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PRESIDENT BUSH PREPARES FOR TROOP PULLOUT BY 2006

November 30, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “The Bush administration has been quietly laying the groundwork for the start of a military withdrawal from Iraq.

Those close to the administration said the White House envisions the start of a troop pullout in late 2005. They said the administration would begin discussions on the feasibility of a significant reduction in U.S. troops following Iraqi national elections, scheduled on Jan. 30, 2005.

‘I think elections in Iraq are going to be one more step on the path towards a stable and secure and a democratic Iraq,’ Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Nov. 23. ‘It won't be the final step, but it will allow us to start then looking at, if events dictate, how we can rearrange ourselves, the coalition, and Iraqi forces, for that matter.’

The administration has been quietly urged to consider a withdrawal of the more than 140,000 troops as a priority for the second Bush term. These advocates have included Defense Department officials and consultants who supported the war to topple the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003, but who have concluded that the U.S. military presence in Iraq has become counterproductive…”

View Original Article 

 

SWITZERLAND VOTES IN FAVOR OF STEM CELL RESEARCH

November 30, 2004

The EU Observer reports: “Swiss voters strongly backed a law on Sunday (28 November), allowing research on the stem cells of human embryos.

Switzerland is the first country in the world to put this controversial issue to a referendum - nationwide polls, however, are common in the country.

According to interior minister Pascal Couchepin, the result was a ‘vote of confidence in research’.

‘No other country has the confidence to put such a question to the people’, he said, according to the Guardian.

The supporters say that stem cell research could lead to a cures for illnesses like Parkinson's, cancer and diabetes.

Switzerland's influential Green Party, Catholic Church and several medical ethics groups fought against the law.

They believe that stem cell research could offer false hope to people and that human cloning could be the next step…” View Original Article 

 

TERROR EXPERT: ALQAEDA WMD ATTACK ON US LIKELY SOON

November 29, 2004

The Jerusalem Post reports: “An al-Qaeda attack on the US with non-conventional weapons is virtually ‘inevitable,’ and the organization is likely ‘tying up the knots’ for such an attack, Yossef Bodansky, former director of the US Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.

‘All of the warnings we have today indicate that a major strike – something more horrible than anything we've seen before – is all but inevitable,’ he said.

Bodansky, here for the second annual Jerusalem Summit, an international gathering of conservative thinkers, added that ‘the primary option’ for the next al-Qaeda attack on US soil would be one that would use weapons of mass destruction.

‘I do not have a crystal ball, but this is what all the available evidence tells us, we will have a bang,’ Bodansky said.

He said that al-Qaeda has not carried out a second major attack on the US until now for internal psychological and ideological reasons, but after the reelection of President George W. Bush, it has gotten ‘the green light’ to do so from leading Islamic religious luminaries, as well as from ‘the elites of the Arab world.’

According to Bodansky's reading of Osama bin Laden's mind-set, after the elaborate attacks of 9/11 there was no need for the ‘bin Ladens of the world’ to carry out a second major attack in the US, both because the target audience of the attacks – the Arab and Islamic world – had gotten the message that America could be penetrated, and because a second attack would necessarily have to be more grandiose.

Following the attacks and the US-led war on terror, a debate started within the operational arm of the organization over the potential use of weapons of mass destruction, Bodansky said…

Bodansky said that while there may still be some vestiges of debate and doubt within Islamic circles, he believes that planning for such an attack is finished. ‘They got the kosher stamp from the Islamic world to use nuclear weapons,’ he said…” View Original Article 

 

SYRIA AGREES TO REDRAW BORDER WITH JORDAN

November 29, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “Syria was said to have agreed to redraw its border with Jordan.

Jordanian officials said Syria has agreed in principle to revise its southern border with Jordan in the first such move since 1970. Officials said Syria agreed to honor a recommendation by a joint Syrian-Jordanian committee that met last week.

The committee, which met in Damascus, determined that Syria seized 125 square kilometers of Jordanian territory since 1970 when the regime of then-President Hafez Assad sent tanks and warplanes to attack the Hashemite kingdom. The panel also found that Jordan should return about 2.7 square kilometers to Syria.

Technical teams from the joint panel have completed a draft of the revised Jordanian-Syrian border. Over the next few months, the governments of Jordan and Syria were expected to ratify the draft of the joint committee…” View Original Article 

 

ATHEISTS SUE TO STOP CHRISTIAN MENTORING

November 27, 2004

WorldNetDaily,com reports: “The Wisconsin-based atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation is suing to cut off federal funding to a Christian child-mentoring program that helps troubled kids.

Last year, the federal government awarded a $225,000 contract, part of $9 million awarded to 52 Arizona groups, to Phoenix-based MentorKids USA, according to the Madison, Wisc.-based Capital Times.

The lawsuit, presided over by U.S. Judge John Shabaz, is demanding a summary judgment that federal funding of the program cease until the government ‘has a demonstrated plan in place to comply with its constitutional obligations,’ reports the Wisconsin paper.

Citing the First Amendment, the atheist foundation said, ‘Mentoring to convert is not a suitable social service to be provided by the government,’ said the report.

MentorKids USA was launched in 1997 by Orville Krieger, in partnership with Charles Colson's Prison Fellowship, ‘to address the needs of at-risk youth in the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area by matching caring Christian adults with youth ages 8-17 who showed warning signs of becoming criminal offenders,’ says the Christian organization's website.

Originally called Phoenix MatchPoint, the group changed its name last January to MentorKids USA. It has a long and successful track record in mentoring children in trouble with the law, who have dysfunctional family backgrounds, have been physically or sexually abused or who are involved with drug or alcohol abuse. To date, MentorKids USA has helped over 500 kids.

In the program, mentors commit time each week to be a friend and role model for an at-risk youth. The mentors ‘offer concrete expressions of unconditional love and support to the mentee,’ says the group's website, ‘and the two participate in activities designed to build friendship, trust, and constructive values.’…” View Original Article 

 

U.S. MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL DEEMED UNUSUAL

November 28, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “Israel has been deemed the largest recipient of U.S. military aid and a beneficiary of terms denied most other U.S. allies.

A recent report by the Congressional Research Service listed details of U.S. military and security aid to Israel as well as what the study termed the unique aspects of Washington's assistance. The report, entitled ‘Israel: U.S. Foreign Assistance,’ asserted that U.S. military aid has been used to finance military purchases in Israel as well as research and development in the United States.

‘U.S. aid to Israel has some unique aspects, such as loans with repayment waived, or a pledge to provide Israel with economic assistance equal to the amount Israel owes the United States for previous loans,’ Clyde Mark author of the report, wrote. ‘Israel also receives special benefits that may not be available to other countries, such as the use of U.S. military assistance for research and development in the United States, the use of U.S. military assistance for military purchases in Israel, or receiving all its assistance in the first 30 days of the fiscal year rather than in three or four installments as other countries do.’

The report, released in July 2004, listed a series of Israeli-U.S. projects as well as U.S. aid to Israeli military programs. CRS said the United States has given Israel $625 million to develop and deploy the Arrow-2 missile defense system as well as $1.3 billion to develop the Lavi aircraft, cancelled in 1987…” View Original Article 

 

OFFICIAL: COLOMBIAN REBELS TOLD TO KILL BUSH

November 28, 2004

Fox News reports: “Colombia's main rebel group asked followers to mount an assassination attempt against President Bush during his visit to Colombia last week, Defense Minister Jorge Uribe said. There was no evidence Saturday that rebels even tried to organize such an attack.

Uribe told reporters late Friday that informants said the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, told followers to attack Bush during his four-hour visit in the seaside city of Cartagena last Monday, where he met with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

The defense minister, who is no relation to the president, said security forces were on full alert during the visit. About 15,000 Colombian troops and police, along with U.S. troops and Secret Service agents provided security. There was no indication Bush's life was ever in danger.

Uribe did not say where the informants had heard about the purported order to attack Bush.

The Secret Service did not comment on security details, as is its policy.

‘We have full confidence in the fine work of the Secret Service and their work with security officials on the ground when the President travels,’ White House spokesman Jim Morrell said Saturday…”  View Original Article 

 

IRAN: NUCLEAR RESOLUTION UNACCEPTABLE

November 27, 2004

CNN reports: “Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said the new draft resolution put forward by three European powers at a key meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog is still unacceptable despite recent changes, Iran's state-run news agency reported Saturday.

‘There has been a good deal of changes in the draft resolution, but still, there are points that are not acceptable to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and run contrary to the Paris agreement,’ Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said, according to IRNA.

Kharazi also rejected reports from Vienna that Iran agreed to give up the use of 20 centrifuges as part of a plan to freeze its nuclear program entirely.

The Iranians had initially asked the IAEA to exempt the 20 centrifuges, which can spin gas into fuel-level or weapons-grade uranium, despite an agreement reached earlier this month in Paris which obliges Iran to suspend all its uranium enrichment activities until a broader agreement is arranged with Great Britain, Germany and France.

Diplomats in Vienna, where the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency is meeting, are extremely concerned about Kharazi's comments and told CNN's Matthew Chance it may make it difficult to put a deal back together again.

Over the weekend, representatives from Iran and Great Britain, Germany and France will hold informal talks in the Austrian capital in an effort to break the deadlock before the IAEA's board of governors reconvenes Monday…” View Original Article 

 

MINE THE MOON FOR EARTH'S ENERGY?

November 27, 2004

WorldNetDaily.com reports: “Shortages of energy on planet Earth have some experts looking to space for answers, and the moon is being eyed as a potential source.

Scientists meeting in India for a global conference on moon exploration say the satellite could be key in meeting future demand.

‘When compared to the Earth, the moon has a tremendous amount of helium 3,’ Lawrence Taylor, a director of the U.S. Planetary Geosciences Institute, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, told Agence France-Presse.

Helium 3 is a variant of the gas used in lasers and refrigerators, as well as to blow up balloons, and it's deposited on the lunar surface by solar winds. If ever used on Earth, it would need to be extracted from moon soil and rocks by heating it above 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit.

‘When helium 3 combines with deuterium (an isotope of hydrogen) the fusion reaction proceeds at a very high temperature and it can produce awesome amounts of energy,’ Taylor told AFP. ‘Just 25 tons of helium, which can be transported on a space shuttle, is enough to provide electricity for the U.S. for one full year.’…” View Original Article 

 

1M CHRISTIANS SIGN EU RELIGION PLEA

November 25, 2004

The London Daily Telegraph reports: “More than a million people from all over Europe are to deliver a petition to Tony Blair and fellow EU leaders calling for changes to the constitution recognizing Europe's Christian heritage.

Refusing to accept a secular ‘fait accompli’ from Brussels, a Christian coalition is demanding that each EU state publish its version of the constitution's preamble, with references to God if desired.

Already armed with 1,149,000 signatures and with thousands more pouring in from Holland since the murder of the film-maker Theo van Gogh, the group claims that most states want some reference to Christianity but were blocked by France.

The move is keenly backed by Pope John Paul II, who has repeatedly condemned the ‘moral drift’ of Brussels. ‘One does not cut the roots to one's birthright,’ he told pilgrims this summer.

Euro-MPs voted this week to back the calls for a change in the text. Petitioners, led by Italy's International Mission Centre, will now take their case to EU governments. The current version of the preamble eschews Christianity, talking vaguely of ‘the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe’.

Valery Giscard d'Estaing, the former French president, deliberately left the issue open when he wrote the document, inviting a petition.

‘I have chosen not to insert the reference to the Christian heritage in the constitution,’ he said. ‘Rather I appeal to you to persuade me of its necessity.’

A British official said it was too late to change the preamble, although national parliaments could add a ‘rider’ stressing their country's Christian roots.

An EU official said: ‘These Christians could at least have the good grace to accept that they lost the argument.’…” View Original Article 

 

SUDANESE AIR ATTACKS RESUME IN DARFUR

November 25, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “Sudan's air force was said to have resumed air operations against villages in Darfour.

Western diplomatic sources and relief agencies said Khartoum violated an agreement reached on Nov. 9 to end air attacks on villages in Darfour. They said that on Tuesday Sudanese air force planes bombed Tawila in the northern part of the province.

The air attack was said to have been part of a military effort to regain control of Tawila amid a rebel offensive. On Nov. 22, rebel groups captured Tawila, located in northern Darfour and which contains about 30,000 refugees.

‘The parties have committed themselves to refrain from all hostilities and military actions,’ UN envoy Jan Pronk said. ‘I fully expect them to live up to their obligations.’…” View Original Article 

 

ALGERIA, RUSSIA SIGN SATELLITE COOPERATION ACCORD

November 25, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “Algeria and Russia have signed an accord that could pave the way for production of Russian satellites for the North African country.

Russian officials said the accord was signed on Oct. 9 during a visit by an Algerian delegation to Moscow. They said the accord would lead to Russian assistance to Algeria's satellite and space program.

Russian Federal Space Agency, known as Rosaviakosmos, said the accord was signed by Algerian Space Agency director Izzedin A-Sadiq. Rosaviakosmos director Mikhail Bulishtshuk signed the agreement for Moscow.

Officials said the accord envisioned the prospect of Russian training, technology transfer and joint scientific research for Algeria. They said the two countries would also discuss a Russian project to establish ground stations in Algeria to receive real-time images from Russia's reconnaissance satellites…” View Original Article 

 

MALAYSIA DISCOVERS NEW BIRD FLU OUTBREAK

November 24, 2004

Voice of America News reports: “Malaysia says it has discovered a new outbreak of bird flu in northeastern Kelantan state, near the Thai border.

