Baghdad, Aug 31: At least 816 people were crushed to death or drowned on Wednesday in a stampede on a Baghdad bridge triggered by fears a suicide bomber was among vast crowds of Shi'ite pilgrims massed for a religious ceremony.

Iraq authorities said the tragedy, which unfolded after a deadly mortar attack on a Shi'ite shrine, was a "terrorist" act by toppled dictator Saddam Hussein's loyalists and Al-Qaeda frontman in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zaqrqawi.

A security official said 816 were killed and 323 injured in the crush of panicked pilgrims, adding: "We are still recovering bodies from the river."

Many of the victims of the deadliest incident in Iraq since the US-led invasion more than two years ago were women, children and elderly people, hospital officials said.

Most were trampled to death or fell from Al-Aaimmah bridge into the Tigris river as panic gripped thousands of pilgrims from an estimated one million attempting to make their way to the Kadhimiya mosque in the north of the city.

"There was a huge crowd on the bridge and what happened was that one terrorist spread a rumour that led to the stampede," Interior Minister Bayan Baker Solagh told state-owned Iraqia television.

"The terrorist pointed a finger at another person saying that he was carrying explosives... and that led to the panic."

The incident could further stoke tensions between the country's Shi'ite majority and the ousted Sunni elite which has provided the backbone to the raging insurgency, only days after divisions were revived over the writing of the country's post-Saddam constitution.

"It was Saddamists and Zarqawists who spread ruours on the bridge and that is why people panicked," national security advisor Muwaffaq al-Rubaie told the television.

A carpet of shoes belonging to the victims littered the bridge where waist-high concrete barriers designed to foil car bombers were stained with the blood of victims who had been crushed against them.

People injured lined the corridors of Baghdad's hospitals as they struggled to cope with the enormity of the disaster.

"The crowd started to panic and women and children were being trampled underfoot," said Abdul Walid, 54, lying dazed on a hospital floor. "My son was on my shoulders, I don't know where he is now -- everybody was suffocating to death so I eventually had to jump" off the bridge.

The stampede occurred after the Kadhimiya mosque -- the burial place of Shi'ite imam Mussa Kazim who died 12 centuries ago -- came under mortar fire, leaving at least seven dead and 37 wounded.

The US Military said its helicopters had fired on the rebels who carried out the mortar attack and Iraqi officials said seven of them were killed.

Officials said 25 people died of poisoning after eating or drinking products that had been deliberately contaminated.

Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, a member of the majority Shi'ite community, declared a three-day mourning period and went on television to appeal for national unity.

Health Minister Abdul Mutalib Mohammad Ali demanded the resignation of the interior and defence ministers whom he blamed for the tragedy.

Shi'ites, long repressed under Saddam, have been one of the main targets of the Sunni-led insurgency. In March last year more than 170 people were killed in almost simultaneous attacks in Karbala and Baghdad mosques as faithful Shi'ites marked a religious festival.

The tragedy came amid deep divisions in the country over Iraq's draft constitution, which is opposed by disgruntled Sunni Arabs who are now seeking alliances to defeat the charter in an October 15 referendum.

US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad hinted that the draft constitution, presented to parliament on Sunday after weeks of tortuous negotiations that failed to bring the Sunnis on board, was still an incomplete document.

"If Iraqis amongst themselves, in the assembly and of course from outside, decide to make some adjustments to the draft that was presented two or three days ago, it is entirely up to them," he told reporters.

"I believe that a final, final draft has not yet been -- or the edits have not been -- presented yet, so that is something that Iraqis will have to talk to each other and decide for themselves."

The Sunni leaders, who are mobilising the community to strike alliances across the sectarian divide, said they were opening talks with radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Sadr, who has said he rejects any constitution drafted under the US-led occupation, enjoys widespread support among poor urban Shi'ites. His militia led one of Iraq's fiercest rebellions against US-led forces last year.

