Sydney Morning Herald
London bomb death toll set to rise
July 8, 2005 - 9:02PM
Investigators scrambled today to hunt down suspected al-Qaeda bombers who killed more than 50 people in rush-hour London, to stop them striking again.
A day after four bombs tore through three underground trains and a red double-decker bus, commuters headed to work again on London's battered transport network, some fearful, some defiant.
"My granddad called me last night and told me I had to go to work today,'' said Sally Higson, 36. "He's 89. He lived through the war and said it was important to carry on as normal.''
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/london-bomb-death-toll-set-to-rise/2005/07/08/1120704556971.html
Australian injury toll rises to nine
July 8, 2005 - 8:15PM
Three Australian males and six Australian females from Victoria, Queensland and NSW were injured in the London terrorist attacks, Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Richard Alston said tonight.
He said the Australia's injury toll from yesterday's bomb blasts had risen to nine, with two in a critical condition.
Mr Alston said High Commission staff had scoured London hospitals to gather information on Australians.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/australian-injury-toll-nine/2005/07/08/1120704555551.html
'Shock lung' fear as 700 wounded pack hospitals
July 8, 2005 - 1:31PM
Emergency personnel at the St Mary's hospital carry relief supplies into the Accident and Emergency department in London.
Photo: AFP
Hundreds of victims of the London bombings, some with burns and high-velocity puncture wounds, have packed the capital's hospitals, stretching facilities to the limit.
But many people may not be aware of how badly they may be injured, says Jim Ryan, head of University College Hospital's major incident team in central London.
He said that some of the victims may have sustained serious injuries which were not yet apparent.
"One of the features of an explosion, which we know from blasts in Northern Ireland and Israel, is a condition known as blast lung or shock lung, where people sustain a lung injury which leaks over time," he said.
"They appear fine but they slowly deteriorate," he went on.
"We have people here who were in the bus blast and appear to be well but it is important that we watch them."
Major hospitals went on alert within minutes of the first explosions in the morning rush hour.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/shock-lung-fear/2005/07/08/1120704532545.html
Qantas announces refund on UK tickets
July 8, 2005 - 6:50PM
Airlines and travel operators are offering to refund or credit tickets for passengers no longer wanting to travel to Britain following the London terrorist bombings.
Qantas Airways, which flies to the United Kingdom 27 times a week, today said any ticket for the UK issued on or before yesterday's blasts could be deferred or cancelled without penalty.
The offer applies to passengers due to travel between Australia and the UK this month.
At least 37 people died and 700 were wounded - including eight Australians - in a series of coordinated bombings the UK capital just after the morning peak hour yesterday.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/qantas-announces-refund-on-uk-tickets/2005/07/08/1120704552834.html
Australia not immune to terror attack: PM
July 8, 2005 - 7:52PM
Australian Foreign Affairs helpline for relatives: 1800 00 22 14 or 1300 555 135
Prime Minister John Howard is warning the public not to be under the illusion Australia is immune to a terrorist attack.
Although there was no specific intelligence to suggest an attack in Australia, Mr Howard said the nation was as vulnerable to terrorists as any other country.
London yesterday became the latest city to feel the chilling effects of terrorism when a series of four bombs crippled the transport network and killed at least 37 people.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/australia-not-immune-to-terror-attack-pm/2005/07/08/1120704531898.html
Global warming unbearable
July 8, 2005 - 11:01AM
Feeling the heat: the poar bear population is expected to decline by 30 per cent within the three to five decades.
The world's polar bear population is expected to decline by more than 30 per cent within the next three to five decades because of global warming's effect on their icy habitat, according to a report by a World Conservation Union panel.
The Polar Bear Specialist Group, which gathered at the end of June with representatives from Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia and the United States in a closed meeting, called for the polar bear to be listed as "vulnerable".
It is currently in the "least concern" category.
