Current Events (NEWS)

[yudansha]

People have mixed feelings about this... It still won't make me like this beer...

I still say that Heineken is the best beer all around!

Molson announces merger with Adolph Coors Co. to form new beer giant

MONTREAL (CP) - Canada's largest brewer has agreed to join forces with another family run brewing icon in the United States to create the Molson Coors Brewing Co., the world's fifth largest beer producer with $6 billion US in annual revenues.

A store worker walks past cases of Coors and Molson beer at a store in Toronto. (CP/Adrian Wyld)​

"We stand firm in our belief that Molson, as a Canadian icon, has to continue to grow and build on its rich, longstanding brewing heritage and the enduring commitment and loyalty that Canadians have always shown towards our company and products," chairman Eric Molson told a New York news conference after his company and Adolph Coors Co. announced the "merger of equals."

"As the Molson founding family, the Molsons have been long-term investors in the company. We aren't interested in exiting the business, rather the family wants to play a role in building a major global brewer and deriving greater value for our shareholders."

The combined company would have annual revenues of about $6 billion US and rank fifth in the world by brewing volume. It would sell brands like Molson Canadian, Molson Dry, Coors Original and Coors Light, Keystone and Carling as well as Brazilian beers Bavaria and Kaiser.

The deal would merge one of Canada's oldest companies, Montreal-based Molson, which was founded in 1786, with Golden, Colo.-based Coors, founded in 1873. Coors trails Anheuser-Busch and SABMiller in the U.S. brewing business, while Molson is slightly bigger than Labatt Brewing, its chief Canadian rival based in Toronto.

The transaction would require approval of two-thirds of each class of Molson shareholders. The Molson family owns 55 per cent of the voting stock. It would also require majority approval of each class of Coors stockholders.

"This is a great step forward for us," said Eric Molson. "This is a brewing tradition and a national icon that will continue to forge ahead and this step is of great benefit to all our shareholders and for our country. We are taking a Canadian company and building it into another level."

The company, to be headquartered in Montreal and Denver, Colo., expects to save $175 million US annually in efficiencies by consolidating its operations. Half the savings are expected to come in the first 18 months.

An anticipated $700 million US in free cash flow will allow the new company to enhance the performance of its brands, expand and improve profits.

"The exciting part comes from harnessing the power of a company that will overnight essentially double in size and have the capacity to support aggressive and creative marketing campaigns, innovative product innovations and geographic expansion, all focussed on driving growth and getting value," Coors chairman Peter Coors told the news conference.

The deal, which had been rumoured to be near completion for days, had mixed effect on the shares of the companies.

Molson (TSX:MOL.A) stock traded up $1.13, or 3.3 per cent, at $35.84 on the Toronto stock market while Coors (NYSE:RKY) was down $1.47, or 1.97 per cent, at $73.26 US on the New York Stock Exchange.

While the Molson-Coors merger would be difficult to overturn, there could be rival bids for either of the two companies.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that former Molson deputy chairman Ian Molson - Eric Molson's cousin - was expected to make an offer to acquire the Canadian brewer for as much as $4 billion US, more than 30 per cent above the per share value of the Coors deal.

The Molsons clashed about the future direction of the brewing company and Ian Molson, who controls about 10 per cent of Molson's voting shares - resigned from the board in May.

The Ian Molson-led offer would come from a group of investors and a possible corporate partner, the Journal reported, citing sources close to the company.

Molson Inc. revealed the structure of the deal when it reported financial results early Thursday.

"The transaction is structured as a share exchange whereby Molson Inc. shareholders can either convert their shares to shares of the new entity or can elect to receive exchangeable shares on a tax deferred basis," Molson said.

Thursday's merger continues a wave of consolidation in the global beer industry that has seen U.S. and European brewers get bigger to grow more rapidly in an increasingly competitive international market.

It also means that Canada's two major brewers, whose various beers and licensed brands account for nearly nine in 10 bottles of beer sold in this country - will effectively be foreign owned. Molson's rival Labatt is controlled by Belgian beer giant Interbrew.

For Molson, the merger with Coors should expand its markets in the United States and help improve the company's financial fortunes, which have been hurt by an ill-fated 2002 expansion into Brazil and flat beer sales in Canada.

Some analysts speculated that Coors and Molson may decide to divest the trouble-plagued Brazilian operation.

Earlier Thursday, Molson reported that excluding special charges for restructuring and gains, net profits fell 19.3 per cent to $68.3 million in the three months ended June 30, the first quarter of the company's 2005 fiscal year. That was down from profits of $84.6 million last year.

Meanwhile, total Molson beer sales volume fell 3.4 per cent, including 2.8 per cent in Canada and 4.2 per cent in Brazil.

Quarterly revenues rose to $675 million from $661.8 million, the company reported.

In a separate financial report, Coors said its second quarter net profit fell 5.6 per cent to $72 million US, while sales rose 4.6 per cent to $1.15 billion US.

As part of the transaction, Molson chairman Eric Molson would become chairman of the combined company, while Leo Kiely, chief executive of Coors, would become the new company's chief.

O'Neill was named vice-chairman of synergies and integration, and Timothy Wolf, currently chief financial officer of Coors, will be the chief financial officer of the combined company.

The company will have executive headquarters in Denver and Montreal, with its Canadian operations managed from Toronto and its U.S. operations from Golden, Colo.

The transaction comes after days of speculation among investors that an interloper like Heineken would emerge to break up the deal and try to steal Molson.

Most analysts have questioned the value of the deal, noting the companies already have agreements to sell each other's products in their respective countries.

Sales of Coors through Molson account for nearly a quarter of the company's earnings.

"They'll come up with some synergies. Whether the market believes they are attainable or achievable is another thing," said CIBC World Markets analyst Michael Van Aelst.

"I don't see any long-term strategic benefits to this transaction at all."

By combining, Coors and Molson would still remain a distant No. 5 in market share, and it is unclear whether the transaction would give the combined company enough heft to stave off increasing competition, analysts told the New York Times.

Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser, is No. 1, with nearly 50 per cent of the American beer market and SABMiller, the maker of Miller beer, is second, with 18.4 per cent. Coors has 10.8 per cent, while Molson has less than half of one per cent.

The deal appears to be motivated, in part, by the interests of both the Coors and Molson families to retain important roles in the combined company rather than sell out to a bigger brewery like Anheuser-Busch.

It also comes amidst internal strife within each company.

Former deputy chairman Ian Molson and several other directors resigned earlier this year while Peter Coors, the fourth generation of the Coors family to head the company, said in April he was taking a leave as chairman to seek the Republican nomination for the Senate in Colorado.

ROSS MAROWITS; © The Canadian Press, 2004

 

[yudansha]

Did you notice the gas prices jumping too much lately?

Every day they jump! One thing in the morning, then in the afternoon the next, and changes for the evening! This is terrible! And it's been like that for a week now! What are they thinking???

OPEC chief: group committed to keeping crude prices from rising further

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - OPEC is committed to keeping crude prices from rising further and its members are investing to boost their output capacity to help stabilize the oil market, the group's president said Thursday.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is already pumping two million barrels a day above its output target of 25.5 million barrels, Purnomo Yusgiantoro told a news conference at OPEC's headquarters in Vienna. "That's partly because we are concerned with the price level that we see today," he said.

