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The council and U.S. authorities had been deadlocked over the choice of president - delaying the expected announcement of the government by a day. At the welcoming ceremony, UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who has been mediating the negotiations for weeks, acknowledged that the talks had been "very precise and difficult." Brahimi said the two vice-presidencies went to Ibrahim al-Jaafari, of the Shiite Muslim Dawa party, and Rowsch Shaways, speaker of parliament in the Kurdish autonomous region in Irbil. In the newly announced cabinet, Kurd Hoshyar Zebari retained his post as foreign minister, and Kurdish official Barham Saleh, who is close to the Americans, was named deputy prime minister for national security affairs. Adel Abdel-Mahdi, an official of a powerful Shiite political party, was named finance minister; Hazem Shalan al-Khuzaei became defence minister and Thamir Ghadbhan took over as oil minister. The deadlock showed a degree of tension between the Americans and even many their hand-picked Iraqi officials. The Americans will retain enormous influence in Iraq after the handover and want a government that supports U.S. interests, while the Iraqis want to claim as much power as they can after a year of American occupation. At the welcoming ceremony, al-Yawer pledged to rise "above sectarianism and divisions," build a democratic state free of "totalitarianism and discrimination" and restore Iraq's "civilized face." He said he would be "a loyal defender of your expectations in restoring the complete sovereignty of our country and establishing a democratic and federal system under which people enjoy a free citizenship in a state of laws and freedom." A first key move for the new government will be the status of forces agreement. The Iraqis are seeking greater say over the operations of Iraqi security forces as well as the 135,000 American troops and other coalition forces on Iraqi soil. In a nod to U.S. forces, al-Yawer said "we should remember our friends who fell during the battle to liberate Iraq." The presidency is a symbolic position, but al-Yawer - as the highest Sunni in the government - will likely hold considerable influence. The more powerful executive post of prime minister is held by Allawi, a U.S.-backed Shiite Muslim with U.S. military and CIA connections. The announcement of al-Yawer came after Adnan Pachachi, an elder statesman preferred by the United States, turned down the presidency in the face of opposition from other members of the Governing Council to his selection. Council members had angrily accused the American governor of Iraq, Paul Bremer, of trying to install Pachachi, a former foreign minister, over their opposition.

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Terrorists killed 22 persons in Saudi Arabia.

Photo: Saudi policeman asks the crowd to leave outside the Oasis compound Sunday, after the security forces ended a siege and freed the hostages.

Helicopter-borne Saudi commandos drove al-Qaida militants from an expatriate housing complex in the kingdom's oil hub of Khobar on Sunday, ending a shooting and hostage-taking rampage that left 22 dead - most of them foreigners. At least one American was killed in the worst terrorist attack on Saudi soil in a year and the second this month to target its oil industry. An audio statement Sunday attributed to al-Qaida's chief in the Saudi region said the violence aimed to punish the kingdom for its oil dealings with the United States and to drive "crusaders" from "the land of Islam." Foreign Affairs Canada said there were no indications any Canadians were among the casualties or had been taken hostage. Spokeswoman Kimberly Phillips said 465 of the approximately 6,100 Canadians registered in Saudi Arabia are in the Khobar area. The 25-hour rampage started Saturday morning when militants dressed in military-style uniforms opened fire inside two oil industry office compounds in Khobar and engaged in a shootout with Saudi guards. They then moved up the street to the Oasis, an upscale resort and residence with apartments, villas and hotels, where they took 45-60 hostages. Saudi security stormed the building early Sunday morning after they found out that the hostages were being harmed, said Jamal Khashoggi, an adviser to Saudi Arabia's embassy in London. "Intervention then became necessary," he said. The commandos freed 41 hostages, the Saudi Interior Ministry said. The Saudi ambassador to Britain, Turki al-Faisal, told the British Broadcasting Corp. that the bodies of nine hostages had been found on the premises when forces went in. Only one of the four attackers was captured and the others escaped, but the Interior Ministry said the arrested militant, who was wounded, was the ringleader of the assault and "an important target." One of the fugitives also was wounded. In Washington, a spokesman for the Saudi Embassy, Nail al-Jubeir, told CNN that one militant also was killed in the standoff with Saudi forces. "The intent (of the attack) was to cripple the world economy by sending the message that foreigners are not safe inside Saudi Arabia," he said, but dismissed any notion that the kingdom cannot protect its people. "It does not take much to come into a building with a rifle and shoot innocent people," he said, comparing the attack to a drive-by shooting. "Unfortunately it is very difficult to guard against." The attack marks a fresh challenge to efforts by the kingdom to crack down on Islamic militants. There also were concerns the attack could drive up oil prices, already at new highs in part because of fears the world's largest oil producer is unable to protect itself from terrorism. Some foreign workers are thinking of leaving the country following the latest attacks. "Here everyone is reconsidering whether they want to stay. This has become too dangerous now," Canadian oil worker Bill Montgomery told CTV News. Montgomery lives with his family just two blocks from the Oasis. "It could have been this compound just as easily." The Canadian government, meanwhile, advised its citizens to avoid tourist travels to Saudi Arabia until further notice. "Canadians planning to travel to Saudi Arabia should evaluate carefully the implications for their security and safety before deciding to travel," it said.

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The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia reiterated a call to its citizens to leave the kingdom. Britain's Foreign Office said on its website that it fears further terror attacks "may be in the final stages of preparation" in Saudi Arabia and warned against all but essential travel. Most of the dead were among the six million expatriate workers the kingdom relies on to run its oil industry and other sectors. They included: eight Indians, three Filipinos, three Saudis, two Sri Lankans, an American, a Briton, an Italian, a Swede, a South African and a 10-year-old Egyptian boy, according to the Interior Ministry statement read on Saudi television. It said 25 people of different nationalities were injured and that security forces had evacuated 242 people from the Oasis, including residents not held hostage but trapped inside. It was not clear how many people were killed in the initial shooting rampage or during the hostage standoff. On Saturday night, while the hostages were being held, Crown Prince Abdullah said about 10 Saudis and foreigners had been killed at the oil company offices. In its statement, the Interior Ministry said the militants tried to enter the Oasis complex with a vehicle rigged with explosives, but had to scale the wall instead. Once inside, they gathered hostages on the sixth floor of a high-rise building after making sure they were targeting non-Muslims, residents said. Militants have been criticized in the Arab world for previous attacks in which Saudis and other Arabs were killed. Abdul Salam al-Hakawati, a 38-year-old Lebanese corporate financial officer, said gunmen rummaging around his family residence said declared, "This is a Muslim house" - apparently seeing framed Quranic verses on the walls.

