene in Iraq"
he said.
Spain on Mon also ruled out playing any role in Iraq, just hours after
NATO promised to help train the Iraqi army to calm the violence-wracked
country.
"The Spanish govt does not foresee any participation in the process
under way in Iraq, and in no circumstances any participation on Iraqi
territory," PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said.
He was replying to a question on whether Spain would help train the
fledgling Iraqi army.
Spain last m completed the withdrawal of its 1 400-strong military
contingent in Iraq, fulfilling a pledge by the Socialist PM who came
to power after a surprise general election victory on Mar 14.
NATO leaders pledged at a summit in Istanbul on Mon to provide "full
co-operation" to the new Iraqi govt and to help train its soldiers.
The phrasing of the NATO agreement specifically left it open for such
training to occur inside or outside Iraq -- a sop to France and
Germany, which opposed the US-led invasion and have said they are
unwilling to send troops into Iraq.
Bush marks handover with Blair handshake
Istanbul (Reuters). US Pres George W Bush quietly took note of the
secret handover of power in Iraq on Mon by checking his watch at a
NATO summit and shaking hands with his closest war ally, Brit PM Tony Blair.
They knew what others in the room at that moment did not -- that the
United States had transferred sovereignty to an interim Iraqi Govt 2
days before the announced date of Jun 30.
Senior Bush Admin officials said Mr Bush agreed to Iraqi Prime Min
Iyad Allawi's request for an early handover of power because the new
Govt is ready to take command, and also in an effort to head off a
surge of militant attacks.
In the summit conference room, Mr Bush glanced at his watch, exchanged
knowing smiles with Mr Blair, who was seated at his side, and then
they shook hands as they sat around an oblong table listening to speeches.
This was shortly after the Baghdad ceremony had taken place.
Just before, Mr Bush exchanged handwritten notes with a beaming US Def
Sec Donald Rumsfeld sitting behind him.
Senior Admin officials said an early handover had been discussed
between US and Iraqi officials for the past week, that Dr Allawi had
made a final decision on Sun night and that Mr Bush had quickly agreed.
"They're calling the shots, and this was a shot he called and we were
glad to oblige," one official said of Dr Allawi.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that
thwarting a surge in attacks believed planned for the formal Wed
handover date was a factor in the decision.
Bush, Blair hail Iraqi handover
Istanbul (AFP/Reuters). US administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer shakes
hands with Iraq's interim Pres Ghazi al-Yawar at the official handover
ceremony in Baghdad.
US Pres George W Bush and Brit PM Tony Blair have welcomed the interim
Iraqi Govt rushed into office yesterday, but say it may need to take
tough measures to tackle the ongoing insurgency.
Both leaders praised the early transfer although US officials have
admitted it was done to forestall a possible day of bloodshed on the
scheduled handover later this wk.
Mr Bush says the Iraqi people now have their country back, after
decades of terror.
"This is a day of great hope for Iraqis, and a day that terrorist
enemies hoped never to see," he said.
"The terrorists are doing all they can to stop the rise of a free
Iraq, but their bombs and attacks have not prevented Iraqi
sovereignty, and they will not prevent Iraqi democracy."
Mr Blair says he still doubts his critics will now see the United
States and Brit as liberators of Iraq despite the political change.
"After this moment, in respect of security, Iraqis will be in charge,"
he said.
"We can support, and we can help with things like training, but it's
important that they are the sovereign power."
Mr Bush and Mr Blair appeared together on the sidelines of the NATO
summit in Istanbul, hours after the official handover in Baghdad.
* Knowing handshake
Mr Bush quietly took note of the secret handover of power by checking
his watch at a NATO summit and shaking hands with Mr Blair.
They knew what others in the room at that moment did not.
Snr Bush Admin officials said Mr Bush agreed to Iraqi Prime Min Iyad
Allawi's request for an early handover of power because the new Govt
is ready to take command, and also in an effort to head off a surge of
militant attacks.
In the summit conference room, Mr Bush glanced at his watch, exchanged
knowing smiles with Mr Blair, who was seated at his side, and then
they shook hands as they sat around an oblong table listening to speeches.
This was shortly after the Baghdad ceremony had taken place.
Just before, Mr Bush exchanged handwritten notes with a beaming US Def
Sec Donald Rumsfeld sitting behind him.
* Internat'l support
The UN, the EU and NATO all welcomed the handover, while US allies
Japan, Poland and AUS hailed the news that Iraqis were now officially
in charge of their own destiny.
UN secretary general Kofi Annan, a vocal critic of the war, said the
world body "welcomes the state of Iraq back into the family of
independent and sovereign nations".
"The secretary general commits the UN to do everything possible, as
circumstances permit, to help the Iraqi people in this challenging yet
vital process," Mr Annan's rep said.
NATO leaders meeting in Istanbul issued a statement offering their
"full cooperation" with the interim Iraqi govt and called for an
immediate end to all terrorist attacks in the country.
The European Union also hailed the transfer of power as "a 1st step"
toward democracy.
"We hope that the future generation of Iraqis will be able to look
back at this day and see it as the moment they were united and began
working together to overcome the legacy of decades of conflict and
brutal authoritarian rule," said a rep for the European Commission,
the EU's executive arm.
US ally Japan renewed its pledge to help the country with its
rebuilding programme through humanitarian aid provided by Japanese troops.
Poland's Deputy Defence Min Janusz Zemke, whose country leads a
multinat'l force in Iraq, said the swift departure of the former US
administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer would also have a symbolic impact.
Mr Bremer, who had represented the US-led occupation of Iraq in the
eyes of many, flew out of the country just hours after the low-key
handover ceremony.
Aussie Prime Min John Howard Howard meanwhile congratulated the Iraqi
people for what he called an "act of faith in a democratic future".
There was a note of caution from France however, which along with
Russia and Germany fundamentally opposed the war.
* Qualified approval
French Pres Jacques Chirac had "taken note" of the transfer, but saw
the handover as only "a step in the political process that will run
until 2005," his rep said.
In Russia, Deputy For Min Yury Fedotov said his country was willing to
work with Iraq's interim rulers, but that much would depend on their
success in "consolidating the political process and enlarging the
socio-political base in the country".
China, which also opposed the war, congratulated the Iraqi people and
urged the United Nations to play a role in stabilising the war-torn country.
The Vatican, while welcoming the historic step, warned that the road
on the return to normality would be "long and full of obstacles."
Many Arab analysts, politicians and citizens cast doubt on the
significance of the transfer, under which more than 160,000 US-led
foreign troops are staying in Iraq.
They expected most Arab govts would maintain their "wait and see"
attitude towards the Iraqi govt, withholding full diplomatic
recognition for now.
Hassan Nafaa, chairman of the political science dept at Cairo
University, said the violence was unlikely to end as long as foreign
forces were present.
"The Iraqi people are not easily duped," he said.
Mustafa al-Sayyid, a professor of political science at the same
university, said: "It's not really a genuine transfer, with this heavy
American military and civilian presence and with a low requirement
that American troops get authorisation before taking any military action."
* Arab reaction
Egyptian Foreign Min Ahmed Maher, asked if it was time for full
diplomatic ties, said: "This is a subject which is not under
discussion now."
He said, however, giving authority to Iraqis would make it easier to
stabilise Iraq, where violence has raged since the US-led invasion in
Mar 2003.
"That's what Egypt desires for the Iraqi people, to provide an
opportunity for them to take control of their own affairs and restore
complete sovereignty," Mr Maher told reporters.
The Saudi cabinet, in a meeting headed by King Fahd, welcomed the
handover in neighbouring Iraq as a step that would allow Iraqis to
rebuild their country.
"We are pleased about the transfer of power in Iraq so that Iraq may
regain its sovereignty," said a statement.
Jordan's King Abdullah II congratulated Iraq and pledged his country's
support for its eastern neighbour, while Kuwait and the United Arab
Emirates voiced hope that the handover would pave the way for a return
of stability.
Syria, another neighbour of Iraq, voiced willingness to "offer support
so that Iraq can achieve the freedom and independence for which Iraq
aspires", Foreign Ministry rep Bushra Kanafani said in a statement.
Mr Kanafani said Damascus, a stern opponent to the US-led war in Iraq,
hoped the handover would allow Iraqis to restore full sovereignty so
they could lead "honourable and prosperous lives after their long suffering".
Bahrain, home to the US Navy Fifth Fleet, voiced hope security in Iraq
would improve.
Qatar, which hosted the command centre for the Iraq war, said the
handover was a "necessary step towards sovereignty" and called for
holding elections on time.
The 22-member Arab League said it hoped the transfer was a step
towards restoration of full sovereignty.
"All we want is...that the Iraqi govt is able to exercise its
sovereignty and authority in a way that acquires credibility," Sec-Gen
Amr Moussa told reporters.
US forces will stay in Iraq as long as needed: Bush
Istanbul (AFP/Reuters). US Pres George W Bush says US forces will
remain in Iraq as long as needed to bring the country to stability.
"Coalition forces will remain under coalition command," he told
reporters after the end of the main session of a NATO summit here.
"They will stay as long as stability of Iraq requires," he said.
Mr Bush was speaking at a joint news conference with Brit PM Tony
Blair, his closest ally in last y's invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.
Mr Bush also said the new interim Iraqi Govt of PM Iyad Allawi may
have to take tough security measures to tackle a violent insurgency
raging in his country.
Asked if Dr Allawi's govt, which took office on Mon 2 days earlier
than expected, might impose martial law, Mr Bush said "He [Allawi] may
have to take tough security measures against Zarqawi -- he may have to".
The US has said Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant, is to
blame for a wave of kidnappings, beheadings and bombings that have
wracked Iraq in the run up to the formal handover of power from US-led
occupiers to an Iraqi govt.
Aussie Iraqis welcome handover
Sydney. Aussie Iraqis -- many of whom live in SYD -- have welcomed
news of the US handover to the interim govt, saying its a new
beginning. The president of the Iraqi Migrant Council of AUS, Kasim
Abood, says the handover is the 1st step to control Iraq's own
resources and more importantly security. "There is no doubt there is
going to be an improvement, we know where are the terrorists, we know
who they are," he said. He says while it remains to be seen if the
Americans keep their promises, it was a problem to be seen cooperating
with the occupying forces. There has also been a call for religious
diversity to be respected in the new govt. Some 10% of Iraqis are
from non-Muslim backgrounds, including Assyrians, Armenians, Chaldeans
and Mandaeans -- who worship John the Baptist. Brian Mubaraki from
the Mandaean Research Centre in SYD says the new Iraq must be inclusive.
Qld firm seals Iraqi air force deal
Brisbane. 2 planes built by an aircraft designer and manufacturer in
Qld have been sold to Iraq's new air force. The Seeker aircraft will
be used for oil, pipeline and border patrol. 2 planes manufactured by
Hervey Bay's Seabird Aviation will be delivered to the S city of Basra
mid-next m. A joint venture will see the aircraft assembled in
Jordan. Member for Wide Bay Warren Truss says the Seekers represent
the rebirth of an air force that will fly in cooperation with
coalition forces in Iraq for the 1st time in almost 2 decades.
Seabird Aviation managing director Don Adams says Iraqi pilots and
engineers are being trained in Jordan to operate the planes. The
planes are fitted with surveillance systems and digital video
recording hardware. The pilots will pass on suspicious activity to
Iraqi and Coalition forces.
US resumes diplomatic ties with Libya
Washington (Reuters). The United States has formally restored its
diplomatic ties with Libya, severed for 24 years, as Pres George W
Bush pledged to work toward a complete normalisation of relations
between the 2 countries.
US Asst Sec of State William Burns said in a statement he had formally
inaugurated the new US Liaison Office in Tripoli and restored direct
diplomatic ties.
"This occurs 24 y after the withdrawal of American personnel and the
closure of the US embassy. ... Libya would be taking its own steps to
establish diplomatic representation in the US," he said.
Mr Burns issued the statement after meeting with Libyan leader Moamar
Gaddafi and other Libyan govt ministers.
In a letter to Mr Gaddafi, Mr Bush hailed cooperation between US and
Libyan experts on scrapping the N African country's weapons of mass
destruction programs, the official Libyan news agency Jana said.
"Pres Bush praised in his letter to brother leader [Gaddafi] that this
continuing cooperation ... will speed up the process of bringing up
bilateral relations to the hoped-for level," Jana said.
Mr Burns handed Mr Bush's letter to Mr Gaddafi during a meeting in
Tripoli on his 2nd visit in 3 m, it said.
The US closed its embassy in Libya in 1980 after attacks on 2 French
missions there.
Relations deteriorated, culminating in the US bombing of Tripoli and
Benghazi in 1986 and the 1988 bombing of a US passenger plane over
Lockerbie, Scotland. A Libyan was convicted of the crime in 2001.
But after decades of enmity, US-Libyan ties have improved greatly
since Tripoli announced on Dec 19 that it would abandon the pursuit of
nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and allow internat'l arms
inspectors into the country.
Missile fired at Israeli town
Sderot (AP). Palestinian militants fired 2 rockets at the Negev
Desert town of Sderot, killing a 50-yo man and seriously wounding 2
people, including a 3-yo girl, Israeli police and rescue workers said.
The rockets -- which landed just a km from PM Ariel Sharon's private
ranch -- landed on a main road in between 2 nursery schools. Sderot,
which is just a few km from the Gaza Strip is often the target of
Palestinian rocket attacks.
Initially, Israel Channel 2 TV reported 2 people had been killed, but
backtracked minutes later. Rescue workers said a 3-yo girl and a
woman were the 2 people seriously wounded in the attack. 7 others were
lightly wounded, rescue workers said.
The homemade missiles were fired just hours after militants carried
out a well-planned operation in the Gaza Strip, blowing up an outpost
and killing one soldier. A short while later, Israel fired missiles at
2 metal workshops in the coastal area.
Palestinian shot in Gaza Strip
Gaza (AFP). A 40-yo Palestinian has been shot dead by Israeli troops
nr a Jewish settlement in the S Gaza Strip. Palestinian and Israeli
security sources say the man has been killed near the settlement of
Morag. A rep for the Israeli military says soldiers had opened fire
at an armed Palestinian who had been seen approaching the settlement.
He is the 4th Palestinian to be killed in S Gaza since the weekend,
during a flare-up of violence that has also left 3 Israelis dead.
Israel hits Gaza targets after Hamas rocket salvo
Gaza (Reuters). Israeli helicopter gunships have hit a Hamas-linked
media office and a metal foundry in the Gaza Strip in apparent
retaliation for attacks by the Palestinian militant group that killed
3 Israelis.
Witnesses said 3 missiles hit the Gaza City premises of al-Jeel, a
pro-Hamas journal, late on Mon. 5 Palestinians were hurt, medics said.
The blast shattered the windows of other press offices in the building.
Minutes later, a 2nd air strike destroyed a metal foundry in nearby
Nusseirat refugee camp, a stronghold of militants waging a
3-and-1/2-yo Palestinian revolt. There were no casualties.
An Israeli military rep said: "Israeli aircraft attacked a workshop in
the Nusseirat camp making weapons used by Hamas," the radical
Palestinian movement.
He also confirmed the earlier Israeli air strike in Gaza City, in
which helicopters targeted "the HQ of an organisation that incites
[anti-Israeli] hatred and is in constant contact with terrorists."
The owner of Al-Jeel, Mustafa al-Sawaf, dismissed the army's charges
as "a pretext to cover up for the continued Israeli crimes [against
Palestinians]".
Mon's strikes came hours after Hamas rockets fired from Gaza into the
Jewish state claimed lives for the 1st time -- a toddler and a man --
in a surge of violence ahead of Israeli PM Ariel Sharon's planned 2005
pullback from Gaza.
On Sun, Hamas and militants from Palestinian Pres Yasser Arafat's
Fatah faction used a tunnel to bomb an army post in central Gaza and
kill an Israeli soldier.
The 2 attacks prompted Mr Sharon to convene security chiefs and plan
retaliation.
Mr Sharon also told a parliamentary committee he was determined to
press ahead with his plan to evacuate all 21 Jewish settlements in
Gaza and 4 of the 120 in the W Bank.
Tamil Tigers halt peace talks
Colombo (ABC, Gina Wilkinson). The Tamil Tiger rebels have told
internat'l peace monitors they will no longer hold talks with the Sri
Lankan army, aimed at upholding the country's fragile 2-yo truce.
The Tigers say the army is still harbouring the rebel's former eastern
cmdr who split from the main Tiger group in Mar. Last wk Colombo
admitted members of the army had helped the renegade rebel, but said
they were acting without govt approval. The rebels say the army and
the govt are capitalising on the split in Tiger ranks to carry out
assassinations and sow confusion. The latest blow to Sri Lanka's
shaky truce comes as a Norwegian envoy flies into the country to try
to revive peace talks, which collapsed more than a y ago.
No trial until 2005 for man accused of being Canada's worst serial killer
Vancouver (AFP). A pig farmer charged with the serial killing of 15
prostitutes in Canada's westernmost province learned that he will not
face trial until 2005.
Prosecution lawyers told a hearing that they need more time to prepare
their case against Robert Pickton before they can name a trial date.
The judge scheduled another hearing for Dec 20 to set a trial date in
Canada's worst case of an alleged serial killer.
Pickton is charged with murdering 15 women on his pig farm in Port
Coquitlam, a suburb 35 km (19 miles) E of Vancouver.
Prosecution lawyers have said they will charge him with 7 additional
murders, while in Jan police announced they had found DNA from 9 more
women on the farm, for a total of 31.
Most of the women were on a police list of more than 60 drug-addicted
prostitutes who vanished from Vancouver's seedy Downtown Eastside
neighbourhood over a 25-y period.
In Feb, 2002, a police task force looking into their disappearance
moved onto Pickton's farm.
Their search for DNA, bone fragments, body parts and personal items
continues as forensic scientists sift through rubble removed from the farm.
Earlier this y, health authorities warned the public that pig meat
from the farm, which Pickton owned with a brother and sister and
operated independently, could be contaminated with human remains.
Unreleased Magna crashes in Adel
Adelaide. South Aussie police are investigating a crash involving a
yet-to-be-released Mitsubishi Magna, which was being driven between
the company's 2 Adel plants. The crash happened last Tue, when next
year's model for the American market collided with another car.
