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Argentina benefits from rich natural resources , a highly literate population , an export-oriented agricultural sector , and a diversified industrial base .
Although one of the world 's wealthiest countries 100 years ago , Argentina suffered during most of the 20th century from recurring economic crises , persistent fiscal and current account deficits , high inflation , mounting external debt , and capital flight .
A severe depression , growing public and external indebtedness , and a bank run culminated in 2001 in the most serious economic , social , and political crisis in the country 's turbulent history .
Interim President Adolfo RODRIGUEZ SAA declared a default - the largest in history - on the government 's foreign debt in December of that year , and abruptly resigned only a few days after taking office .
His successor , Eduardo DUHALDE , announced an end to the peso 's decade-long 1-to-1 peg to the US dollar in early 2002 .
The economy bottomed out that year , with real GDP 18 % smaller than in 1998 and almost 60 % of Argentines under the poverty line .
Real GDP rebounded to grow by an average 8.5 % annually over the subsequent six years , taking advantage of previously idled industrial capacity and labor , an audacious debt restructuring and reduced debt burden , excellent international financial conditions , and expansionary monetary and fiscal policies .
Inflation also increased , however , during the administration of President Nestor KIRCHNER , which responded with price restraints on businesses , as well as export taxes and restraints , and beginning in early 2007 , with understating inflation data .
Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER succeeded her husband as President in late 2007 , and the rapid economic growth of previous years began to slow sharply the following year as government policies held back exports and the world economy fell into recession .
The economy has rebounded strongly from the 2009 recession , but the government 's continued reliance on expansionary fiscal and monetary policies risks exacerbating already high inflation .
The Dominican economy has been dependent on agriculture - primarily bananas - in years past , but increasingly has been driven by tourism as the government seeks to promote Dominica as an " ecotourism " destination .
In order to diversify the island 's production base , the government also is attempting to develop an offshore financial sector and has signed an agreement with the EU to develop geothermal energy resources .
In 2003 , the government began a comprehensive restructuring of the economy - including elimination of price controls , privatization of the state banana company , and tax increases - to address an economic and financial crisis and to meet IMF requirements .
This restructuring paved the way for an economic recovery - real growth for 2006 reached a two-decade high - and helped to reduce the debt burden , which remains at about 85 % of GDP .
Hurricane Dean struck the island in August 2007 causing damages equivalent to 20 % of GDP .
In 2009 , growth slowed as a result of the global recession ; it picked up only slightly in 2010 .
Burundi is a landlocked , resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector .
The economy is predominantly agricultural which accounts for just over 30 % of GDP and employs more than 90 % of the population .
Burundi 's primary exports are coffee and tea , which account for 90 % of foreign exchange earnings , though exports are a relatively small share of GDP .
Burundi 's export earnings - and its ability to pay for imports - rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices .
The Tutsi minority , 14 % of the population , dominates the coffee trade .
An ethnic-based war that lasted for over a decade resulted in more than 2,00,000 deaths , forced more than 48,000 refugees into Tanzania , and displaced 1,40,000 others internally .
Only one in two children go to school , and approximately one in 15 adults has HIV / AIDS .
Food , medicine , and electricity remain in short supply .
Less than 2 % of the population has electricity in its homes .
Burundi 's GDP grew around 4 % annually in 2006 - 10 .
Political stability and the end of the civil war have improved aid flows and economic activity has increased , but underlying weaknesses - a high poverty rate , poor education rates , a weak legal system , a poor transportation network , overburdened utilities , and low administrative capacity - risk undermining planned economic reforms .
The purchasing power of most Burundians has decreased as wage increases have not kept up with inflation .
Burundi will continue to remain heavily dependent on aid from bilateral and multilateral donors ; the delay of funds after a corruption scandal cut off bilateral aid in 2007 reduced government 's revenues and its ability to pay salaries .
Burundi joined the East African Community , which should boost Burundi 's regional trade ties , and received $ 700 million in debt relief in 2009 .
Government corruption is also hindering the development of a healthy private sector as companies seek to navigate an environment with ever-changing rules .
A TRAVELER hired an Ass to convey him to a distant place .
The day being intensely hot , and the sun shining in its strength , the Traveler stopped to rest , and sought shelter from the heat under the Shadow of the Ass .
As this afforded only protection for one , and as the Traveler and the owner of the Ass both claimed it , a violent dispute arose between them as to which of them had the right to the Shadow .
The owner maintained that he had let the Ass only , and not his Shadow .
The Traveler asserted that he had , with the hire of the Ass , hired his Shadow also .
The quarrel proceeded from words to blows , and while the men fought , the Ass galloped off .
In quarreling about the shadow we often lose the substance .
A FLEA settled upon the bare foot of a Wrestler and bit him , causing the man to call loudly upon Hercules for help .
When the Flea a second time hopped upon his foot , he groaned and said , " O Hercules ! if you will not help me against a Flea , how can I hope for your assistance against greater antagonists ? '
In the old days , when men were allowed to have many wives , a middle-aged Man had one wife that was old and one that was young ; each loved him very much , and desired to see him like herself .
Now the Man 's hair was turning grey , which the young Wife did not like , as it made him look too old for her husband .
So every night she used to comb his hair and pick out the white ones .
But the elder Wife saw her husband growing grey with great pleasure , for she did not like to be mistaken for his mother .
So every morning she used to arrange his hair and pick out as many of the black ones as she could .
The consequence was the Man soon found himself entirely bald .
Yield to all and you will soon have nothing to yield .
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is optimistic a deal with Iran on its controversial nuclear program can be reached .
During a visit to Hungary Tuesday , Mr. Putin said it is quite possible to reach agreement on Moscow 's proposal to enrich uranium on Russian soil for Iran 's nuclear energy needs .
Iran has said it agrees in principle to the deal .
But it is unclear if it would also agree to stop domestic uranium enrichment - a demand of Russia and the West .
A Japanese official Tuesday quoted Iran 's visiting Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki as saying that the Russian plan would be a bridge between Iran 's right to peaceful nuclear energy and global trust in Tehran .
The United States and European Union say Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons - a charge it denies .
An international media group says it is disturbed by the recent arrests of two television broadcasters by Afghan authorities .
Reporters Without Borders says Fahim Kohdamani of Emroz TV and Ajmal Alamzai of Ariana TV were arrested on Monday for airing programs deemed anti-Islamic and for speaking with Taliban representatives .
It says Kohdamani was arrested for broadcasting music and hosting an entertainment program .
In a statement Tuesday , the group says his arrest appeared to be linked to a letter of complaint sent to President Hamid Karzai by Muslim clerics .
Alamzai , the host of Ariana TV 's program " Didadgah , " was detained for speaking with a Taliban member during a program that discussed U.S. efforts to reach out to moderate Islamic insurgents .
The statement says he was released late Monday evening .
North Korea says it will not dismantle its nuclear program before any new talks aimed at eliminating its access to nuclear weapons .
The commentary in the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper also says Pyongyang has neither opposed nor shunned the six-party talks on its nuclear ambitions .
The newspaper comments come amid renewed speculation that a new round of negotiations could begin within the next few weeks .
Three rounds of talks have been held in Beijing , but a fourth session scheduled for June , 2004 failed to take place because North Korea boycotted the process over what it called a hostile U.S. attitude .
But earlier this month , North Korean leader Kim Jong-il said the talks could resume as early as July .
Authorities in Haiti say gunmen shot and killed two police officers and a civilian Monday in an apparent ambush in Port-au-Prince .
Police say gunman attacked the car the officers and civilian were driving in .
The shooting follows several weeks of attacks that officials say are aimed at destabilizing the country ahead of elections scheduled for later this year .
The United Nations mission and Haitian police have struggled to restore order to Haiti for more than a year , after an armed uprising ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide .
A U.S. Congressional investigation into Hurricane Katrina blames failures at all levels of government for the suffering and loss of life that resulted from last August 's storm .
U.S. news organizations have published parts of a draft of the final document that is to be presented Wenesday to Congress .
The report says the federal government 's response to Katrina was marked by ineffectiveness and organizational paralysis .
It also faulted local and state officials in Louisiana for delaying mandatory evacuations .
The report notes that problems first noted after the September 11 terrorist attacks - such as the inability of first responders to communicate with each - were again problems during the Katrina response .
Democrats , who wanted an independent probe , boycotted the investigation carried out by Republican members of the House of Representatives .
Egypt says it will not ratify a key treaty banning nuclear tests unless Israel first signs a separate agreement calling for a halt to the spread of atomic bombs .
In Cairo Friday , Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit linked Egyptian ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to Israeli acceptance of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty , or NPT .
Mr. Gheit said the refusal of Israel to sign the non-proliferation accord is a threat to the stability of the entire Middle East .
All Middle Eastern countries except Israel have signed the NPT , which aims to stop the spread of nuclear weapons .
Israel and Egypt have both signed the other treaty banning nuclear tests , but neither nation has ratified it .
Israel has not officially stated that it has nuclear weapons , but it is widely believed to have about 200 nuclear warheads .
Security in Nepal 's capital remained tight Sunday , as police searched an area south of Kathmandu for rebels who launched a deadly pre-dawn attack on government troops .
The military says 17 rebels and at least six security personnel were killed in the fighting , which came as opponents of King Gyanendra 's direct rule continued to defy a government crackdown .
Elsewhere , authorities say suspected rebels shot dead a candidate for local office in the southern town of Janakpur .
The victim was identified as the local leader of a party that supports King Gyanendra .
Authorities say at least 30 protesters were arrested in the capital Sunday .
However , the royal government released former Prime Minister Gijira Prasad Koirala and several other leaders placed under house arrest last week .
Nepal 's main political parties vowed to continue the protests and called for a nationwide strike on Thursday .
The U.S. banking industry lost more than $ 26 billion in the last three months of 2008 , the first quarterly loss in 18 years .
The number of banks that regulators classify as " troubled " rose nearly 50 percent during the same quarter .
Banks lost money as the recession made it harder for borrowers to repay loans .
Banks were also hurt by losses on their investments in stocks and other areas .
The U.S. government 's Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation says the number of banks that actually fail is growing , with 25 going under last year .
Although the weak economy has resulted in increased losses for banks , the American Bankers Association said Thursday 97 percent of all the country 's banks are still rated " well capitalized " - meaning they have a significant financial buffer against losses .
There are more than 8,000 banks in the United States insured by the FDIC .
The Afghan government has welcomed the extradition of 14 Taleban insurgents from Pakistan to Kabul , but also urged its neighbor to hunt down more suspected militants hiding in Pakistan .
A government spokesman says such moves will strengthen relations between the two countries and will open a new era of cooperation in the war against terrorism .
Among those extradited were purported Taleban spokesmen Latif Hakimi and Mohammad Yasir .
Afghan state television showed Afghan soldiers leading the 14 men , all blindfolded , off a military plane late Wednesday .
Afghan officials say they will be put on trial for their role in violence against government targets , as well as Afghan and coalition forces .
Meanwhile , a bomb attached to a bicycle blew up Thursday , in the southern city of Kandahar , killing a policeman and wounding two civilians .
Lebanese officials say rescuers have recovered two bodies from the waters off Lebanon 's northern coast where a cargo ship carrying 83 crew members and livestock sank late Thursday .
The officials say Lebanese navy boats and United Nations vessels participating in the rescue mission also pulled at least 25 people from the rough Mediterranean waters .
Local authorities say the Panamanian-flagged vessel , carrying livestock from Uruguay to the Syrian port of Tartous , capsized some 17 kilometers off the Lebanese port of Tripoli in a heavy rainstorm .
They say the crew sent a distress call but the vessel sank before the rescue ships could reach the area .
Thursday 's accident came less than a week after a Togolese-flagged cargo ship with 12 crew on board sank off the Lebanese coast .
Six crew members were rescued but the rest remain missing .
Courtney Love plans to sell most of the items which once belonged to her husband , former Nirvana leader Kurt Cobain .
Comparing her house to a " mausoleum , " the 42-year-old rock singer says she plans to hold a charity auction .
Love and Cobain wed in 1992 and later that year had a daughter , Frances Bean .
Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994 .
Speaking to AOL Music , Love says " My daughter does n't need to inherit a giant ... bag full of flannel ... shirts . "
She says Frances will get one of Cobain 's sweaters , a guitar , and the lyrics to Nirvana 's biggest hit , " Smells Like Teen Spirit . "
AOL publicist Kurt Patat gave no date for the auction .
U.S. troops have killed eight insurgents in western Iraq , as military officials dispute claims that militants have kidnapped two U.S. Marines .
About one thousand U.S. troops launched the offensive near the Syrian border , in the latest attempt to drive insurgents from the area .
Residents said the operation appeared to be widening Sunday to several nearby towns .
Meanwhile , U.S. officials said they had no reason to believe an alleged statement from al Qaida in Iraq claiming to have kidnapped two Marines involved in the military offensive .
In a statement , U.S. officials said they were conducting checks to verify that all Marines were accounted for .
An Islamist web site carried the kidnapping claim , which demanded the release of female Sunni Muslim prisoners .
In Baghdad , militants freed the brother of Interior Minister Bayan Jabor , who was kidnapped one day earlier near the Sadr City district .
Al-Qaida has claimed responsibility for the July 7 London subway and bus bombings that killed 52 people .
The Arabic language television network al-Jazeera Thursday broadcast what it said is a videotape of one of the bombers , Mohammad Sidique Khan , made just before the attack .
On the video , he blames the bombings on British support for the war in Iraq and what he calls atrocities against Muslims .
British officials say four suicide bombers were killed in the July 7 attacks .
An attempted bombing two weeks later failed .
It is still not clear if there is a direct tie between the two attacks .
The videotape also included comments from al-Qaida 's second-in-command , Ayman al-Zawahiri .
He warned that British Prime Minster Tony Blair 's policies would bring more destruction to the British people .
The British Foreign Office said it will not comment on any aspects of the tape .
Several people believed to be North Korean asylum seekers have entered a South Korean school in Dalian in northeast China .
South Korea 's Yonhap news agency says the group of nine includes three children .
Hundreds of North Koreans have broken into diplomatic embassies and foreign schools in China in recent years seeking asylum .
Human rights groups say the defectors are seeking refuge from the hunger and repression in their homeland .
China has an agreement with Pyongyang to send asylum seekers back home , but it has allowed many to travel to South Korea via a third country .
Reports from China say protests broke out in the eastern province of Zhejiang at a factory suspected of pollution .
Witnesses are quoted Monday as saying several villagers were injured when they clashed with police Saturday outside the Tian Neng Battery Company in Meishan .
The protesters are said to have burned several police cars and damaged factory and government buildings .
There has been no official report of the violence .
Local residents say the battery factory is responsible for high levels of lead that have poisoned their children .
The protest over industrial pollution is the third this year in Zhejiang province .
China has been struck by violent protests in recent months as rural villagers vent anger over industrial pollution and allegations of corruption and unfair land distribution .
Former Haitian president Rene Preval has been declared the winner of the Caribbean nation 's presidential election .
Haiti 's Provisional Electoral Council said Thursday , Mr. Preval received 51 percent of the votes cast last week .
His total was raised after a last minute decision to discount 85,000 blank ballots .
Haitian Prime Minister Gerard Latortue told the Associated Press the government acknowledged the final decision of the electoral council and saluted Mr. Preval 's election .
The announcement follows five days of protests by Preval supporters who alleged massive voter fraud .
Mr. Preval urged his supporters to demonstrate peacefully .
Haitian officials stopped the vote count Wednesday after thousands of ballots were found burning in a trash heap outside the capital , Port-au-Prince .
Nepal 's government says it will push ahead with planned parliamentary elections even if Maoist rebels do not come the negotiating table by January 13 .
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba told journalists in Kathmandu Thursday it is their last chance to present their demands for ending their decades-long violent campaign .
He said he is determined to set the process for holding parliamentary elections in motion with or without the rebels ' participation .
There was no immediate comment from the guerrillas , who have demanded United Nations or an international human rights group mediate the talks with Kathmandu .
Violence has surged since peace talks failed last year after the Maoists demanded election of a special assembly to decide the future of the monarchy .
The rebels want to replace the constitutional monarchy with a communist state .
Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko says the United States understands the problems Ukraine faces in its democratic development , and its need for energy security .
Tymoshenko met in Washington Thursday with Vice President Dick Cheney and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley .
The former Ukrainian prime minister is scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Friday .
After her meetings Thursday , Tymoshenko said Ukraine faces a real threat of losing its political sovereignty , independence and integration with the European community for the first time in 15 years .
Ukraine is struggling with a political stalemate between supporters of West-leaning reformer President Viktor Yushchenko , and those of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych , who wants stronger ties with Russia .
President Yushchenko and Tymoshenko were once allies , but their relationship deteriorated because of bitter political infighting a year after the 2004 Orange Revolution that swept Mr. Yushchenko to power .
Pakistan says it would welcome India 's participation in a proposed gas pipeline with Iran worth $ 4 billion dollars , but says that the project will go ahead even if New Delhi does not join it .
Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri made the comment after Tuesday 's meeting with his Iranian counterpart , Kamal Kharrazi , in Islamabad .
Iran proposed the pipeline in 1996 .
But New Delhi 's response has been lukewarm given its troubled relations with Islamabad and concerns about the safety of the pipeline carrying its energy supplies through Pakistani territory .
Mr. Kharrazi 's visit came as India and Pakistan concluded another round of slow-moving peace talks .
The Iranian foreign minister met with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf late Monday .
Before leaving Pakistan , Mr. Kharrazi held talks with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz .
President Bush says federal officials have " deep concern " about Tropical Storm Rita causing more flooding in New Orleans .
In remarks at the White House Monday , Mr. Bush said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers fears that heavy rain could cause the city 's recently-repaired levees to break again .
Much of New Orleans sits below sea level , and the levees ' failure during Hurricane Katrina put 80 percent of the city underwater .
Weather forecasters say Tropical Storm Rita could become a hurricane and move into the Gulf of Mexico south of New Orleans later this week .
The president said New Orleans officials must be " realistic " about bringing people back to the city before it is safe .
Iran says the only solution to its nuclear dispute with the West is negotiations , and not referral of its atomic energy program to the U.N. Security Council .
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi made that assertion Sunday at his weekly news conference in Tehran .
Asefi cautioned the West against acting in haste against Iran , saying a referral to the Security Council would solve nothing .
The Iranian spokesman 's comments came as representatives of Britain , Germany , France , the United States and the European Union prepared for a meeting Monday in London to discuss whether to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions .
The Europeans say the impasse should be resolved through diplomacy , but Washington says a military option should be retained as a last resort .
U.S. troops opened fire on a civilian vehicle north of Baghdad Monday , killing at least three Iraqis , including a child , when troops say the vehicle failed to stop as ordered .
But surviving family members say five people , including three children , were killed .
U.S. Major Steve Warren called the deaths a tragedy .
Hours later , a car bomb exploded as a U.S. convoy passed in the same area , killing four Iraqis .
Meanwhile , at a reconciliation conference in Cairo , Iraq 's President Jalal Talabani said he is willing to hold talks with insurgents and members of the ousted government .
Mr. Talabani then traveled to Tehran for the first visit to Iran by an Iraqi head of state in nearly four decades .
He met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for wide-ranging talks on relations and the fight against terrorism .
Iran 's intelligence minister says two Americans who were detained for illegally crossing the country 's border should be tried on charges of spying .
Iranian state-run media quotes Heidar Moslehi as saying " documents and evidence " about Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal have been handed over to Iran 's judicial system for a decision .
He also said Friday that a third American who was freed should " return to Iran if necessary . "
Iranian authorities arrested Bauer , Fattal and Sarah Shourd last year on charges of unlawfully crossing into Iranian territory from Iraq .
Iran freed Shourd on $ 5,00,000 bail last month .
Mosleshi says she was freed " temporarily " and should " return to Iran if necessary . "
The hikers and their family members have said if the trio crossed the border , it was by accident .
Shourd says there were no signs , fences or other indications of a border .
Spain is holding a national day of mourning and commemoration Friday , to mark the one year anniversary of the Madrid train bombings which killed 191 people .
Church bells rang out at 7.37 a.m. local time ( 637 UTC ) to mark the first of 10 explosions that occurred aboard four commuter trains one year ago .
The coordinated attacks produced the worst death toll ever from terrorism in Spain .
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Morocco 's King Mohamed , will join Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero - and the entire Spanish nation - for five minutes of silence at midday .
Islamic militants , predominantly from Morocco and sympathetic to al-Qaeda , claimed responsibility for the attacks .
The European Union is offering to resume development aid to Sudan , now that an agreement has been reached to end the nation 's 21-year civil war .
In a statement Sunday , the EU offered to give Sudan more than $ 540 million to aid development over the next three years .
But the offer requires that the agreement with southern rebels be implemented .
It also requires Sudan to make progress at ending the separate fighting and humanitarian disaster in its Darfur region .
The EU stopped sending development money to Sudan 14 years ago because of the southern civil war .
A statement attributed to the militant group al-Qaida In Iraq says four Iraqis carried out the triple suicide bombings in Jordan that killed at least 57 people and wounded more than 100 others .
The statement , which appeared Friday , on an Islamist website associated with the group , says the team included three men and a woman married to one of the attackers .
The statement came as U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with officials in Amman to discuss Wednesday 's attacks .
Jordanian King Abdullah has vowed to track down and bring to justice the militants who helped plan the suicide bombings on three hotels .
Government officials said most of the dead are Jordanians , but at least 12 foreigners have been identified , including two Americans .
Turkish and European Union officials are meeting Monday in Ankara to discuss Turkey 's progress in making reforms ahead of EU membership talks scheduled for later this year .
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn is expected to press Turkey to sign a protocol that will amount to a de-facto recognition of Cyprus ' internationally-recognized Greek government .
Turkey must sign the protocol before formal EU membership talks can begin on October third .
Ankara previously refused to recognize the Greek government of Cyprus , which joined the EU last May .
Turkey is the only country in the world that recognizes the government of the Turkish-ruled part of Cyprus .
Mr. Rehn is also expected to push Ankara to continue with efforts to stop torture , improve freedom of expression , and increase the rights of women and the Kurdish minority .
Scientists are hailing the results of a new study that shows a drug already used to treat advanced cancer has proven extremely effective against an aggressive form of early breast cancer .
In an article published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine , researchers found the drug Herceptin can prevent 50 percent of all breast tumors from recurring in patients with early stages of the disease .
The drug , which targets only diseased cells , only works for the estimated 20-percent of breast cancer cases in which tumors produce too much of a protein known as HER-2 .
Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer among women in the United States .
More than 2,00,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer , and about 40,000 women will die of the disease in the United States in 2005 .
Officials say Herceptin will be marketed internationally by the Swiss drugmaker Roche .
Iraqi officials say Jan. 30 has been set as the new date for the war-torn country 's first national elections since a U.S.-led military coalition toppled Saddam Hussein 's regime .
An Iraqi election commission spokesman , Farid Ayar , who spoke to reporters Sunday did not give a reason for the election date change , which postpones by three days an earlier voting plan drawn up by the interim government in Baghdad .
Iraqis will choose a new national assembly , provincial councils across the country and a Kurdish regional parliament .
Continuing attacks on coalition forces by Iraqi insurgents have been a growing source of concern for Iraqi and U.S. officials as election day approaches .
U.S. military officials said today that nine men found dead Saturday in the northern city of Mosul were all Iraqi soldiers who had been shot in the back of the head .
Several members of four top Italian football teams have been ordered to stand trial in a sports court on charges stemming from the largest football scandal in the country 's history .
At least 26 people from Juventus , AC Milan , Lazio and Fiorentina will face allegations of match-fixing , illegal betting and manipulation of referee assignments .
The trial begins next week at the Olympic Stadium in Rome .
No players are involved .
Juventus has been investigated for sporting fraud on allegations that it tried to manipulate the Serie A by handpicking referees .
Juventus won the first division title for the last two seasons .
But those titles could be stripped along with possible relegation as far down as the third division .
The other teams face lesser demotions .
Iran is reviewing proposals offered by the European Union aimed at ending a long-running standoff over its nuclear program .
The proposals were delivered Friday by the ambassadors of Britain , France and Germany .
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said his country would study the proposals for one or two days and issue a response " soon . "
The European plan calls on Iran to end uranium conversion and enrichment , which are suspected to be part of a nuclear weapons program .
In exchange , the EU pledges Iran fuel , trade and investment as well as political and technological cooperation .
Iran insists its nuclear program is used for the peaceful purpose of energy generation and has said it will soon resume uranium processing .
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Friday he hopes Iran will hear the voice of reason and not resume nuclear activities .
The International Atomic Energy Agency will meet Tuesday to discuss Iran .
A Nigerian police spokesman says 164 people have been arrested for alleged involvement in violence near the town of Jos earlier this month that killed more than 200 people .
The spokesman said Sunday that 41 of those arrested will be charged with terrorism , which could result in life in prison .
The others , he said , will be charged with illegal possession of firearms , rioting and other offenses .
Witnesses to the March 7 violence said that ethnic Fulani herdsmen , who are mostly Muslim , attacked mainly Christian villages south of Jos , setting homes on fire and slashing people with knives and machetes .
The U.N. special investigator on freedom of religion has said the massacre could have been prevented had authorities addressed deep-seated tensions between Muslims and Christians .
Jos has a history of sectarian violence .
The city sits on the dividing line between Nigeria 's mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south .
Iraqi authorities have imposed tight security in and around Baghdad and the holy city of Karbala where Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims are converging for a major religious ceremony .
Officials expect two million pilgrims to join the main Ashura observances Thursday , marking the seventh century martyrdom of Imam Hussein , one of Shi'ite Islam 's most revered leaders .
Government troops have sealed off Karbala to vehicles and are body-searching the arriving pilgrims .
Police in Baghdad also imposed tight security in Kadhimiya district - another site of Shi'ite pilgrimage - and set up checkpoints around the city .
Despite the security , Iraq 's higher education minister survived a bomb attack in Baghdad that wounded three people .
In the past , insurgents have attacked pilgrims during Ashura observances .
In 2004 , about 170 people were killed .
Pope Benedict XVI says science has narrowed humanity 's understanding of the origins of life and that the theory of evolution can neither be proven or dismissed .
The pope 's extended views on evolution are appearing in print for the first time as part of a newly published German book called Creation and Evolution .
He writes that evolution can never be known for sure because it is impossible to conduct controlled laboratory experiments into the theory .
But Benedict does not give a 100 percent endorsement of creationism or intelligent design , saying the debate must be philosophical and go beyond science .
Advocates of intelligent design say life on Earth is too complex to have evolved randomly and must be the product of a higher power .
A state-run Chinese newspaper reported Monday that more than 200 people are expected to go on trial this week for their involvement in sectarian riots last month in the western region of Xinjiang .
The official China Daily said the trials will take place in Urumqi , the capital of Xinjiang and the site of China 's worst ethnic violence in decades .
Nearly 200 people were killed and about 1,700 injured .
The paper said the charges include vandalizing public property , organizing crowds to cause bodily harm , robbery , murder and arson , among other crimes .
Beijing blamed the violence on outside forces stirring up separatist sentiments among the mostly Muslim Uighur minority , but Uighurs blame the police for provoking the violence .
Delegates from many of south Asian nations affected by December 's deadly tsunami are in Tokyo to study Japan 's advanced tsunami warning system .
A three-day conference sponsored by the United Nations opened Tuesday as part of an effort to establish an early tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean by mid-2006 .
The representatives from Indonesia , Sri Lanka , Thailand and other nations in the region also will visit Japanese coastal communities to see how they respond to earthquake and tsunami warnings .
Japan , which is prone to earthquakes and tsunamis , has offered to share its tsunami-warning technology to build the new Indian Ocean system .
NATO allies have raised concerns about a recent deal in Afghanistan to free five Taleban prisoners in exchange for a kidnapped Italian reporter .
U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns told reporters in Brussels Tuesday that a majority of member states oppose the exchange of hostages for terrorists .
Members Tuesday discussed adopting a common NATO policy to deal with similar hostage situations .
Early last week , the Afghan government released five Taleban militants in exchange for kidnapped journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo , who had been held for two weeks .
Britain and the United States raised objections to the deal , saying it increases the risk of similar kidnappings of NATO and Afghan troops .
Mastrogiacomo was abducted in southern Afghanistan 's Helmand province in early March .
Kidnappers beheaded his Afghan driver .
The U.S. Geological Survey says a strong earthquake has hit eastern Indonesia .
The service said Tuesday the quake had a magnitude of 6.3 and was centered in the Molucca Sea about 135 kilometers northwest of Ternate .
An Indonesian website , vivanews.com , said the quake struck at 9.08 pm local time and there appeared to be little risk of a tsunami .
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries .
An earthquake of that magnitude can cause damage in populated areas within a radius of about 160 kilometers .
Indonesia sits on fault lines that make the region prone to earthquakes .
A tsunami triggered by a massive undersea quake in December 2004 killed nearly 2,30,000 people , half of them in Indonesia 's Aceh province .
China has imposed a massive news blackout on the deadly police suppression of a village protest in Dongzhou earlier this month .
China 's state controlled media have been nearly silent about the December 6 incident in which activists say some 20 people were shot dead by police while protesting against a local power plant .
The only official news coverage has alleged that three civilians were killed and several injured after protesters attacked police , forcing officers to respond .
The news blackout extends to the Internet , where reporters say sophisticated filtering has blocked foreign news stories and prevented search engines , such as Google , from looking for keywords associated with the shootings .
But media rights group Reporters without Borders says some Internet users have successfully published messages about the incident in chat rooms by alluding to the shootings without mentioning specifics .
Chinese officials are reporting a new outbreak of bird flu in poultry - this time in northern China .
China 's agriculture ministry said Friday that a state lab has confirmed that more than 200 birds died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in Inner Mongolia .
More than 16,000 birds have been culled in an effort to contain the outbreak .
Earlier Friday , Indonesia said it has received permission from Swiss drug giant Roche to locally produce Tamiflu , the drug thought to be most effective in treating bird flu in humans .
Roche also announced that it would provide Taiwan with an additional 1.3 million treatments of Tamiflu .
The company said it made the decision after determining that local companies could not produce the drug more rapidly or at a lower cost .
Nearly 70 people have died of bird flu in Asia since 2003 .
The Iraqi prime minister 's office says the journalist who threw his shoes at U.S. President George Bush has apologized .
A spokesman for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Thursday that reporter Muntazer al-Zaidi wrote a letter in which he asked for Mr. Maliki 's pardon , calling his display an " ugly act . "
Relatives of Zaidi immediately cast doubt that he would write such a letter of his own accord .
The reporter has been in custody since the incident Sunday .
He faces up to 15 years in prison , depending on what charges will be made against him and if he is found guilty .
Thousands of Iraqis have protested in the streets , demanding his release .
Zaidi has become somewhat of a folk hero for his action against Mr. Bush , who spearheaded the invasion of Iraq .
The leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon has rejected President Bush 's call for the militant group to disarm .
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah says his organization needs to be armed to protect Lebanon and deter Israeli aggression .
He spoke Wednesday in response to Mr. Bush , who said Hezbollah could play a political role in Lebanon if it disarmed and supported the Israeli-Palestinian peace process .
Mr. Bush says Hezbollah will remain designated a terrorist organization .
Mr. Bush met Wednesday at the White House with the Lebanese Patriarch of the Maronite Church , Nasrallah Sfeir .
The patriarch says he looks forward to an end to the " suffocating political conditions " in Syrian-dominated Lebanon .
Meanwhile , witnesses say Syrian intelligence agents left Beirut following U.S. , European and Lebanese opposition calls to do so .
Suspected U.S. drones fired missiles at several suspected militant hideouts in Pakistan 's North Waziristan tribal region Tuesday , killing at least 16 people .
North Waziristan is known as a base for the Taliban-allied Haqqani group , which is blamed for cross-border attacks against U.S. , NATO and Afghan troops in Afghanistan .
U.S. officials do not publicly comment on the drone strikes , which have raised tensions between Pakistan and the United States in the past .
Meanwhile , the death toll from four days of violence in Pakistan 's southern port city of Karachi has reached at least 26 , after at least six more people were killed Tuesday .
The clashes appeared to be between activists from rival political parties - the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Awami National Party - which traditionally gather support from different ethnic groups .
The White House has yet to comment on a published report that the National Security Agency conducted broader surveillance of e-mails and telephone conversations without court orders than the administration has acknowledged .
Current and former government officials told The New York Times the NSA accessed domestic and international communications with help from telecommunication companies .
The newspaper says the companies have been storing information on calling patterns since the September 11 , 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States .
NSA officials were reported to have been studying the information in hope of finding terrorists .
The Bush administration has been under increased scrutiny from the public and many lawmakers for authorizing without court orders the surveillance of what the government says are only international calls and e-mails to and from the United States .
Vice President Dick Cheney says the Bush administration has all the legal authority it needs to wiretap phone calls and e-mails between U.S. citizens and persons abroad suspected of links to terrorism .
Cheney was asked on a national U.S. television show PBSNewshour Tuesday if the president would be willing to work with Congress to settle some of the disputes about the legality of the secret surveillance program .
He expressed concern that the legislative process could lead to the disclosure of sensitive operational matters .
Meanwhile , a Republican member of Congress has called for a full congressional investigation into the wiretapping program .
Congresswoman Heather Wilson - chairwoman of a House Intelligence Subcommittee - told The New York Times she has " serious concerns " about the program .
On Monday , Attorney General Alberto Gonzales faced tough questions on the program from several members of a Senate panel .
Chinese health officials have confirmed a new case of bird flu in a man hospitalized in critical condition in Guangdong province , near Hong Kong .
The case has caused Hong Kong to declare a three-week ban on live poultry from the mainland .
Chinese state media say the infection brings the country 's total of human cases of bird flu to 19 .
Reports say the 31-year-old patient in the town of Shenzhen developed fever and pneumonia-like symptoms June 3 .
Earlier Thursday , the World Health Organization confirmed that a seven-year-old Indonesian girl who died last month was infected with bird flu .
That means 38 people in Indonesia have now died of bird flu .
Avian flu has killed more than 125 people around the world since late 2003 .
Most of the victims have been in Asia .
Iran is promising a mighty response to any aggression from Israel , as political hostilities between the two governments continue to increase .
The latest warning from Tehran came during an interview with Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar Friday by the official Islamic Republic News Agency .
He was responding to questions about escalating troubles with Israel , including speculation of an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities .
The defense minister said Iran 's armed forces would provide a rapid , strong and destructive response to any such attack .
Iran 's foreign relations have been further strained by controversial comments by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad .
The hard-line president has called for Israel to be " wiped off the map . "
He has also cast doubt on the Holocaust , and has suggested that Israel be moved to Europe .
Deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya says talks on ending the stand-off stemming from his ouster have broken down .
Speaking from the Brazilian Embassy in the capital , Tegucigalpa , where he has taken refuge , Mr. Zelaya told reporters the talks are suspended until the other side presents what he called a " reasonable " stance .
A member of Mr. Zelaya 's negotiating team , Victor Meza , said the proposal offered by interim President Roberto Micheletti is " completely unacceptable . "
That proposal calls for the Honduran Supreme Court to decide whether Mr. Zelaya should be allowed to return to power .
Despite Mr. Zelaya 's statements , envoys from the two sides say negotiations will continue .
Mr. Micheletti has been under intense international pressure to restore Mr. Zelaya .
The deposed president 's opponents say he was ousted because he was trying to illegally change the constitution to extend his term in office .
U.S. consumer prices posted their sharpest drop in half a century in November .
Thursday 's report from the Labor Department says falling energy costs brought prices down a steep six-tenths of a percent for the month .
Economists say energy and food costs can swing widely from month to month , so setting aside those volatile prices may give a clearer picture of inflation in the overall economy .
By that measure , prices rose a modest two-tenths of a percent .
Energy prices soared earlier this year because of hurricane damage .
A separate report says the number of people who lost jobs because of Hurricanes Katrina , Rita , and Wilma now exceeds $ 6,00,000 .
The report also shows the number of people applying for unemployment insurance rose slightly last week .
Chinese authorities say 254 people were killed in a massive mudslide that buried a northern Chinese village .
The death toll rose sharply Saturday after the discovery of more than 70 additional bodies in Shanxi province .
The official Xinhua news agency reported a wall of waste and mud from an illegal mine plowed into a village of about 1,000 people on Monday .
The slide buried an outdoor market said to have been packed with people .
Officials stated hundreds could have been killed .
More than 1,000 people are involved in rescue and recovery operations .
Chinese work safety officials blamed the illegal mine for the disaster .
Police have detained 12 people associated with the mine , including its boss .
The United Nations says 2007 was one of the deadliest years on record for U.N. staffers .
The United Nations said Wednesday that 42 civilian staffers and peacekeepers were killed in acts of violence worldwide last year , compared to 32 in 2006 and about half that in 2005 .
The U.N. said the worst incident this year was in a bombing in Algiers on December 11 , when 17 U.N. staff members were among dozens who died in two car bomb attacks , an incident Secretary Ban Ki-Moon called " despicable . "
Six staffers lost their lives in a bomb attack in Lebanon June 24 , and another died the following month .
Six other U.N. workers died in Sudanese violence in several different incidents .
Afghanistan was also the scene of six U.N. deaths over the course of the year .
Other U.N. staffers were detained in Darfur , Somalia , and Burma .
The U.S. government has proposed a new , high-tech passport card for Americans who travel internationally within the Western Hemisphere .
The State Department and the Department of Homeland Security have submitted Tuesday a proposal for public comment .
The plan calls for a card that is small enough to fit into a person 's wallet .
It would meet the same standards as a traditional passport book , but would only be used by U.S. citizens traveling from the U.S. to Canada , Mexico , the Caribbean and Bermuda .
The proposed card would use radio frequency identification ( RFID ) that links the card to a government database that contains biographical information and a photograph .
The State Department says the passport card could make frequent travel easier for people who live in border communities .
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko says she will not seek a coalition with the pro-Russian Party of Regions after Sunday 's parliamentary elections .
Tymoshenko Tuesday ruled out any partnership with the party led by former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych .
Opinion polls show the Regions Party is favored to win the largest number of seats in the vote .
But no single party is expected to have enough seats to form a government .
A top official for President Viktor Yushchenko 's Our Ukraine party also rejected forming a coalition with the Party of Regions .
Mr. Yushchenko 's campaign manager , Roman Bezsmertniy , says the party hopes to form a coalition with the bloc led by Tymoshenko .
The two groups were the key forces behind the so-called " Orange Revolution " that helped bring Mr. Yushchenko to power last year .
The United States has expressed disappointment that an Egyptian court has rejected the appeal of a blogger , convicted for insulting Islam and the Egyptian president .
State Department spokesman , Sean McCormack said Thursday the court 's decision is a setback for human rights in Egypt .
He said the U.S. is deeply concerned that a blogger was sentenced for expressing his opinions .
He said freedom of expression is critical in a democratic society .
On Monday , an Egyptian appeals court upheld a lower court decision last month to sentence blogger Abdel Karim Suleiman to four years in prison - three for insulting Islam and one for insulting President Hosni Mubarak .
Suleiman plans to bring the latest decision to the country 's highest appeals court .
In his blog published in 2004 , Suleiman called Mr. Mubarak a dictator .
He wrote that Al-Azhar University , the seat of Sunni Muslim learning , trains extremists .
An Australian prosecutor said Thursday a terrorism defendant admitted to police he was recruited by al-Qaida to monitor military bases in the country .
Joseph Terrence Thomas has pleaded not guilty to charges that he received funds from al-Qaida , supported the terrorist group 's activities and held a fake passport .
But prosecutor Nicholas Robinson told the Victoria state Supreme Court that Thomas admitted to Australian police he trained at an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan in 2001 , and had been told to watch military activities in Australia .
The prosecutor said Thomas also told police he saw al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in close quarters on several occasions .
He said Thomas told police he accepted $ 3,500 and a plane ticket from an al-Qaida agent in Pakistan .
Wimbledon runner-up Lindsay Davenport has withdrawn from the U.S. Fed Cup tennis team for its semifinal against Russia because of a back injury .
Jill Craybas , who beat Serena Williams at the All England Club last month , has replaced Davenport .
Craybas lost to Venus Williams , who is the Fed Cup team 's top singles player .
The 32-year-old Craybas will play doubles with Corina Morariu , shifting Mashona Washington to the number-two singles slot .
It will be Craybas ' second appearance in the Fed Cup .
The U.S.-Russia match will take place this Saturday and Sunday on an indoor clay court at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow .
The winner faces the winner of this weekend 's other Fed Cup semifinal between France and Spain .
The championship is set for mid-September .
Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko says his nation is obliged to prevent crimes against humanity .
President Yushchenko told the United Nations General Assembly Thursday that Ukraine lost 10 million lives during the era of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin .
He said he wanted the world to be aware of such brutality .
Mr. Yushchenko said Ukraine is an active member in the fight against terrorism and is committed to controlling nuclear proliferation .
He said the country has developed what he called a road map to bring Ukraine closer to a united Europe and integration into the international economy .
The Sudanese government and the main southern rebel group say they are continuing peace talks through Christmas to try to fulfill a promise to reach a final deal before the end of the year .
The two sides have promised the United Nations Security Council they will sign an agreement by December 31st to formally end 21 years of civil war .
However , a Sudanese presidential political adviser Qutbi al-Mahdi is quoted by the official Sudan Media Center Saturday as saying a final deal will not be signed until January 10 .
The Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan People 's Liberation Army have already signed several key accords at peace talks in Kenya , including power-sharing and security deals .
The southern conflict is separate from the one in Sudan 's western Darfur region , where rebels took up arms last year .
Separate attacks in Afghanistan have wounded five U.S. soldiers and left a local government official dead .
The soldiers were wounded Saturday when their armored vehicle was hit by a bomb in eastern Kunar province .
Coalition forces responded with small arms fire .
In a separate attack , a suicide bomber targeted Afghan and coalition forces in Kandahar province .
None of the troops was reported killed or wounded .
However , security forces shot and killed a suspected accomplice to the attack .
A purported Taleban spokesman claimed responsibility for the two bombings .
In northern Tahhar province , Afghan officials say unidentified gunmen killed a local government official .
They say Sayed Sadeq was killed by men who broke into his house early Saturday .
Sadeq was the speaker of the Tahhar provincial assembly .
Mexican officials say a small plane has crashed in central Mexico state , killing two people and destroying at least one house .
Officials say the twin-engine Aero Commander aircraft was en route from Cancun to the city of Toluca when it went down late Friday in a residential area a few kilometers from of the runway .
Emergency crews say two people from the plane were killed and a third was injured .
No injuries on the ground have been reported .
Officials have yet to say what may have caused the accident .
The United Nations war crimes tribunal has decided against separating the Kosovo section of the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic from that involving Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina .
The three-judge panel made the decision Tuesday , in an effort to speed up the Milosevic trial .
It previously had suggested a division , amid growing concerns about the former Yugoslav president 's poor health , which has repeatedly delayed the proceedings .
The court also adjourned the trial until January 23 , ahead of a planned Christmas break , giving Mr. Milosevic an additional three weeks to rest .
It rejected Mr. Milosevic 's request for extra time to present his defense , and it criticized him for focusing most of his time on Kosovo in efforts to force the court to give him the extension .
Mr. Milosevic faces more than 60 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s .
England 's Alistair Cook has hit a century in his test debut while Kevin Pietersen added another 87 runs to lift their team on the fourth day of its opening test match against India in Nagpur .
Cook , a 21-year-old left-handed opener , scored 104 not out , while Pietersen was more aggressive at the crease and reached 87 before being dismissed by Rahul Dravid .
The English reached 297-for three at stumps for an overall lead of 367 runs .
India was all out for 323 in its first innings .
English bowler Matthew Hoggard took six wickets while allowing 57 runs in 30.5 overs .
England 's India tour includes three tests and seven one-day international matches , through mid-April .
Floods in northern Venezuela have killed at least 13 people and forced more than 5,000 to leave their homes .
Heavy rains have caused floods and landslides , forcing authorities to declare a state of emergency in the capital city of Caracas and the country 's northern provinces .
Flooding rivers and landslides have blocked traffic in northern Venezuela 's coastal areas .
Minister of Education Aristolbulo Isturiz announced Wednesday that classes across the country have been canceled to allow flood victims to seek refuge in the schools .
Weather forecasts say more rain is likely to hit northern Venezuela over the next three days .
A top opposition leader in Ivory Coast has returned to the west African nation after three years in exile .
Alassane Ouattara arrived in Abidjan Wednesday , greeted by a small group of supporters and dozens of U.N. peacekeepers who will provide him protection .
He issued a call for unity and said he is returning to his country with " a lot of love . "
Ouattara is a former prime minster and heads the Rally of Republicans party .
He fled Ivory Coast for France three years ago after allies of President Laurent Gbagbo accused him of supporting northern-based rebels in the country 's civil war .
Ouattara has said he will run in presidential elections scheduled for October .
Ivory Coast is divided between rebel-held and government-controlled areas .
A peace deal to reunite the country has repeatedly stalled .
Pakistan police say a roadside bomb attack on a prison van has wounded at least 10 policemen in the restive northwest .
Officials say Saturday 's explosion was near a jail in the town of Timergarah in Lower Dir district .
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack .
Elsewhere in Pakistan , at least six people have been wounded by an explosion in southwestern Pakistan .
Police say the blast went off in a bakery Saturday in Sibbi in the province of Baluchistan .
Russia and Ukraine say they have reached a final agreement on natural gas deliveries for the rest of the year .
Russia 's state-run gas monopoly Gazprom says the deal , announced Thursday , also specifies prices for gas delivered in the first two months of this year .
Additionally , the new agreement streamlines gas trade by eliminating intermediary companies that Ukraine said were complicating gas payment procedures .
Gazprom cut gas deliveries to Ukraine by more than 50 percent earlier this month , because , it said , no payment provisions were in place for gas delivered to Ukraine in January and February .
The Russian company had demanded $ 600 million in back payments , as well as for a payment plan for the rest of the year .
Ukraine threatened to siphon gas meant for Europe from pipelines that cross Ukraine .
The Israeli military says Israeli and Palestinian officials have agreed to meet for a second time Wednesday to resolve a standoff on handing over security of the West Bank town of Jericho .
Talks earlier Wednesday on transferring control of the towns of Jericho and Tulkarem broke down without an agreement .
Palestinian officials said the biggest obstacle is whether Israel will agree to remove the main checkpoint at the entrance of Jericho .
The Israeli pullback was agreed to at a Palestinian-Israeli summit last month in Egypt , but has been delayed because of a Palestinian suicide bombing 12 days ago in Tel Aviv that killed four people .
The transfer would be the first of several planned Israeli pullouts from five towns in the West Bank , including Qalqilya , Bethlehem and Ramallah .
French authorities are holding five men on suspicion of links to the al-Qaida affiliated terrorist group behind the deadly bombings in Algeria last week .
Officials say the five are part of a group of eight detained in Paris and the northwestern region of Rouen Tuesday .
Three of the group were released after questioning .
Authorities say the five are suspected of providing computers and telecommunications help to al-Qaida 's North African wing , which claimed responsibility for the car bomb attacks .
The officials said there was no indication of any direct links between those detained and the attacks and no sign that the five were planning any attacks in France .
The bombings outside United Nations offices and a government building in Algiers killed at least 37 people , including 17 U.N. employees .
The United States has welcomed the release of 32 Ethiopian opposition members who had been detained in Ethiopia since post-election violence in 2005 .
The State Department said the release of the opposition figures Saturday will promote political dialogue in the country .
It urged the Ethiopian government to continue to encourage national reconciliation and political reform .
The opposition members were the second group of opposition figures released since July .
Another 38 were released last month after receiving life sentences .
None of the 32 freed on Saturday had been charged in court with any crimes .
All the opposition members had been rounded up after protests over the 2005 elections turned violent .
Ethiopian security forces killed at least 193 people while stopping the protests .
The opposition made its largest gains ever in the 2005 elections .
Opposition groups claimed the elections were rigged to keep Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in power .
Iran 's top nuclear negotiator is in India for talks with senior government officials .
Ali Larijani 's trip comes as the United States , European Union countries and the U.N. nuclear agency are pressing Iran to stop work on nuclear fuel that could also be used to make weapons .
Iran insists it has the right to enrich uranium .
Asked about the dispute Wednesday , Mr. Larijani said it is important for Iran to continue cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency , but he said it is up to Iran to decide on the nuclear fuel question .
Mr. Larijani said the focus of his trip to India was on strategic relations , and energy in particular .
India 's foreign minister will travel to Tehran Friday for talks expected to include a proposed gas pipeline between Iran and India .
A report by the European Union says Muslims across Europe are confronting a rise in discrimination and so-called " Islamophobia " .
The study , released by the European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia Monday , says manifestations of Islamophobia range from verbal threats to physical attacks on people and property .
The report finds that European Muslims are disproportionally represented in areas with poor housing conditions .
It says their education levels are below average and their unemployment rates are higher than average .
Muslims are also found to be overrepresented in low-paying jobs and those that require few qualifications .
The study says the extent of discrimination and Islamophobic incidents against European Muslims remains underdocumented and underreported .
Muslims constitute about 3.5 percent of the population of the 25-nation bloc .
The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran has produced a gas needed for uranium enrichment .
A former U.N. weapons inspector says Iran has produced enough of this nuclear material to fuel an atomic weapon .
The agency 's findings are part of a confidential report obtained by news agencies Friday .
The U.N. nuclear watchdog said Iran 's nuclear plant in Isfahan has processed about seven tons of uranium hexaflouride gas since resuming work in early August .
That gas can be turned into the key ingredient for a nuclear bomb .
The report said even after two years of U.N. investigation , Iran failed to answer important questions about its secret nuclear activity .
Iran says its nuclear program is a peaceful effort to generate electricity , but critics fear Tehran is secretly working on nuclear weapons .
The International Committee of the Red Cross says rebels from Western Sahara have freed their last Moroccan prisoners of war .
Rebels from the Polisario Front handed over the 404 soldiers Thursday in the southern Algerian town of Tindouf .
They had held many of the Moroccans for two decades .
The rebels said they hoped the release would help clear the way for a peace settlement for Western Sahara .
They also urged Morocco to release any remaining rebel prisoners .
The Red Cross says Thursday 's release follows U.S. mediation .
A senior U.S. senator , Richard Lugar , arrived in Algeria Thursday to monitor the release .
The Polisario Front captured some 2,000 Moroccan troops in its 16-year war with Morocco over the desert territory .
The conflict began when Spain pulled out of the territory in 1975 .
A cease-fire was reached in 1991 .
A newspaper report says the United States has been flying drones over Iran for almost a year , looking for evidence of nuclear weapons programs and weaknesses in air defenses .
In Sunday 's editions , The Washington Post quotes three U.S. officials as saying the U.S. military has been launching the unmanned surveillance flights from Iraq .
There has been no U.S. comment on the report .
An Iranian spokesman Sunday again warned the United States not to attack its nuclear facilities .
He also rejected a European proposal aimed at restricting Tehran 's development of nuclear fuel .
Iran has said in the past it would stop plans to build a heavy water nuclear reactor , which can be used to make nuclear weapons-grade material as well as for nuclear energy .
But Sunday in Tehran , a foreign ministry spokesman said Iran will go forward with the heavy water reactor and will not replace it under any circumstances .
Vietnamese officials say floods have killed at least 77 people in central Vietnam since late last month , and now a new typhoon is approaching .
Typhoon Peipah is working its way across the South China Sea and is expected to dump heavy rains on Vietnam 's central provinces as early as Friday .
Since late October , heavy rains have ravaged parts of central Vietnam , damaging rice crops and forcing schools to close .
State media say at least one million people in the region are facing shortages of clean water and food .
In early October , Typhoon Lekima killed nearly 100 people in the same region .
Peipah passed over the northern tip of the Philippines on Monday , flooding towns and killing at least five people .
Floods and storms kill hundreds of people each year in Vietnam .
Cuban and Chinese military leaders have met in Havana to reaffirm ties between the two communist countries .
In a meeting Saturday at Cuba 's Armed Forces Ministry , the country 's military chief , Raul Castro , stressed the long-standing friendship between the two nations .
He said China 's presence on the island will help strengthen relations between Beijing and Havana .
His Chinese counterpart , General Liang Guanglie , said his visit will help strengthen what he called the " historic " ties between the government , armed forces and people of both countries .
Following the meeting , the high-level Chinese delegation toured a tank base on the outskirts of Havana , where members were given details on the structure , mission and history of the military facility .
The delegation leaves Cuba Sunday .
A pro-Kurdish news agency says Kurdish rebels have extended their unilateral ceasefire with Turkey for two more weeks .
Their original 30-day truce expired on Tuesday .
The notice was published Wednesday by the Mesopotamia news agency , which frequently carries rebel statements .
This ceasefire extension by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party , known as the PKK , appears timed to coincide with the October 3 start of Turkey 's membership talks with the European Union .
The Associated Press quotes rebels who urged the Turkish government to correctly assess the historic opportunity for peace .
Turkey has repeatedly said it will not enter into direct talks with the PKK .
In announcing the ceasefire last month , the PKK said it would not conduct any operations beyond self-defense .
But Western news reports say rebels clashed twice last week with Turkish soldiers in southeastern Turkey .
Five soldiers were reported killed in the fighting .
Top Israeli and Palestinian security officials are meeting to work out a deal for Israel to hand over security control of several West Bank towns to the Palestinian Authority .
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Palestinian Mohammed Dahlan began their talks hours after Palestinians say Israeli military gunfire killed a schoolgirl in the Gaza Strip .
Israel is probing the Monday incident , which triggered Palestinian mortar fire into an Israeli settlement near the school where the girl died .
No Israeli casualties were reported .
A short time later , Hamas and other militant groups said they would stick to their pledge to stop attacks on Israelis if the Israeli army does not launch offensive operations .
Meanwhile , U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Israeli diplomats in Washington Monday ahead of her trip to the Middle East later this week .
Japanese officials say the deaths of hundreds of chickens in eastern Japan earlier this year may have been caused by a fresh outbreak of bird flu .
About 430 chickens died between March and May at a poultry farm in Ibaraki prefecture , north of Tokyo .
The farm keeps 25,000 chickens .
A government laboratory is conducting tests to confirm whether the deaths were caused by the virus .
Officials inspected the farm on Saturday , but found no abnormalities .
Japan suffered several outbreaks of bird flu last year .
No one in Japan has yet been infected by the H5N1 avian flu virus that has killed 38 Vietnamese , 12 Thais and four Cambodians since the latest epidemic began in 2003 .
The U.S. special envoy to Sudan , Andrew Natsios , has warned of what he calls a " poisonous " political atmosphere between Sudan 's government in the north and rebels in the south .
Natsios Saturday said the U.S. is deeply concerned about the health of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005 .
He made the comments as he wrapped up a 10-day visit to Sudan .
That agreement ended the two decade-long civil war between the government in Khartoum and southern rebels .
Both sides have been critical of each other over missed deadlines for implementing key parts of the accord .
The agreement makes both sides partners in resolving the conflict in Darfur .
But Natsios said implementation has been made difficult , in part , because both parties are facing one another in elections slated for 2009 .
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it has finished pumping water out of New Orleans , after the southern city flooded as a result of hurricanes Katrina and Rita .
A spokeswoman for the Corps made the announcement Tuesday after working for weeks to pump the water out at a rate of about 15 centimeters per day .
The Corps of Engineers is responsible for New Orleans ' levees and flood walls .
Most of the city is below sea level , and some 80 percent of it flooded after Katrina when water overflowed some flood walls and broke through others .
Some neighborhoods were inundated a second time when Rita brought heavy rains last month .
The Corps spokeswoman said the levees will be repaired to a pre-Katrina level of readiness by next June .
Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos has called on the United Nations to move from rhetoric to action when helping developing nations .
Mr. Papadopoulos told the U.N. General Assembly Thursday that the gap between what he calls the haves and the have-nots is widening dramatically .
He said the world body must honor past commitments and work to achieve goals for debt relief , improving access to world markets , and fighting AIDS and other diseases .
Mr. Papadopoulos said detecting the seeds of conflict early and preventing them from blowing up into war should be the cornerstone of U.N. collective security efforts .
Russian President Vladimir Putin says his government will only support proposals on the future of Serbia 's Kosovo province if they are acceptable to both Serbia and ethnic Albanians living in the province .
Mr. Putin spoke Sunday , in the Black Sea resort of Sochi , after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel .
His comments came as U.N. envoys prepare to give the U.N. Security Council recommendations on the future of the province .
Ethnic Albanians , who comprise 90 percent of Kosovo 's population , are seeking independence - a push strongly opposed by Belgrade .
Negotiators are expected to present a compromise offering some form of provincial autonomy .
As a member of the Security Council , Russia - a historically close ally of Serbia - is likely to play a key role in Kosovo 's future , because it can use its Council veto to block any deal that does not satisfy Belgrade .
Officials from the International Security Assistance Force say a NATO soldier was killed Saturday during fighting in southern Afghanistan .
NATO officials say four others were wounded in the clash .
Earlier today , the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan said several al-Qaida and Taleban fighters were killed in a gunbattle also in the country 's south .
Officials say coalition and Afghan troops came under attack as they approached two compounds in Zabul province where militants were thought to live .
The military says several militant fighters were killed and five were detained in the battle .
Officials said a cache of weapons was discovered and destroyed .
Elsewhere , a local official in Laghman province said a roadside bomb killed a policeman and wounded three others Friday evening .
Violence has increased in recent weeks in southern and eastern Afghanistan , where Taleban insurgents are particularly active .
Keith Richards says he once snorted his father 's ashes mixed with cocaine .
Speaking to the British music magazine " NME , " the 63-year-old Rolling Stones guitarist acknowledges ingesting his father 's cremated remains .
" My dad would n't have cared , " he said , " it went down pretty well , and I 'm still alive . "
Richards ' father , Bert , died at age 84 in 2002 .
The famously hard-living Richards told NME that his survival was the result of luck , and he cautioned young musicians not to emulate him .
" I was number one on the ' who 's likely to die ' list for 10 years , " he said .
" I mean , I was really disappointed when I fell off the list . "
The Islamic militant group Hamas says it has formed its cabinet and will present the choices to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday .
Hamas , which won parliamentary elections in January , failed to get any other Palestinian faction to join the new government .
Hamas had planned to meet with Mr. Abbas Saturday .
There is no word on why the plans were changed .
Mr. Abbas 's Fatah Party has refused to join a Hamas-led government , saying the militant group must first renounce violence and accept past peace accords with Israel .
Mr. Abbas has to approve the cabinet , and his aides say he would accept the choices .
Hamas has claimed dozens of suicide attacks against Israeli targets in recent years .
The United States , Israel and Europe classify the group as a terrorist organization .
Iraqi officials say the minister of industry escaped unharmed in a roadside bombing - but the blast killed three of his bodyguards .
The minister 's convoy was hit as it traveled near the town of Balad , north of Baghdad .
Elsewhere , the U.S. military is releasing more than 400 Iraqi detainees including five women prisoners Thursday and Friday .
A military statement says a review of their cases determined there was no reason to keep holding them .
Iraqi and U.S. officials have stressed the move has nothing to do with American journalist Jill Carroll , who was kidnapped earlier this month .
Her kidnappers threatened to kill her by last Friday unless all Iraqi women detainees were released .
The deadline passed with no word on her fate .
Concerns about swine flu have been hurting industries as diverse as airlines and pork production , and boosted demand for the dollar and the yen .
Airlines that were already struggling with a recession that slashed demand must now cope with a sharp fall in travel to Mexico , a popular tourist destination .
Falling demand for jet fuel is putting downward pressure on oil prices .
And pork producers , and the farmers who grow grain to feed pigs , have also seen prices for their commodities drop sharply as some nations banned imports of pork from Mexico and some parts of the United States .
The ban , and the falling prices came even though health experts have said repeatedly that properly cooked pork does not transmit the flu .
Worried traders also sold the Mexican peso and some other currencies , and bought U.S. dollars and Japanese yen for their perceived safety in a crisis .
Israel 's highest court has upheld the government 's plan to withdraw from all of the Gaza Strip and four small West Bank settlements .
An 11-judge High Court panel ruled Thursday the pullout plan is legal and does not violate the human rights of Jewish settlers who opposed the move .
In a 10-Jan vote , the justices rejected 12 petitions challenging the withdrawal planned for August .
The sole dissenting justice , Edmund Levy , said the plan should be canceled .
Hours before the ruling , Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Palestinian Authority Interior Minister Nasser Youssef agreed to closely coordinate the pullout to prevent militants from taking over vacated areas .
Meanwhile , Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is in the Gaza Strip for talks with militants to preserve a four-month Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire threatened by two days of violence that has killed five people .
The European Union has welcomed the election of Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat as the new leader of the Turkish community on Cyprus .
A European Commission statement expressed hope the results will create favorable conditions for resumption of United Nations-sponsored talks on reuniting Cyprus .
Earlier , Mr. Talat called for renewed talks with the island 's Greek Community on Cyprus .
His comments followed his victory in Sunday 's presidential elections in Cyprus 's Turkish northern enclave .
The Mediterranean Island has been divided into two communities since 1974 .
Turkish Cypriots voted last year in favor of a United Nations reunification plan , but Greek Cypriots rejected it .
Mr. Talat will replace Rauf Denktash , who has led the Turkish Cypriot community for decades , but did not seek another term .
Chinese worker sews clothing at a garment factory in Beijing China is criticizing the European Union 's decision to investigate surging imports of Chinese textile products .
In a statement on its web site , the Chinese Commerce Ministry says the EU move runs counter to the spirit of free trade , and could have a negative impact on bilateral relations .
The EU is looking at Chinese textiles flooding into European markets since a worldwide quota system expired January 1 .
The EU says imports of some Chinese textile have risen as much as 500 percent since then .
The probe could lead the EU to impose limits those products .
The United States is also looking into the impact that increased Chinese textile imports is having on its textile producers .
The annual Smithsonian Kite Festival celebrated the art and history of Chinese kites at this year 's event .
Kites large and small ; kite fliers professional and amateur ; Washingtonians as well as visitors from around the world gathered around the Washington Monument to welcome the colorful designs .
For producer Joseph Mok , Elaine Lu has more .
Romania says three Romanian journalists and their Iraqi guide , kidnapped nearly two months in Baghdad , have been freed .
Details were not immediately clear .
But a statement Sunday from the Romanian presidency said the reporters are safe and will soon return home .
The reporters and driver were seized March 28 .
The kidnappers threatened to kill them unless Romania withdrew its small military contingent from Iraq by April 27 .
Romanian President Traian Basescu rejected the demand .
Meanwhile , gunmen today killed the director-general of Iraq 's Trade Ministry , Ali Mousa Salman , as he was driving to work in Baghdad .
His driver also was killed
The Lower House of Russia 's Parliament ( the State Duma ) has voted to give President Vladimir Putin the right to use a special armed forces unit in fighting terrorism abroad .
Tuesday , Mr. Putin sought authorization from the upper house ( the Federation Council ) for similar powers .
Russia 's Itar-Tass news agency quotes the State Duma Security Committee as saying Mr. Putin will have to notify the Federation Council in order to use the special forces unit .
According to the bill , the special forces unit would be required to defend the human rights of Russian citizens .
The bill also authorizes the confiscation of funds , valuables and other property accumulated through terrorism .
Last week , Mr. Putin ordered the special forces to hunt down and destroy those responsible for killing four employees of Russia 's embassy in Baghdad .
They were killed several days after insurgents took them hostage .
Bangladesh 's government is again deploying troops to stop fighting between ethnic groups in the Chittagong Hill Tracts .
Bangladeshi troops were sent to the town of Khagrachhari after 30 people were injured in Tuesday 's clashes involving Bengali Muslim settlers and Buddhist tribespeople .
Officials say about 100 houses were set ablaze in the fighting .
Bangladeshi authorities have imposed a ban on public gatherings in Khagrachhari to restore order .
The violence erupted after tribal activists from the United People 's Democratic Front blocked roads to protest the killing of two tribal people in clashes with Bengali settlers on Saturday .
Earlier clashes in the neighboring town of Baghaichhari also resulted in around 100 homes being torched and prompted the government to deploy troops .
Iraqi authorities say at least 17 people were killed and dozens wounded Monday in a string of car bombings in Baghdad .
Officials said three parked cars exploded within minutes of each other in the predominantly Shi'ite neighborhood of Karradah .
At least three policemen were killed .
A fourth bomb exploded later in central Baghdad .
The bombings came as Iraqi officials prepare to host a meeting Tuesday between U.S. and Iranian officials to discuss the security situation in Iraq .
Washington has accused Iran of stirring up violence in Iraq by supplying weapons to Shi'ite militias - a charge Iran denies .
The U.S. embassy in Baghdad said Ambassador Ryan Crocker will take part in the talks with his Iranian counterpart .
The United States and Iran held their first high-level talks in nearly 30 years in May .
The U.S. State Department said last week it is ready for more talks .
Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi says that some top Baath Party officials of Iraq 's deposed regime will go on trial next week .
Mr. Allawi made the announcement Tuesday .
He did not specify which officials will appear in court , nor whether former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will be among them .
Speaking to Iraq 's interim National Council , the Prime Minister said a top aide of wanted terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been killed and that two others have been captured .
Mr. Allawi also said investigators have discovered a new mass grave that may contain about 500 bodies .
He said the grave was found in a city northeast of Baghdad .
He gave no other details about the gravesite .
Russia has extradited a Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect who was hiding in Siberia until authorities detained him last year .
The Bosnian State Court said Dragan Zelenovic was handed over late Thursday .
He is expected to appear before a judge later Friday .
The former policeman is wanted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague for atrocities committed against Bosnian Muslims in the eastern Foca region during Bosnia-Herzegovina 's 1992 - 95 war .
Zelenovic had lived in Khanty-Mansiisk , some 2,000 kilometers east of Moscow , for several years under an assumed name and had worked in the construction industry .
The U.S. government says BP has agreed to pay a record fine of more than $ 50 million for failing to correct problems at a Texas oil refinery that exploded and killed 15 workers in 2005 .
The company is still contesting about $ 30 million in other fines in connection with the fiery blast that injured 170 people .
U.S. regulators say they found hundreds of safety violations at the BP refinery when they inspected it in 2009 .
They also say the company failed to make promised changes and repairs at the refinery near Houston , Texas .
The 2005 refinery explosion is separate from this year 's environmental disaster that grew out of an explosion and fire on a BP oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico .
Poland has pursued a policy of economic liberalization since 1990 and today stands out as a success story among transition economies .
It is the only country in the European Union to maintain positive GDP growth through the 2008 - 2009 economic downturn .
GDP per capita is still much below the EU average , but is similar to that of the three Baltic states .
Since 2004 , EU membership and access to EU structural funds have provided a major boost to the economy .
Unemployment fell rapidly to 6.4 % in October 2008 , but climbed back to 11.8 % for the year 2010 , exceeding the EU average by more than 2 % .
Inflation reached a low of about 2.6 % in 2010 due to the global economic slowdown but has since climbed and is expected to remain around 3 % , and close to the upper limit of the National Bank of Poland 's target rate .
Poland 's economic performance could improve over the longer term if the country addresses some of the remaining deficiencies in its road and rail infrastructure and its business environment .
An inefficient commercial court system , a rigid labor code , bureaucratic red tape , burdensome tax system , and persistent low-level corruption keep the private sector from performing up to its full potential .
Rising demands to fund health care , education , and the state pension system caused the public sector budget deficit to rise to 7.9 % of GDP in 2010 .
The PO/PSL coalition government , which came to power in November 2007 , has planned to reduce the budget deficit in 2011 and has also announced its intention to enact business-friendly reforms , increase workforce participation , reduce public sector spending growth , lower taxes , and accelerate privatization .
The government has moved slowly on most major reforms , but has sped up privatization .
Half the population still depends on agriculture and livestock for a livelihood , even though many of the nomads and subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by recurrent droughts in the 1970s and 1980s .
Mauritania has extensive deposits of iron ore , which account for nearly 40 % of total exports .
The nation 's coastal waters are among the richest fishing areas in the world but overexploitation by foreigners threatens this key source of revenue .
The country 's first deepwater port opened near Nouakchott in 1986 .
Before 2000 , drought and economic mismanagement resulted in a buildup of foreign debt .
In February 2000 , Mauritania qualified for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries ( HIPC ) initiative and nearly all of its foreign debt has since been forgiven .
A new investment code approved in December 2001 improved the opportunities for direct foreign investment .
Mauritania and the IMF agreed to a three-year Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility ( PRGF ) arrangement in 2006 .
Mauritania made satisfactory progress , but the IMF , World Bank , and other international actors suspended assistance and investment in Mauritania after the August 2008 coup .
Since the presidential election in July 2009 , donors have resumed assistance .
Oil prospects , while initially promising , have largely failed to materialize , and the government has placed a priority on attracting private investment to spur economic growth .
The Government also emphasizes reduction of poverty , improvement of health and education , and privatization of the economy .
Over the past 20 years the government has transformed New Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market access to a more industrialized , free market economy that can compete globally .
This dynamic growth has boosted real incomes - but left behind some at the bottom of the ladder - and broadened and deepened the technological capabilities of the industrial sector .
Per capita income rose for ten consecutive years until 2007 in purchasing power parity terms , but fell in 2008 - 9 .
Debt-driven consumer spending drove robust growth in the first half of the decade , helping fuel a large balance of payments deficit that posed a challenge for economic managers .
Inflationary pressures caused the central bank to raise its key rate steadily from January 2004 until it was among the highest in the OECD in 2007 - 8 ; international capital inflows attracted to the high rates further strengthened the currency and housing market , however , aggravating the current account deficit .
The economy fell into recession before the start of the global financial crisis and contracted for five consecutive quarters in 2008 - 9 .
In line with global peers , the central bank cut interest rates aggressively and the government developed fiscal stimulus measures .
The economy posted a 1.7 % decline in 2009 , but pulled out of recession late in the year , and achieved 2.1 % growth in 2010 .
Nevertheless , key trade sectors remain vulnerable to weak external demand .
The government plans to raise productivity growth and develop infrastructure , while reining in government spending .
Independent from France in 1960 , Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish Sahara ( now Western Sahara ) in 1976 but relinquished it after three years of raids by the Polisario guerrilla front seeking independence for the territory .
Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA seized power in a coup in 1984 and ruled Mauritania with a heavy hand for more than two decades .
A series of presidential elections that he held were widely seen as flawed .
A bloodless coup in August 2005 deposed President TAYA and ushered in a military council that oversaw a transition to democratic rule .
Independent candidate Sidi Ould Cheikh ABDALLAHI was inaugurated in April 2007 as Mauritania 's first freely and fairly elected president .
His term ended prematurely in August 2008 when a military junta led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ deposed him and ushered in a military council government .
AZIZ was subsequently elected president in July 2009 and sworn in the following month .
The country continues to experience ethnic tensions among its black population ( Afro-Mauritanians ) and white and black Moor ( Arab-Berber ) communities , and is having to confront a growing terrorism threat by al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb ( AQIM ) .
A NUMBER of Flies were attracted to a jar of honey which had been overturned in a housekeeper 's room , and placing their feet in it , ate greedily .
Their feet , however , became so smeared with the honey that they could not use their wings , nor release themselves , and were suffocated .
Just as they were expiring , they exclaimed , " O foolish creatures that we are , for the sake of a little pleasure we have destroyed ourselves . "
Pleasure bought with pains , hurts .
THE MONKEY , it is said , has two young ones at each birth .
The Mother fondles one and nurtures it with the greatest affection and care , but hates and neglects the other .
It happened once that the young one which was caressed and loved was smothered by the too great affection of the Mother , while the despised one was nurtured and reared in spite of the neglect to which it was exposed .
The best intentions will not always ensure success .
There 's nothing I like better than the sound of a banjo , unless of course it 's the sound of a chicken caught in a vacuum cleaner .
President Bush is on his way to Canada for a two-day trip that will mark his first official visit to America 's northern neighbor .
The visit is widely seen as an effort to repair relations damaged by trade issues and Canada 's refusal to send troops to Iraq .
Tuesday , Mr. Bush will meet with Prime Minister Paul Martin in the Canadian capital , Ottawa .
The White House says the two leaders will likely discuss at least one of the main trade disputes - U.S. restrictions on the import of Canadian beef .
Anti-Bush protesters are expected to rally in both Ottawa and the coastal city of Halifax , which the president will visit on Wednesday .
Mr. Bush is going to Halifax to thank people who housed air travelers diverted during the September 11 , 2001 , terrorist attacks .
The Israeli military says its forces have killed two Palestinian militants in the northern Gaza Strip .
The military said Thursday that Israeli aircraft and tanks fired at the militants near a border fence .
It said Israeli soldiers later recovered the bodies of two armed men in the area .
The military identified the men as members of the Islamic Jihad organization .
No Palestinian militant groups have commented on the incident .
Iraqi insurgents have released two French journalists taken hostage last August .
In Paris , French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin announced the release to parliament Tuesday , a short while after the al-Jazeera television network first reported it .
The journalists , Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot , were kidnapped in August while heading south from Baghdad on the road to Najaf .
An insurgent group calling itself the Islamic Army of Iraq originally threatened to kill the two unless France lifted a ban on Islamic headscarves in public schools .
But earlier this week , French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said he believed the two reporters were still alive and in good health .
The two reporters were kidnapped August 19 by an insurgent group calling itself the Islamic Army of Iraq .
Insurgents originally threatened to kill the hostages unless France lifted a ban on Islamic headscarves in public schools .
The U.S. military says it has filed charges against two U.S. soldiers in the killing of an Iraqi civilian last February .
The military said Sunday Specialist Nathan B. Lynn was charged with voluntary manslaughter for allegedly shooting an unarmed man February 15 .
The military says Lynn and Sergeant Milton Ortiz were charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly conspiring with another soldier who has been accused of placing an AK-47 near the body of the mortally wounded man .
Ortiz has also been charged with assault in a separate incident in March .
The U.S. military has come under scrutiny concerning a number of incidents of abuse of Iraqis since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 .
A U.S. court has sentenced a former CIA contractor to more than eight years in prison for assaulting an Afghan prisoner who later died .
The court in North Carolina sentenced David Passaro Tuesday to eight years and four months in jail for the assault of Afghan detainee Abdul Wali in 2003 .
Prosecutors accused Passaro of beating the detainee during an interrogation at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan .
Wali died of his injuries two days after the incident .
U.S. officials said Wali was a suspect in frequent rocket attacks on the base .
Passaro is the first U.S. civilian to be charged with abusing a detainee during the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan .
Britain has requested the extradition of a man arrested in Pakistan in the alleged plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners over the Atlantic .
A Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman says Monday authorities are considering the request for extradition of Rashid Rauf .
She said he was being investigated for possible links to the al-Qaida terrorist network .
British authorities have identified Rauf , a British citizen of Pakistani descent , as a key suspect in the bombing plot .
British authorities arrested more than two dozen suspects earlier this month in connection with the plot , which prosecutors said was in an advanced stage of planning .
Authorities said plotters sought to bomb as many as 10 airliners .
Last week , British prosecutors said they had seized bomb-making materials , suicide notes and martyrdom videos in the probe .
Authorities also referred to data from 400 computers and 20 cell phones .
A U.S. military court has sentenced an Army sergeant to death for murdering two of his comrades and wounding 14 others in a grenade and rifle attack two years ago in Kuwait .
The 15-member military jury in Fort Bragg , in the U.S. state of North Carolina ruled Thursday Sergeant Hasan Akbar , a member of the Army 's 101st Airborne Division , should be executed for ambushing the troops as they slept in tents at the start of the Iraq war .
His death sentence will be automatically appealed .
If Akbar is put to death , it would be by lethal injection .
His military lawyers claimed that constant ridicule over his being a black Muslim caused him to snap , triggering the attack .
The United Nations says Iran has refused to allow nuclear inspectors to revisit a suspect military site .
In a report to the International Atomic Energy Agency Friday in Vienna , inspectors say Iran recently refused to grant them access to its Parchin military base , where Washington says Tehran is simulating atomic weapons tests .
Deputy Director General for Safeguards Pierre Goldschmidt said Iranian officials claimed the previous visit in January had fulfilled inspectors ' demands .
He said the country also had delayed reporting an extensive tunnel system under construction beneath a uranium conversion plant in the central city of Isfahan .
Mr. Goldschmidt also said Iran continues to build a heavy water reactor which can produce plutonium , despite requests to cease construction .
Iran 's representative at the IAEA meeting said Tehran intends to keep producing nuclear fuel for peaceful purposes .
Afghan officials say a NATO airstrike has killed 13 Taleban militants after the insurgents attacked a government building near the Pakistan border .
Authorities said Saturday the militants attacked the district government headquarters in Alishar in southeastern Khost province late Friday .
A gun battle broke out with Afghan police , who called for NATO air support .
Five policemen were wounded .
Khost Governor Arsala Jamal says the Taleban militants were killed as they retreated .
On Friday , the governor of southern Ghazni province , Mirajuddin Patan told VOA that 100 Afghan troops drove the Taleban from Giro District a day after the militants had taken control of the area .
Over the past year , a resurgent Taleban movement carried out the highest number of suicide bombings and other attacks in Afghanistan since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taleban government in November 2001 .
A group of climate researchers says there is evidence that global warming is causing the Antarctic ice cap to melt more quickly than it did 10 years ago .
The scientists said Monday they used satellite data to monitor the Antarctic coastline .
They found the ice sheet on the Earth 's southern pole lost 59 percent more ice in 2006 than it did in 1996 .
The researchers say western antarctica lost 132 billion tons of ice in 2006 , enough to raise worldwide sea levels by 0.5 millimeter .
The team 's leader , Eric Rignot of NASA 's Jet Propulsion Laboratory , said warmer temperatures appear to be accelerating the movement of coastal Antarctic glaciers into the sea .
The researchers say their findings may cause scientists to revise their predictions about rising sea levels around the world .
Police in Corpus Christi , Texas , have cleared Vice President Dick Cheney of any wrongdoing in the shooting of a fellow hunter last Saturday .
The sheriff of Kenedy County , Ramon Salinas said Thursday an investigation had determined that Cheney shot Texas lawyer Harry Whittington by accident .
The sheriff said no legal action was necessary , and the case was closed .
Cheney said Wednesday he accepted full responsibility for accidentally shooting Whittington , but defended his decision not to disclose the incident for nearly 24 hours .
The vice president said he wanted to wait to be sure that the information released was accurate .
President Bush said he is satisfied with the way Cheney handled the aftermath of a hunting accident .
Mr. Bush said Thursday he thought his vice president gave a " very strong " and " powerful explanation " of events .
The U.S. military says it has released more than 11,000 Iraqis from military detention centers this year .
In a statement issued Saturday coalition forces said the prisoners who were once considered a security threat , have completed their detainment and can go on to lead productive lives .
American military spokesman Major Neal Fisher says less than one percent of those released have been detained again .
He also said at the current rate , the U.S. military expects to reach its goal of having released more than 12,000 detainees by mid-September .
India says it would consider granting autonomy to the disputed region of Kashmir to help make peace with Pakistan , but added it will not redraw its borders .
India 's Foreign Minister Natwar Singh said at a news conference Thursday , that as far as regional autonomy is concerned , " the sky is the limit . "
Mr. Singh also said a solution based on autonomy in Kashmir would require " a great deal of hard work , goodwill and trust " between the two sides and would not happen overnight .
The Indian minister said he presented this option to Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz , who ended a visit to New Delhi on Wednesday .
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also said India would never agree to redraw its borders to resolve the dispute over Kashmir .
But Pakistan insists it can not accept the military Line of Control in the region as an international border .
The U.S. military in Iraq has charged a former commander of a U.S. prison in Baghdad with several counts of wrongdoing , including unauthorized possession of classified information .
The military announced the charges against Lieutenant-Colonel William Steele in a statement issued Thursday .
One charge is of aiding the enemy by providing a unmonitored cell phone to detainees .
Steele is also accused of wrongfully providing special privileges to and maintaining an inappropriate relationship with an interpreter .
Earlier , a military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Josslyn Aberle said Steele was taken into custody a month ago , and is being held at a detention facility in Kuwait awaiting a hearing to determine whether he should face court-martial .
Steele was commander of Camp Cropper prison , which holds about 5,300 detainees near Baghdad international airport .
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein , who was executed in December , spent time in that facility during his three-year incarceration .
Israeli forces have killed three Palestinians in a pair of operations in the Gaza Strip .
Military officials said troops shot and killed a man walking near the Israeli border in central Gaza Saturday .
Earlier , Israeli tanks backed by helicopters raided the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun .
Israeli officials said two men were killed in a shoot-out between troops and Palestinian gunmen .
Israeli forces have been operating in Gaza since militants abducted an Israeli soldier in June .
An Egyptian newspaper , Al-Ahram , quoted President Hosni Mubarak as saying negotiations were under way to free the soldier .
Meanwhile , tens of thousands of Palestinian teachers and other government employees went on strike in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to demand unpaid salaries .
Fatah gunmen surrounded schools to enforce the strike , while Hamas militiamen tried to keep schools open .
Preparations for the inauguration of Barack Obama as the next president have been going on for weeks in Washington .
The viewing stands at the Capitol have been constructed , the parade route is being readied , and people in the city are in a mood of anticipation .
Here 's a look at those preparations and what people are talking about now that Inauguration Day , January 20 , is near .
For more , click on video link .
The Afghan government has rejected any conditions for peace talks with the Taleban , after the Islamist militants demanded the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the country .
Presidential spokesman Homayun Hamidzada said Tuesday the Afghan government is not open to any negotiations with preconditions .
He added that the only promise the government will make is for the safety of rebel negotiators .
A Taleban spokesman told Reuters News agency that the group is sticking to its demands .
Last week , the Taleban expressed a willingness for negotiations only if all of the 50,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan leave the country .
The Taleban was ousted from power in Afghanistan by a U.S.-led offensive in late 2001 .
Militant attacks in southern and eastern Afghanistan have escalated over the past 19 months , marking the bloodiest period since the beginning of the war .
Hong Kong 's interim leader says he will ask China to interpret the section of the territory 's Basic Law that covers the term length for its chief executive .
Donald Tsang says he is making the request to avoid legal challenges that could derail the July 10 election to pick a successor to Tung Chee-hwa , who resigned last month with two years remaining on his five-year term .
The Hong Kong government says Mr. Tung 's successor will only serve out those two years , but pro-democracy activists say that violates the city 's Basic Law , which says each elected chief executive will serve a full five-year term .
The opposition fears that Beijing 's involvement could compromise the territory 's autonomy .
Mr. Tsang is expected to win the July vote .
Iraq 's ambassador to the United Nations is calling for the lifting of all remaining sanctions imposed on the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein .
Ambassador Samir Sumaidaie made the appeal Tuesday - two days after his country voted in landmark elections .
He said all sanctions placed on the previous regime are inappropriate now since Iraq has clearly shown the world that it is a new country and wants to be at peace with its neighbors .
The Iraqi diplomat said it is also time to begin phasing out the use of oil proceeds to compensate victims of Iraq 's 1990 invasion of Kuwait , and lift the arms embargo imposed shortly after that invasion .
Meanwhile , more than 200 workers at Iraq 's election headquarters in Baghdad are compiling results from Sunday 's historic vote .
A U.S.-funded radio station says its correspondent in Iraq has been killed .
Radio Free Iraq said Friday Khamail Khalaf was found dead in Baghdad Thursday .
She had been missing for two days amid fears she had been kidnapped .
More than 150 members of the news media have been killed in Iraq since the war began in 2003 .
U.S. military officials in Iraq have reduced the death toll from a suicide bombing Friday from 27 to 12 .
Police said a suicide bomber driving a truck with chlorine gas detonated his vehicle in Ramadi , the capital of volatile al-Anbar province .
A military statement says 43 people were wounded .
The military also says the Iraqi army called in air strikes Saturday against armed militia men in Diwaniyah , south of Baghdad , one day after U.S. and Iraqi forces detained 27 suspects and killed three insurgents in the city .
British Prime Minister Tony Blair says his country and the United States will send a team to Iraq to reassess the security situation there .
In a televised interview Sunday , Mr. Blair said the team will focus only on security .
He added that it was crucial to strengthen Iraqi security forces so that they can take over .
Meanwhile , Britain 's Telegraph newspaper reports London will announce this week that it is sending 650 additional troops to Iraq to boost security ahead of the January 30 elections .
Speaking on the television network ABC , U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed concern about the future of Iraq following the elections , but said the vote is the necessary next step .
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan calls Iraqi voters courageous , and says the world must support them .
Speaking in Nigeria , Mr. Annan described Sunday 's election as the first step in a democratic process in Iraq .
He said Iraqis know they are voting for their country 's future and for the day " when they will take their destiny in their own hands . "
The secretary-general also appealed for an end to election-day violence .
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has criticized Syria for creating instability in Lebanon , where a second politician was killed Tuesday .
Ms. Rice said she does not know who is responsible for the attack that killed George Hawi in Beirut , but she called on Syria to end destabilizing activities there .
Ms. Rice spoke to reporters aboard a plane to Brussels , where she is to attend a conference aimed at gathering international support for Iraq 's new government .
The conference will also include Iraqi leaders , officials from more than 80 nations and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan .
Monday , Ms. Rice visited Saudi Arabia for the last stop of a Middle East trip , where she renewed a call for democratic reform .
Philippine officials say heavy rain in mountainous provinces in the north of the country have triggered landslides , killing more than 90 people .
The northern Philippines has been pounded by heavy rain since Typhoon Parma hit the country on Saturday .
Forecasters say Parma was still lingering off the northeastern coast of the Philippines , as it began moving across the South China Sea toward Vietnam .
Parma is the second major storm to hit the country in two weeks .
Officials say the landslides have pushed the overall death toll from two weeks of devastating storms on the islands past 450 .
Meanwhile in Japan , a separate powerful typhoon tore through the main island Thursday , peeling roofs off houses , and cutting off electricity to hundreds of thousands .
The storm has killed at least four people .
Elephants in tsunami-devastated Thailand have joined the country 's massive recovery work , one week after another group of elephants staged a dramatic rescue operation .
Thai officials say six jumbo elephants are now helping to tow heavy objects and pull away debris that heavy machinery can not reach .
Elephants also played a crucial role before the tsunami hit .
Reuters news agency says eight elephants used for tourist rides at the Khao Lak beach resort became agitated last Sunday , more than an hour before the tsunami came ashore .
The beasts began crying , or " trumpeting , " and finally broke free of their chains , heading for a nearby hill .
Their trainers followed .
As the elephants fled , they lifted tourists onto their backs with their trunks , taking them to safety .
Scientists note animals often appear to sense the coming of natural calamities .
Supporters of Pakistan 's suspended chief justice have taken to the streets in a show of solidarity .
Supporters of Judge Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry chanted slogans Saturday demanding the resignation of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf .
They rallied as the chief justice traveled from Islamabad to the eastern city of Faisalabad .
General Musharraf fired Chaudhry in March , accusing him of abuse of power .
The judge denies the charges and has challenged the president 's decision in the Supreme Court .
His dismissal has fueled the biggest opposition to President Musharraf since the general seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999 .
Tens of thousands of people have rallied in support of the judge as he traveled to various rallies across the country since he was fired .
Last minute holiday shoppers are taking advantage of massive discounts as retailers launch a last desperate attempt to generate revenue .
With holiday sales shaping up to be the weakest in years , retailers are scrambling to stay ahead of the struggling U.S. economy .
