News For Friday Aug 22, 2008 News For Friday Aug 22, 2008

World World

NKorea vows to boost 'war deterrent' - Added 1 day ago

North Korea stepped up criticism of ongoing U.S.-South Korea military exercises, warning Wednesday that it would boost its "war deterrent" _ a euphemism for its nuclear programs. North Korea "will increase its war...

Twin car bombings hit Algerian hotel, barracks - Added 1 day ago

Twin car bombings rocked a hotel and military headquarters in the Algerian town of Bouira on Wednesday, killing 11 people a day after a suicide bombing in a neighboring region killed 43, official media and witnesses...

Several missing after flooding in eastern Nepal - Added 1 day ago

A river swollen by monsoon rains spilled from its banks and flooded villages in eastern Nepal on Wednesday. Initial reports said several people were missing after being swept away in the water. Army helicopters were...

Red Cross says staff heading to S. Ossetia capital - Added 1 day ago

The Red Cross says that it is sending workers to the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali for the first time since the brief Russian-Georgian war broke out in the breakaway province earlier this month. The move follows...

Russia says 64 soldiers dead in fight with Georgia - Added 1 day ago

A top Russian general says 64 of the country's soldiers were killed and 323 wounded in this month's fighting with Georgia. The figure given Wednesday by Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovistsyn, deputy head of the general staff,...

Indian airport workers strike, flights delayed - Added 1 day ago

International and domestic flights were disrupted across India on Wednesday as thousands of airport employees went on strike to protest plans to privatize airports, officials said. The airport in Calcutta, the largest...

Court: Accused Nazi eligible for extradition - Added 1 day ago

An 86-year-old man accused of killing a Jewish teenager in Hungary during World War II can be extradited to Hungary to face charges, an Australian judge found Wednesday. Lawyers for former Hungarian soldier Charles...

Landslides caused by typhoon kill 4 in Philippines - Added 1 day ago

Landslides killed three young brothers and an elderly woman in the northern Philippines as a powerful typhoon battered the region Wednesday, prompting authorities to cancel classes and raise storm alerts. Typhoon Nuri...

Pirates seize Malaysian tanker off Somalia's coast - Added 1 day ago

Armed pirates seized a Malaysian palm oil tanker with 39 crew off the coast of Somalia _ the fourth hijacking in a month, a global maritime watchdog said Wednesday. Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime...

Iraqi troops detain son of prominent Sunni leader - Added 1 day ago

The U.S. military says Iraqi troops have detained the son of a prominent Sunni leader during a raid in Baghdad. The arrest of Adnan al-Dulaimi's son Muthanna comes eight months after the detention of another son...

Israel shuts Gaza crossings after rocket attack - Added 1 day ago

Israel has closed its cargo crossings with the Gaza Strip following a Palestinian rocket attack on southern Israel that violated a truce. The rocket exploded in open field late Tuesday and caused no injuries or damage....

Glitter held at Thai airport after prison release - Added 1 day ago

British glam rocker Gary Glitter, who served nearly three years in a Vietnamese prison for molesting children, refused to board airplanes out of Thailand on Wednesday after being denied entry into the country, a senior...

2 women sentenced to labor for wanting to protest - Added 1 day ago

Chinese authorities have ordered two elderly women to spend one year in a labor camp after they applied to hold a protest during the Beijing Olympics against being forced from their homes, a relative said Wednesday. ...

Darfur tribal chiefs throw in with al-Bashir - Added 1 day ago

When Sudan's president landed in this remote western Darfur town, he was warmly greeted by a man who by all logic should be his mortal enemy _ a tribal chief the Sudanese leader is charged with trying to exterminate. ...

Post-Olympic clamp on Muslim Xinjiang possible - Added 1 day ago

As police with riot clubs patrolled nearby, a merchant whispered that he feared a sweeping crackdown in China's northwestern Muslim region once the Olympic spotlight fades. "After the Olympics, the government will...

Prospects grim for abandoned baby whale in Sydney - Added 1 day ago

A hungry and abandoned humpback whale calf that has been trying to suckle from boats in the waters off north Sydney rebuffed fresh attempts by wildlife workers to return it to the open ocean Wednesday and appeared to be...