A Malaysian veterinary services official says workers have slaughtered scores of poultry in the affected area as a precaution. The official said it is not clear whether the outbreak has spread.

Malaysia reported its first case of bird flu in August in Kelantan state. Officials say the disease entered the country through fighting birds smuggled from neighboring Thailand.

Bird flu has killed 32 people in Thailand and Vietnam this year, and led to the slaughter of millions of birds across Asia…”

View Original Article 

 

U.S. WARNS OF POST-ARAFAT STRIKE

November 23, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “The United States has warned Americans throughout the Middle East to be on guard for a major Islamic strike in wake of the death of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.

U.S. officials said warden messages posted in embassies throughout the Middle East have warned of the prospect of an attack on Americans. They said the attack could be carried out by a Palestinian insurgency group or an Islamic cell in an Arab state or Turkey.

‘The recent death of PA Chairman Arafat has the potential to produce demonstrations and unrest throughout the region,’ a State Department announcement said. ‘In addition, the Department of State continues to warn of the possibility for violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests in the region.’

The announcement, posted in warden messages on Nov. 17, said Americans could be attacked on passenger jets, buses or ships throughout the Middle East. The department regards the Middle East as including the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Arabian Peninsula and North Africa…” View Original Article   

 

FOR NOW, U.S. RULES OUT ATTACK ON IRAN

November 23, 3004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “The United States has again ruled out military action against Iran.

Officials said the State Department has assured European and other allies that the United States would not seek to destroy Iran's nuclear program. They said Iran's nuclear program would be resolved through diplomatic means.

‘Military action is not something that we're talking about,’ State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said on Nov. 19. ‘We have said quite clearly that we are committed to dealing with this threat through multilateral diplomacy, and that remains our position.’

Earlier, Secretary of State Colin Powell reaffirmed that the Bush administration, in cooperation with the European Union, would press for a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear program. Powell has also ruled out any U.S. effort to change the regime in Teheran…” View Original Article 

 

'SECURITY SERVICES FOIL 9/11 ATTACK IN UK'

November 23, 2004

ITV.com reports: “ITV News understands that the security services have thwarted four or five September 11-style attacks on targets including Canary Wharf and Heathrow Airport.

One plot is said to have involved pilots being trained to fly into target buildings, including London's famous financial centre and the world's busiest airport.

It is one of a number of attacks planned by al-Qaeda since 9/11 that have come to nothing after the authorities intervened.

The disclosure comes as the Government prepares to unveil a series of tough law-and-order Bills in this morning's Queen's Speech, setting out the legislative program for what is expected to be the final session of the current Parliament…”

View Original Article 

 

EU TO PUSH AHEAD WITH MILITARY 'BATTLE GROUPS'

November 22, 2004

The EU Observer reports: “Defense Ministers on Monday are expected to commit up to 16,500 troops to make up a series of EU 'battle groups' which can be deployed to the World's hot spots.

EU council diplomats said that they expected ministers to pledge enough troops to create 11 battle groups, with each group expected to number 1,000-1,500 troops, ready to be deployed for peacekeeping missions within 10 days, for a period of up to four months.

The groups are set to be operational by 2007 and are expected to work under a UN mandate. The EU council of ministers would have to agree unanimously before any deployment takes place.

France, Italy, Spain and the UK are to set up their own groups which are likely to be ready before 2007 - possibly by 2005 according to EU military sources.

Another seven groups are expected to be formed:

- Germany the Netherlands and Finland;
- Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Germany;
- Italy, Hungary and Slovenia;
- Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal;
- Sweden, Finland and Norway
- The UK and the Netherlands
In addition a French Spokesperson said late on Friday that there would also be a French contingent in the 'Eurocorps' composed of France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium…” View Original Article 

 

SADDAM OPERATIVE SENTENCED BY ISRAEL

November 21, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “A Palestinian operative deemed a leading financier for the former Saddam Hussein regime in the West Bank has been sentenced to eight years.

Israeli authorities have identified Rakhed Salem as the liaison of the former Saddam regime in the West Bank. Salem, a regional head of the Arab Liberation Front, was convicted in early November of distributing $15 million in Iraqi funds to families of suicide bombers and other insurgents.

Details released by the military outlined the intervention of the Saddam regime in the Palestinian Authority from 2000 until the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq two years later. Israeli officials said Iran has filled the vacuum left by the toppling of the Saddam regime.

From his office in Ramallah, Salem, 60, was said to have received millions of dollars from Saddam as part of an effort to fuel the Palestinian insurgency war and bolster the rule of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat. The indictment against Salem, released by the Israeli Army, asserted that he purchased weapons from PA security chief Brig. Gen. Haj Ismail…” View Original Article 

 

IRANIAN OPPOSITION DISCLOSES NEW NUKE SITE

November 20, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “Iran, aiming to achieve nuclear weapons capability in 2005, has been operating a secret uranium enrichment plant in a Defense Ministry base in Teheran, an opposition group said.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran disclosed a Defense Ministry facility in northeastern Teheran where the Islamic republic has been conducting secret nuclear weapons activities. The council, whose information has been regarded as highly reliable, said the site was unknown to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

‘It [Teheran facility] continues to enrich uranium as we speak,’ NCRI spokesman Farid Soleiman said.

Soleiman told a news conference in Vienna on Wednesday that the Teheran site contained gas centrifuges meant for the enrichment of uranium. He said he did not know how many centrifuges were in the 60-acre site, called the Center for the Development of Advanced Defense Technology…” View Original Article 

 

INSURGENTS STEP UP BAGHDAD ATTACKS

November 20, 2004

Voice of America News reports: “Insurgents in Baghdad stepped up their attacks Saturday killing Iraqi and American soldiers as well as civilians. In the meantime, Iraq's minister of electricity says insurgents are reducing Iraq's ability to provide electricity.

In Baghdad Saturday, there were several insurgent attacks, including a roadside bomb that killed three Iraqi National Guard forces. The explosion occurred following heavy clashes involving National Guard troops and insurgents in the Baghdad suburb of al-Amiriyah.

There was an ambush in Baghdad that killed a U.S. soldier and wounded nine others. Military officials say the attack occurred in the central section of Baghdad and involved improvised explosive devices, small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades.

Elsewhere in the capital, four interim Iraqi government employees were killed in a drive-by shooting as they were traveling to work. And, a car bomber attacked a convoy of five sport utility vehicles in Baghdad. A civilian passerby was killed in the blast.

North of Baghdad, in the city of Mosul, the bodies of nine Iraqi soldiers were discovered Saturday. Iraqi military officials said all of them appeared to have been killed by bullets to their heads. The bodies were located near the scene of heavy clashes with insurgents in Mosul.

In the meantime, Iraq's interim Minister of Electricity, Aiham al-Sammarae said Saturday, that insurgents are succeeding in their effort to curtail the supply of electricity throughout the country. The minister said Iraq has lost almost 1,600 megawatts of power in recent weeks, down from October's supply of more than 4,700 megawatts…” View Original Article

 

 

POWELL SAYS IRAN PURSUING NUCLEAR BOMB

November 18, 2004

MSNBC reports: “The United States has intelligence that Iran is working to adapt missiles to deliver a nuclear weapon, further evidence that the Islamic republic is determined to acquire a nuclear bomb, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said Wednesday.

Separately, an Iranian opposition exile group charged in Paris that Iran is enriching uranium at a secret military facility unknown to U.N. weapons inspectors. Iran has denied seeking to build nuclear weapons.

‘I have seen some information that would suggest that they have been actively working on delivery systems. . . . You don't have a weapon until you put it in something that can deliver a weapon,’ Powell told reporters traveling with him to Chile for an Asia-Pacific economic summit. ‘I'm not talking about uranium or fissile material or the warhead; I'm talking about what one does with a warhead.’

Powell's comments came just three days after an agreement between Iran and three European countries -- Britain, France and Germany -- designed to limit Tehran's ability to divert its peaceful nuclear energy program for military use. The primary focus of the deal, accepted by Iran on Sunday and due to go into effect Nov. 22, is a stipulation that Iran indefinitely suspend its uranium enrichment program.

‘I'm talking about information that says they not only have these missiles, but I am aware of information that suggests that they were working hard as to how to put the two together,’ Powell said, referring to the process of matching warheads to missiles. He spoke to reporters during a refueling stop in Manaus, Brazil…”  View Original Article 

 

SYRIA FINANCES INSURGENCY WAR AGAINST U.S.

November 18, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “The United States has quietly determined that Syria helped finance the Sunni insurgency in Iraq.

Officials said the regime of President Bashar Assad has used the state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria to relay hundreds of millions of dollars to Saddam Hussein loyalists in Iraq. They said the money has been employed to finance the insurgency against the U.S.-led coalition primarily in Iraq's Sunni Triangle.

The Commercial Bank of Syria held more than $1 billion in Saddam regime accounts on the eve of the U.S.-led war in Iraq in March 2003, officials said. Most of that money stemmed from Iraqi arms and oil smuggling as well as illegal commissions obtained from Iraqi oil sales overseen by the United Nations.

Officials said that over the last 18 months Damascus transferred up to $800 million of Saddam's assets to senior aides of the former president, several of whom have been based in Syria. They said much of the money was believed to have been transferred to ex-Iraqi Vice President Izzet Ibrahim Al Douri, identified as the chief financier of the Sunni insurgency…” View Original Article   

 

AMERICANS IN BAHRAIN UNDER THREAT

November 17, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “The U.S. military in Bahrain has come under threat from an Islamic insurgency group.

An Islamic group linked to Al Qaeda has warned of suicide attacks against Americans in Bahrain. The group cited the U.S. embassy as well as the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, based in Manama.

The group was identified as the Bahrain Branch of Ansar Al Islam. Ansar has been described as an Iranian-based group composed of Kurds who seek to establish an Islamic state in Iraq. Ansar has been based in northern Iraq and Iran.

Ansar, said to comprise up to 1,000 members, warned Muslims to avoid U.S. installations and places frequented by Americans in Bahrain. The group cited the U.S. embassy, the area around the residence of the U.S. ambassador, the University of Bahrain as well as hotels, night clubs and oil pipelines…”  View Original Article   

 

NATO SUB ON SPY MISSION OFF ISRAELI COAST

November 17, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “A submarine from a NATO navy was said to have entered Israeli territorial waters on a reconnaissance mission.

Military sources said the submarine came from what appeared to be a NATO navy that patrols the eastern Mediterranean. The sources said the submarine entered three miles into Israeli territorial waters off the coast of Nahariya before it was detected. The submarine then left Israeli waters.

‘The speed and signature of the submarine were that of an advanced NATO navy vessel,’ an Israeli military source said. ‘We are very disturbed by this because this is not the first time that this has happened.’

Several military sources, acknowledging that they did not have sufficient evidence, suggested that the intruding vessel was a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine. They ruled out the possibility that the submarine belonged to Iran or an Arab or Soviet-bloc navy…”

View Original Article   

 

EU HAPPY BUT CAUTIOUS ABOUT IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL

November 16, 2004

Voice of America News reports: “Iran's decision to temporarily suspend its uranium enrichment activities is being quietly welcomed in European capitals, but diplomats say a long-term agreement aimed at neutralizing fears that Iran aims to make a bomb could take several months.

Diplomats in Brussels who have been monitoring the negotiations in Tehran say the agreement for Iran to suspend its uranium conversion activities in exchange for political and economic incentives from Europe's Big Three is still a work in progress.

They say the most immediate consequence of the deal is that Iran will probably escape the threat of sanctions when the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors meets in Vienna next week to discuss what the United States and other critics of the regime in Tehran say is a nuclear weapons program.

Iran says its move to suspend uranium enrichment pending a longer-term accord with the Europeans is a voluntary move and not a legal obligation. It says uranium enrichment activities will remain suspended for as long as talks continue with Britain, France and Germany on the broader issue of what incentives they are prepared to offer Iran…”  View Original Article 

 

US TO DEPLOY HYPER-MISSILES

November 15, 2004

The Guardian UK reports: “American scientists are developing hypersonic cruise missiles that will fly 10 times faster than current rockets, penetrate concrete armoring and could be launched from any site in the world.

The missiles would have a range of 9,000 miles, more than a third of Earth's circumference and be able to reach their targets within two hours. First prototypes are expected to be tested next year, though the missile is not expected to be deployed until the end of the decade.

'If someone is messing with us - or Britain - from far away, we could whack them straight away,' said Preston Carter, an aerospace engineer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in California.

The new missiles will exploit supersonic combustion ramjet - or scramjet - technology. NASA engineers will tomorrow attempt to fly a robot X-43A scramjet over the Pacific at speeds around 7,200 mph, 10 times the speed of sound.

The flight will be crucial in demonstrating the feasibility of hypersonic travel. Most media attention has focused on its commercial exploitation for jets that could travel from London to Sydney in two hours. The prime aim is to create hypersonic rockets that would replace current cruise missiles.

'The new missiles could strike pretty much anywhere within a couple of hours,' said Graham Warwick, Americas editor of Flight International . 'Current cruise missile have to be carried on a B52 bomber. That involves planning and takes at least 24 hours. The military want a quick solution, so if they knew bin Laden was sipping coffee at a cafe they could get a bomb on target in two hours.'…”  View Original Article 

 

POLICE: COUPLE PLANNED TO 'SACRIFICE' CHILDREN

November 14, 2004

CNN reports: “A woman and her boyfriend are accused of plotting to sacrifice the woman's three children on a church altar.

Nicole Mancini, 29, and John Thurber, 35, were arrested at St. Mary's Church on Wednesday after workers said they heard the woman say she wanted to sacrifice the boys.