He said a man in his early 20s, carrying a machine-gun and wearing an ammunition belt, told him: "We only want to hurt westerners and Americans. Can you tell us where we can find them here?" Late Saturday, Saudi security forces stormed the walled complex and surrounded the attackers. Those forces tried to reach the hostages during the night, they said, but found booby traps. Just after sunrise, three helicopters dropped Saudi commandos into the compound. Gunfire, heard sporadically overnight, rang out again. Within a few hours, the standoff was over. In the audio statement posted Sunday on Islamic websites, the speaker identified as Abdulaziz Issa Abdul-Mohsin al-Moqrin - believed to be al-Qaida's chief in the Saudi region - claimed responsibility for the attack. The speaker railed against the Saudi government, accusing it of opening the country to Americans and providing "America with oil at the cheapest prices according to their masters' wish, so that their economy does not collapse." The speaker also said the struggle with America would be pursued "in the Arabian peninsula, Afghanistan, in Iraq" and that the battle with the Saudi government will continue until the "crusaders are expelled from the land of Islam." It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the claim.

 

Italy has warned of "serious threats" when US President George W Bush visits Rome next week.

Photo: Italian authorities fear a repeat of Genoa unrest

Demonstrators are expected to mass on 2 June - Italy's national day - and when Mr Bush is in the capital on 4-5 June. Interior Minister Guiseppe Pisanu told a party conference: "There are serious threats looming, which concern us but do not frighten us." Officials said he was referring to public order threat rather than to a possible terror attack. Officials are thought to fear a repeat of the large-scale unrest which took place in Genoa three years ago at a G8 summit. One protester died and dozens of police and demonstrators were hurt in running battles in the city streets. Mr Bush's visit is expected to generate particular anger from protesters opposed to the Iraq war. Italy has firmly supported the war, and a number of Italian servicemen have been killed, along with a hostage whose execution was filmed. The president of Rome's regional government, Franncesco Storace, said the city authorities feared trouble. "There's a gang of irresponsible people playing with fire," he told Corriere della Sera newspaper. One leading activist has confirmed that anger will drive some of the protesters. "If a criminal of the caliber of Bush is given the red carpet treatment, then rage is the right reaction," said anti-globalisation activist Luca Casarini. "Confronted by a heavily-defended Rome that is looking to protect that terrorist Bush, the only thing to do is break the rules," he told La Stampa newspaper.

Woman who exhibited artwork inspired by the Abu Ghraib infamous Iraq's prison is beaten up

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A San Francisco gallery owner bears a painful reminder of the atrocities at the Abu Ghraib prison - a black eye delivered by an unknown assailant who apparently objected to a painting that depicts U.S. soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners. The assault outside the Capobianco gallery in the city's North Beach district Thursday night was the worst in a string of verbal and physical attacks directed at Lori Haigh since the artwork was installed at her gallery May 16. San Francisco police are investigating and have stepped up patrols around the gallery. But Haigh decided to close the gallery indefinitely, citing concern for the safety of her two children, ages 14 and four, who often accompanied her to work. Guy Colwell's painting, titled Abuse, depicts three U.S. soldiers leering at a group of naked men in hoods with wires connected to their bodies. The soldier in the foreground has a blood-spattered U.S. flag patch on his uniform. In the background, a soldier in sunglasses guards a blindfolded woman. The painting was part of a show of the Berkeley, Calif., artist's work that mostly featured pastel-coloured abstracts. Colwell stopped by the gallery Friday but refused to discuss his work or the reaction to it, saying only: "I'm sorry if this is putting pressure on Lori." Two days after the painting went up in a front window, someone threw eggs and dumped trash on the doorstep. Haigh said she did not think to connect it to the events at Baghdad's notorious prison until people started leaving nasty messages and threats on her business answering machine. "I think you need to get your gallery out of this neighbourhood before you get hurt," one caller said. She removed the painting from the window but the gallery's troubles received news coverage and the criticism continued. The answering machine recorded new calls from people accusing her of being a coward for moving the artwork. Last weekend, Haigh said a man walked into the gallery, pretended to scrutinize the painting for a moment, then marched up to her desk and spat in her face. On Thursday, someone knocked on the door of the gallery, then punched Haigh in the face when she stepped outside. "This isn't art-politics central here at all," Haigh said. "I'm not here to make a stand. I never set out to be a crusader or a political activist." In closing the gallery, Haigh was forced to cancel a show featuring counter-culture artist Winston Smith. For Haigh, who opened Capobianco 18 months ago, having the chance to work with prominent artists fulfilled a lifelong dream. "I kept thinking someday I'll have enough of a reputation where I could bring in my heroes of the art world, people like Guy Colwell especially," she said. Haigh has received some expressions of support since closing the gallery. Her favourite: an e-mail whose writer said: "I'm sure that a few and dangerous minds don't understand that they have only mimicked the same perversity this painting had expressed."

The Michael Moore-Nicholas Berg interview

Photo: Nick Berg is seen in this photo dated Oct. 2003.