Former Liberian Finance Minister Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has moved closer to becoming Africa 's first democratically-elected female president , taking a strong lead in Liberia 's presidential run-off .
With nearly two-thirds of the ballots counted , Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf leads with 56 percent of the votes .
Her opponent , millionaire former soccer ( football ) star George Weah , has 44 percent .
Mr. Weah raised allegations of election fraud Wednesday , saying there were major irregularities during Tuesday 's run-off election .
Election officials said Mr. Weah has not submitted any evidence to the electoral commission to support his claims .
This was Liberia 's first election since 2003 , when Charles Taylor stepped down as president under international pressure , ending 14 years of almost non-stop civil war .
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is resting comfortably after being hospitalized in the midwestern U.S. city of Cleveland , Ohio .
A statement from the Carter Center in the southeastern city of Atlanta , Georgia , says the former president developed an upset stomach during a flight to Cleveland Tuesday .
A spokeswoman at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport says rescue crews met Mr. Carter 's plane at the airport and took him to the hospital .
The former president was in Cleveland to sign his new book , White House Diary .
The Carter Center says he is expected to resume his book tour later this week .
Mr. Carter is 85-years-old and served as U.S. president from 1977 to 1981 .
U.S. President Barack Obama said he plans to call Mr. Carter to check on his condition .
A prominent human rights group has called on the United Nations and the Democratic Republic of Congo to disarm rebel Rwandan armed groups in eastern Congo .
In a report Wednesday , the New York-based Human Rights Watch ( HRW ) also said that the safety of civilians must be ensured during the operations .
The rights group said efforts to disarm the rebels , mostly ethnic Hutus , in early November failed after they refused to cooperate .
The rebels , generally called Ex-FAR ( members of the former Rwandan army ) and Interahamwe , are mostly responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed about 8,00,000 people during a three-month period .
Human Rights Watch 's senior Africa advisor , Alison Des Forges , says disarming Rwandan rebel groups is crucial for regional stability .
Rwanda has threatened to go after the rebels if they are not disarmed .
" Undercover Brother " may be good at karate , but his driving needs improvement .
Comedian Eddie Griffin crashed a Ferrari Enzo sportscar worth an estimated $ 1.5 million .
The March 26 accident occurred at Irwindale Speedway in California , when the movie comic drove too fast around a curve .
He was practicing for a charity race to promote his upcoming movie Redline .
Eddie Griffin , whose film credits include Undercover Brother and two Deuce Bigalow movies , walked away unhurt from the crash .
The car belonged to Redline executive producer Daniel Sadek , whose exotic car collection is featured in the movie .
Ferrari produced a total of 400 Enzos between 2002 and 2004 .
Russia 's natural gas monopoly Gazprom has warned Ukraine against siphoning off gas intended for Europe .
Gazprom Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev said Sunday that Ukrainian officials had made threats to tap natural gas from a pipeline running through Ukrainian territory , if supplies intended for Ukraine are cut off .
The two sides have failed to resolve a dispute over Moscow 's demand that Ukraine pay more than quadruple the current price for gas imports from Russia .
Gazprom threatened to halt gas deliveries to Ukraine on January first unless Kiev agrees to its new pricing structure .
Gazprom held an exercise Friday simulating such a stoppage .
Ukraine says such a sharp increase would harm its economy .
Both sides say they may turn to an international arbitration court for help .
The Anheuser-Busch brewing company - bottler of Budweiser beer - will continue to sponsor the FIFA World Cup tournament through 2014 .
Anheuser-Busch and the International Football Federation signed a contract extension agreement Thursday , meaning Budweiser also will have global sponsorship rights for the Confederations Cup tournament in 2009 and 2013 .
FIFA President Sepp Blatter said the agreement is testimony to the immense appeal of football .
A spokesman for Anheuser-Busch said the deal will allow the company to connect its brand with millions of adult beer drinkers and football fans .
Anheuser-Busch , based in St. Louis , Missouri the United States , has the exclusive beer contract for this year 's World Cup in Germany .
By 2014 , the brewer will have sponsored eight World Cup tournaments .
Former Venezuelan President Rafael Caldera died early Thursday at the age of 93 .
He had suffered from Parkinson 's disease for many years .
Mr. Caldera served two terms as president - the first between 1969 and 1974 , and again from 1994 to 1999 .
He entered politics in the 1930s , and helped to found the Social-Christian Copei party in 1946 .
In 1994 , he pardoned current President Hugo Chavez , who was in prison at the time for leading a coup two years earlier .
Mr. Chavez succeeded Mr. Caldera as president in 1999 .
Mr. Caldera 's son said the funeral will take place Saturday and that the family " will not accept any homage from the government of Hugo Chavez . "
China says the next round of six-party talks on North Korean 's nuclear program will last for three days .
The official news agency , Xinhua , says the talks will begin Wednesday at the Diaoyu State Guest House in Beijing and last through Friday .
This is the fifth round of talks involving China , the two Koreas , the United States , Russia and Japan .
All sides have agreed that North Korea would scrap its nuclear programs in exchange for energy assistance and other benefits .
However , sharp differences among the parties remain .
After the previous round ended in September , Pyongyang said it will not disarm unless it is first given a civilian ( light-water ) nuclear reactor to generate electricity .
U.S. officials said the demand is not acceptable .
A U.S. military investigation has concluded that a suicide bomber wearing an Iraqi uniform carried out the deadly attack in a dining tent at an American base in Mosul last December , killing 22 people .
Major General David Rodriguez Friday said the bomber apparently entered the base at an unguarded point on its perimeter .
He said investigators did not know if the attacker was a member of the Iraqi security forces , or was wearing a stolen or counterfeit uniform .
General Rodriguez said the bomber was believed to be a member of the Ansar al-Sunna terrorist group , which claimed responsibility for the December 21 attack - the deadliest on U.S. forces since the U.S.-led invasion in March , 2003 .
The group has also claimed responsibility for several other large profile attacks , including this month 's roadside bombing south of Haditha that killed 14 U.S. Marines .
Former Cuban president Fidel Castro has appeared at a special session of parliament for the first time since 2006 , when he ceded power to his younger brother , Raul .
Cheering legislators gave the elder Castro a standing ovation as he entered the legislative chamber in an event broadcast on Cuban television Saturday .
The 83-year-old former president was wearing an olive-green military style shirt and waved to the crowd .
Mr. Castro spoke about the international situation and how growing tensions between the United States and Iran could lead to nuclear war .
Mr. Castro turns 84 later this month , and has recently increased his public appearances following a long period of seclusion , resulting from an illness suffered in 2006 .
Fidel Castro underwent intestinal surgery that year and turned over power on a provisional basis to his brother , who formally assumed the presidency in February 2008 .
A top Israeli official says Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has approved the final placement of a barrier around Jerusalem that would encompass a controversial Jewish settlement on Palestinian-claimed land .
Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Israeli radio Mr. Sharon approved the plan late Sunday after meeting with top officials .
The enclosed Israeli area would include the largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank - Maaleh Adumim .
Israel says the wall will help keep out militants .
Palestinians say Israel has used the barrier issue as an excuse to grab land .
The approval comes as U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan meets with Israeli and Palestinian officials to encourage peace talks between the two sides .
Meanwhile , Israeli and Palestinian security chiefs are preparing for more talks on the Israeli handover of five West Bank towns to Palestinian security control .
Israel 's Supreme Court has ruled that Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza can sue Israel for damages caused by the Israeli military in non-combat operations .
The court nullified a law passed by the Israeli parliament last year that granted the state immunity from all Palestinian damage lawsuits against the Israeli military .
Israel 's government applied the law retroactively to the start of the current Palestinian uprising in 2000 .
Several human rights groups petitioned the Supreme Court about the law , arguing Israel is responsible for the well-being of Palestinians as an occupying power .
The court partially agreed with the petition , but ruled that Palestinians can not sue for damages caused by Israeli forces during combat operations .
The judges also ruled that citizens of an enemy state and members of terrorist groups are not eligible for any compensation from Israel .
The Nigerian government says five cabinet ministers have left their posts so that they can run for elected positions next year .
Government officials say the ministers of the interior , culture and tourism , commerce , sports and intergovernmental affairs have left their offices .
President Olusegun Obasanjo has submitted a list to parliament to replace the ministers .
The resignations are the latest government shifts in the run-up to next year 's general elections .
Two days ago , Mr. Obasanjo replaced three top military chiefs and his national security adviser .
The shuffle comes weeks after the defeat in parliament of a measure that would have allowed Mr. Obasanjo to run for a third term .
European Union lawmakers have rejected a controversial budget deal reached at an EU summit last month and have called for further talks on the issue .
At a plenary session Wednesday in Strasbourg , France , the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly , 541 to 76 against the $ 1 trillion EU budget for 2007 - 2013 .
Lawmakers critical of the deal said it fell short of the budget proposed by the European Parliament last June .
Austria 's Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel , whose country holds the rotating EU presidency , said there is room to maneuver so a compromise can be reached .
British Prime Minister Tony Blair , who presided over last month 's EU summit , had called the proposed budget a fair deal .
Some of the lawmakers insisted the budget does not provide sufficient aid for EU members .
The World Health Organization has confirmed that a one-year-old girl has become the 23rd person in Indonesia to die of the H5N1 bird flu virus .
WHO officials say the girl died about a week ago at a Jakarta hospital .
Indonesia has seen more deaths from the virus than any other nation except Vietnam .
Meanwhile , health officials in Jordan Friday confirmed that nation 's first human case of bird flu .
They say a 31-year-old Egyptian worker is being treated and is in good condition .
On Thursday , health authorities in Afghanistan began investigating the deaths of three children from the same family on suspicion they might have died of bird flu .
The deadly form of bird flu has killed more than 100 people since 2003 , mostly in East Asia .
It has recently spread to Europe , Africa and the Middle East .
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is encouraging Americans to come together to help renew the U.S. economy and " make a new beginning " for the country .
During his weekly radio address released early Thursday for Thanksgiving , Mr. Obama reminded U.S. citizens that this year 's holiday comes at a difficult time .
He said that his newly announced economic team is working hard to confront an economic crisis of historic proportions .
But the president-elect said policies alone will not revive the U.S. economy .
He said it also will take " the hard work , innovation , service and strength of the American people . "
Mr. Obama thanked members of the armed forces and their families for their service and sacrifice .
The president-elect is spending the holiday in Chicago , Illinois , with his wife , Michelle , and their daughters .
Tens of thousands of people rallied across Taiwan Sunday as political parties stepped up campaigning ahead of next Saturday 's parliamentary election .
In Taipei , supporters of the pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union , an ally of President Chen Shui-bian 's party , waved placards of their candidates and chanted independence slogans .
Nearby , thousands of backers of the opposition Nationalists marched for improved ties with mainland China .
President Chen is hoping to achieve a majority in the 225-seat legislature so he can push though what he calls needed constitutional reforms .
The Nationalist Party and its coalition partner , the People First Party , currently hold a slim majority .
Beijing has denounced the planned constitutional amendments , saying they are a pretext for declaring formal independence , an act China says will trigger a war .
Serbia 's special war crimes prosecutor has announced the indictment of another suspect in the 1991 massacre of more than 200 Croat civilians outside the Croatian city of Vukovar .
Authorities arrested Sasa Radak last month in Montenegro .
He joins 17 other suspects on trial before a special court in connection with the deaths at the Ovcara pig farm outside Vukovar .
Prosecutors say Yugoslav troops took the 200 patients from Vukovar hospital after capturing the Croatian city in November 1991 .
They say the bodies were later discovered at the farm .
The Hague war crimes tribunal has indicted three Yugoslav army officers for their role in the deaths .
Tribunal prosecutors have now suggested that their cases be transferred to local courts either in Croatia or Serbia .
Rwandan police have arrested a journalist accused of comparing President Paul Kagame to Nazi Germany 's leader Adolf Hitler .
Saidati Mukakibibi is the second journalist from the independent newspaper Umurabyo arrested in the past week .
The Reuters news agency quotes a police spokesman as saying Mukakibibi wrote articles comparing the president with Hitler .
He said the articles were accompanied by a photo of Mr. Kagame in front of a Nazi swastika that the publishers had inserted in the picture .
Last week , authorities arrested Umurabyo editor Agnes Uwimana on allegations of civil disobedience .
Rights groups say the arrests are an attempt by the Rwandan government to clamp down on independent media ahead of next month 's elections .
The government denies the allegations .
Chinese President Hu Jintao called for progress in six party talks on North Korea 's nuclear program during a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Saturday .
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak met with the Chinese leader in Beijing while attending the Olympics .
Mr. Hu said he hoped for improved communication and coordination among the countries involved in the six party talks ( among China , South Korea , Japan , Russia , the United States and North Korea ) aimed at dismantling North Korea 's nuclear program ) .
And he urged moving the talks to what he called " a new stage . "
The two leaders also discussed developing a " strategic partnership " between China and South Korea .
Mr. Hu is scheduled to make a state visit to South Korea in the coming weeks .
U.S. stock market indexes dropped sharply as Friday 's trading got underway .
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 1.3 percent , the S & P 500 lost 1.7 percent , while the NASDAQ fell 2.1 percent .
European stock markets were higher in afternoon trading .
London 's Financial Times 100 index gained 2.5 percent , the CAC-40 in Paris rose 1.7 percent , while the DAX in Frankfurt jumped 2.8 percent .
In Asia , Tokyo 's Nikkei index advanced 2.7 percent ( 224 points ) to end at 8,462 .
In Hong Kong , the Hang Seng moved up 2.4 percent ( 321 points ) to finish at 13,543 .
The price of gold rose more than $ 9 to trade at $ 745.71 an ounce .
The dollar was down against the yen but gained compared to the euro .
Cuba has decided to ban smoking in many public places beginning next month .
Officials say the smoking ban , which will start the first week of February , will apply to buses , theaters , sports arenas and indoor restaurants , except designated areas .
Cigarette machines will also be removed .
The French news agency , AFP , reports that under the new rules tobacco products will be sold only to people over 16 years of age .
There is currently no age minimum .
The news agency reports the government has taken the measures for health reasons and to respect the rights of non-smokers .
Pakistani officials say a U.S. missile strike in Pakistan 's tribal region Saturday killed two suspected militants .
Security officials said the strike targeted a house in the town of Mir Ali in North Waziristan .
The region is considered a base for Taliban and al-Qaida insurgents accused of attacking NATO troops across the border in Afghanistan .
U.S. President Barack Obama has increased the use of drone strikes to target hideouts in Pakistan , causing friction between Washington and Islamabad .
Pakistan 's government has objected to the attacks , saying they violate its sovereignty .
Malawi 's Agriculture Minister Uladi Mussa says Africa is not prepared to fight bird flu .
Mussa told a 19-nation bird flu conference in Malawi Monday that the lack of knowledge among health officials is as dangerous as the lack of resources .
United Nations Food and Agriculture official Mazlan Jusoh said most African nations are free of bird flu for now , but says they must boost surveillance .
He said poverty and inadequate medical and veterinary services make Africa vulnerable .
The deadly H5N1 bird flu strain has been found in birds in five African nations ( Burkina Faso , Cameroon , Egypt , Niger , and Nigeria ) .
Meanwhile , Pakistan said Monday it killed more than 40,000 chickens after bird flu was found on several poultry farms near Islamabad .
Bird flu has killed 113 people worldwide since 2003 - mostly in Asia .
In a city where most police do not carry guns , the shooting death of a suspect on a crowded London subway has resonated much further than the underground station where the incident occurred .
Across the British capital Saturday , residents learned more about the suspect police officers chased onto a subway car Friday and shot to death five times at point-blank range .
In a statement , London police said the man was not connected to Thursday 's attempted bombings on the British capital 's transit system , and called the killing ' regrettable ' and a ' tragedy . '
Experts say the shooting death raises questions about police firearm practices and deepens the anxiety of a city that increasingly feels under siege .
Slovenia 's Katarina Srebotnik has overcome a leg injury to win both the singles and doubles titles at the ASB Classic women 's tennis tournament in Auckland , New Zealand .
Srebotnik received treatment for a thigh injury to beat fourth-seeded Japanese player Shinboue Asagoe in the final in three sets , 05-Jul , 07-May , 06-Apr .
Earlier , the Slovene player took two and a half hours to beat fifth seed Marion Bartoli of France in the semifinals , 07-May , 02-Jun , 07-May .
Srebotnik later teamed with Asagoe to take the tournament doubles title over Leanne Baker of New Zealand and Francesca Lubiani of Italy , 06-Mar , 06-Mar .
The win was Srebotnik 's seventh doubles title on the WTA tour .
The singles title was Srebotnik 's third in five years .
The 23-year-old Slovene came into the tournament ranked 87th in the world .
Israel 's Security Cabinet has decided to continue military strikes against Palestinian militants firing rockets from Gaza into Israel .
The cabinet said it based the decision on the relative decrease in rocket attacks since Israeli airstrikes started almost two weeks ago .
Israel has also conducted a limited number of ground raids against the militants .
A statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert added that Israel is not involved in any cease-fire talks with the militants .
Earlier Wednesday , an Israeli airstrike killed two Hamas militants in a northern Gaza refugee camp .
About 50 Palestinians , mostly militants , have been killed in the Israeli attacks .
Palestinian rockets have killed two Israelis since mid-May .
A new museum opened Friday in Washington on crime and law enforcement , mostly in the United States .
The museum is owned and financed by an entrepreneur and it charges a fee for entry .
Visitors are invited to pick up a rifle in a Wild West shootout , plan a prison break and test their knowledge of infamous murderers .
VOA 's Deborah Block was there .
Iraqi soldiers , prisoners and hospital patients have cast early ballots for parliamentary elections set to open to the general public on Thursday .
Officials have promised to implement tough security measures Thursday to guard against violence during the vote .
They include closing Iraq 's borders and restricting travel .
Authorities are also expected to extend curfews across the country Tuesday .
Polling stations were due to open today in 15 countries , including the United States , for voters living outside Iraq .
Meanwhile , officials in Iraq reported seven people were killed in attacks Monday .
Separate roadside bomb attacks killed one American soldier and two other people in the Iraqi capital .
And gunmen killed four Iraqis , including a police officer .
Australia 's Qantas Airways resumed limited superjumbo flights Saturday , with the take-off of a fully-loaded Airbus A380 from Singapore .
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce joined the first leg of the flight to London via Singapore .
Joyce told reporters that he was 100 percent comfortable with the operation of the aircraft .
The airline grounded its six A380s after a superjumbo 's engine blew up midair on November 4 , forcing an emergency landing in Singapore .
Inspections showed problems with several of Qantas Airways ' Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines that required turbines to be replaced or modified .
Qantas is putting just two of its A380s back in service while modifications are made on engines on other aircraft .
Islamic militants have fired volleys of Katyusha-type rockets in response to a Lebanese army bombardment of their positions inside a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon .
The army says the rockets caused some damage but no casualties several kilometers away from the refugee camp .
Lebanese artillery and tanks continued to pound Fatah al-Islam militants inside the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp near the city of Tripoli .
At least 10 soldiers have died in fighting since Thursday when the army began an artillery barrage on the camp .
Last month , Lebanese officials claimed victory in the fighting , but daily firefights have continued since then .
More than 170 people , including more than 90 Lebanese soldiers , have been killed since the standoff began May 20 .
Nearly all of the Palestinian refugees living in the camp have fled .
A car bomb explosion in Iraq has killed five people , including four police officers who were on patrol .
Officials say a civilian was also among the dead in the town of Khan Bani Saad , near Baquba , just north of Baghdad .
At least three other people were injured .
Meanwhile , the U.S. military reported Saturday , that a Marine was killed in action Friday , in the western city of Ramadi .
In political news , the Iraqi National Assembly is scheduled to meet Sunday to finally elect a speaker .
But politicians say Shi'ite and Sunni leaders are still not able to agree on a Sunni candidate for the post .
The impasse has delayed formation of the new government .
Palestinian militants fired two rockets into southern Israel late Tuesday , following Israeli airstrikes near the Gaza Strip 's border with Egypt .
Israeli military officials say no one was hurt in the rocket attack .
Earlier on Tuesday , Israeli aircraft bombed at least six smuggling tunnels near the southern Gaza town of Rafah .
Israeli military officials say one of the airstrikes triggered a secondary explosion , indicating that explosives were present in the tunnel .
At least four people were reported wounded in the strikes .
Israel launched a three-week offensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza in response to the rocket attacks .
Both Hamas and Israel declared separate cease-fires last month , but the violence continues almost daily .
The U.S. military has announced charges against eight service members in connection with the death of an Iraqi civilian .
Marine Colonel Stewart Navarre said Wednesday the eight face charges including kidnapping , murder and conspiracy .
The seven Marines and a Navy corpsman are suspected of killing an Iraqi man without provocation in the village of Hamdania in April .
They have been held since May at Camp Pendleton , California .
Four other Marines not being held remain under investigation .
The investigation is separate from the probe of the events of Haditha in November 2005 , in which Marines are alleged to have killed 24 Iraqi civilians after a roadside bomb blast in the town killed a fellow Marine .
At least 60 people are confirmed dead and more than 400 remain missing after the Shadi Kor dam ruptured in southwestern Pakistan Thursday .
More than 1,500 people have been rescued from the floodwaters after the two-year-old dam failed .
Primarily used for irrigation , the 25-meter-high , 150-meter-long dam was destroyed by a wall of water after a week of heavy rain and snow that has caused over 120 storm-related deaths in the region .
Members of Pakistan 's army , navy and coast guard are leading relief efforts at the disaster site in Baluchistan Province .
An estimated 50,000 people in the province have been affected with the loss of roads , bridges , houses , crops and telecommunications , much of which remains under water .
Several more days of severe , wet weather are expected .
German officials say the German woman who was taken hostage in Iraq last month has been freed and appears to be in good health .
Germany 's foreign minister ( Frank-Walter Steinmeier ) says archaeologist Susanne Osthoff is now in the German embassy in Baghdad .
He gave no information on her release , saying only that she is no longer in the hands of the kidnappers .
Ms. Osthoff and her driver disappeared on November 25 in the Nineveh region of northwest Iraq .
She had been working in Iraq more than ten years .
Pope John Paul has called for better integration among peoples as the Roman Catholic Church marks the World Day of Migrants and Refugees .
In remarks at the Vatican Sunday , the pontiff said better integration among peoples requires a fair balance between the affirmation of one 's own identity and recognition of that of others .
The 84-year-old pope greeted all migrants and said he wishes that sympathy and understanding among cultures can grow through dialogue .
The United States will host a two-day international conference on the avian ( bird ) flu virus in Washington beginning Thursday .
U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack Wednesday said more than 65 countries and international organizations concerned about preventing a global bird flu pandemic will be participating .
He said U.S. officials leading the meeting will focus on a set of core principles regarding the H5N1 virus unveiled by Washington at last month 's U.N. World Summit .
He said the program principles include quick and accurate reporting of outbreaks of the virus , donor support for countries affected by the disease and a pledge to work with the World Health Organization .
Many participants have already signed on to the U.S.-led program .
About 60 people have died after being exposed to birds with the virus .
Experts warn the virus could mutate into a form passed easily among humans and cause a global pandemic .
Burma has reported an outbreak of bird flu among chickens in the country 's eastern Shan state .
The official " New Light of Myanmar " newspaper said Saturday that authorities confirmed the outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus on Thursday , after an unspecified number of chickens had died in Yankham village .
Officials said they determined that the virus was spread to the area from Kengtung Township , where bird flu broke out in December 18 .
Burma and the World Health Organization had earlier confirmed the country 's first human bird flu case , when a seven-year-old girl was hospitalized in late November .
The girl survived the disease and was discharged in early December .
Seven countries in East Asia have reported human cases of the potentially deadly virus .
The two with the greatest number of cases are Indonesia and Vietnam .
More than 200 people in 13 countries have died from the disease since 2003 .
U.S. Navy helicopters will begin airlifting survivors from remote areas of Indonesia 's tsunami-devastated Aceh province , a move the United Nations calls vital to rescue operations in the region .
U.S. , Australian and Indonesian military helicopters are also dropping food and supplies to hungry people left stranded in isolated western areas of the province .
Large areas of Aceh province remain inaccessible to emergency crews on the ground one week after the area was battered by massive waves triggered by a 9 magnitude earthquake near its coast .
The tsunami pounded coastlines in a dozen Indian Ocean countries , leaving 1,27,000 people known dead .
Millions more people are now homeless and in need of emergency assistance .
Aid is being rushed to the region , but logistical bottlenecks , destroyed infrastructure , and bad weather are hindering distribution .
Relief agencies warn it may take weeks to get aid to some needy people .
The US military says one US soldier and an Afghan interpreter have been killed in a gunfight in southern Afghanistan , as the war-ravaged country continues its bloody countdown to parliamentary polls .
A military statement says they were moving into position for a daylight offensive operation south of Dai Chopan in Zabul province when the gun battle occurred .
U.S. and Afghan government forces have mounted a series of operations in the south and east in recent months , aimed at flushing out militants and ensuring security for September 18th parliamentary elections .
The U.S. military said two Taleban were later killed in the attack including one identified as a sub-commander .
A purported spokesman for the Taleban confirmed the local-level commander , known as Tor Mullah Abdul Manan , had been killed in a battle in the restive Zabul province .
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has again defended his country 's right to develop nuclear energy .
At a news conference during a visit to Algeria , Ahmadinejad Tuesday denounced nations for trying to isolate his country over its nuclear program .
The United States and its allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons .
Iran denies the charge , saying its program is aimed at producing energy .
On Monday , U.S. President George W. Bush said the Ahmadinejad government is " a big disappointment " and is causing the Iranian people to be further isolated .
Iran has rejected U.N. Security Council resolutions requiring it to stop enriching uranium .
However , Iran recently agreed to allow U.N. atomic energy agency inspectors to view a sensitive nuclear facility to help resolve questions about its nuclear plans .
A U.N team arrived in Iran this week to develop a plan for future inspections .
India and South America 's Mercosur trading bloc have signed an agreement slashing tariffs on more than 900 products in a trade boosting measure .
Under the agreement signed Saturday , India is cutting or eliminating tariffs on 450 products while the South American trading bloc is taking similar action on 452 products .
Trade between India and Mercosur reached $ 1.5 billion last year .
Mercosur comprises Argentina , Brazil , Paraguay and Uruguay .
Chile and Bolivia are associate members of the bloc .
India 's main exports to Mercosur nations included pharmaceutical and chemical products .
Imports included edible oils and non-electrical machinery .
A Chechen militant website says Shamil Basayev , who is wanted in Russia for leading numerous terrorist attacks , has been named second-in-command of the separatist Chechen government A statement on the kavkazcenter.com web site says Mr. Basayev was named first deputy prime minister and put in charge of the armed forces .
The statement was attributed to Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev , who succeeded Aslan Maskhadov as president of Chechnya 's breakaway government when the Chechen leader was killed in March .
Mr. Basayev left Chechnya 's administration in 2002 under pressure from Mr. Maskhadov for being too violent .
Mr. Basayev claims responsibility for last year 's school seizure in Beslan , a town in southern Russia , in which more than 330 people were killed .
Chechnya has been rocked by about a decade of fighting between separatist forces and Russian federal government troops .
Private donations to help victims of the Asian tsunami are soaring in Europe , rivaling and in some cases exceeding government contributions .
In Sweden , a series of telethons Saturday pushed private donations above the $ 60-million mark .
Relief agencies called it a record for the nation , which may have lost more citizens in the disaster than any other in Europe .
The British public had contributed about $ 115 million by Saturday - nearly $ 20 million more than its government .
Private donations in Germany were running above $ 40 million - more than the German government has pledged so far .
An aid official told the French news agency , AFP , it was one of the largest donations of its type in Germany .
The International Atomic Energy Agency was set up by the United Nations in 1957 as the so-called " Atoms for Peace " program , to promote the safe and peaceful use of nuclear energy .
Since 1970 , its tasks have included verifying compliance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty .
With headquarters in Vienna , Austria , the agency employs a staff of more than 2,200 people from 90 countries .
The IAEA 's main decisions are made by two policy-making bodies - the General Conference of all 138 member states ; and an elected board of governors , whose 35 members serve a one-year term .
The agency not only deals with current issues such as Iran 's and North Korea 's nuclear programs , but it also helps countries with their nuclear safety arrangements and offers assistance to countries wishing to upgrade civilian nuclear safety .
Weather forecasters are advising residents in the southeastern United States to monitor a tropical storm off Florida 's east coast .
The National Weather Center says Tropical Storm Ophelia could dump eight centimeters of rain in parts of Florida and southeastern Georgia , with isolated maximum amounts up to 13 centimeters .
The storm , packing winds of near 95 kilometers per hour , is about 100 kilometers from Cape Canaveral , Florida .
The weather center says the system is stationary and not expected to move much Thursday .
Some strengthening is forecast .
A tropical storm warning is in effect for parts of Florida 's east coast .
Authorities in Greece have sent riot police to a top tourist attraction after striking government workers shut down the Acropolis for a second day .
Police were stationed outside the entrance to the site Thursday , where workers have blockaded the gate .
The culture ministry employees are protesting the dismissal of workers whose contracts expire at the end of the month .
They are also demanding the government provide months of unpaid salaries .
Dozens of tourists were also outside the site Thursday .
The Acropolis is a UNESCO World Heritage site that holds the ruins of several ancient Greek temples , including the famed Parthenon .
Sudan has approved the deployment of 105 armored personnel carriers to aid African Union peacekeeping forces in the war-torn western region of Darfur .
The Sudanese decision follows recent rebel attacks on AU peacekeepers in Darfur .
In one of the attacks , five AU soldiers and civilian personnel were killed when rebels with the Sudan Liberation Movement ambushed a convoy .
Separately , a faction of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement abducted and held hostage 38 AU personnel .
They were later released .
The Canadian-donated armored personnel vehicles are expected to begin arriving on Friday .
Ongoing violence in Darfur has forced aid agencies to evacuate relief workers .
Some 7,000 AU peacekeepers are in Darfur , where fighting between rebels and government-backed Arab militia has killed tens of thousands of people over the past two years .
More than two million others have been driven from their homes .
Burma 's largest opposition party is marking the 15th anniversary of its landslide election victory , which the military government never recognized .
National League for Democracy party officials invited diplomats and journalists to Friday 's commemoration in Rangoon .
However , NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is not able to attend the ceremony .
The Nobel Laureate has been under house arrest for two years following a violent ambush by a pro-junta mob .
Her party won 392 of 485 seats in the 1990 election .
But the military junta refused to recognize the balloting , which was widely seen as free and fair .
The government instead clamped down on opposition parties and began jailing opposition leaders .
On Wednesday , the human rights group Amnesty International slammed Burma 's human rights record , saying more than 1,300 political prisoners were wrongly detained last year .
A U.S. congressman in the Democratic Party says the recently unveiled shortfalls in care at a Washington , D.C. military hospital indicate a " catastrophic failure of leadership " by the Bush administration .
Congressman Harry Mitchell of the southwestern state of Arizona said in the Democrats ' weekly radio address Saturday , that problems similar to those found at Walter Reed military hospital are being uncovered elsewhere in the military medical care system .
He said it is a problem that can not be fixed simply with drywall and paint .
Mitchell said voters should hold the Bush administration accountable for those shortfalls because it did not provide adequate funding .
He said Democrats have added $ 3.5 billion for veterans ' care to the president 's budget request for war funding .
Congress has not voted yet to approve this year 's budget .
Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav has been indicted on charges of rape and other sexual offenses .
The indictment filed Thursday in a Tel Aviv court accused Mr. Katsav of raping a woman who once worked for him , in addition to sexual harassment charges involving two other former female employees .
The indictment said the women worked for Mr. Katsav while he was Israel 's Tourism Minister in the 1990s , and president earlier this decade .
Mr. Katsav resigned shortly before his term ended in 2007 at the end of his presidential term , under a plea bargain that would have required him to admit to lesser charges of sexual misconduct .
He withdrew from the agreement last April and so he could stand trial in hopes of clearing his name .
He has vigorously denied the charges facing him .
The NATO-led international force in Afghanistan is preparing to build a helipad near the site of last week 's crash of an Afghan airliner that killed all 104 people onboard .
A spokesman says the aim is to speed up the investigation and the recovery of bodies from the crash site , which is at an altitude of nearly 3,000 meters on a mountain near Kabul .
Bad weather so far has hampered efforts to search for the black box and retrieve bodies from the wreckage .
The Boeing 737 , operated by private Afghan airline Kam Air , vanished from the radar screen last Thursday as it was approaching Kabul airport during a blizzard .
The French News Agency , AFP , says the United Nations has grounded another Boeing 737 hired from Kam Air .
NATO says British Foreign Secretary David Miliband visited southern Afghanistan on Tuesday , where British forces are fighting Taliban militants .
A NATO statement issued Wednesday said Miliband met with commanders who oversee military operations in the southern province of Helmand , including the head of NATO forces in southern Afghanistan , Dutch commander Major General Mart de Kruif .
NATO says the men discussed British , U.S. and NATO roles in reconstruction , security and counter-narcotics operations , as well as the upcoming elections in Afghanistan .
The statement says Miliband also met with senior Afghan government officials during his fourth visit to to the country , but no further details were provided .
In other news , Pakistan 's Foreign Ministry says Afghan President Hamid Karzai is set to visit Islamabad for talks on Thursday .
Travel for this year 's Thanksgiving holiday in the United States is expected to reach levels not seen since the September 11 terrorist attacks three years ago .
A leading U.S. travel association , the American Automobile Association , predicts that some 37 million Americans will venture at least 80 kilometers from home .
It says about 4.6 million travelers will go by plane and endure the long security procedures put in place after the terror attacks carried out by 19 al-Qaida skyjackers .
Another 30 million Americans are expected to travel by car , leading to long traffic jams around major cities .
In Lebanon , hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite Muslims marched through southern Beirut Thursday to commemorate the death of a revered leader and to protest cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad .
The march is an annual event to mark Ashura , when Shi'ites mourn the death of the prophet 's grandson , Imam Hussain , more than 1,300 years ago .
Shi'ite mourners dressed in black chanted slogans of allegiance to the Prophet Muhammad , and carried placards denouncing cartoon depictions of him .
There were no reports of violence .
Less than a week ago , a Beirut protest against publication of the cartoons in Denmark and other European countries turned into a rampage that left the Danish embassy in flames and dozens injured .
President Bush and Jordan 's King Abdullah have called on foreign governments to end the deadly rioting that has spread across the Muslim world after the cartoons .
India has released 24 Pakistani prisoners detained for border violations .
The men , who spent between six months and 15 years in Indian jails for straying into Indian territory , were handed over to Pakistani authorities at the Wagah border crossing Thursday .
The handover comes ahead of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf 's visit to New Delhi to watch the final cricket match between Indian and Pakistani cricket teams .
The visit is part of efforts to improve relations between the two nuclear neighbors and establish a lasting peace in the region .
India and Pakistan often arrest villagers and fishermen for illegally entering each other 's territory and territorial waters .
During peace talks , which started last year , the two countries agreed to expedite the release of such prisoners .
The U.S. trade deficit surged to an all-time record high of nearly $ 726 billion in 2005 .
That is a nearly 18 percent increase over the previous year and the fourth consecutive year the gap has hit a record .
Friday 's report from the Commerce Department also says the trade deficit with China was the largest with any U.S. trading partner , rising sharply to a record yearly total of nearly $ 202 billion .
The politically sensitive China trade issue has prompted some members of the U.S. Congress to accuse Beijing of keeping the value of its currency artificially low , giving its exports a price advantage on world markets .
Mexican authorities say huge mudslides , flooding and torrential rains from Hurricane Stan 's recent onslaught have killed at least 130 people in Central America and Mexico .
Stan came ashore along Mexico 's Gulf Coast on Tuesday , knocking down trees and ripping the roofs off houses with winds of 130 kilometers per hour .
Rivers also burst their banks in southern Mexico , washing away bridges and ripping apart houses and buildings .
Additionally , Stan has been blamed for at least 50 deaths in both El Salvador and Guatemala , where mudslides buried houses .
Forecasters say the storm is now a tropical depression and dissipating over the mountains of southeastern Mexico , but they warn it is still capable of producing additional heavy rains and flooding .
Police say Ms. Chang , who wrote about the Japanese occupation of China and the history of Chinese immigrants in the United States , was found dead in her car along a road south of San Francisco .
The official cause of death has not been officially determined , but investigators believe the 36-year-old writer died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound .
Ms. Chang 's best-known work was the 1997 bestseller " The Rape of Nanking , " which described the rape , torture and killings of Chinese civilians at the hands of Japanese troops in the 1930s .
Ms. Chang also wrote " The Chinese in America , " which looked at the history of Chinese immigrants and their descendants in the United States .
India 's Health Ministry has cast doubt on a study by an environmental group that showed that soft drinks produced locally by two U.S. giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola contained high levels of pesticides .
A committee appointed by the ministry said the residue data reported by the New Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment , or CSE , failed to prove its claims .
It also said the group 's sampling methods lacked a scientific and statistically valid basis .
The CSE has slammed the committee 's findings , saying it should not rely on data provided by the two companies .
The study by the CSE sparked an uproar and triggered a ban in six Indian states on the sale of beverages locally produced by the two companies .
PepsiCo and Coca-Cola say their soft drinks manufactured in India comply with stringent international and national standards .
U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery , the final resting place of his slain brothers - President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert Kennedy .
More than 3,00,000 people , including veterans from all the nation 's wars , two former presidents , prominent explorers and other historical figures , are buried at the cemetery , located just a short distance from Washington D.C.
At the site of President Kennedy 's grave is the eternal flame where three other Kennedys are buried : the president 's wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis , their infant son and a stillborn daughter .
Robert Kennedy is buried nearby .
Prior to be being laid to rest , Edward Kennedy will lie in repose at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston .
A funeral will take place at Boston 's Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica .
Australia says it will investigate a botched military operation in Afghanistan in 2002 that killed 11 civilians .
The Australian / New Zealand edition of Time magazine says the incident was sparked when Australian soldiers on a U.S.-led patrol shot and killed two villagers they mistakenly believed were Afghan militants .
Other tribesmen began shooting , and a rival tribe which thought it was being attacked also opened fire .
The patrol called for support , and U.S. warplanes were sent to bomb the area .
Sixteen other civilians were also wounded in the fighting .
The magazine says one of the Australian soldiers removed a turban and a gun from one of the civilians killed in the firefight .
Police in Lebanon and Germany have detained two more suspects in connection with last month 's failed terrorist plot to blow up two German passenger trains .
Lebanese officials Friday detained a man identified only by the initials HKD .
They said they based their action on information provided by Jihad Hamad , a suspect who earlier turned himself in to Lebanese authorities .
Also Friday , German officials captured a suspect in the southern city of Konstanz .
Authorities say the unidentified man has links to Youssef Mohamad el Hajdib , who was detained last Saturday in the northern German city of Kiel .
Authorities say video surveillance cameras caught two of the suspects arrested in Germany boarding trains in Cologne on July 31 and carrying suitcases packed with homemade bombs .
The bombs were placed on trains bound for the cities of Dortmund and Koblenz , but failed to explode .
Israeli troops have killed two Palestinian gunmen who attacked a border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel .
Israeli army officials say the gunmen infiltrated into Israel early Thursday through the Erez border crossing and threw hand grenades at the checkpoint before being killed .
The Popular Resistance Committees and Al-Aqsa Martyrs ' Brigades claimed joint responsibility for the attack .
The Erez checkpoint is the main crossing for thousands of Palestinian workers with jobs in Israel .
Israel routinely closes the crossing after violent incidents .
Separately , the Palestinian militant group Hamas has warned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas not to make changes to the government without its approval .
In Cairo , Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal also vowed that the militant group , which swept parliamentary elections last month , will not renounce violence against Israel .
Police in Pakistan say gunmen opened fire on the car carrying the nation 's religious affairs minister , wounding him and killing his driver .
Authorities say minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi 's vehicle was attacked near his office in the capital , Islamabad , Wednesday .
Further details were not immediately confirmed .
Vote counting in Iraq 's constitutional referendum continued Sunday , with spot checks of preliminary results suggesting the U.S.-backed charter may have passed .
The Associated Press says an early vote count in crucial Diyala province showed 70 percent of voters saying " yes " to the constitution .
And with most ballots counted in Ninevah province , AP reports " yes " votes were outnumbering " no " nearly four to one .
Diyala and Ninevah are two of four key provinces where Sunni Arab opponents were relying on residents to defeat the constitution .
The charter will pass with a simple majority , but will fail if two-thirds of voters in any three provinces reject it .
More results are expected later today and Monday .
The U.S. military says that five American soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in the mostly Sunni city of Ramadi during voting on Saturday , but otherwise said the day was relatively peaceful .
The U.S. government reported a one percent increase in retail sales for January .
Economists watch retail sales closely because consumer demand drives about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity .
According to the Commerce Department , this is the first sales increase in seven months .
But the economy remains troubled , as a separate Labor Department report showed the number of Americans continuing to collect unemployment rose for the fourth week in a row .
The total is now just over 4.8 million , which is a record-high .
The number of people signing up for unemployment benefits declined slightly - by 8000 to a total of 6,23,000 - last week .
That level is close to a 26-year high .
Iraqi police say five people have been killed in a bomb blast near a funeral tent in the capital .
Authorities say another 28 people were wounded in Wednesday 's blast in Baghdad 's mostly Shi'ite slum of Sadr City .
Elsewhere in the country Wednesday , Iraqi officials say a car bomb blast killed six people , including two traffic police officers , in western Anbar province .
Authorities say a police checkpoint in the provincial capital , Ramadi , was the target of the attack .
Sixteen people were wounded in the explosion .
Iraq has seen multiple deadly attacks in the two weeks since U.S. combat troops withdrew from Iraqi cities .
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new treatment for late-stage cervical cancer .
The treatment is a combination of the drugs Hycamtin and Cisplatin , and is approved for women with incurable , recurrent or persistent cancer of the cervix that has spread to other organs .
The combination is the first time a treatment has been recommended for late-stage cervical cancer .
The FDA originally approved Hycamtin in 1996 for treating ovarian cancer and in 1998 for small-cell lung cancer .
FDA officials say the drug therapy is not a cure , but a potentially life-prolonging option for thousands of women .
Earlier this month , the FDA approved the first vaccine to protect women and girls from contracting the disease .
Each year , about 10,000 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed in American women and there are 3,700 related deaths .
Some 3,00,000 women die of the disease each year worldwide .
A court in London has remanded into custody a man charged with attempting to bomb the London transport system in July .
Ethiopian-born Hamdi Issac , also known as Osman Hussain , made his first court appearance Friday , a day after being extradited to Britain from Italy .
His next court date is December 8 .
Hamdi Issac was arrested immediately after his arrival in Britain Thursday .
He is facing charges including attempted murder and illegal possession of explosives .
Italian police arrested the British citizen in Rome a week after the failed July 21 attacks in London .
Those attacks caused no fatalities but brought chaos to London two weeks after suicide bombers killed 52 people in the British capital .
Hamdi Issac has admitted taking part in the second set of attacks but has said the action was meant to scare people , not kill them .
Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader says his government will take every measure to bring to justice those responsible for the Monday night attack on a leading investigative journalist .
The Croatian news agency Hina says Mr. Sanader made his comments as he met in Zagreb with leaders of Croatia 's Journalists Association after the attack on Dusan Miljus , a reporter for the Jutarnji List daily .
Miljus is known for his reports on organized crime activities
The journalist suffered a concussion and broken arm when masked attackers assaulted him with baseball bats in front of his Zagreb home .
The incident followed a series of death threats against Miljus .
Organized crime groups in Croatia have repeatedly targeted journalists who had probed their activities .
Insurgents in Iraq carried out a series of attacks Sunday , killing two American soldiers and at least five Iraqis .
U.S. officials said the two Americans were killed by bombs in the Iraqi capital .
South of Baghdad , a mortar attack killed two Iraqis , and gunmen killed a policeman in Mosul .
Two civilians died in separate incidents in the northern city of Kirkuk .
Meanwhile , demonstrations were held in several Iraqi cities by Sunni Arabs , who have complained of fraud in the recent parliamentary vote .
Shi'ite Arabs in Baghdad also marched Sunday to show support for Shi'ite candidates .
Initial results showed a key Shi'ite coalition was leading the vote .
In northern Iraq , Iraq 's President Jalal Talabani said Iraq 's new government should include all of Iraq 's religious and ethnic groups .
A United Nations official has said Liberia is meeting benchmarks that would end Security Council sanctions on Liberian diamonds and timber .
U.N. Sanctions chief Ellen Loj told reporters Saturday in Monrovia that Liberia has more work to do , but is working diligently to meet the conditions set for the lifting of the trade sanctions .
A ban on Liberian diamonds was imposed in 2001 by the U.N. Security Council after a British investigation found former Liberian President Charles Taylor was trading the diamonds for weapons for rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone .
The timber sanctions were imposed in 2003 when the Security Council said Taylor was using timber proceeds to fund war at home and in Sierra Leone .
Ellen Loj said the Security Council will meet in June to review the sanctions .
A series of explosions shook the Iraqi capital Wednesday , while a high-ranking U.S. official visited the country .
Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick visited the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah .
He was scheduled to also meet in Baghdad with Iraq 's new interim president and prime minister .
Meanwhile , near Kirkuk , nine policemen were killed while trying to defuse a bomb .
In Baghdad , a string of explosions killed five Iraqis and injured eight other people , including four U.S. contractors .
Also , the U.S. military announced today that an American soldier was killed Tuesday in Ramadi during combat operations .
And al-Jazeera television has aired a video it says shows an American contractor who was abducted Monday near Baghdad .
The video showed the man urging U.S. officials to open a dialogue with insurgents in order to save his life .
The White House says it is in contact with the hostage 's family .
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says a U.S. Navy attache accused of spying has been ordered out of the country .
Mr. Chavez said Thursday that naval Captain John Correa must leave Venezuela immediately .
Correa has been named in connection with accusations that several Venezuelan military officers had passed information to the U.S. military through the U.S. embassy in Caracas .
Mr. Chavez on Monday accused U.S. officers at the embassy of spying .
Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said last week that several low-level Venezuelan officers had been caught passing information to the U.S. military .
U.S. State Department spokesman , Adam Ereli would not comment specifically on the charges of espionage .
But in remarks earlier this week , the official said the United States has had good relations with the Venezuelan military in the past and hopes that can continue .
The cuts announced Thursday would reduce the bankrupt airline 's workforce by 17 percent and help Delta save $ 3 billion .
Delta is also cutting wages , starting with a 25 percent reduction for company chief executive Gerald Grinstein .
Lower ranking employees face smaller cuts .
Delta is also cutting scores of aircraft from its fleet , and shifting some other flights from highly-competitive domestic routes to more-profitable overseas destinations .
The job cuts come atop 24,000 layoffs that have slashed Delta 's workforce since the 2001 terror attacks that hurt business for major airlines .
They have been battling strong competition from budget-price carriers and soaring fuel prices ever since .
Elections officials in Afghanistan have disqualified dozens of candidates from the country 's upcoming parliamentary elections because of alleged links to militias .
A commissioner of the U.N.-backed Electoral Complaints Commission , Ahmad Zia Rafat , said Wednesday that 36 names were removed from the list of final candidates .
The ECC said the candidates were given a chance to fight their disqualification , but they failed to prove their eligibility to run in the September election .
Afghanistan 's election laws prohibit any members of illegal armed groups from seeking office .
Afghan election officials have said they are determined to hold a fair parliamentary election , after fraud allegations marred last year 's presidential vote .
The ECC found there were massive irregularities in those ballots , and threw out a third of the votes cast for President Hamid Karzai .
The economy of Saint Kitts and Nevis is heavily dependent upon tourism revenues , which has replaced sugar , the traditional mainstay of the economy until the 1970s .
Following the 2005 harvest , the government closed the sugar industry after decades of losses of 03-Apr % of GDP annually .
To compensate for employment losses , the government has embarked on a program to diversify the agricultural sector and to stimulate other sectors of the economy , such as tourism , export-oriented manufacturing , and offshore banking .
More than 2,00,000 tourists visited the islands in 2009 .
Like other tourist destinations in the Caribbean , St. Kitts and Nevis is vulnerable to damage from natural disasters and shifts in tourism demand .
The current government is constrained by one of the world 's highest public debt burdens equivalent to roughly 185 % of GDP , largely attributable to public enterprise losses .
US Government assistance is the mainstay of this tiny island economy .
The Marshall Islands received more than $ 1 billion in aid from the US from 1986 - 2002 .
Agricultural production , primarily subsistence , is concentrated on small farms ; the most important commercial crops are coconuts and breadfruit .
Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts , tuna processing , and copra .
The tourist industry , now a small source of foreign exchange employing less than 10 % of the labor force , remains the best hope for future added income .
The islands have few natural resources , and imports far exceed exports .
Under the terms of the Amended Compact of Free Association , the US will provide millions of dollars per year to the Marshall Islands ( RMI ) through 2023 , at which time a Trust Fund made up of US and RMI contributions will begin perpetual annual payouts .
Government downsizing , drought , a drop in construction , the decline in tourism , and less income from the renewal of fishing vessel licenses have held GDP growth to an average of 1 % over the past decade .
Azerbaijan 's high economic growth during 2006 - 8 was attributable to large and growing oil exports , but some non-export sectors also featured double-digit growth , spurred by growth in the construction , banking , and real estate sectors .
In 2009 , economic growth remained above 9 % even as oil prices moderated and growth in the construction sector cooled .
In 2010 , economic growth slowed to 3.7 % , although the impact of the global financial crisis was less severe than in many other countries in the region .
The current global economic slowdown presents some challenges for the Azerbaijani economy as oil prices remain below their mid-2008 highs , highlighting Azerbaijan 's reliance on energy exports and lackluster attempts to diversify its economy .
Azerbaijan 's oil production increased dramatically in 1997 , when Azerbaijan signed the first production-sharing arrangement ( PSA ) with the Azerbaijan International Operating Company .
Oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline remain the main economic driver while efforts to boost Azerbaijan 's gas production are underway .
However , Azerbaijan has made only limited progress on instituting market-based economic reforms .
Pervasive public and private sector corruption and structural economic inefficiencies remain a drag on long-term growth , particularly in non-energy sectors .
Several other obstacles impede Azerbaijan 's economic progress : the need for stepped up foreign investment in the non-energy sector and the continuing conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region .
Trade with Russia and the other former Soviet republics is declining in importance , while trade is building with Turkey and the nations of Europe .
Long-term prospects will depend on world oil prices , the location of new oil and gas pipelines in the region , and Azerbaijan 's ability to manage its energy wealth to promote sustainable growth in non-energy sectors of the economy and spur employment .
The Taino - indigenous inhabitants of Hispaniola prior to the arrival of the Europeans - divided the island into five chiefdoms and territories .
Christopher COLUMBUS explored and claimed the island on his first voyage in 1492 ; it became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland .
In 1697 , Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island , which in 1804 became Haiti .
The remainder of the island , by then known as Santo Domingo , sought to gain its own independence in 1821 but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years ; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844 .
In 1861 , the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire , but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865 .
A legacy of unsettled , mostly non-representative rule followed , capped by the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas TRUJILLO from 1930 - 61 .
Juan BOSCH was elected president in 1962 but was deposed in a military coup in 1963 .
In 1965 , the United States led an intervention in the midst of a civil war sparked by an uprising to restore BOSCH .
In 1966 , Joaquin BALAGUER defeated BOSCH in an election to become president .
BALAGUER maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996 .
Since then , regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency .
Former President ( 1996 - 2000 ) Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna won election to a new term in 2004 following a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve more than one term , and was since reelected to a second consecutive term .
Popes in their secular role ruled portions of the Italian peninsula for more than a thousand years until the mid 19th century , when many of the Papal States were seized by the newly united Kingdom of Italy .
In 1870 , the pope 's holdings were further circumscribed when Rome itself was annexed .
Disputes between a series of " prisoner " popes and Italy were resolved in 1929 by three Lateran Treaties , which established the independent state of Vatican City and granted Roman Catholicism special status in Italy .
In 1984 , a concordat between the Holy See and Italy modified certain of the earlier treaty provisions , including the primacy of Roman Catholicism as the Italian state religion .
Present concerns of the Holy See include religious freedom , international development , the environment , the Middle East , China , the decline of religion in Europe , terrorism , interreligious dialogue and reconciliation , and the application of church doctrine in an era of rapid change and globalization .
About 1 billion people worldwide profess the Catholic faith .
AN ASS congratulated a Horse on being so ungrudgingly and carefully provided for , while he himself had scarcely enough to eat and not even that without hard work .
But when war broke out , a heavily armed soldier mounted the Horse , and riding him to the charge , rushed into the very midst of the enemy .
The Horse was wounded and fell dead on the battlefield .
Then the Ass , seeing all these things , changed his mind , and commiserated the Horse .
" SEE these valuable golden eggs , " said a Man that owned a Goose .
" Surely a Goose which can lay such eggs as those must have a gold mine inside her . "
So he killed the Goose and cut her open , but found that she was just like any other goose .
Moreover , on examining the eggs that she had laid he found they were just like any other eggs .
Lawyers in Pakistan continued their protest marches this week amid an effort to press the government to reinstate the judges replaced last year by President Pervez Musharraf .
After weeks of negotiations with his fellow coalition leader Nawaz Sharif , Asif Ali Zardari says despite differences , he remains confident the two parties will reach agreement .
And some Pakistanis now living in the U.S. say the new government can not succeed without independent judges .
VOA 's Ravi Khanna reports President Musharraf , so far , has made no public comment .
A General Electric subsidiary in Brazil that provides maintenance to Brazil 's financially-troubled Vasp airline , is asking a local court to declare the carrier bankrupt .
Celma , a subsidiary of the U.S. company , said Wednesday that Brazil 's fourth-largest airline owes it some $ 3.2 million .
The announcement follows Vasp 's firing Tuesday of 380 of its more than 5,000 workers .
The airline also took six planes out of service recently .
Vasp is one of several Brazilian airlines that have suffered financial troubles in recent years due to a drop in passenger demand .
Cameroon state radio reports as many as 30 people have died or are missing from a boat accident off the coast in the Gulf of Guinea .
The radio report Tuesday said 30 other people survived the accident and were being treated at a local hospital .
It said the boat was traveling from Nigeria to Gabon when it went down late Monday near the southwestern fishing village of Campo .
The report said the boat was carrying nationals from Nigeria , Mali and Benin when it capsized .
It is not clear what caused the accident .
The Gulf of Guinea is often used as a transit route by West Africans looking to find jobs in Gabon and Cameroon .
The small Midwestern town of Slater ,
Missouri is planning a three-day festival to honor its most illustrious inhabitant , Steve McQueen .
Although born in Indiana , the movie star spent most of his childhood in Slater on his great-uncle 's farm .
Dubbed " The King Of Cool , " Mc Queen starred in a series of famous films in the 1960s and '70s , among them The Great Escape , Bullitt , and Papillon .
He died of cancer in 1980 at age 50 .
Running March 23-25 , " Steve McQueen Days " will include screenings of his movies , a show of memorabilia , and tours of his boyhood home and former school .
Nuclear envoys from North and South Korea have met in Beijing as part of attempts to resume six-party talks on Pyongyang 's nuclear weapons program .
Tuesday 's meeting between the South 's Chun Yung-woo and the North 's Kim Kye Kwan is the latest in a series of diplomatic consultations among the six nations involved in the nuclear talks .
Over the past week , U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill met his counterparts from South Korea , Japan and China to brief them on his talks with North Korea 's Kim in Berlin earlier this month .
Diplomats say Beijing , which hosts the talks , could announce a date for the next round in a few days .
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Tuesday another round of negotiations would be meaningless unless it specifically addresses the issue of North Korean denuclearization .
The U.S. military has opened a preliminary investigation into additional allegations of detainee abuse in Iraq .
In California Saturday , a military spokesman said the U.S. Navy launched the probe after being given photographs of Iraqi detainees allegedly being abused by Navy special forces in May 2003 , months before the Abu Ghraib prison scandal .
The Associated Press news agency says one of its reporters found the photographs posted on the Internet , and turned more than a dozen over to Navy officials on Friday .
Also Saturday , pre-trial hearings for two soldiers accused of abusing prisoners at Baghdad 's Abu Ghraib prison in late 2003 got under way on a military base in Texas .
Health officials in Indonesia say local tests show an Indonesian man who died last week was infected with the bird flu virus .
Authorities say the man was in frequent contact with poultry .
The World Health Organization confirmed Sunday that two women who died in Indonesia last week had contracted the H5N1 virus that has killed almost 90 people worldwide since 2003 .
Elsewhere , Iranian officials say laboratory tests have confirmed bird flu has killed 135 swans on the Caspian Sea coast .
If international tests confirm the birds died of the H5N1 strain of the virus , it will be its first appearance in Iran .
In Vienna , Austrian officials say the deadly virus has been confirmed in two dead swans found near the southern city of Graz .
Croatian officials also believe the virus killed at least eight swans found in recent days in the Zagreb area .
Iran says a rise in oil production by OPEC as requested by the United States will not affect record prices in a market already saturated with oil .
Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari told reporters Saturday in Tehran that increasing production will only increase oil inventories .
On Friday , Saudi Arabia rejected a request by U.S. President George Bush for Riyadh to raise oil production in hopes of controlling soaring gas prices .
Iran is OPEC 's second largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia .
Oil prices reached a record high of nearly $ 128 per barrel Friday .
General Amin al-Hindi , a former Palestinian intelligence chief who may have played a role in the deadly 1972 Munich attack on the Israeli Olympics team , has died .
He was 70 .
Palestinian officials say al-Hindi died of cancer at a hospital in Jordan , Tuesday , after slipping into a coma .
They say his body was transported to the West Bank , Wednesday , for burial .
Al-Hindi was a senior security officer in the Fatah party .
He also served as head of intelligence services under former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat .
Commandos with " Black September " -- a group linked to Arafat 's Fatah faction -- infiltrated the Olympic village in Munich at the 1972 summer games .
The commandoes stormed a dormitory housing Israelis , an attack that led to the deaths of 11 athletes .
Relatives of more than 100 Iranians killed in the crash of a military plane say officials ordered the transport to fly Tuesday despite repeated warnings from the pilot that the aircraft was unsafe .
The Hamshahri newspaper quotes the wife of one of the victims as saying her husband told her by cell phone that the C-130 aircraft sat on a runway in Tehran for three hours Tuesday because the pilot refused to fly .
An official of another newspaper , Shargh told VOA 's Persian service he was told by a staffer aboard the doomed plane that passengers were waiting on a runway for a replacement pilot .
The army is denying the accusations , and Iran 's top prosecutor appointed a special judge to probe the crash .
The plane carrying Iranian journalists crashed into a 10-story apartment building minutes after take-off Tuesday afternoon , killing all 94 people on board and at least 22 others on the ground .
Tens of thousands of people have protested outside the Indian factory set to produce the world 's cheapest car , to demand the auto company return the land to local farmers .
Authorities in West Bengal state deployed nearly 3,000 police to protect the Tata Motors factory site Sunday as more than 40,000 protesters lined the highway leading to the factory .
Farmers say Tata Motors did not properly compensate them for the land used for the factory site .
They have vowed to continue protesting until the 160 hectares of disputed land are returned .
Tata Motors said Friday the protests may force it to relocate the factory .
The factory is set to roll out the first $ 2,500 " Nano " cars by October .
Tata Motors plans to manufacture a quarter-million of the cars each year .
Hundreds of Pakistanis are fleeing villages in North West Frontier Province , where fighting between government troops and militants loyal to a pro-Taliban religious leader raged for a third straight day .
Army spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad says 10 militants were killed Sunday in fighting with security forces backed by helicopter gunships .
On Saturday , Pakistani officials said militants had executed 13 people , including seven civilians .
The Swat valley has been the scene of battles since Friday after authorities sent more than 2,000 soldiers to counter growing militancy from cleric Maulana Fazlullah .
He is trying to establish strict Islamic law in the area .
In other news , three rockets hit Peshawar , the capital of North West Frontier Province , early Sunday .
Police say one of the rockets landed near the U.S. Consulate , however no deaths were reported .
A senior Cuban official has lashed out at the United Nations , saying it has done very little to achieve the goals outlined in the Millennium Declaration .
Cuban National Assembly speaker Ricardo Alarcon made the comment Friday in a speech before the UN World Summit in New York .
Mr. Alarcon said the governments attending the summit have failed to do enough to meet the eight objectives in the declaration , which included reducing poverty and hunger , making education accessible to everyone and combating HIV / AIDS .
He said there has been a setback in many of the objectives .
Mr. Alarcon also described proposed U.N. reforms as an " unforgivable sham " he said were designed by wealthy countries to turn the United Nations into an instrument of global dictatorship .
A South African official was set to meet union leaders in an effort to avert a strike by 9,00,000 public service workers .
The workers , represented by a coalition of unions , are seeking an increase to the government 's offer of a 6.5 percent pay hike .
One union , the 2,10,000 member Public Servants Association , says its workers could go on strike Thursday .
The other workers have threatened to walk off their jobs next week .
Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi has called for any strikes to be delayed until he is able to meet with union leaders Thursday .
A group of rebel militias in the Democratic Republic of Congo ( DRC ) says it has suspended participation in a 2008 cease-fire agreement .
The rebel groups have released a statement citing a number of reasons for their decision , including the government 's arrest of some of their members .
In January 2008 , rebels in the eastern DRC signed a peace accord with the government aimed at ending years of fighting in the region .
The country 's five-year civil war formally ended in 2003 .
However , militias and rebel groups have remained active in some eastern areas , especially North Kivu province .
Bloomberg news reports that Congo 's communications minister has dismissed the militias ' statement .
The news agency quotes Lambert Mende as saying the militias think they " are in charge of the peace process , but they are not . "
China has confirmed an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu among ducks in southern Guangdong province .
Hong Kong 's health secretary York Chow said Monday Chinese agriculture ministry officials confirmed that tests indicate the presence of H5N1 in Panyu district .
More than 9,000 ducks died on five farms in Panyu this month .
More than 32,000 ducks were then culled to help contain the outbreak .
The area is near Hong Kong , where health officials Monday suspended imports of chilled and frozen duck and geese from Guangdong for one week .
The H5N1 strain of avian influenza is deadly to humans .
The World Health Organization reports there have been at least 25 human cases of avian flu confirmed in China in recent years , 16 of them fatal .
U.S. Navy officials say a U.S. ship encountered three small Iranian speed boats Thursday in the Persian Gulf .
The officials said Friday the USS Typhoon was in the central Gulf when at least one of three high-speed boats approached the ship .
The officials said the boats kept their distance after the Navy ship fired a warning flare .
It is unclear whether the speed boats were armed .
Iranian arabic television Al-Alam reports the Iranian navy denies the incident .
The U.S. Defense Department has said there were three confrontations between the U.S. Navy and Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf from December to January .
One ended after a U.S. ship fired warning shots to deter the Iranian vessel .
Chinese officials have confirmed a new outbreak of bird flu among poultry in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa .
The official Xinhua news agency quoted China 's ministry of agriculture as saying officials found the H5N1 strain of bird flu , which can be fatal to humans , in poultry sold at a market in Lhasa on April 12 .
The ministry said it had taken emergency measures , culling more than 1,600 birds , and that the epidemic is under control .
Officials also said no one who came into contact with the infected poultry has shown any signs of the disease .
The World Health Organization says bird flu has killed more than 250 people since it resurfaced in Asia in 2003 .
At least five people have died from bird flu in China this year .
International public health officials are calling for a stronger global response to drug-resistant tuberculosis .
The call was made after American lawyer Andrew Speaker , who is infected with a form of tuberculosis that is resistant to most antibiotics , traveled aboard commercial airliners from the United States to Europe and back .
VOA 's Jessica Berman reports .
Officials at the World Health Organization estimate there are at least 4,00,000 new cases of tuberculosis each year that do not respond to two or more standard antibiotics .
Of these , WHO experts say 25,000 to 30,000 individuals are infected with extremely drug-resistant TB , or XDR TB , which is resistant not only to two or more standard antibiotics , but three or more of a newer class of antibiotics .
Andrew Speaker , who lives in Atlanta , Georgia and flew to Europe and back with his fiance , is infected with XDR TB .
Speaker has been in isolation since his return .
European public health officials were not notified about the case until Speaker was back in the United States .
Mario Raviglione is Director of the Stop TB Department at the WHO .
Although governments are considering ways to improve screening of people with infectious diseases at the border , Raviglione says that would be difficult to implement .
What is needed , accorded to Raviglione , are better measures to contain XTR TB , including rapid testing and new drugs .
" Here we are facing one of the highest burden diseases of the world , where the amount of money that is being spent , particularly internationally to help countries that are in need like African countries , is badly , badly insufficient , " he said .
Meanwhile , U.S. lawmakers have introduced legislation to prevent the spread of tuberculosis in the United States , and at least one hearing is scheduled to investigate the Andrew Speaker incident .
Leaders of the Palestinian militant group Hamas say five children and three women were among 13 injured after a blast at a Hamas base in the Gaza Strip .
The powerful explosion Wednesday ripped through the Hamas al-Qassam Brigades military training facility in the southern Gaza Strip .
In a statement , Hamas did not give a cause for the blast .
The Israeli military says it was not involved .
The blast shook through the densely crowded Tel As-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah .
Hamas said the injured were hit by flying glass shrapnel .
The Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights has repeatedly called on the territory 's Hamas rulers not to store explosive materials in civilian areas .
A weapons explosion in August wounded 58 people and destroyed seven houses .
European Union lawmakers say they will press U.S. and European leaders to appear before an inquiry into alleged secret CIA prisons in Europe .
The vice president of an investigative panel looking into the matter , Sarah Ludford , said Thursday U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld , British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and other foreign and defense ministers could be invited to appear before the panel .
But EU officials concede they have no legal authority to subpoena them .
The 46-member temporary committee was created this month after reports by U.S. media and human rights groups of secret CIA prisons in new East European EU member states .
European officials say the committee will try to find out whether the U.S. or other nations abducted suspects , transported them to countries where they could be aggressively interrogated , and housed them at secret detention sites .
Police in India have arrested a Muslim man in connection with last week 's bombing of a historic mosque in the southern city of Hyderabad that killed 11 people .
Five more people died in police shootings during riots that erupted after the bombing of the 17th century Mecca Mashjid mosque .
Officials say Friday the suspect was detained Tuesday in a small town , Jalna , in western Maharashtra state .
He is the first person to be detained for questioning about the attack .
Security remains tight around the Hyderabad mosque with thousands of police deployed to the area .
Shortly after Friday prayers Friday , police used batons to beat back worshippers protesting the official inquiry into the bombing .
There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack , the third against a mosque in India during the past year .
Officials in Saudi Arabia say authorities have arrested three men with alleged al-Qaida links , including one who officials say was preparing for attacks .
The Interior Ministry says the three used the Internet to spread the ideology of al-Qaida .
It says one of the suspects , identified as Saudi national Abu Osaid al-Falluji , was allegedly involved in recruiting , seeking funding and preparing for terrorist operations .
The ministry says the second suspect , a Saudi national identified as Abu Abdullah al-Najdi , attempted to publish an edition of the al-Qaida online newsletter Sawt al-Jihad .
The third suspect also allegedly planned to use the Internet to disseminate a jihadist publication .
The Saudi government launched an aggressive anti-terrorism campaign after al-Qaida militants launched dramatic terrorist attacks against Western targets in 2003 .
Washington and Kabul have agreed in principle to gradually transfer most Afghans in U.S. custody to the Afghan government .
A joint statement issued in Kabul says the Afghan government has agreed to make sure that the returning Afghans pose no threat .
Washington will help Afghanistan in building jails and providing appropriate training .
President Karzai 's spokesman , Khaleeq Ahmed , said Afghan prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention center and the US detention facilities in Afghanistan will be among those handed over .
President Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai expressed a strong desire to return Afghan detainees to Afghanistan when they met in Washington in May .
US , Asian , and European stock prices declined Monday , extending a week of losses on the world 's markets .
Major U.S. stock indexes swung between gains and losses in Monday 's volatile trading but were down as much as one percent by the close .
Some analysts said traders were worried about mortgage defaults , a strengthening yen , and tumbling stock markets abroad .
Major indexes in London , Paris , and Frankfurt also lost as much as one percent .
Asian stock markets were hit even harder , with major indexes in Japan , Hong Kong , and India down between three and four percent at the close of trading .
The losses Monday follow major declines in stock prices last week in many markets .
An almost nine percent slump in Shanghai last Tuesday triggered a wave of selling on global markets , many of which had been trading near record highs .
China is reporting its ninth human bird flu death .
Officials confirmed Sunday that a 32-year-old man in Guangdong province , which borders Hong Kong , died from the H5N1 virus last week .
Authorities in Hong Kong have announced a ban on poultry and live bird imports from Guangdong .
Meanwhile , French officials report finding bird flu in a dead wild bird on the Mediterranean coast .
This is several hundred kilometers south of France 's other bird flu outbreak on a turkey farm .
More than 40 countries have banned French poultry imports .
Also , Poland is reporting its first H5N1 cases in two swans in the northern city of Torun .
Bird flu has killed at least 94 people worldwide since 2003 , mostly in Asia .
Allies of Iran 's president-elect are denying allegations by several Americans held hostage in Iran more than 25 years ago that he played a key role in their detention .
Aides to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , and several of the 1979 hostage takers , insist he did not participate in the international standoff .
In interviews with U.S. news media , several former hostages described Mr. Ahmadinejad as " a cruel individual " who interrogated the captives .
But other hostages say they do n't remember him .
Mr. Ahmadinejad was in his early 20 's at the time of the hostage taking and has not publicly addressed the allegations .
The White House says it is looking into the allegations .
A group of radical Iranian students stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran in November 1979 and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days .
Los Angeles is one of the world 's most diverse cities , and a summer music series there brings together the city 's many ethnic communities .
A recent performance by Seun Kuti , son of Afro-beat legend Fela Kuti , kicked off this year 's concert series , bringing the sounds of Lagos , Nigeria to downtown Los Angeles .
Six-thousand people came to celebrate the music and the city 's multi-cultural heritage .
Nnamdi Moweta reports .
Police in Zimbabwe have arrested a nephew of President Robert Mugabe on suspicion of smuggling 30 tons of scarce flour to neighboring Mozambique .
The state-run Herald newspaper reports Leo Mugabe , a ruling ZANU-PF party member of parliament , is expected to appear in court Thursday .
The paper says he will face charges of illegally dealing in controlled products .
The report says the smuggled flour was worth about $ 19 million .
The Herald says smuggled sugar and flour are sold cheaply in Mozambique , undercutting production from that country 's own industries .
Last year , President Mugabe began an anti-corruption drive that has led to the arrest of several prominent Zimbabwean politicians .
Over the last five years , Zimbabwe has struggled with hyper-inflation and chronic shortages of food , fuel and cash .
The U.S. Justice Department is reopening an investigation into the Bush administration 's domestic surveillance program , marking a major reversal in policy under new Attorney General Michael Mukasey .
The probe will focus on the conduct of Justice Department lawyers in approving the program , which allows the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on the e-mail and telephone conversations of Americans without getting prior approval from a special court .
The Bush administration implemented the program after the September 11 , 2001 terrorist attacks , and said it focused on intercepting international calls and e-mails of Americans and others in the U.S. with suspected terrorism links .
Attorney General Mukasey was formally sworn in Wednesday at a ceremonial event attended by President Bush .
The Justice Department 's Office of Professional Responsibility began the probe in early 2006 , but abandoned it after President Bush denied security clearances to investigators .
Iraqi officials say at least five people were killed and several others wounded Monday in two separate insurgent attacks in Baghdad .
They say the attacks , involving one suicide car bombing , took place in a southern district of Baghdad and that they were aimed at senior police and government officials .
An Iraqi militant group ( the Islamic Army of Iraq ) posted a video on the Internet today that showed a blindfolded man being shot in the back of the head .
( The pictures did not show the victim 's face . )
The group claimed the killing was of American hostage Ronald Allen Schultz , who was abducted earlier this month .
Meanwhile , the U.S. military says eight high-level detainees from the former Iraqi regime have been freed .
A spokesman ( Lt. Col. Barry Johnson ) said the men were freed Saturday , after a board found that they were no longer security threats .
The media watchdog , Reporters Without Borders , says there has been an upsurge in violence against the media in Latin America .
In its annual press freedom report released Tuesday , the group said a total of 12 journalists and two media assistants were killed in the region last year .
The countries in which the 14 were killed include Brazil , Colombia , Haiti , Peru , Nicaragua and Ecuador .
Reporters Without Borders says violence against the media has decreased in several countries , including Bolivia , Guatemala and Haiti .
The group describes press freedom in Cuba as disastrous and dubs it the region 's only prison for journalists , with 22 currently imprisoned .
Reporters Without Borders released Tuesday 's report to coincide with World Press Freedom Day .
China says it will reopen Tibet to foreign tourists , after closing it during violent protests in March .
Chinese state media Tuesday quote regional tourism officials as saying the Tibet Autonomous Region will be opened to outsiders on Wednesday .
The Xinhua news agency reports that two Swedish tourists will arrive in the Tibetan capital , Lhasa , on Wednesday and four tourists from Singapore will arrive on Sunday .
Tourists have been prevented from traveling to the region since riots against the Chinese government erupted in Lhasa on March 14 , sparking a harsh crackdown by Chinese troops .
Tibet 's government-in-exile says more than 200 people died in the crackdown on mostly monk-led protests .
China blames Tibetan rioters for the deaths of at least 20 people .
A French aid group says it will suspend activities in Darfur because the situation in western Sudan has become too dangerous for its workers .
The group Medecins du Monde ( Doctors of the World ) said Monday , it has suspended its activities in Darfur for an undetermined period of time .
Officials said there is an imbalance between the help it is able to provide and the risks to its staff members .
Medecins du Monde has provided medical care in Darfur since the middle of 2004 , assisting thousands of refugees in the Kalma refugee camp .
It also operated mobile clinics to treat refugees in remote villages .
Aid groups and United Nations officials have reported a worsening of Darfur 's security situation in recent months .
More than 2,00,000 people have died and more than two million others have been displaced since fighting between Darfur rebels and Sudan 's government began in early 2003 .
A Human Rights Watch representative says his expulsion from Venezuela following a critical report shows that President Hugo Chavez will not tolerate any criticism .
HRW 's Director for the Americas Jose Miguel Vivanco spoke to reporters Friday in Sao Paulo , Brazil .
Vivanco and his deputy were kicked out of the country
Thursday after their group released a report saying Venezuela 's human rights policies have suffered under President Chavez .
Venezuela 's Foreign Ministry accused HRW of attacking the country 's democratic institutions and illegally interfering in Venezuela 's internal affairs .
The HRW report accused the Chavez government of discriminating against political opponents , undermining freedoms of expression and association and disregarding the need for an independent judiciary .
It also said the government was trying to restrict the work of Venezuelan rights advocates .
Venezuela is buying naval ships and transport aircraft worth more than $ 1.5 billion from Spain .
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed the deal with Spanish Defense Minister Jose Bono in Caracas Monday .
Under the deal , Venezuela will receive ocean patrol boats , coastal patrol vessels , and maritime surveillance planes .
Reuters news agency quotes a Venezuelan naval commander , Armando Laguna , as saying the equipment will delivered by 2010 .
Last week , the U.S. government threatened to block the transfer of U.S. parts and technology in the planes and boats included in the deal .
Venezuela says it could get technology from other countries if need be .
Venezuela has also signed deals this year for a Brazilian aircraft and 1,00,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles from Russia to combat the drug trade along the border with Colombia .
Israeli aircraft have fired missiles into the Gaza Strip , killing six people , including a senior commander of the Popular Resistance Committee .
The Israeli army said a vehicle carrying several militants was hit Friday as it was leaving a training camp in the southern Gaza town of Rafah .
Palestinian officials say Iyad Abu al-Aynin and his young daughter were among those killed in the attack .
The Popular Resistance Committee is an umbrella organization with ties to the militant Islamic group Hamas , which took control of the Palestinian government last week .
Palestinian officials , meanwhile , have been giving conflicting accounts about the Hamas-led government 's willingness to embrace a two-state solution with Israel .
On Friday , Hamas leaders did , however , confirm a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretzthat the group was trying to broker a deal to extend a truce it has been observing with Israel for the past year .
Turkish officials say an avalanche has killed at least six people and trapped around six others under snow .
Officials say the avalanche hit a group of some 15 hikers Sunday on Mount Zigana , in Turkey 's northeastern Gumushane province .
A Turkish news agency ( NTV ) says the military has sent rescuers to the scene where several people have been pulled from the snow .
Turkey is wrinkled by rugged mountain ranges that surround and intersect the high , semiarid Anatolian plateau .
Most of Turkey lies within an earthquake zone , and recurrent tremors have been known to cause avalanches in the area .
The European Union has warned Saudi Arabia it will take action at the World Trade Organization , if the kingdom supports a widening Muslim boycott of Danish products .
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson issued the warning as protests over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad spread across the Muslim world .
The cartoons were published in a Danish newspaper in September and include an image of the prophet wearing a turban shaped like a bomb .
In the Gaza Strip Monday , gunmen briefly occupied an EU office .
And a Danish dairy company , Arla Foods , says its products have been boycotted throughout the Middle East .
Last week , Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador to Denmark .
Libya has already closed its embassy in Denmark .
The latest opinion polls show Canada 's opposition Conservative Party with at least a 10-point lead as the country prepares for Monday 's parliamentary election .
If Prime Minister Paul Martin loses on Monday , the Liberal Party will be out of power for the first time in 12 years .
Mr. Martin , a former finance minister , is hoping the electorate will credit him with Canada 's booming economy .
However , his administration has been mired in a corruption scandal that originated under his predecessor , Jean Chretien .
Mr. Martin 's opponent is Stephen Harper , who convinced several conservative political alliances to merge and form the Conservative Party in 2003 .
The prime minister has tried to depict his challenger as an extremist on social issues .
Mr. Harper -- an economist -- has been running on a platform of tax cuts and shifting more power away from the national government to the provinces .
Ukrainian opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko has accused his rival of trying to steal last month 's flawed election .
During a debate in Kiev Monday , Mr. Yushchenko said the motivating force for a new vote is that Ukrainians desire a democratically elected government .
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych tried to distance himself from former supporter and current President Leonid Kuchma .
He said many Ukrainians lost hope after the breakup of the former Soviet Union , and that it was important for all political forces to work together .
Mr. Yushchenko made his opening remarks in Ukrainian .
Mr. Yanukovych gave his in Russian .
Tensions remain high as both men have warned of potential clashes between supporters prior to the December 26th vote .
Mr. Yushchenko 's assertion that Ukrainian security officials poisoned him with a highly toxic form of dioxin has further inflamed the political divisions .
Cuban President Fidel Castro has ordered three days of official state mourning for Pope John Paul , an unusual move for the Communist nation .
The Cuban leader also suspended planned Communist youth festivities as well as the finals of the national baseball league .
Church bells tolled for over 30 minutes late Saturday , after the pope 's death was announced at the Vatican .
John Paul was the only pope ever to visit Cuba , in 1998 , and he has been praised by Havana for what members of the Castro government saw as the church leader 's opposition to " neo-liberal capitalism . "
The European Union 's anti-piracy naval force says Somali pirates have hijacked a North Korean-flagged cargo ship .
The EU force says hijackers seized the MV Rim Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden , just south of the Yemeni coast .
In a statement , the EU force says the vessel has altered course and is now heading towards the Somali basin .
The statement says investigators are not certain how many crew members are on board the Libyan-owned ship , and do not know the nationalities of crew members .
The statement says the vessel was outside a recommended travel corridor and had not made contact with maritime authorities in the region .
Somali pirates have hijacked dozens of ships over the last two years , taking in tens of millions of dollars in ransom .
On Monday , pirates released a Greek-owned cargo ship they captured two months earlier , after receiving a payment of some $ 3 million .
Catholic and Jewish mourners have gathered for the funeral of the former Roman Catholic archbishop of Paris , Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger .
Friday 's service was held in Paris at the Notre Dame Cathedral and began with a Jewish prayer .
His coffin was then carried inside the cathedral to be placed in a crypt .
Lustiger , who was born to Jewish parents before converting to Catholicism , had requested that his funeral include both faiths .
The cardinal was known for his work promoting greater understanding between Catholics and Jews .
He died on Sunday at the age of 80 .
French President Nicolas Sarkozy interrupted his vacation in the United States to attend the funeral .
He heads back to the U.S. Friday for a meeting with U.S. President George Bush .
Kazakhstan 's parliament has backed a call for a referendum to extend the rule of patriarchal President Nursultan Nazarbayev to 2020 .
Members of the lower house of parliament announced the initiative Wednesday , which could allow the popular president to skip elections scheduled for 2012 .
The president 's office has not yet commented on the move .
The 70-year old leader has ruled the former Soviet state for the past 20 years .
His support in the lower house of parliament is practically guaranteed .
The chamber is completely dominated by the ruling party , with not a single seat held by the opposition .
Critics complain about a lack of democracy under Mr. Nazarbayev 's rule .
His supporters praise him for bolstering Kazakhstan 's economy with investments in energy development .
Nigerian health officials are awaiting the results of tests to see if two sick children may be infected with the lethal strain of the bird flu virus .
Samples taken Sunday from the children and their family will determine if they are the first human victims of the disease in Africa .
The children are from the northern state of Kaduna , where officials have confirmed discovery of a " highly pathogenic " version of the H5N1 strain on a chicken farm .
It was Africa 's first reported case of the lethal strain of bird flu .
That strain has since been confirmed in the Nigerian states of Plateau and Kano , where as many as 20 farms may be affected .
International experts continue to arrive in Nigeria to help with containment efforts , that have included the killing of thousands of chickens across the region .
President Bush has an aggressive agenda for his trip to Europe during the coming week , including planned talks on a number of Middle East issues .
In his weekly radio address , Saturday , Mr. Bush said the United States and Europe share common goals of helping rebuild Iraq , spreading democracy across the gobe and working for peace in the Middle East .
On Friday , in an interview with European reporters , Mr. Bush said the United States ' past disagreements with European allies over the Iraq war do not diminish their shared values .
He also said he plans to discuss concerns about the Middle East , Iran 's nuclear program and the environment during three days of talks with European leaders in Brussels , his first stop .
Mr. Bush will also meet German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Russian President Vladimir Putin during his trip .
An Islamic militant group in Iraq says it has taken a U.S. soldier hostage and is threatening to kill him unless Iraqis held in U.S. prisons are freed within 72 hours .
A group calling itself the Mujahedeen Squadrons made the kidnapping claim and demand in a statement posted on an Islamist website Tuesday , along with a photograph of the alleged captive .
The Internet statement 's authenticity could not be verified , and the U.S. military said it could not confirm the claim .
Indonesian health officials have confirmed the country 's fourth death from bird flu , bringing to 63 the number of people across Asia who have died from the virus since 2003 .
Authorities Friday said recent tests indicate an Indonesian woman who died last week in a Jakarta hospital was infected with the H5N1 strain of avian flu .
Indonesia 's health ministry says it is investigating whether a neighbor of the victim is also infected .
The bird flu strain has killed at least 43 people in Vietnam since 2003 , at least 12 in Thailand and four in Cambodia .
Health experts fear the virus could infect millions of people worldwide if it changes into a form that can be spread easily by human-to-human contact .
Authorities are continuing emergency rescue efforts after Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast of the United States .
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour says the death toll could be as high as 80 in one Mississippi county alone .
The powerful storm cut a path of destruction through ( the southern U.S. states of ) Louisiana , Alabama and Mississippi , uprooting trees and destroying homes and buildings .
Rescuers used helicopters to pluck stranded residents from rooftops of houses submerged in flooding .
The death toll is expected to rise .
Live power lines are down and gas lines ruptured , and authorities are warning residents not to return to their homes yet .
The storm came ashore early Monday and has cut power to more than one-million residents .
Officials say it could be weeks before residents are allowed back into the area .
Forecasters say the storm is now centered in northern Mississippi , and moving northeast .
Japan and North Korea are to hold talks this week on issues that have blocked the two countries from forging diplomatic ties .
Japan 's chief cabinet secretary , Shinzo Abe , said Wednesday the talks will take place in Beijing Saturday and Sunday .
He said discussions will focus on the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea , as well as reparation requests by North Korea related to Japan 's occupation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to World War II .
Mr. Abe reiterated Japan 's stance that normalizing relations with North Korea will not be possible until the abduction issue is resolved .
North Korea admits kidnapping 13 Japanese citizens to train its spies in the 1970s and 1980s .
Pyongyang has returned five , but says the other eight are dead .
Japan wants conclusive proof of their deaths and says there are other cases of suspected abductions that Pyongyang has not properly addressed .
Azerbaijani police have used water cannon and clubs to disperse opposition supporters who were protesting what they consider to be rigged elections and were demanding a new vote .
Police waded into the crowd of at least 10,000 activists in a Baku square after protest leaders announced their intention to remain on the scene beyond the time authorities had allotted for the demonstration .
The protesters hurled stones at the officers .
Witnesses reported a number of injuries .
The clashes were the first time police have intervened to disperse protesters , who have staged a series of demonstrations protesting the November 6 parliamentary vote .
Official election results show the governing party still in control of parliament .
International monitors said the vote fell below democratic standards .
The U.S. embassy in Baku deplored what it called " the unjustified and unprovoked use of force against citizens peacefully exercising their right of assembly . "
A U.S. newspaper report says some U.S. officials are critical of Afghan President Hamid Karzai 's efforts to curtail Afghanistan 's huge heroin trade .
The New York Times , in a story published Sunday , says U.S. diplomats in Kabul expressed alarm at the slow pace of poppy eradication in a recent memo to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice .
The memo accuses local officials and village elders of hampering a U.S.-funded program to destroy poppy crops used to make the illegal drug .
And it faults top Afghan officials , including Mr. Karzai for doing little to overcome that resistance .
The Times says the criticism of Mr. Karzai reflects mounting frustration among some American officials that plans to uproot large swaths of Afghanistan 's poppy crop have produced little success .
The newspaper says some State Department officials defended the Afghan president , saying bad weather and logistical problems also contributed to the ineffectiveness of the eradication program .
Fighting in southern Somalia continued for a second straight day between militias run by two lawmakers in a dispute over where to locate the country 's transitional government .
Reports from Baidoa , located several nearly 300 kilometers west of Mogadishu , say fighters commanded by Mohamed Ibrahim Habsadeh took control of the city early Sunday after heavy fighting against forces aligned with Colonel Hassan Mohamed Nur Shargudud .
The French news agency , AFP , reports that at least 15 people have been killed in two days of clashes .
On Saturday , witnesses said at least five people were killed .
In addition to the location of the transitional government , Mr. Habsadeh and Colonel Shargudud are engaged in a dispute over whether to allow neighboring countries to take part in a regional peacekeeping force .
A published report quotes Iraqi President Jalal Talabani as saying an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq would have " catastrophic consequences " for the region .
In an interview published Tuesday in the French newspaper Le Figaro , President Talabani warned against a withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces at this time .
He says coalition forces will only withdraw when Iraqi forces are ready to maintain security on their own .
President Talabani also says civil war can still be avoided in Iraq .
He says Iraqi political leaders understand violence is not an option .
Mr. Talabani is scheduled to arrive in Paris on Wednesday for his first official visit to France .
