Week Ending: Saturday 18th September 2004

US hostage wife pleads for mercy
The wife of an American taken hostage with two others in Baghdad has appealed on television for their release. Patty Hensley said her husband Jack was "a simple, generous man" who was "there to help the Iraqi people". Militants have threatened to kill Mr Hensley, American Eugene Armstrong and Briton Kenneth Bigley unless all female Iraqi prisoners are freed.

Blow for Kerry as Nader wins Florida battle
Democratic hopes of winning the White House have suffered a blow after a court ruled that independent candidate Ralph Nader would appear on ballot papers in Florida. Nader has been blamed by many analysts for costing the Democrats victory four years ago after his leftist third-party campaign attracted many voters who would otherwise have backed Al Gore.

More bodies found at Lagos site
Rescuers in Nigeria have recovered more bodies from the site of a huge blast at a fuel pipeline on the outskirts of the commercial capital, Lagos. At least 60 people are now known to have died in the explosion in Ijegun, an island suburb north of Lagos. The blast happened as thieves tried to siphon off petrol from the pipeline. Correspondents say that explosions while people are stealing oil are fairly common in Nigeria.

Revealed: full scale of euthanasia in Britain
British doctors help nearly 20,000 people a year to die, according to one of the UK's leading authorities on euthanasia. The claim, the first public attempt by a credible expert to put a figure on 'assisted dying' rates, will reignite the emotive debate over the practice. Dr Hazel Biggs, director of medical law at the University of Kent and author of Euthanasia: Death with Dignity and the Law, calculates that at least 18,000 people a year are helped to die by doctors who are treating them for terminal illnesses.

New call to ban female mutilation
An international conference on female genital mutilation has ended in Kenya with a fresh call to ban the practice. Campaigners urged more countries to ratify the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa adopted in July 2003. The protocol says women should be protected from harmful customs. It has so far been ratified by just three states, Rwanda, Libya and Comoros. Activists say 90 million African women are victims of female circumcision and other forms of genital mutilation.

Far graver than Vietnam
'Bring them on!" President Bush challenged the early Iraqi insurgency in July of last year. Since then, 812 American soldiers have been killed and 6,290 wounded, according to the Pentagon. Almost every day, in campaign speeches, Bush speaks with bravado about how he is "winning" in Iraq. "Our strategy is succeeding," he boasted to the National Guard convention.

Soldiers say they are being threatened with Iraq duty
Soldiers from a combat unit at Fort Carson say they have been told to re-enlist for three more years or be transferred to other units expected to deploy to Iraq. Hundreds of soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team were presented with that message and a re-enlistment form in a series of assemblies last week, two soldiers who spoke on condition of anonymity told the newspaper.

Iraqi car bomb kills 23 in Kirkuk
A suicide car bomb attack on the Iraqi national guard headquarters in Kirkuk has killed 23 people, officials say. The victims in the northern city were queuing to apply for jobs, said a general in the national guard. Bloodied bodies were strewn across the street, which was littered with twisted metal and shards of glass. Elsewhere, there were repeated attacks on US soldiers near Baghdad airport and US planes carried out fresh strikes on the restive city of Falluja.

Laura Bush heckled during campaign speech
The mother of a soldier killed in Iraq was arrested Thursday after interrupting a campaign speech by first lady Laura Bush. As police hauled her away, she shouted, "Police brutality." Wearing a T-shirt with the message "President Bush You Killed My Son," Sue Niederer of nearby Hopewell screamed questions at the first lady as the audience tried to drown her out by chanting, "Four more years! Four more years!"

US puts Lockerbie payouts in jeopardy
The families of people killed in the Lockerbie bombing are poised to lose millions of dollars in compensation because of the Bush administration's refusal to accept that Libya is no longer involved in terrorism. The US has until midnight on Tuesday to remove Libya from the State Department's "state sponsors of terror" list and lift a number of trade sanctions. If not, more than $1.5bn of outstanding compensation currently held in a special bank account in Switzerland, will be returned to Libya.

British TV documentary traces Illuminati insider to Hertford
A major regional newspaper in Britain reveals that an investigation as part of a forthcoming television documentary has traced a member of the Illuminati to Hertford, a small affluent town in the rural county of Hertfordshire, located on the northern boundary of London. The previous edition of the same weekly newspaper reported recently uncovered local connections with the Knights Templar, a powerful sect with roots dating back at least as far as the medieval Crusades.

