News For Sunday Sep 7, 2008 News For Sunday Sep 7, 2008

World World

Helicopter strikes oil rig off Dubai coast; 7 dead - Added 3 days ago

A helicopter carrying foreign contractors crashed into an oil platform off the coast of Dubai, killing all seven people on board and halting production in one of the emirate's four offshore oil fields, officials said...

Hanna flooding strands hungry Haitians on rooftops - Added 3 days ago

Entering a flooded city on inflatable boats, U.N. peacekeepers found hundreds of hungry people stranded for two days on rooftops and upper floors Wednesday as the fetid carcasses of drowned farm animals bobbed in soupy...

Hanna takes aim at Bahamas, Ike next in line - Added 3 days ago

Tropical Storm Hanna roared along the edge of the Bahamas on Thursday ahead of a possible hurricane hit on the Carolinas, leaving behind at least 61 dead in Haiti. Hurricane Ike, a still-more dangerous Category 4...

Gaza hospitals strain under pressure of strikes - Added 3 days ago

A walkout of medical staff throughout Gaza has strained services at hospitals and clinics throughout the territory, the latest in a series of crippling strikes that are deepening bitter divisions between Gaza's militant...

Japan temple burns down as monk attacked by bees - Added 3 days ago

A Japanese monk trying to rid his temple of a hornet's nest panicked when the hornets attacked him and dropped a torch, burning his temple to the ground, police said Thursday. The Buddhist monk had put lighted rags on...

Chinese report says 24 killed in mine accident - Added 3 days ago

A gas explosion inside a mine in northeast China on Thursday killed 24 people and injured six, local authorities and state media said. Three others were trapped inside. The official Xinhua News Agency said the 9 a.m....

Poll shows Japanese want snap elections - Added 3 days ago

Two new candidates indicated Thursday they would join the race to replace Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda after his abrupt resignation this week, but a new poll suggests voters want their say in national elections....

US was told N. Korea would restore nuke operation - Added 3 days ago

Before workers began moving mothballed equipment back into place, North Korea informed U.S. personnel at its Yongbyon nuclear plant it would start reassembling its nuclear facilities, a South Korean official said...

19-square-mile ice sheet breaks loose in Canada - Added 3 days ago

A chunk of ice shelf nearly the size of Manhattan has broken away from Ellesmere Island in Canada's northern Arctic, another dramatic indication of how warmer temperatures are changing the polar frontier, scientists...

Russia's Medvedev adopts tough tone, echoing Putin - Added 3 days ago

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, whose name derives from the Russian word for bear, has been showing his claws. On Tuesday, he used some of his harshest rhetoric to date, calling Georgian President Mikhail...

Thai protest leader wants to reduce voters' power - Added 3 days ago

Sondhi Limthongkul says he is fighting to save Thai democracy from what he calls the corrupt politicians who have abused it to remain in power. But analysts say that the agenda pushed by Sondhi _ and his comrades who...

China says flaws caused quake schools to collapse - Added 3 days ago

China said Thursday a rush to build schools in recent years could have led to construction flaws that caused so many of them to collapse during May's massive earthquake. Thousands of students died in the buildings in...

Some flooded Indian villagers refuse evacuation - Added 3 days ago

Spotting a family stranded on the roof of a partly submerged house, two Indian navy commandos swept in over the muddy floodwaters in a black rubber dinghy to save them Wednesday _ only to be shooed away. Some 1.2...

Thai PM refuses to resign - Added 4 days ago

Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has vowed in a live radio broadcast that he will not resign. Samak says he will not bow to the demands of anti-government protesters and will stay in office to...

Rival Cypriot leaders upbeat after new peace talks - Added 4 days ago

Cyprus' rival Greek and Turkish leaders started new peace talks Wednesday and said they hoped for a deal soon aimed at reuniting an island divided by war 34 years ago. Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias met for two...

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,152 - Added 4 days ago

As of Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008, at least 4,152 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...

Canada's PM says he's made up mind on election - Added 4 days ago

Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday that he's reached a decision on calling an election and will announce it in the next few days. Harper said he found no support in his weekend meetings with...

