Globe and mail
14 die in Texas refinery blast
Texas City, Tex. — All but one of the 1,800 or so oil refinery workers at the BP plant here have been accounted for after an overnight search following a thunderous blast that killed 14 and injured more than 100, officials said Thursday.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050323.wbp0323/BNStory/International/
Harper accuses Liberals of secret Kyoto agenda
Ottawa — Conservative Leader Stephen Harper accused the Liberals yesterday of harbouring a hidden agenda when he was asked about a controversial environmental clause slipped into an omnibus budget-implementation bill to be introduced today.
"We'll take a look at what it is and we'll evaluate it accordingly," Mr. Harper said after a weekly meeting of the Conservative caucus.
"We'll not support something that we don't believe is in the national interest, especially if it doesn't come clean on what the government's plans actually are on Kyoto."
The clause, which was added to the bill at the behest of Environment Minister Stéphane Dion but was not included in the budget papers, would remove the word "toxic" from the explanation of what substances are covered under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. That would allow greenhouse gases, which are not technically toxic, to be regulated by the act and could mean large fines for emitters -- something the Conservatives have labelled a "backdoor carbon tax."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050324.wxbudge24/BNStory/National/
The Miami Herald
Protect the panther
OUR OPINION: PUNISH THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR FLAWED HABITAT REPORT
The Florida panther is having enough trouble holding on to its habitat without flawed research from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that puts it in further peril.
Yet Fish and Wildlife officials conceded this week to faulty assumptions in writing a report on panthers' habitat, putting the panther population at risk. Despite a promising breeding program, the panther is losing habitat to development, which adversely affects its ability to survive. The agency's research is vital to helping officials determine how best to protect one of the world's rarest animals.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11215338.htm
A vestige of Jim Crow
OUR OPINION: LEGISLATURE SHOULD EXPUNGE ACTIVISTS' ARREST RECORDS
In the fervent fight for equality in the 1960s, ordinary people sacrificed their freedom, and sometimes their lives, to secure civil rights for African Americans. Onerous Jim Crow laws guaranteed that blacks were denied the right to vote, use public facilities or have equal access to education.
Ultimately the fight was successful. Racist laws fell under the force of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts. But 40 years later, vestiges of this dark era still haunt many who fought on the hostile front lines. Former activists who were arrested for staging sit-ins at segregated lunch counters or peaceful marches are stunned to find that they have criminal records for defying Jim Crow laws.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11215336.htm
Practicing medicine without a brain
BY RICHARD COHEN
cohenr@washpost.com
Sen. Bill Frist last week watched a videotape of Terri Schiavo made by her parents in 2001. He did this in his capacity as Senate majority leader and as a renowned physician. In both roles, he performed miserably. As a senator, he showed himself to be an unscrupulous opportunist. As a physician, he was guilty of practicing medicine without a brain.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11215369.htm
Accused beachside purse snatcher turns himself in
By Herald staff reports
browardnews@herald.com
A man who investigators say used a tourist's stolen credit card to buy nearly $900 worth of electronics, gift cards, liquor and groceries has turned himself in to the Broward Sheriff's Office.
Frank Monte III, 34, turned himself in to BSO Wednesday night, less than a week after his face was seen on TV and in the newspapers as a wanted man, BSO said.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11220696.htm>
9 indicted in Medicaid fraud
BY JOHN DORSCHNER
jdorschner@herald.com
Nine persons in Miami and Savannah, Ga., have been charged in a widespread scheme to defraud Florida Medicaid of millions of dollars, Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist announced Thursday.
The allegations involve Florida physicians ordering pharmaceutical treatments for Medicaid patients with AIDS or hemophilia. Pharmacies controlled by the accused then sent the drugs to the doctors who allegedly directed them to other area pharmacies or a company called Bio-Med Plus, the indictment says.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/11220975.htm
The Moscow Times
Protests Move to the Kyrgyz Capital
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan -- Kyrgyzstan's new hard-line interior minister warned on Wednesday that force could be used to restore order, and riot police violently broke up an opposition rally in the capital, Bishkek, sending a signal that authorities were determined to prevent protests from spreading north.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/24/001.html
Russia Says Sweden Is Soft on Terror
STOCKHOLM -- The Foreign Ministry accused Sweden on Wednesday for being soft on terrorism, after a car belonging to the Russian Embassy in Stockholm was set ablaze and a group protesting Moscow's involvement in Chechnya claimed responsibility.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/24/011.html
Israel Cautious But Handover Goes On
By Amy Teibel
The Associated Press
JERUSALEM -- Israel's defense minister warned Wednesday that the handover of additional West Bank towns to Palestinian control would require greater effort by Palestinian police to disarm militants, but stopped short of halting the process.
Also on Wednesday, opponents of an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip suffered a setback when a key religious figure stood by his refusal to support a national referendum on the pullout, despite intense pressure from hard-line legislators. Holding a referendum would delay and possibly scuttle the pullout, set for this summer.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/24/253.html
Putin Will Visit Israel in a Historic First
The Associated Press
JERUSALEM -- President Vladimir Putin will make a historic visit to Israel at the end of April as a guest of the Israeli president, Israeli officials said. The trip will be the first visit by a Russian or Soviet leader to Israel.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/24/014.html
Putin Visits Kostroma for a Spot of Culture
By Oksana Yablokova
Staff Writer
KOSTROMA -- President Vladimir Putin made a whistle-stop tour of the ancient city of Kostroma on Wednesday, where he chatted with local theater actors and teenage amateur craftsmen, kissed a precious Orthodox icon and held a brainstorming meeting with the State Council and his advisers on the state of Russian culture.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/03/24/002.html
continued...