Mitsubishi's corporate affairs manager Charles Iles said the
left-hand-drive Magna was being driven between Mitsubishi's Lonsdale
engine plant and the Tonsley car plant when the accident happened. He
said the car was a version of what will be released on the Aussie
market in the form of a new Magna next y, but was not being test
driven, when it crashed into another vehicle. The drivers of both
cars required treatment, but their injuries were not life-threatening.
Police are investigating the crash.
Antarctic research ship guns for fish poachers
Canberra. An Antarctic research ship has been fitted with machine
guns as AUS steps up its efforts to deter poachers in the Southern Ocean.
The armed patrols will target the illegal trade in patagonian toothfish.
The Hobart-based Aurora Australis has been fitted with 2
deck-mounted 50 calibre machine guns, for use by Customs patrol parties.
Around 40 customs officers are in the final stages of weapons training
and training in the apprehension of illegal poachers.
The Aurora will patrol the region around Heard and MacDonald Islands,
in AUS's economic zone.
Customs officers will soon conduct their final sea trials.
Use of the vessel for patrolling is only temporary.
Customs is planning to lease a permanent patrol boat by the end of the year.
Last y Aussie Customs officials chased a Uruguayan fishing boat, the
Viarsa, for 3 wk before it was apprehended and the crew charged with
illegal fishing.
Trade deficit steady despite favourable conditions
Canberra. AUS is still failing to improve its large monthly trade
deficits, with another shortfall of just under $2 bn in the month of
May. Despite a surging recovery in the global economy, favourable
terms of trade and high commodity prices, AUS remains substantially in
the red on its monthly trade accounts. For May, the deficit on trade
in goods and services is $1.84 bn seasonally adjusted. That is
virtually unchanged on the Apr deficit. A 3% increase in imports has
offset a 3% rise in exports. During the month, rural exports have
jumped 11%, and meat and wool receipts up sharply. Cereals sales are
down. Higher earnings for metal ores minerals and coal are also shown.
Growers uncover "serious flaws" in apple import plan
Canberra. Fruit growers claim to have uncovered serious flaws in
Biosecurity AUS's draft import risk analysis of NZ apples. Apple and
pear growers have been campaigning against a plan to allow the apples
into AUS. They are concerned about the risk of diseases such as fire
blight. AUS's peak apple industry group now says it has evidence of
46 fundamental errors in the analysis. Apple and Pear AUS Limited
says the risk of fire blight is 3 times higher than reported. The
group's Darral Ashton says Biosecurity AUS has known about the errors
since Mar. "How you can get the words moderate and low mixed up?"
he asked. "I'm damned if I know, but that's what they're claiming."
Mr Ashton says he has written to Fed Agriculture Min Warren Truss,
calling for an independent inquiry into the authority. He also wants
growers to be compensated for the loss of time and money in responding
to the flawed report.
Aussie seafarers rescued after collision
Pacific Ocean. 2 Aussies from the Hay district in SW NSW have been
rescued and are in the care of the French Navy after several
treacherous days on the high seas.
John and Kelly Hallows were sailing their yacht between Chile and the
Marquesis Islands when disaster struck.
The voyage was taking longer than expected and John had run out of
critical medication.
They radioed for help and a Greek container ship rushed to the scene
with aid, but as it arrived it collided with the yacht.
The crash knocked Kelly over, breaking her hip -- the boat was also damaged.
For 3 days, the couple was forced to drift at sea, as the French Navy
headed for them.
During that time, amateur radio operators in several countries helped
liaise with the couple, their relatives in W NSW, the French Navy and
a doctor in Hawaii.
Finally they were taken on board for the urgent medical assistance
they both needed.
Union chief seeks tougher regional airport security
Canberra. The nat'l president of the Transport Workers Union wants
the Fed Govt to tighten security measures at regional airports. The
call follows revelations that passengers boarding early morning
flights on small planes are not required to undergo security checks.
Hughie Williams says it is a gaping hole in security that exists at
all regional airports, and is a welcome mat to terrorists. "I'm very
concerned to hear about this really because whether it's the big
airports or the small airports, I think security is absolutely
paramount in these times," he said. "I think it's just not good
enough to allow people when it's outside of hours, where there's no
security checks on planes, I'm amazed to hear about it."
States accused of "double dipping" in public hospitals
Canberra. The Aussie Private Hospitals Association says state govts
are 'double dipping' to make money out of the public hospital system.
Rep Brett Heffernan says the states have been courting private
patients at the expense of those without private health cover.
He says the approach is increasing waiting lists at public hospitals.
"Since the rebate came in we've seen state govts increasingly
double-dipping -- that is, urging more and more private patients into
public beds while public patients are stranded on longer and longer
waiting lists," he said.
"That way what's happening is they're getting paid twice, once by
taxpayers and once by insurance companies."
Mr Heffernan says private patients have made up 20% of the people
admitted to public hospitals over the past 3 y.
He says private hospitals have admitted more than 1/2 a mn patients
over the same period and the situation will get worse if the cost of
private health cover keeps increasing.
"Private hospitals are now mainstream providers of health care in this
country," he said.
"If those people who couldn't afford private health insurance now
landed on the doorsteps of our public hospitals the current public
hospital crisis would be a picnic by comparison."
Researchers home in on asthma vaccine
Perth. 2 Perth researchers believe they are on the brink of finding a
vaccine that could prevent mn of children from developing asthma. The
scientists from the Telethon Institute of Child Health Research say
the anti-inflammatory drug could be used in children under 8 to
stop lungs and airways from becoming asthma-prone, thereby stopping
the disease in its tracks. Researcher Peter Sly says their work is in
danger because the vaccine has been tested in adults for 10 y without
success. "We think that these drugs would have the ability to prevent
the development of asthma in children and stop it from going on to
become the persistent problem it can be in adults," he said.
"Unfortunately the drugs are being tested in adults and they're not
doing very well in adults, as would be predicted, and therefore they're
in real danger of not being tested in children and we may lose them forever."
Howard promises robust [fat?] obesity package
Canberra. PM John Howard will continue his visit to the marginal Fed
seat of Bass by attending a Childhood Obesity forum in Launceston.
While holding back on details, Mr Howard indicated the Coalition will
soon release a new anti-obesity policy to help prevent or overcome the
health disorder. "We need to get people exercising more, we need to
get children playing more sport, we need to stop the drift away from
less physical activity and less sport in schools," he said. "We need
to get people eating better and there are different ways in which the
govt can contribute." Mr Howard says in the end it is a challenge for
parents. "It's parents who determine and set the eating habits of
their children and we will encourage this in all that we do in this
area and it will be quite a bit," he said.
PM launches healthy living program
Hobart (AAP). The Fed Govt has committed $116 mn to a 4-y
program to encourage Aussie children to exercise more and improve
their eating habits.
The building a healthy and active AUS package was announced in Tas by
Prime Min John Howard.
Mr Howard said he hoped it would be a watershed in the process of
encouraging Aussies of all ages to indulge in physical activity and
embrace healthy eating.
"AUS is a paradox when it comes to physical activity. There's nothing
that binds us together as a nation quite like our love of sport, yet
we have alarmingly high levels of obesity, with one in 4 Aussies under
the age of 18 suffering from it.
"The paradox of that sport-loving nation becoming increasingly less
mobile and increasingly more obese is something that today's launch is
designed to challenge."
The package includes $90 mn to establish an after-school physical
activity program for about 150,000 primary school children and $15 mn
for grants to community organisations linked with schools to promote
healthy eating.
"The aim of this program is to bring about a cultural change in the
community," Mr Howard said.
Garrett "learning" about Tas forestry issues
Canberra. The Fed Opp'n is today fending off claims its high-profile
recruit Peter Garrett is not toeing the party line on controversial
forestry issues.
In his former role as president of the Conservation Foundation,
Labor's candidate for Kingsford Smith is quoted in the latest edition
of the Aussie Women's Weekly as being critical of forest practices in Tas.
The PM has seized on the comments, claiming Labor's promise to protect
timber workers' jobs does not wash.
Fed Opp'n leader Mark Latham has dismissed Govt claims.
Mr Latham says the article was written 2 m ago when Mr Garrett was the
head of the Aussie Conservation Foundation, before he joined the ALP.
"If you read the article you can look at the nature of the
exaggerations by the Govt," he said.
"The article that he's written by and large reflects the concerns that
Labor's been raising and the policy direction that we've got for Tasn
forests."
Mr Garrett is quoted in an article describing "carnage in the forests"
of Tas, and criticising the bulldozing and wood-chipping of the
nation's "treasures".
Labor Sen Kerry O'Brien says he has spoken to the former Midnight Oil
lead singer about the issue.
"I have every confidence that he will gather, as he is now, a better
understanding of just what the forest debate means in Tas," he said.
"It's easy to make comments from a position of a lack of info, I think
Peter's learning every day."
Howard offers conditional support for pulp mill
Hobart. PM John Howard has announced his Govt would consider
contributing $5 mn towards the establishment of a pulp mill in Tas.
Mr Howard says he is pleased that Tas's biggest timber company, Gunns,
has commissioned a 6 m study into a chlorine-free pulp mill. The PM
has toured Gunns' Launceston plant on the final day of his 2-day
visit to the marginal electorate of Bass. He says the fed funding for
the $bn pulp mill will depend on the feasibility study which is
expected to be completed in about 6 m. "If that feasibility study
turns out to be positive then the Fed Govt would consider some $5 mn
to the project costs of the development of an environmentally-friendly
chlorine free pulp mill," Mr Howard said. "Now that is dependant on
the rules in relation to the EIS [environmental impact study] and of
course the feasibility study turning out being positive."
Harradine calls it a day
Canberra, After almost 30 years, Independent Sen Brian Harradine has
told his supporters that he will not contest the next fed election.
Sen Harradine says it has been a difficult decision to quit fed politics.
The fed Labor, Liberal and Greens parties are now gearing up for a
fierce contest for the Senate.
The 69-yo senator announced he will not be re-contesting his seat at
the next election, with his term due to end in the middle of next y.
Sen Harradine will step down as the longest serving senator in the
current Parliament.
While he has been strongly urged to reconsider, Sen Harradine says it
is time to spend more time with his family, including 27 grandchildren.
"I've decided that 30 y is going to be enough by the end of my current
term expires and I've decided to then retire at that stage," he said.
PM John Howard has paid tribute to Sen Harradine, saying without his
support much of the Govt's legislation would have foundered in the Senate.
Greens leader Bob Brown predicts his party's candidate will be one of
the 6 senators elected from Tas.
"I think Christine Milne would be elected if Brian Harradine were
standing," he said.
"Him not standing is going to send a lot of his voters who are looking
for a clear strong alternative voice...across to vote for Christine as well."
Sen Harradine says there have been many changes during his 3
decades in the Parliament.
"More centralisation of power and greater influence by bureaucrats,
contractors and what have you over ministers, I suppose it's less
accountable, the ministers are less accountable now," he said.
Sen Harradine says his role in the native title Wik debate was one of
his greatest achievements.
He added there were many key moments during his time in Parliament.
"The Govt didn't want to have the stolen generation and victims of
locked gates able to re-register, I knocked that in the head, the Govt
wanted a sunset clause for 6 y for legislation, I knocked that in the
head, the Govt needed an exemption from the native title registration
on the operation of the Racial Discrimination Act and I knocked that
in the head," he said.
Govt under fire for family payments 'bribe'
Canberra. The Fed Govt has told parents who have been mistakenly
overpaid the $600 per child family payment that they can keep their
unexpected windfalls. Labor says that is a pre-election bribe.
Labor's Families rep Wayne Swan says an email to Centrelink staff
shows normal debt recovery procedures do not apply to over-payments of
the Govt's $600 one-off payment to families. "It seems that you can't
break into Centrelink to hand back an overpayment when it's an
election bribe, yet they put the attack dogs onto you when you've been
innocently overpaid for normal family payments," he said. Families
Min Kay Patterson defends the move. "A decision was made in the
instance of a one-off payment any chance of an error was very small
and that these families have been paid according to the legislation,"
she said. Sen Patterson says families can keep the money but debt
recovery on over-payments for other benefits will continue.
Howard wants family over-payments back
[The PM has contradicted his Minister, who said families could keep
accidental double payments].
Canberra. PM John Howard says he does not accept that people
mistakenly overpaid the Govt's $600 per child family payment should
not have to pay the money back.
That view is at odds with his Families Min Kay Patterson who says it
is only possible to recover the money if a recipient has fraudulently
claimed the payments.
She says if Centrelink has made a mistake in the payments there will
be no attempt to recoup the overpaid amount.
Labor has accused the Govt of using the over-payments as a pre-election
bribe, citing a memo to Centrelink staff discouraging families from
attempting to voluntarily pay back the money.
Mr Howard says he is concerned about the issue and has sought info
about it.
"If somebody is accidentally overpaid they should be encouraged to pay
the money back," he said.
"It sets the wrong tone, now as to why that memorandum was sent in
those terms, I'm seeking info.
"Speaking as PM, I am in favour of people who are overpaid paying back
the over-payments."
Sen Patterson said families could keep the money but debt recovery on
over-payments for other benefits will continue.
"A decision was made in the instance of a one-off payment any chance
of an error was very small and that these families have been paid
according to the legislation," she said.
Community and Public Service Union nat'l president Mark Gepp has
described the payment as a blatant political stunt.
"In their haste they knew that mistakes and overpayments would occur.
That hasn't stopped them. They simply issued an instruction to
Centrelink workers, pay the money, do not seek to raise any of the
overpayments," he said.
Funding threatens Vic underworld trials, prosecutors warn
Melbourne. Lawyers from the Vic Office of Public Prosecutions have
warned Prem Steve Bracks that underworld and police corruption cases
are at risk because of a funding shortage.
In a letter to Mr Bracks, 130 lawyers and support staff say they are
at breaking point, because of a hefty workload, made heavier by a
plethora of police corruption and underworld-linked cases.
The letter says staff are frustrated by long term neglect of the OPP.
The lawyers warn the pressures increase the risk of errors and
potential injustice.
Shadow A-G Andrew McIntosh says the office has obviously reached
crisis point.
"When you get 130 members of the Office of Public Prosecutions just
saying that it is unacceptable the way the Govt has resourced this
office, at a time when this office is becoming increasingly
significant for Victorians," he said.
A rep for A-G Rob Hulls says a 10% budget boost to the OPP was
approved 2 wk ago, amounting to $2.5 mn.
He says concerns over pay scales are being negotiated with the
Community and Public Sector Union, but staff have already received a
3% wage rise, the same as other govt employees.
Yesterday, Vic Police denied funding shortages were responsible for
inadequate security at the home of murdered police informer Terrence Hodson.
An ABC investigation revealed homicide detectives cannot find a
surveillance video which may have identified the person who murdered
Hodson and his wife at Kew last m.
The ABC has also learnt a police technician spoke to colleagues about
the need to upgrade Hodson's surveillance system but the
recommendation was not included in a written report.
Tip searched for mother, baby
Melbourne. Members of the Vic police homicide squad are searching a
tip on the Mornington Peninsula as part of their investigations into
the murder of a pregnant woman and her child. Police from the
Forensic Division have started searching the tip this morning for the
bodies of Anna Kemp and her 2-yo daughter Gracie who went missing in
Mar. The police are being hindered by muddy conditions and the
presence of asbestos. They have marked off a small section of the tip
and plan to dig 2 m down. Anna Kemp's husband John Myles
Sharpe has been charged with murder and will reappear in court in Nov.
Judgement sets investments losses precedent
Melbourne. A Vic court has found a financial advisory service liable
after clients lost around $30 mn on investment schemes. A group of 11
investors was chosen as the test plaintiffs for a class action
involving 200 investors. The Vic Supreme Court heard they were
advised by Commonwealth Bank securities licensee Financial Wisdom to
invest in a range of film, theatrical, agricultural and property
projects, which could be off-set against their tax. But the court
heard the Aussie Tax Office rejected their deduction claims and the
investors lost around $20 mn to $30 mn. Justice Philip Mandie has
found Financial Wisdom liable for the losses and will hear submissions
for damages pay-outs at a later date. Outside the court, a lawyer for
the investors said the judgement could set a precedent in regards to
liability for losses in the investment industries.
Brit scientists seek new Antarctic ice station
London (Reuters). Brit's Antarctic ice station has a design problem
few architects can have envisaged when it was built -- within a decade
it is likely to float away.
The existing base is built on an ice shelf which is likely to break
off into the sea if global warming continues at its current rate.
So now the Brit Antarctic Survey (BAS) has appealed for designers to
come up with a replacement.
Not only will the new 19 mn pound [$35 mn] station have to be able to
operate throughout the y in one of the world's most inhospitable
environments, it will have to be environmentally neutral and
aesthetically inspiring.
So strict are the environmental rules governing Antarctica that all
refuse -- including human waste -- is supposed to be bagged up and
shipped out so no lasting trace is left of outside occupation.
"This is an ambitious project," said BAS director Chris Rapley. "It
will be a fusion of science, architecture, technology and engineering."
The new station will replace BAS' existing Halley facility on the
Brunt ice shelf which is expected to follow much of the ice-bound
continent's sea ice and break away as the world's climate warms.
The existing Halley station is the 5th to be built on the Brunt shelf
since 1956 to study changing weather patterns.
Unlike its predecessors which have simply been swallowed by the ice,
the current Halley is on stilts and is jacked up each y to avoid being
submerged by snow.
A BAS rep said the new station, scheduled to be operational by Nov
2008 in time for the 2008/2009 S hemisphere summer when the staff
quadruples to 60, would probably be built on the remains of the Brunt shelf.
But it will be sited on the landward side of the expected crack in the
shelf, rather than on solid ground.
"It is a relatively simple matter to resupply a station by sea if it
is on the ice shelf. Siting it inland on solid ground would mean
resupply by air which is astronomically expensive," the rep said.
The new station will not only have to cope with temperatures of minus
30 degrees Centigrade and howling gales, but will also have to be able
literally to rise above the regular snowfalls.
A shortlist of design teams expressing an interest by Aug 3 will be
asked to submit concept proposals to the Royal Institute of Brit
Architects, and a winner will be named in Sep 2005.
{{
Midnight.
