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Automatically compiled digests of WORLD news stories
(originally clustered by the Google News):


Sunday


  • July-06-2008 -- No quick end in sight to Mongolia political turmoil
    ULAN BATOR, Mongolia (AP) — Rifle-toting soldiers and armored vehicles guarded Mongolia's capital Wednesday, one day after at least five people died in rioting sparked by allegations of fraud in parliamentary elections.
    Enkhbayar also urged the political parties to respect the results declared by the Mongolian General Election Commission. More...

  • July-06-2008 -- When the bus 'gets a boo-boo'
    JERUSALEM Israelis are calling for new restrictions after it was disclosed that a man who killed three people Wednesday by driving a large construction vehicle on a rampage down Jerusalem's main street was a Palestinian with free access to all parts of the city.
    Israeli authorities are labeling it a terrorist attack, although they say there is no clear motive and the man -- a construction worker -- acted alone. More...

  • July-06-2008 -- The French recipe
    French President Nicolas Sarkozy begins a six-month term as leader of the European Union on Tuesday, providing a high-profile platform for a theme that helped him woo French voters just over a year ago - " France back in Europe."
    Ambitious French plans for a 60,000-strong European defence force, with a Brussels HQ and greater military cooperation among EU member states have hit obstacles. More...

  • July-06-2008 -- Five blasts in Georgia near conflict zone
    A Russian defence ministry spokesman said the announcement raised "concern", particularly as it allegedly contains plans to block the bases of Russian peacekeeping troops operating in the region.
    The following article has been retrieved from the archive and no longer contains the original video. More...

  • July-06-2008 -- Sri Lanka: 19 Tamil Tiger Rebels Killed in Recent Fighting
    COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan soldiers seized a large swath of Tamil Tiger rebel-held territory while scattered battles elsewhere in the embattled north killed 26 rebels and two soldiers, the military said Monday.
    Owing to the blows the insurgents have been dealt at the hands of the Sri Lankan military, the general noted, the national forces could far more easily penetrate into the rebel strongholds in the northern parts of the country. More...

  • July-06-2008 -- Iran Says Nuclear Policy Is Unchanged
    Gallach declined to give details of the content of the Iranian reply, saying the major powers were still studying the four-page letter from Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and holding consultations.
    A Foreign Office spokesman confirmed that Britain received the response on Friday evening, which secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili described as ""constructive and creative"" and focused ""on common ground."" More...

  • July-06-2008 -- Q&A: Turkey's ruling party on trial
    Turkey has locked in political turmoil as the Constitutional Court is ruling on a case against the AKP. The case at the Constitutional Court -- which is being closely watched by investors who fear months of political uncertainty -- seeks to close down the party and ban 71 political figures, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul from party politics for five years.
    There is a very powerful authority here - which is the military and its supporters. More...

  • July-06-2008 -- Pakistan denies Khan nuclear claims
    ISLAMABAD: Abdul Qadeer Khan, the nuclear scientist placed under house arrest by Pakistan's previous regime after he confessed to proliferation, and who has recently taken his battle for freedom to the courts, is steadily ratcheting up his accusations against President Pervez Musharraf and the Pakistan Army as he builds a case for his own innocence.
    Speaking at a news conference, Qidwai said that Khan, the country's nuclear scientist, wanted to sideline himself and tried to drag the military intelligence Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the president and the army into the matter. More...

Sunday


  • July-06-2008 -- Iran Says Nuclear Policy Is Unchanged
    Iran yesterday sent a written response to an offer from the world's leading powers regarding its nuclear programme, amid hopes in the west that Tehran would give enough ground to allow formal negotiations to begin.
    TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran indicated Saturday that it has no plans to meet a key Western demand that it stop enriching uranium, a day after Tehran sent the European Union a response to an international offer of incentives for halting enrichment. More...

  • July-06-2008 -- Talks with China over Tibet inconclusive
    NEW DELHI (AP) — An envoy for the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said Friday that the latest round of talks with China were "one of the most difficult sessions" held so far, but that he will return for more discussions after the Beijing Olympics.
    Taklha calls the accusation groundless. More...

  • July-06-2008 -- Q&A: Turkey's ruling party on trial
    Turkey has locked in political turmoil as the Constitutional Court is ruling on a case against the AKP. The case at the Constitutional Court -- which is being closely watched by investors who fear months of political uncertainty -- seeks to close down the party and ban 71 political figures, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul from party politics for five years.
    Accordingly, votes of at least 7 out of 11 members of the court are needed to ban a political party. More...

  • July-06-2008 -- India's Singh Gains Support On Nuclear Pact With US
    NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The leftist parties that prop up India's troubled government will discuss on Friday when they could withdraw support from the ruling coalition over a civilian nuclear deal with the United States that they vehemently oppose.
    To be sure, the pork-barrel policies of the last four years -- a wasteful rural job guarantee, a hazardous farm-debt waiver and a dangerous expansion of caste-based quotas in higher education -- were of the government's own doing. More...

  • July-06-2008 -- Zambian President Remains in Stable Condition at Paris Hospital
    LUSAKA (AFP) — Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa remains in intensive care in a French hospital after suffering a stroke earlier this week, his government said Thursday as it denied reports that he had died.
    Information Minister Mike Mulongoti made a televised address Thursday to say the foreign media reports are not true. More...

  • July-06-2008 -- Belarus leader: no post-blast clampdown on opposition
    MINSK July 4 About 50 people were injured when a home-made bomb exploded in Belarus'''s capital early Friday at an outdoor Independence Day concert attended by long-time ruler President Alexander Lukashenko, officials said.
    MOSCOW (Reuters) - Police in Belarus have found a second bomb in Minsk, scene of a blast last night during an Independence Day concert, the country's Interior Minister said on Friday. More...

  • July-06-2008 -- Pakistan denies Khan nuclear claims
    Islamabad, Pakistan (AHN) - Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan said Friday that President Pervez Musharraf and the military knew about the transport of uranium enrichment equipment to North Korea in 2000.
    Khalid Kidwai, held a rare news conference to deny Dr. Khan's charges. More...

  • July-06-2008 -- Malaysian fuel price hike protesters undeterred by police warning
    Anwar immediately took refuge in Turkey's embassy in Kuala Lumpur because of concerns about his safety, opposition officials said.
    Jail time didn't diminish Anwar's political fervor. More...





Saturday


  • July-05-2008 -- Belarus leader: no post-blast clampdown on opposition
    MINSK (Reuters) - About 50 people were wounded early on Friday by a home-made bomb that sprayed nuts and bolts into a crowd at an open-air concert in Belarus's capital attended by long-time ruler President Alexander Lukashenko, officials said.
    The explosion, which witnesses said was caused by a home-made bomb, went off shortly after midnight on July 4 in the middle of a crowd gathered at an outdoor concert in the center of Minsk. More...

  • July-05-2008 -- Russia warns of 'new war' in Abkhazia conflict
    "Georgian law enforcement officers returned fire because our priority is protecting the Georgian population in the area,'' Zguladze said by telephone.
    MOSCOW (Reuters) - Georgia's breakaway region Abkhazia said on Saturday Tbilisi had planned to take the area over by military force earlier this year but failed in its mission, Russian agencies reported. More...

  • July-05-2008 -- Obama Strives to Retain Some Flexibility on His Iraq Policy
    Sen. Barack Obama said Thursday that he might "refine" his Iraq policies after meeting with military commanders there later this summer.
    Progressives need to chill. More...

  • July-05-2008 -- Dalai envoys says China lacking commitment to talks
    NEW DELHI (AP) — An envoy for the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said Friday that the latest round of talks with China were "one of the most difficult sessions" held so far, but that he will return for more discussions after the Beijing Olympics.
    BEIJING -- Du Qinglin, head of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met with private representatives of the 14th Dalai Lama in Beijing recently, the department said on Thursday. More...

  • July-05-2008 -- Zambian President Remains in Stable Condition at Paris Hospital
    LUSAKA (AFP) — Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa remains in intensive care in a French hospital after suffering a stroke earlier this week, his government said Thursday as it denied reports that he had died.
    The Zambian government Friday requested for an explanation fromthe South African government on the statement attributed to Mbeki that Mwanawasa had passed away. More...

