More people have died in clashes in this country as elections approach next month.
Nigeria has seen thousands of deaths from tribal, religious and economic clashes, not unlike the Sudan. Muslim law was introduced to northern Nigerian states three years ago.

Now thousands of people are fleeing violence in the oil rich delta and Texaco has supended operations and evacuated villagers. Shell has been unable to meet ‘contractual obligations’ because of the heavy fighting.

The number of dead in the latest fighting is not known, but reports from the region number the dead in scores.

Australia/Indonesia
The Australian government has issued a terror alert to it’s citizens planning to travel to Indonesia or currently vacationing in Indonesia.

In its statement, the ministry cautions Australians not to travel to Surabaya, the bustling capital of East Java province.

Those already in the city, the statement says, are advised to “exercise extreme caution, to remain at home wherever possible and to avoid commercial and public places frequented by foreigners” such as bars, restaurants, fast food outlets and so on.

Angry protests over the war in Iraq have been taking place in Surabaya the past two days.

SARS
Canadian medical detectives are joining Hong Kong and Germany in statements saying they have identified a specific virus metapneumovirus, which is a member of the family of viruses known as paramyxoviruses.

The Winnipeg Health Canada laboratory has been working with others in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Nova Scotia and shows the virus is responsible for about 15 per cent of all respiratory ailments that weren’t caused by influenza and other more common pathogens.

Another study from the United Kingdom showed that about two per cent of people with acute or mild respiratory tract infections had the virus.

Plummer said he found it “reassuring” that an existing virus - as opposed to a hitherto unknown bug - may be behind SARS. “That makes it a little bit less scary.”

But he admitted there’s no good explanation yet for why a virus that has been known to be mild has caused 10 deaths around the world and rendered more than 350 people severely ill.

Chechnya
Even as a group of Chechen’s put down their guns and were granted immunity in the capital city, fighting continued on the eve of a constitutional referendum.

Over at blogdex today only one of the top 50 links weren’t about the war in Iraq.
At Daypop today, 2 of the top links weren’t about the war in Iraq.

It’s the second official day of spring here in Canada, and a heavy, wet, ’sugar’ snow is falling. It looks like a painting. The flakes are relentlessly big and fluffy, coming straight down because there is no wind and temperatures are seasonal. It is also the kind of weather that makes driving treacherous with the melt and ice underneath. It muffles sound to the point that silence almost shouts. But it is not quite a winter snow, which gives one hope for spring….

I’ve done a fair bit of leap-blogging this morning. There are a lot of bloggers intent on chasing down the latest news from the middle east, grabbing spin and rumours. There is some analysis, and still lots of name-calling and blame, and jumping on the nearest band-wagon which is easy when it isn’t happening to you. Many gulp down the latest ‘military phrasing’ and political posturing, and it will always be that way. But mostly I see a slowing down from the previous weeks hyberbole. There seems to be a realistic sadness, diffuse anxiety, more awareness and a focus in on the worth and value of the small things day to day.

And thanks for the well-wishes, my flu is running it’s course.
I owe Dave King of IdeaJoy and Who Links Who a debt of gratitude. He has been faithfully tracking my links for me since I got my domain name and changed servers. It’s extra work for an already very busy guy, and he has done it with grace and without complaint.
Those of you who are using benediction.webhop and benedictionhoureleven, feel free to change to benedictionblogson.com next time you are in your blog roll eh? The re-directs work fine, thanks to top-notch techs, but it’s sort of like having the right zip or postal code. It was a tough transition and I have really appreciated your patience and kindness. Thanks.