At least 14 Iraqi policemen have gone missing after leaving their base north of Baghdad to go on leave, Iraqi security officials have said. Earlier, an alliance of Islamist militant groups said in an internet statement it had kidnapped 18 interior ministry employees in the same area. This was retaliation for the alleged rape of a Sunni woman by members of the mainly Shia police, it said. The statement could not be verified. The government denies a rape occurred. The government is currently pushing a new security plan that will see mainly-Shia police units being deployed in predominantly Sunni districts. Sunni politicians have accused the police of perpetrating a series of human rights abuses on their community and of turning a blind eye to attacks on them by Shia militants. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk censor News |
Editor - 08:59:00 03-02-07 |
Deadly US tornadoes damage south |
Tornadoes have killed at least 20 people in the southern US states of Alabama, Georgia and Missouri. Victims included at least eight people killed when a tornado ripped through an Alabama school building, and two dead when a hospital was hit in Georgia. The US federal government has said it is ready to help any areas affected by the storms. Parts of Alabama and Georgia remain under tornado warnings, the National Weather Service has said. The US Storm Prediction Center (SPC) had earlier issued a rare "major severe weather outbreak" warning for the eastern third of the US. Meanwhile further north, several mid-western states were hit by heavy snow and blizzards, which closed hundreds of miles of major roads... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6409659.stm
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Editor - 08:58:00 03-02-07 |
Morocco to Present Autonomy Plan to U.N. to Break Deadlock Over Western Sahara |
Morocco will present an autonomy plan for Western Sahara to the United Nations next month in hopes of ending a three-decade conflict that has stranded 160,000 refugees in the Sahara, a top Moroccan official said Friday. The plan would give the disputed region a parliament, a chief of state, Cabinet ministries and a judiciary that would oversee day-to-day life, said Khalihenna Ould Errachid, King Mohamed VI's chief adviser on the territory. Morocco, which took control of Western Sahara in the 1970s after Spain pulled out, says autonomy is the only way to end a conflict with the Polisario Front, an Algerian-backed independence movement. It first proposed autonomy in 2000. The Polisario Front, though, insists on holding a referendum on independence. Morocco says a vote would be unworkable. ... http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2918522
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Editor - 08:46:00 03-02-07 |
Snowstorm hits schools, roads, flights |
A deadly winter storm packing a blizzard punch walloped parts of the Plains and Midwest, keeping highways and schools closed in some areas and creating monster snowdrifts Friday.At least four storm-related deaths have been reported since the snowfall began Wednesday -- the second big winter storm to strike the region in less than a week. More snow was expected before the storms fade later Friday.Some cities already had well over a foot of snow, with another few inches expected. Roads and schools remained closed as wind blew the fresh snow, limiting visibility, pushing drifts over roads and challenging an army of plows.Chicago's O'Hare International Airport had delays of well over an hour Friday morning, but other major airports in the region were running close to on time.... http://www.cnn.com/2007/WEATHER/03/02/midwest.snow.ap/index.html?eref=rss_us
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Editor - 08:45:00 03-02-07 |
German push for US missile talks |
Germany says the US should include its Nato allies in discussions on the possible deployment of a missile defence shield in Europe. The German Defence Minister, Franz Josef Jung, said "we should discuss developing such a defence measure within a Nato framework". The US is negotiating with Poland and the Czech Republic over the deployment of a radar and 10 missile interceptors. Russia has condemned the US plan and says it is developing new missiles. Mr Jung said Russia's concerns should be addressed at an existing forum, the Nato-Russia Council. He was speaking on Friday after an EU defence ministers' meeting in Wiesbaden, Germany. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6412549.stm
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Editor - 08:44:00 03-02-07 |
Gems, al-Qaida and murder. Mystery over killing of Osama Bin Laden's friend |
When Muhammad Jamal Khalifa was found dead at a remote gemstone mine in south-eastern Madagascar at the end of January, local police quickly put the murder down to a business deal gone wrong. The Saudi businessman, 49, had had to call in local police to evict a gang who had taken over the mine during the owner's six-year absence. All the evidence pointed towards another of the many killings that dominate the notoriously violent Madagascar gem mining business.Khalifa had been shot twice, stabbed and hacked at with an axe. His laptop, notebooks and money were missing, as were his two mobile phones. A survivor from the attack said a gang of up to 30 men had burst in to the guesthouse at the mine in Soameloka before setting upon their victim.But it soon became apparent to the police that this was no ordinary killing. Khalifa was a man with a past, and at the time of his death he was being monitored by the US secret service.... http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,,2024731,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12
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Editor - 08:42:00 03-02-07 |
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