Contracts of U.S. light crude for September delivery were trading 10 cents higher at $40.68 US per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Purnomo confirmed that the official target price for OPEC's benchmark blend of crudes remains between $22 and $28 per barrel.

A robust demand for oil imports from China and refining bottlenecks in other major importing countries have fanned "unwarranted fears" about possible crude shortages. To help calm a nervous and sensitive market, OPEC members are investing in their oil fields and facilities to add between 2.5 million and 3.5 million barrels of daily production capacity by the end of 2005, he said.

However, the director of OPEC's research division Adnan Shihab-Eldin later clarified to reporters that the increase in spare capacity would only be half as large as Purnomo had stated.

Shihab-Eldin said OPEC members would add between one million and 1.5 million barrels to their current spare capacity by the end of next year, for a new, total surplus of between 2.5 million and 3.5 million barrels. This new surplus would equal at least 10 per cent of OPEC's current production ceiling.

The group has asked major non-OPEC producers such as Russia to increase their output in tandem with OPEC, but has so far received no assurances that they would do so, said Purnomo, who is also Indonesia's energy minister.

"Today, what we feel is that they don't have much spare capacity," he said.

"We in OPEC accept that this is a challenging time in the oil market, with an unusually powerful combination of forces that are currently dominating the market activities and adversely affecting its equilibrium," Purnomo said.

He added, however, that OPEC is committed "to do everything we can to restore prices to reasonable levels that are acceptable to producers and consumers alike - and to keep them there."

Analysts and OPEC expect oil demand to rise sharply during the autumn and winter as refiners stock up for the heating oil season. Barclays Capital in London estimates that demand in the fourth quarter will exceed today's level by an average of 3.1 million barrels a day.

"Whichever numbers you look at, there's a lot more demand to come," said Paul Horsnell, Barclays' head of energy research. "If the demand upswing is going to be that strong, then there won't be enough spare capacity, full stop."

Importers will have to dip far into their oil inventories to see them through the lean winter months, he said.

Barclays Capital anticipates that U.S. crude prices will average $40 in the fourth quarter. Horsnell said he wasn't likely to change that forecast as a result of Purnomo's comments, but he expressed concern that even a modest supply shock could trigger "explosive prices moves."

SUSANNA LOOF; © The Canadian Press, 2004

 

[yudansha]

Does anybody read this thread? :=)

Another great tragedy in the military:

Fighter jets collide while conducting training exercise in Oregon, killing 2

ARLINGTON, Ore. (AP) - A pair of fighter jets collided in Oregon on Wednesday while conducting a training exercise, killing two reservists and injuring another.

At least one of the dead was a pilot; the other was a pilot or a weapons operator, said Capt. Michael Braibish of the Oregon National Guard. A third crew member survived and was to be released Wednesday evening from the emergency room at Mid-Columbia Medical Center. "In some respects, it's very amazing - no broken bones, no abrasions, minor injuries," said Dr. John Jacobson, who treated the unidentified airman.

The jets, both F-18 warplanes, collided over the Columbia River near Arlington, about 190 kilometres east of Portland.

Debris from the jets was scattered as far as 13 kilometres away.

"We felt it, like a supersonic boom, like someone ran into the building," said Linda Williams, an employee of the Village Inn in Arlington.

The jets were based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, according to Nancy Corey, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Seattle.

The jets were conducting a low-altitude training exercise from a National Guard base in Portland to a bombing range in Boardman, Ore. One plane was a single seater, while the other had two seats.

Andrew David was casting fishing nets on the river with two relatives when they heard the jets collide. He saw two parachutes, one of which landed in the water.

When he tried to help the man, it was clear the pilot was dead.

"When you see something like this, you don't expect to be right in the middle of it," David said. "Debris was dropping by us. He was pretty beat up. It was pretty bad. We don't want to see anything like this again."

© The Canadian Press, 2004

Explosions outside troops' base in southern Russia leave 8 wounded

MAKHACHKALA, Russia (AP) - Two explosions went off outside an Interior Ministry base Thursday in a Russian republic bordering Chechnya, wounding eight people, the ministry reported.

The first explosion occurred at the gates of the base just south of Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, the regional Interior Ministry said. The timing of the second blast wasn't clear: it happened between 10 minutes and an hour after the first. Initial reports indicated that explosion occurred about 100 metres from the base.

A bus with base personnel had just arrived when the first explosion went off.

Demolition experts told the Interfax news agency that the blasts were caused by homemade, remote-controlled bombs that each had the equivalent of five kilograms of TNT.

Dagestan is a volatile region frequently rocked by explosions, contract murders and other violence - some spilling over from neighbouring Chechnya, some committed by local criminal groups.


Chechen rebels and their supporters are suspected in a series of bombing attacks on military and security facilities in other Russian regions, including an attack last year on a bus carrying soldiers and civilians to an airfield in North Ossetia, killing 16 people.

 

[yudansha]

Another heroic act!

Two Montreal cops help save woman who was hanging over the side of a building

MONTREAL (CP) - A Montreal police officer pulled a woman to safety as she hung by one arm from the roof of a three-storey building and his partner spoke calmly to her from the ground.

The 32-year-old woman had gone to the roof of the building and had climbed over its side, video footage broadcast on all-news channel LCN showed.

"I arrived up on the roof and I saw only a hand hanging on to the roof," said Montreal officer Patrick Pelletier.

"It wasn't the time for talking."

His partner, Jean Millard, who spoke to the woman while Pelletier was on the roof, said he was relieved "when I saw her feet back on the roof."

The woman was taken to hospital for a checkup.

© The Canadian Press, 2004

 

[yudansha]

Diana fountain shut off after 3 slipped and injured themselves

LONDON (AP) - Officials switched off the memorial fountain honouring Diana, Princess of Wales Thursday because three people were hurt when they slipped and fell in it.

The three slipped on a set of stone steps that are part of the granite structure in Hyde Park, said Royal Parks spokesman Theo Moore.

One was a child who suffered a bump on the head and some bleeding, the agency said. The two others were adults but the Royal Parks did not know how seriously they were hurt.

"We are obviously very concerned about their welfare and hope they recover swiftly," Moore said. "We immediately switched off the flow of water and will not be turning it back on until we are satisfied it is safe to do so. A full and thorough investigation has already started."

Moore said the water was turned off at 3 p.m. local time and would not be switched back on until the investigation is finished and any needed safety measures are added.

The Queen officially opened the fountain earlier this month at a ceremony attended by Diana's ex-husband Prince Charles, sons William and Harry and brother Earl Spencer.

It ran into trouble just a day later, overflowing during a fierce storm. The Royal Parks had to assign extra staff to keep it clear of debris.

The fountain is an oval, roughly 80 metres by 50 metres. Water flows from the highest point down both sides into a basin called the Tranquil Pool.

© The Canadian Press, 2004

 

[yudansha]

Here are some of those mixed feelings:

I Am Also American: Canadian drinkers will ignore Molson merger, experts say

TORONTO (CP) - The Montreal brewer that has boasted about its Canuck heritage for years now plans to tie the knot with an American cousin, but consumers of Molson brands will largely ignore the ownership change even if they don't approve of the marriage with Coors, marketing experts said Thursday.

