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. Ivorian cabinet takes shape .

. BBC -- Logged on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2003 4:00 UTC x x

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Rebels control the north and west

President Laurent Gbagbo is pushing ahead with his own plans for a new cabinet, despite rebel threats to resume fighting if their demands are ignored. 

A new consensus cabinet, aimed at bring to an end a five-month partition of the country, is being presented to an international committee on Wednesday. 

But it is reported to include non-political professionals in key cabinet posts, after Mr Gbagbo rejected proposals from new Prime Minister Seydou Diarra that would have given the main rebel group two senior ministries. 

The Patriotic Movement of Ivory Coast (MPCI) said that Mr Gbagbo's actions were in flagrant violation of the Paris-brokered peace agreement and he was "playing with fire". 

We cannot accept that Gbagbo violates the accord signed in Paris  Sidiki Konate MPCI spokesman  Who are the rebels?

Reuters news agency said Mr Gbagbo's list included at least four ministries for neutrals, 11 for his party, eight for the former ruling Democratic Party, seven for the main opposition RDR and seven for the MPCI. 

But they quoted sources as saying Mr Gbagbo also wanted the army's influential chief of staff in the cabinet. 

The RDR is also reported to be unhappy at being denied the justice ministry. 

In a curt statement from their stronghold of Bouake, rebel spokesman Sidiki Konate said the president's move would create extreme tension. 

Anger

Rebel military chiefs who last week threatened to march on Abidjan say their men are now ready to go. 

IVORY COAST CONFLICT  Hundreds killed  More than a million displaced  3,000 French peacekeepers  Nation divided in two  Power sharing deal still to work  Profile: Laurent Gbagbo

They insist that Mr Gbagbo promised them the interior and defence ministries in front of French President Jacques Chirac at a summit meeting in Paris after peace talks last month. 

They say that if they do not get the ministries in charge of the army and police they will never agree to disarm or give up territory. 

At the Marcoussis peace talks near Paris, political parties and rebel groups agreed they would share power in a coalition government. 

They also agreed that a strong consensus prime minister would lead the new government into transparent presidential elections. 

But since he was nominated a month ago, Mr Diarra has been struggling in vain to appoint a new government as Mr Gbagbo insisted on a final say. 

 

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. Nigerian petrol supplies 'sabotaged' .

. BBC -- Logged on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2003 4:00 UTC x x

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The government thought it had ended fuel queues

The Nigerian Government has blamed recent petrol shortages on political sabotage.

Information Minister Jerry Gana said it was no coincidence that traffic had been paralysed by a lack of petrol in the run-up to general elections in April. 

Petrol has become scarce in Lagos and some other parts of Nigeria, prompting a return to the long petrol queues common during the military rule, which ended in 1999. 

Correspondents say that President Olusegun Obasanjo had been citing the end of fuel queues as one of the key dividends of his rule during his re-election campaign. 

'Dark days return'

"For three years, we resolved the (fuel shortage) problem and then suddenly because we are now campaigning, some people thought they could make some subterranean moves just to discredit us," Mr Gana said. 

Oil officials have provided a raft of other reasons for the sudden shortage of petrol: 

• Panic-buying; 
• Petrol hoarding; 
• Striking oil workers; 
• Broken-down refineries; 
• Fears of war in Iraq; 
• World oil markets. 

Nigeria is a major oil exporter but most petrol is imported. 

During the military era, corruption, smuggling and mismanagement led to massive petrol queues and some of those caught in Lagos traffic jams felt a sense of deja vu. 

"It is like the Abacha dark days are here again," civil servant Celestine Orji said sadly, remembering the regime of late military ruler General Sani Abacha. 

"What sort of country is this? Why should we continue to suffer in the midst of plenty?" he asked. 

One man was relieved to get a full tank after a four-hour wait. 

Workers in Nigeria's oil exporting industry briefly went on strike last week but this should not have affected domestic supplies of imported petrol. 

However, this may have prompted panic buying, worsened by fears that a war in Iraq may lead to a rise in the price of petrol. 

 

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. UN blames Mugabe for crisis .

. BBC -- Logged on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2003 4:00 UTC x x

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Half the population needs food aid

The United Nations food agency has said that the Zimbabwe Government is largely responsible for the humanitarian crisis there.

The Zimbabwe crisis was "almost beyond comprehension" and could easily have been avoided, said James Morris, head of the World Food Programme. 

He pointed to President Robert Mugabe's land redistribution programme, which has left thousands of normally productive farms lying idle. 

Up to seven million people - half the population - need food aid, donors say. 

This year's harvest is expected to be even lower than in 2002 - just 40% of normal. 

The government has also been accused of diverting food aid away from opposition areas. 

'Nightmare'

Mr Mugabe blames the food shortages on failed rains. 

