NO, NOT THE OIL! #101 (2/2)

[R Kym Horsell]

Glass ceiling still holding women down: report
Canberra. A new census report shows women still are not breaking
through to snr decision making positions in AUS business The report
was compiled by the fed govt agency Women for Equal Opportunity in the
Workplace. It shows the number of female executive managers has
increased slightly to almost 9%, compared to 15% in the US. It also
shows many women are simply choosing the wrong career path. Agency
rep Fiona Krautil says businesses also need to shoulder some of the blame.

Guantanamo Bay translator arrested in Boston
Boston (AFP). A civilian translator who worked at the US naval base
at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba has been arrested at a Boston airport. The
man has been identified as Ahmed Mehalba. Officials say details of
the charges he is facing will be released at a court appearance later
today. The arrest comes amid a widening hunt for spies at Guantanamo,
where 100s of detainees from the US campaign against terrorism are
being held at a maximum security detention centre, including 2
Aussies. An Air Force translator was arrested in Jul on charges of
espionage and aiding the enemy, and an army chaplain was arrested in
Sep on suspicion of espionage at the base.

Airport Security
More security checks introduced at airports
Canberra. The Fed Govt says new screening technology to detect
explosive residue will further strengthen aviation security in AUS.
Airline passengers will be randomly screened for traces of explosives
from today. As part of increased security since the Sep 11 terrorist
attacks, security guards will use a hand held screening devise to
brush or gently vacuum passengers' palms, clothing, shoes and baggage.
The particles gathered will then be tested for residue from
explosives. The chairman of the AUS Airports Association, John
McArdle says it is unclear whether it will cause check-in delays.
"That remains to be seen but I think at the end of the day it's a
measure that will increase the safety and security of the travelling
public," he said. The Govt says the screening for explosive materials
is part of the ongoing fight against terrorism.

Murdered backpacker's father welcomes re-trial
Melbourne. The father of murdered AUS backpacker David Wilson has
welcomed the Cambodian Govt's decision to re-try the man believed
responsible for his son's death. Prosecutors say Chhouk Rin, a Khmer
Rouge cmdr, was in charge of guerrillas who captured a train on which
Wilson and 2 European friends were travelling in 1994. Appeals court
judges say Chhouk Rin was entitled to a retrial after they overturned
his earlier acquittal by a lower court. David Wilson's father, Peter,
says it has been a long, exhausting process. "Mentally it's been
quite tough on me for y because no matter how much you try and get
over something there has got to be resolution," Mr Wilson said. "You
know there's been very little news ... that's allowed us to ...
resolve things in our minds."

Lifeline thrown to Pan Pharmaceuticals
Melbourne (ABC TV). A lifeline has been thrown to Pan Pharmaceuticals
after it was given the all clear to produce soft-gel capsules. The
Therapeutic Goods Admin (TGA) confirmed its recent audit of the
company's SYD plant found it met production requirements. A statement
says the company, which was placed into liquidation last wk, will now
formally apply for a licence reinstatement to make low-risk soft gel
capsules, such as vitamins. The TGA says it could be in a position to
lift the suspension within the next wk. Pan Pharmaceuticals lost its
trading licence in late Apr after the TGA found a series of safety and
quality breaches. Bill Shorten from the AUS Workers Union says it is
bittersweet news for Pan's workers, who found out today that most are
about to be laid off. "The liquidator has advised us after
discussions that the majority of the workforce will be laid off within
the next 5 to 7 days," he said.

Tech headaches: study raises 3G health concerns.
Study shows 3G mobile signals can cause headaches, nausea
Amsterdam (Reuters). A study in the Netherlands has shown that radio
signals for the next generation of mobile phone services, known as 3G,
can cause headaches and nausea. The study, believed to be the 1st of
its kind, was conducted by 3 Dutch Govt ministries. It compared the
impact of radiation from base stations used for the current mobile
telephone network with that of base stations for the 3rd generation,
or 3G, networks. A base station, which usually covers a cell area of
several square km, transmits signals to mobile phones with an
electromagnetic field. The study found that when the test group was
exposed to 3G base station signals, there was a significant impact.
People felt tingling sensations, got headaches and felt nauseous.
There was no negative impact from signals for current mobile networks.

Calif. targets Cold War rocket pollution
Rialto, Calif. Gov Gray Davis signed into law Mon 2 bills that would
make it easier to track pollution from a toxic chemical that was used
to fuel Cold War-era missiles.
Perchlorate, which has been found in water supplies in at least 22
states, has been linked to thyroid damage, though it is unclear what
constitutes a dangerous level of the pollutant.
Davis signed a bill that requires users of perchlorate during the past
53 y to report its use, storage or leaks. The measure also gives water
boards the authority to require owners of perchlorate facilities to
provide clean drinking water when perchlorate contamination is found.
The governor also signed a bill to establish a statewide database to
track contamination. It requires owners of perchlorate facilities
within 8 km of any public wells contaminated by the chemical to
disclose cleanup work.
Perchlorate has forced the shutdown of 100s of wells in California and
it has been found in much of the lower Colorado River -- the main
water source for 20 mn people across the Southwest.
"These bills strengthen protection measures to ensure that our
drinking water supplies are safe and healthy," said Arthur G Baggett
Jr, chairman of the state Water Resources Control Board.
California is developing a drinking water standard for perchlorate.
No such state or fed standards now exist.

HK's harbour threatened by land reclamation
HK (Reuters). To gaze across Vic Harbour at HK's skyline of soaring
skyscrapers and misty peaks is to enjoy one of the world's most
stunning urban vistas.
But the "fragrant harbour" from which the city takes its name and to
which it owes its fortune is in danger of disappearing.
Decades of land reclamation to keep pace with breakneck development in
the former Brit territory have whittled the harbour down to nearly
1/2 its size in the days when tea and opium merchants plied their
trade on wooden sailing ships.
And the HK govt plans as much as 636 hectares more of reclamation,
activists say. The harbour has already been reduced by 3,200 hectares,
or nearly 3,900 soccer pitches.
"It is at the moment already 1/2 of what it was originally. More
reclamation will reduce it to one-quarter," said Winston Chu, chairman
of the Society for the Protection of the Harbour, which has gone to court
to stop new landfill. "And it will become between 800 m and 1,000 m wide,
which is narrower than many, many rivers in the world," he added.
A court ruling is due Fri on an injunction to stop work on a
23-hectare reclamation project in the Central financial district
before a final judgement is handed down.
* STAR FERRY THREATENED?
Chu and other conservationists fear the harbour, long renowned for its
depth and width, will turn into a river and endanger one of Hong Kong's
most enduring icons -- the century-old green and white Star Ferry that
shuttles tourists and commuters across the scenic stretch of water.
HK's harbour plays a key role in the territory's history, from its
roots as a fishing village and its days trading tea and opium in the
heyday of the Brit empire to its modern role as one of the world's
best ports and tourist attractions.
Bowing to public pressure, the govt has suspended work on its latest
harbour infill project until the hearing on the injunction, at a cost
of about HK$1 mn ($129,000) a day in compensation to idled
contractors.
Around 500 protesters gathered nr the Star Ferry Pier in Central
chanting, "Protect the harbour. Stop reclamation," last weekend and Chu
said he expected a quarter of a mn to take to the streets if the
ruling favours the govt.
"I think we have the support of 99% of the HK people," said Chu, who
has vowed to jump into the harbour's polluted waters rather than back down.
Chu's group has raised HK$2.2 million, 1/2 of it the maverick
lawyer's own money, for its legal battle against the govt which may
not end until late this y when a judicial review of the legality of
the landfill plan is expected.
* TRAFFIC
To ease traffic congestion, the govt wants to use the refilled land
for a road from Central to the former red-light district of Wanchai,
the backdrop to the 1960 film "The World of Suzie Wong," as well as
for commercial and recreational aims.
The govt scaled back the original reclamation area from 32 hectares
after public consultations but the harbour front will edge northward
and Star Ferry piers will have to be moved.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with land reclamation per se but
they should create a park to stroll, with places to sit out and have a
drink," said AUS tourist Christy Pritchard while taking photos from
the "Twinkle" Star Ferry.
Despite an impressive skyline, the waterfront on HK Island is concrete
pavement, interspersed with buildings and major roads.
Michael Suen, HK Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, has told
reporters the govt will abide by any court ruling and will stop
reclaiming land from the sea on a large scale after the Central project.
But further land reclamation in the harbour is reckless, Chu says.
"You would never suggest to the people of SYD to fill in their
harbour. It would take a mad man to do that," he said.

Kyoto climate pact discriminates against Russia: Putin advisor
Moscow (AFP). The Kyoto protocol on greenhouse gas emissions in its
present form discriminates against Russia, Pres Vladimir Putin's
leading advisor on economic affairs, Andrei Illarionov, said as
experts met in Moscow for a conference on climate change.
Illarionov highlighted a "strange situation" in which, he said, Russia
accounted for just 6% of global carbon dioxide emissions and yet will
be obliged to reduce them, while countries such as the US (25%) and
China (13%) will be unrestricted.
On Mon, Putin announced that Russia had not yet reached a decision on
whether to ratify the Kyoto protocol, thereby bringing it into force,
but was still weighing up the pros and cons.
He said Russia would take a decision in the light of its nat'l
interests.
"When the US withdrew from the Kyoto protocol, [Pres George W] Bush
explained his decision by saying it was too expensive for them and
that Kyoto placed major restrictions on US economic growth and
development. Is Russia richer than the United States?" he said.
A promise given by PM Mikhail Kasyanov last y that Russia would ratify
the protocol was taken "before there had been any detailed analysis of
all the consequences," he said.
Russia "is now analysing the protocol, its consequences and the
eventual quotas market, and its decision will be made after the
analysis has been completed," he said.
Meanwhile he speculated that global warming, attributed to the
build-up in the atmosphere of greenhouse gases, could have beneficial
effects for Russia.
"In the past few y Russia's crops have increased," he noted. "We are a
Nordic country and we spend billions of dollars on heating, lighting
and warm clothing. That's why a change in temperature of a 1/2-degree
or a degree has enormous consequences for the economy."
Pointing out what he saw as another contradiction, Illarionov said
that "the country that could profit most from the rise in the
temperature [Russia] commits itself to reducing CO2 emissions, while
the countries that are closest to the Equator and which suffer the
most from rising temperatures make no commitment."
European countries are strongly pressing Russia to sign the protocol
so that it can enter into force and contribute to curbing global
warming, which many scientists believe may have catastrophic
consequences for the planet over the next century.