Despite its well-known "I Am Canadian" motto, its "Joe Canada" advertising campaign of several years ago and more recent commercials that imply U.S. beers are inferior to Canada's, beer drinkers who already prefer Molson products likely won't abandon them unless they start to look and taste different.

"Do we care that much if a former Canadian company is now internationally owned?" Dan Ondrack, a merger management expert at the University of Toronto, asked rhetorically.

"If people see that Molson's is still on the shelves and it still looks the same and it tastes the same, maybe people will be largely indifferent" to who owns the company, he said.

On Thursday, Molson Inc. and Adolph Coors Co. announced a merger that will create a North American beer company with $6 billion US in annual sales and nearly 15,000 employees. The new merged company, Molson Coors Brewing, would have Canadian and American shareholders, but would be focused primarily on U.S. and international markets.

Ondrack said there's plenty of examples of companies whose histories are based in Canada and who are still often identified as Canadian despite American ownership.

For example, the popular Tim Hortons coffee and doughnut chain of more than 2,000 outlets was bought in 1995 by Wendy's International Inc., of Dublin, Ohio. But many Canadians still see Tim Hortons as their own - it's named after a late Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player and its "Roll up the rim to win" TV commercials featured Canadians rolling their 'R's to guards at the U.S. border.

The legendary Montreal Canadiens hockey club - formerly owned by Molson - was bought by American businessman George Gillett in 2001. And one of the country's best-known clothing retailers, Roots Canada, was founded by Don Green and Michael Budman - both of whom were born in Detroit.

"Consumers identify with the brand" and not the corporation, said Niraj Dawar, professor of marketing at the University of Western Ontario in London.

He added that the Molson name remains "very strong" in Canada and will likely continue to be after the merger, even if new advertising campaigns take on a less nationalistic slant as the new company tries to grow in the huge United States market as well as in the U.K and Brazil.

At a downtown Toronto bar on Thursday, several patrons who prefer Molson products shrugged off the "merger of equals" that will see the company merge operations with Colorado-based Coors.

"I don't care," Brad Brigham said while sipping a Molson Canadian draft on the patio of the Upfront Bar & Grill. "Mergers happen all the time."

Inside the bar, Peter Kerr said he'd continue to drink his favourite draft of beer, Rickard's Red, which is distributed by Molson.

"I will continue to drink it," Kerr said. "If they start brewing it differently, that might make a difference."

Dawar noted that it will be difficult to tell if the brand's image is hurt after the merger since sales of Molson's flagship Canadian brand have been slipping in the last year anyhow. According to industry observers, Molson Canadian has relinquished its position as Canada's top-selling beer over the last few years to a U.S. brand, Budweiser, brewed in Canada by Labatt Brewing under licence from Anheuser-Busch of St. Louis.

"The fact is the Molson Canadian brand was in decline before the merger itself so perhaps that decline will continue given the intense competitive activity in the marketplace," Dawar said.

It's unclear whether Molson products would get any increased marketing under its merged management, although Dawar said he suspects the Molson name might get more of a push in the United States, where it's viewed as more of a premium imported beer.

Ondrack said Canadians will still see major marketing campaigns for Molson in Canada, though they may look different - with less of an emphasis on nationalism. He said it might eventually abandon some sponsorships of sporting and entertainment events, including the Molson Indy auto racing series, depending on how the American interests view the events.

Essentially, Molson could end up being run as a "hollowed-out corporation" with fewer executives and a strategy that's less concerned with growth of any brands that originated in Canada, Ondrack said. He points to Labatt's business presence in Canada as more of a media buyer promoting Blue and other beers for parent company Interbrew SA of Belgium.

"Labatt's brand name might still exist and it still appears on the product but Labatt's management side . . . has been really cut back," he says. "There are people running it, but they're running it at a much lower level."

STEVE ERWIN; © The Canadian Press, 2004

Steve Erwin, Steve Irwin ... seem to be bringing bad news lately

I still say that Heineken is the best beer all around!

Molson announces merger with Adolph Coors Co. to form new beer giant

MONTREAL (CP) - Canada's largest brewer has agreed to join forces with another family run brewing icon in the United States to create the Molson Coors Brewing Co., the world's fifth largest beer producer with $6 billion US in annual revenues.

A store worker walks past cases of Coors and Molson beer at a store in Toronto. (CP/Adrian Wyld)​

"We stand firm in our belief that Molson, as a Canadian icon, has to continue to grow and build on its rich, longstanding brewing heritage and the enduring commitment and loyalty that Canadians have always shown towards our company and products," chairman Eric Molson told a New York news conference after his company and Adolph Coors Co. announced the "merger of equals."

"As the Molson founding family, the Molsons have been long-term investors in the company. We aren't interested in exiting the business, rather the family wants to play a role in building a major global brewer and deriving greater value for our shareholders."

The combined company would have annual revenues of about $6 billion US and rank fifth in the world by brewing volume. It would sell brands like Molson Canadian, Molson Dry, Coors Original and Coors Light, Keystone and Carling as well as Brazilian beers Bavaria and Kaiser.

The deal would merge one of Canada's oldest companies, Montreal-based Molson, which was founded in 1786, with Golden, Colo.-based Coors, founded in 1873. Coors trails Anheuser-Busch and SABMiller in the U.S. brewing business, while Molson is slightly bigger than Labatt Brewing, its chief Canadian rival based in Toronto.

The transaction would require approval of two-thirds of each class of Molson shareholders. The Molson family owns 55 per cent of the voting stock. It would also require majority approval of each class of Coors stockholders.

"This is a great step forward for us," said Eric Molson. "This is a brewing tradition and a national icon that will continue to forge ahead and this step is of great benefit to all our shareholders and for our country. We are taking a Canadian company and building it into another level."

The company, to be headquartered in Montreal and Denver, Colo., expects to save $175 million US annually in efficiencies by consolidating its operations. Half the savings are expected to come in the first 18 months.

An anticipated $700 million US in free cash flow will allow the new company to enhance the performance of its brands, expand and improve profits.

"The exciting part comes from harnessing the power of a company that will overnight essentially double in size and have the capacity to support aggressive and creative marketing campaigns, innovative product innovations and geographic expansion, all focussed on driving growth and getting value," Coors chairman Peter Coors told the news conference.

The deal, which had been rumoured to be near completion for days, had mixed effect on the shares of the companies.

Molson (TSX:MOL.A) stock traded up $1.13, or 3.3 per cent, at $35.84 on the Toronto stock market while Coors (NYSE:RKY) was down $1.47, or 1.97 per cent, at $73.26 US on the New York Stock Exchange.

While the Molson-Coors merger would be difficult to overturn, there could be rival bids for either of the two companies.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that former Molson deputy chairman Ian Molson - Eric Molson's cousin - was expected to make an offer to acquire the Canadian brewer for as much as $4 billion US, more than 30 per cent above the per share value of the Coors deal.

The Molsons clashed about the future direction of the brewing company and Ian Molson, who controls about 10 per cent of Molson's voting shares - resigned from the board in May.

The Ian Molson-led offer would come from a group of investors and a possible corporate partner, the Journal reported, citing sources close to the company.

