April 29, 2005. Europe-Asia Satellite. The vortex flow off the equator is noted from central Africa 'curving' over The Middle East and extending to the Arctic Circle. The vortex flow definately has the appearance of reaching below the equator. Something is up. The heat alignment is taking between the North Arctic Circle and Anarctica. Do you see it? The Indian Ocean is hot. There is peripheral reach over Madagascar. The heat concentration of heat is the eastern continent looking at this satellite and it is all lining up. Let's see, 00.18 gmt...that is about three in the morning. Darkness. There is something about this that isn't kosher. I'll check it again in the morning. 

April 29, 2005. The Pacific Global Satellite. A whole lot better. The equator isn't easily visualized because the cloud density is less. The Northern Hemisphere has a couple of small vortexes in the North Pacific. It is better picture. There is still vortex flows to the Arctic Circle from mid-Pacific across Mexico to the east coast USA, but, it's still a better picture. 

The West Pacific, April 28, 2005 at 23.57 gmt is about ten hours ahead making this about nine in the morning after cooling off. The equator is wonderfully intact and mostly calm. There is a mild cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere on the east side of the satellite. The heat intensity is far less than before. 

This is the worst of the satellites today. The Indian Ocean is always finding heat when the rest of the planet doesn't. April 28, 2005 at 22:44 gmt, India is actually five and a half hours ahead of gmt and this places this satellite somewhere around 3:45 in the early morning. The area is in darkness actually. In visual satellites there is a lot of clouds and that is why there is an accumulation of heat. The heat is held under the clouds.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sits in his car upon his arrival at Ben Gurion airport.
Can the Nobel Peace Prize be shared by five men? (In alphabetical order) Abbas, Abdullah, Mubarak, Putin and Sharon?

The Beginning to the End of Hatred and Violence. It is sustainable. These two nations cannot failure each other. There should be no victimization of either people !!  

Morning Papers

Rooster "Crowing"

"Okeydoke"

History...

April 28…

Born…

1878, Lionel Barrymore, actor

1930, James Baker, U.S. secretary of state

1937, Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq

1950, Jay Leno, American comedian and television talk-show host, noted for gently satirizing the mores and products of United States consumer culture. Leno also is known for his passion for performing before live audiences.

1947, a six-man expedition sailed from Peru aboard a balsa wood raft named the Kon-Tiki on a 101-day journey to Polynesia.

1952, war with Japan officially ended as a treaty that had been signed by the United States and 47 other nations took effect.

1960, French president Charles de Gaulle resigns after his proposals for constitutional reforms are defeated in a national referendum.

1967, World heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali refuses induction into the U.S. Army for religious reasons; he is later convicted of draft evasion and stripped of his title, the same day Gen. William C. Westmoreland told Congress the U.S. "would prevail in Vietnam."

1980, President Carter accepted the resignation of Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, who had opposed the failed rescue mission aimed at freeing American hostages in Iran.

1988, a flight attendant was killed and 61 persons injured when part of the roof of an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 peeled back during a flight from Hilo to Honolulu.

Missing in Action

1965 STORZ RONALD EDWARD SOUTH OZONE PARK NY 03/02/74 REMAINS RETURNED
1967 CARAS FRANKLIN ANGEL SPANISH FORK UT REMAINS RETURNED 11/25/87
1968 BORS JOSEPH C. BINGHAMTON NY
1968 COOK WILLIAM R. REDWOOD FALLS MN
1968 FINLAY JOHN S. ARLINGTON VA 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1968 RUMBLE WESLEY L. OROVILLE CA 08/05/69 RELEASED
1968 SAAVEDRA ROBERT NOGALES AZ
1969 REARDON RICHARD J. HUNTINGTON NY 02/04/70 CREW REMAINS RECOVERED
1970 SNIDER HUGHIE F. NEW CUMBERLAND WV

April 27…

Born,

1791, Samuel Morse, artist and inventor

1759, Mary Wollstonecraft, author and feminist

1840, Edward Whymper, mountain climber, writer, and illustrator

1896, Rogers Hornsby, baseball player and manager

1900, Walter Lantz, animator and cartoon producer

1861, After Virginia secedes from the United States, West Virginia secedes from Virginia and forms its own state.

1937, In the United States, the first social security checks were distributed.

1950, Following the institution of apartheid in 1948, South Africa passes the Group Areas Act, formally segregating the country's racial groups.
1967, Expo '67 was officially opened in Montreal by Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson.

1973, during the Watergate scandal, Acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray resigned.

1978, convicted Watergate defendant John D. Ehrlichman was released from an Arizona prison after serving 18 months.

1994, former President Richard M. Nixon was remembered at an outdoor funeral service attended by all five of his successors at the Nixon presidential library in Yorba Linda, Calif.

Missing in Action

1967 BENTON JAMES AUSTIN DAISY TN
1967 CASTRO REINALDO ANTONIO PACIFIC GROVE CA
1967 DALLAS RICHARD H. MEMPHIS TN
1967 DYER BLENN COLBY STANDISH ME
1967 OSBORNE SAMUEL WILLIAM JR CHARLESTON SC
1967 PENNINGTON RONALD KEITH HAMBLETON WV
1969 DIEHL BERNHARD GERMANY RELEASED 1973 ALIVE AND WELL 98
1969 SCHWINN MONICA GERMANY RELEASED 1973 ALIVE AND WELL 98
1970 HILL JOHN R. WAYNESBORO PA
1971 KRUPA FREDERICK SCRANTON PA
1972 MOLINARE ALBERT R. SAN DIEGO CA 03/28/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1972 SOUDER JAMES B. ELIZABETHTOWN TN 03/28/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98

The Jerusalem Post

Katsav greets Putin, calls his visit a 'peak' in relations

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his historic visit to Israel Thursday morning by saying that in his opinion, "this is an opportunity to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
Putin made his comment at the President's House, where he is meeting President Moshe Katsav before an afternoon meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1114481967207

Analysis: Russia is back as a major international player

Vladimir Putin has come to Jerusalem to let the world know that Russia is back as a major player on the international stage and that it intends to play an active role in Middle Eastern affairs, Aliza Shenhar, former Israeli ambassador to Russia, told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
Shenhar, who is a member of the staff of Haifa University and deputy mayor of Haifa, said that from now on, the countries of this region will have to consider Russia's interests as well as those of the US. She mentioned a speech Putin made a few days ago, in which he said the collapse of the Soviet Union was a great geo-political catastrophe. "Putin wants to restore Russia's lost honor," said Shenhar.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1114568596597

