Pakistan commandos rescue 39 hostages, three killed
By Augustine Anthony (Reuters)
Sun Oct 11, 2009 11:47am EDT
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani commandos stormed an office building on Sunday and rescued 39 people taken hostage by suspected Taliban militants after a brazen attack on the army's headquarters.
Saturday's attack on the tightly guarded army headquarters in the city of Rawalpindi, next door to the capital, Islamabad, came as the military prepared an offensive against the militants in their stronghold of South Waziristan on the Afghan border.
Pakistan 'to strike at militants'
(BBC)
Page last updated at 17:54 GMT, Sunday, 11 October 2009 18:54 UK
Pakistan will launch an operation against militants in restive South Waziristan "imminently", Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said.
He was speaking after troops stormed a building at an army base in Rawalpindi, rescuing dozens of people taken hostage in an attack by militants.
Ex-officer alleges Iraq cover-ups
Richard Norton-Taylor
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 11 October 2009 22.15 BST
British soldiers in Iraq were involved in hundreds of incidents in which civilians died or were seriously injured but which were covered up or inadequately investigated, a former military police officer claimed today.
"If you were to look back at all the serious allegations arising out of operations in Iraq, there's a catalogue of blunders, mistakes, ineptitude and the course of investigations being bent to serve the real or perceived interests of the chain of command of the army," the ex-officer said.
Afghan outlook bleak as Taliban grabs territory
Some say Kabul is not likely to ever control country’s southern wildlands
By Jason Straziuso (AP)
updated 3:15 p.m. CT, Sun., Oct . 11, 2009
KABUL - My closest Afghan friend held out his Taliban-era photo. A decade younger, he had a thick black beard that the oppressive regime forced men to grow.
My friend won't grow one again. He is already thinking about when to flee.
As generals, politicians and pundits in Washington debate the next best step for America's eight-year war in Afghanistan, the Taliban takes new territory by the day, despite the record 64,000 U.S. troops here.
Hiroshima, Nagasaki to bid for 2020 Olympics
Officials see it as a ‘new challenge for the atomic-bombed cities’
updated 12:14 p.m. CT, Sun., Oct . 11, 2009 (AP)
The A-Bomb dome, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, is situated at ground zero of the atomic blast in Hiroshima and stands as a symbol of the nuclear destruction that killed an estimated 140,000 people in 1945.
TOKYO - Hiroshima and Nagasaki — site of atomic bombings in World War II — are teaming up to make a bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics that will emphasize world peace.
Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba and Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue announced on Sunday that they will form a joint bid committee. The mayors are founding members of the Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign, which advocates for a global ban on nuclear arms.
"The Olympics symbolize the abolition of nuclear arms and world peace, and we want to work to realize our plan to host the games," Akiba said.
Soldier fights to bring Iraqi translator to U.S.
Translators face big risks, including being denounced as spies and traitors
By SHARON COHEN
AP National Writer
Updated Sunday, October 11, 2009
WASHINGTON - They became good buddies during the war, the young American soldier and his invaluable Iraqi translator, an easygoing guy who could spot dangers in the shadows and calm jittery nerves in the streets.
When it was time to go home, Joey Coon, then an Army National Guard sergeant, set up an e-mail account for Bandar Hasan. He gave his friend a quick lesson on how to use it so they could stay in touch.
Honduras coup leaders tighten curbs on media
Rory Carroll, Latin America correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 11 October 2009 20.06 BST
Coup leaders in Honduras have tightened a media clampdown on support for the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya.
A law unveiled last week enabled the interim government to shut radio and TV stations which incited "social anarchy" or "national hatred"; last month masked soldiers helped close two pro-Zelaya networks. The authorities, stung by international condemnation, recently promised to revoke the emergency measures but have yet to do so.
U.S. envoy leaves with no Mideast talks deal
(AP)updated 11:54 a.m. CT, Sun., Oct . 11, 2009
JERUSALEM - Washington's special Mideast envoy wrapped up his latest round of shuttle diplomacy in the region on Sunday, again having failed to persuade the Israelis and Palestinians to resume peace talks.
Chavez says Obama did "nothing" to deserve Nobel
Reuters
Sun Oct 11, 2009 12:56pm EDT
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's socialist leader Hugo Chavez said on Sunday that U.S. President Barack Obama had done nothing beyond wishful thinking to earn the Nobel Peace Prize.
Chavez, who has mixed praise for Obama personally with criticism of his government's "imperialist" policies, said he thought it was a mistake when he read the U.S. leader had won.
France agrees to return Egyptian art
(AP)
updated 10:08 a.m. CT, Fri., Oct . 9, 2009
PARIS - France’s culture minister agreed Friday to return painted wall fragments to Egypt after a row over their ownership prompted the country to cut ties with the Louvre Museum.
Experts with France’s national museum authority met to discuss the painted wall fragments from a 3,200-year-old tomb near the ancient temple city of Luxor, and recommended that France return them, according to an official with the Culture Ministry.
The richly decorated tombs near Luxor are a magnet for archaeologists
US troops aid Philippine rescue
BBC
Page last updated at 10:31 GMT, Sunday, 11 October 2009 11:31 UK
US troops are helping rescuers get food aid to the northern Philippine region cut off by recent floods and landslides that have killed about 600 people.
As roads and bridges have been washed away in the mountainous provinces, most aid is being dropped by helicopters.
About 700 US troops who were in the region for military exercises have been brought in to aid the relief effort.
Nigeria tanker explosion kills 70
BBC
Page last updated at 12:57 GMT, Saturday, 10 October 2009 13:57 UK
At least 70 people were burnt to death in Nigeria when a fuel tanker exploded, setting fire to five packed minibuses in the southern state of Anambra.
Officials told local media the tanker overturned after it hit a pothole on Friday, sparking the massive blaze.
Guinea strike call over killings
By Caspar Leighton
BBC News, Accra
Page last updated at 14:43 GMT, Saturday, 10 October 2009 15:43 UK
Trade unions in Guinea have called on people to mark the killings of more than 150 demonstrators by staying at home next Monday and Tuesday.
The deaths happened when soldiers opened fire on protesters in the west African state a fortnight ago.
Concern over 'rigged' Russia vote
BBC
Page last updated at 22:05 GMT, Sunday, 11 October 2009 23:05 UK
Opposition parties in Russia have alleged that local elections across the country were marred by fraud.
Mayoral, regional and district council votes were held across Russia on Sunday, with some 30 million people eligible to vote.
But opposition parties say they were refused registration to take part and were denied media access.
Death sentence over China riots
BBC
Page last updated at 06:38 GMT, Saturday, 10 October 2009 07:38 UK
A court has sentenced a Han Chinese man to death for his role in a factory brawl that sparked the Xinjiang riots which left almost 200 people dead.
Another man was given a life sentence, state media reported.
The factory brawl in Guangdong province in June left two Muslim Uighurs dead and 14 others seriously injured.
Mitterrand, hit by sex furor, wins fresh support
Reuters
Sun Oct 11, 2009 4:40pm EDT
PARIS (Reuters) - French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand won the backing of fellow politicians on Sunday against calls for his resignation for having written about paying young male prostitutes in Thailand. |
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