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| May 22, 2008 | Thursday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 16, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Car bomb injures four NATO soldiers in Afghanistan KHOST,May 22 (PPI): Four NATO soldiers were wounded in an apparent suicide car bombing in eastern Afghanistan, near the border with Pakistan, the alliance force and local officials said Thursday. The blast in a parked car struck the International Security Assistance Force soldiers on Wednesday as they were patrolling near the small border town of Barmal, an ISAF spokesman said. He did not give the soldiers’ nationalities. Most troops in eastern Afghanistan are US nationals. (Posted @ 23:24 PST)
Swedish military to add 27 more troops to Afghan force STOCKHOLM, May 22 (AP): The Swedish military said it will add 27 more troops to its existing forces in Afghanistan. Military spokesman Simon Rothstein says the extra personnel will travel to Afghanistan this week to support the 348 already in place. Rothstein said Thursday the troops will provide surveillance and security for convoys in northern Afghanistan. Sweden is not a NATO member, but operates under NATO command as part of the International Security Assistance Force. (Posted @ 23:12 PST)
U.S. troops kill cameraman, says Iraqi TV station BAGHDAD, May 22 (Reuters): An Iraqi television station accused U.S. troops on Thursday of shooting dead one of its cameramen as he walked home. A spokeswoman for Afaq television channel said cameraman Wisam Ali Ouda was shot dead by U.S. soldiers in eastern Baghdad's Obaidi district at around 5pm on Wednesday. “We confirm one of our employees was killed by an American sniper,” said Bushra Abdul-Amir, head of public relations at the station. She added that witnesses had given testimony to the station's managers. The body of a second journalist, Haidar Hashim al-Husseini, a reporter for al-Sharq newspaper, was found dumped in a field with nine other corpses in Diyala province, police and colleagues said. (Posted @ 22:54 PST)
Bangladesh reports first human case of bird flu DHAKA, May 22 (AFP): A 16-month-old boy has been confirmed as Bangladesh's first human case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, a senior health ministry official said on Thursday. “We got the confirmation yesterday from the CDC (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) yesterday,” a senior health ministry official, told AFP. The boy from a slum in the capital Dhaka “has survived. He has been quarantined and his condition has improved,” he told AFP. (Posted @ 22:38 PST)
More than 80,000 dead or missing in China quake YINGXIU, May 22 (Reuters): More than 80,000 people are dead or missing from China's worst earthquake in decades, the government said on Thursday, as concerns rose that disease, the rainy season and aftershocks could bring yet more pain. Previously, authorities had said they expected the final death toll to exceed 50,000. (Posted @ 22:08 PST)
Kenya arrests 19 suspects in ‘witch’ killings NAIROBI, May 22 (Reuters): Police said on Thursday they had jailed 19 people suspected of burning to death 11 elderly Kenyan men and women accused of being witches in a case that has horrified the east African nation. A mob in the Kisii area of west Kenya went from house-to-house on Tuesday night, identifying people on a list and burning them to death in their homes. “The police arrested 19 people on Thursday morning,” Kenya's deputy police spokesman said. (Posted @ 21:28 PST)
Afghan ex-president says Taliban favour peace talks KABUL, May 22 (Reuters): The Taliban have shown a desire for political dialogue and serious efforts should be made to establish talks and end the insurgency, former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani said on Thursday. Rabbani who now leads the opposition in parliament, said he had established contact with the Taliban several months ago and received a letter in recent days containing “some encouraging messages” from the Taliban addressed to the alliance of parties he leads. He said the militants expressed a desire for a political solution to the conflict. In their messages, the Taliban said they would accept all international conventions, would not oppose education for girls and would oppose Afghanistan being used as a base to threaten any other country, Rabbani said. The Taliban also wanted friendly ties and cooperation with Muslim and non-Muslim countries, he added. (Posted @ 21:10 PST)
