Prophetic Times

WEEKLY WORLD NEWS UPDATE

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA

08   FEBRUARY   2003

EU'S SOLANA SAYS POWELL REPORT 'VERY SOLID'

Feb 6, 2003  ABC News reports: "European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Thursday Secretary of State Colin Powell's report to the United Nations was 'very solid' and that it was clear Iraq was not cooperating with arms inspectors.

In Wednesday's presentation to the U.N. Security Council, Powell laid out evidence of Iraq's alleged banned weapons and its alleged links to international guerrilla networks.

'It was a very, very important report given to the Security Council of the United Nations,' Solana told reporters during a visit to Belgrade. '...the content and also the way it was presented was very solid.'

'I think it is very clear the regime in Baghdad, Saddam Hussein, is not cooperating with inspectors,' Solana said.

He accused the Iraqi leader of hiding dangerous materials and said Baghdad's behavior must change. 'Time is very short and Saddam Hussein must realize that he has to cooperate fully. The mandate is clear. He has to disarm.'

Solana stressed the role of the U.N. arms inspectors and of the Security Council, saying this should be the place where 'important decisions have to be taken.'

In his speech, Powell accused Iraq of systematically obstructing and deceiving the inspectors. Baghdad has dismissed the allegations.

The 15-nation EU has been deeply split on Iraq. Five member states and three candidate countries signed a joint letter last week backing U.S. policy of threatening force, while France and Germany have opposed any rush to military action…"

 

WASHINGTON ISSUES GRIM WARNING ON NORTH KOREA

Feb 5, 2003 The Financial Times reports: "The Bush administration on Tuesday said North Korea was pursuing a nuclear weapons program and conceded its record on arms proliferation was worse than Iraq's.  Richard Armitage, deputy secretary of state, told the Senate foreign relations committee the US was concerned that North Korea would seek to avoid economic collapse by selling nuclear fissile material to rogue states or terrorist organizations.

Within several months North Korea could extract 25-30kg of plutonium - enough for four to six nuclear weapons - from the 8,000 fuel rods it has stored at the Yongbyon nuclear facility.

But Mr. Armitage defended US policy of using diplomacy to deal with Pyongyang while preparing for war with Baghdad.  The number two official in the state department declined to describe the dispute with North Korea as a 'crisis', as he came under intense questioning from Democrat senators on whether the administration had its priorities mixed up.

Instead he called it a 'big problem' and insisted direct talks between the US and North Korea were the way forward…"

 

TAKE EVERYONE'S DNA FINGERPRINT, SAYS PIONEER

Feb 3, 2003 The Independent.co.uk reports: "Everybody in Europe and the US should have their genetic fingerprints entered into an international database to enable law enforcement agencies to fight crime and terrorism in an unstable world, according to James Watson, the co-discoverer of the DNA double helix.

In an exclusive interview with The Independent to mark the 50th anniversary of his discovery, the scientist said the risks posed by terrorists and organized criminals now outweighed the possible objections on civil liberties grounds to a DNA database.  'It is not that I am insensitive to the concerns about individual privacy or to the potential for inappropriate use of genetic information, but it would make life safer,' Professor Watson, the president of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, said.

As the first director of the Human Genome Project, Professor Watson set aside funds to examine the potential ethical concerns relating to the misuse of genetic information. DNA fingerprints, which do not contain medical information and are merely used to establish a person's identity, pose fewer threats, he said.

'The sacrifice of this particular form of anonymity does not seem an unreasonable price to pay, provided the laws see to a strict and judicious control over access to public data,' he said. 'It would be harder to be a crook. If you want to make the criminal justice system more fair, what's wrong with it?'…"

 

IAEA PLANS TO EXAMINE IRAN'S NUKE FACILITIES

Feb 4, 2003 The Middle East Newsline reports: "The International Atomic Energy Agency plans to conduct an inspection of Iranian nuclear facilities amid rising concern that Teheran is approaching nuclear weapon capability.

Western diplomatic sources said the IAEA inspection is expected to take place during the first half of 2003. They said the agency plans on visiting the Bushehr nuclear plant, a light-water facility expected to turn operational in 2005.

IAEA director-general Mohammed El Baradei said his staff will also visit other Iranian facilities that might be involved in the production of nuclear-grade fuel. El Baradei did not elaborate but diplomatic sources said the visits would include facilities in the Semnan region.

Iranian opposition sources said Teheran has completed two facilities with the help of North Korea. They are a heavy-water facility required for the production of weapons-grade plutonium. The second is a centrifugal installation, an important element in the production of nuclear weapons…"

 

SYRIA LAMBASTS U.S. STANCE ON IRAQ

Feb 3, 2003 BBC News reports: "Syria has strongly criticized the United States, saying the UN resolution on Iraq passed in December does not authorize any country to launch a war against Baghdad.  Speaking during a visit by a team from the European Union, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara warned that a U.S.-led attack would bring chaos to the Middle East.  Mr. al-Shara also said this would increase violence and terrorism.

The Syrian criticism comes as the U.S. national security advisor, Condoleezza Rice, said Washington expected to administer Iraq for a certain time after Saddam Hussein has been ousted.

Mr. al-Shara stressed that the current crisis was between the UN and Iraq, and it was not a matter to be dealt with by Washington alone. He said that the U.S. itself must abide by the terms of the UN resolution 1441.

That meant, he added, giving the UN weapons inspectors more time to complete their work in Iraq, where they are searching for any weapons of mass destruction…"

 

IRAQ THREATENS SUICIDE ATTACKS AS US, BRITAIN COURT NEW UN VOTE

Feb 2, 2003  Agency France-Presse reports: “A defiant Iraq threatened to unleash suicide attacks against US nationals in the Middle East and to wipe out any invading force should Washington wage a new war against it.

The warnings by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan were made public Saturday -- the day after US President George W. Bush met his close ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and declared that conflict could be ‘weeks, not months’ away.

Suicide attacks ‘are our new weapons,’ Ramadan told Monday's edition of the German news magazine Der Spiegel, adding: ‘The whole region will be set ablaze. This part of the world will become a sea of resistance and danger for Americans.’

Official newspapers in Baghdad on Saturday quoted Saddam telling senior military aides that if war happens, ‘the enemy will not enter Baghdad's suburbs because he will die. Even if they send a million soldiers, our boys will kill them.’

On Friday, Bush said he would welcome a new UN resolution authorizing force against Iraq as long as there was no attempt by the Security Council ‘to drag the process on for months’…”

 

Compiled by  L. Jim Tuck, Pastor

ljtuc@msn.com

UCGIA, Oakland, San Jose, & Santa Rosa, California