Overnight News Digest: Father's Day Edition

Top Stories

• As many as 35 people were killed and 52 injured yesterday in a devastating suicide bomb attack on a bus carrying police recruits in Kabul. The attack - the largest single attack in Afghanistan since 2001 - bore all the hallmarks of insurgent attacks in Iraq and raised fears of a leap in the capability of the Taliban and its al-Qa'eda mentors in Afghanistan.




• In the latest example of politics embracing Web 2.0 trends, YouTube and CNN said Thursday that they will stage two debates letting voters present their questions to the politicians.

Europe

• French president Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative UMP party won a comfortable majority but failed to gain the widely predicted landslide victory in the second-round of parliamentary elections yesterday.


• European leaders are bracing themselves for a "three shirt" Brussels summit this week, as talks on a scaled-back version of the European Union's constitutional treaty entered their final leg.



• Montenegro police arrested a former Serbian police general yesterday who had been on the run for more than three years since being charged with murder and persecution of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal said.




• Officials have been forced to suspend flights into an airport in the Italian city of Milan due to a plague of hares. The animals invaded the runways at Milan's Linate Airport - and affected the operation of vital equipment




• Tony Blair agreed to commit British troops to battle in Iraq in the full knowledge that Washington had failed to make adequate preparations for the postwar reconstruction of the country.




• Detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann faced criticism last night after officers said family and friends may have destroyed clues within hours of her abduction.




• A shadowy group in France has issued the French government with an unusual ultimatum: raise the price of wine or blood will flow. The group's name is the Crav, which stands for nothing more threatening than the Union for Viticultural Action in the Languedoc region in the south.




• Berlin's city government is to sell an 81% controlling stake in the Landesbank Berlin (LBB) bank group in a deal worth 5.35bn euros ($7.1bn; £3.5bn).




• Measures moving through the U.S. Congress, including a requirement for travelers in some countries to register travel plans online 48 hours before departure, have raised fears in Europe of disruptions in the trans-Atlantic flow of business and leisure travel.




• Iran on Sunday condemned Britain's decision to grant a knighthood to the author Salman Rushdie, who was forced into hiding for a decade after the Islamic republic's spiritual leader ordered his assassination.




• The A380 superjumbo, swooping high above Le Bourget airfield on its daily demonstration flights, may cast a long shadow over the Paris Air Show this year. Production delays for the double-deck, 555-seat technological marvel have been the catalyst for the plane maker's outsized woes over the past year.




• A British court sentenced seven men to a total 136 years in prison on Friday after they were accused of acting as accomplices to a Qaeda-linked terrorist planning spectacular attacks in the United States and Britain.




• German women seized during World War II seek recognition. The women, some from western Germany, others from the former communist east, have been meeting once a month since 1996. They share memories, celebrate birthdays and above all struggle to have their past recognized.




• Russia said Friday it could not rule out freezing its participation in a treaty limiting the use and deployment of non-nuclear heavy weaponry around Europe after its attempt to overhaul the accord was rebuffed at a special meeting this week. Organizers of an extraordinary meeting on the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty said participants failed to find common ground for a joint statement after talks that began Tuesday in Vienna.




• With a ceremony that went off like a classic Swiss timepiece, officials Friday inaugurated the world's longest overland tunnel, a 34.6-kilometer-long (21-mile-long) rail link under the Alps meant to ease highway traffic jams in the mountainous country. The tunnel, which took eight years to build and cost 4.3 billion Swiss francs (US$3.5 billion; €2.6 billion), will trim the time trains need to cross between Germany and Italy from 3 1/2 hours to just under two.




• Bulgaria's last three dancing bears are being sent to a mountain sanctuary after activists bought their freedom Friday in an effort to stamp out the centuries-old tradition which has survived in the Balkans despite being outlawed.




• Bertie Ahern, who has led Ireland for a decade, has secured re-election as prime minister for a third term, winning parliamentary support for a broadly based coalition that he said would ensure a stable government for the next five years.




