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  #21  
Old Friday, March 07, 2008
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March 6, 2008

CANADA


Harper orders probe of Obama leak

OTTAWA — The leak of information about Sen. Barack Obama's position on the North American Free Trade Agreement was "blatantly unfair" to his campaign, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said yesterday.

Mr. Harper said the government was mounting an "internal security investigation" to find out who leaked the information, which suggested Mr. Obama's campaign had said not to pay too much attention to his protectionist rhetoric on NAFTA.

"This kind of leaking of information is completely unacceptable and in fact ... it may well be illegal," the prime minister told Parliament.

Mr. Obama's rival in the Democratic primaries, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, had seized on the Canadian information to try to demonstrate that Mr. Obama could not be trusted on foreign affairs and that he said one thing in private and another in public.

UZBEKISTAN

U.S. allowed use of air base

MOSCOW — Uzbekistan will allow U.S. nationals to use its Termez air base under strict conditions, officials said yesterday, almost three years after ordering out U.S. troops in a row over human rights.

Robert Simmons, NATO's envoy for the Caucasus and Central Asia, said Uzbekistan had agreed to allow limited numbers of U.S. staff to use the facility near Afghanistan, which was once used by Soviet forces and is currently operated by Germany.

The U.S. Embassy in Tashkent said that under the arrangement, U.S. staff would use Termez only as part of wider NATO operations in Afghanistan.

CHINA

Suspect killed in hostage drama

SHANGHAI — Police fatally shot a man armed with explosives who took 10 Australians hostage on a tourist bus yesterday in northern China, a state news agency reported.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said today that the hijacker's motives were not known.

China is normally a safe destination for tourists, but more problems have arisen recently, especially robberies of foreigners.

VATICAN CITY

Permanent dialogue with Muslims set

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican and Muslim leaders agreed yesterday to establish a permanent official dialogue to improve often difficult relations and heal wounds still open from a controversial papal speech in 2006.

A joint statement said the first meeting of the Catholic-Muslim Forum will take place on Nov. 4-6 in Rome with 24 religious leaders and scholars from each side. Pope Benedict XVI will address the group.

The announcement came after a two-day meeting at the Vatican with five representatives of Muslims who had signed an unprecedented appeal to the pope to begin a dialogue.

SERBIA

Lawmakers split on EU membership

BELGRADE — Nationalist and liberal lawmakers clashed yesterday over a resolution calling on Serbia to abandon its bid for European Union membership unless nations rescind their recognition of Kosovo.

Ultranationalists — supported by Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's ruling conservatives — drafted a resolution calling on the EU to "clearly and unequivocally" say Kosovo remains part of Serbia before resuming any pre-membership talks with the bloc.

Pro-Western legislators, however, oppose pinning future EU membership on the Kosovo issue, a split analysts warned could bring the coalition government down.


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  #22  
Old Saturday, March 08, 2008
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March 7, 2008


NICARAGUA

Colombia ties cut over Ecuador raid

MANAGUA — President Daniel Ortega announced yesterday that Nicaragua is breaking relations with Colombia because of its raid on a guerrilla base in Ecuador.

Mr. Ortega announced his decision while sitting beside Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, who is touring the region to rally opposition to Colombia's attack Saturday, which left a senior Colombian guerrilla leader and more than 20 others dead.

Nicaragua has a long-standing maritime boundary dispute with Colombia and Mr. Ortega is a strong ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Mr. Correa.

Nicaragua will not renew relations with Colombia until it complies with parts of a decision of the International Court of Justice in The Hague that favor Nicaragua in the maritime dispute, Mr. Ortega said.

RUSSIA

Sanctions lifted on Abkhazia

MOSCOW — Russia said yesterday that it is lifting trade and financial sanctions on Abkhazia, a breakaway Georgian region that wants to be recognized as an independent country — like Kosovo.

