Indian coast guard tries to contain spill: The Indian coast guard

Indian coast guard tries to contain spill: The Indian coast guard
on Wednesday spread chemicals in the Bay of Bengal in hopes of
containing oil spilling from an Indonesian ship that sunk near
the coast last week, officials said. The ship, hauling oil and
soda ash used to make detergent, is "slowly sinking into the
sand" around 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Calcutta, Indian
Coast Guard Commandant R.K. Wadhwa said. "The ship has tilted 90
degrees to its right side under the water, and oil and soda ash
from the containers of the ship spilled into the sea water
Tuesday," he said. He said it was unclear whether the leakage was
causing pollution, but said it "poses a threat to the marine life
in the vicinity." -- AFP

Taiwan travel warning extended as SARS spreads: The World Health
Organization extended its SARS travel warning for all of Taiwan
on Wednesday as the island tried to stop the deadly flu-like
virus spreading through its health system. Hours after giving the
Philippines the all-clear, the UN health body urged travelers to
postpone all but essential travel to Taiwan, which reported
dozens more cases of the disease that has killed hundreds and
infected thousands worldwide. Health officials reported 35 more
cases on Wednesday, bringing the total on the island to 418.
--Reuters

Pakistan has banned leading Kashmir rebel group: Indian Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said on Wednesday that Pakistan had
banned Kashmir's leading rebel group Hizbul Mujahedin. Hizbul
Mujahedin, based in the Pakistani section of Kashmir, is the
largest rebel group fighting Indian rule in the Muslim-majority
Himalayan province. Pakistan has denied it has banned Hizbul
Mujahedin, saying it does not have the right to do so because it
is not a Pakistani outfit. It has, however, banned a prominent
extremist, Masood Azhar, from entering its zone of Kashmir. --AFP

Canada hunts for mad cow case origins, tests urged: Canadian vets
said in Europe on Wednesday they were chasing down possible
origins of the country's first mad cow disease case in a decade,
which sent shockwaves through the North American food industry.
Canada said on Tuesday it had found a case of brain-wasting
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, in
the western province of Alberta but stressed that the affected
animal had not entered the food chain. --Reuters

Russia signs treaty to track nuclear waste: Russia, the European
Union and the United States on Wednesday signed a nuclear safety
treaty aimed at cleaning up Russian atomic waste and stopping it
from getting into the hands of militant groups. The Multilateral
Nuclear Environmental Program in the Russian Federation (MNEPR)
treaty provides a legal framework for handling spent atomic fuel
from, for example, decommissioned Russian nuclear-powered
submarines. --Reuters