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PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (PNG Post-Courier, Sept. 4) - The
illegal sex industry is increasing in Papua New Guinea and must be controlled to
stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, a top academic has said. 

While not legalized, the industry must be regulated in some way,
so the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic can be controlled, president of the PNG
Medical Society and Executive Dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences
of the University of Papua New Guinea Professor Mathias Sapuri told the
Post-Courier at the week-long medical symposium in Mt Hagen. 

Meanwhile, the National Capital District provincial program
adviser for the National AIDS Council Secretariat Wilfred Peters said better
strategic planning would take place to co-ordinate activities. 

In his paper titled "Sex Work on The Rise in PNG", Mr
Peters revealed recent and hidden statistics on the illegal sex industry, which
have been obtained...

MELBOURNE, Australia (Radio Australia, Sept. 3) - The Australian
Broadcasting Corporation has obtained Spanish court documents that appear to
link two Australian Muslim leaders with Spain's top al-Qaeda suspect.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed they are aware of
communications between the Australians and the Spanish man, Abu Dahdah.

Abu Dahdah, who is being held as al-Qaeda's top man in Spain, is
alleged to have met the main organizer of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the
United States, Mohammed Atta.

Court documents tendered last year to support Abu Dahdah's
detention on terrorism charges allege repeated contacts between the Spanish
suspect and Australians Sheikh Mohammed Omran and Bilal Khazal.

Sheik Omran denies he has had any contact with the man and Bilal
Khazal did not respond to questions from the ABC.

The AFP say it knows of such communications, and has revealed it
has at...

MELBOURNE, Australia (Radio Australia, Sept. 4) - Indonesian
Vice President Hamzah Haz says foreign critics have overreacted in the criticism
of the four-year sentence passed by a Jakarta court on Muslim cleric Abu Bakar
Bashir.

On Tuesday, judges imprisoned Bashir for four years rather than
the 15 years prosecutors had requested for taking part in a plot to overthrow
the government.

The court heard there was no proof that he heads the al-Qaeda-linked
Jemaah Islamiyah regional terror group.

Haz said Canberra, and other foreign critics, had overreacted
and they should respect the existing law in Indonesia.

Prime Minister John Howard said Australia was
"disappointed" that the Muslim cleric did not get a longer sentence
and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he remained convinced Bashir was the
spiritual leader of JI.

September 4, 2003

Radio Australia:...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (RNZI, Sept. 3) - Vanuatu’s National Council of Chiefs has passed a motion to require people moving between provinces to carry permits.

The Council’s spokesperson, Sandy Ishmael, says this is part of an overall demand for the government to amend the constitution to allow the chiefs to control people’s freedom of movement.

He says this will include sending people who have committed crimes or are unable to find work back to their home provinces.

Ishmael says there is concern about the high crime rates in Port Vila and Luganville and the only solution is to give the chiefs more policing powers.

"We propose to empower the chiefs again to rule their people, not to go against the government, but to support the government, to have our people under control and we want to have entry permits into other provinces," he said. "The chiefs are civil policemen, we are trying to promote being trained with our national police"

September 4,...