In an unused interview shot for Michael Moore's latest film, an American who was beheaded in Iraq said he was concerned about security as he prepared to seek work as an independent businessman, his family said Saturday. Moore's crew shot the 16-minute interview with Nicholas Berg during an Iraqi business conference in Arlington, Va., on Dec. 4, said his brother, David Berg. Nicholas Berg's decapitated body was found in Baghdad on May 8, and a video of his killing was posted on an Islamic militant website several days later. Moore confirmed Thursday he had footage of Berg - shot for his film Fahrenheit 9/11, which is critical of President George W. Bush - but said he would share it only with the family. Moore sent copies of the footage to David Berg in New Jersey and sister Sara Berg in Virginia. Their parents will see the video after returning to their suburban home from vacation, David Berg said. Sara Berg said her brother told Moore's crew he was nervous about his safety in Iraq. "He recognized it was a concern and he kind of pointed out that he'd worked in difficult situations before," Sara Berg said from her home in Virginia. "It's definitely something that he didn't shrug off." She said her brother seemed enthusiastic in the footage. David Berg, speaking from his home outside Newark, N.J., said it was "weird seeing Nick talk" but described the interview footage as dry. The interview, which was not conducted by Moore, centred on the technical work Berg hoped to find repairing radio-transmission towers for his company, Prometheus Methods Tower Service. Berg, 26 when he died, also talks about humanitarian work he did in Uganda and Kenya. "Nick seemed to be fairly conscious of using this thing to promote his business," David Berg said. "(The interviewer) does ask him at one point about the money and he said no one's denying there's money to be made. But it's very clear when you watch it, Nick knew he wasn't going to make a lot of money." Moore said he had considered using some of the footage in his film but it was edited out, David Berg said. Some of Moore's staffers cried when they heard about Berg's death, the filmmaker told David Berg. Fahrenheit 9/11, which recently won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, accuses the Bush administration of stealing the 2000 election, overlooking terrorism warnings before Sept. 11, 2001, and fanning fears of more attacks to secure support for the Iraq war. Given Moore's political leanings, David Berg said he was "really nervous" about what the footage of his brother might show. His brother wasn't overtly political, he said. "He went to Iraq because he had certain beliefs about helping people in messed-up situations but it's not like he was trying to help the Bush administration," David Berg said. David Berg said Moore handled the situation with "dignity, respect and discipline." "Michael Moore has really been a total class act with this whole thing," David Berg said. "He could have sold this to the media or stuck it in his movie." Sara Berg said she saw the video footage as a "gift."

The U.S. Commerce Department is sharply criticizing NAFTA

The U.S. Commerce Department is sharply criticizing a NAFTA panel that ruled twice in Canada's favour in the multibillion-dollar softwood lumber dispute. In a release Friday, the department's International Trade Commission said the trade panel has been unfair, exceeded its authority and violated U.S. law in deciding the American lumber industry hasn't proven it's suffering serious damage from Canadian exports. The commission wants the panel to either reconsider the decision or give U.S. officials more time to prove their case that Canada is subsidizing exports and hurting American producers. "The panel has manifestly and repeatedly overstepped its authority, as established by the North American Free Trade Agreement, by failing to apply the correct standard of review and by substituting its own judgment for that of the commission," the commission said in a release. The dispute resolution panel has "clearly rejected the substantial evidence" that a significant volume of Canadian products is "likely to enter at prices that suppress or depress the U.S. market." It is "choosing instead to find its views of the facts as the only reasonable interpretation." Producers and governments in Canada have long complained that the U.S. Commerce Department makes decisions that are imposed north of the border. They want the U.S. to agree to talks on an independent binational panel to resolve future softwood trade disputes. Canada has been heartened by the decisions of the key NAFTA panel, which decided against the U.S. last month for the second time. The United States has imposed $2.2 billion US in duties on Canadian exports so far in the latest of four softwood battles in the last 20 years. CP.

TERRORISTS ATTACK SAUDI ARABIA

Photo: Saudi commandos leap from a helicopter Sunday, in this image made from television where suspected Islamic militants were holding dozens of U.S., European and other hostages at a housing compound in Khobar, Saudi Arabia. (AP).

KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Suspected Islamic militants wearing military-style uniforms sprayed gunfire inside two office compounds in the heart of the Saudi oil region Saturday, killing at least 10 people - including an American - and then taking dozens of hostages at a luxury expatriate resort. The Arab News newspaper, quoting witnesses, said the attackers dragged the body of an unidentified victim behind their car. Saudi security forces stormed the walled Oasis Residential Resorts complex and surrounded the attackers on the sixth floor of a high-rise building, a police officer said. After little activity overnight, three helicopters arrived after sunrise and gunfire broke out again. Television footage showed commando troops jumping out of a helicopter onto a rooftop.

The militants, wearing military-style uniforms, had at first sprayed gunfire inside two oil company office compounds in Khobar, 400 kilometres northeast of the capital Riyadh near the Persian Gulf coast, killing at least 10 people. They then retreated into a high-rise in Oasis Residential Resorts complex, where they took the hostages. Saudi security forces stormed the walled housing compound and surrounded the attackers on the sixth floor of a building, a police officer said. Security officials said between 45 and 60 people were being held hostage, mostly westerners including Americans, Italians and Dutch. But in Rome, the Italian Foreign Ministry said there were no Italians among the hostages. The Dutch Foreign Ministry said three Dutch hostages had been released "in co-ordination with local authorities." A statement posted on several Islamic websites claimed the attack in the name of the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Brigade and was signed the "al-Qaida in the Arab Peninsula." It said the attacks targeted U.S. companies and a number of "crusaders" had been killed. One Saudi official security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the method of the attack was "definitely inspired by al-Qaida." The attack was the second deadly assault this month against the Saudi oil industry and came amid oil prices driven to new highs partly by fears the Saudi kingdom - the world's largest oil producer - is unable to protect itself from terrorists. "The terrorists' goal is to disrupt the Saudi economy and destabilize our country. But they will not succeed," Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar bin Sultan said in a statement released in Washington.