160,000 dying pa from Global Warming
Moscow (Reuters). About 160,000 people die every y from side-effects
of global warming ranging from malaria to malnutrition and the numbers
could almost double by 2020, a group of scientists said on Tue.
The study, by scientists at the World Health Organisation (WHO) and
the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said children in
developing nations seemed most vulnerable.
"We estimate that climate change may already be causing in the region
of 160,000 deaths...a year," Professor Andrew Haines of the London
School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told a climate change
conference in Moscow.
"The disease burden caused by climate change could almost double by
2020," he added, even taking account of factors like improvements in
health care. He said the estimates had not been previously published.
Most deaths would be in developing nations in Africa, Latin America
and Southeast Asia, which would be hardest hit by the spread of
malnutrition, diarrhoea and malaria in the wake of warmer temperatures,
floods and droughts.
"These diseases mainly affect younger age groups, so that the total
burden of disease due to climate change appears to be borne mainly by
children in developing countries," Haines said.
Milder winters, however, might mean that people would live longer on
average in Europe or N America despite risks from heat waves this
summer in which about 15,000 people died in France alone.
Haines said the study suggested climate change could "bring some
health benefits, such as lower cold-related mortality and greater crop
yields in temperate zones, but (that) these will be greatly outweighed
by increased rates of other diseases."
Russia is hosting a World Climate Change Conference this wk to discuss
how to rein in emissions of gases like carbon dioxide from factories and
cars that scientists blame for blanketing the planet and nudging up temps.
Russian Pres Vladimir Putin, who opened the conference on Mon,
suggested in jest that global warming could benefit countries like
Russia as people "would spend less money on fur coats and other warm things."
But Putin also backed away from Russia's earlier pledge to swiftly
ratify the key Kyoto pact on curbing global warming, a plan that will
collapse without Moscow's backing.
He told 940 delegates to the conference Russia was closely studying
the issue of Kyoto. "A decision will be taken when this work is
finished," he said, giving no timetable.
Haines said small shifts in temperatures, for instance, could extend
the range of mosquitoes that spread malaria. Water supplies could be
contaminated by floods, for instance, which could also wash away crops.

Soaring AUD drags share market down
Sydney. The AUS share market has closed lower after the AUD soared to
a 5-and-1/2-y high overnight of 68.7 US c.
The All Ords Index fell 12 points to 3,165.
The rising currency sent resource stocks lower. BHP Billiton shed 32
c or 3% to $10.24, Rio Tinto lost 55 c to $32.32 and Woodside
Petroleum fell 7 c to $13.33.
The major banks were mostly higher, apart from the ANZ which fell 15
c to $17.80. The Commonwealth gained 8 c to $27.78, the NAB
rose 16 c to $30.96 and Westpac picked up 14 c to $16.34. AMP
recovered 9 c to $6.75.
Media giant News Corporation slipped 22 c or almost 2% to $11.80,
PBL slipped 5 c to $11.01, and Fairfax lifted one cent to $3.22.
Retailer Coles Myer inched up one cent to $7.61, Woolworths rose 12
c to $11.84 and Foodland lost 5 c to $17.85.
Telstra picked up 2 c to $4.76.
On the cross rates the AUD is buying 41.1 pence sterling, 76 Japanese
yen and 58.5 euro c.

{{
8.30 pm
SBS Dateline. Aussie intel analysts say their work may have been
deliberately sabotaged by the CIA who tried to maintain a pretext for
war in Iraq.
"The other school of thought was... We'd been set up to fail", Neil
James, army analyst, told SBS TV.
He says he has no doubt Iraq was involved in plenty of counter
espionage of its own to hide whether or not they had WMD as late as
last y. They blocked inspections. They bluffed. There were stand-offs
in car-parks.
But they also privately came clean, telling inspectors their missiles
and at least some WMD stocks had been destroyed in 1991. But they had
no documentation to prove the claims.
Later, a key defector -- one of Saddam's sons in law -- defected to
the West and also said Iraq had destroyed all its stocks in the early 90s.
But the US continued to maintain the position there were "huge
stocks" because there was no proof they had been eliminated. "It was
an accounting issue", says former weapons inspector Scott Ritter.
Ritter constantly clashed with the Iraqi regime at the time. But
he's now a strident critic of the Bush Admin.
He says the inspectors knew everything that they needed to know in the
90s, but it was dismissed by the US govt.
Ritter says it's now obvious why the Iraqis blocked the inspectors at
every turn -- because they believed the inspectors were there to
"get Saddam". He says it now seems clear there had been a consistent
policy to get rid of the Iraqi regime for at least a decade.
Neil James -- who worked with Ritter and Butler in Iraq -- says an
UNSCOM mission to find Iraqi missiles in the late 90s was
spectacularly unsuccessful because the info they were given from the
CIA seemed to be "amateurish" and wrong. In some cases, he says, maps
had "north" arrows pointing south.
James says he witnessed hot arguments between the US military and the
CIA, where each accused the other of incompetence and sabotage in the
spring of 1997.
At about that time, head inspector Richard Butler pulled the
teams out, saying Iraq was not co-operating.
Although he's now set to become the non-political Governor of
Tasmania, Butler told SBS in May 2003 -- in a Dateline program that
was never prev aired -- his team was spied on and possibly influenced
by the US Admin.
"Our ``friends'' supplied us with staff... who then reported to their
home govts", he said.
Other observers say they did more.
After ms of combing the country using detailed pre-war maps --
some of which were presented by Colin Powell at the UN, complete with
yellow arrows indicating chemical weapons stockpiles -- no WMD have
been found. A leaked report says not even microscopic traces have been
found of undeclared chem or bio agents.
The latest spin by the US Admin is about the Saddam regime acquiring
weapons, or planning to build them at some time in the future.
"It was a gathering danger", Conny Rice told reporters yesterday.

SBS Dateline. Did the US ever expect to find WMD in Iraq? The
question is now being asked.
Rolf Ekeus says there is some possibility the Pentagon and Whitehouse
understood all along there was no possibility of "weapons stockpiles"
in Iraq. It's now clear Ekeus' reports supplied most of the evidence
used by the Bush Admin to justify GWII. It dated back to the early 1990s.
Ekeus told SBS TV he believes there were no WMD after 1997/98. "There
could be hardly any stockpiles", he told Dateline. He says there may
have been chem warheads "here and there", but no-one should have
expected to find "huge stockpiles" as outlined by Colin Powell at the
UN presentation earlier this y. He argues the type of chem weapons
used by Iraq, and their very short shelf-life, mean weapons grade
materials could not survive after production programs were closed down.
At best Iraq might have tried to preserve its capability or "potential",
he says.
Ekeus denies he was "quiet" in the lead-up to the war, saying he made
it clear in the run-up he believed there was no bio or chem stockpiles
at the start of 2003. But as to whether Iraq wanted to retain the
potential for chem or bio warfare "that was a political decision", he says.
Asked why he hadn't made his position clear earlier this y, he said he
was sure he went on the record.
But Ekeus' comments from Feb 2003 were replayed. Then, he said he was
"sure" that WMD production facilities still existed in Iraq.
"It's quite easy to reconstitute chemical weapons [production]... and
the same it true of biological", Ekeus said today.
He says he was quite upset when the UNSC broke up in 1998 and didn't
support the UNSCOM presence in Iraq.
It was UNSCOMS's presence that guaranteed WMD would not be produced in
Iraq, he said.

SBS Dateline. The Alaska fishing grounds, once thought to be
"inexhaustible" appear to be running out.
Some say 90% of the big fish are gone from the world's oceans through
over-fishing. And even in Alaska's rich waters all is not well.
For 100s of ys fishermen have set nets in the waters off Kodiak Is --
considered some of the richest salmon grounds in the world. The Is
is home to around 1,000 boats -- one of the biggest fleets in the US.
Fisherman say they still haul in 200-300 fish a day. They also note
1000s of big predators have disappeared from the region.
Researchers say in less than 40 y the sea lion population appears to
have plunged from 200-250,000 in the area, to 20-30,000 now. They say
there's one main culprit on their hit-list -- trawlers removing 2 mn
tonnes of fish from the sea each y. It's brought a fundamental shift
in the ecosystem.
A fed judge sided with the greenies last y, banning fishing boats from
key sea lion sites.
Elsewhere, more than 70% of the world's fish-stocks are now
considered fully-exploded or collapsed. Nearly 1/2 of fish species are
considered threatened.

9.30 pm
Washington. A-G John Ashcroft cut a press conf short and wouldn't
answer questions today about why the Admin will not appoint an
independent investigator in the leaking of a CIA officer's name to the
press. Ashcroft was appointed by the Bush Admin. Mr Bush's
popularity is plummeting, there are accusations the Whitehouse leaked a
name in an act of political revenge, and has now appointing its own
official to investigate the matter. "The Democrats couldn't have
written a better script", said an analyst.

Baghdad's police were hard-put today to control a large demo. A crowd
damaged some cars and mobbed the police stn. They accused the police
of corruption. The regime of Saddam and the present regime are the
same, they said. Both are thieves and both take bribes, yelled the
crowd. 2 demonstrators were hurt in the day-long demo. Further N,
other Iraqis were protesting at the funeral of a man killed by US
forces yesterday. Elsewhere, US troops have stepped up troops around
Khaldiya where rebels attacked a US patrol earlier this wk. Ahmad Chalabi
said US forces will be needed for a "long time" in Iraq. He says the
countries around Iraq gave armies totalling 2 mn men, and Iraq has no army.

9.45 pm
Israel's cabinet has voted this evening to go ahead with the next
phase of the security fence. The Israeli govt has bowed slightly to
US demands -- a gap will be left around the Jewish settlement of
Ariel, delaying for now the decision to incl or loop around the settlement.

11 pm
The All Ords closed down 12 pts led lower by a stronger AUD. In
Japan, the Nikkei closed up 142 pts. At 11 pm AEST the FTSE was up 35
pts. Gold is trading around $US385.25/oz. The AUD is at 68.32 and
headed higher.
}}

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Thu, 02 Oct 2003.

Wall St rallies after slump
Managed funds get the flick
NY (ABC TV). Share prices on Wall Street have gone from slumped to pumped.
After yesterday's 1% slide, they have come roaring back in the latest
session with a rally of more than 2%.
US investors have managed to put aside their concerns about the
economy, despite the latest figures being less than inspiring.
The Institute for Supply Management's index of factory activity has
slipped one point in Sep to 53.7.
However, that indicates there is still growth, and that has been the
case now for 5 successive ms.
At the same time, US Commerce Dept figures show construction spending
has increased by 0.2% in Aug, below Wall Street expectations of 0.4%.
Nevertheless, on the NYSE the DJIA has surged 194 points to 9,469.
Prices on the high-tech Nasdaq market are up 2.5%.
The Nasdaq composite index has jumped 45 points to 1,832.
The Brit sharemarket has also begun the new financial quarter with a
powerful rally.
There have been some encouraging figures on UK manufacturing.
And the improved economic prospects have helped fuel the sharemarket's
biggest single-day rise in 4 ms.
Banks have led the way, with telecommunications and oil stocks also
prominent.
London's FT-100 index has risen 78 points, or 1.9%, to finish at 4,169.
In AUS yesterday, the earlier slide on Wall Street set the tone.
And with yesterday's data out of the US indicating a weak outlook for
manufacturing in the American Midwest, globally exposed AUS companies
suffered on the market.
BHP Billiton fell 3% in value to $10.24, with Brambles and News
Corporation also down significantly.
The All Ordinaries Index shed 11.5 points to 3,165.
On foreign exchange markets, it was a mostly quiet night for the AUD.
But in late NY trade, European buying then pushed the AUS currency up
to a new 5 and a 1/2 y high of 68.78 US c.
By 7.00 am AEST it had pulled back just a little to 68.66 US c, up
1/7 c on yesterday's local close.
On the cross-rates this morning, it is at 0.5858 Euros, 75.96 Japanese
yen, 41.15 pence Sterling and $NZ1.145.
The gold price was at $US384.60/oz and West Texas crude oil had risen
to around $US29.43/bbl.