Suicide bomb blasts rock Baghdad
Two suicide car bombs have hit central Baghdad within hours of each other, killing at least five people. The dead are reported to be from a police convoy targeted in the Rashid Street shopping district, after an earlier blast near a checkpoint.
Reports say the blasts came amid a massive security crackdown across the capital city. Earlier, dozens of people were killed in US air strikes on the restive city of Falluja, west of Baghdad.

Royal links of the Commons invaders
Two of the eight men believed to have stormed the House of Commons during the pro-hunt protests on Wednesday are close friends of the Prince of Wales and his sons. One of the men is considered by Prince Charles to be a "safe pair of hands" for William and Harry. Three other alleged protesters form part of the close-knit country set that dominates the upper echelons of society in Gloucestershire, home to the Prince of Wales's Highgrove estate.

Chechen rebel claims Beslan siege
Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev has said he organised the Russian school siege in which at least 320 hostages were killed, many of them children. In a letter published by leading rebel websites, he said a suicide battalion had carried out the Beslan attack. The letter also claimed bomb attacks on two Russian airliners and a Moscow metro station this summer.

BNP wins first London seat since 1993
The openly-racist British National party last night won its first council seat in the capital since 1993, with a landslide victory in an east London borough. In a byelection last night, the far-right party's candidate, Daniel Kelley, gained from Labour with a 470 majority at Barking and Dagenham Council's Goresbrook ward. The BNP had not fought the seat in the borough's last polls in 2002.

Who kidnapped the two Italian aid workers?
A leading British daily Thursday, September 16, cast heavy doubts on the identity of kidnappers that snatched two Italian aid workers in Baghdad days ago, citing clear differences in the style of carrying out the operation. The Guardian said the kidnapping of Simona Torretta and Simona Pari has the mark of an undercover foreign operation in a bid to discredit the unabated Iraqi resistance against US occupation forces.

Who seized Simona Torretta?
Nothing about this kidnapping fits the pattern of other abductions. Most are opportunistic attacks on treacherous stretches of road. Torretta and her colleagues were coldly hunted down in their home. And while mujahideen in Iraq scrupulously hide their identities, making sure to wrap their faces in scarves, these kidnappers were bare-faced and clean-shaven, some in business suits. One assailant was addressed by the others as "sir". This Iraqi kidnapping has the mark of an undercover police operation.

Woman wearing 'President Bush You Killed My Son' T-shirt arrested
A mother whose son was killed in Iraq has been arrested for protesting during a New Jersey campaign speech by first lady Laura Bush. The woman was charged with trespassing and later released. She wore a shirt that read, "President Bush, You Killed my Son" to the New Jersey rally. Sue Niederer of Hopewell, New Jersey interrupted Bush's speech demanding to know why her son (Army First Lieutenant Seth Dvorin) had to die. She continued shouting even as Secret Service and local police escorted her out of the event in handcuffs.

Candidate 'poisoned' in Ukraine
A Ukrainian opposition leader and presidential candidate is recovering in hospital in Vienna after an alleged attempt to poison him. Viktor Yushchenko arrived in the Austrian capital a week ago after falling ill with what was thought at the time to be food poisoning. But doctors found "chemical substances" inside the candidate, an aide said.

Proposal could make way for foreign-born presidents
Dana Rohrabacher’s proposal would allow anyone who’s been a U.S. citizen for 20 years to run for the nation’s highest office. That would include Arnold Schwarzenegger – bodybuilder, movie star and now governor of California. Schwarzenegger, who became a citizen in 1983, has said he supports amending the Constitution so foreign-born citizens can run for president.

DEA Agent’s Whistleblower Case Exposes the 'War on Drugs'
Former DEA agent Richard Horn has been fighting the U.S. government for the past 10 years trying to prove the CIA illegally spied on him as part of an effort to thwart his mission in the Southeast Asian country of Burma. After being removed from his post in Burma, Horn filed litigation in federal court in Washington, D.C., in 1994 accusing top officials for the CIA and State Department in Burma of violating his Fourth Amendment rights.

