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