Weekly Round Up: Britain Blocks Italy's Bid To Ban Death Penalty, The President Who Claims He Can Cure Aids On Mondays And Greek Nuns On The Run!

It’s been a busy week in the world of politics but a quiet week for George W. The only news from the White House was that it was seeking $245 Billion for the wars. War critics have said that the Pentagon is using war funding requests to modernize the armed services with weaponry that are unlikely to see action in Iraq or Afghanistan. This was almost as believable as when Saddam Hussein's cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as "Chemical Ali" told Iraq's High Tribunal that it had no right to try him for war crimes because he had the same kind of immunity from prosecution that U.S. forces enjoy in Iraq. Maybe he should be renamed Comical Ali (but I think someone has already taken that name!). Let’s start off with the news of Bird Flu being discovered in a turkey farm in England. About 2,500 turkeys died in the initial outbreak of the virus and so will result in 150,000 turkeys to be slaughtered to eliminate any problems. One turkey that is in the process of being slaughtered (by his colleagues and the press) is Tony Blair. Poor Blair tried to hide the fact that he had been questioned a second time by the British Police force investigating the cash for honours investigation – it seems all the cash for honours paper trail leads to Blair but he still refuses to resign. Equally under pressure is Jacques Chirac of France. France had joined the United States and Europe in asserting that Iran will not be allowed to develop a bomb. But he minimised the threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran, saying that Tehran would have to take into the account the fact that it would be "razed to the ground" if it launched a strike on Israel. "Having one or perhaps a second bomb a little later, well that's not very dangerous," - so we have already accepted Irans as a Nuclear power! Sticking to France, socialist presidential candidate, Ségolène Royal, is fighting to rescue her unconventional campaign from dipping polls, gaffes, dirty tricks and the growing doubts of other senior party members. One of the funniest remarks she made in the past was when asked how many nuclear-missile-carrying submarines France possessed. "One," she suggested. When the interviewer said "seven", she agreed that it was seven, only to be told that it was actually four! – Never mind! Sticking with Europe, the United States announced earlier this month that it wants to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, basing a radar system in the Czech Republic and a missile interceptor site in Poland. Opponents fear the U.S. sites could make their countries a target of terrorist attacks. Poland has been a U.S. ally in Iraq and Afghanistan, but has not indicated whether it would agree to host an interceptor site. Russia has warned that it would view a U.S. missile defense site so close to its borders as a threat — a position Polish Defense Minister Radek Sikorski has said Poland would take into consideration. I wonder if he has a choice! One problem the Russians are facing at the moment is that of Yellow-orange snow found falling in the Siberian province. Residents had been advised not to use snow for their household or technical needs and to limit walking; either by people or their pets, Russian officials will test the substances. Another important issue of the week has been the independence of Kosovo, after the publication of a UN plan which could allow it to separate. UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari's plan recommends that Kosovo should govern itself democratically and be able to make international agreements. But Serbian President Boris Tadic said the plan paved the way for independence, which he and Serbia would not accept. Ethnic Albanians make up 90% of the province's two million people. The ethnic Albanian majority overwhelmingly want to break away from Serbia, but Serbs regard the province - which is still officially part of Serbia. Talking of regional problems - Israel used cluster bombs in self-defense during the past summer's war in Lebanon, according to Israels Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. Regev's comments came in response to reports that a preliminary US State Department report found that Jerusalem violated US-Israel arms agreements governing the use of cluster bombs. Shimon Peres, Israel's deputy prime minister, has told Al Jazeera that his country's use of cluster bombs in Lebanon during last year's war was a "mistake". Unexploded ordnance in the country has killed at least 27 people and wounded more than 140 since the end of the war, including two Belgian soldiers injured on last Monday. To correct this mistake the Israeli Air Force has agreed one of the largest weapons deals to purchase thousands of Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) missiles (Smart Bombs) from the United States for an estimated $100 million according to The Jerusalem Post. I wonder if any financial transactions will take place or will it be another free gift from Uncle Sam! These bombs caused an international uproar after one of the planes destined for Israel last year was routed through Scotland’s Prestwick Airport and reportedly did not fly according to safety and security procedures established by the British Civil Aviation Authority – (well that's the official Government story).