"Future challenges for conserving polar bears and their Arctic habitat will be greater than at any time in the past because of the rapid rate at which environmental change appears to be occurring," a statement released recently by the panel said.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/global-warming-unbearable/2005/07/08/1120704535028.html
When Hurricane Floyd came to Wilmington, North Carolina it was time to barbeque. What we didn't realize and what the weather service never warned Wilmington of was the 'fringe' of Floyd reaching that city with downpours that resulted in profound flooding within hours. The most damage were the rains which arrived a full 24 hours before the 'eye.' The National Weather service is saying to NOT ignore the peripheral strength of any of these storms and DON'T concentrate on the 'eye.' THEY COULD NOT BE MORE CORRECT !! The Bush/Cheney Administration is desiring damage. After all anything the USA makes is indestructible now. If I was an astronaut I wouldn't get on the ship if it's exposed to this type of storm.
Hurricane may threaten space shuttle
July 8, 2005 - 10:25AM
Hurricane Dennis may cause a delay to NASA's first space shuttle mission since the Columbia disaster.
The shuttle, Discovery, is safe on its launching pad for now and NASA is still aiming for a liftoff next week, but Hurricane Dennis could force the space shuttle to return to its hangar.
Shuttle managers decided Thursday evening to begin initial preparations to move Discovery from the pad, as the hurricane increased in intensity and headed toward the Gulf of Mexico and Florida's southern tip.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Hurricane-may-threaten-space-shuttle/2005/07/08/1120704533182.html
Hurricane Dennis hits Haiti
July 8, 2005 - 9:49AM
The first hurricane of the Atlantic season has claimed a victim in Haiti.
It threatens to intensify as it makes a beeline for Cuba.
It's expected to make landfall in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday or Monday, raising fears US oil supplies will be disrupted by the fourth storm in as many weeks.
Dennis is a "dangerous hurricane" that looks to strengthen to near 208 kph within 12 hours, the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami warned.
It should pass over central Cuba within 24 hours, it said.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Hurricane-Dennis-hits-Haiti/2005/07/08/1120704531970.html
Climate of fear, sense of determination
By Sam Guthrie
July 8, 2005 - 9:03AM
In London the seasons change fast. Where one moment there was sun and the thawing heat of summer, today it is wet with rain a top of 20 and a bitterly blowing wind.
On the weekend we stood in Hyde Park answering the rallying call of Bob Geldof's Live 8 feeling as if, together, we possessed the power to influence the G8 and address the obscene tragedy of Africa.
Yesterday we leapt into the air in Trafalgar Square as they announced the success of London's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/climate-of-fear-sense-of-determination/2005/07/08/1120704530120.html
Philippines finds first case of bird flu
July 8, 2005 - 9:44AM
The Philippines has announced its first case of bird flu, but it doesn't appear to be the most deadly strain, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap says.
Since 2003, tens of million of chickens have died of bird flu or have been slaughtered in East and South-East Asia.
At least 54 people have also died in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, most of them after coming into contact with birds infected with the H5N1 virus.
"I can assure you there's no indication it's the H5N1," said Yap, who resigned last week to fight accusations of tax fraud but has stayed on until his successor is in place.
"The situation is, it's a low pathogen. It's not high. That's the only statement I can make so that people don't have to panic."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Philippines-finds-first-case-of-bird-flu/2005/07/08/1120704531890.html
The Los Angeles Times
Amid Terror, a Resigned Calm
A sense of stoicism permeates the city. 'Everyone knew something like this might happen one day,' says one Londoner.
By Ken Silverstein, Times Staff Writer
LONDON — The first blasts came from deep under the city, muffled by tons of earth and concrete. A 30-minute pause, and another, louder, explosion in a stately square near the British Museum. And then, an eerie quiet.