He is expected to hold talks with French President Jacques Chirac Thursday .
Governments in several countries in the Middle East have denounced the bomb blasts in London Thursday .
Syria 's President Bashar al-Assad condemned the attacks in a cable sent to Prime Minister Tony Blair .
In Tehran , a spokesman for Iran 's foreign ministry , Hamidreza Asefi , expressed his condolences for the victims and their relatives and said terrorism was inappropriate for achieving any aims .
The kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemned the blasts and said it continues to support intensifying efforts to combat terrorism .
Both Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials condemned the blasts .
And authorities in Kuwait , the United Arab Emirates , Lebanon and Turkey also denounced the attacks .
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to make his first visit to the United States next week to meet with President Bush .
The White House announced the two-day visit Thursday , saying Brown will arrive at Mr. Bush 's Camp David retreat to the north of the U.S. capital , on July 29 .
A White House spokesman says the two will discuss a broad range of issues , including progress in Iraq and Afghanistan , ending genocide in Darfur and protecting the United States and the United Kingdom from terrorists .
Last month , Prime Minister Brown succeeded Tony Blair , whose critics complained about his support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq .
A suicide bomber blew himself up in a packed mosque Friday in northwestern Pakistan , killing at least 50 people and wounding around 70 others .
Officials said the mosque , full of worshippers for Friday prayers , was destroyed and has collapsed .
It is located near a police check point and is visited by paramilitary forces and tribal police .
There has been no claim of responsibility .
The attack took place in Jamrud town in the Khyber tribal agency , an area where Islamic insurgents have increased attacks on trucks carrying supplies for U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan .
The bombing came just hours before U.S. President Barack Obama announced a comprehensive new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan .
Mr. Obama says al-Qaida terrorists are planning more attacks on the United States from safe havens in Pakistan and urged Islamabad to be a stronger partner in the fight against militants .
The international media rights group , Reporters Without Borders , says it is concerned about a decision by Venezuelan authorities to charge a television journalist with defaming the country 's Supreme Court .
The rights group said in a statement Friday that the state prosecutor 's office filed an " insult " charge against Venevision TV journalist Napoleon Bravo Wednesday .
The group says he faces 15 months in prison , if convicted .
The organization says the charge against Bravo , whose real name is Jose Ovidio Rodriguez Cuesta , stems from a September 2004 broadcast on his program 24 Hours in which he criticized Venezuela 's entire judicial system .
The Bravo case is the first to be tried under a new Venezuelan law that increases sanctions for press offenses .
The media rights group says the case demonstrates the law will seriously compromise press freedom in Venezuela .
At least one person was killed and several others wounded Sunday when police and demonstrators clashed in Indian-controlled Kashmir .
Police opened fire on the crowd of stone-throwing protesters in Baramullah town , about 55 kilometers outside Srinigar .
Demonstrators chanting pro-freedom slogans had taken to the streets to call for the release of several people who had been arrested during a recent strike .
Anti-India protests have grown in recent months .
Last week , separatists called for the United Nations to intervene in determining the fate of the disputed region .
And a pro-independence strike shut down large parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir on Friday .
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan , but claimed by both .
Two of the three wars the two countries have fought have been over the disputed territory .
About 70,000 people , mostly civilians , have died in Indian-administered Kashmir since a separatist insurgency began in 1989 .
U.S. President Barack Obama holds a working lunch Tuesday with sub-Saharan African leaders on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly .
U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice said the meeting will focus on how the U.S. can work in partnership with African governments to strengthen Africa 's economic and social development .
She said the three main topics will be job creation , creating a better climate for trade and investment , and improving agriculture to feed more people .
President Obama has previously urged African leaders to fight corruption and to promote the rule of law in order to spark economic growth .
Mr. Obama has made one visit to sub-Saharan Africa since becoming president , to Ghana in July .
A close aide says Iran 's moderate former President Mohammad Khatami may soon withdraw from the June presidential election .
Mr. Khatami 's aide told several Western news agencies Monday that he expects an announcement soon .
The news comes after the ex-president spoke to his supporters at a meeting late Sunday .
News agencies quote Mr. Khatami as saying that another moderate candidate , Mir Hossein Mousavi , may face less resistance from some hardliners and so might be a better contender .
He indicated that he may consider withdrawing to avoid dividing the pro-reformist vote .
Mr. Khatami served as president of Iran from 1997 to 2005 .
Mr. Mousavi served as Iran 's prime minister throughout most of the 1980s , but his position was scrapped when Iran 's constitution was revised in 1989 .
British military personnel are due to leave Indonesia 's tsunami-devastated Aceh province Sunday after more than a month working on relief efforts .
British pilots and other personnel have been in Indonesia since the first week in January .
The British Embassy in Jakarta says a Royal Navy vessel will stay in Indonesian waters .
The United States has already started scaling back military relief efforts in Indonesia by pulling out an aircraft carrier that operated a major helicopter relief operation .
Australia has announced plans to withdraw relief forces , as well .
Indonesia was the nation hardest-hit by the December 26 tsunami .
Indonesian officials say the death toll in the country has risen to at least 1,17,000 , while the number of missing and presumed dead remained at nearly 1,15,000 .
Indian police Thursday are questioning a married couple in connection with Sunday 's train bombing that killed 68 people .
Security officials say they detained the husband and wife late in Bikaner in northern Rajasthan , an area bordering Pakistan .
Media reports say the man resembles the sketch of a suspect released earlier this week .
There are conflicting reports about the number of people who have been detained in the ongoing probe , with figures ranging from three to 12 .
Also Thursday , Indian authorities transferred the bodies of 12 Pakistanis killed in the attack to their relatives in Pakistan .
Pakistani soldiers carried the coffins across the border and passed them to grieving relatives .
The bombing took place on a train from New Delhi to the Pakistani city of Lahore .
Two small bombs aboard triggered a fire that engulfed the train about an hour after it left the Indian capital .
Kenya 's Finance Minister Amos Kimunya says violence following the country 's recent disputed election may have cost the Kenyan economy up to $ 1 billion .
Kimunya says tourism , agriculture , and other sectors were affected by the unrest , but he says the economy is resilient and will recover soon .
He also projected a strong seven percent growth rate for the country this year .
Kenya is East Africa 's largest economy .
The Bloomberg financial news service reports Kenya received more than one million tourists in the first nine months of 2007 and is the largest exporter of black tea in the world .
Iraq 's government has ordered its troops to Baghdad 's international airport to reopen the facility after the British company that protects it shut it down in a payment dispute .
Acting Transportation Minister Esmat Amer said Friday keeping the airport open is a matter of Iraqi sovereignty .
He said flights will resume Friday .
The British security firm Global Strategies Group says the Iraqi government is seven months behind in payments .
The company says it will continue to secure the complex , but flights will be grounded until the bills are paid .
Meanwhile , in Baghdad , insurgent attacks have left two Iraqis dead and at least six others injured .
In other developments , former American hostage Roy Hallums , who was rescued by American troops Wednesday , is on his way home to the United States .
Most Asian stock markets are closed Thursday , for the Christmas holidays .
Tokyo 's Nikkei index rose 82 points , nearly one percent , to finish at 8,599 .
Share prices closed lower in Shanghai and Taipei , but ended higher in Bangkok .
Markets are closed in Hong Kong , Jakarta , Manila , Mumbai , Seoul , Sydney and Wellington .
In currency trading , the dollar was selling at 90.41 yen , down 0.5 yen from Wednesday .
Afghan President Hamid Karzai says terrorists who are killing foreign soldiers in his country want the international community to fail in its efforts to rebuild war-torn Afghanistan .
Mr. Karzai told the U.N. General Assembly Wednesday that terrorists see a prosperous Afghanistan as their ultimate defeat .
In a clear reference to neighboring Pakistan , Mr. Karzai told world leaders that " terrorism does not emanate from within Afghanistan . "
He said there is a need to destroy terrorist sanctuaries beyond Afghanistan , and to dismantle all terror networks in the region .
Mr. Karzai 's remarks come just two weeks after Pakistan 's truce with pro-Taleban militants in the North Waziristan region .
Pakistani troops agreed to end their crackdown in the region , and the militants said they will stop harboring foreign terrorists and will stop crossing into Afghanistan to launch ambushes .
Norway has pulled out of the Nordic Combined team event at the Turin Olympics in Italy because nearly the entire team has become ill .
Norwegian spokesman Tom Dahl Froeshaug said Tuesday that only one member of the four-man team is healthy enough to compete .
He says an infection has swept through the team that won the world championship last year .
The Nordic Combined event includes ski jumping off the large hill , and the 4x5-kilometer cross-country ski race .
The Norwegians are hoping to be ready for the individual sprint competition next Tuesday .
The outgoing president of Ukraine , Leonid Kuchma , says there will not be a revolution in his country over the nation 's hotly contested presidential election .
On the eve of Sunday 's run-off vote , President Kuchma said in a televised address that authorities will not allow instability to erupt over the vote .
Opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko has warned that his supporters will stage massive demonstrations if electoral fraud is discovered .
The United States has warned it will review its relations with Ukraine if the election fails to be free or fair .
Mr. Yushchenko , with just under 40 percent support , edged out Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych by a half of percentage point in the first round of voting on October 31 .
International observers said the October balloting fell short of democratic standards .
Supporters of Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar have launched a new political party to oppose a possible re-election effort by President Olusegun Obasanjo .
They say the new party , the Advanced Congress of Democrats , will allow Mr. Abubakar to contest next year 's presidential elections and help rally opponents of the president .
The spokesman for the new party , Lai Mohammed , tells VOA that efforts to amend the constitution to allow Mr. Obasanjo 's re-election are " unconstitutional , immoral and illegal . "
Nigeria 's parliament is debating a constitutional amendment proposed by supporters of Mr. Obasanjo that would permit presidents three terms in office instead of two .
The president has not yet said whether he will run for a third term if the measure passes .
Mr. Abubakar announced his intention to run for president earlier this month .
The rebel Lord 's Resistance Army has killed at least eight people in a new series of attacks in southern Sudan .
Local officials say LRA fighters attacked villages near Yambio , the capital of Western Equatoria state , on Friday and Saturday .
They say all of those killed were civilians .
The LRA is originally from Uganda but has evolved into a roaming band of fighters causing terror across central Africa .
Last month , Human Rights Watch said the group had killed more than 250 people in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo over the previous year and a half .
It said nearly 700 others were kidnapped and forced to be either soldiers or sex slaves .
Ugandan forces have chased the rebels in neighboring countries but have failed to stop the attacks or catch LRA leader Joseph Kony .
Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity .
A Togolese general says the military has agreed to return the country to " constitutional order " to resolve the crisis over the installation of President Faure Gnassingbe .
General Seyi Memene said the military agreed to the move after talks Tuesday with West African diplomats .
He did not say weather elections will be held within 60 days as specified under Togo 's former constitution .
Lawmakers amended the constitution earlier this month after the death of longtime President Gnassingbe Eyadema , allowing his son to serve out his term until 2008 .
The regional grouping , known as the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS ) , has threatened sanctions against the Togolese government if it does not hold fresh elections .
Iran 's leaders have sent their condolences to the grieving families of the victims of a mosque fire that killed 59 worshippers in Tehran Monday .
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mohammad Khatami issued separate statements Tuesday promising the best possible medical care for the more than 200 injured , and an investigation into the fire 's cause .
No official cause has been determined , but initial reports point to a kerosene heater that ignited either a curtain or a woman 's veil , setting the Arg mosque on fire .
The fire broke out during evening prayers in the women 's section of the mosque .
Witnesses said the flames spread quickly , and dozens of worshippers were killed or injured from a stampede triggered by panic .
Eight Chinese laborers who were held hostage by Iraqi militants for five days last week are on their way home .
The group flew out of Baghdad earlier Tuesday , accompanied by several Chinese diplomats .
After a brief stop in Amman , Jordan , they will fly on to Beijing .
The eight men were driving to Jordan when they were kidnapped last Tuesday .
The kidnappers released a video threatening to kill the Chinese workers if Beijing did not explain why they were in Iraq .
The laborers were turned over to a Chinese embassy official at a mosque in Ramdi on Sunday .
The insurgents said they released the men after Beijing promised to discourage its citizens from traveling to Iraq .
The Nepalese military says it has confiscated explosives , bombs , communication devices and other weapons belonging to Maoist rebels that could have been used in several attacks .
A Royal Nepalese Army spokesman , Brigadier-General Deepak Gurung , told journalists in Kathmandu Tuesday the weapons were recovered from various Maoist hideouts in and around the nation 's capital .
The army confiscated the weapons as Maoist rebels escalated their attacks ahead of a January 13 deadline set by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba for the Maoists to resume peace talks .
Maoist rebels have been fighting since 1996 to replace Nepal 's constitutional monarchy with a communist state .
So far , the conflict has claimed more than 10,000 lives .
The U.N. refugee agency says the death toll has risen to 91 from two boats that capsized off the coast of Yemen while crossing from the Horn of Africa .
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees says another 114 people are still missing from the two vessels .
They were illegally carrying a total of 256 Somalis and Ethiopians across the Gulf of Aden a few days ago .
It says a total of 51 people survived the voyages , noting that rescue operations continue along the Yemeni coast .
The U.N. agency says a new wave of human smuggling vessels has been trying to cross the Gulf of Aden after a two-week lull stemming from bad weather .
Thousands of Somalis and Ethiopians try to reach Yemen each year to escape poverty in their home countries .
A German man , allegedly held in a U.S. secret prison in Afghanistan , says he has identified a German police official who visited him there .
Khalid al-Masri , a German citizen of Lebanese descent , has said he was seized by CIA agents in Macedonia in 2003 and taken to Afghanistan , where he was interrogated as a terrorism suspect .
Masri has filed suit against the CIA for wrongful imprisonment , and German prosecutors are probing whether German officials had knowledge of his arrest .
Prosecutors said Tuesday that Masri was " 90 percent " certain that a man in a police line-up was the official who visited him in prison .
However , they said they were concerned that Masri was not absolutely certain .
German officials have denied any knowledge of the case until Masri was released in Albania .
Authorities in military-ruled Burma have called on people to report terrorists , following two explosions and the discovery of a mine in Bago division over the last five days .
The official New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Saturday blamed the bombings on anti-government organizations and armed terrorist groups .
The paper said a bomb blast occurred Friday night on a wooden bridge near the village of Kyauk-ein-su .
That blast was followed about 10 minutes later by an explosion near an empty house in the village of Sar-dan .
No casualties were reported in either explosion .
The report also said an improvised mine had been found last Sunday in Kanyutkwin , Phyu township after authorities received a tip .
The NATO-led mission in Afghanistan has urged civilians to stay away from military patrol vehicles so that they are not mistaken for insurgents .
A spokesman , Bernd Allert , for NATO 's International Security Assistance Force , ISAF , told reporters Wednesday civilian drivers should behave so they can not be mistaken for a threat .
The spokesman warned that ISAF forces are authorized to fire warning shots if unidentified vehicles get too close .
The warning is part of a new public awareness campaign aimed at preventing civilian casualties - an issue that has plagued the alliance over the past year .
It will also include new signs on military vehicles , billboards and television advertisements .
After several incidents in which civilians were killed during anti-insurgent operations last year , Afghan President Hamid Karzai demanded NATO and the U.S.-led coalition review its military strategy .
Former Vice President Al Gore is joining a venture capital company in the hope of boosting investments in clean energy .
Gore won the Nobel Prize a few weeks ago for his role in sounding the alarm about the dangers of global warming from the carbon put into the atmosphere by burning oil and coal .
The company - Kleiner , Perkins , Caufield and Byers - was an early investor in small computer-related start-up companies that later blossomed into major companies .
Gore adds his political skills and clout to the company 's financial resources and expertise .
He plans to donate his salary to an environmental group .
Pakistani officials say they have arrested a foreigner suspected of links with the al-Qaida terrorist network .
Officials say the suspect was arrested Monday night in a village , Charsadda , northeast of Peshawar , about 50 kilometers from the Afghan border .
Pakistani security forces have rounded up dozens of suspected al-Qaida members following the arrest of the network 's reputed third-in-command , Abu Farraj al-Libbi , earlier this month .
The U.S. State Department says Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi declined a U.S. request to meet with the highest ranking U.S. official to visit Libya in decades .
A State Department spokesman says Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte instead met with lower-level officials during his visit to Tripoli .
He says talks focused on Libya completing compensation payments to the families of the victims of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie , Scotland .
They also discussed Libya 's prosecution of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor sentenced to death for allegedly infecting 400 children with HIV .
Negroponte and the Libyan officials also discussed the crisis in Darfur .
The U.S. restored full diplomatic ties with Libya last year after the government of Mr. Gadhafi renounced terrorism .
The death toll in Kenya from a lethal batch of illegal alcohol has risen to at least 41 .
Authorities in the Machakos district south of Nairobi say another 80 people are being treated , with nine of them in critical condition in a Nairobi hospital .
Several people have gone blind .
The victims drank the homemade brew at a bar in Makutano , a village some 50 kilometers south of Nairobi .
Police are looking for a woman they believe sold the illegal brew .
Authorities say the drink probably contained methanol to make it more potent .
Cheap , illegal alcoholic drinks , known as chang'aa , are common in Kenya .
In 2000 , more than 100 people died after consuming an illegal homemade drink in Nairobi .
Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed the president of the southern republic of Chechnya , Alu Alkhanov , and named the region 's prime minister as acting president .
Mr. Putin announced the move Thursday during a meeting with Alkhanov .
The Russian leader appointed Chechnya 's Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov to replace Alkhanov .
Kadyrov is the son of the late Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov , who was assassinated in 2004 .
President Putin appointed Alkhanov as deputy justice minister of the Russian federation .
Kadyrov has denied accusations that militias he controls are behind the abductions and abuse of Chechen separatists and civilians believed to have links with them .
Major fighting in Chechnya ended in 2001 , but violence remains common in the mostly Muslim region .
The head of Iran 's powerful Guardian Council says his country will withstand any international sanctions over its nuclear program .
Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati told state media Friday that Iran is not afraid of such sanctions .
He expressed confidence that Iran will achieve what he called " its rights . "
Britain , France and Germany have been pressing Iran to abandon its nuclear enrichment activities .
The United States says the Iranian program is intended to develop a nuclear weapon , a charge Tehran denies .
Last month , the Bush administration and the Europeans backed an International Atomic Energy Agency resolution that says Iran could be referred to the United Nations Security Council if it fails to cooperate fully with IAEA inspectors .
Such a referral could open the way for international sanctions against Tehran .
Nepal 's Defense Ministry says at least 29 people - including Maoist rebels , soldiers and police - have been killed in a fierce gunfight in the western part of the country .
An army statement says the clash occurred late Tuesday in the Palpa area , some 250 kilometers west of the capital , Kathmandu .
It says 18 rebels , 10 soldiers and a policeman were killed in the fighting .
No other details were immediately available .
Rebel attacks have increased since the Maoists ended a unilateral cease-fire in early January .
They have been fighting since 1996 to overthrow Nepal 's constitutional monarchy and replace it with a communist state .
About 13,000 people have been killed in the war that shattered Nepal 's economy .
Media reports say nine people were killed and 17 injured when an avalanche crashed down a mountain and struck a bus in eastern Turkey .
The bus was traveling Saturday between the cities of Bitlis and Diyarbakir .
Rescuers are searching the wreck for others who may have been injured .
Iraqi officials say the Iranian military has fired artillery at several villages in northern Iraq where Iran believes Kurdish rebels are based .
Iraqi Kurdish officials say Iranian forces shelled the villages in Iraq 's Sulaimaniyah province near the Iranian border Sunday and Saturday .
No casualties were reported , but the government of northern Iraq 's Kurdish region says Iranian shelling has caused serious concern among residents .
It strongly condemned the bombardment and demanded that it stop immediately .
Iran has not confirmed the artillery strikes .
The Iranian military has frequently shelled areas of northern Iraq it suspects of harboring members of the Kurdish separatist group PEJAK , the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan .
Tehran accuses the group of launching attacks inside Iran from bases in Iraq .
Iraq 's central government in Baghdad has criticized the Iranian artillery strikes and warned they could harm relations between the two neighbors .
Zimbabwe 's economy is growing at a brisk pace despite continuing political uncertainty .
Following a decade of contraction , Zimbabwe 's economy recorded real growth of 5.9 % in 2010 .
But the government of Zimbabwe still faces a number of difficult economic problems , including a large external debt burden and insufficient formal employment .
Zimbabwe 's 1998 - 2002 involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy .
The government 's land reform program , characterized by chaos and violence , has badly damaged the commercial farming sector , the traditional source of exports and foreign exchange and the provider of 4,00,000 jobs , turning Zimbabwe into a net importer of food products .
The EU and the US provide food aid on humanitarian grounds , though on a smaller scale than before .
Until early 2009 , the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe routinely printed money to fund the budget deficit , causing hyperinflation .
The power-sharing government formed in February 2009 has led to some economic improvements , including the cessation of hyperinflation by eliminating the use of the Zimbabwe dollar and removing price controls .
The economy is registering its first growth in a decade , but will be reliant on further political improvement for greater growth .
All of the following US Pacific island territories except Midway Atoll constitute the Pacific Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge ( NWR ) Complex and as such are managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior .
Midway Atoll NWR has been included in a Refuge Complex with the Hawaiian Islands NWR and also designated as part of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument .
These remote refuges are the most widespread collection of marine- and terrestrial-life protected areas on the planet under a single country 's jurisdiction .
They sustain many endemic species including corals , fish , shellfish , marine mammals , seabirds , water birds , land birds , insects , and vegetation not found elsewhere .
Panama 's dollar-based economy rests primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for three-quarters of GDP .
Services include operating the Panama Canal , logistics , banking , the Colon Free Zone , insurance , container ports , flagship registry , and tourism .
Economic growth will be bolstered by the Panama Canal expansion project that began in 2007 and is scheduled to be completed by 2014 at a cost of $ 5.3 billion - about 25 % of current GDP .
The expansion project will more than double the Canal 's capacity , enabling it to accommodate ships that are too large to traverse the existing canal .
The United States and China are the top users of the Canal .
Panama also plans to construct a metro system in Panama City , valued at $ 1.2 billion and scheduled to be completed by 2014 .
Panama 's booming transportation and logistics services sectors , along with aggressive infrastructure development projects , will likely lead the economy to continued growth in 2011 .
Strong economic performance has not translated into broadly shared prosperity , as Panama has the second worst income distribution in Latin America .
About 30 % of the population lives in poverty ; however , from 2006 to 2010 poverty was reduced by 10 percentage points , while unemployment dropped from 12 % to 6 % of the labor force .
Panama and the United States signed a Trade Promotion Agreement in June 2007 , which , when implemented , will help promote the country 's economic growth .
Seeking removal from the Organization of Economic Development 's gray-list of tax havens , Panama has also recently signed various double taxation treaties with other nations .
Speculation over the existence of a " southern land " was not confirmed until the early 1820s when British and American commercial operators and British and Russian national expeditions began exploring the Antarctic Peninsula region and other areas south of the Antarctic Circle .
Not until 1840 was it established that Antarctica was indeed a continent and not just a group of islands or an area of ocean .
Several exploration " firsts " were achieved in the early 20th century , but generally the area saw little human activity .
Following World War II , however , there was an upsurge in scientific research on the continent .
A number of countries have set up a range of year-round and seasonal stations , camps , and refuges to support scientific research in Antarctica .
Seven have made territorial claims , but not all countries recognize these claims .
In order to form a legal framework for the activities of nations on the continent , an Antarctic Treaty was negotiated that neither denies nor gives recognition to existing territorial claims ; signed in 1959 , it entered into force in 1961 .
Tourism is the mainstay of the small open Aruban economy , together with offshore banking .
Oil refining and storage ended in 2009 .
The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last decade has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities .
Over 1.5 million tourists per year visit Aruba with 75 % of those from the US .
Construction continues to boom with hotel capacity five times the 1985 level .
Tourist arrivals rebounded strongly following a dip after the 11 September 2001 attacks .
The government has made cutting the budget and trade deficits a high priority .
AN ASS , carrying a load of wood , passed through a pond .
As he was crossing through the water he lost his footing , stumbled and fell , and not being able to rise on account of his load , groaned heavily .
Some Frogs frequenting the pool heard his lamentation , and said , " What would you do if you had to live here always as we do , when you make such a fuss about a mere fall into the water ? "
Men often bear little grievances with less courage than they do large misfortunes .
Australia 's cricket team has scored 351-7 declared in its second innings , leaving India a massive target of nearly 500 runs after the third day of their first test in Melbourne .
Australian batsmen Michael Clarke and Phil Jaques led the home side with Clarke scoring 73 runs and Jaques adding another 51 .
Brad Hogg scored 34 runs and Brett Lee added another 12 for Australia .
Indian bowler Harbhajan Singh took three for 101 while Anil Kumble was two for 102 .
India was 6 without loss after surviving eight overs before stumps .
The Indians have their work cut out for them - they need 493 runs in 10 wickets .
The highest successful run-chase at Melbourne was England 's 332 runs against Australia in the 1928 - 1929 Ashes series .
Only three teams have ever achieved what India must to win the match .
Poland 's defense minister has announced plans to cut his country 's forces in Iraq by almost one third next year .
Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski said the number of Polish troops remaining in Iraq in mid-February will stand at 1,700 .
He said another 700 will remain in Poland on standby in case of emergency .
The withdrawal is to follow Iraq 's parliamentary elections .
Poland has about 2,400 soldiers in Iraq .
It is the third largest contributor of troops to the international stabilization forces in that country , after the United States and Britain .
Poland commands a 6,500-strong international force south of Baghdad .
World and European champion Germany remains atop the latest International Football Federation ( FIFA ) women 's soccer rankings , with the Olympic champion U.S. team second .
Norway is third followed by Brazil , France , and Sweden .
North Korea is seventh followed by Denmark , which rose one place to eighth .
China dropped one place to ninth in the world and Italy remained in 10th place .
Outside the top 10 , the big winner was Russia which came through three Women 's World Cup qualifiers without losing a match and is 13th in the world .
There are now 124 teams in the FIFA Women 's World Rankings .
The rankings are published four times a year and the next ranking will be issued December 16 , 2005 .
A top Palestinian official has announced a series of new measures to increase public safety and end factional strife in the Gaza Strip .
Rashid Abu Shbak , a senior security official said Saturday the measures include the disbanding of the Department of Protection and Security , a group Gazans have nicknamed " death squad . "
The 70-member squad has faced accusations of corruption and intimidating the public .
Mr. Shbak also announced that the dominant Fatah faction will work to merge its several militant groups in order to end intra-Palestinian violence and factional infighting .
Palestinian territories have seen an upsurge in factional strife in the months preceding the death of longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat , who died on November 11 .
Separately , a lecturer at Gaza City 's al-Azhar university was killed when a bomb exploded at his university office .
Bolivians demanding the nationalization of the country 's energy industry have taken over several oil fields belonging to a Spanish oil company .
Officials say protesters occupied the fields near the eastern city of Santa Cruz Wednesday .
The latest protest action comes one day before legislators are scheduled to vote on whether to accept President Carlos Mesa 's resignation .
President Mesa submitted his resignation Monday , saying he could no longer lead the poor Andean nation in the face of continuing large demonstrations over his government 's policies .
Mr. Mesa tried to resign earlier this year , but lawmakers rejected his offer .
Thursday 's special legislative session is scheduled to take place in the city of Sucre , south of the capital La Paz .
The Senate president would be next in line to replace Mr. Mesa .
France 's Richard Gasquet will meet Max Mirnyi of Belarus in the final of the Nottingham Open tennis tournament Saturday after both scored semifinal wins in England .
The fourth-seeded Gasquet beat fifth seed Taylor Dent of the United States in straight sets , 06-Apr , 06-Feb .
Mirnyi , seeded eighth , also won in straight sets , but he had a more difficult time .
He beat seventh-seeded Olivier Rochus of Belgium , 06-Apr , 07-May .
The grass court tournament is one of several warm-up events for the third major tournament of the year , Wimbledon , which starts Monday in London .
Gasquet will be seeded 27th at the All England Club , while Mirnyi is unseeded .
World oil prices fell $ 2 a barrel on Friday , closing below $ 50 dollars a barrel for the first time since mid-February .
Crude oil for June delivery was selling at $ 49.5 a barrel at the close of New York trading .
The decline follows reports that crude oil supplies are growing and economic growth is slowing in the key U.S. market .
Prices spiked earlier when investors thought supplies could not keep up with robust demand .
Pope Benedict XVI is expected to meet with diplomats from Muslim countries and leaders of Italy 's Islamic community Monday to explain comments about Islam that he says were misunderstood .
The head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue , Cardinal Paul Poupard , will also attend the meeting at Castel Gandolfo , the Pope 's summer residence outside Rome .
Vatican officials hope the meeting will reopen dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Islamic world .
Earlier this month , Pope Benedict quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor who had criticized some of the teachings of the prophet Muhammad .
The pope has said those are not his own views .
On Sunday , the pope praised an Italian nun killed by gunmen last week in Somalia .
It has been theorized that Muslim anger over the pope 's remarks was to blame for the killing .
Thousands of Muslims worldwide have demonstrated to protest the pope 's remarks .
The U.S military says four American soldiers have been killed in a roadside bomb blast north of Baghdad .
A statement says the incident occurred Thursday in Samarra , some 95 kilometers north of the Iraqi capital .
In Baghdad Wednesday , three car bombs exploded in close succession , killing at least 43 people .
Meanwhile , Iraqi political leaders are continuing negotiations on a draft constitution .
Mahmud Othman , a Kurdish member of the committee drafting the document , tells the French News agency that Wednesday 's deadly bombings have increased global pressure on politicians to wrap up the constitution by the new deadline of August 22 .
He said " it has now become a question of who is stronger - the politicians or the insurgents . "
Jamie Foxx , star of the movie Ray , has won the best actor award and Hilary Swank takes best actress for her role in Million Dollar Baby at the 11th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards .
Cate Blanchett won the supporting-actress honor for her portrayal of Katherine Hepburn in The Aviator while Morgan Freeman captured the supporting-actor prize for his work on Million Dollar Baby .
Other winners at Saturday 's ceremony in Los Angeles include Alias star Jennifer Garner , Tony Shaloub from the television comedy Monk , and the late Jerry Orbach who starred in the drama series Law and Order .
The cast award for best movie ensemble went to the quirky , road-trip comedy Sideways .
The Screen Actors Guild winners are among front-runners for the prestigious Oscar Awards to be presented later this month .
South Korea 's foreign minister says he thinks the six-party talks on North Korea 's nuclear ambitions may resume in February .
Ban Ki-moon was speaking to reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos , Switzerland Friday .
Earlier , Japan said it will hold bilateral talks with North Korea in China next week .
Japanese officials said the working-level talks will focus on Pyongyang 's past abduction of Japanese nationals , normalization of diplomatic ties and North Korea 's nuclear and missile programs .
The latest round of six-party talks on Pyongyang 's nuclear programs has been stalled since November .
North Korea wants the United States to lift economic sanctions against Pyongyang before returning to the table .
Washington has rejected the demand .
Army officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo say an air raid has killed more than 40 Rwandan Hutu rebels .
The Thursday strike on the camp where leaders of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda were meeting also wounded several other rebels .
The attack came after the Congolese government gave Rwandan soldiers the go ahead to join forces with its own troops in the east of the country to attack ethnic Hutu militia .
The militia are seen as a root cause of instability in the region .
Some of their leaders are accused of being behind the 1994 genocide in Rwanda .
Meanwhile , a coalition of human rights groups says protecting civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo should be a top priority as Congolese and Rwandan government forces pursue their joint operation .
Chinese authorities have suspended poultry exports from the western province of Xinjiang to Hong Kong because of an outbreak of bird flu .
China notified Hong Kong Wednesday that it has culled more than 13,000 geese at a farm in Xinjiang .
A government statement says hundreds of dead geese were found on the farm and that tests showed they had died from the H5N1 avian flu strain , which can be lethal to humans .
It said officials in Xinjiang have carried out vaccinations on birds at all nearby poultry farms .
Hong Kong says it has not imported any live birds or poultry meat from Xinjiang and the suspension of exports is merely a precaution .
The U.S. Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy is set to lead a delegation of business executives to Central America next week .
A statement issued Wednesday by the State Department says Karen Hughes will be accompanied by chief executives of major U.S companies such as PepsiCo and JPMorgan Private Bank .
The delegation will visit Guatemala , Honduras and El Salvador , where a series of natural disasters damaged economies in the region .
The trip aims to encourage private sector assistance for reconstruction efforts in the area .
President Bush has asked the business leaders to see U.S. assistance efforts already underway .
The trip will last December 4 to December 6 .
NATO has announced it will deploy 2,000 more troops to Afghanistan ahead of parliamentary elections there in September .
A spokeswoman for the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Afghanistan says the troops are to be deployed in July , about six weeks before the scheduled polling .
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force now has more than 8,000 troops in Afghanistan .
Wednesday 's announcement came as Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he believes attacks will increase and terrorism will rise in the run-up to the election .
The September vote will be the first parliamentary elections since the Taleban regime was toppled in 2001 .
Italian defender Marco Materazzi has appeared before a disciplinary committee in Zurich at the headquarters of football 's world governing body , FIFA .
FIFA wants to find out what he did to provoke French midfielder Zinedine Zidane to head-butt him during Italy 's World Cup title victory over France last Sunday in Berlin .
A FIFA spokesman refused to provide any details of the meeting .
Materazzi is being investigated based on statements by Zidane , who was sent off for ramming his head into the defender 's chest during extra time in the match .
Zidane said on French television Wednesday night that Materazzi insulted his mother and sister .
Materazzi has admitted insulting Zidane , but denied verbally attacking Zidane 's mother .
Zidane is scheduled to attend a FIFA hearing next Thursday to explain his actions .
A decision is expected later that day .
FIFA has declined to comment on possible punishments for either individuals or teams .
Crude oil prices rose Wednesday after a government report showed U.S. supplies of crude oil , gasoline , and other oil products declined last week .
The Energy Department report said crude oil inventories dropped more than one million barrels , a decline of about one-third of a percent .
Stocks of gasoline declined around 1.5 percent , which is more than experts had predicted .
The price of a barrel of crude oil for future delivery rose 69 cents to $ 77 a barrel in New York .
London prices also rose .
Diplomats at the United Nations Nuclear Agency say Iran has started small-scale uranium enrichment , a process that produces fuel that can be used in nuclear weapons and reactors .
The International Atomic Energy Agency officials , speaking on condition of anonymity , say uranium gas has been fed into some machines .
Iran had warned it would resume large-scale enrichment activities after the IAEA referred it to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions over its nuclear program .
Iran also further postponed talks set for this week with Russia about a proposal to process uranium on Russian soil for use in Iran 's nuclear plants .
Russia has been pushing for the plan as a way to ease international concerns that Iran might be aiming to produce weapons-grade uranium .
Iran says its nuclear program is only intended to generate electricity .
The Palestinian militant group Hamas says Israeli police briefly detained a minister in the new Hamas-led Palestinian government Thursday .
Officials say Khaled Abu Arafa and his bodyguard were arrested while traveling to the Jerusalem suburb of Izzariya to take control of a political office that had been operated by the previous Fatah administration .
The two were released several hours later .
Israel considers Hamas a terrorist organization and describes Jerusalem as its eternal capital .
As such , Israeli officials have refused to let the militant group conduct any political activity in the city .
It was not immediately clear whether Israel will permit the office to operate while Hamas controls the Palestinian government .
A U.S. scientist says he is withdrawing from a stem cell research project led by a team of South Korean scientists because of concerns over a possible breach of ethics .
Gerald Schatten of the University of Pittsburgh , in the northern U.S. state of Pennsylvania , has been working for more than a year with the team , which is led by Hwang Woo-Suk .
Mr. Hwang announced last year that his team was the first to clone human embryos and extract embryonic stem cells from them .
Mr. Schatten says he is withdrawing over allegations the South Korean scientists used eggs donated by a female member of the team .
Widely held ethics principles preclude scientists from accepting donations from underlings in order to avoid any suggestions of coercion .
Questions have also been raised as to whether the woman was paid for the eggs .
Mr. Hwang has denied allegations of ethical impropriety .
The World Health Organization says an outbreak of deadly Marburg fever in Angola has claimed 127 lives , the highest number of fatalities from the rare virus .
However , a spokeswoman for the U.N. agency , Fadela Chaib , said Friday the outbreak can be controlled if people suspected of infection are put in isolation and all their contacts are identified .
The WHO also announced that hospital staff in Italy have put nine patients in isolation , suspected of having had contact with a sufferer in Angola .
So far , 132 cases of Marburg have been reported , mainly in Angola 's northwestern Uige province .
Two deaths occurred in the capital , Luanda .
Marburg virus is a severe form of hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola - and is spread through contact with bodily fluids .
Symptoms include headaches , nausea , vomiting and bloody discharges .
Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad says Australia should be kept out of a new East Asian regional grouping , saying Australians are Europeans , not Asians .
Asked by reporters Monday if Australia has anything to offer to Asia , Mr. Mahathir replied , " Nothing . "
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations who met in Laos last week approved Mr. Mahathir 's plan to launch an East Asian regional summit next year .
The summit would probably include China , Japan , South Korea , New Zealand and Australia , in addition to ASEAN members .
However , Mr. Mahathir has objected to Australia 's participation because Canberra has refused to sign a non-aggression treaty with ASEAN .
Australia says such a pact could prevent criticism of the human rights records of countries such as Burma .
Iran is facing calls to hand over sensitive nuclear documents for analysis , one day after it escaped immediate referral to the United Nations Security Council for its nuclear activities .
At a meeting Friday in Vienna of the International Atomic Energy Agency 's 35-member board , Britain called for Iran to allow the five main nuclear powers to examine what some experts say are designs for making the explosive core of a nuclear warhead .
Iran insists it did not ask for the designs but was given them by Pakistan 's nuclear black market network run by disgraced scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan .
The call for examination comes as a report circulating in Vienna says Iran 's top nuclear officials met late last month to discuss resuming their enrichment program .
In August , Iran restarted uranium conversion - a precursor to enrichment .
That move prompted Europe to break off nuclear talks with Tehran .
The United States is considering boosting the number of troops it has in Iraq ahead of elections there set for Jan. 27 .
The deputy commander of the U.S. Central Command , Lt.-Gen. Lance Smith , told Friday , the number of additional troops would depend on the security situation following the assault on Fallujah , but would " probably be an additional brigade 's worth of forces " -- up to several thousand soldiers .
Gen. Smith says the Pentagon is primarily considering an extension of the tours of duty of soldiers already in Iraq , because experienced troops are needed to cope with an expected increase in violence .
The United States now has about 1,38,000 troops in Iraq .
An advance team of Chinese engineers and medical officers arrived in Sudan 's war-torn Darfur region Saturday .
A United Nations spokesman says the 135 personnel are the first of a 315-member army engineering unit that will support that joint African Union-U.N. peacekeeping mission to Darfur .
The rest of the Chinese force is due to arrive in December .
The Chinese engineering team will dig wells and build roads and bridges in preparation for the deployment of the 26,000-member peacekeeping force scheduled to begin arriving in January .
That force will replace 7,000 beleaguered African Union peacekeepers .
The Sudanese government has welcomed the Chinese mission to Darfur .
But critics object to Beijing 's involvement because they say Chinese-made weapons that have found their way to the troubled region have contributed to genocide and robbery .
China is the biggest buyer of Sudan 's oil .
An earthquake in southeastern Turkey has injured at least seven people and triggered an avalanche .
Istanbul 's Kandili observatory says a 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck early Saturday in rural Bingol province .
It was centered in the town of Karliova .
Turkey 's Anatolianews agency says the quake apparently triggered an avalanche in neighboring Erzurum province , and is blocking a highway leading to the village of Cat .
At least 20 homes in the area have been damaged .
Provincial officials say recent heavy snowfall is hampering efforts to reach small villages .
Earthquakes are common in Turkey .
In 2003 , a magnitude 6.4 quake struck the same region , killing 177 people .
Coalition forces in Iraq have detained two suspected weapons smugglers the U.S. military says may have ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Qods force .
The military issued a statement saying the suspects and weapons were seized during a raid on a rural farm compound in eastern Iraq .
The military statement says the suspects may be linked to a network that has been smuggling Explosively Formed Projectiles ( EFPs ) and other weapons , personnel and money from Iran into Iraq .
Earlier Sunday Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki urged parliament to cancel or shorten its August summer break to pass laws he considers crucial to Iraq 's stability .
Parliament was scheduled to adjourn for all of August , but American officials have been pressing Mr. Maliki and parliament to pass laws aimed at curbing sectarian violence and healing divisions between majority Shi'ite Arabs , minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds .
Iraqi police say a car bomb in northern Baghdad has killed 12 people .
At least 22 others were wounded in Sunday 's attack , which took place near a passport office in the capital 's northern Adhamiya district .
In other violence in Iraq 's capital , nine people , including six civilians , were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol .
The bombings came hours before Iraq 's parliament is scheduled to hold a special session to try to resolve a dispute about power-sharing proposals for the northern region of Kirkuk .
A top North Korean official says his country has a stockpile of nuclear weapons and is making more .
Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye Gwan told U.S.-based ABC News Wednesday that North Korea has enough nuclear bombs to defend against a U.S. attack .
But he added Pyongyang has no intention of attacking the United States .
When asked if North Korea has a missile capable of hitting the United States , Mr. Kim would not answer , saying one can not speculate about that because the nuclear program is not aimed at the United States .
South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun is on his way to Washington for talks Friday with President Bush .
The two men are expected to discuss recent signs North Korea may be willing to return to six-nation talks on ending its nuclear weapons program .
The U.S. military says an American soldier was killed in Iraq 's restive al-Anbar province , as U.S. and Iraqi forces continued their offensive to hunt down insurgents in western Iraq .
The military says the soldier was killed late Friday during security operations in Anbar .
No other details were given .
U.S. Marines swept through the Iraqi town of Haditha in Anbar province early Saturday .
A Reuters report says soldiers destroyed a cache of weapons and briefly exchanged fire with guerrillas .
Insurgents also continued assaults on Iraq 's strategic infrastructure , blowing up a section of an oil pipeline in the oil-rich northern region of Kirkuk late Friday .
Russian lawmakers have slightly modified a bill that critics say would undermine operations of non-governmental organizations in the country .
The State Duma overwhelmingly approved on second reading the measure that would expand oversight of non-governmental groups and ban their acceptance of foreign funds for political activities .
The lawmakers approved a set of amendments suggested by Russian President Vladimir Putin , including doing away with a clause that would require foreign NGOs to register as Russian entities .
The United States repeatedly has expressed concern over the bill .
A State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said the changes met some of these concerns .
But he said U.S. officials will withhold final judgment until they analyze the bill in depth .
One more vote in the Duma is needed for final approval .
Human rights groups have condemned the measure as a reflection of the Kremlin 's crackdown on civil society institutions .
Police in 12 European countries and the United States have searched 150 homes in a coordinated crackdown on Internet child pornography .
The European Union 's police agency , Europol , announced the action Wednesday , saying arrests have been made , but did not report how many .
Europol officials said Dutch police initiated the operation , code named " Baleno , " by supplying information to 76 countries around the world .
The operation started last year , when investigators discovered a sophisticated network distributing child pornography .
The network used technology to hide its members ' identities .
Europol coordinated the operation in Europe , while the FBI handled the probe in the United States .
A memorial has been unveiled in Washington to honor journalists from around the world who have died or were killed while covering the news .
The memorial is part of a new museum dedicated to journalism called the " Newseum . "
VOA 's Chris Simkins reports .
Authorities in Mauritania say suspects in the recent killing of four French tourists are members of an extremist group linked to al-Qaida .
Justice officials say the three primary suspects were previously arrested on terror-related charges , but all were released .
Prosecutors said they were members of a north African branch of the al-Qaida terror network .
Security officials say the French tourists were picnicking on the side of the highway outside of Aleg when a group of gunmen pulled up and demanded money .
The family refused and the gunmen opened fire .
One man survived the attack , but lost his two children , his brother and a family friend .
Authorities say the suspects may have fled to neighboring Senegal .
French President Nicolas Sarkozy offered his condolences and said he is in touch with his Mauritanian counterpart , Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi .
Afghan authorities say they have detained a police chief in connection with last year 's killing of five aid workers from the Doctors Without Borders group .
An Afghan interior ministry spokesman said the police chief of Qadis district of Badghis province is a suspect and has been detained for questioning .
Three foreign and two Afghan aid workers were killed when their vehicle was hit by grenades in an apparently targeted attack in Badghis June 2 last year .
A month later , the Nobel Prize-winning medical relief agency pulled out of Afghanistan after 24 years , citing poor security and the government 's failure to launch a " credible " investigation into the killings .
Third-seeded Dinara Safina of Russia has easily defeated Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic , 6-0 , 06-Jan , to advance to the third round of the women 's Gold Coast hardcourt tennis championships in Australia .
In other matches Tuesday , fourth-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy beat China 's Li Na , 06-Feb , 06-Feb .
Number-eight Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain defeated Aiko Nakamura of Japan , 06-Apr , 06-Apr , while teenager Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic scored a three-set win over Slovakia 's Jarmila Gajdosova ( 04-Jun , 07-May , 06-Apr ) .
Meanwhile in doubles , comeback player Martina Hingis of Switzerland teamed up with Tatiana Golovin of France to beat Athens Olympic doubles gold medalists Li Ting and Sun Tiantian of China , 06-Jan , 06-Apr .
The 25-year-old Hingis is making a return to the circuit after retiring three years ago due to a series of chronic foot injuries .
Bolivian President Evo Morales ended his five-day hunger strike Tuesday , after Congress passed a new electoral law making it possible for him to seek re-election in December .
The new law approved early Tuesday calls for general elections to be held on December 6 and gives more seats in Congress to minority indigenous groups .
Mr. Morales is the country 's first indigenous president .
President Morales started the hunger strike Thursday after accusing the opposition-controlled Senate of holding up passage of the measure .
Bolivians recently approved a new constitution that allows President Morales to seek a second , five-year term in December elections .
German military authorities have suspended two soldiers in connection with a series of disturbing photos showing servicemen posing with human skulls in Afghanistan .
Defense Minister Josef Jung announced the suspensions Friday in Berlin .
The scandal broke Wednesday when the newspaper Bild printed several pictures reportedly taken in 2003 , including one of a German soldier posing with a skull in a sexual manner .
RTL television on Thursday broadcast photographs of one soldier kissing a skull while another soldier displays a skull on the hood of a military vehicle .
The photos aired by RTL were reportedly taken a year later .
The photos have scandalized much of Germany .
Chancellor Angela Merkel calls the pictures disgusting and unforgivable .
The defense minister says the army has identified at least six of the soldiers involved in the photos , and has promised to punish them .
Zimbabwe 's main opposition party has cut ties with the South African government following its endorsement of parliamentary elections won by President Robert Mugabe 's ruling party .
Movement for Democratic Change ( MDC ) spokesman Paul Nyathi says there is no point in engaging with the South African government anymore .
Mr. Nyathi criticized the South African government for declaring what the opposition says were deeply-flawed March elections as free and fair .
He said South Africa was there , but did not bother to observe the elections properly .
South Africa has led mediation efforts on Zimbabwe 's political crisis , and has been slammed repeatedly by the opposition for its approach of so-called " quiet diplomacy " towards the Mugabe government .
The MDC has said the poll was rigged and it plans to contest the outcome of 13 seats in court .
China and Russia are discussing plans to set up a hotline so Chinese officials can inform Moscow about a toxic chemical spill that is flowing toward Russian territory .
Authorities in Russia 's far eastern Khabarovsk region Thursday are on alert as heavily contaminated waters from China head downriver .
Chinese authorities have already had to close the water mains in Harbin , one of China 's largest northeastern cities , because of a huge slick of toxic benzene in the Songhua River .
Scientists say even small amounts of the industrial solvent can cause mouth ulcers , and larger quantities can cause leukemia .
Facing criticism , Chinese officials have promised to take measures to monitor pollutants .
The contamination stems from a chemical plant explosion that spilled toxic compounds into the Songhua River on November 13 .
Fifty people representing 26 countries took the Oath of Allegiance this week ( Thursday ) and became U.S. citizens in a special ceremony at the Newseum in Washington , D.C.
The ceremony was in held in honor of America 's July 4 Independence Day holiday .
VOA 's Ana Ward spoke to some of the participants about the significance of this day and their new life as American citizens .
Jim Bertel narrates .
Police said a bomb blast in eastern Sri Lanka has killed one police officer and one civilian .
Authorities said Tamil Tiger rebels were responsible for the blast in the town of Batticaloa .
They said the blast wounded 11 people , including four schoolchildren .
A Tamil Tiger spokesman could not be reached for comment .
The bombing came as the military surrounded the rebels in the country 's northeast in a push to end the 25-year-old civil war .
Journalists are often unable to independently confirm military and rebel reports because they are barred from the war zone .
Taleban militants have resumed talks with South Korean officials trying to negotiate the release of 19 South Korean aid workers held in Afghanistan for more than a month .
A Red Cross official , Frank Rauchenstein , says negotiations got underway Thursday at the office of the Afghan Red Crescent in Ghazni City .
Monday , the Taleban released two of the hostages in what was described as a " goodwill gesture . "
Taleban militants abducted 23 South Korean Christian aid workers on July 19 while they traveled through Ghazni province on a humanitarian mission .
Two male hostages were executed late last month after the Afghan government failed to meet Taleban demands to release militant prisoners .
Iranian state media say an Iranian rocket launched into space earlier this month has sent data back to Earth .
Iran says the rocket that it launched on February 4 is designed to carry the country 's first home-made satellite into orbit later this year .
Washington criticized Iran 's launch and said it will further isolate Tehran in the international community .
Moscow said it does not approve of Iran 's efforts to develop rocket technology .
The technology used to put satellites into orbit can also be used for launching weapons .
Iran says other countries should not worry about its scientific achievements , and says it wants to launch satellites for research and telecommunications .
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Iran will test-launch two more rockets before it sends a satellite into orbit .
Denmark 's foreign ministry is urging Danish nationals to leave Lebanon after protesters , angered over a political cartoon of the prophet Mohammed , burned the Danish consulate .
Riot police used tear gas and water cannons to break up the mob .
Lebanese Interior Minister Hassan al-Sabaa resigned following the unrest .
Protesters burned the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus , Syria Saturday .
Muslims throughout the region are boycotting Danish goods .
Store owners have pulled Danish products from shelves .
The cartoon was first printed in a Danish newspaper and then reprinted in a number of European cities .
Muslims call any depiction of the prophet blasphemous .
Muslim and Arab leaders are calling for calm .
Lebanese leaders say violence is as harmful to Islam as the cartoon .
Rising oil prices , global trade imbalances and China 's inflexible currency rates are among issues for discussion Saturday at the start of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank .
The meetings in Washington begin a day after a gathering of the top economic officials from the world 's seven major industrialized nations - the United States , Japan , Britain , Germany , France , Canada and Italy .
The group issued a statement calling on China to convert its currency to a more flexible exchange rate as a means of addressing Beijing 's trade surplus with much of the world .
The economic officials say the IMF needs to take a more aggressive role in monitoring the currency practices of its member nations .
The statement also spelled out what other nations could do to address global trade imbalances , such as the U.S. reducing its huge budget deficit .
U.S. President Barack Obama has signed into law a $ 2 billion extension to the popular " cash for clunkers " auto rebate program .
Mr. Obama signed the legislation Friday .
The Senate approved the extension late Thursday .
The " cash for clunkers " incentive program has helped boost U.S. auto sales .
The program gives car owners up to $ 4,500 in rebates to trade in older , gas-guzzling vehicles for newer , more fuel-efficient models .
The House of Representatives approved the bill last week to replenish funding for the program , which nearly exhausted its initial $ 1 billion funding limit within a matter of days .
The Obama administration had said the program would have gone broke by Friday if Congress did not approve the extension .
A lawyer for imprisoned Russian oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky says his client has ended a nearly week-long hunger strike .
Attorney Anton Drel says oil magnate ended his fast after authorities transferred his business partner Platon Lebedev from solitary confinement to a regular cell .
Authorities put Lebedev in isolation after accusing him of insulting prison guards .
In May , authorities sentenced the two former owners of the Yukos oil company to nine years in prison for tax evasion and fraud .
Opposition supporters call their trial politically motivated because of Khodorkovsky 's backing of opposition politicians - charges Kremlin authorities deny .
Tibetans around the world are celebrating the 46th anniversary of their Democracy Day .
Among the exiled Tibetan community in India and elsewhere , formal and informal celebrations are being held Saturday .
At a Tibetan school in New Delhi , a gathering of people heard speeches by dignitaries including a representative of Tibetan spiritual leader , the Dalai Lama .
Students at the school performed Tibetan cultural songs and dances for those in attendance .
On September 2 , 1960 , a 13-member assembly of Tibetan exiles met for the first time in Dharamsala , northern India .
The Tibetan community observes this day each year as Democracy Day .
A roadside bomb has ripped through a U.S. military vehicle in Afghanistan , killing one soldier and wounding two others in the northeastern province of Kunar .
A U.S. military spokesman says the troops were driving an armored vehicle southwest of the provincial capital of Asadabad .
Kunar is a mountainous province on the border with Pakistan and is considered a hideout for militants .
Another American soldier was killed and four were injured in southern Afghanistan when their armored vehicle rolled over near Kandahar city .
A U.S. military statement says enemy activities were not a factor in the accident .
Kandahar is a stronghold of Afghanistan 's former Taleban rulers .
Doctors say Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon remains in critical but stable condition - 10 days after suffering a massive stroke .
Jerusalem 's Hadassah hospital issued the update on Mr. Sharon 's condition Saturday evening after the end of the Jewish sabbath .
The hospital said medical tests showed that Mr. Sharon has activity in both of his brain lobes .
For several days , doctors have been reducing the level of sedatives , with the intent of drawing the 77-year-old Mr. Sharon out of an induced coma .
However , he has not shown any signs of waking up .
Nigerian authorities say gunmen have kidnapped a Lebanese man in the country 's volatile southern region .
Military officials say the man was seized along with his car in the city of Warri Tuesday .
The man works for a construction company , Niger Cat .
On Saturday , gunmen kidnapped two Indian petrochemical workers in another southern town , Port Harcourt .
In all , about 100 foreigners have been kidnapped in Nigeria 's oil-rich Niger Delta region this year .
Most have been released unharmed , after their employers paid ransom .
Several hostages also have been injured or killed during rescue attempts by the Nigerian military .
Many of the kidnappings are carried out by criminal gangs , while others are the work of militants who want more of the region 's oil wealth directed to impoverished locals .
Palestinian gunmen have surrounded European Union offices in the Gaza Strip threatening violence and demanding an apology after newspapers in Europe reprinted Danish caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed .
Newspapers in several EU countries published the cartoons Wednesday in a show of solidarity for press freedom .
One cartoon shows the Prophet Mohammed wearing a turban shaped like a bomb .
The militants have threatened to target Danish , French , and Norwegian nationals in the Palestinian territories .
The French-Egyptian owner of the French newspaper France Soir has fired an editor for reprinting the cartoons .
A spokesman for the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders is calling on both sides to calm down .
Meanwhile , a Jordanian weekly newspaper has published three of the 12 cartoons to acquaint the Muslim public with the caricatures .
Publication of the cartoons by a Danish newspaper in September prompted Muslim protests .
Mexican authorities say two police officers and a medical technician are dead after a car rammed two police vehicles in what authorities say was retaliation for the arrest of a drug cartel leader .
Police said the attack Thursday in the violent border town of Ciudad Juarez was a direct response to the arrest earlier in the day of Jesus Acosta Guerrero , a senior gang member linked to the Juarez cartel .
Authorities say the attack caused an explosion , leaving the vehicles badly damaged .
The Associated Press news agency reports the car may have been packed with explosives or inflammable material .
Mexican President Felipe Calderon has deployed thousands of soldiers nationwide to fight drug gangs since taking office in 2006 .
At least 23,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since the president began cracking down on the cartels .
The Bush administration will ask Congress for more than $ 240 billion to cover the cost of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the next two fiscal years .
Mr. Bush is seeking more than $ 90 billion for the current fiscal year , to go along with the $ 70 billion already approved by lawmakers .
He will also ask for more than $ 140 billion to cover war costs for fiscal year 2008 , which begins October 1 .
The money is separate from the $ 481 billion the president will request for the military 's regular 2008 budget .
The administration has obtained funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan operations through emergency spending bills .
Lawmakers have criticized the practice , saying the emergency bills are not subject to the same scrutiny as regular spending bills .
India and Saudi Arabia have said they intend to form an energy partnership to increase the amount of crude oil supplied to India .
The joint declaration was announced Friday in New Delhi at the end of Saudi King Abdullah 's four-day visit to India .
The agreement , signed by the king and India 's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh , endorses greater exports of Saudi crude oil to India along with Saudi investments in refining and distribution in India .
The two countries said they would establish a joint venture to produce fertilizer at plants in Saudi Arabia .
India imports 70 percent of the oil it consumes .
In the agreement , India and Saudi Arabia also pledged to cooperate in the fight against terrorism .
Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri , the billionaire tycoon who oversaw the post-civil war reconstruction of Beirut , died Monday in a Beirut car bombing .
He was 60 .
Mr. Hariri became prime minister in 1992 as optimism swept Lebanon two years after the end of its 15-year civil war .
He began massive rebuilding projects , while backing Syrian efforts to consolidate political control in Lebanon .
While dogged by accusations of corruption , Mr. Hariri was also widely known for his philanthropy .
He is said to have paid the education bills of 30,000 Lebanese students , and donated tens of millions of dollars of his own money to Lebanese charities .
He quit the government in 1998 , but returned in 2000 and served as prime minister until quitting again in late 2004 , after Lebanon 's pro-Syrian parliament voted to extend the term of pro-Syrian president and political rival Emile Lahoud .
Lebanon 's newly chosen prime minister , Najib Mikati , has begun talks to form a cabinet , amid rising hopes that the country 's parliamentary elections will be held by the end of May .
The cabinet discussions began Saturday , one day after Lebanese President Emile Lahoud named the moderate pro-Syrian politician as the new prime minister .
Mr. Mikati said his priorities will be holding elections , reviving economic growth , and cooperating with the U.N. probe into February 's assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri .
Lebanon has been without a government since former Prime Minister Omar Karami resigned after the Hariri killing , which the opposition blames on pro-Syrian agents .
President Lahoud re-appointed Mr. Karami , but he quit again this week after failing to form a new government .
Britain is taking new steps to limit the poaching of developing world doctors , nurses and other health care professionals .
A revised code of practice for the country 's National Health System ( NHS ) closes loopholes that allow British employers to strip developing countries of health care professionals .
Growing health care systems in Britain and other industrialized countries actively recruit health care professionals from developing countries .
That " brain drain " puts strain on developing-world health systems facing their own health care crises .
Britain 's new code of practice forbids employers working with the NHS from recruiting from developing countries unless there is an agreement with that country 's government .
British Health Minister John Hutton said in a statement that the NHS is expanding , but wo n't do so at the expense of other countries .
The leaders of Australia and Japan have offered their full support to Britain in the aftermath of the deadly attacks on London 's transit system .
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Thursday on national radio it is important his country stands " shoulder to shoulder " with its British allies at a time like this .
Mr. Howard expressed his " horror and disgust " at the attacks and said they would not alter the determination of free countries to " do the right thing . "
At the Group of Eight summit in Scotland , Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said he is outraged by the London attacks .
He noted terrorist acts must not be forgivable .
Sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway system in 1995 killed 12 people and injured thousands .
A human rights group has called on Asian leaders to increase pressure on Burma to hasten democratic reforms and stop human rights abuses .
The Alternative ASEAN Network for Burma said officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting this week should consider new options in dealing with Burma .
It said leaders should consider supporting a possible resolution on Burma by the United Nations Security Council .
The group also urged ASEAN leaders to acknowledge the many security problems caused by Burma 's military regime .
The rights group accuses Burma 's government of involvement in illegal drug trafficking and human rights abuses , especially against some ethnic groups in Burma .
Iraqi officials say gunmen have killed a member of the secular coalition led by former Iraqi prime minister Ayad Allawi .
Officials say Faras al-Jabouri was shot Saturday after gunmen raided his home near the northern city of Mosul .
Jabouri did not win a seat in the March 7 parliamentary elections in which Mr. Allawi 's Iraqiya list received the most votes .
His death comes two weeks after another member of Mr. Allawi 's bloc was killed .
Gunmen shot Bashar Hamid al-Aqidi May 24 in an ambush outside his home in Mosul .
Iraq 's Supreme Court ratified the election results last week .
None of the political groups won the 163 seats needed to form a majority .
Mr. Allawi 's coalition had the most seats with 91 , just two more than the mainly Shi'ite group led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki .
Ecuador 's state-run oil company , Petroecuador , has restored some operations that had been interrupted by six days of protests .
Company officials say production totaled around 33,000 barrels of crude oil per day on Saturday .
However , the rate was still far from the normal output of more than 2,00,000 barrels .
Army troops and police have been helping to restore order and oil production since the government declared a state of emergency in the Sucumbios and Orellana provinces .
Protesters there have been demanding new contract negotiations with foreign oil firms .
They also have called for increased spending on infrastructure and social programs .
The demonstrations forced Petroecuador to suspend production and the government to seek a temporary loan of oil from Venezuela to keep up exports .
Most of Ecuador 's oil exports go to the United States .
Iran is calling an international resolution on its nuclear program politically motivated and illegal , but does not rule out future negotiations with the West .
Speaking Sunday in Tehran , Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called the International Atomic Energy Agency resolution a scenario determined by the United States in advance .
The IAEA resolution passed Saturday in Vienna accuses Tehran of violating the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty by failing to comply with international nuclear safeguard agreements .
The resolution leaves open the possibility of referring Tehran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions if it fails to cooperate fully with IAEA inspectors .
Washington accuses Tehran of using its ongoing nuclear program as a cover for efforts to develop an atomic weapon .
Tehran says its program is aimed at developing electricity .
The United States says six world powers have made progress on a new U.N. sanctions resolution aimed at curbing Iran 's nuclear program and could begin drafting the text next week .
Representatives of Germany and the five permanent U.N. Security Council members , the United States , Britain , France , Russia and China , discussed the resolution in a conference call Thursday .
A U.S. State Department spokeswoman , Joanne Moore , said the representatives agreed to confer again by phone on Saturday .
Iran ignored a U.N. Security Council deadline last week to suspend uranium enrichment or face new U.N. sanctions , on top of those imposed in December .
The United States and its Western allies suspect Iran is working to develop nuclear weapons , a charge Tehran denies .
Palestinian officials say ailing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has lost consciousness several times while in the intensive care unit of a French military hospital .
The officials say Mr. Arafat has drifted in and out of consciousness since Wednesday .
There are conflicting reports about his present condition and it is not clear whether he is in a coma .
Doctors at the Paris hospital are expected to speak to reporters later Thursday about Mr. Arafat 's condition .
The Palestinian officials provided no more details .
Mr. Arafat has been receiving emergency medical treatment at the hospital since late last week .
He was airlifted to France after being ill for about two weeks .
The exact nature of his illness is still not clear , but officials say he was experiencing intense stomach pains , diarrhea and vomiting .
World oil prices have hit a record high in Asian trading .
Crude oil for future delivery went as high as $ 57.79 a barrel .
Oil had closed at $ 57.25 a barrel Friday in New York after hitting a high of $ 57.7 .
The president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries , Sheikh Ahmad Fahad al-Ahmad al-Sabah , says oil ministers this week will discuss the possibility of pumping more oil in an effort to bring prices down .
OPEC announced an increase in production quotas in mid-March , but that move failed to bring a significant drop on oil markets .
A recent report by analysts at Goldman-Sachs predicted that oil might eventually cost as much as $ 105 a barrel .
Other analysts think $ 60 is a more likely top price .
Dozens of African health ministers have declared tuberculosis an emergency in the region , where it kills more than half a million people each year .
Officials announced the decision in Mozambique during a meeting of the World Health Organization 's Regional Committee for Africa , which ends Friday .
Officials say urgent measures are needed as TB cases have quadrupled in 18 African nations since 1990 .
The World Health Organization says most cases of the lung infection can be cured through a six-month drug plan .
Experts say TB is a leading cause of death for people with HIV-AIDS , which affects the immune systems of millions of people across Africa .
U.S. President Barack Obama has announced creation of a new foreign policy position focusing on global women 's issues .
The president Friday nominated Melanne Verveer to the post of ambassador-at-large for international women 's issues .
She will work at the State Department under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton .
The White House says the new position reflects the importance of global women 's issues to the Obama administration .
Verveer previously worked as chief of staff for Clinton when she was first lady , and also worked as an aide in the White House for former President Bill Clinton .
Verveer is also the co-founder and chair of Vital Voices Global Partnership .
The White House describes the group as an international non-profit that invests in emerging women leaders .
Russia has expressed concern about the violence in eastern Uzbekistan , one day after soldiers fired on protesters , killing dozens of people in the city of Andijon .
In a telephone conversation Saturday , Uzbek President Islam Karimov briefed Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation .
Both voiced concern about possible threats to stability in Central Asia , and the two leaders agreed to remain in close contact .
Yesterday , Russian authorities blamed Uzbek protesters for the violence .
But the European Union blamed Tashkent , saying the clashes in Andijon were a result of the government 's lack of respect for human rights and failure to ease poverty .
In Washington , U.S. officials urged both the Uzbek government and demonstrators to show restraint and seek a peaceful resolution .
Japan reportedly is planning to build 12 new facilities in China to dismantle chemical weapons left behind by the Imperial Army at the end of World War II .
Japan 's Yomiuri newspaper said Sunday that the two countries agreed last month to build the facilities near 12 locations including Beijing , Harbin and Nanjing , where abandoned Japanese chemical weapons are stored .
The paper said Japan initially planned to dismantle all the weapons at a major plant in Haerbaling , near the border with North Korea .
But when China raised concerns about the dangers of transporting the weapons over long distances , Tokyo decided to build the smaller facilities spread throughout the country .
The report did not include details about the cost or timetable of the construction .
Afghan and U.S.-led coalition troops say they have killed several suspected Taliban militants during an operation in southern Helmand province .
Coalition officials said in a statement released Tuesday that the latest clash occurred as troops searched a compound for militants associated with the Taliban , as well as others helping foreign fighters .
During the search a gun battle erupted in which several suspected militants died .
A coalition statement said no civilians were killed or injured in the fighting .
The statement adds that a cache of weapons including rifles , rockets and explosives was found and destroyed following following the battle .
Helmand province has been badly affected by the Taliban insurgency .
The area is one of the world 's top opium growing regions .
Journalists in Kenya and abroad are urging Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki to reject legislation that could require reporters to divulge their news sources .
The Kenyan Editors Guild said Thursday that a proposed " Media Bill " passed by parliament last month was crafted in part to settle old scores .
They petitioned Mr. Kibaki to reject the measure .
The media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders is also urging Mr. Kibaki to reject the bill .
The Paris-based group said in a letter that the measure would have " disastrous consequences " for Kenyan democracy , and would undermine a fundamental principle of journalism .
The bill was amended at the last minute to give the government power to demand the names of unnamed news sources in reports that lead to legal disputes .
The Ethiopian government has charged 55 opposition members with trying to launch an armed rebellion .
The state-run Ethiopian News Agency reports the defendants were charged this week with " instigating armed violence " against the government following the 1997 national elections .
All of the defendants are said to be associated with the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy .
The report says the proceedings have been adjourned until Thursday .
More than 80 other opposition figures are already on trial in Ethiopia , accused of treason and attempting to commit genocide .
Those suspects were charged in the wake of unrest that followed the disputed 2005 elections .
The trial has drawn harsh criticism from donors and human rights groups who say the government is trying to stifle dissent .
OPEC 's most influential member says the oil cartel should raise production quotas at Wednesday 's meeting in Iran .
Saudi Arabia 's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi says the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries should boost output by 5,00,000 barrels a day from the current self-imposed limit of 27 million barrels .
Supply concerns were one factor behind last week 's surge that pushed oil prices to within pennies of the all-time record in New York trading .
The price of crude oil for April delivery declined after the Saudi announcement .
But oil prices later rose 52 cents to close at $ 54.95 a barrel in New York on Monday .
OPEC produces about 40 percent of the world 's oil and energy ministers from its 11 members are gathering to discuss oil supplies and prices .
China has urged Burma to take effective measures to safeguard the rights of Chinese citizens in Burma .
The Chinese foreign ministry said on its Web site Saturday that consular affairs department chief Wei Wei conveyed Beijing 's concerns at a meeting with an official from Burma 's embassy .
The release said Wei met on September 21 with Kyi Kyi Sein , minister counselor of the Burma Embassy .
Wei urged Burma to investigate reports that military conflicts in northern Burma in August had harmed the rights and interests of Chinese citizens living there .
Tens of thousands of refugees fled across the border into China to escape fighting between the Burmese army and ethnic rebels in Kokang , a mainly ethnic Chinese region of Burma 's Shan state .
Zimbabwe 's ruling ZANU-PF party has rejected the campaign of Information Minister Jonathan Moyo in this year 's parliamentary elections .
The state-run Herald newspaper reports Monday that Mr. Moyo 's name is not included in a new list of candidates in upcoming primary votes .
It says Mr. Moyo was planning to compete in the Tsholotsho district that has been reserved for female candidates .
President Robert Mugabe has said he will only choose elected lawmakers for his cabinet after the elections .
The Herald reports the primary list also does not include Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa , former Harare mayor Tony Gara , and war veterans leader Joseph Chinotimba .
Also missing is current lawmaker Philip Chiyangwa , who was jailed last month on charges of spying .
Chinese President Hu Jintao has arrived in Spain Sunday for a two day-visit aimed at strengthening bilateral ties .
His schedule includes talks with King Juan Carlos and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero .
In part , Spain hopes to increase exports to reduce its trade inbalance with China .
Mr. Hu arrived in Madrid from Germany where he conferred with outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder , Chancellor-designate Angela Merkel , and other senior officials .
The two sides are said to have signed a number of business agreements , and pledged to continue close ties between Berlin and Beijing .
Spain is the last leg of Mr. Hu 's European tour that began last Tuesday in Britain .
Demonstrators protesting Chinese policies on human rights and Tibet have followed Mr. Hu throughout his trip .
Mexican President Felipe Calderon has condemned an attack on a Chihuahua drug rehabilitation facility that left 19 people dead .
Mr. Calderon issued a statement from Johannesburg where he attended the opening of the World Cup .
He said the attack by more than 24 armed men reinforces the conviction to fight criminal gangs that carry out such " barbaric acts . "
On Thursday , a gang of gunmen killed 20 people in another northern Mexican town known for drug-related gang warfare .
Authorities say some of the 18 men and two women killed in the series of shootings in Madero were bound in handcuffs .
An estimated 23,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since President Calderon began a crackdown on the drug cartels after taking office in December 2006 .
Representatives of the European Union and China have begun a fourth day of talks in Beijing to resolve a trade dispute over Chinese textiles .
There is no word on any progress in the talks , which began Thursday .
A spokesman for the EU office in Beijing has said negotiators are trying to reach a new agreement on textile quotas .
China agreed in June to quotas in its textile exports to the EU .
But millions of items of clothing manufactured in China have been blocked in European ports because China has already shipped its annual quota .
The quotas are designed to protect European textile manufacturers from low-priced Chinese competition .
Chinese textile exports surged early this year when a global system of textile quotas ended .
Forecasters say Hurricane Otis is gaining strength as it moves closer to Mexico 's northwestern coast .
The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the Category One storm has winds of 150 kilometers per hour and is moving toward the Baja California Peninsula .
The storm is currently projected to hit the central portion of the Baja Peninsula as early as Sunday .
Forecasters warn that a shift in position could result in an earlier landfall on the southern end of the peninsula .
Insurgents have knocked out electrical power to much of Baghdad on the eve of Iraq 's nationwide constitutional referendum .
After dark Friday , saboteurs hit powerlines north of Baghdad .
Electrical Ministry officials say they do not know how long it will take to restore power to the capital .
The streets of Baghdad were mostly quiet Friday due to security measures put in place to prevent violence from interfering with election preparations .
At Friday prayers , clerics discussed the proposed constitution .
Some told worshippers to vote for its adoption , while others urged its rejection .
Authorities reported gunshots fired at two polling stations .
Insurgents also bombed and set fire to offices belonging to the largest Sunni Arab political party , the Iraqi Islamic Party , in apparent retaliation for its decision to support the constitution .
The United Nations Development Program has named Spanish actor Antonio Banderas as a Goodwill Ambassador in the fight against poverty .
The U.N. said Wednesday Banderas will work to enact the U.N. Millennium Development Goals that were established to fight hunger , disease , illiteracy , environmental degradation and discrimination against women .
Banderas issued a statement saying he will work with the U.N. Development Program to take action on the goals , with a particular focus on Latin America and Africa .
The actor will also work to raise awareness of the $ 710 million Millennium Development Goal Achievement Fund , which supports national and local governments as well as citizen organizations in their efforts to tackle poverty and inequality .
Antonio Banderas was born in Spain and is an accomplished actor , writer , singer and producer .
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has approved legislation abolishing the death penalty ahead of a planned trip to the Vatican .
The law Ms. Arroyo signed Saturday automatically commutes the sentences of about 1,200 death row convicts in the Philippines to life imprisonment .
Congress restored the death penalty in the mid-1990s for serious crimes such as murder .
Seven people have been executed since then .
Ms. Arroyo is to leave for the Vatican and Spain Sunday .
She had been scheduled to leave Saturday , but the trip was rescheduled so she could receive two days of hospital treatment for a stomach virus .
Iran 's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he suspects Britain may have played a role in twin bomb attacks that killed five people and injured 100 others in southwestern Iran .
Iran 's Student News Agency quoted Mr. Ahmadinejad as saying Iranian officials have found what he called British " footprints " in past attacks .
He added the presence of British troops in southern Iraq and near Iran 's border is a factor behind insecurity in both countries .
Britain 's embassy in Tehran has rejected the allegations and condemned Saturday 's attack near a shopping center in Khuzestan province .
In a statement , it said any link between the British government and terrorist attacks in the area is without foundation .
Earlier this month , British officials accused Iran and Lebanese militants of supplying explosives technology to insurgents in Iraq .
Farmer in Ivory Coast 's Duekoue cocoa plantation Unidentified attackers have killed at least 41 villagers in Ivory Coast 's western cocoa region .
Army spokesman Jules Yao Yao says 64 others were wounded in the attack early Wednesday outside the town of Duekoue .
He says the victims were shot , stabbed or burned to death .
Witnesses say they were all members of the ethnic Guere tribe .
It is not clear what sparked the attack .
However , clashes between indigenous tribes and migrant farm workers are common in the region .
Tensions between the groups have been exacerbated by Ivory Coast 's civil war , which began in 2002 .
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast says it has sent patrols to the region to investigate .
Lebanese security officials say a car bomb explosion has killed a senior member of the militant Palestinian group Islamic Jihad in Sidon , Friday .
The officials say the militant 's brother also died in the blast near the central square of the southern coastal city .
There has been no claim of responsibility for the bombing .
Islamic Jihad blamed Israel for the attack on the militant leader Mahmoud Majzoub , but Israeli officials denied any knowledge of the bombing .
Amnesty International says Zimbabwe 's upcoming parliamentary elections will not be free and fair -- because the government of Zimbabwe continues to use threats and intimidation against opposition supporters .
Samkelo Mokhine is the chairman for Amnesty International in Johannesburg , South Africa .
He told English to Africa reporter William Eagle that his group is offering several suggestions to improve the conduct of the elections .
One is to train monitors how to look for human rights violations , such as withholding access to food .
Another is to watch for attacks on all parties before , during and after the polls .
Amnesty says any violations should then be publicly denounced and reported to authorities .
The group says monitors should also have access to all sectors of the population – since many violations occur far away from polling stations .
Pakistani authorities say police in the southern port city of Karachi have arrested two al-Qaida militants for their involvement in a suicide attack earlier this year that killed a U.S. diplomat .
The police chief for the Sindh province Jehangir Mirza says the suspects were captured during an early morning Monday raid .
The blast near the U.S. consulate in Karachi on March 2 killed the U.S. diplomat David Foy , three Pakistanis and the attacker who rammed his explosive-laden car into a car carrying the diplomat .
More than 50 people were wounded in the attack , including a Moroccan child .
Last week , Pakistani intelligence officials arrested six people in connection with the attack and identified the suicide bomber .
Authorities said the six were associated with the suicide attacker , and that they were linked to al-Qaida , as well as banned domestic militant groups .
President Bush says the United States will drop subsidies to American farmers - if the European Union does the same in Europe .
He told British television Sunday , ending those subsidies would allow African countries to compete better , reducing their need for international aid .
President Bush will attend he Group of Eight Summit this week , which will discuss aid to Africa .
But farm subsidies are very popular in France and Germany , and the U.S. challenge is not thought likely to be accepted .
President Bush also said he will reject any Kyoto-style deal on climate change at the G8 summit in Scotland .
He said the 1997 U.N. Kyoto protocol , which Washington never ratified , would have ruined the American economy with its mandated reductions on carbon emissions .
Mr. Bush favors a focus on clean technologies to counter climate change .
An Iranian news report quotes a top nuclear official as saying Tehran will " seriously and enthusiastically " study a Russian proposal to enrich uranium from Iran on Russian soil .
The comments by Javad Vaeedi , the deputy head of Iran 's National Security Council , were reported Wednesday by the Iranian Student News Agency .
The United States and the European Union have voiced grave concerns that without oversight , Tehran will process uranium to the highly enriched level needed to make an atomic bomb .
Tehran says it is seeking a lower grade of enriched uranium to fuel a nuclear power plant .
Wednesday 's comments by the Iranian official are the most positive public statements from Tehran since Moscow offered earlier this year to supply enriched uranium for Iran 's Bushehr reactor .
The comments are also the first public acknowledgment that Tehran has received the Russian offer .
Four suspected al-Qaida members in Saudi Arabian custody have said on Saudi media they planned to attack oil facilities in the kingdom and other Gulf states .
Saudi police detained the four last year in connection with a failed February 2006 attack on the Abqaiq oil complex .
Security guards foiled the attack .
The four suspects appeared on Saudi television this week .
They are accused of providing logistical support to the bombers .
One of the four , identified as Abdullah al-Muqrin , said the plan to attack oil facilities in Saudi Arabia was to coincide with other al-Qaida attacks on oil facilities in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates .
Al-Muqrin also said he was told al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden would authorize the attacks .
With the U.S. economy in recession , some Americans are finding ways to be thrifty this holiday season : spending time and money on handmade gifts .
Making , rather than buying , holiday gifts is growing in popularity .
In 1974 , ethnic differences within the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands .
The following year , the Ellice Islands became the separate British colony of Tuvalu .
Independence was granted in 1978 .
In 2000 , Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name " . tv " for $ 50 million in royalties over a 12-year period .
Tonga has a small , open , South Pacific island economy .
It has a narrow export base in agricultural goods .
Squash , vanilla beans , and yams are the main crops .
Agricultural exports , including fish , make up two-thirds of total exports .
The country must import a high proportion of its food , mainly from New Zealand .
The country remains dependent on external aid and remittances from Tongan communities overseas to offset its trade deficit .
Tourism is the second-largest source of hard currency earnings following remittances .
Tonga had 39,000 visitors in 2006 .
The government is emphasizing the development of the private sector , especially the encouragement of investment , and is committing increased funds for health and education .
Tonga has a reasonably sound basic infrastructure and well developed social services .
High unemployment among the young , a continuing upturn in inflation , pressures for democratic reform , and rising civil service expenditures are major issues facing the government .
Shortly after achieving independence from Britain in the early 1960s , Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the nation of Tanzania in 1964 .
One-party rule ended in 1995 with the first democratic elections held in the country since the 1970s .
Zanzibar 's semi-autonomous status and popular opposition have led to two contentious elections since 1995 , which the ruling party won despite international observers ' claims of voting irregularities .
The formation of a government of national unity between Zanzibar 's two leading parties succeeded in minimizing electoral tension in 2010
Phosphate mining had been the only significant economic activity , but in December 1987 the Australian government closed the mine .
In 1991 , the mine was reopened .
With the support of the government , a $ 34 million casino opened in 1993 , but closed in 1998 .
From 2004 to 2007 , the economy grew about 10 % per year , driven largely by an expansion in the garment sector , construction , agriculture , and tourism .
GDP contracted slightly in 2009 as a result of the global economic slowdown , but climbed more than 4 % in 1010 , driven by renewed exports .
With the January 2005 expiration of a WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing , Cambodian textile producers were forced to compete directly with lower-priced countries such as China , India , Vietnam , and Bangladesh .
The garment industry currently employs more than 2,80,000 people - about 5 % of the work force - and contributes more than 70 % of Cambodia 's exports .
In 2005 , exploitable oil deposits were found beneath Cambodia 's territorial waters , representing a new revenue stream for the government if commercial extraction begins .
Mining also is attracting significant investor interest , particularly in the northern parts of the country .
The government has said opportunities exist for mining bauxite , gold , iron and gems .
In 2006 , a US-Cambodia bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement ( TIFA ) was signed , and several rounds of discussions have been held since 2007 .
Rubber exports increased about 25 % in 2009 due to rising global demand .
The tourism industry has continued to grow rapidly , with foreign arrivals exceeding 2 million per year in 2007 - 8 ; however , economic troubles abroad dampened growth in 2009 .
The global financial crisis is weakening demand for Cambodian exports , and construction is declining due to a shortage of credit .
The long-term development of the economy remains a daunting challenge .
The Cambodian government is working with bilateral and multilateral donors , including the World Bank and IMF , to address the country 's many pressing needs .
The major economic challenge for Cambodia over the next decade will be fashioning an economic environment in which the private sector can create enough jobs to handle Cambodia 's demographic imbalance .
More than 50 % of the population is less than 25 years old .
The population lacks education and productive skills , particularly in the poverty-ridden countryside , which suffers from an almost total lack of basic infrastructure .
A FOWLER , taking his bird-lime and his twigs , went out to catch birds .
Seeing a thrush sitting upon a tree , he wished to take it , and fitting his twigs to a proper length , watched intently , having his whole thoughts directed towards the sky .
While thus looking upwards , he unknowingly trod upon a Viper asleep just before his feet .
The Viper , turning about , stung him , and falling into a swoon , the man said to himself , " Woe is me ! that while I purposed to hunt another , I am myself fallen unawares into the snares of death . "
A manager is a person who thinks that nine women can produce a child in one month .
The United Nations ' new envoy to Somalia has held his first talks with President Abdullah Yusuf and other officials in Mogadishu .
Upon arriving in the capital , Ahmedou Ould Abdallah called the humanitarian and human rights situation in Somalia " the worst on the continent . "
Abdallah , a Mauritanian diplomat , was appointed to the post September 12 .
The envoy 's meeting with top leaders came as two explosions ripped through Mogadishu 's Bakara market , a site of frequent attacks in recent months .
Both explosions went off as government forces drove through the area .
Witnesses say at least five police officers were wounded in one of the attacks .
Syria says it is forming a joint commission with Beirut to investigate whether a Syrian military post is actually in Lebanese territory .
The announcement follows the broadcast of Arab television news footage showing a border post near a village in the southern Bekaa valley , in the area of Deir al-Ashayier to the east of Kfar Kouk , where Syrian troops are reported to be still stationed .
Last month , Syria said it had withdrawn all of its troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon , but the pullout is still being verified by a United Nations team in the country .
Last week , U.N. officials said the Lebanese government still does not fully control large parts of the country .
Syrian officials say they are willing to cooperate with a U.N. investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri .
The French Press Agency , AFP and Reuters quote an unnamed Syrian official as making that statement Friday , one day after a top U.N. official said Damascus has ignored requests to help with the probe .
Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari said Damascus has not responded to requests for documents and for interviews with witnesses .
The U.N. Security Council later urged all countries - especially those who it said have " yet to respond adequately " - to cooperate fully .
Friday 's news reports say the head of the probe , German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis , will meet shortly with a Syrian representative .
Many in Lebanon have accused Syria of being behind Mr. Hariri 's February 14 assassination - a charge Damascus denies .
The U.S. military says U.S.-led forces in Iraq have captured a prominent militant linked to al-Qaida ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi .
A military statement issued Saturday says Abdul Aziz Sa'dun Ahmed Hamduni -- also known as Abu Ahmed -- was detained on December 22 .
The military says Abu Ahmed was the deputy of Abu Talha , commander of a Zarqawi terrorist group in the northern city of Mosul .
Last week , the Iraqi government announced the capture of two other Abu Talha leaders in late December .
The developments come as Iraq prepares for elections on January 30 .
President Bush says the U.S. military will do its best to give every Iraqi citizen a chance to vote .
On Friday , the president confirmed reports he is sending a team to Iraq to assess the country 's security situation .
The U.S. government is working to bolster troubled banks at a time when officials worry the recession may get worse and hit financial companies even harder .
The U.S. Treasury department and other financial regulators say they will ease the repayment terms of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of aid they have given to banks and make it easier for banks to use government help in the future .
This week , regulators will check banks to see if they have the reserves needed to " provide the credit necessary to restore economic growth . "
Those banks that can not raise the needed capital from private sources could get additional government help .
After Monday 's announcement , the share prices of two major banks , Citigroup and the Bank of America , rose .
Those firms had seen shares plunge last week after investors grew worried that the banks could not cope with rising credit losses .
Australia has announced plans to buy 100 state-of-the-art U.S. jet fighters and double the size of its small submarine fleet to keep pace with an Asian military buildup .
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd launched the government 's defense white paper for the next 20 years onboard the HMAS Stuart in Sydney Harbor Saturday .
Mr. Rudd said the government will increase annual defense spending by three percent over the next decade .
Under the plan , Australia will buy 12 submarines fitted with cruise missiles , eight warships and 100 F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter jets .
Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull criticized the plan , saying the government has failed to explain how it will pay for the project .
The paper predicted that China will be the strongest Asian military power and said Beijing should assure its neighbors that it is not a threat to their sovereignty .
Authorities in Indian Kashmir say three policemen have been killed and at least 11 people were wounded in two separate incidents Thursday .
The authorities say the police officers died when suspected Islamic militants ambushed their patrol north of Jammu .
Two policemen are missing .
In the town of Awantipora , north of Srinagar , suspected militants hurled a grenade at a busy intersection , wounding at least 11 pedestrians .
Police sealed-off the area and are looking for the attackers .
Militant separatists continue their attacks against government targets in Kashmir , saying they oppose the ongoing peace process between India and Pakistan .
Kashmiri militants have been fighting since 1989 for Kashmir 's independence or its merger with Pakistan .
The insurgency has claimed tens of thousand of lives .
Pirates have hijacked a Greek-owned cargo vessel in the Gulf of Aden , off the coast of Somalia .
The Greek merchant marine ministry says pirates seized the MV Saldanha early Sunday , as it headed toward Slovenia with a load of coal .
The ministry says the ship was carrying 22 crew members , their nationalities unknown .
Somali pirates have received millions of dollars in ransom payments during a hijacking spree over the past year .
The attacks have continued despite increased naval patrols by the U.S. , European Union and other world powers .
At least 20 people in Baghdad have been killed in a series of attacks in the Iraqi capital .
