NO, NOT THE OIL! #35 2/2
R Kym Horsell
Fri, 18 Apr 2003
Markets
20 die in bus crash
8 killed in chopper attacks
1 killed by Israeli army
Political assassination
US unemployment on the rise
Missing tourists located
EU calls for UN role in Iraq
Suspected mass grave found in N Iraq
US captures another Saddam 1/2-brother
Syria rejects arms inspectors
Afghans arrest Taliban official
Afghans broker N cease-fire
Aussie peacekeepers
Asian leaders meet on SARS
SARS test
Obasanjo secures power
Cuban resolution
Easter toll reaches 3 on day 1
Grain virus under investigation
Bridge referred to ICAC
Asylum-seekers released
Protesters outnumbers by police
Police stop protesters
Ruddock to handle $bn purse
Continuous war-related news
NY. MARKETS! Markets ended the short trading week higher. The Dow
climbed 80 pts (1%) to 8,338. The Nasdaq rose 30 pts. Gold was also
70 c higher to $US327.15/oz. The FTSE was 34 pts (0.9%) higher at
3,889 and the Dax was 75 pts (2.5%) up at 2,900.
Lima. 20 DIE IN BUS CRASH! Peru police say at least 20 people were
killed and 28 injured when a bus slammed into a hillside and burst
into flames in the country's S. A highway police officer, who helped
rescue survivors, says the bus drove off the highway and crashed at
high speed into a hill, immediately bursting into flames. The
accident occurred this morning on a main highway about 1,000 km S of
Lima. The cause of the crash is not immediately known.
Abidjan. 8 KILLED IN CHOPPER ATTACKS! 8 civilians, incl 3 children,
have died of injuries sustained when helicopter gunships attacked
towns in W Ivory Coast this wk. The deaths come as a unity govt held
its first full meeting in the economic hub, Abidjan. The govt is seen
as vital in ending the W African country's 7-m war. Aid agency Doctors
Without Borders says at least 50 civilians all claim to be victims of
attacks on Tue by combat choppers on the towns of Danane and Mahapleu.
Tulkarm. 1 KILLED BY ISRAELI ARMY! Israeli troops enforcing a curfew
on Palestinians during the Jewish Passover holiday have killed a young
man in the W Bank city of Tulkarm. Witnesses and medics say the 21 yo
man was shot several times after being spotted on a street by Israeli
forces. They say the man had no connection with militants fighting
against Iraqi for independence since Sep 2000.
Moscow. POLITICAL ASSASSINATION! Liberal Russian lawmaker Sergei
Yushenkov, an outspoken critic of Pres Vladimir Putin, has been shot
dead in Moscow. Fellow legislators immediately branded the killing as
political. A Moscow police rep says Yushenkov, a leader of the
Liberal Russia party, was shot 3 times in the back nr his home in NW
Moscow. Police say he died later of his wounds and a pistol with a
silencer was found nr the scene.
Washington. US UNEMPLOYMENT ON THE RISE! More Americans than expected
signed up for unemployment benefits last wk, reflecting increased
layoffs in the auto industry. A govt report shows first-time jobless
claims rose 30,000 to a seasonally adjusted 442,000 for the wk ending
Apr 12. The Labor Dept says it's the 9th wk in a row that claims held
above the key 400,000 level, regarded by economists as a sign of an
unhealthy labour market.
Vienna. MISSING TOURISTS LOCATED! Algerian authorities say they have
located 11 of 31 tourists missing in the Sahara desert, and have
opened talks with kidnappers. Aussie weekly Profil reports that
Bedouins have seen the kidnappers and 11 hostages striking camp.
Profil says Algerian authorities have not used the word
"hostage-takers" to describe the kidnappers, to be able to open
negotiations. Profil says talks have already started.
Athens. EU CALLS FOR UN ROLE IN IRAQ! The EU has called for a
central role for the UN in rebuilding Iraq. The 15-nation bloc has
sought to heal deep divisions opened up by the campaign against
Saddam Hussein. In a statement agreed at a meeting in Athens today,
the EU has also re-affirmed its commitment to play a significant role
in the political and economic reconstruction in the country. It says
the UN must play a central role, incl in the process leading towards
self-govt for the Iraqi people. Meanwhile, a Spanish oil company
says it's well-positioned to land a contract in the Iraqi oil industry.
The company was previously locked out of Iraq. A company rep said the
Iraqi pie was huge, and even a small slice would be significant.
Kirkuk. SUSPECTED MASS GRAVE FOUND IN N IRAQ! Iraqi Kurd say
they've discovered what they suspect might be a mass grave nr the N
city of Kirkuk. The Patriotic Union for Kurdistan, which seized
control of Kirkuk last wk [funny, I thought it was supposed to have
gotten out!], says the site might be for victims of deposed-leader
Saddam Hussein's anti-Kurd campaign in 1988. PUK says the suspected
mass grave is a collection of over 2,000 mounds and about a dozen
unmarked concrete tombs. Kurds, who live mostly in N Iraq, estimate
that about 180,000 people were killed and 4,500 villages destroyed
during Saddam's Kurdish purge.
Baghdad. US CAPTURES ANOTHER SADDAM 1/2-BROTHER! US forces have
captured No 52 on their "most wanted" deck, Bazaran al-Tikriti. His
capture is said to be a major coup in the coal'n efforts to round up
members of the Iraqi leader's toppled regime. Centcom's Brig Brooks
described Barzan as an advisor to Saddam with extensive knowledge of
the regime's inner workings. Analysts say Barzan, another of Saddam's
1/2-brothers, had been out of favour with the regime for years. He'd
been accused of plotting to overthrow Saddam by Qusay, and had been
under house arrest of some time. They doubt he now has any current
knowledge. Barzan's capture comes more than a wk after the fall of
Baghdad to US troops.
Cairo. SYRIA REJECTS ARMS INSPECTORS! Syria says it will not allow
arms inspectors on its soil but will join forces with the world to
ride the whole Middle E of WMD. The decision is in line with its
proposal to the UN. Washington accuses Syria of developing chem weapons,
a charge rejected by the Arab state. On Wed, Damascus asked the UN
Sec Council to help transform the whole region into a WMD-free region.
Kabul. AFGHANS ARREST TALIBAN OFFICIAL! Afghanistan's govt says it has
arrested a notorious member of the former Taliban regime who served as
the deputy head of its feared religious police. State-run Radio says
Maulawi Qalamuddin has been arrested by govt security agents, but gave
no details about when or where the arrest took place. Qalamuddin
served as deputy head of the religious police and of the Religious
Affairs Ministry in the fundamentalist Taliban.
Kabul. AFGHANS BROKER N CEASE-FIRE! Afghan authorities have brokered
a ceasefire between 2 rival factions in N Afghanistan after several
days of clashes that killed at least 5 people. A UN rep says
fighting between the 2 minority Shi'ite parties erupted on Apr 10 in
Surk Den in the N prov of Samangan. Hostilities lasted 4 days and 4
civilians -- incl a 6 yo child -- and a cmdr were killed.
Canberra. AUSSIE PEACEKEEPERS! The fed govt has issued conflicting
statements over whether it's been asked to send peacekeepers to Iraq.
PM John Howard and Def Min Robert Hill have announced a broad
timetable for the withdrawal of the bulk of Aussie troops before the
end of Jun. Mr Howard says he hasn't been approached by Pres Bush Jr
about contributing peace keeping forces in Iraq. He says a report
about such a request is based on inquiries at the military dept level.
But reporters at the daily military briefing in CBR were told AUS
had been officially approached to provide the forces.
HK. ASIAN LEADERS MEET ON SARS! Beijing has been pressured to reveal
the full extent of its SARS epidemic as the virus claimed 4 more lives
in HK and 1 in China. SE Asian leaders meanwhile have called an
emergency summit to combat the crisis. Fears are growing that SARS is
spreading across China, the world's most populous nation. A first case
has been confirmed in India which has the world's 2nd largest pop'n.
Rome. SARS TEST! A test to screen people for the deadly pneumonia
virus SARS should be available to scientists within 10 days. US Sec
of Health Tommy Thompson told journalists in Rome that the test should
be ready in a wk to 10 days. Thompson says after that, it will be
available to scientists and laboratories worldwide. In the past 2 m
the virus causing SARS has spread around the world, killing more than
160 people and infecting over 3,000.
Abudja. OBASANJO SECURES POWER! Nigerian Pres Olusegun Obasanjo's
party has secured control of parliament, 2 days before a landmark
pres'l election. Obasanjo's victory in last wk's parl'y elections
confirms him as the front-runner for Nigeria's first pres'l poll
since the end of military rule, a key test of the country's young democracy.
Opp'n leader Muhammadu Buhari has accused the pres's party of rigging
the parl'y vote and has urged his supporters to resist further fraud.
Geneva. CUBAN RESOLUTION! The UNHCR had adopted a resolution on Cuba
which omits any reference to Havana's recent crackdown on political
dissidents. 24 of the 53 countries on the UN body backed the
resolution. It urges Havana to allow a rep of the UN high
commissioner for human rights to visit the Communist Caribbean
country. The text, presented by Uruguay, Peru and Nicaragua, was
rejected by 20 countries, while 9 abstained. A strongly-worded
amendment proposed by Costa Rica was rejected.
Sydney. EASTER TOLL REACHES 3 ON DAY 1! On the first day of this y's
Easter hols 3 people have died on Aussie roads. In Vic, a man was
killed when his car collided with a truck in Gippsland. The Orbost
man, believed to be in his 70s, died when his car hit the truck at the
intersection of Lk Tyers Rd and the Princes Highway, E of Lakes
Entrance. In WA 2 men died when the car they were travelling in rolled
over on the Great N-ern Highway nr Paynes Find, 570 km NE of Perth.
Canberra. GRAIN VIRUS UNDER INVESTIGATION! An investigation is
proceeding into how a foreign grain virus infected crops grown by the
CSIRO for research. The crops at the organisation's Black Mtn centre
in Canberra have been destroyed to ensure an outbreak of wheat streak
mosaic virus does not spread. Years of grain research have been lost
in the process. The virus is carried by the wheat curl mite but is
not found in AUS. It's not know how the virus got to Black Mtn and a
nearby experimental farm.
Rail. BRIDGE REFERRED TO ICAC! The NSW govt has referred the Menangle
Bridge scandal to the Indep Comm'n Against Corruption. The decision
comes after an internal investigation raised questions about mgt
processes. Tranp Services Min Michael Costa says Coordinator General
of Rail, Vince Graham, has referred the matter to the ICAC after Crown
legal advice. Wollongong U engineer Michael West recommended on Mar 6
that the 140 yo wrought iron bridge, located SW of SYD, be closed
because of dangerous structural problems.
Sydney. ASYLUM-SEEKERS RELEASED! 6 more asylum seekers have been
released from detention after this wk's landmark finding by the Fed
Court. The Court found that immigrants cannot be detained
indefinitely as they await deportation. Yesterday, Fed Court Justice
Arthur Emmett ordered the release of the 6, 3 of whom are from SYD's
Villawood foreigners' jail and 2 from Baxter in SA. Another is from
Maribyrnong in MEL.
Adelaide. PROTESTERS OUTNUMBERS BY POLICE! Asylum seekers at the
Baxter foreigners' jail outside Pt Augusta have been outnumbered by
police awaiting the arrival of 1000s of protesters. About 300 police
have been deployed to Pt Augusta to monitor the mass protest against
the treatment of asylum seekers. A further 200 police have been
placed on standby should the protest mirror last y's at the Woomera
detention centre, which resulted in violent clashes and the escape of
50 detainees. Locals have marked most of the countryside "no camping"
to prevent protesters from staying. All accommodation in Pt Augusta is
said to be taken by police and reporters. The protest has been good
for business, reps say.
Adelaide. POLICE STOP PROTESTERS! Police have blocked 100s of
protesters from approaching the Baxter detention centre, amid fears of
violence during mass demonstrations this weekend. About 500
protesters from around AUS today began converging on Pt Augusta, in
SA's N, to rally against the govt's treatment of asylum seekers.
