NO, NOT THE OIL! #213 (2/4)

[R Kym Horsell]

UN denounces Israeli-Palestinian violence
UN (Reuters). UN human rights investigators have denounced Israel for
targeted assassinations, excessive use of force and destruction of
homes in the occupied Palestinian territories, while also condemning
suicide bombings attacks by Palestinians.
In a joint statement issued after a week-long annual meeting, about 30
special rapporteurs are urging the Security Council to deploy an
internat'l protection force to stop the "abuses".
The text, which also condemns Palestinian suicide bombings against the
Israeli population, voices "strong concern regarding continuous
violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the occupied
Palestinian territories."
Miloon Kothari, the UN special rapporteur on the right to adequate
housing, says the statement has been provoked by the worsening
situation in the occupied W Bank and Gaza Strip.
"In the last wk alone there have been extrajudicial executions,
Palestinian civilians killed by Israeli troops, confiscation of
agricultural lands, demolition of homes has continued in Gaza and
construction of the annexation wall has continued," he said.
Mr Kothari, an independent expert from India, says the statement is
"unprecedented" because it is the 1st such collective statement by UN
human rights rapporteurs.
"It is very important to have a collective position calling into
question these practices and also calling upon the Sec Council to
authorise an internat'l protection force," he said.
In Apr and May, Israeli forces assassinated Hamas leaders Sheikh Ahmed
Yassin and Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, whose Islamic group is sworn to
Israel's destruction.
"We deplore the practices of the Israeli authorities, including
targeted killings, excessive use of force during military incursions,
arbitrary and long periods of incommunicado detention and torture and
other forms of inhuman and degrading ill-treatment," the statement said.
"Furthermore, we deeply regret the policy of demolition of Palestinian
houses and destruction of civilian property, the massive confiscation
and destruction of land, and restrictions on the freedom of movement."
It notes the disruption to vital sectors, including health, education
and work.
Israel says it has destroyed homes in Rafah in the S Gaza strip to
uncover tunnels used to smuggle weapons from neighbouring Egypt and in
fighting with militants.

Screened US animal positive for Mad Cow
Washington (AP). An animal in the US tested positive in a preliminary
screening test for mad cow disease, Agriculture Dept officials said Fri.
John Clifford, deputy administrator of USDA veterinary services, said
officials learned of the "inconclusive" test result at 5.30 pm
Fri. The carcass is being sent to USDA Nat'l Veterinary Laboratory in
Ames, Iowa, for additional tests. Results are expected in 4 to 7 days.
Clifford declined to identify the animal or its location until testing
is complete, noting that it's "very likely" final testing could turn
up negative.
"The animal in question didn't enter the food chain," he said. "If
positive, we'll provide additional info on the animal and origins."
If the animal tests positive, it would be the 2nd case of mad cow
discovered in the US. In Dec, a single Holstein on a Washington state
farm was found to have the disease, prompting more than 50 countries
to ban imports of US beef. Japan and S Korea, 2 of the biggest export
markets for US beef, still have their bans in effect despite the
efforts of American officials to get them lifted.
The Agriculture Dept this m expanded nat'l testing for the disease in
response to that mad cow scare, leading to Fri's first "inconclusive"
reading in the preliminary test, officials said. More than 7,000
animals so far have been tested under the program, which seeks to
check about 220,000 animals over the next y to 18 m.
The announcement came late Fri and officials sought to downplay the
potential gravity of the preliminary result, which they said wasn't
unexpected given the test's sensitivity. The US' beef trading partners
had been notified and the company was given earlier notice, Clifford said.
"The inconclusive result does not mean we have found another case of
BSE in this country," Clifford said.
"Inconclusive results are a normal component of most screening tests,
which are designed to be extremely sensitive so they will detect any
sample that could possibly be positive."
"The USDA remains confident in the safety of the food supply,"
Clifford said.
Representatives from the US beef industry also sought to emphasise
there was no reason to worry at this initial stage.
"We hope that the US consumers will recognise that the United States
has among the most stringent BSE safeguards in place," said Bill
Bullard, chief executive officer of R-CALF USA, a cattlemen's group.
"We are encouraging the public to recognise that this is an
inconclusive test result."
Mad cow disease -- known also as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or
BSE -- eats holes in the brains of cattle. It sprang up in Brit in
1986 and spread through countries in Europe and Asia, prompting
massive destruction of herds and decimating the European beef industry.
A form of mad cow disease can be contracted by humans if they eat
infected beef or nerve tissue, and possibly through blood transfusions.
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease,
the human form of mad cow disease, so far has killed 100 people in
Brit and elsewhere, including a Florida woman this wk who was believed
to have contracted the disease in England.
The govt last y conducted mad cow tests on tissues from 20,543
animals, virtually all of them cattle that could not stand or walk and
had to be dragged to slaughter. After the nation's 1st case in Dec,
the Agriculture Dept initially doubled the number of animals to be
tested this y to 40,000.
With many foreign govts still reluctant to ease bans on US beef, the
testing program was expanded at a cost of $70 mn to include as many as
220,000 slaughtered animals, following recommendations from an
internat'l scientific review panel. About 35 mn head of cattle are
slaughtered each y in the US.

China 2008 Olympics in midst of graft scandal
Beijing. China's 2008 Olympic Games has been caught up in a graft
scandal. China's top auditor has alleged that money allocated for the
Beijing Olympics has been misappropriated. The Nat'l Audit Office
found the General Admin of Sports diverted more than $22 mn dollars
from the Games since 1999. The money went to new apartments for
staff, and in business investments. China's accounting watchdog
investigated 55 central govt depts and uncovered the rampant abuse of
public money, widespread tax evasion and corruption within local and
central govt and state-owned enterprises.

Jackson judge says fair trial 'difficult'
LA (AFP). The judge in pop star Michael Jackson's child molestation
case concedes that intense media scrutiny has made his chances of
getting a fair trial "very difficult".
The admission from judge Rodney Melville comes as media lawyers
attempt to win access to more explosive details of the case that
prosecutors, defence lawyers and the judge want to keep under wraps.
"I'm being very careful, I'm following the law," Mr Melville said.
"It is exasperating when the individual is known around the world. It
makes it very difficult for the individual to get a fair trial."
The comments come in response to comments from media lawyer Theodore
Boutros, who says a "blanket of secrecy" has been thrown over the case.
Mr Boutros represents a group of media organisations and has made
fresh calls for the release of more documents and details about the
child sex allegations.
Mr Boutros says the public has no idea if prosecutors are treating
Jackson fairly and whether his status as a wealthy celebrity is
affecting the way the run-up to his trial is being handled.
"The time has come in the case to let the sun shine in," Mr Boutros
told the judge.
* Secrecy "boomerang"
He says that the secrecy surrounding the case could come back like a
"boomerang" on prosecutors and defence lawyers.
Mr Boutros has vowed to take his fight to uncover more details of the
allegations against Jackson to a higher court.
"My problem is that the secrecy has gotten worse and worse," he said.
"Both sides have gotten together to create this almost impenetrable
veil of secrecy."
The key document media organisations want access to is the sealed
indictment that formally accuses the 45-yo pop icon of molesting a
12-yo boy at his Neverland ranch last y.
The indictment was handed down by a grand jury in Apr.
Jackson pleaded not guilty to 10 charges, including child abuse,
conspiracy to abduct a child and administering alcohol to the boy in
order to abuse him.
But details of the allegations and the testimony of key witnesses in
the case, including the alleged victim, remain secret.

Court rules Princess entitled to privacy
Brussels. Princess Caroline of Monaco has obtained a landmark privacy
ruling that could affect the rights of the paparazzi around the globe.
The Princess had sought the judgement from the European Court of Human
Rights, after she was photographed skiing, playing tennis and sitting
in a cafe. The court decided that the pictures, which were printed in
3 magazines, violated her right to privacy and should not have been
published. The court said every person, however well known, must be
able to enjoy a legitimate hope for the protection of their private
life. The case has overturned a 1999 ruling in a German court, which
found that as a high-profile figure Princess Caroline had to accept
being photographed while out in public places.

Winds hamper hot air balloon championships
Mildura, Vic. Bad weather has grounded more than 100 hot air balloons
that were preparing to take to the skies above Mildura in Vic's NW
this morning. It is the 1st time the World Hot Air Balloon
Championship has been held in AUS during its 16-y history. The
event's organiser, Kerry Frankle, says despite this morning's practice
session being cancelled, the competition will proceed tonight. "We've
had all the horrible weather in the last couple of days and it's
fining up and it's looking great for the opening ceremony tonight,"
she said. "Some pilots have arrived yesterday afternoon.
"Unfortunately I don't think they will have the opportunity to fly in
the practice session this morning, it's just slightly too windy."
Aussie hot air ballooning nat'l champion Sean Cavanagh says fans will
have a spectacular view when the competition gets underway. "Balloons
will really fill the sky from horizon to horizon," he said.

ALP warns of water deal pork barrelling
The Murray River is to get an extra 500 GL of flow.
Canberra. The Fed Opp'n has raised concerns that the Govt will use a
key element of the new nat'l water strategy for "pork barrelling" in
the lead-up to the election.
Fed, state and territory leaders yesterday signed the agreement in CBR.
It will see an extra 500 GL flow into the ailing Murray River
and provide greater certainty for farmers' water rights.
The Commonwealth will also consider financial assistance for regional
water projects and for farmers who have had their water allocations reduced.
Labor's Kelvin Thomson says there is a risk of "pork barrelling"
before the fed election.
"Money which is spent on restoring the rivers needs to be based around
the science and around good environmental outcomes, not used for
political objectives," he said.
Deputy Prime Min John Anderson says the agreement will have a major
impact on the management of the nation's water.
"That gives people what they need -- the investment certainty," he
said. "They can go to their banks and say here's certainty over the
next 30 y or whatever they need to invest."
Mr Anderson says the money will be wisely spent.
"You probably never convince people of that because we're so cynical,
we're all switched on to who gets a bit of taxpayers' money here -- I
can tell you now the focus will be on a bit of justice for some people
who have copped a very raw deal," he said.