‘We could tell this woman was not right,’ said church secretary Donna Landolfi. ‘She said, 'Let's go make the sacrifice.’'

Mancini and Thurber were in jail Saturday on more than $25,000 bail. They were arraigned Friday on three counts each of misdemeanor child endangerment. Thurber was also charged with marijuana possession.

The children, ages 9, 7 and 2, were not harmed and were placed in state custody. Police said Thurber is the father of the youngest boy.

Police said Mancini told them that Jesus sacrificed himself for her, so she was going to sacrifice the boys to free her soul.

‘Eighteen years I've been doing this and I've never come across anything like it,’ police Lt. Paul Callaghan said.

Mancini's attorney, Kimberly Shoen, said her client meant the children no harm.

‘They were never tied to the altar, there was no blood, there were no constraints for sacrificial use,’ she said…” View Original Article 

 

U.S. ENTERS FINAL STAGE OF FALUJA BATTLE

November 14, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “The U.S. military has launched what officials termed the final stage in the operation to capture Faluja.

Officials said the coalition has extended its control over more than 90 percent of Faluja. They said they expected the heaviest fighting to take place over the next 48 hours.

‘Today in operations we are ahead of schedule,’ Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski, commander of the 1st Marine Division, said on Thursday.

Officials said about 12,000 U.S. troops and 2,000 Iraqi soldiers were advancing toward a corner of southern Faluja, located in the Al Anbar province near the Syrian border. They said that between 2,000 and 3,000 Sunni insurgents, armed with rocket-propelled grenades, automatic weapons and explosives, were holed up in a maze of homes and alleys. So far, the insurgents have downed two U.S. helicopters, but no pilots were reported killed…” View Original Article 

 

PROMINENT PASTOR FACES HARSH SENTENCE

November 13, 2004

WorldNetDaily.com reports: “A prominent Beijing house-church leader, found in possession of a massive cache of Bibles and Christian literature, faces a harsh sentence if convicted in his upcoming trial, according to Chinese contacts of the U.S. activist group Voice of the Martyrs.

Cai Zhuohua, 32, the leading minister to six house churches in Beijing, will be tried formally in court in the Chinese capital any day now, the Oklahoma-based group said.

The pastor was seized Sept. 11 by three plain-clothes officers believed to be from the Department of State Security, VOM said. Eyewitnesses said he was waiting at a bus stop when three strong men approached and pushed him into a white van.

Cai was on his way home from a Bible study session. His wife, Xiao Yunfei, was arrested Sept. 27 with her brother, Xiao Gaowen, and sister-in-law, Hu Jinyun, while hiding in Hunan province. All four are held at Qinghe Detention Center, Haidian District, Beijing.

Cai and his wife face a harsh sentence because of their prominent role in Beijing's house-church movement, which is banned by the communist government. The regime allows Protestant church activity only under the state-controlled Three-Self Patriotic Movement. Catholics also are restricted to a government church, which rejects ties to the Vatican.

The case is being handled directly by the Department of State Security. Qiang Wei, deputy general secretary of the Politics and Law Commission of Beijing, issued a two-word, handwritten directive, ‘Yan Ban!’ -- meaning to deal with it harshly and severely, according to VOM sources.

The central government, the sources say, has labeled it the ‘most serious case on overseas religious infiltration since the founding of the People's Republic of China.’

Authorities apparently were shocked to find about 200,000 copies of the Bible and other Christian literature in a storage room managed by Cai.

The government allows only a publisher affiliated with the Three-Self Patriotic Movement to print a strictly limited number of Bibles and Christian literature each year. The publications cannot be sold in public bookstores…” View Original Article 

 

BUSH VOWS TO WORK FOR PALESTINIAN STATE

November 13, 2004

CNN reports: “President Bush on Friday promised to ‘spend the capital of the United States’ to establish a Palestinian state and secure a lasting peace in the Middle East.

Bush met Friday with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, one of his staunchest allies in the Iraq war. Blair arrived at the White House on Thursday night.

At a news conference after Friday's meeting, Bush stressed the importance of having Israeli and Palestinian states peacefully co-existing.

‘I think it is fair to say that I believe we've got a great chance to establish a Palestinian state,’ Bush said. ‘And I intend to use the next four years to spend the capital of the United States on such a state.’

Bush said that a free and democratic Palestinian state was in the best interests of the world and of the Palestinian people.

The president pledged to mobilize the international community to help revive the Palestinian economy, build up security institutions to fight terror, help the government fight corruption and overhaul the Palestinian political system and build democratic institutions…”

View Original Article 

 

BUSH, BLAIR PREPARE FOR MIDDLE EAST TALKS

November 12, 2004

Voice of America News reports: “British Prime Minister Tony Blair has arrived at the White House for talks with President Bush on reviving Middle East peace talks.

As the president's biggest ally in the war in Iraq, Mr. Blair is hoping to use that influence to convince President Bush to take a more active role in restarting Middle East peace talks following the death of Palestinian leader Yaser Arafat.

Prime Minister Blair says Middle East peace must be the international community's highest priority.

Before Mr. Arafat's death, President Bush said there would be an opening for peace if Palestinians chose leaders who renounce violence and embrace efforts to build a democratic and free society.

If that happens, and the president says he believes it will, Mr. Bush says America will help build the institutions necessary so Palestinians can have their own state living side by side in peace and security with Israel.

In a written statement following the Palestinian leader's death, President Bush said all the world must help in making progress toward peace during the period of transition that is ahead for the Palestinian people.

A White House statement says the United Kingdom stands as one of America's closest allies, and Tony Blair as one of America's greatest friends.

It says President Bush looks forward to discussing with Prime Minister Blair how to further strengthen U.S. cooperation with the United Kingdom and all of Europe to address together the many challenges of the 21st century…” View Original Article 

 

U.S., IRAQ TRAP INSURGENTS IN FALUJA

November 12, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “The U.S. military has asserted that coalition forces have trapped thousands of Sunni insurgents in Faluja.

Officials said the insurgency command structure in Faluja has been shattered and small bands of enemy combatants were fighting without communications or logistical support. They said insurgents have been unable to flee the city.

‘They are now in small pockets, blind, moving about the city,’ Lt. Gen. John Sattler, commander of the Marine Corps force in Iraq, said. ‘They do not know where we are. They do not know where we are coming from now or where we will be within the next hour.’

Officials said the U.S. military has captured more than 75 percent of Faluja and expects to control the entire city by Nov. 12. But they acknowledged that significant resistance was likely to continue for at least another week…”  View Original Article   

 

PALESTINIANS MOURN ARAFAT

November 11, 2004

Voice of America News reports: “Palestinians begin a 40-day mourning period following the death, early Thursday morning, of their leader, Yasser Arafat. Mr. Arafat died in the military hospital outside of Paris, where he had been taken two weeks ago for urgent medical treatment.

The news had been expected. Yasser Arafat lay in a deep coma for the past week and Palestinian officials warned Wednesday that he was in his final hours.

The announcement came early Thursday morning.

Hospital spokesman, General Christian Estripeau, confirmed Yasser Arafat had died.

Palestinian officials announced the traditional Muslim mourning period. Flags at Mr. Arafat's compound in Ramallah were lowered to half staff and Palestinian television broadcasts carried excerpts from the Muslim holy book, the Koran.

In Gaza, tens of thousands of Palestinians poured into the streets to show their grief and gunmen fired into the air and people waved Palestinian flags…”  View Original Article 

 

MOVING BRAIN IMPLANT SEEKS OUT SIGNALS

November 11, 2004

NewScientist.com reports: “A device that automatically moves electrodes through the brain to seek out the strongest signals is taking the idea of neural implants to a new level. Scary as this sounds, its developers at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena say devices like this will be essential if brain implants are ever going to work.

Implants could one day help people who are paralyzed or unable to communicate because of spinal injury or conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Electrodes implanted in the brain could, in principle, pick up neural signals and convey them to a prosthetic arm or a computer cursor.

But there is a problem. Implanted electrodes are usually unable to sense consistent neuronal signals for more than a few months, according to Igor Fineman, a neurosurgeon at the Huntington Hospital, also in Pasadena.

This loss of sensitivity has a number of causes: the electrodes may shift following a slight knock or because of small changes in blood pressure; tissue building up on the electrodes may mask the signal; or the neurons emitting the signals can die.

To get around these problems, Joel Burdick and Richard Andersen at Caltech have developed a device in which the electrodes sense where the strongest signal is coming from, and move towards it. Their prototype, which is mounted on the skull, uses piezoelectric motors to move four electrodes independently of each other in 1-micrometre increments.

It has successfully been used to decode motor signals in rats and intention signals in monkeys. When surgeons implant electrodes in the brain they normally have to ‘tune’ individual electrodes by positioning them to pick up signals from a single brain cell.

With the new device, which the Caltech teams calls an autonomous microdrive, an fMRI scan is enough to locate the electrodes in the general area where the signals are coming from. Each electrode then homes in on the strongest nearby signal.

Piezoelectric motors were chosen for the microdrive because they are capable of moving the electrodes hundreds of micrometers with great accuracy, Burdick says.

Applying a voltage to the crystal causes it to expand momentarily, and because it has a roughened edge, feeding it a sequence of voltage pulses causes it to ratchet forward another surface in contact with it – in this case an electrode…” View Original Article 

FBI INVESTIGATES THEFTS OF PROPANE IN DENVER

November 10, 2004

NewsMax.com reports: “The FBI is investigating the reported thefts of scores of propane cylinders in the Denver area, a crime spree that has raised fears of a terrorist attack.

About 100 cylinders, each containing about 7.8 gallons of the highly flammable gas and weighing about 33 pounds, have been stolen from businesses since July, FBI agent Monique Kelso said Monday.

The investigation was first reported by KMGH-TV in Denver.

‘The potential threat is that these propane tanks get into the wrong hands ... and get into the hands of those that are willing to commit a crime on the magnitude of the Oklahoma City bombing or another terrorist attack,’ Kelso told the station.

She said Monday the tanks might also have been taken to power equipment such as farm machinery. The tanks are larger than those used for barbecue grills.

Twenty-eight propane cylinders have been stolen from Dal-Tile Corp. of Denver, including 10 in the past six months, said Randy Warren, operations manager at the ceramic tile manufacturer…” View Original Article 

 

U.S., IRAQI UNITS SEIZE FOOTHOLD IN FALUJA

November 10, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “Iraq and the United States, launching a long-expected air and ground offensive, have completed the first phase of the operation to capture Faluja.

U.S. officials said Marine Corps units, backed by air gunships, helicopters, artillery and tanks, punched into Faluja and killed up to 50 Sunni insurgents in heavy fighting on Monday and Tuesday. In an operation dubbed ‘Dawn,’ the U.S. troops were accompanied by 1,000 Iraqi commandos and security forces who helped capture and secure key facilities in the northern part of the city.

Officials said Saddam Hussein loyalists as well as operatives led by Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi were fighting coalition forces from mosques, hospitals and schools. They said an estimated 6,000 insurgents had mined and placed car bombs throughout Faluja.

‘Iraqi forces entered Falujah hospital, capturing four foreigners and killing 38 persons,’ Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Alawi said on Monday. ‘We do not know whether they are Iraqis or not. They were stationed in the hospital in order to carry out terrorist actions.’…”  View Original Article 

 

Arafat's Wife Lashes Out
Suha Arafat says husband's aides are trying to take over Palestinian leadership
Profile: Suha Arafat

 

Fallujah Battle Begins
U.S. forces storm part of Iraqi city, seize hospital and two bridges
Iran-Iraq Border Probed

 

Elements of Task Force 2-2 of the First Infantry Division move into Fallujah

 

 

HIZBULLAH DEPLOYS FIRST UAV

November 9, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “The Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah has flown its first unmanned aerial vehicle.

Israeli military sources said the UAV, described as a small tactical Iranian-built platform, was seen flying on Sunday inside Israeli air space. The sources said the UAV, dubbed Mirsad-1 by Hizbullah, contained a simple camera payload and flew to an altitude of 250 feet.

‘This morning an Iranian UAV operated by the Hizbullah terror organization infiltrated into Israel over the western Galilee,’ a military statement said. ‘This incident is a part of the terrorist activity carried out by the Hizbullah terrorist organization with the support of Iran and Syria and under the auspices of Lebanon, with the aim of targeting Israeli citizens.’

The UAV, which was detected but not identified by Israeli ground radar, spent about 20 minutes over northern Israel and then returned to Lebanon. The sources said the UAV was believed to have crashed in Mediterranean Sea…” View Original Article 

 

SAUDIS SEEK RUSSIAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY

November 9, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “Saudi Arabia wants to build a partnership with Russia based on the transfer of its energy technology to the Gulf kingdom.

Saudi executives said Moscow offered the kingdom prospects because of Russian technology in crude oil and natural gas exploration and development. They said Russia has developed advanced techniques in enhanced oil recovery to boost production at heavily-eroded fields.

Russia has sought to win contracts for the development of Saudi oil and gas fields. The two countries have already been coordinating in export policy.

‘Developing technology should be the main platform for cooperation,’ A.G. Munawar, a representative of Saudi Aramco, told the four annual gas and oil week in Moscow last week. ‘Dependence on one country, or on a single technology, is not in the best interest of the Middle East. I am talking to Russian companies so that we might rely on you for technological advances.’…”

View Original Article 

 

US UNPREPARED FOR BIOTERRORISM DESPITE PROGRESS BEING MADE

November 8, 2004

The Washington Post reports: “The United States remains woefully unprepared to protect the public against terrorists wielding biological agents despite dramatic increases in biodefense spending by the Bush administration and considerable progress on many fronts, according to government officials and specialists in bioterrorism and public health.

