AAP Internet Bulletin 1400 Wednesday, Dec 16, 1998

AAP General News (Australia)
12-16-1998
AAP Internet Bulletin 1400 Wednesday, Dec 16, 1998



[I][UN IRAQ]

Butler says Iraq did not cooperate

Chief U.N. weapons inspector Richard Butler said in a report Tuesday that Iraq did not
fully cooperate with U.N. inspectors as it promised a month ago and imposed new restrictions on
their work.

"In spite of the opportunity presented by the circumstances of
the last month, including the prospect of a comprehensive review,
Iraq's conduct ensured that no progress was able to be made in
either the fields of disarmament or accounting for its prohibited
weapons programs," Butler said in a letter to U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

A U.N. Security Council resolution says a comprehensive review
of Iraq's compliance with U.N. resolutions which Baghdad
desperately wants would only go ahead if Butler reported that
Iraq had resumed full cooperation with inspectors.

Butler's conclusion was not surprising.

The U.N. weapons chief has already reported that Iraq's
compliance has been far from perfect: Baghdad denied the inspectors
access to two sites, refused to hand over several key documents,
buzzed a helicopter the inspectors were using, and imposed
unacceptable conditions during several inspections.

In a hard-hitting 10-page report, Butler concluded that in "the
absence of full cooperation by Iraq" the U.N. Special Commission
which he heads was unable "to conduct the substantive disarmament
work mandated to it by the Security Council" and assure the council
that Baghdad's weapons of mass destruction have been eliminated.





[A][EMPLOYMENT ABBOTT][FED]

Jobs Network to get $105m revamp

The troubled Job Network is to get a $100 million makeover, with extra money for agencies
which place an unemployed client, and packages for agencies wanting to opt out.

Federal Employment Services Minister Tony Abbott outlined the changes today but expressed
continued support for the privatised job scheme, which has run into teething problems since it
began earlier this year.

Mr Abbott said the Job Network already had outperformed its predecessor, the Commonwealth
Employment Service (CES).

"Even at its worst moment, the Job Network was outperforming the CES," Mr Abbott told
reporters.

Under the changes announced today, agencies will receive an additional $100 for every
person they place into a job.

The government will pay a $45 bonus for every job placement in regional Australia, while
agencies will receive up to $1,000 to help market their services to the unemployed.

Agencies struggling to survive under the scheme will be offered an exit package worth up to
$15,000 if they decide to withdraw from the system.

And in a bid to encourage the unemployed to register with a provider, all unemployed people
who are not registered will face losing a significant slice of their unemployment benefits.

The changes will also extend the contracts for current network
members by three months to February 2000, to allow extra time to
iron out the problems with the first round of tenders.

The package will cost $105 million over two years, but will be
funded from the existing Jobs Network budget.

Jobs providers organisation the National Employment Services
Association (NESA) welcomed the changes and said they would go a
long way to addressing the problems encountered in the Job
Networks first year.

"The changes announced today indicate that the government has
acknowledged the concerns raised by NESA and individual employment
service providers regarding some aspects of the Job Network
arrangements introduced in May this year," NESA chair Peter
Richardson said.

Mr Richardson told reporters providers initially estimated
between 40 and 50 job agencies were struggling to survive under
the initial tender rules.

But he said he now expected only between five and 10 agencies
to take up the $15,000 exit packages.

Mr Abbott said the changes should end the major problems with
the privatised jobs service.





[I][CLINTON IMPEACHMENT]

Clinton impeachment showdown

US President Bill Clinton suffered a steady loss of support from House Republican moderates
on Tuesday and weighed advice to make an explicit, last-minute confession of wrongdoing to stop
the slide.

"No one is above the law, not even the president," Rep. Nancy
Johnson of Connecticut said as she joined the ranks of Republicans
favouring impeachment and a Senate trial for the nation's 42nd chief
executive.

On a day of almost unrelenting gloomy news for the White House,
one GOP lawmaker floated a proposal for Clinton to make a $2
million payment and accept a toughly worded censure resolution to
avoid the humiliation of becoming only the second president to be
impeached.

"Even at this late date, there are compelling reasons to pursue
a different course with a better solution for our nation," wrote
Rep. Mike Castle of Delaware. His proposal drew no immediate
response from presidential aides or from the GOP House leadership,
which has insisted it will not permit a vote on censure when the
issue reaches the House floor Thursday.