The Murray River is to get an extra 500 GL of flow.
Debate flows over nat'l water plan
Canberra. Dep PM John Anderson says yesterday's nat'l water deal will
be as important for farmers as land title was in the 1800s.
The Fed Govt has struck a historic $500 mn deal with the states to
return water from irrigation to the country's stressed rivers,
starting with the Murray Darling.
The agreement commits to sending an additional 500 GL of water
down the Murray River and includes a $500 mn funding agreement and a
nat'l trading system for water.
The deal was signed at yesterday's Council of Aussie Govts (COAG) meeting.
Mr Anderson, who is also the Nat'l Party leader, has told delegates at
the party's annual New S Wales conference that the deal provides
certainty and security for farmers.
"They have what they need now to plan and invest with security, and to
take it forward with their banks," Mr Anderson said.
Gary Jones, the head of the Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater
Ecology, has backed yesterday's agreement, saying tackling the
country's dwindling water resources needs to be a priority for all govts.
* First step
Prof Jones says the agreement is a good 1st step.
"[I'm] really pleased to see that the majority of states and Commonwealth
have signed off on this and we can start moving forward," he said.
"I guess we'd like to see a bit more money on the table from the
Commonwealth as well but hopefully the states will keep the
negotiations happening."
Professor Jones says it is disappointing W AUS has not signed up to
the deal.
"They'll have their own reasons for doing that and I'm not familiar
with all the issues in W AUS but we do hope that we can get a nat'l
approach," he said.
WA's rejection of the deal has angered PM John Howard, who calls it
petty and foolish.
However, the Greens have supported Prem Geoff Gallop's decision.
* Wider debate
Dr Gallop says there is nothing in the deal for W AUS. WA Greens MLC
Dee Margetts agrees.
She says his actions should spark a wider debate about the
effectiveness of the strategy.
"We all have an obligation to work in the right direction, to work
towards a more sustainable water future," she said.
"But we now have to ask the serious questions about whether the COAG
reforms are going to take us in that direction."
Despite Dr Gallop's opp'n, SA, Qld, Vic and NSW are happy with the
water plan.
South Aussie Prem Mike Rann believes the agreement is the best case
scenario he was hoping for.
Mr Rann says the deal delivers important initiatives to improve
conditions for both Adel residents and farmers.
* Water trading
"We've also introduced a new mechanisms for water trading, which is
what farmers in SA have been wanting for a long time," he said.
"[It] also for the 1st time guarantees of future compensation is the
scientific research lead to reductions in allocations to irrigators
and farmers."
SA Farmers Federation president John Lush agrees.
"I think its good news for SA... [better] water quality and it looks
like irrigators only have to give up 3% of the water to attain that,"
Mr Lush said.
"I actually think they will be better off."
But Qld Greens leader Drew Hutton says landholders are the only ones
who will benefit from the plan.
"The water resources from the Murray Darling basin have been
privatised," Mr Hutton said.
"We've got a privatisation of the water resources, this public
resource is now basically in private hands.
"We've got no extra water going in the Murray system. It's not a win
for the environment this whole agreement."

ACF urges states to go it alone on green energy
Environmentalists say Fed Govt energy plans are not green enough.
Canberra. The Aussie Conservation Foundation (ACF) is calling on
state and territory energy ministers to reject the Fed Govt's energy
statement in favour of a state-based response to climate change.
State and territory energy ministers are meeting today in a show of
support for the renewable energy sector.
There are fears that the sector's growth will grind to a halt within
ys under the fed plan, which provides funding for research on clean
power technology but does not lift renewable energy targets.
The mandatory renewable energy target for 2010 will stay capped at
9,500 GW hr.
The foundation's John Connor says the Fed Govt's plans fail to protect
nat'l treasures like the Great Barrier Reef and Kakadu.
"That is the consequence of not moving fast enough or seriously enough
on greenhouse pollution," he said.
"The Fed Govt's neither joining the community of nations or taking
action on that to the Kyoto protocol nor doing enough domestically to
reduce green house emissions in the time frame we need."
The foundation is asking the state ministers to agree to a number of
measures as a step towards a state-based response to climate control.
Mr Connor says the Fed Govt's plan is short-sighted.
"It's up to the states to show some nat'l leadership here, to actually
get in behind Kyoto protocol," he said.
"To set a nat'l target and road map percentage to cutting pollution
and green house emissions and some state driven programs on emissions
energy and trading."
Currently, 60% of AUS's renewable energy is produced in Tas but
expansion plans are now in doubt.
Tas's Energy Min, Bryan Green, says it is a nat'l concern.
"The other states are interested because they've got developments happening
in their own states," he said. "People are keen to see those go ahead."
Vic'n Energy Min Theo Theophanous says the states will focus on
developing a responsible alternative to the Fed Govt's plan.
"The failure to address our nat'l or internat'l obligations to reduce
our emissions is a serious blow to those who believe we should abide
by these internat'l obligations," Mr Theophanous said.

Garrett to address Young Labor conference
Canberra. Peter Garrett will address aspiring Labor politicians,
sitting members and candidates in CBR this weekend, as a speaker at the
nat'l Young Labor conference. More than 100 delegates will discuss
everything from youth wages through to policies on immigration and
defence. Nat'l president Alex Dighton says it is a coup to have the
former rock singer, who recently joined the party, address the
conference. "We're really pleased to have Peter coming to talk to
Young Labor members," he said. "It shows he's very committed to
talking to members of the Labor Party and particularly young people."
The Young Labor conference will also consider motions on the
environment, health and foreign affairs. Mr Dighton says some of the
topics may surprise snr ALP members. "We've got a number of issues on
the agenda [not all] of which will not be in line with the fed Labor
Party," he said. "Others will definitely line up with Mark Latham's
vision for AUS."

Latham must tread lightly with US: Carr
Bob Carr ... US relations will require careful diplomacy.
Sydney. NSW Prem Bob Carr says fed Labor leader Mark Latham faces a
great challenge in dealing with the US if he is elected PM.
Labor's policy to withdraw Aussie troops from Iraq has drawn sharp
criticism from the US Admin of Pres George W Bush.
In an interview with the ABC's Sun Profile program, Mr Carr suggests
that the issue would need the skills of foreign affairs rep Kevin Rudd
or former leader Kim Beazley rather than Mr Latham.
Mr Carr says the Labor Party knows the US is sensitive about the issue.
"If Labor is to be elected in the forthcoming elections, this will be
a major diplomatic challenge," Mr Carr said.
"There will be ultra-nat'lists in Washington who will react very
strongly to the implementation of Labor's policy.
"It's going to require sensitive diplomacy."
Prime Min John Howard says Mr Carr's comments amount to an accusation
that Mr Latham is wrong on Iraq.
"What Bob Carr has done is to confirm the Govt's criticism of Mr
Latham," Mr Howard said.
"His policy of cutting and running from Iraq would be seen as
unwelcome, as an unfriendly act, and would certainly have an adverse
impact on the alliance."
The full interview with Mr Carr can be heard on Sun Profile on ABC
local radio after 9.00 pm tomorrow.

No corruption charges laid against drug squad
Melbourne. Vic's Assistant Commissioner for Crime, Simon Overland,
says there will be no criminal charges laid against 4 former drug
squad detectives accused of corruption.
A police informer has alleged in a committal hearing that the
detectives forced him to sign false documents about the passing of
drug money to a police officer.
3 of the officers are still serving and one of those is involved in
drug-related investigations.
Assistant Commissioner Overland has told ABC TV's Stateline program
that the allegations have been thoroughly investigated.
"As I understand it, the investigations into the officers as far as
criminal matters is concerned are over," he said.
"There may be some internal matters, some disciplinary charges that
have to be considered and that's obviously in progress.
"We will go back and look at the committal and if there's any further
matters that need to be investigated or old matters that need to be
re-investigated that will happen."
Assistant Commissioner Overland says there is also a new staffing
policy in the drug investigation division.
"People will, after a period of about 3 or 4 y, be moved out and new
people will be moved in," he said.
"We are not going to allow people to sit in that sort of spot for
10-12 y because past experience indicates that is when risks arise.
"That's when, unfortunately, sometimes you see individuals become
engaged in corrupt behaviour."

Canada's killer whale relocation bid in limbo
Vancouver, BC (Reuters). A plan to relocate a lost killer whale on
Canada's Pacific coast was in limbo on Fri after objections by native
Indians, who claim the animal holds the spirit of a dead chief.
The whale experts who travelled to Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island to
help capture the orca, nicknamed Luna, were headed home and it was
unclear if they would return, said Vancouver Aquarium rep Angela Nielsen.
"It's a wait and see situation," Nielsen said.
Canada's Dept of Fisheries and Oceans halted the effort to reunify the
whale with its family pod until it can reach an agreement with the natives.
The whale has become the focus of a circus-like tug-of-war between the
scientists, who were using a boat to lure Luna to a pen, and members
of the Mowachaht-Muchalaht Indians, who used canoes to lure the animal
in the other direction.
Scientists have cited the whale's attraction to boats and float planes
as the reason it needed to be relocated to the Strait of Juan de Fuca,
where its pod spends the summer.
The population of killer whales on the US-Canada border is endangered
and it is hoped the return of a young breeding male would help ensure
their survival.
The whale was accidentally separated from its pod in 2001 and has been
living alone in Nootka Sound. Experts believe the 1.8 ton whale is
lonely and they worry it will be hurt or killed by a collision with a
boat as it seeks human companionship.
The Mowachaht-Muchalaht natives believe the whale carries the spirit
of a band chief who died a wk before the animal arrived in their
traditional territory. He had said he would return as a killer whale.
The natives want the whale left where it is, but say if it does have
to be relocated it should be led down the ocean coast by canoe. The
Strait of Juan de Fuca is about 200 km S of Nootka Sound.
Fisheries' officials said the native's plan was unworkable and want to
use a specially equipped truck to carry the whale to the reunification
area E of Vic.
Officials suspended the capture effort on Thu over concern the battle
for the whale's attention was making it more comfortable with
people. Dept officials planned to meet with native leaders next wk.

Consumers warned of Internet shopping dangers
Sydney. The Aussie Competition and Consumer Commission is warning
consumers to be aware of their rights when shopping on the Internet.
Deputy chair of the ACCC Louise Sylvan says a survey of the top 100
Aussie Internet sites selling goods or services, found over 1/2 do
not comply with the Trade Practices Act. She says they either deny
consumers' warranty rights or limit liability. Ms Sylvan says
consumers' rights are the same online as when shopping by other methods.