Although administration officials have spoken at times about bioterrorism's dangers, they are more alarmed than they have signaled publicly, U.S. officials said. As President Bill Clinton did, President Bush and Vice President Cheney have thrust themselves into the issue in depth.

‘There's no area of homeland security in which the administration has made more progress than bioterrorism, and none where we have further to go,’ said Richard A. Falkenrath, who until May was Bush's deputy homeland security adviser and is now a fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Unlike many other areas of domestic defense, which are centralized in the Department of Homeland Security, responsibility for biodefense is spread across various agencies. It is coordinated by a little-known White House aide, Kenneth Bernard, whose power is relatively limited.

Biological and nuclear attacks rank as officials' most feared types of terrorist attacks. Because of the technical difficulties in creating such weapons, they reckon the chances of a devastating attack are currently small. But the consequences of a big biological strike could be epically catastrophic, and rapid advances in science are placing the creation of these weapons within the reach of even graduate students, they said.

Given the escalating risks, many public health and bioterrorism experts, members of Congress and some well-placed Bush administration officials express mounting unease about what they believe are weaknesses in the nation's biodefenses…”

View Original Article 

 

IRAN AND EU BIG THREE REACH DEAL IN NUCLEAR TALKS

November 8, 2004

The EU Observer reports: “Iran and three of the EU's biggest member states have reached a preliminary compromise on the country's nuclear program.

The agreement could mean Tehran avoiding economic sanctions threatened by the UN.

The breakthrough came after two days of meetings between Iran, France, the UK and Germany in Paris.

Under the deal, Iran would freeze all nuclear fuel enrichment and reprocessing activities until it has reached a final agreement with the EU over a package of economic, technological and security incentives in return for abandoning potential weapons-related nuclear activities, according to Reuters.

Officials from all four camps are now presenting the deal to their capitals - if this is approved by them, the agreement will be formally announced within a few days…”  View Original Article   

 

INDIA PREPARES FOR SPECIAL PARTNERSHIP WITH EU

November 7, 2004

Voice of America News reports: “India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has hailed a European Union proposal to forge a strategic partnership with India.

Mr. Singh told reporters the move is a recognition of India's growing stature and influence and India welcomes the development.

The prime minister said the 25-nation EU is India's largest trading partner and the largest source of foreign direct investment.

He described the European Union and India as ‘natural partners’ and said his talks with European leaders would include terrorism, nuclear proliferation, energy and global trade issues.

He made the remarks as he embarked on a two-day visit to Netherlands. There, Mr. Singh is scheduled to hold talks with his Dutch counterpart, Jan Peter Balkenende, and meet separately with European Commission President Romano Prodi.

If the EU proposal goes through, it will give India the special relationship now shared by the Union with the United States, Canada, Russia, China and Japan…”  View Original Article 

 

Escalation in Ivory Coast
8 French soldiers, American civilian killed in attacks; Chirac orders more troops; U.N. Security Council to meet

U.S. Surrounds Fallujah
Soldiers gear up for assault; attacks in Samarra kill 29
Copycat Beheadings Seen Around Globe

Arafat Clings to Life
Docs report no changes in comatose Palestinian leader
Qureia Visits Gaza
3 Militants Killed

St. Helens Lava Dome Still Growing | U.N. Hostage Talks Postponed | First Grader Brings Crack to Class

 

EU EXPRESSES SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINIANS

November 5, 2004

The EU Observer reports: “The EU expressed solidarity with Palestinians as conflicting reports about Yassir Arafat's state of health emerged on Thursday.

The leader of the Palestinian Authority, who has been in hospital in France since 29 October, was pronounced brain dead on Thursday (4 November), something that was immediately followed by reports that the veteran leader had died.

‘We expressed our solidarity with the Palestinian people and also the hope that in the period ahead we will be able to work with the legitimate leadership, with the new leadership of the Palestinian Authority’, said Dutch foreign minister Bernard Bot.

Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, arriving for a summit in Brussels on Thursday evening announced that Mr. Arafat had died - but later retracted the statement.

US President George W. Bush, who was also wrongly informed by a journalist, reacted by saying ‘God bless his soul’.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana was tasked by EU leaders on Thursday to consult with Israel, the Palestinians and the Quartet [Russia, the UN, the US and the EU] over the situation.

The news of Mr. Arafat's critical condition comes just days after Mr. Solana unveiled a paper pushing for the establishment of a Palestinian state…” View Original Article 

 

EU TO OFFER AID TO IRAQ'S ALLAWI

November 5, 2004

CNN reports: “European Union leaders will present a reconstruction aid package to Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi on Friday, as the bloc seeks a fresh start with U.S. President George W. Bush after bitter internal divisions over Iraq.

But French President Jacques Chirac, a leading opponent of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, will skip a meeting between the European Union leaders and Allawi in a move criticized by EU diplomats. Chirac's office denied it was a snub.

‘I'm pleased that we did manage to put together a package which we are now in a position to submit to Allawi,’ Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, told a late-night news conference on Thursday.

The package was relatively modest, consisting of 16.5 million euros ($21 million) in financing for Iraqi elections scheduled for January, support for developing the criminal justice system and the prospect of help for a United Nations protection force for the elections.

In the longer term, the 25-nation EU envisages extending preferential trade terms to Iraq and preparing a Trade and Cooperation Agreement which would formalize commercial links between the EU and Iraq for the first time.

‘That is a solid, established and well rounded package for a country like Iraq,’ said Bot.

Allawi, who heads a U.S.-backed interim government in Iraq, will meet British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush's closest ally on Iraq. He will also meet EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and EU Commission President Romano Prodi and visit NATO…”

View Original Article 

 

EU EXPRESSES SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINIANS

November 5, 2004

The EU Observer reports: “The EU expressed solidarity with Palestinians as conflicting reports about Yassir Arafat's state of health emerged on Thursday.

The leader of the Palestinian Authority, who has been in hospital in France since 29 October, was pronounced brain dead on Thursday (4 November), something that was immediately followed by reports that the veteran leader had died.

‘We expressed our solidarity with the Palestinian people and also the hope that in the period ahead we will be able to work with the legitimate leadership, with the new leadership of the Palestinian Authority’, said Dutch foreign minister Bernard Bot.

Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, arriving for a summit in Brussels on Thursday evening announced that Mr. Arafat had died - but later retracted the statement.

US President George W. Bush, who was also wrongly informed by a journalist, reacted by saying ‘God bless his soul’.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana was tasked by EU leaders on Thursday to consult with Israel, the Palestinians and the Quartet [Russia, the UN, the US and the EU] over the situation.

The news of Mr. Arafat's critical condition comes just days after Mr. Solana unveiled a paper pushing for the establishment of a Palestinian state…”  View Original Article 

 

F-16 Fires on School
Fighter jet strafes N.J. elementary school with 25 rounds of ammo

 

 

PHOTOS

 

 

Click image to enlarge

Arafat Fighting for His Life in Paris

 CLAMART, France - Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) was reportedly fighting for his life Thursday at a French military hospital after losing consciousness, as anxious Palestinian officials transferred some of their 75-year-old leader's powers to Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia.

Photo
AP Photo
AP Photo Photo
AP Photo
Slideshow Slideshow: Yasser Arafat

 

Doctors at Percy Military Training Hospital outside Paris, where Arafat was airlifted last Friday after more than two years of confinement in the West Bank, quashed a swirl of reports that he had died. But the French doctors would not say much else, and Palestinians issued conflicting reports about Arafat's condition and how close to death he was.

The confusion continued early Friday when an Israeli Cabinet minister said Arafat is brain dead and being kept on life support. "They will need to decide when to stop it," Justice Minister Yosef Lapid told Israel TV's Channel Two.

He was the first senior Israeli official to speak in detail about Arafat's condition, but the source of his information was not immediately clear.

"I don't know more than what the whole world knows," he told the network, which had reported the same condition Thursday.

Soon after Lapid's claim, a Palestinian spokeswoman denied he was brain dead.

"He is in a coma. We don't know the type but it's a reversible coma," Leila Shahid, the Palestinian envoy to France, told French RTL radio.

Earlier Arafat's personal physician, Dr. Ashraf Kurdi, told Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television that "Arafat has no type of brain death." He also said a brain scan showed that Arafat had not suffered a hemorrhage or stroke.

Outside the hospital, some 50 well-wishers held a vigil late into the evening. Some held candles, others portraits of Arafat. A large Palestinian flag hung from the hospital's outer wall.

"It tears your heart up," said Mahmod Nimr, a 36-year-old unemployed Palestinian. "I can't see someone taking his place."

In an emergency meeting in the West Bank town of Ramallah, the PLO executive committee empowered Qureia to deal with urgent administrative and financial matters in Arafat's absence, said committee member Qais Abdel Karim. Qureia also will meet with security chiefs in the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) on Friday to ensure that no internal conflict erupts in the volatile area at a time of uncertainty, a Palestinian official said. MORE...

SCIENCE'S LATEST FRONTIER – HEADLESS HUMANS 

November 4, 2004

WorldNetDaily.com reports: “With Californians voting overwhelmingly to borrow $3 billion to begin cloning for stem-cell research, it's just a short leap to the suggestions of an Indian scientist who proposes breeding headless humans to be used for harvesting organs and other forms of commercial exploitation.

That's the notion put forth by P.B. Desai, former director of the Tata Medical Center, who addressed the issue in a speech Friday titled ‘Conquest Over Mortality,’ according to the Indo-Asian News Service.

‘Science is moving at such a fast pace that scientists have proven that they can create headless mice through removal of genes in embryo that control development of the head,’ said Desai. ‘But the body would have the capacity to keep the organs functional for use as transplants.’

Desai floated the idea at a meeting of the Chicago-based International College of Surgeons in New Delhi.

Desai anticipates restrictions on the creation of a headless human being who has the capacity to keep organs functioning but no thinking mind.

‘The ultimate aim of science and medicine is toward immortality,’ he said. ‘But I personally think a human being has to first learn to be a man, and once you learn the value of finite, you will not play god.’

The quest for immortality could lead to the creation of headless humans for commercial exploitation and plunder of organs, Desai said…”  View Original Article 

 

EU PLANS TO DEPLOY FORCE IN GAZA STRIP

November 4, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “The European Union has drafted plans to deploy a peace-keeping force in the Gaza Strip.

EU officials said Brussels was discussing a proposal to help organize a force to stabilize the Gaza Strip after an Israeli withdrawal in September 2005. The officials said the EU would send both peace-keepers and trainers to ensure order and bolster Palestinian Authority security forces.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the EU planned to send trainers in a joint effort with Egypt. Solana said the EU trainers would arrive over the next few months to prepare PA security forces for the Israeli withdrawal.

‘Probably together with Egypt, we will send well-prepared people so that the Palestinians can enact a sensible command structure and also have the ability to fulfill their duty,’ Solana told the German weekly Der Spiegel. ‘We are ready to contribute and to cooperate with our Palestinian friends on all the elements that they need: security, or administration reform, or whatever is necessary.’…” View Original Article 


Father takes daughter to America for life-saving operations  

Weapons Galore

Reporter's Notebook: Greg Palkot isn’t surprised by missing explosives in the weapons bazaar that is Iraq  

Oil-for-Food Scandal

CIA report lays out Saddam's $1.7 billion scam  

  

 

Saddam's Killing Field

Reporter's Notebook: Discovery of mass graves promises justice for victims, peace for families  

Crisis in Sudan

Read FOX News' four-part series on the troubles in the African nation
Photos: Sudan's Troubles  

The Afghan Boomlet

Reporter's Notebook: Some normalcy returning to Kabul, and a different boom is capturing people’s attention — an investment one

 

Fallujah Offensive
U.S. forces gear up for major assault on stronghold before January election
Japanese Hostage Slain
Decapitated body found in Baghdad was that of Shosei Koda, 24, official confirms
Japan Won't Pull Out

 CANCER-FREE 'DESIGNER BABIES' GET APPROVAL

November 1, 2004

The Times Online reports: “People with inherited forms of cancer have won the right to select embryos free from genes that might trigger the disease in future generations, The Times has learnt.

Four couples affected by a genetic form of bowel cancer will start the procedure by the end of the year, after the Government’s fertility watchdog allowed a London clinic to screen IVF embryos for the disorder.

One of the patients, a 35-year-old accountant from Bristol, said: ‘We are overjoyed to have been given this chance, not only to do as much as possible to make sure our children don’t have this gene, but to stop them from passing it on.’

The ruling by the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority deepens the controversy over designer babies. It sets a precedent that will allow doctors to ‘cherry-pick’ embryos for a much wider range of traits than at present. Applications to extend the procedure are expected within months.

Such tests can potentially eradicate some disorders, enabling parents to be certain of having healthy children. But critics said that the decision will push Britain farther towards ‘designer babies’ chosen for social reasons…”  View Original Article 

 

 

SOUTH KOREAN NAVY FIRES ON NORTH KOREAN BOATS

November 1, 2004

Voice of America News reports: “South Korea says its patrol boats fired on North Korean naval vessels after they crossed a disputed maritime border.

In the latest incident along the tense frontier, the South Korean navy says its ships fired several warning shots after three boats from the North crossed the Northern Limit Line.

South Korean defense officials say the North Korean navy vessels did not respond to radio warnings to back off. They say the North's boats retreated after nearly an hour without firing a shot in return.

South Korean officials say there were about 80 Chinese fishing boats in the area at the time.

The Yonhap news agency reports that the North Korean vessels told South Korean authorities via radio that they were chasing illegal fishing boats and denied crossing the border.

