September 1, 2005	Thursday	Rajab 26, 1426

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Indonesia sets free hundreds of Aceh rebels under amnesty BANDA ACEH (Indonesia): Hundreds of Acehnese rebels walked free from Indonesian jails on Wednesday under a sweeping amnesty that forms a vital plank of a landmark peace agreement signed in Helsinki this month....		Death & damage strewn in Katrina’s path NEW ORLEANS, Aug 31: Hellish scenes of death, damage, and chaos wracked the US Gulf Coast on Wednesday as overwhelmed authorities tried to rescue the living and count the dead amid the destruction left by powerful Hurricane Katrina....
20 oil rigs missing WASHINGTON: At least 20 oil rigs and platforms are missing in the Gulf of Mexico and a ruptured gas pipeline is on fire after Hurricane Katrina tore through the region, a US Coast Guard official said on Wednesday....		80 fire-fighters tackle Paris blaze PARIS, Aug 31: Eighty fire-fighters were fighting a blaze in the centre of Paris on Wednesday close to the Pompidou Centre and Paris City Hall, a fire brigade spokesman and witnesses said....
Cyprus threatens to block EU-Turkey talks NICOSIA, Aug 31: Cyprus threatened on Wednesday to block the start of Turkey’s EU accession negotiations if an EU response to Ankara’s refusal to recognise the island fell short of Nicosia’s expectations....		Iraqi Shias touched by shrine tragedy BAGHDAD, Aug 31: Iraq’s majority Shias have surged to the zenith of political power following the fall of military dictator Saddam Hussein’s Sunni dominated regime but their newly-found ascendancy has been scarred by bloodshed....
Netanyahu vows to build more settlements MAALE ADUMIM (West Bank), Aug 31: Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu launched his campaign to oust bitter rival Ariel Sharon as prime minister with a call on Wednesday for massive new settlement building in the occupied West Bank....		World sends condolences after deadly stampede TEHRAN, Aug 31: Iran on Wednesday led international horror and outrage over the deaths of hundreds of people killed in a stampede as they headed to a Shia shrine in Iraq, blaming “suspicious hands” bent on causing havoc in the country....
Bush’s job rating ebbs WASHINGTON, Aug. 31: The latest opinion poll not only shows a lowest ever job approval rating for US President George W. Bush but also a general dissatisfaction with the opposition Democratic Party for not mounting a strong opposition to his policies....		London blasts result of UK policy: students LONDON, Aug 31: Ninety-five per cent of Muslim students are unhappy with British foreign policy, particularly on Iraq, and 66 per cent feel it contributed to the London bombings, an opinion poll released on Wednesday said....
Iraq group claims attack DUBAI, Aug 31: A little known Sunni group said it was behind Wednesday’s mortar attacks that killed at least seven people in Iraq, before a stampede in which hundreds died at a Shia gathering....		Alienation breeds insurgency in Manipur IMPHAL: Nearly five years ago, human rights activist Irom Sharmila went on a hunger strike in the remote Indian state of Manipur. Appalled by the shooting of 10 people by the...
Bangladesh blasts recall experience of Indonesia JAKARTA: The explosion of hundreds of small bombs, some little bigger than fireworks and mostly harmless, across Bangladesh on Aug. 17 may serve as a wake-up call that a much larger problem is brewing....		Indian state bans plastic bags MUMBAI: The government of the western Indian state of Maharashtra has banned the manufacture, sale and use of all plastic bags, saying they choked drainage systems during last month’s monsoon rains....
Guaranteed jobs plan for rural poor NEW DELHI: India’s government is moving to keep a risky promise of guaranteed jobs for millions of rural poor despite warnings that it can’t afford a multibillion-dollar welfare programme....		Peace grows in thin soil in restive Nagaland KHONOMA (India): The tiny village of Khonoma in the thickly forested hills of remote northeastern India is littered with war memorials. A memorial to British officers who lost their lives when Naga tribesmen ambushed them in 1879....