Indonesian fishing boats held in Australia: Two Indonesian
Indonesian fishing boats held in Australia: Two Indonesian
fishing boats whose crews have been accused of illegally catching
sharks and cutting off their fins have been detained by
authorities off Australia's northeast coast, fisheries officials
said on Tuesday. One boat found with 30 shark fins and seven crew
on board was being escorted to Darwin. Another vessel, with five
crew and two sets of shark fins, was also intercepted, an
Australian Fisheries Management Authority spokesman said on
condition of anonymity. --AP
Russian supply vessel docks with ISS: A Russian supply vessel
successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on
Tuesday at 1447 GMT (9:47 p.m. Jakarta time), bringing food and
water to three astronauts, Russian mission control said. The
Progress supply ship, launched on Sunday, was carrying sufficient
food and water to last the astronauts until June, officials said.
However Vladimir Solovyov, head of Soyuz manned missions, said
the ISS astronauts would "remain aboard the platform until late
April, mid May, and will return to earth aboard a Soyuz." --AFP
France says still scope to disarm Iraq peacefully: French
President Jacques Chirac said on Tuesday there was still much
that could be done to disarm Iraq by peaceful means and France
would support any request by UN arms inspectors for extra
resources. Chirac spoke at a news conference after talks with
British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the northern French town of
Le Touquet. Britain tried to woo a reluctant France at Tuesday's
meeting into backing military action against Iraq. --Reuters
Israeli court says Arafat liable for bus firm losses: An Israeli
court has ordered Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to pay more
than $10 million in damages to Israel's main bus company for
losses caused by Palestinian suicide bombings, a spokesman said
on Tuesday. Arafat, who has denied Israeli accusations of
responsibility for attacks during the 28-month-old Palestinian
uprising, mounted no defense in the civil lawsuit, and it was
unclear how he could be forced to pay the damage award. --Reuters