The Arab News

Families of Saudi Gitmo Detainees Meet Lawyers
Mazen Mahdi, Arab News

MANAMA, 2 July 2005 — Family members of five Saudi Guantanamo detainees met here yesterday two US lawyers representing the detainees. The meeting is part of the lawyers’ preparations to meet their ‘clients’ for the first time, possibly as early as the first week of August.
Lawyers Anant P. Raut and Connie Ericson from Weil, Gotshal & Manges, a New York-based law firm, described their five-day visit as an attempt to get to know their clients and build bridges of confidence between them, the detainees they are representing and their families

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=66281&d=2&m=7&y=2005

Gifted Saudi Student Wins Prestigious MIT Awards
Mohammed Rasooldeen, Arab News
Abdul Rahman Tarabzouni

RIYADH, 3 July 2005 — One of the most prestigious American universities, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has given two awards to a Saudi student who is currently studying for a double bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering/computer science and management science.
An MIT selection panel of professors and industry leaders were unanimous in their choice of Abdul Rahman Tarabzouni for the MIT-Arab Students Association (MIT-ASO) Undergraduate Student Award. In addition, he was offered a seat on Microsoft’s “Board of the Future.”

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=66299&d=3&m=7&y=2005

Where do and why do they go so wrong? It's ridiculous already.

Wanted Terrorist Surrenders
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News
Fayez Ibrahim Ayub

JEDDAH, 2 July 2005 — A wanted militant whose name has appeared on a list of 36 terror suspects surrendered to Saudi security authorities yesterday amid press reports three others on the same list had died in Iraq.
The Interior Ministry confirmed that Fayez Ibrahim Ayub, who is No. 29 on the list, had surrendered to authorities after returning from abroad yesterday “to explain his true position,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted a ministry official as saying.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=66275&d=2&m=7&y=2005

Sistani’s Aide Killed, Dawa Office Targeted
Bill Ickes, Agence France Presse

BAGHDAD, 2 July 2005 — A top aide to Iraq’s Shiite leader was among 18 people killed in insurgent attacks across the country yesterday, including a bombing near an office of Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari’s party.
The unrest followed the release of figures showing that Iraqi deaths from attacks had fallen in June after one of the bloodiest months since Saddam Hussein was toppled in April 2003, although the US death toll was higher.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=66274&d=2&m=7&y=2005

Signals From Tehran
Amir Taheri

It may take some time before the shock caused by the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the sixth president of the Islamic Republic of Iran is absorbed. But one thing is already clear: The election signals the beginning of the first major shift in the balance of power within the Khomeinist regime since 1981.
Khatami’s brother Muhammad-Reza has told journalists of his surprise that an “unknown” like Ahmadinejad could collect 18 million votes. But Muhammad-Reza forgets that eight years ago his own brother, another “unknown” at the time, was credited with 20 million votes.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=66266&d=2&m=7&y=2005

Abdullah and Blair Discuss Iraq
Roger Harrison & Mohammed Rasooldeen
Crown Prince Abdullah meets with Blair prior to their talks. (SPA)

RIYADH, 3 July 2005 — Crown Prince Abdullah and British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday discussed the situation in Iraq, Middle East peace and ways of strengthening bilateral ties.
The Saudi-British talks focused on “major regional and international developments, most importantly the Palestinian issue and the situation in Iraq,” the Saudi Press Agency said.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=66330&d=3&m=7&y=2005

Riyadh Professor Objects to Woman Pilot
Javid Hassan, Arab News

RIYADH, 3 July 2005 — An associate professor of Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh has objected to the hiring of a Muslim woman as a pilot.
In a statement issued in response to a full-page advertisement by Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Co., congratulating Capt. Hanadi Zakariya Hindi for becoming the first Saudi woman to get a commercial pilot’s license, Sheikh Yousuf Al-Ahmad said the appointment was un-Islamic.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=66328&d=3&m=7&y=2005

The Striptease: An Interesting Point About Sino-US Trade
Amr Al-Faisal

I have recently been contemplating the economic relationship between the US and China and have noticed some interesting points.
This is a relatively recent relationship and is evolving quite rapidly.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=66316&d=3&m=7&y=2005

