Iraqis in Haditha, where 24 unarmed civilians were killed last year, said on Friday four U.S. Marines charged with their murder should be executed, a penalty they will not face in the United States."They should hand them over to us so that we can kill them. They do not deserve a trial," said one young man who refused to give his name. Khaled Salman, whose sister Asmaa was among 24 people killed in Haditha, gathered with friends in the early hours of Friday to watch television coverage of the charges being announced. "Those soldiers killed 24 people. They killed women and children, isn't that enough for them be executed? Just so that the family can have peace," said Salman, 41. "It's a political trial and it will not bring our rights back," said Salman, visibly angry. ...
http://abcnews.go.com
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Editor - 08:18:00 12-22-06
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 U.S death toll in Iraq creeps closer to 3,000 mark |
The U.S. military reported the deaths of five more soldiers on Friday, bringing the U.S. death toll closer to 3,000, as Defense Secretary Robert Gates ended a two-day visit aimed at finding a new strategy for Iraq. Four U.S. servicemen were killed in action on Thursday in the restive Anbar province, heartland of the unrelenting Sunni insurgency against U.S. forces and the Iraqi government and the most dangerous place in Iraq for American soldiers. A fifth was killed and another wounded west of Baghdad on Friday when their patrol came under machinegun and mortar fire. At least 71 U.S. soldiers have died so far this month. The deaths brought the total U.S. death toll in Iraq to 2,960, creeping closer to the 3,000 mark and adding more pressure on President Bush to find a strategy that will allow the eventual withdrawal of 135,000 U.S. troops. Bush has said he will announce a new strategy in January after listening to the advice of ...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2746016
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Editor - 08:16:00 12-22-06
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| Flu 'could wipe out 62 million' |
A global flu pandemic could kill 62 million people, experts have warned. The 1918 pandemic claimed 50 million lives, and experts in The Lancet predict the toll today would be higher than this, despite medical advances. The world's poorest nations would be hardest hit, fuelled by factors such as HIV and malaria infections, the Harvard University researchers believe. Yet developing countries can least afford to prepare for a pandemic, which needs to be addressed, they say. Killer strain Lethal global flu epidemics tend to occur three or four times a century. Some scientists believe a new one may be imminent and could be triggered by bird flu. So far there have been only 258 cases of the latest strain of avian flu, H5N1, recorded in humans. But the fear is that this strain could mutate and spread quickly and easily between people, triggering a deadly pandemic. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6199717.stm
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Editor - 08:14:00 12-22-06
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| Tiny village hits El Gordo lottery jackpot |
A remote Spanish farming village today became several million pounds richer after each of its 25 inhabitants won a share of the top prize in the world's biggest lottery, El Gordo.The church bells rang in Rebollo de Duero, in the central Spanish province of Soria, as the handful of farming families celebrated their good fortune. Soria is one of western Europe's most sparsely inhabited regions, with many villages abandoned completely by their inhabitants over the past half century. "I don't know what everybody is going to do with it," said Mayor José María García, who admitted to being several hundred thousand euros richer after the prize draw. "We'll try not to start arguing."With the top prize shared among the thousands of people who buy shares in the winning number, the win was being celebrated in half a dozen places around the country....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/spain/article/0,,1977878,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12
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Editor - 08:09:00 12-22-06
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| Annan encouraged that Sudan will seek Darfur ceasefire, OK African Union-U.N. force |
Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday he is encouraged that Sudan's president will shortly agree to a ceasefire in conflict-wracked Darfur, renewed peace efforts, and a hybrid African Union-U.N. peacekeeping force. Annan reported the optimistic assessment from a special envoy he sent to Khartoum to deliver a message to Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir that his support is essential if the United Nations is to fund and strengthen the beleaguered 7,000-strong African Union force on the ground in Darfur. "The reports I have received from my envoy in Khartoum, (Ahmedou) Ould Abdallah, encourages me to think we may tomorrow receive a green light from president Bashir for a full ceasefire, a renewed effort to bring all parties into (the) political process, and deployment of the proposed African Union-United Nations hybrid force to protect the population," he said. But in a farewell speech to the U.N. Security Council, Annan cautioned, "we will need to see the ...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-12-22-darfur_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 08:07:00 12-22-06
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| Rice backs 'worthwhile' Iraq war |
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has again defended the war in Iraq, saying the investment in US lives and dollars will be "worth it". Ms Rice said a lot had been sacrificed for Iraq but success would change the entire Middle East. She was speaking soon after eight US marines were charged over the deaths of 24 Iraq civilians in Haditha last year. President Bush said for the first time this week that the US was not winning the war, but was not losing it either. In the latest violence on Friday, three US marines and a sailor died from their wounds during fighting in Anbar province, the US military said. Cover-up charges The BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says that in her interview with Associated Press news agency, Ms Rice made it plain that she still believed Iraq should be seen as the centrepiece of US-Middle East policy. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6202469.stm
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Editor - 08:05:00 12-22-06
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