Online retailers strip customers' rights: ACCC
Sydney. Online shoppers deserve the same protection as real-world
customers, according to the ACCC. The Aussie Competition and Consumer
Commission (ACCC) says it is concerned people shopping over the
Internet are not being treated fairly. The ACCC's deputy chairwoman,
Louise Sylvan, says a survey of Aussie web sites selling goods and
services has found 50% either deny consumers' warranty rights or try
to limit their own liability. She says the ACCC is concerned many
sites are not properly disclosing statutory warranties and conditions
of purchase. Ms Sylvan says the Trade Practices Act still applies to
businesses selling goods online. "It doesn't matter whether people
are shopping in a mall, shopping on the high street or shopping
online, the rights for consumers are absolutely identical," she said.
"They cannot be contracted out of, even if people are transacting online."

Stuck switch caused spacewalk problems: NASA
Houston (Reuters). The abrupt abort of an ambitious spacewalk from
the Internat'l Space Station (ISS) yesterday was caused by a stuck
switch and not a dangerous oxygen leak, NASA says.
American astronaut Michael Fincke, who was making his 1st spacewalk,
was outside the airlock for less than 2 minutes before Russian ground
controllers ordered him to return.
They also ordered his Russian colleague Gennady Padalka to return.
Mission Control in Moscow detected a drop in pressure from Mr Fincke's
primary oxygen tank, which might have indicated a dangerous leak.
But NASA says that an auxiliary switch for feeding oxygen to the
Russian suit had been left in an "on" position, even though an
indicator showed it was "off".
NASA says Mr Fincke tested the switch before leaving the airlock and
returned it to the off position, something confirmed by an indicator
light in his helmet.
However, for some reason the mechanism stuck.
The result was the shortest spacewalk in US history.
"The Russians completely exonerated the crew of any mistake," NASA rep
Rob Navias said.
Mission managers will meet on Tue to reschedule the spacewalk, which
is tentatively set for that evening.
The success of the mission could prove vital to the space station's
operations.
Only 2 of 4 large gyroscopes that keep the 200-t station stable in
flight currently work.
Another gyro failure would force the station to begin using up
precious fuel stores as thrusters took over the job.

Web surfers' passwords, bank details vulnerable
Some Internet security experts are warning web surfers not to use
Microsoft Internet Explorer.
LA (Reuters). A potentially dangerous Internet attack designed to
steal financial data and passwords from Internet users is rippling
across the World Wide Web.
Computer security experts say the attack, which surfaced earlier this
week and is known as the "Scob" outbreak, exploits a vulnerability in
servers using a version of Microsoft's IIS software.
The Scob outbreak is also known as 'Download.Ject', JS.Scob.Trojan and
JS.Toofeer.
It has been called more dangerous than the recent "Sasser" and
"Blaster" infections.
Infected servers exploit another vulnerability in Microsoft's Internet
Explorer browser to install a trojan file on the PCs of web surfers
who visit the infected sites. The trojan places a keystroke logger on
users' PCs.
Alfred Huger, snr director of engineering at Internet security company
Symantec Corp, says users do not realise their computers are affected.
"All of this takes place while it looks like you're viewing the same
web page," Mr Huger said.
"You don't even know that parts of your browser have been redirected
to another web site."
The US Computer Emergency Readiness team warns on its web site that
"any web site, even those that may be trusted by the user, may be
affected by this activity and thus contain potentially malicious code".
Michael Murray of nCircle Network Security says the trojan is designed
to capture credit card numbers and passwords and send them back to a
server in Russia.
However, the threat to users' personal data seems to have diminished,
at least for the time being.
"The server appears to have been shut down in the last 8 hr," Mr
Murray said.
"We don't know if it was shut down by authorities or whether it was
accidental."
There are no patches available yet from Microsoft to fix the
vulnerability in Internet Explorer. Microsoft says users could search
for the files "Kk32.dll" or "Surf.dat" to see if their PCs are infected.
The company also suggests that users set their browser security level
to "high".
The Internet Storm Centre, a body monitoring and warning of Internet
security attacks, suggests web surfers use a browser other than
Microsoft's Internet Explorer -- or turn off javascript -- until the
current vulnerabilities are patched.

Friendly dog prevents killing spree?
[It could ONLY happen in Canada! :)]
Toronto (Reuters). A Canadian man, driving a car packed with weapons
and ammunition, was intent on killing as many people as possible in a
Toronto neighbourhood but gave up the plan at the last minute when he
encountered a friendly dog, police said on Thu.
The middle-aged man, who police said was mentally disturbed, had
planned to carry out the shooting spree on Wed to ensure he would be
put in jail permanently, Toronto police said.
He had set himself up in an east-end park to load his weapons and then
planned to drive around shooting. He later told police that a dog then
approached and started playing with him.
The encounter melted the man's heart, and he then went in search of
police to give himself up, police said.
"He happens to be a pet lover, and decided that since there was such a
nice dog in the area, that people were too nice and he wasn't going to
carry out his plan," Detective Nick Ashley told reporters.
Police found 6,000 rounds of ammunition, 2 rifles, a shotgun, a
semi-automatic pistol, a revolver and an air rifle in the man's car,
along with a machete and a hunting knife. The car also contained a
throwing knife, a camouflage mask and netting.
He had recently arrived in Toronto from New Brunswick.
James Paul Stanson, 43, has been charged with a variety of
weapons-related offences and appeared in court for a bail hearing on Thu.

Czech survives 10 days buried alive in coffin
Prague (AFP). A 50-yo Czech man has survived 10 days buried
underground in a wooden coffin without food and water, setting what he
claims is a new world record, local media has reported.
Zdenek Zahradka, a holy man or fakir, was connected with the outside
world only by a ventilation pipe and said the most difficult thing to
endure during the feat was severe thirst.
Mr Zahradka said he spent most of the time sleeping or contemplating
and sometimes spoke to friends through the pipe.
"While I was underground I thought about all the things happening in
the world, and I realised that human life is so futile that we must be
glad for the time given to us, we should respect our lives," he said.
Mr Zahradka said he beat the previous world record for being buried
alive by 4 days and will apply to be registered in the Guinness Book
of World Records.
"Of course I do not agree with what he did, but now that he has
succeeded, I am glad," his wife Alena said.
According to doctors, Mr Zahradka lost almost 9 kg during his time in
the coffin.
Mr Zahradka, alias Ben Ghan, has already set several records during
his career.
In 1979, he was the 1st in the world to swallow a sword that measured
55 cm long.

{{
8 am
Qld Prem Peter Beattie says the Council of Aussie Govts (COAG) is so
badly organised it is like a "chook yard".

The Vic Govt says its fed counterpart has failed to announce funding
for the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline at today's Council of Aussie Govts
(COAG) meeting.

10 am
The US Army has named a higher-ranking general as the snr investigator
of abuse of Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq amid lawmakers'
complaints the probe is dragging on too long.

US-led forces say they have killed between 20 and 25 people in an air
strike on a suspected safe house of alleged Al Qaeda operative Abu
Mussab al-Zarqawi in the Iraqi town of Fallujah.

A series of loud explosions has rocked Baghdad's west, an AFP
correspondent reports.

Brit PM Tony Blair has personally asked US Pres George W Bush to hand
over the 4 remaining Brit nat'ls being held at Guantanamo Bay,
according to a Brit newspaper report.

Leading UN human rights experts are demanding access to terrorism
suspects being held at Guantanamo Bay and other US detention centres.

NATO nations' envoys have struck a tentative deal to help the interim
Iraqi Govt train its security forces.

PM John Howard has hailed a nat'l water agreement as a tremendous day
for AUS but W AUS's Prem and the Greens have criticised the plan.

Thousands of people have turned out in central Dublin to protest
against American policies on Iraq, as Pres George W Bush arrived in
the W of Ireland for a summit with leaders of the EU.

Midday.
Canberra. Parliament has risen after a rare Sat sitting. PM
Howard ignored speculation he's clearing the decks for an Aug 7 poll.

The UN has made a public call to be allowed access to US-run military
prisons in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The
highly-unusual move has been made because the Special Envoy on Torture
says prev requests to gain access to the facilities have been rebuffed
or ignored. UN reps say they fear the US is still violating human
rights at some facilities.

Washington. VP Dick Cheney has defended his right to swear at
opponents. He reportedly said "fuck" in a confrontation with a Dem
senator this wk. Cheney and Pat Leahy clashed as lawmakers gathered
for a photo in the Senate. Cheney says it's not the kind of language
he normally uses, but Leahy had been the latest to challenge his
integrity. The VP told Fox News he "felt better" after he swore at Leahy.

Baghdad. The US military says it's killed 20-25 people in a 3rd
Fallujah air strike on al-Qaeda operative Abu Massab al-Zarqawi. A rep
says the attack was along the lines of 2 other airborne missile
strikes on suspected hideous over the past wk. The total death toll
from the targeted assassination raids is now between 59 and 64. The
US military says it won't shrink from more attacks.

Moscow. Russia's Duma has ratified the Conventional Forces in Europe
treaty. The agreement regulates the deployment of military aircraft,
tanks and other heavy weapons in Europe. It was ratified 355-28, with
2 abstentions. It's seen as being in Russia's interests.

Beijing. Torrential rainstorms in C and S China have triggered flooding
that's claimed at least 29 lives in the past wk. Media reports say
storms in China's Hunan prov over the past 6 days killed 28 people,
while floods in the Guizhou prov have killed 1 person. Another 27
people are reported missing in Hunan.

Ray Bradbury claims Michael Moore has "stolen" the title of his story
and has called for the title "Fahrenheit 9/11" to be removed and for
Moore to offer a public apology. "Fahrenheit 451" was Bradbury's
story about a totalitarian future where the fire brigade burns
books. 451 F is -- according to the story -- the temp at which book
paper catches fire.

The US Coast Guard has sent 34 Cubans back home after intercepting
their boats off the coast of Florida.

Pt-au-Prince. A UN stabilisation force has officially taken over
security in Haiti, replacing a US-led mission after former Pres
Bertrand Aristide left Haiti on Feb 29. The US force -- incl a large
French contingent -- will leave by the end of the m. Brazilian Gen
Augusto Heleno is leading the new 6,700 member UN force, incl 1,200
Brazilian soldiers, known as MINUSTHA. An additional 1,600 UN police
will provide security.

Beijing. A 3rd round of 6-way talks with N Korea have closed, with
negotiators expected to issue an 8-pt statement. The Xinhua agency
says the negotiations on NK's nuclear weapons drive agreed in principle
to hold another round of talks in Sep, and resume working-group
meetings ASAP. While progress had been expected in the latest round,
with the US and Japan making unprecedented offers of aid in return for
NK renouncing nuclear weapons development, Pyongyang threatened to
conduct its first weapons test.