1 Brit soldier has been killed and other wounded when their convoy
came under attack in Basra.
NATO has agreed to expand its deployment to Afghanistan to more than
10,000 troops to protect the up-coming nat'l elections.
2 am
The US Supreme Court has dealt a stunning blow to the Bush Admin. For
the first time, the court has interfered with the powers of a US Pres
in a time of war, allowing military detainees in Guatmo, Afghanistan
and elsewhere the right of appeal to US courts. The justices said war
was not a blank cheque for Pres Bush.
6 am
Oil prices have hit a 2 m low after the news of the Iraq hand-over.
In NY it fell more than $1 to $US36.24/bbl.
8 am
The Australian newspaper says Centrelink staff have been told not to
track down over-payments of the $600 family bonus.
100s of Vic police are being pursued over unpaid parking fines.
The US has formally restored full diplomatic ties with Libya after 24 y.
7 Iraqi asylum seekers have ended their hunger strike on Nauru.
Aussie police ministers are this wk considering the creating of a
nat'l pedophile register.
10 am
The US Supreme Court has ruled that US courts have jurisdiction to
hear appeals from foreign detainees held as enemy combatants in the US
military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
US lawyers and rights groups have called Supreme Court rulings giving
"war on terror" detainees access to US courts a historic victory
against an Admin that sought to hide inmates away.
The lawyer for an Aussie man detained at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
has welcomed a US Supreme Court ruling permitting judicial appeals
from foreign detainees held as enemy combatants.
The CIA has stopped using interrogation techniques such as "stress
positions," sleep deprivation and denial of pain medication while the
Bush Admin reviews their legality, The Washington Post said on Sun.
Oil prices fell sharply as traders reacted with relief to reports of
the official end of the coalition's occupation of Iraq, 2 days ahead
of schedule.
A Palm Island resident in N Qld says Indigenous people are entitled to
the same rights as other Aussies to get the Fed Govt's family payments
as a lump sum.
Iraq's occupying powers have formally transferred power to an interim
Iraqi Govt 2 days earlier than expected, in a bid to head of an
expected wave of violence.
NATO leaders have tried to put bitter rows over Iraq behind them with
a deal to train the new Baghdad govt's security forces, but France
soured the mood by opposing a formal role for the alliance.
PM John Howard has agreed to look at ways to minimise problems in some
communities where lump sum family payments have been used to buy alcohol.
The Fed Govt has told parents who have been mistakenly overpaid the
$600 per child family payment that they can keep their unexpected windfalls.
Turkish PM Recept Tayyip Erdogan has asked visiting US Pres George W
Bush to charge or free 3 Turkish nat'ls held at the US detention
centre in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
US Pres George W Bush says US forces will remain in Iraq as long as
needed to bring the country to stability.
Midday.
Al-Jazeera says it has a tape that appears to show the execution of a
US Marine. The soldier has been missing for wks. The tape shows a man
in military fatigues -- in a darkened room -- shot in the head. The
US military is cautious about the report. Elsewhere, 2 more Turks
have reportedly been snatched.
Aussie Guatmo detainees Hicks and Habib have won the right to
challenge their detention in the US courts. The Bush Admin had argued
the 600 detainees in Guatmo were technically in Cuba, and outside US
jurisdiction. But the Supreme Court said they must be given their
day in court. Lawyers have immediately started to obtain custody
of Hicks and Habib. The military commissions may be short-circuited,
with lawyers saying they may not now be legally constituted. The US
military says the move will weaken its ability to gain intel.
Activists in AUS have called on the Howard govt to act.
PM Howard has announced a $116 mn program to encourage children to
exercise. New rules will force more exercise during school time. There
will be an information campaign and grants to community groups.
Israeli choppers have launched attacks in Gaza City. Missiles hit a
12 story building. Several people were injured. Palestinians are now
bracing for more counter attacks after a militant rocket attack on an
Israeli settlement killed 2, incl a 3 yo boy.
CBR. New data out today shows May exports were up 3% and imports were
up 3%. The trade deficit was unchanged at $1.84 bn.
London. It's been a tumultuous Shell AGM, but less robust than some
expected. Shell has admitted to "flawed procedures" and "lack of
humility" at the shareholders meeting. Shell's MD Malcolm Brinded
says the company has more to do to fix the problems and it could take
ys. The shareholders revolt was not as robust as expected. Only
10% voted against the exec renumeration package, given the execs the
benefit of the doubt, at least for now.
Oil is down under $US36/bbl. That's seen airlines and retailers up.
The All Ords is up less than 2 pts. News Corp has slipped after the
Aussie Treas OK'ed the company's relocation to the US. Its shares
are down 10 c. In the US, more data showed inflation there is on the
rise. Wall St gained on the Iraq handover news, then fell 15 pts to
the close. The hi-tech Nasdaq ended down 6 pts. In London, the FTSE
closed up 1/2%. In Japan, the Nikkei is down 50. The Hang Seng is
down 16. The AUD is higher at 70.03 US c on a weaker greenback. Gold
is down .52 to $US400.35/oz.
12.30 pm
DW Radio. A journalist says "powerful forces" are hiding Serbian war
criminals in Bosnia. He says he was able to locate Gen Mladic with
little trouble, yet the Serbian secret service says it had been unable
to arrested the wanted war criminal for ys. The Serbian Def Min would
not comment on the report.
8.15 pm
News just coming in. There are reports of explosions on a plane at
Istanbul airport. The aircraft was being cleaned after it landed.
The incident occurred just hrs before Pres Bush was to fly out of the
NATO summit.
Turkey says 3 hostages held by militants in Iraq have been released.
The militant group said it was letting them go as a gesture to Muslims
who demo'ed against Bush in Istanbul.
More rockets have been fired into Israel. At least 1 person has been
injured in the attack.
Land mines continue to be a big problem around the world. Anti-mine
groups and the UN have questioned the usefulness of some mine
clearance programs.
Afghan PM Ahmed Karzei has welcomed the NATO offer to send more
troops. Said send them without delay, he begged. Elections can only
be held if security is improved now.
The IAEA says Iran has designated a site as a former physics
institute. The site has been at the centre of US allegations that
Tehran was developing a secret nuclear weapons program. Iranian
officials said the site was used for military research. ElBaradei
said IAEA inspectors had visited the location yesterday. They had
found rad counters, and took soil samples. The US claims Iran is
hiding a weapons program and wants the IAEA to take the issue to the
UNSC so sanctions can be imposed. ElBaradei says its investigation
will continue and has down-played the prospect of a confrontation.
The BBC says poaching is getting serious in Aussie waters, with the
coast guard deploying machine guns on ships for the first time. 2
ships will be outfitted, and then go out to hunt toothfish poachers.
The Fisheries Min says 1 shipload of poached fish can be worth $A5 mn.
At a stormy meeting Mitsubishi motors has announced a $5 bn rescue
package. Most of the money to come from "phoenix capital". Investors
stood up one after another to question the record of the board and the
new chairman. But the explanations seem to have settled investors.
Shares rose 6% on the Tokyo exchange. The entire board stood in the
AGM and bowed in apology for the harm the company has caused.
9.30 pm
The Iraqi flag is flying over the former coal'n HQ in Baghdad. PM
Allawi says security is his top priority. The US couldn't stop
attacks it in 14 m, but the wave of bombings and shootings continues.
6 people were killed altogether today. 3 US Marines were blown up in
Baghdad. 2 others were wounded. Iraqi Police were targeted outside
the capital. The govt has no control of the mostly US 160,000 troops
in the country.
For the 50,000 Aussie Iraqis, the hand-over brings a ray of hope.
Reps are confident hostilities will soon subside. But a former Iraqi
diplomat now in AUS says there's suspicion of the interim Iraqi govt
by the pop'n. The Vic Iraqi community is warning of the consequences
if internat'l troops are withdrawn too early. The Fed Opp'n says its
position will not change, regardless of any requests from other
countries. The Greens say the troops should come home right away.
Philippines police have arrested 6 people in pre dawn raids. They've
seized explosives and bomb making equipment in a Muslim area of
Manila. Elsewhere, 5,000 opp'n supporters were dispersed with water
canon after a demo.
Tomorrow's Bulletin will publish details of a campaign by Australia's
spy agencies to discredit then-opp'n leader Kim Beazley in the last
federal elections. The magazine says agents were prepared to publicise
a friendship between Mr Beazley and an Indonesian politician as a
"security threat". Mr Beazley says the claims were pure sleeze and
were dealt with at the time. But one of the agents says he will
re-affirm the claims if he can speak under parliamentary privilege.
After losing more than 30, seats the ruling liberals in Canada will
retain power through a minority govt.
Mongolia. Elections have ended in an argument. The opp'n has
apparently won, taking 39 seats -- a 1 seat majority in the 76-seat
parliament. But the former Communist Party is refusing to conceded defeat.
10 pm
Iraq will take over legal custody of Saddam and 11 other regime
officials tomorrow. The group also incl former Dep PM Tariq Aziz and
"Chemical Ali". But the US will retain physical custody. PM Allawi
has promised Saddam will receive a fair trial and will be represented
by a court-appointed lawyer if he can't afford one.
146 Afghanis from Nauru will be allowed into AUS after their cases
were "reviewed" by DFTA, according to Amanda Vanstone. They will be
flown to Australia in the next couple of wks.
Scientists in Asia and China have found bird flu is getting more
dangerous each y. Researchers hope the virus doesn't learn the trick
of human-to-human transmission.
In Peru, the former Intel Min has been found guilty of paying bribes
to TV execs to secure former PM Fujimori's re-election. He's been
sentenced to 15 y. He was already serving 9 y for other offences.
10.30 pm
Pres bush has appealed to the Arab world to see Iraq as a beacon of
freedom. Meanwhile, the death toll in Iraq has risen to 9 in the past
24 hrs. Amb Negroponte has arrived to take up his dictatorship in
Baghdad. He will oversee the biggest US embassy operation in the
world, now ensconced in the Green Zone.
CBR. Tonight, Kay Patterson said Centrelink will contact families,
and if they have been over-paid their $600 family bonus lump-sum, they
will be "encouraged" to pay it back. Prev, the Min claimed Centrelink
would not claw back the payments. According to the Opp'n, about 1/3
of families have received duplicate payments. Patterson said only a
"small number" had received over-payments of the pre-election bonus.
Lib MP Judy Moyland has written to a constituent in WA saying she
regrets the decision of AUS to join the Coal'n of the Willing and to
go to war in Iraq. Her opp'n was widely known before the war.
11.30 pm
The new Iraqi Int Min says the police can win the trust of the
population by fighting terrorism and restoring security. Something the
US had failed to do. He told BBC the interim govt will round up some
of the 30,000 criminals Saddam released from Abu Ghraib. He said
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is not a leader and appeared to indicate he is
not a priority. Near the top of the list is putting a larger number
of police on the streets. That would make Iraqis fell more
comfortable and secure. The Coal'n had made a number of mistakes,
incl allowing criminals to cross the borders. But the number one
mistake was dissolving the Iraqi army. He said Iraqis know how to
deal with security in Iraq.
NYMEX crude is down 80 c to $US35.80/bbl.
}}
----------------------------------------
Wed, 30 Jun 2004.
HEADLINES:
Alleged killer of Aust journalist to soon face trial
Poll: Bush, Kerry even despite Iraq woes
Kurds want autonomy, respect from rest of Iraq
Iraq unrest unrelenting day after handover of power
Iraq enters day one of self governance
Bush misleads about transfer of power in Iraq
Bremer's Exit from Iraq Ends Controversial Tenure
Aussie ambassador 1st in line for new Iraq
AUS, PNG to sign off on aid deal
Afghan refugees to settle into new homes
Aged care keeps pace with demand, report says
Alberta moves a step closer to becoming the only debt-free govt in Canada
Annan delivers Sudan ultimatum
Argentina fed up with US "meddling": minister
Army recalling thousands who left service
Artist wins court battle over risque Barbie photos
Asthma test provides precise diagnosis
Balkan war crimes suspects trying to beat deadline: UN
Bris prepares for Smout funeral
Canada PM shrugs off election hit, to pursue plans
Credit growth continues at breakneck pace
Critics increase pressure on Biosecurity over fireblight
EU leaders appoint Portuguese PM to top job
First drug-driving test trials delayed
First woman pregnant after ovarian transplant
Gaming regulator to investigate casino sex services claims
German police detain man after bomb threat on plane
Govt to expand Medicare
Greenspan warns of US rate rises
Grey nurse sharks face extinction, conservationists warn
High Court upholds block of web porn law
Howard investigates Beazley smear claims
Iranian security guards expelled from US
Labor unveils new coastguard plan
Latham "odd one out" on free trade
More Hamas rockets fired on Israeli town
NATO leaders flew out of Istanbul after a summit
Passive smoking heart risk double earlier estimates
Pentagon names tribunal for Hicks trial
Philippines police foil "bomb plot"
Proposed summit to boost Aust/Asia relations: Downer
Rulings on prisoners would make Founders proud
SA Govt to announce child abuse inquiry
Saddam trial "may not be first"
Sharon in rocket near-miss
Ship dumps acid in Hamburg
Sudan bans protest planned for Annan, Powell
Teachers receive pay increase to match Catholic schools
UN chopper crashes in Sierra Leone
UN to keep Golan Heights peacekeepers in place
US confidence saps Aussie dollar
US finds more suspected mad cow disease
US forms tribunal for 3 terror suspects
US struggles to revive nuclear power industry
Zinifex tops profit forecast
Alberta moves a step closer to becoming the only debt-free govt in Canada
Edmonton (CP). Alberta moved a step closer Tue to becoming the only
debt-free govt in Canada with the release of budget numbers that
showed a $4-bn surplus in 2003-2004.
The province also revealed that its rainy day Heritage Savings Trust
Fund posted a $2.45-bn dollar gain over the same period, the
largest annual increase in its 28-y history. High energy prices and a
strong stock market were behind the windfall for the province, which
has rolled out a string of consecutive $bn surpluses since the mid-1990s.
Finance Min Pat Nelson said the results have allowed the govt to
reduce Alberta's debt to $3.7 bn and bolster spending in key areas.
"We reduced the debt even further and ensured Albertans' priorities in
health, education and infrastructure were supported," Nelson said in a release.
Alberta's debt hovered at $23 bn just a decade ago -- almost all of it
racked up between 1982 and 1992 when oil prices crashed.
In her Mar budget, Nelson said she planned to reduce Alberta's debt
to $2.7 bn in 2005 but also suggested the province could be debt-free
by next spring if high oil and natural gas prices continue.
Prem Ralph Klein, meanwhile, has mused that paying off the debt in
2005 would be a nice legacy.
The last time a province declared itself debt-free was in the late
1960s in Brit Columbia.
The $4-bn surplus is up $800 mn from the 3rd quarter.
Much of that money -- $510 mn -- will be spent on health-care projects.
Overall spending on health and education in the last fiscal y was up
compared with 2002-2003.
Health spending was $7.6 bn, an increase of 10.4%.
Education spending over the same period was $5.9 bn, up 7.1%.
The Heritage Fund rebounded after its investments had taken a drubbing
for y on the stock market.
After transferring $1.13 bn into general revenue, the fund closed out
the fiscal y at $12.4 bn.
"The Heritage Fund was able to take advantage of the recovery in the
markets this y," Revenue Min Greg Melchin said in a release.
"Staying focused on the long-term investment strategy that Albertans
support has proven to be the right course."
Melchin said once Alberta eliminates its debt, the govt will make the
fund inflation-proof to better shield its value.
Alberta's opp'n parties both did their best to rain on the province's
financial parade.
Liberal Leader Kevin Taft said what's the point of such a surplus when
Albertans walk into crowded hospitals and classrooms or walk on
crumbling roads.
"We have a provincial govt that is sitting on buckets of our money and
really failing to manage it effectively in terms of delivering the
services and expectations that Albertans have in their daily lives,"
Taft said.
New Democrat Brian Mason said the Klein govt doesn't deserve credit
for the windfall.
"The financial position of the govt isn't based on the management of
the resources," Mason said.
"It is based on an increase in oil and gas prices."
Alberta's separate sustainability fund, used for short-term spending,
ended the y worth $2.5 bn.
Along with a $230-mn boost in oil, natural gas and other resource
revenues in the 4th quarter, Alberta's surplus was also buoyed by a
higher take of taxes, lottery revenues and health-care premiums.
The province also trimmed spending in various depts by $248 mn.
The Tories are still predicting oil prices will average $26 US a
barrel and gas prices $4.20 per thousand cubic feet over the next year.
The Nymex oil price was around $35.90/bbl Tue, while the gas price hit $6.12.
Greenspan warns of US rate rises
Washington. US Fed Reserve policy-makers have begun a 2-day meeting
which analysts could result in the 1st interest rate rise in 3 y.
Analysts say the Fed Open Market Committee is certain to raise the fed
fund target rate from a 1958 low of 1%, to 1.25 per cent. The
expected rate rise would be the 1st in 4 y. Since Jan 2001, Fed
Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan has cut rates steeply to offset the
popping of the technology bubble in the late 1990s, the Sep 11
attacks, corporate scandals, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Dr
Greenspan has promised to move at a measured pace in returning rates
to normal, but he has also underscored his determination to move
faster, if he has to beat back inflation.
US confidence saps Aussie dollar
Rates speculation has lifted the USD.
Sydney. The Aussie dollar has been hit by surging consumer confidence
in the US and the prospect of rising interest rates sparking a
broad-based rally in the value of the American greenback.
Overnight, the US Fed Reserve's Open Market Committee began a 2-day
meeting which is widely expected to deliver the 1st increase in
American interest rates in 4 y.
Early tomorrow morning, Aussie time, markets believe policy-makers
will announce a fed funds rate of 1.25% -- up from 1%, which has been
the lowest rate since 1958.
Coinciding with the meeting has been the release of figures showing US
consumer confidence at a 2-y high, amid a jobs recovery and broad
economic optimism.
The resulting gains in the value of the American dollar have pushed
the AUD down more than one cent overnight.
After an overnight low of 68.86 US cents, it was still down 0.9 cents
at around 7:00am AEST.
The DJIA gained 56 points, or 0.5%, to close at 10,413 while the
tech-based Nasdaq Composite Index rose 15 points, or 0.75%, to 2,034.