AUD hits new 5-y high
Sydney. The AUD continues to head higher, reaching a new
5-and-a-1/2-year high overnight. In late NY trade, the local
currency reached 68.78 US c amid a flurry of buying by European
funds. That is the strongest it has been against the American
greenback since Feb 1998. By 7.30 am AEST the dollar was only just
below its new peak at 68.63 US c. Yesterday, the AUS Industry
Group renewed its warning that the appreciating currency was eroding
the competitiveness of AUS's manufacturers. Elsewhere on global
markets this morning, Wall Street's Dow Jones index has staged a
strong recovery, surging 194 points, or 2.1%, in the latest session.

Budget surplus prompts tax cut speculation.
Tax cuts will force interest rate hikes: Oppn
Canberra. The Fed Opp'n says interest rates will be forced up if the
Govt gives big tax cuts from its $7.5 bn budget surplus.
Economic forecasters say the size of the surplus will enable the Govt
to provide tax cuts in the area of $7 a week.
But Labor's finance rep Bob McMullan has told Lateline, Treasurer
Peter Costello has admitted that the effect of pumping large amounts
of extra money into the economy will only lead to a rise in interest rates.
"Last time of course they went on a massive unfunded spending spree,
that put the economy into a deficit," he said.
"Now they are talking about tax cuts, that even the Treasurer is
politely implying will put upward pressure on interest rates, but
which everybody else says means we'll get interest rates going up in
the 1st 1/2 of next y.
"They know the equation.
"If they pump the economy up like they did before the last election,
disastrously with a big spending spree ... interest rates will go up
and families will be worse off."

Harare. 16 KILLED IN BUS CRASH! 16 people have died and another 28
were injured when a bus rammed a tree after blowing a tyre in SW
Zimbabwe. The accident happened 1 day after a bus collided with a
haulage truck 60 km S of the capital, Harare, killing 21 people.
Earlier in Sep, 12 people were burned to death and 19 were injured in
another bus accident.

Hampshire. 7 KILLED IN BUS CRASH! 7 people have been killed and
another 16 injured when a truck and trailer unit crashed into the back
of a tour bus on an Illinois highway, setting of a 5-vehicle chain
reaction. US officials say the 7 people killed were dead at the scene
and the injured have been taken by chopper to hospitals. The smash
happened about 80 km W of Chicago. Police say 6 people are in a
critical condition following the accident.

Colombo. FLOODS KILL 10! Floods and landslides have killed 10 people
in Sir Lanka's S. The deaths come 5 m after the worst rains to batter
the island in 1/2 a century killed 250 people. 2 were killed when a
landslide swept a village in Elpitiya, S of Colombo, and 8 people were
killed in Yakkalamulla. In May, severe rains left nearly 100,000
people homeless and ruined rice, tea and rubber crops, forcing the
govt to seek internat'l assistance.

Mukhlas sentenced to death for Bali bombing
Jakarta (Reuters). An Indonesian court has sentenced Bali bomber
Mukhlas to death for his part in the attack. In pronouncing the
sentence the panel of judges found Mukhlas, also known as Ali Ghufron,
guilty of the main charge of planning an act of terrorism. "The
defendant, Ali Ghufron... has been legally and convincingly proven
guilty of having, together with others, planned an act of terrorism
and also of being in illegal possession of explosives," Judge Cokorda
Raka Suamba said. "We punish the defendant with the death sentence."
Mukhlas is the fourth key suspect sentenced over the attacks. His
brother Amrozi and Imam Samudra have already been sentenced to death
for their part in the bombings. Another of his brothers, Ali Imron,
has already received a life sentence.

Kigali. KAGAME'S PARTY WINS POWER! Rwandan Pres Paul Kagame's ruling
Rwandan Patriotic Front has won the country's first parliamentary
elections since the 1994 genocide. The Rwandan Electoral Commission
has declared the RPF the winner, with 73.78% of the vote. Rwanda had
a turnout of 99.48%. Kagame began a 7-y term after he led RPF to a
landslide win in presid'l polls in Aug. He'd predicted a huge win for
his party in the parliamentary election.

Sydney. AUSSIE PM PUSHES FOR CONST'L REFORM! PM John Howard has
renewed his drive for reform of the Senate. The PM is arguing there
needs to be a process for by-passing the "house of review" so
controversial leg'n can be passed without having to risk a double
dissolution election. In an address to the Business Council of AUS,
Mr Howard last night cited Senate opp'n to the govt's higher
education reforms as "proof" the constitution needs some re-writing.
Mr Howard will next wk launch a discussion paper on senate reforms.

US pushes revised UN resolution
NY (ABC TV). The US has drawn up a new version of the draft UN
resolution covering arrangements for post-war Iraq, taking into
account objections to its previous version.
US State dept rep Richard Boucher says the US Sec of State, Colin
Powell, is briefing fellow members of the UN Sec Council by phone on
the changes made.
Mr Boucher says Mr Powell has already spoken to the Brit Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw, the Spanish For Min Ana Palacio and the German
For Min Joschka Fischer.
Mr Boucher says the new version defines more clearly the role of the
UN representative in Iraq, and also responds to criticism the 1st
draft was too vague on the political process.
"We listened very carefully to what we've heard over the last few
weeks.... We have incorporated many of the ideas and suggestions that
we have heard from others," he said.
In Iraq, a US soldier was killed and police opened fire to disperse
angry unemployed demonstrators.
The death of the soldier in a bomb explosion in Saddam Hussein's
volatile hometown of Tikrit brings to 82 the number of American
service personnel killed in action since Pres George W Bush declared
major combat over on May 1.
Police opened fire to break up crowds of angry jobless Iraqis --
including former soldiers -- demonstrating in Baghdad and the N city
of Mosul as frustration at the country's economic woes boiled over.

No big changes in revised UN resolution on Iraq
NY. A revised US resolution on Iraq being circulated at the UN makes
concessions to the countries that opposed the original draft, but
makes no big changes.
Reporters who have seen a copy of it say it calls for an enhanced UN
role in Iraq and a progressive hand-over of authority to Iraqi institutions.
But the new draft gives no timetable for the end of the US-led
occupation, nor does it give to the UN a primary role in civilian affairs.
After weeks of discussion, the Americans have finally come up with the
draft of a new Sec Council resolution they hope will give firmer UN
backing to the occupation of Iraq.
US State Dept rep Richard Boucher said the US had listened to other
members of the Sec Council and taken their concerns into account.
Pres Chirac of France has already announced that he will not veto a
new resolution, and discussions with Russia and Germany, 2 other key
members of the council, suggest this resolution may eventually be passed.
The Americans are hoping the resolution will encourage other countries
to give troops and money for the reconstruction of Iraq.

Bush staff examines records in leak probe
Washington (AP). White House officials began combing telephone logs
and other records Wed while the FBI assembled senior agents for the
politically delicate task of questioning senior members of Pres Bush
's staff about the leak of a CIA undercover officer's identity.
The FBI's 1st task will be to determine how many govt officials were
privy to the officer's identity and knew it was classified, a number
that could be in the 100s.
Suddenly besieged by questions on a subject that had lain dormant for
months, White House rep Scott McClellan told reporters that no
investigators had yet sought to interview any staff members.
Nor, he said, had staffers gone to the Justice Dept with info, as Bush
had urged any with info to do.
In Congress, Democrats and Republicans sparred over whether a special
counsel should be appointed to investigate. Democrats contend an
agency headed by Bush appointees cannot adequately investigate the
Admin, a claim Republicans have labelled politically motivated.
Overseeing the investigation is John Dion, a 30-year career prosecutor
who has headed the counterespionage section at the Justice Dept since
2002. FBI agents from the counter-intel and inspections division, and
from the Washington field office, will do the legwork.
With the probe in its early stages, the White House was focused on
ensuring that documents, e-mails, phone logs and other potential
pieces of evidence were being preserved.
The FBI, which can use grand jury subpoenas to compel disclosure of
any evidence, also has regularly used polygraph tests in
investigations involving classified info. Asked if White House staff
members would submit to lie detector tests if requested, McClellan
called the question "hypothetical."
"We will cooperate fully with the investigation and make sure that we
preserve the integrity of the investigation," he said.
Investigators want to find out who leaked the name of a CIA officer
married to former Ambassador Joseph C Wilson, who had accused the
Bush Admin of manipulating intel to exaggerate the threat posed by
Iraq . The officer's name, Valerie Plame, 1st appeared in a Jul 14
story by syndicated columnist Robert Novak, and she later was
identified by Newsday as an undercover officer.
The White House and the Republican Nat'l Committee turned up the heat
Wed on Wilson. The GOP's communication office highlighted remarks in
which Wilson backtracked from his original assertion that Karl Rove,
Bush's chief political strategist, was responsible for the leak.
McClellan said that Wilson "has said a lot of things and then backed
away from what he said. So I think part of your role," he told
reporters, "is to do some further questioning there."
Novak, in a column published Wed, wrote that he discovered Plame's
identity when talking with a snr Admin official about why Wilson, who
had been part of Pres Clinton 's Nat'l Sec Council, had been tasked
with investigating allegations that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Niger.
A 2nd official confirmed that Wilson's wife was a CIA officer, Novak
wrote, adding that the CIA itself never suggested to him that
publication of her name would endanger anyone. Novak also wrote that
the officer's identity was widely known in Washington.
One question for the FBI to answer is how many people in the govt did
possess that knowledge.
Former A-G Janet Reno, in Jun 2000 testimony before the Senate Intel
Committee, said the pool of potential leakers in any Admin often is
extremely large.
"Almost inevitably, we find that the universe of individuals with
authorised access to the disclosed info is so large as to render
impracticable further efforts to identify the leaker," Reno
said. "Almost all leak investigations are closed without having
identified a suspect."
Justice Dept guidelines allow for journalists to be subpoenaed only on
rare occasions, after all reasonable attempts are made to obtain the
info from other sources.
"The prosecutorial power of the govt should not be used in such a way
that it impairs a reporter's ability to cover as broadly as possible
controversial public issues," the guidelines say Newsday Editor Howard
Schneider said the newspaper had not been contacted by the Justice
Dept and that its reporters were continuing to pursue the leak story.
On Capitol Hill, a meeting was cancelled Wed between Wilson and House
Democrats, who said having him attend could give greater weight to
Republican claims that the controversy is political.
Some Democrats repeated calls for A-G John Ashcroft to appoint a
special counsel to handle the probe independently, an option that
remains open.
An ABC-Washington Post poll found 69% of Americans believe a special
counsel should be appointed, including 52% of Republicans. A
substantial majority, 72%, said it's likely that someone in the White
House leaked the classified info, but only 34% think it's likely Bush
knew about the leak beforehand.
Sen Charles Schumer, D-NY, said the White House order to preserve
relevant documents should have been done sooner, especially since the
Justice Dept's career prosecutors decided a full investigation was
warranted last Fri.
"Every good prosecutor knows that any delay could give the culprit
time to destroy the evidence," Schumer said.
McClellan defended the Admin's failure to take action when the CIA
officer's name 1st appeared in Novak's column in Jul.
"There was no info brought to our attention beyond an anonymous source
in media reports to suggest that there was White House involvement,"
he said.
Justice Dept officials say they received a CIA "crime report" about
possible disclosure of classified info soon after Novak's column, then
sent the agency a list of 11 standard questions to answer about the
case. Those answers were received last wk, leading to the decision to
begin a probe.

