Police have imposed a three-month ban on political rallies and protests in parts of Zimbabwe's capital to try to calm tensions, after recent violence. The police said there was "pandemonium and looting" on Sunday when they halted an opposition rally. The opposition have likened the move to "a state of emergency" and said the government of Zimbabwe was panicking. President Robert Mugabe has said he has no intention of stepping down, in an interview to mark his 83rd birthday. In the rambling hour-long television interview, Mr Mugabe also criticised colleagues who have been debating when he will retire and who should replace him. The state-run Herald newspaper devoted 16 pages of pictures and congratulatory messages to Mr Mugabe in its Wednesday edition. Mr Mugabe retains an iron grip after nearly 27 years in power. His supporters are preparing a large party in the central city of Gweru at the weekend to mark his birthday and have sought donations from the population. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk censor News |
Editor - 07:56:00 02-21-07 |
Iran 'swiftly seeks nuclear goal' |
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Iran will try to achieve nuclear capability as soon as possible. His comments, reported by Iran's Isna news agency, come as a UN deadline for Tehran to freeze its uranium enrichment programme expires. For the first time, a political party in Iran has called on Mr Ahmadinejad to accept the UN's demands. Iran denies Western claims that it is seeking nuclear weapons, saying its programme is for purely peaceful ends. A UN resolution, adopted on 23 December 2006, imposed sanctions against Iran's nuclear and missile programmes and opened the way for further measures if it failed to halt uranium enrichment within two months. Following the deadline's expiry on Wednesday, the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog is expected to report that Iran has defied the 60-day ultimatum to suspend its activities. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6381477.stm
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Editor - 07:51:00 02-21-07 |
Russia Threat To Neighbors Angers U.S. Moscow Says Czech Republic, Poland Could Be Targeted If They Allow U.S. Missile Defenses |
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday called a Russian general's warning that Poland and the Czech Republic risk being targeted if they host American missile defense bases "extremely unfortunate." Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov, head of Russia's strategic missile forces, said Monday that Russia might target the two countries with missiles if they accept the U.S. proposal to base 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic. "I think that was an extremely unfortunate comment," Rice said at a news conference in Berlin. She said U.S. officials had briefed Russia on their plans and made it clear that the system is aimed at a possible launch from Iran, not from Russia. "Anyone who knows anything about this knows that there is no way that 10 interceptors... are a threat to Russia or that they are somehow going to diminish Russia's deterrent of thousands of warheads," Rice said.... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/21/world/main2497840.shtml?source=RSSattr=World_2497840
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Editor - 07:50:00 02-21-07 |
Man 'lucky' he can't remember 16-story fall 'I probably would have some pretty serious nightmares,' he says |
Just a month after his 16-story fall and merciful landing onto a hotel overhang, Joshua Hanson is off crutches from a broken leg, mostly healed from his other injuries and thankful he has no memory of the plunge. "I feel really lucky I don't remember it because I probably would have some pretty serious nightmares," said the 29-year-old bar owner from Blair, Wis., who crashed out a hotel window Jan. 20 after a night drinking with his friends. "I'm walking without a crutch, I'm getting around pretty good. I mean, I feel really good," Hanson said Tuesday after a couple weeks of recuperation at his parents' home. His two collapsed lungs and torn trachea have healed, and he's been slowly returning to work at Heine's bar. Hanson recalls drinking with his pals at a couple of bars in St. Paul before going back to the Minneapolis Hyatt Regency. They stopped by a darts tournament at the hotel before heading to their rooms in the early morning hours.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17258545/
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Editor - 07:47:00 02-21-07 |
Lebanese Anti-Aircraft Guns Fire on Israeli Warplanes Over Lebanon |
Lebanese anti-aircraft guns fired at Israeli warplanes over southern Lebanon on Wednesday, a military spokesman said, indicating that Lebanon's army is taking a new assertiveness toward Israel.The Israeli planes had "violated Lebanese sovereignty, posing a challenge to U.N. Resolution 1701," the spokesman said, referring to the Security Council resolution that ended Israel's 34-day war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon last August.The official spoke on condition of anonymity as is customary for the Lebanese military in the absence of a formal statement.In Jerusalem, the Israeli military declined to comment on the Lebanese statement.The Lebanese guns did not appear to have hit any Israeli planes, but the incident was the first time that the Lebanese military had fired at Israeli aircraft since the war.... http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,253375,00.html
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Editor - 07:45:00 02-21-07 |
Russia, U.S. at odds on Palestinians before meeting |
Russia called on Wed for an easing of pressure on the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority but the United States said an aid embargo must remain in place until the Palestinians meet conditions set out by western powers. Underlining differences ahead of a meeting in Berlin to discuss Hamas and its new coalition with President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said conditions drawn up by the quartet of Middle East mediators were still valid. The quartet, comprising Russia, the United States, European Union and United Nations, said a year ago after the militant group Hamas won elections that any Palestinian government must meet three conditions -- renounce violence, recognize Israel and abide by past Israeli-Palestinian accords. "I think it is clear why the quartet principles which we settled on a year ago are still so critically important to progress with peace," ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070221/ts_nm/palestinians_quartet_dc
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Editor - 07:44:00 02-21-07 |
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