He also says that his land reform programme should increase food production, because white farmers generally grew cash crops such as tobacco and paprika, while small-scale black farmers generally grow the staple food, maize. 

MUGABE'S LAND REFORM  2000: 4,000 whites owned 11m ha of prime land  2000: 1m blacks owned 16m ha, often in drought-prone areas  2000: Land invasions began  2003: 600 white farmers remain  Clickable guide: The battle for land

But Mr Morris disagreed. 

"This scheme (land reform) along with restrictions on private sector food marketing and a monopoly on food imports... are turning a drought that might have been managed into a humanitarian nightmare," he told lawmakers in the United States. 

Mr Morris said that he had held six meetings with Mr Mugabe in the past six months but had failed to persuade him to alter his economic policies or remove bureaucratic obstacles to food production or aid distribution. 

The head of the US Agency for International Development, Andrew Natsios, agreed. 

Zimbabwe had become "a basket case rapidly sliding into a disastrous famine that is politically induced," he said. 

A government audit reportedly shows that many of the farms seized from white farmers have been allocated to government ministers and officials, rather than landless blacks. 

In neighbouring Malawi, which was worst hit by the food shortages last year, the government says that the situation is improving this year. 

 

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. Analysis: Power Americana .

. BBC -- Logged on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2003 4:00 UTC x x

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Might is right, according to Defence Department hawks

The US is heading to war with Iraq whatever happens, in another indication of the Bush administration's development of a hard-line foreign policy.

Tony Blair might be trying to convince the British Parliament and people that Saddam Hussein can even now, as he put it in his statement on Tuesday, "save [his regime] by complying with the UN's demand". 

This claim is an insistent one from the British Government. It is designed to appeal to the doubters. It has become less and less convincing. 

For George W Bush is singing the dominant tune. 

Saddam Hussein is "playing games", President Bush said, also on Tuesday, about some concessions from Baghdad, and "I suspect he will try to fool the world one more time." 

European accusations... are countered by American descriptions of Europeans as 'EU-nuchs' in general and of the French in particular as 'cheese-eating surrender monkeys'

The conclusion to be drawn is that whatever Saddam Hussein does now will probably not be enough for Washington. 

US officials are admitting that they only agreed to go back to the Security Council for another resolution in order to accommodate Mr Blair. 

The new resolution therefore has no real meaning beyond covering, or indeed exposing, the British back. The Americans will go to war anyway. 

This points the way to the future. For better, for worse, it is one of Power Americana. 

Single superpower

To understand why this should be so, it is worth going back to a project called the New American Century set up in 1997. 

Founded by two commentators - William Kristol and Robert Kagan - it laid the philosophical groundwork for what was to come. 

A number its sympathisers later joined the Bush administration, including two of the leading hawks, Paul Wolfowitz and John Bolton. 

The thinking behind the New American Century helps to explain why the current gulf exists between the United States and some of its allies. 

European accusations that George W Bush is a "cowboy" or worse are countered by American descriptions of Europeans as "EU-nuchs" in general and of the French in particular as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys". 

In September 2000, as Mr Bush was running for the presidency, the New American Century team produced a report called "Rebuilding America's Defences". 

The goal was to "promote American global leadership", the report stated. 

"As the 20th Century draws to a close, the United States stands as the world's pre-eminent power," it said. 

"Having led the West to victory in the Cold War, America faces an opportunity and a challenge. 

"Does the United States have the vision to build upon the achievement of past decades? 

"Does the United States have the resolve to shape a new century favourable to American principles and interests? 

"[What we require] is a military that is strong... a foreign policy that boldly and purposefully promotes American interests... and a national leadership that accepts the United States' global responsibility." 

At first, it did not look as if Mr Bush was that enthusiastic. 

He said in a presidential campaign debate in October 2000 that American foreign policy had to be "humble". 

"We must be proud and confident of our values but humble in how we treat nations that are figuring out how to chart their own course," was how he put it. 

America goes it alone

President Bush has his European supporters like Tony Blair who spotted that the president was open to persuasion on some issues, and was in due course persuaded to go to the United Nations over Iraq. 

However, as president, it was not long before Mr Bush showed that he could also chart America's own course. 

With the German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder sitting next to him in the Oval Office in early 2001, he dismissed the Kyoto environmental treaty by saying that American jobs were not to be put at risk. 

Maybe Mr Schroeder remembered that humiliation in the charting of his own Iraq policy later? 

Then came 11 September. 

After a shaky start, Mr Bush rose to the challenge when he stood amid the rubble and promised retribution. 

He went on to develop his own Bush Doctrine, one of pre-emptive intervention. 

He has since been encouraged on this course by another contribution from the folks who heralded The New American Century. 

In a book called "The War over Iraq: Saddam's Tyranny and America's Mission", William Kristol, joined this time by Lawrence F Kaplan, stated: "The complacent assumptions of the post-Cold War era were destroyed on September 11. 