France says hostages still alive
Two French journalists taken hostage in Iraq are believed to be alive and safe, France's defence minister has said. But Sunni Muslim clerics in Iraq say efforts to free them are being hampered by the escalation of security operations led by US forces. Australia is investigating whether a body found north of Baghdad is that of one of its citizens.

'President Bush thwarted our attempts at every turn'
Over the last three years, the group of 9/11 widows turned activists dubbed the "Jersey Girls" have become a fixture on the Washington political scene. Some of them are Republicans, others Democrats or independents. But they are all determined to hold official Washington accountable for the attacks that killed their husbands and nearly 3,000 others.

Interview: Whistleblower Katharine Gun
Despite spending months feeling scared and facing prosecution and, perhaps worst of all, finding herself thrust into the media spotlight she says she has no regrets. That's not to say she doesn't have words of caution for would-be whistleblowers
"Hopefully it's a decision that no-one would take lightly," she said when we met at a fringe meeting organised by civil rights organisation Liberty at the TUC in Brighton.

U.S. Intelligence Shows Pessimism on Iraq's Future
A classified National Intelligence Estimate prepared for President Bush in late July spells out a dark assessment of prospects for Iraq, government officials said. The estimate outlines three possibilities for Iraq through the end of 2005, with the worst case being developments that could lead to civil war, the officials said. The most favorable outcome described is an Iraq whose stability would remain tenuous in political, economic and security terms.

Three foreigners 'seized in Iraq'
Three foreign nationals have been abducted in Baghdad, according to the Iraqi interior ministry. A spokesman said that gunmen seized the men - reported to be two Americans and a Briton - at dawn from a house in Baghdad's Mansour neighbourhood. They are all believed to be civilians. First reports said they were Britons. Shortly afterwards, a loud blast hit a residential area in central Baghdad. At least one person was killed and several were injured.

Insider suspected of worst security breach
A broken cardswipe machine was the weak spot that allowed pro-hunt demonstrators to achieve the most serious breach of Commons security in living memory. The fact that the Palace of Westminster currently resembles a building site also gave them cover for their audacious stunt. Four months after Tony Blair was struck by purple flour hurled from the public gallery, a fundamental overhaul of the Commons security operation was inevitable last night.

BBC tipped off about protest
The BBC last night revealed it had been alerted in advance about protesters' plans to storm the House of Commons, resulting in the worst breach of parliamentary security in hundreds of years. Introducing his report on the invasion of the Commons on the 10pm news, the BBC's political editor, Andrew Marr, said the BBC had been tipped off that the protest was going to happen but the person who received the information had dismissed it.

Armed guard for MPs after protest
Armed police are guarding the Commons chamber for the first time on Thursday after pro-hunt protesters burst in as MPs debated a hunting ban. Eight men were arrested and will be questioned by police on suspicion of forgery, burglary with intent to commit criminal damage and violent disorder. The head of the Metropolitan Police says the invasion seems an inside job.

Four Sue over GWB jailing on 9/11
Four young Israeli men arrested as terror suspects on the George Washington Bridge on Sept. 11, 2001, have filed a multimillion-dollar suit against the Justice Department. The plaintiffs - ages 22 to 26 - say they were held for two months without access to lawyers or family at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where they were roughly interrogated, assaulted, deprived of sleep and subjected to racist taunts from guards. The suit alleges civil rights violations.

Two Sue Feds Over Anti-Bush T-Shirt Arrest
A couple arrested for wearing anti-Bush T-shirts to a July 4 presidential appearance filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday alleging their First Amendment rights were violated. Nicole and Jeff Rank were removed from the event at the West Virginia Capitol in handcuffs after revealing T-shirts with President Bush's name crossed out on the front. Nicole Rank's shirt had the words "Love America, Hate Bush" on the back and Jeff Rank's said "Regime change starts at home."

Karzai aborts visit after blast
President Hamid Karzai has cut short a visit in south-eastern Afghanistan after a suspected rocket attack near an air base where he was arriving. President Karzai's helicopters were landing at an air base near Gardez in Paktia province when an explosion was heard, a president spokesman said. He was due to open a new road and school in Gardez. President Karzai's American bodyguards decided to abort the visit and fly him back to the capital, Kabul.

Indonesia editor jailed for libel
The editor of a prominent Indonesian magazine has been sentenced to jail after a high-profile libel case. Tempo magazine editor Bambang Harimurty was found guilty of libelling a prominent businessman, Tomy Winata. The case has caused concern because the charges were brought under Indonesia's criminal code, not its press law.