The people of London had been bracing for this attack for years. When it came, sirens screamed and helicopters buzzed over a city under attack, but a surreal sense of calm seemed to prevail.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-london8jul08,0,3507146.story?coll=la-home-headlines
In Britain, Muslims Worry a Delicate Balance May Tip
By Vanora McWalters, Special to The Times
LONDON — The Muslim businessmen who tend the East End textile shops went home early. So did the vendors at the Whitechapel Market after police swooped down on suspicious garbage bags.
Down the street, a group of Muslim women and children edged nervously past a muscle-bound white youth who was shouting into his cellphone, "Yeah, mate, where I am, everyone looks like an Al Qaeda terrorist!"
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-tolerance8jul08,0,623538.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Dennis Strengthens, Kills Five in Haiti
By STEVENSON JACOBS, Associated Press Writer
MORANT BAY, Jamaica -- Hurricane Dennis swept away a bridge and peeled tin roofs off homes in Haiti, killing at least five people as it strengthened to a Category 4 storm and headed straight for Cuba. Forecasters said it could reach the U.S. Gulf Coast by Sunday.
The Hurricane Center in Miami said the eye was swirling over water about 230 miles southeast of Havana, Cuba, and about 285 miles southeast of Key West, Fla. It was moving to the northwest at about 12 miles an hour.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/ats-ap_top13jul08,0,1296114.story
Safety, Access Always at Odds
By Mary Curtius and Maura Reynolds, Times Staff Writers
WASHINGTON — In the nearly four years since the Sept. 11 attacks, security experts scouring American cities have found — as London learned Thursday — that public transit systems are among the most vulnerable and most difficult targets to defend from terrorists.
Yet such systems have received just $250 million in federal funding to beef up security since 2001, compared with $18 billion for the nation's airports. Regional transit systems have spent $2 billion of their own on security enhancement, industry officials say, but have identified $6 billion more in needed improvements.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ustransit8jul08,0,7363456.story?coll=la-home-headlines
LAPD Hid Claims, Judge Says
Bratton denies, however, that an informant's statements linking officers to Notorious B.I.G.'s slaying were concealed on purpose.
By Andrew Blankstein, Times Staff Writer
The LAPD deliberately hid witness statements tying corrupt police to the slaying of Notorious B.I.G., a federal judge said Thursday in granting a mistrial and potentially lucrative attorney fees to the rapper's family.
U.S. District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper, in a written order upholding an earlier oral ruling, said the family's wrongful-death case had been hopelessly disrupted by the Los Angeles Police Department's concealment of a jailhouse informant's statements. The informant, cellmate to then-Officer Rafael Perez, the central figure in the Rampart police scandal, said Perez and rogue officer David Mack were involved in the slaying of the rapper, born Christopher Wallace.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-big8jul08,0,2496006.story?coll=la-home-local
Zimbabwe's Split Opposition
Movements to oust Mugabe are divided, demoralized and cash-strapped. Some fear frustration could lead to violence.
By Robyn Dixon, Times Staff Writer
HARARE, Zimbabwe — A conservative white businessman expressing a passion for freedom, tradition, polite manners and the British royals sits at his long shiny boardroom table in Zimbabwe musing on plans to try to topple President Robert Mugabe.
With the same dedication he devotes to his business, he composes, hides and secretly distributes fliers, sometimes swapping cars to dodge arrest.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-zimbabwe8jul08,0,2413768.story?coll=la-home-world
Fallouja's Role in Insurgency Sets Back Native Sons
Young Iraqis who leave for Baghdad to work or study but retain ties to their hometown find themselves branded as suspected terrorists.
By Asmaa Waguih, Special to The Times
BAGHDAD — The road home for Abdulla Muhammadi is filled with military checkpoints and suspicious glares.
Every time the 31-year-old electronics salesman approaches the barbed wire and wrecked buildings of his hometown of Fallouja, he faces wary Iraqi and U.S. troops who guard each entrance to the city and search all arriving vehicles and people. He and others must sometimes wait for hours to get in.