On Tuesday, the US military launched air strikes on suspected Al-Qaeda hideouts near the Syrian border, killing at least 56 people.

The military claimed strikes targeting the hideouts were thought to have killed Abu Islam, a reported Al-Qaeda operative, and several associates.

GAZA CITY, Aug 26: Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday denounced a deadly Israeli arrest raid that killed five Palestinians, calling it an intentional provocation aimed at undermining a six-month cease-fire, but he urged militant groups to hold their fire.

Militants vowed to renew attacks on Israel, a move that would undercut the good will that resulted from an Israeli pullout from 25 Jewish settlements in Gaza and part of the West Bank. Following Tuesday's completion of the most important stage of the pullout - evacuating settlers - violence flared in three places.

A rocket fired from Lebanon exploded in an Israeli village just across the border Thursday, causing some damage but no casualties. Late Wednesday, Israeli forces raided the Tulkarem refugee camp in the West Bank, killing five Palestinians, at least three of them armed. A few hours before that, a Palestinian stabbed two young Jewish men in the Old City of Jerusalem, killing one and seriously wounding the other.

Abbas blamed Israel for inciting the sudden escalation with its deadly raid in Tulkarem. "This murder intentionally aims at renewing the vicious cycle of violence," he said.

Raanan Gissin, an aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, responded that the Palestinians have failed to control militants. "We have transferred authority over this city of Tulkarem and the surrounding villages to the Palestinian Authority, and over a period of about three months, no action has been taken," Gissin said.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the department was still trying to get a clear picture of what happened in Tulkarem but stressed, "Israel has a right to defend itself." "What is important is that - and especially at this time, where we have a withdrawal taking place in Gaza and the West Bank - that both sides refrain from actions that could inflame tensions that might exacerbate the situation and make the environment in which we do have the ability of trust and confidence more difficult," he added.

Since Abbas and Sharon declared a cease-fire in February, the number of violent incidents plunged. However, both Hamas and Islamic Jihad have carried out attacks, claiming they were responding to Israeli violations.

Israel completes evacuation of Gaza settler bloc

KATIF, (Gaza Strip), Aug 22: Israel completed the evacuation of its main settlement bloc in occupied Gaza on Sunday as settlers set aside confrontation in favor of prayer with troops sent to remove them.

Synagogues, bastions of resistance in settlements emptied last week, became gathering points for the peaceful departure of dozens of families from territory Israel captured 38 years ago and which Palestinians want for a state. Israeli troops cleared out the settlements of Atzmona, Katif and Slav on Sunday, the last remaining inhabited settlements in a sprawling cluster in southern Gaza known as Gush Katif.

"I can declare the Gush Katif bloc empty of residents," said Israeli police spokesman Avi Zelba. Troops also entered Elei Sinai and Nissanit in north Gaza to extract a few families who stayed past the August 16 deadline. The army was to go into the remote central enclave of Netzarim on Monday, finishing its shutdown of all 21 Gaza settlements.

It intends to remove two of 120 settlements in the West Bank later this week, wrapping up a limited "Disengagement Plan," but faces violent resistance there from radical Jewish newcomers. With Palestinian agreement, Israeli forces began demolishing housing in four of the vacant settlements but will leave intact public buildings such as schools and community centers.

About 95 percent of Gaza's 8,500 settlers have gone since mandatory evacuations began last Wednesday, an exit much faster and smoother than many had expected after months of escalating rightist protests against the planned pullout.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon bills the pullout as "disengagement" from conflict with the Palestinians and U.S.-led mediators regard the move as a catalyst for reviving a Middle East peace process frozen since 2000. Addressing army evacuation squads at a camp on Sunday, Sharon said: "Truly, you have done something here that was unbearably difficult -- very difficult for the residents, difficult for you, but essential for the State of Israel."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas decreed that his administration would take over all Gaza settlements once the Israelis left. The pullout would not be complete until military forces are out too, expected in about another month.