Putin arrives in Israel for a historic 2-day visit
Russia is interested in selling military equipment to the Palestinian Authority, another contentious issue expected to be raised Thursday when Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Putin, the first Kremlin leader ever to visit Israel while in office, arrived Wednesday night from Cairo, where he raised the idea of holding an international peace conference in Moscow in the Fall, another idea that did not go down well in Jerusalem.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1114481967207

Rand Co. offers 10-yr plan for PA devp.
A $6 billion high-speed rail line linking the West Bank with the Gaza Strip could make a Palestinian state without contiguous borders viable, said a report released Wednesday by the Rand Corporation, a US-based think tank.
It proposes building a rail line linking, within a 90-minute ride, the major towns and cities controlled by the Palestinian Authority, such as Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron and Gaza City.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1114654776625

Editorial: Putin's imperative

The arrival to Israel of Russian President Vladimir Putin justifies the journalistic cliche that the greatest importance of the visit is that it is taking place.
None of his predecessors – neither czars nor Soviet autocrats – ever saw fit to visit this country, their religious and/or political stakes in it notwithstanding. Putin's very decision not to overlook this thus-far shunned destination on his journey to the region is in itself very welcome, a sign of hope and the breaking of a traditional Moscow foreign-policy mold.

This, nonetheless, begs a question about Putin's motives. Why is he veering from what had become Kremlin custom? In the world of realpolitik – of which Putin is a master practitioner – it is hard to accept that his redirection arises only from a desire to be fair and right a historical wrong.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1114481966587&apage=2

THE WAY TO SUSTAINED PEACE is not to dominate the area with overwhelming force but more to live among the nations of The Middle East. I personally am delighted Russia's Putin in on Israeli soil. Pointing a finger at Russia as if Putin alone has the key to Israel's security is wrong. The Nuclear Proliferation that is currently a part of the reality of the world belongs not to Vladimir Putin and Russia but to George Walker Bush and the USA. Five years ago the world was in a far better place than today to demand nations to disarm from biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. If Iran is developing technology for a nuclear strike against ANY country that is because the USA is in Iraq and threatening an invasion. It has little to do with Israel except if the USA continues this hideous advance on Islam Israel will appear to be a hostage to The Middle East. Enough already. Israel must conduct itself autonomously and welcome Russia as an ally and friend. Forgiveness for past pain must be a priority and Israel must come to terms with the Holocaust and close the memory books. Russia and the Russian people want that and for whatever Anti-Semitism existed in the past Israel and Israelis need to realize the vital and precious role Russia played in destroying Nazi Germany and freeing the prisoners of the internment camps.

If Israel is worried about Iranian nuclear capacity it is up to Israel to call on allies, including Russia, to disarm not only Iran but the entire of the region of nuclear capacity including Israel itself.

Peace is achieved though the practice of peace, a healthy balance of power and not the unilateral strength of one nation while others 'quake in fear' at the possibility of potential damage to their populous at the whim of mistrust or changed intentions.

Egypt and Jordan bravely started a process to end the FEAR that lingers in The Middle East between Israel and it's neighboring nations. It is a good process and one that should be respected. Russia's willingness to come to that process brings a balance of power to the USE of Israel by the United States to cause not only war but destruction of any hopes of peace. Israel should be reminded of the illegal invasion into Iraq and the subsequent negligence of the USA and it's military to plan for a post war Iraq INCLUDING the 380 tonnes of high grade explosives and weapons stores in the Iraqi desert. That is not responsible intentions but reckless endangerment to the region. Those explosives are still to be realized as 'RE-CONTAINED' and still a very real threat to all the nations of the region. Within the borders of the USA lies incredible assault against it's very constitution by the current administration and puppet Congress. Israel has no guarantees of USA intention any longer. The USA is not the country it once was and Israel needs to seek comfort with a balance of power of all nations of the region.

Nuclear disarmament of all nations including those that would desire it most such as Pakistan and subsequently India is the ONLY way to peace. Every nations needs to respect each other's autonomy and sovereignty and need to move past the suspicion or doubt of willingness to commit to a lasting peace. The people of Israel must provide for Palestine and in prompt measure to allow the peaceful coexistence of people that might otherwise find a genocide against them.

If peace is a priority for Russia and President Putin as I believe it is, then each nation demands it's own security FIRST followed by determined disarmament in earnest for the long term PEACE and PROSPERITY of all nations securing beyond any munitions the promise of generations unending.

The Los Angles Times

Hastert Ready to 'Step Back' From Challenged Rules
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Dennis Hastert said today he stands ready to "step back" on new ethics rules that Democrats charge are designed to shelter embattled GOP leader Tom DeLay.
Hastert said he intends to send a letter to House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi later in the day signaling his willingness to repeal the controversial rules changes.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-042705ethics_wr,0,4879903.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Dog Sledders Set Record in Reaching North Pole
Five explorers using huskies and wooden sleds reached the North Pole, setting a world record by arriving 4 hours and 49 minutes faster than a 37-day trek by American explorer Adm. Robert E. Peary on the same journey in 1909, the expedition team said. British explorer Tom Avery wanted to prove that it was possible to make the 475-mile trip from Cape Columbia in Canada's Nunavut province in the time claimed by Peary.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-briefs27.3apr27,0,7719752.story?coll=la-home-world