• The European Union said Friday it would extend what it called "an open invitation" to members of the Cuban government to visit Brussels — on condition that the human rights situation on the communist island is discussed. The invitation is part of the EU's drive to improve its relations with Cuba, strained for years over the issues of human rights and political freedoms.




• Elton John sang for tens of thousands of Ukrainians at a charity concert in Kiev's main square in a bid to raise money and increase awareness of the rapidly growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in this ex-Soviet republic.

U.S.

• Senate Democrats are seeking a major reversal of energy tax policies that would take billions of dollars in tax breaks and other benefits from the oil industry to underwrite renewable fuels.


• Dallas voters on Saturday chose a retired businessman as their next mayor, ending a bid by a three-term city councilman to become the first openly gay elected leader of a major American city.


• The death toll increased overnight to six after a race car spun out of control at a children’s charity event in Selmer, Tenn., state highway officials said Sunday.


• The Homeland Security Department is vigorously fighting a move by Congress to delay a requirement that U.S. citizens show a passport to re-enter the country by land or sea from Mexico, Canada, Bermuda or the Caribbean, saying it puts the borders at risk.


• A former UC Riverside student has been arrested in connection with a series of on-campus incidents that led to the cancellation of yesterday's business graduation ceremony, says UCR police chief Michael Lane.


• When soldiers from the Florida National Guard's 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team went home from annual training in North Florida last week, they took with them three dozen tan-colored Humvees and other vehicles, easing at least part of the Guard's equipment crisis. The vehicles are part of $86 million worth of equipment that the National Guard Bureau has committed to Florida over the next six months that will help replace equipment left behind in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past four years.


• Restaurant chain Applebee’s has a lot of explaining to do after a toddler was accidentally served a margarita instead of apple juice in his sippy cup at one of the chain’s restaurants in Antioch on Monday.


• A push from Congress and the White House for huge increases in biofuels such as ethanol, is prompting the oil industry to scale back its plans for refinery expansions — which could keep gasoline prices high, possibly for years to come.


• General Electric Co. and its two largest labor unions reached tentative agreements Sunday on contracts affecting more than 20,000 employees nationwide, company and union leaders said.


• Two space shuttle Atlantis astronauts have floated outside the International Space Station (ISS) for a fourth and final space walk before the shuttle departs on Tuesday (US time). Patrick Forrester and Steven Swanson left the station's airlock about 12:40pm (US time) to finish work on a rotary joint so a pair of electricity-producing wing panels can track the sun for power.


• Turns out the trouble at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the focus of a firestorm of criticism over poor treatment of wounded war veterans, reached into the mailroom. The Army said Friday that it has opened an investigation into the recent discovery of 4,500 letters and parcels — some dating to May 2006 — at Walter Reed that were never delivered to soldiers.


• The memorial service for David Halberstam, author of "The Best and the Brightest" and many other books, took place last week in the cavernous Riverside Church, and it was an elegant farewell to one of the most famous journalists of our time. Halberstam died in April in a traffic collision in California, where he was, characteristically, doing research for a new book.


• A rare Beal’s four-eyed turtle recently hatched at the Tennessee Aquarium. According to aquarium herpetologist Enrico Walder this tiny turtle should be treated as big news. "According to records this species of turtle can only be seen at three North American zoos or aquariums, and is listed as an endangered species. This little turtle in Chattanooga may represent the first successful reproduction of Sacalia bealei in a North American institution," said Mr. Walder.

Americas

• Researchers in Brazil are claiming to have established as a scientific fact that the Amazon is the longest river in the world. The Amazon is recognised as the world's largest river by volume, but has generally been regarded as second in length to the River Nile in Egypt.


• Five soccer players for Haiti’s World Cup-bound national youth team who mysteriously disappeared during a stopover in New York returned home to Haiti on Friday, the government said as it announced an investigation into what had happened.