Here’s all the other news from around the world…

North America
Hillary Clinton addresses Iran threat
Calling Iran a danger to the U.S. and one of Israel's greatest threats, U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday no option can be taken off the table when dealing with that nation. "U.S. policy must be clear and unequivocal: We cannot, we should not, we must not permit Iran to build or acquire nuclear weapons," the Democrat told a crowd of Israel supporters. "In dealing with this threat ... no option can be taken off the table." Clinton spoke at a Manhattan dinner held by the largest pro-Israel lobbying group in the U.S., the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Some 1,700 supporters applauded as she cited her efforts on Israel's behalf and spoke scathingly of Iran's decision to hold a conference last month that questioned whether the Holocaust took place.

Judge Allows Katrina Flood Suit against Corps
Residents whose homes were flooded during Hurricane Katrina can sue the Army Corps of Engineers over claims the agency ignored warnings about defects in a nearby navigation channel, a federal judge ruled Friday. The ruling, one of the first significant decisions in a set of cases over what caused the flooding, may force the Corps to hand over documents about the management of the channel. The Corps and federal government had argued they were immune to legal challenges because decisions about the waterway were based in policy. But U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval said there is no way to know that at this point, and said plaintiffs should get a hearing for their allegations. At issue is a 76-mile shipping channel built in the early 1960s as a shortcut to New Orleans. For years, environmentalists and others have criticized the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet because it has eroded enormous tracts of wetlands and increased the threat of flooding. During Katrina, storm surge traveled up the channel and overwhelmed levees protecting St. Bernard Parish and eastern New Orleans, according to scientists. The Corps of Engineers has acknowledged that the channel contributed to the region's flooding and the agency wants to guard against future flooding by building flood gates.

U.S. Judge okays terror victims' lawsuit against Arab Bank
A Federal Court Judge in Brooklyn on Tuesday approved a lawsuit filed by victims of terror against the Arab Bank for alleged business links with terrorist organizations. Judge Nina Gershon accepted the feasibility of the joint claim filed by 1,600 people living in Israel, the U.S. and other countries who were hurt in terrorist attacks orchestrated by some of the bank's clients. In their lawsuit, complainants claimed the Arab Bank's Manhattan branch was used to channel funds to Hamas and other Palestinian militants. The Arab Bank is owned by Jordanian and Saudi interest groups. Its headquarters are in Amman, Jordan and it operates some 400 branches in 25 countries around the world. In response to the ruling, an Arab Bank spokesman said, "Arab Bank abhors terrorism, has not knowingly or willfully supported terrorism, and remains confident that it will prevail at trial."

Harper blasted over old anti-Kyoto comments
Opposition legislators attacked Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Wednesday after it emerged that he had once described the Kyoto global warming protocol as "a socialist scheme to suck money out of wealth-producing nations." Harper, who says Canada cannot meet its Kyoto commitments to cut emissions of greenhouse gases, made the comments in a 2002 fund-raising letter when he was in opposition. He now heads the minority Conservative government and is under great pressure to show he is serious about tackling climate change.

South America
Miami plans big party when Castro dies
Discussions by a committee appointed earlier this month by the city commission to plan the event have even covered issues such as a theme to be printed on T-shirts, what musicians would perform, the cost and how long the celebration would last. Such a gathering has long been part of the city's plan for Castro's death, but firming up the specifics has been more urgent since Castro became ill last summer and turned over power to his brother, Raul. City Commissioner Tomas Regalado, a Cuban American, came up with the idea of using the Orange Bowl, noting that the stadium was the site of a speech by President Kennedy in 1961 promising a free Cuba, and that in the 1980s it served as a camp for refugees from the Mariel boatlift from Cuba. Critics have accused the city of dictating where people should party, with many preferring to celebrate on the streets of Little Havana. The city says the Orange Bowl celebration would not preclude that.