"With every desperate act of violence, our effort and resolve to destroy the terrorists only grows." The Arab satellite station Al-Arabiya reported the Saudi oil minister met with oil executives to assure them the attack would not affect oil supplies. He planned to meet ambassadors Sunday for the same purpose, the station said without attribution. Osama bin Laden, the Saudi-born, anti-western Islamic extremist blamed for past terror attacks in Saudi Arabia and the United States, has threatened to destabilize the oil industry and undermine the kingdom for its close ties to the United States. Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah said about 10 Saudis and foreigners were killed in the Khobar attack. The Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadh, quoting security officials in its Sunday edition, put the number dead at 16, including seven Saudi security agents. An American man, a 10-year-old Egyptian boy and three Filipinos were among those confirmed killed. British citizens and Saudi guards were also reported among the dead. Saturday morning, guards at two oil industry compounds housing offices and employee apartments said four gunmen wearing military-style dress opened fire and engaged in a shootout with Saudi security forces before fleeing up the street to the Oasis, a vast complex containing apartments and hotels. Several Saudi newspapers reported Sunday the attackers threw at least one body from the building where they were holed up and had mutilated some of the bodies of those they killed. Journalists were turned away from the compounds and kept back from the Oasis, where hundreds of Saudi security forces were trying to capture or kill the militants. Saudi forces had fired shots inside the compound, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Foreign Affairs Department in Ottawa issued a travel advisory Saturday evening, which said: "Tourist travel to Saudi Arabia should be avoided until further notice." "Canadians planning to travel to Saudi Arabia should evaluate carefully the implications for their security and safety before deciding to travel. Canadians currently in Saudi Arabia should maintain a high level of personal security awareness at all times and in all places."

Earlier, Lebanon's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Chammat, said five Lebanese hostages had been released. One of them, Orora Naoufal, said she cowered in her apartment with her four-year-old son for five hours after a brief encounter with two of the gunmen. She said the gunmen asked her where the "infidels" and foreigners were, and whether she was Muslim or Christian, "I replied, 'I am Lebanese and there are no foreigners here."' She said the gunmen told her to, "Go convert to Islam, and cover up and go back to your country." One of the targeted oil industry compounds contains offices and apartments for the Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation, or Apicorp, and the other - the Petroleum Center building - houses offices of various international firms. A civilian car had slammed into a sign outside the Apicorp compound, and there was a burned car at the entrance and glass shards on the ground. Witnesses earlier said at least 10 ambulances were outside the Oasis, and that hundreds of policemen had surrounded the complex with helicopters overhead. In addition to Apicorp, oil industry companies with offices in the compounds include a joint venture among Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Total SA and Saudi Aramco; Lukoil Holdings of Russia; and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec. Other companies believed to be in the compounds included Schlumberger, based in Houston, Texas, and Aveva, of Cambridge, England. There was no immediate word on their employees. Kelly Ray, spokeswoman for INOVx, which had been believed to have offices in the compounds, said the company's offices in Saudi Arabia closed in 2001 and it no longer had any employees there. The Egyptian boy who was killed was the son of an Apicorp employee, said Mahmoud Ouf, an Egyptian consular officer in Riyadh. Egypt's Middle East News Agency quoted his father, Samir, as saying his son was on his way to school with other students. "The terrorists opened heavy fire on the car, killing Rami and setting fire to the car," his father said. Employees from the other companies were safe, Shell spokesman Simon Buerk and a Saudi oil industry official, Yahya Shinawi, said. The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia reiterated a call to its citizens to leave the kingdom. A CIA spokesperson said the agency could not confirm who staged the attack. But a Saudi security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the method of the attack was "definitely inspired by al-Qaida." The attack came as Saudi Arabia, OPEC's most powerful member, is urging the group to boost oil production to try to reduce the high cost of crude. Peter Gignoux, a London-based oil adviser for GDP Associates in New York, said news of the attacks might trigger a further rise in oil prices but noted that oil facilities were unaffected. Saudi Arabia launched a high-profile crackdown on terrorists after attacks on Riyadh housing compounds in 2003, and claims to have foiled dozens of terror plots in the kingdom.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has postponed a cabinet vote on withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in the face of strong opposition from ministers.

Photo: Sharon's political future is being linked to the fate of the plan

He is believed to have had the guaranteed support of only 11 of the 23 ministers for the revised plan ahead of Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting. Opinion polls show most Israelis back a unilateral pull-out from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. However, Mr Sharon's Likud Party voted against the plan earlier this month. The cabinet ministers, who received the text of the revised withdrawal plan on Friday, began debating it at Sunday's meeting. "We will start it today and continue it at the next cabinet meeting," Mr Sharon said as he opened the meeting.

Continues on the following pages.

Appeal for support: Mr Sharon's main political rival in the Likud Party, Benjamin Netanyahu, is seen as having played a crucial part in Mr Sharon's failure to win majority support for even a slimmed-down version of his Gaza plan. The BBC's James Reynolds reports from Jerusalem that in order to win over his ministers, Mr Sharon has revised his original plan and given it a new name - the gradual disengagement plan. In scope, this plan is almost identical to the original proposal, but the key difference is that it calls for a withdrawal from Jewish settlements in four stages, as opposed to all at once. This concession may be enough to win over some ministers but not all, our correspondent says. There are many who will oppose any plan that involves any form of Israeli withdrawal and Mr Sharon must try to find some way of getting a cabinet majority. Two right-wing parties in Mr Sharon's coalition have threatened to withdraw their support should a single Jewish settlement be evacuated, leaving the government without a majority in parliament.

Critics: Mr Sharon has been telling ministers to end what he has called blackmail aimed at influencing the democratic process. His sharp words are being viewed as an appeal for support from the Israeli public, our correspondent says. The disengagement plan has received backing from US President George W Bush. Israeli critics say leaving Gaza unconditionally would reward the actions of Palestinian suicide bombers. It has been criticised by Palestinians, too, because it denies refugees the right to return to their homes in Israel. Arab critics also say that the plan allows Israel to retain large settlement blocks in the West Bank.
 