US needs diplomacy change to revamp image: panel
Washington (Reuters). A panel of Govt-appointed experts has found the
US must radically overhaul its public diplomacy, if it wants to
reverse its sinking popularity in the Arab and Muslim world. The
panel's findings are the latest in a series of commentaries about
America's negative image among Muslims and Arabs. Analysts says they
also indicate recent outreach efforts have done nothing to assuage
anger and resentment towards the US. The panel says hostility towards
America has reached what it has termed shocking levels, requiring a
radical transformation. It has recommended the creation of a new
cabinet-level position to oversee public diplomacy, and a massive
increase in spending in the area. However, the panel acknowledges a
prime reason for Arab and Muslim discontent remains the US policy in
the Middle East, where it says spin and propaganda are not the answer.

US soldier shot dead in Iraq
Baghdad (Reuters). A 2nd American soldier has been killed in Iraq
this morning. He was shot dead with a small-calibre handgun while
patrolling an affluent neighbourhood of Baghdad after dark. Another
soldier was wounded. Earlier, a soldier died and 3 colleagues were
hurt when a remote-controlled bomb exploded as a military convoy was
going through the town of Tikrit. The 2 deaths bring to 83 the number
of American service personnel killed in action since major combat was
declared over 5 m ago.

At least 3 US soldiers wounded in Iraq attack
Tikrit (Reuters). At least 3 US soldier have been wounded in a bomb
attack close to the main American military base in Saddam Hussein's
home town of Tikrit, a Reuters correspondent at the scene said. The
bomb exploded shortly before 11.00 pm AEST last night as a patrol
travelled along a road just outside the base, one of Saddam's former
palaces, around 175 km N of Baghdad. US forces in the Tikrit area
have come under frequent attack from guerrillas, believed by US cmdrs
to be mainly Saddam loyalists and foreign Islamic militants. The
US-led military task force in Iraq says more than 700 soldiers have
been wounded in attacks since May 1, when major combat was declared
over in the war that ousted Saddam.

Frustrated jobless riot in Baghdad
Baghdad (Reuters). A small protest by unemployed Iraqis in central
Baghdad has erupted into violence after demonstrators set fire to cars
and gunfire broke out. A few dozen Iraqis looking for work began the
protest nr a hotel which serves as a base for W journalists. Iraqi
police officers fired automatic rifles and pistols after the protest
turned violent and demonstrators started throwing stones. The protesters
had come to a recruitment office for a US-backed local company that
provides guards for state property. The demonstrators were reportedly
angry at being told wk after wk that there was no work for them.

Funds to rebuild Iraq could fall short
NY (Reuters). Some $35 bn will be needed to rebuild Iraq over the next
4 years, UN sources said on Wed, but this m's internat'l donors
conference in Madrid could end up with only $1 bn to $2 bn in pledges,
organisers fear.
The $35 bn figure is based on an assessment of reconstruction needs
prepared by the World Bank , the IMF and the United Nations in
anticipation of the Oct. 23-24 meeting in Madrid, the UN sources said,
speaking on condition of anonymity.
The assessment is expected to be unveiled privately in Madrid on Thu
at a meeting of govts and internat'l agencies preparing for the donors
meeting, which is being sponsored by Spain, the US and the UAE.
In the audience in Madrid will be representatives of govts that have
provided aid for post-war Iraq in the past or expressed an interest in
doing so in the future.
But officials stressed the conference was taking only a 1st stab at
raising reconstruction money and that not all the needed money would
have to come from other govts.
The US has already pledged to contribute $20 bn toward rebuilding Iraq
over 18 m, much of which overlaps with the $35 bn needs assessment.
Other money could come from Iraqi oil sales, Iraqi tax revenues and
private investment, the officials said.
* "NO DROP IN THE OCEAN"
Nonetheless, a snr European aid official, who asked not to be
identified, said he would be surprised if the rest of the world,
including Europe, Japan and Arab states combined, came up with $2 bn
for the initial 1-y period.
The European Union on Wed defended its planned offer of just 200 mn
euros ($234 mn) through 2004 as "no drop in the ocean," arguing that
there was a limit to both its own funds and Iraq's current ability to
absorb outside money.
"If we take into account the figures mentioned by [US] Pres Bush, of
$87 bn [for reconstruction plus military costs], or $20 bn directly
for reconstruction, any figure will probably appear to come up short,"
said For Min Ana Palacio of Spain, which is hosting the Madrid meeting.
But she said there would be a high level of participation in the
conference and the key message was to show "that the reconstruction of
Iraq concerns all of us."
Donors said a big problem, in addition to funds being tight, was the
US decision to invade Iraq without UN approval and then run the
reconstruction program on its own, depriving govts of a say in how the
money will be spent.
The UN Sec Council is currently weighing a US offer to give the UN a
broader role in the reconstruction, which could make govts more generous.
Another key question is how much money to expect from Iraqi oil sales.
While production has been crippled by sabotage and civil disorder
since the ouster of Saddam Hussein , the White House expects to
contribute some $5 bn a y in Iraqi oil revenues toward reconstruction
costs, starting in 2005, thereby providing roughly $15 bn through 2007
for reconstruction.

US says new al-Qaeda chief in Gulf
Washington (AP). US officials believe they have identified a young
former bodyguard of Osama bin Laden as al-Qaeda's new chief of terror
operations in the Persian Gulf.
Abu Hazim al-Sha'ir, a 29-year-old Yemeni now believed to be living in
Saudi Arabia, is one of a new crop of al-Qaeda operatives who are
trying to fill the roles of snr bin Laden lieutenants who have been
captured or killed since Sep 11, according to US officials.
"Capable replacements appear to be emerging, many of whom have
demonstrated their ability to see previously planned operations
through to fruition," according to one US intel report.
Abu Hazim is just one of the top al-Qaeda leaders now at large,
according to officials from US counterterrorism agencies, who
discussed intel on the terror network on the condition of anonymity.
Officials acknowledge there may be other emerging leaders they don't
know about or leaders participating in terrorist planning they are
unaware of. The CIA and FBI , for example, did not learn that Khalid
Shaikh Mohammed was the mastermind of the Sep 11 attacks until well
after they took place.
Abu Hazim appears to be taking the place of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a
key organiser of the USS Cole bombing and the 1998 East Africa embassy
bombings, officials say. Al-Nashiri was detained in the United Arab
Emirates in late 2002.
Abu Hazim is on Saudi Arabia's list of 19 most-wanted al-Qaeda
operatives, listed under his real name of Khalid Ali Bin Ali
Al-Hajj. He is believed to have trained in al-Qaeda's Afghan camps in
1999 and later to have served in bin Laden's bodyguard. Before
Sep 11, he travelled frequently to the Arabian peninsula, to SE Asia
and to Afghanistan .
US counterterrorism officials also tie him to the May 12 bombings of
residential complexes in Riyadh and possibly to some Saudi-based
planning of operations targeting the US directly.
There isn't hard evidence tying him to ongoing attacks on US forces in
Iraq , however.
Abu Hazim's emergence as a snr figure comes as al-Qaeda is struggling
to deal with the losses of many of its pre-Sep 11 operational cmdrs,
including Mohammed Atef, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Abu Zubaydah. Atef
was killed in a US airstrike in Afghanistan in Nov 2001, and Mohammed
and Abu Zubaydah later were captured separately in Pakistan.
The internat'l hunt for such snr leaders is a key component of the
US-led war against al-Qaeda. For all the 1000s of people who trained
at bin Laden's camps, only such snr leaders are thought to have the
connections, financing and savvy to pull off major terrorist attacks.
"The loss of so many snr operational coordinators represents the
elimination of a decade worth of terrorism planning experience.
These individuals were, in large part, the guiding force behind the
success of al-Qaeda's attacks," the US intel report says.
Yet, officials acknowledge there may be other, emerging leaders they
haven't identified. And several from al-Qaeda's old guard remain at
large. They include Ayman al-Zawahri, bin Laden's chief deputy, and
Abu Musab Zarqawi, an associate of bin Laden who is now thought to be
in charge of al-Qaeda operations inside Iraq.
US officials believe 2 more, Saif al-Adel and Abu Mohamed al-Masri,
are in Iran. But it is unclear if they are in some kind of Iranian
custody or able to move and communicate at will.
Abu Hazim's presence in the Saudi kingdom is telling, said Vince
Cannistraro, a former CIA counterterrorism chief.
"The whole locus of al-Qaeda, in terms of its power and its strength,
has moved to Saudi Arabia," he said.
Other members of the organisation are believed to be in Pakistani
cities, and many of the arrests of key al-Qaeda operatives have taken
place in those areas. Still others, including bin Laden himself and
al-Zawahri, are thought to be in the remote region along the border
between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The US intel report also notes the Saudi kingdom's importance to al-Qaeda.
"Saudi Arabia has always been al-Qaeda's primary base of popular and
religious support and funding," the report says. "While not as
permissive an operating environment as Afghanistan was, the kingdom
offered enough acquiescence for al-Qaeda to actively recruit, obtain
and store explosives and weapons, plan terrorist attacks, and fund raise."
US officials say the Saudis have made significant strides in battling
al-Qaeda within the country since the May 12 bombing.

UK Labour delegates force Iraq debate
Bournemouth. The Brit Labour Party has again split on the rights and
wrongs of the invasion of Iraq, during a debate on the war at its
nat'l conference overnight.
There was no provision for a vote on the war at this conference, so
delegates hijacked the foreign policy forum and forced one.
"Let's stop this madness now, let's get back in step with the UN,
let's get our forces out of Iraq," said one delegate.
But despite the rancour this issue has caused, there were more voices
backing PM Tony Blair than against him.
"Tony Blair made a difficult decision, you can't walk away now," said
one supporter.
Anti-war campaigner and MP Alice Mahon said the Iraq war was about
oil, and that it had left the world "a much more dangerous world to
live in". "War plans were laid well in advance and we were misled,"
she said.
Nevertheless, the mild tone of the debate will be a major relief for a
Govt under continuing pressure.
Addressing the conference, Brit For Sec Jack Straw admitted the
security situation in Iraq is "not satisfactory", while reconstruction
is making progress, but "too slowly".
"I readily accept that the picture on the ground in Iraq today is not
satisfactory. Security is a serious concern, and the challenges of
helping to heal the scars of a country battered by decades of
repression and dictatorship are substantial," he said.
"Slowly, if too slowly, the reconstruction work is starting to create
a future for the people of Iraq they have dreamed of for so long." He
said Iraqis had been liberated from Saddam Hussein, but added
"liberating them from his brutal legacy will be longer and harder".
Def Sec Geoff Hoon called for unity on the way forward for Iraq, while
acknowledging "different and passionately held views" about the war.
"Whatever differences exist ... now is the time to agree on a shared
vision" on Iraq's future, he said.
Mr Hoon is a central figure in an ongoing inquiry into the suicide in
Jul of Brit govt weapons expert David Kelly, the source of a BBC
report alleging that the govt "sexed up" intel on Iraqi weapons to
beef up the case for military action.
A Brit govt dossier on Iraq last Sep notably claimed that Saddam was
capable of deploying biological and chemical weapons within 45
minutes, without pointing out that it was referring to battlefield
weapons, not long-distance missiles.