'All of a Sudden, Pow! ... It Was Gunfire'
Friend of a slain driver tells of terror on the Harbor Freeway as a gunman zeroes in.
By Richard Winton, Times Staff Writer
Rejoicing over the stack of auto parts they had just scavenged from a Wilmington wrecking yard, Willie Burks and James Wiggins were driving north on the Harbor Freeway near Redondo Beach Boulevard when the first bullet hit.
"All of a sudden, pow! One shot knocked the back window out," said Burks, the passenger. "It didn't crack, it shattered … we knew it was gunfire. That's when we both panicked. We both ducked down."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-freeway27apr27,0,4178219.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Copycats Feared in Freeway Shootings
CHP says car-to-car violence that's left four dead may be creating its own momentum.
By Richard Winton and Andrew Blankstein, Times Staff Writers
Manny Padilla didn't need the recent series of freeway shootings that have left four men dead and one wounded to understand how tense the roads can be.
"My sister-in-law actually had a weapon pulled on her on an Inland Empire highway," said Padilla, chief of the California Highway Patrol's Los Angeles County division. "She backed off, got the license plate and called it in."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-freeway26apr26,1,2752574.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Pot Laws Pain Some Elders
Senior citizens who use medical marijuana to treat their ailments wonder why the federal government wants to just say no to them.
SEATTLE — Betty Hiatt's morning wake-up call comes with the purr and persistent kneading of the cat atop her bedspread. Under predawn gray, Hiatt blinks awake. It is 6 a.m., and Kato, an opinionated Siamese who Hiatt swears can tell time, wants to be fed.
Reaching for a cane, the frail grandmother pads with uncertain steps to the tiny alcove kitchen in her two-room flat. Her feline alarm clock gets his grub, then Hiatt turns to her own needs.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oldpot28apr28,0,5823482.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Abbas Threatens Force Against Militants
JERUSALEM — Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas threatened to use force against anyone who violates a cease-fire with Israel, his toughest warning against Palestinian militants since taking office in January.
In a speech to Palestinian police, Abbas also pledged to maintain quiet during the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this summer.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/ats-ap_top12apr28,0,6084836.story

Villaraigosa Under Fire for Florida Donations
After months of criticizing Mayor James K. Hahn for accepting questionable political donations, mayoral challenger Antonio Villaraigosa found himself answering questions Wednesday about $31,000 in donations to his campaign from workers at two affiliated Florida-based companies.
Although some employees said they supported Villaraigosa, others struggled to explain the donations, sounded confused when told of their donations or declined to answer questions.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mayor28apr28,0,4211565.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Fox Moves to End Crisis
Mexican leader accepts resignation of attorney general who has led case against the capital's popular mayor, the top presidential contender.
By Reed Johnson, Marla Dickerson and Chris Kraul, Times Staff Writers
MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Vicente Fox moved Wednesday to defuse a political crisis that has consumed the country for weeks, accepting the resignation of the attorney general who had been leading the prosecution of Mexico City's popular mayor.
In a surprise announcement broadcast nationwide, Fox gave no reason for the departure of Atty. Gen. Rafael Macedo de la Concha, but analysts said the president acted because of growing criticism of the government's criminal case against Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the top contender in next year's presidential election.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico28apr28,0,7011565.story?coll=la-home-headlines

continued...

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrivng at Ben-Gurion International Airpot on his historic trip to the Middle East.

President Putin at the Western Wall.

The Ultra Orthodox in Protest

This is a young Israeli at a protest in Gaza. What kind of children are Israeli children to be? Warriors forever? Just another breed of Hezbollah or Hamas?

The Chinese in front of Yao Ming a USA Basketball Superstar.

General Myers admits there have been an increase in attacks within Iraq.

Morning Papers - continued...

Michael Moore Today

http://www.michaelmoore.com/

Daily Contact;
DeLay's office kept Abramoff, now under criminal investigation, routinely apprised of congressional efforts to block new regulations on his client, the Northern Mariana Islands.
Records Show DeLay, Lobbyist Daily Contact
By Sharon Theimer / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Over two years, Rep. Tom DeLay had at least two dozen discussions with a lobbyist working to keep a U.S. territory's factories free from new labor laws. The lobbyist contributed to the House leader's campaigns and arranged travel for him.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2398

DeLay, the Lobbyist and the Mariana Islands

Texans Protest DeLay Visit;
"This is not a Democrat or a Republican issue. Tom DeLay is a disgrace to Texas." (video)

DeLay Gets Mixed Welcome at Home
Fox News
HOUSTON — Back home in Houston over this past weekend, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay found little respite from his current political troubles.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2395

THEY NEED TO RECUSE THEMSELVES !!! IF NOT the Democrats on the Panel should be taking it before the Supreme Court !!

Donations link DeLay, ethics panel
By Jim Drinkard / USA Today
All five Republicans on the House ethics committee have financial links to Tom DeLay that could raise conflict-of-interest issues should the panel investigate the GOP majority leader.
Public records show DeLay's leadership political action committee (PAC) gave $15,000 to the campaign of Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Pa. - $10,000 in 2000 and $5,000 in 2002. Hart would chair a panel to investigate DeLay if the committee moves forward with a probe.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2401

U.S. Figures Show Sharp Global Rise In Terrorism
State Dept. Will Not Put Data in Report
By Susan B. Glasser / Washington Post
The number of serious international terrorist incidents more than tripled last year, according to U.S. government figures, a sharp upswing in deadly attacks that the State Department has decided not to make public in its annual report on terrorism due to Congress this week.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2409

Rights Group: Abu Ghraib Abuses 'Tip of Iceberg'
By Ian Simpson / Reuters
BAGHDAD - A rights watchdog said on Wednesday the abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison were just the "tip of the iceberg" of U.S. mistreatment of Muslim prisoners.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2404

Iraqi MP Killed; No Government Announced
By Michael Georgy / Reuters
BAGHDAD - Gunmen assassinated an Iraqi woman member of parliament Wednesday in a fresh shock to politicians whose failure to form a government three months after elections has allowed violence to thrive unchecked.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2400

BBC

US 'conceals high terror figures'
The Madrid bombings were among the most deadly attacks of 2004
Data withheld from an annual report on terrorism by the US state department show a sharp increase in attacks in 2004, a top Democratic lawmaker says.
Henry Waxman, citing official briefings given to congressional aides, said the number of "significant" attacks had risen more than three-fold in a year.
He said there were about 650 such attacks in 2004 - up from 175 in 2003.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4488513.stm

China's Yao Ming wins Party award
By Louisa Lim
BBC News, Beijing

Yao Ming's contract is worth nearly $18m
Communist China has officially named a multi-millionaire basketball star, Yao Ming, as a model worker.
It is an annual award given ahead of the Labour Day festivities on 1 May. But this year's choice has sparked controversy.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4492819.stm