Blue-chip drug makers Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson gave the Dow a lift
while mobile phone chip-maker Qualcomm helped push the Nasdaq to its
highest close in 2 m.
World prices for crude oil continue to slide.
There is relief in the market after the handover of sovereignty in
Iraq and amid indications OPEC members are boosting production.
More supplies have come on stream in Iraq with the repair of damaged pipelines.
And the end of a strike by oil workers in Norway has also eased
concerns about global supply.
This morning, W Texas crude dropped in NY trade to $US35.60 a barrel.
US finds more suspected mad cow disease
Washington (Reuters). A 2nd animal in less than a wk has
preliminarily tested positive for mad cow disease in the US but it
will be re-tested, the US Agriculture Dept (USDA) has said.
The USDA refused to disclose any info about the suspect animal's
slaughter location, age or sex, but said the cattle carcass did not
enter the human food supply.
USDA officials say the Govt's new, rapid tests carry a greater risk of
false positives.
The 1st US case of mad cow disease was diagnosed last Dec in a
Washington state dairy cow.
In response, Japan and dozens of other countries halted purchases of
American beef, valued at about $US3.8 bn annually.
Earlier this m, the USDA stepped up its testing program to detect the
brain-wasting disease, which is believed to be spread when cattle eat
the infected remains of other cattle.
The practice was banned in the US in 1997.
A human variation of the disease has been blamed for more than 130
deaths, mostly in Europe.
The latest test result was "inconclusive" and results from more tests
are expected within the next 4 to 7 days, the USDA said.
Last Fri, the USDA announced that another animal tested preliminarily
positive for the disease also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
The Govt is still waiting for the results of a 2nd round of more
sophisticated testing to confirm if that animal was infected.
Artist wins court battle over risque Barbie photos
LA (AFP/CNN). An American artist has won a $2.5 mn payout from
toy maker Mattel after the company sued him for photographing Barbie
dolls in suggestive positions.
Mattel lost a claim that Utah artist Tom Forsythe had violated its
intellectual property rights and was ordered to pay him damages.
Forsythe, whose satirical Food Chain Barbie series shows an undressed
doll in a blender, says Mattel should have known he was protected by
the US Constitution's First Amendment right to free speech.
"I knew that what I was doing was fair use, I knew that it was a
protected form of speech in the US, where we are allowed to criticise
cultural icons," he said.
"They're selling a piece of empty plastic -- they will go after
anybody who doesn't share their view of the Barbie doll."
The ruling comes as Mattel ramps up publicity for the coming launch of
Barbie's new man, a well-toned Aussie surfer called Blaine, who is
helping her get over her break-up with former beau Ken.
Mattel announced yesterday that the "hot Aussie hunk" is giving the
all-American girl "some tips and tricks from internat'l waters".
Barbie split from her suitor of 43 y, Ken, in Feb, but Mattel had
declined to confirm until yesterday that there was a new man in her life.
"Blaine, the suave new Aussie surfer in the group, caught more than a
few waves when he snagged Barbie doll's attention," Mattel revealed.
Born in 1959, Californian Barbie is sold in 150 countries and raked in
about $5.2 mn for Mattel in 2003.
UN chopper crashes in Sierra Leone
Freetown (AFP). A United Nations helicopter on a routine flight in
eastern Sierra Leone has crashed into a hillside, killing all 24
people on board. A UN rep says the helicopter had belonged to a
Siberian-based air charter company that was servicing UN troops in the
region. She says the aircraft was on a routine morning flight to the
town of Yengema, when it was apparently blinded by jungle thicket and
crashed into a hill. The rep says little is known about the
passengers on board, apart from the 3-member Russian crew. An
11,000-strong UN peacekeeping force has been deployed in Sierra Leone
to help rebuild the W African country after a decade of rebel conflict.
Sudan bans protest planned for Annan, Powell
Khartoum (AFP). Sudanese security services have banned a demo planned
to coincide with visits by US Secretary of State Colin Powell and UN
chief Kofi Annan, a Govt newspaper reported.
"The security authorities have decided to ban any protest or political
gathering, popular or trade union, during the visits," Al-Anbaa
reported, quoting a rep for the intel and security services.
"This decision is taken under the framework of security measures taken
for the visits" by Mr Powell, who was due in Khartoum later on Tue and
Mr Annan who was scheduled to fly in on Wed.
The demo was to be staged primarily to protest alleged "US and UN
double standards" around the world, particularly in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iraq, organisers had said.
On Mon, Foreign Min Mustafa Ismail told reporters that the authorities
had reviewed security arrangements for the visits by Mr Powell and Mr
Annan, but the Govt could not ban Wed's demo.
"The Govt cannot silence the people nor can it ban press freedom. But
we hope that the marches would be civilised ones that reflect the
culture and values of the Sudanese people," he said.
* Rebellion
More than 10,000 people have died in Darfur and more than a mn
been driven from their homes since the rebellion against the
Arab-dominated Govt in Khartoum broke out among indigenous ethnic
minorities in Feb 2003.
Of those, some 120,000 have sought refuge in neighbouring Chad,
sparking fears that the conflict might spill over Sudan's borders.
Washington has threatened Khartoum with sanctions over the 16-mo
conflict, which the UN has labelled as the world's worst current
humanitarian crisis.
Annan delivers Sudan ultimatum
UN. Sec-Gen Kofi Annan has delivered an ultimatum to the govt of
Sudan to ease the plight of more than a mn refugees in its country or
face sanctions. On the eve of a visit to Sudan, Mr Annan has said
Sudan has so far failed to disarm the pro-govt militias who have
killed tens of 1000s of people, and forced 100s of 1000s more to flee
their homes. Mr Annan says it is time to get tough with the Sudanese
govt. More than a hundred makeshift camps are being overwhelmed by
the sheer volume of refugees in Darfur, W Sudan -- disease and
starvation threaten to kill 100s of 1000s of people. The Sudanese
govt is accused of hampering aid efforts and refusing to disarm the
militias who have conducted what UN officials describe as ethnic
cleansing. The Sec-Gen will visit Sudan in the next 2 days to
determine whether he believes sanctions are necessary.
High Court upholds block of web porn law
[The case is Ashcroft v ACLU, 03-218].
Washington (AP). The Supreme Court blocked a law meant to shield
Web-surfing children from dirty pictures and online come-ons, ruling
Tue that the law also would cramp the free speech rights of adults to
see and buy what they want on the Internet.
Technology such as filtering software may better protect children from
unsavoury material than such laws, the court said in a 5-4 ruling.
"Filters are less restrictive" and thus pose less risk of muzzling
free speech, Justice Anthony M Kennedy wrote for the majority.
"They impose selective restrictions on speech at the receiving end,
not universal restrictions at the source."
Numerous software companies market products that parents can install
on a home computer to sift out objectionable material. Filtering
software tries to block Web sites based on preferences set by the user.
The 1998 law, signed by then-Pres Clinton and backed by the Bush
Admin, would require adults to use access codes or other ways of
registering before they could see objectionable material online, and
it would punish violators with fines up to $50,000 or jail time.
It has been on hold during the court challenge on behalf of artists,
bookstores, an online sex therapist, a gynaecological info site and
others. The American Civil Liberties Union argued the law could make
criminals out of anyone who offered racy or explicit material to adults.
The ruling in Ashcroft v. ACLU was the last of nearly 80 cases decided
in a busy court term that ended Tue. The year's marquee cases involving
presidential power to deal with terror suspects were announced Mon,
and for the most part represented a setback for the Bush Admin.
In Tue's pornography ruling, the court majority said that the fed
judge who initially blocked the Child Online Protection Act 6 y ago
rightly found that the law was probably unconstitutional.
"There is a potential for extraordinary harm and a serious chill upon
protected speech" if the law takes effect, Kennedy wrote. He was
joined by justices John Paul Stevens, David H Souter, Ruth Bader
Ginsburg and Clarence Thomas.
In dissent, Chief Justice William H Rehnquist and justices Sandra Day
O'Connor, Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer said the law should be upheld.
The high court tossed the case back to lower courts in Philadelphia,
but the next step was not immediately clear. If the govt chooses to
defend the law, known by the acronym COPA, a trial could provide
fresher info than was available to the Supreme Court, Kennedy said.
"The factual record does not reflect current technological reality --
a serious flaw in any case involving the Internet," he wrote.
Material that is indecent but not obscene is protected by the First
Amendment. Adults may see or purchase it, but children may not. That
is a tricky rule to enforce in the world of the Internet.
Most Web sites, chat rooms and other Internet venues are available to
adults and minors alike.
Congress has tried repeatedly to find a way to shield youngsters from
the Web's dark side without running afoul of the First Amendment.
The justices unanimously struck down the 1st version of a
child-protection law passed in 1996, just as the Internet was becoming
a common means of communication, research and entertainment.
Congress responded by passing COPA, saying the new law was tailored to
go after pornographers or others who place material deemed harmful to
minors within their easy reach.
Although free speech advocates had hoped the court would strike down
the law outright, they said they were pleased with Tue's ruling.
"The status quo is still with us," ACLU lawyer Ann Beeson said. "The
court made it safe for artists, sex educators and Web publishers to
communicate with adults without risking jail time."
Justice Dept rep Mark Corallo denounced the ruling.
"Our society has reached a broad consensus that child obscenity is
harmful to our youngest generation and must be stopped," Corallo
said. "Congress has repeatedly attempted to address this serious need
and the court yet again opposed these commonsense measures to protect
America's children."
Army recalling thousands who left service
Washington (AP). Digging deeper for help in Iraq and Afghanistan, the
Army is recalling to active duty about 5,600 people who recently left
the service and still have a reserve obligation.
In a new sign of the strain the insurgency in Iraq has put on the US
military, Army officials said Tue the involuntary call-ups will begin
in Jul and run through Dec. It is the 1st sizable activation of the
Individual Ready Reserve since the 1991 Gulf War, though several
hundred people have voluntarily returned to service since the
Sep 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Unlike members of the Nat'l Guard and Reserve, individual reservists
do not perform regularly scheduled training and receive no pay unless
they are called up. The Army is targeting its recall at those who
recently left the service and thus have the most up-to-date skills.
"This was inevitable when it became clear that we would have to
maintain significant combat forces in Iraq for a period of years,"
said Dan Goure, a military analyst at the Lexington Institute, a think tank.
The Army is pinpointing certain skills in short supply, like medical
specialists, military police, engineers, transportation specialists
and logistics experts. Those selected for recall will be given at
least 30 days' notice to report for training, an Army statement said.
Vietnam veteran Chuck Luczynski said in an interview Tue that he fears
his son, Matt, who is getting out of the Army after 4 years, will be
called back to active duty as part of the individual reserves. The son
returned home in Mar after a one-y tour in Iraq with the 101st
Airborne Division, and he's planning to start a computer programming business.
"I think that's on everybody's mind right now, that they took their
turn and they would hope everybody took a turn so that a few don't
carry the many," said the elder Luczynski, of Omaha, Neb.
The Army is so stretched for manpower that in Apr it broke a promise
to some active-duty units, including the 1st Armored Division, that
they would not have to serve more than 12 m in Iraq. It also has
extended the tours of other units, including some in Afghanistan.
"It is a reflection of the fact that the [active-duty] military is too
small for the breadth of challenges we are facing," Goure said.
The men and women recalled from the Individual Ready Reserve will be
assigned to Army Reserve and Nat'l Guard units that have been or soon
will be mobilised for deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan, unless they
successfully petition for exemption based on medical or other limitations.
Members of Congress were notified Tue and a formal Army announced was
scheduled for Wed.
Those in the Individual Ready Reserve are former enlisted soldiers and
officers who have some nonactive-duty military service obligation
remaining, under terms they signed when they signed on but who chose
not to fulfil it in the Guard or Reserve.
The Pentagon had hoped to reduce its troop levels in Iraq to about
105,000 this spring, but because of increasingly effective and deadly
resistance the level has risen to about 140,000.
Military officials have said they may need to stay at that level for
at least another y or 2, a commitment of forces that could not be
maintained by the active force alone.
The Army frequently must integrate reservists with its active-duty
forces, but it rarely has to reach into the Individual Ready
Reserve. The Army has about 117,000 people in this category of
reservist; the Navy has 64,000, the Marine Corps 58,000 and the Air
Force 37,000.
The military has relied heavily on Nat'l Guard and Reserve soldiers in
Iraq, in part because some essential specialities like military police
are found mainly in the reserves rather than the active-duty force and
partly because the mission has required more troops than planned.
Reserve troops make up at least 1/3 of the US force in Iraq, and this
m they have accounted for nearly half of all troops killed in combat.
In Jan, Def Sec Donald H Rumsfeld authorised the Army to activate as
many as 6,500 people from the Individual Ready Reserve, drawing on
presidential authority granted in 2001.
Not until May did the Army begin looking in detail at the available
pool of people.
At that point some Army recruiters caused a controversy when they
contacted members of the Individual Ready Reserve and suggested they
would wind up in Iraq unless they joined a Reserve or Guard unit.
Some complained that they were being coerced to transfer into a
Reserve unit.
Poll: Bush, Kerry even despite Iraq woes
Washington (AP). Pres Bush's continued edge over Democrat John Kerry
on leadership skills and battling terrorism is keeping the
presidential race close despite widespread concerns about Iraq, a
bipartisan poll suggests.
The Battleground Poll, sponsored by George Washington Uni, found Bush
and Kerry running even, with 48% each in a 2-way matchup. It also
found signs the public is growing slightly more optimistic about the economy.
Kerry has the advantage with voters on issues ranging from Social
Security and prescription drugs to jobs and fed spending. Bush leads
on handling terrorism and has a slight edge on Iraq and -- in this
poll -- on taxes.
Just over half in the Battleground Poll, 51%, said it's time to give
someone else a chance to be president. Yet Bush continually matches up
evenly against Kerry in many polls.
The reasons for that may be personal.
"The qualities of leadership are driving the vote," said Celinda Lake,
the Democratic pollster who helped produce the survey. "The only issue
driving the vote is Iraq. The other things determining the vote are
personal qualities."
Bush continues to hold the lead he has had for m on strong leadership,
on saying what he believes and on being steady and consistent.
Kerry still has problems with voters on "flip-flopping and steady
leadership," Lake said. Bush's re-election campaign spent more than
$80 mn on campaign ads through the spring intended to raise doubts on
those fronts.
Republican pollster Ed Goeas, who also helped produce the poll, said
Kerry is stronger than Bush only on one of the qualities tested in the
survey -- that he cares about people.
And Bush is now tied on which candidate would do a better job of
keeping America prosperous, after Kerry led in late Mar in that
area. And optimism is growing about the future of the economy 6 m from now.
"Our economic message has been drowned out by other events," Lake
said, referring to Iraq and the funeral of former Pres Reagan.
When the economy was weakest, Bush was seen as stronger on the war in
Iraq and fighting terror. Now that his support for the war is sinking,
his standing on the economy is improving.
The longer the 2 main issues of the election -- the Iraq war and the
economy -- continue to offset one another in public perception, the
more important character issues will become, said Goeas.
The most troubling finding, Goeas said, is the race is so close and
the electorate so polarised that candidates and their campaign
staffers may have little control over what moves voters.
"This is a campaign affected most by major news events," Goeas said.
The poll of 1,000 likely voters was taken Jun 20-23 and has a margin
of sampling error of plus or minus 3%age points.
Canada PM shrugs off election hit, to pursue plans
[OTOH, I've heard Martin saying he'd rec'd the message].
Ottawa (Reuters). PM Paul Martin said on Tue he would not alter his
policies despite suffering a big election blow which ended his control
of Parliament and left Canada with its 1st minority govt for 25 y.
Voters angry over a patronage scandal and generally tired of Martin's
Liberals after a decade in office weakened the party in Mon's vote,
leaving it dependent on a left-leaning rival likely to demand
concessions in return for support.
The New Democrats oppose several aspects of Martin's policy platform
-- in particular his plans to cut the debt-to-GDP ratio and to sell
off Ottawa's stake in Petro-Canada -- but the PM vowed to press ahead.
"I think that what we have got is a stable minority govt... My own
belief is that minority govts can work and that [they] can have
mandates," Martin said.
"I do believe we have a mandate from the people to act on the issues we
set out and we obviously intend to fulfil that mandate," he told reporters.
Martin campaigned on promises to boost spending on health and child
care, strengthen the armed forces and implement the Kyoto accord on
global warming.
Martin said that as required by the Constitution he had already
informed G-G Adrienne Clarkson, Canada's citing head of state, of how
he planned to govern.
The New Democrats of Jack Layton are natural allies of the Liberals in
the 308-seat Parliament. The 2 parties together fall one seat short of
a majority, leaving them vulnerable if other groupings gang up to
defeat the govt.
But a quick election looked unlikely after Layton and Canada's 2 other
opp'n parties underlined they were ready to work with Martin on an
issue-by-issue basis.
Analysts said the inconclusive result pointed to a more free-spending
agenda, in contrast to the previous Liberal program of cutting taxes
and balancing the budget.
"I think generally speaking minority govts have had to spend more and
address more issues, because they need to play to a wider audience,"
said Alan Whitehorn, a political analyst at the Royal Military College
in Kingston, Ont.
He said the Liberals, whose popularity fell after a report showed they
had wasted govt money, could rely on the New Democrats and elements of
the separatist Bloc Quebecois.
This would produce "a more stable minority govt than the Conservatives
would have," he told Reuters.
Minority govts usually last around 18 m but analysts said tighter rules
on campaign finance may make an early election less likely since parties
now rely on govt funding, which will not start flowing until next y.
Layton vowed to act responsibly and said he would try to ensure Martin
stuck to his spending promises. Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe
did not rule out working with Martin.
"I think we can maintain stability, all the while debating each of the
issues on their own merits," said Duceppe, whose party wants to take
French-speaking Quebec out of Canada.
Preliminary results gave the Liberals 135 seats, down from 168 before
the vote. But there will be recounts where the race is close and final
results may not be known till next wk.
An aide to Martin said the results would not formally be ratified
until Jul 19, which he said was the 1st date the PM could announce his
new cabinet. 4 snr ministers lost their seats on Mon.
The opp'n Conservatives boosted their seat tally to 99 from 73, while
the New Democrats won 19 seats, up from 14. There is one independent,
a former Conservative legislator.
