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EIGHT AID AGENCY LEADERS DEMAND UN PROTECTION Sir Richard Branson lands in Basra http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,948283,00.html [....] Today's warning came as the first British passenger plane to land in Iraq for 13 years brought 60 tonnes of vital medical aid to Basra. The Virgin Atlantic 747 - loaded with incubators, wheelchairs and life-saving drugs worth around £2m - touched down on the deserted runway at Basra international airport just hours after the US president, George Bush, declared that major hostilities were over. Virgin Atlantic boss Sir Richard Branson said flights might now be the best way to bring much-needed supplies to the war-torn country. Speaking on the runway at Basra, where his 747 was greeted by a guard of honour of waiting soldiers, he said the aid flight could be the first of many. "The aid agencies obviously should do their part as well, but Virgin has the big benefit of its own airline. My belief is that there needs to be literally hundreds of flights like this," he said. Virgin flew aid flights into Baghdad in 1990 and flew hostages out of the Iraqi capital ahead of the 1991 Gulf war. Civilian flights from Britain were then banned under Saddam's regime, but Sir Richard said Virgin was ready to start flights to Baghdad and Basra once it had permission from a new Iraqi authority. Today's warning came as the first British passenger plane to land in Iraq for 13 years brought 60 tonnes of vital medical aid to Basra. The Virgin Atlantic 747 - loaded with incubators, wheelchairs and life-saving drugs worth around £2m - touched down on the deserted runway at Basra international airport just hours after the US president, George Bush, declared that major hostilities were over. Virgin Atlantic boss Sir Richard Branson said flights might now be the best way to bring much-needed supplies to the war-torn country. Speaking on the runway at Basra, where his 747 was greeted by a guard of honour of waiting soldiers, he said the aid flight could be the first of many. "The aid agencies obviously should do their part as well, but Virgin has the big benefit of its own airline. My belief is that there needs to be literally hundreds of flights like this," he said. Virgin flew aid flights into Baghdad in 1990 and flew hostages out of the Iraqi capital ahead of the 1991 Gulf war. Civilian flights from Britain were then banned under Saddam's regime, but Sir Richard said Virgin was ready to start flights to Baghdad and Basra once it had permission from a new Iraqi authority. _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk