The Middle East Times
Massive hunt for bombers as London picks up the pieces
Lorne Cook
AFP
July 8, 2005
REMAINS: Forensic police work beside the remains of the bomb destroyed double-decker bus in Central London on July 8. Police urged commuters to stay at home to avoid chaos in London on Friday after more than 50 people were killed and over 700 injured in bomb attacks that bore the hallmarks of the Al Qaeda network.
(REUTERS)
LONDON -- A massive hunt was underway on Friday for the bombers who brought carnage to Central London, killing more than 50 people and injuring some 700 in a series of blasts on the transport system, as commuters grimly returned to work.
Police bolstered their presence on the streets to reassure the wary public, as governments around the world beefed up security in the wake of Thursday's blasts, the worst terror attack ever in Britain.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050708-061352-9267r
Egyptian envoy slain; Iraq slams foreign 'plague'
Hassan Abdelzahra
AFP
July 7, 2005
IDENTITY: A screen capture from an Islamist Website on the Internet, posted on July 6, shows identification cards of Egypt's top envoy to Iraq, Ihab Al Sherif.
(REUTERS)
NAJAF, IRAQ -- Egypt's kidnapped envoy to Iraq was executed by his Al Qaeda-linked captors, the Egyptian presidency said on July 7, as Iraqi President Jalal Talabani described foreign militants linked to the insurgency as "a plague" on his country.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's office confirmed a website statement by the group of Al Qaeda's Iraq frontman, Jordanian-born Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi, that it had executed Egypt's top envoy to Baghdad.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050707-072505-8299r
Zarqawi's ex-mentor rearrested in Jordan
July 6, 2005
AMMAN -- Jordanian authorities have arrested the former mentor of Iraq's most-wanted man Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi after he made contact with "terrorist" groups, Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Moasher said on Wednesday.
Sources close to Abu Mohammed Al Maqdissi earlier said that he had been arrested at midnight on Tuesday as the Al Jazeera Arab satellite channel aired an interview with him that it had conducted earlier in the day.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050706-074434-5109r
Israel, PA working out Gaza pullback
Joshua Brilliant
United Press International
July 8, 2005
Sufa Crossing, ISRAEL -- At the fortified gray pillbox soldiers opened a gate and let through a truck with supplies for the Gaza Strip. Some 200 meters away, on a sand dune hill, poles flimsily held a net shading a group of visitors while a local official outlined his plans to turn the small dusty crossing into a joint Israeli-Palestinian venture that the World Bank would fund.
In the middle of August the Israelis will begin their withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, a crowded area of 3,945 people per square kilometer. That is one of the highest density rates in the world. Gaza is also one of the poorest in the world.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050708-094039-4754r
Muslim scholars 'forbid' labeling apostasy
Sana Abdallah
UPI
July 7, 2005
TRUE ISLAM: Jordan's King Abdullah speaks at the International Islamic Conference on 'True Islam and its role in modern society' in Amman on July 4.
(REUTERS)
AMMAN -- Over 170 Muslim scholars, thinkers and historians agreed on Wednesday to forbid takfeer, or accusing other Muslims of apostasy, and decided to work out a criteria for issuing fatwas - religious edicts - in an attempt to unify the eight schools of Islamic thought and put an end to violence done in the name of the religion.
The decision came in an unprecedented fatwa issued by leading clerics from the eight schools of Islamic jurisprudence following three days of deliberations in the Jordanian capital, Amman, where scholars from over 40 countries gathered in the first International Islamic Conference.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050707-082511-5356r
Central Asians demand pullout of Western military bases
Simon Ostrovsky
July 5, 2005
LEADERS: Presidents Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Hu Jintao of China (L-R) arrive to attend a session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana on July 5.
(REUTERS)
ASTANA -- The leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a six-nation security bloc, called for a deadline to be set on the pullout of Western bases from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan and slammed outside interference in their affairs at a summit in Central Asia on Tuesday.
At the meeting in the Kazakh capital Astana, the SCO, which comprises Russia, China, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, signed a declaration that called for deadlines to be set on the presence of military bases in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, set up in 2001 by the US-led coalition that toppled Afghanistan's Taliban leadership.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050705-090754-6735r
Israelis fight orange and blue battle over Gaza
Amelia Thomas
Middle East Times
July 7, 2005
Tel Aviv, ISRAEL -- While Peace Now activists a week ago were giving out pro-pullout from Gaza blue ribbons to motorists at Arlosorov traffic junction in Tel Aviv, a police car pulled over and fined five of them $50 each for "standing in the street while not on official duty".
