Sydney Morning Herald
Bird flu could kill more than terror attack: Abbott
September 14, 2005 - 1:05AM
A bird flu pandemic in Australia could be more deadly for the nation than almost any sort of terrorist attack, Health Minister Tony Abbott has warned.
He painted the worst-case scenario of thousands of possible deaths in Australia if there was a pandemic as Indonesia claimed its fourth likely victim from the bird flu.
And Indonesia's health minister has warned there could be further outbreaks to come.
Bird flu, which arrived in Asia in late 2003, has so far killed nearly 60 people in the region.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/health/bird-flu-could-kill-more-than-terror-attack-abbott/2005/09/14/1126377322469.html
Torah removed from flooded synagogue
September 14, 2005 - 10:20AM
Rabbi Isaac Leider from the Jewish Zaka volunteers carries a Torah scroll out of the flooded synagogue of Beit Israel in New Orleans.
Photo: AFP
American volunteers with an Israeli charity have rescued seven Torah scrolls from a New Orleans synagogue flooded by Hurricane Katrina.
However, many of them were wet and it was uncertain whether they could be salvaged.
Four soldiers from a California unit brought Rabbi Isaac Leider and another volunteer to the gate of Beth Israel Synagogue by boat, then accompanied them inside through waist-high water to salvage the seven boxed scrolls.
One of them is from Europe and more than 250 years old, said Orthodox Rabbi Leider, wearing a vest marked "Zaka".
The two boats then made their way from the synagogue, near a canal that overflowed during the August 29 storm, through polluted waters and thick debris to dry land.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/torah-removed-from-flooded-synagogue/2005/09/14/1126377346344.html
Rice defends Bush's race record
By Steven Weisman in New York
September 14, 2005
The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has defended George Bush's record on racial issues, saying that the hurricane that disproportionately struck poor blacks in New Orleans "gives us an opportunity" to rectify historic injustices she experienced as an African-American growing up in the South.
"When [New Orleans] is rebuilt, it should be rebuilt in a different way than it was at the time that this happened," Dr Rice told The New York Times, adding that maybe now there could be an effort to "deal with the problem of persistent poverty".
Asked what she told foreign leaders wondering about racial discrimination and poverty in the US as the Bush Administration promoted democracy around the world she said it would be difficult to see "the kind of diversity that you see in America's cabinet, in America's foreign service, in America's business community, in America's journalistic community", anywhere else.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/rice-defends-bushs-race-record/2005/09/13/1126377316451.html
Dancers paid bare minimum
By Sharon Verghis
September 14, 2005
Hot issue ... dancers, such as those of Chunky Move, want more money for performing nude.
It's not often unions have to negotiate a nudity bonus. But for ballet, it's one of the hot issues on their industrial agenda.
For the record, dancers covered by the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance's dance award receive a so-called nudity bonus of $15.60 per performance - a 10 cent increase from 2003, and a far cry from Linda Evangelista's famous vow that she would not get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day. That was with clothes on.
The Russian National Ballet's venture into bare flesh in its controversial version of Romeo and Juliet, opening in Sydney on Friday at the Theatre Royal, has sparked discussion about the increasing use of nudity in dance, and the rate dancers are paid to disrobe on stage.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/arts/dancers-paid-bare-minimum/2005/09/13/1126377311917.html
Musharraf offers to fence in Taliban
September 14, 2005
Falling in line … General Musharraf.
Photo: AFP
New York: The Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, has offered to build a fence between Pakistan and Afghanistan to stop the movement of Taliban militants between the two countries.
General Musharraf made the offer on Monday during talks in New York with the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, the Pakistani Foreign Minister, Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri, said after the 75-minute meeting.
"Pakistan is prepared to raise a fence so that we can put an end to these allegations," Mr Kasuri told reporters, without specifying exactly where and when a fence could be erected, how long it would be, or who would pay for it.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/musharraf-offers-to-fence-in-taliban/2005/09/13/1126377316418.html
Conservatives warm to story of cold love
By Jonathan Miller
September 14, 2005
Emperor penguins … just birds, or an affirmation of monogamy and child-rearing?
On a conservative website a pro-lifer said the movie "verified the beauty of life and the rightness of protecting it".