European newspapers are predicting a future Iraq will be much less
secular than the one under the deposed regime. Ayatollah Sistani is
expected to gain influence in nat'l elections, with many Iraqis
expected to support Shi'ite parties. OTOH, a Dutch delegation returned
from Turkey says that country is much less under the influence of
religious leaders than prev thought.

6 pm
Aussie soldiers have come under mortar attack in Iraq. A training
team of about a dozen Aussies came under mortar attack nr Mosul where
they were training members of the new Iraqi army. 5 Iraqi army
soldiers were hurt in the attack, 2 seriously. No Australians were
killed or hurt. Insurgents fires 1/2 a dozen shells at the training
camp. 1 landed in the compound. A rapid reaction force went after
the attackers, but they escaped.

Earlier, guerrillas blew up the party HQ of interim PM Allawi after
fighters stormed the building in Baquba, N of Baghdad. 2 people were
killed. US planes then flattened a nearby house, killing its residents.

US war planes have hit Fallujah again. US cmdrs say up to 25 members
of the al-Qaeda network were killed when the house was flattened.
It's the 3rd similar attack this wk.

UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan says force is not the answer. The UN has
refused to return to Iraq until the security sit'n improves. Iraq may
declare a state of emergency with the interim govt turning to NATO for
help, says invasion architect Paul Wolfowitz.

Demonstrators have staged a big anti-war protest in Dublin. 20,000
people turned out in the Irish capital to shout about Bush, GWII and
Tony Blair. Elsewhere, Mr Bush tried to mend fences with EU leaders
during an 18 hr visit. He's on a brief stop-over before a NATO meeting
in Turkey. The NATO summit comes just days before the transition to
the interim govt in Iraq. Mr Bush said in a prev recorded interview
he didn't expect more troops from NATO, but the US expected to get a
training mission out of the organisation. It was the only solution
[to America's quagmire], Bush said. In Istanbul, anti-US protesters
are already on the streets. Turkey has done its utmost to ensure the
security of the 40 world leaders who are to attend the summit. Police
expect bigger demos when Mr Bush arrives.

A new document obtained by US ABC TV shows there was contact between
Saddam's regime and OBL. The papers were found in Baghdad after the
invasion. They indicate Saddam explored a relationship with OBL when
the terror leader was living in Sudan, and before he was widely known
as a terrorist leader. Saddam was also exploring links with other
anti-Saudi groups, incl Hezbollah. It's reported OBL suggested Iraq
re-broadcast some anti-Saudi speeches from a firebrand cleric, and
Saddam complied. But OBL reportedly did not want to become an Iraqi
agent. ABC says there was no indication that any other suggestions or
requests from OBL were ever acted on.

Fahrenheit 9/11 has opened across America, taking $30 mn in its first
day. Moore hopes enough people will see it to unseat Bush. Democrats
have taken advantage, expecting the film will see gatherings of
anti-Bush voters. They've set up info booths outside. Viewers say
their ideas could not have been changed by seeing the film.
Conservatives are out to muzzle ads for the movie. Moore says when
conservatives don't like something, they don't want you to see it;
when "we" don't like something, he says, "we" just don't go see it.

Flooding in Hunan. The weather bureau is forecasting better weather over
the next few days. Its estimates of damage in the prov run to $500 mn.

MEL. Police had to block off Lygon St last night after Greece kicked
France out of the 2004 football comp in Portugal. Muscle cars roared
up and down the local drag, and crowds gathered as flares were lit.
But there were no arrests reported.

9 pm
About 20 people have been killed in Baquba after insurgents attacked the
HQ of Shia leader Ayatollah Sistani. The attack came a day after Sistani
criticised the Sunni leadership of the local al-Qaeda terrorist network.

A Brit researcher says he may have the first proof the world is
entering the 6th mass extinction period in Earth history. Prev
research has concentrated on a limited number of bird species
world-wide. But the latest study involves looking at Brit
butterflies. It finds the "average" butterfly has decreased in range
by 15% in Brit over the past 10 y -- a huge amount. The research
seems to unexpectedly indicate the extinction rate of insects could be
significantly larger than the prev published studies on birds. The
rate for animals and plants world-wide could have become orders of
magnitude greater than the background rate, researchers say. Many
scientists believe humankind has at least played a part in the development.

10 pm
A bus has been blown up in E Afghanistan. The bus of female electoral
workers had left Jalalabad on the way to the Pak border on a voter
registration mission when it exploded. A bomb had been placed on the
bus earlier. 2 women and a child were killed. 9 others were injured.
The deaths were confirmed by the electoral board. The Taliban later
claimed responsibility for the attack. It's the first time any
electoral staff have been killed. There have been attacks on
electoral buses before.

There have been 2 attacks in Baquba. The offices of the PM's party
were blown up. Offices connected with a Shia group were also
attacked . In Arbil, bombers attacked an office of the local Kurdish
govt. A govt min was wounded and a guard was killed. An American
soldier was killed in Baghdad when his convoy was hit by RPG's.

Several people have been killed in Kashmir after gunmen broke into
several homes in a village and opened fire indiscriminantly.

Vietnam era vets are teary as 20 "Hughies" are retired today. The
choppers were converted to "Bushranger" gunships after the war. The
"thumping sound" means a lot to soldiers who served in Vietnam in the
60s and early 70s, said a rep, because it meant help had arrived.

11 pm
Mr Bush and EU leaders are meeting in Ireland. In a joint statement,
they offered encouragement to the new Iraqi govt, and urged Iran to
review its nuclear enrichment decision.
The meeting has drawn a line under the disputes over why GWII was
fought. The EU is speaking of providing assistance to Iraq to ensure
transition to free elections take place by Jan next y.
Elsewhere, the IAEA has forecast a sig increase in nuke energy
generation.
}}

----------------------------------------
Sun, 27 Jun 2004.

HEADLINES:
Israel kills top militant leader linked to Arafat
Hamas, Al Aqsa leaders killed in Nablus raid
Shiite party members killed in Iraq
UN to appoint new Iraq envoy
New Iraq PM promises amnesty for insurgents
Zarqawi supporters threaten to behead 3 Turks
Living in Iraq, US army-style
Iraqi military won't get tanks
Iraq welcomes NATO training plan
Iraq violence may force state of emergency; NATO to help
Iraq plans amnesty for some insurgents
Iraq oil pipeline reopens; feeder blasted
Iraq attack "shows troops must stay"
Insurgency may delay Iraqi elections
Deadly car bomb hits S Iraqi city
Bush declares Iraq rifts healed
6 die in Iraq violence ahead of handover
"Fahrenheit 9/11" tops $8 mn in first day
5 Canadian flight surgeons pass ailing Afghan boy for trip to Canada
9/11 commission links al-Qaeda, Iran
ALP quiet on "fairer" tax plan details
ALP rethinks terrorism hotline as glitch goes unnoticed
Another bomb explodes in Istanbul ahead of NATO summit
Arafat commits to truce during Olympics
Australia to ask Gusmao to halt deportation
Canada's Liberal Party could lose majority
Carr expresses faith in Latham
Close call tests Aust troops' response
Czech govt falls as PM resigns
Energy co-op generates public interest
Enron CEO admits responsibility for collapse
Fire destroys $10 mn movie studio
Greenpeace removes Homebush toxic waste
Greens challenge Garrett on port plans
Greens reject endorsement for Ralph Nader
Hot air ballooning championships lift off
Iran pushes ahead with uranium enrichment plans
Israel dismisses Olympics truce offer
Kakadu fee cuts "would lift visitor numbers"
Latham vows to make parties pay for ads
Leak reveals baby bonus payment concerns
Microsoft requests stay on EU penalties
Movie theatres fill in Washington to see Fahrenheit 9/11
Nuclear power "can't stop climate change"
Pakistan PM resigns: report
Pakistani Cabinet dissolves as PM resigns
Public invited to inspect "Ballarat"
Pulp mill plan wins fed backing
Russia to ship N Korea food aid
Sex abuse criticism "surprised" Hollingworth
Smelter proposal "too crazy to be real"
The $muli bn robbery the US calls reconstruction
The woman who is taking on Wal-Mart
US committed to Geneva Conventions: Bush
US wants reconstruction fund to pay Saddam debts
WA joins state-based energy strategy
Police know Norfolk Island killer's identity: Sen

Iraq oil pipeline reopens; feeder blasted
Baghdad (AP). Repair crews patched up the larger of 2 S crude oil
pipelines damaged by saboteurs and resumed pumping to offshore
terminals, an oil official said Sat.
But hours after the pumping resumed, attackers blasted a small
pipeline that feeds into domestic storage tanks, igniting a blaze,
Iraqi police said.
Oil exports are hovering between 1.7 mn and 1.8 mn barrels a day --
about the same level as before the war started in Mar 2003,
according to an official with the S Oil Co. The damage to the 2 lines
essentially cut off Iraqi oil exports earlier this m, heightening
supply fears.
One of the pipelines was brought back on line Mon nr the S city of
Basra, but repairs on the 2nd one took longer because it was more
damaged. The crude is sent to storage terminals on the Faw Peninsula,
then pumped through to the Basra and Khor Amaya terminals.
"Pumping began at about 10 am this morning," the oil official,
speaking on condition of anonymity, said of the 2nd line.
A bomb planted by saboteurs underneath a small, domestic feeder line
exploded Sat evening nr the town of Latifiyah, about 50 km S of
Baghdad, Iraqi 1st Lt Alaa Hussein said. The line carries crude to
storage tanks in Latifiyah.
Insurgents repeatedly have targeted the pipelines in a bid to restrict
the new interim govt's access to export revenue needed for post-handover
reconstruction efforts.
Iraqi officials have stressed that protecting the pipelines and other
oil infrastructure is a priority. But with about 7,000 km of
pipelines snaking through the country -- most running through desolate
regions -- they concede the task is a formidable one.
Saboteurs also blasted a key N oil pipeline transporting crude oil
from the town of Beji to the Dora Refinery, one of Iraq's largest
plants, on Mon. The blast cut off crude oil supplies to the refinery,
which produces gasoline, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas for the
domestic market.
Another smaller line linking the N oil fields of Kirkuk with the
Turkish port of Ceyhan, was repaired earlier this wk after being
knocked out of service by attacks last m.
That line, which carries about 200,000 barrels a day, has been repeatedly
attacked and has operated only sporadically over the past few months.
The Oil Min'y has set up a special police unit responsible for
monitoring the network, and the Air Force recently purchased 2 Aussie
reconnaissance planes that will provide aerial surveillance.
Those planes will eventually be supplemented with about 14 more that
will also help monitor the country's porous borders.
The new govt, which will formally take over the country's Admin on
Jun 30, also has contracted with tribal leaders to monitor pipelines
that pass through their regions.
Iraq has the world's second-largest oil reserves. But y of war, UN
sanctions and mismanagement have left it with dilapidated and obsolete
oil facilities, and Iraqis have failed to restore crude exports to
prewar levels.