This in itself would have been not so remarkable, had there not been anti-disengagement orange ribbon distributors also operating at the same junction. None were fined, or instructed to move along, by the police officers.
Peace Now spokesman, Yariv Oppenheimer, said that this singling out of blue ribbon distributors illustrates "personal political hostility" on the part of the police officers in question. And it is this sense that the fight over disengagement in Gaza is "getting personal" that has led to a bipartisan, blue versus orange, explosion of color on Israel's streets.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050707-093314-4710r
Saddam-era property disputes dig up shady files
Sam Dagher
AFP
July 5, 2005
BAGHDAD -- The upheaval in property rights following Saddam Hussein's fall has tangled Iraqis in acrimonious lawsuits and revealed shady, and potentially criminal, practices by the new ruling elite.
A weary Ali Hussein Al Naami, 60, sits in a waiting room at one of the offices of the Iraq Property Claims Commission, set up one year ago by the country's former US administrator, Paul Bremer, to help Iraqis recover property confiscated by the ousted regime.
It was common practice under the 35-year dictatorship of Saddam's Baath party for the state to strip political opponents and those sentenced to death or prison or deported of their assets, which were then sold at auctions.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050705-073105-5538r
Review of Arab editorials
July 7, 2005
Nicosia -- A roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers.
Diplomats as new targets in Iraq
London-based Al Quds Al Arabi on July 6 commented on the abduction of Egypt's ambassador designate to Iraq, Ihab Al Sherif, and attacks against other Muslim diplomats in Baghdad that Al Qaeda was launching a "fierce war against stability in Iraq, and it seems to be succeeding".
The independent Palestinian-owned daily argued that Al Qaeda operations in Iraq were clearly seeking to destroy American efforts to bring legitimacy to the current Iraqi political process established under US occupation in this way. The paper added that some countries had succumbed to Washington's pressure to open embassies in Baghdad, saying that these premises were easy targets for Al Qaeda's missiles and booby-trapped cars.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050707-030043-1133r
The Boston Globe
America's vulnerable railways
By Thomas Oliphant July 10, 2005
WASHINGTON
FEW OUTSIDE the usual band of lobbyists and inside players noticed, but just three weeks ago, a Senate committee cut the budget for rail and mass transit security in this country by one-third.
This action by the Senate's appropriators, reducing next year's budget to $100 million from $150 million this year, might have made some sense if there were evidence that it would have no impact on security.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/07/10/americas_vulnerable_railways/
Britain eyes links to Madrid bombings
Spain urges search for '04 attack suspects
By Charles M. Sennott, Globe Staff July 10, 2005
LONDON -- British and Spanish authorities said yesterday they were investigating links between the Al Qaeda-inspired terrorist cell that carried out the Madrid train bombings and known Islamic militants in London who may have patterned Thursday's attacks after those in Madrid.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/07/10/britain_eyes_links_to_madrid_bombings/
Deadly Delays: The Decline in Fire Response
http://www.boston.com/news/specials/fires/
Slower arrival at fires in US is costing lives
By Bill Dedman, Globe Correspondent January 30, 2005
IPSWICH - Lisa Collum was breast-feeding her baby, and her 3-year-old was getting ready for a playdate, when the fire started in the apartment downstairs.
The firehouse a few blocks away was empty. Only three firefighters were on duty to cover all 33 square miles of this seaside town, and they were busy with two ambulance calls on this January evening in 2001. One firefighter drove back for the fire engine, then hurried into the chaos at the Collums' home.
http://www.boston.com/news/specials/fires/fire_departments_struggle_as_towns_grow/
Congo rising from chaos, isolation
War-ravaged nation edges toward stability
By John Donnelly, Globe Staff July 10, 2005
KINDU, Democratic Republic of Congo -- Just outside this town in the heart of the Congo, the jungle began to swallow the road. It shrank from two lanes to one, then to half a lane, and finally to a rutted forest path interrupted from time to time by a series of streams.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/africa/articles/2005/07/10/congo_rising_from_chaos_isolation/
THE STATES ARE MAKING IT HAPPEN. The local governments and state governments reacted to issues as far back as 2001 raising taxes and cutting costs with an extremist government in D.C. It's paying off in New England and the states are taking control of their economies. ANY job growth and economic upturn can be directly attributed NOT to the policies in D.C. but to the early detection and action of the State's Governors and legislators. It's taken four years but it's getting there. It didn't happen without increased taxes either !!