Foot mounts personal attack on PM's "lies" over conflict in Iraq
London. The former Labour leader Michael Foot launched an
extraordinary personal attack on Tony Blair last night, accusing him
of telling lies over the war in Iraq.
Mr Foot, who was given a Downing Street reception by Mr Blair for his
90th birthday this summer, said at the Tribune rally that the chaos in
Iraq increased the risk of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons
falling into the hands of terrorists. He urged Mr Blair to make it the
mission of a 3rd Labour term to promote global disarmament.
"If we have a full-scale internat'l action to stop all the weapons of
mass destruction, then we won't have to hear any more lies from our
leaders on this," he said.
Last night the Labour leadership refused to accept a motion
criticising the war. The unions expressed anger and pledged to
challenge a decision not to allow a vote on an emergency motion tabled
by the RMT rail union, which said the war had no justification and
Brit troops should be withdrawn. Union activists viewed this as an
attempt to prevent the Prime Min being humiliated.
The leadership's decision left delegates with only an uncontroversial
policy paper about Iraq to vote on today. The policy paper does not
criticise the Govt but it could form an opening for critical speeches
from the floor. "A vote on this paper would be meaningless," said one
snr union official last night.
This morning the RMT is expected to mount a public challenge to the
decision to quash a vote on its critical motion. It plans to refer the
decision back to the conference arrangements committee, which
recommends what should and should not be debated. A Labour rep said he
could not comment on the decision ahead of a formal announcement to
the conference this morning.
On Sun night Labour managers were delighted when the constituencies
did not put their weight behind an Iraq vote. Yesterday they were
trying hard to avert a humiliating defeat for Mr Blair after unions
clubbed together to try to force a vote.
The compromise to allow delegates to vote on a policy paper was
designed to fend off accusations that the party was trying to quash
debate on Iraq at the conference. The conference arrangements
committee is believed to have decided the motion was out of order
because it did not qualify as an emergency motion, which must refer to
something that has occurred after 17 Sep.
The RMT union had hoped its motion would qualify because it referred
to a recent poll showing that most people in Brit thought the war was
unjustified and reports that the Iraq Survey Group has found no WMD.
Mr Blair also came under strong attack at the Tribune rally from Robin
Cook, the former foreign secretary, and Clare Short, the former
internat'l development secretary, who warned that the PM would risk
being deposed as leader if he failed to change his ways. "We have got
to say Blair's got to change or we have got to change Blair," Ms Short said.
The attack came as unions hit out at the Labour leadership's steadfast
refusal to stage a debate on the Iraq issue.
Earlier the PM was also publicly criticised for the 1st time by Jan
Kavan, the outgoing general secretary of the UN General Assembly, who
criticised the failure to disarm Saddam Hussein through the UN route.
Mr Kavan said that it was time for W countries to adopt the old
Persian principal whereby leaders were given wise counsel on issues of
war and peace. "Someone should be telling heads of state you have
decisions based on weak evidence, unsubstantiated statements and false
hope,'' he said. Mr Kavan's remarks were a clear reference to Mr
Blair's heavily criticised dossier on the Iraqi threat.

Istanbul. BOMB EXPLODES OUTSIDE POLISH CONSULATE! A home-made bomb
has exploded outside the Polish consulate in Istanbul. The Anatolia
news agency reports no-one's been injured in the minor blast -- the
latest in a series of similar attacks in Turkey on consular and other
buildings of countries involved in the Iraq war. Poland is heading a
multinat'l contingent in C and S Iraq, as part of an internat'l
stabilisation force, following the US-led invasion and overthrow of
Saddam Hussein.

Israel approves new barrier section
Tel Aviv (Reuters). The Israeli Cabinet has approved the building of
another section of its controversial security barrier, despite
on-going pressure from the US.
On paper, the security barrier will cut deep into Palestinian
territory, incorporating the large Jewish settlement of Ariel on the
Israeli side.
But this will mean tens of 1000s of Palestinians will be cut off from
the West Bank.
Under US pressure Israel has decided instead to build a separate fence
around Ariel, which for now will not be connected to the main barrier.
For the time being Israeli troops will patrol gaps in the wall.
Israel hopes to fill in those gaps after reaching an agreement with
the Bush Admin.
Israel's Deputy PM Ehud Olmert, has tried to allay Palestinian fears,
saying the barrier will not interfere with the daily lives of the Palestinians.
"What we are trying to do is 1st and foremost to provide security for
the people that live there," he said. "This is natural and this is of
use and this is not something that anyone can object to.
"However, it is not aimed creating any difficulties [for] the
Palestinian people and it would be done in a manner that would be
helpful to us and not difficult for them."
Israeli Defence Min Shaul Mofaz denies the barrier is a new border.
"It is only a security fence and say you can remove a fence."
But snr Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat says the continued building
of the barrier will undermine the American-backed peace plan for the region.
"This is not a security fence as they call, this is a wall intended to
grab Palestinian land. This does not separate Israelis and
Palestinians, this separates Palestinian and Palestinians."

World must pressure Israel over nukes: Arab League
Amman (Reuters). The world's major powers are right to pressure Iran
over its nuclear ambitions but should also tackle Israel over its
atomic capabilities, the sec-gen of the Arab League says. Amr Moussa
says Israel, widely believed to have nuclear weapons capability,
should sign on to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, which is aimed
at curbing the spread of nuclear arms. The UN's nuclear watchdog has
given Iran until Oct 31 to prove Tehran's claim that it has no
intention of developing nuclear arms and it merely hopes to use
nuclear technology to produce electricity. "Weapons of mass
destruction are not only in one country or in another. It is a problem
that has to be honestly and openly addressed [with] no exceptions for
any country. We don't understand why there would be any exceptions,"
Mr Moussa said. "That's why this is a major problem in this
region... the Israeli nuclear situation will have to be tackled
together with any similar situation in the region," he told the
Canadian Parliament's foreign affairs committee. Experts believe the
Jewish state has between 100 and 200 nuclear weapons, a stockpile of
chemical weapons and an active biological arms program.

3 dead in Liberia; UN peacekeepers take over
Monrovia. At least 3 people have been killed and 7 others wounded in
Liberia in clashes between rebels and govt troops as UN peacekeepers
begin taking over from W African troops already in the country.
Witnesses say heavy fighting broke out in the capital Monrovia after a
convoy escorting a key rebel leader came under attack.
They say the trouble began when civilians started throwing stones at
the convoy as it headed towards a meeting with caretaker Pres Moses Blah.
It was the worst clash in Monrovia since order was restored after
pariah leader Charles Taylor flew into exile in Aug.
The new UN cmdr, Lt-Gen Daniel Opande, says his troops will face
several challenges.
"I think the 1st great challenge for us is to ensure that we can
deploy throughout the country and open up the country for humanitarian
assistance and bring some sort of peace and stability for the
transitional govt to begin re-exerting its authority throughout the
country," he said.
The last US warship has sailed away from Liberia's coast, marking the
end of American involvement in the peace-keeping mission and drawing
criticism from aid groups favouring a more robust intervention.
The Pentagon says the helicopter carrier USS Iwo Jima is now heading N.
Its exit follows the weekend departure of the USS Carter Hall and USS
Nashville, fulfilling Pres George W Bush's pledge to wrap up US
involvement by the start of Oct.
Internat'l relief and advocacy groups however say the US is turning
its back at a critical time for Liberia, a nation founded in the 19th
century by freed American slaves.

Anti-terror detectives question 11 men over forgery plot
London. 11 Algerian men were being questioned last night by
anti-terrorist police in connection with the suspected support of
al-Qaeda activists.
7 of the suspects were arrested under anti-terror laws in London where
two businesses were later searched. 4 men in Manchester were detained
in early-morning raids.
The men were being questioned in connection with the manufacture of
false documents and passports and other alleged terrorist support activity.
Documents were taken from the properties, but no weapons, bomb-making
equipment or poison were found.
The raids were the fifth large operation against terrorist suspects
with alleged connections to N African and Algerian groups this y.
6 men, all in their thirties, were held in 6 am raids in N, E and SE
London by officers from Scotland Yard's Anti-Terrorist Branch.
A 7th man was later arrested in the capital, and 2 businesses in east
and SE London were raided and searched. All 7 were taken to a police
station in central London and remained in custody last night.
They were being held under the Terrorism Act 2000 on suspicion of
being involved in the "commission, preparation or instigation of acts
of terrorism", said Scotland Yard.
A man aged 32 was arrested in Manchester at 5.30 am under the same Act
and was being brought to London for questioning. 3 men staying at the
address in Manchester were also arrested but were not thought to have
been the police's intended targets.

Canadian researchers step closer to SARS vaccine
Toronto (Reuters). Canadian researchers have come a step closer to
finding a vaccine to fight deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome,
the Canadian Institutes of Health Research said on Wed.
This is the 1st announcement about a potential vaccine to combat SARS,
which has killed more than 800 people and infected about 8,500 people
around the world, CIHR officials said.
A team at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, cloned the gene
that marks an important protein of the SARS virus and then inserted
this gene into a common cold virus. It will shortly test this in
animals for protective effects.
"This is an important step that will allow us to immediately determine
whether we can provide protection against this virus with proper
immunisation," said Jack Gauldie, chairman of the dept of pathology
and molecular medicine, at McMaster.
Gauldie's team included professors Frank Graham, Mary Hitt and Jim
Mahony of the dept of pathology and molecular medicine, along with
professor Ludvik Prevec and technologist Uma Sankar of the dept of biology.
The team has also produced a 2nd SARS vaccine candidate in
collaboration with the SARS Vaccine Initiative of the Brit Columbia
Centre for Disease Control.
Depending on the outcome of the animal studies, both potential
vaccines could be ready to test in human trials within the y.
Dr Bhagirath Singh, scientific director of the Canadian Institutes of
Health and Research's Institute of Infection and Immunity, said he
thinks the vaccine will have to go through several stages of testing,
from mice to monkeys to humans.
"It will depend on whether it turns out to be useful in animal
experiments. It is too early to tell," Singh told Reuters.
The news of the potential vaccine comes amid a public inquiry into
Toronto's 2 SARS outbreaks, which showed that enforcing long-standing
infectious-disease protocols by hospitals could have curbed the spread
of the flu-like illness in the city, the only place outside Asia where
the virus claimed lives.
44 people in Canada died from the SARS outbreak, all in the Toronto area.

Study finds breast implants boost suicide rate
Helsinki (AFP). A Finnish study has found women who have enlarged
their breasts through plastic surgery are 3 times more likely to
commit suicide than those who have not. The survey covered 2,166
Finnish women who had received cosmetic breast implants from 1970 to
2000, and found 10 of them had committed suicide. That is 3 times the
nat'l average. Eero Pukkala is in charge of the study. She says it
is believed many of the women have tried to improve their self
confidence and mental problems only through breast implants, rather
than tackle deep-seated causes. She also says women should not
believe what they read in fashion journals. Swedish research
published earlier this y found that of 3,500 women who had been given
cosmetic breast implants, 15 had taken their own lives, three times
more than the expected suicide rate.

