The Seattle Post Intelligencer
New consultant holds out hope for monorail project
Phelps says cutting costs can reduce future debt
By LARRY LANGE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Reducing the cost of the monorail may be one way to salvage the troubled project, says a former Sound Transit board member hired to critique the system's finances.
Tacoma businessman Kevin Phelps said yesterday that reducing the monorail's cost will be the big factor because that could reduce the amount of money to be borrowed and, eventually, reduce what could be a staggering debt.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/234319_phelps28.html
This should be the decision of the people of Seattle. If I were them I'd want an independent assessment. I am sure the administration in DC is handing out all kinds of advice on how to stop rail stations from being built opting for airline travel. Etc. If a rail station can't be put there than a bus stop or terminal with connections to rail needs to be considered.
First Hill light rail station opposed by chief of Sound Transit
Earl cites tunneling problem
By JANE HADLEY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
The First Hill light rail station should be deleted from the proposed line from Westlake Center to Husky Stadium, Sound Transit Chief Executive Officer Joni Earl recommended yesterday.
Earl said the recommendation is "unwelcome news" to many Sound Transit board members, but an exhaustive analysis of the technical, cost and other factors made the decision inescapable. Poor soils mean the tunnel must be built 210 feet underground, eliminating conventional tunneling methods.
"The risk of building the First Hill station is too large for the taxpayers and the agency," Earl said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/234310_transit28.html
Ressam receives 22-year sentence
But U.S. judge lashes out at Bush policies on suspectsTERRORIST AHMED RESSAM IS SENTENCED
By PAUL SHUKOVSKY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
The case of Ahmed Ressam, convicted terrorist and would-be airport bomber, ended yesterday with a 22-year sentence and a stern lecture from a judge that America can fight terrorism without abandoning the Constitution.
U.S. District Judge John Coughenour handed out a sentence to the 38-year-old Algerian that was about midway between the prosecution and defense requests. Ressam was arrested in Port Angeles with explosives found in the trunk of his rental car. His intent: bomb Los Angeles International Airport in 1999 during the busy travel days between Christmas and New Year's Day.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/234304_ressam28.html
Outside oversight urged in county elections
Sims likes idea of 'turnaround team'
By NEIL MODIE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
A "turnaround team" of outside experts should take over management of King County's dysfunctional elections division, a task force said yesterday in the wake of the county's bungled 2004 election.
In a report to County Executive Ron Sims, the independent panel emphasized the urgency of taking that radical step to change the county's "seriously flawed organizational culture."
It also said the county should institute a vote-by-mail system with regional voting centers in 2006, urge the Legislature to move the September primary election to early June, automatically restore voting rights to former felons upon release from prison and reduce to four from six the number of annual elections.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/234318_elex28.html
Authorities crack down on crime family
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK -- Federal agents and police on Thursday arrested about 20 members and associates of the Genovese organized crime family on racketeering charges, authorities said.
The suspects included longtime capo Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello, the FBI said. He and the other suspects were to be arraigned later Thursday in federal court in Manhattan. No further details were immediately available.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Mob%20Arrests
WHERE HAVE WE SEEN THIS BEFORE? There is no deterrent to domestic violence.
Pregnant Philadelphia woman still missing
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHILADELPHIA -- Community leaders asked for help in finding a pregnant woman who has been missing for more than a week, offering a $10,000 for information about her whereabouts.
LaToyia Figueroa, 24, is five months pregnant and has a 7-year-old daughter, and friends and relatives said she would never abandon the girl voluntarily.
She was last seen walking from a friend's house in Philadelphia on July 18 after going to a doctor's appointment. Police said she remained missing Thursday and have declined to speculate about what happened to her.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Missing%20Pregnant%20Woman
Judge gets in swipe at Bush administration
By GENE JOHNSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SEATTLE -- The sentence itself was fairly straightforward: An Algerian man received 22 years for plotting to bomb the Los Angeles airport on the eve of the millennium. It was what the judge said in imposing the term that raised eyebrows.
U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said the successful prosecution of Ahmed Ressam should serve not only as a warning to terrorists, but as a statement to the Bush administration about its terrorism-fighting tactics.
"We did not need to use a secret military tribunal, detain the defendant indefinitely as an enemy combatant or deny the defendant the right to counsel," he said Wednesday. "The message to the world from today's sentencing is that our courts have not abandoned our commitment to the ideals that set our nation apart."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Millennium%20Terror
Bomb on crowded train in India kills 7
By JOY BANERJEE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
LUCKNOW, India -- A bomb exploded Thursday on a crowded passenger train in northern India, killing at least seven people and injuring 50, a railway official said.