Study says tax revenues fueling recovery throughout N.E.
But warns on programs ignored during cutbacks
By Alan Wirzbicki, Globe Correspondent July 10, 2005
WASHINGTON -- The fiscal crisis that began in 2001 and forced many state governments to raise taxes and cut spending is finally easing, according to a national survey released last week, with all six New England states showing signs of recovery fueled by higher-than-expected tax revenues.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/07/10/study_says_tax_revenues_fueling_recovery_throughout_ne/
Pope urges prayers for London attackers
Pope Benedict XVI greets faithful in St.Peter's square at the Vatican, Wednesday, July 6, July, 2005, during the weekly general audience. Pope Benedict XVI asked Polish pilgrims to pray so that their fellow Pole, the late Pope John Paul II, may someday be a saint. (AP Photo/Alberto Pizzoli, pool)
July 10, 2005
VATICAN CITY --Pope Benedict XVI called Sunday for the faithful to pray for those who carried out the London bombings but also told the attackers to "stop in the name of God!"
"To those who foment feelings of hatred and to those who carry out such repugnant terrorist actions, I say to you: 'God loves life, which he created, not death. Stop in the name of God!'"
Benedict made the comments during his traditional Sunday blessing to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/07/10/pope_urges_prayers_for_london_attackers/
Catholic school would be first in R.I. with large wind turbine
July 10, 2005
PORTSMOUTH, R.I. --A Catholic boarding school is poised to become the first in Rhode Island to have a large wind turbine.
Portsmouth Abbey School is finalizing an order for a Danish-made, 241-foot tall turbine. The Vestas V47 wind turbine is scheduled to begin operating in December.
The coeducational school put up $800,000 for the turbine, and was helped with a $450,000 grant from the state Renewable Energy Fund. The school expects the turbine will generate enough electricity to save about $100,000 a year.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2005/07/10/catholic_school_would_be_first_in_ri_with_large_wind_turbine/
Gov't expands energy conservation program
By John Heilprin, Associated Press Writer July 10, 2005
WASHINGTON --The government is expanding its most highly promoted energy conservation program, aiming to save homeowners at least 10 percent a year on their utility bills.
Now eligible to join the "Energy Star" program are home contractors who advise homeowners how to speed replacement of energy-inefficient refrigerators and air conditioners and how to seal off doors and windows to prevent air from escaping.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/07/10/govt_expands_energy_conservation_program/
Agency investigating whether Eastern oyster should be protected
July 9, 2005
HYANNIS, Mass. --A federal agency is investigating whether the popular Eastern oyster should be protected as an endangered species, a designation that could severely limit the local catch.
The National Marine Fisheries Service's began an investigation after an environmental consultant claimed that overfishing, lost habitats and disease have taken the Eastern oyster to the brink of extinction.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/07/09/agency_investigating_whether_eastern_oyster_should_be_protected/
Hispanics see chance for a high court spot
Political climate called favorable
By Susan Milligan and Charlie Savage, Globe Staff July 9, 2005
WASHINGTON -- When they look at the current Supreme Court vacancy, Hispanic political leaders see a perfect opportunity for the first-ever Latino justice: a sitting president who has declared his commitment to diversity; a Republican Party eager to build on the gains it made among Latino voters; and a number of high-profile Hispanic candidates -- one of whom is a friend of President Bush.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/07/09/hispanics_see_chance_for_a_high_court_spot/
Bush's judges already making their mark
President Bush walks down the steps of Air Force One at Andrews Air Force in Md., Friday, July 8, 2005 after returning from Scotland and the G8 Sumitt. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
By Nancy Benac, Associated Press Writer July 10, 2005
WASHINGTON --No need to wait until President Bush appoints a Supreme Court justice to see how he will make his mark on the federal judiciary. One level down, dozens of conservative appeals court judges appointed by Bush already are helping to shape the law in ways that ultimately could have as much, and in some ways even more, impact than the nine justices of the nation's highest court.