Molson Inc. revealed the structure of the deal when it reported financial results early Thursday.

"The transaction is structured as a share exchange whereby Molson Inc. shareholders can either convert their shares to shares of the new entity or can elect to receive exchangeable shares on a tax deferred basis," Molson said.

Thursday's merger continues a wave of consolidation in the global beer industry that has seen U.S. and European brewers get bigger to grow more rapidly in an increasingly competitive international market.

It also means that Canada's two major brewers, whose various beers and licensed brands account for nearly nine in 10 bottles of beer sold in this country - will effectively be foreign owned. Molson's rival Labatt is controlled by Belgian beer giant Interbrew.

For Molson, the merger with Coors should expand its markets in the United States and help improve the company's financial fortunes, which have been hurt by an ill-fated 2002 expansion into Brazil and flat beer sales in Canada.

Some analysts speculated that Coors and Molson may decide to divest the trouble-plagued Brazilian operation.

Earlier Thursday, Molson reported that excluding special charges for restructuring and gains, net profits fell 19.3 per cent to $68.3 million in the three months ended June 30, the first quarter of the company's 2005 fiscal year. That was down from profits of $84.6 million last year.

Meanwhile, total Molson beer sales volume fell 3.4 per cent, including 2.8 per cent in Canada and 4.2 per cent in Brazil.

Quarterly revenues rose to $675 million from $661.8 million, the company reported.

In a separate financial report, Coors said its second quarter net profit fell 5.6 per cent to $72 million US, while sales rose 4.6 per cent to $1.15 billion US.

As part of the transaction, Molson chairman Eric Molson would become chairman of the combined company, while Leo Kiely, chief executive of Coors, would become the new company's chief.

O'Neill was named vice-chairman of synergies and integration, and Timothy Wolf, currently chief financial officer of Coors, will be the chief financial officer of the combined company.

The company will have executive headquarters in Denver and Montreal, with its Canadian operations managed from Toronto and its U.S. operations from Golden, Colo.

The transaction comes after days of speculation among investors that an interloper like Heineken would emerge to break up the deal and try to steal Molson.

Most analysts have questioned the value of the deal, noting the companies already have agreements to sell each other's products in their respective countries.

Sales of Coors through Molson account for nearly a quarter of the company's earnings.

"They'll come up with some synergies. Whether the market believes they are attainable or achievable is another thing," said CIBC World Markets analyst Michael Van Aelst.

"I don't see any long-term strategic benefits to this transaction at all."

By combining, Coors and Molson would still remain a distant No. 5 in market share, and it is unclear whether the transaction would give the combined company enough heft to stave off increasing competition, analysts told the New York Times.

Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser, is No. 1, with nearly 50 per cent of the American beer market and SABMiller, the maker of Miller beer, is second, with 18.4 per cent. Coors has 10.8 per cent, while Molson has less than half of one per cent.

The deal appears to be motivated, in part, by the interests of both the Coors and Molson families to retain important roles in the combined company rather than sell out to a bigger brewery like Anheuser-Busch.

It also comes amidst internal strife within each company.

Former deputy chairman Ian Molson and several other directors resigned earlier this year while Peter Coors, the fourth generation of the Coors family to head the company, said in April he was taking a leave as chairman to seek the Republican nomination for the Senate in Colorado.

ROSS MAROWITS; © The Canadian Press, 2004

 

[Littledragon]

Beheaded body found in northern Iraq.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/07/22/iraq.main/index.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Police found a decapitated body Thursday in the Tigris River, an Iraqi official said.

The body was discovered in Beiji, 112 miles (180 kilometers) north of Baghdad, said Col. Adnan Abdul Rahman, a spokesman for the Iraqi Interior Ministry.

Adnan would not confirm the identity of the body but said it was a foreigner's.

Another body, found last week in the same river, was identified Thursday as one of two Bulgarian truck drivers kidnapped by militants in Iraq, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said.

The body of Geori Lazov, 30, was identified through fingerprints. Lazov's body -- decapitated and dressed in orange clothing -- was retrieved from the Tigris on July 15.

The day before, the Arabic-language news network Al-Jazeera said it received a videotape showing one of the two Bulgarians had been beheaded. Al-Jazeera said the Unification and Jihad group claimed responsibility for the killing.

The group, which claimed loyalty to insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, also took responsibility for beheading U.S. businessman Nicholas Berg and South Korean translator Kim Sun-il.

Lazov and Ivailo Kepov, 32, were driving trucks delivering cars to the northern city of Mosul when they were abducted June 27.

Also Thursday, a new video of seven foreigners being held in Iraq was released as Kenya, Egypt, India and the hostages' Kuwaiti employer worked to secure their release. (Full story)

The hostages are truck drivers for Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport. A company spokesman said, "We are doing everything we can to secure the safe return of our drivers."

Three Kenyans, three Indians and an Egyptian each identified himself on the latest video, obtained in Baghdad.

Arabic-language network Al-Arabiya on Wednesday showed footage of six hostages standing behind three seated, masked gunmen. In the report, a spokesman for the militant group, which calls itself Black Flags, demanded the men's employers or native countries pull their personnel from Iraq or the captors would behead the hostages, one by one.

Kenya, India and Egypt do not have troops in Iraq. The Kenyan government asked its citizens in Iraq to leave at once, a government spokesman said Thursday.

An Egyptian official in Baghdad said Egyptian and Indian diplomats met Thursday to discuss a strategy on dealing with the hostage crisis. "The Indians are extremely worried," the Egyptian said.

The militants said one hostage will be beheaded every 72 hours if their demands aren't met.

The first deadline is Saturday.

Clashes in Ramadi, Baghdad
American troops, engaged in a daylong firefight, killed 25 insurgents and captured 25 more in the so-called Sunni Triangle town of Ramadi, the U.S. military said.

Fourteen U.S. forces -- 13 Marines and a soldier -- were wounded. Ten of the wounded returned to duty, according to a U.S. military statement.

The military said 17 insurgents were wounded.

Ramadi is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) west of Baghdad near Fallujah. The Sunni Triangle has been a hotbed of anti-U.S. insurgents.

A group of about eight or 10 insurgents detonated a small explosive near a U.S. Marine convoy around 3 p.m. Wednesday and then opened fire on the forces with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.

The Marines returned fire, which led to the ensuing battle, involving an estimated 75 to 100 "anti-Iraqi forces," according to the U.S. military statement.

In central Baghdad, Iraqi forces arrested 270 suspects in a raid that turned into a street battle along Haifa Street, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said Thursday.

Those arrested included alleged insurgents and non-Iraqi Arabs, said Sabbah Kadhim, an Interior Ministry senior adviser. A large number of weapons were confiscated, Kadhim said.

The raid was carried out by the Iraqi National Guard, Iraqi police and Interior Ministry intelligence officials after weeks of planning, he said.

Residents reported heavy fighting, including small-arms fire and mortars, and saw U.S. military vehicles. Witnesses said helicopters and fighter jets also were involved.

An Iraqi police spokesman said the fighting began as Iraqi forces were conducting late-night raids on houses and apartments in the Saddamiat Al-Kahrk district. Haifa Street has been the scene of smaller raids and skirmishes in recent weeks.