Russia strenuously objected to Kosovo's declaration of independence last month, and President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would not "ape" the West, indicating it will not move swiftly to recognize the breakaway regions. But the Foreign Ministry said that due to "changed circumstances" Russia is not obliged to follow the trade, financial and other restrictions it and other former Soviet republics of the Commonwealth of Independent States had imposed.

BURMA

U.N. envoy returns to revive talks

BANGKOK — U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari arrived in Burma yesterday amid waning optimism about his mission to get the military junta to start talks with the opposition on political reform.

The Nigerian envoy, on his third visit to Burma since a bloody crackdown on monk-led protests last September, held talks with Foreign Minister Nyan Win.

The visit is Mr. Gambari's first chance to hold face-to-face talks with the generals since their unexpected announcement last month of a constitutional referendum to be held in May, to be followed by a general election in 2010.

AFGHANISTAN

Norwegian named as U.N. envoy

NEW YORK — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday named Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide his new envoy for Afghanistan. Mr. Eide, a former Norwegian ambassador to NATO, replaces Tom Koenigs of Germany.

In a letter obtained by Reuters news agency, Mr. Ban notified the Security Council of his "intention to appoint" Eide. The appointment is formally subject to the council's approval but in practice takes effect if there are no objections.

INDIA

Kashmir poisons stray dogs

SRINAGAR — Authorities in Indian Kashmir have begun poisoning stray dogs in an anti-rabies drive that aims to kill some 100,000 dogs in the region's main city, officials said yesterday.

Animal rights activists vowed to go to court to stop the slaughter planned by Srinagar city, saying it is an illegal and cruel solution to a problem that could be better addressed with other methods.

India accounts for more than 60 percent of the world's estimated 35,000 annual rabies deaths, according to the World Health Organization, and stray dogs are often blamed.

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  #23  
Old Monday, March 17, 2008
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March 16, 2008




ALBANIA

Army depot blast kills 5, injures 215

TIRANA — A massive explosion yesterday at an Albanian army ammunition dump killed at least five persons and injured 215, including many children, authorities said. The prime minister said he feared there could be many dead.

The initial blast at the depot at Gerdec village, about six miles north of the capital, Tirana, set off a series of explosions, and ammunition continued to detonate into the night. The blast was heard as far away as the Macedonian capital of Skopje, a distance of 120 miles, and prompted a brief suspension of flights at Tirana's nearby international airport, which was slightly damaged.

GAZA STRIP

Israeli air strikes kill 3 militants

GAZA CITY — Israeli air strikes killed three Palestinian militants and wounded six yesterday, Palestinian medical and security officials said. They said the dead and wounded were all members of the Islamic Jihad group, hit in three separate raids in central and northern Gaza.

The Israeli military confirmed two strikes, in which it said five armed men preparing to launch rockets at Israeli targets were hit. Earlier, the military said, three Palestinian rockets fell in Israel but there were no reported casualties.

UKRAINE

Three convicted in reporter's killing

KIEV — A Ukrainian court convicted three former policemen yesterday for the killing in 2000 of an investigative journalist and prominent critic of then president Leonid Kuchma.

Georgy Gongadze, a Georgian working in Ukraine, wrote of political corruption and criminality at a time when the authorities in the former Soviet state kept a tight grip over the media. His headless corpse was discovered in woods near Kiev two months after he disappeared in September 2000. His head was never found.

THAILAND

Bomb near hotel kills 2 in south

PATTANI — A bomb exploded in the parking lot of an upscale hotel in Thailand's restive south yesterday, killing two persons and wounding 14, police said.

The blast shattered windows as high as the eighth floor of the C.S. Pattani Hotel, the largest hotel in Thailand's southern provinces, where a Muslim insurgency has been under way since 2004.

VATICAN CITY

Pope hails Knights of Columbus founder

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI yesterday set the founder of the Knights of Columbus, one of the world's largest lay Catholic groups, on the path to possible beatification and sainthood, the Vatican said.

The pope recognized the "heroic virtues" of the Rev. Michael J. McGivney, who in 1882 created a fraternal society for Catholic men who suffered discrimination because of their religion and immigrant origins.