  • July-05-2008 -- Chinese Bloggers Score a Victory Against the Government
    Five experts from the Guizhou Provincial Department of Public Security and the provincial Higher People's Court conducted the third postmortem on Wednesday, prior to the girl's burial.
    The man at the county hospital said the violence had destroyed the first two stories of the police building and the first floor of the six-story government office building. More...

  • July-05-2008 -- Terrorists targeted to bomb cafe in West Sumatera
    INDONESIAN police have smashed a terrorist plot to bomb a cafe on Indonesia's Sumatra island, arresting 10 suspects linked to the regional terror network Jeemah Islamiyah.
    The Kompas daily said the suspect, identified by police only as MH, 35, had met Bin Laden several times and had received training in Afghanistan. More...

  • July-05-2008 -- Sri Lankan Military: 35 Rebels, 1 Soldier Killed in Fighting
    COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan soldiers seized a large swath of Tamil Tiger rebel-held territory while scattered battles elsewhere in the embattled north killed 26 rebels and two soldiers, the military said Monday.
    Colombo, July 5 (PTI) Sri Lanka today denied that its navy had "harassed" Indian fishermen, a day after thousands of members of the community launched an indefinite strike in Tamil Nadu demanding an end to recurring incidents of attacks on them by the island's forces. More...

Saturday


  • July-05-2008 -- Georgia: 2 Killed in South Ossetia
    "Georgian law enforcement officers returned fire because our priority is protecting the Georgian population in the area,'' Zguladze said by telephone.
    The claim came after the full mobilisation of South Ossetian separatist forces, a move criticised by a Georgian defence official. More...

  • July-05-2008 -- Autopsy: Drowning cause of Chinese girl's death
    Five experts from the Guizhou Provincial Department of Public Security and the provincial Higher People's Court conducted the third postmortem on Wednesday, prior to the girl's burial.
    BEIJING: Four Communist Party members and government officials, including a police chief, have been sacked after more than 30,000 people staged a protest on June 28 over the rape and death of a teenager. More...

  • July-05-2008 -- Iran sends word on nuclear talks
    Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says a "new process" is under way in negotiations between Tehran and the West over his nation's disputed nuclear program.
    '''The Islamic Republic has prepared and presented a response to the letter of the six countries with a focus on common ground between the two sides and a constructive and creative view.''' More...

  • July-05-2008 -- India: Dispute Over Kashmir Shrine Provokes More Killings and Curfew
    SRINAGAR, India, July 1 (UPI) -- Protests over plans to give land to a Hindu shrine trust in Indian-ruled Kashmir threatened to bring down the Congress-led coalition in the Himalayan state.
    A week of protests, in which four people were shot dead by police, led the state government to say the land move would be revoked. More...

  • July-05-2008 -- Dalai Lama envoy says Tibet talks tough, ill-timed
    NEW DELHI (AP) — An envoy for the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said Friday that the latest round of talks with China were "one of the most difficult sessions" held so far, but that he will return for more discussions after the Beijing Olympics.
    The Chinese government's goal is to cooperate and ensure a smooth Olympics. More...

  • July-05-2008 -- Erdogan says Turkish democracy not under threat
    When a senior prosecutor filed a case at Turkey's Constitutional Court, asking for the ruling party to be shut down and the Prime Minister and President banned from party politics over allegations of Islamic activism, few believed that the Turkish Government was really about to be abolished.
    The indictment is an effort to show that our party is the continuation of certain other parties of the past. More...

  • July-05-2008 -- 9 Terrorism Suspects Detained in Indonesia After a Raid Uncovers Bombs
    INDONESIAN police have smashed a terrorist plot to bomb a cafe on Indonesia's Sumatra island, arresting 10 suspects linked to the regional terror network Jeemah Islamiyah.
    POLICE have foiled plans for devastating bombings in Indonesia by uncovering an international terrorist cell, arresting 10 men and seizing more than 20 bombs in South Sumatra. More...

  • July-05-2008 -- General: Attack on Iran would trigger war
    TEHRAN, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Iran's top nuclear negotiator and Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili Friday said that Iran will offer response to the letter of EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana and foreign ministers of six major countries on Friday, the official IRNA news agency reported.
    WASHINGTON, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The White House said on Wednesday that it is skeptical about Iran's seriousness toward a package of economic incentives offered last month by the United States and other negotiating partners. More...

Friday


  • July-04-2008 -- India's governing Congress party pressed for a nuclear deal with US
    NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The leftist parties that prop up India's troubled government will discuss on Friday when they could withdraw support from the ruling coalition over a civilian nuclear deal with the United States that they vehemently oppose.
    India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has said it would pass a no-confidence motion against the government if the left parties withdrew support. More...

  • July-04-2008 -- Second bomb found after Belarus blast
    MINSK (Reuters) - About 50 people were wounded early on Friday by a home-made bomb that sprayed nuts and bolts into a crowd at an open-air concert in Belarus's capital attended by long-time ruler President Alexander Lukashenko, officials said.
    There was no immediate report on whether Lukashenko was at the concert in the center of the Belarussian capital at the exact time of the blast but ITAR-TASS reported that the president had visited the site after the explosion. More...

  • July-04-2008 -- North Korea Wants Nuclear Negotiating Partners to Speed Aid
    Bush's decision to go along with the deal - and especially to personally announce it in the White House Rose Garden - constituted a major victory for the administration's "realist" faction over the hawks led by Vice President Dick Cheney, who has long favored "regime change" in Pyongyang and repeatedly blocked efforts by secretaries of state Colin Powell and then Condoleezza Rice to engage North Korea bilaterally.
    The declaration, due at the end of 2007, is said to give an overview of the country'''s nuclear activities and facilities. More...

  • July-04-2008 -- Mongolian parliamentary parties agree to deal with riots with rule ...
    ULAN BATOR, Mongolia (AP) — Rifle-toting soldiers and armored vehicles guarded Mongolia's capital Wednesday, one day after at least five people died in rioting sparked by allegations of fraud in parliamentary elections.
    To gain a parliamentary majority a party needs to win at least 39 seats. More...

  • July-04-2008 -- Dalai Lama envoy says Tibet talks tough, ill-timed
    NEW DELHI (AP) — An envoy for the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said Friday that the latest round of talks with China were "one of the most difficult sessions" held so far, but that he will return for more discussions after the Beijing Olympics.
    China came under rare criticism from the International Olympic Committee last week after a Chinese official criticized the Dalai Lama at the closing ceremony of the Tibet leg of the Olympic torch relay. More...

  • July-04-2008 -- Separatist Leader Calls on Georgia to Step Back From Conflict
    "Georgian law enforcement officers returned fire because our priority is protecting the Georgian population in the area,'' Zguladze said by telephone.
    Novitskyi said a vehicle passed by a Georgian checkpoint near the administrative border, stopped short of the Russian checkpoint and tossed a presumed explosive device out of the car. More...

  • July-04-2008 -- Turkish court weighs party's agenda
    Turkey has locked in political turmoil as the Constitutional Court is ruling on a case against the AKP. The case at the Constitutional Court -- which is being closely watched by investors who fear months of political uncertainty -- seeks to close down the party and ban 71 political figures, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul from party politics for five years.
    "And unfortunately, the case against our party suggests that what cannot be done at the ballot box is trying to be done through a judicial court case." More...

  • July-04-2008 -- Report: Girl whose death sparked riot drowned, according to autopsy
    Five experts from the Guizhou Provincial Department of Public Security and the provincial Higher People's Court conducted the third postmortem on Wednesday, prior to the girl's burial.
    At a meeting on Wednesday, provincial leaders said local officials in Guizhou's Weng'an county had 'failed to resolve disputes over mines, demolition of illegal buildings, immigration, reform of state-owned enterprises and many other issues', state media said. More...

Friday


  • July-04-2008 -- Sri Lankan Security Chiefs Try to Stop Rebel Resurgence in East
    COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan soldiers seized a large swath of Tamil Tiger rebel-held territory while scattered battles elsewhere in the embattled north killed 26 rebels and two soldiers, the military said Monday.
    Does that mean the '''final military victory''' over the LTTE is around the corner? The Army Commander was more realistic. More...