The Boston Globe

A day to rock the world
At global concert, bands and fans urge aid for Africa
By Joan Anderman, Globe Staff July 3, 2005
LONDON -- In what was trumpeted as the largest concert event ever produced, more than 160 artists took to 10 stages around the globe yesterday for Live 8, a series of musical extravaganzas organized to draw attention to the plight of the world's poorest nations.
Hundreds of thousands of people turned out for the free shows -- from Tokyo to Johannesburg to Philadelphia -- and organizers said the combined audience exceeded 1 billion people via television, radio, and the Internet.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/07/03/a_day_to_rock_the_world/

Autism, mercury, and politics
By Robert Kennedy Jr. July 1, 2005
MOUNTING EVIDENCE suggests that Thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative in children's vaccines, may be responsible for the exponential growth of autism, attention deficit disorder, speech delays, and other childhood neurological disorders now epidemic in the United States.
Prior to 1989, American infants generally received three vaccinations (polio, measles-mumps-rubella, and diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis). In the early 1990s, public health officials dramatically increased the number of Thimerosal-containing vaccinations without considering the cumulative impact of the mercury load on developing brains.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/07/01/autism_mercury_and_politics/

Former senator who founded Earth Day dies
By Ryan Nakashima, Associated Press Writer July 3, 2005
MILWAUKEE --Gaylord Nelson, the former governor and U.S. senator from Wisconsin who founded Earth Day and helped spawn the modern environmental movement, died Sunday. He was 89.
Nelson died of cardiovascular failure at his home in Kensington, Md., a Washington suburb, said Bill Christofferson, Nelson's biographer and a family spokesman.
"He died peacefully. His wife was with him," Christofferson said.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/07/03/former_us_senator_gaylord_nelson_dies/

Indian troops rescue flood-hit villagers from trees
July 3, 2005
GARBADA, India (Reuters) - Indian troops on Sunday rescued villagers perched in trees to escape swollen rivers in India's western Gujarat state where severe flooding has left 127 people dead and tens of thousands homeless. "We screamed out when we saw the soldiers, asking them to save us," said Deepak Parmar, a laborer in Garbada village, 95 km (59 miles) south of Ahmedabad, Gujarat's main city.
Troops saved at least 100 people in Garbada using rubber dinghies. Some soldiers also swam to the roofs of flooded houses and to trees to bring people to safety.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/07/03/indian_troops_rescue_flood_hit_villagers_from_trees/

Teacher raises surpass US rate
Localities cite budget strains
By Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff July 3, 2005
The average salary for Massachusetts teachers has been rising faster than the national average, setting off concerns that local school committees have given in too easily to teacher unions' demands and squandered limited money on salary increases.

http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2005/07/03/teacher_raises_surpass_us_rate/

Special Forces operative rescued in Afghanistan-CNN
July 3, 2005
KABUL (Reuters) - A U.S. Special Forces operative missing since Tuesday in Afghanistan has been rescued, CNN reported on Sunday.
Quoting an unidentified U.S. official, CNN said the soldier, who had been among a 16-member team which disappeared, was rescued by U.S. forces and was in good shape.
CNN quoted the official as saying he had "evaded the enemy."

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/07/03/special_forces_operative_rescued_in_afghanistan_cnn/

Look at 16 troops killed in Afghan crash
July 3, 2005
WASHINGTON --The Pentagon released the names of the 16 troops killed last week when a MH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan while ferrying personnel to a battle against militants.

Seven of the victims were soldiers assigned to the Army's 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Hunter Army Air Field, Ga.:
--Staff Sgt. Shamus O. Goare, 29, of Danville, Ohio.
--Chief Warrant Officer Corey J. Goodnature, 35, of Clarks Grove, Minn.
--Sgt. Kip A. Jacoby, 21, of Pompano Beach, Fla.
--Sgt. 1st Class Marcus V. Muralles, 33, of Shelbyville, Ind.
--Maj. Stephen C. Reich, 34, of Washington Depot, Conn.
--Sgt. 1st Class Michael L. Russell, 31, of Stafford, Va.
--Chief Warrant Officer Chris J. Scherkenbach, 40, of Jacksonville, Fla.

One soldier was assigned to the Army's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Fort Campbell, Ky.:
--Master Sgt. James W. Ponder III, 36, of Franklin, Tenn.,

Five sailors who died in the crash were assigned to SEAL Team Ten, Virginia Beach, Va.:
--Chief Petty Officer Jacques J. Fontan, 36, of New Orleans, La.
--Lt. Cmdr. Erik S. Kristensen, 33, of San Diego, Calif.
--Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffery A. Lucas, 33, of Corbett, Ore.
--Lt. Michael M. McGreevy, Jr., 30, of Portville, N.Y.
--Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey S. Taylor, 30, of Midway, W.Va.