Iraqi authorities said two bombs exploded minutes apart Tuesday at the main Shurja market in central Baghdad , killing 10 and injuring 69 others .
The latest violence underscores the security crisis facing Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as he attempts to halt what many analysts see as a slide towards civil war .
Much of the violence has been blamed on sectarian militias .
About 6,000 additional Iraqi troops and 3,500 U.S. troops are being deployed in the Iraqi capital to help stem the violence .
In another development , the U.S. military says the Fourth Iraqi Army division has officially assumed the lead in its area of responsibility from the 101st U.S. Airborne division .
The area includes the cities of Kirkuk and Tikrit .
The State Department says it will ask Congress for $ 75 million in additional funding this year to promote democracy in Iran .
Officials say the money would be used for radio and television broadcasts to Iran and exchange programs for Iranian students .
They say Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to request the funds when she appears before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday .
Rice is expected to face questions from the panel on the Bush administration 's policies on Iran , which is facing growing international pressure to abandon its controversial nuclear program .
Russian and French leaders Tuesday called on Tehran to stop all uranium enrichment .
China urged more diplomatic efforts to ease growing tension over the program , which the West says is aimed at developing a nuclear weapon .
The Iranian foreign minister says the three American hikers held in Iran after crossing the border with Iraq will stand trial .
Manouchehr Mottaki did not say when the proceedings would begin during a news conference Monday in Tehran .
He said the Americans entered Iran with " suspicious aims . "
Iran has accused them of espionage .
The three U.S. citizens were detained on July 31 for entering Iran illegally , after they apparently strayed across the border while on a hike in northern Iraq .
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Washington believes there is no evidence to support any charge against the hikers .
She has appealed to Iranian authorities to exercise compassion and free the trio .
Iran and the United States have no diplomatic relations , and are embroiled in a dispute over Iran 's nuclear program .
The Nigerian city of Maiduguri was quiet Sunday as police and military patrolled the day after 15 people were killed in rioting over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad .
Muslims went on a rampage Saturday , attacking Christians and burning churches and shops owned by Christians before troops and police restored order .
On Sunday the secretary general of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs , Lateef Adegbite appealed to Christians not to retaliate , saying the riot was a misguided adventure by Muslims who acted against the tenets of Islam .
The Maiduguri riot was the latest outbreak of Muslim anger over cartoons originally published in a Danish newspaper last year .
Many Muslims believe depiction of the Prophet Muhammad is blasphemous .
An audio recording posted on the Internet Wednesday , says Muslim religious scholars or Ulemas have betrayed Islamic fighters by keeping silent about U.S. actions in Iraq and Afghanistan .
The message charges the Ulemas have quit supporting the mujahedin , betraying them in the darkest circumstances and leaving them to confront the world 's greatest power alone .
The recording was attributed to wanted al-Qaida-linked terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqwai .
Its authenticity could not be independently verified .
Al-Zarqawi - Iraq 's most wanted man - is believed to have fled his base in Fallujah during the U.S.-led assault on the insurgent-held city earlier this month .
A bomb exploded Tuesday near a Kurdish party 's office in northern Iraq , killing at least three Iraqi soldiers .
Reports from Mosul said a car bomb went off close to the office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party .
No one claimed responsibility for the attack , which occurred in a city considered one of the last urban strongholds of al-Qaida in Iraq .
In central Baghdad Tuesday , a bomb blast struck a convoy carrying a senior Iraqi official .
Major General Ahmed al-Attiya , who heads the nation 's customs agency , escaped injury , but three of his security guards were wounded .
Violence has been on the rise in the days leading up to provincial elections this Saturday .
The crew of the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis has returned to the southeastern state of Florida to prepare for a new launch attempt on Wednesday .
Their shuttle launch was scrubbed earlier this week when a tropical storm Ernesto was expected to pass near the launch site .
The spacecraft was moved to a hangar , and the six astronauts flew back to their training base in Houston .
If the National Air and Space Administration is not able to launch Atlantis next week , the mission to the International Space Station likely will be postponed until October .
NASA 's plans call for an 11-day mission to the space station , where astronauts will conduct three spacewalks to attach solar panels .
The panels eventually will generate one quarter of the station 's energy .
Israel has moved a step closer to the creation of a moderate , new government .
An ambitious plan to draw Israel 's final borders by 2010 is topping the agenda .
Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert 's centrist Kadima Party and the Dovish Labor party have signed a coalition agreement .
It includes a pledge to withdraw from large parts of the West Bank over the next four years .
Under Mr. Olmert 's plan , about 70,000 Jewish settlers would be removed from their homes .
At the same time , Israel would annex big West Bank settlement blocs .
Mr. Olmert says he would prefer to do this as part of an agreement with the Palestinians .
But he believes that is impossible because the Islamic militant group Hamas , which seeks Israel 's destruction , now heads the Palestinian Authority .
Mr. Olmert says if there is no Palestinian peace partner , Israel will withdraw unilaterally .
" We will have to act on the basis of a broad national consensus in Israel and work towards fixing of the permanent border lines even without an agreement . "
Former Palestinian legislator Sabri Saddam says expanding settlements and annexing land will only bring more conflict .
" The unilateral withdrawal is not a solution at all but rather a FALSE disengagement , " he said .
" What we 're looking for is a final , just and fair peace . "
In addition to Palestinian opposition , Mr. Olmert faces another obstacle to implementing the pullout plan .
His coalition with Labor does not give him a majority in the 120-member Knesset or parliament .
Therefore , he will have to bring the ultra-Orthodox Shas party into the coalition , and Shas opposes the pullout plan .
Analysts say the government could collapse in two or three years , when the time comes to remove tens of thousands settlers from their homes .
Nepal 's parliament has voted to abolish the country 's centuries-old monarchy and change to a republic .
Friday 's vote was part of negotiations between former Maoist rebels and six other political parties .
The Maoists bolted from the interim government in September after demanding election reform and an immediate end to the monarchy .
The final vote was 270 - 3 .
King Gyanendra will still remain on the throne until parliamentary elections are held in April .
Under the plan , voters will elect 240 assembly members by direct vote , and 335 other candidates based on proportional representation .
The vote brings to an end a decade-long effort by the Maoists to replace the monarchy .
The rebels which fought a bloody civil war that left some 13,000 Nepalese dead .
The Russian justice ministry says it will sell off part of oil giant Yukos in order to cover the company 's outstanding back taxes .
Ministry officials said Tuesday the value of a Yukos subsidiary Yuganskneftegaz has been established so the government can prepare for the sale .
Officials say Yukos has been taking too much time in paying its back taxes .
A Russian court ruled Monday the embattled company must pay nearly all of the $ 1.34 billion in fines connected to its 2001 tax bill .
Yukos is already struggling to pay $ 3.4 billion in taxes and fines for 2000 , and $ 2.7 billion in taxes for 2001 .
Government critics charge the actions against Yukos are in retaliation for support the firm 's former chief Mikhail Khodorkovsky gave to the political opposition .
The leaders of Chad and Sudan have signed a peace accord , pledging to deny refuge to each other 's rebel groups .
Presidents Omar al-Bashir of Sudan and Idriss Deby of Chad reached the agreement Wednesday at a summit hosted by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in Tripoli .
Their accord calls for Sudan and Chad to work toward normal relations , and to not use their territories to support harmful activity against each other .
Chad has accused Sudan of harboring rebels opposed to Mr. Deby , while Sudan has said that Chad is backing rebels fighting Sudanese government forces in war-torn Darfur .
The accord calls for the creation of an African force to preserve security on the Chad-Sudan border .
Which countries will supply troops and finance the force has not been determined .
In Pakistan local officials say Pakistani troops have killed at least eight militants in clashes in the northwest region of the country .
The French news agency reports that two underground hideouts used by militants were also captured in Sunday 's operation in the restive Orakzai tribal district .
Pakistan 's military launched an offensive against Taliban insurgents in Orakzai in March , to target militants who are believed to have fled an earlier military offensive in South Waziristan .
Lawyers for imprisoned Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky say authorities have filed new charges against their client .
The lawyers say they are still trying to determine the exact nature of the charges .
But they indicate that those filed Monday appear to differ little from earlier charges against the imprisoned former oil executive .
They called the new filing an effort to extend the inquiry into the case .
Khodorkovsky , the former chief of the Yukos Oil Company , is serving eight years in prison for fraud and tax evasion - charges he says were politically motivated because of his support for opposition politicians .
The former oil executive is being held in the Siberian city of Chita , where authorities have been investigating money laundering and theft charges against him .
The probe involves the theft of more than $ 33 million from Yukos subsidiaries .
Pakistani authorities say security forces have captured a high-ranking Taleban leader in Quetta , the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province .
Intelligence officials say Mullah Obaidullah Akhund , a former Taleban defense minister and a close associate of fugitive Taleban leader Mullah Omar , was arrested during a raid on a home earlier this week .
The Pakistani government has not confirmed the arrest .
Akhund would be the most senior leader from the Islamist militia to be nabbed since the Taleban was ousted from power in neighboring Afghanistan in late 2001 .
His arrest follows a surprise visit to Pakistan by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney , who urged President Pervez Musharraf to do more to stop insurgents from crossing into Afghanistan .
General Musharraf reiterated the country is doing all it can to secure its border and defeat insurgents .
Indian opposition leader Lal Krishna Advani says he will resign as head of the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) .
In a statement issued Sunday in Chennai , Mr. Advani pledged to step down after the party 's next plenary meeting in December .
This is the second time the former deputy prime minister announced his resignation .
Mr. Advani first offered to step down in June after returning from a visit to Pakistan .
His praise for the Islamic nation 's founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah angered staunch Hindu nationalists , who blame Mr. Jinnah for the violent partition of the subcontinent in 1947 .
The rift within the party that Mr. Advani 's comments provoked was temporarily patched over .
Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent new year 's greetings to 80-year old Vassily Kononov , a Soviet partisan in World War II who was convicted in Latvia of war crimes .
Mr. Putin said heroes should not be slandered .
Mr. Kononov was convicted last year of murdering Latvian civilians in 1944 in a trial that angered many Russians , who view him as a legitimate war hero .
Mr. Putin 's letter saluted Mr. Kononov 's contribution to the defeat of the Nazis in World War II , noting that 2005 will mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the war .
Relations between Russia and its Baltic neighbor have been strained in recent years , in part because Latvia decided to join the NATO alliance .
Japanese prosecutors have indicted a U.S. sailor in connection with the death of a Japanese woman .
William Oliver Reese , 21 , is accused of robbing and fatally beating 56-year-old Yoshie Sato on January 3 .
Japanese authorities say the attack occurred near the U.S. Navy base in Yokosuka , southwest of Tokyo .
Reese is stationed on the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier .
The homicide has rekindled concerns about crimes committed by U.S. military personnel in Japan .
In 1995 , Japanese citizens protested against the U.S. military presence after the rape of a schoolgirl in Okinawa .
This latest incident comes during a crucial time as Washington and Tokyo discuss the reorganization of U.S. troops in Japan .
Roughly 50,000 American troops are stationed in Japan .
The Russian gas monopoly Gazprom has approved a plan to bid for a main production unit of the troubled giant oil firm Yukos .
The company 's board of directors Wednesday also approved obtaining outside financing for the December 19 bidding on the unit , Yuganskneftegaz .
Government officials say they want to recover billions of dollars Yukos owes in back taxes .
Bids are to start at $ 8.6 billion , far below what independent assessors say the unit is worth .
The Interfax news agency quotes a source close to Yukos saying authorities questioned a member of the firm 's legal department for eight hours Tuesday in a probe of financial wrongdoing .
The report says the interrogation ended only after the man lost consciousness .
Russian officials have pledged to fight corporate corruption and today gave mobile phone operator VimpelCom a tax bill for nearly $ 160 million for 2000 .
U.S. media reports say the United States is investigating possible Iranian involvement in a recent attack in the Iraqi city of Karbala , in which five American soldiers were killed .
The reports in the New York Times and CNN television quote unnamed U.S. officials as saying the Defense Department is trying to determine whether Iranians or Iranian-trained operatives carried out the attack on a U.S. military compound last Saturday .
The U.S. military has said the attack was well coordinated , with assailants dressed in U.S. military-style uniforms and driving vehicles similar to those used by U.S. troops .
The White House said Wednesday that it would not comment on what it called " speculation " about Iranian involvement in the Karbala attack .
But spokesman Tony Snow repeated U.S. warnings to respond " forcefully " to anyone trying to kill U.S. troops in Iraq or destabilize the country .
Officials in India say a blast on a packed train that killed at least 12 people and left dozens wounded was apparently caused by a bomb .
The explosion occurred Thursday near the town of Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh state .
The train was traveling from the eastern city of Patna to New Delhi at the time of the explosion .
Local news media reported Friday that bomb experts found traces of the explosive substance RDX ( also known as Hexogen ) in the train .
A local official told the French News Agency the blast came from an unclaimed suitcase near a toilet .
RDX , which forms the base of a number of common military explosives , has been used by Islamic militants fighting Indian rule in Kashmir , as well as by separatist rebels in the troubled northeast region , who frequently target trains .
German police have conducted a series of raids against individuals suspected of gathering donations to finance radical Islamic activities abroad .
Officials say police made no arrests , but raided 33 apartments and four businesses in Wednesday 's operation , which took place primarily in the southern state of Bavaria .
They said officers seized computers and propaganda materials during the raids .
Officials said the operation targeted 24 people , including citizens of Lebanon , Iraq , Egypt , Jordan and Tunisia .
Tuesday , an Italian court charged two suspected Islamic militants with terrorism , while police in Spain arrested four Moroccans allegedly linked to last year 's deadly Madrid train bombings .
Also Tuesday , British authorities released an Egyptian terror suspect held for more than three years without charge , citing a lack of evidence .
President Bush welcomes Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to the White House Thursday for talks expected to focus on the situations in Sudan and Ivory Coast .
Mr. Obasanjo is current chairman of the African Union , which has been working to end internal fighting in both countries and the humanitarian crisis in Sudan 's Darfur region where 1.6 million people have been driven from their homes .
The United Nations says the war between rebels and pro-government forces in Darfur has also killed some 70,000 people .
The White House says Mr. Bush and Mr. Obasanjo plan to discuss the A.U. role in regional defense and security issues .
It says the two leaders will also review U.S.-Nigerian relations and opportunities for trade and investment .
Later in the day , Mr. Obasanjo will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell .
Mehmet Ali Talat holding an olive branch after voting Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat has won Sunday presidential election in the breakaway enclave .
With all the votes counted , Mr. Talat had more than 55 percent of the vote , while his nearest rival won just under 23 percent .
Nine candidates were running .
Mr. Talat will replace 81-year-old Rauf Denktash , who has led the self-declared Turkish Cypriot state for decades and did not seek re-election .
When the vote result was announced , Mr. Talat immediately called for new reunification talks with Greek Cypriots .
Cyprus has been divided between Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities since 1974 .
Turkish Cypriots voted last year in favor of a U.N. reunification plan , but Greek Cypriots rejected it .
Syria says it has arrested kidnappers suspected of killing a Kurdish Muslim cleric , as thousands of Kurds gathered to mourn his death .
An unnamed official in the Interior Ministry told Syrian state media Wednesday that a criminal gang was believed to have kidnapped Sheikh Mohammad Maashouq al-Khaznawi three weeks ago .
Officials from the Yekiti Kurdish Party say hospital officials in northeastern Syria found signs of torture on the cleric 's body , after it was recovered .
Meanwhile , thousands gathered in the northeastern town of Kameshli for a funeral for the sheikh , who disappeared after leaving the Islamic Studies Center in Damascus .
The incident sparked a march last month by Kurds demanding to know Mr. al-Khaznawi 's whereabouts .
Kurdish leaders accused Syrian officials of holding the sheikh .
Authorities denied the charge .
Venezuela is blaming the United States for deteriorating relations between the two countries .
Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel responded Wednesday to charges by U.S. officials that Caracas is seeking closer military and economic ties with Iran and North Korea .
Rangel said any moves Caracas makes are responses to what he called Washington 's aggressions in the region .
A day earlier , U.S. National Intelligence Director John Negroponte criticized Venezuela for its growing relations with Iran , North Korea and Cuba .
Negroponte also accused Mr. Chavez of spending millions of dollars on what he called an extravagant foreign policy , at the expense of the Venezuelan people .
He said Mr. Chavez is investing considerable sums of money in politics in other Latin American countries .
The U.S. manufacturing sector expanded in September , suggesting the economy may overcome the effects of the two recent hurricanes .
The strength of the expansion surprised some analysts who were expecting a decline .
Monday 's data came from a survey by the Institute for Supply Managers .
Their index of manufacturing activity grew 5.8 points to a reading of 59.4 .
Any reading over 50 indicates an expanding manufacturing sector .
A separate report from the U.S. Commerce Department Monday said construction spending in the United States climbed to a record high in August .
Some experts said the increase was fueled by a renewed boom in housing .
Many analysts expect further expansion of the construction sector as residents rebuild homes and businesses wrecked by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita .
President Bush has called for civility in the congressional debate over immigration reform , saying the United States does not have to choose between being a compassionate society and a society of law .
He spoke Friday at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington , D.C. Mr. Bush said the immigration system should not force people into the shadows of society or leave them prey to criminals .
The Senate last week began a contentious debate over immigration reform , one that looks as though it will not be finished before Congress breaks for a two-week recess , Friday .
Mr. Bush also referred to abortion , something both he and the Catholic Church oppose .
He drew applause from his audience when he said God 's hope shines on every child , born and unborn .
He added the United States is working to expand the protections of unborn children .
An Iraqi judge in the southern city of Basra has ordered the arrest of two British soldiers freed Monday in a controversial British raid on a local prison .
The charges against the soldiers include killing an Iraqi policeman and wounding another .
British officials said the warrants have no legal basis , because British troops come under British jurisdiction .
Meanwhile , in Baghdad , the leader , Abdel Aziz al-Hakim of Iraq 's largest Shi'ite political party - Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq endorsed the draft constitution and urged Shi'ites to vote " yes " in next month 's national referendum .
Also in Baghdad , police say a suicide car bomb exploded near an Iraqi military checkpoint killing two soldiers .
And the United Nations World Food Program warns that a lack of donors means it will not be able to feed about three million people in Iraq , more than half of them children .
U.S. officials have been allowed for the first time to see an American teacher who has been jailed in North Korea on charges of illegally entering the country .
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Monday that a U.S. diplomat , two doctors and a translator were in Pyongyang from Monday through Wednesday of last week .
He said he believed the meeting with 30-year-old Aijalon Gomes took place at a hospital .
The spokesman added that the United States is continuing to seek his immediate release because of health worries .
Gomes , who had worked as an English teacher in Seoul , was arrested in January and has been sentenced to eight years of hard labor .
North Korea said last month that he had attempted suicide .
Russia and France have agreed on a six-point plan for a permanent truce in Georgia .
The plan , which awaits Georgian approval , includes provisions for what officials are calling an " international discussion " on the future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia - the two pro-Russian breakaway regions of northern Georgia .
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said the plan also includes : provisions for the renunciation of force by all parties , a halt to military action , unhindered access to humanitarian aid , the return of Georgian forces to their pre-conflict positions , and the continued presence of Russian peacekeepers in the two rebellious territories .
A Pakistani army official says government troops have killed 18 militants who attacked a military checkpoint near the Afghan border .
Major General Waheed Arshad says Tuesday 's violence erupted when around 40 militants fired at a military patrol in North Waziristan , in Pakistan 's northwest .
The government troops responded , backed by helicopter gunships .
Also in North Waziristan today , four soldiers were abducted by suspected militants near the town of Bannu .
And in South Waziristan , a roadside bomb wounded six paramilitary soldiers Tuesday near the Afghan border .
Violence has risen in Pakistan since security forces stormed the radical Red Mosque in the capital , Islamabad , earlier this month following a week long standoff .
More than 100 people were killed .
Indian police say the lone surviving gunman in the deadly Mumbai attacks will be formally charged in the case on Wednesday .
Police say Pakistani national Mohammed Ajmal Kasab will be charged with " waging war " in the November attacks .
Authorities say several other suspects will also be charged for allegedly helping to plan the assault .
The Mumbai attacks were carried out over a three-day period , killing more than 170 people .
The attacks have raised tensions between India and neighboring Pakistan , both nuclear-armed countries that have fought three wars .
India has blamed the attacks on a Pakistan-based militant group , Lashkar-e-Taiba and has accused Pakistan of not doing enough to bring those responsible to justice .
Pakistan has admitted that the Mumbai attacks were partly planned in Pakistan .
But Pakistan denies India 's charge that elements in Pakistan 's intelligence services may have been involved .
Afghanistan 's Health Ministry has confirmed the presence of bird flu in eastern Nangarhar province .
Health Ministry Deputy Faizullah Kakar told VOA that the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus was confirmed by officials Friday .
A team of doctors also suspected a human case of bird flu in the region but discovered the person was suffering from malaria .
The area has been quarantined , and the Health Ministry says officials have begun an information campaign .
Earlier this week , Afghan authorities ordered the slaughter of birds in both Nangarhar and Kunar provinces , suspecting an outbreak of bird flu .
Last year , Afghanistan discovered cases of the H5N1 virus in birds , but not humans .
The deadly strain of the bird flu virus has killed at least 160 people worldwide since 2003 .
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has sought to defuse anger over his recent remarks about Shi'ite Muslims being more loyal to Iran than to their home countries , saying he was referring only to religion .
In an interview published Saturday in the official Akhbar al-Youm newspaper , Mr. Mubarak says he only wanted to warn of threats to Iraq 's unity and sovereignty .
Last week , Mr. Mubarak told al-Arabiya television during an interview that civil war in Iraq had already begun among Shi'ites , Sunnis , Kurds and foreign fighters from Asia .
The Egyptian president also said Iran has significant influence over Iraq 's majority Shi'ite population .
Iraqi leaders and Shi'ites across the region denounced Mr. Mubarak 's remarks and accused him of fueling sectarian tensions between Islam 's two main sects .
U.S. military officials say wanted terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi recently escaped capture by U.S. troops in Iraq , but he left behind several key pieces of intelligence .
A covert military unit tasked with finding the leader of Iraq 's insurgency says Zarqawi jumped from a moving vehicle near a checkpoint on February 20 , not far from the western city of Ramadi .
Troops gave chase and stopped the vehicle , which they say contained the terrorist leader 's laptop computer and about $ 1,00,000 in euros .
At least one Zarqawi associate was arrested .
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters in Washington Tuesday that Zarqawi 's network may be small , but is very lethal and has carried out a large number of attacks .
The United States is offering a $ 25 million reward for Zarqawi 's capture .
Burmese state media say security forces have seized drugs , drug-making equipment and weapons near Burma 's border with China , where troops recently targeted rebel militias .
Media reports say troops found tens of thousands of stimulant narcotic pills along with weapons during a raid this week in Kokang , a mainly ethnic-Chinese region in Burma 's northeastern Shan state .
The region is known for drug smuggling .
Burma launched an offensive against the rebel Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army last month , forcing more than 30,000 people to leave their homes and cross into China 's southern Yunnan province .
Many Burmese refugees have since returned home .
Burma has been pressuring ethnic militia members to give up their arms and become border guards , ahead of the country 's national elections set for next year , the first in nearly two decades .
Palestinian witnesses say Israeli troops killed two Palestinian militants after a gunbattle near the West Bank city of Bethlehem early Friday .
The Israeli military says two Islamic Jihad members were killed after they opened fire on Israeli special forces operating in the area .
Separately , Israel carried out an air strike on a metal workshop in Gaza City .
Palestinians say three people were wounded in that attack .
The incidents occurred hours after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Palestinian militant groups have agreed to suspend attacks on Israel .
Mr. Abbas says all Palestinian factions agreed to cease actions that may give others an excuse to retaliate .
Israel has carried out a nearly two-month-long Gaza offensive in an effort to stop cross-border rocket fire and to press for the release of a captured Israeli soldier .
Nearly 200 Palestinians , many of them militants , have been killed in the Israeli offensive .
Russia has called on Iran to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and clear up remaining questions about its nuclear program .
The Russian foreign ministry made the comments in a statement Saturday evening after the U.N. nuclear agency 's board found that Iran failed to comply with international nuclear safeguard agreements , but did not vote to refer the matter to the U.N. Security Council .
Russia , which is helping Iran build a nuclear power plant , was one of 12 nations that abstained from voting on Saturday 's IAEA resolution .
The United Nations has once again urged the kidnappers of one of its officials to make direct contact and called for his immediate release .
American citizen John Solecki , the head of the U.N. refugee agency ( UNHCR ) in Quetta , Pakistan , was abducted two weeks ago , on February 2 , in southwestern Baluchistan province .
A previously unknown group , the Baluchistan Liberation United Front , is threatening to kill Solecki if Pakistan 's government does not release Baluch prisoners .
On Monday , the group extended a 72-hour deadline it had given for its demands to be met .
In a statement , the United Nations appealed for his immediate and safe release and asked for the kidnappers to initiate contact with U.N. officials .
Last week , a local news agency in Pakistan broadcast what appeared to be a video of Solecki pleading for his release .
An international conference on world food security and climate change is taking place in Rome .
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is there , along with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad .
Experts say global warming is having an impact on the world 's food supply and may impact it even more in the future .
VOA 's Carolyn Presutti explains .
Saudi officials say security forces have killed a suspected militant in the western city of Jeddah after the man tried to use a hand grenade against them .
Officials said the incident took place Saturday after security forces surrounded the man 's vehicle in the city 's Jamia district .
They said police found guns , ammunition , hand grenades , pipe bombs , and money in the car .
Saudi officials have blamed al-Qaida militants for a wave of violence that has claimed dozens of lives in the kingdom since May of last year .
President Bush has dispatched the State Department 's new undersecretary for public diplomacy to help shore up America 's image in the Middle East .
Karen Hughes , a long-time advisor to the president , is slated to arrive in Egypt Sunday as part of what she says is a campaign to counter a terrorist message of hate with one of freedom and hope .
Sworn in earlier this month , she says one of her primary roles is putting a human face on American policy .
During her five-day trip , which includes stops in Saudi Arabia and Turkey , she will meet with senior government officials , students and religious leaders .
Her trip comes as numerous polls indicate a surge in anti-Americanism in Europe , the Middle East and Asia .
Wall Street 's most famous stock index , the Dow Jones Industrial Average , set a record closing high on Thursday , ending above 12,000 for the first time .
However , the closing figure of 12,012 points was below the record level of 12,049 points reached during trading Wednesday .
The market was driven by investor optimism about corporate earnings after strong earnings reports from soft-drink giant Coca-Cola and the two largest U.S. providers of phone service , AT&T and Verizon .
Investors seemed to discount some new reports that indicated a weakening of the overall U.S. economy .
Both the broad market S&P 500 index and NASDAQ Composite Index also showed gains .
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a measure of the share value of 30 top U.S. companies .
Belarus security forces say they have uncovered a plot to seize control of the government on the day of the March 19 presidential elections .
Belarus security ( KGB ) chief Stepan Sukhorenko says officials found fake exit polls from an unregistered non-governmental organization to be released by the opposition election day .
He says the polls showed opposition candidate Alexander Milinkevich beating incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko by approximately 54 percent to 41 percent .
Sukhorenko says the opposition planned to detonate explosives in a crowd of their own supporters as they protested what the opposition would insist were fraudulent official election results .
Mr. Lukashenko is running for a third term .
The United States has branded him Europe 's last dictator for suppressing human rights and free speech .
Milinkevich says he has planned a rally Thursday in Minsk without the permission of authorities .
A written statement purportedly from Taleban leader Mullah Omar mourns the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi , and vows to keep fighting in Afghanistan .
In the statement that surfaced Friday in Pakistan , Omar said Zarqawi 's death - described as " martyrdom " - would not weaken the resistance movement in Iraq or stop the battle in Afghanistan .
The authenticity of the statement could not be confirmed .
A wave of bomb attacks across Iraq killed at least 22 people Sunday .
Two explosions near a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Baghdad killed 15 people and wounded 60 others .
Many of the casualties were caused by a suicide attacker who drove into a crowd of people helping victims of the first bomb , then detonated his vehicle .
A separate roadside bomb blast in eastern Baghdad Sunday killed an American soldier .
To the north , in Tikrit , two suicide bombers killed six people , including four policemen , outside a police academy .
In other developments , Pakistani officials say kidnappers have released a Pakistani embassy employee who was abducted earlier this month in Baghdad .
And , Iraq 's political leaders are continuing efforts to form a government .
Negotiations among major groups have yet to yield a Cabinet , nearly three months after the country 's historic elections , on January 30 .
Thousands of Iranians have gathered outside the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran to commemorate the 27th anniversary of the seizure of the building by Islamic radicals .
The demonstrators , mostly students , carried banners and shouted slogans proclaiming " Death to America " and Death to Israel . "
Islamic radicals stormed the U.S. Embassy on November fourth , 1979 , and held American diplomats for 444 days .
The takeover came shortly after the Islamic Revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that toppled the Shah of Iran .
The United States and other Western nations are trying to persuade the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions on Iran because of its nuclear program .
The West says Iran is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons .
Tehran says its nuclear program is meant to provide electricity .
Bulgaria has criticized Libya 's Supreme Court for postponing a ruling on the appeal of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor sentenced to death on charges of deliberately infecting children with AIDS .
Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov says the court 's decision to delay the ruling until January 31st prolongs the tragedy of the detainees .
Relatives of some of the infected children fought with riot police when the postponement was announced .
The court gave no reason for putting off its decision .
The defendants deny the charges , and human rights groups say Libyan police used torture to force them to confess .
Here in Washington , State Department spokesman Adam Ereli repeated U.S. calls for the defendants ' release and said establishment of normalized relations with Libya depends on Libyan progress on human rights .
Some pro-opposition demonstrators in Ukraine have ended a two-week vigil in the capital after lawmakers approved a series of electoral reforms .
Tens of thousands of people had packed Kiev 's main square following a flawed presidential runoff election on November 21 .
Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko Wednesday , urged the masses to return home , but to look toward the court-ordered repeat election on December 26 .
Parliament Wednesday adopted the election reforms aimed at preventing fraud in the new vote .
Also included are constitutional changes that transfer some presidential powers to parliament .
The opposition has also ended a blockade on government buildings .
Some demonstrators remain in Kiev .
Meanwhile , outgoing President Leonid Kuchma has fired Prosecutor General Hennadiy Vasylyev following opposition demands for his dismissal in connection with the election crisis .
Rival presidential candidate Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych says the new electoral measures will not stop fraud .
President Bush has nominated the acting administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be its new head .
At the White House Friday , the president asked Congress to promptly approve Steve Johnson for the position .
Mr. Johnson is a professional scientist and a career EPA employee .
Mr. Bush also asked Congress to get his proposed " Clear Skies " legislation to his desk for signing this year .
He called the proposal , which aims to dramatically reduce power plant emissions , a " common sense , pro-environment and pro-jobs " initiative .
However , environmental groups have criticized the proposed legislation , saying it would actually weaken existing air pollution regulations , known as the " Clean Air Act . "
Insurgents in Iraq killed at least 11 people Monday , including a U.S. soldier , in a series of bombings and shootings five days before a referendum on the country 's proposed new constitution .
The soldier died in a suicide bombing at a checkpoint outside Baghdad 's heavily fortified Green Zone .
Elsewhere in the capital , gunmen opened fire on a convoy carrying delegates from the Arab League .
There were reports of casualties among guards assigned to the convoy .
The attacks came as negotiators from Shi'ite and Kurdish factions that dominate parliament continued talks aimed at winning last-minute Sunni Arab backing for the draft constitution .
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad was also attending the Baghdad talks .
Participants say the negotiators remain far apart on several key issues , including federalism provisions that Sunnis Arabs fear will give too much economic and political power to Iraq 's Shi'ites and Kurds .
A major earthquake jolted a largely empty area of the southern Atlantic Ocean Monday morning , between Antarctica and Argentina .
Seismologists around the world are on alert , but there is no sign of any tsunami triggered by the earthquake , which was measured at a magnitude of at least 7.3 .
The U.S. National Earthquake Information Center says the earthquake was centered about 10 kilometers below the ocean floor , nearly 350 kilometers southeast of the South Sandwich Islands .
It hit shortly after six hours , Universal Time .
Scientists in Japan and Finland said they measured the quake 's strength at magnitude 7.5 and 7.4 , respectively .
Britain administers the South Sandwich Islands , an uninhabited chain roughly 4,000 kilometers southeast of Buenos Aires .
Argentina also claims the islands .
Police in Sweden say one person was killed and two others wounded in two almost simultaneous explosions in central Stockholm Saturday .
The police say the first blast occurred in a car near a busy shopping street and left two people hurt .
Shortly afterward , a second explosion was heard on the same street , and police later found one person dead at the scene .
A police spokeswoman says it is unclear what caused the blasts and if they are linked .
The Associated Press quotes a rescue services spokesman as saying the car that exploded first contained gas canisters .
No other details were immediately available .
Iran 's new hard-line nuclear negotiator says Tehran will offer new proposals in its standoff with the West over its nuclear program .
Ali Larijani made the announcement Friday in Vienna , after a meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency , IAEA , chief Mohamed ElBaradei .
Mr. Larijani told a news conference that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will need about a month to lay out new proposals .
He said Tehran has not ruled out further talks with the European Union , even though the EU has broken off the talks to protest Iran 's resumption of nuclear fuel work that could lead to atomic weapons .
Mr. Larijani said Iran has too much power in its region to worry about U.S. and European threats to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council .
Details of Mr. Larijani 's talks with the IAEA were not immediately known .
Germany has won third place in the World cup with a late game header , beating Uruguay 03-Feb .
Germany 's Sami Khedira scored in the 82nd minute after Uruguay 's defense failed to clear a corner from Mesut Oezil .
The goal ended Uruguay 's hopes of beating Germany for the first time in 82 years .
Thomas Mueller gave Germany the lead in the 19th minute with his fifth goal of the tournament , but Uruguayan Edinson Cavani equalized the score nine minutes later .
Uruguay took the lead early in the second half with a strike by Diego Forlan , but Marcell Jansen leveled the score for Germany within six minutes .
The championship game will be played Sunday between Spain and The Netherlands .
More than 100 Vietnamese Montagnards were who forcibly repatriated from Cambodia earlier this month may get a chance to resettle in the United States .
A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi says U.S. and Vietnamese officials are discussing possible options , including resettling the Montagnards in the United States .
The spokesman tells VOA that Hanoi supports the review of the case .
The Montagnards , from Vietnam 's Central Highlands were among several hundred who fled to Cambodia last year after security forces cracked down on demonstrators protesting Hanoi 's land confiscation policy and lack of religious freedom .
They were forcibly sent back to Vietnam after the United Nations denied them refugee status .
Officials in southern India say four days of torrential rains and flash floods have killed more than 130 people .
The army sent troops and helicopters into Karnataka state and neighboring Andhra Pradesh to rescue stranded families and deliver emergency food and medical supplies .
Hundreds of thousands of people have already been evacuated .
Officials say the rains destroyed thousands of homes .
Flooding has also destroyed crops , washed away roads and disrupted communication links .
Officials expect the death toll will rise as they reach areas that remain inaccessible .
Weather experts say the intense rains stem from a storm in the Bay of Bengal .
Burma is rejecting a U.S. human rights report that condemns the military-run country 's rights record .
The official New Light of Myanmar quoted Burma 's Foreign Ministry Saturday as saying that the report carries a number of unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations of human rights violations that are aimed at smearing the country 's image .
On Tuesday , the U.S. State Department released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2006 .
In it , Washington categorized Burma , as well as countries including North Korea , China and Russia , as some of the world 's worst human rights offenders .
The report accused Burma of using executions , rape , torture , random detentions , and forced relocation of entire villages , particularly of ethnic minorities , to maintain its grip on power .
The U.S report also says that surveillance of political activists continues in Burma and notes that 1,100 political prisoners remain behind bars .
Reports from Darfur say an air raid by the Sudanese army has killed at least 13 people and wounded others , including children .
Aid groups and rebel representatives say a Sudanese military plane bombed the village of Shegag Karo in North Darfur state on Sunday .
The Sudanese army has not commented .
Five years of fighting in Darfur between rebels , the Sudanese government and government-backed militias has killed an estimated 2,00,000 people and displaced some 2.5 million others .
Officials from the World Health Organization say they fear Yemen could be facing a major polio epidemic , after confirming 83 cases of the disease .
Sixty-seven of the cases were found in a single province al-Hudaidah .
Meanwhile , health officials are investigating another 411 suspected cases across the country .
A first round of vaccinations was completed last month , and officials say another round is planned .
Yemen is one of 16 previously polio-free countries that have reported new cases of the disease since 2003 .
The water-borne disease , which mostly strikes the young , attacks the nervous system and can cause paralysis and sometimes death .
Reports from Syria say a small aircraft apparently used by the military has crashed near Damascus , killing three people on board .
Witnesses said the plane appeared to be on a training flight Sunday when it came down .
There was no immediate confirmation of the incident from Syrian officials .
The plane crash happened at a time of heightened tension between Syria and Israel , which carried out an air strike deep inside Syrian territory on September 6 .
Neither country has given much information about the target of the Israeli raid .
The Olympic Flame rode in style Saturday in a Ferrari as the torch continued its trek toward Turin for the Winter Games .
Luca Badoer , the test driver for Ferrari 's Formula One team , received the flame from a torchbearer and drove it slowly through the company 's headquarters in a red Ferrari F-430 Spider .
From Maranello , the torch moved towards Reggio Emilia and Parma , where the day 's travel ended .
The torch moves east toward Venice Sunday and will continue traveling through Italy until it ignites the Olympic Cauldron at the Opening Ceremonies February 10th in Turin .
The U.S. space agency NASA says its Phoenix probe has touched the surface of the planet Mars with its robot arm .
Officials said Sunday that operators were testing the arm , which will be used to scoop up samples of Martian soil and ice for testing in the lander 's onboard laboratory .
NASA released a photograph of the disturbed soil where the arm touched the ground , leaving behind a footprint-shaped impression .
A camera attached to the arm also took photographs of the area beneath the lander .
The Phoenix probe arrived on Mars a week ago .
It is on a three-month mission to analyze samples of Martian soil and subsurface ice , to study the history of water on Mars and to determine whether the planet could support life .
Phoenix was launched last August and traveled 679 million kilometers to reach Mars .
The government of Venezuela says it has signed an agreement to buy an American company 's interest in Venezuela 's largest telecommunications company .
On Monday Venezuelan officials announced the agreement to purchase 28 percent of CANTV from Verizon , a telecommunications company based in the United States .
In early January , President Hugo Chavez said Venezuela should regain control of strategic sectors of its economy .
He asked the national assembly to grant him special powers to nationalize businesses .
Last week , Venezuela agreed to buy a controlling stake in the country 's largest private electric company .
On February 2 , Mr. Chavez gave foreign oil companies three months to surrender control of their operations in Venezuela .
The U.S. has criticized the nationalization plan .
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said last week President Chavez is destroying his country , economically and politically .
Turkish security officials say one soldier and 12 Kurdish rebels were killed in a clash in eastern Turkey .
They say the fighting erupted in Tunceli province during a military offensive against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party , or PKK .
Clashes usually intensify during this time of year , as melting snow allows the Kurdish rebels to move more freely .
Last week , Turkey 's top military official , General Yasar Buyukanit , called for an incursion into Iraq to pursue Kurdish rebels based there .
The PKK announced a unilateral ceasefire in October , but Turkey rejected it .
Kurdish rebels have been fighting Turkey for autonomy since 1984 .
The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives .
The U.S. considers the PKK a terrorist organization .
Officials in Japan say the death toll from a typhoon that swept across the island-nation now stands at 75 .
Authorities say 15 people are still missing in the aftermath of Typhoon Tokage , which battered Japan earlier this week .
Rescue crews are searching through flooded towns and the rubble of collapsed homes .
Tokage has since moved out to sea east of Japan .
It is the latest in a record number of typhoons to hit Japan this year .
Japan says the number of casualties from Tokage was the worst from a typhoon since 1979 , when 115 people died or went missing from a similar storm .
Crude oil prices continued their surge Thursday hitting a new record high of nearly $ 106 a barrel .
Prices for crude for future delivery went as high as $ 105.97 before easing slightly .
The latest record high for oil follows another record low for the dollar compared to the euro .
Dollar-priced raw materials like oil gain from the weak greenback because the fall in the dollar makes them cheaper for buyers using other , stronger currencies .
The price spike is also related to Wednesday 's decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to hold oil production steady rather than raise output as requested by Washington .
Some oil-importing nations say more oil would help ease prices , but OPEC officials say the markets are well-supplied with crude .
Church bells have begun tolling across Rome and throughout Italy , signaling the death of Pope John Paul II .
As news of his death spread , Roman Catholics around the world began mourning and offering prayers for the death of the spiritual leader of the 1.1 billion-member Roman Catholic Church .
In his native Poland , people in the pope 's hometown of Wadowice fell to their knees and wept at the end of a special Mass in the church where he worshipped as a boy .
Special masses are being held around the world , including Latin America , home to nearly half of the world 's Roman Catholics .
U.S. National Intelligence Director John Negroponte has singled out Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez for criticism during a hearing on homeland security .
Negroponte told a Senate committee Tuesday that Mr. Chavez is seeking closer military and economic ties with Iran and North Korea .
Negroponte also said Mr. Chavez is expected to deepen his relationship with Fidel Castro , president of communist Cuba and an outspoken critic of President Bush .
He added that Venezuela has recently scaled back its counternarcotics cooperation with the United States .
Negroponte also accused Mr. Chavez of spending millions of dollars on what he termed an extravagant foreign policy , at the expense of the Venezuelan people .
He said Mr. Chavez is investing considerable sums of money in politics in other Latin American countries .
Namibia has sworn in a new parliament , as President Sam Nujoma readies to step down after 15 years in office .
Seventy-two lawmakers took the oath of office in Windhoek Sunday and elected former prime minister Theo Ben Gurirab as the new speaker of parliament .
The ruling South West Africa People 's Organization ( SWAPO ) party controls 55 seats in the legislature , following a victory in November elections .
Monday , President Nujoma will hand over power to Hifikepunye Pohamba , becoming Namibia 's second head of state since independence from apartheid-era South Africa .
Mr. Pohamba has vowed to maintain many of the economic policies of Mr. Nujoma and advance a land redistribution program .
Iran 's state-run television says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has named a new head of the country 's Supreme National Security Council , the agency that oversees Iran 's nuclear policy .
The new nuclear chief , Ali Larijani , has served as an aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and is known as a hardline conservative .
He is also a former head of Iranian state radio and television .
Mr. Larijani 's appointment comes as Iran faces intense pressure to stop its nuclear activities or face the possibility of international sanctions .
Some observers are concerned that he will take a tougher stance on Iran 's nuclear ambitions Iran resumed uranium conversion last week after rejecting a European Union proposal offering economic and political incentives in exchange for suspending nuclear fuel processing .
Iran insists its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes .
Israeli health authorities say they have found the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in dead chickens at a kindergarten petting zoo .
The Israeli Agriculture Ministry says 18 chickens were found dead Thursday at the kindergarten in the northern town of Binyamina .
The ministry says tests later confirmed they were infected with the H5N1 virus that is potentially lethal to humans .
Israeli authorities alerted hospitals in the area to look out for any children or adults with high fever , the most common symptom associated with the virus .
Authorities also are checking for other bird flu outbreaks within a 10-kilometer radius of the kindergarten .
Israel culled more than one million chickens and turkeys in March 2006 after the H5N1 virus infected poultry at several communal farms .
Migratory birds are thought to have spread the virus from Asia to the Middle East and Europe .
A series of attacks by suspected Taleban insurgents has left eleven Afghans dead and an election candidate seriously wounded .
Three policemen guarding a convoy transporting supplies to U.S. bases were killed late Saturday during an ambush in the southern province Zabul .
Another policeman was killed and two were wounded early Sunday in an attack on a police checkpoint on the main highway linking the southern city of Kandahar with Kabul .
Also Sunday , in the southern Helmand province , suspected rebels attacked a district police chief , killing him , three of his bodyguards and his son .
Two militants were also killed when the police returned fire .
Hours later , in the same province , a bomb blast seriously wounded a candidate in the September 18 parliamentary elections .
The U.S. Defense Department says 52 detainees at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , are on a hunger strike to protest their continued detention .
In a statement Thursday , Pentagon officials said the hunger strike began three days ago and appears to be temporary .
The Pentagon says some detainees have abandoned the strike .
But , the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that two prisoners recently released from the facility say there are 180 prisoners on hunger strike , demanding better conditions and more information on their cases .
Many of the some-500 terrorism suspects at Guantanamo have been held for more than two years without charge .
This week , the Pentagon said it was resuming a series of military trials for some prisoners .
Reports from southern China 's Guangdong province say armed police have sealed off a village after opening fire on a group of protesters and killing at least two people this week .
Witnesses say police fired into a crowd late Tuesday in Dongzhou village , where at least 1,000 people were protesting inadequate compensation for land taken for the construction of a power plant .
Local residents are quoted by Reuters and the French News agency as saying Chinese authorities have surrounded the village and are not allowing them to leave .
The deputy Asia Director for Amnesty International Catherine Baber has described the reports from Guangdong as " chilling , " and called for an immediate independent investigation .
The Chinese government has not commented on the matter .
The Arab League 's chief says the 22-member organization will soon open an office in Iraq .
Amr Moussa made the pledge during a joint news conference Thursday in Baghdad alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari .
Mr. al-Jaafari echoed criticism of the League for not establishing a presence sooner in Iraq , saying he had hoped that the League would have had a " greater role " there earlier .
The two leaders met against a backdrop of new violence , with at least six Iraqis killed in attacks across the country .
Meanwhile , the Arab world 's media reacted with mixed emotions to the start Wednesday of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein 's trial on charges of killing 143 of his countrymen .
Some papers welcomed the trial , but others said it could fuel ethnic and sectarian tensions in Iraq .
Indonesia has begun withdrawing government forces from Aceh province , the first major step in a new peace agreement between the government and separatist rebels to end a three-decade conflict .
Military officials say more than 1,200 soldiers shipped out Monday as part of the peace deal signed last week in Finland .
The agreement is intended to end 29 years of bloodshed between the Indonesian government and Free Aceh Movement rebels costing 15,000 lives .
The peace deal calls for Indonesia to pull out non-local army and police forces , and for rebels to demobilize .
Indonesia will grant amnesty to rebels , except those jailed for common crimes .
Aceh will be allowed to manage its own natural resources and keep 70 percent of revenues .
The province will also be allowed to have local political representation .
Iran 's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his country will produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale soon .
Speaking in a provincial city Wednesday , Mr. Ahmadinejad did not specify when .
He said Tehran will not be intimidated by what he called bullying powers who want to deprive Iran of its nuclear ambitions .
In December , the U.N. Security Council passed economic sanctions against Iran for its controversial nuclear enrichment program .
Since then , Mr. Ahmadinejad has called the UN sanctions " invalid , " insisting that Iran will continue its program .
Iran 's top nuclear negotiator said Tehran would begin working on installing 3,000 uranium-enriching centrifuges at a plant in Natanz .
The U.S. and its Western allies believe Iran is developing nuclear technology for weapons , a charge Tehran denies .
Producing nuclear fuel that could be used in a power plant would be another step in mastering the nuclear fuel cycle .
Witnesses say at least 15 people have been killed in two days of ongoing clashes between rival Islamist groups in central Somalia .
Clashes in the town of Wabho mainly involved fighters from the al-Shabab group and its rival the , Ahlu Sunna Wajama .
Residents say many civilians have been injured since the violence erupted Saturday .
Reports say the pro-government Ahlu Sunna Wajama reportedly attacked the Shabab-held village .
The two sides have fought repeatedly for control over the region .
Venezuela 's President Hugo Chavez is asking the National Assembly to grant him special powers over the country 's electrical and telecommunications industries .
In a televised speech , Mr. Chavez said he would nationalize some electricial companies and the country 's largest telecommunications company , CANTV .
The leftist leader promised to take a more radical turn toward socialism after he was re-elected by a wide margin last month .
He will begin a second six-year term as president on Wednesday .
Mr. Chavez has said he hopes to merge all the political parties supporting him into one party .
He also wants to re-write the constitution .
Another Bosnian Serb military figure accused of war crimes in the former Yugoslavia is surrendering to the U.N. tribunal in the Hague .
Gojko Jankovic , a former paramilitary leader who has been a fugitive for more than five years , turned himself in to Bosnian Serb authorities Sunday in the town of Banja Luka .
He is expected to be transferred to The Hague on Monday .
The U.N. tribunal says that during the violence of the 1990s , soldiers under Mr. Jankovic 's command arrested a group of women in the town of Foca and brutally abused and raped them during interrogations .
Mr. Jankovic is the sixth Bosnian Serb to surrender to the U.N. court in less than two months .
However , the two main targets of the long-running war-crimes prosecution - former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his military commander , Ratko Mladic - remain at large .
The public memorial for the late United States Chief Justice William Rehnquist is under way at the Supreme Court building in Washington .
Mr. Rehnquist died of cancer Saturday at the age of 80 .
President Bush paid his respects to the late chief justice Tuesday , pausing for a moment of silence beside his flag-draped coffin in the Great Hall of the high court .
The public memorial continues until noon Wednesday , when he will be buried in a private ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery .
The conservative chief justice was first appointed to the nine-member court by President Nixon in 1972 .
President Reagan appointed him chief justice 14 years later , in 1986 .
U.S. Supreme Court justices are appointed for life-long terms .
President Bush has nominated federal appeals court judge John Roberts to be the next chief justice .
Senate confirmation hearings for Mr. Roberts are scheduled to begin Monday .
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the European Union and the United States disagree on whether to lift the embargo on arms sales to China .
In a television interview broadcast by the BBC on Sunday , Ms. Rice said lifting the ban could upset the military balance in East Asia , and called it a serious concern .
She added that it could also send the wrong signal to China on human rights .
The European Union is considering the resumption of weapons sales , but says China would have to respect human rights and regional stability .
Arms sales were banned in 1989 following China 's Tiananmen Square crackdown .
U.S. President George Bush is encouraging all Americans to vote in national elections Tuesday and prove to the world that self-government can endure .
During his weekly radio address Saturday , Mr. Bush said U.S. elections serve as a model , especially to young democracies such at Georgia , Ukraine , Afghanistan and Iraq .
The president said Americans have demonstrated that for two centuries a free people have been able to choose their own leaders .
He said the nation has flourished because of its commitment to trusting the wisdom of the people .
President Bush also called on voters to recall the sacrifices made by generations of Americans in uniform to preserve America 's way of life .
The U.S. military in Iraq says it is releasing more than 400 Iraqi detainees , including five women prisoners .
A military statement says the prisoners are being freed Thursday and Friday , after reviews of their cases determined there was no reason to keep holding them .
Iraqi and U.S. officials have stressed the move has nothing to do with American journalist Jill Carroll , who was kidnapped earlier this month .
Her kidnappers threatened to kill her by last Friday unless all Iraqi women detainees were released .
The deadline passed with no word on her fate .
Separately , the U.S. military says one American soldier was killed and another wounded in a roadside bomb blast south of Baghdad Wednesday .
A similar bomb blast north of the capital killed three Iraqi soldiers and wounded four others .
Greenland , the world 's largest island , is about 81 % ice capped .
Vikings reached the island in the 10th century from Iceland ; Danish colonization began in the 18th century , and Greenland was made an integral part of Denmark in 1953 .
It joined the European Community ( now the EU ) with Denmark in 1973 but withdrew in 1985 over a dispute centered on stringent fishing quotas .
Greenland was granted self-government in 1979 by the Danish parliament ; the law went into effect the following year .
Greenland voted in favor of increased self-rule in November 2008 and acquired greater responsibility for internal affairs in June 2009 .
Denmark , however , continues to exercise control of Greenland 's foreign affairs , security , and financial policy in consultation with Greenland 's Home Rule Government .
After almost four decades under US administration as the easternmost part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands , the Marshall Islands attained independence in 1986 under a Compact of Free Association .
Compensation claims continue as a result of US nuclear testing on some of the atolls between 1947 and 1962 .
The Marshall Islands hosts the US Army Kwajalein Atoll ( USAKA ) Reagan Missile Test Site , a key installation in the US missile defense network .
Rivalry between French and Italian interests in Tunisia culminated in a French invasion in 1881 and the creation of a protectorate .
Agitation for independence in the decades following World War I was finally successful in getting the French to recognize Tunisia as an independent state in 1956 .
The country 's first president , Habib BOURGUIBA , established a strict one-party state .
He dominated the country for 31 years , repressing Islamic fundamentalism and establishing rights for women unmatched by any other Arab nation .
In November 1987 , BOURGUIBA was removed from office and replaced by Zine el Abidine BEN ALI in a bloodless coup .
Street protests that began in Tunis in December 2010 over high unemployment , corruption , widespread poverty , and high food prices escalated in January 2011 , culminating in rioting that led to hundreds of deaths .
On 14 January 2011 , the same day BEN ALI dismissed the government , he fled the country , and by late January 2011 , Prime Minister Mohamed GHANNOUCHI announced the formation of a " national unity government " with the head of the Chamber of Deputies , Fouad M'BAZAA , as the interim president .
A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls , Kiribati has few natural resources and is one of the least developed Pacific Islands .
Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979 .
Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports .
The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years .
Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers , weak infrastructure , and remoteness from international markets .
Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP .
Private sector initiatives and a financial sector are in the early stages of development .
Foreign financial aid from the EU , UK , US , Japan , Australia , New Zealand , Canada , UN agencies , and Taiwan accounts for 20-25 % of GDP .
Remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad account for more than $ 5 million each year .
Kiribati receives around $ 15 million annually for the government budget from an Australian trust fund .
" I SEE quite a number of rings on your tail , " said an Alderman to a Raccoon that he met in a zoological garden .
" Yes , " replied the Raccoon , " and I hear quite a number of tales on your ring . "
The Alderman , being of a sensitive , retiring disposition , shrank from further comparison , and , strolling to another part of the garden , stole the camel .
A DOE blind in one eye was accustomed to graze as near to the edge of the cliff as she possibly could , in the hope of securing her greater safety .
She turned her sound eye towards the land that she might get the earliest tidings of the approach of hunter or hound , and her injured eye towards the sea , from whence she entertained no anticipation of danger .
Some boatmen sailing by saw her , and taking a successful aim , mortally wounded her .
Yielding up her last breath , she gasped forth this lament :
" O wretched creature that I am ! to take such precaution against the land , and after all to find this seashore , to which I had come for safety , so much more perilous . "
St. Nicholas is the main Claus .
His wife is a relative Claus .
His children are dependent Clauses .
Their Dutch uncle is a restrictive Claus .
As a group , they 're all renoun Clauses .
Santa 's elves are subordinate Clauses .
We 're sorry .
You have reached an imaginary number .
Please rotate your phone 90 degrees and try again .
Police in Israel say they are deciding whether to press charges against two of Leonardo DiCaprio 's bodyguards .
The men last week scuffled with photographers , injuring three , as the actor visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem .
The photographers claim the bodyguards attacked them as DiCaprio climbed into a van , while the actor 's publicist blames an overaggressive press corps .
Israeli police say they do n't know when a decision to press charges will appear .
A published report says the Bush administration has urged the United Nations Security Council to extend the mandate of the U.S.-led multinational forces in Iraq for at least a year after Iraqis elect their first government on December 15 .
Citing diplomatic sources , The Washington Post says the move is aimed at sparing the new Baghdad government the politically challenging issue of explicitly approving the continued presence of foreign forces .
According to the Post , the request was presented Monday , after the United States addressed objections from France and Russia , which prefer a six-month extension of the mandate that expires next month .
Washington agreed that the Council would review the mandate after six months .
In another development , the Defense Department Monday announced plans for a fresh contingent of 92,000 troops to rotate into Iraq , starting by the middle of next year .
The current level of U.S. forces in Iraq is about 1,60,000 troops .
About 3,000 Falun Gong members have staged a protest in Taiwan 's capital against persecution of the group in China .
The protesters linked hands Saturday in Taipei to form what they called a " Great Wall of Justice , " holding photos and paintings depicting alleged torture .
Chang Ching-hsi , chairman of the group 's Taiwan chapter , said that since Beijing outlawed the Falun Gong in mid-1999 , at least 1,247 followers have been tortured to death .
Lawyers for Falun Gong have filed suits in 28 countries against Chinese officials on a variety of charges .
Beijing denies it mistreats Falun Gong members .
In Egypt , the final round of legislative elections has been marred by violence and police interference , after Islamist candidates made large gains in the previous two rounds of voting .
In the town of Baltim , near Kafr el-Sheikh , human rights and medical officials say one opposition supporter was killed and dozens injured in clashes with police .
VOA 's correspondent , who is the northeastern town of Zigazag Thursday , reports riot police have blocked polling stations and intimidated voters in the town , which is a stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood .
Police interference has also been reported in other constituencies where opposition candidates have strong support .
This final phase of voting will decide 136 of parliament 's 444 elected seats .
President Hosni Mubarak will appoint the remaining 10 seats .
Candidates endorsed by the Muslim Brotherhood have won 76 seats so far , up from 15 seats in the outgoing assembly .
Two former close associates of former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic have pleaded not guilty at the U.N. war crimes tribunal to charges tied to the Srebrenica massacre .
Prosecutors at The Hague tribunal had expanded the charges against Jovica Stanisic and his deputy Franco Simatovic in January .
This followed the discovery of a videotape showing six members of a Serbian paramilitary group ( the Scorpions ) executing Muslims captured in Srebrenica .
Prosecutors say the two men , as top state security officials , were in charge of the paramilitary units .
Meanwhile , in Sarajevo , former Bosnian Serb military police commander Gojko Jankovic pleaded innocent to charges of war crimes relating to the imprisonment of Muslim men and sexual abuse of Muslim women in the town of Foca .
Jankovic is the second war crimes suspect to be transferred from The Hague Tribunal to Bosnia 's war crimes court .
Pope Benedict is calling individuals , international organizations and world governments to work together for peace in the New Year .
Speaking to Roman Catholic faithful at St. Peter 's Basilica in Vatican City where he celebrated the first New Year 's Mass of his papacy Sunday , the pontiff warned that the world faces an " insidious " threat to peace from " terrorism , nihilism and fanatic fundamentalism . "
The Catholic Church marks January 1 each year as a World Day of Peace .
Pope Benedict called on the United Nations to promote justice , solidarity , and peace in a world that seems less dedicated to those values than to economic forces - what he called " the huge phenomenon of globalization . "
An explosion has killed at least seven people at a Christian church in Alexandria , Egypt , where worshippers had gathered to celebrate mass on New Year 's Eve .
Egypt 's Interior Ministry said in a statement early Saturday that seven people were killed and 24 wounded in the blast , which occurred about a half-hour after midnight on New Year 's Day .
The explosion came from a car parked in front of the church .
It was not clear whether the bomb had been inside the car or under it .
?Al-Qaida 's affiliate in Iraq claimed responsibility for the bomb , saying it was retaliation for two Egyptian Christian women who converted to Islam .
Al-Qaida says the women are being held hostage by the Christians for having converted .
Some Egyptian Christians - known as Copts - are protesting at the site of the explosion .
Police in France say urban violence has fallen to what they call normal levels after three weeks of some of the country 's worst civil unrest in decades .
Police said about 100 vehicles were torched across the country on Wednesday night , which they said was the nightly average prior to the riots .
At the peak of the unrest , rioters of mostly North African origin burned more than 1,000 vehicles each night .
Police are still deployed in significant numbers , and a state of emergency remains in place .
The violence began late last month when two teenagers of North African origin accidentally electrocuted themselves while hiding from police in a power station near Paris .
France 's government has promised to tackle what it says are the real causes of the violence , including unemployment and racism .
Venezuela 's state-run oil company , PDVSA , says it plans to cut production costs by 40 percent to make up for falling crude oil prices amid the global financial crisis .
Company president Rafael Ramirez said in a radio interview that cost-cutting measures will include renegotiating deals with contractors that were reached when prices climbed to record high levels last year .
Ramirez , who is also the country 's energy and oil minister , said Venezuela will call on fellow OPEC members at talks later this month ( in Austria ) to curb production to force prices up to $ 70 per barrel .
Oil has been trading at about $ 40 per barrel in New York .
Venezuela is a major oil producer and has seen the price of its oil plunge sharply to $ 36.8 per barrel in recent days .
Crude oil prices peaked at a record $ 147 per barrel last July .
The U.S. military says an American soldier was killed in a roadside bomb blast in western Iraq Tuesday .
Iraqis stand on top of the rubble of a destroyed home in Karabila , at the end of a US forces ' operation
In a separate statement , the military says U.S. Marines and Iraqi security forces are continuing operations in and around the city of Karabilah in western Anbar province , where several car bombs were discovered Monday .
On Monday , insurgents carried out at least six car bomb attacks across Iraq , killing at least 23 people .
The deadliest attack occurred in the Kurdish city of Arbil , where a suicide bomber dressed as a policeman drove into a crowd of Iraqi police recruits , killing 13 of them and wounding 100 others .
At least 10 other people were killed in separate attacks in Baghdad and the oil city of Kirkuk , north of the capital .
Officials of the U.S. space agency NASA have said inspections of the shuttle Atlantis have not yet found any damage to the orbiter 's heat shields .
Astronauts on Sunday used cameras and instruments attached to the shuttle 's remote-control boom to inspect its nose cone and the leading edge of its wings .
While engineers are still working to interpret the data collected , shuttle flight director Paul Dye said he has not seen a single problem with the vehicle .
During its Saturday launch , NASA officials said the shuttle 's external fuel tank appeared to shed two pieces of foam insulation .
In 2003 , damage caused by loosened insulation was blamed for the disintegration of the Shuttle Columbia , killing seven astronauts .
Atlantis is on a construction mission to the International Space Station .
Astronauts will conduct three spacewalks to attach a new set of solar energy panels to generate power for the space station .
Britain 's attorney-general says seven British soldiers will stand trial for allegedly murdering a civilian in southern Iraq in 2003 .
Attorney-General Peter Goldsmith says Thursday the incident occurred on a road in al-U'Zayra in May , 2003 .
Officials say the men also face charges of violent disorder .
They gave no other details , or mentioned a date for the proceedings .
Britain currently has about 9,000 troops deployed in southern Iraq .
Since the U.S.-led invasion almost two years ago , British officials have launched more than 130 investigations into incidents ranging from road traffic accidents to deaths of Iraqis in custody .
Separately , British military prosecutors have dropped the remaining charge against one of three soldiers accused of mistreating Iraqi civilians in May , 2003 , near the southern city of Basra .
The soldier , Lance Corporal Darren Larkin , earlier had pleaded guilty to assaulting the Iraqi .
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has called on North Korea to return to six-party talks on Pyongyang 's nuclear ambitions .
Mr. Koizumi told reporters that North Korea needs to understand that it is in its own best interests to give up all nuclear programs .
North Korea 's main state-run newspaper said Tuesday that six-nation talks could resume if the United States changed what it called a " hostile policy " against Pyongyang .
The two Koreas , the United States , China , Russia and Japan have held three rounds of talks in Beijing on Pyongyang 's nuclear ambitions .
North Korea refused to attend a fourth round of talks planned for September because , experts believe , it was awaiting the outcome of the U.S. presidential election .
The Iraqi government says a Moroccan militant wanted in connection with the Casablanca bombings in Morocco in 2003 , is also a suspect in a bombing in Iraq that killed 100 people .
Iraq 's government has offered an unspecified reward for the capture of Mohsen Khayber , also known as Abdul Rahim .
He is wanted in connection with a triple car bombing on September 29 in the town of Balad , north of Baghdad .
In other developments , al-Qaida in Iraq said on its website that it would determine the fate of two kidnapped Moroccan embassy employees in a trial .
The two men disappeared October 20 while driving from Jordan to Baghdad .
Also Tuesday , the U.S. military says it released 500 low-level detainees from Abu Ghraib prison .
They were freed ahead of this week 's Eid al-Fitr holiday , which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan .
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to travel to Britain next week for talks on Afghanistan , Iraq , Iran , Kenya and other issues .
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack says Rice is to meet with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband .
The spokesman says Rice is to depart for the trip Tuesday .
The United States , South Korea and Russia have urged North Korea to return to six-party talks on its nuclear ambitions by the end of this year .
The call was made Wednesday in Seoul following talks between U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly and his South Korean and Russian counterparts .
South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck said new talks must take place this year , regardless of format .
The two Koreas , the United States , China , Japan and Russia have held three rounds of talks in Beijing on Pyongyang 's nuclear ambitions , with little progress made .
A fourth round was scheduled for September , but North Korea refused to attend , saying the talks were worthless .
Kyrgyzstan 's interim security chief and former opposition leader Felix Kulov has resigned from his newly-appointed position , saying the situation in the country has stabilized .
Mr. Kulov told lawmakers Wednesday he was leaving his post because order has been restored and an interim government is in place .
He was named security chief last week and tasked with getting the looting and mass disorder in the capital , Bishkek , under control following the ouster of President Askar Akayev .
Mr. Kulov also said Kyrgyzstan 's interim authorities are prepared to provide security guarantees for the ousted leader if he returns to Bishkek and formally resigns .
Mr. Akayev fled the country after thousands of opposition protesters stormed the presidential palace , protesting legislative elections they say were rigged .
The U.S. military says 27 detainees who died in U.S. custody in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2002 and 2004 were the victims of homicide or suspected homicide .
In the report Friday , the Army Criminal Investigation Command said Army commanders have decided not to pursue charges against 17 American soldiers implicated in the deaths of three of the detainees .
The military says those cases were dropped because of lack of evidence , or soldiers used justified force or were not aware of the rules of engagement .
A number of soldiers are facing charges in the other detainee deaths .
Human rights groups have expressed outrage over mistreatment of detainees .
The military says it takes the deaths seriously .
One Afghan child was killed and four people were wounded Saturday in a blast targeting a Canadian convoy in southern Afghanistan .
Authorities say a vehicle rigged with explosives blew up on the side of a highway in Kandahar province as the military convoy passed .
Earlier , police had reported that a suicide bomber was involved in the attack .
A NATO statement said two other children , one Afghan adult and a NATO soldier were wounded in the blast .
Officials say the wounded Afghans were members of the same family .
The attack occurred on the highway that serves as the main link between western Afghanistan and Kandahar .
A senior U.S. diplomat visiting Lebanon is warning that those promoting violence and political instability in the country will be held directly accountable .
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield spoke Thursday in Beirut , at the start of a mission aimed at gaining a Syrian timetable for pulling its troops from Lebanon .
The U.S. envoy also criticized Iran and Syria for their alleged attempts to destabilize the country .
The U.S. visit is part of a concerted push by Washington , the United Nations and the European Union to force Syria to provide a timetable for the full withdrawal of all its forces from Lebanon .
Damascus has pulled 4,000 troops since mass anti-Syrian protests erupted after last month 's assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri .
Syria says planning is under way to withdraw its remaining 10,000 troops in the near future .
A civic group in Seoul has released a list of 617 political prisoners held by North Korea in detention camps .
The group , the Democracy Network Against North Korean Gulag , said the list released Friday is based on the accounts of North Korean defectors .
A number of prominent personalities are said to be detained by the communist North on political charges , including Pyongyang 's former ambassador to Libya , Kim Dae Hun , and the former envoy to Indonesia , Ri Won Jo .
Mr. Ri reportedly was sent to a detention camp for criticizing North Korea during talks with his subordinates , while Mr. Kim was punished after a family member defected to South Korea .
North Korean is believed to hold tens of thousands of people in its network of detention camps , where forced labor and torture are common practices .
The chief judge who resigned from the Saddam Hussein trial is expected to be replaced by a Shi'ite judge currently serving on the panel .
Saad al-Hamash reportedly will become interim chief judge until a permanent replacement is named .
He is the most senior of the other four justices on the tribunal .
He is also a member of the Shi'ite majority that was oppressed during Saddam 's regime .
Outgoing presiding judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin quit last week under heavy criticism for not being firm enough in his handling of the former dictator .
The trial of Saddam Hussein and seven others is set to resume a week from January 24 .
They are accused of killing more than 140 Shi'ite villagers 23 years ago , following a failed assassination attempt against the Iraqi leader .
The world 's largest drug company has agreed to pay $ 2.3 billion in fines and penalties for marketing some drugs improperly .
The U.S. Justice Department says the fine is the largest ever levied in a health care fraud case .
The case involves several drugs , including " Bextra . "
It was approved for arthritis , but the company improperly tried to get doctors to use it for other kinds of pain .
Bextra was taken off the market because of safety concerns .
It is legal for physicians to prescribe drugs for uses that have not been officially approved , but it is not legal for a drug company to push doctors to write such prescriptions .
It also violates rules to pay kickbacks to encourage doctors to choose a particular drug .
Officials say money from the fines will go to various health and medical programs run by the government .
The United States has imposed sanctions on Iran 's maritime carrier and its affiliates for allegedly supporting Iran 's nuclear and missile programs .
The designation against the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and 18 affiliates means their assets under U.S. jurisdiction will be frozen .
Americans also are prohibited from doing business with the carrier and affiliates .
The United States announced the designation Wednesday , alleging the carrier and affiliates provided logistical support to Iran 's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics .
The United States has accused Iran of working to produce nuclear weapons .
Iran has rejected the allegation , saying its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only .
The International Labor Organization says the world financial crisis could lead to record global unemployment with 20 million more people out of work by the end of next year .
The ILO warned Monday that global unemployment could rise to 210 million by late 2009 .
This would be the first time in history that the number of jobless people around the world rose above 200 million .
ILO Director-General Juan Somavia urged governments to take prompt and coordinated actions to avoid a social crisis .
He said world leaders need to focus on how the financial crisis is hurting people , not just financial institutions .
The Geneva-based U.N. agency says people working in the construction , real estate and auto industries will be hardest hit .
World oil prices hit their highest level since the end of November Tuesday amid falling temperatures , rising demand , and production cuts .
The price for crude oil for future delivery went above $ 49 a barrel in New York .
Analysts say colder-than-usual weather in portions of the United States is raising concerns about supplies in the world 's largest heating oil market .
The International Energy Agency added to supply concerns with a forecast that world oil demand will grow this year .
Meantime , the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has cut its oil output to keep prices from falling .
OPEC , which pumps about one-third of the world 's oil , is scheduled to meet again at the end of this month to consider oil prices and supplies .
Cuban president Fidel Castro has called for a march outside the U.S. mission in Havana to protest new electronic signs that have been installed by the Americans .
Mr. Castro made the appeal Sunday on Cuban television .
He complained about large electronic signs that have been spelling out messages to passersby .
The signs have displayed human rights sayings of the Reverend Martin Luther King , Junior .
They have also quoted parts of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that Cuba signed .
Mr. Castro said the Americans have no authority on the subject of human rights .
He also accused the U.S. of protecting Posada Carriles , a Cuban exile wanted for a 1976 airliner bombing .
Lawmakers in a largely ethnic Russian region of eastern Ukraine have scheduled a December vote on autonomy , escalating political tensions in a nation split over last week 's presidential election .
The Donetsk regional council voted overwhelmingly Sunday in favor of a referendum it says is aimed at determining the region 's status .
Other eastern regions are making similar threats if their preferred candidate , Prime Minister Victor Yanukovych , does not become president .
Ukraine 's supreme court plans to rule Monday on whether the government conducted a free and fair presidential runoff election earlier this month .
Supporters of opposition candidate Victor Yushchenko have accused the government of massive fraud , and protesters have packed the streets of Kiev and other cities in the western part of the country , where Ukrainian nationalists hold power .
One opposition leader Sunday gave the outgoing president , Leonid Kuchma , 24 hours to fire Mr. Yanukovych as prime minister .
Pakistan military officials say fighting in a remote tribal area near the country 's border with Afghanistan has killed 23 Islamic militants and seven Pakistani troops .
A military official says the fighting erupted Monday when militants attacked a paramilitary convoy in the Mohmand tribal district .
The attack comes just days after Pakistani troops killed a number of militants in a tribal area of nearby South Waziristan as part of an effort to target Taliban and al-Qaida safe havens in the region .
Last Friday , U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen expressed concern about the presence of al-Qaida safe havens in Pakistan .
Admiral Mullen said militants are not only launching attacks in neighboring Afghanistan , but inside Pakistan as well .
He called on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and his military advisors to confront the problem directly .
All seven cities bidding to host the 2014 Winter Olympics have submitted their candidate files to the International Olympic Committee ahead of Wednesday 's deadline .
The cities include Almaty , Kazakhstan , Borjomi , Georgia and Jaca , Spain .
PyeongChang , South Korea , Salzburg , Austria , Sochi , Russia and Sofia , Bulgaria are also candidates .
The cities responded to a 25-point questionnaire that covered issues such as venues , finances , transportation , accommodations and security .
A group of International Olympic Committee officials will review the applications .
The IOC executive board will meet in June to decide whether to accept all seven as official candidates .
The IOC will select the host city in July of 2007 .
An international Islamic organization has called on Chad and Sudan to exercise restraint and try to defuse their growing tension .
The Organization of the Islamic Conference issued the appeal late Sunday , two days after Chad declared what it called a " state of belligerence " with Sudan .
In a statement , the OIC secretary-general , Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu , asked the two member states to resolve their conflict through " positive dialogue and negotiation . "
Tensions rose last week after Chadian forces clashed with rebels who Chad says are backed by the Sudanese government .
Chad described Sudan as an " enemy , " and called on the Chadian people to mobilize against what it called Sudanese aggression .
Sudan denies any connection with the Chadian rebels , many of whom are deserters from Chad 's army opposed to President Idriss Deby .
NATO says three American soldiers have been killed in two separate bomb attacks in Afghanistan .
The alliance says two U.S. troops were killed in an explosion in eastern Afghanistan Friday .
Another U.S. service member was killed the same day in a bombing in the country 's south .
This is already the deadliest year for international troops serving in Afghanistan since the war began .
U.S. President Barack Obama is weighing a recommendation by his top commander in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal to send more troops to battle a growing Taliban insurgency .
Finland has defeated host Italy , 07-Apr , to reach the medal round of men 's Olympic curling at the Turin Games .
The victory Sunday in Pinerolo also allowed the United States and Britain to advance following a ( 09-Aug ) U.S. victory over Britain .
Italy has fallen into a tie for fifth place with Norway .
Canada is currently fourth .
New Zealand is the only team eliminated so far .
Finland will play Britain later Sunday .
Also on the schedule , Canada faces New Zealand .
Sweden will play Switzerland .
Norway takes on Germany .
Curling is an ancient game which originated prior to the 1500s in Scotland .
The name refers to the slow , sideways spiral of a sliding stone as it glides to a circular target at the far end of the ice .
U.S. officials have strongly challenged a report that the United States is carrying out secret reconnaissance missions in Iran to identify targets for possible military strikes .
The U.S. Defense Department , in a statement Monday , said the article is " so riddled with errors of fundamental fact " that it has no credibility .
The story in The New Yorker magazine says the Bush administration has sent secret commando teams into Iran to pick out nuclear , chemical and missile sites that could be destroyed by airstrikes and commando raids .
The article was written by veteran journalist Seymour Hersh , who exposed the abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison last year .
Mr. Hersh cites a former high-level intelligence official and a U.S. government consultant as sources for the story .
White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett said Mr. Hersh 's story is " riddled with inaccuracies " with some conclusions not based on fact .
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says his government is taking over several metal companies .
He announced Saturday Venezuela will nationalize businesses including Matesi , which produces iron briquettes , and aluminum-maker Norpro .
Venezuela began to take over Matesi from its Luxembourg-based parent company Tenaris last year .
Mr. Chavez says he is moving to nationalize Matesi after settlement talks failed .
There was no immediate comment from Tenaris or any of the companies listed for nationalization .
In recent years , Mr. Chavez has nationalized firms in many sectors , including petroleum , communications , electricity , banking and agriculture .
Chinese state media say at least 11 miners are dead and three are missing after a gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China .
The official Xinhua news agency says 16 miners were working in the Xingguang Coal Industry Co. mine in Shanxi province at the time of the blast on Monday .
Xinhua says rescuers have found two workers alive and recovered 11 bodies .
It says they are searching for three missing miners .
China 's mining industry is the world 's deadliest .
China says 3,200 miners died in accidents last year .
Government figures show that almost 80 percent of China 's estimated 16,000 mines are illegal .
Officials say a meeting between Israeli and U.N. military officers has ended without agreement , threatening to delay Israel 's full troop withdrawal from Lebanon .
The meeting took place Tuesday in the Lebanese town of Naqoura .
But after the meeting , the head of the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon , General Alain Pellegrini , said Israeli forces could possibly leave the country by the end of this month .
And in Jerusalem , Israel 's defense minister , Amir Peretz , said he hopes Israeli troops can leave Lebanon sometime this week or several days afterward .
He said agreements must be finalized before a withdrawal can take place .
Israeli troops have been gradually withdrawing from Lebanese territory they captured during the month-long war with Hezbollah militants that ended August 14 .
Under the ceasefire , 15,000 U.N. peacekeeping forces and the Lebanese military will patrol the border region with Israel .
Palestinian officials say security forces are searching for two Fox News journalists abducted in Gaza Monday .
They say authorities are trying to determine who took the two men - an American and a New Zealand national .
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has sent diplomats to the region to work with Palestinian authorities to secure the journalists ' release .
Press rights group Reporters Without Borders has called for the men 's release .
It says they were doing their jobs and can in no way be held responsible for U.S. policy in the region .
Several foreign nationals have been kidnapped and released in Gaza this year .
U.N. officials say the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo appears to be improving after the deployment of peacekeeping troops there .
At least 250 peacekeepers have been positioned near the villages of Lubero and Kanyabayonga to set up a buffer zone between rival army factions that clashed earlier this week .
After briefing the U.N. Security Council , the U.N. undersecretary-general for peacekeeping , Jean-Marie Guehenno , told reporters Wednesday the situation appears now to be improving , but is still fragile .
Recently , the Congolese government has been sending reinforcements to the mostly lawless east , amid threats from Rwanda that it reserves the right to attack Rwandan Hutu militants on Congolese soil .
Saudi Arabia has issued a new list of some 36 wanted militants who are suspected of having ties to a series of terrorist attacks in the kingdom over the last two years .
Officials say 29 of the suspects on the list are Saudis .
Others include three men from Chad , one Moroccan , a Kuwaiti , a Yemeni and a Mauritanian .
Some 15 of the 36 suspects are believed to be living inside Saudi Arabia .
Official media published the list Tuesday .
It is the third such list of wanted militants that authorities have issued in recent years .
Since 2003 , Saudi Arabia has been hit by a series of terrorist attacks on Saudis and foreigners .
Security forces have since killed or arrested dozens of militants .
A Lebanese general who appeared in a videotape drinking tea with Israeli soldiers has been ordered arrested .
Lebanon 's Interior Ministry said Wednesday it ordered the arrest of General Adnan Daoud .
The general commanded a joint military-police force in the mainly Christian town of Marjayoun in southern Lebanon , when Israeli troops entered the town last week and seized his base .
A Lebanese television station later aired Israeli footage of General Daoud having tea with his Israeli counterparts while they occupied his base .
Lebanon and Israel are officially in a state of war , and maintain no economic or diplomatic relations .
A British aid group says the food crisis in Niger should not overshadow similar situations throughout western Africa , including the shortage facing Niger 's neighbor , Mali .
Oxfam says more than one million people in Mali are at risk .
Oxfam 's regional director for West Africa , Natasha Kofoworola Quist , Wednesday called on governments to fund the U.N. World Food Program appeal for Mali .
Ms. Quist says the U.N. agency has received less than 15 percent of the $ 7.4 million it has requested in emergency aid to the nation .
Oxfam also says 5,00,000 people in Burkina Faso are in need of food aid , and another 8,00,000 people in Mauritania are at risk .
Ms. Quist urged donors to act quickly to address the situations in these countries .
Venezuelan newspaper editor and long-time leftist leader Teodoro Petkoff has announced he is a candidate for president .
During his televised announcement Thursday , the 74-year-old Petkoff said " The anguish , division and fear can not continue . "
He also said the government under President Hugo Chavez has spent huge amounts of money , yet the poor are not getting ahead and jobs have not been created .
Petkoff was a communist rebel in the 1960s but broke off from the Communist Party and helped form the Movement Toward Socialism ( MAS ) party .
He was later elected to congress and served as planning minister in the 1990s .
As editor of the newspaper Tal Cual , he has been a steady critic of the Chavez government .
He joins three other candidates : William Ojeda , Roberto Smith , and Julio Borges in running against Mr. Chavez in Venezuela 's December 3 election .
Burma 's government is accusing the U.S. and British embassies there of interfering in that nation 's internal affairs by teaching what it calls " illegal courses . "
An article published Thursday in the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar says the Western embassies have been disrupting peace and stability by offering courses in English proficiency and international relations .
State media claim the courses do not bring about the improvement of spoken English and instead are designed to indoctrinate students .
They claim the courses were developed in cooperation with the opposition National League for Democracy .
The U.S. Embassy in Rangoon tells VOA it has offered the classes for years and that they are well within the bounds of diplomatic practice .
Somali rebels have fired mortars toward the presidential palace in the capital , Mogadishu , killing at least seven civilians .
Witnesses and a military spokesman on Wednesday said the attack happened late Tuesday .
They said the mortars , aimed at the presidential mansion , hit a civilian neighborhood nearby instead .
Some reports said several government soldiers were also killed in the attack , but that has not been confirmed .
Islamist insurgent groups trying to topple Somalia 's government launched an offensive early this month .
Fighting since then has killed nearly 200 people in Mogadishu .
The U.N. refugee agency on Tuesday said a total of 67,000 Somalis have fled the capital since the attacks against government targets began on May 8 .
Lebanon 's new government has won an overwhelming vote of confidence in parliament , clearing the way for parliamentary elections next month .
Najib Mikati After two days of debate , the new cabinet led by Prime Minister Najib Mikati won 109 votes in the 128-member parliament .
Shortly after Wednesday 's vote , parliament Speaker Nabih Berri confirmed that elections will be held over several weekends starting May 29 .
The cabinet approval comes one day after Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara informed the United Nations that Damascus has completed the withdrawal of all Syrian forces from Lebanon .
A United Nations team is verifying the pullout , and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says he is investigating allegations that Syrian military intelligence personnel remain inside Lebanon in new positions .
South Africa will give survivors of the Asian tsunami a dozen large shipping containers filled with smuggled clothes and shoes that have been confiscated by customs officers .
The South African government said Wednesday it is donating the six meter-long containers to the South African Red Cross for distribution in countries devastated by the tsunami .
South Africa has already set up a national committee to raise funds for those affected the disaster .
South African officials say the tsunami killed at least nine South African tourists in Thailand .
Hundreds more are listed as missing .
Witnesses in Somalia 's capital Mogadishu say several soldiers and civilians were killed Saturday in multiple clashes between Islamist insurgents and government troops .
There were no reports of Islamist fighters dying in the gunbattles .
Details of the fighting , as well as casualty figures , could not be independently confirmed because of ongoing violence in the region .
Insurgents have repeatedly targeted government forces and bases in southern Somalia since the government and allied Ethiopian troops drove the Islamic Courts Union from power more than one year ago .
In recent weeks , Islamist fighters have seized control of several Somali towns .
They usually withdraw voluntarily after freeing prisoners .
Fighting between the insurgents and pro-government forces has killed thousands of Somalis during the past 16 months .
The United States says it objects to a planned move by Egypt to postpone local elections for two years .
A State Department spokesman , Sean McCormack , said Tuesday that Washington will raise the issue with Cairo .
He said that as a matter of principle , the United States does not favor postponing elections .
Egypt 's upper house of parliament Sunday approved a decree from President Hosni Mubarak for a two-year extension to the term of local councils , most of which are dominated by members of the ruling National Democratic Party .
Its passage through the lower house this week is almost certain .
The banned Muslim Brotherhood says the move is an effort to block its allies from capturing more local council seats , after gains in recent parliamentary elections .
Kenyan authorities have filed manslaughter charges against four men in connection to last week 's building collapse in Nairobi , which killed at least 14 people .
Wednesday , Nairobi 's chief magistrate issued arrest warrants for the men , who include the owner of the building , Francis Kihonge and three others who were supervising its construction .
All four remain at-large and were charged in absentia .
Authorities also charged four city council members with negligence for alleged lapses in the building permit and inspection process .
The four pleaded not guilty and were set free on bail .
More than 100 people were injured when the five-story building suddenly collapsed on January 23 while still under construction .
Investigators have cited construction flaws as the likely reason for the collapse .
Loyal supporters of former Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic have gathered to mark the first anniversary of his death .
Mourners and officials of the Socialist Party , which Milosevic once led , laid wreaths and gave speeches Saturday at the former Yugoslavian President 's grave in the Serbian town of Pozarevac Socialist party head Ivica Dacic celebrated Milosevic 's political principles including keeping the breakaway province of Kosovo as a part of Serbia .
On March 11 of last year , Milosevic was found dead in his jail cell at the age of 64 .
He died just weeks before the expected end of his war-crimes trial .
Milosevic had been on trial at the United Nations war crime tribunal in the Hague facing more than 60 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the Balkan wars in the 1990s .
China and Saudi Arabia have signed a number of agreements boosting economic cooperation .
The agreements came Saturday on the first day of Chinese President Hu Jintao 's three-day visit to Saudi Arabia .
Mr. Hu met with King Abdullah , and the two oversaw the signing of the economic agreements .
Details of the deals were not immediately available .
Mr. Hu was also meeting today with Saudi businessmen and touring the Riyadh headquarters of petrochemical giant Saudi Basic Industries Corporation .
He meets industry leaders in the oil-rich east Sunday .
Mr. Hu arrived in Saudi Arabia today from the United States .
His Saudi trip comes three months after King Abdullah visited Beijing on his first overseas tour as king .
The countries signed agreements on energy , economic and trade policies .
China has been looking to strengthen relationships with major oil suppliers as it becomes more reliant on oil imports .
Irish authorities are investigating whether a second American woman was involved in a plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist for drawing an image of the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog .
Police say the woman was detained along with her Algerian husband and five other people Tuesday .
On the same day , the U.S. Justice Department announced the indictment of Colleen LaRose , who called herself " Jihad Jane " for plotting to kill a Swedish man , believed to be cartoonist Lars Vilks .
LaRose is charged with conspiring to give material support to terrorists , conspiracy to kill in a foreign country , and other offenses .
Officials say at least some of the seven suspects arrested in Ireland had been in contact with LaRose .
Palestinians have clashed with Egyptian police at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip .
Witnesses and police say angry Palestinians threw stones at border guards after only a limited number of them were allowed to enter Egypt .
At least six police were injured .
Police used water cannons against the crowd .
Egypt opened the crossing on Tuesday to allow entry by Palestinians who need medical treatment not available in Gaza .
Egypt has kept the Rafah crossing closed since the militant group Hamas seized control of Gaza more than a year ago .
In January , Hamas militants blew open the border wall , allowing thousands of Palestinians to stream into Egypt to buy goods that are scarce in Gaza , which is subject to an Israeli blockade .
Egypt sealed the border breach about two weeks later .
A Spanish judge has reinstated an international arrest warrant for three U.S. soldiers on charges arising from the death of a Spanish journalist in Iraq .