02 Jun 2004                                                                from Weekly Telegraph

World's Consumers Ready to Boycott American Products and Brands

Declining respect for American cultural values exacerbated by the crisis in Iraq is having a potentially disastrous effect on the image of US brands

Declining respect for American cultural values exacerbated by the crisis in Iraq is having a potentially disastrous effect on the image of US brands such as McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Nike and Microsoft, a new worldwide study of consumer attitudes has found. The number of people who like and use US branded products has fallen significantly over the past year, while brands perceived to be non-American have remained relatively stable. According to NOP World, which carried out the survey, a mixture of America's controversial involvement in Iraq, its handling of the "war against terrorism", corporate scandals such as WorldCom and its failure to sign up to the Kyoto environmental agreement, have all had a profoundly negative affect on the perception of US culture and its major brands. Tom Miller, the managing director of NOP World, said worsening attitudes to the county's products could damage US business. "It's not like there's a massive boycott," said Miller. "Instead, it seems to be an erosion of support. It's not falling off the face of the earth, but it is clearly a warning sign for brands." NOP found the popularity and consumption of US products had declined for the first time since the research programme was launched in 1998. Until 2002, NOP found that brands such as McDonald's and Coca-Cola were notching up healthy annual growth in terms of use and familiarity in international markets. However, last year NOP discovered that the growth in popularity of all major consumer brands - including those from Europe and Asia - had stalled. Over the past 12 months the positive trend has gone into reverse, with US products hardest hit. NOP found that the number of non-American consumers who "trust" Coca-Cola had fallen from 55% to 52%, while McDonald's rating had slipped from 36% to 33%, Nike's from 56% to 53% and Microsoft had fallen from 45% to 39%. When people were asked about brands associated with "honesty", Coca-Cola was found to have declined from 18% to 15%, McDonald's from 19% to 14%, Nike from 14% to 11% and Microsoft from 18% to 12%. The total number of consumers worldwide who "use" US brands was found to have fallen from 30% to 27%, while non-American brands remained stable at 24%. The NOP annual study covers 30,000 people in markets around the world, and the latest survey was conducted between January and March - a period marked by the growing crisis in Iraq. It also found the decline in interest and respect for US products was reflected in consumers' view of American cultural values. The percentage of consumers that believed honesty was an important attribute of American culture was found to be below 50% in a number of major markets such as France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Turkey. In Germany, only 31% of consumers believed honesty was an American cultural attribute and in Saudi Arabia just 23% thought so. While consumers in Muslim countries such as Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia were found to be least likely to share American cultural values, NOP also found people in a number of major European markets felt their own values were significantly different to American ones. Compared with consumers in countries such as Venezuela, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brazil and Australia - over 75% of whom say they share American values - just 65% of UK consumers say they share US values. In Italy and France 63% of people felt aligned with US culture, while in Germany just 55% did so. At the same time a growing number of consumers around the world were found by NOP to believe that some positive elements of American culture such as internationalism, altruism and tolerance have declined.- Patrick Barett.

Congress party, allies and leftist parties win majority in India's Parliament

Sonia Gandhi's Congress party, its allies and leftist parties collected 278 Parliament seats, a majority of the national legislature and enough to form a new Indian government, official results showed late Thursday. With only nine constituencies remaining to be counted among the 539 tallied on Thursday from the three-week election, Congress won 145 seats, the results showed. Its allied parties collected 72, and a bloc of leftist parties that had pledged to support a Congress-led government had 61. The ousted Bharatiya Janata party and its allies had 183 seats. Other smaller parties and independents had 69.

Photo: Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi reacts as she poses for the media at her residence in New Delhi, India. (AP/Gurinder Osan)

U.S. announces first court martial in Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal

Photo: U.S. army Spc. Jeremy Sivits. (AP/The Bedford Gazette).

BAGHDAD (AP) - A 24-year-old U.S. military policeman will be the first soldier to face a court-martial in connection with the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, the military said Sunday. Spc. Jeremy Sivits of Hyndman, Pa., a member of the 372nd Military Police Company, will stand trial in Baghdad on May 19, Brig.-Gen. Mark Kimmitt said. Sivits has been charged with conspiracy to maltreat subordinates and detainees, dereliction of duty for negligently failing to protect detainees from abuse and cruelty and maltreatment of detainees, Kimmitt said. Seven soldiers, including Sivits, face criminal charges for alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners. Photographs of the abuse were published throughout the world. Sivits is the first soldier whose trial date has been set. President George W. Bush vowed Saturday that "we will learn all the facts and determine the full extent of these abuses." "Those involved will be identified. They will answer for their actions." The army trained Sivits as a truck mechanic, not as a prison guard, his father, Daniel, said. He said his son "was just doing what he was told to do."

Bomb Kills Putin's Top Man in Rebel Chechnya

Photo: Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov was killed on May 9, 2004, in an explosion at a stadium in the Chechen capital Grozny, Interfax news agency reported. The agency also reported that at least one person had died and 25 others were injured in the explosion. Kadyrov is seen in this file photo at a meeting with World War II veterans in Grozny on May 6, 2004. Photo by Adlan Khasanov/Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's top man in Chechnya was assassinated in a bomb attack Sunday that killed several other people, dealing a huge blow to the Kremlin leader's efforts to stamp out rebellion there. Moscow's senior soldier in the rebel province was also fighting for his life after being seriously wounded by the blast that tore through the VIP section of a stadium where dignitaries were gathered to celebrate the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany. The exact number of dead was not clear. Itar-Tass news agency put the death toll at 14 but later quoted the Emergencies Ministry as saying there were only four dead. Other unconfirmed reports said the number of dead was much higher. Putin himself, sworn in only Friday for a second four-year term, announced the death of Akhmad Kadyrov, president of the region and a key player in Kremlin plans to crush the bloody separatist rebellion. "Kadyrov passed away on May 9 on the day of our national holiday," a shaken-looking Putin said standing alongside Kadyrov's son, Ramzan, in the Kremlin. Reuters journalist Adlan Khasanov, who was covering the event, was among those killed, his brother said. Khasanov, 33, had worked as both a Reuters photographer and television cameraman since the late 1990s, mostly in his native Chechnya. The attack on the top-security event attended by military and political officials was one of the most audacious by Chechen rebels on Russian forces and the administration in mainly-Muslim Chechnya since Russian troops reoccupied the area in 1999. "The bomb was placed inside a concrete part of the stadium," said Khamid Kadayev, Chechnya's deputy interior minister, speaking on television from the scene of the blast. He said this meant the bomb escaped detection in security sweeps ahead of the event. He did not say how the bomb could have been smuggled in, but reconstruction work had been going on at the stadium for the past three months. The commander of Russian forces in the region, General Valery Baranov, was among many injured.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Chechen Information Minister Taus Dzhabrailov quickly pointed the finger at rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov and Moscow's most wanted man, Chechen warrior Shamil Basayev. "I think that only they could have organized an explosion at such an important occasion. The ground will burn under their feet," he was quoted by Interfax as saying. Itar-Tass news agency quoted an Interior Ministry spokesman as saying five people had been detained in connection with the attack. It gave no details. SURVIVED OTHER ATTEMPTS: The burly, bearded Kadyrov, who had survived several attempts on his life, was the linchpin of Putin's attempts to restore firm Russian rule in the north Caucasus region. But the Kremlin leader gave no sign he would change course or make concessions to the rebels. In separate comments to World War II veterans, he said: "There can be no doubt that retribution is unavoidable for those whom we are fighting today. It will be unavoidable for terrorists." Kadyrov, 52, a former rebel leader who switched sides and was viewed as a turncoat by separatists, was elected last October as part of a Kremlin plan to establish full Russian authority in the war-shattered region. Interfax news agency said Sergei Abramov, at present Chechen prime minister, would take over as acting president. Russia has been fighting separatists in the mainly Muslim northern Caucasus region of Chechnya since it first tried to break away in the 1990s. Moscow reimposed its rule in the capital Grozny in a 1999 invasion ordered by Putin, but guerrilla resistance continues. Tens of thousands of people have died, including thousands of Russian servicemen, in two separate wars in the region in the past decade. Chechen rebels have targeted official events and public gatherings for attacks in the past, and have also launched attacks in the Russian heartland, including Moscow. Victory Day is a major national celebration of enormous symbolic importance in Russia and the Grozny ceremonies were mirrored by festivities throughout the country, including a parade on Moscow's Red Square overseen by Putin.