Microsoft requests stay on EU penalties
Brussels (AFP). Microsoft has asked the European Union's top court to
suspend an anti-trust ruling by the EU's executive arm in a move
bitterly contested by the US software giant's rivals.
The request for a stay of the Mar ruling by the European Commission
has been lodged with the chamber of 1st instance of the European Court
of Justice.
"The request for the suspension has gone in but it was too late last
night to get entered into the court's registry, so that will happen on
Mon," a Microsoft rep said.
The commission has fined Microsoft a record 497 mn euros and ordered
changes to its Windows operating system after a 5-y
investigation into the group's overwhelming market dominance.
The ruling came as a blow after the Seattle-based titan largely fended
off its anti-trust battles with the US Govt.
While the EU fine is small change to a group the size of Microsoft,
the enforced product changes would hurt.
Microsoft has already lodged an appeal with the European court in
Luxembourg against the landmark ruling by Brussels.
The action aims to annul the commission's decision but a ruling might
not come for several ys, leading Microsoft to try to get the
commission's remedies suspended in the meantime.
The EU's executive arm has given Microsoft until the end of Jun to
offer computer makers a separate version of its Windows operating
system that does not include its "Media Player" audio and video program.
The company's core business strategy is to offer an all-in-one suite
of applications that caters to the home user's every need.
However, according to the pro-Microsoft Association for Competitive
Technology (ACT), rival players such as Apple's QuickTime and
RealPlayer are doing just fine.
"Across the industry, new entrants are making massive headway and
competition is vibrant and growing," ACT president Jonathan Zuck said.
"The commission's remedy is utterly unnecessary as there is no
competitive issue in this market."
Not so, shot back the anti-Microsoft Computer and Communications
Industry Association (CCIA), which has filed its own counter-appeal
with the EU court.
"It is perfectly clear that Microsoft's claim has no legal merit, and
therefore not surprising that it is again trying to use the media to
create unwarranted fear and confusion," CCIA chief executive Ed Black said.
"But being made to follow the law and play by the rules will not cause
any irreparable harm to Microsoft or anyone else.
"To the contrary, all the evidence from the marketplace confirms that
only a suspension of the commission's remedies would create
irreparable harm -- to consumers, competitors and the marketplace."
To get the remedies suspended, Microsoft must prove to the European
court that it has a prima facie case in law.
It must also prove that it would suffer "serious and irreparable harm"
if the measures were to take immediate effect.

Enron CEO admits responsibility for collapse
Kenneth Lay admits responsibility over Enron.
NY (AFP). Former Enron chief executive officer Kenneth Lay has
acknowledged that he bears full responsibility for Enron's collapse in
2001. "I take full responsibility for what happened at Enron," 62-yo
Mr Lay said in an interview with the NY Times. "But saying that, I
know in my mind that I did nothing criminal." The US Govt is expected
to decide soon whether to charge Mr Lay with a crime over the collapse
of Enron and the ensuing scandal. Mr Lay told the Times that the
Enron collapse was the outgrowth of the actions of the company's chief
financial officer, Andrew Fastow. Fastow has pleaded guilty to
charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit
securities fraud. He has negotiated a 10-y prison term and agreed to
cooperate with the Justice Dept's ongoing investigation of Enron.

US wants reconstruction fund to pay Saddam debts
Fury as State Dept plans to raid rebuilding budget to pay off $150 bn bill.
Washington (Observer). The US is proposing to divert funds earmarked
for the reconstruction of Iraq to pay off the war-torn country's
massive #150 bn internat'l debt and reparations bill.
A leaked letter from the US State Dept recommends deducting up to $640
mn from the $18.4 bn reconstruction budget to pay the cost of
cancelling Iraqi debt run up by the country's imprisoned former ruler,
Saddam Hussein.
The move, coming as the US prepares to hand sovereignty over to an
unelected Iraqi govt, will anger campaigners who believe the country
should not be made to pay for the deeds of Saddam. Justin Alexander,
coordinator of Jubilee Iraq, said: 'This is an unexpected development,
but it is an indication of US cynicism.'
The issue of cancelling Iraqi debt will be raised at this weekend's
summit between George Bush and EU leaders in Ireland. A statement is
expected today, but a final deal will not be reached until the end of
the y.
Meanwhile, the UN is expected this wk to increase Iraq's reparations
bill from the $30 bn already outstanding. Protests are expected at UN
offices in Geneva in coming days.
Iraq is already heading for an economic meltdown, which would wreak
further devastation on the country, as a result of the debt and
reparations bill. Increased oil revenues are too uncertain to prevent it.
US Nat'l Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice last wk stated Iraq would
have to draw up a long-term programme of privatisations to pay back debt.
Iraq's $150 bn debt arises out of loans dating back to its bloody war
against Iran during the Eighties. The country owes another $30 bn in
reparation payments for damage inflicted on neighbouring countries
such as Kuwait during the invasion in 1990.
Internat'l efforts are being made to write off 2/3 of the debt.
'Even with the best deal rich countries are likely to offer Iraq, its
debt will still exceed the country's health and education budget and
will devastate a country that is desperately poor and in danger of
civil war,' said Alexander.
'Quite apart from the injustice of requiring Iraqis to pay debts
incurred by Saddam Hussein, it is economically crazy to expect the
repayment of so much, because it will send the country into a tailspin.'
Iraq owes most of the money to other Arab nations, but a substantial
chunk of its debt is held by some of the world's richest
countries. Germany is owed nearly #3 bn and Brit more than #1 bn.

The $muli bn robbery the US calls reconstruction
The shameless corporate feeding frenzy in Iraq is fuelling the resistance
Baghdad (Guardian). Good news out of Baghdad: the Program Management
Office, which oversees the $18.4 bn in US reconstruction funds, has
finally set a goal it can meet. Sure, electricity is below pre-war
levels, the streets are rivers of sewage and more Iraqis have been
fired than hired. But now the PMO has contracted the Brit mercenary
firm Aegis to protect its employees from "assassination, kidnapping,
injury and" -- get this -- "embarrassment". I don't know if Aegis will
succeed in protecting PMO employees from violent attack, but
embarrassment? I'd say mission already accomplished. The people in
charge of rebuilding Iraq can't be embarrassed, because, clearly, they
have no shame.
In the run-up to the Jun 30 underhand (sorry, I can't bring myself to
call it a "handover"), US occupation powers have been unabashed in
their efforts to steal money that is supposed to aid a war-ravaged
people. The state dept has taken $184 mn earmarked for drinking water
projects and moved it to the budget for the lavish new US embassy in
Saddam Hussein's former palace. Short of $1 bn for the embassy, Richard
Armitage, the deputy secretary of state, said he might have to "rob
from Peter in my fiefdom to pay Paul". In fact, he is robbing Iraq's
people, who, according to a recent study by the consumer group Public
Citizen, are facing "massive outbreaks of cholera, diarrhoea, nausea
and kidney stones" from drinking contaminated water.
If the occupation chief Paul Bremer and his staff were capable of
embarrassment, they might be a little sheepish about having spent only
$3.2 bn of the $18.4 bn Congress allotted -- the reason the
reconstruction is so disastrously behind schedule. At first, Bremer
said the money would be spent by the time Iraq was sovereign, but
apparently someone had a better idea: parcel it out over 5 y so
Ambassador John Negroponte can use it as leverage. With $15 bn
outstanding, how likely are Iraq's politicians to refuse US demands
for military bases and economic "reforms"?
Unwilling to let go of their own money, the shameless ones have had no
qualms about dipping into funds belonging to Iraqis. After losing the
fight to keep control of Iraq's oil money after the underhand,
occupation authorities grabbed $2.5 bn of those revenues and are now
spending the money on projects that are supposedly already covered by
American tax dollars.
But then, if financial scandals made you blush, the entire
reconstruction of Iraq would be pretty mortifying. From the start, its
architects rejected the idea that it should be a New Deal-style public
works project for Iraqis to reclaim their country. Instead, it was
treated as an ideological experiment in privatisation. The dream was
for multinat'l firms, mostly from the US, to swoop in and dazzle the
Iraqis with their speed and efficiency.
Iraqis saw something else: desperately needed jobs going to Americans,
Europeans and S Asians; roads crowded with trucks shipping in supplies
produced in foreign plants, while Iraqi factories were not even
supplied with emergency generators. As a result, the reconstruction
was seen not as a recovery from war but as an extension of the
occupation, a foreign invasion of a different sort. And so, as the
resistance grew, the reconstruction itself became a prime target.
The contractors have responded by behaving even more like an invading
army, building elaborate fortresses in the green zone -- the walled-in
city within a city that houses the occupation authority in Baghdad --
and surrounding themselves with mercenaries. And being hated is expensive.
According to the latest estimates, security costs are eating up 25% of
reconstruction contracts -- money not being spent on hospitals,
water-treatment plants or telephone exchanges.
Meanwhile, insurance brokers selling sudden-death policies to
contractors in Iraq have doubled their premiums, with insurance costs
reaching 30% of payroll. That means many companies are spending 1/2
their budgets arming and insuring themselves against the people they
are supposedly in Iraq to help. And, according to Charles Adwan of
Transparency Internat'l, quoted on US Nat'l Public Radio's Marketplace
programme, "at least 20% of US spending in Iraq is lost to corruption".
How much is actually left over for reconstruction? Don't do the maths.
Rather than models of speed and efficiency, the contractors look more
like over-charging, under-performing, lumbering beasts, barely able to
move for fear of the hatred they have helped generate. The problem
goes well beyond the latest reports of Halliburton drivers abandoning
$85,000 trucks on the road because they don't carry spare tyres. Private
contractors are also accused of playing leadership roles in the
torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. A landmark class-action lawsuit
filed by the Centre for Constitutional Rights alleges that Titan
Corporation and CACI Internat'l conspired to "humiliate, torture and
abuse persons" in order to increase demand for their "interrogation services".
And then there's Aegis, the company being paid $293 mn to save the PMO
from embarrassment. It turns out that Aegis's CEO, Tim Spicer, has a
bit of an embarrassing past himself. In the 90s, he helped to put down
rebels and stage a military coup in PNG, as well as hatching a plan to
break an arms embargo in Sierra Leone.
If Iraq's occupiers were capable of feeling shame, they might have
responded by imposing tough new regulations. Instead, Senate Republicans
have just defeated an attempt to bar private contractors from
interrogating prisoners and also voted down a proposal to impose
stiffer penalties on contractors who overcharge. Meanwhile, the
Whitehouse is also trying to get immunity from prosecution for US
contractors in Iraq and has requested the exemption from the new PM,
Iyad Allawi.
It seems likely that Allawi will agree, since he is, after all, a kind
of US contractor himself. A former CIA spy, he is already threatening
to declare martial law, while his defence minister says of resistance
fighters: "We will cut off their hands, and we will behead them." In a
final feat of out-sourcing, Iraqi governance has been sub-contracted to
even more brutal surrogates. Is this embarrassing, after an invasion
to overthrow a dictatorship? Not at all; this is what the occupiers
call "sovereignty". The Aegis guys can relax -- embarrassment is not
going to be an issue.