France hit by national strike PARIS, May 22 (AFP): More than half a million French workers took to the streets on Thursday, unions said, for a one-day show of force against President Nicolas Sarkozy's government over pension reforms. Rail workers led the national stoppage. The main CGT union said more than 700,000 people marched in 153 towns and cities across France -- well over the target turnout of half a million. Police had yet to release their own estimate. Walkouts were reported across the French public sector, with between 10 and 20 percent of postal, utilities and telecoms employees joining the strike, officials said. (Posted @ 20:54 PST)
Man arrested after UK restaurant blast LONDON, May 22 (Reuters): Police said they had arrested a man after an explosion in the centre of Exeter on Thursday. The blast, described as “small”, happened shortly before 1 p.m. The man was slightly injured in the incident at a branch of the Giraffe restaurant chain and was taken to hospital. “There was a very small explosion, nobody was injured except the person who caused the explosion,” said a Giraffe director in London. (Posted @ 20:36 PST)
Noisy rallies target Dalai Lama in London LONDON, May 22 (AFP): Fervent supporters and angry critics of the Dalai Lama battled to out-shout each other in noisy and sometimes tense demonstrations Thursday, on the third day of his visit to Britain.Three groups were protesting in central London -- hundreds of Buddhists from a group opposed to the Tibetan spiritual leader chanted slogans yards from where pro-Tibetan and pro-Beijing demonstrators were kept apart by police. (Posted @ 20:36 PST)
Pakistani journalist killed near Afghan border KHAR, Pakistan, May 22 (Reuters): Gunmen shot dead a Pakistani journalist on Thursday in Bajaur region on the Afghan border. Mohammad Ibrahim, a reporter with the private television channel, Express News, was attacked while returning from an interview with a spokesman for Pakistani Taliban militants, his company and residents said. “He was on a motorcycle and the gunmen sprayed bullets at him just outside Khar. They took away his camera and bike,” another reporter, Sahibazada Bahasuddin said. The motive for the attack was not clear. (Posted @ 20:02 PST)
First Lithuanian killed in Afghanistan: defence ministry VILNIUS, May 22 (AFP): A Lithuanian was killed in Afghanistan's province of Ghor, the Lithuanian defence ministry said on Thursday, the first of the Baltic country's troops to die while serving there. The casualty was only the second Lithuanian to die on active service abroad since a Lithuanian soldier died serving in Bosnia in 1996. The ministry did not provide any details of the incident. (Posted @ 19:42 PST)
UN's chief tours Myanmar disaster area YANGON, May 22 (AFP): UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday toured the Myanmar cyclone disaster area, as he began talks with the junta on opening up to a massive relief effort that could save countless lives. The country's military leaders have shocked the world by refusing a full-scale emergency operation despite the scope of the destruction, and Ban said he would try to persuade them to welcome offers of help. Ban is to meet Than Shwe on Friday in the remote capital of Naypyidaw, hoping to stress the urgency of the crisis as well as the international fury that has led to allegations of crimes against humanity over the disaster. (Posted @ 19:34 PST)
NATO soldier, 2 Afghan civilians killed at Quran shooting protest KABUL, May 22 (AP): A NATO soldier and two Afghan civilians were killed Thursday in Ghor province against an American sniper who shot at a copy of the Quran in Iraq. The protest rally turned violent, leaving one alliance soldier and two civilians dead, said a NATO spokesman. The spokesman said the soldier was hit by gunfire, but it was not clear who fired the gun. He said the two civilians were killed when police opened fire on protesters. The protest took place Thursday near an airfield in western Ghor province. It became violent when demonstrators threw rocks and set tents on fire. Another official said a NATO soldier and seven civilians were wounded. (Posted @ 19:10 PST)
Turkish troops fight Kurdish rebels near Iraq border, 5 killed ANKARA, May 22 (AP): Turkish helicopter gunships strafed Kurdish rebel positions and artillery units shelled their mountain hideouts near the border with Iraq Thursday in response to a rebel ambush that killed two Turkish soldiers, reports said. Three rebels were killed in the encounter. (First Posted @ 12:30 PST Updated @ 18:56 PST)
Koehler to seek second term as German president BERLIN, May 22 (AP): German President Horst Koehler has announced he will seek a second term next year. Koehler is a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats and took office in 2004. He previously headed the International Monetary Fund. Koehler made the announcement Thursday in a speech at the Presidential Palace. (Posted @ 18:50 PST)