The incident comes just days after holes were discovered in fences in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two countries, setting off an alert in the South for possible North Korean infiltrators.

Earlier last week, South Korea hunted - without success - for two North Korean submarines that were thought to have crossed into the South's waters…” View Original Article 

 

Gibson takes on cloning
Braveheart vs. Terminator in California political debate

October 31st,  2004

Focus on the Family Founder and Chairman Dr. James C. Dobson will interview Mel Gibson, director of the critically acclaimed "The Passion of the Christ," on his daily radio program Monday on the actor's outspoken opposition to California’s Proposition 71, the initiative proposed to amend the state’s constitution to create $6 billion in public debt to fund the cloning of human embryos for embryonic stem-cell research.

"Why are we being misled into thinking Prop 71 isn’t about cloning, when it is?" Gibson asked. "I'm voting 'no' on Prop 71 – creating life simply to destroy it is wrong, particularly when there are effective alternatives readily available. In 23 years, [animal] embryonic stem-cell research has not produced a single human cure. All it's yielded is tumors, rejection and mutations."

Gibson's offensive puts him squarely at odds with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Republican governor is supporting a California ballot initiative to sell bonds to finance stem-cell research, putting him at odds also with the Bush administration, which limits federal funding for similar studies.

Gibson told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he has an "ethical problem" with the research, and called the governor Wednesday night to talk about it. But when Gibson reached Schwarzenegger, he said the governor told him he had to make a speech and would call him back. "Well, Arnold, I'm still waiting for your call," Gibson said.

Schwarzenegger appeared puzzled.

"I don't know what this was all about," the governor said in Los Angeles. "I did talk to him for several minutes and explained to him what my position was on" the stem cell proposal, the governor said. Schwarzenegger said he had to cut short the call because he had to give a speech in San Diego. "After that, I called back at 9 o'clock and left a message on his phone," Schwarzenegger said. "He hasn't returned my call." 

Gibson, a Roman Catholic, as is the governor, said that when he first heard about the proposition he was overjoyed but changed his mind. Gibson said he had no faith in the cloning of human embryos but would support the use of adult stem cells.

"I found that the cloning of human embryos will be used in the process and that, for me, I have an ethical problem with that," he said. "Why do I, as a taxpayer, have to fund something I believe is unethical? The true promise for treatment and cures lies with adult stem-cells, which do not require the cloning of human embryos nor the destruction of those embryos,” Dobson said. "The National Institutes of Health reports at least 74 diseases treatable by adult stem-cells. Sacrificing the tiniest members of the human family on the altar of science – and questionable science at best – is nothing short of state-funded cannibalism."

 

U.S. WARNS OF AL QAIDA ATTACK IN QATAR

October 31, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “The United States has warned of an Al Qaida plot to strike Qatar.

The U.S. embassy in Qatar said Americans could be the target of an attack in Doha. The embassy said the targets could include hotels frequented by Americans. Later, diplomatic sources said the warning was meant to cover the week of the U.S. presidential elections, which takes place on Nov. 2. They did not elaborate…”  View Original Article 

 

WITHOUT ARAFAT, PA LEFT WITHOUT AUTHORITY

October 31, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “The Palestinian Authority has been thrown into turmoil amid the absence of Yasser Arafat.

PA officials said the PA Cabinet has not been briefed regarding key issues meant to maintain operations in Arafat's absence. They said financial and security decisions still required the approval of Arafat, who has been hospitalized in a military facility outside Paris.

‘It is true that many things need Arafat's signature and approval, like financial and security issues, and we will be in touch with him in Paris,’ Palestinian Legislative Council speaker Rawhi Fatouh said.

Arafat arrived in Paris on a French Air Force jet on Oct. 29, and on Saturday his physicians prevented all visits except for family members. The physicians said they would issue a statement on Arafat's health on Nov. 1…”  View Original Article

 

October Surprise
Bin Laden tells Americans they will be safe if they leave Muslims alone
No Terror Alert Change
Having a Scream
Researchers say relief that follows adrenaline rush makes horror movies, haunted houses fun
9 Marines Killed in Iraq
9 others wounded outside Fallujah; 7 killed by car bomb at Al-Arabiya TV station
Airstrikes in Fallujah

PAKISTAN IS SOURCE OF BIN LADEN TAPE, AL-JAZEERA SAYS

October 30, 2004

Voice of America News reports: “The Arabic television channel al-Jazeera says it received the new videotape from Osama bin Laden at its offices in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

Al-Jazeera officials say an unknown individual left the videotape at the front gate of the Islamabad office on Friday.

U.S. military officials have said they believe the Saudi-born al-Qaida leader most likely is hiding somewhere in a remote part of Pakistan, probably near the Afghan border, but Pakistani officials say they do not believe he is in the country.

In Washington, State Department officials say the United States tried without success to get authorities in Qatar, where al-Jazeera is based, to prevent the station from broadcasting the tape, on the grounds that al-Jazeera would be giving a platform to terrorists.

Al-Jazeera has shown a number of al-Qaida videotapes since 2001, and it also has broadcast messages from terrorists in Iraq who killed foreign hostages…”  View Original Article 

 

ISRAEL'S MILITARY PLANS FOR ARAFAT'S DEATH

October 30, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “Israel's military has drafted a plan to respond to the expected death of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.

Officials said the military's Central Command has drafted and submitted to the General Staff a plan meant to counter insurgency attacks or massive civil unrest in wake of Arafat's death. The plan, dubbed ‘New Leaf,’ was said to have been drafted in 2003 and updated several times as Arafat's health deteriorated.

Central Command covers the West Bank and according to the plan the military would avoid a presence around Ramallah during the organization of a post-Arafat leadership. On Friday, Arafat was flown to a military hospital in Paris for treatment.

‘We don't have to plan too much for additional attacks,’ Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's political-military bureau, said. ‘We are already under attack.’…”  View Original Article 

 

TRIUMVIRATE NAMED TO REPLACE ARAFAT

October 29, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “The ruling Fatah movement has established a successor to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, said to be in critical condition.

Palestinian sources said Fatah leaders have established a triumvirate to succeed the 75-year-old Arafat. They said the three Palestinians include the former and current PA prime ministers and were authorized to take over Arafat's duties immediately.

‘His [Arafat's] situation is very bad, but stable,’ Imad Shakour, an Arafat adviser, said on Thursday.

Arafat's condition has been termed critical and he was said have lost consciousness overnight Thursday. He has been treated in a makeshift clinic in his compound in Ramallah by a team of Palestinian and Tunisian doctors…”  View Original Article

 

Bin Laden Tape Airs
Terrorist reads statement, promises to outline 'the best way to avoid another Manhattan'

 

GI Answers on Al Qaqaa
U.S. team took 200 tons of ammo from Iraqi facility
Arms Report (pdf)
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Hacking Pleads Not Guilty
Against advice from his brother, Mark Hacking pleads not guilty to murder in death of his wife, Lori

IRS: CHURCHES CAN'T PRAY FOR BUSH VICTORY

October 28, 2004

WorldNetDaily.com reports: “In a letter of clarification requested by a traveling minister, the Internal Revenue Service has declared people gathered in tax-exempt churches can't pray for President Bush to win the election on Tuesday.

The ruling comes in response to a request by the Christian Defense Coalition, which is in the midst of a 15-day prayer tour through Ohio and Pennsylvania. The Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, director of the organization, had planned to lead in prayer for a Bush victory during evening services in each town. Though he had hoped to hold the services in churches, Mahoney says he has used American Legion halls, hotels and other venues pending a clarification from the IRS.

The American Center for Law and Justice wrote the letter to the IRS on behalf of the Mahoney's group, explaining that the pastor planned to ‘offer prayer during the evening services in the churches he visits that God grants President Bush four more years as president and that Senator Kerry does not become president.’

‘This is rank censorship,’ Mahoney told WND. ‘If churches felt compelled to pray for Senator Kerry, they should be able to do that, too.

‘Now we have the IRS not only limiting what can said behind a pulpit in terms of electioneering, but churches aren't even allowed to pray the dictates of their consciences.’

Mahoney said he would consider legal action against the IRS, saying churches that had considered hosting the tour were unable to do so. He also said he considers his First Amendment rights to have been violated…”  View Original Article

 

EU LEADERS SIGN NEW CONSTITUTION

October 29, 2004

BBC News reports: “European Union leaders have signed the new EU constitution in a lavish ceremony held in Rome.

Heads of state and government took it in turn to sign the text in the same room where the Treaty of Rome was signed to establish the EU in 1957.

The ceremony comes amid a row about the views of prospective Italian EU commissioner Rocco Buttiglione.

Incoming President Jose Manuel Barroso has withdrawn his entire proposed team and has hinted he may make changes.

A devout Catholic, Mr. Buttiglione has been scorned by MEPs unhappy at his views on homosexuality and the role of women in society.

Also present at the ceremony were the leaders of Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Croatia - the four countries candidates to joining the EU.

The signing ceremony was held in the Renaissance splendor of the Campidoglio, the city hall inspired by Michelangelo in the centre of the capital's historic district.

Up to 7,000 police and security forces are on Rome's streets to protect EU leaders, while a squadron of F-16 fighters were enforcing a no-fly zone over the city centre.

Mr. Barroso said in a speech before the signing that the EU constitution would give birth to a ‘more democratic union’, and urged the 25 member-states to ratify it without delay…”  View Original Article

UK PRESSES ON WITH COMPULSORY ID CARD PLANS

October 28, 2004

Silicon.com reports: “The government will now issue standalone compulsory biometric ID cards as part of changes to the draft ID card bill issued by Home Secretary David Blunkett today – despite growing public opposition to the scheme.

The cards will be issued with passports but will not be incorporated into either the existing passport or driving license as previously proposed, with a standardized online verification service used to check card details against those held on the National Identity Register (NIR).

The changes are part of the Home Office's response to a Parliamentary Home Affairs select committee report by MPs in July, which broadly backed the ID card scheme despite some major reservations and criticisms.

‘I will now bring forward legislation to bring in a compulsory, national ID card scheme,’ said Blunkett in a statement.

A new executive agency incorporating the UK Passport Service and working with the Home Office's Immigration and Nationality Directorate will now be set up to deliver and run the ID card scheme.

But a summary of findings from the Home Office's consultation exercise also published today highlights the fact there are still serious concerns about the ID card scheme from bodies ranging from privacy groups to the Confederation of British Industry over the scope, security and management of the project.

The Law Society, for example, raises the question of whether it will prove too costly to pursue individuals who incur a £2,500 fine for refusing to register for the ID cards.

Initial government research into the public's views on ID cards found 79 per cent in favor or very much in favor of them, with only 13 per cent against and eight per cent unsure. More recent research, however, included in the consultation summary shows support has dropped significantly with only 31 per cent now in favor, 48 per cent opposed and only eight per cent supportive in principle even with reservations about the Bill…”  View Original Article   

 

U.S. Threatened in Video
Officials believe American Adam Yahiye Gadahn appears in tape, promising large attack against America
Arafat Collapses
Doctors urgently summoned after ailing Palestinian leader momentarily loses consciousness

Weapons Galore

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Oil-for-Food Scandal

CIA report lays out Saddam's $1.7 billion scam
 

 

Saddam's Killing Field

Reporter's Notebook: Discovery of mass graves promises justice for victims, peace for families
 

 

Crisis in Sudan

Read FOX News' four-part series on the troubles in the African nation
Photos: Sudan's Troubles
 

 

The Afghan Boomlet

 

SCIENTISTS WARN OF 'ETHNIC WEAPONS'

October 27, 2004

The Australian News reports: “Biological weapons that target selected ethnic groups could become part of the terrorists' arsenal unless governments and scientists act now, the British Medical Association warns.

Such designer weapons would be based on the growing ability of scientists to unravel and compare human DNA.

In theory, experts could engineer organisms to attack genetic variations commonly found in, say, Chinese or German populations.

Genetically engineered anthrax, smallpox and polio viruses are also ‘approaching reality’, the BMA claims in a new report, Biotechnology, Weapons and Humanity II.

The report, released yesterday in London, adds that organisms designed to attack food crops and even human immune and nervous systems are serious threats.

For instance, the agent used by Russian authorities to end the Moscow theatre hostage crisis in 2002, a fentanyl derivative, is an example of a ‘bio-regulator’ targeted against the human nervous system.

‘All of the above are feasible or possible if anyone would be mad enough or evil enough to do it,’ commented University of Melbourne immunologist Sir Gus Nossal.

‘There already exist potential biological weapons of enormous destructive power, chief among them smallpox and anthrax,’ added Professor Emeritus Nossal, who in 1979 announced the eradication of smallpox on behalf of the World Health Organization.

He agreed with BMA head of science and ethics Vivienne Nathanson that, ‘If we wait too long it will be virtually impossible to defend ourselves (against biological weapons)’.

According to the BMA report the ‘window of opportunity’ to control the spread of powerful biological weapons is shrinking fast.

That's so, said the report's author, Malcolm Dando of Britain's Bradford University, because ‘the same technology being used to develop new vaccines and find cure's for Alzheimer's and other debilitating diseases could also be used for malign purposes’.

Professor Dando said it was essential that governments worldwide beef up the international Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention when it comes up for review in 2006…”  View Original Article 

 

YASSER ARAFAT IN CRITICAL CONDITION

October 27, 2004

CNN reports: "Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was in critical condition late Wednesday after his health deteriorated through the course of the day, Palestinian officials said.

Doctors were treating him at his Ramallah compound and assessing whether he should be sent to a hospital.

