INDONESIA: The body of top human rights activist Munir arrived at

INDONESIA: The body of top human rights activist Munir arrived at
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport from the Netherlands on a
Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) plane at about 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Two hours later the remains were flown aboard a Merpati plane
to Munir's hometown of Malang, East Java, for burial at about 9
a.m. on Sunday.

Hundreds of Munir's colleagues and other activists met his
body at the airport and joined his wife, Suciwati, in Malang to
pay their last respects to the outspoken rights campaigner.

Among the entourage were noted political analyst Ikrar Nusa
Bhakti, Indonesianist Jeffrey Winters, Indonesian Corruption
Watch chairman Teten Masduki, former state secretary Marsilam
Simanjuntak and former Alliance of Independent Journalists
chairwoman and The Jakarta Post managing editor Ati Nurbaiti.

Munir died onboard a Garuda Indonesia flight from Jakarta to
Amsterdam on Tuesday, about two hours before the plane landed at
Schiphol Airport. He was flying to the Netherlands to pursue his
master's degree.

The airport conducted an autopsy on his body in accordance
with Dutch regulations. Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan
Wirayuda said The Hague had reported the autopsy was complete and
had ruled Munir's death was not suspicious.

Munir is survived by his wife and one daughter. -- JP

;AP;
ANPA ..u..
Malaysia-Bird Flu
Malaysia finds more bird flu cases in outbreak area
JP/2/HIGH

Malaysia finds more bird flu cases

MALAYSIA: Malaysia found new cases of bird flu Saturday in an
infected area that had been under quarantine for three weeks,
setting off a new round of culling poultry and screening people
to contain the potentially deadly disease.

Health ministry officials said that one veterinary worker had
been hospitalized with fever and cough. The worker was being held
in isolation until tests are completed for bird flu.

Hawari Hussein, director-general of the Veterinary Department,
said that inspectors had found about a dozen chickens and ducks
dead in three villages from the H5 bird flu virus in the latest
incidents.

"We have not found any human infection," Hawari said. "We will
be doing active surveillance by going from house-to-house to
check if anyone is sick." --AP

;AP;
ANPA ..r..
Nepal-Rebel Attack
Nepal steps up security after bombing at American center
JP/2/HIGH

Nepal steps up security after bombing

NEPAL: Nepal heightened security around Western diplomatic
missions Saturday, a day after suspected communist rebels bombed
an American culture center minutes after it closed for the
weekend.

No one was injured when two homemade bombs exploded Friday at
the American Information Center in the capital, Katmandu, but
parts parts of the building were damaged.

Home Ministry officials in Katmandu said extra police were
deployed around Western embassies and other foreign agencies to
prevent further attacks.

Police said they suspect Maoist rebels were responsible. No
suspects have been detained and investigations continued
Saturday. If the rebels were to blame, it would mark the first
time that they directly attacked an American government target.

-- AP

;AFP;
ANPAi..u..
HongKong-vote sched-lead
Hong Kong election campaign enters last day with no clear victor
JP/HONGKONG

Hong Kong campaigning ends

HONG KONG: Hong Kong goes to the polls on Sunday in a legislative
election seen as a gauge of sentiment towards the city's rulers
in mainland China and a referendum on its democratic aspirations.

Sunday's ballot will provide a focus for more than 14 months
of strife sparked by huge street rallies last year critical of
the Beijing-backed Hong Kong government and which heightened
calls for universal suffrage.

China controversially quashed those calls -- a central plank
of the democracy movement -- with a hardline ruling in April
against introducing full elections by 2007, when the next leader
must be selected.

Surveys by independent think-tank Civic Exchange and the Hong
Kong University predict candidates who support the democratic
cause will win up to 75 percent of the popular vote, but only 25
of the 60 seats.

When voters begin casting their ballots Sunday morning,
analysts say many will be exercising their vote as a referendum
on China's handling of the city after last year's rallies. --AFP

;AFP;
ANPAi..u..
Taiwan-weather-flood
Northern Taiwan hit by massive floods
JP/2/HIGH

Northern Taiwan hit by massive floods

TAIWAN: Torrential rains triggered massive flooding in northern
Taiwan Saturday, claiming at least one life and marooning
hundreds of people at their homes.

One man was found dead in an underground passage in northern
Taoyuan County early Saturday, becoming the first casualty of the
flooding that started overnight, said a national fire agency
official.

He added that there was no immediate report of other
casualties or injuries.

In the low-lying town of Shichih, north of Taipei, water
reached the first floor of many homes and forcing residents to
retreat to higher ground.

Rescue workers braved downpours to evacuate people in
inflatable boats to safety, but police said some 1,000 people
were feared trapped in Shichih. --AFP

;AP;
ANPA ..u..
Koreas-Nuclear
URGENT
JP/2/HIGH

N. Korea sticks to nuke programs

SOUTH KOREA: North Korea said on Saturday that South Korea's
secret nuclear experiments involving uranium and plutonium make
the communist state more determined to pursue its own nuclear
programs, a news report said.

A spokesman for North Korea's Foreign Ministry condemned the
South Korean experiments, conducted in 1982 and 2000, as "clearly
of military nature," according to Pyongyang's official news
agency KCNA, quoted by South Korea's national news agency,
Yonhap.

The recent revelations of those experiments will affect the
prospects for six-nation talks aimed at persuading the North to
abandon its nuclear weapons programs, the unidentified North
Korean spokesman was quoted as saying.

"We strongly suspect that the United States may have
masterminded the experiments that were clearly of military
nature," he was quoted as saying. "We cannot but link these
developments with the issue of holding six-party talks." --AP

;AP;
ANPA ..r..
ME-GEN-Iraq-Blast
Explosion occurs outside of U.S. consular office in southern Iraqi
JP/

Explosion occurs outside of U.S. consular office in southern Iraqi city[ Eds: UPDATES with color, names of dead and wounded: CORRECTS to one of the wounded was in the car[ By ABBAS FAYADH= Associated Press Writer=
BASRA, Iraq (AP) - An explosion occurred Saturday outside a former Saddam Hussein-era palace that houses a U.S. consular office, killing at least one person and wounding two others, police and witnesses said.
A British spokeswoman, Alison Richie, said the target appeared to have been a civilian vehicle and that there were "unconfirmed reports" of American casualties. However, Iraqi police said the three victims were all Iraqis.
In Baghdad, a U.S. Embassy official said U.S. authorities were still tracking down information about the explosion.
Police Capt. Mushtaq Taleb said the bomb targeted a car owned by the National Security Co., a local company, killing the driver and wounding two people of which was in the car and another in the street.
Blast walls near the former palace compound absorbed the brunt of the blast, witnesses said. The charred corpse could be seen in a car outside the building.
The explosion carved a small 30 centimeter (one-foot) deep crater.
Iraqi police and British troops blocked the street and were investigating the explosion.
Taleb identified the man killed as Iraqi citizen Qasem Khallaf, and the wounded as Yas Khdayer and Israa Kamel.
The explosion occurred just after 4 p.m. at the Basra Palace, which is now a British base, a British military spokeswoman said while speaking on condition of anonymity.

GetAP 1.00 -- SEP 11, 2004 22:36:09