Worldwide cancer rates 'double'
A million women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually
Breast and lung cancer rates have doubled around the world over the last 30 years, a report shows.
Cancer Research UK said much of the growth was due to more people living longer - as cancer is a disease which usually affects older people.
But they said habits such as smoking and diet also had a significant effect.
They said the analysis showed which populations were at more risk of certain cancers, pointing towards ways of tackling those forms of the disease.
Click here to see global rates of cancer

Pasted from <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4490271.stm>

Japan train crash toll tops 100

As wreckage was cleared away the front car became visible

Rescue workers have retrieved more bodies from the wreckage of a Japanese commuter train, which crashed on Monday, bringing the death toll to 104.
One of the bodies was confirmed to be that of the train's 23-year-old driver, Ryujiro Takami.
Investigators estimate the train was travelling at more than 100km/h (62mph) when it slammed into an apartment block in the western city of Amagasaki.
The front carriage is still embedded in a car park under the block.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4492267.stm

Japan's fame for rail safety
By Sarah Buckley
BBC News
Japan's latest train crash will send shock waves through a country which prides itself on the efficiency and safety of its rail industry.
One Japanese station manager committed suicide a few years ago because his trains were late, and the country is widely considered to have one of the best rail safety records of anywhere in the world.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4480965.stm

The changing face of Jerusalem
By Matthew Price
BBC News, in Jerusalem
Every day the number 163 bus drives through the orthodox neighbourhoods of Jewish West Jerusalem.

Palestinians say the barrier risks ending co-existence between Arabs and Jews
It heads for Bethlehem in the West Bank. The journey takes about 40 minutes. Skirting Arab-dominated East Jerusalem which Israel has occupied since 1967.
By the time the 163 reaches the checkpoint into Bethlehem the bus is full of Jewish worshippers. The men in black coats and hats, the women in long skirts.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4490671.stm

Iraqi MPs approve partial cabinet

An MP was killed this week, the first in the new parliament
MPs in Iraq have approved a new government by a large majority despite failure to agree on several top posts.
Seven posts were left vacant, including oil and defence, but Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari promised that they would be filled very soon.
The government's formation has been held up for months, partly over how to draw in the Sunni minority.
Among the names on the new list is Shia politician Ahmed Chalabi, a one-time US favourite who fell from grace.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4492457.stm

Syria withdrawal: Lebanese speak

Syria used to have 40,000 troops in Lebanon
After Syria's withdrawal of the last of its troops from Lebanon, following a 29-year long presence in the country, the BBC News website spoke to four Lebanese about their feelings on the historic move.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4482883.stm

Putin reassures Israel over Iran

Mr Putin says Iran should be allowed to use modern technology
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the nuclear collaboration between his country and Iran is merely for "peaceful uses" of atomic energy.
Mr Putin was talking to Israel's Channel 1 ahead of a historic trip to Israel - the first by a Russian leader.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4475445.stm

What happened to Elian Gonzalez?
By Stephen Gibbs
BBC correspondent in Cardenas, Cuba

Elian now lives with his father Juan Miguel in Cuba
"He's just a normal little boy" - is what almost everyone in this small, dusty Cuban town will tell you when you ask them about Elian Gonzalez.
A normal little boy who is doing well at school, has plenty of friends, and thinks that maybe he will be a gymnast when he grows up.
It is a far cry from the high drama of five years ago, when Elian was the world famous symbol of a bitter dispute between two nations, two political systems, and one family.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4471099.stm

Moussaoui seeks Muslim land grave

Moussaoui was arrested a month before the US attacks
Admitted terrorist plotter Zacarias Moussaoui has said he wants to be buried in a Muslim land if executed.
Moussaoui asked one of his lawyers to help bring about his wish by recruiting Muslim academic Professor Sadiq Reza.
"I wanted to ask Professor Reza if he could follow up the issue," Moussaoui privately told his trial judge, newly released court papers said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4492127.stm

'Bribes' let Bin Laden evade US

The use of Afghan allies at Tora Bora was a controversial strategy
Osama Bin Laden gave US forces the slip by bribing the Afghan militias tasked with tracking him down, according to Germany's spy chief, August Hanning.
Mr Hanning told German newspaper Handelsblatt that using Afghans was the key mistake in the hunt for Bin Laden.
He said Bin Laden paid "a lot of money" to buy a safe passage from the Tora Bora caves, which he had retreated to during the US assault in 2001.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4442045.stm

Top generals sacked in Colombia

The town of Toribio has been badly damaged in recent clashes
Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe has sacked four top army generals for reportedly disagreeing with reforms within the military.
The generals were all critics of plans to improve co-operation between the different branches of the armed forces.
The move comes as Marxist rebels have stepped up their attacks in the south-west of the country.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4491823.stm

Al Jazeera

EU to postpone Iran nuclear talks- Iranian official
The European Union (EU) has called for postponing current negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, a top Iranian official said in Tehran Wednesday.
The official IRNA news agency has quoted Ali Aqa Mohammadi, top official of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, as saying that the EU made its call because of Iran's preparations for the presidential elections, scheduled to be held in June and Britain's parliamentary elections, due in May.

http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=8038

NATO asked by the African Union to assist in Darfur
The African Union (AU) has asked to start talks with NATO for logistical support in its mission in Sudan's war-torn western Darfur region.
The request was made in a letter sent to NATO’s Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer by AU Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare, NATO spokesman James Appathurai said Wednesday.

http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=8160

Human Rights Watch: Abu Ghraib abuses tip of iceberg
The New York based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday the abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison were just the "tip of the iceberg" of U.S. mistreatment of Muslim prisoners.
According to the rights watchdog, the abuses at Abu Ghraib are part of a larger pattern of U.S. rights violations of detainees in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere.

http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=8071

Iraqi woman MP shot dead in Baghdad
Unknown gunmen shot dead an Iraqi woman MP on the doorstep of her home in eastern Baghdad on Wednesday, an interior ministry official said.