"He is in critical condition, but he's conscious," said Hassan Abu-Libdeh, Cabinet secretary to the Palestinian Authority. "During the last six hours, he has relapsed."

He said a team of Egyptian and Tunisian doctors were examining Arafat and that Jordanian doctors -- including his personal physician -- were en route to further aid in Arafat's treatment.

Arafat's wife, Sufa, was expected to arrive in Ramallah Thursday.

A senior Palestinian official inside the compound said Arafat's condition was "extremely bad."

Palestinian officials said Arafat, 75, was too weak to meet with anybody and that he was unable to walk, having to be carried by aides when he needed to move. They also said he has been unable to keep food down.

Israel Radio reported late Wednesday that Arafat had lost consciousness, although Palestinian officials disputed that account..." View Original Article   

 

FINGERPRINTS REQUIRED IN NEW EU PASSPORTS

October 27, 2004

The EU Observer reports: “EU citizens will be obliged to have their fingerprints in their passports in the future.

Member states on Tuesday (26 October) agreed at a meeting in Luxembourg that a second biometric identifier, fingerprints, must be included in all new passports and other travel documents.

This follows a decision in June where member states decided that EU passports must include facial images.

The aim is to make passports and other travel documents more secure and establish a more reliable link between them and the holder.

The biometric data gathered will be stored on a ‘chip’ embedded in the new passports, Personal details and the biometric data will be held on national databases and on a EU-wide database of European Register for issued passports - the latter will be on the Schengen Information System (SIS II) and be accessible by law enforcement agencies, according to Statewatch.

While fingerprints will be obligatory in new passports 3 years after the technical specifications are in place, facial images will be required 18 months after adoption of the regulation.

The UK, Denmark and Ireland have a ‘legal exemption’ in the EU treaties regarding this area of judicial co-operation and are not bound to follow the regulation.

Denmark – together with Germany - has however indicated that it intends to start issuing biometrically enhanced passports from the end of 2005 in order to comply with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the requirements of the US Visa Waiver legislation.

Finland and Austria have tabled technical reservations to the regulation, but the problems are expected to be overcome.

Since 1 May, these type of decisions are subject to qualified majority voting in the Council - in co-decision with the European Parliament.

The five biggest EU countries said in a statement at the end of talks earlier this month that they hoped to introduce fingerprint measures for passports issued in their countries from 2006…”  View Original Article 

 

BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS POSE BIGGEST THREAT TO WORLD, SCIENTISTS WARN

October 26, 2004

The Scotsman reports: “The threat posed to the world by biological weapons is now far greater than that from nuclear and chemical because of the ‘riotous’ development in biotechnology, a leading scientist has warned.

He said if nothing is done, bio-weapons technology could be harnessed by terrorists to target specific ethnic groups to release devastating diseases, such as the 1918 Spanish flu.

Among the biological weapons with the potential to wreak havoc are genetically engineered anthrax and a synthetic version of the polio virus.

The warning came yesterday as the British Medical Association (BMA) published its second report in five years into biological and genetic weapons.

In 1999, the BMA called for the 1975 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) to stop the spread of biological and chemical weapons to be strengthened.

The new report, Biotechnology, Weapons and Humanity II, warned that the ‘window of opportunity’ to tackle the spread of these weapons is shrinking fast.

Professor Malcolm Dando, the head of Peace Studies at Bradford University, who has studied arms control for 20 years, wrote the report. He said: ‘What we are talking about here is the development of a technology which could clearly be misused by terrorists or deranged individuals.

‘We have a much more difficult problem in controlling biological weapons (as opposed to nuclear) in the long term. If life sciences are misused there are major threats to human rights, human dignity and human safety.’

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the head of science and ethics at the BMA, said it was appropriate for a medical association to report on weapons of mass destruction. She explained: ‘As far as doctors are concerned, the issue of weapons control is important, because at the end of the day doctors literally pick up the pieces.’

The reason for publishing a second report only five years after the first was because biological science had developed so rapidly, she said.

‘It’s never been easier to develop biological weapons - all you have to do is look on the internet.’…”  View Original Article 

New Quake Rattles Northern Japan, Felt in Tokyo

October 26th,  2004

NAGAOKA, Japan (Reuters) - A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0 jolted northern Japan on Wednesday, in the same region where a major quake killed at least 31 people and injured more than 3,400 five days ago.

 
Photo
Reuters Photo
Reuters Photo
Reuters
Slideshow Slideshow: Strong Quake Rocks Japan

 

There were no early reports on injuries from the latest quake in rural Niigata prefecture, 150 miles north of Tokyo, but one building had collapsed in Ojiya, one of the towns hardest hit by Saturday's big tremor.

The quake, which hit at 10.40 a.m. (9:40 p.m. EDT), was also felt strongly in Tokyo.

Saturday's earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.8, was Japan's deadliest since a quake killed more than 6,400 people in the western city of Kobe in 1995. 

More than 100,000 survivors of Saturday's quake, many of them elderly, are still in makeshift shelters, facing another day of stress and fatigue, raising fears that the death toll could rise. 

The focus of Wednesday's tremor was 6 miles below the surface of the earth, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Television showed a highrise building in Nagaoka swaying. Women, many of them clutching small children, ran for the door of an evacuation center in the town of Tokamachi, television coverage showed.

People including elderly and children at another center flattened themselves on the floor as voices called out: "I'm scared, I'm scared." All train service in the Niigata area was temporarily halted and Niigata airport suspended operations, national broadcaster NHK said. Tokyo Electric Power Co said that all of its nuclear reactors in Niigata were operating normally. 

The new earthquake measured a "lower 6" on the Japanese scale of 7, which reads ground motion. Typically quakes of that intensity make it difficult to keep standing and gas pipes and water mains are likely to be damaged. 

The magnitude of the earthquakes was measured according to a technique similar to the Richter scale, but adjusted for Japan's geological characteristics. Earthquakes (news - web sites) are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

 

IRAN NEARLY COMPLETES URANIUM FACILITY

October 26, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “Iran was said to have nearly completed a facility regarded as vital for the production of nuclear weapons.

A senior Iranian official said Teheran was nearing completion of a uranium conversion facility in Isfahan. The facility was meant to convert uranium ore, or yellowcake, into uranium hexafluoride, a key element in the process to enrich uranium and produce nuclear weapons.

‘Currently, the Isfahan uranium conversion facility is 70 percent operational,’ Iranian Atomic Energy Organization deputy director Mohammad Ghanadi said. ‘I can say that 21 out of the 24 workshops in this facility have become operational.

Ghanadi's assertion, broadcast by Iranian television on Sunday, was the first disclosure of Teheran's progress in completing the nuclear fuel cycle. The UCF plant was designed to produce uranium hexafluoride, placed into gas centrifuges for the manufacture of enriched uranium…”  View Original Article 

EU: GAZA NOT ENOUGH; LEAVE WEST BANK TOO

October 26, 2004

The Jerusalem Newswire reports: “European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana Friday said Israel’s retreat from Gaza was a good first step, but one that must be followed by a full and complete withdrawal from what the world calls the ‘West Bank’, including the eastern half of Jerusalem.

The veteran Spanish diplomat promised a visiting PLO official Israel’s unilateral flight from the Strip would be used by the world to jumpstart the stalled Road Map to Middle East peace – a plan that rewards the Palestinian Arabs with an independent state, despite their years of corruption and terrorist activity.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sold his ‘disengagement’ plan to the Israeli people as a means to halt indefinitely the international juggernaut intent on birthing the Muslim nation of Palestine, and secure the Jews’ hold over vital sections of Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.

It is becoming increasingly apparent he will have difficulty keeping his word.

In other news further eroding confidence in Sharon’s plan, a government report has indicated that, under international law, Israel would remain the legal occupying power in the Gaza Strip even after withdrawing because of its continued control over the borders.

Furthermore, a senior Hamas official confirmed the terror group was producing many of its weapons in Gaza, and would not be greatly affected by Israel tightening its control over the area from outside.

Sharon has insisted that pulling out of Gaza and redeploying the IDF around its perimeter would remove the burden of caring for the hostile Arab population there, and greatly increase Israel’s ability to thwart violence emanating from the coastal strip…” View Original Article 

 

Under my skin


October 25th,  2004

I'm rolling up my sleeve, ready to get injected with the VeriChip. That's the device cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this month as the first implantable electronic identification tag linked to a person's medical profile.

Privacy advocates, of course, are hugely concerned about creepy new ways in which VeriChipped people could be tracked by schools, employers or the government.

These concerns are legitimate. But it would be a mistake for our society to walk away from the benefits of VeriChip and similar technology, so I'm going to immodestly propose some laws we need to protect ourselves.

First, however, it's important to understand what VeriChip is and is not.

VeriChip is not new technology. Applied Digital of Delray Beach, Fla., which developed the product, has sold 30 million virtually identical injectable ID chips for pets and livestock in the past 15 years. Thousands of lost dogs and cats without external ID tags have been reunited with their owners because the pets had ID chips that were scanned at animal shelters.

VeriChip is very simple. A glass capsule about the size of a grain of rice, the VeriChip contains only a basic microchip programmed with a 16-digit ID number and an antenna. When the VeriChip is hit with radio waves from a scanner, the chip responds by broadcasting its ID number. There are no batteries in the VeriChip, and it works for a lifetime.

The only way to get meaningful information with the VeriChip, which will initially cost about $150 for the human version, is by linking the ID number to a computer database. That database might give a dog's name and home address at an animal shelter, or show a history of adverse drug reactions in an unconscious human in a hospital emergency room.

Of course, a VeriChip implanted for medical reasons could be used in other ways, such as tracking movement in a building through scanners built into doorways. Applied Digital is interested in expanding to non-medical uses, including credit-card verification and security. In July, the attorney general of Mexico said he and 160 of his top officials had received VeriChip injections for gaining access to top-secret offices.

As I said, I'm willing to get a VeriChip if the product adds to my personal safety and convenience. But I also want to know up front that implanted ID chips won't send us down a slippery slope to a Big Brother society where our every move is monitored.

We need basic protections, similar to what's already in place for other technologies ranging from home phone lines to financial records. I'd humbly suggest federal laws covering five points:

1. Getting an implanted ID chip should always be voluntary, without coercion. No one should ever, ever be forced to get an ID chip. What's more, schools, businesses and government should be banned from offers that pressure people -- prisoners, for example, couldn't be promised time off their sentences, and insurance carriers couldn't offer lower rates.

2. There has to be an ``off'' switch. Implanted chips must either have the capability to be permanently turned off, or be removed. The VeriChip can't be deactivated, but can be removed in a minor outpatient procedure. Deactivation or removal should be available on demand, no questions asked, and should be free; the fee for inserting a chip should include a reserve fund to pay for removals.

3. Scanners can't be hidden. The scanners that read implanted ID chips can be built into walls, door frames or even highway signs. There needs to be a universal symbol showing the location of ID scanners, and that symbol must be shown wherever a scanner is present.

4. Individuals must be in control. Chip recipients need full disclosure and absolute veto power over what information goes into computer databases tied to their ID number, and who has access to that information. Again, schools, business and government couldn't use coercion -- such as an employer who sets up scanners within a company building, then insists as a condition of employment that workers allow scanning of implanted chips to track their movement.

5. Government can't snoop with a court order. Law enforcement agencies would need to convince a judge of their legitimate interest in looking at your ID database in the same way they need court orders today to look at phone or bank records.

I don't claim these protections are the last word on what's needed. But we need to start somewhere, and the time to begin the debate is right now.

 

SALAFISTS LAUNCH MAJOR ATTACK IN ALGERIA

October 25, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “The Salafist Brigade for Combat and Call was said to have launched its first major attack in nearly a year.

Salafist insurgents were said to have killed 16 people near Algiers on late Oct. 22. A government statement said the attack took place outside Medea, about 70 kilometers south of Algiers.

The statement said the victims were driving to a soccer match in Algiers when they were ambushed by gunmen. Most of the victims were said to have been young men.

Security sources said the attackers were believed to have been members of the Salafist Brigade or a related group. The sources said the assailants opened with semi-automatic fire, cut the throats of some of their victims and then torched the vehicles…”  View Original Article 

 

DEVIL WORSHIP OK ABOARD NAVY SHIPS

October 25, 2004

WorldNetDaily.com reports: “With headlines conjuring up ‘the devil and the deep blue sea,’ a non-commissioned officer in the Royal Navy has become the first registered Satanist in the British armed forces, leaving some veterans and politicians stunned.

Chris Cranmer, 24, from Edinburgh, Scotland, has been officially recognized as a Satanist by the captain of the HMS Cumberland, according to the London Telegraph.

The designation gives him permission to perform Satanic rituals aboard, and have a funeral carried out by the Church of Satan if he's killed in action.

‘From a military perspective, I believe in vengeance,’ Cranmer told the paper. ‘I don't consider Satan to be an intelligently external force in my life; instead I consider it an empowering internal force. If I were asked if I were evil, I would say yes – by virtue of the common definition. However, if you asked my family and friends you would hear a resounding 'no.' I get a massive amount from my career, while sacrificing little.’

Founded in San Francisco in 1966 by Anton LaVey, author of the Satanic Bible, the Church of Satan has its followers live by the Nine Satanic Statements, including ‘Satan represents vengeance, instead of turning the other cheek,’ ‘Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they lead to physical, mental or emotional gratification,’ and ‘Satan represents indulgence, instead of abstinence.’

The idea of putting a ship into devil worship is raising some red flags among Britain's war veterans.