"That day brought us to a new era for which we need a new road map. 

"If America does not shape this new epoch, we can be sure that others will shape it for us - in ways that neither further our interests nor reflect our ideas. 

"For the United States this is a decisive moment." 

'Democratisation'

The former CIA Director James Woolsey praised the book. 

"The authors show us why - in this age of terror, rogue states and weapons of mass destruction - we can only make the world safe for democracy by finishing the job of democratising it," he said. 

The new US doctrine is causing resentment in Muslim states

"Democratising" the world is an important part of neo-conservative thinking, especially when it comes to the Arab and Islamic world. 

It does not mean full-scale democracy along Western lines, apparently, but it does mean "reshaping" it to encourage civil institutions and a freer press and so on. 

Douglas Feith, the US Under-Secretary of Defence in charge of policy and another of the neo-conservatives in the administration, told the New Yorker magazine recently that "democratising" Arab and Islamic countries would help to diminish terrorism. 

"If [an Iraqi] government could create some of those institutions of democracy, that might be inspirational throughout the Middle East," he said. 

There is a sub-plot here. 

One of the products of the New American Century approach is a close alignment with Israel and the inclusion of Palestinian groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad as part of the "war on terror" declared by President Bush. 

Those right-wing supporters of George W Bush who are Jews have consequently found themselves the subject of political and personal attack. 

David Brooks, a commentator on the Weekly Standard, the publication of the new right, wrote: "Not long ago I was chatting with a prominent Washington figure in a green room. 'You people have infested everywhere,' he said." 

Europe divided

The response of many Europeans - and some Americans as well, it must be said - has been to regard the New American Century approach with some alarm. 

For a start, Europeans are far more sympathetic to the Palestinians. 

But it goes beyond that. Former French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine invented the word "hyperpower" to describe the United States and not in an admiring way. 

In a speech to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, Chris Patten, former UK Government minister, Hong Kong governor and now European foreign affairs commissioner, said that "in order to be a more credible partner and in some cases to be a counterweight, Europe has to invest in its own security". 

Europe, however, is divided and its efforts to forge a "Common Foreign and Security Policy" have for the moment, and for the foreseeable future, foundered on the rock of national interest. 

The New American Century has begun. 
 

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. Mystery tile gives Columbia clue .

. BBC -- Logged on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2003 4:00 UTC x x

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The tile find supports the theory that the shuttle was damaged on take-off

A tile fragment containing mysterious orange specks may provide vital clues in the investigation into the Columbia space shuttle disaster, say officials.

The tile was found near the town of Powell in north-east Texas. 

"This is not re-entry heat damage," retired admiral Harold Gehman who is heading an independent investigation into the disaster told reporters. 

Some experts say the Columbia was damaged about 82 seconds after lift-off on 16 January when a piece of orange foam broke away from the shuttle's fuel tank smashing into the left wing. 

Last week, Boeing released analysis indicating that the Columbia may have been hit not by one but three pieces of the solid foam. 

Debris theory

If a tile, such as the one found in Powell, Texas, had been loosened by that impact and then come off during re-entry, the bare aluminium of the shuttle's wing would have been exposed. 

That area is roughly the same size of the breach that investigators believed opened and allowed hot gases to enter moments before the shuttle was lost. 

Sensors picked up a rapid rise in temperature in some parts of the shuttle's left wing. 

Nasa officials also say radar information shows a 12-inch-square (30-centimetre-square) item drifting away from the shuttle on the second day of its flight. 

Harold Gehman is puzzled by the orange marks

Three days later, the lightweight object re-entered the atmosphere and disappeared over the South Pacific, so it will probably never be determined whether or not it came from the shuttle. 

The collision theory is "just one of many theories, and it's not a favourite of anybody's", said head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Sean O'Keefe, reports AFP news agency. 

Investigators have also found a partly damaged videotape of the astronauts as they made their descent. 

The 13 minutes of the tape which have been restored show members of the crew preparing for landing. 

Families have been shown the tapes. 

All seven crew members were killed when the Columbia disintegrated in the sky over Texas on 1 February. 

A tenth of the space shuttle has now been recovered. 

A piece of a tile from the upper side of the left wing found near Littlefield, Texas, is thought to be the most westernmost piece of shuttle debris recovered so far. 

"The data and twisted metal are speaking to us. We're just developing ears to hear," Nasa Ames Research Centre director Scott Hubbard said, reports AFP. 
 

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. Thai drug war toll nears 1,000 .

. BBC -- Logged on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2003 4:00 UTC x x

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Bangkok is desperate to rid the country of drugs

Thailand's interior ministry has said that the death toll from a crackdown on drugs has reached 993 since the campaign started on 1 February.