Big turbine delivered to Afghan aid project - Added 4 days ago

It was a weeklong journey through Afghanistan's most dangerous Taliban territory, dodging persistent attacks by insurgents and bumping over rough desert terrain riddled with mines. But a snaking convoy of 4,000...

Report: Thai foreign minister resigns - Added 4 days ago

Thailand's state news agency says Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag has resigned, but government officials are refusing to confirm the report. The agency says Bunnag sent his resignation to Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej,...

Zambian leader's wife says he died unappreciated - Added 4 days ago

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa was buried Wednesday on what would have been his 60th birthday amid accolades from fellow African leaders, but his widow said he died a sad, unappreciated man. President Thabo Mbeki of...

Hanna flooding strands hungry Haitians on rooftops - Added 4 days ago

Entering a flooded city on inflatable boats, U.N. peacekeepers found hundreds of hungry people stranded for two days on rooftops and upper floors Wednesday as the fetid carcasses of drowned farm animals bobbed in soupy...

US, Venezuela spar on drugs as seizures decline - Added 4 days ago

Venezuelan authorities incinerated more than 3 tons of drugs on Wednesday, but the U.S. drug czar pointed to a sharp decline in cocaine seizures as proof the country needs to do much more. White House drug czar John...

Experts: IRA is disappearing in Ireland - Added 4 days ago

The Irish Republican Army is fading away in Northern Ireland and poses no security threat to the British territory, international experts concluded Wednesday in another landmark for peacemaking. The governments of...

French businesses loath to end 35-hour work week - Added 4 days ago

It's being called the coup de grace for France's decade-long experiment with a 35-hour work week _ a policy that inspired both envy and ridicule in Europe and the U.S., and even some copycats. But the short work week...

Sarkozy reaches out to Syria on peace prospects - Added 4 days ago

French President Nicolas Sarkozy encouraged Syria to pursue face-to-face peace talks with Israel during his first trip Wednesday to the Arab nation _ a visit also aimed at undercutting Iranian influence in Damascus. ...

Israeli diggers uncover parts of ancient wall - Added 4 days ago

Israeli archaeologists say they have uncovered new sections of Jerusalem's ancient walls, continuing a project started more than a century ago. Yehiel Zelinger of the Israel Antiquities Authority said Wednesday that he...

Reuters freelance photographer detained in Iraq - Added 4 days ago

An Iraqi freelance photographer working for Reuters has been detained by U.S. and Iraqi forces south of Baghdad, the news agency said Wednesday. Ibrahim Jassam was detained early Tuesday during a raid on his home in...

Russia sends cash, builders to S. Ossetia - Added 4 days ago

Russia has sent hundreds of workers to rebuild this shattered rebel capital just weeks after its military routed Georgian forces here, and has promised cash payments for every South Ossetian _ the latest in efforts to...

Thai protest leader wants to reduce voters' power - Added 4 days ago

Sondhi Limthongkul says he is fighting to save Thai democracy from the corrupt politicians who have abused it to remain in power. But analysts say that the agenda pushed by Sondhi _ and his comrades who have occupied...

General: US forces to up Afghan winter offensives - Added 4 days ago

American troops in Afghanistan will step up offensive operations this winter because insurgents are increasingly staying in the country to prepare for spring attacks, a U.S. commander told The Associated Press. Maj....

Some flooded Indian villagers refuse evacuation - Added 4 days ago

Spotting a family stranded on the roof of a partly submerged house, two Indian navy commandos swept in over the muddy floodwaters in a black rubber dinghy to save them Wednesday _ only to be shooed away. Some 1.2...

Turkish president to travel to Armenia - Added 4 days ago

Turkish President Abdullah Gul will travel to Armenia to watch a soccer match between the countries' national teams, his office said Wednesday, in a sign of a thaw in relations between the two historic foes. Turkey and...

Congo army leaves national park, rebels stay - Added 4 days ago

More than 1,000 soldiers have left a national park that has been on the front lines of fighting in eastern Congo in a move the park director said was intended to preserve an environment that is home to endangered...