"Fahrenheit 9/11" tops $8 mn in first day
LA (AP). "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore's assault on Pres Bush,
took in $8.2 million to $8.4 million in its first day, positioning it
as the weekend's No. 1 film, its distributors said Sat.
Based on Fri's numbers, "Fahrenheit 9/11" was on track for an
opening weekend that would surpass the $21.6 million total gross of
Moore's "Bowling for Columbine," his 2002 film that earned him an
Academy Award for best documentary.
"Bowling for Columbine" holds the record for highest domestic gross
among documentaries, excluding concert films and movies made for
huge-screen IMAX theatres.
Fri grosses for "Fahrenheit 9/11" ran about $1.5 million ahead of
its closest competitor, the Wayans brothers comedy "White Chicks."
The performance of "Fahrenheit 9/11" was even more remarkable
considering it played in just 868 theaters, fewer than a 3rd the
number for "White Chicks."
"Fahrenheit 9/11" benefited from a flurry of praise and condemnation.
Supporters mobilised liberal-minded audiences to see it over opening
weekend to counter efforts by some right-wing groups to discredit the film.
"It always helps when there's a group out there that says, 'Don't go
see this movie. It's bad for you,'" said Jonathan Sehring, president
of IFC Films, one of the film's distributors.
"Fahrenheit 9/11" paints Bush as a neglectful president who ignored
terrorism warnings before Sep 11, then stirred up fear of more
attacks to win public support for the Iraq war.
The movie won the top honour at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
The film has ridden a wave of publicity since just before Cannes, when
Moore began assailing Disney for refusing to let subsidiary Miramax
release "Fahrenheit 9/11" because of its political content.
Miramax bosses Harvey and Bob Weinstein bought back the film and
hooked up with Lions Gate Films and IFC to distribute it.
The fury over "Fahrenheit 9/11" resembled the firestorm created by Mel
Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," which rose to blockbuster status
amid debate over whether it was anti-Semitic.
"It's like how 'The Passion of the Christ' redefined what a certain
genre of movie could do at the box office, 'Fahrenheit 9/11' is doing
the same thing," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office
tracker Exhibitor Relations. "This blows away any conceivable record
for box office of a documentary."

Canada's Liberal Party could lose majority
Ottawa (AP). Embarrassed by financial scandal and hard-pressed by a
newly united conservative opp'n, Canada's Liberal Party heads into
nat'l elections Mon in grave danger of losing the parliamentary
majority it has held since 1993.
The result, regardless of who gets the most votes, could be one of
Canada's most unstable govts in decades -- perhaps hesitant to make
bold foreign policy commitments or other tough political decisions.
The final batch of opinion polls suggest that both the Liberals,
headed by PM Paul Martin, and the Conservative
Party will fall short of an outright majority of the House of Commons'
308 seats.
In that case, the party with the most seats would face the task of
forming a minority govt by wooing smaller parties -- the separatist
Bloc Quebecois and left-wing New Democratic Party -- into potentially
awkward and shifting alliances.
Canada's last minority govt was in 1979, and it lasted only 6 m.
Recent nat'l polls have the 2 major parties virtually deadlocked, each
backed by almost 1/3 of the voters, with the rest split among
undecideds, the New Democrats and the Bloc Quebecois -- which operates
only in Quebec.
If the Conservatives get to form a govt, the new prime minister will
be Stephen Harper, 45, a former Parliament member from Alberta who has
devoted much of the past decade to strengthening and unifying Canada's
right-of-centre factions. He has promised to cut middle-class taxes,
increase defence spending, expand military ranks from 60,000 to
80,000, and scrap a mandatory nat'l registry of firearms.
The Liberals' central campaign promise is to pump bn of dollars more
into the nat'l health care system to reduce sometimes agonisingly long
waits for medical procedures.
Martin, 65, took over as Liberal PM in Dec, without an election, when
Jean Chretien stepped down after 10 y in power. Though sometimes at
odds with Chretien, Martin had served him ably as a shrewd,
deficit-slashing finance minister.
Now, Martin's decision to call elections this m -- a y sooner than
required -- is being second-guessed as voters signal a weariness with
Liberal rule. The Conservatives have surged in the polls, and the
Liberals have been tarnished by revelations that tens of mns of
dollars in govt funds were improperly diverted to Liberal-aligned
advertising companies in Quebec during the 1990s.
"The Conservatives' message is a very negative message," said
University of Calgary political scientist Barry Cooper, referring to
Harper's emphasis on alleged Liberal corruption. "However, the
Liberals have countered with their own negative message, that the
Conservatives are scary and right-wing and not to be trusted."
Harper expended considerable effort during the campaign denying his
party would push Canada sharply to the right on social issues. He
promised not to seek new restrictions on abortions, but said he would
prefer that Parliament, not the courts, set nat'l policy on same-sex
marriage, which is now legal in 3 provinces.
The election marks the 1st nationwide test for Harper's revamped
party, created last y as a fusion of the 136-yo Progressive
Conservative Party and the western-based Canadian Alliance.
Harper said that if elected to lead a minority govt, the Conservatives
would probably not negotiate a power-sharing deal with the smaller
parties, but rather seek their support on a vote-to-vote basis.
He said neither the Bloc Quebecois, which favours independence for
mostly French-speaking Quebec, nor the New Democratic Party, a
favourite of labour unions, have enough ideological common ground with
the Conservatives to fit as a full-fledged coalition partner.
If the Liberals emerge from the election as weakened leaders of a
minority govt, this could further aggravate the sometimes-strained
relationship with Washington, said Joel Sokolsky, a Canadian political
scientist who has taught at the Royal Military College of Canada and
at Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts.
The Liberals already have disappointed Pres Bush's Admin by skimping
on defence spending and keeping Canadian troops out of Iraq. Canada
must decide soon whether to participate in a new US missile defence
program; a "No" might further bruise relations.
"A Liberal minority dependent on the New Democrats would push Martin
to the left on security issues," Sokolsky said. "From the American
standpoint, that would be the worst outcome."
The new Parliament will have 7 more members than the outgoing one, in
which the Liberals hold 168 seats, the Conservatives 73, the Bloc
Quebecois 33 and the New Democrats 14. There are 9 independents and 4
vacant seats.

Greens reject endorsement for Ralph Nader
Milwaukee (AP). The Green Party nominated Texas attorney David Cobb
as its candidate for president Sat, rejecting Ralph Nader's efforts to
secure the party's formal endorsement and likely access to the ballot
in key states like Wisconsin and California.
Nader, the party's candidate in 1996 and 2000, had told Green
officials m ago he would not accept the party's nomination for
president, preferring to build a coalition of 3rd-party groups and
independents rather than running under one banner.
Still, he openly courted their formal endorsement as a means to get on
the ballot in the 22 states and Washington, DC, where the party has a
ballot line.
But 408 delegates voted for Cobb on the 2nd ballot to give him the
nomination.
In Oregon, meanwhile, Nader made another bid Sat to get 1,000 people
together at a Portland high school to sign a petition to get him on
the Nov ballot as an independent. A similar attempt in Apr drew 751 people.
Election officials said they had counted 1,150 people when the second
meeting convened Sat evening, leaving little margin for signatures
that are later invalidated.
Another complicating factor was a drive by Democrats to stack the room
with committed Democrats who would take up space, but in the end
decline to sign the petition.
Republicans, on the other hand, were urged to show up and sign the
petition so Nader could get on the ballot and, perhaps, take votes
away from Democratic candidate John Kerry.
Nader's supporters at the Green Party convention argued that an
endorsement for him as the only real option for Greens if they hoped
to maintain their nat'l profile and play a role in the presidential race.
But Cobb has touted himself as a homegrown Green who would work to
build the party from the ground up, while Nader has maintained he is
not a member of the party and does not plan to join.
Cobb went out of his way to praise Nader in accepting the nomination,
but said later the vote was a sign the Green Party "has gotten out
from under the shadow of a man who has probably cast a larger shadow
than any other living American."
The party's endorsement would not have guaranteed Nader the Green
Party's ballot lines. Rather, it would have given state chapter
officials the option of presenting Nader as the candidate of their
choice for president to state election officials. Still, that prospect
was much less daunting than other means for getting on the ballot.
In California, for example, Nader will have to gather more than
150,000 signatures to get on the ballot as an independent.
Nader tapped longtime Green activist Peter Camejo as his running mate
this wk, a step his supporters hoped would bolster his chances of
winning the party's endorsement.
Many Democrats still blame Nader for Pres Bush's victory 4 y ago and
fear he could still syphon off enough votes to hand the Republican a
2nd term.
Nader recently was polling about 6% nat'ly, according to an Associated
Press poll conducted by Ipsos-Public Affairs.
Nader rep Kevin Zeese said the consumer activist knew he faced an
uphill battle for the party's endorsement by electing in Dec not to
participate in the primary process and not sending representatives to
the party convention until this wk.
He said Nader would now turn his attention to his drive to get on the
ballot by other means in states where Greens have access and said
Greens will not know until Election Day whether their decision to back
someone else will pay off.
Nader already has the backing of the Reform Party, which has ballot
access in 7 states, but he has yet to be placed on any state ballots.