The train was traveling from the eastern city of Patna to New Delhi when the bomb exploded, said R.K. Singh, the top official for Indian Railways. He did not elaborate.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=India%20Train%20Blast
Record rains kill more than 500 in India
By RAMOLA TALWAR BADAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
BOMBAY, India -- Rescuers searched for survivors buried under debris Thursday and rushed aid to villages cut off by record-breaking rains that have paralyzed Bombay and its surrounding state and killed more than 500 people this week.
Officials said 273 people have died in Bombay since Tuesday when the hectic, cosmopolitan city that is home to India's financial and movie industries was hit by an unprecedented deluge of up to 37.1 inches of rain, the highest one-day total recorded in India's history. Much of it came over a few evening hours.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=India%20Monsoon
Pakistani police arrest Pearl suspect
By ASIF SHAHZAD
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
LAHORE, Pakistan -- An Islamic militant who set up the initial meeting between Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and his kidnappers has been arrested in eastern Pakistan, a senior police official confirmed Thursday.
Pearl was abducted Jan. 23, 2002, and later beheaded in the southern city of Karachi - believed to be a hotbed for Islamic militants - while he was researching a story.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Pakistan%20Pearl%20Killing
U.N. to help prosecute Afghan drug cases
By DANIEL LOVERING
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A team of anti-drug investigators, lawyers and judges will start prosecuting major narcotics cases in Afghanistan - the world's largest opium and heroin producer - as part of a new U.N. program launched Thursday.
The Criminal Justice Task Force, which includes 36 investigators, 33 prosecutors and 15 judges - all Afghans - will assist in the arrest and trial of serious drug offenders, said Elizabeth Bayere, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Afghan%20Drugs
Rice asked if Bolton testified in leak case
By LIZ SIDOTI
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- A Democratic opponent of John Bolton asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday whether the nominee for U.N. ambassador had testified to a grand jury about the leak of CIA operative's identity.
Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee say they want to determine whether Bolton was truthful when he wrote on a questionnaire for his confirmation hearing that he has not been interviewed in any recent investigations.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1152&slug=UN%20Ambassador
UNDERSTANDABLE. The Repuglicans are obstructionists to their own nominees.
Dems warn of delay in Roberts confirmation
By JESSE J. HOLLAND
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- In the eight days since President Bush nominated John Roberts to the Supreme Court, senators have fought more over access to the conservative judge's legal writings than over the candidate himself.
Even though no Democrat has announced plans to oppose Roberts' confirmation, Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats are digging in their heels on getting access to Roberts' paperwork from his time in the solicitor general's office. They say the Bush administration's withholding of those documents may cause a delay in getting Roberts confirmed to the seat being vacated by retiring Sandra Day O'Connor.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1154&slug=Roberts
Oh, so what !
Soldier who refused Iraq duty faces charge
By RUSS BYNUM
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
FORT STEWART, Ga. -- Sgt. Kevin Benderman turned his back on war, but he insists he never deserted the Army whose uniform he continues to wear six months after refusing to deploy to Iraq for a second tour.
Benderman served in Iraq during the 2003 invasion, but says he decided he could no longer be a part of the destruction he witnessed, even if that meant choosing his conscience over his commitment to his fellow troops.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1152&slug=Objecting%20Soldier
Egypt holds 15 in Sharm el-Sheik attacks
By MAGGIE MICHAEL
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
CAIRO, Egypt -- Police have detained at least 15 men in and around Sharm el-Sheik in connection with the weekend terrorist attacks on that Sinai Peninsula resort, security officials said Thursday.
Police are also searching for a green pickup truck in northern Sinai that may have been the getaway vehicle for some of those responsible for Saturday's three bombings that hospital officials said killed up to 88 people.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Egypt%20Resort%20Attacks
Two U.S. troops killed by roadside bombs
By TINI TRAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Insurgents launched coordinated attacks Thursday against Iraqi army checkpoints northeast of Baghdad, killing six Iraqi soldiers, police said. Roadside bombs killed two U.S. soldiers and ignited a train carrying fuel in the south of Iraq's capital.
The attacks began about 2:30 p.m. against four Iraqi checkpoints along a road between Baqouba and Baghdad, 35 miles to the southwest, police Col. Mudhafar Mohammed said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Iraq
How is any agenda going to be brought forward if the party disintegrates into individual interests?