  • July-04-2008 -- UPDATE 2-Gazprom CEO stands firm on $250 oil, $1000 gas view
    Head of Gazprom says gas export prices for European clients could reach USD 500 per thousand cubic meters (mcm) by the end of the year.
    In theory, Gazprom has no objections to price increases as long as it has a long-term contract specifying a price formula and supplier's obligations. More...

  • July-04-2008 -- Key Indian party still has doubts over nuclear deal
    NEW DELHI, June 30 (Reuters) - As a standoff with its leftist allies intensifies, the Indian government faces a crucial week that could decide the fate of a civilian nuclear deal with the United States and lead to the collapse of the ruling coalition.
    Despite the opposition, India's Congress Party spokeswoman Jayanti Natrajan said Wednesday the coalition remained "committed to the nuclear deal." More...

  • July-04-2008 -- Turkey To Join Kyoto Protocol
    China and the United States are the world's top sources of industrial and other emissions blamed for global warming, which is expected to be one of the top issues at the G8 meeting next week in Japan.
    A key issue in promoting worldwide climate change prevention measures will be to improve energy efficiency through sector-based cooperation. More...

  • July-04-2008 -- Bush says US prefers diplomacy on Iran's nuclear efforts
    The "senior U.S. military commander said Wednesday that Washington would not allow" the closing of the Hormuz Strait "to happen," an option cited by Iranian officials if Israel launches an attack.
    Barack Obama has hammered home the point even more forcefully : "I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon -- everything." More...

  • July-04-2008 -- US-Poland missile talks not ended
    WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Poland have tentatively agreed to base American missiles in Poland for a future missile shield against Iran, U.S. and Polish officials said Wednesday.
    Although stating that the United States was not setting a deadline for a deal with Poland, Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon spokesperson, warned that "time is of the essence." More...

  • July-04-2008 -- China holds more talks with Dalai Lama's envoys
    China says 22 people died in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, while foreign Tibet supporters say many times that number were killed during the demonstrations and a subsequent government crackdown.
    BEIJING -- Du Qinglin, head of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met with private representatives of the 14th Dalai Lama in Beijing recently, the department said on Thursday. More...

  • July-04-2008 -- S.Korea's Lee calls for end of protests on US beef
    Lee has gone from a landslide winner in a December election to the country's least popular new leader in large part due to the beef deal.
    Beef from cows younger than 30 months is thought to be at lower risk for the disease. More...

Thursday


  • July-03-2008 -- In China, All Politics (You Can Protest) is Local
    BEIJING (Reuters) - Thousands of rioters torched police and government office buildings in southwest China on Saturday, in unrest triggered by allegations of a cover-up over a girl's death, residents and state media reported on Sunday.
    BEIJING (Reuters) - Rioters torched a police building and vehicles in southwest China on Saturday, in unrest triggered by allegations of a cover-up over a girl's death, according to Chinese accounts on the Internet. More...

  • July-03-2008 -- Congo ex-leader sent to The Hague
    INTERNATIONAL Criminal Court judges ordered the release of their first suspect, a Congolese militia leader, on Wednesday because prosecutors are withholding evidence but said he should remain in custody pending an appeal.
    Lubanga's war crimes trial, the ICC's first, was to have started last Monday but was stalled when the court ruled that prosecutors had wrongly withheld evidence favourable to the defence from Lubanga's lawyers. More...

  • July-03-2008 -- Iran hints at nuclear talk progress, but world still wary of ...
    Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says a "new process" is under way in negotiations between Tehran and the West over his nation's disputed nuclear program.
    Diplomats said a reported recent Israeli air force exercise over Greece, described as a "general rehearsal" for a military attack against Iran's nuclear facilities, may have changed minds in Tehran. More...

  • July-03-2008 -- India seeks party pact on US nuclear bid
    NEW DELHI, June 30 (Reuters) - As a standoff with its leftist allies intensifies, the Indian government faces a crucial week that could decide the fate of a civilian nuclear deal with the United States and lead to the collapse of the ruling coalition.
    The agreement is the centrepiece of a new strategic relationship between New Delhi and Washington, and seen as crucial to ending India's isolation in international nuclear trade after it conducted a nuclear test in 1998. More...

  • July-03-2008 -- A Falun Gong welcome for mainland visitors to Taiwan
    Susan Chang, deputy minister of the Cabinet-level Financial Supervisory Commission, described the initiative as a "short-term measure" that would ease restrictions on ROC citizens investing in Hong Kong and mainland China, as well as enhance financial supervision between the two sides of the strait.
    As Taiwan has not yet signed a currency-clearance pact with China, Taiwan's central bank has purchased 500 million renminbi (70 million U.S. dollars) from the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp and Bank of America. More...

  • July-03-2008 -- Boris Johnson announces investigation into sex claims against deputy
    If Boris Johnson had hoped that the recent race row at City Hall was going to be quietly swept under the carpet, he can think again.
    Mr Livingstone had to launch a similar inquiry after various sexual and financial allegations were brought under the spotlight. More...

  • July-03-2008 -- China attacks Dalai Lama but offers more talks
    French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he might attend the Beijing Olympics if there is progress in talks between China and representatives of the Dalai Lama.
    Compared with other "senior" high-profile groups, the network, founded in 2000, wasn't known by many people previously. More...

  • July-03-2008 -- Roman Abromovich steps down as governor of Russian Chukotka region
    MOSCOW - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has relieved billionaire Roman Abramovich of his duties as governor of the remote Chukotka region at the tycoon's request, the Kremlin said Thursday.
    Abramovich graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Law. More...

Thursday


  • July-03-2008 -- Pakistan arrests tribal fighters
    The city of 3 million people in the northwest was calm late yesterday amid sweltering heat, though residents and local media speculated that security forces were preparing a sweep through town in pursuit of Taliban activists.
    The Khyber Pass is one of the principal routes into Afghanistan from Pakistan and has long been a haven for smugglers and bandits. More...

  • July-03-2008 -- Medvedev eyes 'rational' democracy for Russia
    As soaring oil revenues bolster the Russian economy and Kremlin confidence, Medvedev used an interview this week to brush aside American criticism of his countrys record on democracy and human rights.
    Vladislav Surkov, who is always described as principal ideologist and political strategist of the Putin-Medvedev team, who has continued to work for Putin, has issued regular warnings to the members of the Russian elite, saying: "We can't have a system in which you expect to have a lifetime in power." More...

  • July-03-2008 -- Iran minister: We might consider US diplomatic presence
    Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters that he has received a proposal from world powers that could prompt a “new process” opnbrktAFPclsbrkt in denuclearization negotiations, apparently offering some technological incentives if Tehran agrees to suspend uranium enrichment.
    The public comments by Velayati, the Supreme Leader's foreign policy adviser, underscore a sense that the Tehran regime may be seriously debating the possibility of engaging with the Western offer. More...

  • July-03-2008 -- Rights advocates risk backfire in Olympic activism
    French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he might attend the Beijing Olympics if there is progress in talks between China and representatives of the Dalai Lama.
    In keeping with traditional Buddhist thought, the Dalai Lama and his government act with the benefit of all beings in mind, including the Chinese, by remaining steadfast in using diplomacy, nonviolent activism and compassion to deal with the situation in Tibet. More...

  • July-03-2008 -- McCain Backer: Timing of Hostage Release Was 'Fortuitous'
    Three U.S. military contractors and Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt were rescued as part of the mission.
    Naybe involving Venezuelabut there's nothing here. More...

  • July-03-2008 -- State Dept. Role in Iraq Oil Deal Is Questioned
    Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) accused the State Department Wednesday of issuing "misleading" denials regarding its involvement in Hunt Oil's controversial contract with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
    The government may have set itself a de facto deadline for passing the new oil law, which has been the focus of a protracted dispute between Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northeastern Iraq over control of resources. More...

  • July-03-2008 -- US helicopter shot down in Afghanistan
    LOGAR - A U.S. -led coalition UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter was shot down by small-arms fire on Wednesday in Logar province, to the south of Kabul, but there were no serious injuries, the U.S. military said.
    Enemy small-arms fire brought down a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter Wednesday in Kherwar District, Logar province in southern Afghanistan. More...