Police have established road blocks around the centre and the
protesters were stopped from coming within 2 km of the camp, which
refugee advocates have likened to Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Canberra. RUDDOCK TO HANDLE $BN PURSE! Indigenous Af Min Philip
Ruddock has appointed himself overseer of ATSIC's $1.1 bn budget,
removing the Commission's elected politicians from the purse strings.
Mr Ruddock says ATSIC's bureaucracy will become a separate agency from
Jul 1, answerable to him on how the budget is spent. ATSIC's board of
elected commissioners will become advisors and policy makers with a
tiny budget covering their own offices and travel. Mr Ruddock says
the changes will end perceptions of conflicts of interest within ATSIC.
{{ CONTINUOUS WAR-RELATED NEWS
DAY TWENTY-NINE
0.15 am
BBC radio. The Philippines has announced it will send 500 police,
peacekeepers and humanitarian workers to Iraq. The personnel would
be sent in 2nd 1/2 of May, but they don't know where yet. Officials
also don't know who would pay for it -- the "coal'n" or the US. Def
Sec Gen Angelo Rais said the Philippines was part of the "coal'n".
"We're going in there to contribute", he said. The Philippines would
be ridding Iraq of propagating terrorism, he added.
0.30 am
The 10 ASEAN leaders will meet in Bangkok within weeks to discuss the
impact of SARS.
In N Iraq, 2,000 unmarked graves have been found by US forces nr
Kirkuk. The graves were nr an abandoned Iraqi military camp. TV pics
show blood-covered human remains. The bodies may date to the 1980s
when 1000s of Kurds were killed in an Iraqi offensive in the N of the
country.
Colin Powell says he expected to travel to Damascus to meet the Syrian
President. But Powell didn't mention a specific date. The announcement
follows a suggestion by Syria to make the Middle E a WMD-free zone.
Powell said he's been to Syria twice to have frank discussions with the
For Min and the Pres. Elsewhere, Assad said Powell was welcome but he
hadn't heard officially that the US Sec of State was coming.
3 people in Tamil Nadu have been sentenced to life in jail for killing
a baby girl. It's the first time in India that people have been
sentenced to life for female infanticide. Often poor families know
they can't raise the dowry pice, and kill their female children.
1 am
UNESCO is meeting in Paris about reconstructing and finding
archaeological and cultural artifacts in Iraq. They've talked about
the vandalism and looting, swapping rumours since there are no hard
facts. Some of the thefts were deliberate action, some delegates
said, probably by the same gangs paying for the destruction of sites
of Iraq over the past 12 y. 3 days after the events in Baghdad and
elsewhere, there were rumours of objects for sale in Paris. In the
past 24 hrs some delegates rec'd email objects are in Iran and other
places in Europe. The consensus is it's a very mysterious case of
cultural vandalism. People have gone and targeted cultural sites.
Delegates were told even the little-known Gulbakian Institute was
destroyed. It containing modern Iraqi art. An armed gang tore seals
off the doors and went in and burned it. There was no attempt to
steal anything.
An AFP wire says Russia has announced it won't support the lifting of
sanctions against Iraq unless the US confirms Iraq has no WMD.
Meanwhile, Americans are pressing for sanctions to be lifted. This is
a complete turn-around from the 2 countries' prev positions.
1.05 am
A mosque in Baghdad has set itself up as a point to return stolen
goods. Witnesses said stuff is coming in. The imam said it would be
turned over to the Iraqi govt. A fatwah was issued that public
property theft is a crime. The return process has been underway for
several days.
1.10 am
Baghdad. The power is still not on, and there are no newspapers. The
arrest of al-Tikriti was reported widely by word-of-mouth. People are
now waiting to see if there are more tip-offs to the US. What happened to
Saddam and Tariq? There are few shops open, and there are no
telephones. There is still some looting, but much less than before.
Some Shiite clerics have been seen returning hospital equipment.
There are some cars on the street. There is no water in some areas. The
US says electricity will be restored to 1/2 the city tomorrow. No-one
has been working for weeks and people want wages.
3.30 am
Well-known liberal politician Sergei Yushenkov has been shot dead in
Moscow. He'd been known to speak out about human rights issues, and
was against the war in Chechnya. A colleague said he had no doubt it
was a political killing. Yushenvok becomes the 9th member of parl to be
killed since 1994.
11.40 am
Don Rumsfeld rejects any responsibility for the loss of Iraqi cultural
property. But the head of Bush's Committee on Culture has resigned in
protest, and another member of the committee is talking about
quitting. The Committee had warned the Admin about looting and
destruction of important sites, and claims the military did nothing
about it.
6 pm
A Ministry of Health building in Baghdad has been raided and virus
and bacteria stolen. The haul incl cholera and smallpox. The
Americans were reportedly guarding the building, after it had been
discovered days ago. But the thieves apparently got away clean. Who
knows who now has the deadly samples.
In the Baghdad zoo, rare monkeys and birds have also been stolen. The
rest have been badly neglected. The dead ones are being fed to those
still living.
In a new slight to the UN, the US has said it will send in 1,000 of its
own weapons inspectors into Iraq, incl former UN weapons insp.
Earlier in the day, Hans Blix said his team could go back in on short
notice.
The UN Sec Council has passed a Res that requires the US to verify
that Iraq possesses no WMD before US-sponsored sanctions can be
lifted, allowing Iraq to freely sell oil on the world markets.
The FBI chief Robert Mueller said today agents would be sent to Iraq
to track down stolen Iraqi artifacts.
Baghdad. The al-Rashid mental hosp is the country's only mental
hospital. It held 1,400 patients before the war, but only 300 have
returned after fighting in Baghdad broke out. Like most other govt
facilities, the hosp has been ransacked. Many patients were beaten
and raped. 100s of patients are missing. Looters took everything a
few days ago. They stole pumps from the water well, they took
medicines and beds and mattresses. The doctors estimate the country
has 1/3 mn schizophrenics.
1.30 am
BBC radio says NK has announced it needs to take further steps to
protect itself against aggression, implying it will work on obtaining
nuclear weapons. The North says it's "reprocessing" 8,000 fuel rods.
Reprocessed in the right way, analysts say they would be enough for 6
to 8 nuclear weapons. NK's already believed to possess 1 or 2. NK
says the war in Iraq has convinced it it needs a "powerful deterrent"
to ensure its security.
[Although the North issued the statement in English, a later
re-translation and re-release corrected the wording to "is poised to
begin reprocessing"].
Baghdad. There's been a big demo against the US today. After Fri
prayers, the traditional time for demos, 1000s carried banners in the
streets proclaiming "No to occupation". Both Sunni and Shi'ites
marched. A Sunni cleric led them. He had addressed his mosque on the
topic of US occupation. The demonstration was low-key, with mullahs
appealing for calm.
In Mosul there were demos, too.
In Baghdad there was also an American appeal for former Iraqi army
officers to come forward to help them keep order. It saw a large line
of men queue outside the US army HQ.
Jericho. Co-operation with Israel is a dangerous idea here. But a
"quiet understanding" is another matter. Palestinians have handed
over a number of home-made weapons, including pipe and gas-canister
bombs, to the Israelis. It was a good-faith move. The army detonated
them harmlessly. Israel has indicated certain restrictions will be
eased in the city as a result.
A convoy of 50 vehicles has crossed into Iraq from Jordan, carrying
humanitarian aid. It's the first convoy to Baghdad since the fall of
the capital.
}}
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Sat, 19 Apr 2003
100 kids hit by food poisoning
Floods kill 2
Looters return antiques
Minister charged with bank robbery
Aussie NGO aid to N Iraq
Aussie govt aid to Iraq
Anti-US protests in Iraq
Anti-nuke protests in WA
Anti-detention protests in SA
Aussie troops set for big welcome home
Saddam's last TV appearance
900 POWs released by US
Aussie ADF teams to Iraq
Aussie to Afghanistan
Aussie WWI remains found in France
11 prisoners die in rioting
31 kidnapped tourists located
Ferry hits the wall
Easter ceremony in Rome
2 die in Easter procession attack
Tallest horse at the Easter show
Good Fri appeal raises $10 mn
Easter procession draws 1,000
Aussie Easter toll hits 9
Nazi hunter retires
NASA postpones telescope launch
Thieves steal mobiles
Vandals damage water pipe
Forced landing on suburban roof
Plastic bag committee sets up shop
Continuous war-related news
Beijing. 100 KIDS HIT BY FOOD POISONING! About 100 children have been
poisoned in C China's Hubei prov after eating dried bean curd that had
passed its sell-by date. The state Xinhua news agency has reported
that elementary school students in the prov'l capital Wuhan have been
treated in hosp and all but 20, who suffered relatively severe
symptoms, have been discharged. They had all eaten the same brand of
bean curd during their snack break. One student said it had been
produced in 1999 with a shelf-life of 6 m.
Rio Grande. FLOODS KILL 2! Floods in Puerto Rico have killed at least
2 people and damaged 100s of homes. Sec of State Ferdinand Mercado
says rescue teams are stoll searching for 1 man swept away by
floodwater. He says 3 men were carried away by a swollen river in E
PR, but only 2 were later found alive. A 75 yo man was rescued from a
landslide last night, but died less than 1 hr later from injuries. A
65 yo man drowned yesterday when he fell off his roof into a flooding river.
Baghdad. LOOTERS RETURN ANTIQUES! Prodded by clerics and their own
guilty consciences, some Baghdad residents have returned 20 looted
relics from the ransacked nat'l collection which once held some of the
earliest artifacts of human civilisation. Iraq's antiques chief,
Jabar Hilil, called looting of Iraq's national museum "the crime of
the century" and questioned why US forces hadn't moved to safeguard it
in the days of chaos that followed the toppling of Saddam's govt. But
Hilil has left open the possibility the loss wasn't as catastrophic as
first thought.
Oklahoma City. MINISTER CHARGED WITH BANK ROBBERY! A US fed agent
says an church minister has been charged with bank robbery after he
allegedly held up several banks nr his parish and used the church van
to escape. FBI Special Agent Gary Johnson says Warren Preston Brown,
aged 41, a minister of the Bible Baptist Church in Norman, Oklahoma,
was arrested yesterday for allegedly robbing a local credit union.
Johnson says Brown was charged with bank robbery in fed court a few
hrs later.
Canberra. AUSSIE NGO AID TO N IRAQ! World Vision AUS workers have
been given the responsibility to supply the still-dangerous
Nineveh-Mosul region of N Iraq. An assessment team is hoping to fly
into the region on Sun or Mon to judge whether it's safe to begin
moving aid. World Vision AUS CEO Lynne Arnold says the agency has aid
trucks on the Iraq/Syria and Iraq/Jordan borders waiting for approval
to enter Mosul. He says the main supplies aboard are water, water
purifiers, foodstuffs and clothing.
Canberra. AUSSIE GOVT AID TO IRAQ! For Min Alex Downer says AUS will
immediately hand over $30 mn in aid to the UN Flash Appeal for Iraq
and associated activities. The aid is the lion's share of AUS's
promised $38 mn contribution and has a strong focus on meeting
critical needs in water, sanitation and health. Mr Downer says the
remaining $8 mn will be allocated to the Flash Appeal after more
detailed assessments of critical needs.
Baghdad. ANTI-US PROTESTS IN IRAQ! 1000s of Iraqis have staged
anti-American protests and clerics have delivered ringing anti-US
sermons on the first full Fri prayers held here since the fall of
Saddam. About 10-12,000 protesters marched through C Baghdad to
voice their resentment at the "occupation" by US forces who rolled in
last wk. No violence was reported, but the demos and speeches
delivered by imams at 100s of mosques t'out Baghdad and elsewhere in
Iraq crystallised popular reaction to the aftermath of the 3-wk war.
Perth. ANTI-NUKE PROTESTS IN WA! Anti-nuke protesters gathered
yesterday nr an American nuke-powered sub that's docked S of
Perth. Around 133 crew from the USS Key West are on 7 days R&R in
Perth after returning from Iraq, while their sub docks in Garden Is.