Clinton urges party unity, tough stance
By MIKE GLOVER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a potential 2008 presidential candidate, on Monday pressed Democrats to adopt a tough stand on national security and urged the party to show a united front to counter "the hard-right ideology in Washington."
Speaking to the Democratic Leadership Council, the centrist group that helped her husband, Bill Clinton, secure the White House, the senator delivered a broad speech that touched on foreign policy, health care, education and fissures within her own party.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apelection_story.asp?category=1131&slug=Hillary%20Moderates
NASA pessimistic about solving debris woes
By MARCIA DUNN
AP AEROSPACE WRITER
SPACE CENTER, Houston -- NASA may never be able to prevent threatening chunks of insulation foam from breaking off the shuttle's fuel tank during launch, the agency's chief said Thursday, a day after future flights were ordered grounded because of the problem during Discovery's liftoff.
"We are trying to get it down to the level that cannot damage the orbiter," NASA administrator Michael Griffin told NBC's "Today."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1501&slug=Space%20Shuttle
Zimbabwe wraps up crackdown on slums
By MICHAEL HARTNACK
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Zimbabwe's government on Thursday announced the completion of a crackdown on slums and street traders that left up to 2.4 million without homes or livelihoods, but the opposition said demolitions continued.
The campaign has sparked domestic and international criticism, with a U.N. envoy on Wednesday presenting a report condemning the crackdown and calling for urgent assistance to help those who have lost their homes and jobs.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=Zimbabwe%20Crackdown
U.N. envoy presents report on Zimbabwe
By EDITH M. LEDERER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
UNITED NATIONS -- Despite opposition from China, Russia and African countries, a U.N. envoy presented her report condemning Zimbabwe's sweeping slum clearance to the Security Council Wednesday and called for urgent assistance to help those who have lost their homes and jobs.
China, which has close ties to President Robert Mugabe's government, and Zimbabwe's African neighbors had managed to keep the crisis in the African nation off the council's agenda, arguing that it was not an issue of international peace and security.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug=UN%20Zimbabwe
Nine women unofficially ordained in Canada
By JANIE GOSSELIN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
TORONTO -- Nine Roman Catholic women were unofficially ordained Monday as priests and deacons, undeterred by the threat of excommunication from their church.
The women - seven Americans, a Canadian and a German living in the United States - were ordained by Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger of Austria and Gisela Forster of Germany, who were unofficially declared bishops in 2003. The ordinations are not valid within the Catholic Church and seven women who tried it in 2002 were excommunicated by the Vatican.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apcanada_story.asp?category=1101&slug=Canada%20Woman%20Priests
Opponents want Bush barred from summit
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Opponents of President Bush launched a protest drive Wednesday urging court authorities to keep him from attending a November summit in Argentina, saying his presence would raise security concerns.
Lia Mendez, a candidate in Argentina's upcoming congressional elections, rallied with other members of the small Humanist Party outside the court complex where they sought a court order barring Bush from the Summit of the Americas.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Argentina%20Summit%20Security
Brazil leader offers solace over dead man
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BRASILIA , Brazil -- Brazil's president on Wednesday expressed his condolences to the family of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian man shot dead by British police after being mistaken for a terror suspect in London.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spoke over the phone with Menezes' father and brother who live in the victim's hometown of Gonzaga, a statement released by the president's press office said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/aplatin_story.asp?category=1102&slug=Brazil%20Britain%20Shooting
Global Struggle: War no more
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Forget the war on terror. Now the Bush administration has a new description: "A global struggle against violent extremism."
That's a mouthful. But the issue is not just semantics; it will help define what resources ought to be used in that "struggle."
The U.S. government does not have a rich history of success when it calls one of its programs a "war" unless it involves a real military operation. We've had the "war on hunger," "war on poverty," "war on crime," "war on obesity" and our all-time least-successful, "war on drugs."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/234205_wared.html
Michael Moore Today
Definitely check out the 'Trailer'
Don’t forget the airing of Fahrenheit 911 on Showtime
SYNOPSIS:
Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore ("Roger & Me," "Bowling for Columbine") crafted this incendiary piece of skillful agitprop, an exploration of the tragic chain of events before and after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center of September 11, 2001. Pointing his finger at a global conspiracy of war, greed, and media manipulation, Moore leaves no political figure unscathed in his most passionate, outraged condemnation of a president and policies he considers illegitimate and incompetent.