Votes were expected by Friday at the latest in a post-election
session of Congress unlike any other. Among those entitled to vote
are 37 lawmakers who are closing out their congressional careers,
some voluntarily, others because they were defeated.

As Clinton flew home from the Middle East, sources close to the president and leading
Democrats on Capitol Hill said one option under consideration was to invite 10 or 12 key
moderate Republicans to the White House to hear a personal appeal from Clinton.

Other outside advisers were urging him to make an appearance on
Capitol Hill to try to stop the slide. "The president can make his
case in person before the full House better than anyone," former
White House special counsel Lanny Davis said.





[A][REPUBLIC][FED]

Attorney-General welcomes president plan

Federal Attorney-General Daryl Williams today described as interesting a proposal put
forward by five prominent republicans on how to choose a president.

Under the plan, outlined in an open letter to Mr Williams in The Australian newspaper
today, all Australians would get the chance to have their say on who should be president.

Mr Williams said he welcomed public debate on various aspects of the referendum on the
republic, to be held next year.

"The government will pay close attention to the way in which public debate develops but I
do not intend to give a running commentary on specific suggestions or proposals," Mr Williams
said in a statement.

Under the proposed model, any person would be able to nominate a presidential candidate.

A 15-member nomination committee, consisting of community representatives and MPs, would
cull the nominations to a short list of five.

The prime minister, with the consent of the opposition leader, would then present one
candidate to both houses of parliament for approval.

Political historian Mark McKenna, who along with former chief justice of the High Court,
Sir Anthony Mason, gave his name to the letter, devised the model.

He said it was an attempt to take "the Canberra-based, politician-based" issue out of the
republican debate, the newspaper said.

Dr McKenna said a key element of the model was its transparency. He said the names of those
shortlisted would be announced at least two weeks before a final decision.

That would put the prime minister under pressure "not just to appoint someone from the
boys club", Dr McKenna told The Australian.





[T][ATHS AUST][ATHS]

Wardlaw gets Oly coaching plum

Chris Wardlaw was today appointed to the plum job of Australian athletics head coach for
the Sydney Olympics.

Wardlaw, 48, beat a strong field to win the role which will also take in next years world
championships in Seville, Spain.

He won widespread praise for his role as head coach at the Commonwealth Games in September,
where Australia topped the track and field medals table with 34, including 13 golds.

"The Commonwealth Games campaign produced results beyond everyones expectations and it is
a great privilege to be given the opportunity to again oversee the preparation of our athletes
for what will be the biggest couple of years of their careers," he said.

Wardlaw was the team distance running coach at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and also coaches
Australias leading marathoner Steve Moneghetti.

He said he hoped to push Australia into the top five athletics nations in the world by the
Sydney Olympics.

Athletics Australia has a target of winning six track and field medals in 2000, a tally
which hasnt been achieved since 1968.



[A][TOURISM][FED]

Make way for 5 million tourists

Up to 5.2 million tourists may visit Australia in 2001 if the Asian economic crisis ended
quickly, new tourism predictions showed today.

But that figure could be as low as 4.4 million under the worst-case scenario, the Tourism
Forecasting Council (TFC) said.

Australias $16 billion inbound tourism industry was expected to grow at an average annual
rate of between 0.6 and 4.7 per cent by 2001, the TFC said.

TFC forecasts were based on three scenarios of impacts of the Asian crisis.

Under a scenario of rapid return to growth, East Asian economic reforms were embraced and
recovery accelerated by Japan adopting policies to open its economy, resulting in annual
growth in visitor arrivals of 4.7 per cent.

A steadier return to growth of 3.2 per cent growth and 4.9 million visitors in 2001 would
result from Japan gradually opening up its economy and Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and South
Korea returning to positive growth after 2000.

In the worst-case scenario, global stagnation would extend beyond 2002 and spread to China,
with Japan unable to drag the region out of economic doldrums, resulting in 0.6 per cent
growth and 4.4 million arrivals in 2001.

More than 3.3 million visitors came to Australia in 10 months to October, down four per
cent, figures released last week showed.