Divisions emerge in Pakistan's ruling coalition - Added 1 day ago

Just a day after Pervez Musharraf's resignation, Pakistan's governing coalition fell into wrangling Tuesday over restoring the judges he fired, exposing troublesome divisions that could disrupt picking his successor as...

Report: 1,200 flee as quake hits southern China - Added 1 day ago

A report says about 1,200 people have evacuated their homes after a 5.3-magnitude earthquake hit southern China near its border with Myanmar. The state-run Xinhua News Agency says no deaths were reported in Wednesday...

Pirates seize Malaysian tanker off Somalia's coast - Added 1 day ago

Armed pirates have seized a Malaysian tanker carrying palm oil and more than 20 crew members in the Gulf of Eden off the coast of Somalia, the fourth such hijacking in a month, a global maritime watchdog said Wednesday....

China's Olympic ceremony features sacrifices - Added 2 days ago

Martial arts student Cheng Jianghua only saw the army barracks he stayed in and the stadium where he performed at the spectacular Olympics opening ceremony. But his sacrifices were minor _ other performers were injured,...

Typhoon Nuri dumps heavy rains in Philippines - Added 2 days ago

A powerful typhoon packing winds of 87 mph battered the northern Philippines with heavy rains Wednesday, closing schools and putting authorities on alert for flash floods and landslides. The eye of Typhoon Nuri, with...

Paraguayan president installs new police chief - Added 2 days ago

Paraguay's new president is replacing the nation's police commander four days into the new administration. Federico Acuna is taking the reins from Fidel Isasa in the nation's top police post. President Fernando Lugo...

Puerto Rico governor indicted on 5 new charges - Added 2 days ago

A U.S. federal grand jury handed down a new indictment against Puerto Rico Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila Tuesday, charging him with four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in...

Argentina opens trial in deadly nightclub fire - Added 2 days ago

An Argentine nightclub owner, six rock musicians and three low-level public officials went on trial Tuesday for a 2004 discotheque blaze that killed 194 concertgoers in the country's deadliest fire. Cromagnon Republic...

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,144 - Added 2 days ago

As of Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008, at least 4,144 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...

US, allies urge swift UN action on Georgia crisis - Added 2 days ago

Backed by the United States and European powers, Georgia pleaded Tuesday for the U.N. Security Council to demand that Russia immediately withdraw its troops from its small neighbor. The ambassadors of Georgia, the U.S....

NATO pulls its punches on penalty against Russia - Added 2 days ago

NATO pulled its punches against Russia on Tuesday, suspending formal contacts as punishment for the Georgia invasion but bucking U.S. pressure for more severe penalties. The Russian ambassador to NATO played down the...

Mexico church assailed for maligning miniskirt - Added 2 days ago

A Catholic priest's condemnation of miniskirts on an official church Web site is causing outrage among some Mexican women, who say the Roman Catholic Church is making it easier to justify sexual violence against women. ...

Russia warns Ukraine not to interfere at navy base - Added 2 days ago

Russia's foreign minister warned Ukrainian leaders Tuesday against trying to restrict the Kremlin's use of a Crimean naval base it leases from Ukraine, adding to tensions that have heated up since Russian troops invaded...

Fire breaks out in Egypt's parliament - Added 2 days ago

Fire ravaged a 19th century palace used by the upper house of Egypt's parliament Tuesday, with flames bursting through windows as helicopters scooped water from the Nile River to douse the blaze. Flames soared upward...

Lawyer: Canadian suspect unaware of UK bomb plot - Added 2 days ago

A Canadian man accused of involvement in a plot to bomb British targets wanted to fight alongside insurgents in Afghanistan but never intended to bomb civilians in Britain, his lawyer said Tuesday. Momin Khawaja, a...

Bomber kills 43 at Algerian police academy - Added 2 days ago

A suicide bomber drove a car full of explosives into a line of applicants at an Algerian police academy Tuesday, killing at least 43 people in the deadliest terror attack to jolt this energy-rich U.S. ally since the...

Poland to offer asylum, money to Iraqis - Added 2 days ago

Poland's prime minister says his country will offer asylum or a $40,000 payment to any Iraqi working for its military or police in Iraq. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his government on Tuesday approved the plan....