"Armed men knocked at her door and when she answered, they shot her," the official said.
Lamiya Abed Khadawi was a member of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s coalition.

http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=8016

Myers admits the U.S. failed to kill the Iraqi resistance
Gen. Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff admitted on Tuesday that the Iraqi resistance is "about where it was a year ago".
However, Myers insists the U.S.-led occupation forces are winning the war and is confident of victory.

http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=8075

Advocacy group strongly critical of U.S. policy on Darfur
A leading international advocacy group has lambasted the United States for playing down the crisis in Sudan saying it should take the lead in global efforts to resolve the conflict.
The International Crisis Group (ICG), a nongovernmental body that seeks to promote solutions to conflicts worldwide, also called for African Union troop monitors in Sudan to be increased fivefold and for the appointment of a high-profile international mediator on the Sudan conflict.

http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=8027

Israel pressures Russia to cancel Syrian missile deal
The Israeli government is pressuring Russia to cancel its MI-18 anti-aircraft missiles sale to Syria claiming that such missiles might reach the hands of the Palestinian resistance, particularly in the West Bank.
According to Israeli military and security sources the Israeli civil aviation and air force crafts will be jeopardized if such missiles reach the West Bank from Syria via the Lebanese Hezbollah organization.

http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=8019

Lebanon rejects calling Hezbollah “militia” group
The Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud on Wednesday rejected Hezbollah's designation as a militia in a report by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
”We stress that Hezbollah is not a militia, but a national resistance movement defending Lebanon and seeking the liberation of occupied Lebanese territory,” Mahmoud said in reference to the disputed Shabaa Farms in southern Lebanon which the UN considers as part of Syria.

http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=8156

Abbas accuses Israel of reneging on its commitments
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that Israel is reneging on the commitments and the “understandings” reached with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the Feb. 8 summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Abbas said that Israeli authorities are not committed to the ceasefire and that they are delaying the security transfer of five West Bank towns, including Ramallah, to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
Israeli Occupation

http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=8012

Council on Europe condemns U.S. for using torture on Gitmo detainees
4/26/2005 10:00:00 PM GMT

Europe’s human rights body condemned the United States Tuesday for using "torture" on suspects held at Guantanamo Bay and called on European countries not to cooperate in interrogating Guantanamo detainees.
A Pentagon spokesman said the United States was running "a safe, humane and professional detention operation at Guantanamo that is providing valuable information in the war on terror."

http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=8040

Official: Pakistani commandos being trained by U.S
U.S. troops have been in Pakistan recently to train Pakistani Special Services Group (SSG) commandos, a U.S. military official said Wednesday.
The troops, consisting of a small number of U.S. military advisers, have been focusing on training the Pakistanis in day and night helicopter air assault operations, the official said.

http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=8163

Sydney Morning Herald

Rebels in Iraq as strong as a year ago
April 28, 2005

We're winning: General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Photo: AP
Iraq's insurgents have lost none of their ability to stage attacks, despite all the efforts to crush the rebels, the senior US military officer, General Richard Myers, said.
"Where they are right now is where they were almost a year ago," the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said during a Pentagon briefing on Tuesday.
But the US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, was not so direct when he was asked: "Are we winning the war?"
"The United States and the coalition forces, in my personal view, will not be the thing that will defeat the insurgency," Mr Rumsfeld said.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Rebels-in-Iraq-as-strong-as-a-year-ago/2005/04/27/1114462101423.html

News turns bad for Arctic ozone layer
April 28, 2005

London: The protective ozone layer over the Arctic has thinned this northern winter to the lowest levels since records began, alarming scientists who believed it had begun to heal.
The increased loss of ozone allows more harmful ultraviolet light to reach the Earth's surface, making children and outdoor enthusiasts such as skiers more vulnerable to skin cancer - a disease that is already dramatically increasing.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/News-turns-bad-for-Arctic-ozone-layer/2005/04/27/1114462104157.html

Extradition request for alleged Nazi
April 27, 2005 - 10:35PM

The Australian government is considering a request from Hungary to extradite an 86-year-old alleged Nazi war criminal accused of killing a Jewish teenager during World War II.
Hungary asked the Australian government last month to extradite Perth resident Charles Zentai, the country's ambassador to Australia Lajos Fodor said.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Extradition-request-for-alleged-Nazi/2005/04/27/1114462102954.html

Concrete threat to Kurnell's last dune
By Tim Dick Urban Affairs Reporter
April 28, 2005

Dust to dust … Darren Hunt, Rocla's production manager, surveys the Kurnell site.
Photo: Dallas Kilponen
The owner of Kurnell's last significant dune has vowed to remove the sand there and use it for concrete after the State Government rejected its mining application.
Rocla Quarry Products said it had a 40-year-old consent allowing it to mine the 1.5 million-tonne dune, which is three kilometres from Captain Cook's landing site.
The Planning Minister, Craig Knowles, denied Rocla's application to mine the dune and the sand below it because it contravened the Government's policy of phasing out mining at Kurnell.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Concrete-threat-to-Kurnells-last-dune/2005/04/27/1114462103497.html

Police want death for Bali nine
By Matthew Moore, Lindsay Murdoch and Philip Cornford in Denpasar
April 28, 2005

The Bali nine ... the accused Australians.
Each of the nine Australians held in Bali on heroin charges is a big step closer to death row.
Indonesian police say they want all of them to face a firing squad for drug trafficking. Previously they had said that only the four arrested with 8.3 kilograms of heroin strapped to their stomachs and thighs at Bali's international airport would be charged with a capital offence.
But another five could now also face a firing squad after police said yesterday they were being investigated for trafficking heroin rather than possession.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Police-want-death-for-Bali-nine/2005/04/27/1114462101414.html

Correct form of a dress for bar staff: very short
She posed in a bikini for a men's magazine and, like many women, wore a miniskirt socially. But what gaming room attendant Susie Zhang did in her private life ended up being used against her in court.
Ms Zhang had complained that her employer had no right to ask her to wear a miniskirt at work, but Federal Magistrate Rolf Driver found against her.
However, in dismissing the sexual harassment and sex discrimination claim, the magistrate has reignited a debate about women's attire.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Correct-dress-at-work-very-short/2005/04/27/1114462103503.html

continued...

The Bali Nine.

The Kurnell Dune in Australia. Dustier than usual.

Morning Papers - continued...

