Fighting between local and Central Asian militants escalated in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, as the death toll from three days of clashes rose to more than 100, officials said.Militants were exchanging mortar, rocket and assault rifle fire in four areas of South Waziristan, where the clashes broke out Monday. The government has been urging tribesmen to move against Al Qaeda-linked fighters in the region.Senior government and intelligence officials said about 105 people had died in the fighting, mostly Uzbeks and Chechens. The officials, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said their information came from army commanders and intelligence agents in the region.... http://www.foxnews.com censor News |
Editor - 08:51:00 03-21-07 |
Episcopal Bishops Reject Ultimatum From Anglican Leaders, Risking Schism in Anglican Family |
Episcopal bishops meeting privately in Texas have rejected demands from the world's Anglicans that they provide an alternate leader for conservatives who oppose ordaining gays a move that brings the church to the brink of expulsion from the Anglican Communion. In the strongest and most direct language yet defending their support for gay relationships, the bishops said that accepting a second leader for traditionalists would violate Episcopal church law and the founding principles of the church. "We cannot accept what would be injurious to the church and could well lead to its permanent division," the bishops said in the resolution. Last month, Anglican leaders emerged from a meeting in Tanzania with an ultimatum for the U.S. denomination. They gave Episcopalians until Sept. 30 to unequivocally pledge not to consecrate another partnered gay bishop or authorize official prayers for same-sex couples. Otherwise, they said, the church risked a much-reduced role in ... http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2969783
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Editor - 08:50:00 03-21-07 |
Zimbabwe's crisis 'like Titanic' |
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has likened the current crisis in Zimbabwe to the sinking of the Titanic. He said the country's economic difficulties were forcing its citizens to leave like passengers jumping from the sinking ship to save their lives. He called for a new approach as quiet diplomacy was not producing results. Meanwhile, the UK's leader Tony Blair told the British parliament that the solution to Zimbabwe's problems had to come ultimately from within Africa. An estimated 3m Zimbabweans, about a quarter of the total population, have fled the country in recent years. Scores of activists have been arrested and allegedly assaulted after police broke up a banned rally in Harare on 11 March. Four senior MDC officials were prevented from leaving the country, some to seek treatment for injuries they say were sustained in police custody. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6475851.stm
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Editor - 08:48:00 03-21-07 |
Virginia Harbor City's Brand New Fire Boat Sinks Before Going on Its First Run |
The city's $385,000, state-of-the-art fire boat sank Wednesday, still tied up at a dock and without ever being put to use. The boat, moored at a marina by the James River Bridge, was discovered with its stern sitting on the river bottom and the bow sticking up out of the water. Investigators had not yet determined the cause of the sinking. The fire department had not even taken ownership of the 33-foot boat because it was waiting for the manufacturer, MetalCraft Marine of Canada, to finish installing electronic equipment, department spokeswoman Dana Perry said. ... http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2969781
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Editor - 08:47:00 03-21-07 |
House Panel OKs Subpoenas For Bush Aides |
A House panel on Wednesday approved subpoenas for President Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove and other top White House aides, setting up a constitutional showdown over the firings of eight federal prosecutors. By voice vote, the House Judiciary subcommittee on commercial and administrative law decided to compel the president's top aides to testify publicly and under oath about their roles in the firings. The White House has refused to budge in the controversy, standing by embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and insisting that the firings were appropriate. White House spokesman Tony Snow said that in offering aides to talk to the committees privately, Mr. Bush had sought to avoid the "media spectacle" that would result from public hearings with Rove and others at the witness table. "The question they've got to ask themselves is, are you more interested in a political spectacle than getting the truth?" Snow said of the overture ... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/21/politics/main2591023.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._2591023
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Editor - 08:46:00 03-21-07 |
Bush rejects Senate 'show trials'. Then let him try our Secret Trials he is so fond of, and toss a little of his approved torture and see if he likes that better |
Bush says he will not allow his advisers to take part in "show trials" in the escalating row over the firing of federal prosecutors. He has offered to let his staff give evidence, but only in private and not under oath. The head of the Senate Judiciary Committee has rejected the offer. Democrats in Congress have accused Attorney General Albert Gonzales of sacking prosecutors for political reasons, and called for him to quit. But Mr Bush has backed Mr Gonzales, a long-time confidant, and warned Democrats against seeking a fight over the issue in order "to score political points". "We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honourable public servants," Mr Bush said. He did say “Honorable Public Servants” didn’t he, I think those few left are on the endangered species list and none of those few are within spitting distance of Bush... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6473621.stm
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Editor - 20:17:00 03-20-07 |
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post The Good, The Bad and The Ugly |
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