Judge Santiago Pedraz filed the warrant Tuesday in a case arising from the 2003 shelling of a hotel in Baghdad in which Spanish television journalist Jose Couso was killed .
The judge first issued an arrest order in 2005 but a court subsequently ruled that Spain had no jurisdiction to try the soldiers .
The country 's Supreme Court overturned that decision in December and reopened the case .
A U.S. tank fired at Baghdad 's Palestine Hotel in April 2003 killing Couso along with a Ukrainian cameraman Taras Portsyuk .
Following the incident , then U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the U.S. troops acted in self defense after drawing fire from the hotel .
Dozens of Palestinian refugees are leaving a refugee camp in northern Lebanon , clearing the way for a possible renewed army assault on Islamic militants in the camp .
Some of the last remaining refugees in the Nahr al-Bared camp near the city of Tripoli left the camp Wednesday .
The Lebanese army has been battling Fatah al-Islam militants inside the camp since May 20 .
Almost all of the 31,000 Palestinian refugees have now left the camp .
More than 170 people have been killed in the fighting .
A sniper killed a Lebanese soldier Tuesday .
The army says it has seized all the militants ' positions on the outskirts of the camp and is poised for a final assault on the remaining militants in the camp .
Philippine troops killed six Communist rebels Sunday in a clash north of Manila .
An infantry unit on routine patrol ran into a 40-man unit from the New People 's Army , touching off the fighting .
A military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Buenaventura Pascual , says troops are still in action , rooting out pockets of resistance .
The government has not reported any casualties .
The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines .
Both groups are listed as terrorist organizations by the United States and the European Union .
NATO and Afghan officials say at least five Afghan police officers were wounded early Saturday , when NATO helicopters mistakenly fired on them .
NATO says its forces were responding to small arms fire from insurgents in Ghazni province , when two of its Apache helicopters fired on police by mistake .
The alliance says at least one Afghan police officer was in critical condition .
Afghan officials confirmed the incident and said at least six police were wounded .
NATO says it is conducting an investigation .
The alliance says it is also investigating reports that two Afghan civilians were mistakenly killed in neighboring Uruzgan province Friday , while troops fired mortars at insurgents .
More than 1,00,000 foreign troops are fighting Afghanistan 's growing Taliban insurgency .
Violence this year has hit the worst level in Afghanistan since the Taliban was ousted in 2001 .
The Netherlands ' defense ministry says a car bomb explosion wounded five Dutch soldiers in southern Afghanistan on Friday .
The ministry said in a statement Saturday that the bomb blew up near a NATO convoy in the volatile Uruzgan province .
In a similar incident , NATO officials say a roadside bomb struck a coalition vehicle in Afghanistan 's southern Kandahar province Saturday .
Officials say that blast did not cause any casualties .
Meanwhile , the governor of Kandahar province , Assadullah Khalid , said Afghan authorities have detained two men suspected of planning suicide attacks on Afghan targets .
He said the men are from Pakistan 's southwestern Baluchistan province .
A major earthquake in the South Pacific Ocean has triggered a tsunami warning for several island nations and territories .
The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center told VOA a tsunami warning is in effect for Vanuatu , the Solomon Islands and the French territory of New Caledonia .
No other details were immediately available .
Georgian police have arrested the son of the country 's first post-Soviet president on charges of planning a coup against the government and spying for Russia .
Officials Thursday confirmed that Tsotne Gamsakhurdia is in custody after being arrested late Wednesday at the Tbilisi airport .
Georgian authorities have been seeking Gamsakhurdia 's arrest since November of 2007 , when he was accused of planning a failed coup against President Mikheil Saakashvili .
He also was charged with having ties to the Russian secret service .
Georgian prosecutors filed charges against Gamsakhurdia following mass opposition protests against Mr. Saakashvili .
President Saakashvili accused Russian special agents of stirring up the trouble .
Russia called the charge a provocation .
Gamsakhurdia is the son of former President Zviad Gamsakhurdia , who was ousted from power in 1992 and died the following year .
Police in Indian Kashmir say gunmen have killed a pro-India politician who was once a Muslim rebel commander .
Police say suspected Islamic militants shot Mohammad Yousuf Thursday near his home in the village of Hajan , about 30 kilometers north of Srinagar , the summer capital of India 's Jammu and Kashmir state .
The gunmen also wounded the politician 's wife and bodyguard in the attack .
Yousuf was a senior member of the Awami League , a Kashmiri political party created by former Muslim militants .
Yousuf had previously fought against Indian forces in Kashmir , but his group surrendered in the 1990s and later switched its allegiance to New Delhi .
No group has claimed responsibility for Thursday 's attack .
But , Kashmiri militants are known to target former rebels who are suspected to be supporting Indian government forces .
The U.S. State Department says it does not want to pre-judge the results of U.S. and U.N. investigations into alleged fraud in Iraq 's U.N.-administered oil-for-food program .
Spokesman Adam Ereli said Wednesday the United States wants the facts be aired fully and appropriate actions taken .
Earlier , U.S. Senator Norm Coleman called on U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to resign , because he was in charge during what the senator called the " most extensive fraud in the history of the U.N. "
Mr. Coleman heads the Senate Government Affairs subcommittee on investigations , which said last month that it had uncovered evidence of widespread irregularities in the oil-for-food program .
The United Nations is also investigating the charges .
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for vigilance against terrorism following the discovery of explosives in a Paris department store .
Mr. Sarkozy said he will not compromise with terrorists .
He spoke to reporters Tuesday at the European Parliament in Strasbourg .
A group calling itself the Afghan Revolutionary Front is claiming responsibility for placing the explosives .
It demanded that France withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by February .
French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said the group is unknown to police .
The French news agency ( AFP ) says it alerted police after receiving a letter warning that bombs had been planted in the Printemps store in central Paris .
Officials say the store was evacuated and the police found the explosives in a bathroom .
Alliot-Marie said the explosives appeared relatively old and no detonators were attached .
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana has held out prospects of closer ties with Belarus following last year 's release of a number of leading opposition activists .
Solana spoke in Minsk after what he called constructive talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko .
The Belarusian leader , for his part , called for direct contact between the sides without any intervention by mediators .
In December , the European Union unveiled a plan for building ties with Belarus and five other former Soviet republics .
The plan will provide increased cooperation and aid , but not offer EU membership .
The union earlier lifted sanctions on Mr. Lukashenko and other Belarusian officials following the release of the detainees .
EU authorities imposed the measures in 2006 , following presidential elections that Western monitors said were rigged .
While in Minsk , Solana also met with Belarusian opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich and other activists .
Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says President Bush was right in authorizing a domestic spying program .
In an interview broadcast Sunday on U.S. television , on ABC 's This Week program , Mr. Powell says there was " absolutely nothing wrong " with the president 's actions , because he was trying to protect the nation in the aftermath of the September 11 , 2001 terrorist attacks .
Mr. Powell acknowledges that the administration could have secured warrants from a secret federal court that approves wiretapping and other forms of eavesdropping .
He also says Congress will have to determine whether it gave Mr. Bush unlimited authority to conduct the domestic spying program without the need to go through legal channels .
But Mr. Powell says the eavesdropping program should continue .
A public-opinion survey immediately after President Bush 's State of the Union address indicates Americans reacted positively to his message .
CNN ( Cable News Network ) television says 48 percent of the people who were contacted had a " very positive " reaction to Mr. Bush 's speech .
Another 27 percent described their feelings as " somewhat favorable , " and 23 percent of those surveyed reacted negatively to the president 's remarks .
The network says its polling organization interviewed 464 people .
Because the survey involved only people who watched the speech on television , CNN says the comments include more favorable opinions than a TRUE random sampling might indicate .
According to CNN , the poll had a five-percent margin of possible error .
Forty~three percent of those who took part said they were Republicans , 23 percent said they were Democrats and 34 percent described themselves as independents .
Iraqi election officials say they have finished a preliminary vote count following Sunday 's election and are dispatching returns to Baghdad .
The officials say the Election Commission may begin releasing partial results as early as Tuesday , but the final results and the naming of 275 elected members of the interim national assembly may take up to 10 days .
Monday , Iraq 's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi called Iraq 's first free election in decades a major blow to insurgents .
But , the al-Qaida in Iraq militant group led by wanted terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi posted an Internet message , vowing to keep fighting democracy in Iraq .
In a separate development , the U.S. military said American troops trying to control a riot killed four detainees at a detention center in southern Iraq Monday .
Thousands of Palestinian hard-liners in the Gaza Strip have staged protests against U.S. President George Bush , as the president visits Israel .
Supporters of the militant group , Hamas , chanted " Death to America " and burned U.S. and Israeli flags .
Others brandished signs depicting Mr. Bush as a vampire drinking Muslim blood .
Hamas refuses to recognize Israel , and has vowed to undermine Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas 's efforts to make peace with the Jewish state .
Mr. Bush is scheduled to meet Mr. Abbas Thursday in the West Bank .
A new Islamic group has appeared for the first time in Gaza to coincide with President Bush 's arrival in the Middle East .
About 20 members of the previously unknown " Army of the Nation " brandished weapons at a news conference .
They said Mr. Bush is not welcome in the Palestinian territories .
Britain has threatened to seek new international sanctions against Sudan , Sudanese rebels and people seen as blocking peace in the war-torn Darfur region .
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw issued the warning Tuesday at the Darfur peace talks in Abuja , Nigeria .
Those talks are in their seventh round .
Straw accused both rebel and government forces of breaking the cease-fire in Darfur , and he said world leaders have doubts either side is serious about reaching a peace deal .
The foreign secretary said Britain may add names to a list of people from both sides being considered by the U.N. Security Council 's Sanctions Committee .
Three years of fighting in Darfur has displaced some two million people and left tens of thousands of others dead .
A new audiotape attributed to Osama bin Laden is calling on Muslims to launch a jihad , or holy war , to stop Israel 's offensive in the Gaza Strip .
The tape was posted Wednesday on Islamist Web sites where al-Qaida usually issues its messages .
The authenticity of the tape could not be immediately verified .
A White House spokesman , Gordon Johndroe , said the tape appears to show bin Laden 's isolation and his efforts to stay relevant " at a time when al-Qaida 's ideology , mission and agenda are being questioned and challenged throughout the world . "
The spokesman said the tape also looks like a bid to raise money in what he called al-Qaida 's ongoing propaganda campaign .
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has extended electricity rationing for another 60 days in hopes that seasonal rains will help refill the low water levels at the country 's hydroelectric dams .
President Chavez declared an electricity emergency in February in the oil-rich nation , saying the country was facing the worst drought in a century .
The hydroelectric sector provides more than 60 percent of Venezuela 's electricity .
Last month , Venezuelan officials announced a 24-hour electrical power cutoff for 80 firms because they failed to reduce their power usage as directed in the emergency decree .
An anti-settlement Israeli group says Israel 's Housing Ministry has plans that would nearly double the number of settlers in the West Bank .
The Peace Now report says Israeli authorities have planned 73,000 new Jewish housing units in the occupied Palestinian territory .
The report released Monday also says authorities have already approved about 15,000 of the units .
Peace Now cautions that a large expansion could destroy chances for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict .
The U.S. supports a two-state solution .
Israel 's Housing Ministry says the new plans for the West Bank only refer to potential construction and would need to be approved by government bodies .
Benjamin Netanyahu , who is trying to form a coalition government , has said his government would expand existing settlements to accommodate for " natural growth " of Israel 's populations .
NATO says Afghan forces and NATO-led troops have detained a senior Taleban commander in southern Afghanistan .
In a statement released Wednesday , NATO said the militant was arrested Tuesday night during a raid in Helmand province .
NATO did not name the Taleban commander , but said he was wanted for questioning by Afghan security officials .
It said the detained man had gone to Helmand after fleeing a recent NATO operation in neighboring Kandahar .
The arrest occurred as new U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the capital , Kabul .
Gates and Afghan officials discussed ways to defeat the Taleban insurgency .
The hardline Islamic group has increased its attacks in recent months .
Last year , an estimated four-thousand people were killed by insurgency-related violence .
Gates wraps up his trip to Afghanistan Wednesday .
On Tuesday , he expressed concern about increasing attacks in Afghanistan by militants from neighboring Pakistan .
State media in Zimbabwe say security forces briefly detained the U.S. ambassador there this week for trespassing in a restricted area near a home of President Robert Mugabe .
Ambassador Christopher Dell was reportedly detained for about 30 minutes Monday after approaching a restricted security area in the National Botanical Gardens near the president 's official Harare residence .
There has been no official U.S. comment on the incident .
Relations between the United States and Zimbabwe have been strained in recent years .
Niger police have arrested a former prime minister , who is an ally of ousted president Mamadou Tandja .
Authorities are accusing Seini Oumarou of embezzling more than $ 5,00,000 of public money .
Mr. Oumarou 's two years as prime minister ended last February when a military coup ousted Mr. Tandja after he sought to change the constitution to stay in office longer .
The military junta that took power has vowed to clean up corruption .
Mr. Tandja has sought leniency from the ruling junta because of his poor health , but his fate is unclear .
Police have taken three other former Tandja officials into custody .
The port of New Orleans is slowly recovering from the damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina and is now operating at about 45 percent of its pre-storm pace .
Port officials say the third-largest port in the United States handled 17 ships last week , moving 450 truckloads of cargo per day .
Before the storm , around 1000 trucks would typically move 1,500 such loads .
Hundreds of truckers lost their homes , rigs or both in the storm .
Port officials are appealing to truckers across the United States to come to New Orleans and help move cargo in and out of the port and help rebuild the city 's economy .
The International Atomic Energy Agency , IAEA , continues closed-door meetings in Vienna Friday on the nuclear activities of Iran and South Korea .
Iran has promised the European Union that it will freeze all activities linked to uranium enrichment , which can produce both nuclear fuel and material for atomic weapons .
But Iran continues to demand that it be allowed to operate 20 centrifuges , although the EU insists all enrichment activity be suspended .
The IAEA will decide whether Iran should be referred to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions if it was covertly trying to produce nuclear weapons .
On the issue of South Korea , delegates said the overwhelming sentiment was to issue a statement of rebuke over experiments that produced small amounts of weapons-grade uranium and plutonium .
Iraqi authorities say insurgents have killed a senior official from the interior ministry in escalating violence against the new Iraqi government and security forces .
Officials say Brigadier General Ibrahim Khamas was targeted in a drive-by shooting in southwestern Baghdad , Wednesday .
Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi , left , meets with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari at Foreign Ministry in Baghdad , Tuesday Meanwhile , the visiting Iranian foreign minister , Kamal Kharrazi , is preparing to meet with Iraq 's speaker of parliament Hajem al-Hassani , Wednesday .
Mr. Kharrazi , who arrived in Baghdad Tuesday , has promised not to interfere in Iraqi affairs and pledged Iran 's cooperation on security .
After talks with Mr. Kharrazi , Iraq 's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Baghdad looks forward to resolving several issues between the two countries , including the fate of missing people and the exchange of remains of soldiers from their eight-year war that ended in 1988 .
Indian police say bomb explosions inside two movie theaters in New Delhi have injured about 50 people .
Both theaters - located in the same west Delhi neighborhood - were showing a controversial Hindi-language film when the blasts hit 15 minutes apart late Sunday .
Police cordoned off the area and the city 's security forces were put on alert .
Several other movie theaters showing the film in New Delhi were evacuated immediately after the explosions .
The movie , called Jo Bole So Nihal , has been condemned by Sikh religious leaders who say it denigrates their faith .
No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts .
President Bush called on the United States to diversify its sources of energy during his annual State of the Union address .
Mr. Bush said dependence on foreign sources of oil leaves America more vulnerable to hostile regimes and terrorism .
The president called for reducing gasoline usage in the U.S. by 20 percent over the next decade .
He said the goal can be met by increasing the supply of renewable and alternative fuels and reforming fuel economy standards for cars .
Mr. Bush also called for greater use of clean coal technology , solar and wind energy , and nuclear power as alternatives to oil .
He called for research on hybrid automobiles , and investing in new methods of producing ethanol .
The president said new technologies will help the United States become a better steward of the environment and confront what he called the serious challenge of global climate change .
The U.S. military says it is searching with all available assets for a U.S. reconnaissance team that disappeared in Afghanistan Tuesday .
The team vanished just before a helicopter coming to help it was shot down in Afghanistan 's mountainous Kunar province bordering Pakistan , with the loss of all 16 Special Forces soldiers aboard .
Military spokesman Colonel Jim Yonts says U.S. forces have been searching for the team since Tuesday 's crash .
He says he has no reason to believe any of its members have been killed or captured .
He said he could neither confirm nor deny a Taleban claim that the insurgents killed seven U.S. soldiers before the helicopter went down .
The crash was the second loss of a U.S. Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan within three months , and came amid a surge in guerrilla activity aimed at derailing the September parliamentary polls .
The southeastern U.S. state of Georgia votes to choose a senator in a runoff election Tuesday , that will help determine whether the Democratic Party can get strong control of the U.S. Senate .
Incumbent Saxby Chambliss - a Republican - is favored to win , which would thwart the Democrats ' ambition to control 60 of the 100 Senate seats .
Sixty seats would create what has been called a " super-majority , " giving Democrats the ability to overcome Republican attempts to filibuster , or block legislation from coming to a vote in the upper house of Congress .
Democrats already control 58 seats in the incoming Senate , with a recount in a very tight race in Minnesota yet to be decided .
Chambliss is facing Democrat Jim Martin in today 's runoff , after each fell short in November of the majority required to win outright in Georgia .
Sweden has charged two men of Somali descent with planning terrorist attacks in Somalia .
The men were charged Friday at the district court in the southwestern city of Göteborg .
Prosecutors say the two men are linked to al-Shabab , a Somali insurgent group affiliated with al-Qaida .
Prosecutors say the men were planning suicide attacks that would cause widespread destruction .
At least one of the men is a Swedish citizen .
The nationality of the other man was not immediately clear .
The men were arrested in May and June as part of an investigation into Somalia-linked terrorism activities in the Nordic country .
Afghan authorities say Taleban militants have freed a Lebanese engineer who was kidnapped earlier this week .
Officials say Ahmed Reza was released near a police checkpoint in southern Zabul province early Thursday .
Mr. Reza , who was working on a U.S.-funded road project , was abducted Sunday night as he drove on the main highway linking the capital , Kabul , with the southern city of Kandahar .
The abductors had threatened to kill Mr. Reza if the Turkish company he worked for did not leave Afghanistan .
But it was not clear if the demand had been met .
Turkey says it is ready to sign a protocol extending its customs agreement to include all of the European Union 's 25 member nations , including Cyprus .
EU officials say they received a letter from the Turkish government confirming it is ready to sign the protocol in time for EU membership talks scheduled to begin on October 3 .
Turkey is required to sign the agreement as a condition for the talks to start .
An EU commission spokeswoman Krisztina Nagy said Tuesday that Ankara 's signing of the protocol does not amount to Turkish recognition of the Greek Cypriot government .
Turkey is the only country that recognizes the government of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot part of Cyprus .
The Greek Cypriots joined the European Union last May .
Gunmen killed at least 25 people in Pakistan 's southern port of Karachi , raising tensions as voters cast ballots Sunday in a by-election to replace an assassinated lawmaker .
The violence broke out Saturday night when gunmen opened fire in several parts of the city .
Police say they have arrested at least 20 suspects in connection with the killings .
The election was being held to replace provincial lawmaker Raza Haider , a member of the MQM party , who was shot to death in August .
The assassination sparked four days of violence that killed at least 85 people .
MQM largely represents the Urdu-speaking community .
The rival ANP party represents ethnic Pashtuns .
Both parties blame each other for the violence that erupted after Haider 's death .
Karachi has been plagued by ethnic and sectarian killings , crime and kidnappings .
China has announced plans to close more than 4,800 small coal mines in an effort to reduce the number of mining accidents .
State Administration of Coal Mine Safety head Zhao Tiechui said Monday that about 2,600 mines will close by the end of this year , with 2,200 more closing in 2007 .
Despite government efforts to close small mines , the official Xinhua news agency reports China still has some 17,000 of them in operation .
The small mines account for one-third of China 's coal production , but two-thirds of the industry 's accidents .
According to Xinhua 's figures , Chinese mines have already reported 2,900 deaths in more than 1,800 accidents in the first eight months of 2006 .
Asian health care professionals have been granted permission to enter Burma to provide medical care to cyclone survivors .
Thirty doctors , nurses and other medical professionals from Thailand flew into Burma Saturday along with medical equipment and supplies .
They expect to provide assistance for two weeks .
Another 47 Indian military doctors and paramedics have also received permission to enter the country .
It remains unclear if they all will be allowed to travel to the hardest hit region in the Irrawady River delta .
The Burmese government has accepted some international donations of help and relief supplies .
But it has refused many offers of help and allowed only limited involvement by foreign personnel in relief efforts .
Kenyan police say an al-Qaida suspect wanted for his role in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies has narrowly escaped capture .
Senior officers say Fazul Abdullah Mohammed escaped a police raid in the Kenyan coastal town of Malindi late Saturday .
They say police arrested two people believed to be Mohammed 's associates , and seized two passports and a laptop computer in the raid .
Mohammed is high on the United States ' wanted list for his alleged role in the August seventh , 1998 attacks on embassies in Nairobi , Kenya and Dar es Salaam , Tanzania .
The bombings killed more than 220 people .
Mohammed is originally from the Comoros Islands .
He has spent recent years in Somalia .
Police say he may have come to Malindi to seek medical help .
The United States is offering a $ 5-million reward for information leading to his capture .
In Afghanistan , a suicide bomber on a motorcycle has killed at least 13 people and wounded 13 others , while a roadside bomb killed a Turkish engineer .
An Interior Ministry spokesman , Yousuf Stanezai , says the suicide attack in Kandahar demolished a guard post outside the city 's heavily-guarded police headquarters .
He says seven of those killed were police and the rest were civilians .
A purported Taleban spokesman , Qari Mohammad Yousuf , has claimed responsibility for the attack .
Also Tuesday , in Farah province , a Turkish engineer was killed when a bomb struck his car on a highway linking the western city of Herat to Kandahar .
And , a bomb attached to a bicycle exploded in the town of Spin Boldak near Pakistan , wounding at least one civilian .
Violence has been increasing in Afghanistan as NATO prepares to expand its peacekeeping force into the volatile south .
Diplomats attending an International Atomic Energy Agency meeting in Vienna say Iran is building a system of deep underground tunnels to conceal components of its nuclear development program .
Iran is said to be trying to make its nuclear facilities impervious to " bunker buster " bombs and other advanced weapons systems .
Reports about Iran 's effort to " harden " its nuclear installations have been circulating during this week 's , three-day IAEA meeting in the Austrian capital .
Iran admits it began construction on underground tunnels beneath the city of Isfahan in September , to " increase capacity , safety and security of nuclear material . "
Associated Press reports that some tunnels are nearly one kilometer below the surface and are made of reinforced concrete .
An American envoy to the IAEA has told the agency 's board of governors that the construction project has undermined Tehran 's promises to suspend its nuclear development work .
Officials in the U.S. eastern coastal states of North and South Carolina are keeping a close watch on Hurricane Ophelia , which continues its slow drift from the Atlantic Ocean toward land .
The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Ophelia is now 350 kilometers southeast of Charleston , South Carolina .
The storm is a weak hurricane ( Category One on the five-point scale used in the United States ) with maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour .
Weather forecasters expect the storm to move slowly toward the northwest on Monday .
Officials are taking precautions in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina .
A hurricane watch has been declared for a 400-kilometer stretch of the U.S. east coast .
And the North Carolina Governor , Mike Easley , has declared a state of emergency .
The governor has ordered all tourists to leave a low-lying island in the state 's Outer Banks region .
Russia 's president , Vladimir Putin , says his country bears " moral responsibility " for the Soviet Union 's crushing of the Hungarian Revolution 50 years ago .
Mr. Putin made the comment in Budapest Tuesday after meeting his Hungarian counterpart , Laszlo Solyom .
Tens of thousands of people were killed in 1956 when Soviet troops crushed Hungarian forces who had overthrown a Soviet-imposed communist government .
Mr. Putin 's trip was to include a ceremony marking the return to Hungary of centuries-old books seized by Soviet troops during World War II .
Officials from both sides were also set to discuss cooperation on nuclear power and Russian exports of natural gas and oil .
Wednesday , Mr. Putin is to travel to Prague for talks with Czech officials .
Indian soldiers take position during a militant attack in Srinagar Life was paralyzed Wednesday at , in Indian Kashmir , where government offices , schools and many shops were closed in observance of a strike called by Muslim separatists .
The separatist groups called the general strike to protest a recent killing of three youths by Indian security forces who had mistaken them for militants .
Kashmir 's chief minister , Mufti Mohammed Syed , has ordered a probe into the early Sunday killings , and has urged troops and police to avoid such incidents in the future .
The Indian military has apologized for the deaths of the boys .
The separatist insurgency in Indian Kashmir began in 1989 and has claimed tens of thousands of lives .
The rebels are demanding Kashmir 's independence or its merger with Pakistan .
A train carrying parts for U.S. space shuttles derailed Wednesday when a bridge collapsed , but space agency officials say the accident will not delay the next shuttle launch .
NASA says the accident took place in the southeastern state of Alabama , as the train carried segments of solid rocket boosters from their manufacturer in Utah to Cape Canaveral in Florida .
At least two people were injured in the incident and were taken to hospitals .
A NASA spokeswoman said the rocket boosters were meant to be used in October and December launches , rather than the upcoming June mission .
NASA engineers are traveling to the site of the crash to check the equipment for damage .
The same train suffered a temporary derailment last week while traveling through the state of Kansas .
Russian President Vladimir Putin says the United Nations should be the main center for coordinating the international fight against terrorism and extremism .
He spoke at the second day of the United Nations World Summit in New York .
Mr. Putin added that the world body should work to settle long-lasting regional disputes .
Other leaders scheduled to speak Thursday include Iraqi President Jalal Talabani , Chinese President Hu Jintao and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez .
On Tuesday , U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and President Bush used the summit 's opening to call for sweeping reform of the United Nations .
Also Tuesday , the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution urging all nations to reject terrorist propaganda as criminal .
Iraqi officials say three roadside bomb blasts have killed eight Iraqi soldiers and wounded seven others .
Authorities in Diyala province say two roadside bombs targeted an army convoy on Thursday in a village near the town of Jalula , north of Baghdad .
Six soldiers died and five were wounded .
Officials say another bomb exploded near Iraq 's oil-rich city of Kirkuk , killing two Iraqi soldiers and wounding two others .
Insurgents have frequently targeted Iraqi security forces in a bid to disrupt recent security gains that have led to a sharp , overall decline in violence .
Also Thursday , police say the local head of the Shi'ite Badr political group was shot and killed in Amerli district , south of Kirkuk .
And Iraqi security forces seized several weapons and explosives during search operations in a number of villages near Kirkuk early Thursday .
Israeli military officials say Israeli soldiers have shot and killed one Palestinian and wounded two others on the Gaza Strip border .
An Israeli army spokesman said Saturday the soldiers opened fire when three men appeared to be about to plant an explosive device on a fence , east of Gaza City .
He said the two wounded Palestinians were taken to an Israeli hospital for medical treatment and questioning .
Military officials also say Israeli soldiers detained five unarmed Palestinian men Saturday as they crossed into Israeli territory from Gaza , apparently looking for work .
In another development , Palestinian officials said today Israel plans to grant amnesty to 110 militants after they pledged to renounce violence against the Jewish state .
There is no immediate word from Israel .
Israel has offered amnesty to about 250 militants and other fugitives in recent weeks .
Most are members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ' moderate Fatah Party .
The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation .
When Senegal withdrew after only a few months , what formerly made up the Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali .
Rule by dictatorship was brought to a close in 1991 by a military coup - led by the current president Amadou TOURE - enabling Mali 's emergence as one of the strongest democracies on the continent .
President Alpha KONARE won Mali 's first democratic presidential election in 1992 and was reelected in 1997 .
In keeping with Mali 's two-term constitutional limit , KONARE stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou TOURE , who was subsequently elected to a second term in 2007 .
The elections were widely judged to be free and fair .
Malta produces only about 20 % of its food needs , has limited fresh water supplies , and has few domestic energy sources .
Malta 's geographic position between the EU and Africa makes it a target for illegal immigration , which has strained Malta 's political and economic resources .
Malta adopted the euro on 1 January 2008 .
Malta 's financial services industry has grown in recent years and in 2008 - 9 it escaped significant damage from the international financial crisis , largely because the sector is centered on the indigenous real estate market and is not highly leveraged .
Locally , the restricted damage from the financial crisis has been attributed to the stability of the Maltese banking system and to its prudent risk-management practices .
The global economic downturn and high electricity and water prices hurt Malta 's real economy , which is dependent on foreign trade , manufacturing - especially electronics and pharmaceuticals - and tourism , but growth bounced back as the global economy recovered in 2010 .
Following a 1.2 % contraction in 2009 , GDP grew 2 % in 2010 .
In early 2011 , the EU ended excessive deficit procedures against Malta , after Malta had taken measures to correct an excessive deficit in 2010 and appeared likely to reach its deficit target of 2.8 % of GDP in 2011 .
The population of the Faroe Islands is largely descended from Viking settlers who arrived in the 9th century .
The islands have been connected politically to Denmark since the 14th century .
A high degree of self government was granted the Faroese in 1948 , who have autonomy over most internal affairs while Denmark is responsible for justice , defense , and foreign affairs .
The Faroe Islands are not part of the European Union .
In 788 , about a century after the Arab conquest of North Africa , successive Moorish dynasties began to rule in Morocco .
In the 16th century , the Sa'adi monarchy , particularly under Ahmad AL-MANSUR ( 1578 - 1603 ) , repelled foreign invaders and inaugurated a golden age .
The Alaouite dynasty , to which the current Moroccan royal family belongs , established a sultanate in Morocco beginning in the 17th century .
In 1860 , Spain occupied northern Morocco and ushered in a half century of trade rivalry among European powers that saw Morocco 's sovereignty steadily erode ; in 1912 , the French imposed a protectorate over the country .
A protracted independence struggle with France ended successfully in 1956 .
The internationalized city of Tangier and most Spanish possessions were turned over to the new country that same year .
Sultan MOHAMMED V , the current monarch 's grandfather , organized the new state as a constitutional monarchy and in 1957 assumed the title of king .
Morocco annexed Western Sahara during the late 1970s , but final resolution on the status of the territory remains unresolved .
Gradual political reforms in the 1990s resulted in the establishment of a bicameral legislature , which first met in 1997 .
Under King MOHAMMED VI - who in 1999 succeeded his father to the throne - human rights have improved .
Morocco enjoys a moderately free press , but the government occasionally takes action against journalists who report on three broad subjects considered to be taboo : the monarchy , Islam , and the status of Western Sahara .
Despite the continuing reforms , ultimate authority remains in the hands of the monarch .
Influenced by protests elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa , thousands of Moroccans in February and March 2011 rallied in Rabat and several other major cities to demand constitutional reform and more democracy and to protest government corruption and high food prices .
Police response to most of the protests was subdued compared to the violence elsewhere in the region .
In early March , King MOHAMMED VI agreed to establish a commission to reform the country 's constitution ; a popular referendum held in early July 2011 overwhelmingly approved the new constitution .
Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most sub-Saharan African nations , but because of high income inequality , a large proportion of the population remains poor .
Gabon depended on timber and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s .
The oil sector now accounts for more than 50 % of GDP although the industry is in decline as fields pass their peak production .
Gabon continues to face fluctuating prices for its oil , timber , and manganese exports and the global recession led to a GDP contraction of 1.4 % in 2009 .
Despite the abundance of natural wealth , poor fiscal management hobbles the economy .
In 1997 , an IMF mission to Gabon criticized the government for overspending on off-budget items , overborrowing from the central bank , and slipping on its schedule for privatization and administrative reform .
The rebound of oil prices from 1999 to 2008 helped growth , but drops in production have hampered Gabon from fully realizing potential gains .
Gabon signed a 14-month Stand-By Arrangement with the IMF in May 2007 , and later that year issued a $ 1 billion sovereign bond to buy back a sizable portion of its Paris Club debt .
A Farmer one day came to the stables to see to his beasts of burden : among them was his favourite Ass , that was always well fed and often carried his master .
With the Farmer came his Lapdog , who danced about and licked his hand and frisked about as happy as could be .
The Farmer felt in his pocket , gave the Lapdog some dainty food , and sat down while he gave his orders to his servants .
The Lapdog jumped into his master 's lap , and lay there blinking while the Farmer stroked his ears .
The Ass , seeing this , broke loose from his halter and commenced prancing about in imitation of the Lapdog .
The Farmer could not hold his sides with laughter , so the Ass went up to him , and putting his feet upon the Farmer 's shoulder attempted to climb into his lap .
The Farmer 's servants rushed up with sticks and pitchforks and soon taught the Ass that
Clumsy jesting is no joke .
A Man came into a Wood one day with an axe in his hand , and begged all the Trees to give him a small branch which he wanted for a particular purpose .
The Trees were good-natured and gave him one of their branches .
What did the Man do but fix it into the axe head , and soon set to work cutting down tree after tree .
Then the Trees saw how foolish they had been in giving their enemy the means of destroying themselves .
The Somali government has publicly executed two men accused of killing police officers .
The execution is the government 's first case of capital punishment since its formation in 2004 .
Security officials say the men were blindfolded and then shot by a security squad .
In other news , the mayor of Mogadishu survived an assassination attempt Thursday when a roadside bomb exploded near his convoy .
Somali officials say no one was injured by the blast targeting Mayor Mohamed Dheere in the city 's northern Shibis neighborhood .
The attack on the mayor comes a day after gunmen threw a grenade at the home of the country 's justice minister , Hassan Dhimbil .
Dhimbil was not home when the blast occurred .
Also Thursday , a representative from the European Union is in Somalia for talks with President Abdullahi Yusuf on security and humanitarian concerns .
On Wednesday , members of the dominant Hawiye clan have postponed a meeting of clan leaders because of disagreements among them .
The meeting , which was scheduled to begin today , was planned to harmonize Hawiye views before this month 's National Reconciliation Conference .
The Somali insurgent group al-Shabab has seized control of Baidoa , home of the country 's parliament .
Witnesses say al-Shabab took over Baidoa Monday just hours after Ethiopian troops who supported the Somali government finished withdrawing from the town and the country .
Residents had reported heavy fighting ahead of the takeover .
There has been no word on casualties .
Most Somali parliament members are currently in neighboring Djibouti for a special session that began Sunday .
Today , the lawmakers voted to double the size of parliament , to 550 members , in line with a peace deal the government reached in October with moderate Islamists .
Hardline groups such as al-Shabab have rejected that deal .
On Sunday , Ethiopian troops completed their pullout from Somalia after fighting the Islamists for more than two years in support of the Somali government .
Many Somalis were concerned the withdrawal would cause a power vacuum , and lead to more fighting .
Various Islamist groups have taken control over much of the country in recent months , leaving the government in charge of only Baidoa and parts of the capital , Mogadishu .
The government has been hampered by infighting that led to the resignation of President Abdullahi Yusuf last month .
The lawmakers meeting in Djibouti are scheduled to elect a new president within days , after the new parliament members are seated .
A moderate Islamist group , the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia , will take 200 of the new seats .
The alliance 's leader , Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed , is on a long list of candidates looking to become Somalia 's next president .
China says it has released more than a thousand people held for alleged involvement in anti-government riots in Tibet 's capital , Llasa , three months ago .
The official Xinhua news agency Friday said authorities released 1,157 people who participated in deadly protests in March .
It says 12 others were sentenced this week for their role in the protests .
In April , authorities handed down punishments to 30 people on charges including arson , robbery and attack on state organs during the unrest .
The news agency quotes Tibet 's vice chairman Palma Trily as saying another 116 people remain in custody awaiting trial .
The report was published two days after human rights group Amnesty International urged China to reveal what happened to more than a thousand people arrested during the government crackdown on protesters .
Russia 's President Vladimir Putin has held talks with Saudi Arabia 's King Abdullah on the situation in Iraq and the Mideast peace process .
The two leaders met Sunday at the king 's palace in Riyadh .
It is the first time a Russian president has visited the kingdom , a traditional ally of the United States .
Prior to the meeting , King Abdullah told the Russian news agency Itar-Tass that Mr. Putin 's visit will help improve bilateral cooperation .
Mr. Putin will make a brief visit to Doha , Qatar Monday , before traveling to Amman , Jordan , for a meeting Tuesday with Jordan 's King Abdullah .
Mr. Putin 's meetings with Arab leaders are expected to focus on trade and counter-terrorism issues .
Moscow also is hoping to sell Russian-made weapons to Arab states that usually buy their arms from the U.S.
Foreign ministers from the African Union are discussing ways to boost Africa 's role at the United Nations .
AU Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare asked officials meeting at AU headquarters in Ethiopia Monday to work together on possible U.N. reforms .
He said any proposed changes must reflect Africa 's vision for the future and its position in the world .
Last month , African foreign ministers agreed to press for two permanent seats for African nations on the U.N. Security Council .
They also discussed creating three non-permanent seats for African countries .
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for expanding membership in the group 's top decision-making body .
Egypt , Nigeria and South Africa are expected to seek spots on the Security Council if U.N. officials agree to changes .
Israeli troops have shot dead a Palestinian militant at a West Bank refugee camp , further straining a fragile ceasefire between the two sides .
Palestinians say the man killed near Nablus was a member of the militant group Al Aqsa Martyrs ' Brigades .
Militant groups are now discussing whether to continue honoring the ceasefire after three Palestinian teenagers were killed in a separate incident Saturday in Gaza .
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas Thursday ordered Palestinian security services to unify under the Palestinian government .
Israel and Washington have long called for security reforms .
More than one dozen separate security factions now operate independently .
Also today , the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva urged Israel to stop building settlements in occupied Palestinian territory .
The United States voted against the resolution , calling it " biased . "
However , President Bush recently called for a halt to the settlement construction .
Palestinian officials say an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip killed three people Wednesday .
They say one of the dead is a young girl .
Officials say the strike hit a Palestinian militant training camp .
At least three others were wounded .
Hours earlier , Palestinian security officials say an Israeli helicopter strike killed two members of the radical Palestinian group , Islamic Jihad .
Officials say Israeli helicopters fired missiles on at least one house in the northern West Bank refugee camp of Jenin .
Islamic Jihad has been responsible for suicide bombings and other attacks in Israel in recent years .
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says Iran has the right to peaceful nuclear technology , and says governments criticizing Tehran 's nuclear efforts should first object to Israel 's suspected nuclear arsenal .
Speaking Thursday after talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , the Syrian leader said countries opposed to Iran 's nuclear program have not provided a " convincing or logical reason " for their opposition .
The Iranian leader 's two-day visit to Damascus comes as both countries face possible showdowns with the United Nations Security Council .
The United States and Europe want Iran referred to the Security Council over its suspect nuclear activities .
The International Atomic Energy Agency is set to hear Western arguments on February 2 .
The world body has also threatened action if Damascus fails to cooperate fully with a U.N. investigation into the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri .
Yemen says three al-Qaida militants who escaped from a Yemeni prison have surrendered to authorities .
The al-Qaida militants were among 23 inmates who escaped from a Sanaa jail early this month .
President Ali Abdullah Saleh told the al-Hayat Arabic-language newspaper in an interview published Sunday that security forces were in contact with the other fugitives and negotiating their surrender .
The prison escape was a major embarrassment for authorities battling Islamic militants , and raised questions among Yemen 's Western allies about the country 's security measures .
Among the escapees were leaders of the 2000 bombing of the U.S. warship Coleand the 2002 attack on the French supertanker Limburg .
Iraqi security officials say a triple bomb attack targeting Iraq 's industry minister has killed at least 14 people and wounded more than 70 in southern Baghdad .
The minister , Fawzi al-Hariri , survived the bombings , but three of his bodyguards were among those killed .
Officials say a car bomb and two roadside bombs exploded Wednesday , as the minister 's convoy passed through a predominantly Christian neighborhood , Camp Sara .
The blasts severely damaged several buildings and destroyed many cars .
Meanwhile , a U.S. military spokesman in Iraq , Major General William Caldwell , says Iraqi authorities have demobilized an entire police brigade in Baghdad for alleged complicity with militias .
The spokesman says those police will undergo re-training .
At least 17 American troops have been killed in Iraq in the last four days .
At least six people have been killed and more than 20 wounded in the latest shootings and bombings in Indian Kashmir .
Police say separatist militants killed three civilians south of Srinagar late Tuesday , one of them was a Muslim village head in the Rajouri district .
Indian troops shot dead three militants in Doda district Wednesday .
More than 20 civilians were wounded in two grenade explosions .
In one attack , militants hurled a grenade at a security force patrol at a crowded market in Jammu but missed , wounding at least 18 people .
Another three civilians were wounded when a grenade exploded near a military bunker north of Srinagar .
Russia 's Foreign Ministry says a deal to deliver S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Iran is not affected by new U.N. sanctions against Tehran .
Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko says a U.N. resolution approved Wednesday does not apply to anti-aircraft systems , with the exception of portable missiles .
He commented Thursday after Russia 's Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed official with the Russian agency that supervises arms sales as saying the country was freezing a contract to sell the missile system to Iran because of the new sanctions .
However , other Russian news organizations quote agency official Mikhail Dmitrivev as saying the deal was not affected by the U.N. resolution and work on the contract continues .
Russia signed a contract in 2007 to sell Iran the missiles that would significantly boost Tehran 's defense capabilities .
However , none of the missiles have been delivered .
For a third straight day , police in Scotland have arrested protesters who breached security at an airport in an attempt to stop shipments of U.S. munitions to Israel .
Security officials south of Glasgow confirmed that five protesters were arrested Tuesday , in addition to at least 11 others detained since Sunday .
In the latest instance , security officials say they monitored the protest group as members entered an empty aircraft at the Prestwick international airport early today .
The French news agency , AFP , quotes activists as saying they broke through an airport fence to board a U.S. military transport .
The report says they examined documents on the plane , and were only arrested after they were spotted boarding a second aircraft .
Scottish news reports last week quoted authorities as saying the U.S. transport flights would continue refueling stops at the airport under international treaties .
Rwanda 's President says his troops will deal with rebels based in Congo and suggested Rwandan forces have already entered the neighboring country .
Rwandan officials have refused to confirm reports that troops have entered Congo to fight rebels accused of launching cross-border attacks .
But President Paul Kagame said Tuesday that United Nations and Congolese forces have not done enough to disarm the Rwandan Hutu rebels and his forces might now be dealing with them .
Yesterday , Democratic Republic of Congo said will send up to 10,000 troops to reinforce its eastern border to help contain what it called Rwandan " aggression . "
Rwandan troops have entered Congo twice in recent years to attack Hutu rebels blamed for taking part in Rwanda 's 1994 genocide .
An Indian cabinet minister has resigned after a probe panel said there was strong suspicion he had a hand in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in which nearly 3,000 Sikhs were massacred in New Delhi .
The minister for expatriate Indians , Jagdish Tytler , said he had submitted his resignation to Sonia Gandhi , president of the ruling Congress party , and asked her to forward it to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh .
The resignation came within hours after Prime Minister Singh assured agitated members of parliament that action would be taken against those named in the report .
The report said there is " credible evidence " Mr. Tytler " very probably " had a hand in organizing the riots that followed then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi 's assassination by her Sikh bodyguards .
But the government ruled out taking any action against the junior minister , saying prosecution could not take place on the basis of " probability . "
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he wants to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas every two weeks as they enter into direct peace talks .
Israeli media report Mr. Netanyahu told his advisors late Thursday that he plans to personally lead the Israeli negotiating team .
The two leaders are to meet in Washington next week to relaunch peace talks that have been stalled since 2008 .
One of the biggest points of conflict is Israeli settlement activity in land Palestinians want for a future state .
Mr. Abbas has warned that talks will be curtailed if Israel does not extend a moratorium on settlement construction set to expire September 26 .
Israel 's foreign minister , Avigdor Lieberman , says that continuing the moratorium would upset Israeli settlers who have threatened to bring down Israel 's ruling coalition if the construction freeze is not lifted .
A closely-watched gauge of future U.S. economic activity rose sharply in January , suggesting strong economic growth over the next few months .
A business group , the Conference Board in New York said Tuesday that its Index of Leading Indicators rose a strong 1.1 percent for the month .
That is stronger than the reading for the previous month , and better than economists expected .
Analysts , quoted by Bloomberg News say much of the rise was due to an improving labor market .
Russia 's state environmental agency has filed suit against an international consortium led by Royal Dutch Shell to force a halt in development of a huge natural gas and oil field in the country 's far east .
The Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources has asked a Moscow court to halt work on the Sakhalin-2 project planned by European and Japanese companies until completion of a new assessment of its environmental impact .
Last month , Russia 's Natural Resources Ministry ordered a halt in construction of a 20-kilometer section of the project because of the threat of flooding and mudslides .
Western and Russian news media say the construction problems could be tied to efforts by Russia 's state natural gas monopoly , Gazprom , to gain a larger share of the consortium 's project .
China 's envoy to six-party talks on North Korea 's nuclear program says Pyongyang has agreed to close its nuclear facilities in return for fuel aid and other incentives .
Wu Dawei said in Beijing Tuesday that all six nations involved in the talks have agreed to the deal .
Officials close to the talks say North Korea has agreed to close its Yongbyon nuclear complex within 60 days .
In return , it will receive about one million tons of fuel oil .
Officials say the deal also requires the United States to remove North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism .
The U.S. , North and South Korea , China , Japan and Russia began their negotiations last Thursday .
Pyongyang conducted its first known nuclear test in October , and says it has several nuclear weapons .
President Bush has begun meetings with world leaders as part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Santiago , Chile .
The president is scheduled to hold one-on-one meetings Saturday , with Chinese President Hu Jintao , as well as leaders from Japan , South Korea , Indonesia , Canada , and Russia .
Mr. Bush is expected to use the meetings to encourage continued pressure on North Korea to end its nuclear weapons program .
In his weekly radio address later Saturday , Mr. Bush is expected to say that he hopes the day 's meetings will strengthen ties across the Pacific and improve shared security .
On Sunday , the president is scheduled to meet with Mexican President Vicente Fox and to hold a news conference with Chilean President Ricardo Lagos .
The two-day APEC summit will also focus on global trade and terrorism .
The government of Chad says its army has killed more than 100 rebels during two gunbattles near the Chad-Sudan border .
Chad 's army clashed with the rebel Popular Front for National Renaissance on Saturday and again a couple of days later .
In a statement Thursday , Communications Minister Kedallah Younous Hamid said the army killed 105 rebels and captured another 62 rebels in the fighting .
He said nine government soldiers were killed and 16 others wounded .
The rebel group has not released any casualty figures , and there is no independent confirmation of the report .
Chadian rebel groups have long sought to overthrow the country 's president , Idriss Deby .
The two sides recently began talks aimed at ending hostilities .
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer says his country will do everything possible to help Sri Lanka recover after last month 's devastating tsunami .
After meetings in Colombo Tuesday with President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar , Mr. Fischer told reporters a tsunami early warning system is crucial for the whole region .
He also said Berlin is ready to promote tourism in the island nation and focus on other important projects .
Germany has pledged more than $ 650 million in aid for the region .
Mr. Fischer , who arrived in Sri Lanka late Monday , was scheduled to attend a memorial service for victims of the Asian tsunami at the German embassy in Colombo before flying out of the country .
The popular video-sharing website YouTube has introduced new regulations aimed at purging the site of terror-related materials .
The rules forbid so-called " hate speech " ( speech which attacks or demeans a particular nationality , race , or ethnic group ) and gratuitous violence .
They also bar instructional videos on subjects like bomb-making and sniper attacks .
U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman praised YouTube 's new guidelines , which he said should make it harder for groups like al-Qaida to post material on the site .
Lieberman issued a report earlier this year warning that the Internet plays a key role in recruiting and training terrorists , and in planning terror attacks .
It was not immediately clear how YouTube would enforce its new rules .
On Friday , videos on bomb-making were still readily available on the site .
Iraqi police say a suicide car bombing at a police training center in the southern city of Nasiriyah has killed at least one policeman and wounded more than 20 other people .
Word of Monday 's attack came after U.S. military officials said at least 10 civilians were killed and three others wounded in an explosion Sunday in a market south of Baghdad .
The military says it is investigating what caused the explosion that rocked a candy store and other shops in the town of Iskandariyah .
In another development , Iraq 's judicial authorities adjourned the trial of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein until at least Wednesday .
Saddam and some co-defendants were thrown out of court Sunday after Saddam 's co-defendant half-brother cursed the court and was then dragged away by guards .
Several defense lawyers walked out in protest .
An Indonesian prosecutor says three Islamist militants on death row for the 2002 Bali bombings have declined to ask for a presidential pardon .
He says that will likely speed up the date of their executions .
The convicted trio met with judges and prosecutors Wednesday .
Indonesian law says that families of death row convicts can also ask for pardons .
It is not clear what the families ' intentions are .
Public calls to quickly execute the men have mounted since a second round of attacks on Bali earlier this month .
Last week , an angry mob stormed a prison that had previously held the men , demanding their immediate executions .
The 2002 nightclub bombings in the town of Kuta killed 202 people .
The Taliban are denying reports their leaders have met with a U.N. official to discuss prospects for peace in Afghanistan .
The Taliban issued a statement Saturday saying the reports of them meeting with Kai Eide , the U.N. representative for Afghanistan , were baseless " rumors . "
The militants ' statement said their refusal to negotiate peace had ensured the failure of this week 's international conference in London on stabilizing Afghanistan .
An unidentified U.N. official attending the conference said Thursday the Taliban had met secretly with Eide about the possibility of beginning peace talks with the government .
The official said the meeting took place January 8 in Dubai and was held at the militants ' request .
Israel has launched its first airstrike against Palestinian militants in the occupied territories since both sides agreed at a summit earlier this year to work toward re-starting the Middle East peace process .
One militant was reported critically wounded in the southern Gaza strike .
Israel said it ordered the attack after militants in the area fired at least 15 mortar bombs into a nearby Israeli settlement , wounding a settler .
Separately , witnesses say Israeli soldiers shot and killed another Hamas militant near the Rafah refugee camp .
Meanwhile , Israel has given Jewish settlers in Gaza one week to accept government compensation aimed at gaining their cooperation in the upcoming Israeli withdrawal from the territory .
Tuesday , Israel said that 430 families , about 2,000 of the 8,500 settlers in Gaza , have agreed to move voluntarily to a new community inside Israel .
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has warned Iran and Syria against interfering in Iraq 's affairs .
Rumsfeld made the comment Friday in Taormina , Sicily , where he was meeting with his NATO counterparts .
He said the United States has taken a series of initiatives to try to show Iran and Syria that their actions are harmful to the new Iraqi government and the region .
He did not specify the alleged actions , but U.S. officials have previously accused Iran of encouraging radicalism among Iraq 's Shi'ites and allowing dangerous materials to cross the border .
The United States also alleges Syria allows foreign fighters to travel into Iraq .
Rumsfeld met Friday with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov .
He said they discussed Iran 's controversial nuclear program , but he refused to elaborate .
Female interrogators are said to have used sexually-suggestive tactics while questioning Muslim men at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay , Cuba .
Thursday 's Washington Post reports on the allegations , which the newspaper says are contained in a U.S. military investigation not yet released to the public and newly-declassified accounts from terror suspects held at the prison .
According to the Post , detainees say female interrogators have regularly violated Muslim taboos about sex and contact with women .
The prisoners complain of women touching them in provocative ways , and smearing them with what they were told was menstrual blood , but the investigation found to be red dye .
The newspaper cites an unidentifed senior U.S. defense official as saying the probe generally confirmed the allegations .
Defense Department officials say they have reprimanded two female interrogators for the tactics .
Afghan border police say a suicide car bomber has attacked a police post in southeastern Afghanistan , near the Pakistani border .
There are conflicting reports about the casualties , but officials said the attack in Spin Boldak on Thursday wounded at least four police officers and one civilian .
Two reports said one of the policemen later died .
Police officials said the driver blew up his vehicle as he approached a police position .
Spin Boldak is one of the major border crossing points between Afghanistan and Pakistan .
A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack .
Elsewhere in southern Afghanistan , NATO says a British pilot suffered minor injuries when his fighter jet crashed after takeoff in Kandahar province .
A NATO spokesman says the pilot ejected from the aircraft and was taken to a medical facility .
He said the crash did not appear to be the result of hostile fire .
Israeli helicopters fired several missiles at targets in Gaza City early Monday , hours after Palestinian militants killed five Israeli soldiers and wounded at least five others in an attack on an army post near the Gaza-Egypt border .
Israeli military officials say their strike hit a building where militants had been working on weapons to use against Israel .
No casualties were reported .
Earlier , a joint statement by the Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Fatah Hawks said suicide bombers detonated more than a ton of explosives beneath an Israeli army post , in a 600-meter-long tunnel that guerrillas had spent four months digging .
The huge blast at the Rafah crossing killed three Israeli soldiers .
Two more soldiers and at least one Palestinian militant were killed in a shootout .
The U.S. Justice Department has withdrawn one of the many proposals aimed at restricting attorney access to detainees at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba .
In papers filed Friday with a federal appeals court in Washington , the department says it will no longer limit an attorney 's visits with Guantanamo detainees to only three .
The court has scheduled a hearing next week to consider the restrictions imposed by the Bush administration , which include screening mail sent by attorneys to the detainees , and denying attorneys access to secret evidence used by military panels against their clients .
The administration says the restrictions are necessary to maintain security at Guantanamo .
But civil rights and legal advocacy groups say the rules violate a basic constitutional right to a fair trial .
There are about 385 detainees being held at the U.S. military base , which has housed suspected terrorists captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere .
A top U.S. general has urged European and U.S. armed forces to work together to improve security in Africa .
General Scott Gration was addressing the second meeting of Africa Clearing House , a joint European-North American group that gathered Monday in Stuttgart , Germany .
General Gration said that combined western military efforts can help prevent terrorists from taking root in some nations .
He says another goal should be to help African nations develop the ability to solve their own problems .
General Gration expressed concern over Nigeria , saying the west African nation is entering a critical time , three years ahead of the next scheduled elections .
He says the entire region may face serious problems if Nigeria were to go the way of war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo .
Spain 's Interior Ministry says police have arrested at least seven people suspected of ties to the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai , India , that left 166 people dead .
Spanish media report the arrests took place late Tuesday and early Wednesday in and around the northeastern city of Barcelona .
They say the arrested are mostly Pakistanis nationals and are suspected of falsifying passports and other identification documents .
The suspects are accused of sending money and the fake documents to the Pakistani-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba , the organization accused of carrying out the November 2008 attacks on luxury hotels , a rail station , a Jewish center , and a restaurant .
Nine of the 10 attackers were killed during the 60-hour siege .
The surviving terrorist has been sentenced to death .
An Ethiopian official says Italy has delayed the return of an ancient obelisk to the city of Axum .
Ethiopia 's Ministry of Culture said the delay was indefinite .
Italian officials cited lack of radar at Axum 's airport and are awaiting clear weather .
The first section of the obelisk was scheduled to be flown to Ethiopia from Rome Wednesday .
The roughly 24-meter high granite structure , believed to be nearly 2,000 years old , is too large to be moved in one piece .
Italy seized the obelisk in 1937 during its brief occupation of Ethiopia .
The two nations agreed to its return a decade later .
Monday 's announcement marks the latest in a string of difficulties that has delayed Axum 's obelisk 's journey home .
An Afghan provincial official says that about 40 Taliban fighters have been killed in several days of clashes with security forces in the country 's south .
General Sayed Agha Saqib , the police chief of Kandahar province , said Sunday , that 35 Taliban were killed and 10 captured in a three-day operation that ended Saturday in the mountainous Shah Wali Kot district .
Saqib said Afghan and foreign troops clashed with another group of militants in Kandahar 's Zhari district Saturday , killing five fighters and detaining four others .
The police chief said there were no casualties among the Afghan or foreign troops .
Saqib 's casualty figures could not be independently verified .
This year has been the most violent since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 .
Several dozen Palestinian police stormed the Palestinian parliament building Monday to press demands for a security crackdown on Hamas militants .
There were no reports of shooting in the building , but witnesses say gunshots were fired as police entered the legislative compound in Gaza City .
The police action followed a series of shootouts Sunday between Palestinian police and Hamas militants .
A Palestinian police commander and two civilian bystanders were killed and at least 50 other people were wounded .
British Prime Minister Tony Blair says authorities are investigating allegations that British troops abused civilians in Iraq .
Mr. Blair says he takes any such allegations very seriously .
He spoke Sunday after television stations aired footage that appeared to show British soldiers beating teenage Iraqis .
The video was released by Britain 's News of the World newspaper after it published photographs of the incident .
The tabloid says the footage was shot in southern Iraq in 2004 .
Mr. Blair added that the overwhelming majority of British soldiers in Iraq and elsewhere behave properly and are doing a great job .
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says his government will set aside economic disputes and work closer with Russia to oppose U.S. and NATO plans for a missile shield in central Europe .
In an address in Minsk Tuesday , Mr. Lukashenko said NATO 's eastward expansion and the proposed missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic would " seriously complicate " the military-political situation in the region .
Russian President Vladimir Putin has voiced strong opposition to the missile shield .
He has proposed alternatives to the U.S. plan , including joint use of a radar site in Azerbaijan , or alternately in southern Russia .
Washington is evaluating those proposals .
Mr. Lukashenko is barred from traveling to the United States and many European countries because of his human rights policies .
His comments today were made during a speech at a military parade marking Belarusian independence day .
A suicide bomber slammed his car into a bus carrying police recruits north of Baghdad Monday , killing seven recruits and wounding 13 others .
Gunmen in the Iraqi capital opened fire on a convoy carrying Turkey 's ambassador , though no serious injuries were reported .
In northern Iraq , Sunni Arab political leaders met with Kurdish leaders to discuss plans for forming a new government .
Kurdish and Shi'ite leaders held similar talks last week .
Some Sunni groups have alleged fraud in last month 's elections .
Iraqi oil officials said crude exports had reached their lowest level since the war began , because of terrorist attacks and bad weather .
The announcement came as Oil Minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum confirmed he had resigned his post last week , after criticizing hikes in fuel prices .
The human rights group Amnesty International has issued a report critical of the U.S. detention center operated at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba .
In the report released Monday Amnesty said 500 men from 35 countries are being held at Guantanamo and that some have conducted hunger strikes or attempted suicide .
It also cites hardships on the detainees ' families .
The group said U.S. authorities should release those who are not going to be charged with internationally recognized criminal offenses .
Amnesty also called on the U.S. to publish a list of those detained at Guantanamo and elsewhere , to close Guantanamo , and to investigate allegations of ill-treatment of detainees .
President Bush has said the detention center is a necessary part of protecting the American people and that Guantanamo 's prisoners are treated humanely .
Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip abducted two Western teachers as they were driving to work Wednesday .
Witnesses and unnamed security officials identified the teachers as the Dutch principal Hendrik Taatgen and his Australian deputy Brian Ambrosio of an American-run school in Beit Lahiya .
Witnesses say gunmen forced the teachers out of their car , pushed them into another vehicle and drove away .
Palestinian militants in the increasingly chaotic Gaza have kidnapped foreigners on many occasions , in order to force authorities to meet their demands .
So far , all abductions have been brief and all captives have been freed unharmed .
Such incidents are an embarrassment for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas , who is trying improve law and order in the territory following the withdrawal of Israeli forces .
Authorities in southern China are trying to protect Guangzhou and other densely populated cities from a toxic spill flowing downriver toward municipal water intakes .
A zinc smelter dumped wastewater heavily contaminated with cadmium into the Bei River a week ago .
Chinese news media say the river is now carrying up to 10 times more cadmium than is considered safe .
The city of Yingde , up stream from Guangzhou , has already stopped drawing water from the Bei River .
Authorities in Guangzhou say emergency measures to safeguard drinking water are under way .
Chinese news reports say reservoirs have released large quantities of stored water to dilute pollution in the river .
Cadmium , a metal used in several manufacturing processes , is highly toxic and can cause serious neurological , kidney and liver ailments .
The contamination of the Bei River is China 's second major environmental incident in recent weeks .
Turkey 's Foreign Ministry says several of its nationals were killed Friday in an ambush in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul .
The ministry says the victims were security guards on their way to the Turkish embassy in Baghdad .
Four men escaped , two returned to southern Turkey , while two others reached Baghdad .
The ministry did not specify how many guards were killed , but reports earlier Friday of an ambush in Mosul said four people had been killed .
One of the victims was reportedly beheaded .
In another development , the U.S. embassy confirmed the name of an American kidnapped seven weeks ago when gunmen stormed a Saudi-owned catering company in Baghdad .
Officials said they are working to free Roy Hallums and Filipino Roberto Tarongoy , who was also abducted .
Israel 's military chief says the month-long conflict with Hezbollah ended with an Israeli victory against the militant group , but not a knockout .
Lieutenant-General Dan Halutz told the Israeli Cabinet at a meeting Sunday that Israeli forces won the battle through a series of achievements , such as damaging Hezbollah 's infrastructure in southern Lebanon .
Hezbollah also has declared victory in the conflict by highlighting its resistance against Israeli troops and its survival as a military force .
The militant group has so far refused to give up its rockets or other weapons , although it is required to do so by terms of the U.N.-backed ceasefire .
Some Israeli ministers today defended a commando raid in Lebanon Saturday , and warned of more such operations to prevent Hezbollah from getting weapons from other countries .
Israeli officials say the raid was defensive in nature , so it was not a violation of a U.N.-mediated truce .
Former Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum has officially joined President Hamid Karzai 's administration .
Mr. Dostum , one of Afghanistan 's most powerful regional strongmen , is now chief of staff to the high command of Afghanistan 's central armed forces .
The former presidential candidate , who survived an assassination attempt in January , has resigned his position as head of his northern based Uzbek militia .
When Mr. Dostum 's appointment was announced last month , it drew considerable criticism .
Human rights groups accuse the general of gross rights violations following the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and the toppling the Taleban regime .
Mr. Dostum 's militia has also been accused of drug trafficking .
President Karzai has brought several regional commanders into the government , an apparent bid at a consensual approach to nation building .
Sudan 's foreign minister says a new round of peace talks between the government and rebels in the western Darfur region is set for February .
Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters at the African Union summit in Abuja , Nigeria , Monday that the talks are to be held in Abuja .
A negotiator for the rebel Sudanese Liberation Army told the Associated Press his team plans to attend the talks .
And a spokesman for the rebel Justice and Equality Movement told Reuters his group would be willing to participate .
Several earlier rounds have failed to bring peace to Darfur , where 70,000 people are believed to have died and more than 1.5 million have been displaced over the past two years .
Israel 's antiquities authority says archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a home in Nazareth that dates back more than 2,000 years - to the time of Jesus .
Archaeologist Yardenna Alexandre said Monday the discovery is the first find of its kind and gives insight into the way of life at the time of Jesus .
Alexandre describes the home as " small and modest " and likely typical of ones in Nazareth when it was a small Jewish village .
The dwelling consists of two rooms , a courtyard and a system for collecting water .
Jesus is believed to have spent most of his life in the town of Nazareth .
The remains were found near the Basilica of the Annunciation , which was built on the site where Christians believe an angel told the virgin Mary that she was going to give birth to Jesus .
Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are heading to the Philippines for an informal meeting Sunday , amid growing internal opposition over Burma 's chairmanship of ASEAN .
The foreign ministers of Indonesia , the Philippines , Malaysia and Singapore have urged Burma to implement democratic reforms or risk losing its turn at the ASEAN chairmanship .
Cambodian officials have opposed any move to block Burma from the chair , saying it would violate ASEAN 's policy of non-interference .
Burma 's ruler Senior General Than Shwe Sunday 's scheduled meeting follows comments made Friday by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan , urging Burma to set a timetable for its " roadmap to democracy " laid out in 2003 .
The United States and the European Union have threatened to boycott further ASEAN meetings if Burma takes the chair before enacting political reforms .
The Lebanese government says it will cooperate with a U.N. investigation into the killing of former prime minister Rafik Hariri .
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Sunday that learning the truth about the assassination is in the government 's best interest .
But he and other Lebanese officials say that outside investigators must respect Lebanese sovereignty .
The Lebanese government previously suggested it would snub the U.N. probe , although it has requested Swiss experts to help with its own investigation .
The U.N. Security Council has demanded a report on the causes and consequences of last Monday 's car bomb attack that killed Mr. Hariri and at least 14 others .
Many Lebanese have blamed Syria for the bombing and called for Damascus to withdraw its 14,000 troops from Lebanon .
Damascus insists it had no role in the attack .
India has unveiled a number of new measures to spur people-to-people contacts with Pakistan ahead of a trip to Islamabad by India 's foreign minister .
Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters India has decided to amend a 1982 accord with Pakistan to further liberalize consular and visa services .
The amendment would be signed during Foreign Minister Natwar Singh 's four-day visit to Islamabad to review the progress made so far in the 21-month-old peace process .
On the eve the visit , Mr. Mukherjee also said India and Pakistan have agreed to withdraw their troops from the Siachen glacier , but more talks are needed on how to implement the accord .
The more than 6,000-meter high glacier in the Kashmir region is known as the highest battlefield , where more soldiers have died of cold than in combat .
The British government has announced plans for new laws on the detention of terrorist suspects , after three men failed to report to police Tuesday as required under official monitoring orders .
Home Secretary John Reid , in a statement to parliament , said the monitoring orders were imposed on the three men because it was believed they wanted to travel abroad for terrorist-related activities .
He said authorities did not see the men as direct threats to the British public .
Prime Minister Tony Blair 's government created the control order system in 2004 as a way to monitor suspects deemed a general threat to national security but who have not been charged with specific crimes .
The system was put in place after Britain 's highest court ruled that detaining suspects without trial is unlawful .
Analysts equate the monitoring system to a loose form of house arrest .
Iraqi officials say U.S. and British diplomats are urging them to break an impasse and come to an agreement on a draft constitution by Monday 's extended deadline .
Iraqis involved in the constitutional talks said Thursday that international pressure is mounting on negotiators to resolve issues , including the role of Islam in the state and power-sharing between the central and regional governments .
The United States is hopeful that a consensus on the constitution will help stem insurgent violence .
Wednesday , three closely coordinated car bombings killed 43 people in Baghdad .
Thursday , a judge and his driver were gunned down on a Baghdad street , and the U.S. military reported four of its soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb blast in Samarra , north of the capital .
Officials in Pakistan say at least 12 security personnel have been killed and many others wounded by explosions Sunday in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghanistan border .
At least two bomb blasts hit a security convoy in the Swat area , in the second deadly incident in 24 hours in the same Taleban stronghold .
On Saturday , a suicide car bomber struck a military convoy , killing 24 Pakistani soldiers and wounding 28 more .
In another incident Saturday , suspected militants detonated a bomb near a military vehicle , wounding two soldiers .
The attacks follow Tuesday 's storming of the radical Red Mosque in Islamabad , where at least 105 people were killed .
The U.S. State Department says one of its diplomats has been found dead in his home in Ethiopia 's capital , Addis Ababa .
A State Department official , who asked not to be identified , said 25-year-old Brian Adkins was found dead Saturday .
The official says U.S. diplomatic security is investigating the death as a suspected homicide .
The State Department has not officially released details of Adkins ' death .
Adkins was a foreign service officer in the consular section of the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa .
He was on his first diplomatic assignment .
Nepal 's army is still searching remote western mountains for 76 troops missing after a major attack by Maoist rebels .
The army said that at least 40 soldiers were killed by rebels who attacked their army base in the Kalikot district on Sunday .
An army officer says a massive search is being carried out for the missing troops .
Maoist rebels say they have killed 159 soldiers and captured 50 , a claim rejected by the army .
The rebels also say they lost 26 guerrillas and several more are wounded .
United Nations officials have urged the guerrillas to treat any captives safely .
The casualties are the largest this year between the Nepal Army and Maoist rebels , who have been fighting since 1996 for a communist state .
Japan 's justice minister says the country will tighten background checks before granting residency status to foreigners of Japanese descent .
Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura told reporters in Tokyo Friday that the new security measures will apply to those who enter Japan with a special visa reserved for spouses and descendants of Japanese citizens .
He said Japan will begin asking potential immigrants for more documentation to verify their Japanese ancestry and proof they do not have criminal records .
Mr. Sugiura announced the changes after police said a Peruvian suspected of killing a seven-year-old girl in Hiroshima was found to be using a FALSE name and passport .
Police say Jose Manuel Torres Yake confessed to using a fake name and a FALSE date of birth to buy a forged passport .
European stock prices are lower in midday trading Friday .
London 's Financial Times index is down 74 points , more than 1.7 percent , at 4,218 .
The CAC-40 in Paris is down 59 points , more than 1.7 percent , at 3,348 , and the DAX index in Frankfurt is down two points at 4,867 .
In New York , the S&P futures contract is down 18 points , indicating a lower opening for U.S. stocks .
Tokyo 's Nikkei index lost 453 points , or 5 percent , to finish at 8,577 .
Hong Kong 's Hang Seng index dropped 361 points , just over 2.5 percent , to end the day 's trading at 13,969 .
Gold is trading higher at $ 729.88 an ounce .
The dollar is mostly higher against other major currencies .
The widow of one of the four suicide bombers who killed 52 people in the July 7 attacks on London 's transit system says radicals in British mosques poisoned her peace-loving husband 's mind .
Samantha Lewthwaite , the widow of Jamaican-born Jamal Germaine Lindsay , told The Sun newspaper that her husband came under the influence of Muslim fanatics he met late last year , who twisted and poisoned his mind .
She said he became increasingly angry as he saw reports of Muslim civilians being killed in the streets of Iraq , Bosnia , Palestine and Israel .
Ms. Lewthwaite , who like her husband is a convert to Islam , said his behavior had become increasingly erratic in days prior to the bombings , to the point that she ordered him out of the house hours ahead of the attacks .
Jamal Lindsay is believed to have killed 26 people in the July 7 subway bombings .
Security is tight across Kabul as Afghans commemorate the fifth anniversary of the assassination of anti-Taleban guerrilla leader Ahmed Shah Massoud .
A day before Saturday 's ceremonies at the main stadium in Kabul , a suicide car bomber killed 16 people , including two U.S. soldiers , at the capital 's square named after Massoud .
Officials say the bomber hit a U.S. convoy just outside the American Embassy , which is near the square .
Meanwhile , NATO says coalition troops killed at least 30 suspected Taleban militants in southern Afghanistan Saturday .
They are the latest of more than 320 militants killed in an intense week-long NATO-led operation to destroy Taleban holdouts in the country .
U.S. government regulators have given tentative approval to a new drug-combination AIDS pill aimed at making treatment easier .
The tablet , made by a pharmaceutical company in India ( Aurobindo Pharma ) , combines three active ingredients ( lamivudine , zidovudine and nevirapine ) already used separately in HIV treatment .
The new pill is being distributed in 15 nations as part of President Bush 's $ 15 billion AIDS relief program .
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says the pill , taken twice daily , will make it easier for adults in the most affected nations to maintain their drug treatment regimen .
The tablet can not be sold in the United States due to existing patents on the individual ingredients .
The U.S. dollar fell to its lowest level in more than four years compared to the Japanese yen on Friday .
At one point , the dollar bought fewer than 103 yen .
The greenback also declined against the euro , with traders paying more than $ 1.3 for each euro .
The price is close to a record low against the euro .
The dollar has been sliding amid concerns over the large U.S. budget and trade deficits .
Those concerns were sharpened Friday by comments from top U.S. economic officials .
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said foreign investors could tire of financing the record U.S. current account deficit .
And Treasury Secretary John Snow said the upcoming meeting of the G-20 in Berlin is not the right forum to discuss currency matters .
The G-20 brings together the seven richest developed nations along with large emerging economies like China and Brazil .
Goldman Sachs says it has sold $ 5 billion in stocks to help repay emergency funds it received from the U.S. government .
The bank raised the money after reporting first quarter profits of $ 1.66 billion , far more than expected .
Goldman Sachs is eager to pay all of the $ 10 billion it received from the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program , as soon as the government approves .
It would be the first major U.S. bank to repay federal loans handed out last year to try to keep the institutions running .
If Goldman Sachs repays the debt , it would not have to abide by government restrictions , such as limits on executive pay .
Some analysts say the government may not want Goldman Sachs to repay its loan so soon , because it could pressure other banks to settle their debt before they are financially stable .
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says he plans to visit his close friend and ally Fidel Castro in Cuba on Monday .
President Chavez made the announcement during his regular Sunday television and radio programs .
The reason for his visit is not known .
Mr. Chavez last met with the former Cuban leader in March .
That visit took place shortly after Mr. Castro turned over power to his younger brother , Raul , after nearly 50 years .
Fidel Castro has not been seen in public since July 2006 when he underwent intestinal surgery .
He has , however , appeared in videos and photographs , and articles attributed to him have been published in the state-run media .
Details of his health are considered a state secret .
Dutch police have raided a suspected training camp of Turkey 's outlawed Kurdistan Workers ' Party , PKK , in the southern Netherlands and several other locations , arresting 38 people .
Prosecutors say 29 suspects were arrested at the training camp near the town of Liempde .
They say the raids are not linked to last week 's murder of controversial Dutch filmmaker and sharp critic of Islam Theo van Gogh by a suspected Muslim extremist .
The Kurdish party has fought for decades for the creation of an independent Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey , at a cost of at least 30,000 lives .
This week , a Dutch court rejected a Turkish extradition request for Kurdish party activist Nuriye Kesbir , whom Turkey accuses of planning attacks .
The court said there is not enough guarantee she would get a fair trial .
A statement purportedly from Afghanistan 's Taleban leader Mullah Omar has dismissed reports that the radical Islamic movement 's fighters were willing to lay down arms in exchange for amnesty .
The statement faxed to news agencies Thursday said the Taleban is not ready for any dialogue with the U.S. backed Kabul government as along as foreign soldiers remain in Afghanistan .
Last month , the Afghan government indicated it is considering an amnesty to Taleban fighters in return for their pledge to lay down their arms and return to normal life .
And , this week , the U.S. military in Afghanistan released about 80 Afghan detainees held in military jails .
Mullah Omar has evaded a manhunt since the Taleban was ousted from power in late 2001 by U.S.-led forces .
The World Health Organization says hospitals in Angola are putting people at risk of catching the deadly Marburg virus by not following proper safety procedures , as the the death toll from the disease climbs to 257 .
The U.N. agency says in the last week , two doctors at a provincial hospital in Uige were directly exposed to blood from Marburg patients .
In another incident , it said a baby was was placed in a cot that had not been disinfected after the body of another baby , who had died from the Marburg virus , was removed .
The WHO said other safety protocols have been also breached , and said the incidents will only increase the chances of the disease spreading .
The Ebola-like virus is spread through contact with bodily fluids , but experts say it can be contained with relatively simple hygienic precautions .
Greek public sector workers staged another strike against the government 's austerity measures Thursday .
Hundreds of workers demonstrated outside parliament in Athens as lawmakers prepared to vote on pension reforms for public servants that include raising the age of retirement .
Air traffic controllers joined the walkout , halting flights at all Greek airports for at least four hours .
The strike also shut down government offices across the country .
Greek officials agreed to reform the pension system as one of the conditions for receiving a $ 139 billion economic bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund .
Lawmakers approved pension reform in a preliminary vote last week .
Labor unions in Greece have come out strongly against pension reform , but polls show many Greeks back the move , and the government calls it an essential part of efforts to revitalize the devastated Greek economy .
The publisher of a major U.S. business magazine is predicting oil prices will drop sharply in the next 12 months .
Steve Forbes says inflation and pure speculation has contributed to the current spike in oil prices , which he describes as " a huge bubble " that will eventually pop .
Mr. Forbes says he thinks oil will return to a price of $ 35 to $ 40 a barrel .
The billionaire publisher of Forbes Magazine made his comments Tuesday in Sydney , Australia , one day after oil prices briefly hit a record $ 70.8 cents over concerns of the effect Hurricane Katrina was having on oil refineries based in the U.S. Gulf Coast .
French anti-terrorism police are investigating threats of an attack on conservative French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy .
The probe follows anonymous e-mail messages sent Monday to a French television station ( France 5 ) and to an official of the Socialist Party that backs Segolene Royal , Sarkozy 's closest rival .
The messages read : " Attack Sarkozy , Lyon , April 5 , 2007 . "
Sarkozy is scheduled to travel to the southeastern city of Lyon Thursday - the date mentioned - for an election rally .
Public opinion polls show Sarkozy with a narrow lead over Royal in the race for the presidency .
The first round of voting is scheduled for April 22 .
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has praised Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as " courageous " for ordering the withdrawal of Jewish settlements from Gaza .
He said the forcing of the Israelis out of Gaza was courageous and that he hopes for similar courage finally in the creation of the Palestinian state .
But he says he is no rush to follow up a recent diplomatic breakthrough by Pakistan and Israel and meet with Mr. Sharon at the United Nations this month .
In an exclusive interview with the Associated Press , General Musharraf says Islamabad 's stance is clear .
It wants progress toward resolution of the Palestinian dispute .
And , he said , he will review its stance as more progress is made .
General Musharraf 's remarks follow a meeting of the foreign ministers of Pakistan and Israel in Turkey last week , the first formal high-level contact between the Islamic and Jewish states .
President Bush has again called on Congress to make his tax cuts permanent , saying that wise tax policy is the starting point for growing the economy and helping small businesses .
Mr. Bush used his weekly radio address Saturday to say again that his 2001 and 2003 tax cuts have worked to increase productivity and contain inflation .
He said some people in Washington want to repeal the cuts or just let them expire in a few years .
In his radio address , the president also urged Congress to fight other obstacles that small businesses face , such as what he called " junk lawsuits " , which he said abuse the U.S. legal system .
And he said the United States is working on new energy technologies to help small businesses cut costs .
Mr. Bush will appear before Congress on January 31 to deliver his State-of-the-Union address laying out priorities for the year .
For years , health professionals have been showing women how to do monthly exams of their own breasts as a method of early cancer detection .
But studies this week reveal that breast self-exam may not be all that healthy .
VOA 's Melinda Smith explains .
Afghan authorities say NATO and Afghan forces have killed at least 15 suspected Taleban militants in a fierce battle in southern Helmand province .
The police chief in Helmand , Ghulam Nabi Malakhel , says the three-hour battle took place Thursday in the mountainous Kajaki district .
He says NATO and Afghan troops did not suffer any casualties .
The police chief says among those killed was a deputy to Akhtar Mohammad Osmani , a senior Taleban military commander who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Helmand province last month .
In a separate incident in Helmand , police say three suspected Taleban militants were killed when explosives they were planting went off accidentally .
More than 4,000 people were killed in Afghanistan in 2006 , during a resurgence of Taleban-led attacks against U.S. , NATO and Afghan forces .
Rising commercial oil inventories and declining U.S. demand have pushed oil prices lower on the New York Mercantile Exchange .
Crude oil for May delivery fell 69 cents , more than one percent , to $ 54.15 a barrel in mid-day trading Monday .
Prices are more than $ 3 below the all-time peak of $ 57.6 hit March 17 .
OPEC officials say that with oil prices easing , the cartel does not need to increase its production ceiling of 27.5 million barrels a day .
A former OPEC official says world oil markets are well supplied .
In addition , OPEC member Kuwait says it will boost its crude output by more than 1,50,000 barrels per day next month ( April ) when its largest output center reopens .
The center was destroyed during the 1990 - 1991 Iraqi occupation of Kuwait .
A rights group has accused Chinese police of forcing a woman into a psychiatric hospital after she attempted to petition the government over land seizures .
U.S.-based Human Rights in China says Liu Xinjuan was one of several people detained last Monday in Shanghai as they prepared to take their grievances to the local legislature .
The rights group said in a statement Friday that three Public Security officers forced Liu into a police vehicle and transported her to a local police station .
The press release says Liu was taken later that night , bound and gagged , to a psychiatric hospital .
The groups says that when her son visited her , he found Liu covered in bruises and wounds .
Liu has petitioned the government several times over improper land seizures .
Authorities in Hong Kong are bracing for large scale protests similar to those at recent annual summits of the World Trade Organization .
On Sunday , about 4,000 anti-globalization activists marched without major incident through the streets of Hong Kong .
The march had a carnival atmosphere .
Demonstrators say their numbers will increase when the summit convenes on Tuesday .
City officials have taken steps to prevent the protests from becoming violent .
Sunday 's march was the first of three large demonstrations planned for the summit .
Another will be held Tuesday , and the final protest rally is scheduled for the closing day next Sunday .
Violent protests marred previous trade meetings in Cancun and Seattle .
Thousands of police have been put on alert for the Hong Kong summit .
A key partner in Sri Lanka 's ruling coalition has threatened to quit if Colombo joins with Tamil Tiger rebels in distributing aid to tsunami survivors in rebel-held areas .
The Marxist People 's Liberation Front , which holds a crucial 39 seats in the 225-member parliament , said it opposes a joint mechanism to distribute relief aid .
The threat came as Norway 's peace-broker Erik Solheim held talks with the rebels about aid distribution in a fresh bid to revive the country 's faltering peace process .
The joint mechanism is designed to make it possible for international tsunami aid to reach rebel-held areas .
It could also lay the foundation for an end to Sri Lanka 's civil war .
The December tsunami disaster killed more than 30,000 Sri Lankans and left many more homeless .
Egypt has released from custody 163 more members of the Muslim Brotherhood .
More than 700 members of the banned opposition group were arrested during protests last month .
Despite Sunday release , the movement 's main leaders and hundreds more are still behind bars .
In May , the Muslim Brotherhood staged a series of protests over an amendment to Egypt 's constitution .
The amendment , which has since been approved , allows more than one candidate to run in presidential elections .
The Brotherhood protested the measure because it also included tough conditions for independent candidates , effectively excluding those not approved by the ruling party .
Opposition leaders said the amendment ensures there will be no serious challenges to President Hosni Mubarak .
Norway 's Catholic Church has revealed that a bishop who resigned last year had admitted to allegations of child molestation committed about 20 years ago .
German-born Georg Mueller stepped down as bishop in the western city of Trondheim in June 2009 .
Church officials gave vague reasons for his resignation at the time .
His successor , Bishop Bernt Eidsvig , told reporters Mueller confessed to abusing a choir boy as soon as he was confronted with the accusation .
Eidsvig said details of the abuse had not been released earlier at the request of the victim .
He said the church did not report the case to police because it was too old to be prosecuted in Norway due to a statute of limitations .
The news of the abuse by Mueller is the latest in a string of pedophilia scandals in the Catholic Church worldwide , including in Pope Benedict 's native Germany .
Chinese officials say unidentified attackers have kidnapped three Chinese workers in southern Nigeria .
A Foreign Ministry spokesman , Qin Gang , says the employees of the China Civil Construction Corporation were taken this week , near the company 's compound in Calabar , the capital of Nigeria 's Cross River state .
The spokesman says the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria is working to rescue the workers .
He did not say whether officials have been in contact with the abductors or whether any demands have been made .
Gangs and militants in Nigeria 's oil-rich Niger Delta region have kidnapped dozens of foreign workers over the past two years .
Most have been released unharmed .
China has been increasing its presence in Africa in recent years , in an effort to secure more markets and materials for its booming economy .
Senegal-based band , Jac et le Takeifa , prepare for their album-release concert .
As a family band in West Africa , leader Jac Keita wants to use music not just as entertainment , but also to address development issues in the region .
Ricci Shyrock has more on the band .
Health officials in Turkey say a child who died last week in the eastern part of the country was a victim of the H5N1 strain of bird flu .
The Turkish health ministry said Thursday tests confirmed the presence of the deadly strain in 11-year-old Hulya Kocyigit .
She died last Friday , one day after her 15-year-old sister and several days after her 14-year-old brother died of the deadly disease .
Health officials say preliminary tests indicate two more Turks have been stricken with the deadly H5N1 strain .
At least 15 people in Turkey were confirmed to have the virus earlier this week .
The developments in Turkey came as the World Health Organization urged Asian governments to speed up testing for bird flu to help identify early signs of a pandemic .
Suspected rebels in Colombia have killed at least nine police officers and wounded three others in an ambush on a remote highway .
Authorities say the officers were traveling in the mountains outside La Cruz , southwest of Bogota Thursday , when the assailants used explosives to attack the police vehicle .
Officials say rebels have killed more than 300 members of Colombia 's armed forces in attacks this year .
Colombia has been locked in a long-running civil war involving two leftist rebel groups , rightist paramilitaries and the government .
The conflict leaves thousands of people dead each year .
Russian news reports say Russia and the United States are making progress on reaching a new deal by the end of the year to cut their vast Cold War arsenals of nuclear weapons .
Thursday 's news reports from Moscow quote Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying the treaty will be ready on time .
Lavrov also said the presidents of the two countries will receive a progress report at a summit in September of industrialized and developing nations .
In July , U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart , Dmitri Medvedev , agreed on outlines of a deal to replace the existing 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty , which expires in December .
The two leaders instructed their negotiators to finalize a pact reducing the number of warheads from 2,200 to somewhere between 1,500 and 1,675 .
The new agreement also dramatically cuts the number of launch vehicles .
On Friday , 11 April , a major cultural and architectural event is set to take place in Washington : a massive new interactive museum complex dedicated to the profession of journalism will open its doors to the public .
The " Newseum " was constructed with private funds at a cost of $ 450 million .
Located in a prime location - about midway between the U.S. Capitol and the White House - its proximity to the center of American political power sends a powerful signal about the profound value Americans place on freedom of expression .
For producer George Dwyer , VOA 's Jim Bertel has more .
Afghan officials say suspected Taliban militants have burned down a primary school , in the latest attack on the country 's burgeoning education system .
Education officials say the militants torched the school building Friday in southern Kandahar province .
There were no reports of injuries .
The local education chief , Mohammed Anwar , said nearly 1,200 students , including about 200 girls , had studied at the school .
Under Taliban rule , girls were not allowed to go to school .
But since the U.S.-led invasion pushed the Taliban from power in 2001 , the education system has benefited from reconstruction efforts .
Despite its success , increasing violence is making it hard for students to attend classes .
The Education Ministry says 3,00,000 children did not go to school last year because of security concerns .
Also Friday , officials say troops killed at least three suspected Taliban militants in neighboring Zabul province .
Pakistani officials say a bomb blast has killed at least five people in the southwestern city of Quetta .
The device exploded Monday on a busy street during the morning rush hour .
Police say the bomb was attached to a bicycle parked outside a shop .
The explosion badly damaged the shop and a nearby hotel .
At least 17 people were wounded .
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack .
Pakistani officials are blaming renegade tribesman from Baluchistan province , of which Quetta is the capital .
A rebel group called the Baluchistan Liberation Army has carried out a wave of small-scale bombings in the province in recent years .
The rebels say they are fighting for a greater share of the Baluchistan 's rich oil and gas reserves .
A top U.S. official met with Nicaraguan President-elect Daniel Ortega Tuesday , hinting at a possible thaw in relations between the former Cold War enemies .
Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon held talks with Mr. Ortega in the capital city of Managua .
Shannon says the two sides are engaging in dialogue aimed at improving relations .
The incoming president is returning to power 16 years after he was voted out of office .
His Marxist policies had plunged Nicaragua into economic chaos .
His Soviet-backed Sandinista government also fought a lengthy war against U.S.-backed Contra rebels .