Since Bush's appellate judges have only gradually taken their seats on benches around the country, and the cases that they draw run the gamut, it's still early to chart their impact on specific issues. But already it is clear that these judges make up a solidly conservative crowd that tends to lean Bush's way on the big issues of the day.
So far, Bush's appointees to the appeals court are showing patterns very close to judges of his Republican predecessors in ideologically contested cases, according to law professor Cass Sunstein at the University of Chicago, where the Chicago Judges Project is tracking the federal judiciary.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/07/10/bushs_judges_already_making_their_mark/
Romney's campaign flurry costs $760,000
Ads, insert reach Mass., N.H. voters
By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff July 9, 2005
Governor Mitt Romney's campaign has spent more than $760,000 the last three months on a blizzard of radio ads and a glossy newspaper insert to reach a Massachusetts audience that increasingly sees his national aspirations competing with his work as governor.
The media campaign, unprecedented for a Massachusetts governor in a nonelection year, also serves the purpose of promoting Romney to voters in southern New Hampshire, who could be key if Romney chooses to run for president in 2008.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/07/09/romneys_campaign_flurry_costs_760000/
Navy: Guantanamo officer relieved of duty
July 9, 2005
MIAMI --The commanding officer of the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was relieved of his duties Saturday after he was accused of inappropriate management practices, a Navy spokesman said.
Capt. Leslie J. McCoy, who had commanded Guantanamo since March 2003, was the subject of an investigation into inappropriate personnel and administrative practices unrelated to the base's detention camp for suspected terrorists.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/07/09/navy_guantanamo_officer_relieved_of_duty/
Purported Taliban aide says Navy SEAL is killed
US says hunt still on for commando
By Noor Khan, Associated Press July 10, 2005
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- A purported Taliban spokesman said yesterday that the group has beheaded a missing American commando, but he offered no proof and the US military said it was still searching for the Navy SEAL.
The commando is the last of a four-member elite commando team missing since June 28 in Kunar, near the Pakistani border. One of the men was rescued; the other two were found dead.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/07/10/purported_taliban_aide_says_navy_seal_is_killed/
8 members of Shiite family slain in Iraq
July 10, 2005
BAGHDAD, Iraq --Eight members of a Shiite family, including a 2-year-old, were shot to death in their sleep early Sunday, police said. The father suspected it was a sectarian crime.
Residents of the eastern Baghdad neighborhood of Baladiyat discovered the bodies early Sunday, said Col. Ahmed al-Alawi, the director of al-Rashad police station. The eight -- seven siblings and their mother -- died of gunshot wounds, he said. Six of the dead were aged between 2 and 14 years. One boy was injured.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/07/10/8_members_of_shiite_family_slain_in_iraq/
Pakistan: bin Laden could be anywhere
July 10, 2005
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan --Pakistan said it has no information on the whereabouts of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden and his top deputy, but said they could be hiding in neighboring Afghanistan, a report said.
"They could be anywhere in the world, including Afghanistan," the Associated Press of Pakistan news agency reported late Saturday, quoting Foreign Ministry spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/07/10/pakistan_bin_laden_could_be_anywhere/
Iraqi karate official's body found
Iraqi men line up at the offices of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to add their name to a petition calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq during a signature collection Saturday, July 9, 2005. In the coming days Sadr's office plans to collect one million signatures calling for the end of the American presence in Iraq. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
July 10, 2005
BAGHDAD, Iraq --The body of the kidnapped Iraqi karate association chief has been found floating in a river southeast of Baghdad with several gunshot wounds, police and sports officials said Sunday.
Ali Shakir, 38, was abducted Thursday in Latifiyah, about 20 miles south of Baghdad. His corpse was found in the river in the city of Kut the following day, police Capt. Muthana Khalid Ali said.
"We've lost a champion," said Ahmed al-Hijiya, president of Iraq's Olympic committee.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/07/10/iraqi_karate_officials_body_found/
Ten people hurt in explosion in west Turkey
July 10, 2005
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Ten people were hurt in an explosion in a western Turkish resort town on Sunday, but it was not immediately clear what caused the blast, news reports said.