Iraq war illegal, says Annan
The United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has told the BBC the US-led invasion of Iraq was an illegal act that contravened the UN charter. He said the decision to take action in Iraq should have been made by the Security Council, not unilaterally. The UK government responded by saying the attorney-general made the "legal basis... clear at the time".

Decapitated bodies found in Iraq
Three unidentified beheaded bodies have been found on a road north of Baghdad, US and Iraqi sources say. They were discovered by members of the Iraqi National Guard, dumped in nylon bags near Dijiel, about 40km (25 miles) from the capital. There are conflicting reports as to whether the male corpses are those of Arabs or foreigners. Iraqi police were quoted as saying the bodies bore tattoos with Arabic or Turkish writing.

Iraq: a descent into civil war?
Lying amid the debris strewn near Al-Karkh police station was the photo of a young man in a blue T-shirt. The passport snap had been part of his application to join Iraq's police force. Yesterday, however, he and dozens of other recruits queueing outside the station in central Baghdad were blown to pieces by a car bomb. Near the photo, someone had heaped the shoes of the dead and injured into a neat pile.

Israelis kill seven Palestinians
Israeli forces have killed an 11-year-old Palestinian girl and six militants in the West Bank town of Nablus. The fighting began after troops from elite naval commando unit Shayetet 13 surrounded a building housing militants in Nablus's Old City before dawn. About 20 jeeps and tanks took part in the operation, with aerial cover from an Israeli helicopter. The dead men were from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. It is not clear whether the young girl, Mariam al-Nahleh, was killed in the same house.

Sailors rescued after eight days in life-raft
Five people were rescued by coastguards today after spending eight days at sea in a life-raft. The survivors were picked up off the coast of Cornwall this morning and are being treated in hospital, a coastguard spokesman said. The five seamen and their vessel, which had left Ireland, had been reported missing after it did not arrive at its destination in France.

Spain arrests militant suspects
Spanish police have arrested at least 10 suspected Islamic militants in a series of pre-dawn raids in Barcelona. Spanish judicial authorities say that most of the detainees are of Pakistani origin. Police said they found no arms or explosives in the raids on several premises, including private homes.

Art show sees Europe as 'new Roman Empire'
The European Union is poised to overtake America to become the premier superpower, according to an EU exhibition launched yesterday in the heart of Brussels. The pop-art collage mounted in a tent outside the European Commission narrates 50 years of EU history and projects events into the future in an unusually frank display of European ambition.

Brazil is world 'hacking capital'
Brazil has become the global capital for computer hacking and internet fraud, according to experts meeting in the country's capital, Brasilia. Some 500 experts from around the world are attending the first international conference to combat electronic crime. Brazil is home to eight out of 10 of the world's hackers, according to federal police at the conference. Within Brazil, the amount of money lost in internet financial fraud outstrips that lost through bank robberies.

Hurricane onslaught may blow hole in US economy
As hurricane Ivan roared northwards yesterday through the Gulf of Mexico towards landfall in the US as early as this evening, Wall Street analysts warned that the damage could extend into the wider economy. It has been 40 years since three serious hurricanes struck the US in a season and the economic impact on this occasion could be marked. Most experts predict a storm-related drop-off in GDP figures in the third and fourth quarters.

Defence plea in 'vigilante' trial
The trial of three Americans accused of torturing Afghans has resumed in Kabul, with their lawyer demanding the charges be thrown out. Jonathan Idema, Edward Caraballo and Brent Bennett were arrested in July. Mr Idema, whom the US calls a bounty hunter, says he was working with the approval of the Pentagon. It denies having any ties with the men.

Corrupt' Zimbabwe officials accused of faking elephant tally
Senior Zimbabwean officials have inflated the official number of elephants in the country so they can benefit from the ivory trade, a conservationist said yesterday. Johnny Rodrigues of the Zimbabwean Conservation Taskforce said the elephant population had fallen to 60,000 at the most, yet the government put the figure at more than 100,000.

Americans flee as hurricane nears
Hundreds of thousands of people are evacuating their homes along the southern US coast, as Hurricane Ivan heads inland from the Gulf of Mexico. A state of emergency has been declared in Florida, Louisiana and Alabama, and nearly two million people have been urged to flee to higher ground. Major roads out are jammed with traffic and ports and airports have closed.