More Choking Iraq Prison Photos. Prisoners treated like a dog on a leash

WASHINGTON (May 6) - A new batch of photographs, some of which were published in The Washington Post, includes more graphic images of apparent Iraqi prisoners at a U.S. military jail in Iraq, the newspaper reported on Thursday. The photographs are similar to those broadcast on CBS's ''60 Minutes II'' and published by the New Yorker magazine showing Iraqi prisoners in various images of humiliation, The Washington Post reported. In a front page photo, a woman identified as Pfc. Lynndie England of the 372nd Military Police Company, holds what appears to be a dog's leash around the neck of a naked man at Abu Ghraib prison. Inside the newspaper, there are three photos. A group of naked men are bound together on the floor of the prison; a hooded, naked man is handcuffed to a cell door, and another man is bound naked and arched with his arms behind him over the top bunk in a cell. That individual is wearing women's panties over his head. The new collection included more than 1,000 digital images ranging from scenes of mundane military life to pictures showing crude simulations of sex among soldiers. Some of the pictures also appear to show American soldiers abusing prisoners, many of whom wear ID bands. However, The Post sad that it could not eliminate the possibility that some of those images were staged. The article said the photographs, taken from the summer of 2003 through the winter, were passed around among military police who served at the Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad. Among the images is a picture of a soldier holding a leash tied around a man's neck in an Iraqi prison. The man is naked, grimacing and lying on a floor. There are photographs of naked men, apparently prisoners, sprawled on top of one another while soldiers stand around them. According to The Post, the photographs were taken by several digital cameras and loaded onto compact discs, which circulated among soldiers in the 372nd Military Police Company, an Army Reserve unit based in Cresaptown, Md. The pictures were among those seized by military investigators probing conditions at Abu Ghraib, a source close to the unit was quoted as telling the newspaper

President Bush Support Drops in Poll

Americans are more dissatisfied with the nation's direction than at any time in more than eight years and President Bush's job approval rating has sunk into a tie for his worst-ever showing, according to a new Gallup Poll conducted in the United States.

The survey also indicated:

* Fifty-six percent of Americans disapprove of the way Bush is handling the economy and 41 percent approve. That is the highest disapproval number and lowest approval number of the Bush presidency.

* Fifty-five percent of Americans disapprove of the way Bush is handling the situation in Iraq, and 42 percent approve. Again, the approval number is the lowest and the disapproval number is the highest of any survey Gallup has taken on the question, dating back to late October 2002. On foreign affairs overall, Bush gets 42 percent approval and 53 percent disapproval - again, a record low on approval and a record high on disapproval.

* A majority of Americans - 52 percent - still approve of the way Bush is handling terrorism. However, that is the lowest figure since Gallup began asking the question in November 2001, and a 45 percent disapproval rating is the highest such number. The survey was conducted Monday through Wednesday among 1,000 U.S. adults. The margin of error varied between 3 and 5 percentage points, depending on the question. A Gallup survey in early April indicated 57 percent of Americans were dissatisfied with the way things were going in the country and 41 percent were satisfied. The job dissatisfaction numbers have been on the rise since early this year. The survey comes as Bush deals with a growing controversy over reports of American abuse of Iraqi prisoners. In interviews Wednesday with two Arab television networks, Bush promised a full investigation of the reports. "People in Iraq must understand that I view those practices as abhorrent. They must also understand that what took place in that prison does not represent the America that I know," the president told the Al-Hurra network. In the survey, 49 percent of Americans said they approved of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 48 percent said they disapproved. The approval number ties the lowest figure Bush has reached in his president, and the disapproval number ties the highest figure. Bush's job approval rating has moved in a narrow range of between 53 percent and 49 percent since mid-January. His highest rating - 90 percent - was reached just after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.The poll also indicated that Democrat John Kerry, Bush's chief rival in the 2004 presidential election, has moved into a statistical tie with the president for public support. In a two-way race, Kerry drew 49 percent of the support of likely voters and Bush drew 48 percent - within the poll's margin of error of 4 percentage points. In a three-way race with independent Ralph Nader, both Kerry and Bush drew 47 percent, with Nader receiving 3 percent. It is the first time since early March - when the president began a massive advertising campaign - that Bush has not led the race, according to the poll. In mid-April, 50 percent of likely voters favored Bush, 44 percent favored Kerry and 4 percent favored Nader.