Sa'ad al-Amili of the Iraqi Ministry of Health said five Iraqis were wounded during the fighting, which lasted into late morning.

Kadhim said much of the information that led to the raid came from residents.

In Salahuddin province, seven Iraqis were killed and eight wounded late Wednesday in clashes between insurgents and U.S. forces, Iraqi Minister of Health Sa'a Al-Amili said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Army reported Thursday that two U.S. soldiers were killed Monday in a mortar attack on their forward operating base in Iskandariah, south of Baghdad.

With the deaths, 903 U.S. forces have been killed in the Iraq war -- 669 in combat and 234 in noncombat incidents.

Other developments

President Bush on Wednesday authorized the resumption of arms sales to Iraq, a move that will "strengthen the security of the United States and promote world peace," a White House memorandum said. Citing the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Control Export Act, Bush authorized Secretary of State Colin Powell to report the finding to Congress that the furnishing of "defense articles and services to Iraq" could resume.


U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Wednesday that the United States has no plans to extend the tours of National Guard soldiers posted in Iraq past their current two-year terms. "However, never say never. We are at war," Rumsfeld cautioned at an afternoon news conference at the Pentagon.

CNN's Gladys Njoroge contributed to this report.

 

[Littledragon]

9/11 panel report: 'We must act'.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/07/22/911.report/index.html

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The chairman of the panel investigating the attacks of September 11, 2001, said his commission found that the "United States government was simply not active enough in combating the terrorist threat before 9/11."

Thomas Kean and his fellow panelists cited a "failure of imagination" that they said kept U.S. officials from understanding the al Qaeda threat before the attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000.

The independent National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States released its findings on Thursday in a 570-page report.

Congress established the bipartisan panel to investigate events before, during and immediately after the attacks.

"Every expert with whom we spoke told us an attack of even greater magnitude is now possible and even probable. We do not have the luxury of time," said Kean, a former Republican governor of New Jersey.

"We must prepare and we must act. The al Qaeda network and its affiliates are sophisticated, patient, disciplined and lethal."

Commission member James Thompson said the proposed reforms were urgent and said Congress and the president have a duty to act quickly.

"If these reforms are not the best that can be done for the American people, then the Congress and the president need to tell us what's better," said the former Republican governor of Illinois.

Some Republican lawmakers have said Congress is unlikely to take any action on the report until next year. But Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut urged their colleagues to take action quickly.

"This is a straight-talking, tough, bold, nonpartisan report," said Lieberman, who supported the creation of the panel along with McCain over initial White House objections.

"But we all know this report is only the end of the beginning," Lieberman said.

Bob Hughes, who lost his 30-year-old son, Kris, in the collapse of the twin towers at the World Trade Center in New York, said the report showed how "we just have to change the way we do business."

"Congress has to step up the pace. The FBI, the CIA -- they can't just be thinking about, 'Well this is my job and that's your job.' We have to work together nonpartisan. Everybody has to come together to do the job if we're going to keep the country safe."

Cheryl McGuinness, whose husband, Thomas, was the copilot of American Airlines Flight 11 that struck the north tower of the World Trade Center, said, "This is the time to be bold and courageous and to step up and to say what we need to do and to implement some changes."

Beverley Eckert, whose husband, Sean, died in the World Trade Center, said she had hoped the report would hold individuals accountable.

"My concern is that there are people who are not competent and irresponsible who may still be in positions of authority," she said.

"I'm not angry. It's not that I wanted heads to roll," she added. "But I worked in a large corporation. ... Sometimes I think you need to identify the people in an organization who are not functioning the way they should." (More reaction from families)

Acting CIA Director John McLaughlin said he appreciated the report and "some of its criticisms."

He said the agency had already been transformed since the attacks but that officials looked forward to examining the findings of the report.

Earlier, Kean and Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton, a former Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, briefed President Bush on the report Thursday morning and presented a copy to him in the White House Rose Garden.

Bush told reporters the report contained "some very constructive recommendations" and that he looked "forward to working with responsible parties within my administration to move forward on those recommendations."

As expected, the report calls for a national intelligence chief and a counterterrorism center modeled on the military's unified commands.

It also proposes the creation of a joint congressional committee to oversee homeland security.

The report concluded that the emergence of al Qaeda in the late 1990s "presented challenges to U.S. governmental institutions that they were not well-designed to meet."

Among the failures:


Neither Bush nor his predecessor Bill Clinton understood the gravity of the threats posed by terrorists because the leaders could not imagine such attacks.


The CIA was limited in its effort to try to capture al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants in Afghanistan by the agency's use of proxies.


Terrorism was not the top national security concern and missed opportunities to thwart the attack indicate the government's inability to adapt to new challenges.


The failure of the CIA and FBI to communicate with each other -- sometimes because of "legal misunderstandings" -- led to missed "operational opportunities" to hinder or break the terror plot.


The CIA did not put 9/11 hijacker Khalid Almihdhar on a "watch list" or notify the FBI when he had a U.S. visa in January 2000 or when he met with a key figure in the USS Cole bombing. And the CIA failed to develop plans to track Almihdhar, or hijacker Nawaf Alhazmi when he obtained a U.S. visa and flew to Los Angeles. Both men were on American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon.


The FBI failed to recognize the significance of Almihdhar and Alhazmi's arrival in the United States or the significance of al Qaeda member Zacarias Moussaoui's training and beliefs after his arrest in Minnesota in August 2001.

The report will be on sale in bookstores for $10. It will also be available online and through the Government Printing Office.

 

[Littledragon]

FBI probes possible threat on media at convention.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/07/23/convention.security/index.html

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI said Friday that it had "unconfirmed information" that a domestic group plans to disrupt next week's Democratic National Convention by targeting media vehicles.

The unnamed group may plan to attack vehicles with "explosives or incendiary devices," according to a statement issued by the FBI's Boston field office.

The Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating, the field office said.

"The FBI will make appropriate notification if there is any additional credible information," the statement said.

A threat alert bulletin issued Thursday by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security reiterates a warning that terrorists may be planning a U.S. attack in the summer or fall but revealed no credible or specific threat concerning the convention.

The bulletin was sent to members of the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force and Massachusetts homeland security officials.

The bulletin does mention the threat of civil disobedience or violence from domestic groups during the convention, which begins Monday. (CNN.com Special Report: America Votes 2004)

Homeland security officials said the bulletin mentions possible threats to aviation, mass transit and infrastructure in Boston.

One official said suspicious activity has been observed around bridges in the area, and an anonymous phone call threatened that a piece of critical infrastructure would be hit, but the official said there has been no corroborating intelligence.

Because of the security concerns and Logan International Airport's proximity to Boston's port and city center, the official said that more federal air marshals were being deployed on flights in and out of Boston and that passengers flying into the city were under special scrutiny.

The FBI/Department of Homeland Security bulletin mentions that several people seeking asylum in Boston were turned away recently, but the department official called that a common occurrence that may have no connection to the convention.

 

[Littledragon]

Report: Man bought mattress before reporting wife missing.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/West/07/23/missing.jogger.ap/index.html

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) -- Around the time Mark Hacking called police to report that his pregnant wife never returned from her morning jog, he was at a furniture store buying a new mattress, according to local news reports.

