Japan's ruling party has chosen top government spokesman Shinzo Abe as its next leader, and the country's most likely next prime minister. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) voted by 464, out of 703 votes, for Mr Abe to succeed current Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Mr Abe, 51, Chief Cabinet Secretary, was the strong front-runner to take the top post. Parliament is expected to confirm him as prime minister next week. The LDP has governed Japan almost without interruption since 1955. Though broadly conservative, it contains competing factions who field candidates for the top job. Mr Abe is the son of a former foreign minister and grandson of a former prime minister. At 51, he is considered young to be a Japanese cabinet minister. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk censor News |
Editor - 09:23:00 09-20-06 |
Blood drawing project leads to teacher suspension |
A high school science teacher was suspended for allowing students to use the same instrument to draw blood from their fingers as part of a class project, district officials said Tuesday.About 50 juniors and seniors in two science classes at Salina High School South used the same lancet, or small pin, to prick their fingers on Monday, said Carol Pitts, spokeswoman for the Salina school district.The science teacher, who was not identified, was suspended with pay during an investigation, Pitts said.Pitts said there was additional concern that some of the students may have come in contact with blood when they washed the science experiment slides. She said it was unclear what experiment the classes were doing, but they may have been checking blood glucose levels.... http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/09/20/students.blood.ap/?section=cnn_us
full News |
Editor - 09:21:00 09-20-06 |
ICRC to visit latest Guantanamo detainees next week |
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will visit Guantanamo next week and will see 14 suspects recently switched from secret CIA jails, a spokesman said on Wednesday. The 14 include the suspected mastermind of the September 11 suicide plane attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and two other al Qaeda leaders, Ramzi Binalshibh and Abu Zubaydah who arrived at the U.S. prison in Cuba earlier this month from undisclosed locations."The visit is going to start on Monday and will go on for two weeks," said ICRC spokesman Vincent Lusser.The visit, part of a normal series of trips to Guantanamo, will be carried out under the usual conditions, meaning that the ICRC will be able to meet privately with detainees and receive a letter from them for their families.... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060920/ts_nm/security_redcross_guantanamo_dc
full News |
Editor - 09:18:00 09-20-06 |
Dobbs: Voting machines put U.S. democracy at risk |
Democrats and Republicans are desperately trying to nationalize the midterm elections, now only 48 days away. Democrats are seeking to focus voter attention on President Bush's conduct of the war in Iraq, while Republicans are trying to convince voters that the president and all Republicans should be given credit for the conduct of the war on terror, and the fact that there has not been a terrorist attack on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001. And voters will also choose which party to support on a host of other issues, local and national: illegal immigration, border security, the state of the economy, the escalating cost of health care, failing public schools, record budget and trade deficits, and the declining standard of living for the middle class. Voters will be deciding whether the promise of challengers or the performance of incumbents merits their votes. ... http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/19/Dobbs.Sept20/index.html?section=cnn_us
full News |
Editor - 09:14:00 09-20-06 |
Israelis seize Palestinian funds |
Israeli troops have raided a bank and the offices of money-changers in West Bank towns, confiscating funds they say were intended to fund militants. The army said it seized almost $1.5m (£0.8m) in raids on premises in Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm and Ramallah. The money had mostly come from Syria and Iran and was intended for Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants, the army said. Palestinian sources have said that millions of dollars, documents and files were "stolen" in the raids. At least eight currency exchange offices and a small bank were destroyed, the Israeli army said. Israeli forces also said they had arrested two men, discovering pistols and hunting rifles in raids on their homes. Some 5m shekels ($1.2m; £0.6m) and 170,000 Jordanian dinars ($240,000; £130,000) had been seized, the army said. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5362866.stm
full News |
Editor - 09:10:00 09-20-06 |
Judge orders Saddam out of court |
Saddam Hussein has been ordered out of court by the new chief judge at his genocide trial in Baghdad. The former Iraqi leader refused to sit down in protest at the appointment of Muhammad al-Ureibi and was ejected. The entire team of defence lawyers then walked out as well and the court continued its proceedings without them. The previous chief judge was replaced after the government accused him of bias towards Saddam Hussein "when he described him as not being a dictator". The new judge, Mohammed al-Khalifa, is a Shia Arab who served as deputy presiding judge under his predecessor, Abdullah al-Amiri. Saddam Hussein and his co-defendants are facing war crimes charges in relation to the Anfal military campaign in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq in the late 1980s. "The government of Iraq feels the judge is no longer neutral as could be seen when he described Saddam as not being a dictator," a statement by the cabinet said. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5362502.stm
full News |
Editor - 09:09:00 09-20-06 |
|
post The Good, The Bad and The Ugly |
|