Philippine
Ban on Travel to Iraq
Alarmed
by the capture of a Filipino worker, the
Philippines has ordered a complete halt
to all travel to Iraq.
Ministers
met in emergency session, but made no
decision on how to respond to the demand
that Manila pull out its small force of
about 50 humanitarian workers in what
would be a symbolic blow to US efforts
in the country.
Aljazeera
earlier aired a video from a group claiming
the capture of a Filipino working for
a Saudi Arabian company.
The
group said the captive's company works
with US-led forces in Iraq. It said the
man would be killed if the Philippines
did not withdraw its forces from Iraq
within 72 hours.
It
claimed to have killed an Iraqi security
guard escorting the Filipino.
The
Philippines has about 50 military personnel
in Iraq. The video showed three gunmen
and a man dressed in an orange jumpsuit
kneeling in front of them.
We've
Got Better Hair : Kerry/Edwards 2004
CLEVELAND
(AP) - An upbeat John Kerry campaigned
for the first time with running mate John
Edwards on Wednesday and boasted that
the Democratic team has a "better
vision, better ideas" than its Republican
counterpart - and joked, "we've got
better hair."
In
Raleigh, N.C., President Bush dismissed
Edwards' credentials to be vice president,
curtly telling reporters, "Dick Cheney
can be president."
One
day after Kerry chose Edwards as the vice
presidential candidate, the two senators
offered glowing critiques of each other
at a downtown plaza in Ohio, a critical
battleground state.
Introducing
Edwards in Cleveland, the first city to
get electricity, Kerry welcomed "a
different kind of electricity called John
Edwards." The Massachusetts senator
called his running mate a man with "passion,
conviction and strength."
"He
represents the best of the hope of our
country, the best of opportunity,"
Kerry said.
Kerry
also poked fun at himself as well as his
running mate for something the two often
are teased about.
Missing
Marine Mystery Deepens
The
strange disappearance of Marine Cpl. Wassef
Ali Hassoun, reportedly kidnapped in Iraq
nearly three weeks ago, grows even more
mysterious.
Senior
Pentagon officials tell NBC News, a man
claiming to be Hassoun, called his family
in Lebanon and the U.S. embassy in Beirut,
saying he was — "released by
his kidnappers somewhere in Lebanon"
and that he was "waiting to be picked
up."
But
in Washington, Secretary of State Colin
Powell said U.S. officials remain in the
dark. "We have received reports that
he may be in contact with various individuals
and there are other reports that he might
be in Lebanon. But we cannot confirm any
of these at this time," said Powell.
Late
Wednesday, FBI agents showed up at the
Hassoun family home in West Jordan, Utah.
And Pentagon officials tell NBC News that
the Navy has now launched a criminal investigation
into Hassoun's disappearance, and the
possibility that his kidnapping may be
part of an elaborate hoax.
China
to Rehearse Taiwan 'Invasion'
CHINESE soldiers will for the first time
practise a D-Day style invasion of Taiwan
on a densely populated island off the
mainland coast this month.
The
18,000-man mock landing on the beaches
of Dongshan Island is to involve amphibious
assault craft, Russian-built fighter jets
and submarines operating in the Taiwan
Strait to ward off a simulated counter-attack
by the US Seventh Fleet.
Reports
of the exercise were greeted with thousands
of supportive messages yesterday in mainland
internet chatrooms, a sign of the immense
popularity of Beijing's policy of striving
for the eventual return of Taiwan.
One
said: "Taking back Taiwan by force
is only a matter of time. We don't have
to be afraid of the US. China is never
afraid of a paper tiger."
Another
wrote: "It seems there is a common
understanding among people in every chatroom:
we should recapture Taiwan by force."
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