04 August 2004 Wednesday 17 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425 Terror alert based on pre-9/11 reports: US newspaper's assessment WASHINGTON, Aug 3: Much of the intelligence that prompted US authorities to raise alerts around major financial institutions indicated that Al Qaeda studied the sites as potential targets before the Sept 11, 2001 ... Saddam sits in the cool, other detainees sweat BAGHDAD, Aug 3: Saddam Hussein spends his days reading in an air conditioned cell or gardening in the yard of his US-guarded jail. ... US troops abused Iraqis 'for fun', court told FORT BRAGG, Aug 3: US soldiers who abused Iraqi prisoners at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison did it for fun, a military investigator testified on Tuesday at the start of a hearing in the case of a female soldier photographed holding a naked Iraqi on a leash. ... Kurds face uncertain future HAJ OMRAN: At a mountainous border crossing point between Iraq and Iran, Daoud Khuder waits to meet relatives he has not seen for 14 years since they fled the country to escape Saddam Hussein's army. ... Guantanamo guards mocked Islam: Briton LONDON, Aug 3: Guards at the United States's Guantanamo Bay prison mocked and cursed Islam, made jokes about the holy Quran and neglected to call prisoners to prayer, a freed British detainee alleged on Tuesday. ... US, UK subverting Afghan relief aid UNITED NATIONS: The United States and Britain are being accused of undermining the work of international humanitarian organizations in Afghanistan by misusing aid to advance their military interests. ... Fiery blastoff launches US probe toward Mercury WASHINGTON, Aug 3: US spacecraft Messenger lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early on Tuesday on a six-year exploratory journey toward Mercury, the closet planet to the Sun. ... Khartoum set to implement resolution: UN UNITED NATIONS, Aug 3: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Tuesday that Sudanese government has got the message "loud and clear " and they are moving towards implementation of the UN Security Council resolution. ... Kashmiri leaders seek ban on song JAMMU, Aug 3: Religious leaders in occupied Kashmir have forbidden Muslims from listening to a hot-selling pop cassette by Pakistani singers who likened divine power to a pen. ... N. Korean missiles threaten US: weekly BERLIN, Aug 3: North Korea is deploying new land- and sea-based ballistic missiles that can carry nuclear warheads and may have sufficient range to hit the United States, according to the authoritative Jane's Defence Weekly. ... Saarc summit: Dhaka starts security drills DHAKA, Aug 3: The government of Bangladesh has decided to create a security bulwark across the country before the next SAARC summit in Dhaka in view of regional and international security concerns. ... Jazz against George Bush Charlie Haden was sitting in his car one night, listening to the news. Vietnam's neighbour Cambodia was being bombed by the US air force on the orders of President Richard Nixon. ...

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