At a conference for young Republicans, the editor of the conservative magazine National Review urged participants to see the movie because it promoted monogamy.
The movie is March of the Penguins, and of all the responses it has evoked perhaps the most surprising is its conservative appeal.
Conservatives are hardly its only audience; the film is the second-highest grossing documentary of all time, behind Fahrenheit 9/11.
But some have seen its stirring depiction of the mating ordeals of emperor penguins as an anthem to socially conservative values.
March of the Penguins, the film critic and radio host Michael Medved said in an interview, is "the motion picture this summer that most passionately affirms traditional norms like monogamy, sacrifice and child rearing."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/conservatives-warm-to-story-of-cold-love/2005/09/13/1126377316445.html
Wilmington Star News
Bracing for the storm
Wrightsville Beach watches for erosion
Flooding remained a concern Tuesday in Wrightsville Beach as Ophelia’s wind-whipped presence began to be felt. Officials kept a close eye on the situation as high tide came and went about 3:30 p.m.
Some flooding is anticipated on the north end of the island, including Conch Lane and Scotch Bonnet. Officials said other areas of concern include Channel Drive and South Channel Drive.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050913/NEWS/50913013
Ophelia slowly slugs toward shore
Southeastern North Carolina is settling in for a long night as a slow-moving Hurricane Ophelia grinds toward landfall Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning.
Ophelia is nearly stationary with strong rainbands just off the North Carolina coast.
Coastal emergency management officials remain concerned that the biggest threat from the storm may be its slow movement, which could subject Southeastern North Carolina to hours of heavy winds and rain.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050913/NEWS/50913029
State mobilizes for storm response
Slow-moving storm frustrates recovery plans
By Mark Schreiner
Raleigh Bureau Chief
KEN BLEVINS / STAR-NEWS
Ophelia update
This is a 5:30 p.m. update from the New Hanover County Emergency Public Information Center:
Shelter population: Dorothy B. Johnson 82; Eaton Elementary 6
Access to UNCW is limited to emergency vehicles only on Randall Drive.
Approximately 12 inches of water on Canal Drive at Carolina Beach.
Minimal hurricane force winds are expected to brush the immediate coast beginning approximately 5 a.m. Wednesday
City of Wilmington reports at least two traffic signals are out.
Minor street flooding is reported in Wilmington.
Minor street flooding in the Castle Hayne/NorthChase area
Rainfall amounts of 6-10 inches is possible, with as much of 15 inches in some areas.
Residents are reminded to continue monitoring the progress of the storm.
By Mark Schreiner
Raleigh Bureau Chief
State and federal rescue and recovery teams are ready, Gov. Mike Easley said, but clean-up from Ophelia isn’t expected to start before Friday.
The slow-moving storm, whose high winds and rain are expected to reach Southeastern North Carolina by Wednesday, is expected to frustrate recovery efforts by battering the coast for more than two days.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050913/NEWS/50913002
Closings, evacuations and cancellations
RELATED ITEMS:
State readies for Ophelia
If you would like to add closing or evacuation information to this list, please e-mail Merton Vance, online news coordinator, at merton.vance@starnewsonline.com
STORM INFORMATION
People seeking storm-related information can contact the New Hanover County Emergency Public Information Center (910) 341-4304 for storm-related information. A Hispanic translator is available at (910)341-4007.
The Brunswick County Emergency Operations Center is operating on a 24-hour schedule, and can be reached at 253-7453.
Most high-rise bridges along the coast will close when winds reach around 40 mph. Most emergency vehicles stop crossing them at 35 mph.
All emergency responses are generally stopped at 50 mph.
The Wrightsville Beach drawbridge is locked into place, closing it to boat traffic, when winds reach 35 mph.
CLOSINGS
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?&Dato=20050913&Kategori=WORK&Lopenr=50912021&Ref=AR
N.C. town takes pride in wetlands sewage plant
By JIM SPARKS
Winston-Salem Journal
In a large swath of bottomland beside Town Fork Creek, a serpentine-shaped pond filled with fluorescent green duckweed sparkles in the sunlight as it slowly feeds water into large troughs of cattails.
The soft patter of sprayed water falling is punctuated by the sound of geese honking as they take off from the plant-filled lagoons. Deer commonly visit at dusk and dawn.
