Sidelights.

A group of Egyptian scholars plans to sue world Jewry for stealing gold, jewelry, and other items when Jews fled Egypt during the Exodus over 5,000 years ago. One of the terrorists involved in last year's Bali nightclub bombing was quoted in the Australian Daily Telegraph: "I want to thank the Australian people who supported our cause when they demonstrated against the policies of George Bush. Say thank you to all of them."

... Islam Online contends that the U.S. may be behind the murder of Sweden's foreign minister Anna Lindh because "Lindh described U.S. President George W. Bush as a fool due to his arrogance and the U.S. deterrence of Europe to follow the American example." The Economist reports that Afghanistan's economy grew by 28 percent last year.

Lorraine Heggessey, a BBC director, lashed out against media magnate Rupert Murdoch, stating, "He is against everything the BBC stands for.... He is a capitalist imperialist, isn't he?" "Genetically modified foods could be used to feed the starving in Africa and help curb the age-old curse of hunger," according to the Vatican's Monsignor Renato Martino. "It is immoral to possess the tools for winning the fight against hunger in the world and not use them because of political considerations." Utility workers in Cape Coral, Florida accidentally hooked up four area homes to the city's treated waste water instead of its purified drinking water. One family used impure water for more than three months. City manager Terry Stewart acknowledged that "mistakes were made.... The best we can do is make it right." ... Tennessee resident Robert Brown received a water bill of over $43,000: "The bill showed that I had used 9 million gallons of water from August 7 through September 8. And I am really not sure how anyone could use that much water."

Walter Cronkite ...