Pak may build up to 50-110 nuclear bombs by year-end: Study

WASHINGTON, Aug 20: Pakistan may produce enough weapons grade uranium by the year-end in an attempt to match India's nuclear capability, according to a leading US think tank. Pakistan, in a bid to gain parity with India, could produce "enough enriched uranium to manufacture 50 to 110 nuclear weapons" by the year-end, said the study by 'Carnegie Endowment for International Peace'.

It claimed that both countries possessed components to deploy a small number of nuclear weapons within a few days or weeks, with fighter-bomber aircraft being the most likely delivery vehicle, the media reports said. Pakistan's nuclear weapons were stored in components, with the fissile core separated from the non-nuclear explosives, the study said, adding it was not known where the fissile material and warheads were stored.

It also criticised US for signing the nuclear pact with India, saying, "President (George W) Bush thus accorded India a much sought after seat in the "responsible nuclear club." While admitting that the nuclear tests by India in 1998 raised its "visibility and clout" in the post-Cold War era, the study said the Bush administration had decided to downplay nuclear non-proliferation concerns so that it could renew defence ties and establish strategic relations with India.

Meanwhile, a separate study by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) claimed that if the Indo-US nuclear accord was endorsed by Congress, the resulting cooperation would "contravene" the multilateral export control guidelines of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). It alleged that such a deal could "prompt other suppliers like China to justify their supplying other states like Pakistan."

Palestinian leader promises better future

RAFAH, (Gaza Strip), Aug 20: Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas promised freedom, jobs and homes for the people of Gaza once Israel completes its pullout. Hours before he spoke Friday at Gaza's abandoned airport, an Israeli bulldozer demolished the first Jewish settlement, clearing land for Palestinian development.

In the settlement of Gadid, Israeli troops expelled the last settlers holed up in a synagogue, crashing through a flaming barricade of cars, wooden planks and garbage bins. Then, Israel suspended evicting settlers for the Jewish Sabbath, having evacuated 87 percent of Gaza's settlers in just 2 1/2 days. All but four settlements were vacant.

Smiling and waving to a cheering crowd at the closed Gaza International Airport, Abbas said Israel's departure was bringing "historic days of joy" to the Palestinians.

In his first major speech since Israel began pulling out on Monday, he promised that the airport, whose runways were destroyed by Israel in fighting in 2000, would again become a gateway for Palestinians - though that will require Israel's blessing.

Abbas also pledged the Palestinian Authority would rebuild homes demolished by Israel during the past five years of conflict. He promised to reserve 5 percent of government jobs for the disabled, mainly war wounded. He told the crowd that Israel was quitting Gaza because of Palestinian "sacrifices" and "patience," and he promised the withdrawal would lead to further pullouts from the West Bank and Jerusalem.

The first demolition was at Kerem Atzmona, an illegal outpost within view of the Mediterranean. The massive shovel of a yellow excavator flattened about 20 homes with just a few blows to each. Cranes lifted bomb shelters - concrete boxes with thick metal doors - onto a flatbed truck to be hauled away and recycled.

In Gadid, the 17th of Gaza's 21 settlements to be evacuated, protesters set up a flaming barricade at the gate when the army arrived shortly after dawn. They hurled stones and paint-filled light bulbs toward the troops. A military bulldozer cleared the burning debris, and forces quickly fanned through the settlement. The last four settlements were expected to be emptied by Tuesday, allowing the military to turn its attention midweek to the northern West Bank, the heart of biblical Israel for religious Jews and where authorities expect even more impassioned resistance than in Gaza.

Since Wednesday when the forced evictions began, security forces detained nearly 950 protesters. On Friday, 245 were still in jail in the southern Israeli town of Beersheva, police said. Yet most of the operation was unexpectedly swift and smooth, amid scenes of pathos and despair as people were forced to abandon homes and farms they lived in for as long as 30 years.