International alarm has spiralled over the mounting toll, which rights groups suspect is partly the result of a government-backed shoot-to-kill policy. 

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights added its voice to the condemnation on Wednesday, calling on officials to carry out their duty in accordance with international human rights standards. 

The government and police have repeatedly denied any part in extra-judicial killings, arguing that most of the deaths have resulted from inter-gang warfare. 

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who will have served half of his mandate on Thursday, again dismissed the allegations of a shoot-to-kill policy. 

"They did not die because government officers killed them, they killed each other," he told reporters. 

Drug war figures  993 dead  16 shot in self-defence by police (police say 22)  46,177 on blacklist  8,745 arrests  928 government officials implicated  Source: Thai interior ministry

Thailand's interior ministry said on Wednesday that the high death toll meant that a blacklist of 46,177 people suspected of involvement in drugs had already been reduced by 20%. 

Thai health officials estimate that three million Thais - roughly 5% of the population - are addicted to methamphetamines, and the government has set itself tough goals to rid the country of the drug. 

Blacklist fears

Thailand's National Human Rights Commission said that around 50 people had complained that they had been mistakenly included on interior ministry and police blacklists. 

Thirapat Assawasangsit, secretary to the commissioner who oversees drugs issues, said those blacklisted have been asked to report to police, but are afraid of what awaits them. 

"They are reluctant to go because they think it would seem like they are admitting that they are involved. They feel very insecure now and they don't know which way to go, what to do next," he told the French news agency AFP. 

The UNHCR special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Asma Jahangir, asked the Thai authorities to ensure that "the strict limits on the use of lethal force... are followed rigorously and without exception". 

 

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. SEC probe deepens Ahold woes .

. BBC -- Logged on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2003 4:00 UTC x x

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Ahold hoped the scandal would quickly die

News that the US market regulator is investigating accounting practices at Ahold has sent shares in the troubled Dutch retailer down a further 25%.

This is the third successive day of dramatic share plunges for Ahold, which admitted on Monday that accounting irregularities at a US subsidiary would cost it at least $500m (£317m). 

Now, the firm has admitted that it is working with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to explore the affair, which concerns the way distribution unit US Foodservice accounted for its income. 

In addition, Ahold faces a probe from Euronext, the stock market where its shares are listed in Amsterdam, and a possible flurry of lawsuits from disgruntled investors. 

Ahold shares have now lost 74% of their value since the beginning of the week, wiping out $7bn of shareholders' money. 

The scandal spreads

Ahold's chief executive and chief financial officer have resigned, and the company says it will restate its results for the past three years. 

But its hopes of drawing a line under the issue seem to have come to nothing. 

There are increasing concerns that the accounting problem was something more reprehensible than an honest mistake. 

Although deliberate fraud has not yet been alleged, some investors allege that Ahold was less than complete in its disclosure of financial information, and that regulators were lax in their treatment of a complex international company. 

There are also concerns over the transparency of the Amsterdam market, where brokers were tipping Ahold shares until the moment it released its bad news. 

Under attack

Ahold has been keen to stress that the SEC inquiry is in full co-operation with the company. 

Less benign, however, is a number of lawsuits, largely from investors in the US. 

Two lawsuits were filed on Tuesday in Virginia and New York by law firms that have specialised in clawing back investor money after accounting scandals. 

The complaints are seeking class-action status - the possibility of being rolled into one universal case that will stand as a measure for all similar suits. 

 

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. Iraq debate heats up .

. BBC -- Logged on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2003 4:00 UTC x x

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Blix: Not time to close door on inspections

British and French leaders are facing their critics in crucial parliamentary debates over possible war with Iraq.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair could see the biggest revolt of his six years in office as his hardline stance against Baghdad is put to the vote in Parliament on Wednesday. 

President Jacques Chirac's anti-war views are also coming scrutiny in the French Assembly, where many of his own party are worried about lasting rifts with Washington. 

As the US and UK push for concrete decisions over Iraq, chief United Nations weapons inspector Hans Blix has said his teams should be given a "few more months" to complete their work. 

In an interview with the German weekly Die Zeit, Mr Blix said it was not clear whether the Iraqis really wanted to co-operate. 

"On the other hand, this country had eight years of inspections, four years without them, and now 12 weeks with them," Mr Blix said. 

"Is it the right time to close the door?" 

Challenge to Blair

Mr Blix's comments about Iraqi co-operation were seized upon by Mr Blair. 

This was fresh proof that Iraq was failing to comply with UN demands to disarm, Mr Blair said on Wednesday. 

In an impassioned address to Parliament the day before, Mr Blair said he was giving Saddam Hussein "one further final chance to disarm voluntarily" by delaying a vote on a new United Nations resolution for two weeks. 

