Web spoof on US invasion sends state into spin

A SPOOF story claiming the United States was planning to invade the Pacific state of Kiribati sparked panic and prompted the tiny state’s government to broadcast public reassurances that the country would not be overrun

The story appeared on a satirical New Zealand-based website www.spinner.co.nz and it was regrettable that it was taken as being accurate, said the US Embassy in Wellington yesterday.

The website also attacked Kiribati President Teburoro Tito, who is currently campaigning ahead of a November 29 general election.

Tito, who was reported to have been upset by the article, had his office issue a series of public broadcasts assuring the population that the planned "invasion" story was not true. The story, headlined "Bush to invade Kiribati islands," read in part: "Bush believes Tito is in the process of developing weapons of mass destruction. And some pretty damn fine crab soup" and had dispatched the navy to Kiribati. The story caused widespread concern in the Pacific state.