The British government is to co-host an international summit in London at the end of the month to agree a five-year plan to speed up the reconstruction of Afghanistan and confront an upsurge in violence. The conference is to be chaired jointly by Tony Blair, Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, and Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general. Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, is also scheduled to attend.In the face of criticism that Afghanistan has been forgotten by the international community, Mr Annan told the Guardian: "After all they have achieved in recent years, the Afghan people deserve to be reassured that [Afghanistan's] special relationship with the international community will remain strong."The London conference is an excellent opportunity to send a signal to [the Afghans] that the outside world continues to share their goals as they build a democracy that respects the rights of all."...
http://www.guardian.co.uk
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Editor - 20:26:00 01-18-06
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 Pakistan seeks bodies of militants killed in U.S. strike |
Pakistani intelligence agents hunted Wednesday for the graves of four al-Qaeda militants believed killed in an airstrike near the Afghan border including one authorities suspect was a high-ranking al-Qaeda figure. ABC News reported that a master bomb maker and chemical weapons expert for al-Qaeda was killed in the attack on the village of Damadola last week. He was identified as Midhat Mursi, also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri, who ran an al-Qaeda training camp and has a $5 million reward on his head. According to ABC, Pakistani officials also said two other terror network officials were killed: Khalid Habib, the al-Qaeda operations chief for Pakistan and Afghanistan; and Abdul Rehman al Magrabi, a senior operations commander for the group. Pentagon officials said they had no information on the report. A Pakistani intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to speak to journalists, ...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-01-18-pakistan-hunt_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 19:50:00 01-18-06
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| Myanmar, Cambodia Highlight Rights Abuses in Asia, Group Says |
Human rights abuses in Asian nations increased last year, highlighted by crackdowns on opposition supporters in countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia and Nepal, Human Rights Watch said. ``The `Asian values' argument that human rights are different in Asia has been defeated,'' Brad Adams, the group's Asia division director, said in a report. ``The abusive governments that used to hide behind that rhetoric still commit the worst kinds of abuses without fear of punishment.'' The New York-based group cited Myanmar's detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Cambodia bringing defamation charges against human rights and opposition leaders and Nepal's King Gyanendra restricting political activity under state of emergency regulations....
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=ahl5U23OEoEM&refer=home
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Editor - 19:40:00 01-18-06
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| Thousands Still Missing After Katrina |
More than 3,200 people are officially still unaccounted for nearly five months after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, and the state medical examiner wants the search to resume for those missing from the most devastated neighborhoods. A total of nearly 11,500 people were reported missing to the Find Family National Call Center, a center run by federal and state workers. The reports included people from throughout the Gulf Coast area, but most were from Louisiana. All but about 3,200 had been located as of Wednesday, the agency said. Also, after pressure from angry residents and a lawsuit, the city of New Orleans has agreed to notify owners before any hurricane-damaged home is demolished, even those homes washed into streets or reduced to heaps of debris. ...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/18/katrina/main1218939.shtml?CMP=OTC-RSSFeed&source=RSS&attr=U.S._1218939
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Editor - 19:38:00 01-18-06
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| New Orleans Agrees to Notify Homeowners if Demolition Plans Include Their Homes |
Under pressure from angry residents and a lawsuit, the city has agreed to notify owners before any hurricane-damaged home is demolished, even those homes washed into streets or reduced to heaps of debris. Homeowners were outraged last month when a top official announced that 2,500 buildings had to be torn down within weeks because they posed an imminent threat to the public. A lawsuit was filed to stop the city from proceeding with its plans, and on Dec. 28 the city agreed to put off any demolitions until the case could be heard in court. On Friday, a federal judge approved a settlement between the city and plaintiffs that set up a notification system. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1519812
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Editor - 19:24:00 01-18-06
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| Beating death of 7-year-old at home rattles NYC |
Hours after family, friends and strangers said a tearful goodbye to a 7-year-old girl allegedly beaten to death by her stepfather, city officials announced a shake up Wednesday at the agency that missed warning signs. A half-dozen employees at the Administration for Children's Services were suspended or disciplined for inadequate responses to reports of problems with Nixzmary Brown, said agency chief John Mattingly. Nixzmary's stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez, allegedly beat the Brooklyn girl on Jan. 10 over a missing container of yogurt. According to Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes, Rodriguez banished the girl to a rodent-infested room with a litter box filled with feces, a wooden chair tied to a radiator and dirty mattresses, then later beat her and dunked her head into a bathtub. Nixzmary was dead the next morning. ...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-01-18-ny-child-mourned_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 19:21:00 01-18-06
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