More surgeons to quit
Cuts to surgery expected
Sydney (ABC TV). Specialist surgery at NSW public hospitals is
expected to be significantly disrupted or even cancelled, following
the resignations of more surgeons over the medical indemnity crisis.
The NSW Govt says 21 surgeons are now intending to resign over the Fed
Govt's levy designed to cover the cost of future claims.
That figure includes 15 in W SYD, the only 3 ear, nose and throat
specialists on the state's central coast and 3 orthopaedic surgeons at
Orange Base Hospital in the state's central W.
The state's Acting Health Min Frank Sartor says the NSW Govt can do
little to prevent patients being affected.
"We're looking at how to minimise the impacts but there are
consequences which are beyond our control. Doctors are leaving because
of Fed Govt decisions and all we can do is try and mitigate that," he said.
"But there will be less procedures, there's no other way of doing it."
The AUS Medical Association (AMA) says some doctors are facing bills
of up to $200,000 over the next 10 years, on top of premiums.
Assistant Treasurer Helen Coonan says it is a case of 1/2-truths and
scare tactics.
But Sen Coonan says the truth is 80% of doctors will pay less than
$1,500 under the deal agreed to with doctors to provide ongoing
insurance coverage.
Sen Coonan asks whether taxpayers should pay for negligence claims
against doctors.
She says the levies are already tax deductible, and taxpayers have
heavily subsidised the insurance rescue package.

Indonesia seeks to repair tourist ties
Melbourne. Indonesian Govt officials are in MEL today to discuss
measures designed to establish a safe framework for tourism in their
country. The Vice-Min for Culture and Tourism will hold briefings on
immigration policy and security with members of the AUS tourism
industry. The purpose of the visit is to convince the Aussies that
Indonesia is a safe place to visit. Indonesian tourism consultant
Ratih Hardjono says it is very important to re-establish trust between
the 2 nations. "Both countries are worried about security, are
dealing with the issue of security in different ways," he said.
"Relations between 2 countries shouldn't just be broken off. "We're
neighbours, it's not going to change, we've got to live with each other."

Crean praises trip despite failing to meet Megawati
Jakarta. Fed Opp'n leader Simon Crean says he is disappointed at not
being able to meet Pres Megawati Sukarnoputri during his visit to
Indonesia. Mr Crean had gone to Indonesia to talk with the Ms
Megawati but the meeting was cancelled at the last minute on Tue and
was not rescheduled. Speaking from Singapore, Mr Crean says he
believes his trip to Indonesia was still useful. "I have had
fantastic access to many other members, not only of the Indonesian
govt, but of the Indonesian security and police authorities," he said.

Analyst urges police boost in S Pacific
Canberra. A CBR security analyst says AUS should plan to send police
into the S Pacific for the next 10 to 20 y to help regional govts.
Hugh White says AUS needs a reserve of 2,000 experienced police so it
can maintain up to 500 police in the S Pacific at any one time. The
head of the AUS Strategic Policy Institute says police reserves are
being strained by the Solomon Islands intervention and the proposal to
commit 100s of police to Papua New Guinea. Mr White told the CBR
press club that duty in the Pacific should become a regular part of
the career of state and fed police. "We have been extraordinarily
lucky in AUS that our police forces, particularly the AFP, have in
East Timor, in Bali, in the Solomons, in PNG, have shown they can do
much more than is reasonable for us to ask of policemen to do," he
said. "We are going to need a lot more of that. "And if I was going
to add a new element to AUS's force structure, I would focus on
putting some serious money into a standing, deployable body of police
trained and equipped for operations offshore."

NY. AUSSIES HAVE BROKEN GANGSTERS IN SOLOMONS! Solomons Is For Min
Laurie Chan told the UNGA that the multi-national troop deployment in
his country has broken the reign of gangsters and warlords in the
islands. Chan says the AUS-led deployment is re-establishing law and
order. He says it's given his country a chance to begin clearing up
rampant corruption and is allowing the govt's finances to stabilise.

Preparations for Solomons troop pull-out underway
Honiara. Planning has begun in Solomon Islands for the possible
withdrawal of some of the military forces attached to the AUS-led
intervention force. AUS has 1,400 Navy, Army and Air Force personnel
deployed in the Solomons to provide security and logistic support.
Regional contributions include more than 470 police and troops from
New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Fiji. Special coordinator of
the Regional Assistance Mission Nick Warner says a decision on when
troops are pulled out is up to individual govts. "The role of the
military is to prove logistic support to the operation and to provide
protection to the police if they're threatened or come under attack,"
he said. "We are looking at and planning for the commercialisation of
important elements of logistic support and in time that will allow
some military elements to leave."

Canberra. PNG CALLS FOR HELP! PNG has appealed to AUS to provide
broad one-off assistance to help reform its police force. PNG's
Police Min Bire Kimisopa says he's asked For Min Alex The Downer to
broaden AUS's offer of assistance beyond the loan of police officers
and other agreed measures. The police minister ack's his force is
riddled with problems and needs help, but he says it's up to the PNG
police force to determine what assistance is needed.

Telstra boss a no show for Senate inquiry
Canberra. The chief executive of Telstra has been criticised for not
agreeing to appear before today's Senate inquiry into the
corporation's full privatisation.
The Telstra officials giving evidence will do so after numerous
submissions from groups opposed to the sale.
The snr Labor Sen on the committee, Sue Mackay, says as the inquiry
has been taking evidence, she has heard continued opp'n to the Govt's
proposal to fully privatise Telstra.
Sen Mackay says she would have expected that Telstra chief executive
officer Ziggy Switkowski would have appeared before the inquiry.
"That the CEO of Telstra can't even be bothered turning up to a Senate
hearing which will determine the future as to whether Telstra is
privatised or not, i think that says it all," Ms Mackay said.
The NSW Farmers told the inquiry yesterday they strongly opposed the
sale, and W AUS Farmers will echo that sentiment today.
Ms Mackay says opp'n to the sale only appears to be growing.
"People from all walks of political life, from conservatives
... people who might traditionally vote Nat'l party or vote for the
Liberal party right through to people who vote Labor, they are
unanimous ... they do not want Telstra sold," she said.
"It's a very, very clear message, I don't think it could be much
clearer, and I think the govt is crazy for not listening to it."
The committee is due to report back to the Senate by the end of the m.

Canberra. CONSUMERS, FARMERS CONCERNED ABOUT TELSTRA SELL-OFF! A
Senate inquiry has been told that current regulations are failing to
protect consumers and the privatisation of Telstra can't guarantee
future service levels. The committee inquiry into the Telstra sale
bill has heard from a series of consumer and rural groups, all of them
concerned at the implications of a full sale of the telco. The
Consumers' Fed'n of AUS says the most important issue is ensuring
Aussies in regional and remote areas have equitable access to
telecommunications.

Returning sheep "irresponsible", quarantine expert warns
The sheep shipment is expected to return to AUS.
Canberra (ABC TV). A former animal health expert with AUS's
quarantine authority says returning 50,000 sheep stranded in the
Middle East could put AUS's whole livestock industry in jeopardy.
Dr John Auty, who was responsible for animal health in the livestock
trade for AUS Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS), says the sheep
could already be diseased and should not be returned.
"It's totally irresponsible, I've never heard of anything so
irresponsible," he said.
"It's a complete breakdown of what we've established over 200 ys, the
best quarantine protection of any country in the world."
Fed and state agriculture ministers will meet in Perth today to
consider what to do with the sheep on the Cormo Express.
The Fed Govt says it will bring the livestock home rather than
slaughter the animals at sea, if a new owner cannot be found soon.
Activists will turn their attention to the meeting after failing to
prevent the loading of a new shipment of 10s of 1000s of live sheep
onto the export ship Al Kuwait yesterday.
AQIS has cleared the live sheep for export after an inspection at
Fremantle this morning.
The inspection was carried out to address concerns after the problems
involving the Cormo Express.
AUS's director of Quarantine, Michael Taylor, says everything on board
the Al Kuwaiti complied with both AUS's and Kuwait's requirements.
Fed Dept of Agriculture rep Carson Creagh says the Kuwaiti authorities
will be notified of the positive results of the inspection.

Anti-war protesters found guilty of Opera House damage
Sydney. 2 men have been found guilty of maliciously damaging the SYD
Opera House by painting an anti-war slogan on it and could face a jail
sentence. In March, David Burgess, 33, and Will Saunders, 42, scaled
the Opera House and painted the words 'No War' across its largest sail
in bright red paving paint. Outside the court, Burgess said an appeal
is highly likely. "I'd rather leave it to my legal representative at
this stage but I feel this case is far from over," he said. Saunders
says the judge erred in his decision to prevent them from claiming the
crime was in self-defence. "The judge ruled that our defence was not
admissible evidence," he said. "We will be appealing on the basis
that his decision was wrong." Judge Anthony Blackmore told the men
there is a very real prospect they will go to jail for the crime.
They are due to be sentenced on Dec 11. Saunders, an astronomer in
AUS on a sponsored working visa, faces having his visa cancelled if
the conviction is upheld.

Fed Govt welcomes Khmer Rouge retrial
Canberra. The AUS Govt has welcomed a decision in Cambodia to re-try
a senior Khmer Rouge cmdr accused of the killing of AUS backpacker
David Wilson. The Cambodian Court of Appeal has ordered that Chhouk
Rin face court on Oct 27 for the murder of Mr Wilson and 2 European
friends in 1994. The retrial was granted after the court of appeal
overturned Rin's acquittal of the killings in a lower court. A rep
for Foreign Affairs Min Alexander Downer says the Govt has repeatedly
urged Cambodia to bring to justice those responsible for the killings.
Chhouk Rin has remained free pending the processing of his appeal.
The AUS Ambassador in Phnom Penh will attend the hearing and continue
to pressure the Cambodian govt to ensure justice in the case.

Cairns magistrate jails 4 illegal fishermen
Cairns. 4 Indonesian nat'ls have been jailed after admitting to
captaining boats caught fishing illegally in AUS waters. Navy and
custom's patrols caught the 4 boats in FNQ during the past 2 months.
Authorities found hooked longlines on all of the boats and sharks and
shark fins on 2 of them. Sony Andi, Hiya Daya, Hamza Anch Teluwun and
Wahyu Rahim pleaded guilty in the Cairns Magistrates Court to 2
charges under the Fisheries Act. The men, all aged in their 20s, were
fined between $8,000 and $10,500. In sentencing, Magistrate John Lock
said he recognised they were from poor backgrounds, but his primary
responsibility was to protect AUS fisheries. The men will spend
between 3 and 6 m in prison because they cannot pay their fines.

Brisbane. IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN! 14 illegal non-white immigrants have
been detained after an operation by Qld Police, Centrelink and
Immigration officers. The Dept of Immigration says the group of
Indonesian, Malaysian and Vietnamese nationals are visibly unlawful
non-citizens, working illegally in Bundaberg. All 14 have been
transferred to Brisbane for deportation.

Domaszewicz upset over Leskie inquiry
Melbourne. Greg Domaszewicz says he is shocked and disappointed that
police are continuing to name him as the only credible suspect in the
1997 murder of Moe toddler Jaidyn Leskie. Mr Domaszewicz was charged
but acquitted of the child's murder. The Vic coroner recently
reopened the inquiry into Jaidyn's death, and a summary of the
reinvestigation by police says there is no evidence suggesting a
credible suspect other than Mr Domaszewicz. Mr Domaszewicz says he
had hoped to clear his name at the new inquest. "I couldn't believe
it, I still can't believe it," he said. "It is just appalling,
ridiculous ... it is unbelievable."