Recent attacks on NATO, US forces in Afghanistan - Added 2 days ago

Some of the deadliest attacks on NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan this year: _ Aug. 18: Some 100 insurgents kill 10 French troops outside Kabul, while six suicide bombers try to storm a U.S. base. _ Aug. 1:...

Afghan president says he will run for office again - Added 2 days ago

President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday he would seek re-election next year in hopes of finishing a job he said he hasn't yet completed. In a candid admission of some of his failures after four years in office, Karzai said...

China detains 6 US pro-Tibet activists in Beijing - Added 2 days ago

Police detained five American activists Tuesday after they unfurled a "free Tibet" banner near a key Olympics venue in Beijing, according to a pro-Tibet group. An American graffiti artist, who planned to use laser...

Divisions emerge in Pakistan's ruling coalition - Added 2 days ago

Just a day after Pervez Musharraf's resignation, Pakistan's governing coalition fell into wrangling Tuesday over restoring the judges he fired, exposing troublesome divisions that could disrupt picking his successor as...

Argentine priest on trial for sexual abuse - Added 2 days ago

An Argentine priest went on trial Tuesday, charged with 17 counts of sexual abuse and corruption of three young boys. Prosecutors say Julio Grassi, 52, abused three boys _ including two minors _ who attended his...

Turkey's Gul urges Sudan leader to end suffering - Added 2 days ago

Turkey's president urged Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir during talks Tuesday to act responsibly and to end the suffering in the devasted Darfur region. Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court accuse al-Bashir...

Iraqi Sunnis outraged over Diyala raids, arrests - Added 2 days ago

Iraq's largest Sunni party accused government security forces of sectarian bias Tuesday after soldiers arrested a Sunni university president and a Sunni provincial council member northeast of Baghdad. The raids in...

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa dies at 59 - Added 2 days ago

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, who broke the African tradition of silence and solidarity among leaders to denounce neighboring Zimbabwe's economic ruin, died in a French military hospital Tuesday. He was 59. ...

Polish government approves missile deal - Added 2 days ago

Poland's government gave formal approval to a missile defense deal with the U.S. on Tuesday before a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the deputy prime minister said. Grzegorz Schetyna said Prime...

Man uses Semtex in attack on N. Ireland police - Added 2 days ago

A man used Semtex in a rocket-propelled grenade attack against Northern Ireland police officers _ the first attack using the deadly explosive since paramilitary groups agreed to hand in their weapons, police said...

China's Olympic ceremony features sacrifices - Added 2 days ago

Martial arts student Cheng Jianghua only saw the army barracks he stayed in and the stadium where he performed at the spectacular Olympics opening ceremony. But his sacrifices were minor _ other performers were injured,...

Mexican army frees 25 kidnapped migrants - Added 2 days ago

Mexican officials say soldiers have rescued 25 Central Americans kidnapped in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz. State police spokesman Sergio Lopez says the army raided a house in the town of Tierra Blanca and arrested...

Saddam's luxury train to return to service - Added 2 days ago

Iraqi railway officials say Saddam Hussein's personal luxury train will return to service next month. Officials say the 23-carriage train will ferry passengers from Baghdad to the southern city of Basra. The late...

Stats show perils of living in east Congo - Added 2 days ago

Imagine living with a 50 percent chance of being enslaved or threatened with death by an armed group. One-in-three odds of being tortured or wounded. A 12 percent chance of being sexually assaulted multiple times. In...

Pakistan army chief in Kabul after Musharraf quits - Added 2 days ago

Pakistan's army chief made a surprise visit to Afghanistan Tuesday for border security talks with NATO and Afghan commanders, just a day after Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced his resignation. Gen. Ashfaq...

Indian teenager arrested in deadly iPod dispute - Added 2 days ago

A 14-year-old school boy in eastern India has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a younger student who refused to hand over her iPod, police said Tuesday. The boy allegedly pushed the 10-year-old girl off a...

Most Russians support invasion of Georgia - Added 2 days ago

While Western officials are mulling how to punish Russia for invading neighboring Georgia, most Russians view Georgia as the aggressor _ aided and abetted by a hostile West. Many Russians take pride in what they see as...