But Mr. Ortega has openly disavowed his previous Marxist policies and has pledged not to meddle in the private sector .
The White House says U.S. support for the incoming president 's administration would hinge on his commitment to democracy .
Lebanon 's defense minister says his country has confiscated arms belonging to the Shi'ite militia Hezbollah .
Elias Murr also told reporters in Beirut that Hezbollah is cooperating with the Lebanese government by preventing an armed presence in southern Lebanon .
He did not say where or how the weapons were confiscated .
The month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah ended in August with a U.N. backed ceasefire resolution .
The resolution calls for all armed Lebanese groups to be disarmed .
Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon were reported to have hidden their weapons when the war ended .
Lebanese army and international troops are patrolling the border with Israel .
Supporters of Burma 's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi say she has now spent a total of 10 years under house arrest .
Demonstrations were held Monday in front of United Nations buildings in New York City and the Netherlands , as well as outside the House of Commons in London .
The London-based Burma Campaign released a report highlighting what it called " the shameful record of the United Nations regarding Burma . "
Burma Campaign is among several organizations calling on the U.N. Security Council to demand that Burma release Aung San Suu Kyi .
Her party , the National League for Democracy , won a landslide victory in 1990 elections .
But Burma 's military rulers have not allowed the party to take power and have detained its leader for several periods totaling a decade .
Russian President Vladimir Putin is denying any political motivation behind the trial of the founder of oil-giant Yukos .
In an interview with Brazilian journalists published Sunday , President Putin said the case was criminal in nature .
The founder of Yukos , Mikhail Khodorkovsky , is being tried on charges of tax fraud , and the government said Friday it will auction-off Yukos 's largest unit next month to pay back taxes .
Some company officials and analysts have said the prosecution is part of an effort to settle accounts with a potential political rival .
Meanwhile , the Interfax News Agency on Sunday quoted an unnamed Yukos board member as saying that Russian law enforcement agencies are conducting late-night searches of the homes and offices of dozens of top and middle-level Yukos managers .
Thousands of Kenyans demonstrated in Nairobi Tuesday to protest last week 's police raids on a national media company .
At least 2000 people , including opposition lawmakers from the Orange Democratic Movement , took part in the demonstrations .
Several called for high-ranking officials to resign .
Kenyan police say Thursday 's raids on the Standard newspaper and the Kenya Television Network were a matter of national security .
But several members of President 's Mwai Kibaki 's cabinet condemned the raids and the country 's press called the actions shameful thuggery .
Witnesses say police confiscated equipment and burned thousands of copies of newspapers during the raids .
The National Security Minister , John Michuki , defended the raids , saying " if you rattle a snake , you must be prepared to be bitten by it " alluding to the Standard 's often critical coverage of the government .
Both outlets have now resumed their operations .
Palestinian officials say fighting between Hamas and a powerful family in the Gaza Strip has killed 11 people and wounded several others .
Tuesday 's violence began when Hamas police tried to arrest members of the Doghmush clan accused of killing a police officer Monday .
Residents say the fighting is ongoing with heavy gunfire and explosions .
At least one police officer has been killed .
Last year , Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip after routing Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas .
Since then , Hamas has clashed several times with rival Palestinian groups and powerful Gaza families .
Several Doghmush family members are suspected of belonging to militant groups and being involved with the kidnapping of a BBC journalist last year .
Sudan is asking donors gathered in Oslo , Norway , for more than $ 2 billion in aid to rebuild the south after 21 years of civil war .
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged delegates from 60 nations to replace their pledges with cash - warning that humanitarian agencies will run out of food for some two million people in southern Sudan in a matter of weeks .
Mr. Annan also said that peace is not possible in Sudan without an accord on the nation 's separate conflict in the western Darfur region .
Conference host Norway pledged $ 250 million over the next three years for Sudan , while Japan announced an offer of $ 100 million in aid .
The United States , which led the talks to end the war in southern Sudan , is expected to give an initial contribution of $ 900 million .
The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to vote Thursday on a proposal to extend and expand the investigation of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri .
A draft resolution by France , Britain and the United States would give the inquiry another six months , until June 15th , and would include other politically-motivated killings in Lebanon .
Lebanon 's prime minister asked for U.N. help after a car bomb blast killed newspaper publisher and parliament member Gebran Tueni in Beirut Monday .
In Washington , State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the extension is crucial to finish the work of the Hariri probe , which he said has been slowed by lack of Syrian cooperation .
Syria has rejected the claim and denied any role in the Lebanon killings .
A Japanese commuter train has derailed and smashed into an apartment building , killing at least 37 people and injuring more than 200 .
The crowded seven-car train carrying at least 550 passengers during the Monday morning rush hour also hit an automobile at a road crossing near Amagasaki , 400 kilometers west of Tokyo .
The front car of the train , operated by West Japan Railway Company , plowed into the apartment building as two other cars left the tracks .
Rescuers are trying to free several passengers trapped inside the cars .
It is not yet clear if passersby and apartment residents were among the victims .
Authorities say they are investigating what may have caused the deadly accident near Osaka .
The driver of the train was a 23-year-old man with 11 months experience .
China says its trade with Africa surged by 43 percent during the first 11 months of this year .
A central government report released Thursday says the value of China-Africa trade was $ 114.8 billion from January to November .
The increase follows a one-year drop in 2009 , blamed on the global economic crisis .
The report suggests trade between China and the continent will continue to grow .
It notes that China has signed bilateral trade agreements with 45 African countries .
Chinese companies have invested billions of dollars across Africa in recent years , seeking raw materials and markets to fuel China 's economy .
Critics accuse Beijing of helping governments with poor human rights records , in countries like Sudan and Zimbabwe .
Thursday 's report defended China , saying the trade has been mutually beneficial and has helped improve African people 's standards of living .
Afghan officials say Taleban insurgents have killed seven policemen and beheaded two civilians .
The officials say the policemen were killed in an ambush late Wednesday on a three-vehicle convoy in southern Uruzgan province .
Two of the vehicles were hit by rockets and the third managed to flee .
Provincial officials say U.S. forces have found the bodies of two civilians who were abducted Monday by suspected Taleban and then beheaded .
Meanwhile , an Afghan soldier was shot dead after he opened fire on U.S. troops at a joint base in eastern Paktika province Wednesday .
Two U.S. soldiers received minor injuries .
In an unrelated development , at least 15 people were killed when their truck swerved off a road near Kabul early Thursday and plunged into a river .
Settled by Norwegian and Celtic ( Scottish and Irish ) immigrants during the late 9th and 10th centuries A.D. , Iceland boasts the world 's oldest functioning legislative assembly , the Althing , established in 930 .
Independent for over 300 years , Iceland was subsequently ruled by Norway and Denmark .
Fallout from the Askja volcano of 1875 devastated the Icelandic economy and caused widespread famine .
Over the next quarter century , 20 % of the island 's population emigrated , mostly to Canada and the US .
Limited home rule from Denmark was granted in 1874 and complete independence attained in 1944 .
The second half of the 20th century saw substantial economic growth driven primarily by the fishing industry .
The economy diversified greatly after the country joined the European Economic Area in 1994 , but Iceland was especially hard hit by the global financial crisis in the years following 2008 .
Literacy , longevity , and social cohesion are first rate by world standards .
The Paracel Islands are surrounded by productive fishing grounds and by potential oil and gas reserves .
In 1932 , French Indochina annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Pattle Island ; maintenance was continued by its successor , Vietnam .
China has occupied the Paracel Islands since 1974 , when its troops seized a South Vietnamese garrison occupying the western islands .
China built a military installation on Woody Island with an airfield and artificial harbor .
The islands also are claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam .
Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony ( 1788 - 1814 and 1825 - 55 ) were ultimately abandoned .
In 1856 , the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders , descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions .
The Netherlands economy is noted for stable industrial relations , moderate unemployment and inflation , a sizable current account surplus , and an important role as a European transportation hub .
Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing , chemicals , petroleum refining , and electrical machinery .
A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs only 2 % of the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports .
The Netherlands , along with 11 of its EU partners , began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002 .
The country has been one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment and is one of the four largest investors in the US .
After 26 years of uninterrupted economic growth , the Netherlands ' economy - which is highly open and dependent on foreign trade and financial services - was hard-hit by global economic crisis .
Dutch GDP contracted 3.9 % in 2009 , while exports declined nearly 25 % due to a sharp contraction in world demand .
The Dutch financial sector has also suffered , due in part to the high exposure of some Dutch banks to U.S. mortgage-backed securities .
In response to turmoil in financial markets , the government nationalized two banks and injected billions of dollars into a third , to prevent further systemic risk .
The government also sought to boost the domestic economy by accelerating infrastructure programs , offering corporate tax breaks for employers to retain workers , and expanding export credit facilities .
The stimulus programs and bank bailouts , however , resulted in a government budget deficit of nearly 4.6 % of GDP in 2009 and 5.3 % in 2010 that contrasts sharply with a surplus of 0.7 % of GDP in 2008 .
With unemployment weighing on private-sector consumption , the government of Prime Minister Mark RUTTE is likely to come under increased pressure to keep the budget deficit in check while promoting economic recovery .
Oman is a middle-income economy that is heavily dependent on dwindling oil resources .
Because of declining reserves , Muscat has actively pursued a development plan that focuses on diversification , industrialization , and privatization , with the objective of reducing the oil sector 's contribution to GDP to 9 % by 2020 .
Tourism and gas-based industries are key components of the government 's diversification strategy .
By using enhanced oil recovery techniques , Oman succeeded in increasing oil production , giving the country more time to diversify , and the increase in global oil prices throughout 2010 provides the government greater financial resources to invest in non-oil sectors .
A FOX was mounting a hedge when he lost his footing and caught hold of a Bramble to save himself .
Having pricked and grievously tom the soles of his feet , he accused the Bramble because , when he had fled to her for assistance , she had used him worse than the hedge itself .
The Bramble , interrupting him , said , " But you really must have been out of your senses to fasten yourself on me , who am myself always accustomed to fasten upon others . "
To the selfish all are selfish
In the old days men used to worship stocks and stones and idols , and prayed to them to give them luck .
It happened that a Man had often prayed to a wooden idol he had received from his father , but his luck never seemed to change .
He prayed and he prayed , but still he remained as unlucky as ever .
One day in the greatest rage he went to the Wooden God , and with one blow swept it down from its pedestal .
The idol broke in two , and what did he see ?
An immense number of coins flying all over the place .
HARDLY had that ancient order , the Sultans of Exceeding Splendour , been completely founded by the Grand Flashing Inaccessible , when a question arose as to what should be the title of address among the members .
Some wanted it to be simply " my Lord , " others held out for " your Dukeness , " and still others preferred " my Sovereign Liege . "
Finally the gorgeous jewel of the order , gleaming upon the breast of every member , suggested " your Badgesty , " which was adopted , and the order became popularly known as the Kings of Catarrh .
A MAN Running for Office was overtaken by Lightning .
" You see , " said the Lightning , as it crept past him inch by inch , " I can travel considerably faster than you . "
" Yes , " the Man Running for Office replied , " but think how much longer I keep going ! "
You may not take a picture of a rabbit during the month of June .
It is illegal for women to stand within five feet of a bar while drinking .
It is illegal to wear a hat that obstructs people 's view in a public theater or place of amusement .
Cheyenne Citizens may not take showers on Wednesdays .
Iran 's powerful Guardian Council has warned the opposition to no longer protest the disputed presidential vote , one day after upholding the re-election of incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad .
A spokesman for the Council , Abbasali Kadkhodai , told reporters Tuesday " the file on the presidential election is closed , " and the government will take action against those who continue to protest the results .
Meanwhile , President Ahmadinejad again criticized foreign powers over their response to the greatest unrest to take place in Iran since the since the 1979 Islamic Revolution .
Hardline Islamic cleric Ahmad Khatami on Tuesday also denounced those still opposing the Guardian 's Council decision as against the government .
Last week , Khatami called for those leading the " rioters " to be punished without mercy .
Defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi has called for the results of the June 12 election to be annulled .
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday a " huge credibility gap " remains among Iranians about the disputed polls .
Clinton declined to say whether Washington will formally recognize Mr. Ahmadinejad 's re-election , and she would not say whether the post-election unrest has ended U.S. hopes of engaging Iran on its nuclear program and other issues .
U.S. Senator and former Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry has visited American troops in Iraq while on a two-day fact-finding visit to the war-torn country .
Senator Kerry was often critical of the Bush administration 's Iraq policy during the U.S. presidential race .
He told reporters that he wants to see for himself whether Iraq is moving toward stability or deeper into chaos .
The senator arrived in Iraq Wednesday and spent time with soldiers from his home state of Massachusetts at Camp al-Tahreer in Baghdad .
He declined to compare the insurgency in Iraq with the one he faced in Vietnam as a Navy lieutenant 30 years ago .
He also made a stop in neighboring Jordan , where he met with King Abdullah .
The Perth-based firm Barrett Communications reportedly has sold about 50 radio sets to the Burmese government International monitors say sophisticated radios sold by an Australian firm are being used by Burma 's military despite an Australian embargo against military sales to the east Asian nation .
Australian media reported Tuesday that the Perth-based firm Barrett Communications has sold about 50 radio sets to the Burmese government .
Company officials confirmed the sale , but said they were commercially-available , civilian radios and not intended for military use .
The radios have an advanced feature that prevents transmissions from being monitored .
Australian Senator Scott Ludlam issued a statement Tuesday condemning the sale of the radios and called for a freeze on all future sales .
In his statement , Ludlam said international monitors that watch Burma say the radios have been used in recent months by the Burmese army as they have waged brutal wars against ethnic minorities and pro-democracy forces .
A top U.S. business lobby group says the recently signed India-U.S. nuclear deal could open up $ 100 billion in business ventures for Americans in the Indian energy sector .
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce 's senior vice president of international affairs , Dan Christman , made the remark .
He said the agreement would also spur energy-starved India 's economic reforms and open markets to U.S. investment in key areas from information technology and telecommunications to pharmaceuticals and insurance .
The deal was clinched last week during President Bush 's visit to New Delhi , but it still requires U.S. congressional approval .
The chamber represents more than three million American businesses and organizations , and it says it would make a " massive grassroots effort " to win congressional approval of the agreement .
Chinese authorities are reported to have detained at least 60 people , believed to be North Korean asylum seekers , who tried to enter the South Korean consulate in Beijing .
South Korean and Chinese media report the group was detained Tuesday as it tried to enter the consulate .
A South Korean activist group - The Democracy Network Against North Korean Gulag - is quoted as saying two of those detained were activists who helped North Korean asylum seekers in China .
Tuesday , China criticized foreign embassies and diplomatic missions for giving shelter to North Korean asylum-seekers .
Hundreds of North Koreans have broken into foreign embassies and consulates in China in recent years .
Iran 's civil aviation organization says it has asked the United States to resume direct flights between the two countries that were suspended more than 25 years ago .
Iranian civil aviation officials say they sent a letter to their U.S. counterparts on Wednesday .
They say President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad decided to propose the resumption in response to a request from Iranians living in the United States and Canada .
The request was made in September when Mr. Ahmadinejad attended a U.N. session in New York .
There was no immediate U.S. response .
Iranian airliners have been barred from the United States since Washington broke ties with Tehran , following the 1979 Islamic revolution .
Zambia has deported a terrorism suspect to Britain .
British citizen Haroon Rashid Aswat was put on a plane to London from Lusaka Sunday morning .
He had been in Zambian custody since July 20 .
Media reports have linked him to the fatal bombings on London 's transit system on July 7 , but British authorities have not confirmed this .
Mr. Aswat is wanted in the United States in connection with an alleged attempt to set up a terrorist training camp in the western state of Oregon .
He spent time in South Africa and Botswana before entering Zambia in early July .
Egypt 's Health Ministry says a 26-year-old woman has died from bird flu , the third death from the disease in less than one week .
In a statement , the ministry said the woman , from Menoufia province in the Nile Delta , was admitted to a hospital on Saturday and died Monday .
A Health Ministry official said the victim was exposed to poultry infected with bird flu .
The woman was the 18th bird flu fatality in Egypt and the country 's 43nd human infection since the virus appeared there in February 2006 .
Egypt 's location on major bird migration routes and the widespread practice of keeping domestic fowl near living quarters have helped make it the hardest-hit country outside of Asia .
Indigenous demonstrators raise their arms during protest in La Paz
Officials in Bolivia say early presidential and congressional elections will be held on December 4 .
The election date was set after both houses of Bolivia 's Congress approved the plan to call early elections .
In addition , lawmakers also endorsed a measure to reform the constitution and a hold a referendum on regional autonomy .
Last month , farmers , miners and labor groups held huge protests demanding nationalization of Bolivia 's oil industry and new elections .
The protests led to the resignation of President Carlos Mesa .
Chief Justice Eduardo Rodriguez has been serving as interim president .
President Bush signed a new anti-genetic discrimination bill on May 22 .
He says the act protects Americans against misuse of their genetic information by employers and insurance companies .
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation earlier this month with a near unanimous vote .
Later , the Senate unanimously approved it .
VOA 's Deborah Block reports .
A report in Wednesday 's Washington Post newspaper says the CIA has been holding and interrogating some of its most important al Qaida terror suspects at a secret Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe .
The Post says the facility is part of a secret detention system set up by the intelligence agency in the aftermath of September 11 , 2001 terrorist attacks .
It says the facilities , referred to as " black sites " in classified government documents , have also been located in such countries as Thailand and Afghanistan .
The newspaper says it learned of the secret prison system from U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the arrangements .
The CIA routinely refuses to comment on such issues .
South American leaders have held a summit in Quito , Ecuador to discuss coordinating aid efforts in earthquake-devastated Haiti .
Members of the Union of South American Nations ( UNASUR ) gathered Tuesday for the talks .
The group includes the presidents of Colombia , Peru , Paraguay and host nation Ecuador , among others .
Haitian President Rene Preval attended the meeting , which took place exactly four weeks after the earthquake struck Haiti , leaving an estimated 2,00,000 people dead and about one million others homeless .
The gathering was to have included Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez , but he canceled at the last minute .
Mr. Chavez has criticized the U.S. aid operation in Haiti .
He has also had disagreements with Colombia over its decision to allow the U.S. access to seven military bases for anti-drug operations .
Peruvian President Alan Garcia Tuesday said he hoped the region could work together as a bloc to help Haiti .
Insurgents in Iraq have released a videotape of eight Chinese men allegedly being held as hostages .
In the video , aired by al-Jazeera television Tuesday , the insurgents threaten to kill the hostages unless China " clarifies its role in Iraq " within 48 hours .
The abductors say the captured men worked for a Chinese company helping to build American facilities in Iraq .
Meanwhile , a Vatican spokesman says kidnappers have freed the archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa of the Syrian Catholic Church in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul .
The spokesman said no ransom was paid for the release of the cleric , who was kidnapped Monday .
The head of a World Health Organization team investigating Turkey 's bird flu outbreak says he believes it can be easily brought under control .
Guenael Rodier said Tuesday there is no evidence the disease is being spread by human-to-human contact .
He said the outbreak appears to be similar to what has happened in Asia -- small family groups coming into contact with infected birds .
But health officials worry the growing number of human cases increases the chance of the H5N1 strain mutating into a human strain that can lead to a worldwide pandemic .
Turkish health officials Tuesday confirmed a 15th case of bird flu while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan assured the nation and Turkey 's neighbors that the outbreak is under control .
Bird flu has killed a Turkish teenager , his sister , and 76 Asians since 2003 .
Taiwan has severed diplomatic ties with Senegal and stopped aid to the west African country following its decision to re-establish diplomatic relations with the Beijing government .
A statement by Taiwan 's Foreign Ministry late Tuesday said Taiwan will immediately suspend all aid programs to Senegal in order to protect its " dignity and sovereignty . "
On Tuesday , Senegal and China issued a joint statement saying the Senegalese government recognizes one China , and that Taiwan is an inseparable part of that territory .
Without Senegal , Taiwan is now officially recognized by 25 , mostly small , nations .
Taiwan and China split in 1949 , after civil war .
Beijing still considers it part of its territory and has vowed to use force , if necessary , to prevent the island from taking formal steps toward independence .
A glacial lake in southern Chile suddenly disappeared this week in a phenomenon that scientists are attributing to global warming .
Scientists say higher than normal temperatures caused the Colonia glacier to melt into nearby Cachet Lake .
The melting ice filled the lake and put tremendous pressure on it , causing the water to eventually burrow a tunnel through the glacier .
On April 6 , the tunnel , which extended at least five kilometers , reached nearby Baker River and emptied the lake waters into it .
Glacier scientist Gino Casassa said global warming is responsible for the unusually warm weather that caused the glacial melting .
Football 's world governing body has threatened to ban Nigeria from international competition unless the country 's sports ministry repeals two recent appointments to the Nigeria Football Association .
FIFA is unhappy that Nigerian Sports Minister Musa Mohammed appointed Segun Odegbami as interim secretary-general of the NFA and Salisu Abubakar as secretary of the Nigerian Premier League board on December 21 .
In a letter sent to the Confederation of African Football and the Nigeria Football Association , FIFA said the two appointments are in direct violation of Article 17 of the world governing body 's statutes .
Nigeria had promised to repeal a statute known as Decree 101 , which gave the country 's sports ministry the power to appoint the Nigeria Football Association 's secretary-general and several other board members .
FIFA regulations outlaw government interference in the running of national football associations .
Authorities in Indonesia say they have uncovered evidence that Islamic militants captured in a series of recent raids had planned to kill President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono .
National Police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri told reporters in Jakarta Friday the militants planned to declare a Muslim state after killing Mr. Yudhoyono , state officials and foreign guests during an independence day celebration on August 17 .
Danuri said the militants also planned to seize several luxury hotels in Jakarta and Java island and kill foreigners , including Americans .
The hotel attacks would be similar to the November 2008 siege of hotels in Mumbai that killed 166 people .
The police chief says the plots were uncovered during a series of raids across Indonesia since February , when a terrorist training facility was discovered in the Sumatran island province of Aceh .
London police say religiously motivated hate crimes have soared 600 percent since the July 7 suicide bombings .
Authorities report 269 incidents in the British capital in the three weeks since the attacks .
Only 40 such crimes were reported during the same period last year .
The attacks include verbal and physical assaults and vandalism of property including mosques .
Officials warn that such attacks could alienate the Muslim community at a time when police need its cooperation .
The four bombers in the July 7 attack were Muslims , but many young Muslims say they are angered over police stopping and searching their bags in the subway .
British Home Office official Hazel Blears denied Tuesday that Muslims are being targeted in the searches .
Burma 's military junta has begun to dismantle a military intelligence unit formerly headed by disgraced Prime Minister Khin Nyunt .
Former officials say 2,000 of an estimated 10,000 military intelligence members were retired or transferred on Wednesday .
The unit is expected to be completely disbanded by the end of the month .
The National Intelligence Bureau , which was headed for two decades by Khin Nyunt , has been at the center of a wide-ranging purge following his firing and arrest in October on corruption charges .
More than 14,000 prisoners have been released in the past several weeks after the government said they were wrongly imprisoned by military intelligence .
Iraqi officials say a suicide car bomber has struck an army recruitment center in Baghdad , killing at least four people and wounding more than 30 others .
Al-Qaida-linked insurgents claimed responsibility .
West of the capital , authorities say insurgents opened fire Tuesday on Iraqi soldiers in the town of Khalidiyah , killing four troops and wounding several others .
Separately , gunmen shot and killed a Baghdad university professor and his son in Baghdad , as the academic drove to work .
Meanwhile , the Iraqi parliament adjourned today for about an hour , to protest the alleged mistreatment of a lawmaker at a U.S. checkpoint in Baghdad .
The U.S. military said it is investigating the incident .
Iraqi politicians continue talks on forming a new government .
Some lawmakers say they expect a government to be announced by the end of the week .
Some infromation for this report provided by AFP , AP and Reuters .
Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands has easily won the final of the women 's Hobart International tennis tournament in Australia .
The unseeded Krajicek broke the serve of fifth-seeded Czech Iveta Benesova five times en route to a 06-Feb , 06-Jan victory .
Krajicek called it one of the best matches of her career , while Benesova apologized to the crowd for her lackluster performance .
Benesova later said four tough matches in the tournament 's opening rounds had taken their toll on her .
Krajicek celebrates this tournament win the same week she celebrated her 17th birthday .
She is the half sister of 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek and she credits him with helping her tennis game during the last year .
The upper house of the U.S. Congress has approved $ 300 million to help victims of violence in west Sudan 's Darfur region and support peace talks between the Khartoum government and southern rebels .
The senate bill , passed Tuesday , also calls for sanctions on Sudan 's government and authorizes money for the deployment of more African peacekeepers in Darfur .
Earlier , a top U.N. official warned of impending chaos in the Darfur region - blaming both the Khartoum government and rebels for the worsening situation in the 22-month conflict .
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Richard Lugar said the Darfur crisis shows the " importance of a long-term investment in Africa 's future . "
Pakistani police say gunmen have shot and killed a Pakistani intelligence official as he left a mosque following Friday prayers .
Police say the suspects shot the official Friday in Charsadda in northwestern Pakistan and fled in a car .
The motive for today 's killing was not immediately known .
It took place in a region where pro-Taliban militants are active .
This is the third Pakistani intelligence official to be killed in recent weeks .
Two were shot and killed late last month in the southern port city of Karachi .
Police in Afghanistan say 25 Taleban rebels and four security guards were killed when insurgents ambushed a private convoy in the western part of the country .
The attack took place late Friday in the Bakwa district of western Farah province .
In other news , NATO artillery rounds killed one Afghan civilian and wounded five others in the country 's eastern Kunar province Saturday .
It is not clear if the artillery fire was aimed at insurgents or part of a military exercise .
Aid groups say that more than 230 Afghan civilians have been killed this year in operations by NATO and U.S.-led troops .
NATO officials have said they are reviewing military operations in Afghanistan to prevent the killing of civilians
The family of a former Iranian defense official has denied that he defected to the West .
Speaking to state media in Tehran , Elham Asghari , the daughter of Ali Reza Asghari accused Israel and the United States of abducting her father .
Asghari 's wife Ziba Ahmadi said her husband had an olive oil business in Syria , and vanished in December while on a trip to Turkey .
Before retiring from the government , Asghari was a deputy defense minister and a commander in the elite Revolutionary Guards .
Last week , an Arab newspaper , Al Sharq al Awsat , reported that Asghari is currently in northern Europe , being debriefed by American intelligence , before flying to the U.S. Western reports suggested that Asghari defected .
An American newspaper , The Washington Post , citing a U.S. official , said Asghari is providing information on Lebanon 's Hezbollah militia .
Tempers flared in the Iraqi parliament when Shi'ite lawmakers tried to force debate on designating autonomous regions in the country .
The Shi'ite lawmakers tried to discuss their proposal during a stormy session Thursday .
But they were cut off by the speaker of parliament , Mahmoud al-Mashhadani , who said he had not seen the proposal .
The Shi'ites , who dominate parliament , want to establish an autonomous region in southern Iraq , modeled after the Kurdish north .
Sunni Arabs , who fear the proposal could split the country , are concentrated in the resource-poor central and western Iraq .
Northern and southern Iraq are rich in oil .
Iraq 's constitution , which was approved last year , enshrines federalism and allows for the creation of autonomous regions .
Martina Hingis , the former world-number-one tennis star , is making her long-awaited return to competition at Australia 's Hardcourt Championships next month .
The 25-year-old Swiss player is ending her three-year retirement by entering the tournament , which begins on New Year 's Day .
Hingis left the professional tennis circuit in 2002 after suffering a series of injuries .
She said Tuesday , she 's very excited to be making her comeback in Australia , where she has always felt at home .
The Australian Gold Coast tournament will help Hingis prepare for next month 's Australian Open , which she has won three times before .
The Swiss champion has won 40 singles titles and 36 doubles events in her career .
The U.S. Peace Corps has evacuated 16 volunteers and suspended operations in the Caribbean island nation of Haiti amid escalating violence and security concerns .
The withdrawal of the Peace Corps team comes three weeks after the U.S. Department of State issued a travel warning that ordered all non-emergency personnel and U.S. Embassy families to leave Haiti immediately .
The State Department warns of spontaneous violent confrontations between armed groups and an absence of an effective police force in much of Haiti .
Two U.N. peacekeepers from Peru were wounded Thursday when their armored patrol vehicle was attacked by armed gunmen .
More than 700 people , including 40 police officers , have been killed in Haiti since September .
Venezuelan police have shot to death a second person linked to the killing of a top government prosecutor .
Authorities say the suspect was killed Thursday , in a gunfight at a motel in western Venezuela .
Authorities also say they found explosives in his car .
Both the man and a lawyer killed in a gunfight with police on Tuesday were suspected in the November 18 murder of prosecutor Danilo Anderson .
He was killed when explosions ripped through his car as he drove through the Venezuelan capital .
Mr. Anderson had been overseeing a case against hundreds of opposition politicians , businessmen and former military officers involved in a 2002 coup that briefly ousted President Hugo Chavez .
There has been a global shift in dietary habits towards calorie rich foods , as well as a universal decrease in exercise .
By and large , the world 's population is getting fat .
Losing that weight is not as easy as it is to put on .
But VOA 's Melinda Smith has more on a recent study that uses a simple tool to help those who need to lose weight .
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has called on the new Palestinian leadership to show it wants peace by ending propaganda against Israel .
Mr. Sharon told members of his Likud political party Thursday that anti-Israel incitement in Palestinian schools and media is more dangerous than any weapon .
He urged the Palestinian leadership to end the demonizing of Israel and Jews , which he called " the root cause of suicide bombings and terrorism . "
In the past , Mr. Sharon has insisted that Palestinian security forces dismantle militant groups before peace talks begin .
Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat rejected Mr. Sharon 's demand , saying Israel should resume negotiations without preconditions .
Mr. Sharon 's remarks come amid renewed international efforts to restart the Middle East peace process .
Argentina 's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have held talks in Moscow focusing on trade and economic relations .
Mr. Putin Tuesday praised the economic ties between the two countries as he welcomed the Argentine leader .
He said the two countries could cooperate in atomic energy , space and high-technology .
The Argentine leader expressed support for easing visa restrictions between the two countries .
President Fernandez is heading a delegation of some 100 Argentine business leaders during her two-day visit .
The Argentine leader is to meet with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev on Wednesday .
Officials of the two countries will sign a statement on strategic partnership and a number of other documents on bilateral cooperation .
This is the first visit to Russia by an Argentine leader in 10 years .
The U.N. Human Rights Commission has adopted a resolution condemning human rights abuses in Sudan 's troubled Darfur region .
The resolution , passed by consensus Thursday without a formal vote , blames both pro-government Arab militia and rebels in Darfur for the violations .
The Associated Press reports the measure specifically condemns the violence against civilians , sexual violence against women and girls , and the destruction of villages .
It was approved after the European Union withdrew a more strongly worded document that would have condemned the Sudanese government for its role in the violence .
Khartoum is accused of backing Arab militia fighting rebels in Darfur .
The United Nations estimates the conflict has left 1,80,000 dead and more than two million others displaced .
Police in Nepal Thursday detained at least 760 Tibetan exiles who were protesting outside the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu .
Witnesses say police scuffled with some protesters , many of whom were hauled away in police trucks .
Nepal is home to about 20,000 Tibetans who fled their homeland after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959 .
Exiles have been staging near-daily protests since March , when Chinese forces brutally suppressed demonstrations in the Tibetan capital , Lhasa .
Activists have intensified anti-China protests recently , to coincide with the Olympic Games in Beijing .
On Friday , the night of the Olympics opening ceremony , Nepalese authorities detained some 1,300 protesters in Kathmandu .
Pakistan 's Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh is scheduled to join urgent economic talks at the International Monetary Fund in Washington Wednesday , as his nation copes with the aftermath of devastating floods .
The director of the IMF 's Middle East and Central Asia Department , Masood Ahmed , says flood damage is hurting Pakistan 's tax revenue , just as relief efforts are drastically raising expenses and the nation faces " massive " reconstruction costs .
Pakistan already was working to pay back an $ 11 billion loan from the IMF that was helping the nation cope with the global economic crisis .
In return for the loan , Pakistan had promised to tighten economic policies and cut expenses .
The IMF 's Masood says those budget targets will have to be revisited .
But he adds that the crisis is still unfolding , making it difficult to assess the economic picture .
A group of U.S. astronomers say there is a chance an asteroid could hit the planet Mars by the end of next month .
Stargazers in Arizona discovered a 50-meter wide asteroid in November that was designated " 2007 WD5 . "
Astronomers at the U.S. space agency NASA 's Near-Earth Object Office are tracking the object and say it may pass within 48,000 kilometers of Mars by January 30 .
The astronomers say there is a one-in-75 chance the asteroid will strike the planet on that day .
The asteroid is compared to a similar object that struck Siberia in 1908 with the energy of a three-megaton bomb and destroyed tens of millions of trees .
NASA officials say if the asteroid does hit Mars , it will do so near the location of its Opportunity rover , which has been exploring the Martian surface for three years .
Iran says it will continue processing uranium , despite European threats to seek U.N. sanctions over Tehran 's suspected push to develop nuclear weapons .
Speaking Sunday , Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said any attempt to seek sanctions will create a no-win situation that will have consequences .
Tehran insists its nuclear intentions are peaceful .
Iran resumed uranium conversion work last month , triggering the collapse of talks with European negotiators offering financial rewards if Iran promised to abandon its nuclear work .
Iran has said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will suggest ways to resolve the crisis when he arrives in New York for a global summit set for Wednesday .
The 35-member board of the International Atomic Energy Agency convenes next week in Vienna , where it could hear European or U.S. proposals to send the Iran matter to the U.N. Security Council .
Venezuela has exhumed the remains of 19th century independence hero Simon Bolivar for DNA testing to determine if Bolivar was poisoned by his enemies .
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez rejects the generally accepted account that Bolivar died of tuberculosis almost 200 years ago in Colombia .
President Chavez believes Bolivar was murdered .
The Venezuelan president became emotional Friday at the exhumation he ordered .
He wrote on his Twitter account that he wept at seeing at what he called Bolivar 's " glorious skeleton . "
National television showed footage of white-clad technicians alongside Bolivar 's coffin .
Earlier this year , Paul Auwaerter , an American scientist from Johns Hopkins University , said he believed arsenic prescribed as a medical treatment contributed to Bolivar 's death .
However , Auwaerter says he does not support the assassination theory and is concerned the Venezuelan government is distorting his research .
Organizers of the Dakar Rally have cancelled the 12th stage in the motorcycle section so riders can mourn the death of Italian Fabrizio Meoni .
Cars and trucks are still competing in the leg , which runs from Kiffa , Mauritania to Bamako , Mali .
The motorcyclists will be flown to Bamako .
Meoni won the Dakar motorcycle title in 2001 and 2002 .
Before he died Tuesday , the Italian rider was in second place overall behind French rider Cyril Despres .
Meoni , known as the Lion of the Desert , was killed in a crash one day after Spain 's Jose Manuel Perez died from severe injuries sustained in a crash during last Thursday 's seventh stage .
The KTM Motorcycle team is urging its riders to withdraw from the rally , but has left that decision to the individual riders .
The 8956-kilometer rally ends in Dakar , Senegal on Sunday .
Burma 's opposition National League for Democracy party is marking its 17th anniversary with another call for the release of its leader , Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners .
About 300 party supporters , along with foreign diplomats , UN officials , representatives of other political parties and the media attended a low-key ceremon Tuesday , at party headquarters in Rangoon .
During the ceremony , NLD members read a statement calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi , party vice chairman Tin Oo and all other political prisoners .
The NLD was founded in 1988 after widespread pro-democracy demonstrations were violently suppressed by the military .
The military government held a general election in 1990 , but refused to hand over power after a landslide victory by the NLD .
NASA scientists say they are " flabbergasted " to find that soil on Mars appears rich enough to grow such Earth-bound plants as asparagus .
U.S. space researchers revealed the results of their first " wet " chemical analysis of Martian dirt Thursday and said it is not as acidic as expected , appearing to have the requirements and nutrients to support life .
The sample was taken two weeks ago by the Mars Lander Phoenix , then heated to over 538 degrees Celsius .
At that point , the sample released water vapor .
The scientists said the the dirt is similar to that in a typical backyard .
As exciting as the scientists find the discovery , they point out that they can study only the chemistry of Mars , not whether anything has ever lived there .
A Chinese state-run oil company is offering to buy U.S.-based Unocal Oil for $ 18.5 billion in cash , more than a rival offer by U.S.-based Chevron Corporation .
The deal would more than double the oil and gas output of China National Offshore Oil Company and increase its reserves by more than 80 percent .
The company says such a sale would not hurt U.S. markets .
Chevron says it stands behind its merger agreement with Unocal , which has been approved by the Federal Trade Commission .
Chevron warned that a merger with a Chinese firm would be subject to extensive U.S. government regulatory review .
A competing company would also have to pay Chevron a $ 500-million fee if it broke up the Unocal-Chevron deal .
Pakistani troops shut down three FM radio stations Friday after the stations aired a speech by a pro-Taliban cleric .
The military said it confiscated a large quantity of illegal arms , ammunition , audio cassettes , and what it described as " provocative literature . "
At least seven suspected militants who worked at the stations were arrested .
The raids took place in Pakistan 's Swat Valley , a restive resort area in Pakistan 's northwest .
On Thursday , the stations had broadcast a recording of a fiery speech by Maulana Fazlullah , a radical Muslim cleric who has tried to enforce Taliban-style Islam in Swat .
Pakistan 's security forces have been battling Fazlullah 's supporters since last year .
Afghan president Hamid Karzai has announced a program to recruit tribesmen in border areas to augment security forces doing battle with the Taleban .
Mr. Karzai said Sunday in a speech to tribal elders from eastern provinces that he does not want to form militias .
The purpose of recruiting civilians , he said , was to strengthen the districts against terrorist attack .
He said the additional forces would be under government command .
Meanwhile , officials in London said a British soldier was killed and two others seriously wounded in a firefight with suspected Taleban forces in Helmand province .
The U.S. military said a coalition soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in Ghazni province .
Also Sunday , unidentified gunmen killed four Afghan road workers in Kandahar .
Local officials said the men were also robbed of several thousand dollars .
Country Singer Kenny Chesney was named the Entertainer of the Year and took the Album of the Year award at the Country Music Association 's Annual Awards ceremony in Nashville , Tennessee late Tuesday .
Singer Martina McBride was named Female Vocalist of the Year .
The Song of the Year and Single of the Year awards went to the song " Live like you Were Dying , " written by Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman and peformed by Tim McGraw .
Gretchen Wilson was the winner of the Horizon Award for best new artist .
Her debut album Here For the Party sold three million copies this year .
Also during the nationally televised program , singer - songwriter Kris Kristofferson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame .
Several people have been killed in a gunbattle in Nigeria between government soldiers and heavily armed militants who attacked an oil pumping station .
Brigadier General Elias Zamani said some of his men and some of the attackers were killed in the shootout , which began Sunday morning at a Royal Dutch Shell facility at Benisede in the Niger delta .
Shell said some of its workers had been injured .
According to Shell , the attackers arrived in speedboats , burned down staff living quarters , damaged the facility and left .
On Wednesday , attackers bombed a pipeline near Benisede and kidnapped four foreign oil workers - an American , a Briton , a Bulgarian and a Honduran - from a nearby Shell platform .
Negotiations are underway for their release .
Shell says it is evacuating its workers from Benisede because of the insecurity in the area .
President Bush has signed an executive order freezing the U.S. assets of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and nine other senior government officials in the former Soviet republic .
The move bars Americans and U.S. companies from doing business with any of the officials .
White House spokesman Tony Snow said in a statement Monday that the Lukashenko government is corrupt and responsible for human rights abuses as well as undermining Belarusian democracy .
President Bush told Congress when he announced his decision to freeze Belarusian assets that there is no place in Europe for such a regime .
The European Union froze Lukashenko assets last month and joined the United States in imposing a travel ban on Belarusian senior government officials .
President Lukashenko was elected to a third term in March in a vote the West calls a fraud .
Mr. Bush has called him Europe 's last dictator .
FBI Director Robert Mueller has asked Congress to renew key provisions of the Patriot Act , a controversial U.S. anti-terrorism law .
The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding the first of several congressional hearings on the Patriot Act Tuesday .
Mr. Mueller and Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales said increased information-sharing powers between law enforcement and foreign intelligence officials is crucial to combat terrorism .
They called on Congress to renew provisions of the law set to expire later this year .
The Patriot Act was signed into law six weeks after the September 11 , 2001 terrorist attacks .
It broadened the government 's power by making it easier to obtain surveillance and search warrants .
Civil rights advocates , some Republican lawmakers and many Democrats have criticized the law , saying it is being used to violate peoples ' constitutional rights .
Burma 's military government has sentenced a senior opposition National League for Democracy figure to an additional 60-day prison term , just as he completed a seven-year sentence for alleged corruption .
The wife of opposition leader Than Nyein , Khin Aye , told VOA Monday the family had expected him to be released along with other political prisoners on Friday .
Last week , military rulers began releasing nearly 4,000 prisoners they said were wrongly detained by the recently disbanded National Intelligence Bureau .
Sources in Rangoon told VOA Monday that only a few hundred prisoners , including key opposition figure Min Ko Naing , have been released .
They say no detainees were released on Monday .
There are about 20 political prisoners held in Burmese jails , including three elderly members of parliament .
Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her top deputy , Tin Oo , remain under house arrest .
Iraqi lawmakers loyal to radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr say they have pulled out of parliament 's ruling Shi'ite coalition .
Al-Sadr 's parliamentary bloc said late Saturday it decided to quit Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki 's United Iraqi Alliance because the government had not responded to its demands .
Earlier this week , pro-al-Sadr lawmakers threatened to withdraw from the ruling alliance unless the government improved security and public services .
Al-Sadr 's faction controls 30 seats in Iraq 's 275-member parliament .
Another Iraqi Shi'ite movement , the Fadhila Party , withdrew its 15 seats from the United Iraqi Alliance in March due to a dispute about Cabinet seats .
Moqtada al-Sadr pulled his six ministers out of Iraq 's Cabinet in April when Prime Minister Maliki refused to set a timetable for U.S. troops to leave Iraq .
Britain 's largest Sunni Muslim group has issued a religious edict condemning the London terrorist bombings calling it part of a perverted ideology .
In this CCTV image , the four London bombers are seen arriving at Luton railway station , July 7 , 2005
The Sunni Council issued a fatwa Sunday , saying the July 7 attacks have no Islamic justification .
The edict condemns all forms of terrorism and those who carry out such attacks .
Suicide bombers attacked three London subway trains and a double-decker bus , killing more than 50 people .
A British newspaper says Britain 's domestic intelligence agency , MI-5 , investigated one of the four suspected bombers last year , but determined he was not a threat and did not put him under surveillance .
British officials had no comment .
Egyptian and Palestinian officials meet Tuesday with militant Palestinian leaders in Cairo , for talks aimed at consolidating a de-facto ceasefire with Israel .
Delegates were to review a proposal put forward by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and backed by Egypt for a one-year truce , during which all factions would agree to halt attacks on Israeli targets .
However , some delegates say such a deal would require more significant Israeli concessions .
Ahead of the talks , Western news reports quoted militant leaders as saying they will not agree to a long-term ceasefire unless Israel promises to end incursions into Palestinian towns , and the targeted killings of militant leaders .
For its part , Israel says a ceasefire must be accompanied by a Palestinian move to disarm and dismantle militant groups .
A fuel shortage is gripping parts of the southeastern U.S. , after two hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico forced oil companies to shut down refineries for a time .
The shortage began earlier this month after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike forced oil refineries to halt production .
Weeks later , many refineries are still producing fuel at reduced levels .
The southeastern U.S. is being hit with higher fuel costs , long lines at filling stations and the widespread closure of gas stations .
Officials in the region say some motorists fear the shortage will continue and are stockpiling fuel .
Authorities say that is driving up demand , especially in the hard-hit states of Georgia , Tennessee and North Carolina .
Consumers have had to wait in line for hours at some gas stations .
Other service stations have put up " No Gas " signs and have placed plastic bags over fuel-pump nozzles .
A Shi'ite militant group in Iraq has released a video of a man it apparently kidnapped , and who appears to be a U.S. contractor who disappeared last month .
The video posted on the Internet shows a man wearing a U.S. military uniform .
He is sitting in front of a flag inscribed with the name of the militant group - League of the Righteous .
On Friday , the U.S. Department of Defense said a 60-year-old American contractor Issa T .
Salomi had disappeared on January 23 , and that search efforts were under way .
The man in the video does not identify himself .
He reads the group 's demands , which include the release of Iraqi prisoners and the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Iraq .
The group also calls for U.S. security contractors with the firm Blackwater to be brought to justice for crimes against Iraqis .
An influential Iranian cleric has called for the arrest of opposition leaders for their role in demonstrations following June 's controversial presidential election .
Hard-line cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati told worshippers at Friday prayers in Tehran that those leaders incited post-election " riots " that resulted in the deaths of at least 30 people .
He did not mention anyone by name .
Jannati , who heads Iran 's powerful Guardian Council , said arresting those responsible is the " first thing " that must be done .
The opposition contends that the June 12 election was fraudulent .
Defeated presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have called for new elections , sparking the ire of backers of re-elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad .
Rights groups say hundreds of activists have been detained since the post-election crisis , and that many are still in jail .
The chief of Peru 's prisons has resigned after newspaper allegations that he betrayed the identities of two undercover agents working for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration .
Benedicto Jimenez strongly denied the reports in Peru 's El~Commercio newspaper , but handed in his resignation anyway .
The newspaper alleged that Jimenez tipped off jailed drug trafficker Fernando Zevallos that he was under investigation by two agents working with U.S. drug officials .
Neither the Peruvian nor U.S. governments have commented .
A University of Washington biologist working with the World Conservation Society says penguin populations have been declining steadily in the southern regions of South America .
In a recently published study , Dee Boersma says life is not going to get any easier for the creatures , because they have to withstand both climate variation and human development .
VOA 's Paul Sisco reports .
Chinese state media say a court in Tibet has imprisoned 17 people for terms of three years to life for their roles in deadly riots and violence in the region last month .
The official Xinhua news agency did not give any other details on the Lhasa court ruling in a brief dispatch Tuesday .
Tibet 's Indian-based government-in-exile says more than 150 people died in a crackdown by Chinese forces on anti-government protesters and rioters .
China blames Tibetan rioters for the deaths of at least 20 people .
China has ruled Tibet for nearly 60 years .
The Communist Party says it freed Tibetans from what it calls " the dark ages " of feudal serfdom .
But refugees accuse Chinese authorities of discrimination and of trying to dilute Tibetan culture .
Romanian President Traian Basescu says authorities are working at home and abroad to free three Romanian journalists who were apparently kidnapped in Iraq .
Mr. Basescu 's comments Wednesday came two days after 32-year-old reporter Marie-Jeanne Ion , 30-year-old cameraman Sorin Dumitru Miscoci and 37-year-old reporter Ovidiu Ohanesian disappeared in Iraq .
Ms. Ion managed to send a quick telephone message to her newsroom saying she and the others were being kidnapped .
Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu says Romanian authorities have not received a ransom demand .
Pakistan says it will soon free 700 Indian fishermen and civilian prisoners , after President Pervez Musharraf ordered their release on humanitarian grounds .
A foreign office spokesman told reporters that the process of their release has already been initiated and they will be released soon .
General Musharraf last week recommended that 800 Indian fishermen should be freed after completing legal formalities .
He also ordered the release of nearly 150 civilians , including 31 Indian Sikhs held after crossing from Iran .
The military leader intervened after an appeal by visiting Indian communist leaders .
The move is one of a series of peace gestures between India and Pakistan .
The nuclear-armed rivals often arrest fishermen for straying into each other 's territorial waters or villagers who inadvertently cross land borders .
President Bush has called again for Congress to approve an immigration reform bill , after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pulled the measure off the agenda earlier this week .
In his weekly radio address , President Bush said he understands the skepticism some members of Congress have about certain parts of the legislation .
He emphasized that the bill does not provide amnesty to illegal immigrants .
He said to stay in the country , illegal immigrants must pay a fine , undergo background checks , register with the government , and wait eight years before applying for legal status .
Senators rejected Reid 's effort earlier this week to limit negotiations and schedule a final vote on the bill .
Reid blamed Republicans for the failure , while Republicans said Democrats were trying to rush the bill toward final passage .
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has rejected U.S. charges that he and Cuban President Fidel Castro are destabilizing forces in Latin America .
Mr. Chavez said in his weekly radio and television show Sunday that U.S. imperialism is , in his words , " the greatest threat " facing the world .
Last week U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that Venezuela and Cuba had negatively influenced events in Bolivia , where social uprisings have forced out two presidents in less than two years .
Mr. Chavez and Mr. Castro were shown side by side during the show .
Mr. Chavez had traveled to Cuba to attend the graduation Saturday of over 1,500 medical students who had studied for free on condition they would return to their communities to work .
Interpol says more than 5,000 people across Asia have been arrested in a coordinated crackdown on illegal gambling during the World Cup .
The Paris-based police organization said Friday that almost $ 10 million was seized during the raids on nearly 800 gambling dens in China , Malaysia , Singapore and Thailand .
Sites in Hong Kong and Macau also were raided .
Police targeted betting shops with links to organized crime .
Interpol said the raided shops had handled bets totaling more than $ 150 million .
The crackdown took place between June 11 and July 11 to coincide with the World Cup competition , which captured the attention of millions of sports fans around the world .
Interpol said illegal football ( soccer ) gambling is linked with corruption , money-laundering and prostitution .
It said the operation should have an impact on all of those activities .
Residents in the western U.S. state of Colorado are struggling to cope with their third huge snowstorm in as many weeks .
Forecasters say as much as 20 centimeters of snow is expected to fall on the city of Denver Saturday , while the state 's rural southeastern region could get five centimeters of snow on top of what already covers the ground .
The new storm is carrying winds up to 50 kilometers an hour , hampering efforts by the National Guard to airdrop hay bales to feed cattle stranded on snow-packed pastures .
The animals could die of starvation or dehydration if not fed .
The state has still not recovered from two consecutive snowstorms last month .
The first one stranded thousands of passengers traveling in and out of Denver 's airport just days before the Christmas holiday .
United Nations officials say an Afghan driver and a doctor with a German aid agency were killed when their UNICEF vehicle was hit in a rocket attack .
A U.N. staffer was severely injured in the attack , which took place Friday near the eastern Afghan town of Herat .
The vehicle was returning from a routine mission in Badghis province with the three men on board .
Taleban rebels launch regular attacks on Afghan and foreign forces , reconstruction projects , non-governmental organizations and government officials , but most of the violence is in the south and southeast of the country .
In April , unidentified attackers stormed a health clinic in Badghis , gunning down five people .
Roadside bombs , checkpoint attacks and gunbattles with militants in southern and eastern Afghanistan have killed at least 10 Afghan police officers and five NATO coalition soldiers .
Afghan officials say a roadside bomb in the southern city of Kandahar killed a district police chief and two others riding with him in his vehicle on Tuesday .
The Interior Ministry says another roadside bomb Tuesday killed four police officers in Wardak province , just west of Kabul .
In Ghazni province , south of Kabul , local police say militants attacked a checkpoint , killing five officers .
Britain 's Defense Ministry says two British soldiers were shot dead Tuesday in separate incidents in southern Afghanistan 's Helmand province .
A third British soldier died from injuries suffered in combat days ago in Helmand province .
NATO says two other coalition soldiers died in a gunbattle in eastern Afghanistan Tuesday , but did not reveal the service members ' nationalities .
Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman was buried Saturday on his home island in the Baltic Sea .
Family members and close friends , including actresses Live Ullman and Bibi Andersson , attended the private funeral on Faro Island .
Bergman made more than 50 films and is considered one of the most influential directors of the 20th century .
His films , including " Wild Strawberries , " " Cries and Whispers " and " Scenes from a Marriage " explored human relationships , mortality and madness and were tinged with melancholy , anger , and humor .
" The Seventh Seal " includes one of cinema 's most iconic images - a medieval knight playing chess with a person representing Death while the plague rages around them .
Bergman died on July 30 at the age of 89 .
British sprinter Dwain Chambers and his lawyers have appeared in London 's High Court seeking a temporary injunction against his lifetime Olympic doping ban .
In a preliminary hearing on his appeal Wednesday , Chambers challenged the British Olympic Association bylaw that bans athletes with doping violations from all future Games .
His case will be heard next Wednesday .
The 30-year-old Chambers received a two-year suspension for taking the designer steroid THG ( tetrahydrogestrinone ) in 2003 .
If Chambers wins his hearing next week , the judge will issue an injunction to let him compete next month at the Beijing Olympics .
But he must still qualify for the team by finishing either first or second in the 100-meters at Britain 's Olympic trials this weekend .
A full hearing on his challenge against the BOA rule is expected to be held by next March .
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is in the United States to rally support from Jewish groups for the planned Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip .
Mr. Sharon will have a series of meetings in New York and then address a prominent lobbying group , the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee , Tuesday in Washington .
No meetings with U.S. officials are planned .
On the flight to New York , Mr. Sharon said he will not postpone the start of the pullout from mid-August , despite Israeli reports that his military chiefs want to delay because of recent Palestinian attacks on settlers in Gaza .
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrives in Washington later this week , at the invitation of President Bush .
Mr. Abbas says he will push for political and economic support when he visits the White House Thursday .
The nation 's official measurer does some really cool stuff One giant room on the NIST campus is filled with exotic milling , machining , and other industrial equipment .
Here , specialists make instruments for NIST researchers , who in turn test everything from bullets to football helmets .
They invent things , too .
NIST scientists developed a device that turns computer documents and electronic messages into Braille for the sight-impaired .
These days , NIST is especially hard at work on nanotechnology , cybersecurity , and efforts to create a nationwide " smart " electric grid .
The agency that standardized fire hoses and once re-measured and corrected the exact length of a meter has a brand-new complex that is testing and measuring matter as small as an atom .
The U.S. Agency for International Development ( USAID ) says it will donate nearly $ 8,40,000 to Catholic Relief Services to help alleviate Malawi 's severe food shortage .
The agency says the money will provide seeds and fertilizer that small farming households can use for planting in coming weeks .
In September , it promised $ 4,00,000 to the U.N. Children 's Fund to monitor the nutritional status of Malawi 's children .
The U.S government agency has already donated more than 50,000 metric tons of food to Malawi through the U.N. World Food Program .
Experts say poor rainfall across Malawi this year , combined with inadequate supplies of fertilizer , adversely affected the country 's staple corn ( maize ) crop .
In October , the government declared a national disaster and appealed for help .
Aid agencies say five million of Malawi 's 12 million people need food aid .
Egyptian archaeologists have discovered the mummified remains of a doctor they say lived more than 4,000 years ago .
In an interview with official state media , Egypt 's government antiquities chief , Zahi Hawass , says archaeologists found the mummy in Saqqara , south of Cairo , during cleaning work .
He says the doctor , whose name was Qar , was buried along with bronze surgical instruments , earthenware containers bearing his name and 22 bronze statues of gods .
Hawass says the mummy and the decorations on the lid of the wooden sarcophagus are well-preserved and in ideal condition .
Archaeologists first discovered the tomb in 2000 , but did not find the sarcophagus until recently .
Israeli police say they have detained three Hamas lawmakers in Jerusalem .
Police say the Hamas minister for Jerusalem affairs , Khaled Abu Arafa , was detained Monday along with Mohammed Abu Teir and Ahmed Abu Atoun .
They were questioned on suspicion of organizing a rally on Jerusalem 's Al Aqsa mosque compound to raise money for the Hamas organization .
The three men have denied the charge .
Israel bans all Palestinian political activity in east Jerusalem .
The Al Aqsa mosque compound houses the third-holiest site in Islam , but also marks Judaism 's most sacred spot - the ruins of biblical Jewish temples .
Israel considers Hamas a terrorist organization .
Hamas is sworn to Israel 's destruction .
Human Rights Watch is calling on Hezbollah militants in Lebanon to immediately stop firing rockets into civilian areas in Israel , referring to the attacks as " war crimes . "
A statement issued Saturday by the New York-based organization says militants have launched 2,500 rockets into mostly civilian areas in northern Israel since July 12 .
The organization has also documented the Israeli military 's use of force that has killed hundreds of Lebanese civilians .
But it says crimes by one side in a conflict never justify crimes by another .
Human Rights Watch said Hezbollah militants claim that some of their attacks are aimed at military bases in Israel .
But the rights organization says most attacks appear to be directed at civilian areas such as hospitals , schools and businesses .
A human rights group is calling on the United States to investigate what it calls " newly uncovered " deaths of U.S-led coalition prisoners in Afghanistan .
In an open letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld , Human Rights Watch says the newly uncovered cases highlight the U.S. government 's failure to establish accountability for abuses .
Earlier , Human Rights Watch had identified three cases , including that of Sher Mohammad Khan who died one day after he was arrested in September during a raid on his family 's home near the eastern city of Khost .
But now the rights watchdog has identified two more unreported deaths , taking the toll of deaths in U.S. custody in Afghanistan to six .
The group says four of these cases fall in the category of alleged murder or manslaughter .
Iraqi police say a roadside bomb exploded Thursday near a convoy carrying Abed Theyab , the country 's higher education minister .
Theyab escaped unhurt .
Officials say the blast occurred in central Baghdad .
At least two civilians were wounded in the attack .
Another roadside bomb blast in central Baghdad today killed an Iraqi security official .
Violence in Iraq has fallen sharply in recent months , but roadside bomb attacks are still a daily occurrence , often targeting soldiers , police and government officials .
Pope John Paul beatified the last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and four European nuns and clerics Sunday in an open-air ceremony at St. Peter 's Square in the Vatican .
The Catholic church 's elevation of Habsburg Emperor Charles ( Karl ) has been criticized because he authorized the use of poison gas against Italian troops during World War I .
Also advancing on the road to sainthood today was a 19th century German nun Anne Catherine Emmerick , whose visions inspired director Mel Gibson 's controversial film , " The Passion of the Christ . "
In addition , John Paul beatified Italian nun Maria Ludovica de Angelis , who worked with sick children in Argentina in the mid-20th century , and two French clerics , a 25-year-old monk who died in 1903 and an 18th century priest , who founded an order of nuns .
Beatification is the final step before possible sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church .
U.S. President Barack Obama says building a strong middle class is key to helping the country heal its economy .
In his weekly address Saturday , Mr. Obama said the upcoming Labor Day holiday is a chance to reaffirm a commitment to American workers .
The president touted some of his administration 's initiatives , including tax cuts for working families and investment in construction projects that he says will create jobs .
His address followed a new report showing the U.S. unemployment rate rose last month to 9.6 percent , although private employers added about 67,000 jobs .
In the weekly Republican Party address , U.S. Representative Geoff Davis called for greater scrutiny of federal rules and regulations he said are a burden to small business owners .
Davis has introduced legislation that would have Congress vote on rules proposed by federal agencies if the regulations are expected to have an economic impact greater than $ 100 million .
United Nations officials in Kosovo say an international police officer was killed when a U.N. vehicle exploded Thursday in the town of Prizren .
Officials declined to give the name and the nationality of the victim .
They said an explosive device probably caused the blast , but said authorities are still investigating .
U.N. police and NATO-led peacekeepers took over security duties in Kosovo in 1999 , when the Serbian province became an international protectorate .
Winning the women 's European football championship has given Germany sole possession of first place in the latest FIFA world rankings for women .
Previously , the Germans shared the top spot with the United States , which is now second .
Germany defeated third-ranked Norway last Sunday in the European final , 03-Jan .
Brazil is the fourth ranked women 's team and France is fifth .
Rounding out the latest top 10 are Sweden , South Korea , China , Denmark and Italy .
Afghan officials have released an American imprisoned in 2004 for running a private jail .
After serving more than two years of a three-year sentence , Brent Bennett was freed and flown out of Afghanistan on Saturday .
Bennett was one of three Americans convicted of torturing Afghan suspects in a vigilante counter-terrorism operation .
In September 2004 , a Kabul court sentenced one of three , Edwin Caraballo , to eight years in prison while Bennett and alleged ringleader Jonathan Idema received 10-year terms .
In March 2005 , a judge , Abdul Latif , reduced their sentences .
Caraballo was released in April , while Idema has about three years remaining on his reduced sentence .
Idema claimed his operations were coordinated with the U.S. Defense Department and Afghan authorities .
Both governments denied the claim .
Insurgents seeking to disrupt Iraq 's national elections later this month have killed another election official , bringing to at least seven the number of election workers killed in recent weeks .
Police say the election supervisor was shot as he left a Baghdad polling station Thursday .
Also Thursday , three officials from a leading Kurdish political party were killed in an ambush in Mosul , and a U.S. soldier was killed and three were wounded in a roadside bomb blast .
Earlier Friday , a minibus full of civilians collided with a U.S. tank north of Baghdad , killing six Iraqis and injuring eight .
And in a separate development , Iraqi and U.S. officials say 28 prisoners from the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad escaped Thursday night while being transported to another facility .
None of them are suspected insurgents .
Indian and Pakistani officials have met in Islamabad to discuss opening their disputed Kashmir border to help relief efforts for victims of the massive earthquake that killed some 55,000 people .
Foreign ministry officials from the two sides were to discuss allowing Kashmiris to cross the heavily militarized Line of Control , the cease-fire line that divides the Himalayan region that the South Asian rivals have fought two wars over .
Both governments have expressed a willingness to open the border but have failed to resolve differences on how to do it .
U.N. officials say opening the border could help the relief effort - which has been hampered by funding shortages .
Meanwhile , the U.S. Geological Survey says a 5.5 magnitude aftershock struck northern Pakistan early Saturday .
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries .
New Orleans is set to host its first major professional sporting event since Hurricane Katrina struck last August .
The National Basketball Association 's New Orleans Hornets return to their home city to play the Los Angeles Lakers .
The team will play only two more games in the devastated city this season and only six next season .
The Hornets have established a temporary home in Oklahoma City .
Wednesday night 's game against the Lakers will be played in the New Orleans Arena in front of a capacity crowd of about 17,000 , including NBA Commissioner David Stern .
The arena was used as a shelter for evacuees during the hurricane and it suffered some flood damage .
The Hornets average attendance this season is nearly 4,000 more than last season , but the team 's owner says he still plans to return the team to New Orleans for the 2007 - 2008 season .
Israel launched a series of air strikes on the Gaza Strip Sunday , killing seven Palestinian militants .
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev says the strikes were in retaliation for a Hamas attack Saturday on an Israeli cargo crossing at the Gaza border .
Hamas militants in Gaza drove two cars packed with explosives into the border crossing , killing four of the militants and wounding 13 Israeli soldiers .
Israeli military officials say the attack may have been part of a larger plot to kidnap Israeli soldiers .
Hamas claimed responsibility for the bombing and promised to stage more attacks to break Israel 's blockade on the Gaza Strip .
Hamas has controlled Gaza for nearly a year .
Israel says its blockade is pressuring militants in the Palestinian territory to end daily rocket fire on Israeli towns across the border .
A former head of Iran 's Revolutionary Guards says he will run for president , posing a conservative challenge to incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad .
Mohsen Rezai has criticized Mr. Ahmadinejad 's handling of the economy , which suffers from inflation and depressed revenues due to the fall in oil prices .
Rezai is also critical of Iran 's two main political factions , the moderate Reformists and the conservative Principlists , and has floated the idea of a coalition government uniting the two .
Candidates must register for the poll in early May .
Elections are set for June 12 .
The family of American journalist Jill Carroll has issued another public appeal for her release , days before a deadline set by her kidnappers in Iraq .
Jill Carroll 's family made the appeal Tuesday in a statement released by the press freedom group , Reporters Without Borders .
The journalist 's father , Jim Carroll , said his daughter and thousands of other reporters try to bring truth to the world every day , and he said that is especially important in Iraq right now .
The family also appealed for the release of two Iraqi journalists held hostage , Reem Zeid and Marwan Khazaal .
Jill Carroll was reporting for the Christian Science Monitor when she was kidnapped January seventh .
The militants holding her hostage have demanded that all women in prison in Iraq be freed .
They have threatened to kill her unless their demands are met by February 26 .
Officials from top oil-producing nations have promised to try to cut soaring oil prices when they meet in Vienna on Wednesday .
Leaders from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Tuesday they are likely to agree to raise daily output by a 5,00,000 barrels .
But some analysts say the increase will do little to cut prices , currently around the $ 55 mark .
Meantime , Saudi Arabia 's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi called on developed nations to build more oil refineries to help satisfy their growing needs for gasoline .
Romanian officials say four new cases of a deadly strain of avian flu have been found in birds in a remote village in the Danube River delta .
Romania 's agriculture minister , Gheorghe Flutur , said British lab tests confirm four dead chickens in the village of Caraorman carried the H5N1 strain of the virus that has killed more than 60 people in Asia since 2003 .
China 's Agriculture Ministry also confirmed Monday that bird flu was the cause of illness among chickens , ducks , and geese last week in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and central China 's Hubei province .
On Sunday , U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said it would take the United States at least three to five years to produce 300 million doses of a vaccine to protect Americans from a possible pandemic .
Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural resources , including petroleum , natural gas , fish , and seals .
Puerto Rico has one of the most dynamic economies in the Caribbean region .
A diverse industrial sector has far surpassed agriculture as the primary locus of economic activity and income .
Encouraged by duty-free access to the US and by tax incentives , US firms have invested heavily in Puerto Rico since the 1950s .
US minimum wage laws apply .
Sugar production has lost out to dairy production and other livestock products as the main source of income in the agricultural sector .
Tourism has traditionally been an important source of income with estimated arrivals of more than 3.6 million tourists in 2008 .
Part of Romania during the interwar period , Moldova was incorporated into the Soviet Union at the close of World War II .
Although the country has been independent from the USSR since 1991 , Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Dniester River supporting the Slavic majority population , mostly Ukrainians and Russians , who have proclaimed a " Transnistria " republic .
One of the poorest nations in Europe , Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a Communist , Vladimir VORONIN , as its president in 2001 .
VORONIN served as Moldova 's president until he resigned in September 2009 , following the opposition 's gain of a narrow majority in July parliamentary elections and the Communist Party 's ( PCRM ) subsequent inability to attract the three-fifths of parliamentary votes required to elect a president .
Moldova 's four opposition parties formed a new coalition , the Alliance for European Integration ( AIE ) , which acted as Moldova 's governing coalition until December 2010 .
Moldova experienced significant political uncertainty in 2009 and 2010 , holding three general elections ( in April 2009 , July 2009 , and November 2010 ) and four presidential ballots in parliament , all of which failed to secure a president .
Following the November 2010 parliamentary elections , a reconstituted AIE-coalition of three parties formed a government , but remains two votes short of the three-fifths majority required to elect a president .
These uninhabited , barren , sub-Antarctic islands were transferred from the UK to Australia in 1947 .
Populated by large numbers of seal and bird species , the islands have been designated a nature preserve .
Following its heyday as a global maritime power during the 15th and 16th centuries , Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake , occupation during the Napoleonic Wars , and the independence of its wealthiest colony of Brazil in 1822 .
A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy ; for most of the next six decades , repressive governments ran the country .
In 1974 , a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms .
The following year , Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies .
Portugal is a founding member of NATO and entered the EC ( now the EU ) in 1986 .
In January 2011 , Portugal assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2011 - 12 term .
A MAN committed a murder , and was pursued by the relations of the man whom he murdered .
On his reaching the river Nile he saw a Lion on its bank and being fearfully afraid , climbed up a tree .
He found a serpent in the upper branches of the tree , and again being greatly alarmed , he threw himself into the river , where a crocodile caught him and ate him .
Thus the earth , the air , and the water alike refused shelter to a murderer .
A MAN finding a frozen Viper put it into his bosom .
" The coldness of the human heart , " he said , with a grin , " will keep the creature in his present condition until I can reach home and revive him on the coals . "
But the pleasures of hope so fired his heart that the Viper thawed , and sliding to the ground thanked the Man civilly for his hospitality and glided away .
Health officials in Turkey say a third child of the same family has died of bird flu in the eastern Turkish city of Van .
Doctors say the 11-year-old girl , Hulya Kocyigit died Friday .
Her 14-year-old brother died Sunday , and her 15-year-old sister died Thursday .
Health officials say that some 25 people in Turkey - mostly children - are being treated for possible bird flu .
The World Health Organization is investigating the outbreak - the first one among humans outside east Asia .
A spokeswoman in Geneva says there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission , but said the development foreshadows a global pandemic .
Authorities in neighboring Azerbaijan are testing dead birds in the southern part of the country for signs of bird flu .
Meanwhile , Indonesia says it has budgeted $ 940 million to fight bird flu over the next two years .
Singer , songwriter , and producer Ryan Tedder from the band OneRepublic has written hit songs for artists like Jennifer Lopez , Natasha Bedingfield , and Hillary Duff .
Now , Ryan is recording hit songs with his band , OneRepublic , and their new album Dreaming Out Loud .
VOA 's Larry London met with Ryan Tedder when he toured the Washington area .
It can sound like musical instruments or , it can sound like nothing you have ever heard before .
An emerging musical form called ' beatboxing ' is n't exactly singing .
But the music is created only by using a human voice and mouth , lips , tongue , nose and throat .
London played host recently to the highlight in the beatboxing calendar : an international convention at the South Bank Arts Center .
The convention is an opportunity for beatboxers from around the world to meet in person and try out their skills .
Catherine Drew brings us this new form of music .
South Africa 's ruling party has accused U.S. health officials of using Africans as " guinea pigs " and covering up possible adverse effects of a drug used by pregnant women infected with the AIDS virus .
The statement by the African National Congress comes after a string of reports that U.S.-funded trials in Uganda sparked safety concerns about the drug , Nevirapine .
South Africa currently dispenses Nevirapine for free in public hospitals .
The drug is used to slash the mother-to-child transmission of HIV , the AIDS-causing virus .
This week , the Associated Press reported that in 2002 , U.S. health authorities failed to inform the White House over concerns a single dose of Nevirapine might create resistance to future AIDS medication .
The Bush Administration has since promoted use of Nevirapine in Africa .
U.S. health officials said Friday that trials found only a small number of cases where adverse reactions might be attributed to Nevirapine .
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is reported to have told his security forces to use " an iron fist " to maintain the current cease-fire with Israel .
Palestinian news reports say Mr. Abbas told Palestinian police in the Gaza Strip Wednesday that they must not allow anybody to break the calm .
The reports quoted Mr. Abbas as saying whoever wants to sabotage the truce with rocket fire or shooting must be stopped , by force if necessary .
Last month , Mr. Abbas persuaded armed Palestinian factions waging a more than four year violent uprising against Israel to maintain a de~facto truce .
Israel says it will not resume peace talks until Palestinians dismantle the armed factions .
A Kenyan court has charged two members of parliament and a government minister with committing hate speech while campaigning against the country 's proposed new constitution .
Lawmakers Fred Kapondi and Joshua Kutuny , and Assistant Roads Minister Wilfred Machage , were released Wednesday after each paid bail of about $ 1,250 .
All three pleaded not guilty during a court hearing in Nairobi .
The three men were arrested Tuesday and charged with making inflammatory remarks during a rally last week .
Political tension is running high in Kenya as an August 4 referendum on the new constitution draws near .
On Sunday , multiple explosions struck a Nairobi rally against the proposed charter , killing six people and wounding more than 100 .
No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts .
A group of Kenyan churches against the new constitution blamed the violence on the government , which strongly supports the constitutional reform .
Hundreds of angry villagers in Indian-controlled Kashmir have taken to the streets when security forces killed two civilians after mistaking them for separatist militants .
The Indian army says it regrets Saturday 's incident in Dragmulla village north of Srinagar .
It ordered an investigation of the shootings .
Another civilian was killed during a clash between Indian troops and militants in the same district .
Meanwhile , in Srinagar , shops , schools and offices were closed during a general strike to protest the death of a civilian in the city earlier this week .
Local authorities say police shot dead a college student as he was about to hurl a grenade at them , but residents say he had no militant connections .
French tennis great Mary Pierce has withdrawn from the ASB Classic women 's tennis tournament in New Zealand next week for undisclosed medical reasons .
Now ranked 29th in the world , Pierce is a former Australian Open and French Open champion .
She was to be seeded third at the Auckland tournament .
Her agent sent confirmation Thursday to tournament director Richard Palmer that Pierce had an injury on Thursday .
Despite her absence from the New Zealand event , it is not clear if Pierce will play at the Australian Open in Melbourne , where she won in 1995 .
In November , Pierce was suffering from a right shoulder injury , which forced her to pull out from the French Fed Cup team and a semifinal against Spain .
Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos says the divided island can not afford another failed reunification attempt Mr. Papadopoulos told the United Nations General Assembly Sunday that revived talks need thorough preparation and what he calls an honest assessment of whether success is possible .
He said Turkey must recognize that the only settlement can be a single state with no Turkish military presence in the north .
Cyprus has been split since 1974 between an internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north , which only Turkey recognizes .
A plan proposed by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan would reunify the island as a loose federation .
Turkish Cypriots voted for the plan in a referendum last year while Greek Cypriots rejected it .
Leaders of the protests that all but shut down Ecuador 's oil industry for the past week are preparing to engage in talks with the country 's government .
Protest leaders say they have suspended the demonstrations in order to talk , restoring calm in the country 's northeast , where two provinces remain under a state of emergency .
Meanwhile , Venezuela says it will lend crude oil to Ecuador .
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday his country will assume Ecuador 's oil commitments at no cost .
Most Ecuadorian oil exports go to the United States .
The protesters sabotaged oil facilities in a demand for jobs and infrastructure improvements .
Ecuador 's state-run oil firm , Petroecuador , which usually produces over 2,00,000 barrels of oil a day , produced only 33,000 during the protests on Saturday .
Government officials say it will take until at least October for normal production to be resumed .
Chinese officials say a gas explosion has trapped at least 50 coal miners deep underground .
Officials say the blast occurred before dawn Thursday at a mine in northern Hebei province .
The condition of the miners is not immediately known .
The latest accident in China 's notoriously dangerous mines comes one week after an accidental explosion killed 21 miners in Sichuan province in southwestern China .
The European Union has approved Russia 's entry into the World Trade Organization , moving Moscow one step closer to membership in the trade body .
Russian Economy Minister Elvira Nabiullina and EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht signed an agreement on Tuesday resolving outstanding bilateral issues that had prevented EU approval of Russia 's entry bid .
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called the signing a " milestone " in the process .
Russia , the largest economy outside the WTO and the EU 's largest trading partner , applied for membership in the WTO in June 1993 .
Moscow must still negotiate the final terms of its entry into the trade organization .
But Barroso said that Russia becoming a WTO member in 2011 is now a " realistic perspective . "
Pakistan says its troops have raided a madrassa , or Islamic seminary , in the North Waziristan tribal region , killing a suspected militant in a shootout and arresting seven others .
A military statement Wednesday says security forces raided the Abu Shoaib madrassa in the semi-autonomous region bordering Afghanistan .
Officials say the school was being used as a recruiting center for militants .
The statement says security forces seized a large supply of arms , ammunition , explosives and documents during the raid .
President Pervez Musharraf has said he plans to close those madrassas that do not register with the government by December 31 .
Pakistan , a key anti-terrorism ally of the United States , has been trying to flush out foreign militants from the region for almost 18 months .
The area is also considered a possible hideout for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden .
The African Union has given the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels 24 hours to end fighting in the vast desert region .
It says after that time it will report any cease-fire violations to the United Nations Security Council .
The pan-African body issued the warning Friday in Abuja , Nigeria , where mediators and representatives from both sides are gathered for peace talks .
The negotiations have stalled amid allegations of renewed fighting .
Earlier Friday , the commander of the African Union 's observer force in Darfur , Nigerian General Festus Okonkwo , briefed mediators on the situation , saying the Sudanese government appears to be preparing a major military offensive in the region .
He also detailed truce violations by the government and rebels in Darfur and said a huge amount of weapons have poured into the region over the last two weeks .
U.S. officials say Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit Africa next week on a trip aimed at highlighting the Obama administration 's commitment to making Africa a priority in U.S. foreign policy .
The State Department says Clinton will begin her seven-nation trip August 5 , when she attends the U.S.-Sub Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum in Nairobi , Kenya .
The forum is designed to help increase trade between the U.S. and African countries .
During her visit to Kenya , she will also meet with the president of Somalia 's transitional government , Sheikh Sharif Amed .
Clinton will also visit South Africa , Angola , the Democratic Republic of Congo , Nigeria , Liberia and Cape Verde .
Clinton 's visit takes place less than a month after President Barack Obama visited Ghana .
The State Department says this is the earliest in any administration that both the president and secretary of state have traveled to Africa .
Thousands of people gathered Friday inside Egypt 's most important mosque to protest the Israeli offensive in Lebanon .
Demonstrators at Cairo 's al-Azhar mosque chanted slogans in support of the Hezbollah militia following prayers .
The crowd also criticized the Egyptian government for its refusal to express support for Hezbollah .
There were no reports of violence during the Cairo protest .
However protesters in Iran Friday threw bricks and explosives at the British Embassy in Tehran , damaging the building .
Iranian demonstrators accused the British government of being an accomplice in Israel 's fight against Hezbollah .
Meanwhile , several Arab foreign ministers say they will hold an emergency meeting in Beirut Monday to express solidarity with Lebanon .
The ministers last met in Cairo in July to call for a cease-fire in Lebanon .
A project aimed at providing inexpensive computers for millions of children in developing countries has hit a snag .
The program is called " One Laptop Per Child " ( OLPC ) and the Intel Corporation is pulling out of the project .
Intel is the world 's largest computer chipmaker , and it was providing money and expertise .
Intel officials left the board of directors of the OLPC non-profit group after a disagreement over the company 's continuing support for its own effort to build and sell cheap laptops using new technology .
OLPC had wanted Intel to work on the One Laptop Per Child computer exclusively .
Iran 's intelligence minister says authorities have arrested more than 10 people this year on charges of spying on the country 's nuclear program .
The official IRNA news agency quoted Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi as alleging that those detained since March were working for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and the Israeli spy agency , Mossad .
He said three of the detainees were staff members of Iran 's Atomic Energy Organization .
He did not reveal the identities of the detainees .
Last month , Iran agreed to suspend its uranium enrichment activities under a deal with European governments .
But on Tuesday , international diplomats said Tehran is still continuing uranium enrichment , exploiting a loophole in the deal .
The United States accuses Iran of secretly trying to build nuclear weapons .
Tehran denies the charge .
The U.N. World Food Program , WFP , says it has suspended food convoys to Sudan 's strife-torn western Darfur region after rebels attacked a village in nearby West Kordofan and government forces retaliated .
A U.N. statement says the WFP halted three convoys of 70 trucks carrying food aid intended for Darfur after what it called a major attack by the rebel Sudanese Liberation Army , SLA , against the market town of Ghubaysh Monday .
The statement says the attack , which prompted retaliation from Sudanese forces , follows a series of clashes in Darfur between government troops , allied militias and rebel groups .
Sudan 's government and Darfur rebels recently suspended talks after trading charges of cease-fire violations .
Tropical Storm Ernesto is due to strike Cuba early Monday after dumping heavy rains on Haiti and the Dominican Republic Sunday .
The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the storm is expected to return to hurricane strength with wins of about 120 kilometers-per-hour as it approaches Cuba .
Tens of thousands of residents on the eastern part of the island have been evacuated .
Ernesto was at hurricane strength early Sunday , but was later downgraded to a tropical storm .
It dumped heavy rains on flood-prone and mudslide-prone areas of Haiti .
The storm is predicted to cross Cuba , then intensify again as it heads north toward the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Keys - a string of U.S. islands dividing the Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Mexico .
A Cuban independent journalist has become the sixth imprisoned dissident to be freed by Cuba 's communist government this week .
Relatives of Edel Jose Garcia say he was freed Thursday following a medical checkup at a prison hospital in Havana .
Few other details were given .
The six dissidents that have been freed this week are among 75 pro-democracy activists jailed last year after a government crackdown .
Among those freed earlier this week were well-known dissident writer and poet Raul Rivero , opposition politician Osvaldo Alfonso Valdes and economist and journalist Oscar Espinoso Chepe .
The men were sentenced to lengthy jail terms on charges they conspired with the United States to overthrow President Fidel Castro .
On Wednesday , at least 18 other jailed Cuban activists were transferred to a prison hospital in Havana amid speculation they may also be released .
British police have charged three more suspects with conspiracy to commit murder in the alleged plot to blow up passenger jets heading to the United States .
Mohammed Yasar Gulzar , Nabeel Hussain , and Mohammed Shamin Uddin are scheduled to appear before a London judge Wednesday .
This brings the number of suspects charged so far in the alleged terror plot to 15 .
Five others are still in custody while five have been freed .
A number of suspects are also being held in Pakistan .
British authorities accuse them of planning to use liquid explosives to destroy as many as 10 airliners , killing thousands of people .
Police had been monitoring the suspects for months .
Authorities made the arrests more than two weeks ago , believing the suspects were about to carry out their deadly plans .
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has named Pakistani diplomat Ashraf Qazi as his new special representative to Sudan .
Mr. Ban made the announcement Tuesday at a news conference with the south Sudan President Salva Kiir in Juba , the southern Sudanese capital .
Qazi was chosen to replace Jan Pronk , who was expelled last year after criticizing Sudanese army actions in war-torn Darfur .
The secretary-general praised Qazi for his wide and extensive diplomatic skill .
Qazi currently serves as the U.N. envoy to Iraq .
Mr. Ban 's stop in Juba is part of a six-day trip in which he will also visit Libya and Chad .
More than four years of fighting between rebels , the government and militia groups has killed an estimated 2,00,000 people and displaced more than two million others .
Syria is rejecting President Bush 's charges that it sponsors terrorism , saying the claims are " useless " and aimed at appeasing conservatives in the United States .
Speaking Thursday on Arab television , Syrian Information Minister Mehdi Dakhlallah said " everyone " knows Syria is cooperating in the fight against terrorism .
He criticized Washington for including Lebanon 's Hezbollah on its list of terrorist organizations , saying the group is singled out by the United States because of its opposition to Israel .
In his State of the Union address , President Bush accused Damascus of allowing terrorists to use Syrian and Lebanese territory to attack Israel and " destroy every chance of peace " in the Middle East .
Hezbollah battled Israel during the Jewish state 's 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon , and continues to skirmish with Israeli forces in disputed border areas .
Monday Americans honor the life and legacy of the slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King , Jr.
President Bush is marking the annual King holiday with a speech in Washington .
The president began his day with a short trip to the U.S. National Archives to view the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation , which declared an end to slavery in the United States .
He said it was a fitting way to start his observance of Martin Luther King Day .
" Today we celebrate the life of an American who called Americans to account when we did n't live to our ideals , " said the president .
Mr. Bush will speak at length at a King ceremony at Washington 's Kennedy Center .
Similar programs are being held around the country highlighting community service and Reverend King 's non-violent campaign for equal rights .
Ruling that stripped many politicians of amnesty on past corruption cases Mr. Zardari and key leaders of his Pakistan People 's Party ( PPP ) met in Islamabad to discuss the impact on his government .
The Supreme Court on Wednesday threw out a decree that offered amnesty protection to more than 8,000 people , including Mr. Zardari and his top allies .
As president , Mr. Zardari is still immune from prosecution , but members of the opposition party are calling for his resignation .
Pakistan 's anti-corruption body , the National Accountability Bureau , has placed about 250 officials on a travel ban list aimed at preventing suspects from fleeing the country .
The list includes four Cabinet members , including two from the ruling party and two from the minor MQM party .
At least 52 politicians have been summoned to appear before corruption courts .
French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux says Saudi Arabia has warned of an al-Qaida terrorism threat in Europe and against France in particular .
Hortefeux told French radio and television Sunday that European intelligence agencies received the warning in the past few days .
He said the threat is real and that the government is on alert .
Earlier this month , the United States , Britain , and Japan warned their citizens of possible terrorist attacks in Europe after Western intelligence officials uncovered a plot by al-Qaida-linked militants based in Pakistan for terror attacks in major British , French and German cities .
The officials said the attacks could be similar to the 2008 terrorist strike on Mumbai , India , where near-simultaneous attacks by Islamic militants killed 166 people and wounded many more .
A U.S. court has found a former CIA contractor guilty of assaulting an Afghan detainee , who later died of his injuries .
The federal jury in North Carolina issued the guilty verdict Thursday on several assault charges against David Passaro for the 2003 incident .
He was not charged with murder .
Prosecutors had accused Passaro of using his feet , hands and a flashlight to beat Abdul Wali during interrogation sessions .
Wali died from his injuries two days later .
Wali was a suspect in rocket attacks on the U.S. military base in Afghanistan where Passaro was stationed .
Defense attorneys said Passaro was following guidelines approved by his superiors while working as a CIA interrogator .
He is the first U.S. civilian charged for abusing prisoners in Afghanistan since the start of the U.S.-led war in 2001 .
Israeli-Arab lawmaker Azmi Bishara has announced his resignation from the Knesset after leaving the country amid a police investigation .
Bishara says he tendered has resignation Sunday at the Israel Embassy in Egypt .
An embassy spokesman confirmed the move , saying Bishara had handed his resignation to Ambassador Shalom Cohen at a meeting Sunday morning .
Police announced last week that Bishara is being investigated , but have refused to give details .
Bishara has been an outspoken critic of the state of Israel and its Palestinian policies .
He has said he will stay abroad for a time .
The White House says President Bush will attend the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC ) forum in November in Busan , South Korea .
A White House statement says Mr. Bush will discuss promoting free trade , boosting economic growth and strengthening regional security cooperation .
Mr. Bush is expected to meet with South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun on November 17 and hold bilateral meetings with other APEC leaders .
The 21-member APEC group includes Pacific nations who regularly meet to discuss trade , security and other issues .
A White House spokesman said the president will also make several side trips during his visit .
He is scheduled to travel to Beijing on November 19 .
Mr. Bush also plans to make his first visit to Mongolia on November 21 to meet with President Enkhbayar .
Colombia 's ambassador to the United States has resigned over the nomination of a disgraced former president as ambassador to France .
Andres Pastrana , himself a former president , stepped down Tuesday , saying he had little choice after President Alvaro Uribe appointed Ernesto Samper to the post .
The government later announced that Mr. Samper had turned down the post .
Mr. Samper 's four-year presidency , which began in 1994 , was overshadowed by allegations that his campaign accepted five-million dollars in contributions from the notorious Cali cocaine cartel .
He was later cleared by the Colombian legislature .
Colombia has received billions of dollars from the U.S. to help fight illegal drug trafficking .
Mr. Uribe has picked current Foreign Minister Carolina Barco to replace Mr. Pastrana as Bogata 's envoy to Washington .
An Israeli police spokesman said border police shot and killed a 16-year old Arab girl in southern Israel Saturday after she began shooting at a border police base .
The teenager , identified as a Bedouin high school student , had been armed with a pistol .
Also Saturday , Palestinian medical workers said Israeli troops killed two Palestinian gunmen along the border of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip .
An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed troops had shot at several gunmen in northern Gaza and hit two of them .
Palestinian rescue workers said they recovered two bodies at the scene .
The incident is the latest in a string of sporadic violence in Gaza .
