A fierce political battle over a Democratic plan to pull U.S. troops from Iraq triggered a veto promise from Bush, but negotiations on a new bill have quietly begun. The Democratic-led Congress plans to send Bush a bill on Tuesday that gives $124 billion for the war in Iraq but requires a pullout to begin by October 1. The White House has said Bush will waste no time in vetoing it and may do so the day he gets it.Debate on the bill has been marked by escalating rhetoric, with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record) of Nevada saying Bush has already lost the war and Republicans labeling him a defeatist.But behind the scenes, many from both sides expect an eventual compromise.One effort toward a compromise will focus on so-called benchmarks -- goals for measuring Iraqi progress.... http://news.yahoo.com censor News |
Editor - 08:15:00 04-28-07 |
Khmer Rouge trials a step closer |
Trials for the former leaders of the Khmer Rouge have moved a step closer. Cambodia's Bar Association has dropped a demand that foreign lawyers taking part in the process should pay thousands of dollars in fees. It was the main sticking point which had prevented local and UN-appointed legal officials agreeing on the ground rules for the trials. After almost a year of wrangling, the way is nearly clear for the special courts to start work in earnest. More than a million people died under Khmer Rouge rule in Cambodia in the 1970s. The bar association will now ask for a US$500 (£250) payment from each foreign lawyer hoping to represent clients and the ground rules for the trials may finally be approved. The international judges had refused to move forward unless the bar association backed down. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6602785.stm
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Editor - 08:13:00 04-28-07 |
Shiite Cleric Criticizes "Stubborn" Bush Al-Sadr Says President's "Reckless Acts" Have Damaged West's Image In Eyes Of Iraqis |
Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr launched a strong attack Saturday on President George W. Bush, calling him the "greatest evil" for refusing to withdraw American troops from Iraq. Al-Sadr's statement was read during a parliament session by his cousin, Liqaa al-Yassin, after the U.S. Congress ordered U.S. troops to begin leaving Iraq by Oct. 1. President Bush pledged to veto the measure and neither the House nor the Senate passed the measure with enough votes to override him. "Here are the Democrats calling you to withdraw or even set a timetable and you are not responding," al-Sadr's statement said. "It is not only them who are calling for this but also Republicans, to whom you belong." "If you are ignoring your friends and partners, then it is no wonder that you ignore the international and Iraqi points of view. You will not benefit from this stubbornness," he added. Al-Sadr led two armed uprisings against U.S. forces in 2004, and ... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/28/iraq/main2738234.shtml?source=RSSattr=World_2738234
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Editor - 08:11:00 04-28-07 |
Israel denies Olmert comments on Iran missile raid |
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office denied on Saturday he had told a German magazine Iran's disputed nuclear program could be severely hit by firing 1,000 cruise missiles in a 10-day attack.Germany's Focus magazine said its reporter, Amir Taheri, asked Olmert in an interview whether military action would be an option if Iran continued to defy the United Nations. It quoted Olmert as responding: "Nobody is ruling it out." "It is impossible perhaps to destroy the entire nuclear program but it would be possible to damage it in such a way that it would be set back years," Focus quoted Olmert as saying. "It would take 10 days and would involve the firing of 1,000 Tomahawk cruise missiles," it quoted him as saying. Olmert's spokeswoman, Miri Eisin, said the prime minister had spoken to the author of the Focus article, but she said Olmert did not make the comments that were attributed to him. ... http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3094451
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Editor - 08:09:00 04-28-07 |
Saddam’s birthday marked with unlit candles Hometown remembers former Iraqi leader on first birthday after his death |
About 200 Iraqis celebrated Saddam Hussein’s birthday in his home town on Saturday, calling the former president who was executed last December a martyr who resisted the “occupation.” Saddam, ousted by U.S.-led forces in 2003, was found guilty of crimes against humanity and executed on Dec. 30. Children, women and men from Saddam’s tribe gathered around Saddam’s tomb in Awja, the village north of Baghdad where he was born. His tomb in a marble-floored mosque hall was draped in a red, white and black Iraqi flag and surrounded by flowers. “The children brought candles, but we didn’t light them because Saddam is dead,” said Faten Abdulkader, one of the children’s supervisors. Men and women knelt over his tomb, kissing it and reciting prayers. Children placed wreaths carrying sashes inscribed with words of praise for the once-feared dictator.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18366242/
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Editor - 08:06:00 04-28-07 |
Spanish judge indicts 3 U.S. soldiers |
A judge indicted three U.S. soldiers Friday in the 2003 death of a Spanish journalist who was killed when their tank opened fire at a hotel in Baghdad. Sgt. Shawn Gibson, Capt. Philip Wolford and Lt. Col. Philip DeCamp were charged with homicide in the death of Jose Couso and "a crime against the international community." This is defined under Spanish law as an indiscriminate or excessive attack against civilians during war. At the time of the incident, all were from the 3rd Infantry Division, based in Fort Stewart, Ga. Judge Santiago Pedraz asked U.S. authorities to notify them of the indictment. Couso, who worked as a cameraman for the Spanish TV network Telecinco, died on April 8, 2003, after a U.S. Army tank crew fired a shell at the Palestine Hotel, where many journalists were staying. Taras Portsyuk, a Ukrainian cameraman for Reuters, was also killed. ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070427/ap_on_re_eu/spain_journalist_death
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Editor - 21:35:00 04-27-07 |
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