  • July-03-2008 -- Anwar says sodomy charge 'a conspiracy'
    Anwar immediately took refuge in Turkey's embassy in Kuala Lumpur because of concerns about his safety, opposition officials said.
    Najib, widely viewed as the heir apparent to Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and Anwar's chief rival for power, has repeatedly denied having anything to do with the case. More...

Wednesday


  • July-02-2008 -- Bomb explodes in Georgian separatist area: reports
    Relations between Russia and Georgia have been strained since Russia stepped up support for Abkhazia and South Ossetia, another breakaway Georgian republic.
    Clearly some people don't like the fact that the economic situation is getting better."" More...

  • July-02-2008 -- White House remains skeptical over Iran
    Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters that he has received a proposal from world powers that could prompt a “new process” opnbrktAFPclsbrkt in denuclearization negotiations, apparently offering some technological incentives if Tehran agrees to suspend uranium enrichment.
    The European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, conveyed the offer to Tehran two weeks ago. More...

  • July-02-2008 -- McCanns hire new team of British detectives
    Kate and Gerry McCann, the other two suspects in the case, have also called for their arguido status to be lifted.
    Nobody has ever been formally charged with Maddie's abduction. More...

  • July-02-2008 -- Britain bans military wing of Hezbollah
    London, July 2 (Xinhua) The British government Wednesday said it was adding the military wing of the Lebanese movement Hezbollah to its list of banned terrorist organisations.
    McNulty called on the group to "end terrorist activity and its support for terrorism," and "participate in the democratic process on the same terms as other Lebanese political parties." More...

  • July-02-2008 -- Carbon trade a threat to Australian firms: industry
    The Federal Minister for Climate Change says Australians want the Government to address climate change and are concerned about Greenhouse emissions.
    The reality is, there is no good time to make structural change. More...

  • July-02-2008 -- Hezbollah confirms prisoner swap
    Hezbollah will hand over a report, which is said to detail the organization's efforts to obtain information on Arad, as part of the second stage of the prisoner swap agreement.
    The information is reportedly revealed in a document to be passed on to Israel from Hizbullah by United Nations-appointed German negotiator Gerhard Konrad as part of the prisoner exchange agreement approved Sunday. More...

  • July-02-2008 -- Sri Lanka media demand security
    COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan soldiers seized a large swath of Tamil Tiger rebel-held territory while scattered battles elsewhere in the embattled north killed 26 rebels and two soldiers, the military said Monday.
    The Tamil Tigers regularly accuse Sri Lanka's military of hitting civilian sites. More...

  • July-02-2008 -- France's Terrorism Strategy Faulted
    Human Rights Watch also criticized what it called "the lack of appropriate safeguards" within France's criminal justice system, saying it puts the country on "the wrong side" of human rights law.
    To be a real leader, France should uphold rights while confronting terrorism.'' More...

Wednesday


  • July-02-2008 -- China says officials' relatives not behind girl's death
    BEIJING (Reuters) - Thousands of rioters torched police and government office buildings in southwest China on Saturday, in unrest triggered by allegations of a cover-up over a girl's death, residents and state media reported on Sunday.
    Li, who is now in a local hospital, was confronted by a policeman named Zhang Min at the county's public security bureau and was badly beaten by unidentified men in the street after leaving the police station. More...

  • July-02-2008 -- When Heaven Shed Blood
    Chinese officials met the Dalai Lama's representatives for talks on May 4, but further discussions originally set to start in June were postponed after an earthquake in China in May killed about 70,000 people.
    Dalai is a religious figure who should not engage in political activities. More...

  • July-02-2008 -- Australian Authorities Defend Police Powers During Pope's Visit
    July 2 (Bloomberg) -- Australian authorities defended giving police the power to fine protesters more than $5,000 if they annoy or inconvenience Catholic pilgrims during Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Sydney this month.
    The five-day celebration of Catholic youth, ending with the mass which is expected to draw some 500,000 people, has been billed as a major boost to the economy of Australia's largest city. More...

  • July-02-2008 -- Your Name Your Email Address Recipient's Email Address
    "If there is a confrontation between us and the enemy from outside the region, definitely the scope (of the confrontation) will reach the oil issue," said Jafari.
    Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari warned that if there were any confrontation over Iran's nuclear program, Tehran would try to damage Western economies by targeting oil. More...

  • July-02-2008 -- Killers In Their Midst
    NEW DELHI, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said here that the political environment in both Pakistan and India is right to make the peace process between the two countries result-oriented.
    '''India could extract the coal and sell energy across the border, that is only a few kilometers away, to Pakistan,''' the senior official said. More...

  • July-02-2008 -- US-supplied food: Another US-NKorea deal
    The WFP said in a statement Monday it had reached an agreement with the communist nation to expand its feeding program from the current 1.2 million people, and the Sunday's shipment 37,000 tons of wheat, is the first installment of 500,000 tons of aid promised by Washington earlier this year.
    Five aid organizations led by Mercy Corps helped this week to deliver the first significant U.S. food shipment to North Korea in eight years. More...

  • July-02-2008 -- Abkhazia's tourism fights to regain fabled legacy
    Relations between Russia and Georgia have been strained since Russia stepped up support for Abkhazia and South Ossetia, another breakaway Georgian republic.
    "I would not like to comment on the absurd plans that are being made," Sergei Shamba said. More...

  • July-02-2008 -- Israeli PM warns of forceful response to truce violations
    The Israeli military has not responded, but a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the attacks could jeopardize the fragile truce, which took effect Thursday.
    The rocket assault Thursday came as an Israeli envoy headed to Egypt to meet with Egyptian officials on the final stage of the agreement — a swap of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners for an Israeli soldier Hamas has held captive for two years. More...

Tuesday


  • July-01-2008 -- Tibet Talks Begin Amid Secrecy
    Chinese officials met the Dalai Lama's representatives for talks on May 4, but further discussions originally set to start in June were postponed after an earthquake in China in May killed about 70,000 people.
    The IOC's comment was surprising given the organization's general aversion to criticizing Olympic hosts and previous reproaches to activists seeking to use the Beijing Games to spotlight China's human rights record, policies toward Tibet, and Beijing's support for Sudan's authoritarian regime. More...

  • July-01-2008 -- Hundreds march for stabbed youth
    The family of murdered schoolboy Ben Kinsella pleaded for teenagers to "lay down their knives and weapons" and called for his death to mark an end to the violence which has "stolen" a generation of teenagers from their loved ones.
    Ben's half-sister is 24-year-old Kinsella, who played Kelly Taylor in the BBC soap. More...

  • July-01-2008 -- 33 militants killed as int'l forces intensifies crackdown in ...
    KHOST, Afghanistan (AFP) — NATO and U.S. troops killed dozens of militants on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, officials said Tuesday, after foreign forces suffered their deadliest month since the fall of the Taliban.
    A clash in the Tanai district in eastern Khost province near the Pakistan border involved a group of insurgents and police, the report said. More...

  • July-01-2008 -- China police to reopen probe into teenager's death
    The unrest in Weng'an, a town in hilly Guizhou province, stemmed from the death of a high school student, whom Internet chat sites said was raped and murdered.
    Locals said police attempts to cover up the rape and murder of a teenage girl by a party official's son had caused the unrest. More...

  • July-01-2008 -- Dutch restaurants, bars send tobacco smokers away
    Amsterdam, Netherlands (AHN) -- A new law will go into effect on July 1 banning smoking tobacco indoors throughout the Netherlands.
    Some may have to change to over-the-counter sales. More...

  • July-01-2008 -- Tibetan protesters held in Nepal
    Police official Ramesh Thapa said about 50 Tibetans were detained but were likely to be freed later in the day.
    Protests began in Tibet on March 10 when hundreds of monks marched in Lhasa calling for an end to religious restrictions and the release of imprisoned colleagues. More...

  • July-01-2008 -- Russia wants radar installed in breakaway Georgian region to ...
    The entire region would nominally return to Georgian state control in the alleged deal.
    BERLIN (AFP) — Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said Russian intervention in Abkhazia must be stopped or the sovereignty of other former Soviet states will be at risk, in an interview published here Thursday. More...