Movie theatres fill in Washington to see Fahrenheit 9/11
Washington (AFP). Crowds in the US capital have flocked to the
opening of Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11, about the Bush Admin
in the lead up to the Sep 11 attacks, to see what the controversy is
all about.
Impatient viewers in Washington invaded cinemas as the movie opened.
At a 14-screen multiplex theatre in Georgetown, in the heart of the US
capital, the movie was being shown on 3 screens.
Tickets had been sold out for days, and some people were forced to sit
on the ground.
The movie begins with the Nov 2000 US presidential election.
For a few minutes Democrat Al Gore appears to be winning but he then
concedes victory to Republican Bush.
The camera pauses on Bush, who laughs nervously.
Then there is footage of Bush on vacation at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.
When the movie turns to the Sep 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United
States, the screen goes dark, with only the sound effects telling the story.
The film then moves to Iraq, where a woman is seen pleading to Allah
after her uncle's home is destroyed in a US bombing.
In another moving scene, the mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq
breaks down in sobs as she talks about her son's death and her doubts
about the reasons for going to war. Fahrenheit 9/11 appeared in 868 US
theatres, a record for a documentary.
It is unclear what effect, if any, the movie will have on the outcome
of the US presidential election in Nov.

Bush declares Iraq rifts healed
Dublin (Reuters). US Pres George W Bush has declared an end to
Western rifts over Iraq but has won little in his search for European
military help in the country.
"The bitter differences of the war are over," Mr Bush said.
However, Mr Bush encountered strong anti-American criticism during the
US-EU summit in Ireland, with protests delaying a final press conference.
Fenced off from his detractors by 2,000 soldiers and 4,000 police --
1/3 of the Irish security forces -- Mr Bush met European Union
leaders in a W Irish castle.
He has now flown to the Turkish capital, Ankara, where he is due to
have talks with Turkey's Pres and PM before joining other world
leaders at a NATO summit in Istanbul.
NATO leaders are expected to rubber-stamp a deal to train Iraqi
security forces, a concrete sign of new trans-Atlantic unity.
But the deal falls far short of Washington's original goal of getting
NATO troops into Iraq.
Diplomats say it may be just the lowest common denominator the 2 sides
can live with.
Mr Bush has challenged European partners in the NATO military alliance
to help him end the US-led occupation.
"NATO has the capability and I believe the responsibility to help the
Iraqi people defeat the terrorist threat that's facing their country,"
Mr Bush said.
"The faster the Iraqis take over their own security needs, the faster
the mission will end."
In their private talks and a joint US-EU statement, European leaders
made clear their disquiet over both the detention of terrorism
suspects in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and the US military abuse of
prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib jail.
The statement pointedly stresses "the need for full respect of the
Geneva Conventions".
Mr Bush responded that the Abu Ghraib scandal made him "sick" and said
in a separate statement that the US was fully committed to the Geneva
Conventions.
* "MacBush"
Protesters have been kept well away from 16th century Dromoland Castle
where Mr Bush met Irish PM Bertie Ahern, whose country holds the
rotating EU presidency.
"This summit has re-affirmed the strength, the depth and the
significance of our relationship in a spirit of partnership," Mr Ahern said.
But as on Mr Bush's previous trips to Europe, few on Ireland's streets
are ready to forgive and forget the US-led invasion.
About 10,000 protesters took to Dublin's streets on Fri.
While demos close to the summit venue have been smaller, they made up
for low numbers with high theatre.
One group staged a version of Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth at a
police roadblock 1 km from the castle, with "MacBush" cast as
the ruthless Scottish king.
"The Irish Govt has no guts," demonstrator Robert Sheehy said.
"It should stand up to Bush and tell him we don't want his war, we
don't want his planes at our airport."
The whistling and jeering is a sharp contrast to the jubilant welcomes
usually afforded to American presidents.
Mr Bush shrugs off his low standing in Europe, saying the polls he
cares most about "are those that are going to take place in early Nov"
to elect the next US pres.
"As far as my own personal standing goes, my job is to do my job," he
said. "I will lead and we'll just let the chips fall where they may."

Czech govt falls as PM resigns
Prague (Reuters). Czech PM Vladimir Spidla has resigned, becoming the
first leader of an EU country to pay for a dismal showing in European
Parliament elections this m.
Mr Spidla narrowly survived a no-confidence vote by his Social
Democratic Party earlier in the day.
Critics opposed to economic austerity measures fell just short of a
required 3/5 majority to remove him.
"When it became apparent I do not have the support of my own party, I
cannot continue as premier," he said.
"I will formally inform the cabinet of the resignation on Wed."
Mr Spidla, who headed a centre-left coalition govt, has helped to
steer the Czech Republic to EU membership on May 1.
"The confidence in the Govt was shaken by the result of the European
election and the Social Democratic Party reacted in this way," he said.
Mr Spidla's resignation will automatically trigger the fall of the
3-party coalition, which also includes the centrist Christian
Democrats and the right-wing Freedom Union.
The Social Democrats are the biggest party.
Pres Vaclav Klaus will be in charge of appointing another prime
minister who will try to form a new cabinet.
Mr Klaus's rep says the Pres would not take any steps until he meets
Mr Spidla about the resignation.

Another bomb explodes in Istanbul ahead of NATO summit
Istanbul (AFP). A small bomb attached to a banner with an anti-NATO
message has exploded in Istanbul just days ahead of the alliance's
summit, but no one was injured, police said.
The bomb went off as police were sealing off a footbridge in the
Bahcelievler district in the city's European quarter where the banner
was hung.
The bomb used was a small time-controlled device.
Police immediately closed the area to traffic and detonated a second
package attached to the banner, which was found to contain no explosives.
The banner attached to the explosive device read "KP-IO/Murderer NATO".
It was not clear what the "KP-IO" part of the message referred to,
police said.
Sat's explosion came 2 days after 4 people were killed and 21 wounded
when a bomb went off in a crowded public bus.
Turkish authorities said that a radical left-wing militant wanted by
police for past violent acts was behind that bombing.
Turkish security forces have been put on high alert ahead of the
summit due to be held Mon and Tue, to be attended by world leaders
including US Pres George W Bush.

US committed to Geneva Conventions: Bush
Dublin (AFP). Pres George W Bush says the United States is committed
to upholding the Geneva Conventions, in a statement marking the UN
Internat'l Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
He pledges to prevent cruel and unusual punishment and hold
accountable any violators of the policy.
"The American people were horrified by the abuse of detainees at Abu
Ghraib prison in Iraq," Mr Bush said.
"These acts were wrong. They were inconsistent with our policies and
our values as a nation.
"We will investigate and prosecute all acts of torture and undertake
to prevent other cruel and unusual punishment in all territory under
our jurisdiction."
The statement says the US reaffirms its commitment to the worldwide
elimination of torture and the Geneva Conventions.
"These conventions provide important protections designed to reduce
human suffering in armed conflict," it said.
"We expect other nations to treat our service members and civilians in
accordance with the Geneva Conventions.
"Our armed forces are committed to complying with them and to holding
accountable those in our military who do not."
Brit Foreign Secretary Jack Straw says the UK, plagued for months by
allegations its troops have also abused prisoners in Iraq, will do
everything possible to eliminate torture around the world.
"We vehemently oppose torture as a matter of fundamental principle,"
Mr Straw said.
"Torture is absolutely prohibited in internat'l law and is to be condemned."
Mr Straw says the seriousness with which Brit is responding to
allegations of brutality by Brit troops in Iraq is "a true test of its
commitment to human rights and internat'l humanitarian law".
In 2003, Brit became only the 3rd country in the world to sign and
ratify the optional protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture.
The protocol makes a series of conditions for the treatment of
prisoners, for example, stipulating that places of detention should be
inspected by internat'l teams.

