Iran said the United Nations was being ``manipulated for political purposes'' in its first official observance today of the memory of the Holocaust. The UN's 191 member governments agreed on Nov. 1 to make Jan. 27 the annual ``International Day of Commemoration in Memory of Victims of the Holocaust.'' The decision was taken by consensus in the General Assembly, which means Iran didn't formally object or call for a vote on the resolution. Iran's mission to the UN explained its position on the measure in a note to the president of the General Assembly that was released today. While condemning genocide as a crime against humanity, the statement said ``rendering political judgments on such events and closing the door to any scientific scrutiny'' would impede efforts to prevent future atrocities. ...
http://quote.bloomberg.com
censor News |
Editor - 13:19:00 01-27-06
|
 Documents Show Army Seized Wives As Tactic |
The U.S. Army in Iraq has at least twice seized and jailed the wives of suspected insurgents in hopes of "leveraging" their husbands into surrender, U.S. military documents show.In one case, a secretive task force locked up the young mother of a nursing baby, a U.S. intelligence officer reported. In the case of a second detainee, one American colonel suggested to another that they catch her husband by tacking a note to the family's door telling him "to come get his wife." The issue of female detentions in Iraq has taken on a higher profile since kidnappers seized American journalist Jill Carroll on Jan. 7 and threatened to kill her unless all Iraqi women detainees are freed.The U.S. military on Thursday freed five of what it said were 11 women among the 14,000 detainees currently held in the 2 1/2-year-old insurgency. All were accused of "aiding terrorists or planting explosives," but an Iraqi government commission found that evidence was lacking....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/27/AR2006012700921.html
full News |
Editor - 12:41:00 01-27-06
|
| THE WORLD FROM BERLIN: Will the Real Hamas Please Stand Up? |
In the face of the surprise electoral victory of Hamas, Europe's diplomatic community strives to keep the peace process rolling. But under the surface of all the declarations of open-mindedness, which are also echoed by the press, there is much unclarity about how this unwanted situation came about and how it will develop. Amidst fears for the future of the Middle East peace process, the foreign ministers of the United States, European Union, Russia and the General Secretary of the United Nations are trying to remain as optimistic as possible about an election result in the Palestinian Authority that most are judging as dismal. The so-called Mideast Quartet will meet this Monday in London to discuss the election of Hamas in Ramallah and its consequences for the "Roadmap" to peace in the Mideast. ...
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,397604,00.html
full News |
Editor - 12:34:00 01-27-06
|
| Two missionaries, two Haitians kidnapped |
Two French missionaries and two Haitians were kidnapped near a volatile slum in Haiti's capital, a U.N. official said Thursday.The four were seized on Wednesday as they traveled on a road near Cite Soleil, a sprawling slum on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince used as a base by heavily armed gangs blamed for a wave of kidnappings and violence in the capital, said David Wimhurst, a U.N. spokesman.The captors have demanded a ransom, and Haiti's anti-kidnapping squad was working to secure the hostages' release, said Wimhurst, who did not identify the two French nationals other than to say one was a priest and the other a nun. He said he had no information about the identities of the kidnapped Haitians.A wave of kidnappings has plagued the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation, where criminal gangs have flourished in the aftermath of the rebellion that toppled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004....
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-01-27-haiti_x.htm?csp=34
full News |
Editor - 08:53:00 01-27-06
|
| Economic Growth Slowest In 3 Years |
The economy grew at only a 1.1 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter of last year, the slowest pace in three years, amid belt-tightening by consumers facing spiraling energy costs. Even with the feeble showing from October through December, the economy registered respectable overall growth of 3.5 percent for all of 2005, a year when business expansion was undermined by devastating Gulf Coast hurricanes. The Commerce Department report, released Friday offered the latest figures on gross domestic product, the best measure of the country's economic standing. The 1.1 percent growth rate in the fourth quarter marked a considerable loss of momentum from the third quarter's brisk 4.1 percent pace. The fourth-quarter's performance was even weaker than many analysts were forecasting. Before the release of the report, they were predicting the GDP to clock in at a 2.8 percent pace. ...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/27/business/main1244471.shtml?CMP=OTC-RSSFeed&source=RSS&attr=U.S._1244471
full News |
Editor - 08:38:00 01-27-06
|
| Senate Plans to Cut Off Alito Debate as Democrats Filibuster |
U.S. Senate Republican leaders said they have enough support to end debate on Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. and confirm him next week as some Democrats staged a last-ditch filibuster to try to derail his confirmation. The agreement yesterday to schedule the final roll call for Jan. 31 came as Democrats led by Massachusetts Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John Kerry forced leaders to schedule a separate vote a day earlier to stop debate on Alito's nomination to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Republicans control the Senate, 55-45. Three Democrats have announced support for Alito. Five other Democrats have said they will vote to end debate, ensuring the 60 votes necessary to proceed to a final roll call on Alito's confirmation....
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=avX8dE4XhVkw&refer=home
full News |
Editor - 08:35:00 01-27-06
|
|
| post The Good, The Bad and The Ugly |
|
|