Father McGivney was a 29-year-old assistant pastor at St. Mary's Church in New Haven, Conn., when he founded the group, which now has 1.7 million members and in 2006 collected nearly $144 million in contributions for charity. He was born in 1852 to Irish immigrants in Waterbury, north of New Haven. He died of pneumonia at age 38.

GUATEMALA

4 Belgian tourists taken hostage

RIO DULCE — Authorities were negotiating yesterday for the release of four Belgians, their Guatemalan guide and a boat operator who were taken hostage by farmers demanding freedom for their imprisoned leader.

The Belgians — two women and two men — were taken captive Friday in Rio Dulce, a tourist area 155 miles northeast of Guatemala City.
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March 17, 2008


POLAND

Holocaust survivors mark anniversary

KRAKOW — Hundreds of Jews yesterday marked the 65th anniversary of the liquidation of the Krakow ghetto with a march commemorating the German businessman whose efforts saved Jews from the Holocaust.

About 700 Jews from Poland, Israel and other countries marched from the site of the former ghetto to what had been a Nazi German labor camp in the suburb of Plaszow, many of whose inmates were employed by Oskar Schindler.

Schindler, made famous by the 1993 Steven Spielberg film "Schindler's List," used his influence as a diplomat, as well as bribes and forged documents, to save more than 1,000 Polish Jews.

CHAD

Rebel leader threatens attack

DAKAR, Senegal — A Chadian rebel leader threatened on Sunday to attack Chad's southern oil-producing Doba region unless France and the United States pressure Chadian President Idriss Deby to start a dialogue with his foes.

imane Erdimi — head of the Rally of Forces for Change, which attacked Chad's capital, N'Djamena, early last month along with other rebel groups — said his forces could halt oil production from installations in southern Chad pumping up to 160,000 barrels per day.

FRANCE

Bomb threat empties book fair

PARIS — France's largest book fair, which is honoring Israeli writers this year, was evacuated yesterday after a bomb alert, police said.

Authorities were searching the Porte de Versailles exhibition complex in southern Paris after guests of the Paris Book Fair were asked to leave the premises at about 5 p.m., officials said.

ISRAEL

Netanyahu sues over junket report

JERUSALEM — A former Israeli prime minister filed a lawsuit yesterday against a broadcaster that reported he ran up a huge tab in London while Israel was at war.

The Channel 10 report said Benjamin Netanyahu spent more than $50,000 while on a six-day public-relations tour during Israel's war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon in summer 2006.

The report portrayed Mr. Netanyahu, Israel's current opposition leader and the front-runner in national polls for the country's top job, and his wife, Sarah, as spending money lavishly while the country was at war.

IRAN

Victory not a win for president

TEHRAN — Hard-liners won a majority in Iran's parliamentary vote, state television said yesterday, but the new assembly could still give President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a tougher time ahead of next year's presidential election.

State-owned Press TV said the conservatives, who call themselves "principlists" because of their loyalty to the Islamic Republic's ideals, have taken at least 163 seats in the 290-member assembly against 40 for the reformists so far.

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Old Tuesday, March 18, 2008
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March 18, 2008





RUSSIA

Putin open to plan for U.S. relations

MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin yesterday embraced a U.S. proposal to set an agenda on a range of problems that the next American and Russian leaders will face.

Mr. Putin, whose hand-picked successor, Dmitry Medvedev, is to take office May 7, told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates that his nation is ready to accept portions of a proposed framework for often-troubled U.S.-Russian relations. He did not provide details.

Mr. Putin disclosed that he had received and analyzed a letter from President Bush, which a Gates spokesman said was meant to spell out an agenda for talks this week in Moscow and to propose that both sides agree on the fundamental issues for the future of their relationship.

ALBANIA

Defense chief quits after deadly blasts

TIRANA — Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu resigned yesterday, two days after a series of weapons depot explosions killed at least 15 persons, injured hundreds and littered the region with shrapnel and unexploded munitions.
At least 10 persons were still missing yesterday in the wake of the explosions Saturday and Sunday in the village of Gerdec, about six miles outside the capital.