The clash follows a period of relative calm in the wake of cease-fires that Hamas and Israel declared in January , ending a three-week Israeli offensive in the impoverished territory .
Medical experts with the U.N. World Health Organization are investigating an outbreak of an unknown illness with a high mortality rate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo .
WHO has issued a statement saying it is unclear exactly how many cases or deaths are involved .
But it says more than half the people affected are under the age of 10 .
The statement listed symptoms that include fever , headache , diarrhea or abdominal pain and vomiting .
An investigation team made up of experts from WHO and the Congolese government have arrived in the central part of the country where the outbreak began .
WHO says the cause of the illness is unknown , but the Congolese government has increased hygiene and sanitation efforts as a precaution .
An opinion poll indicates an overwhelming number of Australians support tough anti-terrorism measures proposed after the London bombings .
The survey of more than 1,400 Australians last week by the Sydney Morning Herald shows three-quarters of respondents support laws that would allow the detention and electronic tagging of terror suspects .
But 60 percent of those surveyed said they were opposed to giving police " shoot to kill " authority when pursuing terrorism suspects .
The new counter-terrorism laws will allow suspects to be electronically watched or held in custody for up to 14 days without charge .
They will also create tighter checks on citizenship applicants and jail terms for inciting violence .
Rights organizations have criticized the measures , saying they threaten civil liberties and violate international law .
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pushing Iran to resume talks on its disputed nuclear program , or face new sanctions .
She said Thursday that stronger sanctions in the energy and financial sectors would be considered if Iran does not agree to negotiate by September .
The United States and other Western countries believe Iran is developing a nuclear bomb , but Tehran says it is pursuing nuclear energy .
Ms. Merkel met in Berlin Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , whose country considers Iran its greatest threat .
Mr. Netanyahu said those who call for the destruction of the Jewish state can not go unchallenged .
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be wiped off the map .
An insurgent bomb attack killed at least four Iraqis Tuesday in Baghdad .
Officials say the bomb was aimed at nearby police officers .
Elsewhere in the capital , the U.S. military says five insurgents were killed and seven captured during a massive firefight with Iraqi troops in a Sunni Arab district .
West of Baghdad , heavy fighting erupted Monday between U.S. forces and insurgents hiding in a mosque in Ramadi .
No details on casualties are available .
Iraqi leaders remain deadlocked on forming a new government as fighting raged on across the country .
Parliament was due to open Monday , but that session was put off as Shi'ites , Sunni Arabs and Kurds tried to agree on who will serve as prime minister .
Foreign ministers from 15 African nations are meeting to discuss proposals for strengthening the continent 's role in the U.N. Security Council .
African Union officials helped organize the talks in Swaziland aimed at finding agreement on a set of proposals to add members to the U.N. 's top decision-making body .
One plan under discussion would include six new permanent members without veto power , including two from Africa .
Egypt , Nigeria and South Africa have said they are interested in representing the continent at the Security Council .
Ministers at this week 's meeting are not expected to name candidates for possible new seats .
Last year , a U.N. panel called for studies on expanding the Security Council , which includes five permanent members and 10 seats elected by the U.N. General Assembly .
Japan says it plans to extend the country 's commitment to provide naval support to U.S. troops in Afghanistan .
Japan 's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda made the announcement Wednesday in Tokyo .
Japan 's maritime self defense forces were dispatched to the Indian Ocean in 2001 to provide fuel for coalition warships in the region .
The mission expires on November 1 , but Mr. Hosoda says Japan 's Parliament is expected to extend the mission for another year .
Another overseas deployment of Japanese self defense forces - to southern Iraq - is scheduled to end in December .
A decision on whether to keep troops there has not been made .
Critics say the deployment violates Japan 's pacifist constitution .
Japanese troops in Iraq can operate only in non-combat zones .
International relief efforts are gearing up to provide emergency aid to the victims of Sunday 's disaster in Asia .
The United Nations says it has already dispatched a relief team and made an initial cash grant .
Among the other offers of help , the European Union on Sunday committed $ 4 million for what officials called the vital period immediately after the disaster .
Individual nations have also been responding with offers of immediate assistance .
Pope John Paul , speaking in Vatican City , urged members of the international community to mobilize assistance for victims .
Scientists say Saturn 's largest moon , Titan , is an exotic world with Earth-like physical features , doused with rains of liquid methane .
In Paris Friday , European Space Agency officials said Titan has a complex network of narrow drainage channels merging into rivers and small oceans .
They say there is strong evidence liquid methane has carved up the surface , similar to the erosion that occurs by rainfall on Earth .
The team of scientists say the moon 's thick nitrogen and methane atmosphere is possibly undergoing chemical reactions similar to those that unfolded on Earth billions of years ago .
Space agency officials say they will be studying the data taken from the Huygens space probe .
The probe landed on the icy moon last week , after an eight-year journey aboard the Cassini spacecraft .
Heavy snow and strong winds have been blamed in the deaths of at least six people across Japan .
Officials believe strong winds caused a high speed train to derail north of Tokyo , killing at least one person .
They say at least 16 others were injured and taken to the hospital after the accident .
Blizzards and some of the heaviest snowfall on record for December have killed at least five people since last week .
The snow also disrupted public transportation and left thousands without electricity .
New warnings of famine conditions and food shortages have been sounded for parts of the Horn of Africa .
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network says more than one million cattle herders in southeast Ethiopia face " extreme food insecurity " due to the lack of normal late-year rains .
The U.S.-funded group says pre-famine conditions have emerged in several districts , including Afder , Liban and Gode .
The group says two million people also need humanitarian aid in neighboring Somalia and an additional one million are facing shortages in Kenya .
It says such conditions are alarming at this time of year , several months before the onset of the dry season , when conditions normally deteriorate to their worst levels of the year .
It says food aid has been dispatched to the affected regions and urged relief workers to act quickly to distribute the aid .
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe says it has extended its election mission in Ukraine to monitor the country 's upcoming vote .
The 55-member organization says it plans to have more than 1,000 observers in Ukraine for the December 26 election .
It says the mission , from the organization 's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights , will be the office 's largest ever .
The organization had more than 600 monitors in Ukraine during the November presidential balloting .
In the statement Thursday , the group said the media has what it calls a crucial role in giving voters access to impartial information .
It also said the election administration needs the full support of state authorities .
The organization says it will release preliminary findings the day after the election , and a final report about six weeks after the vote .
Palestinian officials say two Palestinians have been killed in an accidental explosion in a West Bank refugee camp .
The officials say the accident happened early Monday in the Askar refugee camp in the city of Nablus .
They say an old Israeli army shell exploded when a man and his son collecting scrap metal tried to cut through it with a blowtorch , killing the two Palestinians .
President Bush has renewed a one-year ban on imports from military-ruled Burma .
A White House statement Tuesday says the ban is a sign of serious concern about the Burmese regime 's continuing refusal to move towards democracy .
The statement says the United States watches in deep dismay as a country of Burma 's beauty and potential deteriorates under the oppressive weight of the military junta .
Burma 's neighbors in the Association of Southeast Nations have recently condemned the regime 's lack of tangible progress on democratic reforms .
Democratic Republic of Congo 's President Joseph Kabila has fired 11 cabinet ministers , including six who were named in a corruption probe .
State media reported the changes late Monday by Mr. Kabila , who is on a rare visit to the eastern city of Kisangani .
The shake-up includes the ministers of transport , mines , energy , higher education , foreign trade and public works .
In November , the six officials were suspended in the wake of a government report accusing them of possible embezzlement and misuse of state resources .
Also included in Monday 's cabinet reshuffle were the ministers of defense , economy , health , social affairs and labor .
President Kabila 's cabinet includes officials from former rebel groups and other rivals in the nation 's five-year war .
The transitional government was set up as part of a 2003 peace deal .
A senior Afghan official says U.S. and Afghan forces killed about 50 Taleban insurgents Monday in southern Uruzgan province .
Provincial Governor Jan Mohammad Khan said a major Taleban ammunition depot was destroyed in the operation , and that some 25 fighters were captured .
Meanwhile , U.S. soldiers fired warning shots outside the U.S. military headquarters at Bagram Air Base Tuesday , where several hundred Afghans gathered to demand the release of eight villagers arrested in an overnight raid .
The U.S. military said the shots were fired after some protesters threw stones at military vehicles and tried to push down the base 's outer gate .
It said the men were arrested at a compound in Bagram village after troops discovered bomb-making materials there , and that those detained were suspected of planning attacks against U.S.-led forces .
Indonesian diplomats in Iraq say two Indonesian journalists are missing .
Indonesian Embassy officials in Baghdad said Friday the journalists , who work for an Indonesian television station ( Metro TV , ) were heading to Baghdad in a rented car when they disappeared Tuesday in the region of Ramadi .
No other details were immediately available .
Ramadi , 100 kilometers west of Baghdad , has been a center of insurgent activity and frequent clashes between U.S. and Iraqi forces fighting militants .
In another development , the U.S. military says an American soldier was killed Thursday by small arms fire in the northern city of Mosul .
News of the latest violence comes a day after election officials announced that final election results had given the country 's main Shi'ite coalition a slim majority in the interim National Assembly .
Oil prices soared to a record high of $ 62.3 a barrel in New York trading on Monday after Saudi Arabia 's King Fahd died .
In London , Brent crude also hit a record high price $ 60.98 a barrel .
Prices rose more than $ 1.5 , even though analysts expect no changes in Saudi oil policy .
Saudi Arabia is the world 's largest oil exporter and a key member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries .
Rising demand and supply concerns have pushed oil prices upward by 40 percent over the past year .
Afghan officials say they are working for the release of kidnapped Italian aid worker Clementina Cantoni , who was dragged out of her car Monday by gunmen in the Afghan capital , Kabul .
President Hamid Karzai told reporters Saturday that the government knows who kidnapped the CARE International worker and wants her released safely .
His comments followed news reports that one suspected kidnapper , who identified himself as Temur Shah , claimed to have killed her .
The man later reversed himself and said she is still alive .
Aid agencies have pasted hundreds of posters around Kabul appealing for the release of Ms. Cantoni .
The posters say , " Please help Clementina " and praise her for aiding thousands of Afghan widows and war orphans .
Al-Qaida 's second-in-command says the United States failed to kill him with an airstrike earlier this month in Pakistan .
In a videotape broadcast Monday on Arabic language al-Jazeera television Ayman , al-Zawahiri says the attack killed several of those he calls innocents .
Al-Zawahiri asks President Bush if he knows where to find him .
He answers the question himself , saying he is among " the masses of Muslims " and enjoying their support and protection .
Al-Zawahiri also says the United States ignored a truce offer made by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in an audiotape broadcast two weeks ago if American forces withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan .
The White House flatly rejected the offer of a truce , saying the United States does not negotiate with terrorists .
Iraqi officials say they have asked U.S. forces to release six of eight Iraqi female prisoners , but they say the move is not related to the demand of a militant group that kidnapped an American journalist .
The U.S. military has not said whether it would release the six prisoners .
Al Jazeera television aired a video Tuesday from militants holding American journalist Jill Carroll , who was kidnapped January 7 in Baghdad .
The abductors threatened to kill Carroll unless all female Iraqi prisoners in U.S. custody were released within 72 hours .
Wednesday , gunmen in Baghdad ambushed an Egyptian-owned telephone company Iraqna 's convoy , killing at least six security guards .
Officials said two African employees traveling in the convoy are missing and feared kidnapped .
A fugitive Philippines marine officer has surrendered after years on the run , saying he is ready to stand trial over two attempted coups against former president Gloria Arroyo .
Captain Nicanor Faeldon led 300 junior officers in a takeover of buildings in Manila 's posh Makati business district in 2003 .
During his trial four years later , he and several other officers walked out of the courtroom and occupied the deluxe Peninsula Hotel .
He has been in hiding ever since .
Faeldon , who will be presented to reporters Thursday , told a television station he was simply trying to call attention to alleged corruption under former President Arroyo .
He says he is ready to face the consequences now that a new reform-minded president , Benigno Aquino III , has taken office .
Germany has asked the United States to join Europe in ending the isolation of Iran .
German Defense Minister Peter Struck says Iran needs economic and security incentives in order to abandon it 's nuclear ambitions .
He made the comments Saturday , at the 41st annual security conference , meeting in Munich , Germany .
Mr. Struck opened the conference by suggesting a lesser role for NATO in Iraq , while advocating a more direct coordination between the European Union and the United States .
U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld asked attendees to put aside their differences over Iraq and unite in the global war on terrorism .
Other speakers today include top defense officials from Iran , Russia and Egypt .
The security conference is set against the backdrop of NATO 's recent decision to increase troop levels in Afghanistan , North Korea 's claim to have nuclear weapons , and Iran 's developing nuclear capabilities .
Dozens of people have been killed or are missing after parts of Afghanistan were hit by heavy snowfall and icy conditions .
Officials in the western province of Herat say at least 43 people have died in Ghorian district over the last two days .
The heavy snow has caused avalanches , trapping many people , including local shepherds and their livestock .
The bad weather also has blocked roads , preventing the delivery of much-needed food and supplies to parts of the country .
Afghanistan already is facing a severe food shortage due to high grain prices and rebel attacks on United Nations food convoys .
A European Union naval force says Somali pirates have released a Thailand-flagged fishing vessel they had held since last October .
The EU anti-piracy mission ( EU NAVFOR ) says pirates Sunday released the Thai Union 3 from the port of Harardhere after the payment of a ransom .
The size and source of the payment was not disclosed .
The fishing vessel has a crew of 23 Russians , two Filipinos , and two men from Ghana .
The ship 's captain was wounded when pirates hijacked the boat October 29 in Indian Ocean , north of the Seychelles islands .
Somali pirates have made tens of millions of dollars hijacking ships for ransom over the past few years .
On Saturday , the EU force confirmed that pirates had hijacked a Norwegian chemical tanker with a 21-member Burmese crew .
The UBT Ocean was traveling from the United Arab Emirates to Tanzania when it was seized .
An Iraqi Kurd has told the court trying Saddam Hussein that in 1988 Iraqi troops shot dead dozens of Kurdish prisoners and then dumped them into a mass grave .
The witness said he was among the prisoners , but he escaped by pretending he was dead and later climbed out of the grave in the desert of western Iraq .
Following Tuesday 's testimony from five Kurdish witnesses , the judge adjourned proceedings until November 7 .
The trial of the former Iraqi leader and six co-defendants involves the so-called Anfal campaign .
Prosecutors say Saddam 's forces killed 1,80,000 Kurdish civilians in 1988 .
A verdict in Saddam 's first trial for the killing of Shi'ites is expected November 5 .
He faces the death penalty for allegedly ordering the deaths of 148 Shi'ite villagers .
Iran 's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dismissed international condemnation of his call for Israel to be " wiped off the map " , saying his controversial remarks were " right and just . "
The official IRNA news agency quoted Mr. Ahmadinejad Friday as saying international scorn had no validity .
He said his words express the views of the Iranian people .
Tens of thousands of Iranians staged anti-Israel protests across the country today , trampling on Israeli and American flags and chanting " death to Israel . "
The latest events came amid Israeli calls for Iran 's expulsion from the United Nations .
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday the rights of all states in the Middle East to live in peace will top the agenda of his upcoming visit to Iran .
Mr. Ahmadinejad made his controversial remarks Wednesday at a Tehran conference called " The World Without Zionism . "
Astronomers using the giant Keck One telescope atop a volcano in Hawaii have discovered a thermal hot spot on Saturn .
Infrared images show a warm polar vortex swirling at Saturn 's south pole , and scientists say the hot spot has the highest temperatures on the planet .
A polar vortex is a large-scale weather pattern , similar to a jet stream in Earth 's upper atmosphere .
Polar vortices found on Earth , Mars , Venus and Jupiter are significantly colder than their surroundings .
Saturn 's hot spot is the first warm polar vortex ever seen in our solar system .
The Pentagon has confirmed that some military commanders in Iraq may have been made aware of possible cases of prisoner abuse throughout the country before mistreatment at the Abu Ghraib prison was uncovered .
A Pentagon spokesman Wednesday said he did not know which military commanders were given a confidential report citing alleged mistreatment of Iraqi detainees by a joint CIA-military team .
The Washington Post newspaper says the report was given to several generals and the top U.S. intelligence officer in Iraq in December 2003 , about one month before a different report uncovered abuse at Baghdad 's Abu Ghraib prison .
The Post says the confidential report alleges the joint CIA-military team known as the TF-121 was physically abusing detainees and using a secret interrogation facility to hide its activities .
The Pentagon said the allegations were taken " very seriously . "
Sri Lankan authorities are investigating a grenade explosion in Trincomalee that killed five young Tamils and injured two others Monday .
Military spokesmen say the incident was a botched attempt to ambush a military patrol , and that victims of the blast may have been associated with Tamil rebel groups .
No government soldiers were injured .
A pro-rebel Internet site , Tamilnet says the victims , all teenaged students , were at a popular beachside gathering spot Monday evening when unidentified men tossed explosives into a crowd .
Trincomalee , the major city in northeastern Sri Lanka , is under government control , but Tamil rebels based in nearby jungles have staged frequent operations in the area .
A truce in 2002 halted decades of conflict between Sri Lankan government forces and the country 's separatist Tamils , but the cease-fire has been threatened by recent outbreaks of violence .
Iran has formally withdrawn its demand to exempt some equipment from an international deal freezing its controversial uranium enrichment efforts .
The withdrawal agreement came Sunday in a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna .
Western diplomats say the new agreement appears to have averted a showdown with the IAEA over Iran 's demand to exempt about 20 nuclear centrifuges from a pact reached earlier with European governments .
Diplomats from Britain , France and Germany , who brokered the freeze , had threatened to drop opposition to possible U.N. sanctions if Iran reneged on the signed deal banning all uranium enrichment activities .
Under the original deal , Tehran was to have maintained the freeze while the IAEA investigates U.S. allegations that Iran is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons .
Iran has repeatedly denied the charges .
An explosion rocked Baghdad Monday as U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney arrived for an unannounced visit .
Few details have been released about the blast that occurred shortly after Cheney arrived today .
The vice president is expected to meet with Iraqi leaders and U.S. military officials while in Baghdad .
Cheney 's stop in Iraq is part of a Middle East tour that will take him to Oman , Saudi Arabia , Israel , the West Bank and Turkey .
During his 10-day tour he will cover many issues , including advancing the Mideast peace process , the situations in Lebanon and Syria , Iran 's rising influence in the region and soaring gasoline prices in the United States .
U.S. Senator and presidential candidate John McCain is also in Baghdad to meet with Iraqi and U.S. officials .
Pakistan says a series of explosions in the restive southwestern Baluchistan province has seriously wounded a soldier and damaged railway tracks and communications and power lines .
Officials say two bomb blasts early Thursday in Mastung and Dera Ghazi Khan , located south and west of the provincial capital , Quetta , damaged railway tracks , causing train delays but no injuries .
Another explosion destroyed a high voltage power line in Naushki area southwest of Quetta , disrupting electricity supplies throughout the area .
And , in a remote Kohlu district , a rocket struck the tower of a telephone exchange , cutting phone lines to thousands of customers .
Hours later , a soldier was seriously hurt in a land mine explosion while he was escorting a team of engineers to repair the tower .
President Bush says the United States and Pakistan are allies in fighting terrorism and laying the foundation of lasting peace in the world .
At a banquet in Islamabad in his honor , Mr. Bush said once peace is won , the two partners will share it together .
He said Pakistan should take further steps in advancing democracy , education and social development .
President Musharraf said Pakistan is firmly on the path of economic growth and seeks US help in enhancing it .
He said Pakistan lies at the crossroads of South , West and Central Asia and has the potential of becoming the hub of economic activity .
He said the two countries share the common values of discouraging hate and extremism and promoting inter-faith harmony .
General Musharraf also said the ongoing peace process with India is conducive to finding a solution of the decades-old Kashmir problem .
Royal Dutch Shell says a fire has broken out at one of its oil wells in southern Nigeria .
Shell says firefighters are battling the blaze on a wellhead in the Cawthorne Channel , south of the city of Port Harcourt .
The company says it had to close a flow station , cutting production by almost 38,000 barrels a day .
A spokesman for the oil giant says the cause of the fire is unknown .
The blaze comes one day after a local militant group , the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta threatened to renew attacks against oil installations in the region .
The group said the Nigerian military used a Shell airstrip to launch a helicopter attack .
The military said it attacked barges used by oil smugglers , while the militants said the attack targeted ethnic Ijaw communities .
Militant attacks forced Shell to close other flow stations last month .
The World Bank hopes to raise more than one billion dollars to fight bird flu at a global conference that opens in Beijing Tuesday .
The World Bank has said up to 1.4 billion dollars are needed to combat the deadly virus in developing countries .
A bank official , Jim Adams , says he expects most of the target will be met .
Delegates from more than 80 countries will attend the two-day event .
The money raised will help countries improve health services for flu victims and contain outbreaks among birds .
Meanwhile , medical tests in Indonesia show a 13-year-old girl has died of bird flu , and two other members of her family may also have been infected .
If the girl is confirmed to have died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu , Indonesia 's death toll from the virus would rise to 13 .
The White House says U.S. President George Bush and first lady Laura Bush will attend the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Beijing .
That announcement Thursday is the first confirmation of the president 's plans to attend the August 8 ceremony , despite calls from some U.S. lawmakers and activists for a boycott .
Mr. Bush also will travel to Thailand and South Korea during the August trip .
In South Korea , he will meet with President Lee Myung-bak to discuss ratification of a bilateral free trade agreement .
The U.S. president also will hold talks with senior leaders during his stops in Bangkok and Beijing .
OPEC oil ministers have agreed to prop up sliding oil prices by cutting production by one million barrels a day .
The decision in Cairo Friday comes amid a drop in oil prices from an all-time high of more than $ 55 in mid-October to more than $ 40 now .
OPEC countries had been producing above their quota to meet a strong demand that sent prices to record highs .
The delegates decided to leave the current quota of 27 million barrels a day unchanged .
OPEC fears prices will slide further if inventories rise too fast .
The ministers say cuts will not take effect immediately , because many producers have already agreed to January supplies .
Hundreds of Islamist students in Egypt have marched at three of the country 's universities to call for democratic reforms .
The demonstrators Sunday called on the government to ease restrictions on political activities at universities , and to allow free and fair student elections .
The protests took place on the campuses of Cairo , Ein Shams and Azhar universities .
Many of the protesters were supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood movement .
U.S. Senate committee hearings have begun for Judge Samuel Alito on his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court .
Earlier Monday , President Bush called on U.S. senators to give Alito a " fair and dignified " hearing .
The president had breakfast with his nominee and appeared briefly with him in the White House Rose Garden .
The conservative nominee is expected to face tough questioning from members of the Senate Judiciary committee .
Opposition Democrats , as well as some members of President Bush 's own Republican party , plan to question Alito on his views about presidential powers granted under the U.S. Constitution .
The issue has gained attention since President Bush 's recent admission he authorized U.S. intelligence agencies to monitor telephone calls and emails between people inside the United States and abroad without seeking permission from a special court .
There may be an economic slowdown in the United States now , but some areas of the country continue to boom .
One such place is the capital of the western state of Texas , Austin , which remains popular with high tech companies as well as artists , musicians and filmmakers .
But , as VOA 's Greg Flakus reports from Austin , some longtime residents are worried that the rapid growth threatens a quality of life they call " weird . "
Pakistani officials say a suicide bombing at a funeral for a policeman killed earlier in the day has left at least 27 people dead in the country 's restive northwest .
Police say scores of others were wounded during the latest attack - which took place late Friday as hundreds of mourners gathered in the town of Mingora in the tourist region of Swat Valley .
The police officer died earlier in the day after a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle near North Waziristan 's restive tribal region .
At least two other policemen were killed in the explosion .
Pakistani security forces have been battling Taliban-linked militants in the region , but did not say who was behind Friday 's two attacks .
Indian police have detained the editor of a Hindi-language magazine after he republished Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that have angered Muslims worldwide .
Officials said Thursday that Alok Tomar , editor of Senior India was taken to a police station in the capital , New Delhi .
India 's government has warned the national media not to publish anything that hurts the feelings of any religious community .
Associates of Tomar told the Associated Press that the magazine had no intention of offending Muslims .
The publication of the Muhammad cartoons first by a Danish newspaper and then by some European newspapers sparked protests and riots around the world , in which dozens of people have died in recent weeks .
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to approve John Bolton , President Bush 's controversial pick for ambassador to the United Nations .
Opposition Democrats want to delay the vote so they can further investigate allegations that Mr. Bolton threatened subordinates and withheld information from superiors in his role as undersecretary of state for arms control .
But committee chairman Richard Lugar said in a statement today that it is time for the panel to make a decision .
He said the concerns raised about Mr. Bolton do not warrant rejection of the nomination .
Mr. Bolton has denied the allegations .
Republicans control the committee by a 10-to-eight margin .
If approved by the committee , Mr. Bolton 's nomination goes to the full Senate for a vote .
Brazil says it will repay its entire $ 15.5 billion debt to the International Monetary Fund early , a move lauded by IMF officials .
In Sao Paulo Tuesday , Finance Minister Antonio Palocci said the payment will come from the country 's reserves and be paid before the end of the year .
He said it will save the South American country more than $ 900 million in interest costs .
IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato said the move reflects the excellent track record of policy management by Brasilia .
He said the early payment also indicates the growing strength of Brazil 's economy , especially in improving trade and current account surpluses as well as strong inflows of capital into the country .
The early repayment represents an economic turnaround for Brazil , which in 2002 obtained an unprecedented loan from the IMF to avoid a massive default on its debt .
Brazil is South America 's largest economy .
Bosnia 's top war crimes court has indicted four former Bosnian Serb soldiers in connection with the worst massacre on European soil since World War II .
The court Friday charged the four suspects with killing 800 Muslim men and boys as part of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre .
Prosecutors say the soldiers carried out the executions at a farm just outside of Srebrenica with " the aim of destroying a national , ethnic and religious group . "
All four suspects were arrested earlier this year .
The Bosnian war crimes court has put dozens of Bosnian Serbs on trial for complicity in the Srebrenica killings , including former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic .
About 8,000 Muslim men and boys died during the massacre at the United Nations-protected enclave .
People in China , Korea , Vietnam and elsewhere are ringing in the Lunar New Year Sunday with street celebrations , decorations and gifts .
The 15-day holiday , which is the single most important holiday for Chinese people , is the start of the Year of the Dog .
In Beijing , authorities lifted a 12-year ban on exploding fireworks .
The Beijing Daily newspaper said about three thousand police officers are patrolling downtown areas in case of fire and accidents .
During the new year celebrations , people often give gifts to family and friends .
Animal protection groups are urging people not to give dogs , fearing the animals will end up abandoned .
In Vietnam , the new year is known as " Tet . "
This year , the official media reported a 30 percent increase in the number of foreign tourists arriving just before the holiday .
Rebel forces in Colombia killed 28 soldiers Tuesday in the deadliest assault on government troops in years .
The attack happened near the town of Vista Hermosa , south of the capital city of Bogota , near an area controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia , or FARC .
Military officials say the soldiers were guarding workers as they destroyed crops of coca , the plant used to make cocaine .
The 17,000 strong FARC , along with a smaller guerilla group known as the ELN , has been engaged in a deadly 40-year civil war to topple the government .
It funds its operations mainly through drug trafficking .
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe , who is running for re-election in next May 's presidential vote , has stepped up military efforts against FARC forces in the region .
A series of bomb blasts at the site of a controversial dam project in a remote part of Burma has destroyed cars and buildings and wounded one man .
Officials said the Saturday explosions took place in the early hours of the morning at four locations where the Myitsone Dam is under construction in the country 's northernmost Kachin State .
Authorities say one person sustained slight injuries in the attacks .
Environmental and rights activists have campaigned against the dam .
When built , the dam is expected to create a reservoir flooding an area the size of New York City , covering dozens of villages and holy sites and displacing thousands of local people .
Members of an Iraqi committee charged with drafting a new constitution are meeting Sunday to consider requesting an extension for drawing up the document .
The committee is facing a Monday deadline for making such a request to parliament , or the current date of August 15 stands as the day Iraq 's National Assembly must approve the charter to face a national referendum in mid-October .
Ahead of today 's meeting , committee Chairman Humam Hammoudi is reported by Associated Press to have said he would recommend that the group ask for an additional 30 days to complete a draft document .
Other committee members say no decision has yet been made .
Iraqi legislators have been grappling over constitutional issues such as federalism , dual nationality and the role of Islam .
U.S. officials have been pushing Iraq to move ahead with the constitution .
Authorities in Nepal say gunmen have shot and killed a priest who was the kingdom 's representative on the World Hindu Council .
Police report that Narayan Pokhrel was attacked early Friday in southwestern Nepal , and that one of the priest 's aides was wounded .
Mr. Pokhrel was a popular religious leader in Nepal , who population is predominantly Hindu .
Today had been the final day of a trip he was making through southwestern parts of the Himalayan nation , holding religious ceremonies and seeking financial assistance for charitable groups .
The motive for the priest 's killing is unclear , but one account quotes his nephew as saying that Mr. Pokhrel was gunned down by members of Nepal 's Maoist rebels .
Mexican President Vicente Fox has appointed intelligence chief Eduardo Medina Mora as public security minister to replace his predecessor who died in a helicopter crash last week .
Mr. Medina Mora will take the position of Ramon Martin Huerta who died last Wednesday when the helicopter he was traveling in crashed in mountains near the capital .
At least seven other people on board were also killed , including Federal Preventive Police chief Tomas Valencia .
Earlier this week , President Fox named General Eduardo Martinez to take over Mr. Valencia 's position .
Mexican government officials say all available evidence suggests bad weather caused the helicopter crash .
The Swedish Academy announces the 2005 Nobel Prize in Literature Thursday as members of the institution face a dispute over last year 's choice .
The panel announced the date for this year 's award Tuesday , the same day academy member Knut Ahnlund stepped down after criticizing the writing of last year 's winner , Elfriede Jelinek .
Her work includes frank descriptions of sexuality and conflict between men and women .
Mr. Ahnlund said that selection irreparably damaged the award 's reputation .
But academy head Horace Engdahl dismissed the criticism and said Mr. Ahnlund has not taken part in the award discussions since 1996 .
On Monday , American Thomas Schelling and Israeli-American Robert Aumann won the 2005 Nobel Prize in Economics for their work in understanding conflict and cooperation .
Elton John celebrated his 60th birthday on stage Sunday March 25 , making a record-breaking 60th appearance in New York City 's Madison Square Garden .
Wearing rose-tinted glasses and a black tail coat , the singer-songwriter performed more than 30 hit songs spanning more than four decades .
He recalled two of his most memorable appearances at the storied Manhattan venue : a 1974 date in which John Lennon joined him on stage for the last time , and a performance following the terrorist attacks of September 11 , 2001 .
Elton John 's longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin serenaded him with a chorus of " Happy Birthday , " accompanied by comedians Robin Williams and Whoopie Goldberg .
Elton ended his concert with his first hit single , " Your Song . "
He has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide .
The presidents of Brazil and Bolivia have vowed to resolve their differences over La Paz 's nationalization of its energy industry .
Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Evo Morales of Bolivia met Saturday in Vienna on the sidelines of the European Union-Latin America summit .
Mr. Morales says the neighboring South American nations are allies , and he blamed the media for portraying them as adversaries .
The Bolivian president also says his government will continue to negotiate with Brazil 's state-owned energy giant Petrobras about continuing to operate in Bolivia .
Mr. Morales nationalized Bolivia 's energy sector May 1 , and gave foreign energy companies 180 days to agree to new contracts with the state-owned firm .
He triggered further concerns Thursday when he said foreign oil companies may not be compensated for revenues that have been nationalized .
The U.S. economy has a net loss of 1,59,000 jobs in September , the biggest drop in five years .
Friday 's report from the Labor Department also says the unemployment rate held steady at 6.1 percent .
This report shows more job losses than economists predicted .
This is the last unemployment report scheduled to be published before the presidential election at a time when many voters say the economy is their major concern .
The figures on job losses are based on a government survey of tens of thousands of households .
The jobless rate comes from a separate survey of hundreds of thousands of businesses .
Uganda has dropped criminal charges against a U.S. evangelist and has instead ordered his deportation .
Peter Waldron was arrested in February after police found assault weapons and ammunition in his home .
He was charged with weapons possession under the country 's terrorism law .
Waldron has denied being a terrorist .
Prosecutors have not disclosed the reason for dropping the case .
Pakistan says it has successfully launched a ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead up to 2,000 kilometers , the longest range rocket Islamabad has yet tested .
Officials say the Shaheen II missile developed in Pakistan hit its target .
The rocket is said to be capable of carrying all types of conventional and nuclear warheads .
The military says President Pervez Musharraf watched Saturday 's launch , which took place at an undisclosed location .
In a statement , General Musharraf vowed to further upgrade Pakistan 's nuclear capability , but with strict adherence to non-proliferation .
Pakistan and arch-rival India routinely conduct missile tests after informing each other .
Saturday 's test came two days after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Islamabad and urged a continuation of the peace process between Pakistan and India .
European Union foreign ministers are meeting in emergency session Sunday to try to break a deadlock over membership talks with Turkey one day before those talks are scheduled to begin .
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw says he understands some nations ' concerns , but abandoning the talks would be a " failure " for the EU .
Austria insists the talks with Ankara should include an alternative to giving Turkey full EU membership .
Turkey opposes this .
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that EU leaders must decide whether the trading bloc will become a global power , or remain what he called a " Christian club . "
Negotiations for admitting mainly Muslim Turkey are expected to take up to 10 years .
New members of the EU must be approved by all 25 member states .
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has strongly denied U.S. charges that he is supporting Colombian rebels or trying to destabilize other countries in South America .
Mr. Chavez Thursday accused the United States of spreading lies and said he wants U.S. officials to prove their recent charges .
U.S. State Department officials say they have mounting evidence that Venezuela - the world 's fifth-largest oil exporter - uses its wealth to buy weapons for guerrillas in Colombia .
Mr. Chavez called the United States a " terrorist state . "
Venezuela is a key oil supplier to the United States .
But Mr. Chavez - a frequent critic of the United States - has been developing closer political and energy alliances with South American countries , China , Russia , India and Iran .
Angola 's government says 93 people , mostly children , have died from an unidentified fever that is similar to the deadly Ebola virus .
Deputy Health Minister Jose van Dunem said Monday that 101 cases of the mysterious illness have been reported at a hospital in northern Uige province .
Local officials are looking for two people diagnosed with the illness who left the hospital .
Mr. Van Dunem says initial tests have ruled out several common diseases , including Ebola .
But he says Angolan officials are awaiting the results of a second Ebola test from the United States .
The World Health Organization has set up a task force to begin studying the deadly fever , which involves vomiting and bloody discharges .
In recent years , Ebola outbreaks have killed hundreds of people in central and southern Africa .
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf says al-Qaida terrorists , Taleban fighters and Kashmiri militants have a formed what he called a " very dangerous " nexus .
In an interview broadcast Monday on the American television network , ABC , Mr. Musharraf said the links among the groups mean officials must work to resolve the ongoing separatist conflict in Kashmir .
The president also said Pakistan 's army continues to look for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden while battling al-Qaida and Taleban forces inside Pakistan .
He told ABC News that 80,000 Pakistani troops are involved in the effort .
Mr. Musharraf said Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently gave him a list of names and telephone numbers of suspected Taleban allies living in Pakistan , but he said most of the leads were dead ends .
President Bush visits Pakistan and India this week .
Iranian television is reporting that there has been a large explosion near the southwestern port city of Daylam in Bushehr province .
It was not immediately clear what caused the blast , but residents reported seeing an aircraft overhead .
State television says the explosion may have been caused by a fuel tank dropping from an Iranian airplane .
Iran and Russia are building a nuclear reactor in Bushehr , about 150 kilometers south of where Wednesday 's explosion occurred .
Visiting Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is to sign a deal Wednesday , to sell Venezuela patrol boats and transport planes .
Officials in Caracas say the proposed deal is to include 10 C-295 transport planes , four coastal patrol corvettes , and four smaller patrol boats .
The Associated Press quotes Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as saying the patrol boats in particular will help in the fight against drug trafficking .
On Tuesday , Mr. Zapatero , Mr. Chavez and leaders of Brazil and Colombia held a one-day summit in Puerto Ordaz , Venezuela to discuss trade , political alliances and terrorism .
The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - is slowly recovering from decades of decline .
Systemic corruption since independence in 1960 and conflict that began in May 1997 has dramatically reduced national output and government revenue , increased external debt , and resulted in the deaths of more than 5 million people from violence , famine , and disease .
Foreign businesses curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict , lack of infrastructure , and the difficult operating environment .
Conditions began to improve in late 2002 with the withdrawal of a large portion of the invading foreign troops .
The transitional government reopened relations with international financial institutions and international donors , and President KABILA began implementing reforms .
Progress has been slow and the International Monetary Fund curtailed their program for the DRC at the end of March 2006 because of fiscal overruns .
Much economic activity still occurs in the informal sector , and is not reflected in GDP data .
Renewed activity in the mining sector , the source of most export income , boosted Kinshasa 's fiscal position and GDP growth from 2006 - 2008 , however , the government 's review of mining contracts that began in 2006 , combined with a fall in world market prices for the DRC 's key mineral exports temporarily weakened output in 2009 , leading to a balance of payments crisis .
The recovery in mineral prices beginning in mid 2009 boosted mineral exports , and emergency funds from the IMF boosted foreign reserves .
An uncertain legal framework , corruption , and a lack of transparency in government policy are long-term problems for the mining sector and for the economy as a whole .
The global recession cut economic growth in 2009 to less than half its 2008 level , but growth returned to 6 % in 2010 .
The DRC signed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF in 2009 and received $ 12 billion in multilateral and bilateral debt relief in 2010 .
The economy , one of the world 's smallest and least developed , is based on agriculture and forestry , which provide the main livelihood for more than 60 % of the population .
Agriculture consists largely of subsistence farming and animal husbandry .
Rugged mountains dominate the terrain and make the building of roads and other infrastructure difficult and expensive .
The economy is closely aligned with India 's through strong trade and monetary links and dependence on India 's financial assistance .
The industrial sector is technologically backward , with most production of the cottage industry type .
Most development projects , such as road construction , rely on Indian migrant labor .
Model education , social , and environment programs are underway with support from multilateral development organizations .
Each economic program takes into account the government 's desire to protect the country 's environment and cultural traditions .
For example , the government , in its cautious expansion of the tourist sector , encourages visits by upscale , environmentally conscientious tourists .
Complicated controls and uncertain policies in areas such as industrial licensing , trade , labor , and finance continue to hamper foreign investment .
Hydropower exports to India have boosted Bhutan 's overall growth .
New hydropower projects will be the driving force behind Bhutan 's ability to create employment and sustain growth in the coming years .
The islands have the potential for oil and gas development .
Waters around the islands support commercial fishing , but the islands themselves are not populated on a permanent basis .
Brunei has a small well-to-do economy that encompasses a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship , government regulation , welfare measures , and village tradition .
Crude oil and natural gas production account for just over half of GDP and more than 90 % of exports .
Per capita GDP is among the highest in Asia , and substantial income from overseas investment supplements income from domestic production .
The government provides for all medical services and free education through the university level and subsidizes rice and housing .
A new monetary authority was established in January 2011 with responsibilities that include monetary policy , monitoring of financial institutions , and currency trading activities .
AN ASS feeding in a meadow saw a Wolf approaching to seize him , and immediately pretended to be lame .
The Wolf , coming up , inquired the cause of his lameness .
The Ass replied that passing through a hedge he had trod with his foot upon a sharp thorn .
He requested that the Wolf pull it out , lest when he ate him it should injure his throat .
The Wolf consented and lifted up the foot , and was giving his whole mind to the discovery of the thorn , when the Ass , with his heels , kicked his teeth into his mouth and galloped away .
The Wolf , being thus fearfully mauled , said , " I am rightly served , for why did I attempt the art of healing , when my father only taught me the trade of a butcher ? '
A FOX invited a Crane to supper and provided nothing for his entertainment but some soup made of pulse , which was poured out into a broad flat stone dish .
The soup fell out of the long bill of the Crane at every mouthful , and his vexation at not being able to eat afforded the Fox much amusement .
The Crane , in his turn , asked the Fox to sup with him , and set before her a flagon with a long narrow mouth , so that he could easily insert his neck and enjoy its contents at his leisure .
The Fox , unable even to taste it , met with a fitting requital , after the fashion of her own hospitality .
Dad 's pager went off , summoning him to the hospital , where he is an anesthetist .
As he raced toward the hospital , a patrol car sped up behind him -- lights flashing .
Dad hung his stethoscope out the window to signal that he was on an emergency call .
Within seconds , came the police officer 's hand in response , dangling a pair of handcuffs out the window .
Australian Justice Minister Chris Ellison says an Australian terror suspect at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba should not be repatriated until he is tried by U.S. authorities .
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday the United States would rather have detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp imprisoned by their home countries .
But Mr. Ellison said Friday he does not want suspected terrorist David Hicks to return to Australia until the U.S. justice system had dealt with him .
Mr. Ellison said Australia would have no choice but to release Mr. Hicks without charge because counter-terrorism laws introduced after the September 11 , 2001 attacks on the United States were not retroactive .
However , Mr. Ellison called for a speedy trial for the terror suspect .
Thousands of British Muslims have marched Saturday in London to protest cartoons in Danish newspapers depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist .
Reports from the scene say the London march was peaceful and that demonstrators appealed for calm .
Officials say Muslim protests also planned in Paris and other European cities .
Meanwhile , the Danish foreign ministry says it has temporarily pulled diplomats from their posts in Iran , Indonesia and Syria after receiving threats .
The Danish embassy in Syria was ransacked last week by protesters angered by the cartoons .
Local media reports say Muslim demonstrations continued Saturday in Indonesia and Bangladesh .
Protests were held Friday in cities across the Middle East as well as in India , Pakistan , Afghanistan , Malaysia , Venezuela and Kenya .
The top NATO commander in Afghanistan says hardfought gains by alliance troops this year could be lost , if Afghan security forces fail to hold ground seized from the Taleban .
In a British radio interview ( BBC ) , U.S. General Dan McNeill said NATO forces have had success this year in driving Taleban fighters from the valleys of Afghanistan 's southern Helmand province .
But McNeill says the Afghan national security forces have not been as successful in holding the captured territory .
He says there is a chance the Taleban could return to the area in coming months , forcing NATO troops to do the clearing work again .
The NATO forces in the opium-producing southern province are mostly British troops .
They say they have recaptured much of the Helmand River valley from the Taleban over the last six months .
President Bush says he is starting the process of picking the cabinet and White House staff for his second term in office .
Mr. Bush , spending the weekend at the presidential retreat , Camp David , in Maryland , did not indicate what changes he is considering for his team .
U.S. media reports , however , say Attorney General John Ashcroft could depart before Mr. Bush is sworn in for a second term in January .
Others reported to be considering leaving include Secretary of State Colin Powell and Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge .
Also Friday , Iowa , the final undeclared state from Tuesday 's elections , announced Mr. Bush won the state 's popular vote .
With the addition of the midwestern state of Iowa 's seven electoral votes , the president won 286 electoral votes to Senator John Kerry 's 252 .
The State Department has issued a public announcement alerting Americans to recent terrorist attacks in Egypt .
Egyptian soldiers surrounded site where two women opened fire at tour bus in Cairo , Saturday Wednesday 's announcement comes less than a week after terrorists staged two separate attacks in Cairo - one outside the Egyptian museum and the other on a bus carrying tourists .
All three assailants were killed and at least nine people were wounded .
The incidents were part of a string of attacks on tourist sites in Egypt since 2004 .
The State Department says American citizens should maintain heightened awareness while traveling in Egypt .
Turkey 's prime minister says he will quit politics if his ruling Justice and Development party does not win enough seats to form a government alone in Sunday 's elections .
Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the statement Tuesday during a campaign appearance in southern Turkey .
Opinion polls indicate his ruling party will win Sunday 's parliamentary elections .
Mr. Erdogan also challenged his political rivals to make a similar pledge .
In other news , unidentified gunmen killed a Turkish parliamentary candidate in Istanbul .
Turkish media say 42-year-old businessman Tuncay Seyranlioglu was shot in his car late Monday .
Three other people were wounded .
The motive for the attack was not immediately known .
Seyranlioglu was running as an independent in Sunday 's elections .
Seven years ago , the U.S. was struck by the most devastating terrorist attack in its history .
The news media responded to the events of September 11 , 2001 , providing live coverage as events unfolded in a tireless and sometimes heroic fashion .
That reporting is on display in a special gallery at Washington 's Newseum , a museum dedicated to journalism .
VOA 's Tabinda Naeem has more on the exhibit depicting many of the challenges faced that day by the media .
Jim Bertel narrates .
Iraqi police say a double-bombing Wednesday in central Baghdad has killed at least six people and wounded at least 41 others .
Police say a car bomb went off near a traffic police station a few kilometers from where British Prime Minister Gordon Brown met with Iraqi officials .
Moments later , a second bomb exploded nearby .
On Monday , Iraqi police said a bomb killed at least eight policemen at a checkpoint west of Baghdad .
A U.S. government report says Iraq 's police force has accepted recruits with criminal backgrounds and even insurgents , due to poor screening procedures .
The report based on a study by the inspectors general at the Defense and State Departments was released late Monday .
It says there is sufficient evidence to conclude that terrorists or insurgents have infiltrated the ranks of Iraqi police .
It criticizes coalition military personnel for not being able to properly find and screen candidates for the police force .
It says although Iraqi police officers are increasingly visible on the streets , the effort to build up the forces has been a " qualified success . "
Pentagon officials say they are addressing most of the concerns raised by the study , which ended in April , and that police recruiting and training have improved since then .
Venezuela President Hugo Chavez signed a pact with a group of predominately leftist mayors in Nicaragua on Tuesday to provide their communities with cheap oil .
Under the accord , Venezuela will supply oil to the Nicaraguan towns at favorable terms .
While signing the agreement with the mayors at Venezuela 's presidential palace , Mr. Chavez also threw his weight behind leftist candidate and Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega in the upcoming Nicaraguan presidential election .
The oil deal is similar to ones Mr. Chavez has signed with other Latin American and Caribbean countries .
Mr. Chavez indicated Tuesday that the Nicaraguan pact is part of a larger agenda to provide an alternative to trade agreements with the United States .
The main militant group responsible for a string of recent attacks in Nigeria 's southern oil-producing Niger Delta region says it has sabotaged another pipeline belonging to the British-Dutch Shell oil company .
In an e-mailed statement , the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta says its fighters attacked the pipeline late Thursday .
It would be the fourth Shell pipeline the group has attacked this month .
Shell officials have not confirmed the incident .
Militants and gangs began attacking oil facilities in the Delta in late 2005 to demand that more oil revenue be directed to impoverished local residents .
The attacks have reduced Nigeria 's daily oil output by an estimated 20 percent .
The loss of production has contributed to the spike in world oil prices .
In Major League Baseball , the Houston Astros have signed All-Star pitcher Roger Clemens to a one-year , $ 18-million deal making him the highest paid pitcher in the game .
Clemens 's deal tied outfielders Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds for the fourth-highest average salary in the major leagues .
The right hander , 42 , helped the Astros reach the National League Championship Series in 2004 .
He won 18 games and lost four with an earned run average of 2.98 and 218 strikeouts .
Clemens also won the Cy Young award for pitching excellence for the seventh time in his career .
A security scare rippled through the embassies of Japan , Thailand and Germany in Malaysia Tuesday after what police called suspicious packages were received at the facilities .
Officials in Kuala Lumpur say Japan 's embassy was evacuated after receiving a package containing a liquid substance .
Kuala Lumpur Police Chief Mustafa Abdullah said the liquid appeared to be a harmless oil .
The embassy has since been given the all clear .
Mr. Mustafa said similar packages were sent to the Thai and German embassies .
It is not immediately clear if the packages were part of a hoax .
India and Sri Lanka say peace talks with Tamil rebels should resume soon to prevent the island nation from plunging back into civil war .
The joint call was made after Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi and briefed him about his government 's efforts to restart the talks .
An Indian spokesman said both countries agreed about the need to strengthen the almost three-year-old cease-fire , which is becoming fragile .
The stalemate is on the place of the peace talks .
Sri Lanka 's government wants to hold them in an Asian country , the rebels want them in Norway .
Norway , which brokered the cease-fire , is also urging the two sides to meet immediately to prevent a return to civil war .
Norwegian negotiator Erik Solheim said the recent surge in violence has put Sri Lanka 's truce at risk .
French officials say European Union defense ministers are moving towards a plan to phase out the EU peacekeeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina .
Several French diplomats said Wednesday that a majority of EU ministers now support scaling back the EU operation in Bosnia .
The officials spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity after they sat in on an informal meeting of defense ministers in the French city of Deauville .
France currently holds the rotating EU presidency .
A formal decision on the matter is not expected before November 10 , when defense ministers hold a formal summit in Brussels .
The diplomats say the present EU force will likely be replaced by a civilian operation .
NATO peacekeepers were deployed to Bosnia as part of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords that ended the fighting in the former Yugoslavia .
NATO turned over peacekeeping duties to the European Union in 2004 .
Afghan officials say fierce fighting has erupted between government security forces and Taleban rebels a day after U.S. airstrikes killed as many as 20 suspected militants in southern Afghanistan .
Gunbattles early Monday have left 11 Taleban guerillas dead , along with a local government official and a member of Afghanistan 's security force .
On Sunday , the U.S. military said it had killed 15 to 20 suspected Taleban fighters in an airstrike after coalition forces came under small arms and rocket fire .
Violence in the south and east regions of Afghanistan has increased in the last three months .
Palestinian officials say hundreds of Palestinian security personnel will begin deploying along the Gaza border Friday , in a push to stop militant rocket and mortar fire at Israeli targets in the area .
The move follows late-night negotiations between senior Israeli and Palestinian security and military officials .
The resumption of bilateral talks appears to have averted a threatened Israeli military offensive in Gaza .
For its part , Israel says it will reopen the main border crossing between Gaza and Egypt .
The Rafah crossing was closed last month , after Palestinian militants killed five Israeli soldiers at a nearby army post .
Meanwhile , in the West Bank , Israeli troops shot and killed a 12-year-old boy near Jenin , after apparently mistaking his toy gun for a real weapon .
In southern Gaza , Palestinians say another youth was hit and killed by Israeli gunfire while standing in the street near his house .
VOA 's Ray Kouguell interviewed Professor of Architecture , Mary Comerio , University of California , Berkeley about Haiti earthquake rehabilitation in the months ahead .
Professor Comerio talks about the scope of re-building , the long-range outlook for recovery and how Haiti 's devastation compares with other similar earthquake disasters .
Landslides and heavy rains triggered by a powerful typhoon in the eastern Philippines have killed more than 100 people , with several others missing .
At least 20 were killed when a mudslide poured down from the Mount Mayon volcano in the village of Padang , some 350 kilometers southeast of the capital , Manila .
Authorities say they fear the death toll may rise .
Deaths have been reported in several other areas in Albay province , including the towns of Daraga and Santo Domingo .
Typhoon Durian lashed the island of Catanduanes on Thursday with winds of up to 190 kilometers an hour , and gusts up to 225 kilometers an hour .
The typhoon tore up trees , cut electricity in coastal areas and forced hundreds of residents to flee to higher ground .
The typhoon has since weakened and is moving near Mindoro island , south of Manila , with winds of 150 kilometers per hour .
Kuwaiti authorities say the alleged leader of a terrorist group has died after suffering a heart attack while in custody .
Officials said Amer Al-Enezi died late Tuesday .
He was captured when Kuwaiti security forces stormed a suspected terrorist hideout near Kuwait City about two weeks ago .
Four Islamic militants were killed and three others were captured during the January 31 raid .
Officials described the alleged ringleader as a former mosque preacher and a reputed al-Qaida figure .
Kuwaiti security forces have recently stepped up efforts to combat Islamic militants in the emirate who are plotting to attack U.S. troops and other Westerners .
Kuwait is a staging area for American forces in Iraq .
Hundreds of supporters of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr demonstrated Saturday , in front of government buildings in the relatively quiet southern cities of Basra , Amarah and Kut .
They were demanding an end to electricity and gasoline shortages .
In Baghdad , at least three mortar shells exploded near the heavily protected Green Zone , causing no casualties , but scattering journalists who were arriving for a security briefing .
South of Baghdad , the U.S. military says a U.S. Marine was killed Saturday , while on patrol in Babil province .
And in a separate development , the Iraqi Defense Ministry confirmed a news report that an Iraqi woman trained by Saddam Hussein loyalists in Syria intended to kill the defense minister .
The woman collapsed in the minister 's office before carrying out her mission .
Afghan police say suspected Taleban fighters have killed five police officers in an ambush in southern Afghanistan .
Authorities said Wednesday , the attacks occurred late Tuesday in Helmand province .
The incident comes one day after Afghan police killed two suspected Taleban fighters , including a Taleban commander , during a gunbattle in the same province .
Twelve other fighters were arrested .
Helmand province has been the scene of several clashes in recent weeks .
In late October , at least eight Afghan police were killed in an ambush there .
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has demanded parliament rescind its vote to dismiss the government .
He spoke during a special meeting of the Cabinet Thursday and blamed the vote on opposition lawmakers he said are trying to create instability in Ukraine .
Lawmakers voted Tuesday to fire Prime Minister Yuri Yekhanurov 's government over its agreement to pay sharply higher prices for gas imports from Russia .
Top government officials say parliament 's move was illegal .
Mr. Yushchenko had indicated readiness to bring the dismissal before the constitutional court .
But lawmakers Thursday refused to confirm the president 's nominees for constitutional court judges .
Ukraine has begun implementing a constitutional reform that gives authority to appoint and dismiss the government to the parliament instead of the president .
However , the changes have been enacted only partially , pending parliamentary elections in March .
President Bush has signed a new law authorizing him to freeze Sudanese government assets to protest the violence in Sudan 's troubled Darfur region .
The so-called " Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act of 2004 " encourages the president to impose targeted sanctions .
Among them are a travel ban and a freeze on the assets of government and military officials , and government-controlled businesses .
The mostly non-binding legislation urges Mr. Bush to discourage United Nations members from importing oil from Sudan .
It also calls for the United States to assist in the deployment of additional African Union troops Darfur .
The United Nations has described the violence in Sudan 's western Darfur region as the world 's worst humanitarian crisis , with nearly two million people forced from their homes .
Sudan 's government and Darfur rebels recently suspended talks after trading charges of ceasefire violations .
North Korea has confirmed that a South Korean man sailing a fishing vessel has defected to the communist nation .
The man , identified by Pyongyang 's official Korean Central News Agency ( KCNA ) as 57-year-old Hwang Hong-ryon , fled to the North Wednesday , despite a flurry of warning shots fired by South Korean troops .
It is unclear why the man defected but the KCNA reports he is being questioned by North Korean investigators .
South Korea 's Yonhap news agency says military officials believe the fisherman was drunk .
Yonhap also says Mr. Hwang was born in North Korea and defected to the south with his sister in 1951 .
The two Koreas remain technically at war , having never signed a peace treaty after the conclusion of the 1950 - 53 Korean War .
Authorities in Iraq say a brother of one of Iraq 's two vice presidents has been killed in an ambush in Baghdad .
The brother of Shi'ite Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi - cabinet advisor Ghalib Abdul Mehdi - and his driver were killed when gunmen fired at their car .
Al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility .
Separately , police say Iraq 's Deputy Trade Minister Dawoud Hassan was wounded when his motorcade was ambushed in the capital .
The U.S. Defense Department says nearly 26,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed or wounded by insurgents since January 2004 .
A report posted on a Pentagon web site says about 80 percent of insurgent attacks during that time targeted U.S. forces , while Iraqis accounted for 80 percent of the casualties .
The trial of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants , which was scheduled to resume Tuesday , has been delayed until Sunday .
A court spokesman told journalists the court decided to postpone the hearings because some witnesses were unable to attend .
Journalists have been waiting for hours for the court to begin its session .
Monday , the court appointed Raouf Rasheed Abdel-Rahman , a Kurd , to temporarily replace the presiding judge who resigned this month after criticism of his conduct of the trial .
In incidents of violence , armed men kidnapped two German engineers from an oil refinery compound in the town of Baiji , north of Baghdad .
Separately , the U.S. military says two soldiers were killed Monday by a roadside bomb in Baghdad , while two Marines were killed in a vehicle accident in western Iraq .
A U.S. judge has ordered the Bush administration to decide by May 15 whether polar bears in Alaska should be on the endangered species list because of global warming .
The judge ruled in favor of three conservation groups , including Greenpeace , that claim the U.S. government delayed a decision on the polar bear issue to avoid addressing global warming .
Environmental groups have argued the existence of the polar bears is threatened by the disappearance of their icy habitat due to global warming .
Under the Endangered Species Act , it is required that a decision to place species on the list be based on science .
The conservation groups say science shows the Arctic is thawing .
An unofficial predictor of U.S. weather has made his forecast , Americans will get an early spring .
A groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil was pulled from his home in a tree stump Friday morning in a small town in Pennsylvania .
He did not see his shadow and , according to an American ritual , that means it will be a short winter .
Every year , thousands gather in Punxsutawney on February 2 for what is known as Groundhog Day .
The crowd cheered at this year 's results .
According to tradition , had he seen his shadow , winter would last another six weeks .
The observance of Groundhog Day in the United States is a carryover of a centuries-old German tradition known as Candlemas Day .
That tradition has grown in popularity in recent years , driven in part by the 1993 film comedy Groundhog Day .
The Polish government has recalled several ambassadors identified in a recent report as having worked for a national intelligence agency accused of having close ties with Russia .
Diplomats to Austria , China , Turkey , and Kuwait have been ordered back to Warsaw .
All were named in a new report on the former Military Intelligence Service , which was disbanded last year .
Critics have said the agency maintained links with Russian authorities well after the fall of Communism in 1989 .
President Lech Kaczynski and his twin brother , Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski , have vowed to root out those in public life with close ties to the communist apparatus .
They have claimed former Russian spies in the Military Intelligence Service have tried to control politics in Poland , but critics of the government say the 400-page report fails to back up those claims .
The U.S. State Department says Americans who plan to travel to Venezuela for the Copa America football ( soccer ) tournament should be aware of continuing security concerns there and possible changes to official entry requirements .
A public announcement issued Friday says Americans considering travel to Venezuela should carefully consider the risks to their safety and security .
Officials warn that violent crime has become a daily occurrence in the capital , Caracas , and that the murder rate there is one of Latin America 's highest .
Additionally , the State Department says Americans should be aware that uncertainties in the availability of tournament tickets has led to local protests .
The announcement urges Americans to monitor Venezuela 's government Web sites and contact its embassy or consulates for information on whether vaccinations are required to enter the country during the tournament .
The Copa America competition begins June 26 and ends July 19 .
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has arrived in Poland for the annual March of the Living at the site of two Nazi death camps .
Top Polish officials are expected to join the Israeli leader and about 20,000 others in the three-kilometer walk from the Auschwitz to the Birkenau camps , as the world marks the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII .
Holocaust survivors are joining the march between the camps were the Nazis killed more than one million Jews during the war .
Commemorations were also held in Israel as sirens blared and the nation stopped for two minutes to honor the victims .
At ceremonies in Jerusalem Wednesday , Mr. Sharon said Jews will never again be without protection , a home , and refuge .
The Iraqi government says the June 30 deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw from urban areas in Iraq can not be extended .
Iraqi spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Monday the government is committed to the departure timeline in the U.S.-Iraqi security agreement .
A rise in violence has prompted concern about whether Iraqi forces are ready to take over security responsibilities .
Last week , U.S. commanders were considering whether they may need to keep forces in the northern city of Mosul beyond the June deadline , if Iraqi authorities ask them to stay .
The security agreement calls for American forces to pull back from cities by the end of June and the from rest of the country by the end of 2011 .
In the latest violence , a car bomb exploded near the Iraqi Oil Ministry in Baghdad Monday , killing one person and wounding three others .
Indonesia 's president , Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono , has declared the island of Sumatra a national disaster area because of Sunday 's devastating earthquake and tsunami waves .
Emergency officials said the worst-hit area was the northeastern province of Aceh , the scene of decades of separatist violence .
Most of Indonesia 's victims - some 3,000 people - died in the provincial capital , Banda Aceh .
Officials say many of the dead were children swept away in floodwaters .
The toll is expected to rise as more bodies are recovered .
The floods overturned cars and trucks , and bodies were seen caught in the branches of trees .
Most lines of communication to the city have been down since the quake .
Thousands have fled homes that were damaged or destroyed by the floods .
President Bush says prayer speaks to the TRUE strength of America .
In remarks at the 55th annual National Prayer Breakfast Thursday , Mr. Bush said although citizens of the United States come from many faiths , Americans share a profound conviction in their beliefs .
He hailed U.S. servicemembers in war zones around the world , and hailed America as a nation that produces courageous men and women willing to defend their country .
Earlier , the keynote speaker Dr. Francis Collins said the separation of religion and science are not different ideas , but rather , complementary .
A leader of the genome project to identify human DNA , Collins said scientific breakthroughs now provide the world with an unprecedented opportunity to solve many of the major health problems facing the planet .
The National Prayer Breakfast is an annual event attended by the president , members of the U.S. Congress and leaders from around the world .
The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran has failed to provide details of its plans to resume nuclear fuel research next week .
Spokeswoman Melissa Fleming says a meeting was scheduled in Vienna Thursday to discuss the issue , but that the Iranian delegation did not show up for it .
She added that IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei is still seeking clarification from Iran about its plan to resume nuclear fuel research on Monday .
In Washington , U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed hope that talks between Iran and European negotiators can resolve the nuclear dispute .
But she warned that if talks fail , there is strong international support to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions .
Washington accuses Tehran of secretly pursuing nuclear weapons , a charge Tehran denies .
Thousands of anti-war protesters have marched in London joining protests in Japan , Australia and elsewhere in the world ahead of the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq .
In London , thousands gathered in a square in the city 's center Saturday , chanting anti-war slogans .
Some carried posters called President Bush the " world 's number one terrorist . "
Others posters called for the ouster of British Prime Minister Tony Blair .
Britain has the second largest contingent of troops in Iraq behind the United States .
Organizers say demonstrations over the next three days are part of what they call " global days of action " protesting the war .
Protests were also reported in South Korea , Pakistan , Turkey and Greece .
Organizers say they expect more than 200 protests worldwide today .
The war in Iraq began March 19 , 2003 .
Saddam Hussein has told the court trying him for alleged crimes against humanity that he has been beaten and tortured while in U.S. custody .
Saddam says Americans beat him " on every place " of his body and that he has the marks to prove it .
He made the torture allegations during proceedings which resumed earlier Wednesday .
He spoke after being largely quiet and calm during witness testimony about the 1982 torture and massacre of 140 Shi'ite Muslims in Dujail .
One witness said guards dripped melted plastic on detainees and administered electric shocks .
The deposed Iraqi dictator and seven co-defendants are accused of ordering or carrying out the torture and massacre after Saddam survived an assassination attempt there .
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says the Sudanese government has not met two of the most important demands of the Security Council on the Darfur conflict - to disarm militias and arrest those who have committed atrocities in the region .
Mr. Annan says violence in Darfur has increased substantially over the last six months , including attacks on civilians and aid workers .
He says the number of people now affected by the war is 2.3 million , more than one-third of Darfur 's population .
His comments are in a report to the U.N. Security Council released on Monday .
Mr. Annan said pro-government Arab militia are carrying out " atrocious crimes on a massive scale . "
He also blamed Darfur rebels , who he says have increased atttacks on government officials and police officers .
Afghan officials say a provincial governor has survived a suicide car bomb attack that killed his bodyguard .
The bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into vehicles carrying Khost governor Arsala Jamal and his entourage Wednesday .
Officials say seven people were hurt in the attack which they call an assassination attempt .
Also Wednesday , NATO says Taleban militants attacked one of its bases in eastern Nuristan province , killing two Afghan soldiers and wounding 11 U.S. troops .
Taleban militants have stepped up suicide attacks and kidnappings over the past 18 months in a renewed campaign to oust NATO and the U.S.-backed Afghan government .
Pakistani officials said five more people have been killed in the southern port city of Karachi , raising the death toll from four days of political violence to at least 36 .
Authorities said the latest victims were fatally shot Tuesday by attackers .
About 50 people have been wounded in the violence , which began Saturday in Karachi .
The unrest coincided with a by-election Sunday to replace a lawmaker killed earlier this year .
Provincial lawmaker Raza Haider from the Muttahida Quami Movement was gunned down in Karachi in August .
The assassination sparked four days of violence that killed at least 85 people .
MQM , which largely represents the Urdu-speaking community , and the rival Awami National Party , representing ethnic Pashtuns , blame each other for the violence .
The city of 16 million people is prone to ethnic and sectarian killings , crime and kidnappings .
Car bomb blasts across Iraq have killed more than 70 people , just hours after former dictator Saddam Hussein was executed for crimes against humanity .
Security officials in Baghdad say three coordinated bomb attacks in a mixed Shi'ite and Sunni area of the city ( Hurriya ) Saturday killed at least 25 people and wounded more than 65 others .
Other blasts killed several more people in the Iraqi capital .
In Kufa , a Shi'ite holy city near Najaf , Iraqi officials say a car bomb in a crowded market killed 31 people and wounded at least 58 others .
It is not clear whether the attacks were related to the execution of Saddam .
Also Saturday , U.S military officials announced the deaths of six American service members , making December the deadliest month for U.S. forces in two years .
Nearly 3,000 U.S. military personnel have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion began in 2003 .
A privately-owned Kuwaiti airline is offering free flights to Kuwaiti women who want to return home to vote in parliamentary elections .
The elections are the first in Kuwait that do not exclude women .
Marwan Boodai , the chairman of Jazeera Airways says the airline wants to make sure that Kuwaiti women currently overseas can exercise their new right to vote .
Elections are scheduled for June 29 .
Kuwait passed a law last year granting women the right to vote and run for office .
Rescue workers in flood-swamped southern India continued aid operations Wednesday , as the death toll from the floods climbed past 300 .
British relief agency Tearfund said food , clean water , clothing , bedding and shelter are the most pressing needs for the victims in Andrhra Pradesh and Karnataka states .
Authorities say thousands of victims have yet to be reached .
The flooding -- the region 's worst in decades -- has displaced at least 1.5 million people .
With hundreds of thousands now living in temporary shelters , health workers are focusing on preventing illnesses from breaking out among the survivors .
Authorities are also worried that hundreds of thousands of hectares of flooded farmland could affect food harvests .
Flood waters have been receding , though more rain is forecast in the coming days .
Thousands of Iraqi troops backed by U.S. forces are continuing their push through the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar , an insurgent stronghold near the borders of Syria and Turkey .
Western news reports say coalition forces were advancing unchallenged Sunday , after encountering stiff resistance Saturday in the city , now largely deserted by its 2,00,000 residents .
Late Saturday , the U.S. military said 141 insurgents had been killed and 200 suspects captured in the area since August 26 .
Separately , a U.S. military statement says coalition forces have launched an assault on what it described as a known terrorist haven in the western al-Anbar provincial town of ar-Rutbah .
Elsewhere , a senior Interior Ministry official , Major-General Adnan Abdul Rahman , was shot and killed in front of his home in western Baghdad .
And authorities say a U.S. soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in Samarra .
Pakistan is monitoring seven major websites to block anti-Islamic content and links .
The Ministry of Information said Friday it is also outright blocking 17 other websites for alleged blasphemous material .
A Pakistan Telecommunication Authority spokesman , Khurram Mehran , said the sites that will be monitored are Yahoo , Google , YouTube , Amazon , MSN , Hotmail and Bing .
The measures follow Pakistan 's temporary ban imposed on the popular social network website Facebook in May because of a controversial page that encouraged users to draw the Prophet Muhammad .
Most Muslims consider any images made of the prophet to be blasphemous .
The ban on Facebook drew both praise and condemnation in a country that has long struggled with how strict a version of Islam Pakistan should follow .
Iraqi officials have reported two new attacks against religious targets in the country .
In a village north of Baghdad , authorities say a suicide bomber killed at least nine people at a Sufi Muslim gathering late Thursday .
The attack was reported Friday .
Some Islamic extremists regard Sufis as heretics , but no one has claimed responsibility for the attack .
In the southern city of Basra , meanwhile , authorities say gunmen shot and killed Ali Abdul-Hussein , leader of a Shi'ite mosque , as he stood outside his house late Thursday .
Officials also say a Turkman official , General Sabah Qaratun , was killed in a separate attack in the northern town of Kirkuk Friday .
The latest attacks come as Iraq 's interior ministry issued its first civilian death toll , showing 12,000 people have died over the past 18 months .
NATO says a landmine blast in eastern Afghanistan has killed one NATO solider and wounded four others .
A statement says the bomb went off Thursday near a vehicle carrying NATO troops .
The nationality of the troops was not given .
Most of the NATO soldiers in eastern Afghanistan are American .
Three Canadian troops were killed Wednesday when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in the southern province of Kandahar .
The attack raised the Canadian military death toll in Afghanistan to 60 since 2002 .
Also Wednesday , an Afghan official , Zhari district chief Khairuddin , said Afghan and NATO forces killed 21 Taleban militants in a battle in another part of Kandahar .
The Canadian Press agency quotes a Canadian officer as saying the fighting involved Canadian soldiers .
The head of the U.N. refugee agency 's local office , Laila Nassif said two boats carrying some 300 migrants capsized in the Red Sea .
The official said another boat with 120 migrants overturned in the Arabian Sea .
Nassif said Saturday that about 110 people from the boats had been rescued .
Yemen 's official news agency reports Sunday that rescue efforts continue but that many people are still missing and feared to have drowned .
Each year , tens of thousands of Somalis and Ethiopians try to reach Yemen in hopes of escaping poverty or conflict in their homelands .
Hundreds die on the journey because of accidents and brutal treatment from smugglers .
Most of the ships cross the Gulf of Aden .
The U.N. refugee agency says more than 50,000 people made the journey last year , and that at least 590 drowned trying .
A Russian court has approved the extradition to Colombia of a former Israeli army officer convicted in absentia of training Colombian rightist paramilitaries .
Yair Klein was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Colombia .
He was detained at a Moscow airport in August last year .
A court spokesman says Klein has 10 days to appeal the ruling , which was made Tuesday .
Colombia 's paramilitary groups were organized in the 1980s as private armies for landlords to protect them from leftist guerrillas .
The first group of Ukrainian troops has arrived home from Iraq as Ukraine started the phased pull-out of its soldiers from the country .
A Ukrainian Defense Ministry statement says the plane carrying 137 soldiers landed in Mykolaiv , south of Kiev , Tuesday .
The troops were part of a contingent of more than 1,600 Ukrainian soldiers that have been serving in Iraq .
The statement says 550 troops are to be withdrawn by May 15 , and the remaining soldiers by the end of the year .
President Viktor Yushchenko had promised to have the pull-out complete by October , but officials said it may take longer .
Eighteen Ukrainian troops have been killed in Iraq during the deployment , which many Ukrainians have opposed .
Palestinian presidential candidate Mahmoud Abbas says he will seek a renewal of peace talks with Israel , if he is elected in the January 9 Palestinian election .
Mr. Abbas told the Israeli daily Maariv Thursday he would make the resumption of talks with Israel a top priority .
He also criticized Israeli attacks on Palestinians and referred to militant attacks against Israeli targets as " counterproductive . "
Violence continued in the Gaza Strip Thursday when Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Hamas gunman who infiltrated the Ganei Tal Jewish settlement in southern Gaza .
The military says soldiers shot the militant after he attacked an Israeli patrol .
They say Israeli troops were searching for a second gunman .
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas says he will ask the Palestinian Authority 's current prime minister , Ahmed Qureia , to stay on to form a new government .
Addressing his supporters in Ramallah Saturday after he was sworn into office , Mr. Abbas expressed confidence in the prime minister and said they would consult together on forming a new government .
Mr. Qureia became prime minister after Mr. Abbas resigned in September 2003 , in a dispute with Yasser Arafat .
An Israeli military court has acquitted an officer of responsibility in the shooting death of a British journalist in the Gaza Strip two years ago .
The army decided last month not to charge the unnamed officer in James Miller 's death , but said he might be disciplined on lesser charges .
Thursday , he was cleared on all counts .
James Miller was making a documentary on the lives of Palestinian children when he was killed .
Video footage of the incident taken by his crew , show him waving a white flag and identifying himself as a journalist as he approached an Israeli armored vehicle in the dark , just before shots rang out .
The footage was shown to the court and later included in a documentary called Death in Gaza .
Malaysian officials say they have detained 93 ethnic Rohingya Muslims who fled Burma .
The officials say they seized a boat containing the men earlier this week .
Thai officials say their navy gave the men food and water when they entered Thai water .
Thailand has admitted to chasing off refugee boats in the past , but say that was not the case this time .
Burma 's military government does not recognize ethnic Rohingya as citizens .
More than 2,00,000 have fled Burmese state persecution to live in neighboring Bangladesh .
A Protestant paramilitary group in Northern Ireland says it has ordered its armed units to " stand down , " effective Monday , in line with the Irish Republican Army 's announcement last month that it would disarm .
The Loyalist Volunteer Force , which supports British rule in Northern Ireland , broke away from the larger Ulster Volunteer Force in 1996 in a dispute over the Irish peace process .
The LVF announced Sunday it had settled its feud with the larger group , a feud which claimed four lives in recent months .
The Irish Republican Army renounced violence in July , and destroyed its arms in September .
U.S. Senator John McCain Saturday repeated his party 's calls for stronger support of Iran 's protesters from the U.S. government .
Speaking on behalf of the Republican party for the weekly radio and Internet address , McCain said " we stand with " the Iranians who are protesting a disputed presidential election in the face of a heavy government crackdown .
He said the Iranians ask for nothing besides " public declarations of solidarity , and public denunciations of the tyrants who oppress them , " and he said the United States has a " moral obligation " to do so .
The Republicans have criticized Mr. Obama for not taking a stronger stand on the events in Iran .
But Mr. Obama has said the U.S. respects the sovereignty of Iran , and is not interfering in its internal affairs .
There 's a new Boss in town - and his name is Simon Cowell .
The English music mogul claims he 's worth five times more to his record company than famous rocker Bruce Springsteen .
Speaking on the U.S. television news program 60 Minutes , Cowell estimates his acts have sold more than 100 million records .
An Artist & Repertoire executive for Sony BMG in Britain , he runs his own production company and is also a well-known TV personality .
He serves as one of three judges on American Idol , which he calls " the biggest artist on the planet . "
The program airs in 40 countries worldwide , and every Idolwinner records through Sony BMG .
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has ordered new security measures along Israel 's border with the Gaza Strip in an attempt to prevent Palestinian militant attacks on Israeli communities .
A defense ministry official said Friday that Israel plans to create a " no-man 's land " , which Palestinians would be prevented from entering , on the Gaza side of the border .
Mr. Mofaz also ordered better security checks at two crossing points between Israel and the Gaza Strip .
Israel withdrew its last troops from the territory this week after a 38-year occupation .
After the pullout , Palestinian militants blasted an opening through a barrier on the border between southern Gaza and Egypt , prompting Israeli fears that more arms and militants would enter Gaza .
In another development Friday , thousands of Palestinians broke though security and poured into Egypt , amid Israeli concerns about authorities ' failure to control the border .
Algerian authorities say a suicide truck bomber has killed 10 soldiers and wounded about 35 others at a military barracks east of the capital , Algiers .
The bomber blew up a refrigerated truck Wednesday in Lakhdaria , a village in the restive Kabylie region .
The attack occurred just hours before the start of the All Africa Games , one of the continent 's largest sporting events .
Algiers and two towns in Kabylie are hosting the games .
Al-Jazeera television reports al-Qaida 's North African branch has claimed responsibility for the bombing .
The al-Qaida Organization in the Islamic Maghreb , formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat has claimed responsibility for previous attacks in Algeria , including two car bombings in April which killed 33 people .
U.S. President Barack Obama is to host his French counterpart at the White House next week for talks on a broad range of foreign policy and security issues .
The White House says President Obama looks forward to working with President Nicolas Sarkozy to sustain the global economic recovery and create jobs , as France assumes the presidency of the Group of Eight and Group of 20 top industrialized countries for 2011 .
Togo 's interim president has assured voters that Sunday 's presidential election will be held as scheduled , despite a call by the interior minister for polling to be postponed amid rising tensions in the tiny West African country .
Interim President Abass Bonfoh issued a statement Friday saying he wanted to reassure the country and the international community that the vote will take place .
He said security forces have taken necessary measures to make sure the election will be peaceful .
The president 's statement came hours after Interior Minister Francois Boko called for the postponement of Sunday 's election , warning of violence amid rising tensions .
West African leaders helped set up the election after the death of longtime President Gnassingbe Eyadema in February sparked a succession crisis .
The services sector of the U.S. economy grew a little more slowly in November .
Monday 's report from a business group , The Institute for Supply Management , says its index of growth eased 1.5 downward to a reading of 58.5 . In this index , any reading above 50 indicates growth .
Services include a huge number of non-manufacturing businesses , everything from barber shops to airlines , and make up the majority of activity in the U.S. economy .
Some analysts say the businesses included in the survey had a " generally positive " outlook in the U.S. economic situation , but remain concerned about high energy prices .
The U.S. military in Iraq says one American soldier was killed in a roadside bomb blast south of Baghdad Thursday .
The blast occurred in the same general region where U.S. troops and insurgents fought a brief battle on Wednesday , killing one U.S. soldier and two terrorists .
Also on Wednesday , a top U.S. military official , Brigadier General Michael Barbero , told reporters at the Pentagon that there is clear evidence Iranian forces are in Iraq giving training , money , and equipment to Shi'ite insurgents , including the deadly Improvised Explosive Devices - IEDs .
But he said coalition troops have not directly encountered any Iranians .
The IEDs have killed more than 1,200 U.S. soldiers and thousands of civilians .
The U.S. general says neutralizing the Shi'ite extremists will go a long way towards removing Iranian influence in Iraq .
The International Olympic Committee says it has " full confidence " that London will be able to provide a secure environment when it hosts the 2012 Olympic games .
A spokeswoman for the Olympic committee made the comment just hours after a series of terrorist attacks shook London Thursday .
On Wednesday , the IOC selected the British capital to host the 2012 games during a meeting in Singapore .
London beat out Paris , Madrid , New York and Moscow .
The British Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said plans to celebrate the homecoming of the British Olympic delegation have been canceled .
A Chinese millionaire has been executed for arranging a contract killing on a man who threatened to expose him for attempting to murder a business partner .
Yuan Baojing , former president of Beijing-based Jianhao Group , was put to death by lethal injection Saturday in Liaoning province .
His brother and cousin were also executed .
Yuan was sentenced to death last January for hiring a hit man in a failed plot to kill a business partner who caused his company to lose more than $ 10 million .
The man who found the hit man then began blackmailing Yuan .
The tycoon paid his brother and cousin to kill the blackmailer , who was shot to death in October 2003 .
France 's oldest World War One veteran has died at the age of 111 .
Maurice Floquet died at his home in southern France on the eve of November 11 , the 88th anniversary of the armistice that ended the war .
His death leaves France with only four living veterans of the conflict .
Floquet joined the French infantry and fought in a number of battles including the Somme .
Saturday , French President Jacques Chirac is to lead the traditional Armistice Day ceremonies in Paris .
One of the four remaining World War I veterans will join the French leader at the Arc de Triomphe commemorations .
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is in the Gaza Strip for talks aimed at preserving a four-month Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire following two days of new violence .
Mr. Abbas arrived in the Gaza Strip hours after witnesses saw an Israeli aircraft fire missiles at suspected Hamas militants who were apparently preparing to fire rockets at Israeli targets .
There were no reports of casualties in the air strike near the Khan Younis refugee camp .
Also Wednesday , Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz met Palestinian Interior Minister Nasser Yousef to discuss ways of preserving the ceasefire and preparing the upcoming Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza strip .
Five people were killed in violence on Tuesday , the deadliest since Israel and Palestinian groups began observing a ceasefire four months ago .
A 34-year-old Buddhist clothes trader is the latest beheading victim in Thailand 's troubled Muslim-dominated south .
Authorities say Lek Pongpa was sitting outside a tea shop during lunch time Wednesday in Narathiwat province when a suspected Islamic militant approached him and shot him twice in the back .
The attacker then cut the victim 's head off , stuffed it in a sack and fled the scene .
The head was later found dumped two kilometers away from the tea shop .
Mr. Lek is the fifth Thai Buddhist beheading victim this month , and the eighth overall since a Muslim insurgency broke out in January 2004 .
More than 700 people have been killed in the violence , which has been centered in Narathiwat , Yala and Pattani .
Britney Spears and Kevin Federline officially ended their marriage July 30 .
Los Angeles Court Commissioner Scott Gordon signed orders for dissolution of marriage , an alimony agreement , and child custody .
Britney Spears ' attorney Laura Wasser said the alimony agreement will not be made public unless there is an enforcement issue .
The child custody order was tentatively sealed , pending an August 14 hearing .
Gordon said " the best interests of the children could be harmed " if the arrangement were not sealed .
Spears married Federline , a former backup dancer , in October , 2004 , eight months after the annulment of her first marriage to childhood friend Jason Alexander .
Citing irreconcilable differences , she filed for divorce from Federline on November 7 , 2006 .
Since February , the couple have shared joint custody of their two sons , 22-month-old Sean Preston and 10-month-old Jayden James .
In National Basketball Association ( NBA ) action Thursday , Tracy McGrady scored 34 points to lead the Houston Rockets over the Cleveland Cavaliers , 90-81 in Cleveland .
It was the fourth straight game in which McGrady scored more than 30 points and the team 's second-straight road win .
LeBron James led Cleveland with 32 points in what was the fourth loss at home for the Cavaliers this season .
In Thursday 's other NBA game , Indiana 's Stephen Jackson had 27 points , five rebounds and three assists to lead the Pacers to a 99-89 victory over the Golden State Warriors .
Austin Croshere added 17 points , nine rebounds , two assists and two steals for Indiana .
Mike Dunleavy led Golden State with 19 points .
Pakistani police say a suicide bomber blew himself up in the country 's volatile northwestern region , killing a child and wounding four other people .
Authorities say the attack happened Tuesday in the Swat Valley , near the border with Afghanistan .
Suicide bombings in the region have killed at least 10 people in the last week .
The Pakistani government has been trying to regain control of the Swat Valley in recent months , after militants regrouped there from other Pakistani border areas with Afghanistan .
International donors meeting in Oslo , Norway have pledged about four-point-five billion dollars in aid to rebuild southern Sudan after 21 years of civil war .
The United States pledged $ 1.7 billion over the next two years .
However , U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said Tuesday the aid is dependent on Sudan ending a separate conflict in its western Darfur region .
He said the violence in Darfur casts a dangerous shadow over all of Sudan .
The United Nations estimates that the fighting in Darfur between pro-government Arab militias and rebels has left 1,80,000 people dead and more than two million others displaced .
Those aid donations made in Oslo Tuesday and Monday will go to help humanitarian and rebuilding efforts in southern Sudan , following a peace deal between the government and southern rebels earlier this year .
The former head of the U.S. central bank says in a new memoir that he believes the Iraq war is largely about oil .
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan writes in his memoir to be released on Monday that he is " saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows - the Iraq war is largely about oil . "
Defense Secretary Robert Gates disagreed in a televised interivew on ABC 's This Week Sunday , saying the war is really about stability in the Middle East and trying to prevent rogue regimes from developing weapons of mass destruction .
Greenspan headed the U.S. central bank from 1987 until 2006 , serving under four presidents .
He earned praise for policies that many said encouraged the American economic boom in the 1990s .
Some of the information for this report provided by AP and AFP .
Chinese authorities have arrested one of the country 's top rocket designers and will try him on charges of accepting bribes and embezzling millions of dollars .
The official Xinhua news agency said Friday , that Li Jianzhong , the former president of the Chinese Academy of Carrier Rocket Technology , is alleged to have taken more than $ 2,00,000 in bribes .
He is also accused of embezzling nearly $ 19 million .
Mr. Li 's agency developed the Long March series of rockets , one of which powered China 's first manned spaceship , the Shenzhou Five , into space in October of 2003 .
Xinhua said a tip to police prompted an investigation of Mr. Li that began shortly after the successful launch of the Shenzhou Five rocket in October of 2003 .
Iran says it will suspend uranium conversion activities from November 22 as part of a European-brokered deal to ease tensions over the country 's nuclear program .
In a news briefing Monday , Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi described the move as a confidence-building measure .
But he insisted Iran would not permanently halt uranium enrichment activities .
Full details of the agreement announced Sunday are not yet available .
European countries had warned Tehran that they would support referring Iran to the United Nations Security Council for possible sanctions if the enrichment program was not stopped .
Uranium enrichment can be used to make material for atomic weapons , but Iran insists its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes .
The United States accuses Iran of developing a secret nuclear weapons program .
Afghan officials say international and Afghan security sweeps Friday and Saturday across the country killed at least 25 insurgents .
In the Sangin district of Helmand , troops killed 10 insurgents and captured a high-level Taliban commander named Mullah Mohammad Hassan .
Officials say Hassan was involved with attacks against troops in the northern part of the province .
Eight more militants were killed and two others captured in the Surkh Rod district of Nangahar province .
The government said several more were killed in security raids over the past 24 hours in various parts of the country , including at least seven in northern Baghlan province .
In the eastern Ghazni province , meanwhile , the Interior Ministry says insurgents killed five Afghan guards on Friday while they were escorting a convoy of oil tankers .
The ministry said its forces killed six insurgents who had been involved in the attack .
The new U.N. Special Envoy to Afghanistan visited the Afghan capital , Kabul , Friday , and vowed to bring changes to help with rebuilding efforts in the war-torn country .
Former Norwegian Ambassador Kai Eide promised to improve coordination with the Afghan government and international donors on aid and development efforts .
A lack of coordination has led to numerous failed reconstruction projects , but a new U.N. resolution empowers Eide to directly coordinate such support .
Eide said the government of President Hamid Karzai asked for better coordination long ago .
He promised the United Nations would do a better job than it has in the past .
U.S. pro-immigrant groups are calling for a nationwide boycott May 1 to pressure Congress into granting illegal aliens the right to gain citizenship .
On that Monday , immigrants and supporters of immigrants ' rights plan to stay home from work or school and refrain from buying or selling anything .
The plans come after immigrants and immigrants ' rights supporters held demonstrations across the nation in recent weeks .
Saturday in New York City , more than 10,000 people rallied outside the U.S. immigration office .
The demonstrators say immigrants should be recognized for significant contributions to the U.S. economy .
Those marches and rallies come as the Senate discusses a proposed guest-worker program President Bush has strongly endorsed .
The House of Representatives has passed legislation that would make it a felony to be an illegal immigrant , and heavily penalize companies hiring them .
The death of a pope immediately sets into motion a series of historic rituals for the mourning of the death of the leader of the Roman Catholic church .
To verify the pope 's death , the head of the Sacred College of Cardinals stands over the deceased and calls the pontiff by his baptismal name three times .
If there is no response , he announces the death and arranges for the Papal ring , known as the ring of the fisherman , and the papal seal both to be broken .
Upon news of the pontiff 's death , church bells in Rome and throughout Italy begin tolling .