Europe
Britain blocks Italy's bid to ban death penalty
The Italian Prime Minister, Romano Prodi called on the continent's leaders to endorse "the defence of life, the supreme and undeniable right even though it is often trampled underfoot". "Italy's latest attempt to galvanise the world into rejecting the death penalty began when Marco Panella, an MEP and civil rights campaigner, went on hunger strike after hearing that Saddam Hussein was to be executed. Abolishing capital punishment is one of the few issues on which all parties in Italy's ruling centre-left coalition agree, and Mr Pannella's campaign prompted Mr Prodi to take up the challenge of putting the proposal before the UN's General Assembly. But when his Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Massimo D'Alema, tried to obtain backing for the proposal at the EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels last week, Britain shot it down. British diplomats said privately that they did not wish to create difficulties for the United States at a delicate time and they did not believe it was possible to do it now. Holland, Denmark and Hungary subsequently took the same view. It is the second time that Tony Blair's government has torpedoed Italian efforts to spread Europe's confirmed aversion to capital punishment across the world. The first was in 1999, when a last-minute British "no" killed the initiative.

Blair set to call Northern Ireland election
Prime Minister Tony Blair was set to call a March election in Northern Ireland on Tuesday after Irish nationalists ended decades of opposition to the province's police force. An election would send a clear signal Blair believes he is on track to meet his March 26 deadline for restoring a regional assembly where Protestant unionists and the mostly Catholic nationalists would share power in the British-ruled province. The Belfast-based assembly was central to a 1998 peace deal that largely ended 30 years of conflict in which 3,600 people died.

25 Muslims on alleged terror hit list
Up to 25 Muslims were targeted by a gang allegedly plotting to abduct and behead a British Muslim soldier, it has emerged. Security arrangements for them are under urgent review. Officials are believed to have identified at least two servicemen who were most at risk and both are now under armed guard. One is said to be a corporal in military intelligence who recently returned from Iraq. Not all are Army personnel but all would have been seen as "traitors" by Islamist extremists. Nine men were seized in Birmingham by police investigating an Iraqi-style kidnap plot. It is alleged the victim was to be filmed pleading with the Prime Minister to withdraw troops from Iraq before being executed and his murder posted on the internet. Security sources believe the alleged plot was masterminded by a senior al Qaeda official in Pakistan. Officers involved in a six-month surveillance operation - believed to have involved 250 police and MI5 agents at a cost of £10 million - moved in after one of the alleged gang was spotted buying a video camera at the weekend, sparking fears they were about to strike.

Study: Anti-Semitic attacks hit record level in Britain in 2006
Anti-Semitic attacks reached record levels in Britain last year and peaked during the conflict in Lebanon, a study showed Thursday. Race hate incidents - ranging from death threats to physical assault - rose by more than 30 percent to almost 600. "These are the worst figures we have had in the 23 years since we have been monitoring it," said Mark Gardner of the Community Security Trust, which advises Britain's estimated 300,000 Jews on safety issues. British Jewish leaders say attacks have risen steadily since 2000, with British Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks warning that "a tsunami of anti-Semitism" was sweeping across Europe. Gardner said last year's incidents peaked during the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, adding the spike then was specifically anti-Semitic and not just anger with Israel.