"Asia has been home for around half of Australias inbound tourists but we are seeing a
drop off in arrivals from Asia as currency devaluations and economic upheavals put holiday and
travel plans on hold," TFC chairman Sir Frank Moore said in a statement.

He said strong growth in visitors from North America and Europe would reduce the impact of
Asia, whose visitors to Australia fell from 50 to 46 per cent of all visitors over 1997-98.





[X][US MUSIC][US]

Internet bootleggers beware

The biggest names in records and technology are banding together to kick music
bootleggers off the Internet, but their task won't be easy because the music thieves have a
head start.

BMG Entertainment, EMI Recorded Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and
Warner Music Group pledged today to join with big technology firms to develop standards that
will allow more widespread digital music sales by next year, while protecting copyrights.

But the music industry, which is relatively inexperienced in delivering products online,
will likely find that maintaining Internet security is difficult with technology developing so
rapidly, analysts said.

"Microsoft's been dealing with these same exact issues for a decade. Their content, digital
as it is, is stolen all the time and redistributed," said Mark Hardie, an analyst who follows
the entertainment industry for technology consulting firm Forrester Research.

The record industry's effort, dubbed the Secure Digital Music Initiative, comes as a
technology called MP3 is gaining popularity as a way to more easily compress, store and
distribute audio files on the Internet.

Web sites offering MP3 songs for free have sprung up online and caused headaches for the
record industry. While some MP3 songs being distributed on the Internet are legal and endorsed
by record labels, there is a boom in bootlegged tracks.

"New technology is going to have an enormous impact on our future and I think protection is
absolutely of paramount importance," said Ken Berry, president of EMI, whose artists include
the Spice Girls and Paul McCartney.

The Recording Industry Association of America, which works to protect artist rights and
royalties, said it does not have hard figures on the effect of online piracy on music sales.

Hilary Rosen, president and chief executive of the trade group, said the record companies'
digital music offerings will be of such high quality that they would be able to pull consumers
away from bootlegged material.

"MP3 does have a kind of a problem in that not every file sounds great and I think you'll
probably see the industry work to exploit that," said Mark Mooradian, senior analyst at
technology research firm Jupiter Communications.





[I][PENTAGON GULF THREAT]

Pentagon alert for Gulf terror attack

The Pentagon has "very credible and disturbing information" of a potential attack against
Americans in the Persian Gulf region and has asked U.S. troops to take precautions, a spokesman
said Tuesday.

U.S. embassies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and
Bahrain issued a statement Sunday saying there was "a strong
possibility that terrorist elements are planning an attack against
U.S. targets in the Gulf, possibly in the next 30 days."

The statement urged U.S. citizens to be alert to "any suspicious
activity and take precautionary steps to reduce the profile and
vulnerability of any U.S. facilities."

Asked about the statement, Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon
declined to define the basis for the warning.

But he said American military personnel have been advised to
stay on their bases, to avoid traveling in large groups and to be
on alert for potential trouble.

"We gather intelligence from a variety of sources by a variety
of means. And we believe that putting all that together, we have
very credible and disturbing information that a threat is imminent
in the region," Bacon said.

Five American servicemen and two Indian citizens were killed in a November 1995 attack on a
military centre in Riyadh. A truck bombing in the eastern city of Dhahran in June 1996 killed
19 U.S. airmen.

The U.S. missions in Saudi Arabia closed for four days in
October to review security after receiving information that the
embassy in Riyadh was under threat of a terrorist attack.

That warning followed the Aug. 7 bombings of U.S. embassies in
Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Saalam, Tanzania, in which 224 people
were killed and 5,000 injured.





[I][US IMF INDONESIA]

IMF approves $1.5b for Indonesia

The International Monetary Fund approved another $US957 million ($1.53 billion) in credit
for Indonesia, noting encouraging signs of the country's progress in resolving its economic
crisis.

"The Indonesian economy has remained on the stabilisation path under the most difficult
circumstances," Alassane Quattara, deputy managing director of the fund, said Tuesday.

Quattara cited the strengthening rupiah and an ease in
inflationary pressures as positive results of the implementation of economic policy. He also
pointed to marked progress in stabilising the country's food situation.

But authorities need to remain vigilant and proceed cautiously
with such reforms as lowering the interest rates further, Quattara
said. He said the country still faces many challenges, including
restructuring its banking system and corporate sector.