About 30 Fremantle Anti-Nuclear Group protesters turned up at the site
to speak out against AUS's role in the US-led war in Iraq. A rep says
they;re part of a peaceful protest.
Adelaide. ANTI-DETENTION PROTESTS IN SA! Around 500 protesters are
still m away from the entrance of the Baxter Foreigners Jail. Despite
attempts by police to ban camping and seize camping equipment, they
just haven't packed up and gone away. A rep for Project SafeCom Inc,
a WA protest group, says the protesters have marched through a human
road block and are currently pressing against a temp fence, approx 10
m from the detention centre gates. The rep says mounted police and
police bearing riot gear are on the other side of the fence. He says
police confiscated kites and placards from protesters as they moved
forward. Yesterday, there were a number of confrontations between
mounted police and protesters.
Canberra. AUSSIE TROOPS SET FOR BIG WELCOME HOME!
Aussie SAS troops seem set for a big welcome back, along
with AUS's other 2,000-strong military contingent. PM John Howard has
revealed he wants a big welcome home for the service people, despite
the risk of confrontation with anti-war protesters. US Pres Bush Jr
has reportedly told Mr Howard that Aussies were the first into the
action in the war. To date they've sustained no casualties despite
their front-line activities.
Doha. SADDAM'S LAST TV APPEARANCE! Abu Dhabi TV has aired what may be
Saddam Hussein's last recordings he made as Iraq's dictator. One clip
shows him waving to crowds as American forces were overrunning Baghdad
elsewhere, and the other shows Saddam addresses his people in what may
be his final speech. Abu Dhabi TV says it was told both were made on
Apr 9. That was 2 days after US bombs were aimed at him, and the same
day a bronze statue of him tumbled down in C Iraq in what was
reportedly a stage-managed but iconic image of the war.
Washington. 900 POWS RELEASED BY US! A US def officials says American
forces have released more than 900 Iraqi POW's, beginning the process
of sorting through the 1000s detained in the m-old war. Maj Ted
Wadsworth, a Pentagon rep, says US forces stated from the beginning
they didn't want to hold anybody longer than necessary. That's what
Camp X-Ray is for! He says the process of sorting people to determine
their status has begun. Wadsworth says after the 927 releases
announced today, coal'n forces hold 6,850 prisoners.
Doha. AUSSIE ADF TEAMS TO IRAQ! The ADF contingent in the Middle E
has sent advanced teams to Baghdad to prepare for possible larger
groups. The larger contingents may be needed if the fed govt decides
on a significant AUS presence during the reconstruction phase. The Fed
Opp'n says AUS is already committed under int'l law as one of the
belligerent powers to rebuild Iraq, but the Govt says it had not yet
been invited by the US and Brit to take part. Cmdr of AUS forces,
Brig Maurie McNarn, says he has sent a reconnaissance to Baghdad
airport. He says they will pace the way for the arrival of AUS air
traffic controllers some time in the next wk.
Canberra. AUSSIE TO AFGHANISTAN! The Def Dept says an Aussie army
officer will soon take up a military liason position with the UN
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. Apart from the new liason officer,
Lt Col Christopher Mead, no other ADF are currently working in
Afghanistan. Def rep Brig Hannan says the ADF has already played a
"significant and successful role" in Afghanistan as part of the int'l
coal'n against terrorism.
Canberra. AUSSIE WWI REMAINS FOUND IN FRANCE! Veteran's Aff Min Danna
Vale says the remains of 4 unknown WWI Aussie soldiers have been
found nr Hazebrouck in Freedom. Ms Vale says every effort is being
made by the AUS govt to ID the names of the First AIF soldiers, but
she says that seems most unlikely. In the event they're re-buried as
Aussie unknown soldiers, the Commonwealth War Graves Comm'n will
arrange for their burial in an appropriate cemetery in France.
Caracas. 11 PRISONERS DIE IN RIOTING! Officials say 11 Venezuelan
prisoners have been hacked and shot to death, 2 of them be-headed,
when rival gangs clashed with pistols, knives and homemade shotguns at
1 of the nation's largest prisons. Prison authorities called in
nat'l guard troops and police to restore order after the gangs battled
in the Yare 2 Prison in Miranda state. Carlos Alberto Sutrun, dir of
the nat'l prison system, says there was a war between gangs for
control of the prison, resulting in 11 deaths and 40 injuries.
Vienna. 31 KIDNAPPED TOURISTS LOCATED! Algerian authorities have now
located all 31 European tourists missing for wks in the Sahara, but
have yet to intervene to rescue them from kidnappers. Austrian state
TV has reported that Algerian officials know where the tourists are
but have so far only observed their movements. A corresp reporting
from Algeria says the group has been split into 2 by their captors.
The report says there's no liklihood of a swift resolution to the crisis.
London. FERRY HITS THE WALL! An officials say a ferry carrying more
than 600 people from France to England has hit a wall as it entered
Dover harbour, injuring 28 people, none of them seriously. Chris
Laming, rep for vessel owner P&O Ferries, says the Pride of Provence
ferry had just crossed the Channel from Calais to S Eng when the
accident occurred. He says 18 passengers and 10 crew suffered
injuries in the accident at 3.30 am, incl whiplash, bruising and shock.
Rome. EASTER CEREMONY IN ROME! A tired Pope John Paul II, presiding
at the trad'l Good Fri Colosseum procession, has recalled the victims
of hate, war and terrorism and prayed for justice and peace in the
world. As the white light of 1000s of torches held by the faithful
flickered in the darkness surrounding Rome's most famous ancient
monument, the ailing 82 yo pontiff addressed thanks to God that he was
able to keep his annual appointment on the Catholic Church's most
sorrowful day of the y.
Bogota. 2 DIE IN EASTER PROCESSION ATTACK! a police officer and a
civilian have been killed today when armed men opened fire on soldiers
and police protecting a Good Fri process in the S Colombian town of
Dolores. Police blamed leftist rebels for the attack. Col Wilson
Prada, police cmdr in Tolima prov, says an adult and a minor were also
wounded in the attack, which lasted less than 20 mins. Prada's blamed
members of the Revol'y Armed Forces of Colombia, the country's
largest armed rebel group, for carrying out the attack in his town
about 200 km from the capital.
Sydney. TALLEST HORSE AT THE EASTER SHOW! AUS's tallest horse has
made his debut at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. He towered over
onlookers at 19 hands, and weighed in at more than 1 tonne.
Meanwhile, Aussie Wool Fashion Award finalists are strutting their
stuff 5 times a day over the Easter long weekend. Good Fri is
traditionally the busies day of the show calendar, followed by Easter
Mon. Around 410,000 people visited the show in the 1st wk and
organisers are expecting to top that figure this wk.
Melbourne. GOOD FRI APPEAL RAISES $10 MN! The annual Good Fri Appeal
has raised a record $9.8 mn for the Royal Children's Hosp. The
figure's an increase on last y's $8.2 mn. An RCH rep says the appeal
has always topped its prev y's tally. She speculates that people may
have dug deeper this y because of "world events". The money raised in
the appeal will go to research and new equipment. And what's left
over pays for the champers at the end of y party in Majorca.
Sydney. EASTER PROCESSION DRAWS 1,000! A re-enactment of the
Crucification draw large crows in SYD yesterday. Now in its 12th y,
around 500 people attended the march organised by students from the
Wesley Institute. The procession travelled from Martin Place
Amphitheatre along Pitt St to the Wesley Theatre. Rep Graeme Cole
says after the re-enactment, around 1,000 people watched the students
present a multi-media production about Jesus. I'm sure Jesus would
not have approved.
Sydney. AUSSIE EASTER TOLL HITS 9! Accidents in Qld and Vic yesterday
have brought this Easter's nat'l road toll to 9. 1 woman aged in her
20s was killed and 2 others critically injured in a coastal town S of
MEL when a car ploughed through a fence. Police say the accident
happened late last night. The fatality brought the toll for Vic this
Easter hols to 3. 2 critically-injured females in the accident were
taken by ambulance to the Alfred hosp.
Vienna. NAZI HUNTER RETIRES! Famed Nazi hunter and concentration camp
survivors Simon Wiesenthal has told an Austrian magazine he's
retiring from the 60-y chase for those responsible for the Holocaust.
Wiesenthal told the weekly Format that his work is done. He says he's
found the mass of murderers he was looking for and survived all of
them. The 95 yo says those he didn't look for are too old and sick
today to be pursued legally.
Washington. NASA POSTPONES TELESCOPE LAUNCH! NASA has postponed the
launch of its infrared telescope. The Space Infrared Telescope
Facility was originally due for launch on Thu from Cape Canaveral, but
the launch was postponed to Apr 27. The telescope is now due to be
launched mid-Aug. NASA says the delay is necessary to give engineers
enough time to change 1 of the 9 SRB's attached to the Delta II.
Sydney. THIEVES STEAL MOBILES! Thieves have stolen more than $1 mn of
mobile phones from a warehouse in SYD. Police say the thieves broke
into the Mitchell Rd warehouse in Alexandria some time between Thu
night and yesterday morning. Several pallets of phones were loaded
onto a semi and driven away. Anyone who is offered a mobile phone
is asked to use it and ring Crime Stoppers.
Melbourne. VANDALS DAMAGE WATER PIPE! More than 15 houses in MEL's
outer E have been left water damaged after vandals smashed a vale from
1 of the city's main water arteries yesterday. Police say vandals
deliberately crashed a car through a cage protecting an above-ground
valve at Pipeline Reserve, Mooroolbark, early yesterday morning.
Their destruction sent a 50-m gusher into the air. Melb Water says
about 15 mn L of water -- 1.5% of the city's daily supply -- was
wasted. The supply couldn't immediately be turned off because it
would affect water supplies to a large section of the MEL population.
Melbourne. FORCED LANDING ON SUBURBAN ROOF! 10 passengers have made a
forced landing on a MEL sub'n house. Police said a hot air balloon
landed in Eskdale Rd in Caulfield N about 12.30 pm. There were 10
people and the pilot [a chimp?] on board. No one was seriously
hurt. A woman was taken to hosp as a "precaution" with mild neck
injuries, but she's not considered to be badly injured. They hammered
that bone sticking out her neck back in, and she perked right up!
The passengers were rescued from the rooftop by the fire brigade.
Canberra. PLASTIC BAG COMMITTEE SETS UP SHOP! A Fed Govt committee
has opened it doors for submissions on the pros and cons of a 20 c
levy on plastic bags in supermarkets. Greens Sen Bob Brown has
proposed a bill for the levy with the aim to reduce the number of
plastic bags littering the environment by 3 bn pa. The Senate Env,
Comm'n, Info'n Tech'y and Arts Legis'n Committee is to receive
submissions from today until Jun 13 and will report on the bill in Oct.
{{ CONTINUOUS WAR-RELATED NEWS
DAY THIRTY
6 pm
Baghdad. 100s of people crowded in a subway tunnel today, ripping out
covers on air ducts. There were rumours that there was a secret
prison there. No-one was found, living or dead.
Saddam and son have been shown in the streets of Baghdad, on the same
day American troops stormed into the capital. The TV footage was
b'cast on the Abu Dhabi network, and showed Saddam and someone that
looked like Qusay being greeted in the streets of Baghdad by 100s of
supporters. Saddam is shown being kissed. They both get into a car.
Why show this when facing defeat? The film is supposedly dated 2 days
before Saddam's statue was torn down. The network also aired an audio
tape made by Saddam on the same day.
20 NK scientists and officials have defected to the W in the past 6 m,
providing valuable info on the country's nuclear program. Reading
like the plot of a James Bond novel is was part of an operation that's
been dubbed "Operation Weasels". It involved shadowy figures linked
with the US, and also the Nauru govt to encouraging NK officials to
defect to the West.