"When I enter my city," said Muhammadi, a Sunni Muslim Arab, like most Fallouja natives, "I feel like a stranger."
Fallouja's reputation as the hub of the nation's brutal insurgency has branded young men like Muhammadi as suspected terrorists.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-fallouja8jul08,0,3401406.story?coll=la-home-world
New Zealand Herald
Prince William extends 'heartfelt sympathies'
08.07.05 10.40am
Prince William, visiting New Zealand for the Lions rugby tour, today extended his "heartfelt sympathies" to the families of the London bomb victims.
The Prince, who cancelled his planned whale-watching trip in Kaikoura today, released a statement about the tragic attacks on the London transport system last night.
"I was shocked and very saddened to learn of the terrible events that have occurred in London," he said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10334837
London death toll rises to at least 37
A video grab shows the wreckage of a London bus after an explosion in Tavistock Square. Picture / Reuters, ITN
08.07.05 8.05am
By Mike Collett-White and Trevor Datson
LONDON - Four blasts tore through packed underground trains and a bus during London's rush hour, killing at least 37 people and disrupting a summit of world leaders in the capital's deadliest-ever peacetime attack.
Police put the death toll at 37 by mid-afternoon Thursday local time (early morning Friday NZT), and French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy later quoted Britain's government as saying 50 people had been killed.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10334806
Britain hunts bombers as toll reaches 50
Commuter reads the latest news on an underground train from Aldgate east towards Westminster. Picture / Reuters
09.07.05 10.15pm UPDATE
LONDON - Britain faces the risk of more attacks after rush-hour blasts killed dozens in London, and investigators are racing to find the bombers to ensure they do not strike again, the government said on Friday.
Three main rail stations were evacuated on Friday morning in London as security alerts hit the jittery city, 24 hours after bombs killed at least 50 people on the transport network.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10334941
Shocked G8 leaders rally around after London bombs
08.07.05 10.00am
By Crispian Balmer
GLENEAGLES - World leaders gathered in Scotland for a high-powered summit reacted with shock, sorrow and ultimately defiance to news of Thursday's multiple bomb attacks in London.
Diplomatic differences were immediately laid aside as the leaders rallied around their host, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, well aware that the explosions in far away London were clearly aimed at them.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10334828
'Smoke poured into the carriage, but we couldn't break the windows'
A casualty is taken away on a stretcher at King's Cross station. Picture / Reuters
08.07.05 1.00pm
By Maxine Frith, Elizabeth Davies and Sarah Cassidy
LONDON - At 8.50am, Manjit Dhanjal was sitting on a packed Circle Line train between Aldgate East and Liverpool Street station, on her way to work in the City.
"There were a few sparks and I thought it was just a power surge," Miss Dhanjal, 26, said. "Then I saw this fireball a few carriages in front of me, and everything went black.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10334852
Day the emergency planners hoped would never come
A candle is placed next to a banner in Edinburgh marking the London bombings. Picture / Reuters
08.07.05 4.00pm
By Nigel Morris
LONDON - The moment that London's emergency planners had long dreaded came moments before 9am Thursday. As news reached Scotland Yard of a second explosion in five minutes on a Tube train, it became obvious that the terrorist attack they feared inevitable was under way.
Police, fire and ambulance services, health chiefs and transport operators immediately activated a long-rehearsed, but previously theoretical, procedure for reacting to a strike.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10334862
Romania PM seeks early polls as EU drive stalls
08.07.05 1.00pm
BUCHAREST - Romania's six-month old centrist government says it would call snap elections to seek a stronger mandate for reforms needed to join the European Union.
The surprise move comes after a key judiciary reform was blocked through the courts by the ex-communist opposition, increasing the risk the Balkan country will miss its goal of joining the EU in January 2007.
"Justice reform is now blocked. The solution is to go back to the voters again...and to wait for their verdict," Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu told reporters.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10334840
concluding . . .
