- BALI, Indonesia (Reuters)
- Hundreds of frightened and injured tourists were evacuated from Bali
early on Monday after bombs killed at least 183 people on the holiday island,
triggering calls for Indonesia to round up Muslim militants.
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- No group claimed responsibility for the Saturday night
attack and there were no obvious clues to the identity of the perpetrators,
although some people speculated that Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network
might be to blame.
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- "The world must confront this global menace, terrorism,"
President Bush said. "And we must call this despicable act by its
rightful name, murder."
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- The most powerful of two blasts demolished the Sari Club,
popular with young backpackers and surfers who flock to Kuta from all over
the world, particularly Australia.
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- Overwhelmed hospitals in Bali struggled to care for hundreds
of injured, many with horrific burns from the explosions near Kuta beach
and the inferno that followed. There were shortages of medical supplies
including pain-killers and saline solution.
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- Bodies of victims wrapped in white sheets filled the
morgue of Bali's main hospital. Friends and relatives searched for missing
loved ones in the wards.
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- Five Australian C-130 Hercules air force planes and several
special Qantas flights ferried injured and shocked tourists home.
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- Kirk Coninghan, a spokesman for the Australian embassy
in Jakarta, said the C-130 military airlift operated through the night
and some 200 Australians had been evacuated to the northern city of Darwin.
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- "My understanding is that around 200 have been evacuated.
We are close to getting all the Australians injured out," he said.
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- Police put the death toll at least 183 and said the victims
included people from Australia, Britain, France, Germany and Sweden. At
least 300 people were injured.
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- Thirteen Australians were confirmed dead, one dying on
an evacuation flight home on Monday, with another 110 believed injured.
A further 225 Australians were unaccounted for.
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- Hospitals around Australia were put on alert to expect
casualties, many badly burned and with shrapnel injuries.
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- INDONESIA UNDER FIRE
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- Asian neighbors have accused Indonesia, the world's most
populous Muslim nation, of being reluctant to tackle Islamic extremists,
despite suggestions that the al Qaeda network has established a foothold
in the sprawling archipelago.
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- "We would like to see a maximum effort on the part
of the Indonesian government to deal with the terrorist problem within
their own borders," Australian Prime Minister John Howard said after
speaking to Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri by telephone. "It's
been a problem for a long time."
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- "This is not a problem confined to America or the
Middle East or Europe," he told Australian radio on Monday.
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- In Jakarta, the U.S. embassy said it was considering
scaling back the American diplomatic presence in the country.
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- President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who flew to Bali after
an emergency cabinet meeting, said the explosions were a warning that terrorism
was a threat to national security. But she offered no clues on who authorities
believed might be to blame.
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- "The Indonesian government will continue cooperation
with the international community to overcome terrorism," she said.
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- A notice board giving information on hospital admissions
in Bali included a section called "Identity Unknown." One entry
read: "Young girl in intensive care, 11-14 years old, face burned,
in coma. Caucasian." Another read: "Girl in intensive care, about
5 years old, 130 cm, fair skin, Caucasian with reddish brown hair. She
has a purplish belly button ring."
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- The blasts came on the second anniversary of the al-Qaeda
linked attack against the USS Cole in the port of Aden, Yemen, and followed
an attack that killed a U.S. Marine in Kuwait.
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- The United States and Singapore, which has detained dozens
of people in a crackdown on what it says is a radical Southeast Asian Islamist
network, have been pressing Indonesia to arrest a Muslim cleric they describe
as a pivotal player in Jemaah Islamiah, as the group is known.
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- At a news conference on Sunday, the cleric, Abu Bakar
Bashir, blamed the United States for the attacks.
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- "It would be impossible for Indonesians to do it...
Indonesians don't have such powerful explosives," he said.
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- "I think maybe the U.S. are behind the bombings
because they always say Indonesia is part of a terrorist network."
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- Additional reporting by Joanne Collins, Telly Nathalia
and Jerry Norton in Jakarta
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