6.30 pm
The US says Iraqis are now free to protest. But just not nr US
patrols. Soldiers told demonstrators to back up when they marched
down a Baghdad street. Protesters in the crowd said the didn't want
the Saddam regime to be replaced by a new dictatorship. Many Iraqis
welcome the US presence, especially those Iraqis courted by the US
while they were in exile. SBS TV showed the US mil trying to break up
the anti-US demo in Baghdad. A protester told soldiers to shoot him
if they didn't like what he was saying. They said they wouldn't shoot
him, and it was the US forces that eventually backed off. A US rep
said they were only there to make the people happy and provide food aid.
Ahmed Chalabi said again he was not a candidate for any position. He
again said all he wanted was to help build civil society in Iraq.
There's a lack of respect for Chalabi among ordinary Iraqis. On the
street he's seen as out of touch. He's been living abroad for decades
while they suffered under Saddam.
Basic services are slowly being restored in Baghdad. Some shop
keepers and street vendors have gone back to work, while water and
electricity have been restored in some areas. SBS TV showed that subs
in SE still get their water from a local reservoir.
On the 9th Apr Saddam apparently gave his last street walk as
dictator of Iraq. A tape shown on Abu Dhabi TV was reportedly shot nr
the Aadhamiyah mosque, in W Baghdad. That was the location the us had
a fire-fight that resulted in dozens of black-clad bodies being
brought out from a damaged mosque. But Saddam seemed to disappear from
the area without trace.
Another Iraqi official has been handed over to the US by Iraqi Kurds
in the N. He was number 5 on the deck of 55 cards.
6.35 pm
Iraq's Fin Min under Saddam has been captured. Heimat al-Azzawi was
caught by police.
2 trucks of medical supplies have finally arrived in Basra for local
hospitals.
In Basra, SBS TV showed Brits hunting for a "suspect" Baathist.
Neighbours said the family had also been involved in looting. Brit
troops looked through the house. A woman living there burst into
tears. It was probably a sign of guilt, said the Brit reporter with
the troops. In the pigeon coop they found a box of fluorescent lights.
Probably stolen from the local hospital, the rep said. Then they
came across something more sinister -- a loaded magazine. Next they
found a pledge of loyalty to Saddam. But the wanted man wasn't home.
Brit troops say they are trying to send a message that looting is not
acceptable. And they are trying to end the reign of fear from Saddam
loyalists.
In Rihad, Arab nations have again called on the US to withdraw from
Iraq ASAP.
Adelaide. Human Shield Ruth Russell has arrived back in Adel. She was
stationed at a food silo in the subs of Baghdad for the whole period
of the war. She says he saw bodies of children, and burned-out cars
all along the rd. She's now reviewing 100s of photos she took, ahead
of a public meeting to tell her story.
There have been 7 arrests outside of Baxter, SA. More than 400
anti-detention advocates resumed their protest today, and there was
another confrontation with police and security forces. Protesters
stormed through 2 barriers before marching 2.5 km to the Baxter camp.
150 police looked on. Demonstrators destroyed 100 m of barbed-wire
fencing. The centre's gates were then blocked for 2 hrs. Imm Min
Ruddock said the protesters were trying to demonise a system that
provided humanitarian care for detainees. 7 protesters were arrested
on charges ranging from destruction of property to assaulting police
horses. Detainees are not allowed visitors this weekend, and some are
not allowed phone calls. Officials said the prisoners were very
relaxed and didn't care about the protests outside.
}}
----------------------------------------
Sun, 20 Apr 2003
13 drown in capsize
6 killed in chopper crash
5 shot by Israeli army
Red Cross calls for law and order
4 soldiers injured in accidental bombing
Saddam's Fin Min captured
Former US POWs return to Texas
NK rings South for meeting
India offers Kashmir talks
Accused terrorist goes to trial
ETA rejects autonomy
Singapore SARS crisis
Canada SARS deaths reach 14
Medical certificates needed to return to school
Brit forest fires rage
Easter in Rome
Easter in MEL
Easter in SYD
Easter road toll hits 14
Toll rises to 18
Aussie peacekeepers to withdraw from Bougainville
8,639 Easter speeders nabbed
7 arrested at Baxter protest
Tripod sparks more Baxter clashes
Refugees may be tricked home
Mystery boat to be boarded
Carr best choice for ALP leader
Sun trading confuses Oppn
Continuous war-related news
Rio. 13 DROWN IN CAPSIZE! A tourist boat with 64 people on board has
capsized and sunk, killing at least 13 people. Local authorities say
the dead incl 10 women and a child. They say 9 people are still
missing. Survivors told GloboNews TV the vessel had stopped in the
Itajuru canal nr Cabo Frio in Rio de Janeiro state so some of them
could go swimming and snorkeling. 5 mins after the schooner had
restarted its trip, a large wave hit one side and it turned over.
Rome. 6 KILLED IN CHOPPER CRASH! Officials say 6 people were killed
when a chopper they were in crashed in NW Italy. The helicopter,
belonging to a private company, was carrying a group of skiers when it
crashed into the side of a mtn in the Sestriere region, W of Turin and
nr the Freedom border. 1 other person was seriously injured in the
accident. Army, police and rescue teams were on the scene to aid in
the recovery operation, but strong winds and low clouds were hindering
their efforts.
Nablus. 5 SHOT BY ISRAELI ARMY! Witnesses and medics say Israeli
troops have shot dead 5 people, incl a TV cameraman, in violent
clashes in the W Bank and Gaza Strip. Witnesses say dozens of
soldiers who raided Nablus' historic old city, or Casbah, encountered
scores of youths who began throwing stones. Reporters and medics say
cameraman Nazih Darwazeh, who also free-lanced for America's AP, was
hit during return fire and died on the way to hospital.
Geneva. RED CROSS CALLS FOR LAW AND ORDER! The ICRC says coal'n
forces must do more to restore law and order and stability in Iraq.
The Red Cross says looters have responded to calls from religious
leaders in the mosques to hand back stolen medicine and equipment to
hospitals -- and these returns are now the main source of supply for
health institutions.
Baghdad. 4 SOLDIERS INJURED IN ACCIDENTAL BOMBING! American military
sources say 4 soldiers on patrol and an Iraqi girl were wounded when
the girl handed them a bomb and it exploded. They say they believe
it was an accident. Col Michael Linnington, cmdr of the 101st 3rd
Brig, the wounded soldiers' unit, says none of the injuries was
life-threatening. The girl, who appeared to be about 7 yo, suffered
a hand injury and was taken away by her family, apparently to
hospital. US forces were searching for her to make sure she was safe.
Camp As Sayliya. SADDAM'S FIN MIN CAPTURED! US troops have taken
into custody Saddam Hussein's Finance Minister, who they say could
shed light on $bns the ousted leader and his govt have stashed
O/S. Iraqi police captured Hikmat Ibrahim al-Azzawi who was also a dep
PM and who is number 45 on the American list of the 55 most wanted
Iraqi leaders. He was handed to US Marines.
Ft Bliss, TX. FORMER US POWS RETURN TO TEXAS! 7 former POW's have
arrived home to a heroes' welcome from 100s of elated relatives,
friends and well-wishers. 5 of the former prisoners -- specialists
Edgar Hernandez, Joseph Hudson, Shoshana Johnson, Patrick Miller, and
Sgt James Riley -- gained int'l notoriety after their unit of the
507th Maint Co took a wrong turn nr Nasiriyah on Mar 23 and was
captured by Iraqi forces. 9 US soldiers were killed in the battle.
Seoul. NK RINGS SOUTH FOR MEETING! North Korea has made a
conciliatory gesture toward SK, proposing high-level talks 1 day
after jeopardising planned negotiations with the US by announcing its
intention to re-process nuclear fuel. NK officials telephoned SK
officers at the Panmunjom village to propose cabinet-level talks on
Apr 27-29 in Pyongyang. The N called off a similar meeting last wk.
Srinagar. INDIA OFFERS KASHMIR TALKS! India's PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee
has conditionally offered to negotiate with Pakistan over Kashmir and
other key issues dividing the 2 nuclear powers. Vajpayee's comments
have come at a news conf yesterday concluding a 2-day visit ti the
state of Jammu-Kashmir, the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. The
visits and comments have raised hopes for peace in the troubled region.
Jakarta. ACCUSED TERRORIST GOES TO TRIAL! Muslim cleric Abu Bakar
Bashir, accused of leading terror network Jemaah Islamiah, goes on
trial in Indon this wk. He's charged with treason -- attempting to
topple the govt in his capacity as emir or leader of JI and to install
an Islamic state. Bashir is not accused over the Oct Bali attacks
which killed 202 people. He's accused of authorising the bombings of
churches and priests which killed 19 people in Indon on Xmas Eve 2000.
Bilbao. ETA REJECTS AUTONOMY! The armed separatist organisation ETA
has rejected proposals that would give Spain's N Basque region more
autonomy. ETA, held responsible for 100s of deaths in a campaign of
violence over more than 30 y, says the plan is an obstacle and a brake
on independence. The plan, put forward by the moderate nationalist
regional head of govt in the troubled Basque Country, envisages shared
sovereignty between the Basques and the Spanish state, allowing Basques
to set their own rules for internal govt.
Singapore. SINGAPORE SARS CRISIS! PM Goh Chok Tong says the outbreak
of SARS could be the worst crisis ever faced by the island nation.
Goh also announced new strict measures to prevent those under home
quarantine for SARS from flouting their orders to stay home, incl
fines and prison terms. Goh says if SARS isn't contained in Sing it
may well become the country's worst crisis.
Toronto. CANADA SARS DEATHS REACH 14! Canada's death toll from SARS
has risen to 14 with the death of a 99 yo man. The latest figured,
updated before the weekend, show that Canada has 304 probable or
suspected cases of the disease, most of them in Ontario, its most
populous prov. All but 3 of the victims of SARS have been aged over
70 and had other illnesses. Canada is the only country outside Asia
where people have died from SARS, which started in S China.
Brisbane. MEDICAL CERTIFICATES NEEDED TO RETURN TO SCHOOL! Some Qld
boarding schools are asking students who've been to Asia or Canada for
the Easter break to be declared SARS-free before returning to school.
They say such students will need a medical certificate or they may
face time in quarantine or may even be refused re-entry. The Anglican
Church Grammar School has adopted a "no medical certificate, no
re-admission" policy. But it seems many borders were deterred from
travel due to the mystery illness that's killed 185 people world-wide.
London. BRIT FOREST FIRES RAGE! Several forest fires fuelled by
strong winds are burning in Brit. The worst fires are in Wales and
Scotland, where firefighters are using water-bombing choppers in the
Scot Highlands. But large-scale fires in the SW Eng counties of
Cornwall and Dorset have been extinguished or died out. Authorities
believe some of the blazes have been caused by campers and picnickers,
while others may have been deliberately set.
Vatican City. EASTER IN ROME! Pope JPII has led the world's 1 bn RC's
into the joy of Easter, commemorating what Xtians believe was Jesus'
resurrection after his death on the cross. The 82 yo Polish Pope,
looking frail but in good overall form, has presided at an elaborate
3-hr Easter vigil service in St Peter's Basilica. Wearing
gold-coloured vestments, he carved the first and last letters of the Greek
alphabet -- Alpha and Omega -- on a large candle in the church's atrium.
Melbourne. EASTER IN MEL! 100s of people are expected to march
through the streets of MEL today to celebrate Easter Sun. March
organisers say the Easter March of Celebration will begin at the State
Lib at 2 pm and proceed to Federation Sq for a festival. The first
Eucharist of Easter was marked by the lighting of the Easter fire at
St Paul's Anglican Cath'l in MEL this morning. The Dead of MEL, the
Very Rev David Richardson, says Easter Sun is a special day.
Sydney. EASTER IN SYD! Several 100s SYD-siders have celebrated Easter
in the streets as they marched through the city's CBD today. A crowd
of around 300 people gathered between Town Hall and St Andrew's
Cathedral, bringing traffic to a standstill as they began their march
through the city centre. A white Jerusalem donkey led the march
against a backdrop of banners proclaiming "Kindness", "Peace",
"Goodness" and Compassion. Christian outreach group Aussie Awakening
jointly organised the Easter march.
