 Pakistani troops battled pro-Taleban militants near the Afghan border for a second day on Sunday in clashes which have killed more than 50 people. Pakistani officials said 46 militants and five soldiers died, although some reports put the death toll at over 70. Clashes are over and the security forces are back in control of the town of Mir Ali, an army spokesman said. Correspondents says it is the fiercest fighting since the army went into the area in 2003 to drive militants out. The violence began on Saturday morning when a group of more than 100 tribal militants attacked a military post in Mir Ali. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk
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Editor - 09:13:00 03-05-06
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 Violence Prevents Formation of Iraq Gov't. Surge of Sectarian Killings Complicates Already Snarled Negotiations on New Iraqi Government |
Pressure mounted Sunday on Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to give up his bid for a new term amid anger over a recent surge of sectarian killing that has complicated already snarled negotiations on a new Iraqi government. The delay forming a government has prevented the parliament elected Dec. 15 from meeting since the vote was certified last month. But Kurdish and some Shiite officials said Sun it should be ready to convene within days. The political turmoil has left a dangerous leadership vacuum as Iraqi armed forces, backed by the U.S. military, battle to contain the violence that pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war. Early Sun, police reported commandos from the Interior Ministry stormed a Sunni mosque in west Baghdad, killing 3 people and injuring 7 in a 25 minute gunbattle. Later, two relatives of an influential Sunni leader were killed in a drive-by shooting in another part of west Baghdad. The Shiite-led Interior Ministry denied involvement in either attack...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1689066&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
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Editor - 09:10:00 03-05-06
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| Poland Suspects Dead Swans Were Infected With Lethal Bird Flu |
Poland reported its first case of H5 bird flu, in two swans in the northern city of Torun, and is awaiting results of tests being carried out in the U.K. to see if it's the lethal H5N1 strain that can kill humans. Polish Health Minister Krzysztof Jurgiel said at a press conference in Warsaw there are strong reasons to suspect H5N1, but that ``100 percent confirmation or denial can come only from the U.K.'' The results will come within days, he said. The dead swans were found on March 3 in Torun, a city with 200,000 people. The city's authorities are considering shutting off the whole town center. For now, they've installed a three- kilometer security zone around where the birds were found. ...
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aoFIGFILM7Hs&refer=home
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Editor - 08:55:00 03-05-06
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| Venice for sale to highest bidder |
Venice is selling 13 historic palaces and villas in some of the most sought-after locations on the planet - on the Grand Canal, the Lido and the island of Murano - in an auction that has been greeted with outrage by locals.Part of a broader campaign by the Italian government to exploit its huge legacy of state-owned historical buildings, the sale is likely to raise up to £100 million.The real estate on offer includes the Bonfadini-Vivante palace, famous for its neo-classical frescos, and the Foscari Contarini villa, which overlooks the Grand Canal near the Rialto bridge.There are fears in Venice that the sale will accelerate the 'Disneyfication' of the city, because the villas are most likely to be turned into luxury hotels. 'Venice sells its family jewels', screamed the headline in one local paper.One of the biggest problems facing the city is the exodus of locals in the face of exorbitant property prices and a lack of work. ...
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1723909,00.html
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Editor - 00:20:00 03-05-06
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| Gitmo: The Worst of the Worst? A report, based entirely on Defense Department documents, exposes the truth about Guantánamo |
Four years ago, the president was assured by his lawyers in the Justice and Defense departments that, as commander in chief, he had the ultimate power to determine which of our captives in the war on terrorism are "enemy combatants"—and to imprison many of them indefinitely at Guantánamo. Then, after the Abu Ghraib photographs went around the world (recently, even more repellent pictures from that prison have been internationally distributed), Gitmo became a recruiting tool for our enemies, while causing increasing disquiet among our allies. On February 16, a British high court judge, Sir Andrew Collins, emphasized: "America's idea of what is torture is not the same as ours and does not appear to coincide with that of most civilized nations." He was referring to a February 15 report by five independent U.N. special rapporteurs on torture that Guantánamo be closed and its prisoners be tried or released. ...
http://villagevoice.com/news/0610,hentoff,72399,6.html
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Editor - 00:16:00 03-05-06
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| Priests Purify Shrine After U.S. Visit |
Hindu priests who look after the memorial of Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi conducted a purification ceremony at the shrine after a visit from President Bush. But it wasn't the president who offended them, it was the sniffer-dogs who scoured the area ahead of his visit. After the dog visit, the memorial was cleansed with water brought from the Ganges river, which Hindus consider holy, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported Sunday. Bush visited the memorial on Thursday during his three day visit to India. The site, where pacifist icon Gandhi was cremated, is considered sacred and all visitors, including Bush and his wife Laura, removed their shoes before going in. The dogs, flown in from the U.S., were part of the intense security surrounding the president, but the Hindu priests believe they tainted the site. Letting dogs into the memorial also drew sharp protest from Hindu politicians and Gandhi's great grandson, Tushar Gandhi, who called the incident a ``national shame,'' ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5664035,00.html
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Editor - 00:12:00 03-05-06
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