Admiral Sir Sandy Woodward, the former commander of the South Atlantic Task Groups in the Falklands War, said that Satanism would be ‘terribly undesirable’ on a ship…”   View Original Article 

 

 

CHIPS COMING TO A BRAIN NEAR YOU

October 25, 2004

Wired.com reports: “In this era of high-tech memory management, next in line to get that memory upgrade isn't your computer, its you.

Professor Theodore W. Berger, director of the Center for Neural Engineering at the University of Southern California, is creating a silicon chip implant that mimics the hippocampus, an area of the brain known for creating memories. If successful, the artificial brain prosthesis could replace its biological counterpart, enabling people who suffer from memory disorders to regain the ability to store new memories.

And it's no longer a question of ‘if’ but ‘when.’ The six teams involved in the multi-laboratory effort, including USC, the University of Kentucky and Wake Forest University, have been working together on different components of the neural prosthetic for nearly a decade. They will present the results of their efforts at the Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting in San Diego, which begins Saturday.

While they haven't tested the microchip in live rats yet, their research using slices of rat brain indicates the chip functions with 95 percent accuracy. It's a result that's got the scientific community excited.

‘It's a new direction in neural prosthesis,’ said Howard Eichenbaum, director of the Laboratory of Cognitive Neurobiology at Boston University. ‘The Berger enterprise is ambitious, aiming to provide a prosthesis for memory. The need is high, because of the prevalence of memory disorder in aging and disease associated with loss of function in the hippocampus.’

Forming new long-term memories may involve such tasks as learning to recognize a new face, or remembering a telephone number or directions to a new location. Success depend on the proper functioning of the hippocampus. While this part of the brain doesn't store long-term memories, it re-encodes short-term memory so it can be stored as long-term memory.

It's the area that's often damaged as a result of head trauma, stroke, epilepsy and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. Currently, no clinically recognized treatments exist for a damaged hippocampus and the accompanying memory disorders…”  View Original Article 

 

 

Helicopters evacuate Japanese villagers after earthquakes kill at least 16
October 22nd,  2004

OJIYA, Japan (AP) - Military helicopters evacuated earthquake victims from a wrecked village and traumatized residents huddled in shelters and salvaged belongings from flattened homes Sunday in the aftermath of a string of earthquakes in northern Japan that killed at least 16 people and injured a reported 900 others.

 
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Canadian Press Photo
 

Four people were believed missing.

A 6.8-magnitude quake centred in Ojiya, about 260 kilometres northwest of Tokyo, rocked the area Saturday evening, knocking a bullet train from its rails, ripping through roadways and rattling buildings as far away as the Japanese capital. Several strong quakes followed through the night and aftershocks continued to jolt the area Sunday morning.

 

Tens of thousands of rural residents - many of them elderly - were evacuated from flattened homes to emergency shelters and Japan's military used helicopters to airlift stranded villagers from a riverside hamlet that was cut off when the bridge connecting it to Ojiya was toppled. The injured overwhelmed small local hospitals, where patients were being treated in the hallways. Electricity was cut off to nearly 300,000 homes, highways were ripped in half and overpasses toppled by the force of the quakes. The bullet train derailment was the first since such trains began running in Japan in 1964. 

Despite the destruction, the areas hit were in largely rural Niigata Prefecture, sparing Japan the much larger death toll had the quakes struck a major city.

"We are lucky to be alive," said Akio Kazama, 71, as he used a crowbar early Sunday to dig his smashed minivan from under a collapsed storehouse. "I wasn't hurt at all but my wife broke some ribs and is in the hospital." 

The area was still dangerous early Sunday. Japan's Meteorological Agency registered 242 aftershocks - most too weak to be felt - following the big quake and warned another quake of similar power could rip across the region over the next week. 

Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency said early Sunday 16 people had died and counted 350 injured. Kyodo News agency, however, put the toll of injured at some 900.

"Carrying out rescue efforts is the most important task right now," Tsutomu Takebe, secretary general of the governing Liberal Democratic party, said on a talk program aired by public broadcaster NHK.

"The government is making all the effort to assess the extent of the damage." The first quake hit at 5:56 p.m. local time Saturday and was centred about 20 kilometres beneath the Earth's surface, the Meteorological Agency said. At least a half dozen more tremors hit intermittently over the following hours, including magnitude-6.2 and 5.9 quakes, the agency said.

The second floor of the local branch of Jusco, a national supermarket chain, collapsed.

"There were 300 customers inside when the earthquake hit and everyone tried to grab something nearby to keep from being knocked off their feet," said Reiko Takahashi, the store's manager as she stood guard to prevent looting or possible injuries.

"Several people were hurt by glass shards and falling debris." One employee suffered a deep cut and had to be taken to the hospital for surgery, she said. Takejiro Hoshino, 75, lost his 12-year-old grandson when their house collapsed. "I got out and then we all went back to try to save the others but it was too late," Hoshino said. Sewage and water mains burst, gas and telephone services were down. Close to 280,000 homes were out of power, said Satoshi Arakawa, a spokesman for Tohoku Electric. A major nuclear-power plant operated by Tokyo Electric in Kashiwazaki, however, was operating normally.

Across Niigata prefecture (state), 61,000 people were evacuated to emergency shelters. In Ojiya, 5,290 people took refuge at 50 different evacuation centres, while many more were spending the night in their cars, said city official Mikio Oya.

The jolt triggered an automatic safety device that temporarily halted train services, news reports said. Railway officials said at least two trains, including a bullet train, had derailed and some of the cars had tipped over in Niigata prefecture but nobody appeared to be hurt.

The Meteorological Agency said there was no threat of tsunami, potentially dangerous waves triggered by seismic activity. The quakes came just days after Japan's deadliest typhoon in more than a decade, which left 79 dead and a dozen others missing. Typhoon Tokage, the record eighth typhoon to hit Japan this year, ripped through the country with high waves and rapid mudslides, demolishing homes and flooding dozens of communities in western Japan before losing power and disappearing over the Pacific Ocean. Authorities said there were concerns the shaking could cause topsoil loosened by the storm's torrential rains to slide down hillsides.

Japan, which rests atop several tectonic plates, is among the world's most earthquake-prone countries. A magnitude-6 quake can cause widespread damage to homes and other buildings if centred in a heavily populated area.

 

Powerful earthquakes shake Japan

October 22nd,  2004

At least 13 people have died and more than 700 have been injured in a series of earthquakes and aftershocks which shook northern Japan for several hours.

Firefighters on roof of Ojiya house

The first quake measured 6.8 and was centred in Niigata state, 260km (160 miles) north of Tokyo.

It caused landslides and blackouts, cut water and telephone services and left almost 300,000 people without power.

Some houses have reportedly been destroyed by the tremors, and a bullet train was derailed.

Wall collapse

An elderly man and woman and a two-month-old baby apparently died from the shock of the jolts in the Niigata area.

Three other children died after being buried under collapsed buildings. More...

 

IRAN FIRES ENHANCED SHIHAB-3 MISSILE

October 22, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “Iran has completed the first launch of its enhanced Shihab-3 intermediate-range missile.

The Islamic republic termed the Shihab-3 launch a success. Officials said the test took place on Wednesday and was a follow-up to an August missile exercise.

‘A few minutes ago, Iran test-fired a more accurate version of the Shihab-3 in the presence of observers,’ Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said on Wednesday.

Shamkhani, speaking to reporters after a Cabinet meeting, said the test was within the framework of the ‘Defensive Shield Exercise.’ He would not disclose the range of the missile…”  View Original Article   

 

UN FAILS TO REACH AGREEMENT ON CLONING

October 23, 2004

Voice of America News reports: “The United States and Britain have clashed at the United Nation over the issue of human cloning. The United States is among countries calling for a worldwide cloning ban, while Britain has vowed to reject it.

Two days of debate in a U.N. conference hall showed how divisive the cloning issue is. When it was over, delegates put off a decision for at least a few more weeks.

A coalition of 63 countries, led by Costa Rica and the United States, has been pushing for more than three years for a comprehensive treaty banning all forms of human cloning. The coalition of mostly Catholic, African and Caribbean countries wants the treaty drafting process to begin immediately.

Another group of about 20 countries, led by Belgium, Japan, and Britain, favor a ban on reproductive cloning. But they want to keep the door open to the controversial practice of using human embryos for research, a process known as therapeutic cloning.

U.S. delegate Susan Moore said the United States rejects the distinction between reproductive and therapeutic cloning.

‘A ban that differentiates between human reproductive and experimental cloning would essentially authorize the creation of a human embryo for the purpose of destroying it, thus elevating the value of research and experimentation above that of a human life,’ said Ms. Moore.

Opponents of the total ban argue that it is too early to rule out types of research that may hold out hope for a cure to debilitating diseases…”  View Original Article   

 

UN urges end to Ugandan 'horror'

October 21st,  2004

Northern Uganda is suffering the most neglected humanitarian crisis in the world with 20,000 children caught up in a war, the United Nations has warned.

The UN's head of humanitarian affairs, Jan Egeland, urged countries to do more to end what he called a "litany of horrors" stretching back 18 years. The conflict has displaced about 1.6 million people, said Mr Egeland. However, Uganda's ambassador to the UN said his country was winning the war, adding: "We don't need the UN."

Frances Butagira said many commanders of the rebel militia known as the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), which has been fighting government forces in the area since 1986, had been captured or killed. "We shall win the war and soon," he told BBC News.

He added: "We don't need peacekeepers. We just want assistance as we wind up the [rebel] camps." Mr Egeland was briefing the UN Security Council on the Uganda conflict. He said that peace in neighbouring Sudan might have a positive effect.

"There is a peace process in Sudan which can have a positive spill over because the war in Sudan had a negative spill over earlier on the conflict in northern Uganda," Mr Egeland told reporters after the briefing.

Driven from homes

The LRA has been replenishing its ranks with abducted children and the International Criminal Court is investigating alleged war crimes committed by the rebels, thought to have used bases in Sudan.
Woman stands in her charred home in Barlonyo, Uganda
Thousands leave their homes at night to escape rebel raids

Their leader, Joseph Kony, says he is fighting for the rights of local people but observers say he has won little support in a war which has seen mass abduction and rape.

Mr Egeland took heart at the fact that the Security Council had "devoted so much time" to the crisis when he addressed it at a closed hearing on Thursday.

However, the UN's emergency relief coordinator stressed that world governments had to pay greater attention, provide more aid and put more pressure on the parties to end the conflict.

Some 80% of LRA fighters are children and about 90% of the local population have been driven from their homes, he said.

"We hope that... we are now seeing a beginning of an end to this endless litany of horrors where children are the fighters and the victims in northern Uganda," Mr Egeland said.

But Mr Butagira said the timing of Mr Egeland's words was unhelpful given the government successes in the war

 Eight dead' in Iraq car bombs

US army patrol in Samarra

October 21st,  2004

At least eight Iraqis, mostly women and children, were killed in a double car bombing in Samarra on Wednesday, Iraqi medical and security officials say.

The two suicide attackers reportedly exploded the bombs in the path of a US army convoy near a nursery school. The US military said 11 soldiers were wounded in the blasts. It was the first major attack since control of the city was seized from insurgents by US and Iraqi interim government forces early in October.

It said on Wednesday that one Iraqi child had died and 13 others were wounded. The city has been put under a dusk-to-dawn curfew. Gunmen have attacked a bus carrying Iraqi employees to the US base at Baghdad's international airport. An employee quoted by Reuters news agency said the bus was riddled with bullet holes She is quoted as saying there were at least 25 people in the bus when it was fired on as it passed through a Baghdad suburb.

At least one person died in the attack. Yarmouk hospital in central Baghdad said it had received several wounded, some of them in critical condition, Reuters said. US-led forces have been battling a widespread insurgency in Iraq that has targeted the military as well as civilians seen to be collaborating with the foreign occupation of the country.

EXPERTS FEAR ESCAPE OF 1918 FLU FROM LAB

October 21, 2004

NewScientist.com reports: “The 1918 flu virus spread across the world in three months and killed at least 40 million people. If it escaped from a lab today, the death toll could be far higher. ‘The potential implications of an infected lab worker – and spread beyond the lab – are terrifying,’ says D. A. Henderson of the University of Pittsburgh, a leading biosecurity expert.

Yet despite the danger, researchers in the US are working with reconstructed versions of the virus at less than the maximum level of containment. Many other experts are worried about the risks. ‘All the virologists I have spoken to have concerns,’ says Ingegerd Kallings of the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control in Stockholm, who helped set laboratory safety standards for the World Health Organization.

Work on the 1918 flu virus is not the only worry. Some experiments with bird flu have also been criticized as dangerous (New Scientist print edition, 28 February 2004).

Kallings and others are calling for international discussions to resolve the issues related to such work. ‘It is time for influenza scientists to find a consensus on containment,’ she says. John MacKenzie of the University of Queensland in Australia, who investigated how the SARS virus escaped from high-level containment labs in east Asia on three occasions after lab workers became infected, agrees. ‘A meeting would be beneficial.’

The researchers working on the 1918 virus say their work is vital to understand what changes make flu viruses dangerous. So far five of the 1918 flu virus’s eight genes have been sequenced, using fragments retrieved from victims of the pandemic. Several teams have added one or more of these genes to modern flu viruses, or plan to – in effect partially recreating the long-vanished pandemic virus…”  View Original Article 

 

ISRAEL WARNS AGAINST TRAVEL TO JORDAN

October 21, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “Israel has warned its nationals against traveling to Jordan.

Israeli officials said the intelligence community has determined a high level of threat against Israeli nationals in the Hashemite kingdom. The officials said the threat level in Jordan has increased over the last week to its highest point in five years.

‘We are talking about a threat level higher than that in the Sinai,’ an official said.