• Protection comes to settlements founded by escaped slaves in Brazil. Increasingly, black leaders are drawing inspiration from that history and hailing the quilombos as symbols of a rising movement to give more political and economic power to Afro-Brazilians. At the same time, more settlements are winning federal recognition and seeking title to the land they're built on.


• A disastrous rift exists between the Government and the judiciary over anti-terrorism laws, a senior High Court judge in Canada has warned. During a conference in Ottawa, Canada, last week, Sir Andrew said: "There is a real danger that it is being presented as a battle between the executive, which is trying to preserve the lives of inhabitants from terrorists, against a judiciary who have gone soft and are applying human rights in a way which frustrates the desire of the executive to keep terrorists off the streets."


• A majority of Venezuelans support student protests over the closure of an opposition television channel, a poll showed on Sunday, despite President Hugo Chavez insisting the demonstrations were part of a U.S. plot to topple him.

Middle East

• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has sworn in a new emergency government that excludes his Islamist rivals, Hamas, who have seized control of Gaza. Mr Abbas also issued decrees enabling new Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to rule without parliamentary approval and outlawing all of Hamas's armed forces.


• A Palestinian militant group holding BBC reporter Alan Johnston said on Sunday there was no deal to free the Briton abducted in Gaza three months ago and said he would only be released if its demands were met.


• Two Katyusha rockets exploded near the northern Israeli border town of Kiryat Shmona. There were no casualties, but roads and vehicles were damaged. Israeli and Lebanese security sources said they believed a Palestinian group had fired the rockets. Israel said it would not "succumb to provocation". The Lebanese group Hezbollah has denied any involvement in the attack. No-one has yet claimed responsibility for it.


• The search for Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction appears close to an official conclusion, several years after their absence became a foregone one.


• A Kurdish rebel leader has warned Turkey that it faces disaster if its troops and tanks cross into northern Iraq, amid growing concern of a big Turkish operation to hunt down Kurdish guerrillas holed up across the border.


• Jay Garner, the man who led the initial American effort to reconstruct Iraq after the war, believes the country is on the brink of a genocidal civil war and its government will fall apart unless the US changes course and allows a three-way federal structure. He has also urged talks with Iran and other regional players.


• The body of the political editor of a government-financed newspaper was found Sunday in the main Baghdad mortuary. The editor, Falieh Mijthab, 48, was kidnapped three days ago by armed men in a Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad as he drove to Al-Sabah, the daily newspaper where he worked.


• Hooded gunmen clad in black blew up another Sunni mosque in the southern city of Basra on Saturday after ordering the police at the mosque to flee, and despite a curfew imposed by Iraq’s central government, witnesses and security officials said. The blast at the Ashrah al-Mubashra mosque in central Basra — the second Sunni mosque razed in two days — suggested that Shiite militias south of the capital had rejected calls for restraint from Iraqi leaders after explosions Wednesday toppled two minarets at a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra.


• Shiite and Kurdish officials expressed deep reservations on Sunday about the new U.S. military strategy to partner with Sunni Arab groups to help defeat the militant organization al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Africa

• Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has agreed unconditionally to a joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force for Darfur, diplomats have said. South Africa's ambassador at the UN, Dumisani Kumalo, said Mr Bashir backed the move after a meeting with Security Council envoys in Khartoum.


• At the epicenter of a separatist war pitting impoverished nomads against one of the biggest armies in Africa, people said they had been brutalized by government troops.


• Five British tourists and a Canadian pilot have died in a plane crash in northern Malawi, authorities said. The Cessna aircraft had been heading from the capital city, Lilongwe, to the north of the country.


• Thousands of girls in Guinea are facing abuse as domestic workers, a new report has concluded. The report by Human Rights Watch says many girls are forced to work up to 18 hours a day for no pay and are physically abused by employers. The girls often live in conditions akin to slavery and many are victims of people trafficking, it says.


• Tuareg rebels in Niger carried out a hit-and-run attack on the airport of the Saharan town of Agadez on Sunday, but authorities said it caused no casualties or serious damage. A group calling itself the Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ) claimed responsibility for the attack.

