Saddam
chairs meeting as bombardment continues in
Baghdad
Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein on Sunday chaired a meeting
attended by his two sons and other
high-ranking military officers as explosions
jolted the capital Baghdad early Sunday after
a relatively quiet night.
The meeting was
also attended by Defense Minister Sultan
Hashem Ahmed and other army commanders.
Meanwhile,
Saddam signed a decree granting two Iraqi
women the highest honor medals of the
Decoration of Umm al-Maarek or the Mother of
All Battles, and the Wisam al-Rafidain, or
Order of the Two Rivers.
The two women
blew themselves up when a car bomb exploded
near a coalition checkpoint Thursday evening
near the Haditha Dam northwest of Baghdad,
killing three coalition soldiers.
President
Saddam also awarded 10 Bravery medals to the
family members of the two women, respectively,
and 50 million Iraqi dinars (25,000 US
dollars) to each family.
In another
development, Iraqi forces are exchanging fire
with US and British forces in different parts
of the outskirts of Baghdad on Sunday. US and
British troops were pushed back to their
positions 40 to 50 kilometers away from
Baghdad.
Artillery fire
was also heard in southwestern Baghdad, said
witnesses.
A 10-year-old
boy was killed Sunday when a missile hit a
bakery in Baghdad.
Cuban ferry
hostages rescued, hijackers arrested
A Brazilian man
hospitalized on Thursday in Sao Paulo Hospital
was suspected of being infected by the severe
acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), or atypical
pneumonia, the local medical center said
Friday.
It is the
second suspected SARS case in Brazil, after
British journalist Sally Brower was
hospitalized in Albert Einstein Hospital, with
symptoms indicative of SARS.
The
newly-hospitalized patient, whose name was not
disclosed, is a 48-year-old man who works for
Toyota, the media center said in a statement.
The man, who
had recently traveled in Thailand and Japan,
showed SARS-like symptoms such as high fever,
coughing, breathing difficulties and muscle
pain.
The local press
said the man arrived in Sao Paulo to
participate in the motor-racing Formula One
Grand Prix of Brazil, on Sunday.
"He has
already been subjected to treatment with
antibiotics, hydration and other supportive
measures," the local media said.
Blood and serum
samples of the patient were reportedly taken
for etiological diagnosis.
Central
America, US makes progress in FTA negotiations
US and Central
American negotiators Friday concluded their
3rd round of negotiations in San Salvador, El
Salvador, on a free trade agreement (FTA),
after hammering out 50 percent of the draft
agreement.
According to
reports from San Salvador, negotiations from
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica,
Nicaragua and the United States expressed
their satisfaction over the progress made in
the meetings which started on Monday.
Salvadorian
Vice Economy Minister Eduardo Ayala said that
about 50 percent of the text has already been
agreed upon, adding that no sector has been
excluded during the negotiations.
On the other
hand, Regina Vargo, assistant secretary of the
US Trade Department for the Americas, who was
head of the US negotiating team, said,
"We've had a very productive round."
As to the
agricultural sector, one of the most sensitive
issues within the framework of the FTA, she
said the negotiators were seeking the most
reasonable way to solve the problem.
The Central
American countries asked the United States to
eliminate subsidies to agricultural exports to
the region, but Vargo said that would be
possible only if Central America commits not
to accept them either in commercial treaties
with other nations.
Meanwhile,
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said in
Washington on Friday that US President George
W. Bush will meet next Thursday with the
presidents of the five Central American
countries.
The leaders are
expected to talk about trade and the Central
American immigrants in the United States.
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