 THE phased withdrawal of British troops from two southern provinces in Iraq is expected to be announced as early as next week. Together with the departure of other foreign contingents, it will clear the way for the new Iraqi Government to take responsibility for security. In a pullout over the next month, 150 Queen’s Dragoons Guards will leave Muthana province, to be followed by the beginning of the withdrawal of the British contingent of 800 to 1,000 troops in Maysan. Although the two desert provinces are regarded as the quietest, much will be made by the British and Iraqi Governments of the symbolism of handing over to the security forces of the first elected administration. Details of the move, to be announced by the Iraqi Government, emerged in Japan. Taro Aso, the Foreign Minister, returned from a meeting with his British, Australian and US counterparts and told reporters that “the time for bringing the SDF (self-defence forces) home was much nearer”. ...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk
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Editor - 12:29:00 06-17-06
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 Austria's Haider says Bush is a war criminal |
Austrian right-wing populist Joerg Haider called President Bush a war criminal on Sat, days before Austria's government hosts Bush and European leaders in Vienna. Haider, whose group is part of Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel's government coalition, said Bush's meeting with his European peers on Wednesday was pointless as he did not expect the U.S. president to pay attention to what Europe had to tell him. "He is a war criminal. He brought about the war against Iraq deliberately, with lies and falsehoods," Haider said in an interview with Austrian daily newspaper Die Presse. "The Iraqi population is suffering terribly. Bush took the risk of an enormous number of victims," said Haider. Bush isn’t a War Criminal, unless you were to apply the same rules that were used at the Nuremburg War Crime Trials, if that were to happen, as it should, and then maybe we would have to hang him and all his accomplices. If it was good for the Goose, shouldn’t it be good for the Gander?...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2088207
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Editor - 12:16:00 06-17-06
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| Iran Says It Is Studying Nuclear Package, Will Offer Changes; No Timing Given for Response |
Iran's foreign minister said Saturday the government likely would suggest amendments to a Western package of incentives meant to persuade the Islamic republic to give up its uranium enrichment program. Manouchehr Mottaki would not give any timing for Iran's response. The Tehran regime previously has said some parts of the package were acceptable while others needed to be changed, and the central issue of uranium enrichment needed clarification. "It is a step forward," he said. Mottaki said Iran would come up with its own amendments to the package. "In the end, we will present our proposals. It's a two-way street," he told reporters at a joint news conference with Iraqi politician Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, who heads that country's largest Shiite party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2088223
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Editor - 12:03:00 06-17-06
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| Yemen family wants Guantanamo inmate's death probed |
The family of a Yemeni prisoner said to have committed suicide at the U.S. Guantanamo Bay prison is refusing to bury him, demanding an investigation into his death, the family lawyer said on Saturday.U.S. authorities said on Friday it handed over the body of Ali Abdullah Ahmed and those of two Saudi inmates it says committed suicide at the prison in Cuba last week. Their families have questioned the possibility that the men, all devout Muslims, have taken their own lives, saying that would amount to a major violation of the Islamic faith. "The family … is refusing to bury him and are asking for an autopsy to know the real reason behind his death," Khaled al-Ansi, also a human rights activist, told Reuters. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2088205
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Editor - 11:54:00 06-17-06
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| Japan and US warn N Korea on test |
Japan and the US have issued new warnings to North Korea not to proceed with a possible test firing of a new long-range missile. Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Aso and US envoy Thomas Schieffer met in Tokyo amid increasing speculation that Pyongyang is set to conduct a launch. Officials believe that Pyongyang may be planning to test the Taepodong-2, a missile with a range of up to 6,000km. Mr Schieffer urged North Korea not to take "provocative action". Such a move would lead to further isolation from the international community, he said. Mr Aso described the situation as serious and said that Japan had warned North Korea against going ahead with a test. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5090626.stm
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Editor - 11:51:00 06-17-06
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| Ohio mayor violates policy he helped write |
The mayor of this central Ohio city caught someone violating a city employee policy — himself.Mayor Bruce Bain paid a $368 fine for sending an e-mail that promoted his son's part-time beverage business to city workers. He wrote to 15 city employees, recommending they become involved in selling a health drink."I violated the computer use policy I helped write," Bain said at a news conference Thursday. "You have to use the computer only for city business. How can I say to a city employee, 'Don't do that,' if I do it?"Bain said he realized the mistake on his own and calculated the fine of two days' pay based on his annual salary of roughly $66,000.He said he is not involved in the business and only wanted to help his son and city workers make extra money.Bain has asked the city's law director to investigate his e-mail....
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-06-17-ohio-mayor-fine_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 11:49:00 06-17-06
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