News For Wednesday Jul 16, 2008 News For Wednesday Jul 16, 2008

World World

Amnesty: Venezuela neglecting battered women - Added 6 weeks ago

Venezuela is dragging its feet in establishing a support system for battered women, Amnesty International said in a report issued Wednesday. President Hugo Chavez's government passed new domestic violence legislation...

UN sees humanitarian aid shortfall - Added 6 weeks ago

The United Nations blamed the increasing price of food and fuel worldwide for a shortfall in emergency humanitarian aid of more than $3 billion for 34 nations. U.N. officials said that those costs along with natural...

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,121 - Added 6 weeks ago

As of Wednesday, July 16, 2008, at least 4,121 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians...

Italy fingerprint plan gets initial OK - Added 6 weeks ago

An Italian parliamentary panel gave initial approval Wednesday to a plan to fingerprint everyone in the country, a move that could defuse criticism over a mandatory program to fingerprint Gypsies. The House of Deputies...

Mexico offers reward for killers of 8 - Added 6 weeks ago

Mexico's government offered a reward of nearly US$100,000 Wednesday for information leading to the capture of gunmen who killed an 11-year-old girl and seven others in a northern city. The eight were leaving a party...

Canada won't seek return of Gitmo detainee - Added 6 weeks ago

Canada will not seek the return of a young detainee at Guantanamo Bay, officials said Wednesday, a day after the release of a video showing the teenage prisoner sobbing for his mother and pleading for Canada's help. A...

Gunman wounds 6 in Jordan's capital - Added 6 weeks ago

A gunman shot and wounded six people near a Roman amphitheater in Jordan's capital Wednesday, authorities said. The gunman shot himself in the head as he was chased by police, and was in critical condition, Jordan's...

African envoys seek to free Bashir of war charges - Added 6 weeks ago

African envoys sought support Wednesday from Russia and China for ways of letting Sudan's president dodge a global court prosecutor's Darfur war crimes charges. "The search for justice should not jeopardize the other...

Pope backs Australian apology to Aborigines - Added 6 weeks ago

Pope Benedict XVI has praised the Australian government for its apology to the country's indigenous Aborigines for past injustices. Benedict made the remarks in a short speech Thursday in his first public appearance as...

Mandela group declares food human right - Added 6 weeks ago

Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan and other members of Nelson Mandela's global crisis task force turned their attention to world hunger on Wednesday, focusing on soaring food prices. The Nobel laureates and human rights...

Mexico drug lord's extradition halted - Added 6 weeks ago

A Mexican judge has suspended the extradition of a Tijuana-based drug cartel leader to the United States, his lawyer and the attorney general's office said Wednesday. The judge ruled last week that Benjamin Arellano...

Benedict keeps to West in travel - Added 6 weeks ago

While he didn't expect to travel much, Pope Benedict XVI is actually keeping pace with his globe-trotting predecessor John Paul II. The difference is their destinations. John Paul, only 58 when he assumed the papacy,...

Thousands cheer 5 released Lebanese militants - Added 6 weeks ago

Five Lebanese militants got a hero's welcome from tens of thousands of cheering Hezbollah supporters and kisses from the U.S.-backed prime minister Wednesday after being set free by Israel in exchange for the bodies of...

Israeli critics question lopsided prisoner swap - Added 6 weeks ago

Critics of Israel's lopsided prisoner exchange with Lebanese guerrillas said Wednesday that such deals only encourage more hostage-taking _ a fear underscored by Gaza militants who said the swap proves that kidnapping...

A look at Israeli-Lebanese prisoner swaps - Added 6 weeks ago

A look at Israeli-Lebanese prisoner swaps: _ July 16, 2008: Israel frees five militants and begins returning 199 bodies of dead Lebanese and Palestinian fighters in return for remains of two Israeli soldiers held by...

Colombia: Red Cross symbol wrongly used in rescue - Added 6 weeks ago

A member of the military mission that tricked Colombian rebels into freeing 15 hostages wore the insignia of the International Red Cross during the operation, President Alvaro Uribe said Wednesday. His government...

MISSING TITLE - Added 6 weeks ago

House passes bill governing intel budget, demands lawmakers get greater access to spy secrets. ...