IRAQI LEADER'S INTERVIEW  I believe that whoever... offers Saddam asylum in his own country is in fact a person without morals  Saddam Hussein  Click here for interview excerpts

The prime minister is assured of a parliamentary majority to support his handling of the Iraq crisis, but the number of MPs prepared to vote against him could be significant. 

By contrast, Mr Chirac's view that UN weapons inspections must be given more time enjoys widespread public and political backing in France. 

But politicians from his own party fear that if France uses its veto at the Security Council to block a new resolution, it could not only destroy transatlantic relations but also irreparably undermine the UN. 

'I will die in Iraq'

Concern at the possible disastrous consequences of war has led to suggestions - although never viewed as realistic - that President Saddam Hussein go into exile. 

But in extracts from a US television interview, the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein dismissed the proposals. 

Speaking to veteran television journalist Dan Rather, Saddam Hussein said: "We will die here. We will die in this country and we will maintain our honour". 

The Iraqi leader also challenged President Bush to a TV debate on war - an offer already rejected out of hand by the White House. 

Saddam Hussein also said that Iraq: 

• Had no links to al-Qaeda 
• Would not set fire to oil fields or destroy dams if there was an invasion 
• Had no missiles which exceeded UN permitted limits 

Mr Blix has demanded the destruction of a stock of al-Samoud II missiles - which fly beyond the 150 kilometres (93 miles) permitted - by Saturday. 

The missile question has been seen as a major test of Iraq's willingness to comply with UN orders. 'Illegitimate'

Mr Blix himself has said there can be no negotiations with Iraq over this. 

OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS  8,500 missing litres of anthrax growth medium  6,500 missing chemical bombs  3,000 missing tons of chemical precursors  550 missing artillery shells filled with mustard gas  360 missing tons of chemical warfare agents, including 1.5 tons of VX nerve agent  50 missing long-range missile warheads  Iraq's 'unaccounted for' weapons

The contrasting views on the crisis have been highlighted in the debates taking place in the French and UK parliaments. 

Opening discussion in the French Assembly, the prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, called for the United Nations weapons inspectors to be given time to carry out their work. 

He warned that waging war against Iraq without exhausting avenues for peace would split the international community. 

A military intervention, he said, "would be perceived as precipitous and illegitimate." 

His comments were echoed by French President Jacques Chirac who used a visit by Spain's prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, to reiterate his opposition to any new resolution on Iraq. 

"War is not inevitable," he said. 

But in London, UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw warned it was "crunch time" for Saddam Hussein. 

"Saddam must either embark immediately on full voluntary disarmament or the Security Council must face up to its responsibility to see that he is disarmed by force," Mr Straw told parliament. 

In other developments: 

• German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow - both countries oppose war 
• Officials say that only about a half of the UK jets due in the Gulf have arrived because Muslim countries have refused overflights 
• US Secretary of State Colin Powell phones Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul to stress the urgency of deploying US troops there - the Turkish parliament has still to vote on the issue 
• US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warns that Iraq's chemical and biological weapons capabilities are more lethal and dangerous than in the last Gulf war 
• Iraqi opposition groups hold a big meeting in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq - President Bush's special envoy attends 
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. Israeli foreign minister replaced .

. BBC -- Logged on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2003 4:00 UTC x x

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Netanyahu and Sharon are party rivals

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has removed long-time rival Binyamin Netanyahu as Israeli foreign minister.

In a surprise move, Mr Sharon offered the post to Finance Minister Silvan Shalom, who has accepted the role. 

Mr Netanyahu turned down an offer from Mr Sharon to replace Mr Shalom in the finance ministry. 

Mr Sharon's Likud Party, meanwhile, has confirmed it is making formal agreements with three other parties to form a new right-wing coalition. 

The prime minister is expected to close deals with the secular Shinui, the National Religious Party (NRP) and the ultra-nationalist National Union Party (NUP), on Wednesday. 

The new government is expected to be sworn in on Thursday. 

Sidelined

Mr Sharon offered Mr Netanyahu the new role as he continued to shape his new post-election cabinet. 

GOVERNMENT LINE UP  Likud: 40 seats  Shinui: 15 seats  NUP: 7 seats  NRP: 6 seats  Total: 68 seats (of 120)  Click here for profile of Binyamin Netanyahu

Observers say it was a manoeuvre designed to unseat his main competitor. 

Last December, Mr Netanyahu, a hardline former prime minister, challenged Mr Sharon for leadership of Likud. 

Mr Sharon appointed Mr Netanyahu as foreign minister last November in the hope of curbing Mr Netanyahu's opposition to him. 

Mr Sharon said he "regretted" Mr Netanyahu's decision to turn down the role as finance minister. 

Mr Netanyahu could now find himself outside of the new government. 

Mr Shalom, a Sharon loyalist, has little experience of foreign affairs and his appointment is unlikely to effect a change in Israeli foreign policy. 

