Malaysians wounded in Iraq

Malaysians wounded in Iraq

MALAYSIA: Two relief workers from Malaysia were wounded and three
journalists kidnapped in an ambush by unidentified gunmen in the
Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Malaysia's official Bernama news agency
reported on Sunday.

An Iraqi man acting as an interpreter for the workers of aid
agency Mercy Malaysia was killed in the incident on Saturday.

The three Malaysian journalists -- a reporter from the Sun
newspaper, a photographer with the New Straits Times and a
national television station RTM cameraman -- were later released
by their captors, Bernama said.

Acting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was quoted by
Bernama as saying the two workers, including Mercy Malaysia
president Jemilah Mahmood, were being treated at a hospital in
Baghdad and were reported to be out of danger. --Reuters

;AFP;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
ATW-Vietnam-whale-offbeat
Whale funeral draws 1,000 mourners
JP/11/ATW

Whale funeral draws 1,000 mourners

VIETNAM: A crowd of 1,000 mourners turned up at a funeral for a
whale in central Vietnam, where the creatures are revered, police
said on Saturday.

The whale, weighing around three tonnes and measuring seven
meters, died a few hours after it beached on the Nam O beach in
the city of Da Nang on Friday, a local policeman said.

Villagers held a funeral and buried the animal according to
local custom.

"There is a temple to worship whales here. Local people call
them 'Sir Fish' and they bury all the dead whales they find with
full ceremony," the policeman said. --AFP

;AFP;KOD;
ANPAi..r..
ATW-EU-enlarge-Hungary
Hungary hails vote to join EU
JP/11/ATW

Hungary hails vote to join EU

HUNGARY: Hungary's government and newspapers on Sunday hailed the
overwhelming success of the country's referendum on joining the
European Union (EU), although there was concern about the lower
than expected turnout.

Nearly 84 percent of Hungarians voted on Saturday in favor of
EU membership. The result means Hungary can now join the 15-
nation bloc in 2004, along with up to nine other candidate states
from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean.

Sunday's newspapers unanimously welcomed the result.

Several tabloids appeared with a European flag covering their
entire front page, accompanied by headlines reading: "We are
coming, Europe" and "Europe? YES!".

Romano Prodi -- the president of the European Commission, the
EU's executive arm -- praised the result in a videophone
conversation with Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy that was
broadcast on Hungarian state television late on Saturday night.
--AFP

;REUTERS;KOD;
ANPAi..r..
ATW-Venezuela-bomb
Bomb blast stuns Caracas
JP/11/ATW

Bomb blast stuns Caracas

VENEZUELA: A bomb ripped through an office building early on
Saturday in Caracas, where hours earlier Venezuelan government
and opposition negotiators had agreed to hold a referendum on
President Hugo Chavez's government, police said.

No one was injured in the blast, which badly damaged the lower
floors of the Caracas Teleport building, including the basement
where the negotiators had met with Organization of American
States officials.

Only two people were in the office block at the time of the
explosion, which bent metal girders, blew out chunks of masonry
and shattered windows, scattering debris outside. Police
investigators picked through the rubble.

Police said the explosion was similar to Feb. 25 bomb attacks
in Caracas at a Spanish Embassy technical office and the
Colombian consulate. --Reuters

;DPA;KOD;
ANPAu..r..
ATW-US-Human-genetic-study
Human genetic decoding study ends
JP/11/ATW

Human genetic decoding study ends

UNITED STATES: Results of 15 years of research into the human
genetic code are to be released on Monday in Washington by
scientists from six countries who have deciphered up to 99.99
percent of the DNA carrier of such information.

Following their use of the latest technology, the researchers
are to make an official presentation of the genetic sequence of
the three billion DNA building blocks which constitute the human
genome, or its complete set of genetic material.

The research was conducted in laboratories of the Human Genome
Organization, or HUGO, in the United States, China, Germany,
Japan, Britain and France.

Francis Collins, the leader of National Human Genome Research
Institute, in Bethesda, Maryland, near Washington, planned a
symbolic celebratory presentation of the data to the heads of
government of all countries that took part in the research.

The data is to be used in identifying and battling such
illnesses as cancer, heart and circulation ailments, and
diabetes. --DPA