  • July-01-2008 -- Can't pay for your palace? Then get out
    LONDON: Buckingham Palace accountants claimed yesterday that Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family are a relative bargain for British taxpayers - even though the government spent '40 million ($80m, BD30m) last year to help them live and travel in style.
    The Queen is absolutely marvelous. More...

Tuesday


  • July-01-2008 -- Sarkozy vows action over shooting
    FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy rushed to the southern city of Carcassonne yesterday after a soldier fired real bullets instead of blanks into an open-day crowd, wounding 17, including 10 adult civilians and five children, in an unprecedented and embarrassing military drill disaster.
    Benoit Royal, a French army spokesman, told LCI that only one soldier fired live ammunition in the operation yesterday and an investigation is under way to discover why. More...

  • July-01-2008 -- White House declines to comment on alleged covert operations in Iran
    Reports of American support for the group have been a source of friction between Turkey and the United States, The New Yorker added.
    Hersh had arguments prepared for these statements. More...

  • July-01-2008 -- Abkhazia closes border with Georgia after blast
    Russo-Georgian tensions are expected to be raised at the summit.
    Six people, including the Russian holiday-maker, were lightly wounded on Monday after two bombs went off at a minibus stop in the separatist capital Sukhumi. More...

  • July-01-2008 -- Middle East: Death sentence for Iranian who spied on nuclear project
    An Iranian court yesterday sentenced to death an Iranian businessman on charges of being an Israeli spy who targeted the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear programme and its military, media said.
    Tehran's revolutionary court has imposed the death sentence on 43-year old Ali Astari after a two-day hearing that began on Saturday. More...

  • July-01-2008 -- India climate plan pushes for renewables
    "Our people have a right to economic and social development and to discard the ignominy of widespread poverty."
    A classic case of how climate change can impact the country's agriculture production is in northern provinces of Punjab and Haryana, wherein ground water depletion and heightened temperatures have started threatening crop production. More...

  • July-01-2008 -- Kashmir land row protests continue
    SRINAGAR (Reuters) - The Jammu and Kashmir government said on Sunday it would revoke its decision to transfer forest land to a Hindu shrine trust, a move that could defuse mass protests by Muslims across the Himalayan region.
    Monday's demonstrations had been to protest the allotment of 99 acres of land by the authorities to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, a trust running a Hindu shrine. More...

  • July-01-2008 -- US Navy Commander Vows US Will Not Allow Iran to Close Strait of ...
    MANAMA (AFP) — The commander of the U.S. navy's Fifth Fleet warned on Monday that the United States will not allow Iran to shut the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf sea lane through which much of the world's oil is supplied.
    The strait between Iran and Oman is a vital conduit for energy supplies, with as much as 40 percent of the world's crude passing through the waterway from Gulf suppliers. More...

  • July-01-2008 -- India police survive rebel attack
    MALKANGIRI (ORISSA): Over 50 personnel of the anti-Naxal force of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa police were feared drowned in Balimela reservoir in Orissa's southern district of Malkangiri on Sunday as the boat ferrying them came under gunfire by Naxalites from atop a nearby hill.
    Although the constables opened fire at the Maoists who were atop a forested hill alongside the reservoir, the boat sank after it suffered damage in the attack. More...

Monday


  • June-30-2008 -- RPT-ANALYSIS-France starts EU presidency with dampened ambition
    The treaty changes members' voting weights but the subtle domination of the two superpowers in the EU ' Germany and France ' would continue in one form or the other.
    Printed with images of imaginary bridges and buildings, and with no portraits of anyone, living or dead, euro bills are as faceless as the Eurocrats who run the institutions of the new Europe. More...

  • June-30-2008 -- Gay pride march debuts in Delhi
    New Delhi: Hundreds of gay rights supporters gathered in key Indian cities on Sunday for the country's first gay pride parades.
    Rights activists say the first attempt at a truly nationwide event, though small by any standards, show India has come a long way since 1999 when just a tiny handful of people made the first attempt at a pride march in Kolkata. More...

  • June-30-2008 -- US beef return may intensify South Korean protests
    Lee has gone from a landslide winner in a December election to the country's least popular new leader in large part due to the beef deal.
    The protests have been joined by a variety of liberal groups angered by the policies of the conservative new President Lee Myung-bak and sometimes turned violent. More...

  • June-30-2008 -- US delivers wheat as North Korea expands aid access
    The WFP said in a statement Monday it had reached an agreement with the communist nation to expand its feeding program from the current 1.2 million people, and the Sunday's shipment 37,000 tons of wheat, is the first installment of 500,000 tons of aid promised by Washington earlier this year.
    The North's government agreed to the new aid program Friday, the WFP said, the same day Pyongyang blew up the reactor tower following the U.S. concessions. More...

  • June-30-2008 -- Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia claims role in Anbar suicide bombing
    In a statement issued by the group on the internet, the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq said that it was behind the attack bya suicide bomber who blew himself up among dozens of people attending a meeting in the town council of Garmah, near the city of Fallujah, some 50 km west of Baghdad.
    Three tribal policemen were injured in the attack. More...

  • June-30-2008 -- Tibetan Government-in-Exile Confirms New Talks With China
    The talks, scheduled from July 1-2 in Beijing, aim to mend fences with the Dalai Lama who fled into exile in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet.
    "In every Olympics there is an athlete who inspires the world," Shan said. More...

  • June-30-2008 -- Six wounded in new bomb attacks in Abkhazia (Roundup)
    'Russian tourist and businessmen are vital for us; Russian business makes up almost 100 percent of all investments in Abkhazia,' Bagapsh, the Abkhaz leader, told Russian newspaper Izvestia in an interview published last year.
    According to a May 31 Le Monde press report, President Putin called it a "good plan." More...

  • June-30-2008 -- Egypt to reopen Gaza border
    Islamist group Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since it routed forces loyal to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas a year ago, said it had already arrested some militants for breaking the truce.
    The cease-fire does not include the West Bank, which is ruled by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whose forces were ousted from power in Gaza by Hamas. More...

Monday


  • June-30-2008 -- Indian Kashmir govt backs down over land for Hindus
    SRINAGAR (Reuters) - The Jammu and Kashmir government said on Sunday it would revoke its decision to transfer forest land to a Hindu shrine trust, a move that could defuse mass protests by Muslims across the Himalayan region.
    National Conference chief and MP, Omar Abdullah, described the "uprising" as "Kashmiri nationalism" and added that it shouldn't be equated with fundamentalism. More...

  • June-30-2008 -- 'Civilians fleeing LTTE-held areas'
    COLOMBO (AFP) — Heavy fighting between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels across Sri Lanka's northern regions left at least 29 combatants dead, the defence ministry said on Monday.
    Separately, two LTTE cadres were killed in Janakapura North in North-east Welioya yesterday, the officials said adding another Tiger militant was killed in the same area later in the day. More...

  • June-30-2008 -- Maoists set to form Nepal's first post-royal government
    Addressing the Parliamentary meeting at around 3.20 pm, the octogenarian Nepali Congress President and Prime Minister Koirala said, "I step down from the post of Prime Minister as per the constitutional provision.
    After the Hindu spirit (Ashmita) and culture were destroyed by Muslim and English imperialism, the Indian people are proud of Nepal because it is a Hindu nation, although India is not a declared Hindu state. More...

  • June-30-2008 -- Indian gay rights supporters march for law changes
    New Delhi: Hundreds of gay rights supporters gathered in key Indian cities on Sunday for the country's first gay pride parades.
    Lesbian rights activist Sonali Gulati says it is time to change India's outdated laws. More...

  • June-30-2008 -- Maoist strike leaves 36 jawans missing
    MALKANGIRI (ORISSA): Over 50 personnel of the anti-Naxal force of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa police were feared drowned in Balimela reservoir in Orissa's southern district of Malkangiri on Sunday as the boat ferrying them came under gunfire by Naxalites from atop a nearby hill.
    BHUBANESWAR, India - At least 40 policemen were missing feared drowned and eight injured in eastern India today after their boat capsized following an attack by Maoist rebels, police and news reports said. More...

  • June-30-2008 -- Pakistan court set to hear Sharif election case
    ISLAMABAD : Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) would observe black day on Friday against the decision of Lahore High Court, disqualifying party chief Nawaz Sharif from contesting the by-election last Monday.
    Many Pakistanis have said some strategy should be in place to deal with a Pakistan under Taliban rule. More...

