INDONESIA: Amid escalating tension in strife-torn Aceh, an army
INDONESIA: Amid escalating tension in strife-torn Aceh, an army soldier was stabbed to death on Saturday, allegedly by members of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), at Glumpang Payong cattle market in Jeumpa district, Bireuen regency, some 210 kilometers east of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh.
The dead soldier, identified as First Private Sukri, was a member of the Sriwijaya Military Command's 144th Infantry Battalion. The incident took place at 5 p.m., and the victim died in a nearby hospital, the Indonesia Military's information task force's deputy commander Maj. Eddy Fernandi said as quoted by Antara.
Besides killing the soldier, Eddy said, the three assailants also made off with an SS1 rifle belonging to the victim.
GAM had been attacking and ambushing military and police personnel for the last few days, Eddy said without elaborating.
As of late Saturday, GAM had not responded to the military's allegations. --Antara
;AFP; ANPAf..u.. Oil-OPEC-Iran lead Iran tones down calls for cut in OPEC oil output JP/2/HIGH
Iran tones down calls for oil output
IRAN: The country wants a reduction in OPEC oil output from May 1 only if there is an urgent market need for one, Oil Minister Bijan Namadar Zanghaneh said Saturday in an apparent toning down of earlier calls for a second quarter cut.
"A May 1 date for a cut in OPEC production would be too soon unless there is an emergency situation," Zanghaneh told reporters on the sidelines of a Tehran oil and gas conference.
On Thursday the minister had caused jitters on world oil markets by suggesting that Iran would push for an immediate cut at the OPEC cartel's next meeting in Vienna on Thursday.
"We need a decrease in production... starting the second quarter of 2003," Zanghaneh said then.
"Currently there is a surplus in the oil market, and if it is not controlled in the long term, oil prices will slide." --AFP
;AFP; ANPAi..u.. India-wildlife-leopard Woman kills leopard with sickle in north India JP/INDIA
Indian woman kills leopard with sickle
INDIA : A woman in north India killed a leopard with a sickle after it pounced on her while she was cutting grass near her village, police said Saturday.
Nirmala Devi, 30, suffered severe injuries to her hands, arms, shoulder, head and hip and was being treated in hospital in Shimla, the capital of the Himalayan province of Himachal Pradesh, a doctor said.
The attack occurred Friday near Mandi village, some 160 kilometers (100 miles) from here.
Witnesses said the woman and the leopard battled for about 10 minutes during which Devi managed to wound the animal in the eye. She later struck the blade of the sickle into its heart, killing it.
"Villagers did attempt to rescue her from the beast but the cat wouldn't allow them close, and also did not give a chance for the woman to run," said Devi's sister-in-law, Shakuntala Devi.
After she had killed the animal, Devi was taken to hospital in Mandi but because of the severity of her injuries, was moved to Shimla. --AFP
GetAFP 2.10 -- APR 19, 2003 18:22:23 ;AFP; ANPAi..r.. US-animals Rescuers struggle to save pilot whales stranded off Florida JP/US
Rescuers struggle to save stranded whales
UNITED STATES: Experts were struggling Saturday to understand what went wrong for two groups of pilot whales that swam too close to the coast of Florida and got stranded.
At least five of the 27 whales had died by nightfall Friday. "They're going downhill fast," said Kevin Kirsch, a specialist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service.
Fishermen discovered the ailing whales, including males, females and calves, shortly after dawn Friday, sparking a frantic campaign to rescue them.
Some 75 volunteers -- including tourists and boaters who happened by, Coast Guard officers and animal scientists -- struggled to help the animals by holding them aloft and keeping them wet.
The whales appeared to revive somewhat after being moved to deeper water but grew more lethargic, and smelly, as the day wore on.
The smell indicated gastrointestinal distress, rescuers said. --AFP
GetAFP 2.10 -- APR 19, 2003 17:45:35
;AFP; ANPAi..u.. India-Kashmir-firing Girl killed in India-Pakistan shelling in Kashmir JP/INDIA
Girl killed in shelling in Kashmir
INDIA: A seven-year-old Muslim girl was killed overnight in artillery and mortar shelling between Indian and Pakistani troops along the de facto border in Kashmir, police said Saturday.
The exchanges between the two hostile armies took place in the northwestern Uri sector of Indian-administered Kashmir, a police spokesman said.
Police accused Pakistani troops of opening "unprovoked fire" that killed the girl, Nazneen Akhter, in Gawalata village, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Srinagar, the summer capital.
One house was also damaged when it received a direct hit.
The shelling by Pakistani troops lasted for several hours, police said, adding the Indian troops also returned fire.
No exchanges were reported since Saturday morning.
The shelling came as Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is on a two-day trip to Kashmir.
Vajpayee kicked off his tour with an offer of friendship to arch-rival Pakistan on Friday, and is to wind-up his trip with a news conference in Srinagar later Saturday. --AFP
GetAFP 2.10 -- APR 19, 2003 16:13:00 ;AFP; ANPAi..r.. Sweden-eurozone-poll Swedish opposition to euro entry on the rise: poll JP/SWEDEN
Swedish opposition to euro entry on the rise: poll
SWEDEN: The number of Swedes opposed to adopting the European single currency, the euro, is on the rise, an opinion poll published Saturday showed.
Opposition to euro entry now runs at 47 percent, according to a Temo poll published in Dagens Nyheter, with 39 percent in favour and 13 percent undecided.
This compares with a previous Temo poll in March, when the "no"-camp had 45 percent and the europhiles 42 percent.
Sweden, which is a member of the European Union but not the 12-member euro zone, will hold a referendum on the euro on Sept. 14.
If Swedes vote to swap the krona for the euro the country would adopt the currency on Jan. 1, 2006. --AFP