Week Ending: Saturday 26th June 2004

Italian police on trial over G8 summit beatings
A group of 29 Italian police officers, including the country's anti-terror chief, go on trial in Genoa today in connection with a brutal attack on protesters at the 2001 G8 summit and an alleged plot to justify the violence using fabricated evidence.

LA moves to ease tensions after tape of police beating of black suspect
In the wake of a videotaped police beating of an African-American suspect, officials here scrambled Thursday to plead for peace and offer assurances that the incident, an echo of the Rodney King beating in 1991, would be scrupulously investigated.

US Criticized for Withholding News of Kim Abduction
The United States on Tuesday faced allegations that it had intentionally kept South Korea in the dark about the abduction of Kim Sun-il, the South Korean interpreter working for a subcontractor to U.S. forces in Iraq.

Former Israeli Soldiers Tell of Harassment of Palestinians
When Israeli soldiers opened an exhibit this month documenting some of their own misdeeds while serving in the tense West Bank city of Hebron, they caused a brief stir.

Cheney curses senator over Halliburton criticism
Typically a break from partisan warfare, this year's Senate class photo turned smiles into snarls as Vice President Dick Cheney reportedly used profanity toward one senior Democrat.

Democracy Isn't Working
Democracy has become the universal calling card of the west, the mantra that is chanted at every country that falls short (when politically convenient, of course), the ubiquitous solution to the problems of countries that are not democratic.

Satanic cult link to cemetery staff 'suicides'
Italian authorities plan to exhume at least two more corpses as part of a widening investigation into satanic rites, heavy metal music and human sacrifice that has kept the nation agog for the past three weeks.

Opposition: Saudi security knew Johnson's location
Saudi opposition sources said Saudi security commanders knew of the location of Al Qaida chief Abul Aziz Al Muqrin at least three days before he executed a U.S. hostage.

Ads for Moore’s movie could be stopped on July 30
Michael Moore may be prevented from advertising his controversial new movie, “Fahrenheit 9/11,” on television or radio after July 30 if the Federal Election Commission (FEC) today accepts the legal advice of its general counsel.

Moonie leader 'crowned' in Senate
The US Senate was used for a bizarre ritual in which the Rev Sun Myung Moon, the head of the Unification church, was "crowned" and declared himself the messiah in the presence of more than a dozen Republican and Democratic members of Congress.

Limits on Trips to Cuba Cause Split in Florida
The rules, published over the last week, have been promoted by President Bush as a way to hasten the end of the Castro government and were formulated at the urging of Republican Cuban-American lawmakers and others here.

Chemtrails are no longer just a 'conspiracy theory'
Many researchers have presented and published documentation linking chemtrails to biological or chemical experiments. Others have argued that chemtrails may be related to radar experiments or weather modification.

Bush feels the heat: US voters turn on him over Iraq
President George Bush's bid for re-election is stalling as a result of the turmoil in Iraq, according to the results of an opinion poll that shows he has fallen behind in the race for the White House.

Korea is stunned after Iraqi militants behead hostage
A South Korean translator held hostage in Iraq was beheaded yesterday and his body found dumped between Baghdad and Fallujah, dashing 11th-hour hopes that his life might be spared and ratcheting up pressure on the South Korean government to cancel its planned deployment of 3,000 troops to Iraq this summer.

US tortured Afghanistan detainees
Detainees held in Afghanistan by US troops have been routinely tortured and humiliated as part of the interrogation process in the same way as those in Iraq, a Guardian investigation has found.

Rumsfeld agreed prisoner threats
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved the use of aggressive tactics to frighten Guantanamo Bay detainees, according to newly-released documents.

IBM sued over alleged Holocaust link
A Swiss court has cleared the way for Gypsies to sue IBM over allegations that the computer company's expertise helped the Nazis commit mass murder more efficiently.

Shooting death angers Iraqi family
American soldiers stormed into Sajid Kadhum Bouri al-Bawi's house three hours after midnight on May 17, breaking two doors and rousing the dozen children who live there.