UN peacekeeper killed by blast in south Lebanon - Added 4 days ago

A United Nations peacekeeper in south Lebanon was killed by an explosion Wednesday while clearing unexploded ordnance, a U.N. official said. Yasmina Bouziane, a spokeswoman for the U.N. peacekeeping force known as...

French opposition says Sarkozy abused power - Added 4 days ago

Dozens of Corsican nationalists invaded the luxurious villa of a French film star to hold a protest party. In the fallout, the top police official on the French Mediterranean island lost his job. France's political...

American says he's a teacher, not a US agent - Added 4 days ago

Russian officials say Michael Lee White was a U.S. agent involved in the recent fighting between their troops and Georgia. They claim to have found the Army veteran's passport in the country. But in his cramped...

American diplomat at UN defends Pakistan dealings - Added 4 days ago

The top American diplomat to the United Nations defended his dealings with Pakistani officials Wednesday, saying he never acted as adviser to a candidate for Pakistan's presidency. "I have not provided him with any...

US VP Cheney assures Azerbaijan of U.S 'interest' - Added 4 days ago

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney assured Azerbaijan on Wednesday of America's "abiding interest" in the region's stability. It was the first stop on a tour of three ex-Soviet republics that are wary of Russia's...

Earthquake shakes northern Argentine province - Added 4 days ago

A strong but deep earthquake has shaken northern Argentina, but officials say there are no reports of damage or injuries. The U.S. Geological Survey measures Wednesday's quake at magnitude-6.3. But it was centered 340...

British military reacting to climate change - Added 4 days ago

Climate change is forcing the British military to tailor its strategy and equipment for more extreme weather, a junior defense minister said Wednesday. Under-Secretary of State for Defense Derek Twigg said the British...

US sends flagship to Georgia, plans $1B in aid - Added 4 days ago

A U.S. Navy flagship loaded with aid steamed through the Dardanelles on Wednesday en route to Georgia, as the Bush administration prepared to roll out a $1 billion economic aid package for the former Soviet republic. ...

Tony Blair's sister-in-law stranded in Gaza - Added 4 days ago

The sister-in-law of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Wednesday that Israel and Egypt are preventing her from leaving the Gaza Strip, more than a week after she entered the territory in defiance of an...

Yushchenko orders new Ukrainian gov't coalition - Added 4 days ago

Ukraine's president called for a new governing coalition Wednesday and threatened fresh elections, accusing his rival prime minister and opposition parties of attempting a "constitutional coup." Viktor Yushchenko's...

14 die in migrant boat journey to Spain - Added 4 days ago

Fourteen migrants died trying to reach Spain's Canary Islands in a packed boat, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday. Thirteen of the dead were found along with 46 survivors aboard the vessel after it was spotted by...

Swiss drop case against Gadhafi's son - Added 4 days ago

Geneva's chief prosecutor said Wednesday he decided to drop the case against a son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and the son's wife for allegedly beating up two of their servants. Daniel Zappelli said the case...

UN peacekeepers hike to Congo plane crash site - Added 4 days ago

U.N. peacekeepers and Congo security forces took off on foot Wednesday from a remote town in eastern Congo to try to reach the site where a humanitarian aid plane slammed into a jungle-covered ridge. Three days after...

N. Korea denies it sent female spy to S. Korea - Added 4 days ago

North Korea denied Wednesday that a woman arrested last week by South Korean prosecutors for alleged espionage was spying for Pyongyang, saying Seoul fabricated the case to tarnish the North's image. South Korean...

2 police convicted in death of Palestinian teen - Added 4 days ago

Two Israeli border policemen have been convicted of manslaughter after they kidnapped a Palestinian teenager and threw him from a moving jeep during a 2002 rampage through the West Bank city of Hebron. The men face up...

Dutch to take new measures against global warming - Added 4 days ago

The Netherlands needs a massive new building program to strengthen the low-lying country's water defenses against the anticipated effects of global warming for the next 190 years, a key panel advised Wednesday. The...

Fidel Castro says Gustav like atomic bomb on Cuba - Added 4 days ago

Fidel Castro likened Hurricane Gustav's destruction in Cuba to an atomic explosion, saying Wednesday it could mean billions of dollars in losses for the communist government. Video images of the devastation on Cuba's...