Week Ending: Saturday 19th June 2004

British MPs 'fired at' in Gaza
A group of British politicians were shot at by Israeli soldiers during a UN-supervised fact-finding mission, they have claimed.

Defiant Bush and Blair insist Saddam had al-Qa'ida links
President George Bush and the Prime Minister's Office yesterday defied the independent US commission on 11 September and insisted that there were links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qa'ida.

British police ready to link up to databases of US intelligence
British police will almost certainly be given access in the near future to US intelligence databases containing DNA samples, fingerprints and digital images of thousands of foreign nationals seized around the world by the US as terror suspects.

New York braced for trouble at Bush rally
A coalition of political activist groups, many with anti-Bush and anti-war agendas, has served notice that it intends to make itself heard during the gathering from 30 August to 2 September.

Sweeping stun guns to target crowds
Weapons that can incapacitate crowds of people by sweeping a lightning-like beam of electricity across them are being readied for sale to military and police forces in the US and Europe.

A Moral Chernobyl: Prepare for the worst of Abu Ghraib
An American officer has referred to the Abu Ghraib scandal as a "moral Chernobyl. It is going to get much worse. The graphic videos and photographs that have so far been shown only to Congress are not likely to remain secret for very long.

July release in UK for Moore film
US director Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 will get its UK release on 9 July, distributors have announced.

Hunger Strike Activist Beaten in Israeli Jail
Irish Political Activist Ken O'Keefe suffered concussion and bruising at the hands of an Israeli prison guard Monday evening, five days into his hunger strike against detention and possible deportation.

Shell boss 'fears for the planet'
The head of one of the world's biggest oil giants has said unless carbon dioxide emissions are dealt with he sees "very little hope for the world".

Official verdict: White House misled world over Saddam
The Bush administration's credibility was dealt a devastating blow yesterday when the commission investigating the attacks of 11 September said there was no credible evidence that Saddam Hussein's regime had assisted al-Qa'ida

The Greatest Conspiracy in World History!
In May 1919, at Dusseldorf, Germany, the Allied Forces obtained a copy of the “Communist Rules for Revolution.” Nearly 84 years later, they have nearly succeeded in every area.

N.D. Officials Probe Pelican Disappearance
Wildlife officials estimate nearly 27,000 American white pelicans have abandoned their summer nesting grounds at a national wildlife refuge north of here. The question is why - and where they went.

Use of Dogs to Scare Prisoners Was Authorized
U.S. intelligence personnel ordered military dog handlers at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq to use unmuzzled dogs to frighten and intimidate detainees during interrogations late last year, a plan approved by the highest-ranking military intelligence officer at the facility.

Bush diagnosed as a Paranoid, Sadistic Meglomaniac
A new book by a prominent Washington psychoanalyst says President George W. Bush is a "paranoid meglomaniac" as well as a sadist and "untreated alcoholic."

Secret world of US jails
Jason Burke charts the worldwide hidden network of prisons where more than 3,000 al-Qaeda suspects have been held without trial - and many subjected to torture - since 9/11

Iraq abuse 'ordered from the top'
The US commander at the centre of the Iraqi prisoner scandal says she was told to treat detainees like dogs.

US bulldozer firm in Mid-East row
A leading UN official has warned US manufacturer Caterpillar that it may be complicit in human rights violations in the West Bank and Gaza.

Dead wife bait traps killer lion
Tanzanian police have vowed to act after a villager laced with poison his wife's remains to catch a killer lion.

U.S. Trucks Carrying Radioactive Materials Intercepted In Iraq-Kuwait Border
The UAE-based daily Al-Khaleej reported on Monday that Kuwaiti tariff officials have intercepted a truck loaded with radioactive materials in the Iraq-Kuwait border.

Iraq could be more of a problem than if Saddam had stayed in power
According to Richard Clarke, the man who put the cat among the pigeons. The former counter-terrorism chief was giving evidence to an independent commission investigating the attacks of 11 September.

Neo-Nazis deface 1942 frieze by child Holocaust victims
French politicians reacted with outrage yesterday to the desecration of a frieze painted in 1942 by Jewish children waiting to be sent to Nazi concentration camps.

Inquiry into causes of Gulf War syndrome announced
An independent inquiry is to be held into Gulf War syndrome, the range of unexplained illnesses suffered by soldiers who served in the conflict 14 years ago.

Red Cross ultimatum to US on Saddam
Saddam Hussein must either be released from custody by June 30 or charged if the US and the new Iraqi government are to conform to international law, the International Committee of the Red Cross said last night.

Ratings row over Moore Iraq film
The US distributors of Michael Moore's controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 are to appeal a decision by US censors to give it a restrictive rating.

Chomsky on Reagan's Legacy
The network and newspaper coverage of the death of Ronald Reagan has brought forth a chorus of praise from Democrats and Republicans alike. Much of the reporting and commentary, under the guise of respecting the dead, has represented a dramatic rewriting of the history of the Reagan years in office.

The Exception to the Rulers
Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman has never been hotter. With her new book, “The Exception to the Rulers,” selling off the racks, Goodman has solidified herself as the leading voice of the so-called alternative media. GNN talks with Goodman about the Fox Effect, NBC’s missileman, and the dangerous irrationality of power.

CIA Director did not resign for personal reasons
George Tenet is at the point of witnessing the assessment of his prolonged role at the head of the CIA - the U.S. intelligence agency - based on reports that Congress sources have already defined as “devastating” in terms of errors attributed to him over crucial issues.

Director Moore denies Blair film
Controversial film-maker Michael Moore has denied that he intends to follow up his anti-Bush documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 with a film about Tony Blair.