IRAQIS TELLING THEIR HORROR STORIES

Photo: Haydar was detained by US forces for 10 months

"I had hired a taxi and we were stopped at the main gate of Taji Camp in Baghdad which is under the control of the American troops. They demanded to see my papers, but I didn't have any, so I was arrested and taken to the army headquarters in Fifth District and then to the detention camp at the airport. I was told they would ask me a few questions and then I'd be released after a couple of days, but nothing happened for three days. Then, at four in the morning on the third day they called out my number, 13077, and I was taken to Boqa camp in Basra where I thought I'd be tried in an Iraqi court. But what have I done? I'm not a criminal. I've got five kids and my family didn't even know where I was.

Punished for beating: Then I was taken to Camp One in Abu Ghraib. They tortured me after I had a fight with an Iraqi working in the camp who was having a relationship with a female soldier. He was giving us a hard time and we had to beat him up.  So they started torturing us. They cut our clothes off with blades. We were stripped naked, even our underwear was cut off.  Then they ordered us to do things in front of a female soldier.  They told us to masturbate towards this female soldier. But we didn't agree to do it, so they beat us. How could you do something like that in such circumstances. I was frightened, my whole body was shaking. Then they put a bag on my head, and I pretended, I made movements like I was masturbating.

Broken jaw: They made us act like dogs, putting leashes around our necks and making us bark. They'd whistle and we'd have to bark like dogs. They made us stand up and then climb on top of each other, one after the other. They said they were going to kill us, but in the end they took the bags off our heads and I was surprised to see my friends around me. They had beat me so hard that they broke my jawbone. Even now I can't eat properly Later a team of American intelligence officers came to see us. They asked us what had happened and I told them exactly what I've just told you. I was taken to court, but on 15 April I was released."

Falluja's eyewitness grief and defiance

Photo: Some houses were flattened by the US shelling

In parts of Falluja you could still smell death in the air. Many hundreds of Iraqis civilians are believed to have died during the course of the fighting. In one area, Jolan - the scene of the fiercest fighting - I saw houses that had been completely flattened by American bombs. There was a lot of anger there. I spoke to one man who said he was just locking up his door, and had just got his family out of the house, when a bomb hit. It destroyed his house - and he was injured in the leg. He told me the bombing was everywhere - it was random. He said he had nothing to do with the resistance, he had no weapons.

Burying the dead: Another witness told me he had seen an American sniper shoot a taxi driver in the head as he was trying to take a wounded man to hospital. At another house I was taken to, I was told that 36 people - members of one extended family - had been killed when two rockets went through their roof. We were told there that five children were still under the rubble. So, clearly, Falluja hasn't yet buried all its dead. Many of the dead who have been buried lie in what was a football pitch. Where people used to go to play, they now go to mourn. There are simple headstones for those who died - civilians and combatants. There was one particular grave where people were praying and grieving. The headstone said here laid the bodies of two baby girls.

Photo:Both civilians and militants are buried on a football pitch

Mood of defiance: I did not get to see all parts of Falluja. We went in via a back road where I saw walls pock marked with bullet holes, and graffiti saying "Long live the Mujahideen (fighters)". I did not see any fighters myself, but at one point I saw a man with a gun, in civilian clothes, in a car - and a man crouched at the side of the road with a rocket-propelled grenade. But apart from that, no signs of the fighters. They appear to have melted away. What we did see were members of the Iraqi security forces, the ICDC, positioned on the bridge where it all began - where the bodies of the four American private security contractors who were killed and mutilated had been hung. We also saw members of Saddam Hussein's former army, soldiers who were about to go out and patrol in Jolan. They were saying they were there to protect the people. There was a mood of defiance, they were flashing Vs for victory signs, they were smiling. They were waving their guns in the air as they set off in cars, heading towards Jolan.

Photo:Some see the Iraqi force's entry into Falluja as a defeat for the US

Hopes of return to normality: I was told that in Jolan there was no water and no electricity, and we saw a damaged power line. But elsewhere in the town things seemed relatively intact. There were some shops open and people seemed relieved to be going about their business. I saw some further signs of normality returning to the place - families beginning to come back, in cars piled high with mattresses and belongings. The new general appointed to run the Falluja Brigades says he is confident the ceasefire will last. There is relief that the Americans are out of the town, and Iraqis are back in control there. But the agreement that has been reached is fairly tenuous.

Symbol of resistance: The original American demand had been that Falluja hand over those who had been responsible for killing the four Americans but we simply don't know if that is still a demand. It seems that for the moment the Americans are relieved themselves that the fighting is over, because it was a costly battle for their forces too - although city residents came off much worse with the might of the world's military superpower brought to bear on them. The irony is that the Americans have had to turn to former soldiers in Saddam's army - who only a year ago they were celebrating victory over - to restore order in Falluja. I was told the day before our visit, the fighters had been parading through town in a sort of victory parade, and that people had felt proud of them standing up to the might of the American army. Falluja has become a symbol of resistance to the American occupation, and a focus of anger and of pride. Amid the grief and the mourning, there is still a spirit of defiance.-Caroline Howley.

'US hostage' shown by TV channel
Footage of a blindfolded man said to be an American civil engineer taken hostage in Iraq has been broadcast by Arabic TV channel al-Arabiya.

Photo: The hostage said he was from Denver, Colorado in the US

The man identified himself as "Yvan Elias" and was employed by the Pentagon, the channel said. It added that he had been kidnapped on 3 May by the previously unknown Islamic Anger Brigades. In mid-April, the US said 40 foreign nationals had been abducted in Iraq; current hostage numbers are less clear. The blindfolded figure in the video shown by al-Arabiya said he was from Denver, Colorado in the US and urged Muslim leaders to mediate for his release, the channel said. He said he had been abducted on 3 May.

Missing contractors: Earlier this week, US hostage Thomas Hamill escaped from his captors and was flown out of Iraq. Mr Hamill, a driver employed by US contractor Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), was one of several foreign nationals abducted in early April as attacks on coalition interests in Iraq saw a marked increase. Two US soldiers and six other KBR employees also went missing with Mr Hamill after an attack on a convoy. Following the ambush, Mr Hamill appeared in video footage aired on TV, in which his captors threatened to kill him if the US siege of the city of Falluja was not lifted. The bodies of four of the KBR employees were later found in a shallow grave near the site of the attack. The body of one of the soldiers was found and identified on 23 April . The fate of the remaining soldier and the two contractors is unknown. Meanwhile, the Canadian foreign ministry has confirmed that a businessman kidnapped in Iraq last week has been released unharmed.