Sydney. EASTER ROAD TOLL HITS 14! A man killed when his car hit a
pole S of Perth o'night has taken WA's Easter road toll to 6, and the
national total to 14. Police say the accident happened about 1 am at
Mandurah, about 70 km S of Perth. In Qld, an 11 yo boy who was
injured in a 2-car crash at Labrador on the GC late last night died in
hosp early today.
Sydney. TOLL RISES TO 18! 2 people have been killed following a rd
accident in Geelong, SW of MEL, taking the nat'l road toll for the
hols to 18. Vic's Easter toll now stands at 6. In NSW, a 75 yo man
died after being hit by a car in SYD's NW about 12.10 pm today. WA
has had 6 fatalities, while Qld's toll is 3. 1 person has died in Tas.
Canberra. AUSSIE PEACEKEEPERS TO WITHDRAW FROM BOUGAINVILLE! The fed
govt says it's comfortable with the situation on the PNG Is of
Bougainville and will withdraw its peacekeepers on Jun 30 as planned.
A rep for For Min Alex Downer says the 100-strong Peace Monitoring
Group has fulfilled its mandate on Bougainville, which has been
wracked by secessionist war for 15 y. The withdrawal has already been
postponed 6 m.
Sydney. 8,639 EASTER SPEEDERS NABBED! A learner driver who reversed
into a police car is 1 of 306 people caught drink-driving in the 1st
3 days of the NSW traffic blitz. Police have conducted 66,214 random
breath tests and netted 8,639 speeding drivers as part of Operation
Tortoise. There's been 1 fatality so far on NSW roads over E. 209
have been injured in 659 major crashes.
Adelaide. 7 ARRESTED AT BAXTER PROTEST! 7 people were arrested
yesterday after more than 350 protesters converged on the Baxter
Reffo Jail in SA. Police say this brings to 12 the number of arrests
made during the protests, which are expected to continue over the
Easter break. The 5 men and 2 women were arrested after breaking
through a perimeter fence and have been bailed to face Pt Augusta Mag
Court on Jun 2. [Some reports say at least 1 was arrested for
illegally flying a kite in restricted air space nr the concentration
camp]. Police and protesters clashed earlier yesterday as
demonstrators trespassed onto Commonwealth land.
Adelaide. TRIPOD SPARKS MORE BAXTER CLASHES! A camera tripod thought
by police to be a rifle has sparked further clashes between police
and protesters outside the Baxter Foreigners' Jail. 3 people were
arrested this morning before protesters started to pack their bags
and return home after 3 days of rallying for the cause of asylum
seekers. The arrests take the number of people arrested outside the
SA centre, on the outskirts of Pt Augusta, to 32. All have received
bail to appear in the local Magistrates Court on Jun 2.
Sydney. REFUGEES MAY BE TRICKED HOME! Imm Min Philip Ruddock says
Iraqi asylum seekers might be tricked to go back where they came from
with an offer of $A2,000 cash each, or $10,000 for a whole family. He
said it was now safe for them to return home since Saddam Hussein's
evil regime has ended and peace is restored. Last y the fed govt gave
Afghani asylum seekers threats and cash incentives to return home
after the fall of the Taliban. Mr Ruddock said 1 of 39 detainees kept
in AUS -- 100s more are stored in Nauru where they can't count against
Australia's concentration camp totals -- has already asked the fed govt
for financial assistance to return to Iraq. I guess the beatings work!
Melbourne. MYSTERY BOAT TO BE BOARDED! A task force of customs, RAN,
and police units is reportedly poised to seize a mystery ship at the
centre of Vic's largest heroin bust. The Herald Sun newspaper says
naval patrol boats were last night preparing to board a small bulk
carrier in rough seas off the NSW coast. The ship, which has refused
repeated requests to enter port, is believed to have come within 150
km of shore 14 km W of Lorne, on Vic's SW coast, on Wed last wk to
unload 50 kg ($A80 mn worth) of heroin.
Sydney. CARR BEST CHOICE FOR ALP LEADER! A newspaper poll says NSW
Prem Bob Carr is the man to restore the fortunes of the federal Labor
Party. The Taverner poll shows Carr should move to Canberra and become
the ALP leader. Published in the Sun-Herald newspaper, the poll says
61% of respondents believe Mr Carr is either likely to be, or will
definitely be, a successful party leader if he makes the move to CBR.
The paper says even outside Mr Carr's NSW power-base, the Prem appears
to have the support of voters.
Melbourne. SUN TRADING CONFUSES OPPN! The Vic Opp'n says the new
Sunday trading laws will cause confusion today. The laws allow small
traders to remain open 7 days a wk. But larger business have already
indicated they will also stay open, in defiance of govt threats to
enforce restrictions. Shops can only open if they employ fewer than 20
people or if they fall into an exempt category -- milk bars, petrol
stns, and newsagents. Businesses that flout the law risk prosecution
and fines of up to $10,000. But Opp'n business rep Bruce Atkinson says
the laws are ridiculous and will confuse both retailers and consumers.
{{ CONTINUOUS WAR-RELATED NEWS
DAY THIRTY-ONE
6 pm
An NK freighter has been captured off the AUS coast. HMAS Stuart and
2 72-ft launches were involved in the operation that captured the
4,000 tonne ship. At first light the ship was boarded. Tonight it's
under guard. The navy and police fought 10 m waves to board the ship
that is suspected of being involved in Vic's largest heroin haul. It
has been under surveillance for 4 days. 30 men are under arrest, incl
the capt. John Howard said it sent a clear signal to drug smugglers
they would be stopped. He welcomed the use of Aussie def forces to
protect the coastline.
8.30 pm
China has sacked its health minister. The news comes hrs after there
was a 10-fold leap in SARS cases in Beijing. There and now officially
79 dead from the illness, with 2,000 confirmed cases.
Police were forced to apologise to Baxter demonstrators after they
raided the demonstrators' camp this morning, armed with machine guns.
4.30 am
Shanghai, BBC radio. Despite high-level directives from Beijing to
take the SARS outbreak seriously, a BBC reporter finds a saga of
secrecy still surrounding the disease. Despite being a trading hub,
Shanghai officials say there is only 1 confirmed case of SARS there.
That is a woman. But she has been a known case for some time.
Officials now add a relative is also a suspected case. Officials also
haven't updated the death toll. There have only been 5 deaths here
say officials. But there have been 30 according to the reporter's
sources. That number was later confirmed. The local officials are
trying to down-play the disease, but local restaurants are 1/2 empty.
Pres Bush Jr says he sees positive signs that Syria is getting the
message. His comments come 1 wk after the Pres and other US officials
accused Syria of developing WMD and harbouring former members of
Saddam's regime.
Militia leaders have been meeting in Afghanistan for 2 days . They
have agreed to create a strong central army, representing all ethnic
groups.
BBC World News. A consensus seems to have formed that the global
economy had reached a situation of over-supply. Only 5 y ago this was
a fringe idea. There is simply too much stuff in the world. With
powerhouses like China coming into the manufacturing landscape, there
is a continuing threat of global deflation caused by too much
capacity. There are too many products with trivial variations. There
is more than enough capacity in a world which can source anything
globally. Double digit revenue growths have largely ended in the past
couple of decades. Price cutting no longer leads to increased demand,
but only to reduced profits. Over-capacity and price cutting has led
to zero profit in some sectors. For memory chips and airlines, for
example. But some companies see a way ahead. While they see it as a
"solution", it may also be only a temp fix. GE has moved from 99%
manufacturing to a sit'n now where 50/50 is split between
manufacturing and services. It's putting a lot of emphasis on
after-sales services. The company began the shift about 12 y ago.
}}
----------------------------------------
Mon, 21 Apr 2003
5 killed in army raid
Baghdad back to normal?
Aussie officials leave for "thank you" tour
China owes up to SARS cases
Howard to talk post-war reconstruction
Food aid arrives in Baghdad
2 more Iraqi officials seized
Student strike paralyses Nepal
4,000 yo tomb found
Ancient village found in Illinois
Boat seized by RAN
Medicare shake-up
Drought is over
Easter toll climbs to 20
Vic to fund Timor fruit
Continuous war-related news
Bishkek. 34 KILLED IN LANDSLIDE! Emergency officials say at least 34
people have died in a massive landslide that swept away houses in a
village in Kyrgizstan over the weekend. They say the dead incl 17
children. 11 houses were destroyed in the disaster in the village of
Kara-Teguit in the SW prov of Osh. It was the 2nd landslide in 2 days
in the same region of the former SU. The first landslide caused no
casualties.
Jakarta. BUS CRASH KILLS 11! 2 buses have collided on a toll rd nr the
Indon capital, killing 11 and injuring at least 25. Traffic police
say it's not immediately clear what caused the early-morning crash 40
km E of Jakarta. The accident is the latest in a long series of
high-death-toll smashes on the country's overcrowded roads.
Gaza. 5 KILLED IN ARMY RAID! Witnesses and medics say the Israeli
army has killed 5 people and wounded around 70 others, many of them
civilians, in a pre-dawn raid on the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza
Strip. An Israeli military photographer was killed and 3 soldiers
wounded during what an army general describes as an intensive
firefight with gunmen in the camp. Rafah residents called the assault
by a 40-vehicle armoured force the most powerful Israeli push into the
camp since the uprising for Palestinian statehood began 30 m ago. The
Israelis said they were hunting for bomb-making workshops they say are
operating in the camp. They say the bombs are smuggled out in
underground tunnels. Palestinians responded to the raid by firing a
home-made rocket into Israel. It hit an appt building, but there were
no reported injuries.
Seoul. SK ACCEPTS TALKS! SK has accepted a NK proposal to hold
Cabinet-level talks in Pyongyang later this m. The office of SK's
Unification Min Jeong Se-hyun says he's accepted the NK offer for
talks between Apr 27 and 29. SK hopes to use the high-level talks to
persuade the North to give up its nuclear ambitions. The announcement
comes just days before the US, NK and China were expected to hold
talks to discuss the N's suspected nuclear weapons program.
Seoul. EXPLOSION ROCKS NK TEST SITE! A US spy satellite reportedly
monitored a strong explosion that rocked NK's test site for ballistic
missiles last Nov. Yonhap news agency says Washington has passed info
concerning the blast to SK military authorities. Seoul's Chosun Ilbo
newspaper says the explosion occurred during a missile engine test and
crippled operations and facilities at NK's missile launch site at
Musudan-ri, NE of Pyongyang.
Lagos. OLUSEGUN WINS! Nigerian Pres Olusegun Obasanjo appears to be
on the verge of victory in the country's first civilian-run poll in 20
y. However allegations of ballot-rigging are raising political
tensions. Obasanjo's supporters have ousted 3 state governors in
Nigeria's densely-populated SW, while first results for the pres'l
contest have him with 3/4 of the vote with a 1/2 of areas declared.
Votes from just under 12 mn of Nigeria's 60 mn registered voters have
been so far accounted for.
London. THE QUEEN IS 77! The Queen of Australia is spending a quiet
77th birthday at Windsor Castle. 21-gun salutes are being fired at
noon in Hyde Park, London, and from Stirling and Edinburgh castles in
Scotland. QE2 braved a chilly morning to attend Easter Sun service at
St George's Chapel in Windsor.
Baghdad. BAGHDAD BACK TO NORMAL? The int'l community has turned its
focus to the task of post-war reconstruction, as Baghdad began to
recover an air of normality 11 days after US forces swept into the
capital. The man who declared himself Mayor says 22 committees have
been set up to run the capital, with responsibilities for civil,
defence, foreign affairs and information issues. Meanwhile, Iraq's
former finance minister Hikmat al-Azzawi is in the hands of US forces,
after Iraqi police captured and turned him over in Baghdad.