The air smells a little funky, but no more than what one would expect in a marsh. The place feels like a wildlife refuge.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050914/APN/509140504&cachetime=5
Court: Eric Rudolph defense cost taxpayers $4 million
By JAY REEVES
Associated Press Writer
Legal fees to defend Eric Rudolph in a deadly Alabama abortion clinic blast and the Atlanta Olympics bombing cost taxpayers more than $4 million before he agreed to plead guilty in a deal that spared his life, court documents show.
One of Rudolph's attorneys said Tuesday the bill would have been far higher had the case gone to trial.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050913/APN/509130878&cachetime=5
One Dead As Storms Blast Parts of Wis.
By The Associated Press
Thunderstorms packing powerful winds swept through parts of Wisconsin Tuesday, knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes, damaging buildings, and downing trees and power lines.
A downed wire killed a 57-year-old man in the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa, police Lt. Gerald Witkowski said.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050914/APA/509140509&cachetime=5
Wachovia to buy finance company
Associated Press
CHARLOTTE - The financial services company Wachovia Corp. on Monday said it agreed to acquire Westcorp, an automobile finance company based in Irvine, Calif., for $3.42 billion, creating the nation’s ninth-largest auto loan originator.
Wachovia also agreed to pay another $490 million for the 16 percent stake that Westcorp doesn’t already own in WFS Financial Inc., boosting the combined value of the transactions of $3.9 billion. The company said the deal for Westcorp is expected to boost earnings in the second year and produce an internal rate of return of more than 15 percent, above Wachovia’s acquisition criteria.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050913/NEWS/209130354
TOM BLACKBURN
Good Catholics can disagree
The court and Congress are competent to deal with the legalities of abortion, not its morality.
Most Americans think Catholics are not permitted to think for themselves. Sociologist Andrew Greeley turned up that datum in his research on the persistence of anti-Catholicism in America and reports it in the Sept. 9 issue of Commonweal in a preview of his next book.
In other Catholic news this week, Judge John G. Roberts Jr. will become the fourth Catholic on the United States Supreme Court if he is confirmed by the Senate. The other three are Justices Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050913/NEWS/209130345
Exhibit Looks at Egyptian Medical Practice
By DEEPTI HAJELA
Associated Press Writer
No epidurals, needles or vaccinations here. To protect a pregnant woman in ancient Egypt, the seal on a magic jar containing a strip of papyrus could have been pressed on her skin. For the good health of a baby, a wand inscribed with the image of a goddess might be used to draw a protective circle around the spot where the child lay.
Invoking the gods and goddesses was as much a part of health care in those times as using the therapeutic properties of honey and pomegranate, according to the curator of a new exhibition that looks at the artifacts connected to healing and medicine. "The Art of Medicine in Ancient Egypt" opened Tuesday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and runs through Jan. 15.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050913/APE/509130965
How many tropical storms or hurricanes have you weathered?
None - 0.0%
1-2 - 7.1%
3-4 - 21.4%
5 or more - 71.4 %
Number of votes cast: 14
*StarNewsOnline polls are posted for entertainment only. Results are not scientific.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/miniquery?FromSave=1&Kategori=frontpage&W=287&H=70&BGColor=%23ffffff
How growth affects life in our region.
http://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=local06
New Zealand Herald
Hispanic celebrities bring aid to hurricane victims
14.09.05
Singer Gloria Estefan, actors Jimmy Smits and Andy Garcia, and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval will lead a contingent of Hispanic-American entertainers bringing aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and Mississippi.
The visit will include delivery of a planeload of supplies and toys to shelters, and will stress the importance of blood donorship.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/6/story.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10345377
Asians in NZ subjected to racism, study finds
14.09.05 1.00pm
Many Asians living in New Zealand are subjected to some form of racism, a new study has found.
The Asia New Zealand Foundation report, Engaging Asian Communities in New Zealand, revealed the most common form of racism was verbal abuse and rude gestures, often by teenagers or children.
Overt racism included damage to cars identifiable as Asian-owned, having bottles or stones thrown at them, and being mocked for poor pronunciation.
Asia New Zealand's research director, Dr Rebecca Foley, said the main purpose of the research was to look at ways that engagement between various Asian communities and other communities happened -- "or does not happen, as the case may be".