Rightward shift

Mr Sharon has secured an eight-seat majority in the Israeli Knesset (parliament) after agreeing deals with the two right-wing parties and Shinui, the surprise victor in January's election. 

Correspondents say the new line-up represents a setback for American-led efforts to restart the Middle East peace process. 

The NRP and NUP are strongly opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state. 

Mr Sharon has supported such a state in principle by endorsing an American peace plan which foresees an independent Palestinian state by 2005. 

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said the inclusion in the coalition of ultra-nationalist parties and parties representing Jewish settlers meant there would be "no chance left for peace". 
 

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. Fossil key to human origins .

. BBC -- Logged on Wednesday, 26-Feb-2003 4:00 UTC x x

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Palaeontologists say a new fossil find from Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania could simplify our understanding of the origin of humans.

The upper teeth are complete

The remains of the 1.8-million-year-old hominid are said to rank among the best specimens yet discovered of the earliest members of our genus, Homo. 

Writing in the journal Science, Rutgers University anthropology Professor Robert Blumenschine says the new fossil shows that at least some of the examples of two early groups of Homo should now be reunited into a single species. 

The new find, designated OH 65, consists of a portion of the lower face and upper jaw with all the teeth present. 

"This is an important ancestor that comes from a crucial time in prehistory - when we first began to see stone tools, when hominids had just begun to exploit larger animals as a food source, and when brain size was just beginning to expand significantly," says Professor Blumenschine. 

'Handy man'

Professor Blumenschine and colleagues describe in their Science paper a hominid specimen they found at Olduvai Gorge in 1995, a region that gained prominence through the discoveries of Louis and Mary Leakey in the early 1960s. 

It is not entirely clear how the Homo genus, which includes modern humans, relates to older hominid groups

Forty years ago, Louis Leakey and colleagues unearthed a series of fossils at Olduvai that were identified as the then oldest member of our genus. 

Because of its large brain size and stone tools found nearby, the fossil they dug up was called Homo habilis, "handy man". 

Ten years later Louis Leakey's son Richard found a more complete H. habilis skull in northern Kenya, showing the species ranged across much of the Rift Valley of eastern Africa. 

And in the mid-1980s, new findings split H. habilis into two groups. The fossils found at Olduvai Gorge kept their original designation while others, now recognised as displaying slightly different features - a flattened sub-nasal area and more robust dentition took on a new name, Homo rudolfensis. 

However, the latest work by Blumenschine's team could now lead to some members of these two hominid species being rejoined. 

"Any time you make a find like this, complete enough to show so many important diagnostic features, we get very excited," says Professor Blumenschine. 

Increasingly large brain

OH 65 provides a key anatomical link between H. rudolfensis and the original H. habilis. 

The researchers maintain that another Kenyan fossil, KNM-ER-1470, currently designated as H. rudolfensis, should be put back with fossils from Olduvai Gorge into H. habilis. 

This is because the new fossil and 1470 share several features, including the flat face below the nose and dental structure, which once led to the species' separation. 

"OH 65 allows us to reshuffle the specimens that belong in the ancestral genus and tie together rudolfensis and habilis," says Professor Blumenschine. 

"It shows that all three specimens are likely to be members of the same species - Homo habilis." 

Crucially, OH 65 was found with stone tools and with bones from larger animals that clearly show the marks made by those tools. 

Professor Blumenschine says this corroborates the work of other scientists in demonstrating the hominid's capacity both to make tools and to use them in butchering meat for food, even at this early time. 

"As we learn more about the paleoecology, we may begin to understand what environmental conditions were selecting for adaptive traits in early Homo, traits like an increasingly large brain, that eventually gave rise to what we are today." 

 

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. Bosnia's 'Iron Lady' jailed .

. BBC -- Logged on Thursday, 27-Feb-2003 4:00 UTC x x

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The court heard of her grave crimes but also her later work for peace

The former Bosnian Serb president, Biljana Plavsic, has been sentenced by the International War Crimes Tribunal to 11 years in prison for crimes against humanity.

Plavsic, 72, had pleaded guilty to the crimes committed during the Bosnian war from 1992 to 1995. 

She is the highest-ranking official involved in the bloody Balkan conflict to be sentenced to date. 

Legal experts say her case is seen as an important step towards reconciliation in the former Yugoslavia. 

The victims expected her sentence to reflect the seriousness of her crimes. 

But the judges had to weigh that factor against her confession and remorse. 

Remorse

Plavsic, dressed in a dark suit with a green jumper, looked calm as Judge Richard May read out the sentence against her.

No sentence which the trial chamber passes can fully reflect the horror of what occurred or the terrible impact on thousands of victims  Judge Richard May  Click here for a profile of Biljana Plavsic

Although she did not conceive the policy of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and had a lesser role it than some other Bosnian Serb leaders, she had supported it, Judge May said.