Swat Valley peace deal depends on Sharia enforcement: Taliban PESHAWAR, May 22 (AFP): The Pakistani Taliban militants said Thursday the success of the peace deal with the government in Swat Valley depends on the complete enforcement of Islamic law in the region. “We have accepted to give up the armed struggle because the government has agreed to the complete enforcement of the Sharia laws,” Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told AFP. “We are happy about the agreement but success depends on the conduct of the government, especially in enforcing Sharia laws,” Khan said by telephone from an unknown location. (Posted @ 18:14 PST)
Georgia ruling party leads with more than half ballots counted TBILISI, May 22 (Reuters) President Mikheil Saakashvili's ruling party won more than 61 percent of the votes in Georgia's parliamentary election, the Central Election Commission said Thursday after more than half of ballots had been counted. (Posted @ 17:38 PST)
Three kidnapped Afghan guards found shot dead GHAZNI, Afghanistan, May 22 (AFP) Police found Thursday the bullet-riddled bodies of three Afghan security guards kidnapped a week ago by insurgents, an officer said, as the Taliban claimed responsibility. The guards had been working for a private Afghan security company that escorts supply convoys on risky routes to bases of the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, police said. “They were kidnapped by the armed opposition,” Ghazni province deputy police chief Mohammad Zaman said. “We found their bodies today.” Each had several bullet wounds, he said. A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahed, said men from his group had captured and killed the men. Elsewhere in Ghazni, a Taliban fighter was killed and two others wounded in a gunfight with security forces, Zaman said. (Posted @ 17:34 PST)
Pakistan to ask UN for Bhutto probe 'very soon': FM Shah Mehmood Qureshi ISLAMABAD, May 22 (AFP) Pakistan's new government will “very soon” submit a formal request to the United Nations for a probe into the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Thursday. “The letter of request is ready and it has been decided that the law minister and I will carry the letter with us and deliver it to the UN Secretary General,” Qureshi told a news conference. He said they were waiting for an official appointment with UN chief Ban Ki-moon, saying they expected to deliver the request “very soon.” “The martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto created confusion and there are a lot of questions people are asking. The way the matter was handled after her death has also created some confusion,” Qureshi said. Law minister Farooq Naik said Pakistan wanted the probe to take the form of an international commission which would “ascertain the truth, point out culprits, financers and perpetrators of this crime.” (Posted @ 17:28 PST)
Deposed CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry praises Sharif's party for leaving Cabinet, supporting judges KARACHI, May 22 (AP) Pakistan's deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry Thursday praised Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) for pulling its ministers from the Cabinet after a dispute over how to reinstate the judges fired by President Musharraf. Speaking via telephone to a gathering of about 2,000 lawyers and activists in Karachi, Iftikhar Chaudhry said Pakistan's 60-year history of military coups and political instability had undermined the rule of law. Without actually naming but clearly meaning PML-N, Chaudhry complimented its departure from the Cabinet. “I must appreciate that such a big sacrifice was never made in the past,” he said. “We value this act and we understand that this would be a milestone for the country to reach its destiny.” (Posted @ 17:04 PST)
No truce unless Israel lifts Gaza blockade: Hamas GAZA CITY, May 22 (AFP) Hamas insisted Thursday there would be no truce in the Gaza Strip unless Israel lifts its blockade of the Palestinian territory. “The Palestinian groups will not give a truce to Israel if Israel does not accept our demand to end the closure, open borders and stop aggression,” Hamas official Ismail Haniya said in a statement. Haniya, a former Palestinian prime minister, said the Hamas delegation was returning Thursday from Cairo where Egypt sought to mediate a truce between Israel and the Palestinians. (Posted @ 16:48 PST)