Fur flies over cat-killing film
Animal rights activists have held a protest in Canada at the premiere of a documentary about three artists who videoed themselves killing a cat. Demonstrators urged ticket-holders at the Toronto Film Festival to boycott Casuistry: The Art of Killing a Cat. The documentary shows interviews with artists, police and activists - but not the animal's mutilation and death.

Kidnapped Canadian journalist freed in Iraq
Canadian military writer and publisher Scott Taylor is safe after being held captive for five days in Iraq. Taylor, who was abducted in the town of Talafar by an unknown group of men, was released four days later. He said he and a Turkish journalist were taken by police and told to get into a car with some masked gunmen. He said he was turned over to a group linked to al-Qaeda.

Dozens killed by Baghdad car bomb
A car bomb has exploded close to an Iraqi police station in central Baghdad, killing 47 people, health ministry officials say. More than 100 people were injured in the huge mid-morning blast, which devastated a busy shopping area in Haifa Street. Witnesses spoke of body parts and twisted debris scattered across a wide area, and a large crater in the road. Meanwhile, police say gunmen have shot dead 12 policemen north of Baghdad.

Powell says US intelligence knew sourcing on Iraq was suspect
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Monday he was disappointed that some groups within American intelligence knew that sourcing of information used to justify the invasion of Iraq was suspect but did not inform the authorities. Before the March 2003 invasion, Powell presented the United Nations with data proclaiming to prove that Iraq was engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction but no such weapons have been found so far.

Neuromarketers seek the key to our consumer desires
Scientists and ad executives hope to unravel advertising mysteries such as these with neuromarketing - a new spin on market research that shuns customer surveys and focus groups in favour of technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to peer directly into consumers' brains.

Worst floods in decades hit Dhaka
Bangladeshi authorities have closed all government offices in the capital, Dhaka, as the worst flooding in decades hit the city. Nearly all main roads in the city are under water. Officials say such severe flooding is "unprecedented". The Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, has called an emergency meeting of utility services in response to the crisis.

The No-Conspiracy Theory
Polls show that thousands of people in the US and Canada believe there is no conspiracy by the rich and powerful to become richer and more powerful. No-Conspiracy Theorists genuinely believe that Free Trade has something to do with Freedom, that confessed CIA patsy Lee Oswald killed John Kennedy, and that former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s friends in Shawinigan deserved millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money.

Ambulance torn apart in Fallujah as US launches 'precision' strikes
A plume of grey smoke billowed above Fallujah yesterday as the US military claimed they were making precision air strikes against insurgents in the city and local doctors said that civilians were being killed and wounded. The US army said its warplanes had bombed houses because it had intelligence about the presence of fighters loyal to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whom the US sees as the guiding hand behind many attacks on its forces.

Israel agrees payouts to settlers
Israel's security cabinet has approved a policy to compensate Jews who leave settlements in the Gaza Strip. Payouts reportedly could exceed $500,000 per family, with part of the sum being paid as early as next week to those settlers who volunteer to leave. The measure is part of Prime Minister Sharon's plan to withdraw settlers from Gaza and four West Bank enclaves

Japanese school killer executed
A Japanese man who stabbed to death eight school children in 2001 has been executed, domestic media have reported. Mamoru Takuma, 40, was executed by hanging, along with another convicted murderer who killed three gangsters. Takuma, who had a history of mental illness, was sentenced to death last year when a judge ruled he was responsible for his actions.

Protesters throw royal security into disarray
A security review was launched last night after a campaigner dressed as Batman thwarted armed police to scale Buckingham Palace and hold a five-hour protest beside the royal balcony. Ministers, senior police officers and royal security officials were under pressure to explain how Jason Hatch, a member of the group Fathers4Justice, was able to penetrate palace security measures with such apparent ease.

Kerry on attack over weapons ban
The US Democrat presidential candidate has attacked President Bush for failing to push for the renewal of a 10-year ban on private use of assault weapons. John Kerry accused his rival of placing gun lobby interests above those of police and gun crime victims' families. The law expired at midnight on Monday after Republican legislators refused to make time for a vote to extend it.