  • June-30-2008 -- The War Premium On Oil
    "If there is a confrontation between us and the enemy from outside the region, definitely the scope (of the confrontation) will reach the oil issue," said Jafari.
    The strait is a vital conduit for energy supplies, with about 20-25 percent of the world's crude oil from Gulf oil producers passing through the waterway. More...

  • June-30-2008 -- US faces Iraqi anger over raid near Kerbala
    The raid occurred within Karbala province, one of nine provinces ostensibly under full Iraqi control.
    Judge Kamil al-Showaili was driving home Thursday when the attack occurred, the council said. More...

Sunday


  • June-29-2008 -- Hundreds injured in South Korean beef protest
    Lee has gone from a landslide winner in a December election to the country's least popular new leader in large part due to the beef deal.
    A police spokesman said more than 30 troops were injured in the prolonged overnight clashes, while protest organisers claimed that more than 100 citizens were hurt. More...

  • June-29-2008 -- Gordon Brown's moment of truth hastened by election battles
    The following article has been retrievied from the archive and no longer contains the original video.
    Mr Brown and his team must still be shell-shocked at having gone, in one year, from having the media eating out of their hands, and winning the respect of the country, to the most reviled government in living memory. More...

  • June-29-2008 -- No consensus reached on whaling during IWC meeting
    SANTIAGO (AFP) — Japan defended its practice of'scientific' whale hunting at the annual International Whaling Commission meeting here on Wednesday, insisting it had yielded important scientific results.
    The IWC said delegates were "deeply divided" over the matter and the proposal was eventually rejected by 36 votes to 29 with two abstentions. More...

  • June-29-2008 -- Iran threatens Persian Gulf shutdown
    "If there is a confrontation between us and the enemy from outside the region, definitely the scope (of the confrontation) will reach the oil issue," said Jafari.
    What's left is a military action." More...

  • June-29-2008 -- Inquiry Finds Ferry Operator Was Using Outdated Shipping Guidelines
    MANILA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said the authority is holding Sulpicio Lines Inc., owner of the capsized MV Princess of the Stars, "accountable" for the accident in which 744 people are still missing while 70 have been confirmed dead, local media reported Wednesday.
    The Princess of Stars had 864 people on board, according to the vessel's owner, Sulipicio Lines. More...

  • June-29-2008 -- Bodies of 18 plane crash victims flown to Indonesian air base
    Three foreigners a Singaporean, an Indian and a Briton were among those on the Casa-212 plane, which went down Thursday while on an aerial surveillance mission, leaving no survivors.
    According to Indonesia's MetroTV all 18 people aboard the plane, including a Singaporean, were killed. More...

  • June-29-2008 -- Report: Malaysian police to probe new sodomy claim against Anwar ...
    Anwar immediately took refuge in Turkey's embassy in Kuala Lumpur because of concerns about his safety, opposition officials said.
    Anwar led an alliance of opposition parties to unprecedented gains in elections in March, wresting a third of parliamentary seats and five states from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. More...

  • June-29-2008 -- Mexico sees surge in killing spree
    Police said a single gunmen perpetrated the attack, not several men, as a spokesman had said earlier.
    The cartels have responded by killing more than 4,000 people, including more than 450 police officers, soldiers, prosecutors and investigators. More...

Sunday


  • June-29-2008 -- Indonesia air crash bodies found
    '''We received reports from the field that residents have located the plane fragments,''' Air Force spokesman Chaeruddin Ray said.
    Bogor, (ANTARA News) - National Defense Forces (TNI) chief Gen Djoko Santoso has called on rescue workers to immediately evacuate the bodies of the victims of the Air Force Cassa plane crash on Mount Salak in Bogor, but also asked them to consider safety factors. More...

  • June-29-2008 -- Pakistan Denies Involvement in Karzai Attack
    Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Sadiq Thursday rejected the allegation leveled by the spokesman of the Afghan Intelligence Agency and Presidency against Pakistani security agencies for attack on Afghan President Hamid Karzai on April 27 this year.
    The Afghan government has blamed foreign spies for an assassination attempt on President Hamid Karzai. More...

  • June-29-2008 -- G8 foreign ministers fire warning on Zimbabwe
    Six months behind schedule, officials delivered the dossier to China, the host country for the six-nation talks since 2003 that have worked to entice the North to scrap nuclear weapons development in exchange for aid and diplomatic concessions.
    The offers were made June 14 by the five permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Germany. More...

  • June-29-2008 -- Sri Lankan president vows no cease-fire
    COLOMBO (AFP) — Heavy fighting between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels across Sri Lanka's northern regions left at least 29 combatants dead, the defence ministry said on Monday.
    Government troops have been continuing military operations in the north-western Mannar district mainly to cut off the rebels' supply routes. More...

  • June-29-2008 -- Nepali PM's resignation not legal: legal experts
    Addressing the Parliamentary meeting at around 3.20 pm, the octogenarian Nepali Congress President and Prime Minister Koirala said, "I step down from the post of Prime Minister as per the constitutional provision.
    '''We have arrived at an important juncture after ending various problems and differences, however, there are still certain problems which still have to be addressed,''' the PM'''s statement said. More...

  • June-29-2008 -- Mexico sees surge in killing spree
    Police said a single gunmen perpetrated the attack, not several men, as a spokesman had said earlier.
    Drug gangs wielding high-powered rifles, grenade launchers and bazookas are blamed for more than 1,800 execution-style killings and beheadings since Jan. 1, including hundreds of police officers. More...

  • June-29-2008 -- Ireland still loves Europe, really we do
    Gordon Brown was hailed as Europe's new star pupil last night for securing ratification of the Lisbon treaty as the Irish were set a four-month deadline to devise a plan to save it.
    You suggest that the Irish no vote was wrong because the majority of the voters didn't bother to read the treaty and understand it is interesting. More...

  • June-29-2008 -- Rumours of war spread as Israel flexes its muscle
    Also appearing Sunday on Fox, the right-wing network owned by Rupert Murdoch, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, gave a more precise prediction about an Israeli attack.
    JOHN BOLTON, FORMER UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO UNITED NATIONS: Well, my prediction is, if Israel decides to use military force I don't think they have come to a decision point yet, although I think they are considering it very seriously my theorization was on the timing if they decide to go. More...





Saturday


  • June-28-2008 -- Two foreign aid workers kidnapped in Somalia released
    MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali gunmen released two United Nations workers from Sweden and Denmark hours after kidnapping them in the Bakool region of southern Somalia on Saturday, U.N. officials said.
    Michigan is celebrating the Year of the Car _ http://tinyurl.com/5rgkmz _ observing a century of automobile history since Henry Ford's introduction of the Model T and William Durant's formation of General Motors. More...

  • June-28-2008 -- Fresh clashes in India's Kashmir
    SRINAGAR, June 24: Hundreds of Kashmiris attacked government offices and a police post in occupied Kashmir on Tuesday in protest against the killing of a local resident by police during demonstrations against the transfer of forest land to a Hindu shrine, police said.
    Protesters accuse the government of trying to change the demography of Muslim-majority Kashmir by building settlements for Hindus. More...

  • June-28-2008 -- Bomb kills 1, wounds 28 in northern Lebanon
    TRIPOLI, Lebanon (AFP) — At least one person was killed and 20 were wounded on Saturday as a powerful blast shook a six-storey residential building in the northern city of Tripoli, a Lebanese security official said.
    WRECKAGE: Men gather amid the rubble of destroyed shops outside a building hit by a powerful blast early Saturday in Tripoli, Lebanon. More...

  • June-28-2008 -- Can French flair beat EU blues?
    While Irish public opinion may have been fairly well divided, the subsequent Eurocratic bullying is pushing more into the 'No' camp.
    The text is deliberately devoid of clarity, so as to enable groups as diverse as Big Business and Europe?s Green parties, employers organisations and trades unions, to argue the case for Lisbon. More...

  • June-28-2008 -- 6 Mexico police officers killed in ambush
    Police said a single gunmen perpetrated the attack, not several men, as a spokesman had said earlier.
    Labastida also was implicated in a 2005 scandal that involved the killing of Enrique Salinas de Gotari, a brother of former president Carlos Salinas. More...