Living in Iraq, US army-style
Insurgent attacks breed paranoia.
'This is all a waste of time. I joined the Nat'l Guard to defend
America. We should not be leaving American soil.'
-- Soldier, Camp Gunslinger
Camp Gunslinger, Baghdad (Toronto Star). It is the 1st joint
Iraqi-American operation for the soldiers of Alpha Company, and they
don't like it one bit.
At 45C, the acrid air feels like fire in the lungs. But that's not the
problem. The problem is that the gates of the US Army's Camp
Gunslinger, here on the N outskirts of Baghdad, just got hit by
another mortar round.
Someone out there is taking potshots. Again. And for the 4 soldiers
hunkered inside their enhanced-armour Humvee, the prime suspect stands
among the Iraqi allies with whom they are about to entrust their lives.
"Who's he talking to? Who the hell is he talking to?" shouts an
incredulous lieutenant behind the wheel of the idling troop
carrier. He is waggling his finger toward one of 11 Iraqi Nat'l
Guardsmen standing apart from the main group with a police radio at
his ear.
"There's nobody in radio range. Nobody he should be talking to. What
the hell's going on?"
It is midday Thu and all of Iraq seems to be exploding.
Multiple morning car bombs in Mosul, timed to coincide with brazen
insurgent attacks in Baquba, Fallujah and Ramadi.
The death toll, already well on its way to what will be 107, has
forced a quick change of plan. Alpha Company, of 3rd Battalion, 39th
Infantry Brigade, is abandoning its original assignment. Instead, it
will assist these fledgling Iraqi recruits to filter highway traffic
en route to Baghdad from the dissolute Sunni Triangle.
The immediate worry is that Baghdad, as always, remains the target for
a new campaign of car bombers and assassins dedicated to disrupting
the official handover to Iraqi self-rule, now just 4 days away.
But the larger paranoia for the Americans of Camp Gunslinger is
whether the Iraqis they are about to join up with are with them or
against them.
The night before this mission, one soldier reflected bitterly on all
those m of "cultural training" he received back at Fort Hood, Texas,
before deploying in Apr.
"Cultural training takes 10 seconds," he said: "The Iraqis hate
us. They want to kill us. That's all you need to know."
Such sentiments are now commonplace among the rank-and-file troops the
Star surveyed during visits to 3 US-led coalition bases in and around
the Iraqi capital this wk.
Take the temperature of the average soldier, and you will find it high
with frustration.
Yesterday's CNN/USA Today poll showing an unprecedented 54 % of
Americans now believe the invasion of Iraq was a mistake underscores
the sense that those now "in-country" are trapped in an assignment
that may bring them no glory.
That they want out, there can be no doubt. And most now accept that
the continuing insurgency, whatever its genesis, is a disease they
simply cannot cure. But until the ragtag and under-trained Iraqis --
still courageous enough to volunteer for security positions -- can hold
the country together on their own, they know they won't be going anywhere.
"What it boils down to now is the Iraqis have to finish the job," said
Capt Joel Lynch, leader of Alpha Company. "We'll cover their backs. But
they're the ones who know the terrain and the people. It's the only way."
Lynch is mindful of the shower-room talk among his soldiers; many US
soldiers are beginning to wonder if they aren't the problem. Could it
be that the US Army's very presence is a guarantee of perpetual
insurgency?
"Who can really answer that?" wonders Lynch. "It's kind of difficult
to roll the dice and pull out a whole coalition on that idea."
Most of the men at Gunslinger are with the 39th Infantry, comprised
entirely of men from Arkansas. Not regular army, but US Nat'l
Guardsmen, from all walks of life. One installs telephone systems for
a living, another sells Kawasaki motorcycles, a 3rd said he left his
restaurant in the care of a brother when the call-up notice came.
A few joined the Guard after 9/11, and it is they more than the others
who remain gung-ho about the job at hand. Others saw enlistment in the
Guard as a way to pay for college. Most, however, were banking on Guard
duty amounting to nothing more than 2 wk a y and the occasional weekend.
And now they find themselves at the least hospitable of the army's new
network of FOBs -- Forward Operating Bases -- that were built for the
2nd wave of soldiers who arrived this spring for what is dubbed
Operation Iraqi Freedom II.
Of the 1/2-dozen facilities in and around Baghdad, Gunslinger is an
act of improvisation, to say the least.
Temporary plumbing pipes tail around the outside of looted buildings,
inside one of which a command centre and impromptu barracks have been
jerry-rigged with dodgy, but crucial, air conditioning. It is rustic,
but it works -- and no other location would suffice, since it lies
adjacent to the largest water treatment plant in all of Baghdad, a
facility that must be protected.
Gunslinger gets twice-daily convoys of stale food from the far more
impressive Camp Cooke, where the wonders of modern military frills are
a sight to behold.
For an army about to lose the title of occupier, the vast and constantly
expanding Cooke facility gives the impression none of these soldiers
will be leaving anytime soon. And it is but one of a 1/2-dozen bases
in and around Baghdad built over the winter with a budget from the
Pentagon of $800 mn.
Erected on the badly looted remnants of the Saddam era's largest air
force facility, Camp Cooke, just N of the Iraqi capital at the town of
Taji, is now so large that shuttle buses ease weary soldiers'
feet. The only place the buses don't go is what is known as "The
Boneyard" -- a dumping ground where the former Iraqi regime's heavy
metal has been sent.
Yet The Boneyard has become a favourite site for US troops to gather
virtual war trophies. Though they are forbidden from bringing home any
such loot, the troops at Cooke have grown fond of spray-painting
messages to their loved ones on many 100s of wrecked tanks, jeeps,
army trucks and artillery cannons that once belonged to Saddam.
Cooke's Internet cafe makes sending home digital photos a breeze.
The residents of Cooke are overwhelmingly members of the US 1st
Cavalry Division, for whom the entire network of FOBs around Baghdad
were built. The main body began arriving in Mar, just as a 2nd front
of insurgency -- that of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr -- was
about to catch fire. With his Mahdi Army creating havoc to the S and
the Sunni Triangle getting hotter on all sides, the Cavalry's
awakening to its new assignment was far ruder than advertised.
Then came the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, a subject few soldiers
here are inclined to discuss. One 1st Calvary infantry lieutenant told
the Star his 1st reaction upon seeing the now infamous images from Abu
Ghraib was shock.
"Then, I just couldn't help but think: 'You imbeciles. You actually
took pictures.' What idiots," he said.
"Then finally, it dawned on me. Those pictures just put my life at
risk. We just bought ourselves a lot more mortar attacks, a lot more
IEDs [improved explosive devices]."
It can safely be said Col George Armstrong Custer would no longer
recognise his Cavalry if he were to see it today. There is not a horse
on site -- the "First Team," as it is nicknamed, dismounted formally
in 1943. But the army that once fought Pancho Villa now brings with it
heavy armour and an air support fleet of Apache, Black Hawk and
workhorse Chinook helicopters.
Sgt David Snyder, a platoon leader and Black Hawk pilot, spoke to the
Star about the unknowns of flying over Baghdad.
All traffic in and out of Camp Cooke hugs the ground for the duration
of the journey.
"I've had rocks hit us. I've had soccer balls almost hit us, if you
can believe it. Some of these guys can really kick a ball," said
Snyder. "But I'd still rather be up in the air where we've got a big
field of vision. We just don't know what will be down there next."
A certain number of soldiers throughout the camps take the line that
everything is fine. Or, rather, much finer than the media is letting
on. One such Cavalry specialist confronted this reporter during the
week. His 1st act was to repeat a popular prank -- he pressed his hand
on the "Press" label of my flak jacket, taking it to be a command
rather than a sign of identification.
Once he stopped laughing, he offered a sobering afterthought: "If you
guys would just tell the truth, and if the Iraqis would have the guts
to stand up and fight with the good guys, everything would be all right."
But the truth -- or at least part of the truth -- is that the Iraq
many of these soldiers see never extends "outside the wire." The
enormous%age of US troops who never leave the base remains a sore
point for those infantry who return dust-encrusted from patrols.
Hitching a ride between bases this wk, a team of Arkansas Nat'l
Guardsmen assigned the unenviable task of twice-daily LogPack runs --
more army jargon for Logistics Packages, meaning food and other
essential supplies -- vented on that reality.
"We're supporting our support people, because they're afraid to go
outside. It's ridiculous."
Nowhere is that bubble of insulation more evident than at North
Victory Camp, still under construction on Saddam Hussein's former
hunting grounds NE of Baghdad Internat'l Airport.
If there were such a place as Stepford, Iraq, N Victory would be
it. Here, the generals in command of the 1st Cavalry lord over what is
emerging as one of the largest US base camps built since Vietnam.
Among its attractions, a PX, or camp store, that would not seem out of
place in the Wal-Mart portfolio. Here, in giant air-conditioned
double-clamshell structure, soldiers browse through a cornucopia of
American amusements, from CD and DVD players, televisions and
satellite dishes to Weber barbecues, charcoal briquettes and
flash-frozen Omaha T-bone steaks to drop on the grill, at $14.95 a pop.
Among the war souvenirs: coffee mugs bearing slogans such as "Total
Whoopass: Operation Iraqi Freedom" and "[There is no] Hard Rock
Café, Baghdad"; T-shirts emblazoned "Who's Your Baghdaddio!"
North Victory boasts Iraq's only Burger King, a mobile operation
comprising 2 tractor-trailers -- but only for those willing to use
their own cash, rather than accessing the thrice daily catered meals
courtesy of the Pentagon contractor, Gulf Catering Co That food is
served at no cost and in vast quantities in a massive new mess hall at
N Victory that comes with attractions of its own.
Among them, 2 wide-screen televisions piping in the latest from ESPN
and Armed Forces Network. And last Sun, a uniformed Cavalry jazz trio
just happened to be playing Miles Davis when the Star stumbled in. The
tune was "Kinda Blue."
The heat, surprisingly, is far less of an issue for these soldiers
than one might imagine, given that the Cavalry has forgone tents for
this assignment.
Instead, soldiers are sleeping 2-to-a-room in a vast expanse of
trailer parks. The white-walled trailers provide 4-metre-square rooms,
each with one small window and, most crucially, air conditioning. Thus,
a 45C day becomes 22C whenever a soldier can find an excuse to go to
his room.
The trailer homes have not yet acquired a nickname, unlike most things
army. Given the environment, Ice Cubes might be appropriate.
It all adds up to something that is not quite America, but nowhere nr Iraq.
Yet for those who never travel beyond the limits of these bases,
reality still comes crashing. Mortar and rocket strikes continue to
rain periodically on their parade. Soldiers here whisper of the one
that crashed into the mess hall at Camp Cooke. And the one that killed
4 soldiers in Apr, shortly upon arrival.
And around Gunslinger, if nowhere else, the "aimers" are getting
better, according to Sgt Lynch. "We found one launcher that was
nothing more than a PVC pipe. Probably $20 was all they spent to rig
the whole thing together," he said.
"Somebody knows what they're doing. And they're getting closer."
Like IEDs, the Americans can do nothing against the mortar attacks,
many of which are drive-by, and in at least one instance, rigged to an
inexpensive kitchen timer. The soldiers find themselves targets,
rather than combatants.
"They won't fight," complained one of Gunslinger's infantry.
"They shoot and run. And when you get close to catching them, they
take cover in a mosque, which we're not allowed to touch.
"It's almost like kids playing tag: just as you get close enough to
touch them, they say, 'Time out.'"
The gunslinger soldier then added a surprising afterthought.
"This sucks. They call us occupiers and I don't blame them.
This is all a waste of time. I joined the Nat'l Guard to defend
America. We should not be leaving American soil."
Back in the Humvee full of paranoia, the operation begins.
Sucking up their suspicions, the US soldiers swing into their agreed
convoy position directly behind a truck carrying the Iraqi Guardsmen.
The motorcade proceeds outside the wire and 10 minutes later arrives
to set up its checkpoint at the northern entrance to Baghdad.
What's different this time is that for the very 1st time, the Iraqis
do the checking.
US soldiers fall back in a supporting position. An army tent is
erected, complete with air conditioner, but not before one of the
Americans collapses in the heat. Bottles of water frozen hard the
night before melt within the hour.
The Iraqi Guardsmen are a ragtag lot, clad in 5 different camouflage
uniform styles between the 11 of them. But they are keen. Taking
position on the highway, they filter each Baghdad-bound vehicle using
eyes that can see what the Americans cannot.
"It's a work in progress," Capt Lynch acknowledges, wiping his brow
as he watches from afar. "We've trained them. We've given them some
time on the range and some of them actually are getting to be pretty
good shots.
"And now, finally, this is their 1st assignment. For everybody's sake,
it has to succeed."

Shiite party members killed in Iraq
Baquba (AP). Attackers fired RPGs at the offices of a leading Shiite
political party in Baquba on Sat, killing 3 people and wounding 2,
hospital officials and witnesses said.
The attack on the offices of Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution
in Iraq underscored the deep political and religious friction
afflicting the country in the days leading to the transfer of
sovereignty on Jun 30.
The assailants killed only party members in the attack, said Maitham
Ibrahim, who was wounded in the assault. The party, known as SCIRI,
has long clashed with Saddam's loyalists in this town, which is
inhabited by Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.
Baquba is 56 km NE of the capital Baghdad. It was one of several
cities and towns targeted in a series of attacks on police stations
and govt complexes on Thu. More than 100 people were killed.
The US military accused Saddam Hussein's sympathisers for leading the
insurgency in the area.
=== end 2/4 ===

[R Kym Horsell]

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.
=== end 2/4 ===