Iraq declares amnesty for all prisoners

By: Ismail Zabeeh

BAGHDAD, Iraq: The Iraqi government on Sunday has announced general pardon for all prisoners as US threatened to attack Iraq without a United Nation resolution.

A nationally broadcast statement, read by Iraqi Minister of Information Muhammad Said al-Sahhaf, said the complete pardon is extended to anyone imprisoned or arrested for political or any other reason.

Convicted murderers would be set free only if the families of victims agree to the release. The amnesty could lead to the release of thousands of prisoners.

According to the statement the amnesty is intended to thank the Iraqi people for their 100 % vote on last week presidential referendum.

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Palestinians appeal against Israel’s holocaust

By: Ahmad Hammadi

WEST BANK: Palestinian political, religious and social leaders have made a plea to the international community for the protection of Palestinians from Israel's slow-motion holocaust.

PA official Taisir Tamimi said: “They (the Israeli army) are slaughtering children, housewives, and innocent civilians on a daily basis.”

“This is not a war between two sides, this a genocide by a powerful state of another people,” he added.

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Australia marks Mourning Day

By: Nabil Raza

SYDNEY, Australia: Australians observed on Sunday a national day of mourning for victims of the Bali nightclub bombing.

Churches, sports fields, parks and homes were packed with people mourning the dozens of Australians who were among nearly 200 people killed when a car bomb ripped through a bar on the Indonesian resort island last weekend. Up to 300 others were injured.

An open-air ceremony was held in Sydney to mark the occasion. Premier John Howard addressed by radio, saying: “Let us resolve to find those who committed this foul deed and bring them to justice.”

US President Bush promised in a videotaped message, sent to Australia for the mourning day, to help hunt down those responsible for the Bali attack.

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UK to shut ISAF supply facility in Karachi

By: Rafiullah

KABUL, Afghanistan: A spokesman for the British contingent of ISAF Major Gordon Mackenzie said on Sunday Britain is closing an airfield in southern Pakistan used to supply peacekeepers in Afghanistan, and transferring its operations to Kabul.

Major Mackenzie said the base in the port city of Karachi was used to shift heavy gear that arrived by sea to Afghanistan.

He said the base was now being decommissioned, as building work on British military facilities in Afghan capital was almost completed.

In Karachi, Pakistan International Airways said its agreement with ISAF to use the facility expires on November 11.

“The base is primarily for moving equipment up here which we cannot fly in directly. Because all the equipment is now here and the construction of the camp is now complete, it is being run down,” ISAF spokesman said.

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Ethiopia reacts strongly to UN threat claims

By: Special Reporter

ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia has strongly condemned UN assertions that Ethiopian villagers and militia have seriously threatened the security of peacekeepers stationed in the region.

A statement issued by the Ethiopian information ministry said the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (Unmee) put out one-sided and distorted information.

Officials were angry about reports earlier this month that UN troops overseeing the ceasefire that ended a 30-month territorial war were threatened by armed villagers and militia along the disputed border with Eritrea.

The UN said its peacekeepers working in Aromo were surrounded and threatened by 50 to 60 armed villagers and some 10 militiamen.

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