Asia-Pacific

• The US has welcomed North Korea's decision to invite International Atomic Energy Agency monitors to discuss shutting down a key nuclear reactor. White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the offer was a "good step". But the IAEA said it had not yet received the invitation from North Korea.


• One person has died and two been injured after a gunman opened fire on a busy street in the centre of Melbourne in Australia, police have said. The two who were hurt reportedly both suffered chest wounds and were taken to hospital in a critical condition. The gunman escaped on foot and is now being sought by police.


• A roadside bomb blast has killed at least seven soldiers in southern Thailand, police said. The blast destroyed the truck carrying the patrolling troops in Yala province, killing them instantly. Violence in the three southernmost, Muslim-majority provinces has killed more than 2,200 people since 2004.


• At least five people have been killed and a further five injured when a bomb exploded on a bus in the southern Philippines, police said. The blast was one of two bombs on the island of Mindanao, targeting vehicles run by the Weena Bus Company. The second blast caused no injuries, because the vehicle was empty when the explosion was detonated.


• Chinese police have captured a man accused of holding workers in virtual slavery, state media reported Sunday amid a national uproar over teenagers and men forced to work in brutal, furnacelike brick kilns. Heng Tinghan is accused of holding workers in a kiln in Hongtong County in the northern province of Shanxi. One worker died and the police rescued 31 others, thin and scarred.


• India has told China that it will not part with portions of the state of Arunachal Pradesh to settle a decades-old border dispute, the Indian foreign minister, Pranab Mukherjee, was quoted as saying Sunday. The countries have held several rounds of talks over the dispute but have been unable to make progress, even though ties have strengthened because of increasing business links.


• A senior U.S. envoy gave strong backing to the government of Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Saturday, but balanced it with a call for more democracy amid growing opposition to his eight-year rule. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte was visiting as Musharraf faces street protests for suspending the country's chief justice and as U.S. lawmakers question American backing for a military leader reluctant to yield power to civilians.


• A slice of Delhi's culture has come to an end this week with the banning of rickshaws from Chandni Chowk, the historic artery running through the ancient walled part of the city which is famed for its narrow streets and crowded bazaars.  City officials acted to confront the notorious jams that block the market street by outlawing the pedal-powered rickshaws and introducing instead a fleet of bright green buses using compressed natural gas to ferry shoppers back and forth for just 5 Rupees (6 pence) a ride.


• GE International is now engaged in business in Asia under the name of SAT-GE offering satellite capacity across the Pacific region. GE-23 encompasses six individual beams, 5 Ku-band and 1 C-band, that give almost total coverage of both land mass and ocean from Perth in Australia to Los Angeles in the USA and from Alaska to South New Zealand.

Teh Funneh

• Searching for your stolen garden gnome? St. Helens police officers want to hear from you. Students at St. Helens High School got to school Monday to find their campus decorated with garden gnomes and figures.


• Actor Danny DeVito has announced the release of Danny DeVito's Premium Limoncello, a lemon flavored alcohol, at his restaurant in Florida. The actor reportedly came out with his own brand of Limoncello after he embarrassed himself on ABC's "The View," still feeling the effects of another brand of the drink the night before. "I put my name on every single thing that I do," said DeVito, 62.


• GlaxoSmithKline has a tip for people who decide to try Alli, the over-the-counter weight-loss drug it is launching with a multimillion-dollar advertising blitz—keep an extra pair of pants handy. That's because Alli, a lower-dose version of the prescription drug Xenical, could (cue the late-night talk-show hosts) make you soil your pants.

Happy Father's Day...

By The Numbers

• Bush has 582 days left. 3,525 U.S. confirmed deaths in Iraq. Over $435,486,000,000 spent on the Iraq war.

•  Overnight Tip Jar

  Told ya I'd make up for skipping Europe last night.  I feel positively cosmopolitan. How you doin'?

  by OCD on Sun Jun 17, 2007 at 07:55:49 PM PDT

•  where's the good news from Iraq? (n/t)

  by Trix on Sun Jun 17, 2007 at 07:58:35 PM PDT

  •  Compulsory Vacations!