UPCOMING AIRDATES:
Click on THE LITTLE CLOCK for aire time reminders.
Showtime Saturday 11:00 PM
Showtime Too Sunday 11:15 PM
Showtime Aug 14 11:00 PM
Showtime Aug 22 11:00 PM
Showtime Aug 30 11:00 PM
http://www.sho.com/site/schedules/product_page.do?seriesid=0&episodeid=123757
Steele Fundraiser Draws Rove, Democratic Attacks
Event Nets Money for Possible Senate Bid
By Matthew Mosk / Washington Post
Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele hosted the first major fundraiser in his as-yet-undeclared bid for U.S. Senate last night, attracting presidential adviser Karl Rove to headline a $1,000-a-person cocktail party in Washington.
The private affair was an attempt to introduce Steele to the ranks of national GOP donors who might not have encountered a man whose candidacy has become a top priority of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the arm of the party that recruits candidates.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3476
Fewer early sign-ups as Army struggles to recruit soldiers
By Dave Moniz / USA Today
The Army, which expects to miss its 2005 recruiting goal by about 12,000, already is falling behind for next year.
The pool of recruits who sign up as much as a year before they report for training is dwindling. So far, 3,100 have signed up for 2006, according to Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, Ky. The Army says it hopes to have 7,200 recruits in the pool by Oct. 1, when the 2006 recruiting year begins. By comparison:
The Army started the 2005 recruiting year with about 14,700 recruits in the delayed entry pool. It is making up some of the shortfall in recruiting by re-enlisting soldiers at a higher-than-expected rate. But the Army also has tried to trim this year's shortfall by rushing many delayed entry enlistees into basic training.
In 2004, the Army had more than 33,000 enlistees signed up ahead of time. It met its recruiting goals.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3475
Iraq Wants Quick Withdrawal of U.S. Troops
By Robert Burns / Associated Press
Iraq's transitional prime minister called Wednesday for a speedy withdrawal of U.S. troops and the top U.S. commander here said he believed a "fairly substantial" pullout could begin next spring and summer.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3471
US aims to sharply cut Iraq force within a year
By Peter Graff / Reuters
BAGHDAD - The United States hopes to sharply reduce its forces in Iraq by the middle of next year, its top commander on the ground said on Wednesday.
The remarks by General George Casey appear to have been the first time since the insurgency worsened sharply in April that top Pentagon officials have suggested a timeline for withdrawal.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3472
Tell the House - We Need an Iraq Exit Strategy
Contributed by Working Assets
The invasion of Iraq is quickly turning out to be the deadliest and most expensive mistake of the Bush presidency.
Despite the President's claims before he launched the invasion, no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq -- and we have now officially given up the search1. The capture of Saddam Hussein has not made us any safer here at home, or our soldiers any safer in the field. Our troops now face a growing insurgency with a seemingly endless supply of suicide bombers and increasingly sophisticated tactics.
The occupation is now costing us approximately $177 million per day, a total of close to $180 billion2 with no end in sight and very little reconstruction progress to show. American and Iraqi casualties continue to mount, and instead of being greeted as "liberators," our presence in Iraq seems only to inspire more anti-American violence.
It's time for a reality check on our Iraq policy -- we need an exit strategy. Representatives Abercrombie (D-HI), Jones (R-FL), Paul (R-TX), Kucinich (D-OH) and others have introduced "Homeward Bound," a resolution calling on the President to develop and implement a plan for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.
http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?itemid=19245
Rumsfeld tells Iraqis to get on with it
BAGHDAD (AFP) - Visiting US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Iraqi leaders to "get on with it" in preparing a new constitution, while an Iraqi official said US-led forces could hand over security for 10 cities by December.
Rumsfeld, on an unannounced visit to Baghdad, called on Iraqi leaders to draft and approve a constitution without delay, warning that any hold-up would fan the insurgency.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3474
Panel: Bush Was Unready for Postwar Iraq
By Barry Schweid / Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- An independent panel headed by two former U.S. national security advisers said Wednesday that chaos in Iraq was due in part to inadequate postwar planning.