U.S. military explosives specialists were helping rescue crews search for survivors, Defense Ministry spokesman Igli Hasani said.

NORTH KOREA

Pyongyang condemns U.S. broadcasts

SEOUL — North Korea accused U.S.-backed radio stations of broadcasting an increasing number of "provocative" programs criticizing Pyongyang, and called yesterday for an end to the transmissions.

The U.S.-financed Radio Free Asia and Voice of America have been broadcasting more shows condemning the North and aimed at toppling the communist regime, the Korean Central News Agency reported.

KENYA

Leaders accused in violence, seek aid

NAIROBI — On the day a global human rights watchdog accused politicians and police of helping orchestrate postelection violence in Kenya, the president and the top opposition leader joined to appeal for $400 million in emergency humanitarian and reconstruction aid.

President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga presented representatives of 40 embassies with an outline of the program.

Human Rights Watch yesterday accused pro-government and opposition politicians of helping finance and organize the violence and accused police of shooting hundreds of protesters.

THAILAND

Female tourists get safety whistles

BANGKOK — Female tourists visiting the Thai island of Phuket will be given whistles for emergencies, the Tourism Ministry said yesterday, two days after the slaying of a Swedish woman.

The whistles are part of a campaign to increase security at the popular tourist destination, after the killing of Hanna Charlotta Backlund.


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Old Wednesday, March 19, 2008
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March 19, 2008





AFGHANISTAN


Marine deployment begins in south

KABUL — Some of the 3,200 U.S. Marines slated for a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan's volatile south have begun arriving at the region's largest base following a call from Canada for more troops there.

About 2,300 troops from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., will be based in Kandahar, the Taliban's former power base. A majority of those Marines arrived in the past several days.

Canada has 2,500 troops in Kandahar province but has threatened to end its combat role in Afghanistan unless other NATO countries provide an additional 1,000 troops to help the anti-Taliban effort there.

YEMEN

School shelled near U.S. embassy

SAN'A — Two mortar shells exploded yesterday by a high school next to the U.S. embassy, killing a Yemeni guard and wounding three students and three other guards, an Interior Ministry official said.
Troops sealed off roads and prevented journalists from coming closer to the school, which is attended mostly by Yemeni students.

KOSOVO

NATO declares military rule

MITROVICA — NATO placed the Kosovo town of Mitrovica under de facto military law yesterday after riots by a hostile Serbian population killed one U.N. policeman and forced the pullout of U.N. personnel.

The NATO-led peacekeeping force KFOR and the United Nations mission ordered all local Kosovo Serbian police officers to park their patrol cars and suspend normal duties.

With U.N. police withdrawn, the order left French, Belgian and Spanish troops in control of law and order in the northern slice of Kosovo, where Serbs opposed to its Feb. 17 secession from Serbia dominate the population.

SRI LANKA

Science fiction writer Clarke dies at 90

COLOMBO — Arthur C. Clarke, a visionary science fiction writer who won worldwide acclaim with more than 100 books on space, science and the future, died today in his adopted home of Sri Lanka, an aide said. He was 90.

Mr. Clarke, who had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome since the 1960s, died after suffering breathing problems, aide Rohan De Silva said.

Co-author with Stanley Kubrick of Mr. Kubrick's film "2001: A Space Odyssey," Mr. Clarke was credited with the concept of communications satellites in 1945, decades before they became a reality.

PAKISTAN


Woman nominated parliament speaker

ISLAMABAD — The party of slain Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto yesterday nominated a close associate of her widower to be parliament's first female speaker, but divisions remained over who should be the next prime minister.

Fahmida Mirza, a businesswoman and lawmaker, would become the first female speaker of the National Assembly if approved.

RUSSIA

No accord yet on missile plan

MOSCOW — Russia and the United States yesterday failed to agree on U.S. plans to deploy parts of a missile-defense shield in Eastern Europe, an issue that has helped drive their relations to a post-Cold War low.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he agreed with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at talks in Moscow to study U.S. proposals aimed at allaying Russian concerns about the shield.

