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Issue: August 3rd 2003
World News Choice

British Ministry of Defence try to destroy 'media plan' on Dr Kelly as the inquiry into his death begins

The independent inquiry into the death of British weapons expert Dr David Kelly has begun under the strict authority of Judge Lord Hutton. Hutton explained that he would be calling upon all relevant parties to give evidence including the Prime Minister Tony Blair, his Secretary of Defence Geoff Hoon and Director of Communications Alastair Campbell. Lord Hutton made it clear that he would need to see all documents, listen to all discussions and disseminate every possible piece of evidence. He also asserted that the public would get to see every part of this information bar that which would present a national security risk. Ironically, the Ministry of Defense admitted the previous day that their security guards had called the police after finding a 'media plan' relating to Dr Kelly in classified waste that was scheduled for incineration.
Full Story - Daily Telegraph, British newspaper

North Korea accepts multilateral talks

North Korea has agreed to meet with five other countries to try and resolve the potential nuclear crisis. Russia, South Korea, China, North Korea, Japan and the US are expected to meet in Beijing sometime in the next 6 weeks. According to South Korean Assistant Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuk, North Korea has accepted the multilateral talks after acknowledging that a number of countries are both involved and affected by the nuclear problem.
Full Story - The Chosen Ilbo, South Korean publication
FBI official traces funds for September 11th to Pakistan

Deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division, John Pistole told the Senate that the original funding for September 11th had been traced back to Pakistan. He did not give details of the exact circumstances but The Times of India asserts that Indian authorities advised the US that links could be traced back to British born Ahmad Saeed Umar Sheikh and then to the former chief of ISI, Lt Gen Mahmud Ahmad. The cost of the terrorist attacks was estimated to by the FBI to be between $175,000 and $250,000.
Full Story - Times of India, Indian newspaper
Cuba breaks ties with EU and remains defiant over its human rights record

Following EU concerns over individuals imprisoned for counter-revolutionary actions, Fidel Castro, Cuba's long time leader, broke ties with the EU and stated that Cuba would only accept aid from non-government organizations, regional and local governments and solidarity movements in Europe. In recent months, Castro has been critical of Spain and Italy's stance on the Iraq war and also Europe's behaviour towards their colonies. Cuba at present relies heavily on the EU as a source of foreign investment and tourism.
Full Story - Pravda, Russian online publication
British executives pay up 23%, average earnings up 3%

Senior directors in the UK on average received a pay rise of 23%, twenty times higher than that of the average worker according to a recent survey by The Guardian. However during this same period, inflation has been at an all time low and shares have dropped dramatically. The survey found that many of the big earners have actually shown failure in their employment yet still receive massive pay and pay-offs, sometimes in the millions. There has been fierce conflict between shareholders and company directors over the pay and contracts that maintain such benefits for failure. The trade and industry secretary, Patricia Hewitt has threatened to introduce legislation against large payments for failure if self-regulation by companies does not appear.
Full Story - The Guardian, British newspaper
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