It was a crime of the utmost gravity, he said, adding that misplaced leniency would not be fitting.

Judge May said that Bosnians were "mistreated, raped, tortured and killed" in a campaign of ethnic cleansing that Plavsic embraced and promoted.

"No sentence which the trial chamber passes can fully reflect the horror of what occurred or the terrible impact on thousands of victims," he said. 

However, he did refer to substantial mitigating circumstances, including Plavsic's:

• guilty plea and acceptance of responsibility
• remorse
• voluntary surrender
• post-conflict conduct and previous good character
• age 
• 
   

   

The court also took into account the testimony by former US. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and others, who said she had played an important part in carrying out the peace agreement negotiated in 1995 in Dayton, Ohio.

The prosecution had asked for a prison sentence of between 15 and 25 years, but her lawyers argued that would amount to a life sentence for a 72-year-old woman and recommended 8 years.

Karadzic ally

During the Bosnian war, Plavsic was known as the "Serbian Iron Lady" because of her hardline nationalism and rabidly anti-Muslim views.

She was also one of the closest allies of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, himself accused of war crimes. 

Plavsic could be called to testify at Milosevic's trial

Plavsic surprisingly changed her plea to guilty on one count of persecution. 

In return the prosecution dropped all other charges against her, including genocide - the most serious war crime. 

In her statement accepting responsibility for the killing and deportation of thousands of Bosnian Muslims and Croats, Plavsic named Mr Milosevic as the mastermind behind the ethnic cleansing campaign. 

Mastermind

She also urged Mr Karadzic and his military commander, Ratko Mladic, another fugitive from international justice, to surrender.

Although Mrs Plavsic did not agree to testify in other cases at the tribunal, she has already been ordered to appear as a witness in one trial. 

The judges in the trial of former Yugoslav President, Slobodan Milosevic, could call her to testify, where her guilty plea could be used by the prosecution. 

Announcing the 11-year jail term, Judge May credited her with 245 days that she had spent in jail since her surrender in January 2001.

The rest of the time she had been allowed to remain free in Belgrade. 
 

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End of article 11

. Heist 'geniuses' got $100m gems .

. BBC -- BBC -- Logged on Thursday, 27-Feb-2003 4:00 UTC x x

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Vault keys seized by police are displayed as evidence

The haul from Belgium's most spectacular diamond robbery in Antwerp earlier this month was worth more than 100 million euros ($107m), Belgian police have said.

In what police authorities have called the heist of the century, 123 of the 160 vaults at the Antwerp Diamond Centre were emptied.

Antwerp's judicial director, Erik Sack, called the crime on 16 February "a piece of genius in its simplicity".

The floor was strewn with safety boxes, gold, money, securities, cut and rough diamonds, jewels  Antwerp judicial director, Erik Sack

He said the gang had learned to circumvent the alarm system and had copied master keys after renting an office in the Diamond Centre in the name of a phantom company.

During the theft, they taped over security cameras and may have put old videotapes in the surveillance system, police said.

Motorway clues

This gave them enough time to break open the vaults, but they uncovered so many riches they were unable to take them all away.

It is pretty clear that those who executed the crime came over from Italy and our investigation is now centring on them  Erik Sack

"The floor was strewn with safety boxes, gold, money, securities, cut and rough diamonds, jewels," said Mr Sack.

The Diamond Centre is located in the heart of Antwerp's diamond district which is constantly monitored by police and dozens of cameras.

Special passes are required to gain access to the building, and guards protect the room with the vaults 24 hours a day.

"We'd describe it as a piece of genius in its simplicity, not least because the security system was so thoroughly analysed," said Mr Sack.

Police were led to the four arrested by a discovery at the side of a Belgian motorway.

Bags containing security-camera tapes and documents from safes had been carelessly discarded.

Arrests

A suspect was then arrested when he returned to his office in the Diamond Centre last weekend, authorities said.

Three others were seized at an Antwerp apartment.

The four - three Italians and a Dutch woman - were remanded in custody on Thursday, as investigations continued.

Mr Sack said police believed the ringleader was among those already arrested, but that three people suspected of opening the vaults and grabbing the loot were currently being sought in Italy.

"It is pretty clear that those who executed the crime came over from Italy and our investigation is now centring on them," Mr Sack said.

The diamonds have not yet been recovered.

 

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End of article 12

. Germany halts aid to Turkey .

. BBC -- Logged on Thursday, 27-Feb-2003 4:00 UTC x x

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Two Awacs aircraft have been sent from Germany

German Defence Minister Peter Struck has rejected Nato calls for further military assistance to Turkey, saying that Germany has "done enough" already. 

Germany has so far agreed to send 46 Patriot missiles to Turkey, as well as troops manning Awacs aircraft. 