Planning for reconstruction should match the serious planning that goes into making war, said the panel headed by Samuel Berger and Brent Scowcroft. Berger was national security adviser to Democratic President Clinton. Scowcroft held the same post under Republican Presidents Ford and George H.W. Bush but has been critical of the current president's Iraq and Mideast policies.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3478
Abu Ghraib Dog Tactics Came From Guantanamo
Testimony Further Links Procedures at 2 Facilities
By Josh White / Washington Post
Military interrogators at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq learned about the use of military working dogs to intimidate detainees from a team of interrogators dispatched from the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to court testimony yesterday.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3470
The New Zealand Herald
Police arrest nine under terrorism laws in London
Police earlier today arrested three women after an armed raid on a public housing estate in south London. File picture / Reuters
29.07.05
LONDON - Police said on Thursday they had arrested nine men under anti-terrorism laws in south London as part of the investigation into bomb attacks on the capital.
A police spokeswoman said the suspects held in Tooting were not the three suspected bombers still being sought after the botched July 21 attacks on London's transport system. The fourth bomber was captured on Wednesday, police said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10338044
Nasa grounds shuttle fleet
28.07.05 1.00pm
By Irene Klotz
HOUSTON - Nasa today halted future shuttle flights after learning that a large chunk of insulating foam broke off Discovery's external fuel tank during launch, an echo of the problem that doomed sister ship Columbia and its crew 2-1/2 years ago.
The falling debris does not appear to have hit or damaged Discovery, which took off on Tuesday on a 12-day mission to the International Space Station, the agency said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=5&ObjectID=10338017
PM promises to create 5000 more apprenticeships
Prime Minister Helen Clark
28.07.05 11.30am
Labour has tossed another carrot the way of younger voters, promising to create 5000 more apprenticeship places.
Prime Minister Helen Clark announced the latest of her party's pledges in a speech to the Industry Training Federation Conference in Wellington this morning.
She said the additional apprentice places under the Government's Modern Apprenticeship scheme, which Labour introduced shortly after being elected, would bring the total to 14,000 in 2008 and showed the Government was committed to sustainable and quality growth in industry training.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10338015
Bombay paralysed by record rainfall as death toll rises
People walk back to their homes as traffic came to a standstill in Bombay after heavy rains. Picture / Reuters
28.07.05 9.00pm UPDATE
By Justin Huggler
DELHI - More than a third of Bombay was under water and the death toll was rising after the city suffered the heaviest rains ever recorded in India.
The BBC reported that at least 430 people had died in Bombay (Mumbai) and the Maharashtra state after catastrophic rain. Parts of suburban Bombay received almost three feet of rain in a single day.
Reuters reported that rescuers searching in Juigaon village, 150km south of Mumbai, estimated that 100 people were killed when a mudslide flattened more than 30 houses, bringing the state death toll to 270.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10338067
TOO BAD !!
US-Israel tensions rise over arms sale
28.07.05 1.00pm
JERUSALEM - Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz has cancelled a trip to Washington because of a dispute with the United States over Israeli arms sales to China, the Haaretz newspaper said on Wednesday.
The United States, Israel's closest ally and provider of US$2 billion ($2.96 billion) in annual defence aid, was still restricting arms deals with Israel as a result of the disagreement. Washington demands Israel adhere to US regulations.
Asked about the report, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told reporters during a visit to France: "We definitely have a certain problem but I am convinced that we shall overcome this matter."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10337987
LAIR !
Mugabe says UN envoy was pressured over report
Robert Mugabe
28.07.05 1.00pm
HARARE - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe says a special UN envoy told him she was under pressure to produce a damning report on the demolition of illegal homes and businesses, the official Herald newspaper reported on Wednesday.
But Anna Tibaijuka, the envoy sent by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to assess the crackdown, said on Wednesday the report spoke for itself, while British UN Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry denied any outside attempts to influence her findings.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10337983
Monster mice on the rampage
One of Gough Island's "monster mice" feeds on a dead seabird chick. Picture / Reuters
28.07.05
Giant mice are running amok on a small South Atlantic island, eating metre-high albatross chicks alive and threatening the world's most important seabird colony.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said rapacious rodents - ordinary house mice who have "evolved" to three times their normal size - are orchestrating avian carnage on Gough Island, home to about 10 million birds.
A society spokesman said it was not clear how the birds were killed: "The chicks weigh up to 10kg and the mice weigh 35g - it is like a tabby cat attacking a hippopotamus."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10337893
US aims to sharply cut Iraq force within a year
28.07.05
BAGHDAD - The United States hopes to sharply reduce its forces in Iraq by the middle of next year, its top commander on the ground said.
The remarks by General George Casey appear to have been the first time since the insurgency worsened sharply in April that top Pentagon officials have suggested a timeline for withdrawal.
Casey's comments came as a new poll showed most Americans now think the United States will lose the war in Iraq.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10337970
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