Government and rebel forces in Sudan are guilty of abusing children, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said. In a report to the Security Council, Mr Annan condemned the practice of recruiting child soldiers. His report said this continued despite peace deals in southern Sudan and the western Darfur region. It also said sexual and other violence against children by army and militia groups persisted in southern and western Sudan. Mr Annan's report implicates the Sudanese Armed Forces - the government army - in child recruitment in southern Sudan and in Khartoum, in the killing of children in southern Sudan, and in child abduction and sexual violence in Darfur. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk censor News |
Editor - 08:35:00 08-23-06 |
Kidnapped journalists seen on video |
Two Fox journalists kidnapped in the Gaza Strip last week said they were in "fairly good health" and appealed for help to secure their freedom, a videotape released on Wednesday showed. A previously unknown militant group, the "Holy Jihad Brigades," earlier claimed responsibility for the kidnapping nine days ago in the Palestinian coastal strip and demanded the United States release "Muslim prisoners" within 72 hours. It did not say what would happen if the demand was ignored. Fox News Channel correspondent Steve Centanni, a 60-year-old American, and New Zealand cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, were shown sitting on a blanket on a floor. They sat against a black backdrop with no markings. No militants could be seen... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060823/ts_nm/mideast_gaza_kidnappings_dc
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Editor - 08:34:00 08-23-06 |
US flight turns back to Amsterdam |
A US passenger jet en route to India has turned back to Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, escorted by Dutch F-16 fighter aircraft, amid a security alert. The Northwest Airlines flight to Mumbai (Bombay) was diverted "when a couple of passengers displayed behaviour of concern", an airline spokeswoman said. The pilot took the decision while over Germany, an airport spokeswoman said. Passengers are being questioned over the incident but no extra security measures are in place at Schiphol. The Netherlands' national co-ordinator for counter-terrorism said there was no reason to upgrade the country's terror alert level, which is currently at "substantial", the second-highest level. The airliner was heading for Mumbai with 149 passengers on board, Northwest Airlines spokeswoman Kristin Heinmets said. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5278092.stm
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Editor - 08:31:00 08-23-06 |
EU makes fresh attempt to raise troops for Middle East peacekeeping force |
Israel's foreign minister on Wednesday called the situation in Lebanon "explosive" and urged the international community to work quickly to deploy peacekeeping troops there. Tzipi Livni met with French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy in Paris to discuss a U.N. Security Council resolution that called for an end to more than a month of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, bringing a shaky peace to the region. "Time is working against those who would like to see this resolution applied," Livni told reporters after talks with Douste-Blazy. "We are now in the most sensitive and explosive position." "We therefore need extremely quick action from the international community," she said. Livni visited Paris less than a week after the French disappointed the United Nations by pledging only 200 new troops to the peacekeeping force in Lebanon... http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-08-23-peacekeeping-lebanon_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 08:29:00 08-23-06 |
Red flag warnings for wildfires in Northwest as firefighters face threat of storms |
Red flag warnings were posted for wide areas of the Northwest on Wednesday, indicating extreme fire danger as crews battled spreading wildfires.A group of wind-driven fires near Dayton in southeast Washington had raced across more than 15,000 acres, or more than 23 square miles, of grass, brush, trees and wheat fields.Some 35 residents of a nursing home were evacuated Tuesday because of heavy smoke, and as many as 300 other people were urged to leave their homes. The fires near town were sparked by lightning on Monday and fanned by wind gusting to 30 mph.No homes had burned as of late Tuesday but some outbuildings and a couple of vehicles were lost, said Ray Steiger, a spokesman for the management team on the fire. No injuries were reported and the main fires were burning away from this town of about 2,700 people.... http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2006-08-22-western-wildfires_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 08:27:00 08-23-06 |
Alaska governor concedes defeat in primary Murkowski only garners 19 percent of the vote |
Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski lost his bid for a second term on Tuesday, making him the first incumbent Alaska governor in 20 years to be unseated in his party's primary election. Murkowski conceded the race to former Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin about two hours after the polls closed and pledged to support her. Palin, running a campaign that portrayed her as a reformer bucking the state's Republican establishment, will now face former Democratic Gov. Tony Knowles in November's general election. With over two-thirds of the precincts reporting, Palin had 51.1 percent of the total. John Binkley, a Fairbanks businessman and former state senator, was in second place with 29.5 percent, and Murkowski trailed with about 19 percent. Murkowski, who is the first Alaska governor to lose in the primary election since Democrat Bill Sheffield was defeated in 1986, angered Alaskans by appointing his daughter to fill out his U.S. Senate term, buying a state jet for his personal use and ... http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/08/23/alaska.murkowski.reut/index.html?section=cnn_us
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Editor - 08:24:00 08-23-06 |
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