Howard asks schools to fly flag
Australian schools must have a functioning flagpole if they are to qualify for extra educational funding, Prime Minister John Howard has said.

Iran to 'prosecute British sailors'
Eight British sailors held by Iran for crossing into its territorial waters are to face prosecution, Iranian state-run television reported today.

Nader picks Green running mate
S presidential hopeful Ralph Nader has selected Green Party campaigner Peter Camejo as his running mate.

Israel bans Sunday Times journalist
Peter Hounam, the Sunday Times journalist who was detained last month by the Israeli security services over his connection to nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, has been barred from entering the country.

Annals of National Security: Plan B - Seymour Hersh
Two months after Presiden Bush declared victory in Iraq, the war reached a critical point. Israel which had been among the war’s most enthusiastic supporters, began warning the Administration that the American-led occupation would face a heightened insurgence.

UK troops accused of mutilating Iraqi bodies
Military police are investigating claims that British soldiers mutilated the bodies of Iraqi insurgents after a firefight last month near the southern Iraqi town of Majar al Kabir.

Cheney in firing line over Nigerian bribery claims
A British lawyer is emerging as a key witness in a $180 million bribery investigation that could lead to the indictment of US vice president Dick Cheney.

New Abuse Charges
Allegations of mistreatment of female detainees. Unreleased, classified parts of the report on prison abuse from Major General Anthony Tagubacontain indications of mistreatment of female prisoners.

Dark days ahead for Tony Blair
While Tony Blair paid his respects to a former Republican US President and close friend of Margaret Thatcher in Washington, his own backyard was being invaded by the Lib Dems.

Surprise Meteor Shower Possible in June
Meteor enthusiasts will likely be out in force in the coming nights, hoping to catch a glimpse of an on-again, off-again meteor display. Special emphasis will be placed on two specific nights: June 22-23 and June 26-27.

Rape of Iraqi girls by US mercenaries and soldiers was rampant in Baghdad
The recent apology by President George Bush to the Iraqi people is not sufficient to undo the horrible pillage and rape of Iraqi women and girls that took place during the early days of the US occupation of Baghdad.

Hired gun to take down sites could be a bad sign
A spurious e-mail has been circulating through Russian Internet user groups from a hacker known as DoZ. For a small fee, DoZ is offering to take the Web site of your choice offline for whatever period of time you request.

Latest horror could destroy President of divided nation
Is this the horror that will finally undo George Bush's presidency? Two recent polls show that a majority believe the war against Saddam Hussein was not worth it. The Abu Ghraib torture scandal remains incendiary.

US firm spread hostage video
Video images of a US engineer taken hostage in Saudi Arabia, possibly by the al-Qaeda network, could have been put on the internet via a US firm based in California.

Bush plans to screen whole US population for mental illness
A sweeping mental health initiative will be unveiled by President George W Bush in July. The plan promises to integrate mentally ill patients fully into the community by providing "services in the community, rather than institutions."

Dispute rages over Falluja strike
esidents of the Iraqi city of Falluja have disputed an American account of an air attack in which at least 20 people were killed.

Forget the Democrats: Bush Losing Support Among Republicans
As President George W. Bush tries to convince an increasingly skeptical American electorate he deserves re-election in November, he also faces declining support among his Republican base amid growing discord over his foreign and domestic policies.

Bush told he is playing into Bin Laden's hands
Al-Qaida may 'reward' American president with strike aimed at keeping him in office, senior intelligence man says

Kurds Advancing to Reclaim Land in Northern Iraq
Thousands of ethnic Kurds are pushing into lands formerly held by Iraqi Arabs, forcing tens of thousands of them to flee to ramshackle refugee camps and transforming the demographic and political map of northern Iraq.

O'Reilly: Bomb Iraq Again!
Extracts from the June 17 broadcast of The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly in which he says of the Iraqi people, "What we can do is bomb the living daylights out of them".

Mrs Saddam says Saddam is not Saddam
Ask yourself why George Dubya Bush suddenly blurted out, "I want
to make sure when sovereignty is transferred, Saddam Hussein stays in jail."