Some US soldiers in Iraq yearn to be in Afghan war - Added 6 weeks ago

Spc. Grover Gebhart has spent nine months at a small post on a Sunni-Shiite fault line in western Baghdad. But the 21-year-old soldier on his first tour in Iraq feels he's missing the real war _ in Afghanistan, where...

Jailed Russian tycoon Khodorkovsky seeks parole - Added 6 weeks ago

Jailed former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky filed a request for parole Wednesday and his lawyer challenged Russia's new president to follow through on promises to uphold the rule of law. Khodorkovsky, called a...

Car bomb in Iraq kills 18, including children - Added 6 weeks ago

A car bomb killed at least seven children and 11 other people in a northern city, providing a reminder that militants still can cause casualties despite security improvements that led U.S. troops to return a southern...

First stone laid for Louvre's Islamic art gallery - Added 6 weeks ago

The first stone was laid Wednesday at the Louvre's new Arts of Islam gallery, the first major modern architectural addition to the museum since its famed glass pyramid was built in the 1980s. President Nicolas Sarkozy...

Cappucci-No: Rome bans snacks at tourist sites - Added 6 weeks ago

Don't chow, bella! At least not on the steps of Roman monuments. City Hall is banning all those enjoying a Roman holiday this summer from snacking near the sights in Rome's historical center with fines up to $80. ...

France denies citizenship to veiled Muslim woman - Added 6 weeks ago

The case started quietly, when a Muslim woman who sheaths herself in a head-to-toe veil was denied French citizenship because she had not assimilated enough into this society. France's highest body upheld the decision,...

US abandons Afghan outpost where 9 troops died - Added 6 weeks ago

U.S. troops abandoned a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan where militants killed nine of their comrades this week, officials said Wednesday, in another sign of the struggle facing foreign and Afghan security forces...

Freed Lebanese prisoners at a glance - Added 6 weeks ago

A look at five Lebanese prisoners freed by Israel on Wednesday as part of an exchange deal with Hezbollah: SAMIR KANTAR _ Born on July 20, 1952. Kantar was serving multiple life terms for a 1979 attack in the...

Anglicans meet as schism threat looms - Added 6 weeks ago

The Lambeth Conference, a once-a-decade summit of the world's Anglican bishops starting this week, will be a tense, closely watched family reunion. The Anglican Communion has been splintering since 2003, when the...

New sport combines boxing and chess - Added 6 weeks ago

Nikolay Sazhin almost knocked out his opponent with a blow to the chin in the second round. But he had to take the queen to win the match. In front of 1,000 cheering fans one recent Saturday night, Sazhin moved his...

A look at papal travel - Added 6 weeks ago

POPE BENEDICT XVI: Pope Benedict XVI has made nine foreign pilgrimages since assuming the papacy in 2005, the same number as his predecessor John Paul II during the first three years of his papacy. Benedict has...

Serbia investigates diplomats who assisted escape - Added 6 weeks ago

Serbia's state prosecutor is investigating diplomats who allegedly helped a Serbian student wanted in the United States flee to his home country. Miladin Kovacevic, 20, faces assault charges in the United States for...

World Court: US should halt executions of Mexicans - Added 6 weeks ago

The U.N.'s highest court ordered U.S. authorities on Wednesday to do everything possible to halt the executions of five Mexicans in Texas until their cases are reviewed. The Bush administration has unsuccessfully tried...

Cambodia says it will meet Thais on border dispute - Added 6 weeks ago

Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to meet to avert a clash over a disputed temple site, a Cambodian minister said Wednesday, as hundreds of soldiers from both countries faced off in "disputed border territory." A...

Gunmen attack naval houseboat in Nigeria; 5 dead - Added 6 weeks ago

A band of suspected militants attacked a naval houseboat stationed in Nigeria's restive, oil-rich south Wednesday, sparking a gunbattle that left five people dead, military officials said. About 30 gunmen attacked a...

Malaysian opposition chief arrested in sodomy case - Added 6 weeks ago

Police arrested Malaysia's leading opposition figure on Wednesday on suspicion that he sodomized a male aide _ the second time in a decade he has faced the accusation that could send him to jail for 20 years and hobble...

Sri Lankan military: Soldiers capture rebel base - Added 6 weeks ago

Sri Lankan soldiers captured a key naval base used by the Tamil Tiger rebels in the northern part of the country, the military said Wednesday, a day after fighting in the region reportedly killed 51 rebels and a...

