Saddam Hussein may have obtained safe haven in the former Russian province of Belarus. Western intelligence says several intelligence agencies in the Middle East and Europe think he and his family were on a March 29 chartered cargo plane that flew from Baghdad to Minsk. “There’s no proof that Saddam was on the plane but we have proof that a plane left on that day from Baghdad airport and arrived in Minsk,” says a senior intelligence officer. “If you can think of anybody else who could obtain permission to fly out of Baghdad in the middle of a war, then please tell me.”
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There’s evidence that the Earth’s magnetic poles are about to flip. What’s interesting is this: it’s already happened on the Sun. Like the Earth, it has a north and south pole. But for nearly a month, beginning in March 2000, the Sun’s south magnetic pole faded, and a north pole emerged to take its place, so the Sun had two north poles. By May 2000, the south pole was back to its usual position. Then in 2001, the solar magnetic field flipped and the poles swapped positions. They’ve stayed at way ever since.
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SARS is now attacking the intestines as well as the respiratory system. Hong Kong virologist Malik Peiris says this indicates the virus has mutated and will make it harder to develop a vaccine or a medicine for the disease. Tom Buckley, of the intensive care unit at Hong Kong’s Princess Margaret Hospital, says organ failure is now becoming more common. “Initially patients were presenting with just respiratory failure,” he says. “Now we’re seeing renal failure and other organ failure.” And despite mandatory quarantines, SARS carriers are slipping out into the public and infecting others.
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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov says a “catastrophic” development of events between the U.S. and North Korea will occur in the next few days. “It is probable that, as early as tomorrow, there will be a catastrophic development of events,” he says, and he says the standoff between the two countries has “reached an extreme stage.” U.S. Asia envoy James Kelly is now talking with North Korea in Beijing. Russia was excluded from the meetings, but Losyukov says Russia “does not feel left out or hurt.” President Vladimir Putin has met with reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-il three times over the past two years.
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