350 blasts rock Bangladesh, one dead, 134 injured

DHAKA, Aug 17: At least one person was killed and 134 were injured Wednesday as some 350 near simultaneous bomb blasts ripped across Bangladesh, triggered by suspected Islamists.

Tension was high across Bangladesh after the blasts rocked market places, government buildings and court premises in 58 of the country's 64 districts between 10.45 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. The explosions in the capital Dhaka, the port city of Chittagong and other cities triggered panic in the Muslim majority country, Xinhua reported quoting private television channel NTV.

The blasts took place within hours of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's departure for China at about 9 a.m. 'The bombing was well planned. It was not an isolated incident,' Minister of State for Home Lutfuzzaman Babar told NTV.

He said a meeting of security personnel, including the armed forces, had been called. 'We are considering ways of handling the large-scale bombings.' Babar said 23 people had been arrested.

Copies of a leaflet produced by Jamaatul Mujahedin Bangladesh (JMB), a banned fundamentalist organisation, were found at each blast site, giving the impression that the organisation might have a link to the blasts, Mizzima news agency reported. The leaflet, however, did not claim responsibility for the blasts and cautioned that tough action would be taken against the government for failing to establish an 'Islamic state' in Bangladesh.

'It is time to implement Islamic law in Bangladesh. There is no future with man-made law,' the leaflet said. The propaganda sheets also denounced US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, asking them to 'get out of Muslim countries'.

SENDAI (Japan) Aug 16: A powerful earthquake shook northeastern Japan on Tuesday, triggering landslides, sending a shower of ceiling debris into a crowded indoor swimming pool and shaking skyscrapers as far away as Tokyo. At least 59 people were reportedly injured.

The 7.2-magnitude quake, centered about 50 miles off the coast of Miyagi state, knocked out power to about 17,000 homes, while high-speed train services in northern Japan were suspended and flights were temporarily grounded at Haneda airport in Tokyo, 185 miles to the south.

Part of roof of an indoor pool in the coastal city of Sendai fell, injuring 17 people, Miyagi police spokesman Kazunori Abe said. Elsewhere, others were hurt by falling rocks and tumbling roof tiles.

TV news footage showed a collapsed house outside Tokyo and landslides in the quake-hit area. A Chiba police spokesman said an 80-year-old woman was trapped but later rescued.

The quake struck at around 11:46 a.m. and was centered 12 miles below the ocean floor, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. Two 4-inch tsunami waves hit the nearby coast shortly after noon, and officials expected little damage from the waves, it said. The quake was followed by at least four aftershocks and additional quakes of up to magnitude 6 could follow.

Australia back in the market for migrants

SYDNEY, Aug 16: Australia on Tuesday launched its biggest overseas recruitment drive in 50 years to get the skilled workers needed to continue a world-beating 14 years of continuous growth that has driven unemployment to a 28-year low.

With employers to complaining about the scarcity of staff, a global job expo to find 20,000 new Australians will start next month with drives in Berlin, Amsterdam, London and Chennai. Next year, the roadshow will move to Bangkok, Seoul, Los Angeles and Manila. Anybody, anywhere, can apply - and the vacancies range from accountants to hairdressers, nurses to plumbers.

"We have a non-discriminatory immigration policy," Prime Minister John Howard said earlier this year, when announcing a 20,000-place increase that will take the target immigration intake to 140,000 this year. "We will take skilled people who fit the bill from anywhere in the world." Australia has its lowest unemployment rate since The Beatles were top of the pops. With only five per cent of the workforce without a job, economists reckon that full employment has been reached.

The birth rate is an average of 1.75 children for each woman of childbearing age. That is not enough to restock the workforce, prompting Canberra to look abroad to make up the numbers. The opposition Labour Party, which is tied closely to the unions, is wary of the overseas recruitment scheme, believing it is a scheme by the conservative government to drive down wages and prise open the job market.

Labour leader Kim Beazley urged the Government to address the problem by enticing Australia's one million expatriates to return home. "We should work much harder to capitalise on their links to trade investment and overseas cultures and perhaps encourage a few more to come home," he said.