Russian president Medvedev warns over US missile defence plans MOSCOW, May 22 (AFP) Russia's new President Dmitry Medvedev warned Thursday of “an adequate response” to US missile defence plans but said Moscow was still ready to negotiate with Washington. “I don't think the situation is completely hopeless but those decisions that have been taken cannot please us and we will be forced to find an adequate response,” Medvedev said in an interview posted on the Kremlin website. (Posted @ 16:44 PST)
Tuareg rebels attack Malian army camp, 32 killed BAMAKO, May 22 (Reuters) Tuareg rebels attacked an army camp in northeastern Mali and 17 rebels and 15 soldiers were killed in one of the bloodiest clashes to date in a revolt by the desert insurgents, the government said Thursday. Military officers said the scale of the rebel attack late Tuesday and early Wednesday against the garrison at Abebara, 150 km from Kidal, was a worrying escalation of the Tuareg revolt that has hit Mali's northeast Saharan region. Six government soldiers and around 20 rebels were wounded in the fighting, the ministry said, a Malian Defence Ministry statement said. (First Posted @ 10:30 PST, Updated @ 16:20 PST)
Govt committed to restoring 1973 Constitution, judiciary's independence: PM Gilani ISLAMABAD, May 22 (APP): Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Thursday said the government was committed to restoring the 1973 constitution besides ensuring independence of judiciary, autonomy of the Election Commission and freedom of media in the country. Talking to Fauzia Behram, a PPP MPA from Punjab, at PM House, Gilani said the people of Pakistan gave clear mandate to democratic forces in the recent elections and attached high hopes with the government for the solution of their problems. He said the problems being posed by global shortages of food and energy would soon be resolved as the government had already taken measures on fast-track basis to address these issues. He said the government was focusing on targeted subsidies for the poorest of the poor and providing them basic necessities of life at their doorsteps. (Posted @ 16:05 PST)
19 killed, 11 injured in India bus accident ISLAMABAD, May 22 (APP): At least 19 people were killed and eleven others injured when a bus in which they were travelling fell into a ditch at Chordhuroli area in Pithoragarh district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand Thursday morning. Fourteen persons died on the spot and the rest died on their way to hospitals, All India Radio reported. The bus, carrying 30 passengers, was headed from Pithoragarh to Bageshwar. (Posted @ 16:00 PST)
Coalition govt wants peaceful ties with India: Nawaz Sharif ISLAMABAD, May 22 (APP): In an interview to an Indian television channel, former premier Nawaz Sharif said irrespective of the domestic compulsions, the new government wants peaceful relations with India. He said he sincerely believed in the India-Pakistan dialogue process. “We laid the foundation by signing the historic Lahore document with Mr. Vajpayee for initiating the dialogue process effectively”, he said. To a question regarding the Kashmir dispute, he said there is the need to build more confidence to resolve this issue. (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Lebanese parliament speaker summons lawmakers for presidential vote BEIRUT, May 22 (AFP): Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri has formally summoned lawmakers to elect army chief Michel Sleiman president Sunday, his office announced Thursday. A statement said that the vote would take place at 5:00 p.m. (Posted @ 15:45 PST)
Three killed, two injured in Pakistan roof collapse CHICHAWATNI, Pakistan, May 22 (APP): Three persons, including two children, were killed and two others sustained injuries when the roof of their house in a village near Pakpattan road collapsed during rain early Thursday. (Posted @ 15:45 PST)
Israel, Syria 'satisfied' with talks: Turkish FM ANKARA, May 22 (AFP): Three days of indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria, mediated by Turkey, “satisfied” both sides and will continue periodically, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Thursday. “Both sides were satisfied that the talks - which went on for three days on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Istanbul - resulted in finding a common ground,” Babacan told reporters. “The talks will continue periodically,” he added. (Posted @ 15:35 PST)