Three sailors were assigned to SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii:
--Senior Chief Petty Officer Daniel R. Healy, 36, of Exeter, N.H.
--Petty Officer 2nd Class James Suh, 28, of Deerfield Beach, Fla.
--Petty Officer 2nd Class Eric S. Patton, 22, of Boulder City, Nev.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/07/03/look_at_16_troops_killed_in_afghan_crash_1120402893/

Mega-churches spread the word via high-tech
Digital aids alter the act of worship
By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff July 3, 2005
The first Sunday service at Grace Chapel in Lexington starts at 8:05 a.m. Pastor F. Bryan Wilkerson and his staff arrive even earlier. They've got to switch on the lights, brew the coffee and, of course, boot up the computers.

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2005/07/03/mega_churches_spread_the_word_via_high_tech/

What is it with Bush and the Palestinians? He is chronically seeking funding for those people. I think 'the degree' of his interest is inappropriate.

Bush sees chance to help Palestinians at G8 summit
July 3, 2005
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A summit of the world's industrialized nations this week provides an opportunity to discuss ways to help the Palestinians, President Bush said in an interview published on Sunday.
Bush said Africa, and its debt burden, was just one of several regions that would receive attention at the July 6-8 Group of Eight summit in Scotland.
"We also want to talk about the Palestinian conflict. There is a possibility for the G8 countries, the industrialized countries, to help the Palestinians," Bush was quoted as saying in the interview with Danish daily Jyllands-Posten.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/07/03/bush_sees_chance_to_help_palestinians_at_g8_summit/

Israeli cabinet rejects 3-month Gaza pullout delay
By Jeffrey Heller July 3, 2005
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's cabinet rejected on Sunday a proposal to delay the start of a Gaza pullout for three months, setting the stage for a showdown between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his main political rival Benjamin Netanyahu.
The attempt to force Sharon to postpone the withdrawal slated to begin in mid-August was a sharp reminder of the opposition he faces in his right-wing Likud party to the plan he has championed and a sign of internal leadership battles ahead.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/07/03/israeli_cabinet_rejects_3_month_gaza_pullout_delay_1120394560/

The New Zealand Herald

Bob Geldof: An open letter to the leaders of the G8
Ireland's Bob Geldof, the mastermind behind the Live 8 anti-poverty concerts. Picture / Reuters
02.07.05

Just so we're clear... The Live8 concerts that are happening this weekend will be a wonderful musical occasion. But despite the fact that the world's greatest popular musicians are playing, they are not the stars of the show. The 8 of Live8 are not 8 musicians or bands - they are you, the 8 leaders of the G8.
Everyone taking part in these concerts is there because the many generations watching will not tolerate the further pain of the poor while we have the financial and moral means to prevent it.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10333850

Rock stars put on historic show to fight poverty
Pop star Madonna (L) performs with Ethiopian former famine victim Birhan Woldu at the Live 8 concert in Hyde Park in London. Picture / Reuters
03.07.05

PHILADELPHIA/LONDON - More than a million people have jammed Live 8 venues around the globe as a galaxy of rock stars staged the world's biggest concert to pressure rich nations into doing more for the poor.
The biggest concert was in Philadelphia where up to a million people crammed the streets as people power rose up at 10 separate gigs across four continents.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10333946

Crowd of 200,000 in Scotland urges poverty action
Thousands of demonstrators take part in the Make Poverty History rally in Edinburgh. Picture / Reuters
03.07.05

EDINBURGH - A tide of some 200,000 people dressed in white streamed through Edinburgh on Saturday to demand that leaders of rich nations agree measures to attack global poverty at a summit near the Scottish capital next week.
As part of a day of pressure on the Group of Eight nations, including the Live 8 rock concerts, the marchers urged rich states to double aid to poor countries, especially in Africa. They also called for debt relief and trade reform.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10333945

Over 26 million text messages sent backing Live 8
A view of the stage area during Will Smith's Philadelphia Live 8 performance. Picture / Reuters
03.07.05 12.50pm

PHILADELPHIA - More than 26.4 million people from around the world sent text messages on Saturday in support of the Live 8 campaign to cancel the debts of the poorest countries, setting a world record, organizers said.
"This is definitely going down as the biggest political call to action," said Ralph Simon, who was coordinating the text messaging campaign in Philadelphia, the venue of the largest of 10 concerts around the world to demand relief of African poverty.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10333974

