Waters muddied on Syria pull-out
http://newsletters.fairfax.com.au/cgi-bin1...SLZ0Bnf0BlvU0E6

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...n_damaged_woman

Emergency Stay Issued in Right To Die Case

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Dow Drops 1 Pct. Dollar Falls, Oil surges

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...p_on_re_eu/bush

Bush Denies US Plans to Attack Iran

__________________________________
MARKET ALERT
from The Wall Street Journal.


Feb. 22, 2005

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.61%, or 174.02 points, to 10611.20 as surging oil prices and a slumping dollar increased fears of inflation. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.37%.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, see:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1109073...9660739,00.html

Report: Kim Rejects US Demand for Talks
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The following article from the Beirut Daily Star.

Sounds as though the Pro Syria Lebanese Government has its collective eyes wide shut

.
A.B.

Lebanese government dismisses U.S. and EU calls for prompt Syrian pullout
FM says transatlantic call for immediate withdrawal 'nothing new'

By Linda Dahdah
Daily Star staff
Wednesday, February 23, 2005



BEIRUT: Lebanon's government has dismissed American and European Union calls for Syrian troops to leave the country immediately in the latest escalation of tension between the two sides. The move comes as U.S. President George W. Bush and European Union leaders ratcheted up pressure on Syria to withdraw troops from Lebanon in the wake of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Speaking Tuesday French President Jacques Chirac warned the UN Security Council will slap sanctions on Syria if it failed to withdraw its 15,000 troops from Lebanon immediately, a view reiterated during Tuesday's joint U.S.-E.U.- NATO Summits in Brussels.

But Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud said the transatlantic call for an immediate Syrian withdrawal was "nothing new."

He also dismissed EU demands for an international inquiry into Hariri's killing, insisting Lebanon's judicial authorities "were leading" the investigation into Hariri's assassination and would continue to do so.

Speaking at the joint Brussels conference, Luxembourg Premier Jean-Claude Juncker reiterated the transatlantic demand for an independent international probe into the hariri's murder last week.

Chirac , a close friend to the late premier, also railed against what he called "Syrian spies" which he said were controlling Lebanon and called on Damascus to withdraw them along with its 15,000 troops present in the country.

Juncker said that Syrian special service operatives working in Lebanon were a greater threat to Lebanese independence than the presence of Syria's troops.

He said: "Our ambition has never changed, and that is to help Lebanon reclaim its sovereignty, independence, democracy and liberty."

Although the Lebanese government had been against international investigations, they agreed on Tuesday to cooperate with a UN team expected to arrive in Beirut Wednesday to investigate Hariri's assassination.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal cautioned the international community against blaming Syria for Hariri's murder and dismissed calls for an immediate international probe into the case.

According to reports in the London-based Al-Sharq al-Awsat Arab newspaper, Al-Faisal had said: "We cannot accuse one side before knowing all the facts."

Al-Faisal's comments came as Hariri's family visited Riyadh to receive condolences in the country where the billionaire former premier made his fortune.

Hariri's wife Nazek, sons Bahaeddine, Saadeddine, Ayman and Fahd, and daughter Hind had flown into the Saudi capital from Beirut late Monday along with Hariri's sister, MP Bahia Hariri, and his brother Shafik. The Lebanese opposition has blamed the killing of Hariri, along with 17 other people, on the Lebanese government and its Syrian sponsors.


Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa also warned against making what he called "hasty accusations" in connection with the killing.

He said: "We must wait for the results on the UN investigation, and we cannot presume who committed the attack."

In a news conference following a preparatory

League chief denied he was mediating for a truce between Lebanon and Syria.

Moussa had met earlier with Syrian President Bashar Assad, and stated that Syria was moving toward a withdrawal from Lebanon under the 1989 Taif Accord.

The United States, however, has expressed its wariness over Syria's promise to withdraw its troops.

U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Tuesday that the United States would judge the truth of Damascus' promise with facts on the ground.

David Satterfield, deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs and former ambassador to Lebanon, is expected to visit Lebanon any time this week to discuss tensions with Syria after last week's assassination.

Another U.S. official said Satterfield would take the "temperature of the country."

But Syrian Information Minister Mehdi Dakhlallah told the Arabia and the ANB television channels that redeployment of Syrian troops had occurred several times in the past, and was endorsed by both Lebanon and Syria.

Dakhlallah said that the redeployments abided by the International Law which calls for "the respect of the countries' sovereignty."

He added: "The Syrian presence in Lebanon is temporary and this is what Syria and Lebanon announced more than once."

Asked how Syria would face the national, regional and international pressures, he said: "The Lebanese-Syrian relations are defined by the two countries - no country can impose on another what kind of relations it will have with a third country."

Concerning the investigations on Hariri's assassination, Dakhlallah said: "Syria supports an immediate investigation that should also respect Lebanon sovereignty." - With agencies

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JURY SELECTED FOR MICHAEL JACKSON MOLESTATION TRIAL


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http://csmonitor.com/2005/0223/dailyUpdate.html

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