The Bloc won 54 of Quebec's 75 seats, but its influence is expected to
be limited because of a likely deal between the Liberals and the New Dems.
The results were a major setback for the Conservatives, who now say
they could cooperate with the Liberals.
"We're certainly willing to go there with an open mind and work on an
issue-by-issue basis," said deputy leader Peter MacKay.
US forms tribunal for 3 terror suspects
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba (AP). The US military has formed a
5-member military tribunal to preside over the 1st trials of terror
suspects held at its naval base in Guantanamo Bay, officials said
Tue. An Aussie and 2 alleged bodyguards of Osama bin laden will be the
1st defendants.
The Pentagon announcement came a day after the Supreme Court ruled
that prisoners at Guantanamo Bay can appeal their detention to
civilian courts.
That ruling was a blow to Pres Bush's stance that the US can jail
terror suspects without judicial review and that the Cuban base was
outside the reach of US courts.
Relatives and advocates are now planning 100s of lawsuits to challenge
the detainees' captivity.
The trials -- of an Aussie, a Sudanese and a Yemeni -- would be the
1st military tribunals convened by the US since the end of WWII.
"This is an important 1st step," Air Force Maj John Smith, a lawyer
who helped draft the tribunal rules, said in a telephone interview
from the Pentagon. "We'd like to have a case tried by the end of the year."
Smith said the trials would be held at the US Navy base at Guantanamo
Bay, where detainees have been held since Jan 2002 and now number
about 600 from 42 countries.
The 1st to be tried will be David Hicks of AUS, Ali Hamza Ahmed
Sulayman al Bahlul of Yemen and Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi of Sudan
-- the only detainees charged to date, and 3 of only 4 allowed
access to lawyers.
The Pentagon did not say who would go first, and said lawyers would be
contacted "in the nr future" about setting a trial schedule.
The men have been charged with conspiracy to commit war crimes and other
offences that carry sentences of up to life imprisonment, the Pentagon
has said, ruling out death sentences for the 3. The tribunals are
empowered to deliver the death sentence if members are unanimous.
The presiding officer will be retired Army Col Peter E Brownback III,
a judge advocate for 22 y and a military judge for nearly 10 y, the
Pentagon said.
Other panel members are 2 Marine colonels, an Air Force colonel and an
Air Force lieutenant colonel, it said. Smith said one alternate also
was named.
Hicks, a 28-yo convert to Islam, is accused of training at al-Qaeda
camps and taking up arms against US-led forces in Afghanistan. Charges
include war crimes conspiracy, attempted murder and aiding the
enemy. His lawyers say he will plead innocent.
The military has charged al Qosi and al Bahlul with war crimes conspiracy,
saying al Qosi was an al-Qaeda accountant and bin Laden bodyguard and
al Bahlul was a bin Laden bodyguard and propagandist for al-Qaeda.
The US govt has maintained that the prisoners at Guantanamo, suspected
of links to al-Qaeda and Afghanistan's fallen Taliban regime, are
"enemy combatants" and not prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions.
But the Bush Admin has come under criticism for holding the detainees
without charge or legal recourse -- in some cases for years. Some
critics argue not all the detainees are connected to terrorism.
Defence lawyers have criticised the military tribunal process as
stacked against them. Last week, Brit's A-G said military tribunals
were unacceptable because they would not provide a fair trial by
internat'l standards.
Smith said Mon's Supreme Court ruling did not affect the tribunals.
"The Supreme Court decision right now doesn't directly affect military
commissions at all," he said. "Everyone would like to move this cases
forward as quickly as possible."
But Tue's move likely was aimed at assuring people that detainees are
not being held arbitrarily following the Supreme Court ruling, said
Neal Katyal, a constitutional law professor at Georgetown University.
"The Admin wants to convey the impression that there is a procedure in
process at Guantanamo," he said.
The military could also have been waiting to see how far the Supreme
Court would go, said Thomas H Lee, a Fordham University law prof and
former Navy intel officer.
"There's nothing in the ruling that says a military tribunal is
inadequate," he noted.
The military lawyer appointed for al Bahlul, Navy Lt Cmdr Philip
Sundel, said he is concerned about time to prepare because he has not
talked with his client for nearly 3 m due to delays in obtaining
security clearance for an Arabic interpreter.
Other defence lawyers plan a flurry of legal challenges based on the
Supreme Court decision.
"We will be filing 100s of cases," said Qatari lawyer Najeeb
al-Nauimi, from a committee of lawyers claiming to represent more than
300 detainees. Al-Nauimi said he is personally representing about 90
detainees and will start filing suits next wk in Washington.
One fed lawsuit already pending in Seattle challenges the lawfulness
of tribunals on behalf of detainee Salim Ahmed Salim Hamdan of Yemen,
who has not been charged.
Among those held are 7 French detainees, 4 Britons and a Swede, whose
govts have been pressing US authorities for their status to be resolved.
German police detain man after bomb threat on plane
Munich (Reuters). A man who made a bomb threat on a Turkish plane
carrying 150 passengers to Istanbul has been arrested after the pilot
turned around and flew back to the airport of the German city of
Munich, police have said.
A rep for the Bavarian police said that no passengers or crew were
injured. He added that no bomb had been found.
Police rep Armin Ganserer told Reuters that a 28-yo Turkish man was
arrested and is being treated in hospital.
"A few minutes after the landing a person threw himself from the plane
and was injured," he said. "That person was the assailant."
The rep for Bavarian police said that the plane, which also had 7 crew
members, had taken off on Tue morning and that a man had made a bomb
threat to a crew member.
Earlier, Bayerischer Rundfunk television had reported that 3 men had
been arrested after special forces stormed the plane at Munich's Franz
Josef Strauss airport.
The broadcasting network reported that the Airbus A320 plane was operated
by the company Freebird and had been in the air for 10 minutes when
the pilot hit an alarm button reporting a hijacking and turned around.
Philippines police foil "bomb plot"
Manila. Police in the Philippines have arrested 4 men for allegedly
planning to launch bomb attacks on the site where Pres Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo will make an inauguration speech later today. Police
initially said the 4 men were arrested in a Muslim community in
Manila, and were believed to be members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
However, nat'l police rep Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao now says
officers have yet to determine whether the men have links with JI.
Police say the men possessed an alarm clock with a wire attached to
the clock's hand, 1.5 kgs of suspected explosive chemicals and a
notebook showing how to make bombs. Manila has stepped up security in
the capital for the ceremonies marking the formal beginning of Ms
Arroyo's 6-y term.
Balkan war crimes suspects trying to beat deadline: UN
UN (AFP). Balkans nations could be helping war crimes suspects escape
justice by delaying their handover to the UN tribunal until it is too
late for them to stand trial, court officials have said.
Carla del Ponte, prosecutor for the UN court for the former
Yugoslavia, asked the UN Sec Council to ensure it would remain in
business until the most-wanted fugitives of the 1990s Balkans
bloodshed were tried.
The Hague-based court and a 2nd tribunal in Tanzania for the 1994
Rwanda genocide are mandated to complete all investigations by the end
of this year, finish trials by 2008 and close their doors no later
than the end of 2010.
"Fugitives and their protective networks are trying to buy time until
2008 in hopes of evading justice, as they believe the time to be tried
in The Hague will soon expire," she told the council.
She called it an "unintended consequence" of the court deadlines,
established to prevent the tribunals from dragging on indefinitely and
at great expense.
Ms Del Ponte asked the council, in "the interest of justice," for a
statement that her court would remain open as long as necessary until
the main suspects were brought to trial.
Bosnian Serbs Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, and Croatian Gen Ante
Gotovina, are the primary suspects still at large.
"How long will it be tolerated that these leaders escape justice?" she
told the 15-nation council.
"It certainly appears that some in the former Yugoslavia think that,
by hiding from arrest, they can wait out the tribunal until it goes
away," said Theodore Meron, chief judge for the tribunal.
He raised concerns that the court might not be able to accommodate
further prosecutions of top-level figures meant to stand trial at The
Hague by the time the deadline expires.
"Those indicted by the tribunals and still at large are playing a
waiting game. The UN should not condone this obstruction of justice,"
said Richard Dicker of Human Rights Watch.
"There is more than enough evidence for the Sec Council to adjust the
deadlines," he said.
Mr Dicker also echoed the appeals of the court officials for nations
to pay up the past-due assessments, amounting to tens of mn of dollars,
so that the tribunals would have the funds needed to complete their work.
"In a court of law, where defendants have the right to their day in
court and to a speedy trial, such resource-driven delays are unacceptable,"
Mr Meron told the council.
"The current financial shortfall of contributions from [UN] member
states has resulted in an unacceptable and disruptive effect on the
work of the tribunal," he said.
"A lack of adequate funds for the tribunal to conduct its trials would
be taken as a lack of commitment on the part of the internat'l
community to the rule of law and to internat'l justice."
Passive smoking heart risk double earlier estimates
London (Reuters). Passive smoking may be much more dangerous than
scientists had thought, researchers said on Wed in new study that is
likely to boost demand for a ban on smoking in public places.
Earlier research into the effects of second-hand smoke had focused on
non-smokers living with smokers. Scientists in Brit studied exposure
to passive smoke by measuring a breakdown product of tobacco smoke
called cotinine in the blood of non-smokers.
They found high concentrations of blood cotinine levels were
associated with a 50-60% higher risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).
Previous studies had estimated the raised risk of heart disease from
passive smoking in non-smokers at 25 to 30%.
"We've studied only people who are non-smokers and seen how their
levels of cotinine, which reflect the amount of passive smoking they
have been exposed to, and then related it to their subsequent heart
disease risk," Professor Peter Whincup, of St George's Hospital
Medical School in London, said in an interview.
"People who were non-smokers but had relatively high levels of
cotinine had a heart disease risk of about 50% higher than those
people who were exposed to low levels," he added in an interview.
Whincup, who reported the findings on BMJ Online First, said the
research provides further evidence that passive smoking has adverse
effects which may have been underestimated in the past.
Supporters of a ban on smoking in the workplace, bars and restaurants
described the findings are further evidence for new smoking legislation.
"The need for a ban on smoking in public places in the UK has never
been better illustrated than by this potentially pivotal study. We
have known for some time that passive smoking was strongly associated
with increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), but this study
strengthens the evidence considerably," Dr Tim Bowker, of the Brit
Heart Foundation which partly funded the research, said in a statement.
"The evidence is now compelling. The govt should not delay any further
in introducing legislation to protect non-smokers from this
unnecessary risk," he added.
Ireland recently became the 1st country to introduce a nat'l ban on
smoking in public places. NY and parts of AUS have taken similar measures.
First woman pregnant after ovarian transplant
Brussels (Reuters). A 25-yo woman has conceived a baby for the 1st
time after having an ovarian tissue transplant, according to reports
released on Tue.
Doctors from the Universite Catholique de Louvain in Brussels removed
and froze ovarian tissue from the unidentified woman before she had
chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma.
She is now 25 wk pregnant.
News of the breakthrough, which gives new hope to other young cancer
patients whose fertility may be damaged by cancer therapies, emerged
at the annual meeting of the European Society for Human Reproduction
and Embryology (ESHRE).
Prof Jacques Donnez and his team "have managed to achieve what no other
team in the world has yet been able to do -- given a young woman, who
underwent cryopreservation of ovarian tissue prior to treatment, the
gift of pregnancy," the university hospital said in a statement.
The scientists are due to present their research at the ESHRE meeting.
It is also due to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, according
to a university spokesperson.
The child was conceived naturally and is due in Oct.
Other teams of scientists have been working on ovarian transplantation
but the Belgian team said they are the 1st to achieve a pregnancy.
4 m after the ovarian tissue was transplanted the woman's ovarian
function was restored.
In an interview with a Belgian radio station, Professor Donnez said,
"She is pregnant. She lives a life which she could never hope she
would have been able to live."
But Dr Kutluk Oktay, a fertility expert at Cornell University in the
US, said more details of the research are needed.
"If you leave women alone, there is a chance of spontaneous recovery
of ovarian function," he told BBC News Online.
"But there is a viable possibility that the pregnancy came from this graft."
A rep for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA),
which regulates fertility treatment in Brit, said the technique is
very much in its early stages.
"But it is something that people need to look at in the future," she added.
Rulings on prisoners would make Founders proud
Op/Ed (USA Today). The US Supreme Court delivered a much-needed
message Mon about one of the bedrock principles of liberty rooted in
the American Revolution.
In this country, unlike Iraq under Saddam Hussein, the govt doesn't
have the right to imprison people indefinitely without having to
justify its actions.
What's more, that rule applies to citizens and non-citizens alike --
even in the current war against terrorism and on US-controlled
territory such as Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
That message will need to be repeated if terrorism again ignites
public passions.
The court's rulings came in a cluster of cases involving men captured
during fighting in Afghanistan or suspected of plotting new terrorist
attacks in the USA. The court rejected the Bush Admin's claims that it
doesn't have to answer to the courts about those it has jailed.
The decisions uphold a legal tradition that stemmed from a backlash
against Brit colonial rule. The Founding Fathers had seen the
injustices that occur when authorities can throw people into jail
indefinitely. In the Europe they and their forebears had left, such
practices had been routine.
So they wrote it into the Constitution. It is called habeas corpus,
the right to have an independent judge review whether a prisoner is
being held without justification. The idea, which originally dates
back to reforms of brutish abuses during the Middle Ages, was to
prevent endless imprisonment without trial and to deter torture.
Amid the public furor that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the
Admin sought to bypass those constitutional safeguards. It claimed the
right as part of the war on terror to hold both US citizens and
non-citizens indefinitely -- without trial, without charge, without
access to a lawyer. Since then, it has repeatedly told the courts to
butt out.
When the cases were argued before the high court in Apr, a lawyer for
the Admin told the justices that nat'l security demanded such
unchecked power as an essential tool in the conflict.
A string of ugly wartime precedents suggests that uncritical
acceptance of that nat'l-security claim can lead to abuse. When
Abraham Lincoln unilaterally suspended habeas corpus during the Civil
War, without Congress' approval, civilians found themselves hauled
before military courts far from the field of battle, even though
regular courts were functioning.
Franklin Roosevelt's internment of more than 100,000 US citizens of
Japanese descent during World War II was upheld by a wartime Supreme
Court, but is now regarded as a deeply embarrassing stain on US
history. In 1988, Congress apologised and agreed to pay reparations.
The court held Mon that Congress gave the Admin the power to detain
suspected terrorists, just not indefinitely.
Congress can surely write new procedures and protections into law if
it chooses.
Meanwhile, Yaser Hamdi, a US citizen captured with the Taliban in
Afghanistan in 2001, can ask a judge to consider whether the govt has
good reason to keep him jailed without charging him.
Jose Padilla, a US citizen arrested at Chicago's O'Hare Airport as a
terrorist suspect in 2002, can refile his suit with every expectation
of obtaining a similar review. And a group of Aussie and Kuwaiti
prisoners who say they have been wrongly held at Guantanamo for more
than 2 y can finally make their arguments in an independent court.
In the war to protect freedom and extend it to others, the Supreme
Court has reminded the nation that liberty doesn't have to be
sacrificed in the pursuit of security.
Pentagon names tribunal for Hicks trial
David Hicks will be one of the 1st to be tried.
Washington (Reuters). The Pentagon has named the officers who will
decide the fate of David Hicks and 2 other Guantanamo prisoners
charged by the US in the 1st US military tribunals since WWII.
The Pentagon formally referred the 3 cases to a single tribunal
comprised of a presiding officer, retired Army Col Peter Brownback
III, and 4 other officers, but did not set trial dates.
"It's an important step. Having the presiding officer will get the
process moving," said Maj John Smith, a military lawyer and Pentagon
rep on the commissions.
US officials say the defendants, Hicks from Adel, Ali Hamza Ahmed
Sulayman al Bahlul of Yemen and Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi of
Sudan, are Al Qaeda members.
Earlier this month, Hicks, a convert to Islam accused of joining Al
Qaeda, was charged with 3 counts: conspiracy to commit war crimes,
attempted murder by an unprivileged belligerent and aiding the enemy.
Al Bahlul and al Qosi, both described as close associates and former
bodyguards for Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, were charged in Feb
with a single count each of conspiracy to commit war crimes.
The Pentagon previously has said it does not plan to seek the death
penalty against any of the 3.
The Pentagon's move came a day after the US Supreme Court decided the
Guantanamo prisoners could turn to US courts to challenge their confinement.
Military lawyers assigned to represent the 3 defendants said the
ruling could bolster court challenges to the legality of the
tribunals, formally called military commissions.
The trials will be held at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
where the United States holds approximately 595 foreign terrorism
suspects, including the 3 defendants.
Col Brownback, a veteran of the military justice system, will contact
lawyers in the cases to set an initial trial schedule, but it likely
will be a m or 2 before trial dates are set, officials said. It was
not decided which defendant would be tried first, they added.
The Pentagon did not identify the other panel members, but said there
were 3 colonels and a Lt Col.
2 m after the Sep 11, 2001, attacks on the US, Pres George W Bush
authorised military commission trials of non-US citizens caught in the
global war on terrorism.
Human rights groups have condemned the trial process established for
the commissions, saying the rules favour the prosecution, undercut the
defence and do not permit independent judicial review. The Pentagon
promised "full and fair" trials.
"All 3 accused are presumed innocent of any criminal charges unless
proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at a military commission," the
Pentagon said in a statement.
The Pentagon said al Qosi was a key accountant for bin Laden and al
Bahlul was a "key Al Qaeda propagandist" who produced videos
"glorifying the murder of Americans." Hicks trained at al Qaeda camps
in Afghanistan, it said.
Mr Bush has designated 3 other Guantanamo prisoners as eligible to be
tried before a military commission.
Saddam trial "may not be first"
Washington (AFP/Reuters). Saddam Hussein could be tried after other
members of his ousted regime, Iraq's ambassador to the US has said.
Saddam will be handed over to Iraqi justice on Wed, 2 days after the
country regained sovereignty from Washington, but US soldiers will
still guard him to ensure he does not escape.
Interim PM Iyad Allawi said on Tue that Saddam and up to 11 top
members of his ousted govt would appear before Iraqi judges to be
charged on Thu, although a trial was still months away.
