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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Australia to double Afghanistan forces

The Spokesman-Review

Australia plans to nearly double its forces in Afghanistan, Prime Minister John Howard said today, describing the dispatch of 450 soldiers as an attempt to check the swelling Taliban insurgency.

By midyear, the Australian Defense Force will add 400 troops to its contingent of 550 currently in Afghanistan. It will add 50 more by the middle of 2008, bringing the deployment to about 1,000, Howard told reporters.

Howard, a staunch U.S. ally in Iraq and Afghanistan, did not rule out sending more than 1,000 troops if the need arose.

Australia sent troops to Afghanistan as part of the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001 but withdrew all but one land-mine specialist in 2002 as security improved.

BANGKOK, Thailand

Magic amulets lead to death, injuries

A crowd of thousands waiting to buy purportedly magical amulets erupted into a stampede that killed one woman and injured dozens Monday, police said.

More than 10,000 people had camped overnight outside a school to buy the Jatukam Ramathep amulets, which have gained a huge following in recent months for what are believed to be their magical qualities.

The 50-year-old woman was trampled when the crowd rushed the school gates Monday morning, said police Lt. Suriyon Kaemthong, a police lieutenant in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, 360 miles south of Bangkok.

Many Thais carry or wear amulets for good luck. The amulets usually show images associated with Buddhism – the religion of most Thais – though amulets are not formally part of its doctrine.

The phenomenon of the Jatukam amulet, named after a Brahmin deity, started spreading nationwide when its original creator, a highly respected police official, died at 104 last year.

Police ordered a halt to distribution of the amulets after the woman died, said Suriyon.

KOROLYOV, Russia

U.S. billionaire at space station

Two Russian cosmonauts and a U.S. billionaire who helped develop Microsoft Word floated into the international space station early today – to the earthbound applause of Martha Stewart and others at Mission Control.

Stewart was among Russian and U.S. officials and visitors monitoring the docking at Russian Mission Control, on Moscow’s outskirts, as onboard TV cameras showed the Soyuz nearing the station and then jerking to a stop. Stewart is a friend of Charles Simonyi, the American who shelled out $20 million to $25 million to be the world’s fifth paying private space traveler.

The arrival of a new crew is always a happy event, and this time the residents are getting an extra treat – the gourmet dinner brought by Simonyi.

The menu, including quail marinated in wine, was selected by Stewart, who was also on hand at Baikonur for the rocket’s launch Saturday.

The dinner is to be eaten on Thursday, which Russia marks as Cosmonauts’ Day, the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin making the first manned space flight in 1961.

BEIJING

Hospital servespossible rat poison

One person died and more than 200 people fell sick after eating food that may have been contaminated with rat poison at a hospital restaurant in northeastern China, state media and the hospital said today.

Xinhua News Agency said the victims included patients and staff at the Heilongjiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The victims all ate porridge for breakfast at the hospital’s restaurant Monday, and investigators suspected the water had been contaminated by rat poison, Xinhua said. Most complained of nausea and diarrhea.