Haaretz

MK tells Gaza rally: Time for civil disobedience
By Nir Hasson and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents
National Union MK Aryeh Eldad called on thousands of anti-disengagement activists rallying in the Gaza Strip settlement bloc of Gush Katif on Wednesday to commit acts of non-violent civil disobedience to protest the pullout.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/569352.html

Eitam tells Gaza rally that pullout can still be halted
By Nir Hasson and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents
MK Effi Eitam told thousands of anti-disengagement protesters rallying in the Gaza Strip settlement bloc of Gush Katif on Wednesday that the pullout plan can still be stopped if many people gather at the Kissufim junction east of Gaza on the day the evacuation is slated to take place.
"If they close the roads to us, we'll walk on dirt roads, in fields, in groves," Eitam said. "If a million and a half people get up and go, it will be impossible to carry out this plan. It's impossible to evacuate a nation."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/569352.html

White House balks at Putin's offer to host Mideast summit
By Aluf Benn, Yossi Melman, and Lily Galili, Haaretz Correspondents, and Agencies
The White House balked on Wednesday at a proposal by Russian President Vladimir Putin for an international conference this fall to seek a settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying the timing was not right.
"We believe there will be an appropriate time for an international conference, but we are not at that stage now and I don't expect that we will be there by the fall," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
"We need to continue to focus our efforts on the disengagement plan," McClellan added. "We all need to do what we can to support the Palestinian leaders as they move forward to put the institutions in place for a viable democracy to emerge."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/569353.html

Ahead of Israel visit, Putin calls for Mideast conference in Moscow
By Aluf Benn, Yossi Melman, and Lily Galili, Haaretz Correspondents, and Agencies
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Wednesday for a Middle East peace conference in Moscow in the autumn, and said he would discuss the proposal with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon during his visit to Israel, set to begin later in the day.
Putin's arrival in Israel on Wednesday night will launch an unprecedented state visit by a Russian - or Soviet - head of state. Government sources say the visit is important by virtue of it taking place, and is part of a broader swing through the region indicating Russian interest in taking a higher profile in the region.
"I am suggesting that we should convene a conference for all these countries concerned [with the peace process] and the Quartet, next autumn," Putin said in Russian during a joint press conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The so-called Quartet includes Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, and is behind the formulation of the road map peace plan.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/569353.html

Two Palestinian youths carrying explosives arrested at Jenin roadblock
By Haaretz Service and The Associated Press
Israel Defense Forces soldiers arrested two Palestinian teenagers at the Jalameh roadblock in the West Bank city of Jenin on Wednesday morning, after they were found to be in possession of explosives and weapons, Israel Radio reported.
According to the report, the two - aged 15 and 16 years - told interrogators that they had been acting as couriers for terrorists.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/569675.html

Heir of Nazi arms supplier pays into fund for former slave laborers
By The Associated Press
BERLIN - The billionaire heir of a Nazi-era arms supplier has paid $6.5 million into a fund for Nazi-era forced laborers, a move that a senior German Jewish official said Tuesday was long overdue.
Friedrich Christian Flick had maintained that, as an individual, he was not obligated to pay into the fund set up by the government and industry - a stance that prompted intense criticism from Jewish groups and others. The $6.6 billion fund started payments in 2001.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/569648.html

Five policemen wounded in clashes with ultra-Orthodox protesters
By Jonathan Lis and Roni Singer, Haaretz Correspondents and Haaretz Service
Five police officers were wounded Tuesday night in clashes with hundreds of ultra-Orthodox protesters in Jerusalem. One of them was in moderate condition, and the rest sustained light injuries. Nine of the rioters were arrested during the incident.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/569349.html

Buenos Aires Herald

Bridging the Taiwan Strait
The eight-day trip by Lien Chan was aimed at easing tensions between Taiwan and China, which has threatened to attack if the self-ruled island pursues formal independence. It includes a meeting on Friday with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
‘‘Taipei and Nanjing are not too distant, but it still took 60 years...

http://www.buenosairesherald.com/the_world/note.jsp?idContent=158481&hideIntro=true

Debt ruling due today

Argentina was due on April 1 to issue US$35.3 billion in bonds in exchange for US$62.3 billion in old defaulted bonds in a swap aimed at turning the page on its 2002 sovereign default.

But it delayed issuing new bonds until the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York...

http://www.buenosairesherald.com/business/note.jsp?idContent=158476&hideIntro=true

HE'S TURNING the country into Texas. Pretty soon we'll be having our backyards full of steer droppings. Buffalos on tennis courts will be a small clean up compared to what Bush wants to do to USA air quality. He gets 'hyped' by a Saudi Prince and wants to become one himself. What a moron !!

The Chicago Tribune

Hinrich maneuver
Guard gets career-high 34 in victory
BULLS 113, WIZARDS 103: BULLS LEAD SERIES 2-0
By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 28, 2005
If some budding entrepreneur were smart, he or she would start printing Bulls jerseys with names like Jannero Hinrich, Othella Piatkowski and Adrian Nocioni.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-0504280284apr28,1,5343770.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Front-page bike photo didn't show Lombardo
By John Bebow and Jon Yates
Tribune staff reporters
Published April 28, 2005
The photo that ran on the front page of Wednesday's Chicago Tribune was, in fact, of a dapper old man.
But he wasn't Joseph "The Clown" Lombardo.
He was Stanley Swieton, 69, a soft-spoken Chicagoan who never figured he'd make the front page of the newspaper.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0504280265apr28,1,15828.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Bush Wants Refineries at Ex-Defense Bases
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
Associated Press Writer
Published April 27, 2005, 10:18 AM CDT
WASHINGTON -- President Bush, trying to blunt growing unrest over high energy prices, is laying out proposals to speed construction of nuclear power plants and oil refineries and boost sales of energy-efficient vehicles.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-bush-energy,1,4253363.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Dad comes home, finds 2 children fatally stabbed
Published April 28, 2005
HOFFMAN ESTATES -- Two children were fatally stabbed Wednesday night in Hoffman Estates, police said.
At 9:20 p.m., the children's father arrived at their home in the 1100 block of John Drive and called 911 to report that his 3-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son were stabbed, said Hoffman Estates Police Officer Paul McCaffrey. Police arrived within three minutes and found the children dead. The names of the children were not released.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0504280252apr28,1,6377417.story?coll=chi-news-hed