Muslims 'about to take over Europe'
Islam could soon be the dominant force in a Europe which, in the name of political correctness, has abdicated the battle for cultural and religious control, Prof. Bernard Lewis, the world-renowned Middle Eastern and Islamic scholar, said last Sunday. The Muslims "seem to be about to take over Europe," Lewis said at a special briefing with the editorial staff of The Jerusalem Post. Asked what this meant for the continent's Jews, he responded, "The outlook for the Jewish communities of Europe is dim." Soon, he warned, the only pertinent question regarding Europe's future would be, "Will it be an Islamized Europe or Europeanized Islam?" The growing sway of Islam in Europe was of particular concern given the rising support within the Islamic world for extremist and terrorist movements, said Lewis. Lewis, whose numerous books include the recent What Went Wrong?: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East, and The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror, would set no timetable for this drastic shift in Europe, instead focusing on the process, which he said would be assisted by "immigration and democracy." Instead of fighting the threat, he elaborated, Europeans had given up.

Greek nuns on the run, chased by bad debts
A group of Greek nuns abandoned their convent and went into hiding after running up debts of more than 600,000 euros (396,000 pounds) from a knitting business that went bust, authorities said on Tuesday. The 55 sisters of the Saints Kirikos and Ioulitis monastery in the town of Sidirokastro near the border with Bulgaria, had purchased machinery worth 250,000 euros with bank loans some years ago, police officials said. But despite supplying several shops, they were running deeper and deeper into debt and risking bankruptcy. "We have not been asked to intervene yet but we are following the case closely," a police official said. The nuns are believed to have taken refuge at another monastery in central Greece and the Greek press has reported that the Church of Greece has offered to help them pay their debts and come out of hiding. The church's representative was not available for comment.

Middle East
Iranian Reveals Plan to Expand Role in Iraq
Iran’s ambassador to Baghdad outlined an ambitious plan on Sunday to greatly expand its economic and military ties with Iraq — including an Iranian national bank branch in the heart of the capital — just as the Bush administration has been warning the Iranians to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs. Iran’s plan, as outlined by the ambassador, carries the potential to bring Iran into further conflict here with the United States, which has detained a number of Iranian operatives in recent weeks and says it has proof of Iranian complicity in attacks on American and Iraqi forces. The ambassador, Hassan Kazemi Qumi, said Iran was prepared to offer Iraq government forces training, equipment and advisers for what he called “the security fight.” In the economic area, Mr. Qumi said, Iran was ready to assume major responsibility for Iraq reconstruction, an area of failure on the part of the United States since American-led forces overthrew Saddam Hussein nearly four years ago. “We have experience of reconstruction after war,” Mr. Qumi said, referring to the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. “We are ready to transfer this experience in terms of reconstruction to the Iraqis.” Mr. Qumi’s remarks, in a 90-minute interview over tea and large pistachio nuts at the Iranian Embassy here, amounted to the most authoritative and substantive response the Iranians have made yet to increasingly belligerent accusations by the Bush administration that Iran is acting against American interests in Iraq. President Bush has said the American military is authorized to take whatever action necessary against Iranians in Iraq found to be engaged in actions deemed hostile.

Iran militia threatens to kidnap Americans
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened to kidnap American soldiers and hinted at intentions to kidnap American citizens in Europe and South America as well. The threat was apparently in response to President George W. Bush’s instruction to American soldiers in Iraq last week to target Iranian agents. “The kidnapping of American citizens in the Middle East, Europe and South America is not difficult and can happen at any moment,” siad an article printed in the weekly Subah Sadak, which is considered the mouthpiece of the Revolutionary Guards in Iran. The threat may also be linked to the operation in which American forces kidnapped five Iranians from the Consulate General in Erbil in northern Iraq. The article further claimed that America had the names of 35 Iranian diplomats working at various embassies, who the White house suspects hold senior intelligence and security positions and have information on Iran’s nuclear and military capabilities. Ali Saidi, a spokesperson for the Revolutionary Guards, noted, “Our enemies have many weak points, and we can cause them problems.”