He called on the government to expedite approvals for corporate
restructuring and to strengthen the implementation of bankruptcy
laws.

Overall, the IMF has pledged dlrs 11.3 billion to help Indonesia resolve its financial
crisis, conditioned upon Indonesia continuing to make progress on economic and structural
reforms.

The IMF has about dlrs 3.3 billion left of the total amount to
disburse. Other international donors and nations are funneling in
billions of dollars more.





[A][POPE AUST][FED]

Bishops frown on Aussie way of life

Bishops of the Catholic Church have attacked the easygoing nature of Australians, warning
that their tolerance is adding to a crisis of faith.

The attack comes in a statement by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, who have
been attending a special meeting of church leaders from Oceania in Rome.

The bishops said the statement, which takes a strongly conservative approach to church
discipline, contained proposals and directions for the church in Australia.

Signed by Australian Cardinal Edward Clancy and other bishops, it calls for more discipline
on issues like the liturgy; for priests and nuns to return to traditional forms of life and
work; and warns against acceptance of homosexuality and other issues.

It said Australia, "despite the recent brief resurgence of racism", had amalgamated
different groups into one nation because of its spirit of tolerance and solidarity.

But it said tolerance, which could lead to indifference and the acceptance of any opinion
as long as it harmed nobody, also could be a negative in Australia, where the religious crisis
was manifested by more people with no religion and the decline in church practice.

"The tolerance characteristic of Australian society naturally affects the church also," the
statement said.





[A][COGLEY][Vic]

Man murdered business associate

A man who claimed a business associate had committed suicide on the side of a street in
central Melbourne was today convicted of his murder.

The Victorian Supreme Court trial heard Shane Alexander Cogley, 34, held a pistol to the
head of Kevin Hitchens, 29, in King St, Melbourne about 5.20pm on June 28 last year, and shot
him dead.

Cogley told the police that Hitchens had committed suicide.

Crown prosecutor Jeremy Rapke told the jury the killing followed suspicions Cogley held
that Mr Hitchens, a convicted criminal, had burgled another associate's house.

Cogley regarded Mr Hitchens' supposed involvement in the burglary as a show of disloyalty,
Mr Rapke said.

Nathan Crafti, for Cogley, told the jury the police had wrongly assumed from the time they
arrived at the scene that Mr Hitchens had been murdered.

"Mr Hitchens died at his own hand," he said.





[A][EBERLEIN][NSW]

Chilean trip ends in murder plea

A man extradited from Chile today pleaded guilty to shooting dead an artist who owed him
money.

Jaime Eduardo Lamilla-Eberlein, 29, of Queenscliff on Sydneys northern beaches, admitted
murdering Fernando Jose Ferrer at north suburban Oxford Falls on December 19, 1995.

In a statement of facts tendered today in the NSW Supreme Court, Eberlein said he shot Mr
Ferrer, a 37-year-old artist and stonemason from Newport, because Mr Ferrer owed him money.

Eberlein told a friend that he shot Mr Ferrer in the head once; that Mr Ferrer had fallen
to the ground and that he shot him in the head again to "make sure of it", the statement
reported.

Eberlein said he then went back to Mr Ferrers house and took his bike, a camera and some
money, around $200.

On December 21 Eberlein paid cash for a one-way ticket to Buenos Aires and flew to Chile.

Police commenced extradition proceedings in January 1996 and arrested Eberlein in Chile on
March 6, 1996.

He arrived back in Australia with detectives on January 16, 1997.

Justice Bruce James has adjourned sentencing for a date yet to be fixed in the new year.





[I][IRELAND][IRE]

Protestant gang to disarm by Christmas

Northern Ireland's most ruthless Protestant paramilitary group promised today to start
disarming by Christmas, a gambit designed to pressure its Irish Republican Army enemies into
doing the same.

The outlawed Loyalist Volunteer Force - which opposed April's peace accord but called a
ceasefire in May - promised to hand over or destroy guns under the supervision of a commission
led by Canada's former army chief, General John de Chastelain.

"The ruling army council of the LVF have assured the commission, through me tonight, that
there will be indeed a decommissioning event before Christmas," the group's intermediary,
paroled murderer and preacher Kenny McClinton, said, after meeting de Chastelain.