Canberra. AUSSIE OFFICIALS TO VISIT THE TROOPS! Def Min Robert Hill
and Chief Gen Peter Cosgrove have left for a "thank you" visit to
Aussie forces in the Gulf who helped defeat Saddam. Sen Hill and Gen
Cosgrove will spend ANZAC day in the Gulf. Sen Hill says he wants to
personally than Aussie soldiers, seamen and air personnel on behalf of
the govt and all Aussies. He'll also meet snr govt and military reps
of the Middle E nations that hosted the ADF units.
Baghdad. FOOD AID ARRIVES IN BAGHDAD! The first food aid has arrived
in the shattered Iraqi capital after a perilous 4-day journey. The
World Food Program says a 50-truck convoy carrying 1,400 tonnes of
wheat flour is being unloaded under US guard after a trip in which it
came under attack. US forces have announced they will reopen Baghdad
airport to humanitarian flights in the next few days.
Baghdad. 2 MORE IRAQI OFFICIALS SEIZED! 2 more of the US's 55 card
deck of wanted officials have been taken into custody, as the first
food aid arrives in Baghdad. The US military says Iraq's former
scientific research and higher ed minister Human Abd al-Khaliq
al-Gharaf has been captured and is in US custody. The Iraqi Nat'l
Congress says it's also holding Jamal Mustafa Abdullah, former dep
head of the Tribal Affairs Office. The 2 captives bring to 7 the
number of former Iraqi officials on the US most-wanted list now in custody.
Baghdad. ONE OF SADDAM'S SONS-IN-LAW CAPTURED! An Iraqi opp'n group
says it's hilding Saddam Hussein's son-in-law, Jamal Mustafa Abdullah
al-Tikriti, and 1 of the toppled Iraqi leader's bodyguards. A rep for
the pro-US Iraqi National Congress in London says the group has
persuaded Saddam's son-in-law, married to the dictator's youngest and
favourite daughter, and bodyguard to return from hiding in neighbouring
Syria and turn themselves in. He says the men could have info on
Saddam's where-abouts and will be turned over to the US in Baghdad.
Canberra. HOWARD TO VISIT CHINA! PM John Howard's rep says the PM
wants to visit China this y, but no date has been set. Today's Age
newspaper says Mr Howard is planning to visit China next m despite the
fears of the SARS virus. The newspaper says the PM will go after his
early May visit to the US and Brit to meet China's new Pres Hu Jintao
and Prem Wen Jiabao.
Beijing. CHINA OWES UP TO SARS CASES! China has announced the sacking
of its top health official ad the capital's mayor from key Communist
Party positions after reporting a nearly tenfold increase in SARS
cases in Beijing. The firings were announced just hrs after a snr
health official told a news conf that SARS had killed 12 more people
in China and that the number of infections in Beijing had soared from
37 to 346. The new numbers raised China's total number of deaths to
79 and its case load to 1,814.
Canberra. HOWARD TO TALK POST-WAR RECONSTRUCTION! As leader of one of
the belligerent nations, PM John Howard is set to talk post-war Iraq
reconstruction with other nations in the US-led Coal'n. Mr Howard
will talk to Pres Bush Jr and Brit PM Blair next m on a trip to the US
that will also include a call on the UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan in NY.
Heading the agenda will be reconstruction issues for Iraq, and the
role of AUS, the US and Brit. The talks will follow a formal
declaration of victory by the 3 nations. And the other 50 nations the
US claims are also in the Coal'n, of course!
Kathmandu. STUDENT STRIKE PARALYSES NEPAL! Police in Nepal have
arrested 127 students for damaging govt property and vehicles during
a strike that paralysed life in the Kathmandu valley. A home
ministry officials says students called the 1-day strike to protest
fuel price hikes and the police shooting of a student leader.
Officials later said the govt lowered the price of some petroleum
products following the protests by more than 200,000 students.
Tokyo. SMALL QUAKE HITS C JAPAN! An earthquake measuring 4.6 on the
Richter scale has shaken C Japan. There are no immediate reports of
injuries or damage. The Met Agency says the centre of the quake,
which struck at 11.18 am AEST, was off the coast of Ibaraki, 100 km NE
of Tokyo.
Manila. TYPHOON WATCH! Philippine authorities are on alert for Kujira
as it moves closer to the country's extreme N islands. They say that
at 6 am AUS time, K was packing max winds of 160 kph about 390 km SE
of Basco, the capital of the Batanes island chain. The 2nd level of
a 3-stage storm alert has been tripped over the Batanes island, while
the stage-1 alert is in place over the N prov of the Philippine island
of Luzon.
Cairo. 4,000 YO TOMB FOUND! Egyptian officials say a team of French
archaeologists have unearthed a complex of tombs S of Cairo that date
back to between 2,360 and 2,180 BC. Antiques chief Zahi Hawas says the
discovery of the tombs hewn out of the rock in the Saqqara region, 20
km S of the capital, is the fruit of a 3-y dig. One of the tombs is
believed to be that of a priest of the 6th Dynasty pharaoh Pepi I.
Sculptures of the priest, his wife and 13 children, were found on the walls.
Damiansville. ANCIENT VILLAGE FOUND IN ILLINOIS! Archaeologists have
found an ancient village buried in an Illinois hillside. They say the
discovery, about 56 km E of St Louis, is a significant site. State
archaeologist Brad Koldehoff says the find includes a so-called
keyhole house. Such houses are made of clay and logs with rooms 1/2
submerged in the ground and have a large, domed-shaped living area
reached by a long, straight, covered entrance.
Sydney. BOAT SEIZED BY RAN! In keeping with its deputy sherif role,
a 4-day high seas pursuit had ended with ADF boarding a cargo boat
allegedly involved in importing $A75 mn worth of heroin. Police say
last wk the Pong Su landed 50 kg of heroin in Vic. The fed govt
ordered the RAN to take action over the weekend. The ship's captain
had ignored repeated police warnings to stop as it steamed N-wards
from Vic. Something about being 150 km off the coast.
Sydney. MEDICARE SHAKE-UP! The fed govt is reportedly set to unveil a
shake-up of Medicare which will see middle- and high-income families
pay between $2 and $20 to visit a doctor. The Daily Telegraph
newspaper reports the package, worth $900 mn, will be unveiled by PM
Howard next wk. The paper says for the first time, people will be
able to take out private insurance for doctors visits. Doctors will
also be paid between $1 and $6.30 extra to bulk-bill pensioners and
low-income families in a bid to ensure Medicare remains a safety net.
Canberra. DROUGHT IS OVER! Aussie farmers have decided the drought is
over, with many holding on to stock and preparing for huge crop
plantings. Good rain between 40 and 100 mm through much of E AUS in
the past wk has prompted farmers to prepare for a return to normal
weather conditions. Meat and Livestock Aus -- in its weekly market
analysis -- says the good rain has directly influenced a spike in
beef, lamb and mutton prices in recent days.
Sydney. EASTER TOLL CLIMBS TO 20! The death of a 72 yo motorcycle
rider in Tas's N has taken the nat'l Easter rd toll to 20. Tasmania's
death toll now stands at 2. WA and Vic have recorded 6 fatalities
each, Qld has 4 and NSW 2. SA, the ACT and the NT remain
fatality-free this Easter.
Melbourne. VIC TO FUND TIMOR FRUIT! The Vic govt will fund a $1/4 mn
program to improve fruit and vegetable production in E Timor. The
assistance and training program will be delivered through Vic's Dept
of Prim Ind'ies, which has run similar schemes in various parts of
Indonesia. State Ag Min Bob Cameron says problems in E Timor incl
seed quality, pest and disease control, and crop wastage.
{{ CONTINUOUS WAR-RELATED NEWS
DAY THIRTY-TWO
Saddam Hussein's son-in-law has reportedly surrendered. He was number
9 on the most-wanted list. He was apparently hiding in Syria, and
somehow was encouraged to come back to Iraq where he surrendered to
the INC.
There has been more looting in Baghdad. It's an endemic problem, say
reporters. The gunfire heard in Baghdad is store- and home-owners
protecting their property.
In Saddam's palace some archaeological artefacts were found. But they
weren't actually missing.
Saudi and Kuwait no longer fear Iraq and say they don't want US
air-bases on their soil. The US have meanwhile designed 4 air-bases
inside Iraq they want to set up as permanent bases.
The US has made it clear. Syria is in the spotlight. Pres Bush Jr
has called on Syria to hand over anyone hiding there. But insiders
say a regime change is in the offing because Syria has chemical
weapons. The US Admin says it made Iraq an example for removing
terrorist regimes from the Middle E. But America may be faced with a
bigger problem in NK.
30 members of a Korean ship crew will appear in a SYD court today on
charges of drug smuggling.
Pres Bush celebrated Easter at the largest US base in America.
Flanked by 2 former POW's Mr Bush said Saddam Hussein had better
remain in hiding.
In China, the week-long Golden Week starting May 1 has been cancelled
due to SARS fears.
5 pm
Baghdad. A NY Times reporter has speculated Saddam Hussein night still
be in Baghdad. John Burns says when he was in the Sunni-dominated
area nr the Aadhamiyah mosque, in W Baghdad, he was told if Saddam was
still there they would never give him up, no matter what reward was
offered or what pressure was brought to bear. Saddam's last known
appearance was nr the mosque. It was televised on Abu Dhabi TV
yesterday. The mosque had been the site of a fire-fight after US
forces were tipped off Saddam was hiding inside. Burns said when he
talked with Tariq Aziz before the fall of Baghdad, the Dep PM told him
by the time Tommy Franks got to Baghdad the US would be chasing
shadows. He now understands that to mean a plan was already in place
for the leadership to quickly disappear.
Interpol says it's sending a team to Iraq to help trace and recover
about 170,000 stolen artefacts.
The SARS toll now stands at 171 world-wide, with almost 3,500
infected.
5.45 pm
After 36 suspect sites have been searched, there are still no
confirmed WMD in Iraq. Don Rumsfeld now says interviews with Iraqi
scientists will be needed to lead the US to the caches.
Victorians are living longer. Vic men now have a life exp of most 78
y, and Vic women can expect to live 82 y.
An Oxford virologist says with the SARS virus' ability to mutate
quickly a vaccine is around 3 y away.
1 mn Iraqi Shi'ites are on a pilgrimage to Karbala. Under Saddam they
weren't allowed to observe such things. It's not just about freedom
of religious expression. On Fri after clerics called for the
establishment of an Islamic state, 1000s spilled out of mosques in
Baghdad and confronted US troops.
6.50 pm
The first significant refugee ship to head for AUS has reportedly
stopped in Indonesia for refuelling. Indonesia says it has 42
Vietnamese on board. It was denied entry into one port in Indonesia,
because of SARS fears.
American forces have helped Iraqis break into a bank. People from a
neighbourhood wanted to get their money out, but the bank had been
closed up and the owners appear to have fled. US troops used a chain
and an APC to pull the doors off the bank. A sledge hammer and a
couple of Marines opened the vault. The money was taken into
safe-keeping.
The AUD is trading at a 6-wk high at 61.57 US c.
10.45 pm
Kim Myong-Choi, unofficial rep for the NK regime, has told ABC
Lateline that NK has 100 nuclear weapons, incl a hydrogen bomb, and is
"quite prepared" to fight a nuclear war with the US. But he said the
North would allow US officials to inspect the Yongbyon reprocessing
facility, which he also described as "a joke". If America attacked
the Yongbyon facilities, he said, the North would attack NY, London
and Chicago.
The Nikkei closed up more than 1% today. Most other markets were
closed for Easter. Oil is trading around $US30.50/bbl.
2 semis have collided nr Tenterfield, killing both drivers and
creating one Hell of a mess on the road. The semis burst into flame
on impact. One semi was carrying 40 head of cattle. Only 4 were
saved. The New England Hgwy will be closed until at least 9 am. The
latest deaths bring the Easter rd toll to 23, nationally. There have
been 4 deaths in NSW, 6 in WA and Vic, 5 in Qld, and 2 in Tas. WA is
considering confiscating cars from speeding drivers.
29 crewmen and the capt of the Pong Su have been charged with drug
importation. They were denied bail and will re-appear in a SYD court
on Mon. None has a valid AUS visa. 3 of the crewmen have confirmed TB
and are in hospital. 1 is also recovering from a heart attack.