The reference was to the Oct. 7 car bombings in the Sinai Peninsula that targeted Israeli tourists. At least 34 people, 13 of them Israelis, were killed in the bombings in Taba and Nueiba…”  View Original Article 

 

Deadly Typhoon Tears Across Japan

October 20th,  2004

The deadliest typhoon in a decade has raced across Japan, killing at least 48 people and injuring 200 while another 33 are

 reported missing.

Rescue workers search for the missing through mud and debris caused by a mudslide in Tamano, western Japan. (21/10/04)

Typhoon Tokage reached speeds of 229 km/h (142 mph) as it battered the south-west, forcing thousands to evacuate amid the threat of mudslides.

Coastal defences crumbled and houses and cars were swept away by floods.

But Tokage had weakened by the time it passed over Tokyo where it left little damage before passing out to sea.

Television pictures showed powerful gusts uprooting huge trees, cars stranded in flash floods and delivery trucks lying on their sides.

Near the city of Kyoto, 37 elderly tourists were rescued after spending the night on the roof of their bus, stranded by floods.

Tokage - the Japanese word for lizard - was the 10th typhoon to make landfall in Japan this year.

 

EU NEGOTIATES STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH RUSSIA

October 20, 2004

The EU Observer reports: “Russia and the EU continued their talks on Tuesday (19 October) on a strategic partnership to be signed at the biannual EU Russia summit next month.

In preparation for the summit on 11 November, the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, yesterday met Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot, EU Commissioner Chris Patten and Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign policy representative.

The EU has offered Russia a ‘most favored nation’ status, which ensures that Russia's exports benefit from the lowest possible EU tariffs, according to the Dutch EU Presidency.

That tariff reduction means a direct benefit of €300 million a year to Russia.

According to the Moscow Times, the deal negotiated will include four areas: trade and EU investments in Russian transport, telecommunications and energy projects; cooperation in law enforcement and non-proliferation issues; settling border disputes with new EU members Estonia and Latvia; and negotiations for visa-free travel for Russians in Western Europe.

One of the sticky points in negotiations is the EU’s ability to act on events in areas such as Moldova, Chechnya and Georgia, which Russia sees as its own business…”  View Original Article   

 

ISRAEL SEEKS INTERNATIONAL FORCE ALONG GAZA BORDER

October 20, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “Israel has sought the deployment of an international monitoring force along the border of Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

Officials said the monitoring force would help stop the smuggling of weapons, explosives and insurgents from the Sinai Peninsula into the southern Gaza Strip. They said the force would deploy along the eight-kilometer border in wake of an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

On Monday, Israeli National Security Adviser Giora Eiland told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon expected an international force to be deployed along the Egyptian-Gaza border. Eiland, a major general, did not specify the force.

For more than 20 years, the Multinational Force and Observer has been patrolling the Sinai Peninsula to enforce the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. Over the last year, the United States, with the largest contingent in the MFO, has reduced its force from 865 to about 665 soldiers. Additional cuts were expected in 2005…”  View Original Article 

 

U.S. WARNS NATIONALS IN LEBANON OF ATTACK

October 20, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “The United States has warned its nationals of an Al Qaeda attack in Lebanon.

A warden message issued by the U.S. embassy in Beirut warned Americans of the prospect of a major Islamic insurgency strike in Lebanon. The embassy urged the U.S. community in Lebanon to stay away from shopping centers in Beirut.

‘In light of recent events, U.S. embassy personnel are exercising greater caution with respect to visits to shopping malls in the Beirut area and recommend American citizens do the same,’ the warden message, dated Oct. 14, said.

The message did not elaborate. The embassy did not specify the danger of Americans in shopping malls…” View Original Article 

 

Bomb blast shatters Baghdad cafe

Cotober 19th,  2004

Seven people are now known to have died and more than 20 injured when a suicide car bomb exploded outside a Baghdad cafe popular with Iraqi police

The late-night blast happened near the Australian embassy in a diplomatic quarter of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. Another device went off in the same area shortly afterwards leaving one dead and two injured, reports said. Iraq's fledgling police force is a frequent target for insurgents opposed to the country's US-backed government. Witnesses said the policemen were eating a meal to mark the end of the daily fast undertaken during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when the blast happened.

Shards of metal, glass and body parts were scattered over a large area. Among the dead were four police officers and the militant driving the vehicle that exploded. Several foreign embassies and offices are located in the area where the explosion occurred - the Jadiriyah district on a peninsula in the Tigris river. The blast happened just a few hundred metres from Australia's embassy but there were no casualties reported there.

Meanwhile, the US military has reported that a car bomb exploded in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Sunday morning, killing five Iraqis and wounding 15. It said the driver of the car bomb collided with another car on a bridge, and that several other cars were destroyed in the explosion. There is no word on what the bomber's target may have been. - View Original Article

FIVE BIGGEST EU STATES AGREE BIOMETRIC PASSPORTS

October 19, 2004

The EU Observer reports: “Interior ministers of the five biggest EU countries have agreed at a meeting in Florence to include biometric indicators in passports.

In a statement at the end of the talks, the ministers said they were hoping to introduce the fingerprint measure for passports issued in their countries starting in 2006.

The US has said it will start demanding visas from 27 countries - mostly European states - from 26 October 2005 if they do not have biometric data on their passports.

The issuing of biometric passports is part of a US law designed to tighten up border security after the 11 September (2001) terrorist attacks.

However, ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Italy failed to agree on a German proposal to set up transit camps in North Africa to process would-be asylum seekers before they reach Europe.

Italy backed the idea, which was also seen positively by the British. Spain and France, however, opposed the plan…” View Original Article 

 

Testosterone Patch Hailed As Female Viagra

October 19th,  2004

PHILADELPHIA - Menopausal women had more sex and were happier about it when using an experimental hormone patch hailed by some as a possible female equivalent of Viagra, doctors reported Tuesday.

Women on the testosterone patch had sex about four times more than they usually did in two months compared to only one additional session for women given a fake patch containing no hormone, a study found.

Those who got real patches also reported more arousal, pleasure and orgasms, and had better self-images.

"We found an increase in activity, an increase in desire and a decrease in distress," said Dr. Robin Kroll, a Seattle gynecologist who reported results of the study Tuesday at a meeting of infertility specialists. The research was sponsored by Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, which is developing the patch, called Intrinsa, with Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc.

It was the first big test of the patch in women who went through menopause naturally and complained of low sex drive. A previous study in women who became menopausal because of surgery found similar results, and the companies already have asked the federal Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) to approve its use for those women - View Original Article

 

U.N. TO REVISIT CLONING TREATY

October 19, 2004

Wired.com reports: “After putting off a vote on a human cloning ban for a year, the United Nations will take up the issue again on Wednesday, with U.S. politics playing a central role.

Cloning and stem-cell research have been minor but potentially important issues in a close presidential race. How hard the United States pushes for a cloning ban will likely depend on how President Bush's campaigners believe the outcome will influence voters. The U.N. vote is expected shortly after discussions on Wednesday and Thursday, although it's possible the vote could be postponed once again.

In late 2003, Costa Rica led an effort to pass a complete cloning ban. The United Nations voted narrowly in December to postpone the decision for a year. Critics accused the United States of influencing Costa Rica in order to gain political advantage on the cloning issue.

Bills sponsored by conservative legislators to ban all cloning have languished in the U.S. Congress for several years because legislators can't agree whether to ban all cloning, including the type that could lead to disease treatments, or only reproductive cloning, which would lead to a human baby. This year, gaining political advantage has even higher stakes.

In a speech on Sept. 21, President Bush urged the United Nations to vote in favor of a total ban treaty.

‘In this session, the U.N. will consider a resolution sponsored by Costa Rica calling for a comprehensive ban on human cloning. I support that resolution and urge all governments to affirm a basic ethical principle: No human life should ever be produced or destroyed for the benefit of another,’ he said…”  View Original Article 

 

UK SCIENTISTS RAISE SPECTER OF BABIES WITH THREE PARENTS

October 18, 2004

The Scotsman reports: “Babies could be born with a third biological parent under planned research by British scientists to prevent mothers passing degenerative genetic diseases to their children.

Newcastle University experts want to implant part of an embryo taken from an affected mother in an egg from another woman to ensure the child is free from such conditions.

Researchers have applied to the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority for permission to experiment on human embryos discarded during IVF treatment, following successful studies on mice.

The process could prevent affected mothers from passing on one of some 50 degenerative diseases, such as blindness, deafness and dementia. Some 1,000 children in Britain are thought to suffer from such diseases transmitted in this way.

But the controversial application triggered a chorus of opposition from churches, pro-life groups and psychologists, concerned that it is another step towards ‘designer babies’ and that it could cause problems for children technically born with three parents.

The Newcastle scientists plan to take the nucleus of an embryo from an affected mother and place it in a donated egg that has had its nucleus removed. They believe this would prevent the growing fetus from being infected with disease through defects in the DNA of mitochondria, the ‘powerhouse’ of cells that convert food into energy.

Mitochondrial genes are inherited through the mother, who may pass on the disease.

Dr Mary Herbert, of the Newcastle Fertility Centre, who is working with Professor Doug Turnbull, a neurologist, said the resultant fetus from the process should be free of the destructive genetic diseases.

Prof Turnbull added: ‘At the moment there is no cure for these children who are often very ill with a poor quality of life. We are at a very early stage of this work, but it does offer the potential to help many mothers and their families.’

The Roman Catholic Church in Scotland condemned the plans. Peter Kearney, the director of the Catholic Media Office, said: ‘This transforms the embryo’s components into commodities to be disposed of or experimented on, which seems to utterly ignore the humanity of the embryo. In addition, people living with these disorders are inevitably going to find themselves less accepted by a society capable of eliminating their kind from the human gene pool in future.’

Dr David King, director of Human Genetics Alert, said: ‘By creating a child with three genetic parents, these scientists are taking the first step towards genetic engineering of human beings.’…”  View Original Article 

 

 

70,000 Darfur dead' since March

Displaced children in Darfur

October 16th,  2004

About 70,000 displaced people are thought to have died in Sudan's Darfur region since March, mainly from disease and malnutrition, a UN official says. David Nabarro, head of the World Health Organisation's health crisis group, said up to 10,000 people were still dying in refugee camps each month. He said the mortality rate would not fall unless more urgent aid was sent.

The African Union has announced it will begin deploying armed peacekeeping troops to Darfur this weekend. The union's chairman, President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, said a Rwandan battalion would arrive on Sunday, to be followed by Nigerian troops. The plan was to have the 4,500-strong force on the ground by the end of November, a spokesman for Mr Obasanjo said.

Words and deeds

The overall death toll was put by the WHO at 50,000 last month. Mr Nabarro said aid agencies had so far received only half of the $300m needed to cope with the crisis. "We are running on a threadbare, hand-to-mouth existence, and if the plight of these people in Darfur is as important to the international community as it seems to be, then we would have expected more long-term support," Mr Nabarro said.

DARFUR CONFLICT
map
More than 1.5m displaced
About 70,000 dead since March
More at risk from disease, starvation and lack of aid
Arab militias accused of ethnic cleansing
Sudan blames rebels for starting conflict

He urged the international community to provide money rather than simply show concern over the plight of some 1.4m people in Darfur.

"It's amazing that we still can't seem to get the money that is required," he said.

Mr Nabarro added that media coverage and the speeches of politicians suggested the crisis was important to the international community, but this concern had not been converted into resources and the price was being paid in death.

The estimate only covered the period since March, when aid agencies were given access to the region.

Last month, Mr Nabarro said that only about 15% of deaths were due to attacks and violence, while the rest were caused by the poor sanitation and diseases.

A succession of high level visitors have been to Sudan recently, including US Secretary of State Colin Powell and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

But the most significant international response to the crisis has come from the AU which has supplied a 300-strong ceasefire monitoring mission, the BBC's Mark Doyle reports.

However, members of that mission admit that it is too small and inadequately supplied, our correspondent says.

Troops deployment

On Friday, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said 4,500 troops from the AU were expected to be deployed in Darfur by the end of November. Mr Obasanjo - who is currently serving as chairman of the AU - said in a statement that the AU force would be made up of five battalions. He said one battalion from Rwanda would be deployed in Darfur by Sunday, while a Nigerian battalion will be on the ground by 30 October.

Mr Obasanjo said he expected three other countries to provide the remaining three battalions. It was not immediately clear which other African nations would supply the troops. The conflict between government forces and rebel groups broke out last year. The US has accused the government in Khartoum of failing to prevent atrocities against civilians by the pro-government Janjaweed Arab militia. Sudan denies the allegations.

 

SAUDIS KILL AL QAIDA LEADER

October 16, 2004

The Middle East Newsline reports: “Saudi Arabia said it has killed a member of the Al Qaida leadership.

Saudi officials said Abdul Majid Bin Mohammed Abdullah Al Muni was a member of Al Qaida's Shura Council and the chief ideologue of the movement. The council was said to determine the policy of the Al Qaida network in its campaign against the Arab kingdom.

Al Muni was No. 18 on the Interior Ministry's list of 26 top Al Qaida insurgents. The ministry said Muni and two other operatives -- Issam Bin Muqbil Al Otaibi and Abdul Hamid Bin Abdul Aziz Al Yehya -- were killed in a shootout in Riyad on Oct. 12. The battle took place near a foreign housing compound.

Officials said they have not yet determined whether the Al Qaida squad was preparing an attack on the foreign compound in Riyad. Over the last 18 months, Al Qaida launched several lethal strikes on foreign housing compounds that contained Western nationals…”  View Original Article 

 


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