Sen. John McCain renewed pressure on Iraqi leaders to quickly form a new government in meetings Saturday, while more than 50 people were killed in violence, many in a gunbattle between Shiite militia forces and insurgents south of Baghdad. McCain, R-Ariz., was in the country with Sen. Russell Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat who opposed the war in Iraq, just four days after another powerful group of American politicians traveled here to press Iraqi politicians to overcome their differences. ``The American people, no matter what party they are associated with, want the experiment of democracy to succeed,'' McCain said. Feingold did not speak, but nodded in agreement as McCain spoke about the future of Iraq. The delegation arrived in Iraq as the Bush administration has been applying extreme pressure on Iraqi politicians to form a government. ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk
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Editor - 09:51:00 03-25-06
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 Afghan convert 'may be released' |
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is leading efforts to resolve the issue of a man facing execution for converting to Christianity. A meeting is on in Kabul to discuss the fate of Abdul Rahman who "could be released soon" officials say. Mr Rahman is on trial charged with rejecting Islam. He could be executed under Sharia law unless he reconverts. The emergency meeting was called after growing international pressure on Afghanistan about the trial. "For the sake of the national interest of 25 million Afghans, the president is trying to solve the issue," an Afghan official told the BBC. Several countries with troops in Afghanistan have expressed their concern on the issue. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4841812.stm
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Editor - 09:41:00 03-25-06
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| Freed Kember thanks rescue troops |
Freed hostage Norman Kember has thanked the soldiers who rescued him from kidnappers in Iraq as he arrived home. But, in a statement released as he was reunited with wife Pat at Heathrow airport, he said he did not believe armed force achieved lasting peace. He had faced criticism after apparently failing to thank the men who freed him. Mr Kember, 74, a peace campaigner from Pinner, London, was kidnapped in Iraq last November. He and two Canadian hostages were rescued on Thursday. Head of the British Army, Gen Sir Mike Jackson, had said he was "saddened" there did not seem to be any gratitude after the rescue of Mr Kember, James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32. But on Saturday, Mr Kember said: "I do not believe that a lasting peace is achieved by armed force, but I pay tribute to their courage and thank those who played a part in my rescue." Christian Peacemaker Teams, the group all three men were campaigning for, insisted it had thanked the soldiers...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4844800.stm
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Editor - 09:38:00 03-25-06
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| Afghan judge balks at prodding |
The chief judge trying an Afghan man who faces a death sentence for converting from Islam to Christianity defended the court's autonomy yesterday amid reports the man could be freed. Ansarullah Mawlavi Zada, the chief among three judges trying the case, asserted the autonomy of the court. "We have constitution and law here. Nobody has the right to put pressure on us," he said. International pressure against the case has been building, and the Afghan government may be rethinking the charges against Abdul Rahman. A government official and MSNBC said yesterday that Mr. Rahman may be freed within the next few days. Senior clerics condemned Mr. Rahman as an apostate. Mr. Rahman had "committed the greatest sin" by converting to Christianity and deserved to be killed, cleric Abdul Raoulf said in a sermon yesterday at Herati Mosque. "God's way is the right way, and this man whose name is Abdul Rahman is an apostate," he told about 150 worshippers. ...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20060324-104110-6145r.htm
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Editor - 09:29:00 03-25-06
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| Wal-mart leads charge in race to grab a slice of China |
The last things the turtles see in the Wal-Mart megastore in northern Beijing are bright fluorescent lights, masked shop assistants and, if they crane their necks over the edge of their plastic container, a chalk board offering them for sale at the bargain price of 39.8 yuan (£2.86) each.Once that sum is paid even their shells cannot protect them. They are whisked off to the in-store slaughter counter, where their necks are cut, their blood is drained and they are bagged and tagged ready for the checkout counter. A similar fate awaits the bass, perch and carp crammed into glass tanks, while there is equally no escape for the crayfish and shrimps that scuttle their last moments around a plastic tray half-filled with water before being scooped onto the scales. ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,1739319,00.html?gusrc=rss
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Editor - 09:19:00 03-25-06
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| Nigeria to give up Charles Taylor |
Nigeria has agreed to hand over to Liberia the country's exiled former leader, Charles Taylor. A statement from Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said the Liberian government was free to take Mr Taylor into custody. Liberia formally requested his extradition earlier in March. A UN-backed war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone wants to put Mr Taylor on trial. He went into exile in Nigeria in 2003 after standing down as leader. The move was part of an international deal to end Liberia's 14-year civil war. The Nigerian statement said: "President Olusegun Obasanjo has today, 25 March, informed President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf that the government of Liberia is free to take former President Charles Taylor into custody." ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4845088.stm
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Editor - 09:15:00 03-25-06
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