"I have always believed that the sooner Saddam Hussein was brought in
the courtroom, the better for Iraq", Iraqi ambassador Rend Rahim said.
"We're approaching that trial," she said at a conference called at a
conservative Washington think-tank, the American Enterprise Institute.
"It could happen in the coming weeks, it might start with the trials
of lesser persons, like Ali Hassan al-Majid [known as Chemical Ali]".
She called the trials "a cleansing, reconciliation process" and "a
kind of reverse trauma the Iraqis need to go through".
"It's an important part of working out their legacy."
Saddam would be charged with crimes against humanity for a 1988
massacre of Kurds, the 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the 1980-88
Iran-Iraq war, said Salem Chalabi, a lawyer leading the work of a
tribunal that will try the former Iraqi leader.
French lawyer Emmanuel Ludot, one of a 20-strong team appointed by
Saddam's wife to represent him, said the former president would refuse
to acknowledge any court or any judge.
"It will be a court of vengeance, a settling of scores," Mr Ludot told
France Info radio, saying any judge sitting in the court would be
under pressure to find Saddam guilty.
Mr Ludot said he expected Saddam to say last y's US-led war was illegal.
Kurds want autonomy, respect from rest of Iraq
Sulaimaniya (VOA/AP). Kurdish leaders in Iraq say they are still
seeking guarantees from the new interim govt that it will uphold the
right of Kurdish autonomy in N Iraq, well after the transfer of
sovereignty. Tucked in a valley surrounded by mountains and sharp
ridges, the city of Sulaimaniya in the largely Kurdish NE of Iraq is a
picture of tranquility and order.
To visitors from other parts of Iraq accustomed to a lack of security
and near-daily violence, Sulaimaniya could be mistaken for another country.
Cars move along clean-swept boulevards, obeying traffic lights and
police manning every intersection. Several Western-style cafes and
fast-food restaurants line the streets, catering to crowds of young
Kurdish men and unveiled Kurdish women in western style clothes, who
can be seen eating and chatting late into the night.
Blaring American pop music for its young patrons, the NY Café is a
popular hang-out here. The interior of the restaurant is a replica of
a NY delicatessen. Pizzas and hamburgers are on the menu, as well as
traditional Kurdish and Middle Eastern food.
A cashier at the café, 23-yo Halala Mohammed, says the restaurant
reflects the Kurds' affection for anything that reminds them of America.
Ms Mohammed says the Kurdish people are grateful that the US protected
Kurdish areas for more than a decade.
After the 1991 Gulf War, American and Brit jets began patrolling the
so-called N no-fly zone, aimed at preventing Saddam Hussein's army
from moving against the Kurds.
During his 35-year-rule, Saddam relentlessly persecuted the Kurds,
attempting to wipe out the Kurdish people, language and culture. In
1988, he punished the Kurds for their support of Iran in the Iran-Iraq
war by gassing more than 5,000 men, women and children in the village
of Halabja nr the Iranian border.
But once they were safe from Saddam's regime, Kurds began rebuilding
their towns and cities with funds from private aid organisations and
$mns from the UN oil-for-food program. Kurdish cities within the
no-fly zone, like Sulaimaniya, Irbil, and Dohuq, are now some of the
most prosperous in Iraq.
The head of the political science dept at the Sulaimaniya University,
Albert Issa, says few Kurds now want to give up the autonomy they have
enjoyed for 12 y to rejoin a country whose political future is deeply
uncertain.
"We are living since 1992 a new experience different from Iraq,
starting a democracy here, and we have detached from Baghdad for 12
y," he said. "The new generation here in Kurdistan has been educated
in a relatively democratic spirit and they've studied the Kurdish
language, not Arabic language.
We feel the risk in the future of another wave of Arab nat'lism
against us."
Fearing encroachment from Baghdad, Kurdish leaders have been seeking
solid guarantees from the new Iraqi govt that it will uphold the
autonomous status of Kurdish areas, as enshrined in an interim
constitution signed in Mar.
Earlier this m, the US gave in to majority Shiite Muslim demands to
omit references to the constitution in a UN Sec Council resolution on
Iraqi sovereignty.
That action prompted the top 2 Kurdish political leaders to threaten
to withdraw from the interim govt, boycott next year's elections, and
bar central govt representatives from visiting Kurdish areas.
Iraq's Kurds say if their rights cannot be guaranteed, they have no choice
but to pursue their dream of establishing an independent state -- a
move that Middle E analysts say would not likely be tolerated by neighbouring
countries like Turkey and Syria, which also have Kurdish populations.
It is also a move the US opposes because of the destabilising effect
it would have on the region. For now, many Kurds say they are willing
to give an Iraq without Saddam a chance to succeed, as long as the
Kurdish people can have substantial autonomy.
Between bites of a hamburger at a fast-food restaurant, 22-yo Shadman
Omar says he believes the Kurdish people can be both a part of and
separate from Iraq.
Mr Omar says all Iraqi Kurds want to live under Kurdish rule but to
also live in peace. He acknowledges that may be difficult to do
without establishing good relations with other Iraqi ethnic groups and
asking for their understanding.
Professor Issa agrees that most Kurds do not want to break away from
Iraq. Instead, he says they would be content to be part of a
democratic federalist state. But he warns that there are looming issues
that could determine whether the Kurds stay as part of Iraq or try to secede.
"It depends on the behaviour of the political parties," he added. "It
depends on how we build Iraq. It depends on how the Arabs behave with
the Kurds and how the Kurds behave with the Arabs. You know, every
action has a reaction. If the Arabs behave in a different way or if
the Kurds behave in a different way, of course, we won't have a stable Iraq."
Analysts say how Iraq's new multi-ethnic govt handles the issue of
Kurdish autonomy will be a critical indicator of how successful it
will be in dealing with other issues and holding the country together
in the coming months.
Bremer's Exit from Iraq Ends Controversial Tenure
Baghdad (NPR). Some consider Paul Bremer a diplomatic genius. Others
have called him dictatorial. Bremer left the post of US administrator
in Iraq Mon, leaving behind a mixed record.
Iraq unrest unrelenting day after handover of power
Baghdad (ChannelNewsAsia/AFP). Several Iraqis and 3 US soldiers were
killed on Iraq's 1st full day as a sovereign nation, as the new govt
announced that it was poised to take custody of Saddam Hussein and 11
other captive officials of his ousted regime.
Marking the end of the 14-m US-led occupation, the 1st post-Saddam
govt promptly called to account the former dictator and his aides who
ruled with an iron fist and sent the nation on the disastrous road to
war and internat'l isolation.
PM Iyad Allawi told reporters that Saddam's arrest warrant would be
read out Thu in an Iraqi court.
Ali Hassan al-Majid, blamed for the 1988 gassing of the Kurds, former
deputy PM Tareq Aziz and ex-VP Taha Yassin Ramadan count among those
to be handed over to face arrest warrants.
"This govt has formally requested the transfer of the most notorious
and high profile detainees to Iraqi legal custody," Allawi told reporters.
"If we are to be truly sovereign and in control of our destiny, then
we have to be in charge of those that made Iraqis suffer."
But the announcement also revealed the limitations of Iraq's newfound
sovereignty as Allawi said the detainees would remain under the
protection of the US-led multinat'l force, although Iraqis would also
be guarding the prisoners.
Dampening Iraqi hopes for a new era, the low-level violence that has
terrorised the lives of ordinary Iraqis persisted and claimed at least
9 more lives.
In Baghdad, US soldiers opened fire at civilians, wounding at least
2, after a roadside bomb went off on Haifa Street in the city
centre, an AFP correspondent witnessed.
This came after 3 US marines died early Tue when a bomb exploded in
the capital, the military said. The deaths raised to 632 the number of
US soldiers killed in action in Iraq, according to a Pentagon tally.
A Brit security consultant was killed last wk in the main northern
city of Mosul in an ambush on his vehicle, the Foreign Office said
Tue. That death raised to 17 the number of Brit civilians killed by
insurgents.
In N Baghdad, 2 Iraqi insurgents were killed in an attack on a police
station, an interior ministry rep said.
One policeman was killed and another injured in an attack on police HQ
in the town of Mahmudiyah, 30 km S of the capital.
With police in the firing line again, a snr officer in the northern
oil centre of Kirkuk was targeted by a bomb attack which killed his
driver and wounded 2 of his guards, according to the city's police chief.
And 2 Kurdish peshmerga fighters were killed and 2 others wounded in
Mosul, in the 3rd attack of its kind since Sat in the N metropolis.
Meanwhile, new US ambassador John Negroponte, just arrived in Iraq
after the hasty ceremony Mon to dissolve US overseer Paul Bremer's
occupation Admin, presented his credentials to Pres Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar.
Bremer left Iraq quickly after the low-key handover, pushed through 2
days earlier than expected amid fears of spectacular attacks by insurgents.
Negroponte, who takes the helm of America's largest embassy in the
world, described his mission as "helping Iraq defeat the terrorists
and criminal elements who oppose a free Iraq".
The diplomat vowed to shepherd along the country's aspiring democracy
and help develop the sputtering economy.
His message meshed with that of Iraq's pro-US premier Allawi who vowed
to battle the insurgency in his 6 m in office up to nationwide
elections scheduled for late Jan.
In a positive development, an Islamic militant group, which identified
itself as a faction led by the Jordanian Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi,
released 3 Turkish hostages, Turkish officials said.
They had been threatened with beheading if Turkish firms continued
working for the US military in Iraq.
But insurgents said they had executed US soldier Keith Maupin, who had
been held hostage in Iraq for more than 2 m.
Qatar-based Al-Jazeera said early Tue it had received video footage
purportedly showing the hostage speaking, followed by a man being shot
dead as he knelt with his back to the camera in front of a ditch.
The US military was analysing the tape but was unable to confirm the
claim, a rep in Washington said.
Maupin was the 1st US soldier to be kidnapped since the war in Iraq
was declared officially over in May 2003.
2 other hostages, a US marine and a Pakistani have been threatened
with decapitation by their captors unless detained Iraqis are released
by a deadline of late Tue.
Iraq enters day one of self governance
Baghdad. It is the 1st full day of Iraq's new govt. There has been
sporadic violence but apparently no major attacks in response to
yesterday's surprise handover of power. But there are still questions
this morning about the status of one US soldier. Militants took to
Arab television Mon and said they'd killed him.
No one expects the relative quiet in Iraq yesterday will continue, and
a day after Iraqis took control of the country, different visions for
Iraq's future are playing out on the streets.
Today in a Baghdad suburb, the Iraqi flag went up over what had been a
US military outpost. Yesterday, there were some spontaneous street
celebrations of the surprise transfer of power, but there is also new
violence. Today, an Army Humvee was blasted by a roadside bomb in
Baghdad causing the 1st US death since the handover. Other US soldiers
were wounded.
And in Batavia Ohio, some 200 people gathered in the rain outside the
family home of Matt Maupin. On Mon, on Arab language television,
militants said they'd killed Maupin, held hostage in Iraq since
Apr. The US military can't confirm Maupin's death. Pres Bush
yesterday in Turkey hailed Iraq's return to Iraqis, and pledged
continued US backing.
A central challenge is building Iraq's own defences, but in Ramadi
today, insurgent's car bombed a police station.
With a critical 7 m ahead until the country's 1st post-Saddam
elections, Americans are skeptical it will work. In polls out today
half said democracy in Iraq can succeed, and by 2 to one, Americans
said with Iraq still unstable, yesterday's turnover is a sign of failure.
Bush misleads about transfer of power in Iraq
Op/Ed (The Daily Mis-lead). Speaking at the NATO conference in Turkey
yesterday, Pres Bush said, "15 m after the liberation of Iraq...the
world witnessed the arrival of a free and sovereign Iraqi govt." The
reality, however, is much different.
The same day that US administrator Paul Bremer officially ended the
occupation, US prosecutors refused to abide by an Iraqi judge's order
acquitting Iraqi citizen Iyad Akmush Kanum of attempted murder of
coalition troops. Instead, the prosecutors returned Kanum to the
infamous Abu Ghraib prison, claiming that "they were not bound by Iraqi law."
In the days leading up to his departure, Bremer "issued a raft of
edicts" in an effort to "exert US control over the country after the
transfer of political authority." Specifically, Bremer empowered a
7-member appointed commission "to disqualify political parties and any
of the candidates they support." Bremer also "appointed Iraqis
handpicked by his aides to influential positions in the interim govt"
with multi-y terms to "promote his concepts of governance" after the handover.
Iraq remains plagued by violence and "the primary military responsibility
for fighting the insurgency remains as much in American hands as it
did yesterday." As a result, the NY Times concludes it is "ludicrous
for Admin officials to suggest that America's occupation of Iraq has
now somehow ended."
Aussie ambassador 1st in line for new Iraq
Baghdad (AFP). AUS, the US and Denmark have become the first
countries to send ambassadors to present credentials to Iraq's interim
Pres, just 24 hr after the country regained 'sovereignty'.
AUS's ambassador was the 1st to be officially welcomed by the Iraqi
Pres followed by the US and Danish diplomats.
Aussie ambassador Neil Mules joined his US counterpart John Negroponte,
head of the world's largest American embassy and Denmark's Torben
Getterman in handing their credentials to Pres Ghazi al-Yawar at the
formal ceremony.
"I was delighted to be able to be the 1st ambassador to present
credentials to the new president of Iraq and to have a brief conversation
with him about the future of AUS-Iraqi relations, which we see as
extremely positive," Mr Mules said after emerging from the ceremony hall.
"We talked about the experience of the past year, the kinds of
contribution AUS had made to Iraq ... I reiterated AUS's commitment to
continuing those and we both looked forward to a very bright future."
The event capped a flurry of diplomatic activity, triggered by a
decision to end the US-led occupation 2 days earlier than expected
that prompted the hasty exit of the US overseer in Iraq, Paul Bremer.
Resuming diplomatic ties between Washington and Baghdad after a break
of more than a decade, Sheikh Yawar and For Min Hoshyar Zebari warmly
welcomed Mr Negroponte and a team of 3 snr aides.
"I am very proud to present to you my credentials from Pres George
Bush of the US," Mr Negroponte said.
The ambassador also pledged to help support Iraq as it struggles to
restore stability after y of war and internat'l sanctions coupled with
a violent insurgency that sprung up during the US-led occupation.
Iranian security guards expelled from US
NY. 2 security guards at Iran's UN mission have been expelled from
the United States after reportedly being caught 3 times filming
bridges, tunnels and modes of transport. US officials say the pair
was discovered videotaping in Jun 2002, Nov 2003, and again recently
around NY, finally prompting their expulsion. A rep for the US
mission at the UN says officials were concerned because the guards'
activities were incompatible with their stated purpose for being in
the US. A foreign ministry official in Tehran has said the expulsions
were politically and ethically cheap, and contrary to internat'l
conventions. He has told Iran's news agency the guards had only been
visiting New York's tourist attractions. The United States broke off
diplomatic relations with Iran in 1980 after the US embassy in Tehran
was seized by radicals following the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Alleged killer of Aust journalist to soon face trial
Madrid (Reuters). The suspected killer of an Aussie, Spanish and 2
other journalists murdered in Nov 2001 will face trial soon in
Afghanistan, Pres Hamid Karzai has told Spain's foreign minister.
2 Reuters journalists, television cameraman Harry Burton from AUS and
Afghan photographer Azizullah Haidari, Spanish El Mundocorrespondent
Julio Fuentes and Italian journalist Maria Grazia Il Cutuli of
Corriere della Sera were killed an the attack.
They died when their convoy was ambushed in SE Afghanistan days after
the fall of the country's hardline Taliban rulers.
"Pres Karzai has confirmed to the minister the detention and
confession of the man directly responsible for the death of... Julio
Fuentes and he has told him the trial will be held shortly," the
Spanish foreign ministry said in a short statement.
Mr Karzai met Spanish For Min Miguel Angel Moratinos on the sidelines
of a NATO summit in Istanbul, a rep said.
Last wk a snr Afghan intel official said that a man accused of the
killings was captured nr the town of Surobi some 80 kms E of Kabul by
the Nat'l Directorate of Security.
"A person accused of killing of 4 foreign journalists ... has been
arrested," the Afghanistan's state-run Bakhtar news agency reported
the official saying.
Afghan authorities also said in Apr 2003 they had arrested 5 men on
suspicion of murdering the 4 journalists.
A snr Afghan intel official told Reuters then that the men had
confessed to carrying out the killings.
More Hamas rockets fired on Israeli town
Sderot, Israel (AFP). Palestinian militants have fired 2 salvos of
Qassam rockets at the southern Israeli town of Sderot on Tue, slightly
wounding one person a day after one of the Hamas-manufactured missiles
claimed its first fatalities, security sources said.
During the morning, an Israeli was lightly injured by a rocket that
exploded in the town's industrial zone, while 2 more landed nr the market
area and on the outskirts of a neighbouring kibbutz, causing no casualties.
A 2nd salvo was fired towards the town during the afternoon, but
landed in a field, causing no injuries, they said.
A 3-yo boy and a 49-yo man were killed on Mon in the centre of Sderot,
which lies barely one km from the border with Gaza, when a Qassam
landed nr the entrance to a nursery.
Israeli troops moved into the N Gaza town of Beit Hanun early on Tue,
in an operation that the military said was designed to stop the firing
of Qassam rockets, which are named after Hamas's military wing.
Sharon in rocket near-miss
Sderot (Reuters). A Palestinian rocket has landed about 200 m from
Israeli Prime Min Ariel Sharon, as he was visiting a town in the
country's south.
Mr Sharon travelled to the S Israeli town of Sderot to visit the
family of a 3-yo boy killed in a Palestinian rocket attack earlier
this wk. A 49-yo man also died in that attack.
They were the 1st people to be killed in Israel in a rocket attack in
nearly 4 y of violence.
"We are determined to take extensive action to ensure that what
happened will not be repeated -- not now, before we have moved out of
the Gaza Strip, and not after we leave," Mr Sharon told reporters in Sderot.
As Mr Sharon met with the family and town officials one of the
home-made rockets slammed into the ground about 200-metres from where
they were sitting. No-one was hurt.
Mr Sharon's visit was not announced in advance for security reasons.