Defence Forces sue staff over bad debts
Canberra. The Defence Forces have ordered legal action be taken
against members who fail to pay bills owed to the Commonwealth. The
Navy News says people in the force owe a total of $4.6 million. It
says attempts by recover the money have often been ignored. Debts
include overpaid allowances as well as cleaning and maintenance costs
for residences.

Sydney. NAVY WEEK KICKS OFF! The new Navy frigate HMAS Parramatta has
undergone its first public inspection, as Navy Week kicks off in SYD.
The new warship will be formally commissioned into the fleet on Sat
with a ceremony at Garden Is. 3 survivors of the former HMAS
Parramatta, which sank during action in the Med during WWII, attended
today's launch. As part of Navy Week celebrations, the RAN will hold
an open day at the Woolloomooloo [Mississippi? Phfff!] Fleet Base on Sun.

Financial adviser pleads guilty over failed schemes
Adelaide. A former financial adviser involved in 2 of AUS's most
notorious collapsed investment schemes has been given a suspended
sentence in the District Court in Adel. Ian William Snook, 54, of
Linden Park, in Adel's E, channelled investments from company Golconda
Resources into a failed Qld investment scheme known as the Wattle
Group. He pleaded guilty to 62 various corporate law charges arising
from an investigation by the AUS Securities and Investments
Commission. In the court today, Snook was sentenced to 2 y
imprisonment, suspended on the condition he pay $1,000 and enter a
two-year good behaviour bond.

Hopes new airport security will reduce terror risk
Canberra. The Fed Govt says the introduction of devices to detect
explosive residue will significantly reduce the threat of terror
attacks on aircraft. Hand-held trace detection machines are being
introduced at domestic and internat'l airports across AUS. Transport
Min John Anderson says the devices can detect even minute particles of
explosives on skin, clothing and carry-on luggage. "We think the
interruption will be minimal, we think people will actually understand
that it's important it helps improve their security," he said. "We
will be sensitive to privacy concerns, if people want to be screened
privately they will be able to ask for that." The devices have been
introduced at SYD, Bris and MEL airports and other states will get the
technology later this m.

Opp'n wants Ruddock to stand down
Canberra. The Fed Opp'n has called for the outgoing Immigration Min
Philip Ruddock to step aside until allegations that failed asylum
seekers were deported using fake passports have been dealt with.
Catholic human rights activists this wk alleged that a number of
detainees were encouraged by immigration officials to use forged
documents to leave the country. AUS Fed Police have been asked to
investigate the matter. Mr Ruddock will relinquish the role of
Immigration Min next wk to take up the position as Attorney-General.
Labor's Immigration rep Nicola Roxon says Mr Ruddock should step down
until the matter is dealt with it.

Police probe charity bin blast
Canberra. Police are investigating an explosion which destroyed a
clothing bin in the CBR suburb of Chapman. The blast happened at
about 10 pm on Wed at the Chapman shops and threw large pieces of metal
about 100 m. No one was injured. Three bus shelters, one
heritage listed, have been blown up in CBR over the past 3 weeks.
Police say there is no evidence linking the explosions.

School apologises for Nazi display by band
Dallas (Reuters). The Paris, Texas, school district apologised Tue for
a performance by one of its marching bands which played an Adolf
Hitler anthem and waved a Nazi flag during a football halftime show.
Band director Charles Grissom said the song and flag were part of a
musical performance called "Visions of World War II." It was performed
at a Dallas high school Fri, which was also Rosh Hashana, the start of
the Jewish new y and one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar.
"The performance is an attempt to factually portray the history of
World War II, triumph of good over evil, and to honour our veterans for
their sacrifices in ensuring freedom throughout the world," Grissom said
in a statement. He added later that he made a major mistake in judgement.
The performance was greeted by heavy boos at the Hillcrest High School
in Dallas, and several objects were hurled at the band.
The show included the flags of other nations fighting in World War II,
such as France, Brit, the US and Japan. The flags were waved twice as
a musical selection from each country was played.
The Paris school district issued an apology to Hillcrest High and to
the Dallas school district, said Paul Trull, the superintendent of
Paris schools.
"We regret there was a misunderstanding. We strive to be sensitive to
the feelings of others and are always willing to amend our actions
when we fall short," Trull said.
The band will still perform the musical composition but it will only
have the US flag on display, he said.
Paris, Texas is located about 160 km NE of Dallas.

Sydney. MARKETS! The ASX jumped more than 1% as Wall St led the banks
and News Corp higher. The All Ords gained 39 pts (1.2%) to close at
3,203. In Japan, the Nikkei closed up 232 pts to 10,594. The Hang
Seng added 316 pts to close at 11,546. The AUD is continuing to climb,
trading around 68.55 US c at 6 pm.

{{
3 am
Venezuela has launched a campaign to encourage people to turn up on
time. The campaign kicked off at midnight, local time. Exactly. The
govt says if the national average of 15 mins late to work could be cut
to 0, it would boost the GDP by almost 4%.

1 US soldier has been killed and at least 2 others wounded when a
remote-controlled bomb exploded as a convoy of military vehicles was
headed toward the main US base in Saddam's Home town of Tikrit.

Monrovia. Just before peacekeepers arrive in the Liberian capital, 3
people have been killed in renewed fighting.

6 am
A shipment of 80,000 sheep on the Al Kuwait has been held at Fremantle
until the sale can be guaranteed in Kuwait. Vets have also been
called in to inspect the shipment, to ensure the sheep are
disease-free. Meanwhile, in the Gulf, a prev shipment of 57,000
sheep is still in limbo after 58 days at sea.

AUS TV has shown pix of a demo in Baghdad. 100s of unemployed
Iraqis had turned up to a police stn, demanding work. Unemployment in
the city is around 50%. After chanting for some time the crowd took
its anger out on a vehicle parked outside the stn. A police uniform
was burned. They then started pelting the building with rocks. One
policeman tried in vain to appeal to the crowd from the roof. Men who
aspired to be police, then set a vehicle on fire. Police fired over
the heads of the crowd. They then started firing directly at the
crowd. 100s then rushed for the safety of nearby streets. It's a
miracle no-one was killed. But several people were reported injured.

The LA Times says 56% of Californian voters now want Gray Davis
out. When he's gone, 40% will vote for Arnie. Even shipping in Bill
Clinton didn't work for David. Bill'll be coming back for one more
try next wk. Daily, Arnie is blitzing the airwaves, standing for
fiscally-responsible govt.

Cambodia has denied it is the source for SAM's the Thai govt is
searching for ahead of an meeting which US Pres Bush, AUS PM Howard
and other world leaders will attend.

MEL's Northbank is to receive a $170 mn face lift.

UN nuclear inspectors are heading to Iran to determine the country's
weapons capabilities.

Tragedy has struck 2 Aussie families in the past 24 hrs. In NSW, 4
members of a family of 5 have died o'night in the Hunter Valley when
their car swerved across the centre line into the path of an on-coming
truck. Police are puzzled why the car lost control. In Qld, police
are also puzzled why a pilot with 20 y experience lost control of a
light aircraft, killing his family of 5. Yesterday, a mother and 2
of her 3 children were killed when a 4WD towing a horse-float U-turned
into the path of a semi-trailer nr the SA/Vic border.

The NYSE has closed 195 pts higher on news of an improved
manufacturing sector. The FTSE also closed up 77 pts. But the
recovery is tentative until companies start hiring new workers. Gold
fell $US1-and-1/2 an oz. Oil is up 2 bits, trading around
$US29.39/bbl. The AUD is also stronger, around 68-and-3/4 US c.

In London, illusionist David Blane is 1/2-way through an endurance
stay in a perspex box. Blane is allegedly suspended 50 ft in the air
without food. He's still being heckled by the crowd. Earlier, one
prankster dangled a hamburger on the end of a string from a
helicopter. Some people have also pitched camp in the shadow of the
event. In a friendly way.

SYD. After 7 surgeons resigned yesterday, the NSW govt has indicated
up to 21 others may be threatening to leave public hospitals amid a
row over the fed govt's indemnity levy. The fed govt says doctors
are exaggerating the pay cut they'll have to take, saying they have
plenty to spare.

7 am
MEL. A new police report into the death of baby Jaidyn Leskie has
concluded that Greg Domaszewicz is the "only credible suspect". Mr D
was baby-sitting the child when he disappeared. Initially, Mr D told
police he'd taken the Jaidyn to hospital, but later hanged his story.
1 y later the child's body was found at a nearby dam. Mr D was
acquitted in a jury trial. New clues suggest he is the only likely
killer. A 2nd inquest is to proceed next m.

"The body" is reportedly suffering exhaustion and depression.

A cane toad has reportedly been spotted in Adel. They have prev been
seen as far S as SYD.

Treas Peter Costello says new tax cuts will overheat the economy.

9 am
A 2nd US soldier has been killed o'night while patrolling the al
Mansur area of Baghdad.

Venezuela says OPEC should raise its the oil price from $US28/bbl to
$US30-32/bbl.

Bangkok. Thailand says it's ready to host the Asia-Pacific summit
later this m. Tej Bunnag says Thailand -- which has started a major
security operation -- is ready to host the 21 world leaders. Tej, who
is head of the APEC 2003 secretariat, says he's sure a "good deal" of
the time of the meeting will be taken up with talk about internat'l terror.

Paris. The US has formally re-joined the UNESCO after a 19-y break. US
Education Sec Rod Paige told delegates at the gen conf the US hopes
the fabric of American society and culture will contribute to the
universality of the organisation. As long as it doesn't get off the W
track! Although it was one of the body's founding members, the US
withdrew from UNESCO in 1984 in protest at what Ronald Reagan called
anti-US bias in some of its policies.

6 pm
The AUD has risen to 68.55 US c.

SYD. A motorist who failed to stop at a police radar check has been
killed in a collision on SYD's Anzac Bridge. The crash caused more
than 4 hrs of traffic chaos. Police say the man, driving a Commodore,
crossed to the wrong side of the rd after failing to stop at a radar
check on the E side of the bridge around 6.30 am. Witnesses to the
crash have been urged to contact police.

6.30 pm
Baghdad. Demonstrators have clashed with Iraqi police and US forces
following the storming of a mosque earlier. The US military was
looking for fanatics who arrange attacks against American soldiers.
But a crowd didn't appreciate the move, and later pelted soldiers and
Iraqi police with rocks.

7.15 pm
Pyongyang. NK says it's produced enough Pu from the processing of
8,000 fuel rods to make another 1/2-dozens nuclear weapons. It says
unless it can come to an agreement with the US soon, construction of
the weapons will start.

A FTA between AUS and the US could be finalised as early as this m. A
negotiator says progress needs to be made across a number of areas.
Mr Deadey says it will be a "good deal" for AUS.

ASIC has signalled it will target a property promoter who's been charging
would-be real estate zillionaires $10s of 1000s to teach them how to
make money fast. Henry K says all his get rich quick scheme are legitimate.