U.S. seizes governor's office in Najaf; American hostage shown on Arabic TV

Photo: An Iraqi firefighter gestures as he stands in front of burning vehicles following a suicide bombing in central Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday. (AP/Khalid Mohammed)

NAJAF, Iraq (AP) - The United States intensified pressure on a radical cleric Thursday, seizing the governor's office from his fighters in Najaf and killing an estimated 40 insurgents in battles east of the holy city, a U.S. official said. In Baghdad, a suicide attacker detonated a car bomb outside the so-called Green Zone that houses the U.S. headquarters, killing five Iraqi civilians and a U.S. soldier. The soldiers took control of the building in Najaf without a fight, but heavy gunfire was heard after they moved in and smoke rose over the city. Motorists fled the area through deserted streets, honking their horns. Fighters loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had controlled the building since they launched their rebellion April 4. Fighting east of Najaf killed an estimated 40 militiamen around Kufa, said Capt. Roger Maynulet, commander of a tank company with the army's 2nd Armoured Cavalry Regiment. U.S. officers said American forces were sent to the east of the city to draw militia fighters away from the governor's office. Paul Bremer, the chief U.S. administrator for Iraq, announced the appointment of a new governor for Najaf province as part of the campaign to crack down on al-Sadr's militiamen. Also Thursday, a videotape of a blindfolded man described as an Iraqi-American being held hostage in Iraq was shown on an Arab TV station. On the tape, the man pleaded for help The Baghdad car bomb injured 25 people, including two American soldiers. The bomb, hidden inside an orange-and-white taxi, exploded outside a metre-high concrete blast wall protecting a U.S. checkpoint. The U.S. soldier who died in the car bombing was the 21st U.S. serviceman killed in Iraq in May.

The injured included two U.S. soldiers and three Iraqi policemen, the U.S. military said. The suicide bomber also died in the attack, the military said. A statement on a website known for militant Islamic messages and signed by a group linked to al-Qaida claimed responsibility. The message was signed by the "military wing" of the "Monotheism and Jihad Group," which is believed led by Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi. Al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian, is wanted by the United States for allegedly organizing terrorists to fight U.S. troops in Iraq on behalf of al-Qaida. U.S. officials have offered a $10 million US reward for al-Zarqawi's capture. Hours after the car bomb, a roadside bomb exploded on Saadoun Street, a busy commercial avenue on the east side of the Tigris River near the Palestine and Sheraton hotels. Two Iraqis were injured. Also Thursday, the U.S. command said that two American soldiers were killed and two were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded in Baghdad. A statement said the explosion occurred just before midnight Wednesday. The attacks came as U.S.-led forces increased pressure on al-Sadr. In the past two days, an estimated 76 militiamen loyal to him have been killed in gunbattles and raids, including Thursday's fighting. "I think we are going to gain momentum from now on," said Lieut. Michael Watson, a platoon leader with the 2nd Armoured Cavalry Regiment in Najaf. In Najaf, soldiers moved into the area of the governor's office from four directions and took control of the building without a fight. Afterward, gunfire could be heard and U.S. helicopters were seen flying low over parts of the city. "What we're doing is conducting operations where we see fit so that as we develop a target through intelligence, we'll go out to that target and do a precision operation and then move back out, because we really are knowledgeable about the sensitivities of the holy city," army Lt.-Col. Pat White told CNN. Al-Sadr's forces last month seized government buildings and police stations in southern cities, including Najaf and Kufa. In Baghdad's Sadr city, an overwhelmingly Shiite Muslim enclave and al-Sadr stronghold, militiamen ambushed four U.S. patrols. Ten attackers were killed in retaliatory gunfire, a U.S. officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity. There were no reports of U.S. casualties. Moderate Shiites tried to persuade al-Sadr to back away from his confrontation with the United States, a reflection of their growing concern. In Baghdad,

Bremer announced the appointment of Adnan al-Zurufi as governor of Najaf province. Bremer said the "the difficulty and suffering of the people" of the region "cannot continue." Special UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi arrived in the capital for discussions aimed at forming a transitional government to take power June 30. Also Thursday, gunmen assassinated the head of the local Agriculture Department in the northern city of Kirkuk in a drive-by shooting that also killed his driver and wounded his wife, police said. Najib Mohammed, a Kurd, was riding in his car when the gunmen opened fire from another vehicle, Gen. Sherko Shakir said. Insurgents frequently target officials working for the government, accusing them of collaborating with Americans. The blindfolded man shown on the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya channel spoke in English and identified himself as Aban Elias of Denver. "I am a civil engineer working here in Baghdad," he said, adding that he worked for the Pentagon. Elias, shown in a 20-second segment, appealed to Islamic associations to work for his release. "I was kidnapped and I call upon Muslim organizations to interfere to release me," Elias said. A statement from the previously unknown Islamic Rage Brigade said Elias was kidnapped on May 3.

Bush tells Jordan's King Abdullah he is sorry for abuse of Iraqi prisoners

WASHINGTON (AP) - President George W. Bush apologized Thursday for the abuse and humiliation of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers, saying the scenes of mistreatment had made Americans "sick to our stomachs." A day after he stopped short of apologizing, Bush told Jordan's King Abdullah: "I was sorry for the humiliation suffered by the Iraqi prisoners and the humiliation suffered by their families." "I told him I was as equally sorry that people seeing those pictures didn't understand the true nature and heart of America," Bush said, standing in the Rose Garden alongside Abdullah. The president's statement went beyond his comment Wednesday that the abuse of prisoners was "abhorrent" and "does not represent the America that I know." His lack of an apology Wednesday was striking, and his spokesman said later that the president was sorry. Bush gave voice to that sentiment Thursday. Scenes of mistreatment have been broadcast around the world, drawing international condemnation and prompting outrage in the Middle East. Bush said he discussed the pictures with Abdullah. Bush said he told the king: "Americans like me didn't appreciate what we saw, and it makes us sick to our stomachs. "I also made it clear to his majesty that the troops we have in Iraq who wer