In the wake of sackings in Beijing over a SARS cover-up, Party
officials have now headed for Shanghai, to see whether that city's
claim of only 2 suspected cases checks out.
}}
----------------------------------------
Mon, 22 Apr 2003
Markets
ANZAC exhibit
80 killed in capsize
12 killed in bus attack
Blast kills 4
LTTE suspends peace talks
SARS out of control?
4 AUS possible SARS cases
SARS experts warns of overload
Easter rd toll rises to 24
Malaria breakthrough
Tea may be basis for new drugs
NK poses many threats: US cmdr
Another Iraqi leader captured
US blocks UN return to Iraq
Syria A-OK
Gen Garner arrives to survey his domain
Aussie troops still on alert
Bloody foreigners
Bloody Aussies
Dictator hints at retirement
Chernobyl had defective equipment
Happy 2,756th
Telstra out-sourcing IT
Govt report shows Aussie wildlife in trouble
Murray on the fritz
Aussie flag burning still legal
Dems to block medicard changes
Aussie business costs down
AUS Markets
NY. MARKETS! The Dow and Nasdaq closed almost unchanged overnight.
The Nikkei has dived almost 2% in trade so far today. Gold is up $US6
to $US333/oz. Oil is trading around $US30.70/bbl. It's on the rise
on speculation OPEC will cut production now the Iraqi war is over. But
the UN has already stalled Iraqi oil coming back onto the market until
the US can prove there are no WMD in the country. In AUS, the All
Ords opened up 14 pts (0.5%) to 2,968 at 10 am. The AUD is holding
around the 61.50 US c level.
Brisbane. ANZAC EXHIBIT! With ANZAC day coming up this Fri, AUS's
Nat'l Museum wants to hear from young backpackers who've made the
trip to Gallipoli on ANZAC Day for an exhibit that will explore the
reasons behind the pilgrimage. The museum's curator, Guy Hansen,
wants to explore the new phenomenon, saying it's changed the way ANZAC
Day and the diggers are celebrated. Mr Hansen is particularity
interested in hearing from young people who have travelled to
Gallipoli without having any family connection with the events there.
The mementos, dairies and photos of the young ANZAC pilgrims will be
exhibited later this y.
Alipur. 80 KILLED IN CAPSIZE! At least 80 bodies have been pulled
from 1 of 2 ferries that sunk during a storm in Bangladesh. Police
also say the toll will definitely rise. One officer says more bodies
are believed to be trapped inside the ferry, that sank in the Burigana
R nr the capital, Dhaka, yesterday. It's been reported the
double-decked ferry was dangerously overloaded with 400 or more
passengers -- double its listed capacity.
[Later reports say 215 people are still missing from the 2 separate
ferry accidents].
Hanoi. 12 KILLED IN BUS ATTACK! Official reports in Laos say 12
people were killed and 31 wounded in a gun attack on a bus full of
students. The state-owned Vientiane Times say the bus was carrying 69
people when it came under attack at dawn on Sun on Route 13 between the
Lao capital Vientiane nd the N city of Luang Prabang. There has been
no claim of responsibility for the attack, the 2nd in the area in less
than 3 m.
Srinagar. BLAST KILLS 4! Police in Indian Kashmir say a powerful early
today has killed 4 people and injured a dozen others. The explosion
occurred in Gulshanpora, S of Srinagar, the state's summer capital.
All the dead and injured are said to be civilians. The police have
been unable to immediately ID the cause of the blast. The region has
been ravaged by an anti-Indian rebellion by Islamic guerrillas for the
past 14 y.
Colombo. LTTE SUSPENDS PEACE TALKS! Sir Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels
say they're suspending peace talks with the Colombo govt. The LTTE
say in a 4-page letter to PM Ranil Wickremesinghe they don't want to
attend a crucial meeting that Japan is hosting in Jun to drum up int'l
support for the island's peace bid. The rebels' decision will affect
the 7th round of peace talks due to open in Thailand on Apr 29.
HK. SARS OUT OF CONTROL? Fears over the spread of the SARS virus in
China have deepened today as 6 new provinces report cases and the
death toll continues to rise. At least 10 people died in China
yesterday from the disease. According to the Chinese health min'y the
mainland now has 2,001 cases of SARS. The death toll is now
officially 92. The Ministry dramatically revised its numbers upward
yesterday after incl 700 confirmed or suspected cases in Beijing.
The world toll now stands at 220.
Sydney. 4 AUS POSSIBLE SARS CASES! Health authorities say 4 people
remain under investigation for SARS symptoms in AUS, but no new cases
have been reported. The Commonwealth Dept of Health and Aging says 11
airline passengers have been referred to the AQIS during the past 24
hrs but none needed further investigation. Meanwhile, over 19,000
people have classed a nat'l SARS hotline since Mar 28.
Sydney. SARS EXPERTS WARNS OF OVERLOAD! An infectious diseases expert
says ICU's in AUS would be stretched to their limits in the event of a
SARS outbreak. Dr of microbiology at SYD's Westmead Hosp, Lyn
Gilbert, says ICU's would be at the front line of any treatment and
AUS's units are already over-stretched. She says hosp staff from other
areas should be trained to work in intensive care in the event of a
SARS outbreak.
[Dr Peter Cameron, from the Price of Wales Hosp, has also warned of
what he sees as incredible complacency about SARS in AUS. Dr Cameron
is presently in self-imposed quarantine after coming back to AUS for a
rest from emergency work in HK. He warns that several 100 SARS cases,
as in HK presently, would cripple the Aussie medical system. Although
he won't let his family go back to Asia with him, he plans to go back
to continue work in HK].
Sydney. EASTER RD TOLL RISES TO 24! AUS's Easter rd toll has risen to
24 with the death of 3 people in 2 separate accidents in NSW
yesterday. Police say 2 drivers died when their semis collided around
2.15 pm on the New England Hgwy, S of Tenterfield. WA and Vic have
recorded 6 fatalities each, while Qld and NSW have 5 each. 2 people
have died on Tassie rds, while SA, the ACT and NT remain
fatality-free.
Edinburgh. MALARIA BREAKTHROUGH! Brit scientists say they've made a
significant breakthrough in a permanent cure for one of the world's
biggest killers -- malaria. They say they've ID-ed the element in the
parasite which lets it build resistance to new treatments. The work
may lead to a possible vaccine. Researchers at Edinburgh U's Inst of
Cell and Molecular Biology have been working with scientists at the
Biotec Inst in the Thai capital Bangkok to study the protein
responsible.
Washington. TEA MAY BE BASIS FOR NEW DRUGS! Researchers say a new
study has found that tea boosts the body's defences against infection
and contains a substance that might be turned into a disease-fighting
drug. They say coffee doesn't have the same effect. A study in the
Proceedings of the Nat'l Acad'y of Sciences shows that immune system
blood cells from tea drinkers responded 5 times faster to germs than
did the blood cells of coffee drinkers.
Seoul. NK POSES MANY THREATS: US CMDR! On the eve of expected
diplomatic talks with North Korea, the cmdr of US forces in SK says
Pyongyang poses many threats to global stability. Speaking at a
forum hosted by a civic group in Seoul, Gen Leon LaPorte says the
threats incl an economy on the brink of collapse, an active nuclear
weapons program, proliferation of missile technologies, large
conventional forces, and special operations forces aimed at the
South. He says Pyongyang is a "thorn to the passage of peace".
[The NY Times says Don Rumsfeld has sent around a memo asking Pentagon
officials to concentrate on schemes to force Dear Leader Kim Jing-Il
from power. If the N falls, the South is expected to be flooded by
1000s of refugees].
Baghdad. ANOTHER IRAQI LEADER CAPTURED! The US military says a key
member of Saddam Hussein's inner circle has been taken into US
custody. The arrest of Mohammed Hamza al-Zubaidi came after Iraq's
postwar US admin, Gen Jay Garner (ret), completed his first day on the
job in Baghdad. Zubaidi is a former member of the Revolutionary
Command Council, the central decision-making body of Saddam's regime,
and is 1 of 55 Iraqi officials most wanted by the US. He is a former
PM of Iraq, and was personally involved in the brutal repression of
Shiites after GWI.
Amman. US BLOCKS UN RETURN TO IRAQ! UN officials have expressed
disappointment at the unexplained refusal by US forces to grant an air
corridor to return much-needed int'l staff to Iraq. The UN says the
refusal is crippling their attempts to get food and medicine into the
paralysed country. UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator for Iraq Ramiro
Lopes da Silva announced in Jordan 10 days ago that 31 int'l UN staff would
return to the N provinces of Dohuk, Arbil and Sulimaniyah 2 days later.
Washington. SYRIA A-OK! The US says it's pleased with steps taken by
Syria to close its border to members of Saddam Hussein's former govt.
However US authorities are now calling for Damascus to end all
co-operation with the fallen regime. US State Dept rep Richard
Boucher says Syria has taken seriously US concerns about individuals
in Syria. However he says there's more to be done to ID where such
individuals are and make sure the border is closed to those who might
be truing to hide -- or hide things -- in Syria.
Baghdad. GEN GARNER ARRIVES TO SURVEY HIS DOMAIN! Lt Gen Jay Garner
(ret) has arrived in Baghdad. He immediately told reporters he wasn't
in Iraq to rule, but to get the country back on its feet. Garner has
taken his first look at the ruins of what was once one of the Arab
world's most modern nations. He said he'll make water and electricity
supplies top priorities as he begins the re-build after Saddam
Hussein. He toured a damaged hospital and battered power stn as he
made his first visit to the Iraqi capital. Garner arrived with a
staff of 20, but that would expand to about 500 in the weeks ahead.
Canberra. AUSSIE TROOPS STILL ON ALERT! Def rep Brig Mike Hannan says
Aussie forces in Iraq still remain on alert for pockets of resistance.
With news that a huge arms cache of AK-47's has been re-seized by
Iraqis and have a street pice of $3 each Brig Hannan says the HMAS
Anzac has moved to the N Persian Gulf to take over duty nr the port
town of Umm Qasr. On land, Aussie SAS troops continue to guard and
search Iraq's 2nd major airbase W of Baghdad, where they last wk found
Iraqi weapons and 51 MiG jet fighters. Brig Hannan says the changing nature
of the threat in Iraq means Aussie F/A-18 Hornets had a quiet Easter.
Canberra. BLOODY FOREIGNERS! The fed govt says it's no surprise
Indonesia has allowed a boat carrying 42 Vietnamese asylum seekers to
set sail for AUS. Imm Min Philip Ruddock says AUS had taken the issue
up with Indon, which has said it will see what it can do. Mr Ruddock
told ABC radio Indon had always taken the view it has no specific
obligation in relation to people in transit.
Canberra. BLOODY AUSSIES! A lawyer for Indonesian Muslims living in
AUS says they're still under suspicion 6 m after ASIO raids, despite
no charges being laid. Stephen Hopper, who represents 6 of those
raided by the AUS intel organisation, says his clients are victims of
a govt strategy of intimidation post-Sep 11. Mr Hopper told ABC radio
6 m after the raids, no charges have been laid against his clients and
99% of their possessions seized by ASIO have been returned.
Harare. DICTATOR HINTS AT RETIREMENT! Zimbabwean Pres Robert Mugabe
has hinted he may be getting to retirement age. There's been
mounting speculation that several officials in Mugabe's ruling party
are jostling to position themselves as a replacement for the 79 yo
leader, should he step down. Mugabe has said in the past that he'll
consider stepping down when his govt completes the land reform program
that has seen white-owned land redistributed to new black farmers.
Kiev. CHERNOBYL HAD DEFECTIVE EQUIPMENT! Secret KGB archives released
in Ukraine show equipment used at Chernobyl, the site of the world's
worst civilian nuclear disaster in 1986, was known at the time to be
defective. The documents, which cover the period 1971 to 1986, mostly
concern events surrounding the catastrophe of Apr 26 1986. A report
from 1984 noted the poor quality of the equipment sent to the plant
from Yugoslav factories, as well as deficiencies in the 3rd and 4th
reactors. An estimated 15-30,000 people have died in the aftermath of
the disaster.