The explosion occurred in Cesme, a popular resort area on the Aegean Sea, the state-run Anatolian news agency said.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/07/10/ten_people_hurt_in_explosion_in_west_turkey/
Saudi Arabia says ready to beat militants from Iraq
By Dominic Evans July 10, 2005
RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi militants returning from Iraq will be even tougher than the veterans of Afghanistan but the kingdom, which is battling a two-year wave of al Qaeda violence, is ready to defeat them, a senior minister said.
"We expect the worst from those who went to Iraq," Interior Minister Prince Nayef said in remarks published on Sunday. "They will be worse, and we will be ready for them."
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/07/10/saudi_arabia_says_ready_to_beat_militants_from_iraq/
British memo shows US hopes for rapid Iraq drawdown
By Peter Graff July 10, 2005
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A leaked British memo outlining plans to bring more than half of U.S. troops home from Iraq within a year gives the clearest picture yet of how quickly Washington hopes Iraqi forces can take over.
The British government document, published by the Mail on Sunday newspaper, said Washington is discussing plans to cut its force -- now nearly 140,000 -- to just 66,000 by the middle of next year. Britain would cut its own force to 3,000 from 8,500.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/07/10/british_memo_shows_us_hopes_for_rapid_iraq_drawdown/
The New Zealand Herald
Auckland mosques attacked
Children were greeted by vandalism and graffiti when they arrived for lessons at the Ponsonby mosque this morning. Picture / Richard Robinson
10.07.05 12.00pm
Members of Auckland's Muslim community are reeling following a string of attacks on their places of worship.
The overnight attacks on mosques in Ponsonby, Mt Roskill, Otahuhu and Ranui saw windows smashed and walls graffittied with the message "R-I-P London".
Javed Khan of the Federation of Islamic Associations says it is clear the vandalism is a result of the terror attacks in Britain.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10335114
NZ woman feared dead in London blast
10.07.05
By Jonathan Milne and Bridget Carter
A young Kiwi woman is among more than 25 people still missing and presumed dead in the aftermath of the London bombings.
The woman's parents last night flew to Britain in search of their daughter, as the death toll continued to climb above 50.
There were tearful scenes at Auckland Airport as they left the country on a direct Air New Zealand flight to London, as a small group of distraught supporters hugged each other and cried.
The woman is believed to be in her 20s and working in London. It is understood she has an Irish passport but has dual citizenship.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10335096
Europeans ask who's next after London bomb blasts
US Capitol Police patrol inside Union Metro Station in Washington DC. Picture / Reuters
09.07.05 1.00pm
ROME - After deadly rush-hour bombings in Spain and Britain just over a year apart, Italians and other US allies in Europe are asking themselves: who's next?
Spain blames al Qaeda for last year's Madrid train bombs and London's police chief has said Thursday's London attacks bore all the hallmarks of the loose Islamist network.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10335009
Police clear part of Birmingham in new scare
Hotel guests try to keep warm after being evacuated due to a security alert in Birmingham city centre. Picture / Reuters
10.07.05 4.30pm
LONDON - Police evacuated thousands of people and sealed off the centre of Birmingham on Saturday night in the biggest security alert since four bombs exploded in London killing more than 50 people.
Acting in response to intelligence of a threat, they cleared the city's entertainment and Chinatown districts of some 30,000 people and carried out a controlled explosion on a bus.
But they stressed the security alert was not connected to last Thursday's bomb attacks in London.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10335132
Terrorists: Britain 'burning with fear'
Commuters on a bus near Kings Cross Station as transport returns to normal. Picture / Reuters
09.07.05
As investigators hunt those responsible for the London bombings, police are warning the death toll will pass 50.
London police chief Sir Ian Blair said the final toll was not known because of the dangers of reaching some of the underground blast sites. More than 50 people were killed, he said, and 700 wounded.
Out of the casualties 350 were taken to hospital and 22 are in a serious or critical condition.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10334995
'Police shot bombers' reports New Zealander
09.07.05
A New Zealander working for Reuters in London says two colleagues witnessed the unconfirmed shooting by police of two apparent suicide bombers outside the HSBC tower at Canary Wharf in London.
The New Zealander, who did not want to be named, said the killing of the two men wearing bombs happened at 10.30am on Thursday (London time).
