www.forbes.com Reuters, 03.03.03, 2:57 AM ET

SINGAPORE, March 3 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell again on Monday as the timetable for a war in Iraq appeared to get pushed back with Baghdad complying with U.N. demands to destroy illegal missiles, while Turkey rejected hosting U.S. troops on its soil. U.S. light crude fell 50 cents to $36.10 a barrel, extending Friday's 60-cent loss in New York. "The pendulum of market sentiment appears to be focused on a delay to a military strike, which will erode the war premium," said Sydney-based independent oil analyst Simon Games-Thomas. "Without the war factor and against a backdrop of low inventory and the loss of Venezuelan production, a fair value for crude is somewhere in the region of $30-$32." Crude has fallen sharply after briefly touching $39.99 on February 27, which was just short of a $41.15 record struck in October 1990 in the build up to the Gulf War. Washington's continued talk of an invasion to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction and wafer-thin winter heating fuel stocks in the United States as temperatures remain unseasonally low bolstered prices to 12-year highs last week. But Iraq's compliance to destroy its al-Samoud 2 missiles as ordered by chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix and calls from France and Russia for a peaceful solution to the crisis have taken some of the steam out of the prospects for imminent war. Last week analysts pegged the so-called war premium at between $2 and $6 a barrel, with traders fearing an attack on Iraq, the world's eighth biggest oil exporter, could disrupt crude supplies from other Middle East producers. OPEC President Abdullah al-Attiyah said on Monday that oil prices were currently carrying a war premium of about $5. Attiyah, also Qatari oil minister, said the producers' cartel would suspend its oil output limits if a war were to halt Iraqi exports, which are roughly two million barrels per day. Asked in an interview on BBC television if OPEC would remove its production ceiling if a U.S.-led attack were to disrupt Iraqi oil supplies, Attiyah said: "Yes. If there is a shortage and the world needs more oil, we will do it...We will pump maximum capacity if the market needs it." The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is expected at a March 11 meeting to establish a war contingency plan that would suspend limits once hostilities start. Kuwait was swift to lend its support to a temporary suspension of the group's ceiling -- lifted twice already this year to 24.5 million bpd to cover a shortfall from strike-bound member Venezuela. "Whatever OPEC will decide, Kuwait will cooperate," Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah told Reuters.

TURKEY REJECTION Turkey's parliament threw a spanner in U.S. war plans and narrowly voted at the weekend against allowing the deployment of U.S. troops on Turkish soil, from which Washington hoped to open a northern front against Iraq in any war. The United States had offered Ankara up to $30 billion in grants and loan guarantees to shore up its frail economy for the deployment of U.S. troops. Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday the government would review its options and did not rule out a second attempt to win permission from parliament. Iraq scrapped two batches of its al-Samoud 2 missiles at the weekend and opened talks on VX nerve gas and anthrax stocks it said it had destroyed. The United States has accused Baghdad of playing a "game of deception" and hiding banned weapons.

english.pravda.ru 10:00 2003-03-03

Malaria cases dramatically rose since the beginning of the new millenium in Latin America. According to last reports from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Colombia registers the highest increases with a 91.6%. In what looks like an Andean epidemic, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru follow Colombia at the top of the ranking.

Specialists warn on the potential spread of cases in those countries if not immediate policies are implemented. For instance, Colombia had 193,542 cases in 2002, but 5,027,427 are at serious risk of becoming infected at country's rural areas.

An almost eradicated disease in the 1990's, malaria has come back as major worrying for health authorities of the Andean countries. The aggravation of the social situation after the collapse of the neo-liberal programs, the continuos migration of farmers looking for jobs at the illegal plantations, environmental changes are some of the reasons for this reality.

In some Colombian States over one third of the population are at risk of catching malaria. An official internal report of the Ministry of Social Care estimates in 24 million, the number of people that could die of malaria in Colombia.

In Peru, malaria cases went up 14% between 2001 and 2002; Ecuador's figures are slightly better: 10.5% during the same period of time. Venezuela is an special case: one of the largest economies of the region thanks to the exports of oil faces an increasing in malaria rate of 32.7% according to PAHO.

Brazil is an exception to the rule. Traditionally the most affected country, made an extraordinary progress on this field turning back its figures. Between 2001 and 2002, malaria cases decreased in a 36%.

