Sierra Leone's war crimes tribunal has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to host the trial of ex-Liberian leader Charles Taylor. The ICC said Sierra Leone's request to use The Hague as a venue was being considered, but stressed the African tribunal would still control the case. The request has been backed by Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Mr Taylor, who was captured on Wednesday in Nigeria, faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The 11 counts, including responsibility for murder, rape and mutilation, relate to his alleged role fomenting war in Sierra Leone. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk censor News |
Editor - 08:45:00 03-30-06 |
Protests stop Rice's mosque visit |
A visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to a mosque in Jack Straw's constituency has been cancelled under the threat of protests. Muslims opposed to her trip to the Blackburn mosque had planned to protest in the building ahead of her arrival, spokesman Ibrahim Masters said. Dr Rice's official visit to Blackburn and Liverpool begins on Friday. Her call at the Masjide Al Hidayah mosque on Millham Street was cancelled over safety concerns. However, plans for her to meet staff at the 1,200-pupil Pleckgate High School in Blackburn have not been affected, despite up to 50 people protesting outside the school on Thursday. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/lancashire/4860496.stm
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Editor - 08:41:00 03-30-06 |
Another Cyclone Hits Australia |
Australia's remote northwest shore was lashed by 80 mph winds as Cyclone Glenda made landfall Thursday, officials said. There were no immediate reports of substantial damage. Glenda hit the sparsely populated Pilbara coast of Western Australia state, about 620 miles north of the Western Australia state capital Perth, said Bureau of Meteorology manager Grahame Reader. The cyclone, a Category 4 with winds up to 155 mph near its center, was expected to take several hours to pass over land because its course was running almost parallel to the coast, Reader said. Onslow, a fishing town of more than 800, was likely to bear the brunt of the cyclone's force. ... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/30/world/main1454749.shtml?source=RSS&attr=World_1454749
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Editor - 08:38:00 03-30-06 |
China plans huge river clean-up |
China has said it will spend more than $1.2bn cleaning up the Songhua River along the Russian border after it was polluted by toxic chemicals last year. Water supplies were cut off to millions of people following the benzene leak. The clean-up plan will fund more than 200 projects designed to reduce industrial pollution and improve sewage treatment and water quality. November's spill strained relations with Russia and focused attention on pollution problems in China's rivers. About 3.8m people in the northern Chinese city of Harbin lost their water supplies for up to five days after 100 tonnes of benzene and nitrobenzene leaked into the Songhua. The spillage was caused by an explosion upstream at a PetroChina chemical factory in the north-eastern province of Jilin. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4860134.stm
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Editor - 08:36:00 03-30-06 |
Researchers in Australia Test New Jet Designed to Top 5,000 Mph, 10 Times Faster Than Other Planes |
Researchers in Australia's Outback launched a test flight Thursday of a supersonic jet designed to fly 10 times faster than conventional airplanes. The test flight was conducted by researchers at the University of Queensland under commission from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, in the remote community of Woomera, about 300 miles north of the South Australian state capital, Adelaide. The Supersonic Combustion Ramjet, or scramjet, was designed to travel at up to 5,000 mph, or 10 times the speed of conventional aircraft, the University of Queensland said. "The rocket launch looked as expected. We had another clean liftoff," Professor Michael Smart said. Thursday's flight was the second test flight in less than a week, and was intended to generate data about performance of the 220 pound scramjet engine with an advanced fuel injector developed by JAXA. ... http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1785741&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
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Editor - 08:34:00 03-30-06 |
Bush 'optimistic' about trade dispute |
Embarking on a sightseeing jaunt Thursday with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, President Bush said he's "always optimistic" about resolving a trade dispute that has strained U.S. relations with Canada for years."Hola," Bush said as he greeted Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at his luxury hotel before the two helicoptered off to a tour of ancient Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza. They were to be met at the famed archaeological site by Mexican President Vicente Fox. The three leaders will spend two days in this beer and bikini mecca in talks designed to showcase North American unity.Bush, who wore his cream-colored Hawaiian shirt untucked, and Harper, in an open-neck shirt and a safari vest, were all smiles for their first meeting since Harper took office two months ago as Canada's new Conservative leader.... http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-03-30-bush-canada-mexico_x.htm
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Editor - 08:31:00 03-30-06 |
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