Protect the Vote
More than 80 percent of the population of Detroit is black. This is very well understood by John Pappageorge, who is white and a Republican state legislator in Michigan. "If we do not suppress the Detroit vote," said Mr. Pappageorge, "we're going to have a tough time in this election."

Australia defies Iraq kidnap claim
The Australian government says it will not negotiate with terrorists, after claims that two Australians have been taken hostage in Iraq. "We will not compromise in the face of threats of that kind," said Prime Minister John Howard. A group called the Horror Brigades of the Islamic Secret Army has threatened to execute its two alleged captives unless Canberra pulls out of Iraq.

9/11 - Knowns and unknowns
Now that we've all paused and taken a moment to remember the 2,800-plus innocents who died on Sept. 11, 2001, it's time to get back to to the best way to honor their memory: Answering the many unanswered questions from that day. The more we learn about what really went down on 9/11, the more likely we can prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

Turkey warns US on northern Iraq
Turkey says it will end cooperation with the US in Iraq if the Americans continue with their offensive in the northern Iraqi town of Talafar. Ankara is concerned about the plight of the large Turkmen population there, some of whom have been killed. US and Iraqi troops last week began a major operation against Talafar - a suspected haven for foreign fighters entering Iraq from Syria.

Blair warns of environmental catastrophe
Tony Blair is expected to call for a "green industrial revolution" to avert the human and economic catastrophe of unchecked climate change. In a speech this evening, the prime minister will promise to use Britain's presidency of the G8 group of leading industrial nations next year to push for greater international cooperation to tackle global warming.

War president' Bush has always been soft on terror
Where's George Orwell when we need him? Because we Americans need him. We desperately need him. Consider: in August 2001, immediately after reading a memo entitled "Bin Laden determined to strike in US", President George Bush went bass fishing - and never called a meeting to discuss the issue. A month later, on September 11, when he was told that the terrorists had attacked, Bush spent the next seven minutes reading a children's book, The Pet Goat, with a group of schoolchildren.

Poll: 50% of NYC Says U.S. Govt had foreknowledge of 9/11
Half (49.3%) of New York City residents and 41% of New York citizens overall say that some of our leaders "knew in advance that attacks were planned on or around September 11, 2001, and that they consciously failed to act," according to the poll conducted by Zogby International. The poll of New York residents was conducted from Tuesday August 24 through Thursday August 26, 2004. Overall results have a margin of sampling error of +/-3.5.

Bush team 'knew of abuse' at Guantánamo
Evidence of prisoner abuse and possible war crimes at Guantánamo Bay reached the highest levels of the Bush administration as early as autumn 2002, but Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, chose to do nothing about it The investigation, by the veteran journalist Seymour Hersh, quotes one former marine at the camp recalling sessions in which guards would "fuck with [detainees] as much as we could" by inflicting pain on them.

N Korea allows blast site visit
A British diplomat is to be allowed to visit the site of a huge explosion in North Korea that raised fears of a nuclear test, a British minister says. The UK's Foreign Office minister Bill Rammell requested acccess to the site during a visit to North Korea. Pyongyang said the explosion was in fact the demolition of a mountain as part of a huge hydro-electric project. In an unusual move, North Korea also said Britain's ambassador in Pyongyang could visit the site to see for himelf.

TV reporter killed by US fire during live Baghdad broadcast
A television journalist was shot dead as he made a live broadcast from Baghdad when United States helicopters fired on a crowd that had gathered round the burning wreckage of an American armoured vehicle. Mazen al-Tumeizi, a Palestinian working for Al-Arabiya, one of the main Arab satellite television channels, was among 12 people - all believed to be civilians - killed in the incident on Haifa Street.

Hurricane Ivan bears down on Cuba
Hurricane Ivan has strengthened as it heads towards Cuba after bringing destruction to the tiny Cayman Islands. Southern Cuba has been feeling the first effects of Ivan's winds, and the island's western tip is expected to take the full force later. Meanwhile, the low-lying Cayman Islands have reportedly suffered enormous damage, with large areas under water. Governor Bruce Dinwiddy said thousands of homes had lost their roofs and that key government buildings had been hit.