  • June-28-2008 -- Brown completes one year as British PM but losing credibility
    The following article has been retrievied from the archive and no longer contains the original video.
    It would seem that by common consent Brown is an unmitigated failure. More...

  • June-28-2008 -- Sri Lanka: New fighting kills 43
    COLOMBO (AFP) — Heavy fighting between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels across Sri Lanka's northern regions left at least 29 combatants dead, the defence ministry said on Monday.
    Andankulam fell about six hours after Sri Lankan forces took control of the central Chiraddikulam area and seized an LTTE base after fighting that killed at least 25 rebels, the army said. More...

  • June-28-2008 -- UK royal buildings short of funds
    LONDON: Buckingham Palace accountants claimed yesterday that Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family are a relative bargain for British taxpayers - even though the government spent '40 million ($80m, BD30m) last year to help them live and travel in style.
    Like her subjects, the Queen has been hit hard by soaring prices but sources say she has been determined to lead by example and has personally helped to draw up a series of canny money-saving measures. More...

Saturday


  • June-28-2008 -- Citing Weather Forecast, US Postpones Transfer of Authority for ...
    The mayor and tribal chief of Karmah were killed, along with the Marines and 16 other people, when a bomber blew himself up during a meeting of sheiks and city leaders.
    American Forces Press Service BAGHDAD, June 27, 2008 - A terrorist killed during a June 24 operation in Mosul, Iraq, has been positively identified as the city's top al-Qaida in Iraq leader, military officials here reported today. More...

  • June-28-2008 -- G8 foreign ministers fire warning on Zimbabwe
    Six months behind schedule, officials delivered the dossier to China, the host country for the six-nation talks since 2003 that have worked to entice the North to scrap nuclear weapons development in exchange for aid and diplomatic concessions.
    France is the only major European power without an embassy in the communist East Asian country. More...

  • June-28-2008 -- All parties support peace talks: FM: Manmohan likely to visit Pakistan
    NEW DELHI, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said here that the political environment in both Pakistan and India is right to make the peace process between the two countries result-oriented.
    The Foreign Minister felt the pipeline deal could be sewn up if the requisite will was shown. More...

  • June-28-2008 -- Thai Prime Minister Survives No-Confidence Motion
    The Senate's general debate targeting the entire Samak Sundaravej administration kicked off Monday morning -- on the eve of the no-confidence debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
    There has been an extremely unseemly conflict between the prime minister and the commerce minister, Mingkwan Saengsuwan over rice process and the management of government stocks. More...

  • June-28-2008 -- Land Transfer to Hindu Site Inflames Kashmir's Muslims
    SRINAGAR, June 24: Hundreds of Kashmiris attacked government offices and a police post in occupied Kashmir on Tuesday in protest against the killing of a local resident by police during demonstrations against the transfer of forest land to a Hindu shrine, police said.
    Protesters say the land transfer was aimed at changing the demography of Kashmir while green activists have warned that any construction on forest land could ruin the region's fragile ecology. More...

  • June-28-2008 -- Sri Lanka Captures Rebel Logistics Center in North, Army Says
    NEW DELHI, June 27 (KUNA) -- At least 38 rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and two government soldiers were killed in fresh clashes in Northern Sri Lanka.
    There was no immediate word from the Tigers on the latest fighting, but the guerrillas in a statement said a civilian was killed in a mine attack carried out by government commandos inside rebel-held territory on Wednesday. More...

  • June-28-2008 -- McCartney sisters in justice vow
    The acquittal today of Terence Davison, 51, on charges relating to the murder of the Belfast man Robert McCartney, will come as a harsh blow to Mr McCartney's family, which has campaigned relentlessly and courageously for his killer or killers to be brought to justice.
    The sisters of IRA murder victim Robert McCartney have pledged to keep up their battle to bring those responsible to justice after the only man charged with the killing was acquitted. More...

  • June-28-2008 -- Pakistan denies role in Karzai attack
    Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Sadiq Thursday rejected the allegation leveled by the spokesman of the Afghan Intelligence Agency and Presidency against Pakistani security agencies for attack on Afghan President Hamid Karzai on April 27 this year.
    I n the latest in a string of accusations, Afghan leaders pointed a finger at Pakistan for an attempt on President Hamid Karzai's life on April 27, as well as an attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul, which left seven dead. More...

Friday


  • June-27-2008 -- Sharif's party does well in Pakistani by-elections
    Sharif's party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N, denounced the decision Monday and questioned the court's legitimacy.
    LAHORE: PML-N leader and MNA Hamza Shahbaz has said that no court is bigger than the court of masses as their protests against disqualification of Nawaz Sharif proved that they have rejected PCO judges' verdict. More...

  • June-27-2008 -- Brown Vows to Lift UK Living Standards After Election Slump
    People like Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, had encouraged speculation about a poll.
    Only 16 per cent of people surveyed thought that Labour will win the next election , compared to 62 per cent a year ago, and 49 per cent said that Mr Brown was doing a worse job than Tony Blair. More...

  • June-27-2008 -- Indonesian air force plane crashes with 18 onboard
    JAKARTA (AFP) — Three foreigners are among 18 passengers and crew who are missing after a military transport plane went down in thick jungle in West Java, the Indonesian Air Force spokesman said Friday.
    Rescue teams are looking for a military plane thought to have crashed in Indonesia, with 18 people - including one Briton - on board. More...

  • June-27-2008 -- INTERVIEW-Southeast Asia body key to prising open Myanmar
    State media in Myanmar have reported a death toll of 78,000 to date.
    The Yangon-based tripartite core group was established at an ASEAN-U.N. international pledging conference held in Yangon in late May as a working mechanism for coordinating, facilitating and monitoring the flow of international assistance into Myanmar's cyclone-hit areas. More...

  • June-27-2008 -- Huge protests continue in Kashmir
    KAZINFORM Situation in Kashmir valley worsened on the fourth day of the popular agitation against the allotment of forest land to a Hindu board by the state government with violent demonstrations dominating the scene.
    For centuries pilgrims have been making the arduous trip to Amarnath cave without the benefit of any facilitation by the state.'' More...

  • June-27-2008 -- Romanian girl permitted abortion
    Since the parents are insistent, the Romanian Ministry of Health would decide Friday whether to allow the girl to proceed to Britain to have the abortion.
    The Romanian government was severely criticised for prolonging the family's ordeal by taking over a month to make a decision. More...

  • June-27-2008 -- Pakistan calls for results in peace talks with India
    NEW DELHI, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said here that the political environment in both Pakistan and India is right to make the peace process between the two countries result-oriented.
    Interestingly, the Foreign Ministry invited a delegation of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference to hold consultations with the new leadership in Pakistan days before Mr. Qureshi's visit to India. More...

  • June-27-2008 -- Let's renew our commitment to fighting drug menace - Minister
    June 25: On the eve of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, courts in three Chinese cities executed three drug dealers and sentenced five more to death in a coordinated move designed to spotlight the country's tough approach to drug abuse.
    The sentences were handed down by courts in Shanghai, China's economic hub, Shenzen, a booming city, and in Fuzhou and Hefei in more than 20 drug trafficking cases on Monday and Tuesday, the state media reported. More...

Friday


  • June-27-2008 -- PRESS DIGEST - South Korean newspapers - June 27
    U.S. officials have been huddled in private discussions on the April beef agreement since South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon arrived in Washington on Friday, but so far neither side has heralded a breakthrough.
    With so much passion pouring out on the street, and the opposition United Democratic Party fanning the flame, South Korean exporters must now risk a potential trade backlash from the U.S., which imported 700,000 Korean cars last year against exports of 5,000 U.S. cars to Korea, (along with electronics and other manufactures.) More...

  • June-27-2008 -- G8 Pledges $4 Billion To Counter Afghan-Pakistan Border Violence
    TOKYO, June 26 (Kyodo) - Foreign ministers of the Group of Eight nations are set to confirm their commitments on security and reconstruction in Afghanistan when they meet in Kyoto from Thursday, including issuing a statement on more assistance to the Afghan-Pakistani border area as part of counterterrorism strategy.
    Kyoto (Japan) - The world's seven largest economies and Russia urged Afghanistan on Thursday to clean up its act on corruption and drugs, increasing counter-narcotics, security and reconstruction efforts in the country. More...