Hacking, 28, has not appeared publicly since Monday, the day he said his 27-year-old wife, Lori, vanished. Family members say he has since been hospitalized for stress.

The Deseret News and television station KSTU reported Thursday that police found Hacking at a motel about a half-mile from the couple's apartment early Tuesday. The report said Hacking was hospitalized after being found.

Police said only that they were called to a disturbance involving Hacking and that the matter was turned over to medical personnel.

Det. Dwayne Baird said police considered Hacking a "person of interest" in the case but not a suspect, and that he had been interviewed as recently as Wednesday.

Lori Hacking was five weeks pregnant when she disappeared just days before the couple was to move to North Carolina, where Mark Hacking said he was going to attend medical school, family members said.

But he had lied to his wife and family -- he never graduated from college, nor was he accepted to any medical school, authorities said Thursday.

Meanwhile, The Salt Lake Tribune and KSL TV reported that Monday morning, in the minutes before he called police to report his wife missing, Mark Hacking was buying a new mattress.

The owners of a Salt Lake furniture store told the Tribune that Hacking came in about 9:45 a.m. Lisa Downs, the wife of store owner Chad Downs, said the credit-card purchase went through at 10:23 a.m..

Police have said Hacking called them and reported his wife missing at 10:49 a.m.

Friends told the Tribune that he had called them about 10 a.m. about his wife's disappearance and said he had twice run his wife's usual jogging route, three miles each way.

Police removed items from the couple's apartment Monday. They would not say what they have taken from the apartment, but television news footage showed paper bags, boxes and a box spring being removed. Police impounded a large trash bin from behind the apartment complex.

Mark Hacking's family and in-laws said they were stunned to learn Wednesday that he had not graduated from college or been accepted at a medical school, as he had claimed.

Thelma Soares, Lori Hacking's mother, said that she was certain her daughter had not known about the discrepancies. "Up to the time when I spoke with her last, she was deceived also," she told KUTV-TV.

Douglas Hacking said even though his son is incapacitated by grief, they spoke of the deception Wednesday night at the hospital.

"He has two older brothers who are high achievers, a physician and the other is an electrical engineer," he said. "He felt under some pressure to excel as well."

 

[Littledragon]

California reports first West Nile death.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/conditions/07/23/west.nile.ap/index.html

SANTA ANA, California (AP) -- A 57-year-old man died from the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, becoming California's first human fatality from the illness since it arrived in the state last year, officials said.

The man died June 24 and is believed to have contracted the virus in Orange County where he lived, Robert Miller, a spokesman for the California Department of Health Services, said Thursday.

The cause of death was confirmed Wednesday. He was admitted to a hospital June 17 with symptoms of encephalitis.

The man had a number of risk factors for developing serious complications from West Nile, including a number of long-term health conditions that may have weakened his immune system, said county health officer Dr. Mark Horton.

There have now been 35 human cases of West Nile statewide this year.

"We're in for a significant West Nile season in California," said state public health officer Dr. Richard Jackson. "I would be surprised if this is the last death we have in the state."

The disease has sickened nearly 200 people across the nation so far this year, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC has reported four other deaths from the disease so far this year -- two in Arizona and one each in Texas and Iowa.

Many people who come down with West Nile are unaffected, but others show flu-like symptoms. Less than 1 percent get very seriously ill with conditions such as meningitis or encephalitis.

 

[yudansha]

Woman dies after being mauled by huge alligator in Florida pond

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - A woman died Friday after being mauled by a 3.5-metre alligator that dragged her into a pond and nearly tore off one of her arms.

Janie Melsek, 54, was attacked Wednesday by the alligator as she worked on landscaping behind a home on Sanibel Island, just off the Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico. After the animal pulled her into the water, a neighbour and police officers engaged in a fierce "tug-of-war" to pull her from the reptile's jaws.

Police killed the 207-kilogram alligator, which required six men to lift it to shore.

Melsek died in surgery at Lee Memorial Hospital to treat an infection caused by the reptile's vicious bites. Doctors said her body simply shut down in response to the infection.

"My mom showed more courage than fear and I could not be more proud of her," said her daughter, Joy Williams, 29.

Since 1973, there have been 13 deadly alligator attacks in Florida.

© The Canadian Press, 2004

 

[Littledragon]

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - A woman died Friday after being mauled by a 3.5-metre alligator that dragged her into a pond and nearly tore off one of her arms.

Janie Melsek, 54, was attacked Wednesday by the alligator as she worked on landscaping behind a home on Sanibel Island, just off the Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico. After the animal pulled her into the water, a neighbour and police officers engaged in a fierce "tug-of-war" to pull her from the reptile's jaws.

Police killed the 207-kilogram alligator, which required six men to lift it to shore.

Melsek died in surgery at Lee Memorial Hospital to treat an infection caused by the reptile's vicious bites. Doctors said her body simply shut down in response to the infection.

"My mom showed more courage than fear and I could not be more proud of her," said her daughter, Joy Williams, 29.

Since 1973, there have been 13 deadly alligator attacks in Florida.

© The Canadian Press, 2004

OMG that sounds nasty..

 

[yudansha]

Ottawa selects bargain-priced Sikorsky as replacement for Sea Kings

The Sea Kings being used were 40 years old and on many occasions tipped over and fell on their sides either into water or right there on the vessel before even taking off...
__________

SHEARWATER, N.S. (CP) - The federal government, in a bid to calm a whirlwind of political debate, announced Friday it plans to buy 28, bargain-priced Sikorsky Cyclones to replace Canada's geriatric fleet of Sea King helicopters.

Defence Minister Bill Graham, followed by General Ray Henault, left, chief of the defence staff, walks past a Sea King helicopter as he arrives at CFB Shearwater, near Halifax, on Friday. (CP/Andrew Vaughan)​

New Defence Minister Bill Graham announced the $5 billion project, which includes maintenance and service support costs over the aircrafts' expected 20-year contract. The plan was unveiled in front of a squad of Sea King pilots and crew - most of them far younger than the aircraft they fly - at a military air base near Halifax.

The rookie minister and background information from the military both initially pegged the cost of the helicopters at $3.2 billion but Defence Department spokeswoman Capt. Bonnie Golbeck said later Friday that the cost of the helicopters would be $1.8 billion. The 20-year maintenance contract, which also includes a simulator and training for crews, would cost $3.2 billion.

The minister claimed the Cyclone, the military version of the Sikorsky S-92, "represents the right helicopter for the Canadian Forces at the best price for Canadians."

The military, despite previous misgivings, appeared to be on side, saying politics didn't affect a decision that was more than 25 years in the making.

"We are going to get a state-of-the-art helicopter which will satisfy our operational requirements," said Ray Henault, the chief of defence staff.

Critics said the process has been ridiculously slow and badly flawed. In the end, the government chose a helicopter that has no track record because Canada will be the first to use it as a military aircraft.

"We're not going to congratulate the government because they've delayed this project for 10 years, and through those 10 years they've created a risk for our crews," said Gordon O'Connor, the Conservative defence critic.

The twin-engine S-92, built by U.S.-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., has been touted as the less-expensive option when compared with its main rival, the larger, three-engine EH-101 Cormorant, built by a British-Italian consortium led by AgustaWestland (formerly EH Industries).

But one veteran airman openly questioned the merits of the final choice.