45 soldiers die in Nigerian road accident LAGOS, May 22 (AFP): Forty-five Nigerian soldiers who just returned from a peacekeeping mission in Darfur were killed in a road accident in the north of Nigeria Wednesday, the army's chief of staff said Thursday. The soldiers “were returning to their unit in Monguno (Borno State) from Abuja where they arrived Tuesday after serving six months with the UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan,” said Lieutenant General Luka Yussuf. The soldiers, including an army captain, were in a convoy of seven vehicles in northeastern Yobe state when one of them collided with an oncoming petrol tanker near the city of Potiskum, said army spokesman Brigadier-general Emeka Onwuamaegbu. Several soldiers were also injured. (First Posted @ 13:25 PST, Updated @ 15:30 PST)
UN peacekeeping chief monitors Pakistan’s deal with militants KABUL, May 22 (AFP): The UN peacekeeping chief said Thursday the world body will “watch closely” a peace deal between Pakistan's new government and pro-Taliban militants in a troubled region of the country. Speaking during a visit to Afghanistan, United Nations Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno said the two countries must work together to tackle extremism. Asked about the deal in Pakistan's northwestern Swat Valley, about 90 kilometres from the Afghan border, Guehenno said it could “only be judged on the impact it has on security.” “We will watch closely the situation in the area concerned and make sure that the situation does not deteriorate on the other side of the border,” he told reporters. Guehenno said the stability of the two countries was linked. “The two countries have vital interests in moving together, in addressing the problems that affect them both ...,” he said. (Posted @ 14:15 PST)
Fighting in northern Sri Lanka kills 20 rebels, two soldiers COLOMBO, May 22 (AP): Scattered battles across northern Sri Lanka killed 20 ethnic Tamil rebels and two government soldiers Wednesday, the military said Thursday. A defense ministry official said the latest battles erupted along the front lines of the island's civil war, with the worst fighting in the Welioya region where soldiers killed 17 rebels. The official, requesting anonymity, said three soldiers were wounded in that fighting. Other clashes Wednesday in the Mannar and Vavuniya regions killed three guerrillas and two soldiers. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not immediately available for comment. (Posted @ 13:50 PST)
Gunmen torch buses in Philippines MANILA, May 22 (AFP): Armed suspected communist rebels stormed a bus terminal near the Philippine capital before midnight Wednesday and torched three vehicles, police said Thursday. About 10 armed men barged into the terminal and overpowered the lone private security guard at the Victory Liner compound in suburban Quezon city. No one was injured in the attack and the gunmen escaped. The men said they were members of the New People's Army (NPA), the armed unit of the Communist Party of the Philippines that has been waging a leftist rebellion since 1969. (Posted @ 13:45 PST)
Cricket- Pakistan Supreme Court wants new hearing of Malik appeal KARACHI, May 22 (Reuters): Pakistan's Supreme Court wants Salim Malik's appeal against his life ban from cricket to be heard again by a civil court. The Supreme Court said Thursday it wanted a decision reached within two months. The lower court had previously rejected the appeal. Former captain Malik received a life ban from the Pakistan Cricket Board in 2000 after being found guilty of involvement in a match-fixing scandal that rocked international cricket in the late 1990s. (Posted @ 13:45 PST)
China says quake death toll tops 51,000 BEIJING, May 22 (Reuters): China said on Thursday the death toll from the most devastating earthquake in three decades had reached 51,151, with 29,328 still missing. Authorities had said previously they expected the final death toll to exceed 50,000. State Council Information office figures released on Thursday showed that the number of dead had increased by nearly 10,000 from the previous day. It said more than 288,000 people were injured by the 7.9 magnitude quake that hit southwest China on May 12. (Posted @ 13:30 PST)
43 soldiers die in Nigerian road accident LAGOS, May 22 (AFP): At least 43 Nigerian soldiers who just returned from a peacekeeping mission in Darfur have been killed in a road accident in the north of Nigeria, a military spokesman said Thursday. The soldiers, including an army captain, were in a convoy of seven vehicles in northeastern Yobe state on Wednesday when one of them collided with an oncoming petrol tanker near the city of Potiskum, said Brigadier-general Emeka Onwuamaegbu. Several soldiers were also injured in the accident. (Posted @ 13:25 PST)