Netanyahu in London: Ahmadinejad must be tried in Hague
Likud Chairman Member of Knesset Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently visiting London, met with Canadian and British members of parliament in order to harness their support for his initiative that calls to put Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on trial for inciting genocide. Former Israeli ambassador Dore Gold and MK Danny Naveh also participated in the meeting. Netanyahu and an international organization of leading lawyers are trying to drum up support for an initiative to put Ahmadinejad on trial in The Hague for inciting genocide. The initiators are also pushing to impose strict economic sanctions on Iran that will hurt the country's citizens. According to them, "This is the only way they will understand that Ahmadinejad is dangerous for them no less than he is for the rest of the world." "Today, Ahmadinejad has missiles that can reach Israel, but he wants to reach Paris and London," added Netanyahu."

Lieberman pushes Israel to join EU
Stumbling blocks to European Union membership such as the possibility that Israel might have to drop its Law of Return or the fact that Israel is physically located on the Asian continent have not deterred Israel Beiteinu head and Minister for Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman from pushing to make what many would call a "pipe dream" into reality within the next five years. While the Israeli has not formally asked for membership in the 27 member body of European states and the EU does not view it as a possibility at this time, Lieberman has still put it high on his agenda for security, economic and cultural reasons. Lieberman's interest in the issue leaves EU officials in Brussels shaking their heads. "Accession is not an option now," said Christian Leffler, the outgoing director of the Middle East and Southern Mediterranean Department for the European Commission in Brussels. Joining the EU as a member state would likely mean that Israel would have to drop one of the key cornerstones of the its identity as a Jewish state, the Law of Return, which grants immediate citizenship to Jews only, said Leffler. As a result, he said, it is unlikely that Israel would even want to join the union. To become a EU member, one has to balance a complex set of rights and obligations that reach quite far into society, said Leffler. Laws that would have to be changed or amended could include those that govern immigration, the free movement of people and services as well as civil liberties, he said.

Saudi King Invites Palestinian Factions to Talks
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia called last Sunday on the rival Palestinian factions to hold emergency talks in the holy city of Mecca in the latest bid to halt some of the worst ever Palestinian internal fighting. As the two main factions, Hamas and Fatah, waged a fourth straight day of fighting in the Gaza Strip, leaders from both groups said they would take up the invitation by the Saudi monarch, though no date was set. “I call on my brothers, the Palestinian people, represented by their leaders, to put an immediate end to this tragedy and to abide by righteousness,” the king said in an announcement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. Saudi Arabia does not have a tradition of such direct involvement in Palestinian affairs. But as one of the most important figures in the Arab world the king, by his decision to hold the talks in Mecca, could increase the pressure on the Palestinian leaders to find a compromise. However, efforts by other Arab states have failed to stop the bloodshed. Egypt has been acting as a go-between for months, and earlier this month, Syria organized talks between Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and leader of the Fatah faction, and Khaled Meshal, the political leader in exile of the Islamic militant faction Hamas. But no breakthrough was achieved.

UK MP study opposes Hamas boycott
In a parliamentary report published on Wednesday, the International Development Committee of the British Parliament questioned the international community's decision to isolate Hamas, which they referred to as "a democratically elected government" "We understand the reasons for this decision but doubt whether it is in fact the most effective response. Indeed, the withholding of revenues by Israel and the boycott of the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority by existing donors has led the Hamas government increasingly to look elsewhere for financial support. As a result, Hamas now has closer links to governments like that of Iran than it had two years ago." The report, entitled Development, Assistance and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, recommends that Western governments open dialogue with Hamas to further the peace process: "We believe that the international community is right to place pressure on Hamas to change those policies which militate against a peace process. However, this would best be achieved through dialogue and engagement, rather than isolation." Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, MP Malcolm Bruce, chairman of the International Development Committee, said: "What we have said is that the consequences of the withholding of funding, with restrictions of action and movement, led poverty to rocket up. Although aid has increased, the situation has got worse."