3 Chinese carrying ivory are questioned in Kenya - Added 6 weeks ago

Three Chinese citizens were arrested Wednesday at Nairobi's international airport carrying dozens of pieces of ivory, including chopsticks, bracelets and carved figurines. The two women and one man had about 2.5...

Pirates raid Norwegian ship in Nigerian waters - Added 6 weeks ago

Armed pirates hijacked a Norwegian ship off southern Nigeria on Wednesday, roughing up the crew but releasing them after two hours, officials said. The suspected pirates climbed aboard the ship in Port Harcourt,...

Sudan parliament condemns charges against leader - Added 6 weeks ago

Sudan's parliament has condemned genocide charges against the country's president, saying his indictment by the International Criminal Court endangers vital peace agreements in Darfur and the rest of the country. Ghazi...

India scales down briefing on nuclear monitoring - Added 6 weeks ago

India has scaled down and moved a briefing with the International Atomic Energy Agency on monitoring of its nuclear sites, diplomats said Wednesday. India, which possesses nuclear weapons, had initially called a...

Gabon arrests alleged human skull traffickers - Added 6 weeks ago

A police sting in Gabon brought down a ring of grave robbers suspected of selling human skulls to makers of traditional medicines and amulets, officials said Wednesday. Eight Gabonese suspects were arrested last week...

Indian police say at least 20 die in rebel attack - Added 6 weeks ago

At least 20 special commando police officers were killed Wednesday when their vehicle struck a land mine planted by communist rebels in eastern India, police said. The policemen belonging to a counter-rebel force were...

Saudi king calls for religious reconciliation - Added 6 weeks ago

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia exhorted followers of the world's leading faiths to turn away from extremism and embrace a spirit of reconciliation, saying at the start of an interfaith conference Wednesday that history's...

Pope ends Australia vacation, readies for pilgrims - Added 6 weeks ago

Pope Benedict XVI ended a short vacation with a visit from some of Australia's exotic animals then took up residence in a gothic cathedral on Wednesday to prepare for his debut in front of some 200,000 pilgrims at the...

Lebanese gunman at center of Israel prisoner swap - Added 6 weeks ago

The Lebanese gunman at the center of Israel's prisoner swap with Hezbollah spent three decades in an Israeli prison for one of the grisliest attacks in the country's history. Samir Kantar was one of four militants who...

Wary China tells local leaders to manage unrest - Added 6 weeks ago

Responding to a fresh wave of unrest as China gears up to host the Olympics next month, the communist leadership has told local leaders to be on alert to public grievances and find ways to resolve them. The order is...

A look at previous Israeli-Lebanese prisoner swaps - Added 6 weeks ago

A look at previous Israeli-Lebanese prisoner swaps: _ 2004: Israel and Hezbollah exchange an Israeli civilian and the bodies of three Israeli soldiers for 436 Arab prisoners and the bodies of 59 Lebanese fighters. _...

Karzai ousts presidential rival - Added 6 weeks ago

President Hamid Karzai ousted Afghanistan's top prosecutor on Wednesday, a day after the official announced he would run in next year's presidential election. Karzai's office said Attorney General Abdul Jabar Sabet's...

Co-operative Group purchases Somerfield - Added 6 weeks ago

The Co-operative Group said Wednesday it had struck a deal to acquire British supermarket Somerfield for 1.56 billion pounds (US$3.12 billion). The deal would secure the Co-op's place as Britain's fifth-biggest food...

New Zealand teen saved from hunting dogs - Added 6 weeks ago

A motorist saved a teenager being savaged by snarling pack of pig hunting dogs in New Zealand by pulling him into the safety of her car, police said Wednesday. The pitbull-greyhound crossbreeds escaped from their...

Germany's Schroeder to attend Olympic opening - Added 6 weeks ago

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder plans to attend the opening of the Beijing Olympics next month, his office said Wednesday. Confirmation that Schroeder would attend the Aug. 8 ceremony came as he cautioned...

Japanese bus hijacked, passengers safe - Added 6 weeks ago

An intercity bus was hijacked Wednesday by a knife-wielding teenager, but all passengers were freed soon afterward unharmed, police and local media said. The suspect, who was carrying two knives and claimed to be 14...