Peter Hendy, chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that recalling the Australian Diaspora was easier to say than do.

"People go overseas because they want to expand their life experiences and to expand their job experiences," Hendy said. "What you find is that one of the bars of them coming back to Australia is that they have to pay too high a tax rate. We need to reform the tax system to get them back." Population expert Graeme Hugo of Adelaide University warns that lifting immigration is not the answer. A better bet, he said, is to get those already in Australia back into work.

Another obstacle the Government faces is professional bodies that deny skilled migrants jobs that are commensurate with their qualifications. Former university professors end up driving taxis because their qualifications are not recognized. Australia's first big recruitment drive was after World War II, when more than one million, mostly British people, were given assisted passage to help them make new lives in Australia.

Mile long procession at Kadirgamar's funeral

COLOMBO, Aug 15: Sri Lanka on Monday bade a tearful farewell to its assassinated Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, who took a tough stand against LTTE and was a votary of strong ties with India, in a state funeral at the Independence Square here.

A high-level Indian delegation including Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh were among delegations from 12 countries who attended the last rites of Kadirgamar whose mortal remains were consigned to flames as per Buddhist rites.

Brushing aside security concerns, President Chandrika Kumaratunga made an appearance at the Independence Square Park where the pyre of the slain leader, born a Tamil Christian, was lit by his sons Ajitha and Ragee amidst multi-faith prayers, capping a mile-long funeral procession when national flag draped Kadirgamar's body was taken in a hearse.

Mukherjee and Natwar Singh were seated next to Kumaratunga when the last rites were performed in the presence of cabinet ministers from six countries including Pakistan, Norway and Bangladesh and members of Kadirgamar's family.

Addressing the mourners, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse said September 11 in New York, July seven in London, brutal slaying of Rajiv Gandhi and Lankan President Premadasa and assassination of Kadirgamar in Colombo "were events of same magnitude in that they threatened the very fabric of civilized society".

"All countries of the East and the West, of developed and developing worlds must and surely will join together to wipe out terrorism and strengthen the norms and values of a democratic life", he said.

"The LTTE seeks to destroy the ground realities, their objective is to divide the country and destroy democratic way of life. We have no doubt that all countries of the civilized world will join, as much as we join them, in the common struggle against terrorism in every form and manifestation", said Rajapakse.

NEW DELHI, Aug 13: Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency followingassassination of Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. India has condemned the assassination of Kadirgamar as a "heinous act" and said he was a "long-standing friend of India".

"Unreservedly" condemning the murder, a spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs hoped the "perpetrators of this terrorist crime" are brought to justice. He also reiterated India's support to the unity and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and said New Delhi will extend its full support to "our friendly neighbour in its hour of need."

"We have every confidence that government and friendly people of Sri Lanka will rise to the challenge and defeat the forces which seek to undermine Sri Lanka's unity and political stability," said the spokesman.

The spokesman said India was sending a high-level delegation comprising of the Defence Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, and the External Affairs Minister, Mr Natwar Singh, to attend the funeral of Lakshman Kadirgamar and pay their last respects. The delegation will also include Foreign Secretary Shri Shyam Saran and other senior officials. "The delegation will leave for Sri Lanka on Monday morning," he added.

The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, said she was shocked and saddened by the assassination of Kadirgamar. This senseless murder was a vicious act of terror, which the United States strongly condemns. Those responsible must be brought to justice."

Recalling her meeting with Mr. Kadirgamar this June, Ms. Rice said: "He was a man of dignity, honor and integrity, who devoted his life to bringing peace to Sri Lanka. Together, we must honor his memory by re-dedicating ourselves to peace and ensuring that the Cease-Fire remains in force."

The Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister, Jan Petersen, described the assassination as "a gruesome deed, which is deeply tragic for Sri Lanka."

