Israel has dismissed an offer by Palestinian militant groups to stop firing rockets into Israel, if Israel ends attacks on Palestinians. An Israeli government spokeswoman, Miri Eisen, said the militants had offered only a partial ceasefire. She said the offer of an end to firing rockets from Gaza showed a lack of real commitment to peace. The conditional Palestinian offer was made after a meeting on Thursday of all armed factions, including Hamas. The militant group Hamas leads the Palestinian Authority. Israel has in the past consistently rejected ceasefire offers by Palestinian militants, saying it refuses to do deals of any kind with what it describes as terrorist organisations. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk censor News |
Editor - 08:40:00 11-24-06 |
Shiite bloc's walkout threat a test for Iraqi PM |
Powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is threatening to withdraw support from Iraq's government if Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki meets President Bush next week, an al-Sadr representative said Friday. Such a move could jeopardize the stability of the administration of al-Maliki who has relied on the support of both the United States and his fellow Shiites.The White House said talks between Bush and al-Maliki in Jordan next week would go ahead as planned. Al-Maliki's office has not responded to the threat by Salih al-Akeili, a member of the al-Sadr bloc in Iraq's parliament, that aired on Iraqi TV. The move came as attacks on Sunni mosques were reported in apparent retaliation for a bloodbath in a Shiite area on Thursday. Coordinated attacks killed more than 200 people in Baghdad's Sadr City slum in what is considered the worst attack of the Iraq war. More than 250 also were wounded, an Iraqi Health Ministry official said Friday after an updated count from local hospitals... http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/11/24/iraq.main/index.html
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Editor - 08:26:00 11-24-06 |
Death toll in Sri Lanka goes up |
Sri Lankan troops killed 24 Tamil Tiger rebels in fighting in the country's north and east on Thursday, the defence ministry said. Tamil Tigers said that only one rebel died, and seven government commandos were also killed. More than 3,000 people have died in fighting over the past one year, the government says. Both sides have been accusing each other of initiating the fighting and violating a 2002 ceasefire agreement. The heaviest fighting took place in the eastern Batticaloa region where the government said 19 Tamil rebels and four policemen were killed in two clashes. Five more rebels were shot dead in a confrontation in the northern Vavuniya district, it said. The government also accused the rebels of killing two civilians in the east. The Tigers say government troops killed a student and injured five others... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6179674.stm
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Editor - 08:17:00 11-24-06 |
Fresh claims of Afghan shortages |
The government is facing fresh claims that British troops in Afghanistan are facing shortages of vital equipment. Sgt Stephen Brown of the Royal Marines has complained his men do not have enough ammunition and equipment, and have to use inappropriate vehicles. He told reporters in Helmand Province: "Countless times we have put in requests for what we need extra, and it has not arrived." But the MoD and senior officers insist there is enough equipment for the job. "Providing our forces with equipment that is both fit for purpose and effective in theatre is an absolute priority," the MoD said. "In the past few years a range of new systems have been introduced which have significantly enhanced our troops' capability, including new improved body armour, new vehicles and a range of new weapons." Meanwhile, the MoD's biggest purchases will be delivered almost three years late on average, the National Audit Office has said... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6179120.stm
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Editor - 08:15:00 11-24-06 |
Family dispute leads to deadly holiday shooting Police: Gunman kills three at Thanksgiving Day family gathering in Calif. |
An apparent family dispute turned deadly when a gunman burst into a Thanksgiving Day gathering and opened fire, killing three people, police said. Two men were being held in the shooting, which occurred shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday at an apartment complex in north Oakland. A gunman walked into an apartment where 11 people were having dinner and began firing, authorities said. Two women and one man were fatally shot, and another man suffered a broken back when he tried to escape by jumping out a third-story window, police said. The gunman then fled, prompting a SWAT team to close down surrounding blocks and conduct an apartment-by-apartment sweep. Two brothers in custodyAsmero Tewolda surrendered to police several hours later, after barricading himself in the complex, police said. His brother, whose name was not released, also was taken into custody, although his alleged role in the incident was unclear... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15874427/
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Editor - 08:06:00 11-24-06 |
Causes of food diseases escape officials |
More than 50,000 people got sick or died from something they ate in a five-year period -- a hidden epidemic that went undiagnosed by the nation's public-health departments. Americans play a sort of food-poisoning Russian roulette depending on where they live, an investigation by Scripps Howard News Service found. Slovenly restaurants, disease-infested food-processing plants and other sources of infectious illness go undetected across the country -- but much more frequently in some states than others. Scripps studied 6,374 food-related disease outbreaks reported by every state to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from Jan. 1, 2000, through Dec. 31, 2004. The causes of nearly two-thirds of the outbreaks in that period were officially listed as "unknown." The findings translate into an alarming potential for danger. If health officials are unable to connect illness to food, victims who might eat from the same poisoned source cannot be warned. ... http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20061123-111744-1919r.htm
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Editor - 08:03:00 11-24-06 |
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