The BBC's Ray Furlong in Berlin says this is the latest sign of Germany's reluctance to get sucked into any conflict over Iraq. 

Mr Struck suggested that Nato's request for more could be met by the United States. 

"I think we have done enough for Turkey," he said.

"There are also American Patriots and Awacs systems," he added. "The [Nato request] is not only directed at Germany."

Belgian solidarity

Two Awacs aircraft were sent from the German base of Geilenkirchen to Konya in southern Turkey at the beginning of the week. 

Mr Struck's comments followed similar remarks by the German Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer, late on Wednesday night - he also said Germany's existing deployment to Turkey was sufficient. 

Mr Struck was speaking after a meeting with his Belgian counterpart, André Flahaut. 

The two countries, along with France, had earlier blocked Nato from beginning planning for Turkey's defence, arguing that it would send the wrong signal as diplomatic efforts continued to find a solution to the Iraq crisis.

They dropped their objections 10 days ago, under heavy pressure from the US and other Nato members. 

Mr Flahaut said his visit to Berlin was to show solidarity with the joint initiative submitted to the UN Security Council by France, Germany and Russia, which is aimed at prolonging the work of UN weapons inspectors in Iraq, and delaying the start of hostilities. 
 

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End of article 13

. Iraq inspection results 'limited' .

. BBC -- Logged on Thursday, 27-Feb-2003 4:00 UTC x x

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Inspectors have said they need more time

The UN's chief weapons inspector Hans Blix says the inspections aimed at disarming Iraq have produced "very limited" results.

The statement came in a report due to be submitted to the Security Council on Saturday, a draft copy of which was obtained by the BBC.

Mr Blix's draft says Iraq could have made greater efforts to find proscribed weapons and to provide credible evidence that some of them have been destroyed. 

The latest Security Council debate on Iraq ended without any consensus on Thursday. 

The French ambassador at the UN, Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, said the majority of countries "do not think it is time to go to war and it is possible to disarm Iraq by peaceful means". 

Mr Blix's draft notes that Baghdad has not begun to destroy its al-Samoud II missiles - but Iraqi officials are quoted as saying they will respond to this demand by Saturday.

The results in terms of disarmament have been very limited so far  Hans Blix

Meanwhile, Iraq has started moving major elements of a Republican Guard division south, possibly towards Baghdad or Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit, according to US defence officials.

The US has been expecting the Iraqi leader to begin concentrating his better forces around the centres of power, the BBC's Pentagon correspondent Nick Childs says.

But US defence officials say that how many of the Republican Guard forces in the north get moved could depend on whether the US gets the final go-ahead to start a major troop build-up in neighbouring Turkey.

After a series of delays, the Turkish parliament was expected to vote on the matter on Thursday, but the vote has been postponed until Saturday at the earliest.

The Turkish Government announced on Thursday that it had finalised the military details of a deal allowing US troops to use its bases for an attack on Iraq. 

But negotiations on the exact amount of financial compensation Turkey would receive are continuing.

'Campaign of deception'

Mr Blix has set Baghdad a Saturday deadline for it to begin destroying its al-Samoud missiles, which exceed the range set by UN resolutions, inspectors say.

US-TURKISH PLANS  62,000 troops  255 warplanes  65 helicopters  Germany halts military aid to Turkey

Baghdad denies the al-Samoud missiles are prohibited weapons.

US President George W Bush said on Thursday that the discussion about the missiles was part of what he called Saddam Hussein's "campaign of deception".

"The rockets are just the tip of the iceberg. The only question at hand is total, complete disarmament, which he is refusing to do."

Council divided

The US and UK are hoping the Security Council will pass a second resolution in the coming weeks, saying Iraq has failed to disarm.

The 15 Council members discussed the draft resolution behind closed doors on Thursday, as well as a counter-proposal presented by France, Germany and Russia calling for inspections to be stepped up.

But the Security Council remains divided over Iraq, and six non-permanent members have yet to state publicly which proposal they support.

An unnamed ambassador quoted by the Associated Press described the discussions as "bitter and unpleasant".

Any resolution needs the backing of nine members and no veto from one of the five permanent members. 

Chile said it wanted a solution which included short and specific timetables to complete the inspections. 

Chile - which is working closely with another non-permanent member, Mexico - is one of the key six non-permanent members whose support is crucial for any resolution to be passed.

The BBC's Greg Barrow at the UN says that neither the pro- nor the anti-war camp on the Council is likely to gain much from Mr Blix's report.

But analysts believe military action may be closer than ever, after US President George W Bush laid out his vision for a post-war Iraq during a speech on Wednesday night.

President Bush said any future the Iraqi people chose for themselves after Saddam was deposed would be better than living in their "nightmare world".

 

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End of article 14

. Iraq war bill escalates .