  • June-27-2008 -- US doctor to face Australia manslaughter charges
    Dr Patel could be back in Australia within weeks after suddenly agreeing to be extradited from the United States and stand trial for offences like manslaughter, grievous bodily harm and fraud charges.
    The Indian-born surgeon's allegedly botched operations on patients at the Bundaberg Base Hospital led to 16 charges, including three of manslaughter. More...

  • June-27-2008 -- LTTE rebels sourcing explosives from India
    COLOMBO (AFP) — Heavy fighting between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels across Sri Lanka's northern regions left at least 29 combatants dead, the defence ministry said on Monday.
    While two members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were gunned down in Janakapura North in North-east Welioya on Saturday, another rebel was killed in Andankulam, the military said. More...

  • June-27-2008 -- Clashes Grip Indian Kashmir Over Allotment of Land to Hindu Trust
    Authorities transferred nearly 100 acres of forest land in Kashmir to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) to erect temporary shelters for thousands of Hindu pilgrims who annually trek to a cave shrine in the Kashmir mountain.
    The latest killing on Wednesday evening -- of a 16-year-old Kashmiri in a police firing in Srinagar's Fateh Kadal area -- brought thousands of protesters onto the streets. More...

  • June-27-2008 -- Police Official and Guard Are Killed in Mexico
    MEXICO CITY (AP) — Gunmen killed a top federal police official and his bodyguard Thursday as they ate lunch in Mexico City, the latest attack against authorities waging a nationwide battle against drug cartels.
    MEXICO CITY (AP) - Gunmen have killed a top Mexican police official and his bodyguard. More...

  • June-27-2008 -- One year on, voters abandoning Britain's Brown: poll
    A serious man, for troubled times.
    Mr Brown'''s party has sunk lower in the opinion polls than at any time for more than a quarter of a century. More...

  • June-27-2008 -- Arroyo appeals to UN for steady food supply
    THE United States government has pledged P4 million or around US$100,000 worth of relief goods to the Philippines, which they would send through the Philippine National Red Cross for the victims of typhoon Frank (Fengshen).
    During President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's reception for the Filipino community on Wednesday (Thursday dawn in Manila), some Filipino veterans and a Filipino-American group passed the hat and managed to raise $1,000 and P120,000, respectively. More...

Thursday


  • June-26-2008 -- Pakistani Intelligence Accused in Karzai Plot
    A spokesman for Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security, Sayeed Ansari, said it had evidence of the direct involvement of Pakistan's main intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, in the assassination attempt at the April 27 National Day parade in Kabul, which killed three people.
    Ansari'''s comments were the first charge from an Afghan official specifically accusing the ISI of the attack on Karzai, and come amid mounting tensions between the two countries. More...

  • June-26-2008 -- Bombs kill 18 as sheikhs meet, 18 near market
    Kashmola said that 18 people had been killed and 60 wounded.
    BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Bombers on Thursday killed at least 18 people west of Baghdad and at least 18 people in northern Iraq. More...

  • June-26-2008 -- Nepal's prime minister tenders resignation
    Koirala's resignation will come into effect only after the Constituent Assembly elects a new President, Nepali Congress sources said.
    Former communist rebels won the most seats in April's election of a new constituent assembly, but must form a coalition government with other parties. More...

  • June-26-2008 -- Britain's Brown faces fight for his political future after a ...
    The BPIX poll for the Mail on Sunday newspaper showed Labour trailing 23 points behind the Conservatives -- with support of 26 percent for Brown's party versus 49 percent for the opposition.
    If anything, Gordon's been even worse than I predicted. More...

  • June-26-2008 -- Sri Lanka says 69 Tiger rebels killed in fresh fighting
    June 23, Colombo: International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX) members have recently alerted United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to statements issued by Sri Lankan Government and military that "put journalists in grave danger."
    The Defence Ministry said the "counter-terror offensives aimed at liberating" Wanni continued as troops moved further ahead, crushing "terror defences" in the Jaffna, Vavuniya, Welioya and Mannar battlefronts. More...

  • June-26-2008 -- Sooner or later for Dixon?
    "Our objective is still to keep pressure on Qantas," Mr Cousins said.
    Mr Dixon dismissed the claim as laughable, saying checks planned for Los Angeles and other ports would be supervised by Qantas engineers. More...

  • June-26-2008 -- Police forces exchange fire in SA
    Vincent Vena of the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) called the national police version of the story a "lie."
    Salary is performance based - therefore there will be no gold-diggers or slackkers applying. More...

  • June-26-2008 -- Beef dispute may hurt South Korea economy: Moody's
    U.S. officials have been huddled in private discussions on the April beef agreement since South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon arrived in Washington on Friday, but so far neither side has heralded a breakthrough.
    At Seouls request, the United States revised the April deal last week, restricting American beef exports to cattle younger than 30 months. More...

Thursday


  • June-26-2008 -- Largest Treaty settlement signed
    Those bodies challenged the 2006 settlement package hammered out between the Crown and Te Arawa for giving that iwi the right to purchase 51,000 hectares of Crown forest land.
    Dr Cullen says the deal will deliver an economic boost to members of the collective and significant gains to the wider region. More...

  • June-26-2008 -- Britain strips Mugabe of knighthood
    Queen Elizabeth has approved the annulment of the honour - bestowed on Mugabe by the former colonial power 14 years ago - on the recommendation of Foreign Secretary David Miliband.
    The Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, formally recommended the annulment of the honour to the Queen, saying it was a "mark of revulsion at the abuse of human rights and the abject disregard for the democratic process" in Zimbabwe. More...

  • June-26-2008 -- Anglicans gather in Jerusalem to protest secularization
    Things are really coming to a head.
    Radio Fiji News has yet to receive a response from the Anglican Bishop of Polynesia Reverend Jabez Bryce regarding comments made in Jerusalem 'on the future of the worldwide communion. More...

  • June-26-2008 -- US to respond quickly to N. Korea nuclear report
    To make progress in scrapping North Korea's nuclear weapons, it is essential that Pyongyang come clean and honestly declare the nuclear programs it will abolish - including the nuclear weapons it has boasted it possesses.
    U.S. officials who earlier insisted North Korea's declaration should be "complete and correct" have repeatedly scaled back expectations for the document in the wake of resistance from Pyongyang, which failed to meet a deadline for submitting the list at the end of last year. More...

  • June-26-2008 -- Fight Taliban, But Not With Weapons
    In a news conference in Kabul, Sayeed Ansari, the spokesman for the Afghan intelligence service, said Afghan authorities had evidence of the direct involvement of Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, in the assassination attempt.
    The new Pakistan government has largely halted a military drive into the border areas and instead is trying to seal peace deals with militant groups to try to stem violence that has killed hundreds in Pakistan in the last 18 months. More...

  • June-26-2008 -- Report: Youths, police killed in raid on Mexico City nightclub
    MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - At least 10 people died on Friday as hundreds of young party-goers rushed to get out of a crowded nightclub in the Mexican capital during a raid on under-age drinkers, police said.
    The youngest victim was 13. More...

  • June-26-2008 -- Thai PM defiant ahead of vote
    Bangkok: Thailand's upper house grilled Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej in a largely symbolic censure debate on Monday as thousands of street protesters blockaded his office for a fourth day, demanding his government quit.
    Samak gave the promise during a 30-minute party meeting held to alert People Power MPs to get prepared for the censure debate on Tuesday and Wednesday. More...

  • June-26-2008 -- Syrian leaders in upbeat mood despite IAEA visit
    What's more, the probe could draw in countries like North Korea, which Washington says helped Damascus and Iran, which media reports have also linked to Syria's nuclear strivings.
    Damascus claims that the building flattened by Israel was a non-nuclear military structure. More...

Wednesday (Update 1)


  • June-25-2008 -- Indian coalition still deadlocked over nuclear deal: officials
    The ruling United Progressive Alliance and the left-wing committee that held talks in New Delhi averted a showdown on the deal, saying they would meet again in due course.
    No party except for the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which led the government from 1998 to 2004,