By JAMES PALMER
Foot and mouth returns
All the British dailies report that the nation's farmers are in torment again as the first outbreak of foot and mouth disease for 20 years plunged the industry into yet another crisis.
The Independent says the European Union has banned all exports of meat, milk and livestock until further notice, which could have catastrophic consequences for farmers.
The Telegraph says the exports are worth £9 billion a year. The Herald Tribune says the ban will last until at least March 1.
Longest pedal and paddle
Two British brothers were shot at, shipwrecked and nearly imprisoned before landing in Sydney this morning as they completed the world's longest human powered journey, The Independent reports.
They pedalled and paddled from Greenwich, London to Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Tibet, China and through Southeast Asia before having to charter a boat to Australia.
Pope clones himself
Pope John Paul II created 44 new cardinals from all over the globe yesterday, The Independent reports, saying they will elect a pontiff in their creator's likeness.
The paper says only a handful of cardinals will not have been created by the Pope, ensuring his successor will, like him, be a defender of tradition.
The Telegraph says a crowd of 50,000 turned out for the ceremony in St Peter's Square.
The Times quotes one Vatican watcher as saying, "This is a like a dress rehearsal for the conclave to choose the next Pope," and notes that the initial shock of having a Polish Pope elected in 1978 has given way to an accepted internationalism.
FBI's 'mortician'
The Independent reports that Robert Hanssen, the FBI agent accused of spying for the KGB in what has been described as one of the most damaging cases of betrayal, is emerging as an ultra-cautious but determined loner.
He was nicknamed "the mortician" for his drab attire. Publishing extracts of the affidavit in which Hanssen's dealings with Russian intelligence are listed, the paper notes that he was inspired in his teens by the rogue British agent Kim Philby.
Meanwhile, the paper says, Russian foreign intelligence is dismissing the case as business as usual.
"As long as there is a state, state interests and the need to protect those interests, intelligence will continue to exist," a spokesman is quoted as saying.
The Herald Tribune points out that the FBI once criticised the CIA for allowing the espionage of Aldrich Ames to go unnoticed for nine years and now finds the shoe on the other foot.
EU threatens Mugabe
The EU has threatened to end a multi-million pound aid package to Zimbabwe if Mugabe does not improve the country's human rights record, The Independent reports.
It is giving Mugabe a final warning before taking the unprecedented step, the paper says.
The Times reports that strains between Britain and Zimbabwe worsened yesterday when Mugabe's government chastised a British diplomat for impeding police work and aiding Joseph Winter, the BBC journalist who was
expelled at the weekend.
The Telegraph paints a picture of pre-election Zimbabwe, with towns roamed by thugs.
Dithering Briton
One of four hostages taken in Bangladesh, a Briton, reportedly dithered for so long after he was freed that he missed the chance to end the kidnap, The Independent says.
Interviewing a divisonal commissioner, the paper says David Weston was freed and sent back to obtain a ransom with his Bangladeshi driver, but the pair couldn't work out what the 90 million dakas demand was in dollars for
over an hour.
They were passed by an army vehicle that could have ended the kidnap, but they failed to flag it down, the paper says.
Taliban deal on Bin Laden
The Guardian reports that Afghanistan's Taliban may be prepared to give up Osama Bin Laden for trial in a third, probably Islamic, country, after Islamic scholars have been given the opportunity to hear the US evidence against him.
Bin Laden is wanted by the US on charges of bombing two of its embassies in east Africa and killing 224 people.
Aids children v drug giants
A Kenyan Aids orphanage has declared war on the drug company giants in order to bring life saving drugs to millions of dying Africans, The Independent reports.
The orphanage plans to defy international patent law
and import a new Aids drug from India at a price it can afford.
Yesterday, Glaxo Smithkline, the British drug company announced record profits of $8.1 billion, the paper says.
Keeping it in the family
Bill Clinton has come under fresh fire. The front page of the New York Times says his brother-in-law had been paid up to $400,000 to help win presidential favours for a con-man and a drug dealer.
Clinton said he and Hillary had known nothing of the payments and insisted the money be returned.
The Guardian says Clinton on his last day of office pardoned Glenn Brawell, a convicted fraudster, and commuted the sentence of Carlos Vignali, a cocaine trafficker.
The Telegraph quotes Clinton as saying press enquiries concerning Hugh Rodham's lobbying was the first he knew of any payments.
Queuing is key to humanity
Humans reached the top of the animal kingdom by their ability to queue, The Independent says.
Such cooperative group behaviour is how we got where we
are today according to anthropologists who say the essential thing is that a queue relies on strangers who will probably never meet again.
Nike workers forced to date bosses
Indonesian Nike workers have lodged allegations of sexual harassment, verbal and physical abuse, The Financial Times reports.
People interviewed claimed that two employees had died because of a lack of medical attention and women were encouraged to 'date' their bosses to ensure promotion.
- INDEPENDENT
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Latest from World
Man accused of assassination attempt on Slovakia PM appears in court
Robert Fico remains in serious condition after surviving multiple gunshots.