The Independent

Open door for women to qualify, says Royal and Ancient
By James Corrigan
27 April 2005
Goodness knows what Old Tom Morris would have made of it, but the Royal and Ancient's revelation that from next year women will be allowed to try to qualify for the Open Championship sent a shudder through the sport that must have been felt by its first superstar.

http://sport.independent.co.uk/golf/story.jsp?story=633340

Staff blamed for death of prison inmate
By Ian Herbert, North of England Correspondent
27 April 2005
A women's prison where six inmates died within a year has come under renewed criticism after an inquest jury concluded that its staff were to blame for one of the deaths.
The jury said that the failure of a nurse to secure a medication trolley containing anti-depressants contributed to the death of Julie Walsh, 39, at Styal prison in Cheshire.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/story.jsp?story=633358

Climate change poses threat to food supply, scientists say
By Michael McCarthy, Environment Editor
27 April 2005
Worldwide production of essential crops such as wheat, rice, maize and soya beans is likely to be hit much harder by global warming than previously predicted, an international conference in London has heard.
The benefits of higher levels of the main greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, will in fact be outweighed by the downsides of climate change, a Royal Society discussion meeting was told yesterday. It had been thought that the gas might act as a fertiliser to increase plant growth. Rising atmospheric temperatures, longer droughts and side-effects of both, such as higher levels of ground-level ozone gas, are likely to bring about a substantial reduction in crop yields in the coming decades, large-scale experiments have shown.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/environment/story.jsp?story=633349

Outrage in Italy as US clears troops who killed agent escorting freed hostage
By Peter Popham in Rome and Andrew Buncombe in Washington
27 April 2005
Italians have reacted with outrage to news that an inquiry in the United States into the shooting of an Italian secret service agent in Iraq has cleared the American troops who killed him.

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=633336

The People Daily

KMT leader kicks off historic mainland visit after 56-year span

Chairman Lien Chan of Kuomintang (KMT), or the Chinese nationalist party, arrived Tuesday afternoon in east China's Nanjing City, on the first visit to the mainland by the top leader of the party since it lost a civil war and fled to Taiwan in 1949.
"This visit has been too late, but we finally took the first historic step," said the 68-year-old Lien upon his arrival.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200504/27/eng20050427_182847.html

Treating Sino-Japanese economic cooperation rationally

During his recent meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Chinese President Hu Jintao put forward a five-point proposal concerning Sino-Japanese relations. At present, a correct understanding and treatment of Sino-Japanese economic and trading cooperation is both the objective requirement for further developing the economies of the two countries and the topic sense on further promoting Sino-Japanese ties onto a sound and stable track.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200504/27/eng20050427_182918.html

China amends Securities Law to boost slumping stock market

The draft amendment of China's Securities Law was submitted Tuesday to China's top legislature for first deliberation. The drafters of the amendment said it would boost investors' confidence and therefore rejuvenate the slumping stock market.
Although April 25 saw China's stock market falling to a record low for the past six years, Xu Jian, director of the Security Law amendment task force under the Financial and Economic Committee of the NPC Standing Committee, was optimistic about it's future, saying that the amendment fixes flaws in the stock market supervision system and adds new items for protecting the interests of investors.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200504/27/eng20050427_182831.html

China's economy to grow by 8.3 percent this year: World Bank

China's economy is expected to grow by 8.3 percent this year, while its inflation rate will be 3.5 percent, well within the range set by the central government, the World Bank said Wednesday in a quarterly report.
According to its quarterly report on the Chinese economy, the bank said it expects further easing of domestic demand growth, notably investment, on the back of limited credit growth and sliding profits.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200504/27/eng20050427_182922.html

Macao's GDP growth rate to slow down this year: official

With new casino business running on track of a steady growth, the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) in China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) may slow down its fast speed recorded last year, said a senior official on Tuesday.
Francis Tam Pak Yuen, secretary for economic and finance, said that bolstered by the ideal increase in the number of visitor arrivals, Macao's gaming revenue is expected to sustain a steady growth this year, although the speed of growth may slow down, compared to that in the second half of last year, said Tam.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200504/12/eng20050412_180629.html

Michael Moore Today Revisited

Poll: Springtime Politics
Doubts About GOP Leadership Include Bush, Judges, and DeLay
By Gary Langer / ABC News
Apr. 25, 2005 - In a triple hit to the Republicans in Washington, Americans express growing discontent with some of George W. Bush's policies, weak support for Tom DeLay as House majority leader and broad opposition to a change in Senate rules on judicial nominations.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2384

Another Ex-Colleague Criticizes Bolton
By Liz Sidoti / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - In the latest complaint against John R. Bolton, a former colleague says the undersecretary of state doesn't have what it takes to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2391

The Arab News

Russia is economic competition and a free agent. They are not members of OPEC.

Editorial: Dealing With Russia
26 April 2005

RUSSIA’S President Vladimir Putin pulled few punches in his state of the nation address to Parliament yesterday. He said the collapse of the old Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the last century. He strongly defended his political changes which have refocused power in the Kremlin and warned outsiders bluntly that Russia would advance to democracy at its own pace and would take no lessons from abroad.

In Washington this may very well be seen as a deliberate snub to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice whose Moscow visit last week emphasized the need for Russia to do more to promote democracy. Putin left few of his listeners in much doubt that Russia was taking no advice from any other country — whether it was over his assault on powerful private companies such as Yukos, the muzzling of the press and media, the continuing bloody anti-separatist campaign in Chechnya or the changes to the way once powerful and independent provincial governors are chosen.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=62765&d=26&m=4&y=2005

Premier-Designate Finalizes Iraqi Cabinet Proposal
Naseer Al-Nahr, Arab News

BAGHDAD, 27 April 2005 — Iraq’s prime minister-designate yesterday proposed appointing a 36-member Cabinet — including three deputy premiers from Iraq’s main Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish factions — in an attempt to end a stalemate that has dragged on for too long.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=62833&d=27&m=4&y=2005&pix=world.jpg&category=World

Bush-Abdullah Meeting Focused on Oil Prices
Barbara Ferguson, Arab News
Crown Prince Abdullah shares a laugh with President George W. Bush in Crawford, Texas, on Monday after he presented the US president with a gift. (SPA)

WASHINGTON, 27 April 2005 — President Bush’s meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah at his ranch in Crawford, Texas on Monday focused on soaring global oil prices as well as political reform in Saudi Arabia, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the so-called “war on terror.”

