 Ethiopian forces are to start leaving Somalia "in the next few days", Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has told the BBC. Ethiopia helped Somalia's interim government oust Islamists from the capital but has always said it does not want to stay long. Mr Meles said the first phase of the withdrawal could start now that several key warlords had disarmed. The African Union (AU) is meeting to discuss sending a peacekeeping force to Somalia to replace the Ethiopians. The AU is considering a plan to send nine battalions of troops - some 8,000 men - with maritime, coastal and air support. The plan envisages that three battalions would be deployed as soon as possible, with the rest within six months. The plan warns that if the African peacekeepers are not deployed before the Ethiopian troops withdraw there is "a very high probability" of an Islamist resurgence....
http://news.bbc.co.uk
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Editor - 09:08:00 01-19-07
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 Concern grows over satellite-killing missile test |
Beijing insisted on Friday it was opposed to an arms race in space after Japan and Britain joined a chorus of concern over a satellite-killing missile test by China — the first known experiment of its type in more than 20 years. The United States says China used a ground-based ballistic missile to shoot apart an aging weather satellite on January 11, scattering dangerous debris that could damage other satellites and raising risks of escalating military rivalry in outer space. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman refused to confirm or deny the incident, but said Beijing wanted no arms race in space. "I can't say anything about the reports. I really don't know; I've only seen the foreign reports," Liu Jianchao told Reuters. "What I can say is that, as a matter of principle, China advocates the peaceful use of space and opposes the weaponization of space, and also opposes any form of arms race," he said....
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2807963
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Editor - 09:03:00 01-19-07
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| Integration or isolation? Serbs go to polls with rivals neck and neck |
Serbia goes to the polls on Sunday for a crucial election that could return the pivotal Balkan state to nationalist instability or open up better prospects of integration with the EU and the west. Coming on top of war, revolution, isolation and assassination during the past decade, the ballot is seen as the most important since the fall of Slobodan Milosevic’s regime in 2000. The election is also overshadowed by the fate of its southern province of Kosovo. Within weeks of Sunday’s poll, the international community is expected to impose a form of independence on the Albanian-majority province, redrawing Serbia’s borders in the final act of the disintegration of Yugoslavia. The UN mediator on Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari, has delayed revealing his blueprint for Kosovo independence until after the election, for fear of handing a victory to extreme nationalists who vow never to give up the province....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/serbia/article/0,,1994582,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12
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Editor - 09:01:00 01-19-07
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| Switzerland, Millionaire `Paradise,' May Raise Taxes |
Switzerland, which has attracted millionaires from Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad to ex-Formula One champion Michael Schumacher, may raise taxes on rich foreigners after French singer Johnny Hallyday's move to the Alpine nation sparked criticism on both sides of the Franco-Swiss border. Foreigners with no local income pay tax according to their spending on rents or mortgages. Finance ministers from the country's 26 regions meeting in Bern today agreed to pursue discussion on a possible revision of the system, which could more than double current taxation on 3,600 residents. ``It's necessary to establish a comparison'' among tax systems at home & abroad ``before paving way for changes,'' said Claude Lasser, a representative of the region of Fribourg, in an interview after the meeting today. ``We haven't set a calendar yet. Regions are still free to make their choices.'' Hallyday, France's answer to Elvis Presley, set off a media & political storm last month when he announced he's moving to...
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=atnbsYSlekDs&refer=exclusive
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Editor - 08:59:00 01-19-07
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| Companies press Bush, Congress on climate |
Ten major U.S. corporations are joining environmental groups to press Bush and Congress to address climate change more rapidly. The coalition, including Alcoa Inc., General Electric Co., DuPont Co., and Duke Energy Corp. plans to publicize its recommendations on Monday, a day ahead of the president's annual State of the Union address. The group also includes Caterpillar, PG&E, the FPL Group, PNM Resources, BP America and Lehman Brothers. The group, known as the United States Climate Action Partnership, will call for a firm nationwide limit on carbon dioxide emissions that would lead to reductions of 10 to 30 percent over the next 15 years, said the Natural Resources Defense Council. Contrary to media reports, Duke Energy spokesman said the coalition will not address the construction of conventional coal-burning power plants. The company has announced plans to build plants fueled by coal....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070119/ts_nm/climate_coalition_dc
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Editor - 08:54:00 01-19-07
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| Cameras Caught Fuzzy Images of Immigrant Shot by Border Patrol Agent in Ariz., Officials Say |
A deadly Border Patrol shooting that drew criticism from Mexico's president was recorded by surveillance cameras, but the images are unclear, authorities said. The Border Patrol is trying to have the tape digitally enhanced to show more detail of the Jan. 12 confrontation east of Bisbee, said Michael Nicley, chief of the agency's Tucson Sector. "You can't tell anything from the tape at all," he said. "You can barely even make out the bodies." Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera, 22, of Puebla, Mexico, was shot and killed by an agent who had responded to a call about a group of seven people crossing the desert. The agent took six of the people into custody without incident, then started fighting with Dominguez Rivera. The Border Patrol has said the agent thought his life was in danger when he shot the man....
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2807971
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Editor - 08:53:00 01-19-07
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