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Old Thursday, March 20, 2008
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March 20, 2008



RUSSIA

Official: U.S. allows site monitoring

MOSCOW — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said new U.S. proposals for a missile-defense system in eastern Europe would offer Moscow an opportunity to closely monitor activities at the planned U.S. bases, according to an interview released yesterday.

In an interview posted on the Web site of the newspaper Izvestia, Mr. Lavrov reaffirmed the Kremlin's strong opposition to the U.S. plan to put a battery of missile interceptors in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic, but said Washington's new proposals reflected U.S. acknowledgment of Russia's concerns.

Mr. Lavrov's statement came a day after Russian officials wrapped up talks in Moscow with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.

WEST BANK

U.S. approves aid to Palestinians

RAMALLAH — The United States agreed yesterday to transfer $150 million in budgetary support to the Palestinian Authority as part of past pledges to boost President Mahmoud Abbas' government.
Western-backed Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad signed the agreement with U.S. Consul General Jake Walles. Mr. Walles said the United States pledged $550 million at a donors' conference in Paris in December. The United States already announced that $148 million would go to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees to provide humanitarian assistance and an additional $200 million would go to development projects.

KOSOVO

Neighbors recognize new republic

BELGRADE — Serbia's neighbors Croatia, Hungary and Bulgaria dealt a blow to the Serb campaign to overturn Kosovo's month-old independence yesterday by announcing they would recognize the new republic.

Serbia's pro-Western foreign minister, Vuk Jeremic, acknowledged the neighbors' decision "with sadness" and warned them they "cannot have good ties with Serbia."

Canada announced recognition Tuesday. More than 30 countries have now recognized Kosovo.

SAUDI ARABIA

Clerics back fatwa for liberal writers

RIYADH — A group of 20 Saudi clerics has come out in support of a colleague who issued a fatwa saying two writers deserve to die if they did not retract views that he said made them apostates.

Sheik Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak, one of the kingdom's most revered clerics, said in a rare fatwa last week the columnists should be tried for apostasy for "heretical articles" published in al-Riyadh newspaper and put to death if they do not repent.

They questioned the Sunni Muslim view in Saudi Arabia that adherents of other faiths should be considered unbelievers, which Sheik al-Barrak said implied Muslims were free to follow other religions and their faith was on a par with other religions.

KUWAIT

Emir dissolves parliament, sets vote

KUWAIT CITY — Kuwait's Emir Sheik Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah yesterday dissolved the opposition-dominated parliament and called for new elections on May 17, the state news agency reported.

The move came two days after Cabinet ministers submitted their resignations alleging a lack of cooperation from lawmakers.

BRITAIN

Missing girl's parents get apology, damages

LONDON — The parents of missing Madeleine McCann yesterday accepted an apology and more than $1 million in damages over tabloid newspaper stories suggesting they had caused their daughter's death.

Madeleine vanished May 3 — a few days before her fourth birthday — from a hotel room during a family vacation in Praia da Luz in Portugal's Algarve region.

GREECE

Strikers clash with police

ATHENS — Riot police fired tear gas at demonstrators throwing rocks and firebombs in central Athens during a nationwide general strike yesterday by millions of Greeks protesting government pension reforms.

An estimated 100,000 people marched in downtown Athens, and when the demonstration ended, groups of anarchists fought running battles with riot police in the capital. Clouds of tear gas hung over Exarhia Square and cafe customers scrambled for cover.


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March 21, 2008




SERBIA

Leader hits U.S. plan to arm Kosovo

BELGRADE — Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica yesterday criticized President Bush's authorization of U.S. military assistance to Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia last month, as "deeply wrong."

On Wednesday, Mr. Bush signed a declaration granting Kosovo eligibility to receive help with weapons and troops under the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control Act. The White House said provisions would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

PAKISTAN

Suicide car bomb kills 5 soldiers

ISLAMABAD — A suicide car bomb killed five Pakistani soldiers and wounded nine others near the Afghan border yesterday, the military said.