Asia
Indonesia flood force 340,000 from homes
At least 20 people have been killed and 340,000 made homeless by massive floods that have swept through the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. Three days of torrential rain have caused rivers to burst their banks, sending muddy water up to 3m (10ft) deep into homes and businesses. Authorities say the city of nine million people is now on its highest level of alert. The floods are said to be the worst to hit Jakarta for five years. Meteorologists have warned the downpour is likely to continue for another week, and with heavy rains falling on hilly regions to the south, more flooding is threatened. Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, who was criticized when the city was flooded five years ago, blamed deforestation in Puncak, saying it had destroyed water catchment areas. Environment Minister Racmat Witoelar blamed poor urban planning. Seasonal downpours cause dozens of landslides and flash floods each year in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago of 17,000 islands, where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile plains.

Kim's playboy son parties in Macau
CHINA has been secretly harbouring a son of the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il in Macau for the past three years, despite a US-led crackdown on the regime's finances in the former Portuguese colony. Kim Jong-nam, the North Korean leader's eldest son, has been living with his family in Macau, dividing his time between five-star hotels and a family villa, The South China Morning Post reported. In contrast to the deprived conditions suffered by most North Koreans, Mr Kim spends his time dining and gambling in Macau's burgeoning casino and poker machine parlours, and travels frequently to the mainland and abroad using passports from the Dominican Republic and Portugal, the paper said. Macau is a special administrative region of China and there is little doubt Beijing would be aware of Mr Kim's presence. An unnamed source told the newspaper: "He's been free to stay as long as he lives quietly. He believes he is among friends." Macau has long been a key conduit for North Korean finances, but in November 2005 the Macanese Government froze $US24 billion ($31 billion) in North Korean-linked accounts at the request of the US Treasury, which said the accounts were used for money laundering. North Korea reacted angrily and blamed the move for the breakdown of nuclear talks. If confirmed, the news that China has been harbouring Kim Jong-il's son is likely to embarrass Beijing, which has been under intense international pressure to use its influence to pull North Korea back into line after it tested its first nuclear device last October.

Chinese army harvesting parts from Falungong inmates
China's military is reportedly harvesting organs from prison inmates, mostly Falungong practitioners, for large scale transplants including for foreign recipients, a study said. Canada's former Secretary of State for the Asia Pacific region David Kilgour and human rights lawyer David Matas released a report Wednesday into such transplants after interviewing organ recipients in 30 countries. They also interviewed Canadian hospital staff who subsequently cared for hundreds of patients after they underwent dubious transplant surgeries in China. Like many civilian hospitals in rural China, military hospitals turned to selling organs to make up for government funding cuts in the 1980s, the report states. But military personnel could operate with much more secrecy, it added. It is the second report to be released by the pair, who in July published the results of a two-month investigation in which they implicated dozens of hospitals and jails throughout China in the transplant scandal. Those allegations were vigorously denied by Chinese officials.

Africa
Libya 'will not execute' medics
The son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has said that five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor sentenced to death last month for infecting hundreds of children with the HIV virus will not be executed. Saif al-Islam also said a solution would be found soon to save the six medics and satisfy families of the infected children. Al-Islam described the verdicts as unfair and told 24 Chasa, a Bulgarian daily newspaper: "There will be no executions. I hope there will be a happy end soon ... My father is also against the executions."

The President who claims he can cure Aids on Mondays
The smallest country in Africa is this morning playing host to one of the longest queues on the continent, as hundreds of people line up for miracle cures for asthma and Aids, promised by the Gambian President. Scientists have reacted with horror to a claim by President Yahya Jammeh that he can cure asthma on Fridays and Saturdays and HIV/Aids on Mondays and Thursdays. All patients need is a referral from a doctor and the willingness to queue up at State House in the capital, Banjul. The rush for Mr Jammeh's alleged cure began on 18 January after the west African country's state television service devoted most of its evening news to it. The President, who believes he has mystic powers, was seen laying his hands on the heads of patients at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Banjul. Since then, Mr Jammeh has addressed diplomats and the broadcaster has shown interviews with alleged patients who say they are feeling better and putting on weight. The President has not revealed the names of the herbs, nor divulged who has bestowed the "mandate" on him, which includes specific days of the week for each treatment. "I am not doing it for money or popularity," he said. "For asthma I have to choose between Saturday and Friday. I am also not authorised to treat more than 100 people. The one on HIV/Aids cannot be mass-produced because I am restricted to 10 patients only on every Thursday and Monday." He said he may have to cancel surgeries on Thursdays if they clash with cabinet meetings.