Greens draft bill to stop Zimbabwe cricket tour
Greens co-leader Rod Donald announced the move in Wellington today. File picture
03.07.05 UPDATED at 4.25pm

The Green Party has drafted a bill to make it illegal for the New Zealand Cricket team to tour Zimbabwe.
In Wellington today Green Party co-leader Rod Donald said he was seeking cross-party support for the law which would make it an offence for any New Zealand national sporting organisation to send a team on tour to Zimbabwe.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10333983

The tour must go ahead says Snedden
Martin Snedden
03.07.05

By Dylan Cleaver

Martin Snedden is not seeking your approval, just understanding. New Zealand Cricket's chief executive knows if the issue of touring Zimbabwe was played out on the pitch of public opinion, he would be facing an innings defeat.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10333948

Flag debate: now look who's involved
03.07.05

By Patrick Crewdson

Two of the country's largest corporates have pinned their colours to the mast in controversial fashion by backing calls for a referendum on changing the New Zealand flag.
Telecom and NZ Post have thrown their support behind the campaign, agreeing to post copies of the referendum petition form to 1.4 million households.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10333950

Blair seeks Saudi backing for Palestinian package
03.07.05 11.30am

RIYADH - British Prime Minister Tony Blair sought Saudi backing on Saturday for a "package of support" he hopes G8 leaders will extend to Palestinians next week ahead of Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Blair, who held 90 minutes of talks with Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah, said he wanted to focus on raising Palestinian living standards but gave no details of his plans.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10333962

Bomb kills 20 in Baghdad, slain cleric mourned
03.07.05

BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber killed up to 20 people at a police recruitment centre in Baghdad on Saturday, while across town an angry crowd of Shi'ite Muslims mourned a senior cleric gunned down by insurgents.
Another bomb killed five and wounded 12 at a police checkpoint on a main highway just south of the city. After dark, two suicide bombers on foot struck a busy street in the centre of another town to the south, killing five people.
The bombings were the worst in Iraq in at least six days, shattering a relative lull in the Sunni Arab insurgency against US forces and the Shi'ite- and Kurdish-led government.
US President George W Bush, whose approval ratings have slid in recent weeks to the lowest levels of his presidency over concern about the war, said in a radio address the best way to honour the nation's dead was to "stay in the fight".

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10333944

Austrian bitten in third Florida shark attack
02.07.05

MIAMI - A 19-year-old Austrian tourist has been attacked by a shark along Florida's Gulf Coast, the third victim in less than a week of the ferocious predators that roam the waters around the Florida peninsula.
Armin Trojer from Baden, Austria, was bitten on the right ankle by the shark while swimming in chest-deep waters off Boca Grande, 230km northwest of Miami, said Lee County Sheriff's Deputy Angelo Vaughn.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10333843

Reality behind the Rainbow Warrior outrage
David Lange
02.07.05

By John Armstrong

The officials working late in the Beehive on that July evening in 1985 must have registered some grim satisfaction as they compiled the dossier of incriminating documents that would be dispatched to Paris later that night.
While the New Zealand public was still unaware of just who was behind the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior, Cabinet ministers had known within three days of the blasts that the finger of suspicion was already pointing firmly in France's direction.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10333759

Bit players in Rainbow Warrior drama
Three days after it berthed in Auckland, the Rainbow Warrior was sunk by French government agents who attached two bombs to its hull. Herald file picture
02.07.05

By Eugene Bingham

One was a meet-and-greet girl for a rental van company whose stalling tactics prevented two French agents fleeing the country. Another was a forestry worker whose innovative way of writing down a number plate gave police indelible, invaluable evidence. Another (who would later lead his country) was a security guard who helped prove that Alain Mafart had scouted out the Rainbow Warrior.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10333767

The weather in Jamestown, North Dakota (Crystal Wind Chime) is 'hail storm:'

76 °F / 24 °C
Thunderstorm

Humidity:
76%

Dew Point:
68 °F / 20 °C

Wind:
9 mph / 15 km/h from the South

Pressure:
29.50 in / 999 hPa (Falling)

Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers

UV:
0 out of 16

Clouds (AGL):
Scattered Clouds 4900 ft / 1493 m
Mostly Cloudy 5500 ft / 1676 m
Mostly Cloudy 12000 ft / 3657 m

continued . . .