Hamas said it had "acquired accurate info" that Sderot's mayor was
meeting "Zionist leaders" and timed the attack accordingly.
The statement was issued hours after the rockets hit and the media had
reported that Mr Sharon had been in town.
Palestinian militants managed to launch the attack despite Israel
sending troops, tanks, and bulldozers into N Gaza to prevent the
firing of rockets.
Witnesses in Beit Hanoun said the makeshift rockets, trailing white smoke,
had streaked over Israeli tanks sent into the area to stop the launchings.
Israeli forces killed a top Hamas cmdr in the N Gaza Strip while
encircling Beit Hanoun and using bulldozers to uproot undergrowth that
could provide cover for rocket squads.
In S Gaza, soldiers shot dead a 14-yo who Palestinian medics said was
standing on the roof of his home. Israeli military sources said troops
fired at a person watching them from an abandoned building used by gunmen.
Despite the Israeli operation in Beit Hanoun, militants managed to
launch 7 rocket salvoes towards the Sderot area during the day,
wounding 2 people.
The casualties have fuelled anxiety in Israel that Qassam rockets
would rain down more heavily once settlers and soldiers left the Gaza
Strip, a key argument of those opposed to Mr Sharon's plan to complete
the pullout by the end of next y.
Hamas said the Qassam strikes "poked out the eyes" of the Israelis.
"God willing, there will be more," said Nizar Rayan, a leader of the
group that wants to destroy the Jewish state.
Israeli political sources said it could be a prolonged raid into Beit
Hanoun, where the rubble of demolished homes and ground scraped clear
by bulldozers mark previous attempts by Israel to stop rocket launches.
"I am sure that after this takeover, the ability to fire Qassams will
be diminished," Israeli Defence Min Shaul Mofaz told reporters.
UN to keep Golan Heights peacekeepers in place
NY (AFP). The UN Security Council has voted unanimously for another
6-month extension for the estimated 1,000 peacekeepers in the Golan
Heights. The 15-nation council has renewed the mandate for the UN
Disengagement Observer Force until the end of this y. The force was
established in 1974, following the Yom Kippur war. It monitors the
disengagement of Syrian and Israeli troops in the Golan, a strategic
plateau captured by Israel in the 1967 6 Day War.
AUS, PNG to sign off on aid deal
Port Moresby (ABC, Shane McLeod). Aussie For Min Alexander Downer
flies to PNG today to sign off on a new bn dollar aid program. More
than 200 Aussie police will take up jobs in PNG as part of the plan.
As well as the police, around 70 other Aussies, including judges,
lawyers, immigration and tax officials, will take up posts in the PNG
bureaucracy. Mr Downer will fly in this afternoon to sign the deal
with his PNG counterpart Sir Rabbie Namaliu. The package has been
stalled for 6 m, with PNG reluctant to give legal immunity to the
Aussie personnel. With the passage of legislation by PNG's
parliament, the bulk of the deployment should be in place by Christmas.
NATO leaders flew out of Istanbul after a summit
Istanbul (AFP). where they offered to help train Iraq's fledgling
army and agreed to send more troops to help Afghanistan hold its 1st
elections since the fall of the Taliban.
Afghan Pres Hamid Karzai attended the final summit session and
appealed to NATO to send extra peacekeepers immediately to help
improve security in his country ahead of the Sep presidential and
legislative ballots.
"The Afghan people need that security today, not tomorrow," he told
heads of state and govt gathered here on the last day of the 2-day N
Atlantic Treaty Organisation meeting.
Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, as well as powerful regional warlords,
could create an atmosphere of intimidation and ruin the elections,
especially in the troubled S and SE, observers have warned.
Alliance leaders agreed at the start of the summit to provide an
additional 3,500 troops for the 6,500-strong Internat'l Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, although not all of the new
units will be in the country.
They also promised to help train Iraq's new army, but the 2 decisions
were overshadowed by news from Baghdad that Iraq's interim govt had
taken over power from the US-led occupation coalition, 2 days earlier
than planned.
After deep divisions over last y's invasion of Iraq plunged NATO into
the worst crisis of its 55-y history, alliance members were keen here
to stress their unity.
US Pres George W Bush hailed the agreement on military training as "a
crucial success for the Iraqi people."
And using NATO-member Turkey and the day-old sovereign govt in Iraq as
models, Bush on Tue urged people in the Middle E to embrace democracy
fashioned in their own image.
"I believe that freedom is the future of the Middle East, because I
believe that freedom is the future of all humanity," he said in a
speech at Galatasaray University on the shores of the Bosphorus strait
that separates Istanbul's European and Asian quarters.
But opp'n from several countries, especially France, to having a
NATO-sponsored operation on the ground in Iraq poured cold water on
hopes of the alliance presenting a fully united front.
"I am completely hostile to an implantation of NATO in Iraq," French
Pres Jacques Chirac told reporters. "I think it would be dangerous,
counter-productive and badly understood by the Iraqi population."
16 of the 26 NATO countries already have troops in Iraq as part of the
US-led coalition force.
But after having opposed last y's US-led war to oust Saddam Hussein,
France and Germany are now refusing to let their soldiers train Iraqis
inside Iraqi territory. Spain too is keeping out.
There was also discord over how exactly the promise to send more NATO
troops to Afghanistan would be made good.
NATO's mission there, its 1st outside Europe, is seen by many analysts
as a test of the alliance's credibility.
Some warn that, if it cannot deliver, Washington may conclude that the
alliance -- set up during the Cold War to counter the Soviet threat --
has outlived its usefulness.
The US wants to use NATO's Response Force, a recently-established
rapid-reaction unit, in Afghanistan but France dismissed the idea.
And German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, whose country already
supplies around 2,000 military personnel to the ISAF, said Germany
would be hard pushed to do more.
Outside the highly-guarded summit conference centre, already frayed
nerves were further set on edge when a booby trapped package exploded
Tue on board a parked Turkish Airlines airliner.
The blast, which came hours before NATO leaders flew out, hurt 3 cleaners.
Some 400 leftist protesters who gathered about a km from the summit
venue were dispersed by about 1,000 riot police, who arrested 10 of
the demonstrators.
EU leaders appoint Portuguese PM to top job
Brussels (AFP). EU leaders have finally broken a deadlock to appoint
Portuguese Prime Min Jose Manuel Durao Barroso as the new president of
the powerful EU executive. Barely 10 minutes into an extraordinary
summit, the heads of govt broke out in ringing applause to hail the
centre-right Portuguese leader as the successor to European Commission
chief Romano Prodi. "This decision by the European Council represents
a great challenge and a real honour to me, which I take as a real
tribute as a Portuguese and a European," Mr Barroso said, vowing to
oversee a "strong" commission. The Maoist revolutionary-turned
conservative statesman is now in line to replace Mr Prodi from Nov 1,
provided he wins approval from the European Parliament at a hearing on
Jul 22. When he does take over, it will be at the head of a 25-strong
commission whose individual members will be nominated by EU member
states. But it will be up to him to assign them portfolios.
Argentina fed up with US "meddling": minister
BA (AFP). Argentine FM Rafael Bielsa has said that Buenos Aires was
"fed up" with the top US diplomat for Latin America, Roger Noriega,
for interfering in the S American country's affairs, after he
expressed concern over demonstrators.
"In all honesty, the Argentine govt is fed up with Mr Noriega's
meddling in Argentina's internal affairs," Mr Bielsa told the local
radio station Del Plata from China, where he is accompanying Pres
Nestor Kirchner on an official visit.
Mr Bielsa identified Noriega as the "high-level State Dept official"
who told 2 Argentine dailies that the US was "very concerned" about
the activities of poor and unemployed picketers who were blocking
roads and taking over the offices of multinat'l firms.
The activists have been staging demos since Argentina's 2001-2002
financial crisis, according to media reports.
Mr Bielsa said he wanted to raise the issue with US Secretary of State
Colin Powell but was not able to, as Mr Powell was travelling to Turkey
for the NATO summit at the time.
He said he had spoken with US ambassador Lino Gutierrez, who
"apologised" for Mr Noriega's remarks.
Mr Noriega, the US assistant secretary of state for W Hemisphere
affairs, also ruffled feathers here in Jan, saying that the United
States was "disappointed" with Buenos Aires's approach to Cuba and
adding that the country has been veering to the left since Mr Kirchner
took office.
Bris prepares for Smout funeral
Brisbane. A state funeral for Qld's last World War I veteran, Ted
Smout, will be held in Bris today. The 106-yo veteran died last wk.
Mr Smout served as a medic on the battlefields of France during the
World War I. He was only 17 when he volunteered. In 1998, the French
Govt recognised his contribution awarding him the Legion of Honour.
The RSL described him as the epitome of the Anzac spirit. Mr Smout's
death means AUS now has just 5 remaining World War I veterans.
Zinifex tops profit forecast
Sydney. Mining company Zinifex is enjoying better-than-expected
results in its first quarter, since listing on the Aussie Stock
Exchange. The company has increased its forecast after-tax profit.
Zinifex was formed to take over the assets of failed miner Pasminco,
including the Port Pirie lead and zinc smelter. The company listed in
Apr and in its prospectus it told investors its forecast profit for
its 1st quarter of trading would be $13.6 mn. Today the company told
the ASX that forecast has been revised upwards by $30 mn, thanks
mainly to higher metal prices.
Credit growth continues at breakneck pace
Canberra. Private sector credit growth remains buoyant in AUS, with
the latest Reserve Bank figures showing a 1.2% rise in May. After a
1.4% surge in Apr, credit growth eased slightly in May, but the annual
growth rate is now more than 15%. Housing credit held firm, with a
3rd consecutive monthly increase of 1.5%, keeping the annual rate
above 20%. Personal credit -- which is mainly made up of credit card
lending - climbed by 1.2%, its biggest rise since Feb. The Reserve
Bank keeps a close eye on credit data when setting official interest
rates. Its next meeting is set down for Tue.
Afghan refugees to settle into new homes
Canberra. A group of Afghan refugees will travel on to their new
homes around AUS today. The 35 refugees arrived in Bris last night
from where they had been held in detention camps in Nauru. The Fed
Govt has approved temporary visas for a total of 146 refugees. The
president of the Hazara Ethnic Society, Hassan Ghulan, says most of
the new arrivals will head to Tas while others will go to SYD, MEL,
Adel and the ACT. "They are women and children and there are some
single men as well as a minor," he said. "Now I found that there is a
minor who will be going to Adel."
Aged care keeps pace with demand, report says
Canberra. The residential aged care sector appears to be keeping pace
with the demands of an ageing population. New data shows an increase
in the number of Fed Govt-funded places. A report by the Aussie
Institute of Health and Welfare says the number of funded residential
aged care places rose from 146,000 to 151,000 over the 2002-2003
financial year. More than 98 out of every 1,000 people over 70 ended
the period funded for either residential aged or community aged care,
a slight increase. The institute's Peter Braun says a Fed Govt
requirement that new places be filled within 2 y has contributed to
the overall trend. "The implementation of that has improved the
situation somewhat so that the rate of keeping pace if you like as the
population ages is assisted by that," he said.
Govt to expand Medicare
Canberra. The Fed Govt will expand Medicare so people with chronic
problems can access allied health services through the program. Under
the changes, if a GP puts a patient under an extended care plan, they
will be able to use the Medicare system for services like
physiotherapy, speech therapy, podiatry and psychology. There will be
no cap on the benefits and it will work in the same way as regular
Medicare services. Health Min Tony Abbott says it is the 1st time
something like this has been available. "It's quite a breakthrough,
it doesn't mean that you can go to your physiotherapist and say I've
got a dodgy back and expect Medicare to pay, but if you're someone
with a serious health problem that are complex and chronic and the GP
thinks you should be on an extended care plan then there is some
access," he said.
Asthma test provides precise diagnosis
Melbourne. Aussie researchers are trialling a new lung test they hope
will change the way doctors diagnose and treat asthma sufferers.
Doctors say the test allows them to measure the severity of the patient's
asthma and treat them using the minimum dose of medication possible.
Bruce Thompson from MEL's Alfred Hospital says the test will eliminate the
guess work doctors have previously used in diagnosing and treating patients.
He is seeking volunteers to join a trial of the test at the Alfred and
says it is a simple process.
"The subject actually inspires a special powder which constricts the
airways, which is a bit like having an asthma attack," Dr Thompson said.
"Then we take some measurements of their lung function to see how much
of a reduction in lung function they've had after they've had the
inhalation of the special powder."
Dr Thompson says he hopes the new test can help doctors with what has
always been a tough diagnosis.
"Asthma's a very difficult disease to diagnose and a lot of the tests
that we have are not very specific to the actual disease of asthma
itself," he said.
"[They] potentially detect changes in airways that may not be asthma.
"The other thing that this test will be very useful in being able to
do is to monitor the disease status of a person once they've actually
been on treatment," Dr Thompson said.
Grey nurse sharks face extinction, conservationists warn
Sydney. There is concern that grey nurse sharks may become extinct if
measures are not taken to protect them.
The Nature Conservation Council (NCC) says there are only 300 of the
sharks left along AUS's E coast.
Council rep Megan Kessler says grey nurses are still being killed.
Ms Kessler says the NSW Govt must establish sanctuaries where the
sharks can escape from constant fishing pressure.
"In the past, grey nurse sharks have been very heavily fished and,
while that's been stopped, there are still occurrences as we've seen
in the past 3 wk where these sharks are being caught and unfortunately
they're still being killed in some cases," she said.
"We need to stop these deaths because all these sharks are valuable,
we have as few as 300 left so you need every one to survive."
The Nature Conservation Council is proposing the no-fishing zone
around Montague Island, off the far S NSW coast, to try and save the shark.
The island has been identified as one of 13 key habitat areas in New
South Wales where the grey nurse sharks congregate to feed and breed.
Tourist and fishing industry groups at Narooma and Bermagui oppose the
idea, saying it will impact adversely on local operators.
Critics increase pressure on Biosecurity over fireblight
Biosecurity is a big issue for apple farmers.
Hobart. Pressure on Biosecurity AUS over its recommendation to allow
the importation of apples from NZ is mounting after claims it
underestimated the risk of fireblight.
Tasn Primary Industries Min Steven Kons says there are fatal flaws in
quarantine measures designed to prevent disease spreading to Tas if
apples are imported from NZ.
Biosecurity AUS says its Draft Import Risk Analysis is correct and it
stands by its recommendation that apples should be imported.
Mr Kons says the Tasn Biosecurity Committee working group found 13
areas of concern in the report.
He says if any of the 3 measures recommended to prevent the
introduction of fireblight breaks down, there would be an unacceptable
risk to the industry.
"All it takes is for the chlorine bleach or the high pressure cleaning
or maybe not spotting the disease coming into country would certainly
cause a breakdown in the phyto-sanitary measures."
Meanwhile, the Goulburn Valley anti-fireblight lobby in NE Vic, has
urged Biosecurity AUS to hand over the NZ apple risk assessment to
another party.
The authority admitted yesterday that it had made some mistakes in
classifying the risk of its import proposal as "low".
The fireblight action committee's chairman, David Jobling, says the
authority has wasted $mns of public and private money.
"They've had 4 y and spent mn of taxpayers' money. It's about time
that they scrapped what they've done, admit that they're not up to the
job and let someone who can do the job properly get in there and do
it," he said.
Teachers receive pay increase to match Catholic schools
Sydney. NSW teachers are to immediately receive pay increases
equivalent to those granted to snr Catholic teachers.
However the State Govt says it will impose trade-offs in the
conditions of executive teachers.
Catholic school teachers supported by their employers received a 12
per cent pay rise plus between 3 and 7.5% for executive teachers.
The state's teachers, opposed by the Govt, received the 12%.
Their case for the executive pay rises was to start at the end of Aug.
Education Min Andrew Refshauge says trade-offs for the pay rises will
happen, despite union opp'n.
"They rejected them. We're going ahead anyway, we don't need the
Industrial Relations Commission to intervene on this," he said.
"This is done through either changing the legislation in regard to the
closed shop or through management prerogative. Principals' jobs will
be open to outsiders and be on 3 to 5-y contracts.
"They will be downgraded rather than losing their jobs if contracts
aren't renewed."
Howard investigates Beazley smear claims
Beazley 'dirt file' claim.
Canberra. PM John Howard has asked for advice about reports 2
Aussie military officers separately tried to smear the then opp'n
leader Kim Beazley in the lead up to the 2001 election.
One of the officers was former Army captain Andrew Plunkett, who has
told the Bulletin magazine Mr Beazley's friendship with an Indonesian
person had brought him to the attention of that country's intel agencies.
The article says Denis Richardson -- the head of the spy agency ASIO
-- examined the matter and found the allegations against Mr Beazley to
be completely false.
Mr Plunkett says he reported his concerns to the office of then
defence minister Peter Reith, but Mr Reith has told the ABC he has no
knowledge of the matter.
Mr Plunkett is refusing to detail his concerns about Mr Beazley for
legal reasons, but says he passed the info he had up through his chain
of command.
"I'd probably think of it a little bit differently than a dirt file
but you could label it that if you wanted," he said.
Mr Howard was asked about the matter on ABC's Lateline program last night.
"I've only just been informed and until I'm fully briefed I don't have
anything to say except to express the view that I've always held Mr
Beazley as an individual in very high regard," he said.
Labor unveils new coastguard plan
Canberra. The Fed Opp'n has unveiled a reworked version of its
coastguard policy, dropping a plan for 3 80-m vessels with heavy guns.
However under the new plan a fleet of 8 smaller, high-speed armed boats
and 3 helicopters would be leased, rather than fully-owned by taxpayers.
If Labor is elected, the coastguard operations would be merged with
AUS's existing customs surveillance agency, and run by the Fed Police.
Opp'n's Homeland Security rep Robert McClelland says the plan is fully costed.
"In terms of the border security threat we believe that threat is
essentially one that a policing role must meet," he said.
"We've got more vessels, faster vessels, they're still going to be
armed and indeed the crew are going to be armed, but they'll be armed
for a police constabulary role as opposed to a military role."
Mr McClelland says the measures also include the posting of sea
marshals at AUS's main ports who could board suspect ships.
"Essentially their role will be to supervise the entry into ports of
those high-risk vessels that may carry fertilisers, petrochemicals or
indeed where there's some intel risk," he said.