Sgt. Phil Moffitt, a Halifax-based airman who retires next fall after 27 years of working aboard and flying Sea Kings, said he would have preferred the Cormorant, a sentiment quietly shared by others in the military.

"We already have that aircraft (the Cormorant) in the Canadian Forces. It would be better for cross training for technicians and air crew," he said.

"Its size, reliability, the fact it has the extra engine - in my opinion, it's the best aircraft for the job."

The Defence Department had long pushed the government to buy the more expensive Cormorant. In fact, the department issued a recommendation to do so as far back as 1987.

Both federal bureaucrats and Sikorsky officials defended Ottawa's choice Friday, saying the lighter aircraft is capable of fulfilling its role as the "eyes and ears" of Canada's 12 frigates.

"We didn't dumb things down, or raise the bar or lower the bar," said Alan Williams, an assistant deputy minister in the Defence Department "We remained true to our principles."

Lloyd Noseworthy, general manager of Sikorsky Canada, said the company found ways to eliminate about 2,000 kilograms from the aircraft while ensuring it can take on the rigours of maritime flying.

"We're very pleased, and very honoured and very proud to have the best product for the Canadian Forces right now," he said.

The obsolescent Sea Kings will be kept flying for at least another four years as the S-92s are built to the military's specifications. The first Cyclone is supposed to be delivered in late 2008.

Meanwhile, the Sea Kings - involved in four fatal crashes that have claimed at least 10 lives over the years - will require about 30 hours of maintenance for every hour of flying time.

That last of the Cyclones is expected be delivered in 2011 - almost 50 years after the first Sea King took to the air over Shearwater.

There will be financial incentives for beating deadlines and a $100,000 per day penalty, to a maximum of $36 million, for late delivery.

Sikorsky has also committed to invest $4.5 billion in "industrial activity" across Canada.

There had been speculation the Cormorant team would take legal action over the bidding process. But a spokesman said the company is "digesting" the news and had no comment Friday.

The announcement closed a saga that began in the 1980s, when the Defence Department set out to replace the CH-124 Sea King - also a Sikorsky product.

The matter could have been settled when Brian Mulroney's Conservative government ordered 50 EH-101 helicopters - essentially a fancier version of the Cormorant - in 1992.

But the $5.8-billion contract was cancelled by former Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien, who declared in the 1993 election campaign that the helicopters were "Cadillacs" the nation couldn't afford.

His move cost taxpayers $500 million in penalties and became a lightning rod for those who argued the Liberal government was set on destroying Canada's military.

Opposition critics have long complained the Liberals repeatedly doctored the tender specifications, either to avoid making a decision or to ensure they wouldn't have to buy the same helicopter Chretien had derided while in opposition.

The bureaucratic process has taken numerous twists in recent years.

In 1998, the ruling Liberals awarded a $790-million contract for 15 search-and-rescue versions of the Cormorant.

The balance of the order for 28 maritime patrol choppers went into a complex tendering process that at one point divided the air frame and internal electronics into separate bids.

After facing a barrage of criticism from the aircraft industry, the federal government issued a call for a single tender last December, just days after Chretien left office.


Facts about the federal government's decision Friday to replace its aging fleet of Sea King military helicopters:

New helicopter: A military version of the Sikorsky S-92, which will be called the H-92 Cyclone.

Manufacturer: U.S.-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a unit of United Technologies Corp.

Cost: $1.8 billion for 28 helicopters and $3.2 billion for 20 years of service and parts.

Delivery date: The first Cyclone is expected to be delivered in 2008 - the final one by early 2011.

Use: The shipborne Cyclone will be used to extend the offensive reach and defensive perimeter of Canada's 12 naval frigates to about 175 km.

Investments: Sikorsky has committed to partner with 170 Canadian firms and invest $4.5 billion in industrial activity - $2 billion in Ontario and $1 billion in Atlantic Canada.

Competition: The twin-engine S-92 is less expensive than its chief rival, the larger, three-engine EH-101 Cormorant, built by a British-Italian consortium led AugustaWestland (formerly EH Industries).

Quote: "The government of Canada firmly believes that the Sikorsky H-92 helicopter represents the right helicopter for the Canadian Forces at the best price for Canadians," - Defence Minister Bill Graham.


Here's a chronology of major events in the story of the navy's Sea King helicopters:

1963: First new Sea Kings delivered to the navy.

1982: Government gives approval in principle to replacing the Sea King.

1986: Defence Department asks for industry proposals.

1987: Defence gives nod to the British-Italian-built EH-101.

1992: Contract is awarded to Paramax Systems of Montreal and EH Industries Ltd. for 50 EH-101s for search-and-rescue and shipborne use. Total cost: $5.8 billion.

1992-93: Opposition to the purchase, led by peace groups and backed by Liberal and NDP MPs, begins to grow. It becomes an election issue.

1993: In September, then-prime minister Kim Campbell cuts the order to 43 aircraft and orders officials to shave $1 billion in costs.

1993: In November, newly elected Prime Minister Jean Chretien kills contract.

1995: Federal government settles cancellation costs for the EH-101 at $500 million.

1995: Government asks for proposals for 15 search-and-rescue helicopters.

1998: $790-million order placed for 15 Cormorant helicopters, a slimmed-down EH-101 for search and rescue.

1999: Government reduces order to 28 military helicopters for $2.9 billion.

2000: Government issues statement of requirements and says first helicopter will be delivered by 2005.

2001: Defence minister confirms helicopters will not be ready by 2005.

2002: AgustaWestland (formerly EH Industries), offers the Cormorant helicopter with Boeing avionics; Sikorsky offers the H-92 helicopter with a General Dynamics avionics; and Lockheed Martin Canada offers the Eurocopter NH-90 with a Lockheed Martin avionics.

2002: Ottawa shelves plan to have bidders compete for two separate contracts - one for basic airframe, the other for avionics or so-called mission systems.

2003: Government calls for tenders for 28 new military helicopters.

2003: Eurocopter NH-90 fails to qualify for final competition.

2004: Defence minister confirms new helicopter will not be ready for another four years.

July 23, 2004: Defence Minister Bill Graham announces $3.2-billion purchase of Sikorsky H-92, or Cyclone, the military version of the commercially available S-92. Additional $1.8 billion to be spent on servicing over 20 years.

MICHAEL TUTTON; © The Canadian Press, 2004

 

[katw_03]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/West/07/23/missing.jogger.ap/index.html

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) -- Around the time Mark Hacking called police to report that his pregnant wife never returned from her morning jog, he was at a furniture store buying a new mattress, according to local news reports.

Hacking, 28, has not appeared publicly since Monday, the day he said his 27-year-old wife, Lori, vanished. Family members say he has since been hospitalized for stress.

The Deseret News and television station KSTU reported Thursday that police found Hacking at a motel about a half-mile from the couple's apartment early Tuesday. The report said Hacking was hospitalized after being found.

Police said only that they were called to a disturbance involving Hacking and that the matter was turned over to medical personnel.

Det. Dwayne Baird said police considered Hacking a "person of interest" in the case but not a suspect, and that he had been interviewed as recently as Wednesday.

Lori Hacking was five weeks pregnant when she disappeared just days before the couple was to move to North Carolina, where Mark Hacking said he was going to attend medical school, family members said.