McClinton declined to speculate on the precise number of weapons the group would present.
But he noted that the Loyalist Volunteers would expect the better-armed IRA to match the
gesture by disposing of at least 10 times as many weapons.

The IRA-allied Sinn Fein party dismissed the Loyalist Volunteers' plan as a stunt that
wouldn't affect IRA policy. Last week, the IRA emphasised it would not get rid of even a
single bullet to show its 17-month-old truce was sincere.

The peace accord calls for the IRA and illegal pro-British groups on the Protestant side to
complete disarming by mid-2000, but does not specify a start date.

The Loyalist Volunteers were formed in 1996 with the aim of derailing the truce observed
since 1994 by Northern Ireland's established pro-British groups. They killed more than a dozen
Catholic civilians at critical junctures in negotiations, but failed to stop the momentum
toward compromise.

British and Irish police believe the Loyalist Volunteers have access to fewer than 100
guns. The IRA, by contrast, has tonnes of hidden weaponry, including Semtex commercial
explosive, thousands of detonators and hundreds of Kalashnikov assault rifles.

Todays announcement came just hours after the Loyalist Volunteers' commander, Mark
"Swinger" Fulton, was refused bail in Belfast High Court.

Fulton was arrested earlier this month after allegedly firing four shots into the air, then
holding the pistol to the head of another man in his hometown of Portadown.





[A][OUTBACK][SA]

Tourist dies in scorching outback ordeal

An Austrian woman tourist is dead but her male companion survived an eight-day ordeal in
high temperatures after their campervan became bogged in the South Australian outback.

Police said the womans body was found by another tourist yesterday about 30 kilometres from
Lake Eyre, 700km north of Adelaide.

The tourist alerted police, who found the Austrian man alive in the campervan about 30km
away at the Halligan Bay campsite at Lake Eyre.

The couples van became bogged on December 7 and the pair, both in their mid-20s, began
walking in extreme temperatures towards the Oodnadatta track about 60km away, a police
spokesman said.

The man turned back after two days and returned to the van.

However the woman continued walking and police believe she died of heat exhaustion after
making it only halfway to the track.

The man survived the eight-day ordeal with the help of the vans 400-litre water tank and
police said he was in good physical condition.

He was today recovering at William Creek, on the Oodnadatta track, where police plan to
question him further.





[T][CRICKET ENGLAND SACKING][CRIK]

No need for sackings, says England board chairman

The chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board today said mass sackings were not needed
despite Australias convincing win in the third Ashes Test at Adelaide Oval.

Lord MacLaurin said English cricket should take a calm view of the two-nil series deficit,
which has assured Australia of retaining the Ashes.

"It is unfortunate and we are very disappointed, particularly after the series against
South Africa last summer, but there will be no call from us for any resignations," he told the
BBC.

Lord MacLaurin was a leading proponent of two divisions in county cricket in England, which
will be introduced in 2000.

He does not believe looking for scapegoats, such as coach David Lloyd, is the answer to
Englands problems.

"David Lloyd was a hero when we beat South Africa (in 1998) and we lose two Tests against
Australia and he is a villain again," Lord MacLaurin said.

"That short-termism is absolutely no good.

"We have to take a long-term strategy and think it through sensibly and not make knee-jerk
reactions."





[S][CRICKET BRIBES AUST][CRIK]

Video testimony plan for Waugh, Warne

Live video testimony has been proposed as a way for Mark Waugh and Shane Warne to give
evidence in a probe into alleged bribery and match-fixing in Pakistan cricket.

Ali Sibtain Fazli, a lawyer for the Pakistan Cricket Board, says the video plan is among
three suggestions by the Australian Cricket Board in response to a request that Waugh and
Warne travel to Pakistan to testify before a judicial commission.

The two Australians have alleged former Pakistan captain Salim Malik offered them bribes to
play badly during Australia's 1994 tour of Pakistan.

Although Waugh has testified, the Pakistanis say last week's revelations that he and Warne
accepted money from a bookmaker in Sri Lanka for pitch and weather information four years ago
have damaged their credibility.

Fazli says another suggestion is that the judicial commission go to Australia to re-examine
the two players.

He says a decision will be made after senior Pakistan Cricket Board officials return from
New Delhi tomorrow.

KEYWORD: NETNEWS 14000

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