The bomber attacked security forces in South Waziristan's main town of Wana. Al Qaeda- and Taliban-linked militants are thought to operate in the remote tribal area in the rugged, lawless regions along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Pakistani troops have fought intense battles there in recent years.


IRAN

Annan sees disaster in military strike

NEW YORK — Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned yesterday that military action against Iran would be "a real disaster" and said the Middle East could explode if the international community doesn't handle the many conflicts in the region carefully.

He said there was "quite a bit of hypocrisy on all sides" in trying to resolve the five-year conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, especially in encouraging the African Union to take on peacekeeping when it doesn't have the resources.

At a wide-ranging roundtable with journalists, Mr. Annan said he didn't have enough information to comment on the justification for the U.N. Security Council's demand that Iran suspend uranium enrichment.

FRANCE

Police detain 5 tied with Islamists

PARIS — Five Islamist suspects who purportedly trained for combat in hopes of joining the Iraq insurgency are being held for questioning in southern France, police and judicial officials said yesterday. They were arrested in the cities of Toulouse, Montpellier and Carcassonne.

Seven other men went on trial in Paris on Wednesday to face charges that they were involved in an al Qaeda-linked recruitment network, also aimed at Iraq.

A threatening new message from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has raised concerns that the organization is plotting attacks in Europe. The message accused Pope Benedict XVI of helping in a "new Crusade" against Islam and warned of a "severe" reaction to European publication of cartoons seen by Muslims as insulting Islam's prophet Muhammad.

RUSSIA


2 U.S. brothers charged with spying

MOSCOW — Russia charged two brothers with dual Russian-U.S. citizenship on charges of gathering secret information aimed at giving foreign oil companies a competitive advantage, the Federal Security Service said yesterday.

The agency said one of the men was an employee of TNK-BP, a major Russian oil company half-owned by BP PLC, and that his brother was an employee of the British Council, the overseas cultural arm of the British government.

Police searched the Moscow offices of BP and TNK-BP on Wednesday. The searches turned up "business cards of representatives of foreign defense departments and the Central Intelligence Agency," the agency said.


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March 22, 2008




FRANCE

Sarkozy announces cut in nukes

CHERBOURG — President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday announced a modest cut in France's nuclear arsenal, to fewer than 300 warheads, and urged China and the U.S. to commit to no more weapons tests.

In his first major speech as president on France's nuclear strike force, Mr. Sarkozy said atomic weapons would remain a vital component of its defenses to deter potential attackers. He singled out Iran's expansion and improvement of its long-range missile forces amid "grave suspicions" it is developing atomic weapons.

The Federation of American Scientists said that France had 348 warheads.

CYPRUS

Leaders to open capital crossing

NICOSIA — The Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders agreed yesterday to restart peace talks on reunifying their ethnically split island, and open a crossing in the heart of the divided capital.
Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat met for the first time since Mr. Christofias' election last month renewed hopes that the island's three-decade long division could be resolved.

They agreed to open a crossing at Ledra Street, a busy pedestrian shopping street in the heart of Nicosia that runs across the capital's dividing line.

JAPAN

Defense officials punished for scandals

TOKYO — Japan fired its navy chief yesterday and slapped dozens of defense officials with penalties over a series of scandals, while a report found the military negligent in a deadly crash between a destroyer and a fishing boat.

Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who faced pressure to resign following the collision, said he would take a two-month pay cut as part of disciplinary measures.

WEST BANK

Russian urges end to Gaza blockade

RAMALLAH — Russia's foreign minister yesterday called for an end to the blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and demanded Israel halt settlement activity in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Sergey Lavrov said it was "unacceptable" for Gaza to be afflicted with the blockade, imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas seized control of the coastal territory last June.

Mr. Lavrov arrived late Wednesday for talks in Syria, Israel and the West Bank.