Following the shooting, the 8000 workers in the 44-storey tower were told to stay away from windows and remain in the building for at least six hours, the New Zealand man said.
He was not prepared to give the names of his two English colleagues, who he said witnessed the shooting from a building across the road from the tower.
Reports of attacks carried out by suicide bombers have been rife in London.
Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper reported an unconfirmed incident of police shooting a bomber outside the HSBC tower.
Canadian Brendan Spinks, who works on the 18th floor of the tower, said he saw a "massive rush of policemen" outside the building after London was rocked by the bombings.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10334992
ENVIRONMENTALISTS AREN'T THE BAD GUYS !!!
Papers show Mitterrand approved Rainbow Warrior bombing
Francois Mitterrand
10.07.05 8.30am
PARIS - The sabotage of the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior 20 years ago in Auckland was carried out with the "personal authorisation" of France's late president Francois Mitterrand, documents showed today.
Le Monde newspaper published extracts in its Saturday edition of a 1986 account written by Pierre Lacoste, the former head of France's DGSE foreign intelligence service, giving the clearest demonstration yet of Mitterrand's direct involvement in the sinking of the campaign vessel.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10335095
France opens new chapter with NZ
08.07.05
By Catherine Field
On the 20th anniversary of the incident that poisoned relations between France and New Zealand, France says the page has been turned.
The French foreign ministry described relations between the two countries as "excellent", while the defence ministry said ties were now on course.
A foreign ministry spokesman told the Weekend Herald that the growing political, cultural and sporting ties between the two countries illustrated the excellent state of relations two decades after the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10334894
Global warming agreement to be ratified today
09.07.05
Officials from the G8 nations and major emerging economies such as India and China have agreed to a final text on global warming that should be ratified by the leaders today.
The text states the problem requires urgent action and encourages countries to pursue clean forms of energy. But it does not set targets for reducing the carbon emissions that scientists say are causing the world to heat up.
"The word Kyoto will feature [but] it won't contain any numbers," said Bernd Pfaffenbach, the official responsible for Germany's G8 preparations. France and others had been hoping to include an explicit reference in the declaration to the Kyoto Protocol and how to proceed when the accord expires in 2012.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10334928
Hurricane Dennis kills 10 in Cuba, 22 in Haiti
The shoreline of Playa Giron in Cuba, about 211 km southeast of Havana, as Hurricane Dennis approaches. Picture / Reuters
09.07.05 12.25pm - Update
HAVANA - Hurricane Dennis roared through the Caribbean on Friday, leaving 10 dead in Cuba and 22 in Haiti before aiming for Havana on a course toward the United States Gulf of Mexico, where oil rigs and vulnerable coastal areas were evacuated.
The storm weakened slightly as it crossed Cuba but the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami said Cuban meteorologists had reported a 240km/h gust that caused extensive damage in the city of Cienfuegos.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10335000
UN presses leaders on trade and climate after G8 summit
US President George W Bush (R), UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan (C) and World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz at the G8 summit. Picture / Reuters
09.07.05 1.00pm
UNITED NATIONS - Group of Eight deals on aid and debt relief marked major gains in the fight against poverty, but world leaders fell short on climate change and trade reform, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
The summit of rich nations in Gleneagles, Scotland, which wrapped up on Friday, also created an opportunity for progress in the global campaign against terrorism, Annan added.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10335003
Battle over Aboriginal status goes to the UN
09.07.05
By Nick Squires
A bitter debate over what it means to be Aboriginal has broken out in Tasmania, the Australian island state where 19th-century British settlers came close to wiping out the indigenous population.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10334925
New Zealand's "Bay of Plenty Times"
31 flood-hit houses to be demolished
09.07.2005
More flood-hit families in Tauranga have been given the shattering news that their homes will be written off.
Tauranga City Council originally thought that 23 houses in the Otumoetai suburb would be demolished. But the number soared to 31 after the Earthquake Commission assessed further geotechnical reports.
The council's flood recovery manager Terry Wynyard said another five houses were "doubtful".
After the houses are demolished, nearly all of the 31 sections will be taken over by council. They will cleaned up, made safe, planted and then left as reserve land.
Mr Wynyard said the insurance payments to the affected property owners were quite close to the market value - but the council was negotiating with owners over any top-up payments.
http://www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3643148&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=
concluding . . .