Four killed in Russian apartment blast YEKATERINBURG, Russia, May 22 (Reuters): Four people were killed when an explosion rocked a nine-storey apartment building in the Russian Urals city of Yekaterinburg Thursday, a regional police spokeswoman said. Fire broke out in the building after residents heard a blast there, she said. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast. (Posted @ 13:20 PST)
Two local journalists killed in Iraq BAGHDAD, May 22 (AFP): Two Iraqi journalists were killed in separate incidents in Baghdad and the province of Diyala Wednesday, police and their employers said Thursday. Wissa Ali Ouda, a reporter for private television station Afaq, was killed by a sniper as he was heading home in the Al-Obeidi district of northeastern Baghdad, his editor-in-chief Khazaal Ghazi told AFP. The body of another journalist, Haidar Hashem al-Husseini, was found in the town of Baquba northeast of Baghdad Wednesday, two days after he was kidnapped, a local police official said. (Posted @ 13:10 PST)
Two Turkish soldiers killed in Kurdish rebel attack DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, May 22 (AFP) -Two Turkish soldiers were killed and another wounded when they were attacked by separatist Kurdish rebels near the border with Iraq, a local security source said Thursday. The soldiers were on a security sweep in a mountainous region near the town of Beytussebap, in Sirnak province which borders Iraq, when they came under fire from Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels late Wednesday, the source said. (Posted @ 12:30 PST)
US helicopter strike kills 8 Iraqi civilians BAIJI, Iraq, May 22 (Reuters) - A U.S. military helicopter air strike on a car on Wednesday night killed eight civilians in Baiji, north of Baghdad, Baiji's police chief, Colonel Mudhher al-Qaisi, told Reuters adding that the civilians were shepherds who were in a farming area in the town when the strike took place. “This is a criminal act. It will make the relations between Iraqi citizens and the U.S. forces tense. This will negatively affect security improvements,” said al- Qaisi. “There were two boys (vicitims), one was eight and the other was 11,” said police major Ahmed Hussein. A doctor said Baiji hospital received eight bodies after the incident, which took place Wednesday evening, including a 60-year-old man. (Posted @ 11:25 PST)
Militant killed in Gaza truck bombing GAZA CITY, May 22 (AFP) - A Palestinian suicide bomber died in a truck bomb blast near the Erez border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel on Thursday, the Islamic Jihad militant group said. There were no reports of Israeli casualties from the explosion of the truck, which was packed with 400 kilos of explosives. Islamic Jihad said the bomber was a member of its armed wing, the Al Quds Brigade. It said the truck blew up earlier than planned, a few hundred metres from the border crossing. The powerful explosion damaged buildings on the Palestinian side of the border and Palestinians shot at Israeli troops at the crossing without hitting anyone, Israeli public radio said. Other armed Palestinian militants who followed the truck fled after their car rolled over, witnesses said. Israel's army radio said the car was targeted by an military helicopter and that several militants were hit. In another incident, a 62-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli troops near Bureij, in central Gaza, according to Palestinian emergency services. (Posted @ 11:20 PST)
Strike paralyses life as Kashmiris observe ”Shuhada Day” NEW DELHI, May 22 (APP): Complete strike paralysed life in occupied Kashmir on Wednesday as Kashmiris observed Martyrs Day in memory of Mirwaiz Maulvi Mohammed Farooq, Abdul Ghani Lone and other Kashmirileaders. A procession led by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq was taken out from the APHC headquarters to Mazar-i-Shuhada Eidgah where prayers were offered. (Posted @ 11:10 PST)
Al Qaeda now tougher to defeat - US defence chief TAMPA, Florida, May 22 (Reuters) - The United States' initial military success against al Qaeda and other extremists has yielded a diffuse organization of independent elements that are now more difficult to defeat, U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday. “Early successes in these campaigns - disrupting command and control centers, and taking away safe havens - have only yielded a franchised and networked enemy that is more diffuse, an ideological movement that is no longer tethered to any strict hierarchy,” the Pentagon chief said in the most downbeat assessment he has given on the Bush administration's progress in the war on terror. “It has become an independent force of its own, capable of animating a corps of devoted followers without direct contact and capable of inspiring violence without direct orders,” Gates told a gathering of special operations forces, the military commandos who lead the U.S.-declared war on terrorism. Gates also said the threat of those groups using chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or cyber weapons is growing. (Posted @ 10:45 PST)