But he had lied to his wife and family -- he never graduated from college, nor was he accepted to any medical school, authorities said Thursday.

Meanwhile, The Salt Lake Tribune and KSL TV reported that Monday morning, in the minutes before he called police to report his wife missing, Mark Hacking was buying a new mattress.

The owners of a Salt Lake furniture store told the Tribune that Hacking came in about 9:45 a.m. Lisa Downs, the wife of store owner Chad Downs, said the credit-card purchase went through at 10:23 a.m..

Police have said Hacking called them and reported his wife missing at 10:49 a.m.

Friends told the Tribune that he had called them about 10 a.m. about his wife's disappearance and said he had twice run his wife's usual jogging route, three miles each way.

Police removed items from the couple's apartment Monday. They would not say what they have taken from the apartment, but television news footage showed paper bags, boxes and a box spring being removed. Police impounded a large trash bin from behind the apartment complex.

Mark Hacking's family and in-laws said they were stunned to learn Wednesday that he had not graduated from college or been accepted at a medical school, as he had claimed.

Thelma Soares, Lori Hacking's mother, said that she was certain her daughter had not known about the discrepancies. "Up to the time when I spoke with her last, she was deceived also," she told KUTV-TV.

Douglas Hacking said even though his son is incapacitated by grief, they spoke of the deception Wednesday night at the hospital.

"He has two older brothers who are high achievers, a physician and the other is an electrical engineer," he said. "He felt under some pressure to excel as well."

Very susipcious guy, I know innocent until proven guilty.....
I wonder if this is on the Court TV website? Thanks gonna
go check it out!

 

[yudansha]

LOL can you believe this?

Since divorcing in 2001, she has been linked to rocker Lenny Kravitz, rapper Q-Tip, singer Robbie Williams and actor Vin Diesel, but this could be the strangest coupling yet.

Nicole Kidman isn't that desperate for a date! ​

Michael Jackson is pursuing Nicole Kidman!

Jacko is so determined to meet the object of his affections that he asked her to accompany him to the forthcoming MTV Music Awards.

"There was a call from his people to mine asking if he could take me to the Awards," Nicole confirmed during a radio interview in Australia. "I had never even met him, it was a little strange. I did decline but, hey, the way my love life is I took it as a great compliment."

Good thinking Nic. You probably wouldn't look your best with blanket draped over your head.


In other news, Matt Damon, was left blushing on MTV's TRL this week, after fellow guest Halle Berry confessed she had a crush on him.

The sexy Catwoman star reminisced about meeting Matt for the first time just after Good Will Hunting had been released, and admitted she'd had the hots for him right from the start.

"Remember I saw you on Jay Leno," she told a red-faced Matt. "You seemed so brand new at the time. I remember thinking: 'God, he is so bleepity bleeping hot.'"

 

[yudansha]

Survey: Germans are Europe's biggest beer drinkers, followed by Britain

LONDON (AP) - Despite Britain's reputation as the home of the beer-sozzled, Germany is now top of the European league for beer consumption, while Spain has the continent's fastest growing beer market, according to a survey released Wednesday.

France, which still prefers wine, nevertheless has a taste for high-quality beers, while Italy's growing appreciation for ales of all kinds is expected to see it overtake Spain as the quickest growing market, said the survey by market researchers Mintel.

Mintel, which questioned 35,000 people, found that last year the average German adult drank 120 litres of beer, 16 litres more than the average British adult.

And 17 per cent of German adults believe the point of drinking is to get drunk - the highest percentage in Europe - compared to just eight per cent of Britons, the study showed.

"The fact that German adults are seemingly more inclined than the British to drink to get drunk could help ease the British reputation for lavish drinking and an overindulgent pub-culture," said Michelle Strutton, senior consumer analyst at Mintel.

"It seems that drinking can be more of a low-key social event in Britain than some may have believed in the past. And although the Germans may not go drinking as often as the British, when they do drink many do want to get drunk."

Last year, the Germans drank almost 10 billion litres of beer, almost twice the 5.8 billion litres drunk in Britain.

However, Britain has the highest percentage of beer drinkers in Europe, with 61 per cent of adults - including 82 per cent of men - saying they drink it, according to the survey. In particular, lager has been successfully marketed to younger drinkers, it said.

Alcohol-related violence and disorder are a continuing concern in urban England, and Parliament voted last year to end the requirement that pubs shut by 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and by 10:30 p.m. on Sundays. Supporters hope this will reduce binge drinking in the last minutes before closing time.

The researchers estimated that the beer market in France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain was worth around $92 billion Cdn in 2003, with Germany (40 per cent) and Britain (39 per cent) making up by far the largest shares of market value.

The researchers found that while alcohol consumption in Britain and Germany was falling, Italy was expected to become the fastest growing beer market in Europe, thanks to Italians' growing love for beer of all kinds.

"Drinking socially is a relatively new phenomenon in Italy, where alcohol was traditionally an accompaniment to meals," said Strutton. "Italy is now attempting to emulate the successful British market through encouraging people to drink in pubs and bars."

Italians consumed 1.7 billion litres of beer in 2003, almost nine per cent more than in 1998.

The survey, which was confined to European countries, showed the continent was way ahead even of beer-loving Australia, where industry figures have showed that although beer sales grew by 0.2 per cent in the year to Sept. 30, 2003, the average Australian downed an average of 109 litres in 2002.

In the United States, beer consumption has grown steadily in recent years, but annual consumption per person in 2002 was still only around 83 litres, according to industry figures.

No margin of error was given by Mintel, but given the samples of the size used, it is less than three percentage points either way.


SUE LEEMAN; © The Canadian Press, 2004

 

[yudansha]

Anonymous lottery ticket worth $2.3M Cdn sent in for flood relief in Japan

TOKYO (AP) - An anonymous well-wisher has mailed a lottery ticket worth 200 million yen ($2.3 million Cdn) to a local government office in northern Japan to help victims of recent flooding in the region, officials said Monday.

The winning ticket was delivered by express mail to Fukui prefecture (state) Gov. Issei Nishikawa with a short message of condolence to the flood victims on Thursday, when residents were hauling through mud and debris.

"It was a nice surprise, and we were so grateful," said Hiroko Imatomi, a secretary to the governor, who opened the mail. "It's unfortunate we could not directly thank the sender."

Torrential rains have killed 18 people in northern Japan, including three in Fukui, since last week.

On Monday, nearly 150 people remained in school gymnasiums and other public shelters in Fukui, as defence soldiers and volunteers helped flood victims to clean up their houses covered with mud and debris, Fukui official Hiroyuki Saito said. Two people are still missing, and 17 others were injured.

More than 360 homes have been destroyed and almost 36,000 homes flooded in the region.

© The Canadian Press, 2004

 

[Serena]

What an incredible gesture of generosity! And to remain anonymous is the most amazing thing of all. How refreshing to hear something as positive as this.

Thanks, yudansha. Nice uplifting article.

 

[yudansha]

It's unbelievable! You don't see generosity like this today.

You're welcome, Serena. (btw the other articles I posted in some other threads aren't as uplifting... just a heads up in case you're not having a good day and don't want to read unsatisfying news )