Canadian Agriculture officials plan to kill up to 700 or more cattle as they try to determine how a single Alberta cow wound up with mad cow disease, and whether more cattle have been infected, local media reported on Wednesday.

In Canada's western province of British Columbia, three herds totaling 60 cows would be killed after investigators said they were not sure whether the cows were given the same poultry feed as that to the infected cow.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has removed another herd also in the province from the quarantine list, affirming that these cows had no relationship with the infected cow, and had not been exposed to the same feed sources.

As many as about 650 cows from three herds would be killed and tested for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Two herds are in the province of Alberta and one in the province of Saskatchewan.

The United States, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand have banned Canadian beef imports, putting an industry worth billions of dollars on hold.

FBI warns of possible al-Qaida attacks

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned Wednesday of possible chemical, biological or radiological attacks by the al-Qaida, a terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden.

The al-Qaida and sympathetic terrorist groups "continue to enhance their capabilities to conduct effective mass casualty attacks" using these weapons, the FBI said in its latest weekly Bulletin to 18,000 state and local law enforcement and government agencies.

Although there is no specific information about when and where the attack might occur, such an attack cannot be ruled out, said the bulletin.

The warning came one week after the United States raised its terror alert level from yellow to orange, meaning a high risk of terrorist attacks.

The FBI issued similar warnings before, including possible terrorist attacks with chemical and biological agents such as hydrogen cyanide, mustard gas, sarin, anthrax and ricin.

Russia confirms first case of SARS

Russian authorities confirmed on Wednesday the first case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Russia, local media reported.

"The diagnosis is unquestionable: this is SARS," Gennady Onishchenko, Russia's chief epidemiologist, was quoted by Russia's Interfax news agency as saying.

Onishchenko said Denis Soinikov, a 25-year-old man and hospitalized in Blagoveshchensk in the country's far east, has been confirmed to have the flu-like disease.

Soinikov was initially diagnosed with SARS on May 4, but Russian experts were not certain about the diagnosis due to the lack of SARS-related knowledge and experience.

Onishchenko said that a sample of the patient's blood serum provided the final confirmation that he had the disease.

So far, Russia has registered 30 suspected SARS cases, an Itar-Tass report said.

To prevent possible spread of the epidemic, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov earlier on Wednesday ordered authorities concerned to close some border points as mandatory control measures.

G8 summit to focus on growth, solidarity and security

The 2002 summit of the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialized countries will focus on economic growth, solidarity and mutual assistance as well as international security, French presidential spokeswomen said Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference, Elysee spokeswoman Catherine Colonna said as the host of the 2003 G8 summit, France wishes to convey such a message to the world through the summit - to promote development, strengthen solidarity and guarantee security through dialogue and coordination.

The annual G-8 summit brings together the leaders of the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and Russia for discussion of broad political and economic issues in the developed world.

To strengthen dialogue, France has invited the heads of state or government from 13 countries as well as the leaders of four major international organizations to attend the Enlarged Dialogue meeting with the G8 this year: Chinese President Hu Jintao, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, South African President Thabo Mbeki, Moroccan King Mohammed VI, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, Mexican President Vicente Fox, Swiss President Pascal Couchepin, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Bin Mohamad, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as well as United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, World Bank President James Wolfensohn, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Horst Koehler and World Trade Organization Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi.

On June 1, the heads of state or government from these countries as well as the leaders of the four major international organizations will hold close-door talks with the G8 leaders on cooperation, development, environment, public health and other issues of common concern.

Afterwards, the G8 leaders will hold talks with leaders of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which groups Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, South Africa and Senegal.

According to Colonna, the G8 leaders will focus their discussions on economic and political issues on June 2 and 3, covering the prospects for the world's economic development, global trade, market economy and the prevention and settlement of economic crises as well as regional and international security, the fight against terrorism, measures to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and regional conflicts.

On solidarity and mutual assistance, Colonna said France attaches great importance to the development of Africa, which has been increasingly marginalized amid rapid development of other regions across the world.

France has proposed the theme of solidarity for the 2003 G8 summit in an effort to realize sustainable development of the world by assisting poor countries with such measures as debt relief, increase of aid, provision of medical care and access to water for all.

However, Colonna said that the 2003 G8 summit is unlikely to yield any substantial comment on the recent devaluation of the dollar and appreciation of the euro. Recently, the euro has soared to a new record against a steadily weakening dollar.

The recent devaluation of the US dollar has raised concern in Europe for fear that a fast appreciating euro will dampen exports and snuff out economic recovery.