"We think it's unsafe to allow potentially dangerous vessels to come
into Aussie ports before there's any sort of security check."
Latham "odd one out" on free trade
John Howard is putting heat on Mark Latham to back the free trade deal.
Canberra. PM John Howard says Fed Opp'n leader Mark Latham should
support AUS's free trade deal with the US now that the US's Democratic
presidential candidate, John Kerry, has backed it.
Sen Kerry made a statement to the US Senate last wk saying he agreed
to support the legislation, which is before Congress.
In AUS, the Opp'n says it will not decide if it will back the
agreement until a Senate inquiry hands down its findings in Aug.
Mr Howard has welcomed Sen Kerry's decision.
"We now have both sides of politics in the US backing this agreement,"
he said.
"Isn't it a pity we don't have both sides of politics in AUS showing
the same level of bipartisanship.
"Now that Mr Kerry has come on board, perhaps the Labor Party will
finally get off the fence and finally take a decision in the Aussie
nat'l interest."
Proposed summit to boost Aust/Asia relations: Downer
Canberra. AUS's FM Alex Downer says the proposed summit between AUS
and ASEAN is a sign of a deep and substantial relationship. Mr Downer
leaves today to attend the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Jakarta
where the Nov summit will be discussed. ASEAN economic ministers have
recommended that the PMs of AUS and NZ should be invited to the E Asia
summit in Laos. AUS expects that the 10 ASEAN foreign ministers will
issue the invitation during talks with Mr Downer in Jakarta. Mr
Downer says this wk's meeting of the security dialogue, the ASEAN
Regional Forum, should back stronger measures to counter nuclear,
chemical and biological weapons. The For Min says he will urge N
Korea to renounce nuclear weapons and re-engage with the internat'l
community. Mr Downer says he will also meet with leading Muslim
representatives in Jakarta to enhance AUS's engagement with mainstream
Muslim groups in Indonesia.
Gaming regulator to investigate casino sex services claims
Melbourne. Allegations some staff at MEL's Crown Casino assisted high
rollers access sex services are to be scrutinised by Vic's gaming
regulator. The allegations were mentioned in court yesterday in a
case involving theft from the casino's premises. Acting director of
casino surveillance, Peter Cohen, says earlier inquiries relating to
the issue showed the casino had not acted improperly or compromised
the integrity of the Casino Control Act. He says he is looking into
the matter again. "We had previously looked at this matter when it
1st came to court," he said. "It 1st had some publicity when it came
to court a couple of months ago, we were satisfied at that time that
it didn't go anywhere towards the integrity of gaming but we will have
a look at what was alleged in court yesterday and whether it warrants
further investigation," he said.
SA Govt to announce child abuse inquiry
Adelaide. The SA Govt will announce an inquiry this afternoon into
the sexual abuse of wards of the state. It has been under pressure
from the Opp'n and Independent MPs, especially since the Govt itself
put pressure on churches to properly investigate sexual abuse
allegations within their organisations. A special meeting of Cabinet
was held at Parliament House last night, in which the Prem Mike Rann
detailed an inquiry. Some key Opp'n and Independent MPs have also
been briefed. Liberal MP Mark Brindal, who has called for an inquiry,
welcomes the Govt move. "It's churlish to split words, if the Govt's
going to give a decent inquiry, good on the Govt," he said. "Maybe I
think they've been a bit slow but again that's churlish -- if they are
going to do it give them credit."
First drug-driving test trials delayed
Melbourne. Equipment problems have halted the roll-out of the Vic
police force's drug-driving testing program. The police plan to use
hand-held devices that test saliva for traces of amphetamines and
cannabis in the 1st Aussie trial of its type. Inspector Martin
Boorman says problems with the devices have delayed the start of the
program for several months, possibly until the end of the year. "We
have a very strict regime in place for testing this equipment, and
making sure it complies with all the necessary operational
requirements we have," he said. "That's taking some time and these
devices come from overseas so there's a little bit of time involved in
getting equipment over and so forth," he said.
US struggles to revive nuclear power industry
Houston (FT). As the US struggles with high oil and gas prices and an
over-dependence on foreign suppliers, Washington is trying to get a
reluctant nuclear power industry to build itself up as an alternative.
The US energy dept is providing incentives to encourage US power
companies to apply for licences to build the 1st new nuclear plants in
25 y. The dept is also considering building a plant of its own.
The 103 operational US nuclear power plants are so old they are being
forced to apply for 20-y extensions on their 40-y operating
licences. Even though they provide 20% of the nation's energy, no
provisions have been made to continue that supply, much less increase
it, once the plants are too old to operate.
A tedious application process, high costs and public resistance have
made utilities skittish about new nuclear power for decades. In 1979,
a partial core meltdown at Pennsylvania's 3 Mile Island -- which
remains the worst-ever US nuclear plant accident -- awakened the
public to nuclear power's danger.
In 1984, public opp'n prevented a completed $5.3bn plant from opening
in NY state. The devastating Chernobyl accident in Ukraine 2 y later
all but finished the debate.
Today Mark Urso, who works in the nuclear services division of
Westinghouse Electric, gives talks on nuclear energy. "Typically, the
only thing they [the public] know or ask questions about are the
nuclear accidents at 3 Mile Island and Chernobyl," he says.
There is another, arguably bigger obstacle than public opinion: the
build-up of nuclear waste. Without an offsite repository, nuclear
plants must store their own waste onsite. And when storage space is
full, the plant can be threatened with closure.
Efforts to set up a nat'l nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain,
Nevada, have been blocked for y by the state's governors and members
of Congress, regardless of party.
Lee Raymond, chief executive of ExxonMobil, the world's biggest
publicly listed oil and gas company, has stated that nuclear has great
potential, especially from an environmental standpoint. But he has
noted that political opp'n makes nuclear power a poor contender for
meeting the rising US energy demand.
"The political reality in the US today would lead to the conclusion
that there will not be any more nuclear power plants built in this
country for a long time," said James A Baker, the former secretary of
state to Pres George H W Bush.
The utilities seem reluctant to prove them wrong, in spite of
improvements in plant safety, mandated by US regulators, lower
operating costs and a streamlined application process.
"No one has ever tried to use [the new process], so there is a lot of
uncertainty about how the process will work," says William D Magwood
IV, director of the energy dept's Office of Nuclear Energy.
The dept has agreed to split costs to get 3 commercial operators to
apply for permits to build new plants on specific sites.
Mr Magwood expects the Yucca Mountain dispute will be settled,
allowing the site to begin receiving waste by 2010. Environmental
concerns over fossil fuel pollution will force nuclear to the
forefront, he says, noting that nuclear waste is contained as solids,
not released into the air. Pres George W Bush has aimed to reduce the
economic growth-carbon emissions ratio by 18% by 2012.
Many believe there is no better option than nuclear power for
environmentally friendly energy. Larry Foulke, president of the
American Nuclear Society, says: "It is unrealistic to think we can
power factories with solar and wind mills."
But David Lochbaum, a nuclear safety engineer at the Union of
Concerned Scientists, believes the US must replace its ageing nuclear
facilities. "We're now headed toward the wear-out phase, and we need
to be on our guard," he says.
Ship dumps acid in Hamburg
Hamburg (Reuters). A tanker carrying 960 tonnes of sulphuric acid has
capsized after a collision with a container ship in the German port of
Hamburg, injuring 11 people, and causing a pollution scare. A fire
brigade rep says 9 dock workers and 2 police officers have been taken
to hospital with burns from acid fumes, while many dead fish have been
seen floating in waters nr where the accident happened. The cause is
not immediately clear, but police say they are investigating the
captain of the tanker. The fire brigade says the vessel's acid tanks
appear to be undamaged. A rep says about 6 tonnes of the vessel's
load has escaped so far, but water measurements show there has been no
major environmental damage.
{{
Midnight.
Observers say prosecutors have had trouble with the paper trail for
Saddam Hussein's crimes. Finding people who will give evidence
against him has also proved a problem.
22 people in Mumbai have been killed by incursions of wild leopards
into the outskirts of the city. The residents are complaining over
official inaction. But environmentalists say people haven't been
playing by Nature's rules.
1.30 am
"That bloody building". Scots are pissed that the new palace for Her
Majesty has blown out to #431 mn. A report into the cost says the
project was operated under the wrong kind of contract and no-one had
overall control over it.
2 am
DW Radio News. On the 2nd day of the NATO summit in Istanbul Pres
Bush has urged the EU to admit Turkey as a member ASAP. It was the
kind of member the group needs now, said Bush, and would put to rest
the idea his War on Terror was a clash of civilisations. This
resulted in angry comment from French Pres Chirac to a group of
students, that membership of the EU was none of Pres Bush's business.
24 people have been killed in the crash of a Russian made MI8 chopper
in Sierra Leone. The UN chopper had taken off from Freetown but
didn't arrive at its destination. It was carrying aid workers and UN
peacekeepers. The UN has 11,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone.
At lest 5 people have been killed in Iraq, N of Bagdad. 2 insurgents
were killed in an attack on a police stn. 3 US Marines were killed
when a roadside bomb exploded next to the convoy they were escorting.
In Karbalah, guerrillas attacked the house of the Chief of Police with
small arms fire. Other reports say insurgents have killed and abducted
US marines elsewhere in C Iraq.
In NY 2 security guards from the Iran Embassy have been expelled from
the US after they were caught filming tunnels and transport
facilities, starting in Jun 20002. The pair have already have left
the country. Officials say the activities of the 2 was "not
compatible with their stated reasons for being in the US". They've
been accused of terrorism. Tehran says the expulsions are
incompatible with internat'l conventions, and said the staffers were
just taking tourist snaps.
War criminal Babic has been sentenced to 13 y for ethnic cleansing.
Babic was a strong supporter of Milosevic. The UN court ruled Babic
was too late in expressing remorse for his actions in the 1990s.
Pak parliament has elected a new PM. Mr Hussein is an ally of Pres
Musharraf. But he's likely to hold onto the post for only a few wks
-- until Fin Min Aziz can take over. Some MP's say Musharraf
manipulated the vote. Hussein was elected with a 190 vote majority.
76 voted for the opp'n candidate.
2.30 am
Kashmir police say they've killed 2 Pakistanis and arrested a dozen
others who were planning an attack on the Indian stock exchange. The
group belonged to Lashkar-e-taiba, say police.
A Dutch woman has been officially named the world's oldest person at
114 yo. She says the secret of longevity is a herring and orange
juice every day.
6 am
Oil is trading at $US35.60/bbl.
In the latest polls, Pres Bush's approval rating has fallen to an
all-time low of 42%. 55% of Americans believe the operation in Iraq
is creating more terrorists.
6.30 am
35 Afghani refugees have arrived in AUS from the Nauru detention camps.
Disgraced former stockbroker Rene Rivkin has sold his SYD home for $16 mn.
NSW gun-owners have until the close of business today to surrender
illegal firearms.
An Aussie spy working at the AUS embassy in the US is to be sent home
for "mishandling classified documents".
[It was later reported the officer left a briefcase containing secret
documents unguarded in an office in the Capitol building].
Analysts are tipping a US int rate hike after a 2 day committee
meeting that starts today.
Saboteurs have blown up an oil pipeline S of Baghdad. The Iraqi govt
has meanwhile announced it will crack down on attacks, and confront
insurgents. The govt says it may impose curfews and enact laws so
dangerous people can be detained.
New US data shows consumer conf is at 2 y highs. Wall St closed up.
The Dow ended up 56 pts to 10,413. The Nasdaq closed up 15 pts at
2,035. In London, the FTSE ended down 6 pts at 4,512. The AUD has
slumped 1 c to 69.00 US c. The greenback is higher on the consumer
conf data and int rate jitters. Gold is down $8.50 to $US492.80/oz.
Oil is down 58 c to $US35.66/bbl. Base metals were broadly lower on
the LME.
7 am
600 firefighters are battling a 24,000 acre fire in AZ, USA.
Philippines police have arrested 4 men who they suspect were planning
a bomb attack on Pres Arroyo's swearing in. They found bomb-making
directions and 1.5 kg of suspected explosive chemicals.
The 1,500 yo Shaolin temple has applied for a trade make to protect
their name in 80 countries. Already the name is attached to
everything from beer to cigarette. Chinese authorities say they've
rec'd 100s of foreign applications to trademark the name. The monks
say they can't perform in some countries under there own name because
it's trade-marked in that country.
The Pentagon has named the 5 officers who will try David Hicks. The
announcement came 1 day after the US Supreme Court said detainees will
have access to civilian courts. The Pentagon said it would like to
have at least 1 case tried by the end of the y. Lawyers say they will
use the Supreme Court decision to challenge the entire military
commission process, which is a hold-over from the 1940s and predates
the concept of court martial.
10 am
Iraq's interim Govt will take over legal custody of Saddam Hussein and
other top Baathist officials on Wed although the US military will
retain physical custody, Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi said.
Turkey says Al Qaeda-linked militants in Iraq have freed 3 Turkish
hostages they had threatened to execute.
3 US marines were killed and 2 wounded when their convoy was hit in a
bomb attack in Baghdad early on Tue, the US military said in a statement.
Midday.
2 Turkish hostages will be freed after their company agreed to stop
working as a US contractor in Iraq.
The 1AC is spending up big in Sadr City in an attempt to pacify
it. Cmdrs say the sections with the most frequent trouble are those
that experience the most frequent power cuts and have the worst
sewage. The US is moving to clean up the streets. And soldiers will
spend up big in the area, reportedly to the tune of $US145 mn. US cmdrs
say people don't tend to shoot at you if you're buying things from them.
A new study shows 2nd-hand smoke is more dangerous than prev thought.
Until now, studies on 2nd-hand smoke have shown mixed results. But
the Brit study of 2,000 non-smokers show the avg risk of a heart
attack increased up to 60% for passive smokers. The study followed
the group for 20 y. Instead of asking how much 2nd-hand smoke they
rec'd, researchers measured a blood by-product of nicotine.
Researchers said they thought an increased risk would be associated
with a large amt of 2nd-hand smoke -- such as "hanging around in a
bar". But the study showed a substantial increases in risk of
smoking-related disease even for people who were regularly near
smokers. It was like being a light smoker, themselves.
6.30 pm
The Israeli High Court has ordered the route of 40 km of the barrier
to be changed N of Jerusalem. The Court said the change was needed to
protect the rights of 35,000 Pals that live in the area. It was
required even at the expense of decreasing Israeli security, the Court
found. Observers say they expected the decision to set the pattern for
other disputes over the route of the barrier.
7 pm
Reuters is reporting Saddam and 11 other US prisoners have been
transferred to the legal custody of the interim Iraqi govt.
Aussie share markets have edged up 1/3% to end the FY. The Dow ended
up 1/2% o'night. The All Ords closed up 17.7% over the FY, 59th of 71
monitored markets by COMSEC. Worse than Japan; better than the US or
UK. The AUD rose 2.2%. Gold was up 13.4%. Oil was up 18.5%. Wheat
was up 8.7%. In other data, credit growth was up 1.2% in May --
making 15.5% pa and the fastest growth since 1989. That's not supposed
to be happening, according to economists. The data has re-kindled
talk of a local rate rise, esp in the context of an expected US rise
tomorrow. Oil closed lower at $US35.60/bbl. The AUD has eased to
68.98 US c.
8.30 pm
BBC. UN peace overseer Paddy Ashdown has sacked 2 snr Bosnian Serb
MPs for the govt's failure to arrest Radovan Karadzic. Funding for
the ruling party has also been restricted.
A Qatar court has found 2 Russians guilty of the car-bomb murder of a
Chechen leader in Doha in Feb.
9 pm
Nearly 1 y after elections 2 major parties have signed a pact in
Cambodia. Hun Sen won the elections last Jul, but failed to win a 2/3
majority. The deal enshrines a power sharing arrangement. Parliament
is expected to start work in Jul. The backlog of leg'n incl a
Cambodian war crimes tribunal. 2 mn died in the mid to late 70s in
Cambodia's "killing fields" era.
The Iraqi govt today re-established the death penalty.
9.30 pm
In Iraq, there have been a flurry of attacks tonight. Nr the Baghdad
airport insurgents fired mortars and rockets at a US patrol. 6 US
soldiers were wounded. There was a car bomb attack in Samarrah, where
Japanese and Dutch troops are deployed. No-one was hurt.
Israeli tanks have sealed off the town of Bait Hanun this evening,
after Palestinian militants shelled a nearby Israeli settlement during
the visit of PM Sharon. Earlier in the wk a 3 yo boy was killed there
when home-made rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel.
An Aussie journalist working for SBS TV has gone missing in
Afghanistan. Her car broke down in a Taliban stronghold on Mon.
UN war crimes officials say Karadzic could be arrested within 24 hrs.
They say they have "info", but wouldn't reveal what it was.
For the first time, the US State Dept is requiring diplomats to learn
how to use automatic firearms. While they won't be carrying firearms
in the new US embassy in Baghdad, the State Dept says the Baghdad-bound
Americans may be required to pick up a gun in an emergency.
Russian oil giant Yukos is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy
tonight, after losing a 2nd appeal against a govt demand for $5 bn in
back-taxes.
10.30 pm
A man claiming to rep the Taliban says the group has captured a
foreign woman and an Afghan man. He couldn't say whether the captive
was an Australian.
11 pm
Oil is 10 c higher at $US35.76/bbl.
11.30 pm
BBC World News. Saddam is to appear in court on Thu to hear charges
against him. The list is likely to incl attacks against Kurds, mass
graves, and charges of corruption.
US Sec of State Powell says security in Darfur must be re-established.
The Sharon govt says it will implement all changes recommended by the
Israeli High Court to the route of the security barrier.
60 Bosnian Serb officials have been sacked. Paddy Ashdown says the
govt has not been able to catch any war criminals. The only ones
caught were by NATO troops, he says. He's frozen the bank accounts of
the ruling Serbian Democratic Party -- the one founded by Karadzic.
The 60 sacked officials incl the Interior Min and snr police.
Environmentalists say the Greek govt has allowed beaches used by sea
turtles to become a "tourist free for all". The sit'n is threatening
the extinction of the loggerhead turtle in the Med, says the group.
Greece is responsible for protecting the largest colony of
loggerheads in the Med.
}}
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