The shutters on the pope 's private apartment and the massive bronze doors beneath a portico off Saint Peter 's Square are closed .
The cardinal then makes preparations for the Papal funeral rites and the traditional nine days of mourning .
Mexico 's Zapatista rebels have announced that they are dissolving their political wing and replacing it with a new civil organization .
Zapatista leader Subcomandante Marcos said Wednesday that the Zapatista National Liberation Front will cease operations on Friday .
Subcomandante Marcos did not have a name for the new organization , but said it will be " peaceful , anti-capitalist and leftist . "
Last August , Subcomandante Marcos emerged from hiding in the jungle for the first time in four years to criticize the country 's political leaders .
In 1994 , Zapatista rebels staged an armed rebellion in the Chiapas state of Mexico , asserting indigenous rights .
Two new reports paint a discouraging picture of the U.S. economy Friday .
A University of Michigan survey of hundreds of households shows the steepest monthly drop in consumer confidence on record in October .
Economists watch consumer moods for clues about the consumer spending that drives two-thirds of the U.S. economy .
Experts blame falling consumer confidence on problems in the credit and stock markets that have hurt the investments that many people had hoped would pay for their retirements .
A separate report from the Commerce Department said the number of new homes under construction fell sharply ( by more than six percent ) in September to a 17-year low .
If housing starts continued at September 's rate for a whole year , just 8,17,000 new homes would go up .
Officials also said that the number of applications for permits to build homes in the future plunged to a 27-year low .
Russia is voicing surprise at the White House move to withdraw a bilateral civilian nuclear cooperation agreement from consideration by Congress .
The Russian Foreign Ministry , in a statement Tuesday , called President George Bush 's move to withdraw the deal from congressional consideration wrong , and in Moscow 's words , " politicized . "
Mr. Bush sent a withdrawal message to Congress Monday , in response to Russia 's military incursion into Georgia last month .
He called Russia 's action " incompatible with peaceful relations with its sovereign and democratic neighbor . "
The president said he could re-submit the deal to Congress for its approval , if circumstances change in Georgia .
Moscow and Washington signed the nuclear cooperation deal earlier this year .
It would have allowed U.S. and Russian companies to enter joint ventures in the nuclear industry .
Business analysts say the deal could have been worth billions of dollars .
Unique among African countries , the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule with the exception of a short-lived Italian occupation from 1936 - 41 .
In 1974 , a military junta , the Derg , deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE ( who had ruled since 1930 ) and established a socialist state .
Torn by bloody coups , uprisings , wide-scale drought , and massive refugee problems , the regime was finally toppled in 1991 by a coalition of rebel forces , the Ethiopian People 's Revolutionary Democratic Front ( EPRDF ) .
A constitution was adopted in 1994 , and Ethiopia 's first multiparty elections were held in 1995 .
A border war with Eritrea late in the 1990s ended with a peace treaty in December 2000 .
In November 2007 , the Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Commission remotely demarcated the border by geographical coordinates , but final demarcation of the boundary on the ground is currently on hold because of Ethiopian objections to an international commission 's finding requiring it to surrender territory considered sensitive to Ethiopia .
Belize was the site of several Mayan city states until their decline at the end of the first millennium A.D.
The British and Spanish disputed the region in the 17th and 18th centuries ; it formally became the colony of British Honduras in 1854 .
Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the independence of Belize until 1981 .
Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992 and the two countries are involved in an ongoing border dispute .
Guatemala and Belize plan to hold a simultaneous referendum to determine if this dispute will go before the International Court of Justice at The Hague , though they have not yet set a date .
Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy .
Current concerns include the country 's heavy foreign debt burden , high unemployment , growing involvement in the Mexican and South American drug trade , high crime rates , and one of the highest prevalence rates of HIV / AIDS in Central America .
The region of present day Georgia contained the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Kartli-Iberia .
The area came under Roman influence in the first centuries A.D . and Christianity became the state religion in the 330s .
Domination by Persians , Arabs , and Turks was followed by a Georgian golden age ( 11th - 13th centuries ) that was cut short by the Mongol invasion of 1236 .
Subsequently , the Ottoman and Persian empires competed for influence in the region .
Georgia was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the 19th century .
Independent for three years ( 1918 - 1921 ) following the Russian revolution , it was forcibly incorporated into the USSR until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 .
An attempt by the incumbent Georgian government to manipulate national legislative elections in November 2003 touched off widespread protests that led to the resignation of Eduard SHEVARDNADZE , president since 1995 .
New elections in early 2004 swept Mikheil SAAKASHVILI into power along with his United National Movement party .
Progress on market reforms and democratization has been made in the years since independence , but this progress has been complicated by Russian assistance and support to the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia .
After a series of Russian and separatist provocations in summer 2008 , Georgian military action in South Ossetia in early August led to a Russian military response that not only occupied the breakaway areas , but large portions of Georgia proper as well .
Russian troops pulled back from most occupied Georgian territory , but in late August 2008 Russia unilaterally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia .
This action was strongly condemned by most of the world 's nations and international organizations .
A large body of recent oceanographic research has shown that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current ( ACC ) , an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica , plays a crucial role in global ocean circulation .
The region where the cold waters of the ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a distinct border - the Antarctic Convergence - which fluctuates with the seasons , but which encompasses a discrete body of water and a unique ecologic region .
The Convergence concentrates nutrients , which promotes marine plant life , and which in turn allows for a greater abundance of animal life .
In the spring of 2000 , the International Hydrographic Organization decided to delimit the waters within the Convergence as a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean , Indian Ocean , and Pacific Ocean .
The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude , which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit and which approximates the extent of the Antarctic Convergence .
As such , the Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world 's five oceans ( after the Pacific Ocean , Atlantic Ocean , and Indian Ocean , but larger than the Arctic Ocean ) .
It should be noted that inclusion of the Southern Ocean does not imply recognition of this feature as one of the world 's primary oceans by the US Government .
Although sighted by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1493 and claimed for Spain , it was the Dutch who occupied the island in 1631 and set about exploiting its salt deposits .
The Spanish retook the island in 1633 , but continued to be harassed by the Dutch .
The Spanish finally relinquished the island of Saint Martin to the French and Dutch , who divided it amongst themselves in 1648 .
The establishment of cotton , tobacco , and sugar plantations dramatically expanded slavery on the island in the 18th and 19th centuries ; the practice was not abolished in the Dutch half until 1863 .
The island 's economy declined until 1939 when it became a free port ; the tourism industry was dramatically expanded beginning in the 1950s .
In 1954 , Sint Maarten and several other Dutch Caribbean possessions became part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as the Netherlands Antilles .
In a 2000 referendum , the citizens of Sint Maarten voted to become a self-governing country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands .
The change in status became effective in October of 2010 with the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles .
AN ASS , having put on the Lion 's skin , roamed about in the forest and amused himself by frightening all the foolish animals he met in his wanderings .
At last coming upon a Fox , he tried to frighten him also , but the Fox no sooner heard the sound of his voice than he exclaimed , " I might possibly have been frightened myself , if I had not heard your bray . "
Clothes may disguise a fool , but his words will give him away
A CROW having stolen a bit of meat , perched in a tree and held it in her beak .
A Fox , seeing this , longed to possess the meat himself , and by a wily stratagem succeeded .
" How handsome is the Crow , " he exclaimed , in the beauty of her shape and in the fairness of her complexion !
Oh , if her voice were only equal to her beauty , she would deservedly be considered the Queen of Birds ! "
This he said deceitfully ; but the Crow , anxious to refute the reflection cast upon her voice , set up a loud caw and dropped the flesh .
The Fox quickly picked it up , and thus addressed the Crow : " My good Crow , your voice is right enough , but your wit is wanting . "
A MAN had two dogs : a Hound , trained to assist him in his sports , and a Housedog , taught to watch the house .
When he returned home after a good day 's sport , he always gave the Housedog a large share of his spoil .
The Hound , feeling much aggrieved at this , reproached his companion , saying , " It is very hard to have all this labor , while you , who do not assist in the chase , luxuriate on the fruits of my exertions . "
The Housedog replied , " Do not blame me , my friend , but find fault with the master , who has not taught me to labor , but to depend for subsistence on the labor of others . "
Children are not to be blamed for the faults of their parents .
The Iraqi government has expressed outrage at the publication of more images of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison more than two years ago .
Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari 's office condemned the abuse depicted in the images first broadcast by Australian television this week .
And Iraq 's Human Rights Minister Zuhair al-Chalabi told Reuters news agency he believes U.S. forces should hand over their Iraqi detainees to the Iraqi government .
Iraqis have reacted angrily to the images , which show male detainees naked , hanging upside-down from a bed and with various red marks on their bodies .
When images of the abuse were first published in 2004 , they sparked widespread protests .
The U.S. Defense Department says it is concerned that the latest release of the pictures could spark more violence .
It says the abuse incidents at Abu Ghraib have been investigated , and that more than 25 service members have been disciplined because of it .
The White House says President Bush will meet Thursday in Washington with Salva Kiir , a vice president in the national Sudanese government and the president of semi-autonomous southern Sudan .
A statement Tuesday said the two leaders will discuss implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended Sudan 's north-south civil war in 2005 .
The agreement has appeared increasingly shaky , especially since former southern rebels withdrew their ministers from the national government in Khartoum last month .
The Sudan People 's Liberation Movement has accused Khartoum of blocking implementation of the peace deal .
The former rebels are demanding withdrawal of northern troops and more control over the oil-producing Abiya region .
The White House says Mr. Bush and Mr. Kiir will also discuss efforts to bring peace to Sudan 's troubled Darfur region .
Peace talks in Libya last month made little progress as the chief Darfur rebel groups refused to attend .
Pro-Moscow officials in Chechnya say federal forces have killed a separatist leader believed to have been involved in a number of terrorist attacks .
Authorities say Rizvan Chitigov was killed Wednesday in a special operation in Chechnya 's Shali district .
The Itar-Tass news agency says in 2001 he had considered producing poisonous substances to use against federal forces .
The agency quotes pro-Moscow Chechen President Alu Alkhanov saying the slain leader was a hard-line field commander with a long record of killing law enforcement and government officials .
Russian troops have been battling separatists in Chechnya for most of the past decade .
The International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) has rescinded its suspension of Iraq , allowing the Middle Eastern nation to compete at the Beijing Games .
IOC officials said Tuesday that they are lifting Iraq 's ban because the government has pledged to ensure the independence of its national Olympic committee .
The decision follows last-minute talks between Iraqi officials and the IOC in Lausanne , Switzerland .
A deadline to submit competitors ' names for athletics events expires on Wednesday .
Iraq is expected to send two athletes to Beijing .
Five others lost their chance to go when the final date to select competitors for archery , judo , rowing and weightlifting passed last week .
Iraq has won only one bronze medal since its first appearance at the Summer Olympics in 1948 .
World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is in Rwanda Thursday , for the third stop in his four-nation African tour .
Mr. Wolfowitz visited the memorial to the some 8,00,000 victims of Rwanda 's 1994 genocide .
He said it is clear the tragedy could have been prevented and said he regrets the international community did n't do more .
Mr. Wolfowitz is also scheduled to meet with President Paul Kagame .
He will also tour World Bank funded projects in the country .
Mr. Wolfowitz is on his first trip to Africa since he became head of the Washington-based World Bank on June 1 .
He ended a two-day tour of Burkina Faso Wednesday , and visited Nigeria earlier this week .
He wraps up his African tour Friday in South Africa .
An Italian reporter held hostage by the Taleban in Afghanistan has appeared speaking in a video received by a non-governmental relief agency .
The Italian aid group , Emergency , said in a statement the videotape of kidnapped journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo was received Wednesday .
In it , Mastrogiacomo says " Today is March 12 , it is 8 a.m. in Afghanistan . "
He says he is in good physical conditions and also appeals to the Italian government to work for his release .
Taleban militants captured the reporter last week in Afghanistan 's southern Helmand province .
The Taleban says he has confessed to being a spy , but his newspaper has denied the charge .
The Italian government has said they believed the journalist is alive and has said it is taking steps to gain his freedom .
A group of about 150 Guatemalan refugees has returned home , more than two decades after fleeing the civil war then tearing up their country .
The group arrived in Guatemala from Bolivia Sunday .
Most had fled to neighboring Honduras in 1981 .
United Nations officials later sent them to Bolivia for their safety .
About 2,00,000 people died in Guatemala 's civil war from 1960 to 1996 .
Tens of thousands were displaced by the fighting .
The Guatemalan government had long discussed helping refugees return home , but it did not take action until Bolivian President Evo Morales expressed support for the repatriation in 2005 .
Turkish officials say soldiers have killed 10 Kurdish guerrillas in a clash in a remote area of southeast Turkey .
Local authorities said Sunday that soldiers pursued militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party ( PKK ) during a four-day operation in Sirnak province , and were involved in a firefight after the rebels failed to surrender .
Officials say the soldiers also confiscated weapons and explosives during the operation .
The clash coincided with a bomb attack at a resort in western Turkey which killed five people .
Officials blame Saturday 's bombing on the PKK , but the separatist group denies any involvement in the attack .
The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984 with the aim of establishing an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey .
More than 30,000 people have died in the conflict .
One of the 33 Chilean miners trapped for 40 days has become a new father , but he will have to wait weeks before he can hold his daughter .
Ariel Ticona 's wife gave birth to their daughter , Esperanza – Spanish for Hope , on Tuesday at a hospital in Copiapo , near the mine .
Drilling to free Ticona and the 32 other men has been temporarily halted due to a broken drill head , but authorities say it will not significantly delay the rescue effort .
Emergency workers made contact with them on August 22 .
Authorities say a rescue could take until the end of the year .
The miners have been receiving food , medicine , letters , cigarettes and other items through a chute to the chamber where they are located .
The miners have been underground since August 5 , when they were trapped by a cave-in .
A Malaysian court has awarded former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim $ 1.2 million in libel damages from an author who wrote a book accusing him of sexual misconduct and treason .
Mr. Anwar 's suit targeted Khalid Jafri , writer of 50 Reasons why Anwar Can not be Prime Minister , which was published three months before Mr. Anwar was fired in September 1998 and subsequently convicted of corruption and sodomy charges .
Mr. Anwar served six years in prison before the sodomy conviction was overturned .
He had completed the corruption sentence .
The high court Thursday ordered Mr. Khalid to pay damages for making a " vicious and venomous public attack " against Mr. Anwar .
Mr. Anwar told reporters the judgment shows that he has been completely vindicated .
He has repeatedly denied all of Mr. Khalid 's accusations .
Iraqi police say 11 people have been killed in suicide bomb attacks targeting an officer in an Iraqi special forces unit in Samara , north of Baghdad .
The officer escaped injury .
In the first attack , a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the home of the officer , killing and wounding people in the street , but not harming anyone in the house .
Shortly afterward , two people identified as insurgents tried to set a bomb outside the same house .
They were killed by their bomb .
Earlier , in an attack overnight , eight policemen were killed when insurgents struck a police station near the city of Ramadi , the capital of Anbar province .
Police and other members of Iraq 's security forces are frequently targeted by insurgents , who regard the security personnel as collaborators with U.S. troops .
South Korea 's Agriculture Ministry confirmed Saturday that a new outbreak of bird flu there is the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of the virus .
Officials say test results showed chickens at a farm in Cheonan , 90 kilometers south of the capital , Seoul , were infected with the disease .
South Korea will slaughter more than 2,70,000 poultry near the farm to try to keep the virus from spreading further .
The outbreak is South Korea 's fifth since November .
Bird flu has killed more than 150 people worldwide since 2003 .
Health Ministry officials in Indonesia and Egypt also announced new human fatalities from bird flu today .
Indonesian officials say a 19-year-old woman from West Java died Friday from the H5N1 strain of bird flu .
In Egypt , a 27-year-old woman infected with bird flu died on Friday at a hospital in Cairo .
The United States contacted the United Nations Security Council after North Korea test launched the missiles .
In a statement , U.N. Ambassador John Bolton said Tuesday he is urgently consulting with other members of the 15-nation body .
Officials say that so far an emergency meeting of the security council has not been requested .
The council is expected to take up the issue on Wednesday at its regular consultations .
Home sales in the United States dropped between April and March , evidence that the housing market 's problems are not over .
Friday 's report from a business group , The National Association of Realtors , says sales of previously-owned homes fell one percent in March .
That pushed the sales of houses , condominiums , and apartments down to an annual rate of just under 4.9 million units .
The same report says the median sales price for a home fell eight percent from the same period last year .
Sales of previously-owned homes are the largest part of the housing market .
Sales of newly-constructed homes will be reported next week .
Problems in the housing market are one key reason for the current economic slowdown in the United States .
Iran has accused the British military of equipping and helping the bombers who killed eight people in southern Iran Tuesday .
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says he has information showing the bombers interacted with British soldiers based in Iraq .
Britain denies the charges and any involvement in the twin bombings in Ahvaz .
Last year , at least 12 people were killed in Ahvaz in a series of bombings that Iran blamed on Iranian Arab extremists with ties to foreign governments .
In October , an editorial in Iran 's Kayhan International newspaper alleged that British agents were involved in the bombings .
Britain also denied involvement in those attacks .
It has accused Tehran of backing insurgents fighting British forces in southeastern Iraq .
Philippine police have rescued two hostages and arrested 10 members of a kidnap gang in a Manila suburb .
Operatives from the National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force raided the kidnappers ' hideout in Las Pinas city , south of Manila , Sunday .
They rescued 26-year-old Jeffrey Cruz and his girlfriend 20-year-old Katrina Schoof , who were abducted four days ago near the upscale Ayala Alabang shopping district .
The kidnappers had demanded a ransom of nearly $ 5,50,000 .
Last year , President Gloria Arroyo ordered a massive crackdown on kidnap gangs , leading to the arrests or killing of several gang leaders .
The government says a rash of kidnappings in Manila targeting businessmen has scared off potential investors .
Russia 's space agency says it has set a new date for launching a European probe to explore Venus after technical problems postponed the liftoff earlier this month .
Officials said Monday the Soyuz rocket carrying the Venus Express satellite will blast off Wednesday , November 9 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan .
The October 26 launch was canceled due to problems with a booster rocket on the Soyuz spacecraft .
The European Space Agency 's Venus Express probe will study the planet 's atmosphere for more than a year .
The flight to Earth 's nearest neighbor is expected to take five months .
Hundreds of Cambodians have joined an unusual wedding ceremony for two pythons whom they hope will bring good luck to their villages .
In Monday 's ceremony , villagers in southern Cambodia 's Kandal province wedded a female python named Chamrouen and a male python named Kroung Pich and placed them in the same cage .
The new couple also received a blessing from Buddhist monks .
Many Cambodians subscribe to animism - the belief that spirits can inhabit living creatures and inanimate objects .
The owner of the female python says villagers performed the ceremony on the recommendation of fortune tellers , who said the snakes belong together and keeping them apart could bring bad luck .
Neth Vy said he had raised Chamrouen in his family home since 1994 after finding the then-tiny python while fishing .
People in a neighboring village caught the male python last month .
A Tibet advocacy group has organized an international protest against the Internet search engine Google after the company accepted government restrictions on use of its service in China .
Students For a Free Tibet said Tuesday that thousands of Tibetans around the world have stopped using the Google service .
They say they have sent 45-thousand electronic protest messages to Google executives as well .
The group also organized a demonstration in the northern Indian city of Dharmsala , the headquarters of the exiled Tibetan government .
The group is condemning Google 's move to obey Beijing 's restrictions on free speech , saying it will prohibit access to information about Tibet and other sensitive political issues .
Google executives have defended the decision , acknowledging the restrictions are inconsistent with the company 's policy , but saying they are a worthwhile sacrifice to reach more users .
Tens of thousands of people in St. Peter 's Square stood in tearful silence after the death of Pope John Paul II was announced .
Vatican officials told the pilgrims that a Mass for the pope will be held in the square Sunday morning .
Pilgrims cried , held rosaries and candles , and prayed after the announcement of the pontiff 's death .
The bells of the churches of Rome tolled after the announcement .
A service of hymns , Bible readings and prayers followed .
Someone in the crowd waved a large Polish flag .
Some pilgrims had spent the night Friday in the square , located beneath the pope 's apartment window at the Vatican .
Many had kept up a continuous vigil for the pontiff .
Outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced a new initiative for training Muslim clergy and boosting the study of moderate Islam in British colleges and universities .
Mr. Blair announced the government plan Monday at an Islamic conference in London .
He said he feared extremists could drown out what he called the " TRUE voice " of Islam .
The nearly $ 2 million initiative follows a government report that found Islamic studies in Britain focus broadly on conditions in the Middle East , while often failing to reflect the realities of Muslim life in Britain .
Mr. Blair also stressed that his decisions to back U.S.-led military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq had nothing to do with religion .
He said the religious faith of both countries was no more relevant to those decisions than to the decision his government took in the 1990s to support ethnic Albanian Muslims in Serbia 's embattled Kosovo province .
Doctors in the United States are testing a possible breakthrough treatment for brain cancer .
Scorpion venom has been administered to dozens of patients at four hospitals after researchers found that the agent selectively attached to tumor cells while sparing normal cells .
Steve Mort reports for VOA on one clinical trial-taking place at a Florida hospital .
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a $ 516 billion budget measure that funds American troops in Afghanistan and all federal agencies except the Pentagon .
The measure passed late Monday includes $ 31 billion for the troops in Afghanistan , but does not include funding for military operations in Iraq .
The Senate is expected to add $ 40 billion for operations in Iraq when it debates the spending package Tuesday .
In a speech Monday , President Bush said he was pleased to report that good progress was being made toward coming up with a " fiscally sound budget . "
He has called for a bill that funds the troops in Iraq without including demands for a withdrawal .
The House bill reversed domestic spending cuts sought by President Bush in areas including medical research grants , student aid , law enforcement and heating subsidies .
The National Basketball Association is considering a league-wide standard for physical exams following the death of Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier .
The 28-year-old Collier died on Saturday after he had difficulty breathing at home .
His agent , Richard Howell said Collier may have had an enlarged heart .
Individual team doctors from each of the NBA 's 30 franchises currently conduct physical exams for their players before training camp .
Some teams use echocardiograms to detect heart problems .
But the test is not mandatory .
A number of NBA players have had heart-related problems .
New York Knicks forward Eddy Curry missed the final 13 games of last season and the playoffs with an irregular heartbeat .
Minnesota guard Fred Hoiberg will miss this season after open heart surgery in June .
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he is confident that a European Commission report due this week will recommend moving forward on his country 's application for admission to the European Union .
Mr. Erdogan told a German television interviewer Sunday that Turkey will settle for nothing less than full EU membership , and he rejected suggestions by some EU politicians that Turkey lacks European values .
But the bloc 's expansion commissioner , Guenter Verheugen , has told Germany 's Bild am Sonntag newspaper that the recommendations to EU leaders , due out Wednesday , will be more critical than is widely expected of Turkey 's level of compliance with EU human rights standards .
The EU leaders are to consider that report when they vote in December whether to move forward with membership talks .
Mr. Erdogan is in Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder .
Egyptian police say they have seized 500 kilograms of explosives in the central Sinai Peninsula .
Authorities say the explosives were bound for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip .
The police say they found the explosives under plastic sheeting in the desert .
Over the past two years , Islamic extremists have carried out several terror attacks on southern Sinai beach resorts .
Israel claims that weapons and explosives are being smuggled from Egypt into the Gaza Strip .
The Israeli military has said it found underground tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip that were used by weapons smugglers .
Israel and Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip agreed on a ceasefire over one week ago .
South Korea and Bolivia are nearing an agreement to develop a coveted lithium resource in the South American country .
South Korean media quoted unnamed government officials Tuesday saying the countries are working on the final draft of a deal to be signed when Bolivian President Evo Morales visits Seoul this month .
It was not clear whether the agreement would entitle South Korea to extract the lithium .
Bolivia holds roughly half of the world 's lithium reserves in the Salar de Uyuni lake area .
Japan , China , France and Brazil also have expressed an interest in developing the resource .
Lithium is used in rechargeable batteries for laptop computers , mobile phones and electric cars .
Pope Benedict says he is upset that a speech he gave this week offended Muslims .
The pope said Saturday he is very sorry that his comments were interpreted as offensive to Islam .
Benedict has received widespread criticism from Muslim leaders for his remarks Tuesday linking Islam with violence .
In a speech to academics in Germany , Benedict quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor as saying the Prophet Muhammad brought " only evil and inhuman things , " such as holy war .
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today the pope should not " take lightly " the spread of outrage that has been created .
An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman says the pope 's comments were a " great mistake . "
Muslim leaders elsewhere , including Pakistan , Iraq and Turkey , have also denounced the pope 's comments .
The Vatican says Pope Benedict respects Islam and did not intend to offend anyone .
Chinese President Hu Jintao has wrapped up a week-long European trip by meeting with Spanish business leaders in efforts to expand trade and economic ties .
Spain 's King Juan Carlos joined Mr. Hu in inaugurating the first Spanish-Chinese business convention bringing together business representatives from both countries .
Monday , Mr. Hu and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero signed an agreement making Spain a privileged partner in economic and political dealings with China .
Spain and China also reached an extradition accord .
But Spain , in accordance with European Union policy , will not send back suspects who could face the death penalty in China .
Spain was the last stop on Mr. Hu 's European tour , which included Germany and Britain .
Demonstrators protesting Chinese policies on human rights and Tibet followed Mr. Hu throughout his trip .
China says it has pledged $ 1 million to help Iraq hold elections in January .
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue says Beijing made the pledge this week during a conference on Iraq 's political future in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh .
The spokeswoman said China has actively taken part in efforts to rebuild and promote peace in Iraq and will also provide training for diplomats and for professionals in the business management and energy sectors .
Earlier this year , China wrote off parts of Iraq 's debts and pledged $ 25 million in reconstruction aid .
Police in western India say at least 30 have been killed and scores of others feared trapped under collapsed buildings as mudslides triggered by monsoon rains continue to lash the region .
Officials in Maharashtra state say worst hit is the area south of the state capital , Mumbai , also known as Bombay , where more than 100 people are feared buried under flattened mud houses .
Authorities have called the army to assist thousands of people stranded by flood and mudslides .
In Bombay , India 's financial and entertainment capital , many low-lying areas are flooded .
Weather forecasters say heavy rains and winds will continue for at least through Wednesday .
India 's monsoon rains , which usually last from June through September , claim hundreds of lives every year .
Somalia 's Islamists have extended their influence in the lawless country by setting up an Islamic court in a central region .
The Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia , SICS , which controls the capital , Mogadishu , says it is opening a sharia court in the central town Adaado .
Islamic officials say the area 's residents had invited them to impose sharia law .
The leader of the SICS , Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys , arrived in Adaado Monday to meet with the town 's elders .
Islamic leaders have been trying to widen their control from southern to central Somalia after ousting secular warlords from Mogadishu in June .
Somalia 's largely powerless transitional government , based in Baidoa , suffered another blow Tuesday , when four more ministers resigned , joining 18 officials who quit last week .
They say they resigned because the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Gedi has failed to restore stability to Somalia .
Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz says he is ordering an investigation into reports that the CIA had run secret prisons for suspected terrorists in Poland .
Mr. Marcinkiewicz told Polish television , TVN 24 , the matter must finally be closed because it could prove dangerous for Poland .
Polish authorities have repeatedly denied reports that Poland was the main European center for detaining such suspects .
Meanwhile , Germany 's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier denied suggestions that his country 's security officers played any role in the detention of a German citizen by CIA agents .
Mr. Stainmeier told the newspaper Bild such reports are irresponsible .
He was referring to the case of Khaled el-Masri , who was mistakenly abducted by American agents in Macedonia in 2003 and held for five months in Afghanistan .
The European Union has formally taken over peacekeeping duties in Bosnia-Herzegovina from NATO .
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and NATO head Jaap de Hoop Scheffer oversaw the transfer of power ceremony Thursday at Sarajevo 's Camp Butmir .
NATO agreed earlier this year to turn over peacekeeping to the EU , citing what it called the improved security situation in Bosnia .
The new EU force , EUFOR , consists of about 7,000 soldiers .
NATO it is not completely withdrawing from Bosnia .
It will maintain a headquarters there to focus on fighting terrorism , gathering intelligence and arresting war crimes suspects .
NATO sent 60,000 peacekeepers to Bosnia in 1995 to enforce the Dayton Peace Accords that ended fighting among Bosnia 's ethnic Serbs , Muslims and Croats .
Lebanon 's pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud is holding talks with parliamentary deputies to form a new government , following last week 's resignation of Prime Minister Omar Karameh 's cabinet in the face of growing anti-Syria protests .
Mr. Lahoud began consultations Wednesday , while Syrian troops continued to redeploy in eastern Lebanon , in the first stage of a withdrawal from the country .
On Tuesday , Lebanon 's ambassador to the United States , Imad Moustapha , said the troop pullout would be complete long before May , when Lebanon holds its parliamentary elections .
President Bush has demanded that Syria get all of its troops and intelligence personnel out of Lebanon before the vote .
Also on Tuesday , hundreds of thousands of demonstrators packed the streets of Beirut to show support for Syria .
The protest , called by the Syrian-backed Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah , dwarfed recent anti-Syrian demonstrations .
Serbia 's foreign minister says his country will not follow Russia 's example in recognizing the breakaway Georgian territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia .
Vuk Jeremic told a Vienna newspaper Die PresseWednesday that recognizing such independence would not be in line with Serbian policy .
Jeremic reaffirmed Serbian gratitude for Moscow 's opposition to independence for Kosovo , the breakaway Serbian province that declared independence earlier this year .
But he emphasized that Serbia is " not a part of a Russian policy " and must act in accordance with its own best interests .
Serbia insists that the declaration of independence adopted by Kosovo 's Albanian leaders in February is illegal .
The United States and 46 other countries have recognized Kosovo independence .
Serbia , backed by veto-wielding U.N. Security Council member Russia , insists on maintaining sovereignty over the area .
On Tuesday , Serbia 's president asked the United Nations ' main judicial unit , the International Court of Justice , to weigh in on the legality of Kosovo 's declaration of independence .
President Boris Tadic , addressing the U.N. General Assembly , also said the move may create precedents for other breakaway regions .
Iran says it has arrested several Iranian journalists , charging that their work was aimed at fueling ethnic divisions within the country .
Iran 's intelligence ministry announced the arrests but has not named the journalists who were detained .
A ministry statement says the journalists admitted they were receiving significant sums of U.S. dollars from abroad to publish articles aimed at partitioning Iran .
The ministry did not say where the money was coming from .
Iran 's largest ethnic minorities include Kurds , Arabs , Azeris and Baluchis .
Human rights groups have criticized Iran for suppressing the rights of its ethnic minorities .
Last week , Iranian state media said Revolutionary Guard forces killed 17 rebels during a battle in the northwestern province of West Azerbaijan .
In February , rebels in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan bombed a bus carrying members of the Revolutionary Guard , killing eleven .
Iranian state media said a Sunni Muslim group named Jundollah claimed responsibility for that bombing .
Iran is mostly Shi'ite .
Major League Baseball 's 30 teams and its players ' association have announced that they will donate $ 1 million to help victims of last month 's Indian Ocean tsunami .
Commissioner Bud Selig said the horrific tsunami that devastated South Asia took an enormous toll that he called " incomprehensible " to those who watched the devastation on television .
Players ' union head Donald Fehr said his organization hopes the contribution will help those trying to rebuild their lives .
In addition the New York Yankees team , which has the highest payroll in baseball , will donate $ 1 million from the proceeds of its season opener against the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox April 3 .
Officials have warned opposition activists not to hold demonstrations
Pakistan briefly blocked two independent news channels Saturday , as they covered the standoff between militants and soldiers at army headquarters in Islamabad
The Geo and SAMA channels , were taken off the air for a short period of time .
The stations showed a message from Pakistan 's media regulatory body saying it is temporarily suspending transmission of " independent news TV channels " until further notice .
Both stations have been critical of the government in the past .
Residents of Somalia 's capital Mogadishu say clashes between rival militias Saturday killed at least 10 people and wounded at least 40 others .
Witnesses say civilians including women and children were among the casualties .
The fighting was sparked by a territorial dispute between gunmen loyal to Mogadishu 's Islamic courts and fighters allied with local warlords .
Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991 , when warlords overthrew former President Mohamed Siad Barre .
The country 's interim government , set up in 2004 , has been hampered by disputes between the president and parliament speaker and their allies .
The interim parliament is scheduled to hold its first meeting on Somali soil next Sunday after previous meetings in Kenya .
Colombia 's government has agreed to temporarily release a jailed Marxist rebel leader in an effort to spur peace talks aimed at ending four decades of violence .
Officials said Wednesday that Francisco Galan , of the National Liberation Army would be freed for three months to allow him to negotiate with civil society leaders about launching talks with the government .
Earlier , officials blamed rebels from a larger Marxist group , the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia for bombing electrical towers in the southwest .
A similar attack Monday cut power to two million people in the area .
Meanwhile , the nation 's Supreme Court has approved the extradition request for paramilitary leader Diego Murillo to face drug charges in the United States .
The request now goes to President Alvaro Uribe for his approval or rejection .
Afghan officials say an Afghan security officer opened fire on U.S. troops while conducting a joint operation with them , killing two and wounding two others .
A spokesman for the governor of Wardak province said the shooting occurred late Friday while Afghan and U.S. forces were on patrol together in Wardak .
It is unclear what motivated the shooting .
A statement from NATO-led forces in Afghanistan said two U.S. soldiers died from injuries sustained in a " hostile attack " Friday , but declined to give further details .
NATO says two other U.S. troops died Friday in a bomb attack in southern Afghanistan .
Another died of wounds sustained in a bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan .
U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan have recently been facing stiffer Taliban resistance .
2009 is the deadliest year for foreign forces since the conflict began nearly eight years ago .
Witnesses in the Gaza Strip say gunmen have fired on the vehicle carrying the director of the United Nations refugee mission in Gaza .
The sources say 11 bullets hit the armored car of John Ging , the Gaza director of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency .
No one was hurt in the attack .
The Associated Press quotes Ging as saying the gunmen tried to force open the car , and that the attackers continued firing as his driver sped away .
He is quoted as describing the incident as a " shocking development . "
On Monday in Gaza , Palestinian gunmen abducted BBC reporter Alan Johnston .
He has not been heard from since .
There has been a series of kidnappings of foreigners in the Gaza Strip over the past year , with most of the hostages released within hours .
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has upheld the two-year doping ban given to German cyclist Danilo Hondo , after he twice tested positive for a stimulant ( carphedon ) at the Tour of Murcia in Spain last March .
Hondo appealed the ban which was handed down last June by the Swiss Olympic Association .
But the Lausanne-based arbitration court rejected Hondo 's appeal to have the ban annulled , saying the lab results clearly established the presence of the stimulant in the German cyclist 's urine .
The Court ruled that the usual two-year suspension provided for the International Cycling Union and World Anti-Doping Code should be imposed .
The 31-year-old Hondo was fired by the Swiss team Gerolsteiner last year , but has denied knowingly taking the stimulant .
Pakistani intelligence officials say a missile fired by an unmanned aircraft has killed at least 12 people in northwest Pakistan .
All such attacks by drone aircraft are believed to be carried out by U.S. forces .
Saturday 's missile strike , aimed at a compound in the village of Issori in North Waziristan , is the first known to have taken place since the start of monsoon floods that have battered much of the country .
During President Barack Obama 's administration there has been an increase in such remote-controlled air strikes against suspected al-Qaida and Taliban hideouts near Pakistan 's border with Afghanistan .
Pakistan 's government has protested against the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty .
Russian prosecutors say they have carried out searches of companies tied to the former Yukos oil empire , on suspicion of possible embezzlement and money laundering by the firm 's employees .
In a statement Wednesday , the prosecutor general 's office said that some Yukos employees , whom it did not name , may have sent company funds to so-called " front " companies abroad .
That announcement comes five months after a Moscow court sentenced former Yukos chief Mikhail Khodorkovsky to nine years in prison on fraud and tax evasion charges .
Critics of President Vladimir Putin call the Khodorkovsky prosecution and imprisonment retaliation for the oil tycoon 's support of Russia 's political opposition , a charge Kremlin authorities deny .
A court recently rejected Mr. Khodorkovsky 's appeal , but reduced his prison term by one year .
President Bush has returned to Washington after wrapping up a tour of South Asia that took him to Afghanistan , India and Pakistan .
The final leg of the trip was in Islamabad , where Mr. Bush held talks Saturday with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on a range of topics , including the war on terrorism and democratic reforms in Pakistan .
Mr. Bush praised the Pakistani leader 's commitment to fighting terror but warned that more work was needed to defeat al-Qaida .
Earlier in India , the U.S. president and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a landmark agreement to provide U.S. support for India 's civilian nuclear projects .
Mr. Bush 's trip began with a surprise visit to Afghanistan Wednesday , where he expressed the United States ' commitment to rebuilding the country .
The president 's trip sparked protests in several Indian and Pakistani cities .
India and the United States have signed an agreement to help each other investigate organized crime -- including terrorism , drug trafficking and economic offenses .
A statement by India 's interior ( Home ) ministry says the agreement is aimed at helping each other by exchanging evidence and transferring suspects so they can testify in court cases .
The pact will also make it easier for authorities in one country to issue search warrants and orders to seize assets on behalf of officials in the other nation .
It was signed by India 's Home Secretary V. K. Duggal and U.S. Ambassador David Mulford , who said the pact will enhance mutual cooperation to combat " criminal activities , drug trafficking and scourge of terrorism . "
Mr. Duggal said India is the 16th country to sign such a treaty with the United States .
The others include Britain , Canada , France , Russia and Switzerland .
A Spanish judge has ordered four Algerians held on charges of running a support network for an Islamic extremist group tied to al-Qaida and released seven others on bail while the investigation continues .
The 11 were arrested last week on suspicion of membership in a cell linked to the Algerian-based Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat .
Meanwhile , French police say they have detained six suspected Islamic extremists on charges of providing logistical support to radical networks .
Authorities say the suspects drew attention to themselves by possessing assets far above their earnings .
But officials say the six were not suspected of planning any attacks .
Police in Britain also announced the arrest north of London of a man suspected of purchasing weapons for use in terrorism .
In Denmark , authorities have released two of seven people arrested last month on suspicion of planning an attack in Europe .
Thai officials say the country plans to install the first tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean this month , nearly two years after a series of massive waves killed some 2,50,000 people around the region .
Thailand 's National Disaster Warning Center and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are to install the first offshore devices on November 28 .
A network of sensors and buoys called the Deep Sea Tsunami Detection Equipment-2 will be installed about 1,100 kilometers off Thailand 's Andaman coast near the Nicobar Islands .
The head of Thailand 's disaster center , Smith Thammararoj , said Thursday that the system could save billions of lives .
About 5,300 people died in Thailand when the tsunami struck in December 2004 .
Eleven countries were affected by the killer waves .
The Voice of America is calling on the Ethiopian government to immediately restore accreditation to VOA reporters covering this week 's election-related protests .
Director David Jackson Friday called the action unwarranted and urged Ethiopian authorities to allow reporters to continue bringing uncensored news to VOA audiences in Africa and around the world .
The three VOA reporters , and two German radio reporters , were covering this week 's demonstrations in Ethiopia 's capital , Addis Ababa , where police opened fire on protesters , killing at least 26 people .
Hundreds of others , including opposition leaders , have been arrested .
Meanwhile , Ethiopia 's rival parties signed a deal Friday to end the clashes , which also includes an agreement on how to probe claims of electoral fraud .
Initial results indicate the ruling party won a majority , but opposition groups say the vote was rigged and declared victory .
Israel says it will not hand over control of any more West Bank towns to Palestinian security forces , because it says the Palestinian Authority is not disarming militants .
Wednesday 's decision by the Israeli security cabinet comes despite a recent Israeli truce pledge to transfer control of five West Bank towns to Palestinian police .
In return for that pledge , the Palestinians agreed at a February peace summit to end attacks on Israeli targets .
Since then , Israel has transferred control of Jericho and Tulkarem .
Talks were under way to complete the handover of three more towns when Israeli radio reported today 's cabinet decision .
Earlier , the Palestinian Authority said again it does not intend to disarm militants in the occupied territories .
But Palestinian security chief Rashid Abu Shbak said militants must still honor their February pledge to abide by the ongoing ceasefire .
The United Nations war crimes tribunal has ordered the immediate release of Mario Cerkez , a former Bosnian Croat commander convicted of atrocities against Muslim civilians in 1993 .
The tribunal 's appeals chamber said Thursday that a revision of Cerkez ' sentence is necessary , but added it will give the reasons for its release order on December 17 .
Analysts told the French news agency , AFP , the release order could mean that the tribunal has decided to reduce Cerkez ' sentence from 15 years to time already served .
In 2001 , the tribunal convicted Cerkez and another defendant , Dario Kordic , of leading a campaign of ethnic cleansing that virtually emptied parts of central Bosnia-Herzegovina of its Muslim population .
Both men pleaded not guilty and appealed their convictions .
Mr. Cerkez surrendered to the tribunal in 1997 .
Nigeria has approved the deployment of 2,000 peacekeeping troops to Sudan 's troubled Darfur region .
A defense spokesman , Brigadier General Ganiyu Adewale , says the first 700 soldiers will leave for Darfur on Friday .
They will boost an African Union force monitoring a shaky cease-fire in the region .
The A.U. force now consists of more than 2,000 soldiers and hundreds of civilian police officers .
Nigerian troops already are part of the force .
Officials hope to increase the size of the force to 12,000 by next year .
The conflict in Darfur pits rebels against government backed-militias .
The violence has left tens of thousands of people dead and more than two million displaced .
Iraqi officials say twin car bombs exploded outside the northern city of Mosul Monday , killing a prison official and one civilian .
Police say the bombs wounded at least 16 others when they detonated at a residential compound for security guards working at Badoosh prison .
The prison holds convicted insurgents , al-Qaida militants and other criminals from across Iraq .
Meanwhile in Baghdad , two car bombs killed at least one person and wounded seven others , including four police officers .
Insurgents have increasingly targeted Iraqi police and government employees in recent months .
The latest violence comes shortly after the chief of staff of Iraq 's armed forces ( Babaker Zibari ) told VOA ( Persian News Network ) that unlike in the past , al-Qaida members and other terrorists now have no permanent bases in Iraq .
The top international mediator in Bosnia-Herzegovina has warned the prime minister of the country 's Serb Republic , Milorad Dodik , against statements that question the country 's sovereignty and territorial integrity .
High Representative Miroslav Lajcak said the international community stands united in its determination not to tolerate any attempts to undermine the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement that halted the Bosnian conflict .
He said that under the agreement , Bosnia is made up of two entities - the Serb Republic and Muslim-Croat Federation .
The mediator noted that in advance of last year 's elections , Mr. Dodik signed a pledge to honor the provisions of the accord .
The Bosnian Serb prime minister recently has questioned Bosnia 's constitutional structure and raised the issue of the Serb Republic 's possible secession from the country .
A top Indian official says a stalemate in the peace process with Pakistan will end only after Islamabad clamps down on terror groups operating from its territory .
Junior Minister for External Affairs , Anand Sharma , told the Indian media Sunday talks can only take place when Pakistan realizes the need to take firm action .
India called off a two day meeting between top diplomats from both countries following the train bombings in Mumbai ( formerly known as Bombay ) on July 11 , which killed nearly 200 people .
Indian investigators arrested eight suspects .
They say at least one of those arrested is believed to be a leader of the Pakistan-based Kashmiri militant group known as Lashkar-e-Toiba , which officials suspect was involved in the attacks .
Lashkar has denied any involvement
South Korea 's foreign ministry says a South Korean fishing boat has been seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia .
The ministry says eight armed assailants in two motor boats captured the vessel Tuesday .
All 25 crew members have been taken hostage .
Eight South Koreans , nine Indonesians , five Vietnamese and three Chinese were on board .
They have been confirmed safe .
The ministry says Dutch and U.S. naval vessels tried to intervene , but gave up after the ship entered Somali waters .
The ship was taken to a port in northeastern Somalia .
South Korea has set up a special task force to respond to the incident .
The International Maritime Bureau says the number of piracy incidents off Somalia jumped to 35 last year , up from just two in 2004 .
Cuba has condemned the execution of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein , calling it an " illegal act " in a country that has been " driven into internal conflict . "
The statement by Cuba 's Ministry of Foreign Relations appeared Monday in the newspaper , Granma , the government 's official publication .
The statement says Cuba has a moral obligation to speak out against , what it calls , the " assassination " of Saddam by an " occupying power , " referring to the United States .
The statement says Cuba has not itself abolished the death penalty because of the " brutal war " imposed on it by the U.S.
The United States had held Saddam since capturing him in December 2003 , but released him to the Iraqi government for hanging on Saturday .
China says a wild goose found in northwestern Qinghai province has tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu .
The Agriculture Ministry announced Monday that tests on Saturday confirmed the goose died of avian influenza .
Officials say Qinghai agricultural authorities have sterilized the area where the dead bird was found .
The bird flu virus killed more than one thousand geese in Qinghai province last year .
The region is located along a major Asian migratory route for birds .
Researchers believe wild birds from the region may have carried bird flu along migratory paths to Europe .
Sri Lanka 's Tamil Tiger rebels say the group 's chief negotiator , Anton Balasingham , will lead their delegation in the upcoming peace talks with the government in Geneva , Switzerland .
The Sri Lankan government has named Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva to head its delegation in the two days of talks set to begin February 22 .
Norwegian peace-broker Erik Solheim announced the date Monday after meeting in London with Balasingham .
The talks will be aimed at salvaging a Norway-brokered truce that went into effect in February 2002 .
Although subsequent peace talks broke down one year later , the truce more or less held until recently .
But renewed violence has put that truce in jeopardy .
Since December , more than 150 Sri Lankans have been killed .
Many Muslims around the world are celebrating the first day of Eid al-Fitr , a festival marking the end of a month-long fast .
In Saudi Arabia Sunday , thousands gathered in Mecca for special early morning prayers marking the end of Ramadan .
Jordan 's King Abdullah joined a prayer service in the Red Sea port of Aqaba .
And Islamic faithful joined services in Egypt and Iraq .
In Washington , President Barack Obama released a statement greeting Muslims on the occasion , calling it a time to celebrate and remember those less fortunate .
The start of the three-day Eid holiday varies in Muslim communities and countries , depending on the sighting of the new crescent moon .
During the holiday , Muslims visit friends and neighbors , exchange gifts and enjoy lunchtime feasts .
It breaks the month-long fast of Ramadan , when Muslims abstain from eating , drinking , smoking and sexual relations from sunrise to sundown .
At least 15 leftist rebels have been killed in clashes with Colombian troops .
Colombian officials said Sunday most of those killed were members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia ( FARC ) .
The fighting came two days after FARC forces attacked two towns , killing three police officers and a girl .
For more than 40 years , Colombia has been mired in a civil war involving the 12,000 strong FARC and a smaller rebel group , rightist paramilitaries and the government .
The conflict leaves thousands of people dead each year .
Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco has criticized a proposal by U.S. lawmakers to build a wall between the United States and Mexico to halt illegal immigration .
President Pacheco told a Mexico City news conference Tuesday that he questioned the effectiveness of such a wall and suggested U.S. resources could be better used .
The Costan Rican president had been meeting with foreign ministers from several other Central American nations this week to discuss regional immigration issues .
The group issued a statement expressing concern over draft legislation in the U.S. Congress that includes punishing illegal immigrants .
Last month , the U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure calling for the construction of security fencing along the southern U.S. border with Mexico in an effort to curb illegal border-crossing .
The measure must still be considered by the U.S. Senate .
Officials in Afghanistan say two NATO soldiers have been wounded in a bomb attack in the north of the country .
The roadside blast hit a convoy of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force Thursday in Baghlan province , 160 kilometers north of Kabul .
Local officials say two Dutch soldiers were wounded .
Taleban fighters have been involved in clashes with U.S. and Afghan government troops in the south and east of the country .
Officials say some anti-government militants operate in the north , but attacks there are rare .
U.S. housing construction plunged to the second-lowest level on record in March , possible evidence that the troubled housing sector has not yet hit bottom .
Thursday 's report from the Commerce Department says construction of new homes fell 10.8 percent last month .
If building continued at that pace for a whole year , only 5,10,000 homes would go up across the nation .
A Labor Department report says the number of Americans getting long-term unemployment aid hit yet another record-high , just above six million last week .
But the job market 's problems may be easing , as the number of people signing up for first time jobless aid declined by 53,000 to a total of 6,10,000 .
The chief prosecutor in the trial of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has detailed government documents surrounding the deadly crackdown on an Iraqi village .
In the paperwork is a document prosecutors said was signed by Saddam approving the execution of 148 Shi'ite Muslim villagers in Dujail .
That item was presented Tuesday .
After Wednesday 's session , the trial was adjourned until March 12 .
Saddam and seven co-defendants are on trial for the killing of more than 140 villagers in Dujail .
The deaths were part of a crackdown following an assassination attempt against Saddam in Dujail .
The defendants face hanging if convicted .
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has emphatically restated his refusal to hold a national referendum on his Gaza withdrawal plan , telling his Likud party that referendum calls are a stalling tactic by opponents of the plan .
In a brief address Thursday , Mr. Sharon noted widespread Israeli public support for the plan to withdraw troops and settlers from Gaza and four small West Bank enclaves later this year .
He accused opponents of the pull-out of trying to hide their opposition behind the referendum calls .
Tuesday , Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom broke ranks with Mr. Sharon , saying he will lead a referendum push .
Polls show at least two-thirds of Israelis favor the pullout , but there is strong opposition from settlers and their supporters .
Mr. Sharon says pull-out opponents have threatened lawmakers , army officers and security officials to gain their support for a referendum .
Moscow has demanded that the United States extradite Leonid Nevzlin , a key executive of Russia 's embattled oil firm Yukos .
The Russian Embassy in Washington submitted the extradition request on Tuesday to the U.S. Department of State and accused Mr. Nevzlin of ordering a series of killings .
The State Department has not yet responded .
Mr. Nevzlin , who has been living in exile in Israel , visited Washington this week to address the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe .
The address covered how the controversial Yukos case was affecting politics and investments in Russia .
The former chief of Yukos , Mikhail Khodorkovsky , was recently sentenced to nine years in prison on tax evasion and fraud charges .
Critics have argued that the case was retaliation for the businessman 's support of the political opposition .
Kremlin officials insisted that they are cracking down on corporate crime .
Iran says it is willing to return to nuclear negotiations with the European Union , but also says it will not suspend nuclear fuel processing .
Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Reza Asefi told a news conference in Tehran Sunday the Iranian government is ready to continue unconditional talks .
He said he was hopeful the two sides could reach an agreement and avoid a referral to the U.N. Security Council .
Britain , France and Germany have said they want Iran to halt uranium processing at its Isfahan plant , which Tehran resumed in August .
Otherwise , they said they will back U.S. efforts to refer Iran to the Security Council where it could eventually face sanctions .
The United States say Iran is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons .
Tehran says its nuclear program will only be used to generate electricity .
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has criticized the outcry about the case of an Iranian woman sentenced to die by stoning .
The United States , European Union and international human rights groups have all urged Tehran to stay the execution of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani .
But Ahmadinejad said Thursday the criticism is unfair because the U.S. has sentenced women to death without similar backlash .
He also said the case is still under investigation .
Ashtiani is a 43-year-old mother of two who was first convicted in 2006 for having an " illicit relationship " with two men after the death of her husband the year before .
She was sentenced at the time to 99 lashes .
Later that year , she was also convicted of adultery and sentenced to be stoned , even though she retracted a confession that she says was made under duress .
Security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas 's Fatah faction have arrested more than 50 rival Hamas activists in the occupied West Bank .
Among those arrested by Mr. Abbas 's forces Monday in the city of Nablus were several prominent local leaders and university professors .
Authorities have not immediately given a reason for the arrests .
Tensions are running high between the rival Palestinian factions since a bombing in the Gaza Strip last Friday killed five Hamas members and a young girl .
Hamas accused Fatah of carrying out the attack , and has detained at least 160 Fatah supporters in Gaza .
Fatah has denied involvement , blaming the blast on Hamas infighting .
The two Palestinian factions have been at odds since Hamas routed Fatah forces in a civil war last year and seized control of Gaza .
U.S. weather forecasters say Hurricane Wilma has strengthened to a powerful category 5 storm and a key low-pressure measurement indicates it is the most powerful storm of the year .
A statement from the U.S. National Hurricane Center says reconnaissance aircraft tracking the storm reported one of the lowest pressure measurements ever recorded .
Lower pressure is one indicator of a more intense hurricane .
Forecasters say Wilma is 270 kilometers south of Grand Cayman and continues moving northwest at about 13 kilometers per hour .
Hurricane watches and a tropical storm warnings remain in effect for the Cayman islands and points west .
Officials say early projections show Wilma is likely to enter the Gulf of Mexico between the Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba before heading towards the southwestern Florida coast later this week .
Pakistani police say Taliban militants have killed two Afghan nationals for allegedly acting as spies for U.S. forces in Afghanistan .
Police say they found the bullet-ridden bodies of two brothers Sunday in a village located in Pakistan 's lawless tribal region of North Waziristan .
Police say a note found with the bodies said the two men were spies from the neighboring Afghan province of Khost .
U.S.-led forces toppled the hard-line Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2001 .
Many militants fled to Pakistan after the attack and continue to stage attacks across the border .
The U.S. has responded to the Taliban 's threats with occasional missile strikes in Pakistan 's tribal areas , which has prompted outcries from Pakistani citizens .
Police in Israel have arrested the captain of a cargo ship that collided with a Japanese fishing boat in the Pacific last month , an accident that killed seven Japanese crew members .
The Israeli captain and other crew members were detained for questioning Sunday when their ship , the Zim Asia , docked in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa .
Police say the captain and others could face charges of " causing accidental death " as well as for failing to help the crew of the capsized boat .
Only one of the Japanese fishermen aboard the Shinsei Maru No. 3 survived the collision on September 28 .
The captain of the Zim Asia , Moshe Ben-David , has previously said he was unaware of any collision , but the Zim shipping company has apologized for the incident and offered compensatiion to the victims .
Indonesia 's top bird flu official says the country hopes to cut human cases from the virus to zero by the end of 2007 .
Speaking with reporters Friday , Bayu Krisnamurthi said Indonesia does not want to see any new human cases of the H5N1 strain of bird flu by the end of next year .
Indonesia plans to boost public awareness of the disease and restructure its poultry industry to reach its goal .
International aid will nearly double next year , increasing to $ 65 million .
Indonesia has the world 's highest death toll from bird flu - 57 .
The latest bird flu victim died on November 28 .
The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed more than 150 people worldwide since 2003 , with most of the deaths in Asia .
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has met Iranian leaders in Tehran to discuss regional tensions and bilateral trade .
Mr. Erdogan had separate meetings Sunday with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Vice President Parviz Davoodi .
Iranian state media say Mr. Erdogan raised Iraq 's security situation during the talks .
Iran and Turkey share borders with Iraq and are concerned about sectarian violence in the country .
The Turkish prime minister also said he would discuss boosting trade with Iran .
He is accompanied on the visit by Turkish oil and gas officials .
Relations between Iran and Turkey have not always been smooth .
Turkey has good relations with the United States and Israel , two countries viewed as hostile by Iran 's government .
Officials in Baghdad say five suspects arrested in the kidnapping and murder of British aid worker Margaret Hassan have admitted involvement in her death .
An Iraqi police spokesman says the men , along with several others , were detained after two early morning raids Sunday in a town south of Baghdad .
He said during the first raid , American and Iraqi troops found several articles believed to be related to the 59-year-old aid worker abducted last October .
Although her body has not been found , a video released to an Arabic news channel , al-Jazeera , showed the murder of a western woman believed to be Mrs. Hassan .
The station refused to air the entire tape for what it called humanitarian reasons .
Married to an Iraqi man , the former director of the Baghdad office of CARE International spent 30 years caring for Iraq 's poorest citizens .
Pope John Paul saw Asia - with its tens of thousands of annual conversions to the Catholic church - as fertile ground for evangelization .
He once referred to the continent as " a church that is still being born . "
The pope made at least a dozen trips to Asian nations during his 26-year papacy .
He twice visited the Philippines - home to two-thirds of Asia 's Catholics and the only predominantly Roman Catholic nation in Asia .
His 1995 trip drew an estimated three-million people .
He also visited South Korea , Indonesia , Thailand , Japan and Singapore , among other countries .
Among the Asian nations that Pope John Paul had hoped to travel to and never did were Vietnam , Cambodia , Laos , and Mongolia .
Church officials say he never ruled out a visit to North Korea .
Indonesia 's Mount Merapi erupted with renewed force Wednesday , prompting evacuations of residents from emergency shelters to locations even further from the volcano .
Indonesian government volcanologist Surano said Wednesday 's eruption was three times more powerful than Merapi 's first blast on October 26 .
The volcano sent hot ash and rocks five kilometers into the sky , forcing authorities to widen the evacuation zone around the mountain from 10 kilometers to 15 kilometers .
The new eruption happened as Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited emergency shelters housing 70,000 evacuees from earlier eruptions .
Surano said shelters within the expanded danger zone will be moved further away .
It may be weeks before the evacuees can return to their homes .
Mount Merapi 's eruptions have killed at least 38 people , most from burns and suffocation .
There was no immediate word of any casualties from Wednesday 's blast .
In Hiroshima , Japan , tens of thousands of people gathered Saturday to reflect on the explosion exactly 60 years before of an atom bomb in the sky above the city .
The city observed a moment of silence at 8.15 in the morning local time , when the world 's first atomic bomb attack occurred on August 6 , 1945 .
In a speech at Hiroshima 's Peace Memorial Park , the city 's mayor called for all nations possessing nuclear weapons to abandon their arsenals .
The atomic bomb , dropped on Hiroshima by a U.S. bomber during World War II , killed more than 1,40,000 people .
Three days later , another atom bomb killed more than 80,000 in Nagasaki , Japan .
Japan surrendered on August 15 , 1945 , ending World War II .
Afghan officials and residents say civilians are among the dead and wounded following U.S. coalition airstrikes in southern Afghanistan .
The U.S. military in Afghanistan says Thursday 's strikes in a remote area of Baghran district in Helmand province targeted two Taleban commanders .
A statement said there were no civilians in the area .
It also said the fate of the commanders was not known .
A provincial police chief , Mohammad Hussein Andiwal , says there were heavy casualties during the strikes but did not know exactly how many Taleban militants and Afghan civilians were killed .
Residents in Baghran district say as many as 200 civilians died .
Hundreds of civilians have been killed during NATO and U.S. military operations against insurgents .
Angry Afghans have protested and President Hamid Karzai has called the situation unacceptable .
Mr. Karzai is scheduled to meet with President Bush at the Camp David presidential retreat north of Washington on Sunday and Monday .
France has placed its former ambassador to the United Nations under investigation for alleged involvement in the Iraqi oil-for-food program scandal .
Jean-Bernard Merimee appeared in a Paris court Wednesday to hear accusations of corruption .
He was freed on bail .
French judicial officials say Mr. Merimee is suspected of receiving illegal payments from oil sales by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein 's regime .
He is one of 10 French officials and business leaders suspected of corruption in the program that allowed Iraq to sell a limited amount of oil to buy food and medicine .
U.N. sanctions barred Iraq from regular oil sales .
Mr. Merimee was French Ambassador to the U.N. from 1991 until 1995 and was later an advisor to Secretary General Kofi Annan .
China says it is sharply increasing government spending on AIDS prevention in an effort to limit the spread of ( HIV ) the virus that causes the disease .
The China Daily reports the annual budget for AIDS prevention programs will rise to 185-million dollars over the next two years - nearly twice the $ 99 million spent this year on anti-AIDS campaigns .
Beijing 's spending on AIDS prevention has increased dramatically since 2001 , when $ 12 million was budgeted for such efforts .
Wednesday 's announcement says China intends to drastically reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS , aiming for a maximum 1.5 million infections by 2010 .
Beijing says 8,40,000 Chinese are currently HIV-positive , but some experts believe that sharply understates the TRUE extent of infection ( in the world 's most populous country ) .
The World Health Organization estimates the AIDS virus could spread to up to 10 million Chinese during the next five years .
Nepalese police detained 41 Tibetans Sunday for illegal entry into the country .
The group was detained at the Thankot police checkpoint outside Kathmandu , after traveling from Bhairahawa , about 280 kilometers southwest of the capital .
A government official said all of them were handed over to the immigration department in Kathmandu Sunday afternoon .
More than 2,500 Tibetan refugees enter Nepal illegally annually in an attempt to reach India , where the Dalai Lama 's government in exile is based .
Economic activity is limited to servicing meteorological and geophysical research stations , military bases , and French and other fishing fleets .
The fish catches landed on Iles Kerguelen by foreign ships are exported to France and Reunion .
The Gambia has sparse natural resource deposits and a limited agricultural base , and relies in part on remittances from workers overseas and tourist receipts .
About three-quarters of the population depends on the agricultural sector for its livelihood .
Small-scale manufacturing activity features the processing of peanuts , fish , and hides .
The Gambia 's natural beauty and proximity to Europe has made it one of the larger markets for tourism in West Africa , boosted by government and private sector investments in eco-tourism and upscale facilities .
In the past few years , The Gambia 's re-export trade - traditionally a major segment of economic activity - has declined , but its banking sector has grown rapidly .
Unemployment and underemployment rates remain high ; economic progress depends on sustained bilateral and multilateral aid , on responsible government economic management , and on continued technical assistance from multilateral and bilateral donors .
The quality of fiscal management , however , is weak .
The government has promised to raise civil service wages over the next two years and the deficit is projected to worsen .
First settled by the French in the early 17th century , the islands represent the sole remaining vestige of France 's once vast North American possessions .
Offshore banking , manufacturing , and tourism are key sectors of the economy .
The government offers low taxes and other incentives to high-technology companies and financial institutions to locate on the island ; this has paid off in expanding employment opportunities in high-income industries .
As a result , agriculture and fishing , once the mainstays of the economy , have declined in their contributions to GDP .
The Isle of Man also attracts online gambling sites and the film industry .
Trade is mostly with the UK .
The Isle of Man enjoys free access to EU markets .
Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy , which held sway in both France and England .
The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II .
Guernsey is a British crown dependency but is not part of the UK or of the European Union .
However , the UK Government is constitutionally responsible for its defense and international representation .
Bolivian opposition leaders have staged protests against President Evo Morales in three of the country 's provinces .
Friday 's protests were centered in the wealthy eastern region of Santa Cruz .
The demonstrators say Mr. Morales has unfairly excluded them from taking part in a planned re-write of Bolivia 's constitution .
The president 's Movement Toward Socialism Party controls the assembly formed to re-write the constitution .
The party wants to make amendments based on a simple majority of votes .
Opposition parties say a two-thirds majority should be required for such changes .
Mr. Morales has vowed to give greater political and economic power to the poor and indigenous peoples in Bolivia .
His recent moves to redistribute land ownership and nationalize the country 's oil and natural gas sectors have been unpopular among conservatives .
Iran 's parliament speaker has criticized U.S. President-elect Barack Obama for saying Tehran 's pursuit of nuclear weapons is unacceptable .
Iranian state media ( IRNA ) quotes Ali Larijani as saying Mr. Obama 's remark signifies pursuit of what Larijani called the same " erroneous U.S. policy of the past . "
Larijani said the United States should send appropriate signals to Middle Eastern countries if it wants to change the situation in the region .
Mr. Obama referred to Iran 's atomic program on Friday in his first news conference since winning the U.S. presidential election .
He also said Iran 's support for terrorist groups must cease .
He also said he will review a letter of congratulation sent to him by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and respond appropriately .
The United States and its Western allies accuse Iran of working to produce a nuclear weapon .
Iran says its atomic program is intended solely to generate electricity .
A new U.S. military report concludes that top Pentagon officials did not direct or encourage the abuse of prisoners in U.S. custody .
Government officials who have read the report say it blames the abuse on low-level leadership and confusion over interrogation rules that were changed multiple times .
Vice Admiral Albert Church conducted a review of U.S. prisoner interrogation techniques that led to the report .
He will present his findings at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday .
The Washington Post newspaper says the report largely summarizes previous military probes , and sheds little new light on the ongoing prisoner abuse controversy .
Two civil rights groups recently sued Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld , saying he approved a list of rough interrogation techniques and did nothing to stop the abuse of prisoners once he learned about it .
Lawyers for eight communities from Nigeria 's oil-producing Niger Delta have filed suit demanding that international oil firms stop burning off gas - a process known as " flaring . "
Activists argue that flaring pollutes the environment and contributes to global warming .
The Nigerian government and oil companies have promised to phase out the practice over the next several years .
But oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has admitted its plan to stop burning off gas from its wells and rigs - which produces huge orange flames following by dense black smoke - is behind schedule .
Nigeria is Africa 's biggest oil producing nation , pumping an estimated 2.3 billion barrels of crude per day .
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas says delays by Israel in carrying out promises made in a recent ceasefire deal are undermining the peace process .
In comments to the Palestinian parliament Tuesday , Mr. Abbas said Israel has been slow to act on the release of prisoners and its promise to withdraw from parts of the West Bank .
He made his remarks ahead of a meeting later today with Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz .
They are expected to discuss the handover to the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank town of Tulkarem .
Their talks will be the highest-level discussions between the two sides since last month 's historic summit in Egypt , where Israel and the Palestinians signed a truce aimed at renewing the peace process .
Afghan man looks at the waistcoat , stained with blood , of Mullah Abdul Fayaz Suspected Taleban militants have killed a leading Muslim cleric in southern Afghanistan .
Local authorities say Mullah Abdul Fayaz was shot and killed in front of his office in Kandahar city Sunday by two gunmen on a motorcycle .
So far , no one has claimed responsibility for the attack .
But the French news agency quoted a spokesman for the ousted Taleban as saying Mullah Fayaz was preaching against the Taleban and " deserved to die " .
Mr. Fayaz was a supporter of Afghan President Hamid Karzai .
Last week , he lead a gathering of clerics from across Afghanistan who condemned the Taleban and called on people to support the government .
The Taleban have declared a holy war against Mr. Karzai 's U.S.-backed government and anyone supporting the presence of foreign troops and aid workers .
Insurgents in Iraq carried out a series of attacks against security forces in Baghdad early Thursday , killing more than 20 people .
Police say a suicide bombing at an army recruitment center in a western part of the capital killed at least 13 people and wounded several others .
Elsewhere in Baghdad , nine policemen were killed when gunmen ambushed two police patrols .
And , a security guard was killed in a car bomb blast that was apparently aimed at a senior Interior Ministry official , who escaped injuries .
Meanwhile , the death toll from Wednesday 's suicide bombing in the northern Kurdish city of Irbil has risen to 60 .
The militant group Ansar al-Sunnah claimed responsibility for that attack , saying it was in retaliation for Kurdish cooperation with U.S. and coalition forces .
Insurgents have stepped up attacks across Iraq since Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari announced a partial cabinet last week .
France 's lower house of parliament , the National Assembly , has voted to extend a national state of emergency for three months in response to the worst civil unrest to hit the country in decades .
The vote followed hours of debate as the opposition Socialists called the extension unnecessary because the violence is abating .
Police officials say only 215 vehicles were burned Monday night in the 19th straight night of violence in predominantly Muslim-inhabited areas of the country .
Some officials described the development as almost a return to normal .
Earlier , Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin made a surprise visit to the Paris suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois hard-hit by the riots .
He said authorities will be firm with lawbreakers , but stressed his determination to deal with injustice , discrimination and unemployment .
Turkey has accused several neighboring countries of concealing bird flu outbreaks and hampering an effort to stop the spread of the disease .
Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker told a news conference Friday Turkey has knowledge through unofficial sources that bird flu exists in what he described as " neighboring countries , which are ruled by closed regimes . "
He did not name the countries , but said their governments do not declare the existence of the disease .
Ankara has reported at least four deaths from the H5N1 strain of bird flu .
Turkey 's outbreak is centered in the east , bordering Syria , Iraq , Iran and Armenia .
The U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization has warned that the bird flu that has hit Turkey may already have arrived in neighboring countries .
The FAO urged authorities in those nations to increase efforts to detect outbreaks .
A suicide car bomb attack on a U.S. embassy convoy in Afghanistan 's capital , Kabul , has killed one Afghan teenager and injured several other people .
Joe Mellot , a U.S. Embassy spokesman , says Ambassador Ronald Neumann was not in the convoy .
But he says several embassy officials and pedestrians were seriously wounded .
Monday 's car bombing took place on a busy main road leading to the U.S. base at Bagram .
Taleban militants have claimed responsibility for the attack .
It comes as NATO , U.S. and Afghan forces prepare for an increase in attacks from the Taleban .
Last year , a resurgent Taleban movement staged the highest number of suicide bombings and other attacks in Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taleban government by U.S. led forces in 2001 .
NATO has launched an offensive in southern Afghanistan to preempt an anticipated spring offensive by Taleban militants .
The Bush administration says terrorist suspects being held in Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , have no constitutional right to challenge their detention in U.S. civilian courts .
In court papers filed Monday , the Justice Department asked an appeals court to dismiss hundreds of cases by detainees at the prison camp .
Lawyers for the detainees have argued the government can not detain terrorist suspects overseas and hold them without access to civilian courts .
But the Justice Department says a new law signed by President Bush last month gives military officials broad authority to detain suspects abroad .
Officials have created a system of military commissions to prosecute cases against suspects at Guantanamo Bay .
Military officials say hearings could begin early next year for dozens of suspected terrorists at the camp .
Iraq 's foreign minister says he has asked Iran for information about the three Americans being held in Iran for allegedly crossing the border without permission .
Hoshyar Zebari says he brought up the Americans during a meeting this week with Iran 's Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qomi , but he does not give further details about the conversation .
The United States does not have diplomatic ties with Iran and is working through the Swiss embassy in Tehran to obtain information on the hikers .
Shane Bauer , Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal were detained by Iranian authorities on July 31 after allegedly crossing the border while hiking in the mountains of Iraq 's Kurdistan region .
Iranian television has described the three as spies .
Shon Meckfessel , a friend who says he stayed behind at an Iraqi hotel because he was sick , has said the other hikers made a " simple and very regrettable mistake . "
The presidents of Iraq and Afghanistan are among those gathering in Austria Monday for a three-day international conference on Islam .
Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik says the conference , titled " Islam in a Pluralistic World , " is aimed at improving understanding and dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims .
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani , Afghan President Hamid Karzai and former Iranian president Mohammed Khatami are expected to attend .
So is 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner and Iranian human rights attorney Shirin Ebadi .
The conference comes amid increasing awareness of the differences over how Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe view Islam 's place in their society .
Lebanon 's top Shi'ite cleric is opposing British Prime Minister Tony Blair 's expected visit to Beirut Monday .
Mr. Blair is visiting the region to support peace efforts , saying the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah militants represents a window of opportunity for progress .
On Sunday , Lebanon 's Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah said Mr. Blair is not welcome in Beirut because of his support for Israel and the United States .
The cleric said Mr. Blair should have demanded a quick cease-fire to end hostilities .
Tight security and protests are expected in the Lebanese capital during Mr. Blair 's visit .
The British leader travels to Beirut from Israel , where Palestinian and Israeli leaders pledged to revive stalled peace talks .
A date for a meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has not been set .
The White House has welcomed a Dubai company 's request for a new security review of its planned take-over of some operations at six American ports .
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Monday that the new review should dispel the concerns of some lawmakers .
He said President Bush remains confident that the $ 7-billion deal does not present a security problem .
Sunday , Dubai Ports World said it plans to ask U.S. officials to conduct a 45-day review of the proposed deal , which would be broader than an earlier inquiry .
Some U.S. lawmakers , however , say they still have concerns about possible terrorist links to Dubai , and have threatened to block the deal .
President Bush has said he will veto any legislation blocking or delaying the deal .
The Treasury Department says the new review will be conducted by the same panel of national security agencies involved in the initial study .
A man whose home was raided by British police on suspicion of terrorism said police never identified themselves and shot him without warning .
Mohammed Abdul Kahar was shot in the shoulder when about 250 police officers burst into his home before dawn on June 2 .
The police were acting on information that a chemical bomb was being made on the property .
Kahar and his brother , Abul Koyair , were detained on suspicion of terrorism and released without charge a week later .
Both brothers said in a news conference Tuesday , that they were beaten by police during the raid .
The London police have come under heavy criticism for the raid .
They have defended their actions , saying they received very specific intelligence that they had to act on .
The U.S. Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the beating of a 64-year old black man in flood-ravaged New Orleans .
The probe announced Monday was launched following the release of a videotape showing two uniformed New Orleans police officers repeatedly punching Robert Davis in the face and body as he was being arrested for public drunkedness .
Another officer is shown shoving and screaming at a news producer who was documenting the confrontation .
The three white police officers have been suspended from the police force without pay .
In court Monday , the men pleaded not guilty to charges of battery in connection with the Saturday evening incident .
An attorney for Mr. Davis said his client had not been drinking .
He said the retired school teacher had suffered fractures to the head from the beating , but was expected to recover .
The European Union says U.S. airstrikes in Somalia are not helpful to efforts to bring long-term stability to the war-torn east African nation .
Tuesday , a spokesman for E.U. Development Commissioner Louis Michel said the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops and the deployment of an international peacekeeping force are the best ways to ensure Somalia 's security .
He said only a political solution that includes all of Somalia 's political forces can bring lasting peace and stability to the nation .
The U.S. military has confirmed an AC-130 gunship carried out air strikes in southern Somalia Sunday .
It says the attack targeted the principal al-Qaida leadership in the region .
Israel 's military chief , Lieutenant-General Dan Halutz , has resigned amid inquiries into last year 's conflict with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon .
General Halutz submitted his resignation to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz Tuesday .
He said he decided " it was time for him to assume responsibilities " and step down , after overseeing the military 's own investigations into the war .
Israel 's Defense Ministry says General Halutz will remain in his post until a successor is named .
General Halutz as well as the Olmert government faced heavy criticism over the military 's performance during the 34-day war .
The conflict ended with Israel falling short of its goals of stopping Hezbollah from firing rockets into Israel and of securing the release of two Israeli soldiers .
Hezbollah gunmen had seized the two soldiers in a deadly cross border raid .
Two federal policemen walk past crosses standing where eight women were found sexually assaulted and murdered in 2001 in Ciudad Juarez Mexican authorities say one woman has been murdered and another raped in a city on the U.S. border known for hundreds of violent crimes against women for more than a decade .
Officials say a 20-year-old woman was stabbed and sexually assaulted before her body was dumped on the street in an industrial district .
Her body was found Thursday , the same day another woman was raped , beaten and left for dead in the middle of a street .
About 350 women have been brutally murdered over a 12-year period in Ciudad Juarez , Mexico , located just across the border from the southwestern U.S. city of El~Paso , Texas .
More than 100 of the victims were sexually assaulted .
Iran and Egypt are to hold talks aimed at restoring full bilateral relations .
A spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry , Hossam Zaki said Tuesday , the two countries have agreed to continue dialogue at the level of senior officials and then foreign ministers .
Iran severed ties with Egypt in 1980 to protest Cairo 's recognition of Israel the year before .
Iran angered Egypt , in turn , by naming a street after the assassin of Anwar Sadat , the Egyptian leader killed in 1981 after he made peace with Israel .
In May , Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tehran is ready to restore full diplomatic relations with Egypt , and could open its embassy in Cairo as soon as the Egyptian government agreed .
Iran and Egypt currently have interest sections in their respective countries .
Oil giant ExxonMobil 's profits surged to a record in the last three months of 2005 .
The world 's largest publicly traded oil company Monday said it made $ 10.7 billion in the fourth quarter .
The results were $ 2.3 billion better than the same period a year ago , and even larger than analysts expected .
ExxonMobil benefited from record-high oil prices that soared as strong demand from growing economies in India , China , and the United States outstripped what oil exporting nations could produce .
The Bloomberg Financial News service reports that ExxonMobil 's annual sales are larger than the gross domestic product of some significant nations like Sweden or Indonesia .
Polish police have arrested more than 200 people in Warsaw , after supporters of a Polish football team went on a rampage to celebrate their team 's championship .
At least 30 policemen were injured , as fans of Legia Warsaw smashed up shops and outdoor cafes in the capital 's Old Town quarter that is popular with tourists .
Drunken fans hurled stones at police , who responded with tear gas and water cannon .
Football-related violence has been a growing problem in Poland , prompting concerns that Polish fans could cause trouble at next month 's World Cup in Germany .
Top aides of the Bush administration have met with African American leaders amid criticism of the federal government 's response to Hurricane Katrina .
The meeting , held at the White House , came a day after U.S. congressman Elijah Cummings , a Democrat from Maryland , complained about a slow response in helping residents of stricken areas , a majority of whom are black .
Mr. Cummings says he believes the meeting was to assure black leaders that any missteps in getting relief to hurricane victims would be corrected .
Among those represented at the meeting were the Congressional Black Caucus , the Urban League and the NAACP ( National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ) .
Britain 's top defense official is in Afghanistan to discuss the role of NATO troops in the country , after some member nations said they want NATO forces to be limited to peacekeeping missions .
While in Kabul for talks Saturday , Defense Secretary John Reid told reporters alliance members needed " to work through " the issue of whether NATO forces should be involved in offensive combat missions .
Such operations are currently handled by the U.S.-led coalition forces .
Britain is expected to deploy more troops under NATO 's umbrella to Afghanistan 's restive southern region .
Last month , Germany , France and Spain expressed concern that peacekeeping operations and offensive operations would be linked together under one mission .
India and the United States have announced plans to boost defense relations , after Washington unveiled plans to sell an undetermined amount of F-16 fighter jets to India 's rival , Pakistan .
Under the agreement with India , the Bush administration is offering to increase missile defense and other security high-tech initiatives , as well as to expand economic and energy cooperation .
The accord was announced Friday , shortly after Washington said it would sell the fighter jets to Pakistan , in a major policy shift .
The United States banned the sale of fighter jets to Pakistan 15 years ago because of its nuclear weapons program .
Officials say the ban was lifted because of President Pervez Musharraf 's decision to stand with the U.S.-led war on terrorism .
U.S. officials say the administration aims to maintain the balance of power between India and Pakistan .
The Zaragoza airport in northern Spain was evacuated Wednesday after it received threats made in the name of the Basque separatist group ETA .
Officials say they received word that a rocket launcher had been set up to carry out an attack during a two-hour time frame .
Police found no explosives or any evidence an attack was planned .
The airport has been reopened .
ETA fired a rocket at the Zaragoza airport in June , but no one was hurt .
ETA has been blamed for more than 800 deaths since the 1960s when it began its armed campaign for an independent Basque state in northern Spain and southwestern France .
A U.S. judge has ordered the extradition of Bosnia-Herzegovina 's former United Nations ambassador , who faces embezzlement charges in Bosnia .
In his ruling , late Wednesday , New York Judge Frank Maas granted a petition by Bosnian authorities - who have accused former ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey of stealing $ 2.4 million in Bosnian public funds .
But the judge stayed his ruling for 10 days to give the accused time to appeal .
Bosnian officials say the missing funds include $ 1.8 million from an investment bank and another $ 6,00,000 from their country 's U.N. mission .
Mr. Sacirbey , who has dual U.S. and Bosnian citizenship , has denied the charges and fought the extradition request .
He was Bosnia Herzegovina 's U.N. ambassador between 1992 and 2000 .
Kyrgyzstan 's acting foreign minister says those who deported four Uzbek asylum seekers back to Uzbekistan will be severely punished .
Roza Otunbayeva told a news conference at the Voice of America Tuesday that the four were returned in violation of Kyrgyz law and without the presence of U.N. human rights officials .
She said an investigation is underway .
More than 400 Uzbeks remain in a refugee camp on the Kyrgyz border .
They fled political violence in Uzbekistan last month when troops fired on unarmed protesters in Andijon .
Witnesses say hundreds were killed .
Ms. Otunbayeva met earlier Tuesday with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice .
She said the talks were fruitful and described the meeting as a turning point for Kyrgyzstan 's new government .
Former President Askar Akayev fled the country during a popular uprising in March against a parliamentary election that the opposition and independent monitors say was rigged .
The controversial relationship in the United States between the medical profession and the drug industry is in the spotlight .
A prominent medical publication , The Journal of the American Medical Association , has criticized the results of two clinical trials by the pharmaceutical giant , Merck .
The clinical trials , completed before the drug was later taken off the market , tested an anti-inflammatory drug called Vioxx for possible treatment of Alzheimer 's disease .
VOA 's Melinda Smith examines the possible conflicts of interest raised by the journal article , and whether lives might have been saved if the public had known more .
It is almost certain that the National Football League 's New Orleans Saints will have to play all their home games this season somewhere other than their hurricane- and flood-ravaged city .
Their home stadium , The Superdome , suffered major damage and was used as a refuge for thousands of people while the surrounding city was flooded , and it could be uninhabitable for months .
The New Orleans Saints are relocating their workouts to Trinity University in San Antonio , Texas .
The first home NFL game for the team this season is scheduled for September 18 against the New York Giants .
The two most mentioned alternative sites for the game are the Alamodome in San Antonio or the 90,000 - seat stadium in Baton Rouge , which is the home of Louisiana State University .
Saints club officials have said they would like to keep the home games in Louisiana .
Plants have historically played an important role in medicine .
And large parts of the world still rely on plant medicine .
Now leading scientists are studying herbal medicine to see if it can equal or surpass medical science .
VOA 's Carol Pearson has more .
A police raid that killed three militants holding hostages at a mosque has sparked angry protests in Indian-controlled Kashmir .
Thousands of people in the Palnoo village in the southern district of Kulgam demonstrated against the police action Tuesday .
Authorities said three of the five hostages escaped Monday when they were allowed to leave the mosque for food , but refused to go back .
The other two hostages were freed after police fired teargas shells into the mosque , forcing the militants into the open , where two were killed .
The third militant fled to one of the mosque 's minarets where he died in an exchange of gunfire with police .
Various Islamic militant groups have been fighting for Kashmir 's independence from predominantly Hindu India , with some groups demanding its merger with mostly Muslim Pakistan .
Philippine marines say they have seized thousands of blasting caps and a detonator from a ferry on the southern island of Jolo .
Authorities say 6,000 blasting caps were discovered Thursday on board the boat .
A passenger was also taken into custody after police found explosives in his bag .
The man had earlier refused to allow authorities to inspect his belongings .
Officials say passengers were ordered off the ferry immediately following the discovery .
The ferry was headed to Siasi island from Jolo , which is a stronghold of the militant group Abu Sayyaf .
The group has been blamed for a series of attacks in the southern Philippines .
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has accused Russia of deliberately damaging key gas and electric lines that service the former Soviet republic .
President Saakashvili said in a televised address Sunday that Moscow 's explanation of sabotage is " inadequate and contradictory . "
He spoke hours after two explosions cut off natural gas supplies to Georgia , and another blast damaged a high-voltage power line .
Russian officials say a criminal investigation is underway into the blasts .
Mr. Saakashvili also called Moscow an " unprincipled blackmailer " for recently doubling the price it charges Georgia for natural gas .
He said Russian politicians threatened to cut off Georgia 's heat and electricity , and now such utilities have been cut during the coldest winter in decades .
A spokesman for Russia 's natural gas giant , Gazprom , says gas supplies to Georgia will be restored as soon as possible .
President Bush has ordered all White House staff to attend a new round of ethics briefings in the wake of the indictment of a top aide .
In a memo released Saturday , President Bush told his entire staff to attend the briefings , which will include procedures for handling classified information .
The announcement comes one week after Vice President Dick Cheney 's chief of staff , Lewis Libby , was charged with obstruction of justice and perjury .
The case involves the leak of the identity of a CIA officer married to a critic of the intelligence leading up to the Iraq war .
In their weekly radio address , Democrats say there are very serious questions about how the Bush administration handled pre-war intelligence .
Senator Barbara Mikulski , of the state of Maryland also said Mr. Bush should fire all those involved in the leak of the CIA officer 's name .
Dozens of anti-war demonstrators have squared off with counter-protesters near President Bush 's Crawford , Texas ranch .
As protesters seeking the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq rallied Saturday , flag-waving Bush supporters , carrying signs in favor of the war , gathered across the street .
Authorities turned out in force to keep the two groups separated .
The protests come as the mother of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq remains encamped along a road near Mr. Bush 's ranch , calling for a meeting with the president .
Cindy Sheehan says she is asking the president to tell her what her son died for since no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq .
Mr. Bush has said it would be a mistake to bring the troops home now .
He reiterated that message Saturday in his weekly radio address .
A roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan has killed eight civilians .
Officials say women and children were among the victims of Monday 's blast in Ghazni province .
The French news agency quotes a provincial police as saying the bomb was planted by the Taliban .
In southern Afghanistan , NATO said a joint Afghan-international force has killed a Taliban commander and several armed individuals .
The alliance says the Afghan and coalition forces encountered hostile fire Sunday at a compound outside Kandahar City .
The forces returned fire , killing Taliban commander Shyster Uhstad Khan , and several others .
One suspected insurgent was detained .
NATO say Khan was involved in the distribution and purchase of explosives .
NATO has assumed command of 12,000 U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan , completing the alliance 's hold on security throughout the country .
NATO now commands international forces across the country and its capital , Kabul .
It is the organization 's largest operation .
The ceremony marking the transfer of command was held in Kabul Thursday .
U.S. and NATO commanders as well as Afghan President Hamid Karzai attended .
President Karzai thanked his allies for their help in battling terrorism .
The commander of NATO 's Afghan force , British General David Richards , said the unity of command the transfer brought will enhance the effectiveness of the overall operation .
Referring to the fight in southern Afghanistan since NATO took command there in July , Richards said the NATO force has shown its resolve to meet the challenges of its expanded mission .
Richards was promoted to four-star general hours before the command change .
Burma 's military government said today that ex-Prime Minister Khin Nyunt was ousted last month because his investigations of military commanders threatened the unity of the armed forces .
State-controlled newspapers on Sunday published a speech delivered October 24 by ruling council member General Thura Shwe Mahn , who said Khin Nyunt began investigating rival officers after being told he would be replaced as military intelligence chief .
Thura Shwe Mahn said those actions posed a serious threat to the unity of the military and the nation .
He also told businessmen with connections to Khin Nyunt to disclose that information to the ruling council .
The former prime minister was replaced October 19 by hardliner Lieutenant General Soe Win .
The change in leaders is believed to be indicative of deep divisions within the government .
A new report says nearly 4,000 people have been killed in fighting in Afghanistan this year .
The Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board Monday , says insurgent violence has killed 3700 people so far this year , most of them rebels .
The report also says militants launch about 600 attacks a month , four times higher than last year 's monthly average .
The monitoring board is comprised of Afghan and international representatives , including the United Nations .
The report comes as Afghan officials announced that the bodies of 20 Taleban militants had been recovered from Bermel district in Paktika province , where NATO and Afghan forces recently conducted a mission .
A U.S.-backed operation pushed the Taleban from power in 2001 , but members of the extremist group continue to fight Afghan and foreign forces defending the Kabul government .
Indian border security forces are accusing their Pakistani counterparts of lobbing at least four rockets into northern Punjab state .
Indian officials said no one was injured in Saturday 's incident but that two of the rockets landed near a border security outpost .
Two more landed in fields belonging to a nearby village .
They say not all of the rockets exploded upon impact .