1.4.03, 1635 h -- Quelle: n-tv.de [click pic for live image]

1.4.03, 1535 h -- Quelle: n-tv.de [click pic for live image]

<a href=www.cbsnews.com target=blank> 1.4.03, 1540 h -- Quelle: cbsnews.com [click pic for live image]

IRNA: The Malaysian government is paying for 30 local journalists to travel to the Middle East and cover the war in Iraq and to get the truth on the attack. Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the government agreed to the idea after complaints of biased reporting by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the US-based Cable News Network (CNN). He said such a move was needed to ensure that Malaysians were not easily influenced by wrong reports made by the foreign media. Das ist etwa so, wie wenn Calmy-Rey Hanspeter Born, Erich Gysling, Stephan Klapproth & Co dafür zahlen würde, dass die sich mal selber ein Bild der Lage machen, statt nur als Echo vom Echo vom Mainstream zu funktionieren... Wär vielleicht sogar sinnvoller, als eidgenössische Leichenlisten zu führen...

Der amerikanische Reporter Peter Arnett hat nach seinem Rauswurf beim Fernsehsender NBC wegen eines Interviews im irakischen Fernsehen einen neuen Job bei der britischen Zeitung «Daily Mirror» gefunden. «Ich berichte die Wahrheit über das, was in Bagdad geschieht und werde mich nicht dafür entschuldigen. Ich habe Ihre Zeitung (»Daily Mirror») stets bewundert und bin stolz darauf, für sie zu arbeiten», wird Arnett im Online-Beitrag von «Daily Mirror» zitiert.

Der 68-Jährige hatte bis Montag aus Bagdad für NBC und das Magazin «National Geographic» berichtet. Beide Medien trennten sich von ihm nach einem umstrittenen Auftritt im irakischen Fernsehen. Im Gespräch mit einem in irakischer Uniform auftretenden Interviewer hatte Arnett gesagt, die amerikanische Strategie sei wegen der überraschend starken Gegenwehr der Iraker fehlgeschlagen. Die Militärstrategen arbeiteten in Washington an einer neuen Taktik. nzz.ch

newsmax.com

Das Bundesamtes für Gesundheit (BAG) und die Kantone Basel Stadt und Zürich hatte die Arbeitsgruppe am Montag eingesetzt. Diese soll konkrete Vorschläge für allfällige Massnahmen erarbeiten, die nochmals mit den Regierungsvertretern besprochen werden.

Der Kriegswitz des Tages kommt heute von Xerox:

Saddam Hussein was sitting in his office wondering whom to invade next when his telephone rang. "Hallo, Mr. Hussein!", a heavily accented voice said. "This is Paddy down at the Harp Pub in County Sligo, Ireland. I am ringing to inform you that we are officially declaring war on you!" "Well, Paddy," Saddam replied, "this is indeed important news! How big is your army?" "Right now," said Paddy, after a moment's calculation, "there is myself, my cousin Sean, my next door neighbor Seamus, and the entire dart team from the pub. That makes eight!" Saddam paused. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have one million men in my army waiting to move on my command." "Begorra!", said Paddy. "I'll have to ring you back!" Sure enough, the next day, Paddy called again. "Mr. Hussein, the war is still on! We have managed to acquire some infantry equipment!" "And what equipment would that be, Paddy?" Saddam asked. "Well, we have two combines, a bulldozer, and Murphy's farm tractor." Saddam sighed. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 16,000 tanks and 14,000 armored personnel carriers. Also, I've increased my army to 1-1/2 million since we last spoke." "Saints preserve us!" said Paddy. "I'll have to get back to you." Sure enough, Paddy rang again the next day. "Mr. Hussein, the war is still on! We have managed to get ourselves airborne! We've modified Harrigan's ultra-light with a couple of shotguns in the cockpit, and four boys from the Shamrock Pub have joined us as well!" Saddam was silent for a minute and then cleared his throat. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 10,000 bombers and 20,000 fighter planes. My military complex is surrounded by laser-guided, surface-to-air missile sites. And since we last spoke, I've increased my army to TWO MILLION!" "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!", said Paddy, "I'll have to ring you back." Sure enough, Paddy called again the next day. "Top o' the mornin', Mr. Hussein! I am sorry to tell you that we have had to call off the war." "I'm sorry to hear that," said Saddam. "Why the sudden change of heart?" "Well," said Paddy, "we've all had a long chat over a bunch of pints, and decided there's no way we can feed two million prisoners." God Bless the Irish!