Rome. HAPPY 2,756TH! 100s of gladiators and warriors have marched
along Rome's Via Appia to the Colosseum to mark the city's 2,756th
birthday. Organisers say it's a triumphant parade like those that
greeted emperors returning from conquering new territories for the
Roman empire. Participants dressed in hand-made leather sandals, red
tunics and metal helmets beat drums and bore lances.
Melbourne. TELSTRA OUT-SOURCING IT! Telstra is reportedly using
Indian computer workers on sweatshop wages to replace higher-paid
Aussies. According to the Herald Sun, Telstra has employed about 100
Indian programmers and analysts at $12,000 pa, about 1/4 of what
Aussies demand doing the same work. An internal Telstra memo quoted
by the paper says the scheme, managed by 2 of India's biggest
companies, Infosys and Satyam, will cut the national carrier's IT
costs by $15 mn to $18 mn pa.
Canberra. GOVT REPORT SHOWS AUSSIE WILDLIFE IN TROUBLE! A leaked govt
report says 1000s of Aussie birds, mammals and reptile species are in
danger of extinction before the end of the C21. A copy of the govt's
yet-to-be-released Bio-diversity Audit, obtained by the ABC, warns up
to 3,000 Aussie ecosystems -- based on vegetation types -- are under
threat, and half a doz are beyond saving. It finds 4 of 10 wetlands
are in poor shape, 22 mammals have already become extinct -- the
highest rate in the world -- and about 1/2 the native bird species are
under threat. Dr Denis Saunders, former chief research scientist for
the CSIRO's Wildlife & Ecology division, told ABC radio the 18-m
assessment is a last wakeup call for AUS. The report paints a grim
picture for the future prospects of Aussie wildlife, and lays the
blame at the feet of 100 years of inappropriate farming practices and
continued land-clearing. Green groups have called for the govt to
immediately act on its own findings.
Adelaide. MURRAY ON THE FRITZ! A case in point. The mouth of the
Mighty Murray is in danger of closing over again despite a $2 mn
dredging operation over summer. A narrow channel cut though sandbars
nr Goolwa, S of Adel, is under threat due to lack of flow from the E
states. The SA govt blames it on upstream water use and drought. SA
Env Min John Hill says he'll get an urgent briefing about the state of
the R mouth and what can be done to alleviate the sit'n.
Canberra. AUSSIE FLAG BURNING STILL LEGAL! PM John Howard has ruled
out banning the burning of the Aussie flag. He says he can understand
some public anger at the burning of the flag during anti-war protests,
especially by damn foreigners. However he says flag-burning
demonstrators still have a right to express their feelings. The PM
told SYD radio 2GB he loves the Aussie flag and there's no stronger
supporter of the current one.
Canberra. DEMS TO BLOCK MEDICARD CHANGES! The Aus Democrats say
they'll move to block any changes by the fed govt to undermine the
Medicare system. PM John Howard is expected to announce a $900 mn
overhaul of the system in coming weeks. Media reports say the changes
will see middle and high income families paying between $2 and $20
per doctor's visit. Dem leader Andrew Bartlett says of the reports
are accurate, the party would block the changes in the Senate.
Canberra. AUSSIE BUSINESS COSTS DOWN! New figures from the ABS show
the stronger AUD has started pushing down business costs. However,
higher petroleum, housing and ag goods, particularly beef, have pushed
up production costs. The Mar Q producer price index (PPI) measures
changes in 3 different stages of production, and is a precursor to
inflation numbers due out tomorrow. The ABS says prices rose at each
stage of production in the Mar Q.
Sydney. AUS MARKETS! The All Ords closed almost 1% higher, led by the
banks and media heavyweight News Corp. In Japan, the Nikkei plunged
2.3%, to levels not seen since 1982, on fears manufacturing in China
would be hit by SARS. The AUD hit a new 3-y high against the USD,
reaching 61.62 US c around 7 pm. There was a surge of buying late
this afternoon, based on AUS's outstanding economic growth compared
with Europe and the US. The Little Aussie Battler is holding is own
against a rising Euro, and is gaining on the Yen. Oil and Gold were
both up around 1%. Oil rose to $US30.82/bbl. It's refusing to go
back to the levels of last Dec, despite all predictions it would
after the war in Iraq was finished.
{{ CONTINUOUS WAR-RELATED NEWS
DAY THIRTY-THREE
3.30 am
There's been another anti-us protest in Baghdad. About 2,000 Shiites
demonstrated against the arrest of their leaders. A cleric said 3
mullahs had been arrested by US forces on Sun night. The demo came
on the first day Jay Garner spent in Baghdad. Gen Garner said he'd
called a meeting for Thu to bring together people from all walks of life.
BBC radio. 100s of 1000s of pilgrims are heading to Karbalah for
4-day festival. It's part of a larger 40-day festival commemorating
the death of Imam Hussein in 680 AD. The killing spilt Islam into
Sunni and Shiite. The festival was banned under Saddam's pro-Sunni
rule. Now Shias are a serious political force. On every main rd
they're on the march. On the dual carriageway between Baghdad and
Karbala every few m there are groups walking to Karbala, carrying
flags and banners. In what used to be called Saddam City, in Baghdad,
there's a Shia govt in all but name. It runs the police, a major
hospital, and the local govt. They've re-named the area after a
cleric martyred by Saddam. The local imam calls for an Islamic
republic. He wants freedom in Iraqi, but under Islamic law. There
would be a place for everyone, he says, even Christians and Jews. But
they would not be able to wear shorts.
In Sri Lanka the Tamil Tigers say they're suspending peace talks with
the govt.
6 am
(US) ABC has revealed another US military botch. In the dying days of
the regime, tribal leaders and snr Iraqi officials were trying to
arrange talks between Saddam Hussein and the US. But instead of
sending a rep, the compound in which the meeting was planned was
bombed, killing a tribal chief and 17 of his immediate family. The
local people say they no longer trust the US. "We were trying to do
the US a favour", they told ABC reporters. It's unclear whether US
military officials understood a meeting was being offered. Apparently
the compound was targeted because people there were using satellite phones.
4 pm
As chemicals continue to be tested in the US, the NY Times reports a
new possible chemical weapons find. An Iraqi scientist has reportedly
led US officials to a site where chemicals are buried, and also
nominated up to 4 other sites where chemical weapons are buried. He
also says a portable chem weapons lab was destroyed on Mar 13, just
before the war.
44 US pilots have graduated from shooting school. They will shortly
head for the country's cockpits. Officials say passengers won't notice
anything different. While the cockpit doors will also be sealed -- not
normally a concern for passengers -- pilots will only strap on their
sidearms after they bolt the door.
5 pm
PBS, New Hour. American analysts are worried about what they see as
"sabotage" of the reconstruction of Iraq. Some point to the
pre-prepared signs seen in recent anti-US demonstrations in Baghdad.
They call for a de-Nazification program, as was used in Germany after
WWII. They say local people should point out who had been apparachicks
under Saddam, and who had not. Some say the reformation of the police
force for Baghdad might be a first step in taking the focus off the
US. They say European police forces have helped in regime change in
other countries, and they should be called upon again. Using US
military or even civilian US police in Iraq would feed the suspicion
that the US was there to control the country. Estimate of how long
the US would be in Iraq range from 1 to 10 y. The median estimate was
about 4 y.
The Pentagon says the US military toll in Iraq so far stands at 128.
6 of them were not American citizens. They have all been granted
posthumous citizenship. Last y Bush signed into law a bill that
allowed non-citizens to immediately sign into the US military.
Previously, people enlisting in the US forces had to wait 3
years. Under the new laws, non-Americans serving in the military can't
be promoted to officer level, nor are allowed to access classified info.
7 pm
Another mass grave has been found in Iraq, this time on the outskirts
of Baghdad. SBS showed pix of about 1,000 numbered graves. According
to grave diggers, political prisoners were killed and buried there by
the Saddam Hussein regime. Bodies were brought to the graveyard in
small groups of 4 to 8. Civilians were hanged, and military opponents
were executed by firing squad.
In news just to hand, HK has announced the SARS toll in HK and
mainland China has reached 191.
The WHO is predicting a "very big" outbreak of SARS in China. With
new provinces reporting cases, the WHO says the spread of the virus
into the countryside is too serious to contemplate. Beijing markets
are reporting a 60-70% reduction in business. Anxiety levels are
rising. In Singapore, 100s of workers at a market have been put into
quarantine after one of them died from the disease. In HK, schools
have been closed for 3 wks. Babies born to SARS victims are also
showing signs of the illness. In Canada, a health-care worker that
had been exposed to the disease refused to co-operate with authorities
and attended religious services over Easter. Officials there say
Canada is now in the position HK had reached about 3 wks ago. They
fear the worst.
}}
----------------------------------------
Tue, 23 Apr 2003
{{ CONTINUOUS WAR-RELATED NEWS
6 am
The world-wide death toll from SARS has reached 235, across 25
countries. In HK, school students must have daily temp checks and
tourism is down 67%.
There is a terrorist alert for Aussie politicians. A Turkish
newspaper reports Al Qaeda may be targeting officials from AUS, the
US, Brit, Spain and Israel. According to the report, 35 terrorists
have crossed from N Iraq into turkey. There is concern they may
target AUS officials attending ANZAC commemoration services at
Gallipoli. Fed Treas Peter Costello will be at Lone Pine for the
service. He left AUS today.
The Russian atomic energy Minister has warned the concrete shell
built around the Chernobyl nuclear reactors destroyed in 1986 is in
danger of collapsing.
An anti-war Brit politician has been accused of taking almost 400,000
pounds from Iraq. The Daily Telegraph has published what it says are
memos its reporters found in Baghdad. The memos indicated Saddam
Hussein and other officials had arranged to pay a Labour politician
money from oil sales under the guise of a commercial fee. The
politician has today instructed his lawyers to sue for libel. He says
it should be easy to check whether he has ever received a penny from
Baghdad or anywhere else. He says there are glaring problems with the
story, not the least of which is payments from the oil-for-food
program are administered by the UN, not by Iraq, and payments would
come from NY, not Baghdad.
2 RAN ships have been dispatched to intercept a Vietnamese boat
carrying 42 asylum seekers. There are reports this morning a 2nd boat
may also be on the way. The 2nd boat has reportedly just stopped in
Singapore for re-supply.
The Dow closed up 156 and the Nasdaq was 27 up. European markets also
closed higher. Yesterday, the All Ords was up 25. Gold is presently
around $US334/oz. Oil is just under $US30/bbl. The AUD is presently
above the 62-c mark at 62.14 US c.
7.12 am
Pressure is mounting for the US to find WMD in Iraq. There are still
no firm indications WMD are in Baghdad, or anywhere else in Iraq. At
the Centcom briefing yesterday, Brig Brooks said he was "confident"
WMD would eventually be found. Reporters say by by now there should
be more firm evidence. What has been reported -- chem suits and
possible weapons sites pointed out by defectors -- is far from the
smoking gun America knew it had to produce.
In NY, Dr Blix says documents produced by the US to support its case
for were were forged or fakes. He said his team of UN inspectors
didn't take long to find out they were fakes. But the US is not
interested in having him come back. The US has flown in a team of
1,000 of its own inspectors. They're presenting scouring the country.
There's been a back-flip of sort over UN sanctions against Iraq. The
US and France have now teamed up, and want them lifted. They want
more aid coming in to Iraq, based on the UN oil-for-food program. That
would see more Iraqi oil shortly available on world markets. Prices
are presently unexpectedly high. But Russia doesn't want the
sanctions lifted. It managed to pass a Resolution that requires the US
to first prove there are no WMD in Iraq.
Elsewhere, intel reports in Turkey says Al Qaeda is planning strikes
against US, Brit, Israeli, AUS, and Spanish targets.
}}
========================================
(*) 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 ***