INDONESIA: A homemade bomb killed three teenage schoolboys in

INDONESIA: A homemade bomb killed three teenage schoolboys in
the North Aceh subdistrict of Nissam on Friday, but no one
claimed responsibility.

A local military spokesman, Maj. Eddi Fernandi, said Mulyadi,
18, Faisal, 16, and Junaidi, 16, were killed instantly by
shrapnel from the bomb, which exploded in the hand of one of the
youths.

Eddi said the bomb was believed to have been found in front of
the remains of the Nissam subdistrict office, which was burned
down by a group of unidentified people recently.

Both the Indonesian Military and the Free Aceh Movement, who
signed a peace agreement in December last year to end 26 years of
armed conflict, denied they had planted the bomb.

The peace agreement between the two parties requires GAM to
lay down its arms and the TNI to return to its barracks. Officers
from the police's paramilitary Mobile Brigade are also to be
retrained as normal law enforcers. -- Antara

Bali bombing victims may reach 300

INDONESIA:Casualties of the Bali bombing on Oct. 12 last year
may reach 300 as the Bali authorities plan to bury 140 bags of
unidentified body parts which are believed to belong to 85
people.

The Disaster Victims Identification (DVI) team headed by John
Bird of Australia has estimated the number of fatalities at 202
from 21 countries as of last Tuesday. They include 191 people who
died in Bali, eight in Australia. Meanwhile, three bodies remain
unidentified.

Spokesman for the Bali administration I Gde Nurjaya said here
on Saturday the body parts would be buried during a ceremony in
Badung graveyard, near Denpasar on March 1.

The bags would be placed inside coffins which will be labeled
to enable officials to collect the material should exhumation and
identification be needed in the future.

"The procedure (of labeling) is applied to enable exhumation,"
Nurjaya said as quoted by Antara.

For the burial ceremony, the tribal community requires the
Bali administration to pay Rp 8.5 million (US$955) in a
purification fee.

The mass burial has been approved by the Australian
government, according to the country's Ambassador to Indonesia
David Ritchie.

Most of the victims of the Bali bombing were Australians.

Besides causing the deaths of at least 202 people, DVI team
spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Suyatmo said the bomb attack also
injured nearly 350 people.

Suyatmo said that the eight victims who died in Australia
after medical treatment were five Australians, one Indonesian,
one Singaporean, and one Briton.

All of them died of severe burns, he added. --JP

UK upgrades travel warning to Saudi Arabia

UNITED KINGDOM: - The British government on Friday advised its
citizens against "nonessential" travel to Saudi Arabia, a day
after a Briton was shot dead in the capital, Riyadh.

As war with Iraq draws closer, the Foreign Office also
upgraded its travel warnings for Bahrain, Jordan and Qatar,
advising against nonessential travel and asking Britons to leave
unless their presence was essential.

Citing "increasing regional tension and the risk of terrorist
action," the Foreign Office said British nationals in those
countries should maintain a "high level of vigilance." The office
said it had authorized the departure of nonessential staff, and
the families of all staff, at British diplomatic missions in
those countries.

There are more than 30,000 Britons living in Saudi Arabia, the
government said, and several thousand each in Bahrain and Qatar.

Concerns about anti-Western sentiment in the Middle East have
heightened as the U.S. and Britain step up preparations for a
possible war against Iraq, with about 150,000 U.S. troops and
more than 40,000 British forces being deployed to the Gulf
region.--AP

Saudi raises alert status near Iraqi borders

SAUDI ARABIA: - Saudi Arabia has slightly upgraded the alert
status of armed forces stationed near the borders with Iraq and
the oil-rich eastern province, the chief of staff said in remarks
published Saturday.

"The alert status of the armed forces is normal except in
certain areas like the northern and eastern areas," bordering
Iraq where it has been slightly raised, Lieutenant General Saleh
al-Muhaya told Okaz daily.

Muhaya said Saudi air bases were prepared to deal with any
emergency. He said the plans were part of precautionary measures
taken by the kingdom as the U.S. and Britain have beefed up their
military presence in the region for a possible attack against
Iraq.

Muhaya denied that there had been any increase in French
aircraft operating from Prince Sultan Air Base south of Riyadh to
enforce the no-fly zone over southern Iraq.

There has been no increase to any system in the air base, used
mainly by U.S. and British planes, Muhaya said.--AFP

RP senior Abu Sayyaf leader killed

PHILIPPINES: Soldiers recovered the body of a senior leader of
the Abu Sayyaf Muslim kidnapping group Saturday, confirming that
he was slain in a clash on the southern island of Jolo earlier
this week, military officials said.

The body of Mujib Susukan, the so-called "provincial
commander" of the Abu Sayyaf, was exhumed from a shallow grave in
Talipao town by soldiers following a tip-off from villagers, said
officials who asked not to be identified.

On Tuesday Susukan was wounded in a clash with government
troops that left three soldiers and 10 Abu Sayyaf guerrillas
dead. He was carried from the scene by conscripted villagers but
reportedly died from his wounds later.

Soldiers familiar with Susukan said they recognized the body
but would transport it to the military headquarters in the
southern city of Zamboanga for confirmation.

Susukan is one of the most senior leaders of the Abu Sayyaf, a
Muslim rebel band allegedly linked to the al-Qaeda terror
network. --AFP

HK launches anti-racial discrimination campaign

HONG KONG: The Hong Kong government launched a poster campaign
calling for the elimination of racial discrimination Saturday,
one month after a British official called on authorities to
legislate against racism.

The poster, displayed in subway and light rail transit
stations, is aimed at raising public awareness of racism here and
will also mark the International Day for the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination which falls on March 21.

The campaign comes after British parliamentary undersecretary
at the Foreign and Commonwealth office, Bill Rammell, cited the
death of an Indian-born woman as he called on authorities to
implement a law against racial discrimination.

The Hong Kong government has previously claimed such
legislation was not needed, arguing that racism was not a serious
problem.

There are an estimated 279,600 members of ethnic minorities in
Hong Kong, representing 4.1 percent of the 6.7 million
population.--AFP