Australasia
PM pushes nuclear power case
Prime Minister John Howard has used the release of an international report on global warming to argue Australia should use nuclear power to generate electricity. A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released in Paris found global warming would continue for centuries and was very likely man-made. Mr Howard said today the report was the latest and strongest confirmation that greenhouse gas emissions were damaging the earth's environment. "What it tells all governments, including the Australian government, is that we must continue measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Mr Howard told reporters at his Sydney residence Kirribilli House. Mr Howard said Australia could not meet its energy needs by relying on solar and wind power and should therefore look at the nuclear option as coal power became more expensive.

Ex-Guantanamo inmate to run in Australia election
An Australian once detained in Guantanamo Bay on suspicion of helping al Qaeda said on Friday he would stand for election to the New South Wales state parliament. Mamdouh Habib, released in January 2005, was held in Guantanamo Bay without charge for almost three years after he was arrested crossing from Pakistan into Afghanistan three weeks after the September 11 attacks on the United States. "We're here in Australia, this has nothing to do with Afghanistan," Habib told a news conference in Sydney called to announce he would run as an independent in the March 24 contest."This has nothing to do with terrorism -- we have no terrorists in Australia. If you want to talk about terror then talk to the U.S.," he said. Habib's candidacy comes as the gulf widens between Australia's small, mainly Sunni, Muslim community of some 280,000 people and the rest of the country, leaving many Muslims feeling besieged and trapped between two cultures. Habib denied his views were extreme. He said he was standing to fight against racist attacks on minority ethnic groups including Muslim Australians, Aborigines and migrants, and to take care of the community in which he lived. Habib will contest the seat of Auburn in southwestern Sydney, an area with a large Muslim community, and said he was confident he would be well received by local voters.

Drinking recycled sewage way ahead for parched Australia: Howard
Australia's prime minister has hailed a move to force the citizens of a drought-parched region to drink recycled sewage as the way forward for the rest of the world's driest inhabited continent. John Howard praised Queensland Premier Peter Beattie, who on Sunday announced that residents in the state's tinder-dry southeast would be drinking recycled waste water as early as next year, whether they liked it or not. "I am very strongly in favour of recycling, and Mr. Beattie is right and I agree with him completely," Howard told commercial radio. "I've advocated recycling for a long time." Beattie said record-low inflows to dams had left his government with no alternative but to dump plans for a public referendum on the issue intended for March. "It's not like we are part of a freak show -- the rest of the world is doing this," he said, referring to residents in Singapore, London, Washington and southern California, whom he said drank recycled water.

Brothel owners accuse backpackers of selling sex in Australia
Foreign backpackers funding their Australian travels through illegal sex work are robbing the legitimate industry of profits and threatening clients' health, a brothel lobbyist has warned. Many young tourists to sun-soaked northeastern Queensland state were making a quick buck as black market prostitutes, undermining registered operators' attempts to uphold health and safety standards, the Queensland Adult Business Association's Nick Inskip claimed. Having fewer overheads, they could often undercut the legal sex industry on price, making it harder for the state's 23 legal brothels to make a profit, he said. Although prostitution at registered brothels is legal in many parts of Australia, recent research suggests the taxman's attempts to target the industry has sparked an exodus towards riskier illegal sex work. Academics have also noted that the crippling cost of higher education in Australia has forced some foreign students to seek work as illegal prostitutes to make ends meet.