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10345507
I take responsibility, says Bush
14.09.05 1.00pm
By Kieran Murray
NEW ORLEANS - President George W. Bush has for the first time taken responsibility for federal government failures in handling the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
"Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government, and to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility," Bush said.
"I want to know what went right and what went wrong.
"Are we capable of dealing with a severe attack or another severe storm? That's a very important question and it's in our national interest that we find out exactly what went on so we can better respond," he said.
Federal emergency response (FEMA) head Michael Brown, a political ally of Bush with little hands-on experience, resigned yesterday.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10345516
Fine weather predicted for voters
14.09.05 3.00pm
While the election may be too close to call, MetService seems confident it will be fine on polling day.
Its outlook for Saturday is a dry trip to the polling booth.
However, in the days leading up to the election showery or wet conditions were expected for most western areas.
Clearing skies were likely on Saturday morning over the whole country, MetService spokesman Bob McDavitt said.
"It looks as though this fine spell will be at its best for voters during Saturday afternoon," he said.
Rain was forecast to spread onto the northwest of the North Island from Saturday evening, he said.
Heavy rain is likely on Sunday in many North Island districts and also possibly in Nelson and Marlborough.
Auckland political scientist Jack Vowles has previously said there was no statistical evidence to support the argument the weather affected voter turnout.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/search/story.cfm?storyid=%1E%FB%F8%C5%28%B6%BCD
PlayStation 2 problems
14.09.05 6.00am
Sony is recalling 3.5 million faulty power adaptors for its PlayStation 2 video game console - including some which were sold in New Zealand - because they could overheat and injure users.
The Japanese company said 40 cases of overheating had been reported in North America.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10345469
Jakarta court sentences embassy bomber to death
14.09.05 1.00pm
By Dean Yates
JAKARTA - An Indonesian court sentenced to death the main militant on trial over last year's suicide car bombing outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, which the chief judge said was financed by Osama bin Laden.
Rois, also known as Iwan Dharmawan, told reporters he was innocent of an attack that killed 10 Indonesians but said he still welcomed the death sentence and would die a martyr.
Prosecutors had accused Rois of working with the accused masterminds of the attack, Malaysians Azahari bin Husin and Noordin M. Top, who are both fugitives and said by police to be senior members of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah network.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10345518
UN scales down ambitious overhaul plans for summit
14.09.05
By Evelyn Leopold
UNITED NATIONS - Ready or not here they come -- some 150 world leaders were set to approve a somewhat emasculated UN document at the summit on global security, human rights, extreme poverty, and UN management.
Last-ditch crisis talks continued through the night with ambitious goals falling by the wayside in an effort to complete the draft by Tuesday as heads of state and government arrived for the three-day summit that starts on Wednesday.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10345452
US and Britain criticised for touting Iraq weapons at arms fair
14.09.05
By Terry Kirby
British and United States arms firms have been slammed for marketing weapons used in Iraq at Europe's biggest arms fair.
A massive police presence is expected at the Defence Systems and Equipment International Exhibition in London, following confrontations between officers and campaigners at the last fair two years ago.
Opponents have accused weapons companies of "revelling" in the opportunity to sell equipment "battle-tested" in Iraq to those countries.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10345446
Fujimori planning return to Peru
14.09.05 1.20pm
LIMA, Peru - Peru's disgraced former president, Alberto Fujimori, has picked up a new passport at Peru's consulate in Tokyo -- the latest move in his strategy to return and seek reelection, his spokesman said.
Fujimori fled to Tokyo in 2000 at the height of a government corruption scandal and has been living in self-imposed exile, protected from criminal charges of human rights abuses and corruption by his dual citizenship.
"It's clear this is another step by Fujimori on his comeback path," spokesman Carlos Raffo told Reuters in Lima. Fujimori was issued a new Peruvian identity card in July.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10345522
Detainees given barbecue after maggot complaints
14.09.05 8.20am
Detainees at Baxter Immigration Centre are to be given two barbecue feasts a week as a result of a review.
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said changes would be made to the centre's menu to allow detainees to have a say after a range of complaints.
The Australian reported that the independent food review followed continued complaints, including reports of maggot-infested meat.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10345443
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