But it was the price of oil that topped the agenda. Crude oil prices hit record highs in April, briefly topping $58 dollars a barrel. Nationwide retail gas prices have climbed to over $2.28 a gallon.

The Saudis reiterated their recent pledge that the oil-rich nation will soon increase its output, currently running at 9.5 million barrels per day.

But Adel Al Jubeir, Prince Abdullah’s foreign affairs adviser, told reporters in Crawford that Saudi leaders had little to offer Bush beyond that, saying the high prices are the result of a lack of adequate refining capacity in the United States and elsewhere.
“Saudi Arabia is producing all the oil that our customers are requesting,” he said.

James Paul, executive director of the New York based-Global Policy Forum, and author of the report “Oil in Iraq: The Heart of the Crisis” (www.globalpolicy.org), warned that world production is reaching its peak.

“The Bush administration would have the US public believe that there’s an unlimited supply of oil and that the nasty environmentalists and greedy sheiks are keeping oil from reaching consumers. It’s a catastrophic lie. There is growing consensus that worldwide oil production is reaching its peak. The Saudis are now pumping very near full capacity and all of OPEC is operating at full tilt. OPEC has been trying to lower oil prices to keep the markets stable but without success. Worldwide demand is going up and supply can’t rise to meet it.

“The US is thirsty for more, the markets in China and India are growing rapidly, so market forces are driving prices higher and higher. The administration’s plans for controlling Iraqi oil, and putting US and UK companies in charge, have thus far been a failure. Exxon’s profits are setting new records, but the world’s energy future is in chaos for which the oil giants are largely responsible,” Paul said.

“What’s happening is that world production is hitting its peak now, and the Energy Information Administration in the US projects that world production of petroleum will rise up to 125 million bpd by 2025, and that’s way off the charts. Oil is not running out, but it is reaching its peak,” said Paul.

Paul voiced misgivings over the US invasion of Iraq. “Many believe the war was about gaining control over Iraq’s oil reserves for the US and UK, but this was a desperate gamble because Iraq has huge super-giant fields, such as Majnun, and there are expectations they will find some new fields in the western desert. The problem is that oil companies new technical capacities for finding oil is the way up, but the results are way down, and as a result we’re experiencing a worldwide crunch.”

Tyson Slocum, research director for Public Citizen’s Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program, said Americans should examine what’s happening within the US oil industry. “Since Bush took office, the largest five oil companies operating in the US have after-tax profits of $205 billion. We need to examine the relationship between US oil company profits and the higher prices for consumers and American industry. For example, in 2004, ExxonMobil — the product of the 1999 merger between Exxon and Mobil — chalked up the world’s biggest-ever profit for a single company: $25.3 billion. Is it possible that ExxonMobil and other US oil companies are making part of their profits off price gouging?

“It is possible that, just like Enron constricted supply in California by ordering power plants offline in order to create supply shortages to jack prices up, US oil companies are keeping supplies offline and waiting to release those supplies until prices rise enough to make it worth their while? The potential is there.”

Pasted from <http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=62839&d=27&m=4&y=2005>

Abdullah and Bush Reaffirm Historic Ties
Khaled Almaeena
Crown Prince Abdullah shops for snacks at the Coffee Station restaurant and store alongside store owner Nick Spanos, left, in Crawford, Texas on Monday. (Reuters)

DALLAS, Texas, 27 April 2005 — Monday’s historic meeting between Crown Prince Abdullah and US President George W. Bush was successful in bringing back warmth to Saudi-US relations, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said.

Speaking yesterday morning with editors of Saudi newspapers along with radio and television journalists, Prince Saud said the six-decade-long relationship between Saudi Arabia and the US was based on mutual respect and mutual interests.

Asked whether the Crawford discussions had touched on Saudi Arabia’s domestic issues and reforms, he said the Kingdom’s internal issues weren’t covered. However, he noted that Riyadh would go ahead with its political and economic reforms.

He also expressed hope the current reforms in the Kingdom would help attract American investments not only in the gas sector but to all economic sectors.

“The objective was to revive investment channels as they were before — with the same enthusiasm and dynamism,” he added.
Prince Saud said there was no Saudi commitment to increase oil production from 12.5 million bpd to 15 million bpd.
Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi has spoken about Saudi Aramco plans to expand its production capacity.
Prince Saud said the Kingdom was keen on serving the interests of both oil consumers and producers, adding that Bush had expressed appreciation for the Saudi oil policy.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=62831&d=27&m=4&y=2005&pix=world.jpg&category=World

Sudan Govt Allows Freer Aid Access to Entire Country
Agencies

KHARTOUM, 27 April 2005 — Sudan yesterday announced new procedures to simplify aid access to the country to facilitate a huge expected humanitarian operation following a peace deal ending more than two decades of war in the south.
Sudan signed a peace deal with the former rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army in January which will usher in a new unity government, and share power and wealth in Africa’s largest country. Donors pledged $4.5 billion earlier this month to assist the reconstruction of the war-torn country.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=62801&d=27&m=4&y=2005&pix=world.jpg&category=World

G-4 to Introduce Resolution in UN Assembly
Nilofar Suhrawardy, Arab News

NEW DELHI, 27 April 2005 — On a day when UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was in New Delhi, Japan yesterday said the “G-Four’ group — comprising Japan, India, Germany and Brazil — was formulating a draft resolution to be introduced in the UN General Assembly in September, staking the claims of the four countries for permanent seats in the Security Council.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=62828&d=27&m=4&y=2005&pix=world.jpg&category=World

Vajpayee Seeks Lalu’s Resignation
Syed Asdar Ali, Arab News

NEW DELHI, 27 April 2005 — Former prime minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stalwart Atal Behari Vajpayee yesterday demanded the resignation of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav accusing him of making “false allegations” against the BJP and RSS over the alleged attack on him in Gujarat.
Vajpayee told reporters after BJP parliamentary meeting that Home Minister Shivraj Patil did not make a statement in Parliament on Monday on the issue as there was “no ground or basis” for it and “there was no evidence” to support the charges against the Sangh Parivar.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=62829&d=27&m=4&y=2005&pix=world.jpg&category=World

continued LATER TODAY...