ISRAEL

F-16s grounded over cancer fears

JERUSALEM — The Israeli air force said yesterday it was suspending training flights using U.S.-made F-16I fighter jets after finding a suspected cancer-causing substance in the cockpit.

Israel informed Lockheed Martin Corp., the U.S. defense contractor that manufactures the F-16, that formaldehyde residues were leaking into the cockpit.

CHINA


Major earthquake strikes west

BEIJING — A major earthquake hit a sparsely populated region of western China early yesterday. Some houses collapsed, but there were no injuries, state media reported.

The 7.2-magnitude quake occurred about 140 miles southeast of the city of Hotan in southwest Xinjiang province, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were four aftershocks in the region, ranging from 5.0 to 5.2 magnitude.


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March 24, 2008



NETHERLANDS


Anti-Islamic film site closed

THE HAGUE — A U.S. network provider yesterday said it had suspended the Web site Dutch member of parliament Geert Wilders had reserved to post his anti-Islamic film, which has sparked wide condemnation and fears of a backlash.

Mr. Wilders yesterday insisted he still wants to put the movie "on the Internet quickly."

He also told the Dutch ANP news agency that he would not allow anyone to see the film before it was broadcast.

Network Solutions said it is investigating whether the Web site conforms to its guidelines, saying it cannot allow "any material in violation of any applicable law."

SINGAPORE

Authorities hold terror suspect

SINGAPORE — Authorities have detained a suspected Muslim terrorist group member, the government said yesterday.

Rijal Yadri Jumari, a 27-year-old Singaporean, was arrested last month for suspected involvement with Jemaah Islamiyah, the Home Affairs Ministry said in a statement on its Web site.

The arrest was announced amid a continuing nationwide manhunt for a top Muslim terrorism suspect who escaped nearly a month ago from a high-security Singapore prison.

SUDAN


UNICEF demands drivers' release

KHARTOUM — Gunmen kidnapped four Sudanese government drivers in Darfur and stole a drilling rig intended to provide clean water, the U.N. Children's Fund said yesterday.

Bandits stopped a convoy of four engineers and four drivers from the state water corporation in Um Tajok, North Darfur on Thursday, as they traveled in three support vehicles and a truck carrying the drilling rig, UNICEF said.

"We call upon those responsible for this incident to immediately release the missing team members and their equipment without harm," said UNICEF representative in Sudan, Ted Chaiban.

BURMA


Man burns self at pagoda

RANGOON — A man apparently suffering from economic hardship in military-ruled Burma set himself ablaze in the country's historic Shwedagon Pagoda, witnesses said yesterday.

The man in his 30s did not shout anti-government slogans, but he complained about difficulties in his life and the rising cost of living, before setting himself ablaze on Friday's Tabaung Full Moon Day, a significant religious day for Buddhists, witnesses said.

The opposition National League for Democracy said the protester was not one of its members.

ZIMBABWE

Opposition says extra ballots printed

HARARE — Zimbabwe's main opposition party accused the government yesterday of printing more than 3 million excess paper ballots for the coming presidential election and accused longtime leader Robert Mugabe of attempting to rig the voting.

Tendai Biti, secretary-general of the Movement for Democratic Change, said leaked documents from government printers showed 9 million ballot papers were ordered for the 5.9 million people registered to vote in the presidential election Saturday. Legislative elections are taking place the same day. Correspondence supplied from Fidelity Printers showed 600,000 postal ballot papers were requisitioned for a few thousand soldiers, police and civil servants away from their home districts and for diplomats and their families abroad, he said.

The head of the Electoral Commission, Judge George Chiweshe, refused to comment to the Associated Press on the specific accusations but told reporters that his duty is to ensure free and fair elections.

SAUDI ARABIA


Authorities behead convicted murderer

RIYADH — A Saudi man convicted of murdering a compatriot was beheaded by sword in the country's eastern city of Khobar yesterday, the interior ministry said.

Huzaa al-Qahtani had been sentenced to death for killing Talal al-Sehli following a row, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

The beheading brings the number of executions announced by the Saudi authorities this year to 35.


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