    Here's some Laura Bush style Good News From Iraq™ — Iraqi family typical day:

    I’m sure everyone would love to have a vacation but to make it clear for everyone I’m talking about everyone all overt the world but not in Iraq my wounded country. I was forced since last Wed. to have a compulsory vacation. I stayed home because of the curfew that was imposed after the explosions of the holy shrine in Samaraa city north of Baghdad.

    See, compulsory vacations in Iraq. Good news! Bet, you wish you too were ordered to take a vacation... you could Clear Brush™ like George.

    Of course, in all seriousness his vacation was more like being held hostage in his own house.

    I can say that my three days vacation deserves to be No.1 worst vacation because I experienced the typical Iraqi day.

    Conditions for Iraqi families are horrible and getting worse. Sorry, it isn't really good news. By invading, the Bush made a horrible situation for the Iraqis that much more worse. I suspect many, if not all, Iraqis see life under Bush as being worse, much worse, than life under Saddam Hussein.

    by Magnifico on Sun Jun 17, 2007 at 08:44:42 PM PDT

    •  come on, Magnifico....

      couldn't you find at least one story about a school being painted?

      by Trix on Sun Jun 17, 2007 at 08:45:43 PM PDT

•  People are awful all over...

  but I like the sound of that turtle.

  by blueteam on Sun Jun 17, 2007 at 08:07:01 PM PDT

•  582 days left in office . . .

  Man, that's 582 days too many. Thank you for this very comprehensive OND, OCD. U is teh awesum.

  by Rippen Kitten on Sun Jun 17, 2007 at 08:26:35 PM PDT

•  So not going to be able to do Tuesday.

  I may share some ♥ if I can.

  by ek hornbeck on Sun Jun 17, 2007 at 09:26:29 PM PDT

  •  Ack

    /waits for Magnifico's e-mail...

    by OCD on Sun Jun 17, 2007 at 09:40:09 PM PDT

    •  Tuesday would be great OCD

      Hrmmm... if you're volunteering to host this Tuesday, I'm accepting. I think it'd be great to have another OND from OCD™. Want me to put it in an email?

      by Magnifico on Sun Jun 17, 2007 at 09:43:17 PM PDT

      •  Why not?

        I am almost loathe to admit that despite all the work involved, I did enjoy doing it.  So, I will publicly and officially accept doing it Tuesday night.

        by OCD on Sun Jun 17, 2007 at 10:00:31 PM PDT

•  good stuff again

  thanks

  by Zwoof on Sun Jun 17, 2007 at 09:29:55 PM PDT

  •  Thank Magnifico

    He shanghaied me with the quality of his work.

    by OCD on Sun Jun 17, 2007 at 09:38:59 PM PDT

    •  Ok i will

      thanks Magnifico.

      by Zwoof on Sun Jun 17, 2007 at 10:24:38 PM PDT

•  There's too much news

  I wish people would quit doing stuff.  Why can't everyone just stay home and cook meatloaf?

  I particularly enjoyed the Swiss tunnel.  Trust the Swiss to do something sane.  It makes them a "neutral" country, indeed.  I've been in Switzerland four times.  If I win the lottery, I'm going back every summer.  I think I'll spend the winters in New Zealand.  I hear they're pretty sane.

  by willb48 on Sun Jun 17, 2007 at 10:53:41 PM PDT

  •  After compiling 2 OND's

    I can hardly argue with your statement :p

    by OCD on Sun Jun 17, 2007 at 11:08:45 PM PDT

•  Please support the Canadian judiciary!

  That story is likely to go unnoticed, but it's incredibly important. The U.S.'s closest neighbour is in danger of following its ally off a cliff by abandoning the rule of law - for the very same empty promises of safety that Americans fell prey to in 2001.

  by kyril on Mon Jun 18, 2007 at 12:24:23 AM PDT