CBR. Australia's gene technology regulator has given in-principle
support to the release of the nation's 2nd GM food crop. The Office
of Gene Technology Regulator says it has found a genetically altered
canola developed by Monsanto to be "as safe as" regular canola. The
canola, to be marketed as "Roundup Ready canola", has been modified to
make it resistant to the company's patented broadleaf herbicide glyphosate.

11 pm
A shipment of 80,000 live sheep on the Al Kuwait has left Fremantle
for the Middle E.

Pakistan says it's forces have killed 12 suspected al-Qaeda fighters
near the Afghan border and captured around 10 others -- suspected
Taliban or al-Qaeda. Analysts are intrigued by the report, because OBL
and other snr terrorist leaders are believed to be in the border area.
}}

----------------------------------------
Fri, 03 Oct 2003.

NY. MARKETS! The Dow has closed up 18 pts to 9,487. The Nasdaq also
ended higher. Gold has lost $1.20 to $US382.90/oz. Oil is up almost
40 c to just under $US30/bbl. In London, the FTSE added 34 pts to
4,209. The German Dax lost 53 pts to end at 3,277. The AUD is higher
at 68-and-1/2 US c.

Angor Adda. PAK KILLS, CAPTURES DOZENS OF SUSPECTED TERRORISTS! In
the biggest operation in ys, Pakistani forces have killed at 8
suspected al-Qaeda fighters and arrested 18 in an operation nr the
Afghan border. The action has been touted as a demonstration of
commitment to the US-led war on terror. A rep for the Pak military
says they'd received reports of rebel fighters in border towns. 100s
of Pak soldiers had scoured the area. The rep said they had called on
people to come out of compounds. Those who refused were either
captured or killed.

Kabul. CANADIAN SOLDIERS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN! 2 Canadian
peacekeepers in Afghanistan have been killed and 3 others wounded when
their vehicle hit a land mine in the capital. They are Canada's first
casualties since joining the NATO-led force in Aug.

Washington. CIA REPORTS NO WMD FOUND! US leaders have defended their
Iraqi intel as arms expert David Kay gives a first progress report to
Congress after more than 6 m of searching for WMD in Iraq. Kay's
report is much-awaited as criticism has increased at home and abroad
over the Bush Admin's justification for launching the Iraq war earlier
this y. Saddam Hussein's bio, chem and nuclear weapons were cited
before the invasion an a threat that could not be avoided or ignored.
[Kay has told a press conf while no WMD have been found, Iraq was
trying to develop long-range missiles, incl modifying Chinese weapons
to a range of 1,000 km. During GWII, Iraq had extended the range of
missiles to 170 km by replacing the warheads with hand-grenades].

Jerusalem. ISRAEL TO EXPAND SETTLEMENTS! Israel has announced plans
to build more than 600 new homes in Jewish settlements. The move has
drawn fresh internat'l and Palestinian condemnation a day after Israel
approved expanding its W Bank "security fence". Both moves seek to
solidify Israel's hold on parts of the Palestinian W Bank. The govt
has published building tenders for 3 W Bank settlements in defiance of
a US-backed road map that calls for a halt to Israel's expansion into
the Palestinian territories.

Canberra. MEDICAL INDEMNITY OUT OF CONTROL! New Health Min Tony
Abbott will talk with the AMA this morning about the medical indemnity
crisis. But the problem is beginning to career out of control, with
dozens of doctors and surgeons threatening to resign from the public
health system. Doctors are quitting public hospitals in response to a
fed govt levy that comes into effect on Nov 1. The govt has said the
levy has been intro'd to cover the cost of malpractice suits would
cost the average doctor $5,000 pa, and would be tax-deductible [IOW,
the fed govt says it's billing to the Aussie taxpayer anyway]. More
than 70 doctors in NSW have indicated they intend to resign, retire,
or not renew their contracts in response to the levy. Some
high-profile surgeons have already officially resigned. One claimed
yesterday he'd been charged around $150,000 in insurance premiums last
FY, and was faced with an additional expense of around the same value
under the new fed govt regime.

Sydney. PM SAYS WALK TO WORK! Aussies are being urged to walk to work
today by PM John Howard. Mr Howard -- a daily power walker -- is
fronting the Walk to Work campaign. The PM says Aussies should
incorporate more walking into their lifestyles. He says the health
benefits of a 30 min walk each day are "immense". The Walk to Work
campaign is an initiative of the Pedestrian Council of AUS. [Have
mostly bicycled to work for 30 y, mesel'].

Perth. VIARSA ARRIVES IN WA! A Uruguayan boat captured in the S
Atlantic Ocean after an historic 21-day sea-chase is due to arrive in
Fremantle today. The Viarsa I was due in yesterday, but bad weather
slowed the vessel down. The boat was boarded by armed S African
fisheries officials on Aug 28, 3 wks after a high-seas chase by AUS,
Brit and S Af authorities. AUS customs and fisheries vessel Southern
Supporter began the pursuit when the Viarsa was spotted illegally in
AUS's extended S fishing zone on Aug 7.

{{
2 am
Kabul. 2 Canadian soldiers have been killed and several wounded in the
Afghan capital when a military vehicle hit a land mine.

Israel has announced it will build up to 600 new homes in occupied W
Bank settlements. The govt says the construction is to allow for
"natural expansion". Palestinian officials have complained in writing
to Israel, the US and the UN. France has also criticised the announcement.

Washington. CIA weapons chief David Kay has been presenting an
interim report to the House intel committee and the Congress in
closed-door session. Lawmakers have not commented to reporters on the
contents of the report, saying the info on Iraq's WMD prior to GWII is
"highly confidential". Sections of the report leaked to the media
last wk indicate the Survey Group has found no evidence of pre-war WMD
stockpiles or active WMD programs. "Not even microscopic traces" of
chem or bio agents have reportedly been found anywhere in Iraq after 6
m of searching.

7 am
London. Jack Straw has seen the CIA report into Iraqi WMD, and
insists he remains convinced of the reasons for going to war. Saddam
Hussein had failed to satisfactorily account for stockpiles of 100s of
kg of anthrax, says Straw. Iraq supplied 12,000 pages of documentation
in the lead-up to GWII -- much of it in Arabic -- claiming all
stockpiles had been destroyed after the first Gulf War.

Rush Limbaugh has resigned from a position on ESPN amid a row over
racial comments he made during a football game on Sun night. He had
described a player as "over-rated" because the media wanted to see a black
player do well. Limbaugh says he has no plans to apologises, and his
MJ3-like remarks are not racial because they were directed at the media.

A suicide bomber [later reports say 2 suicide bombers] as blown
himself up in Kirkuk, injuring by-standers, outside a dry cleaners
used by US soldiers. There were no US casualties. Earlier, several US
soldiers and civilians were injured in a shooting incident in Fallujah.

The price of oil is headed back to $US30/bbl. It rose to $US29.98/bbl
o'night in a 4th straight day of gains. Oil is up almost 40 US c on
both the NY and London markets.

The charges on cheques are rising. It now costs $1.35 to write a
cheque -- even before it's cashed. Aussies are writing 8% fewer
cheques each y according to the AUS Fin Rev. [I wrote my last one in 2001].

Elle Macpherson has checked into a US clinic for "a rest". She's
reportedly suffering postpartum depression. The Telegraph reports the
Meadows Institute has treated celebrities for sex addiction and
alcoholism. The program costs $60,000.

7.15 am
Washington. David Kay is giving a press conf. He told reporters he's
found nothing, and has called for $mns more to continue the
search. $US600 mn more. He says there's a lot more searching to do.
Kay told reporters his group has found a lot of information about
un-declared weapons development in Iraq, incl a program to develop
missiles with a range of 1,000 km. He says Iraq was attempting to
modify Chinese Silkworm missiles to extend their range.
Kay says the Group has found no WMD and the search is closer to the
beginning, not the end.
Donald Rumsfeld says the public should wait to see what is finally
uncovered. He said it "wouldn't be a responsible position" to judge yet.
More photos and arrows will be released today to support the Bush
Admin's claims that Saddam Hussein had huge stockpiles of invisible
WMD before GWII.

A shipment of 57,000 stranded sheep has docked in Kuwait, loading free
feed and water for 3 wks. Negotiations are continuing with 15 countries.
Iraq is now "unlikely" to be the final destination for the animals.

USAF Gen Ralph Everhart has told reporters pilots practice shooting
down civilian airliners several times a wk to overcome their natural
hesitancy for killing large numbers of civilians.

S Korea says a claim by the North they have finished processing 8,000
fuel rods is an "exaggeration", and may be a negotiating ploy. The N
says it has enough Pu for 6 bombs, and has started using the material
to increase its nuclear deterrent in response to the US's "hostile policy".

An explosion in Vietnam has killed 2 people and injured 18 others.
The dead incl a Japanese ship-building expert. The blast happened in
the hold of a newly-built cargo ship in a state-owned shipyard in Hai
Phong, 100 km from Ha Noi.

Lubeck. Early morning TV in N Germany has led to at least one call-out
by the fire brigade. TV pix of a burning log caused a woman who woke
up in the early hrs to call out the brigade because she thought her TV
was on fire. Quick-acting firefighters extinguished the blaze with the
remote control. A rep for the TV stn says the 6 am footage should be
distinguishable from a real burning log, although they've also heard
an old woman poured water on her TV. The picture was meant to promote
a warm fuzzy feeling of congeniality.

8 am
"Governor Groper" has apologised for all those people he offended over
the y. Mr Schwarzenegger says he now understands things he previously
considered "playful" were deeply offensive to women. Arnie has vowed
to be a "champion of women" after admitting to sexual mis-conduct.

A SYD train driver has been sacked for tampering with a train's "dead
man's switch".

Almost all bank fees and charges have increased over the last 5 y. A
new report shows only 1 fee of dozens of fees has not risen over the
period. As banks intro'ed telephone banking fees have increased an
average of 15% in 5 y. The report says there's a general trend in the
banks to intro new technology and then ramp up the fees. Cheque fees
have doubled over the past 5 y.

The Dow has closed up 19 pts. The Nasdaq ended up 4 pts. Gold is
down $US1.20/oz. Oil is up 39 c to $US29.78/bbl. The AUD is higher
at 68.46 US c.

French Pres Jacques Chirac is to visit AUS next y.

Severe storms have blacked out 1000s of homes in SE Qld and N NSW.

ASIO is reportedly investigating leaks in the CBR Ag Dept about the
shipment of 57,000 sheep stranded in the Persian Gulf. The govt had
kept the location and status of the shipment secret for around 1 m,
but newspapers had managed to track the ship down after a reward for
info was posted by an animal rights group.
}}
========================================

(*) Who is responcible for W.A.R.S? A small group of dedicated
sandgrubbers, bannana-lickers and 5th columnists on the run from
support payments and sundry legalese in their home countries. Mention
us at any Uncle Harry's Suburban Bunker and get a 10% discount on cop-killers!

All speling macroizated for correctitood by Mcrosotf Speelchek.

*** Please stand by for further orders from The Leader ***
=== end 2/2 ===

[red ted]

k...@kymhorsell.com (R Kym Horsell) wrote in
news:ec0895b2.03100...@posting.google.com:

thanks for posting this stuff. someone is reading it :-) some of it anyway.

[k...@kymhorsell.com]

[...]

10/4. ;-)