 Seven people have died in Somalia in a suspected bombing attack on the outskirts of the capital, Mogadishu. A BBC correspondent says four children were killed in the blast in Afgoye town, where people were seeking safety after escaping the war-torn capital. Police suspect a bomb may have gone off but investigations are ongoing, said local police chief Aden Obile Ahmed. Some 40,000 people have fled Mogadishu since February, following increasing violence in the city. Dozens have been killed by insurgents since Ethiopian-backed government forces defeated the Islamists last year. The BBC's Mohammed Olad in Mogadishu says the seven people killed in the blast were watching television when the explosion occurred inside their house, which was under construction. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk
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Editor - 09:31:00 03-16-07
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 Palestinian government to be sworn in after vote |
A unity government formed by rival Hamas and Fatah groups to halt deadly Palestinian violence will be sworn in on Saturday after gaining parliamentary approval, a Hamas lawmaker said."The government will win an easy vote of confidence," Salah al-Bardaweel, spokesman of the Islamist movement's parliamentary bloc, told Reuters on Friday. He said the factions taking part in the coalition could easily outvote any disaffected lawmakers. Parliament is due to convene at 11 a.m. (0900 GMT) in Gaza City to hear a speech by President Mahmoud Abbas, whose secular Fatah faction has joined its Hamas opponents in a government led by outgoing Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas. Haniyeh will present his new cabinet line-up and read a policy speech before a debate and a confidence vote. Ministers will then be sworn in at Abbas's office, Bardaweel said. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2957256
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Editor - 09:26:00 03-16-07
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| Coalition Denies Role In Afghan Cop Deaths Mystery Surrounds Attack On National Police Checkpoint In Helmand Province |
The International Security Assistance Force, the military conglomeration that coordinates NATO operations in Afghanistan, says none of its soldiers were involved in an incident Thursday night that left five Afghan police dead. Earlier Friday, the Afghan government said coalition forces had mistakenly attacked an Afghan police position in the southern Helmand province, resulting in the casualties. "We have closely reviewed various reports and the positions of ISAF forces. All indications are that no ISAF forces were involved in this unfortunate incident," said ISAF spokesperson Col. Tom Collins. The statement did not suggest who might have been behind the attack on the national police checkpoint in the Gereshk district. Helmand is a dangerous province, part of which sits along the border with Pakistan. British troops, who worked in the area for years, sustained regular casualties due to attacks by Taliban and al Qaeda militants. ...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/16/terror/main2577087.shtml?source=RSSattr=World_2577087
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Editor - 09:24:00 03-16-07
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| Portugal says it's closing Baghdad embassy due to security concerns |
Portugal is closing its embassy in Baghdad because of security concerns, the foreign minister said Friday. The embassy's offices and the ambassador's residence both lie outside the heavily protected Green Zone, making travel between them dangerous, Foreign Minister Luis Amado said. Embassy staff were "at constant risk of being killed," he said. The Portuguese ambassador to Iraq is already back in Lisbon. Portugal will reopen its embassy when security can be assured, Amado said. Portuguese police participated in peacekeeping patrols in Iraq for two years until 2005. The previous conservative government had supported the U.S.-led invasion, but the center-left Socialist government, elected in 2005, had opposed it....
http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2007-03-16-portugal_N.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 09:22:00 03-16-07
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| Olmert attempts to shrug off unpopularity |
The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has made a fresh attempt to restore his political standing ahead of a crucial report that is expected to criticise his handling of last summer's war in Lebanon.In an unusually defiant speech to his Kadima party's governing council, Mr Olmert admitted he was "an unpopular prime minister" but showed he intends to ride out the growing calls for his resignation."Even though some think this is hunting season, I am sorry to disappoint my detractors, but I am here to work," he said in the speech yesterday. "Let there be no mistake: I intend to be working for you for a long time yet."Despite his confidence, Mr Olmert is in a deeply uncomfortable position. His popularity ratings have sunk in recent weeks, with an Israeli public disillusioned by what is widely perceived as a failed war against Hizbullah last year...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,2035865,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12
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Editor - 09:20:00 03-16-07
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| Without a trace |
They vanish quietly and quickly. Some are dragged from their beds in front of their terrified families. Others are hustled off the streets into a waiting van, or yanked from a bus at a lonely desert junction. A windowless world of sweat and fear awaits. In dark cells, nameless men bark questions. The men brandish rubber whips, clenched fists, whirring electric drills, pictures of Osama bin Laden. The ordeal can last weeks, months or years.These are Pakistan's disappeared - men and women who have been abducted, imprisoned and in some cases tortured by the country's all-powerful intelligence agencies. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has counted 400 cases since 2002; it estimates hundreds more people may have been snatched. The phenomenon started with the great sweeps for al-Qaida suspects after September 11, but has dramatically increased in recent years, and now those who disappear include homegrown "enemies of the state" -...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2035478,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12
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Editor - 09:19:00 03-16-07
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