Evidence of Israel, Hamas war crimes in Gaza: U.N.
By Louis Charbonneau
Tue Sep 15, 2009 1:59pm EDT
Evidence shows that both the Israeli army and Palestinian militants committed war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity, during the December-January Gaza war, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
"The mission concluded that actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly in some respects crimes against humanity, were committed by the Israel Defense Force," U.N. investigator Richard Goldstone told reporters.
A summary of his nearly 600-page report on the fact-finding mission's conclusions also said the firing of rockets into Israel by Palestinian militants where there were no military targets would also constitute war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity. |
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Iran sees better cooperation with nuclear watchdog
By Mark Heinrich and David Brunnstrom
Tue Sep 15, 2009 2:17pm EDT
Iran on Tuesday held out the prospect of "deeper cooperation" with the U.N. nuclear watchdog as it gears up for talks with world powers that are likely to be held in Turkey.
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He gave no details and the IAEA made no comment. A senior diplomat close to the IAEA said Salehi made no commitments to specific new transparency steps but spoke of a better climate taking shape for ways to ease mistrust in Tehran's nuclear work.
Still, the diplomat said, Salehi gave no ground on IAEA demands for wide-reaching, snap inspections to verify no nuclear materials or know-how were being diverted for military purposes, or on Iranian cooperation with an IAEA probe into intelligence reports suggesting Tehran researched ways to build atom bombs. |
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Clinton urges Venezuela to be transparent on arms purchases
By (AFP)
September 15, 2009
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday urged Venezuela to be transparent on its arms purchases as she and Uruguyan President Tabare Vazquez voiced concerns about a regional arms race.
"We have expressed concern about the number of Venezuelan arms purchases. They outpace all other countries in South America," Clinton told reporters during a joint press conference with Vazquez.
"And certainly (they) raise the question as to whether there is going to be an arms race in the region," she said. |
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'Flower to the occupier:' Iraqi defends throwing shoes at Bush
By Hannah Allam
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at then-President George W. Bush last year was freed from prison Tuesday, expressing no remorse for hurling what he called a "flower to the occupier."
Muntathar al Zaidi received a hero's welcome at the offices of his employer, al Baghdadiya television station, where his colleagues slaughtered sheep and danced in celebration of his release. Originally a three-year term for assaulting a head of state, Zaidi's sentence was reduced and he was released early because he had no criminal record.
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The focus of Zaidi's speech Tuesday wasn't his own ordeal, however, but the death and destruction that Iraqis have experienced since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.
"After six years of humiliation, of indignity, of killing and violations of sanctity and desecrations of houses of worship, the killer comes, boasting and bragging about victory and democracy. He came to say goodbye to his victims and wanted flowers in response," Zaidi said. "Put simply, that was my flower to the occupier, and to all those who are in league with him." |
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Finnish genocide trial in Rwanda
By (BBC)
00:43 GMT, Wednesday, 16 September 2009 01:43 UK
A Finnish court has moved to Rwanda to hear evidence in the genocide trial of a former Rwandan preacher who moved to the Scandinavian country in 2003.
Finland has charged Francois Bazaramba with genocide and 15 counts of murder in Rwanda in 1994.
Finnish law allows prosecutions for crimes against humanity wherever they are committed.
If found guilty, Mr Bazaramba, 58, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. He denies all the charges. |
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New Japan PM faces hurdles on economy, U.S. ties
By Isabel Reynolds
Tue Sep 15, 2009 8:07pm EDT
New Japanese leader Yukio Hatoyama will take office and finalize his cabinet on Wednesday, putting in place an untested line-up to tackle challenges ranging from restoring economic growth to managing ties with nervous ally Washington.
Hatoyama, whose Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) trounced the long-ruling Liberal Democrats in an election last month, faces pressure to make good on campaign promises to focus spending on consumers, cut waste, and reduce bureaucrat control over policy.
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"And it better not just be how they will govern differently, but actual policies," he added. "They can expect something of a honeymoon for a year, but not longer than that."
Hatoyama's vow to steer Japan on a more independent diplomatic course has also sparked concerns about possible friction with top security ally the United States ahead of his diplomatic debut there next week, where he will meet President Barack Obama. |
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Nigeria rebels extend ceasefire
By (Al Jazeera)
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 04:12 Mecca time, 01:12 GMT
Nigeria's armed group fighting for a greater share of oil wealth has decided to extend a two-month-old ceasefire in
the Niger Delta by 30 days but warned a government
amnesty programme had not yet addressed key issues.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), with an estimated 10,000-strong force, has been behind deadly attacks on oil installations in Nigeria that have disrupted production.
"The government should use this extension of time to do the right thing instead of pretending to talk peace while arming the military for a war it cannot win," Mend said in an emailed statement. |
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Baghdad attack amid Biden visit
By (Al Jazeera)
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
00:45 Mecca time, 21:45 GMT
Fighters have fired mortars at Baghdad's fortified Green Zone government district, just hours after Joe Biden, the US vice-president, arrived in the capital for a surprise visit.