Malaria can be cured, nowadays. However, mistreatment and lack of controls can make this ancestral disease mortal among the impoverished rural population. Actually, national Governments count with eradication programs financed by international institutions, but the money does not reach its destiny for several well-known reasons.

Hernan Etchaleco PRAVDA.Ru Argentina

www.channelnewsasia.com First created : 03 March 2003 1239 hrs (SST) 0439 hrs (GMT) Last modified : 03 March 2003 1835 hrs (SST) 1035 hrs (GMT)

Neptune Orient Lines, the world's seventh largest container shipping group, said its unit, American Eagles Tankers had won a US$220 million (S$382m) long-term contract to transport fuel from Venezuela to Asia.

In a statement, NOL Chairman, Cheng Wai Keung said AET won the tender to transport fuel for BITOR, a subsidiary of the Venezuelan state oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela.Advertisement The fuel will be delivered to Singapore power company Power Seraya which is switching to cleaner and cheaper Venezuelan oil to fuel its power station.

The contract is for seven years with an option for a three-year extension, and starts in the second half of 2004.

AET will expand its fleet of very large crude carriers (VLCCs) by three to five to cope with the additional capacity demands.

NOL has negotiated with Far Eastern shipyards last year to build the three additional VLCCs.

The vessels will be delivered from the end of next year to the beginning of 2005.

Industry analysts said the contract could put NOL in a stronger bargaining position to sell its profitable tanker unit and reduce debt.

Loss-making NOL, which is cutting costs in a bid to revive its core container shipping business, has said it is considering selling its only profitable division.

Analysts say the sale of American Eagle Tankers could fetch as much as US$1 billion, which would help bring down the shipping group's gearing to below three times from the current five times.

Last week, the Singapore shipping group said its 2002 net loss widened to S$574 million.

PowerSeraya told Channel NewsAsia that the Venezuelan oil is cheaper than high sulphur fuel oil, even after taking into account the cost of transporting it half way round the world.

The energy firm estimates that it'll be buying up to 1.8 million tons per year of the Venezuelan oil.

sg.biz.yahoo.com Monday March 3, 9:10 AM

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--American Eagle Tankers, the U.S.-based oil transporting unit of Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines Ltd. (P.NEP), has received a US$220-million contract to transport fuel from Venezuela to Asia, the shipping line said Sunday.

American Eagle Tankers will transport orimulsion, a bitumen-based fuel, for a unit of Venezuelan national oil company PDVSA, for delivery to Singapore power company Power Seraya, NOL said in a statement.

The contract is for seven years with an option for a three-year extension, and starts in the second half of 2004, it said.

-By Sai Man, Dow Jones Newswires, 65 6415 4155; sai.man@dowjones.com

-Edited by Sumathi Vaidyanathan

www.guardian.co.uk Tim Dowling Monday March 3, 2003 The Guardian

Plunging stock markets, perpetual terror warnings, imminent war. It's enough to get you down. But only if you think the glass is half empty! Cheer up with our daily look on the bright side...

Headteacher Joan Riley was so impressed by building work carried out on her school that she wrote a poem. Mrs Riley was delighted with every aspect of Bowey Construction's refurbishment work at Mowbray First School in Northumberland. "I felt the best way to show our appreciation was to write the poem," she said. Len Clark, Bowey's managing director, said: "When a client goes to the time and trouble to write a lengthy poem, we know we've done a good job." Let's hear from more people who are pleased with their builders! Poetry welcome!

A Somerset woman has had her stolen purse returned... after 10 years! The purse, snatched a decade ago in the car park of the pub owned by Maureen Baker, was returned to her by a cyclist who found it near a railway. The cash was missing, but the credit cards were intact. They're expired, of course, and the purse isn't in good shape, but Mrs Baker has been given a gift that money can't buy: a sense of closure. Nice gesture, cyclist!

There is one bright spot amid the gloom of Venezuela's political and economic crisis: due to a power shortage, Venezualan clocks are ticking too slowly. In fact the slowdown has put the clocks 14 hours and 36 minutes behind schedule, allowing Venezualans to savour life's precious moments just a bit longer. Let's hope they don't forget the lesson when the clocks speed up again.

Today's heart-warming animal story illustrates an innovative idea to help keep Frankfurt clean. City officials in the German financial capital have proposed putting number plates on dogs in order to crack down on owners who let their pets foul Frankfurt's pristine pavements. The system would rely on citizens informing on dog owners, who could face fines of €150. Well done, German busybodies!