US troops kill 11 suspected militants in Baghdad BAGHDAD, May 22 (AFP) - US troops shot dead 11 suspected militants in Baghdad’s Sadr City on Wednesday, the American military said. Elsewhere, one person was killed and six were wounded by a car bomb in Baghdad's Mansur neighbourhood, an interior ministry official said. In a separate incident, gunmen shot dead police Colonel Abdul Kareem Muhssan in the south of the capital. (Posted @ 10:40 PST)
Hockey: Pakistan beaten 1-0 in 1st test MOENCHENGLADBACH, Germany, May 22 (AFP) - Germany defeated Pakistan by two goals to one in the first field hockey test match here Wednesday: Result: Germany 2 (T.Wess 46, Zwicker 53), Pakistan 1 (Saqlain 58) (Posted @ 10:35 PST)
27 killed as Tuaregs attack Malian army posts BAMAKO, May 22 (AFP) -Ten government soldiers were among 27 people killed Wednesday and 31 were injured after armed Tuareg rebels attacked army positions in Mali's extreme northeast, the defence ministry said. A statement said an overnight attack on an army post at Abeibara had “left 10 government soldiers dead and six wounded while there were 17 deaths and 25 wounded on the assailants' side.” Abeibara lies 150 kilometres north of Kidal, the main town of the frontier region bordering Algeria. A Tuareg source told AFP earlier that the attack was staged to avenge the death of rebel leader Barka Cheik, whose body was found in northern Mali in April. (Posted @ 10:30 PST)
Football: Manchester U. win Champions League in penalty shootout MOSCOW, May 22 (AFP) - Manchester United won the Champions League here on Wednesday beating Premiership rivals Chelsea 6-5 in a penalty shootout after the match finished 1-1 after extra-time. (Posted @ 10:25 PST)
UN chief meets Myanmar prime minister YANGON, May 22 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon met Thursday with Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein, for about 20 minutes, in a high-profile diplomatic push to press the junta to accept a full-scale relief operation for cyclone survivors. They are scheduled to meet again for dinner later Thursday, after Ban returns from a helicopter tour of the devastated Irrawaddy Delta. Ban's meeting with junta leader Than Shwe is set for Friday. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
UN's Ban arrives in cyclone-hit Myanmar YANGON, May 22 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived Thursday in Myanmar to press the junta to accept a full-scale relief operation for cyclone survivors. Ban, the first UN chief to visit Myanmar since 1964, is due to meet with senior government officials Thursday morning and then tour the Irrawaddy Delta, which suffered the brunt of the cyclone. On Friday, he is scheduled to fly to the junta's remote capital Naypyidaw where he will meet with the regime's reclusive leader Than Shwe, a Myanmar government official said. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Oil smashes 135 dollars in Asian trade SINGAPORE, May 22 (AFP) - Oil smashed past 135 dollars a barrel for the first time Thursday, continuing its astonishing rise following unexpected drops in US crude and gasoline stocks in a tight market, dealers said. In Asian morning trade, New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, briefly rose to a high of 135.04 dollars a barrel before easing to 134.30 dollars. London's Brent crude contract for July was also busting records, rising to a high of 134.50 before pulling back to trade at 134.12 dollars, smashing its intraday peak of 133.34 dollars set a day earlier. (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
Car bomb explodes at Gaza crossing JERUSALEM, May 22 (AFP) -A car bomb exploded Thursday morning near the Erez border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip but did not injure any Israeli troops or civilians, Israeli public radio reported. The strong blast damaged buildings on the Palestinian side of the border and Palestinians shot at Israeli troops at the crossing without hitting anyone, it added.An Israeli army spokeswoman could not immediately provide any details regarding the blast. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
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