"I condemn this killing of a significant politician and a respected representative for his country," Mr. Petersen said.

Striking a note of caution that the "killing puts the peace process in Sri Lanka to a serious test," Mr. Petersen said: "It is now of great importance that both parties to the conflict do their utmost to fully fulfil their obligations according to the cease-fire agreement."

Lankan Foreign Minister Kadirgamar assassinated

COLOMBO, Aug 13: Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was shot dead by a terrorist sniper in Colombo on Friday night. A National Hospital official said that the minister was pronounced dead at 12.15 am on Saturday.

The minister was in his swimming pool between 10 pm and 11 pm on Friday when the sniper, a crackshot, got him. He was apparently hit in the head and chest. Kadirgamar was rushed to the National Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to no avail.

The incident took place at Kadirgamar's private residence in the high security Buller's Lane in the heart of Colombo. He was in the habit of swimming in his private swimming pool every evening before retiring.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga rushed to the hospital to see him. Air force Helicopters were hovering over Colombo as a security measure. Troops were out on the road. A few days ago two men were caught videoing his residence, police said.

Kadirgamar, a Jaffna Tamil, but a vigorous campaigner against the LTTE, has been high on the list of the LTTE's hit squads. He had got many countries in the West including the US to ban the LTTE in the 1990s.

If the LTTE had done the deed, as it widely thought to have, the assassination will put back the peace process completely. Kadirgamar was hated by the LTTE and the pro-LTTE Tamils, but loved by the Sinhala leaders and masses. Kadirgamar was an extremely popular man in India also. External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh had described him as one of the finest chairpersons of international conferences during his last visit to Colombo.

US fighter jet bombs Australia building

DARWIN (Australia), Aug 13: A US Marine Corps fighter jet dropped a bomb and damaged a building in an accident at a remote military range in northern Australia, the government said Friday.

The bomb, dropped by an F/A-18 Hornet, exploded near a control tower and damaged facilities at the Delamere Air Weapons Range in the Northern Territory on Wednesday, Australia's Defense Department said. No one was injured and no details were released on the extent of the damage.

Defense Minister Robert Hill said the mishap was under investigation by both Australian and American authorities. "We certainly regard it as a serious incident," Hill told reporters in the northern city of Darwin. Bombing exercises have ceased at the weapons range, some 80 miles south of the town of Katherine.

"Things like this will always happen; we hope not very frequently and we hope not any more dangerously," Prime Minister John Howard told Melbourne Radio 3AW. "But the idea that you can conduct any kind of military exercise without some kind of potential for mishap is unrealistic." The U.S. Marine contingent, which is based in Japan, was conducting an annual training exercise called Southern Frontier that involves 500 troops, 15 F/A-18 Hornets and two KC-130 Hercules aircraft. The U.S. Marine Corps said the ordnance was a 500 pound laser-guided bomb, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

UK to ease nuclear export controls to India

LONDON, Aug 12: Britain said on Thursday it would relax its controls on the export of civilian nuclear technology to India, which declared its nuclear power status in 1998.

London's foreign ministry said the policy change reflected India's improved relations with neighbouring nuclear power Pakistan and its growing commitment to international non-proliferation goals. India and Pakistan both tested nuclear weapons in 1998.

"India is a key international partner in the UK's efforts to work towards a world safer from global terrorism and weapons of mass destruction," said a foreign office spokesman. We attach great importance to developing our strategic partnership and to stopping onward proliferation."

He said the decision to relax the controls was a result of a six-month policy review. Current controls, which also apply to Pakistan, have been in force since March 2002. Last month, the United States promised India full cooperation in developing its civilian nuclear power programme without demanding that it sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, designed to halt the spread of nuclear weapons.

India agreed to identify and separate its civilian and military nuclear programmes, continue a moratorium on nuclear testing and place civilian nuclear facilities under the U.N. nuclear watchdog. The foreign ministry spokesman said Britain was in separate discussions with Pakistan on nuclear issues.