China appeals for US to stop the war on Iraq
(AFP) - BEIJING - China on Tuesday reiterated its calls for the United States to stop the war on
Iraq, saying it was ?seriously concerned? about the worsening humanitarian situation. "First of all,
we strongly appeal to relevant countries to put an end to war and come back to the
track of peaceful solution," Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said at a regular briefing. "We
are seriously concerned about the worsening humanitarian situation in Iraq," Kong added. He said
China had agreed to provide humanitarian assistance to Jordan to help refugees from Iraq and
indicated that China planned to provide additional assistance if necessary. "China will provide
humanitarian assistance within its capacity to relocate the Iraqi refugees in the plague of war," he
said. China, as one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, has repeatedly called for
an immediate halt to the US-led assault against Iraq since war broke out Thursday, saying the
actions violated the UN Charter and international norms.
Hong Kong gripped by fear of pneumonia
(AFP) - HONG KONG - The killer respiratory illness gripping Hong Kong is sowing a climate of fear
which is driving away tourists, emptying restaurants and prompting many people to wear protective
masks. The morning commuter crowd on Tuesday was peppered with people sporting white surgical
facemasks in an attempt to fend off the virus which has so far claimed 10 lives in the former
British colony and infected 260 other people. The health authorities have been battling to contain
the illness - being called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) - for nearly three weeks but the
number of infections and deaths have been steadily rising. Fears were raised a notch after the
territory?s health chief Yeoh Eng-kiong Monday urged anybody with flu-like symptoms to stay at home,
and the government issued television warnings telling people to avoid public places. "It's getting
more and more worrying," said businessman Eugene Cheng as he rode the tram to work,
gesturing to the many passengers wearing masks or covering their mouths. "I feel uncomfortable, as
if people are getting suspicious of each other," he said. "I'm very concerned," said officer worker
Nila Yip through her mask as she bought a take-away lunch box so as to avoid eating in a restaurant.
"It is better to take precautions to prevent having the disease," she said. Public concern over the
illness, which often causes an atypical pneumonia, has not been helped by news Hospital Authority
chief executive William Ho was stuck down after showing symptoms. Four schools were also closed for
a week from Monday after five students, a teacher and a school bus driver were found to have SARS.
And the popular Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament, due to be held March 28-30, has also suffered
after Argentina joined France and Italy in saying they would not be taking part because of the
health scare. William Mark, chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Restaurant Owners, said the
outbreak had already caused business in the restaurant sector slump by 20 percent.
Malaysia supports efforts to stop war
KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Malaysia will give its support to countries, particularly the
permanent members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, to take actions to stop the war in
Iraq immediately, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said here Tuesday. Hamid Albar said Malaysia
would continue to uphold all principles of justice and international law, stressing that the role of
the UN Security Council is most important in the international system, the national news agency
Bernama reported. Syed Hamid made the remarks when asked to comment on a news agency report in
Moscow Monday, which quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov as saying that the Security
Council and UN should provide a legal assessment pertaining to the war in Iraq to ensure that the
United States and Britain are held responsible, including paying humanitarian compensation as a
result of the attacks. Syed Hamid said that the world community must cooperate to criticize and
stop the attacks by the United States and its alliesin Iraq because they represented an incursion
and were made unilaterally without the blessing of international law nor the decision and mandate of
the UN Security Council. "We are not anti-anybody but we want peace," he said. Syed Hamid also
expressed regret that UN Secretary-General KofiAnnan had said that he was now making preparation to
send humanitarian aid to the people of Iraq. "The question is as though the war could not be
avoided, the UN Secretary-General must ask for a stop to the incursion immediately,and humanitarian
aid can be sent later instead of stating that the attack had taken place, as such, we forget the
incursion and take action to provide humanitarian aid.