Two Iraqi civilians were killed and five others wounded when a mortar struck an apartment block on Tuesday, police said.
Other mortar rounds landed near the US embassy compound but did not hit it. |
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Somali group seeks US raid revenge
By (Al Jazeera and agencies )
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 02:06 Mecca time, 23:06 GMT
Members of Somalia's al-Shabab group have vowed to avenge the killing of an al-Qaeda suspect in a US raid in the southern part of the country.
Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, wanted over a deadly hotel bombing in Kenya in 2002, was killed in a helicopter raid along with al-Shabab fighters on Monday, according to unnamed US officials and Somali sources.
A senior al-Shabab commander said the group, which the US says is sheltering al-Qaeda leaders, would retaliate. |
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UN food program cuts back aid
By Drew Hinshaw
September 15, 2009 06:55 ET
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Despite the global economic crunch, global humanitarian giving to food support has actually increased slightly — but it just hasn’t kept up with global hunger, say U.N. officials.
The World Food Program had a $6.7 billion budget for 2009 but it has received less than roughly $2 billion so far. In its rosiest projections, the agency hopes to receive $3.7 billion by the year's end.
For Africans living off trucked-in food aid, that means lighter and fewer rations. Food agencies are surveying medical reports from distant camps to select which parts of the population they can cut from their programs. |
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Poll: More than half of Israeli Arab youth oppose National Service
By Jack Khoury
20:48 15/09/2009
More than half of Israeli Arab youth are opposed to participating in National Service, according to a public opinion poll published on Tuesday.
Some 63.7 percent of respondents between the ages 17-20 said that National Service was an impractical solution for creating equality between Arab and Jewish Israeli citizens.
The survey was conducted by the Israeli-Arab youth association Baladana as part of a campaign to stop the sector's youth from volunteering for National Service. |
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India is 'losing Maoist battle'
By (BBC)
12:24 GMT, Tuesday, 15 September 2009 13:24 UK
India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says his country is losing the battle against Maoist rebels.
Mr Singh told a meeting of police chiefs from different states that rebel violence was increasing and the Maoists' appeal was growing.
The rebels say they are fighting for the rights of the poor.
They operate in a large swathe of territory across central India, and in some areas have almost replaced the local government. |
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UN mission split over Afghan poll
By (BBC)
21:48 GMT, Tuesday, 15 September 2009 22:48 UK
The head of the UN mission in Afghanistan has admitted his deputy left the country after a row between them over the disputed Afghan election.
But Kai Eide, a Norwegian diplomat, denied reports that he had ordered his US deputy, Peter Galbraith, to leave.
The row centres on how to deal with alleged election fraud, with Mr Galbraith reportedly advocating a wholesale recount of last month's poll. |
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Foreign investment in China rises
By (BBC)
06:35 GMT, Tuesday, 15 September 2009 07:35 UK
Foreign investment in China has risen for the first time in 11 months, official figures have shown.
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Foreign investment has been one of the factors helping drive the rapid growth of China's economy.
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But the commerce ministry said that there had been no drop in investment in China's manufacturing sector, which is the largest part of its economy. |
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New law closes Vietnam think tank
By (BBC)
13:03 GMT, Tuesday, 15 September 2009 14:03 UK
Vietnam's only independent think tank has disbanded due to a government decree restricting the right to conduct research on the ruling Communist Party.
The decree came into effect on Tuesday and limits political research to certain approved topics.
The think tank, the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), called the government's actions a blow to intellectual freedom.
The new decree follows recent moves to suppress blogging inside the country. |
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1.27 million displaced by China's Three Gorges Dam
By (AFP)
Mon Sep 14, 9:19 am ET
China has relocated 1.27 million people to make way for the controversial Three Gorges dam development, the world's largest hydroelectric project, state media reported.
The figure was the total number of relocations as of the end of June, a top dam construction official was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency in a report issued late Saturday.
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Critics of the dam have long alleged massive corruption in the resettlement programme, while villagers forced from their homes have complained they were denied promised job retraining and resettlement funds. |
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China showers gifts on resources-rich Timor
By Sunanda Creagh and Tito Belo
Mon Sep 14, 3:05 am ET
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In the 10 years since the independence vote that led to a split from Indonesia, China has spent more than $53 million in aid to East Timor, also known as Timor Leste.
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It is building big and showing generosity such as its donation of 8,000 tonnes of rice during a recent food crisis. Noticeable projects such as a new Ministry of Defense building, houses for soldiers and schools are underway as are scholarships and training programmes for civil servants.
In all, China is sending a very public message that it is serious about strengthening bilateral ties with East Timor, which many analysts put down to its desire to diversify strategic energy interests. |
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