Beware of the End of the World (Wide Web)
Remember those 'End of the World' signs? Well, Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) says it may be nearer than we think. Except the sign says 'End of the World Wide Web'. It's a vision apparently shared by Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and AT&T Corp. (NYSE: T), all of whom are working feverishly, either together or apart to save the World Wide Web, which Intel and others see as becoming so overloaded it will eventually break.

US bombards Falluja 'militants'
At least 15 people have been killed in a joint US-Iraqi attack on militant positions in the restive Iraqi city of Falluja, according to hospital sources. US artillery bombarded several districts, before circling warplanes opened fire, witnesses said. The US military said it had "accurately targeted" militants from a group linked to al-Qaeda, but there were reports that civilians were among the dead. It comes a day after 70 people were killed in fighting across Iraq.

Thatcher bids to avoid court quiz
Lawyers for Sir Mark Thatcher are taking steps to prevent him from answering questions under oath about his alleged involvement in a failed coup plot in Equatorial Guinea, one of his senior legal representatives said today. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior member of Sir Mark's defence team said an application had been forwarded to the Cape high court to set aside the subpoena requiring him to appear in court later this month.

US 'kills 22' in Afghan firefight
US forces have killed 22 suspected Taleban and al-Qaeda militants in a gun battle in southern Afghanistan, the US military says. American troops and helicopters fought the insurgents in the Shinkay district of Zabul province. "Twenty-two anti-coalition militias were killed - three of them were Arabs," US military spokesman Major Scott Nelson said in Kabul.

Officials: Tu-134 Suspect Is Alive
The investigation into the recent spate of terrorist attacks took a confusing twist Thursday when the Interior Ministry in Chechnya announced that the suspected suicide bomber of a Tu-134 airplane was alive and well and that her passport found at the crash site was forged. A Chechen Interior Ministry spokesman told Rossiiskaya Gazeta that Amanat Nagayeva, the main suspect in the Aug. 24 bombing of the Moscow-Volgograd flight, was alive and selling toys in the Rostov region.

Arctic's toxic burden harms bears
Evidence that the health of polar bears is being damaged by chemicals has been reinforced by new Arctic research. The findings show biological changes in the hormone and immune systems of the bears are related to the levels of toxic contaminants in their bodies. WWF, the global conservation campaign, says the data confirms the findings of other research in the last four years.

Supermarkets defy ministers over safer food
Britain's giant supermarket chains are in open conflict with the Government over unhealthy levels of salt in the food they sell. Sainsbury's and other shops have angered ministers by flatly refusing a direct request to improve their plans to cut back on salt, which is implicated in health problems.

Cameroon polls 'will not be fair'
The leader of the main Cameroon opposition party has said that next month's elections will not be free and fair without electoral reform. John Fru Ndi told the BBC that his 1992 defeat to President Paul Biya had been due to electoral fraud. Mr Biya, who has been in power for 22 years, has yet to confirm that he will stand for re-election on 11 October.

U.S. Hid Dozens of Iraqi Prisoners, Investigators Say
The United States may have kept up to 100 "ghost detainees" in Iraq off the books and concealed from Red Cross observers, a far higher number than previously reported, an Army general told Congress. Estimates were rough because the CIA has withheld documents on concealed detainees, Army generals who investigated U.S. abuses of Iraqi prisoners told lawmakers. Republican and Democratic senators blasted the CIA, and called for it to turn over the material.

Clashes as Chile marks 1973 coup
Violent clashes have cut short a major ceremony in Chile to remember those who died in the 1973 military coup. Police fired tear gas and water cannon and arrested dozens of people at the main cemetery in the capital, Santiago, after demonstrators threw rocks. Chile's socialist president, Salvador Allende, was among those who died in the military takeover on 11 September.

Loyalist admits Finucane murder
A man accused of murdering a Belfast solicitor more than 15 years ago has pleaded guilty to the charge. Ken Barrett, 41, entered the plea at the beginning of his trial in the Crown Court in Belfast on Monday. At previous hearings, Barrett denied shooting Pat Finucane at his home in the north of the city in February 1989.

Hurricane sends oil prices higher
The price of a barrel of oil has risen amid growing fears that Hurricane Ivan will disrupt petroleum supplies from the Gulf of Mexico. A barrel of Brent crude rose $0.52 to $40.72 in early London trade. Oil companies have started evacuating workers from the Gulf of Mexico, which is home to about one-quarter of US oil and gas output.