News For Sunday Jul 6, 2008 News For Sunday Jul 6, 2008

World World

UAE cancels Iraq debt, names new envoy - Added 14 minutes ago

The United Arab Emirates canceled billions of dollars of Iraqi debt Sunday and moved to restore a full diplomatic mission in Baghdad, evidence of Iraq's improved security and growing acceptance of its Shiite-led...

US cargo jet crashes in Mexico; 1 killed - Added 37 minutes ago

Officials say a U.S. cargo plane has crashed while trying to land in the northern Mexican city of Ramos Arizpe, killing the pilot and seriously injuring the co-pilot. Coahuila state official Segismundo Doguin says...

UN official killed in Somalia - Added 37 minutes ago

Gunmen opened fire on people leaving a mosque in Somalia's capital on Sunday night, killing one of the country's senior U.N. officials and wounding his son and another man, a witness and a family member said. Attacks...

Freed Colombian hostages urge hope - Added 1 hour ago

Freed after years as rebel-held hostages, French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and four Colombian police officers sent radio messages of hope on Sunday to captives still detained in remote jungle camps. The...

UK calls for Zimbabwe sanctions - Added 1 hour ago

Britain called Sunday for tough action as well as talk in the face of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's defiance and signs of disunity among his opposition. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged South...

Afghan officials: US missiles killed 27 civilians - Added 1 hour ago

Afghan officials said fighter aircraft battling militants accidentally killed up to 27 Afghans walking to a wedding ceremony in eastern Afghanistan early Sunday, the second military attack in three days with reports of...

Suicide attack in Pakistani capital kills 15 - Added 1 hour ago

A suicide bomber targeted police officers in Pakistan's capital Sunday, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens while thousands of Islamists marked the one-year anniversary of a deadly military crackdown on a...

G-8 leaders face rising expectations at summit - Added 1 hour ago

The world's top industrialized nations begin their annual summit Monday confronted with demands they reinvigorate the world economy, push ahead languishing climate change talks and make good on pledges to battle poverty...

Bikes, China's icon, thrive despite car invasion - Added 2 hours ago

For a vivid insight into the clash of old and new in China, follow the bicycle. Morning rush hour in Beijing and Shanghai used to be rivers of cyclists flowing in a majestic hush down broad bike lanes. Today, many of...

More power in Iraq, but shortages linger - Added 2 hours ago

Don't try to convince Taha Yassin that Iraq's power shortages are finally easing: His children cry each night when the fan cuts off and the house heats up. Iraq is producing on average 11 percent more electricity this...

Spain readies for annual bull runs - Added 2 hours ago

Tens of thousands of people crowded into Pamplona's main square Sunday to celebrate the launching of a rocket that each year marks the beginning of Spain's most famous bull-running festival. "Men and women of Pamplona,...

Families tell of hidden Korean War bloodbath - Added 2 hours ago

The young father, wanted and on the run, slipped back home one midnight to share a few fleeting minutes with his year-old daughter. But his joy was short-lived, as police burst in, kicked away the crying child and...

AP IMPACT: US wavered over S. Korean executions - Added 2 hours ago

The American colonel, troubled by what he was hearing, tried to stall at first. But the declassified record shows he finally told his South Korean counterpart it "would be permitted" to machine-gun 3,500 political...

Suicide attack in Pakistani capital kills 15 - Added 2 hours ago

!!-- pobj:ISL101-0706081905 -->!!-- pobj:ISL102-0706081905 -->A suicide attacker detonated explosives near a police station in Pakistan's capital on Sunday, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens, officials...

Sewage glut _ another ugly result of Gaza's wars - Added 4 hours ago

When a toilet is flushed in Gaza City, the waste sloshes straight into the Mediterranean. A yearlong standoff between Israel and Hamas has left the territory's sewage system in a state of collapse, flooding its coastal...

Student stabbings: suspect freed - Added 5 hours ago

The parents of a French student savagely stabbed to death in London called Sunday for his killer or killers to turn themselves in, and urged the British people to help police solve the crime. Police released without...

Tropical depression hovers near Mexico - Added 5 hours ago

A tropical depression scattered rains across Mexico's Pacific coast on Sunday and the U.S. National Hurricane Center said it was likely to reach tropical storm force. Tropical Depression Five-E had maximum sustained...

MISSING TITLE - Added 5 hours ago

Senior government official: More than 10 Pakistani police officers killed in suicide attack. ...

Pakistan: Red Mosque siege remembered - Added 6 hours ago

!!-- pobj:JEM101-0707081054 -->Thousands of Islamists demanded Sunday that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf be publicly hanged as they observed the one-year anniversary of a deadly military crackdown on the radical...

Iraq: Electricity production up over 10% - Added 6 hours ago

Iraq's electricity production jumped more than 10 percent in roughly the first six months of 2008 compared to the same period a year ago, the director of energy operations for coalition forces said Sunday. Iraqi...

2 ex-generals arrested in alleged Turkey coup plot - Added 6 hours ago

Two retired generals were jailed Sunday in connection with an alleged plot to topple Turkey's Islamic-rooted government, the highest-ranking ex-soldiers detained as part of the probe, a news report said. The two,...

Sri Lanka says jets bomb rebel position - Added 6 hours ago

Sri Lankan fighter jets bombed a Tamil Tiger rebel position in their northern stronghold Sunday, a day after 19 rebels and a soldier were killed in a new round of ground fighting, the military said. A defense ministry...

21 dead in China coal mine accident - Added 6 hours ago

An apparent blast at a coal mine in northern China killed 21 workers, a state news agency reported Sunday. Four miners were rescued by emergency workers, Xinhua News Agency said. Seven managed to escape on their own...

Baby survives landslide in Bangladesh - Added 9 hours ago

A baby girl was pulled from the rubble unharmed Sunday after a landslide destroyed her family's home in southern Bangladesh, killing her parents and two older siblings, an official said. Rescuers found the...

Israel reopens Gaza border crossings - Added 9 hours ago

Israel has opened its border crossings with the Gaza Strip after closing them once again because of Palestinian rocket fire. Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner says the crossings opened Sunday morning and that...

Indonesia: Arrests weakened militants - Added 9 hours ago

The arrests last week of 10 suspected Islamic militants severely weakened Indonesia's terrorist movement, the country's foreign minister said Sunday. The police operation on northern Sumatra island sent suspected...

Popular Hong Kong leader won't seek re-election - Added 9 hours ago

One of Hong Kong's most prominent democracy advocates said Sunday she will not seek re-election after her term in the territory's legislature ends this year. Anson Chan, dubbed "Hong Kong's conscience" for championing...

Germany's Merkel urges G8 action on food - Added 9 hours ago

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on the Group of Eight summit to agree on a "comprehensive package of measures" to tackle the fallout from soaring food prices, according to commentary published Sunday. The...

Myanmar junta dismisses Suu Kyi victory - Added 10 hours ago

The overwhelming election victory by Aung San Suu Kyi's party in 1990 has been nullified by the approval of a military-backed constitution and her National League for Democracy party should prepare for a new vote in...

Uribe rides high in Colombia - Added 10 hours ago

President Alvaro Uribe was master of ceremonies the night Colombian military intelligence agents disguised as humanitarian workers airlifted Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages to freedom. Elated former captives of...

8 die in Pakistan building collapse - Added 10 hours ago

Police say a two-story apartment building has collapsed in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, killing eight people, including a toddler. Police officer Akhtar Rashid Butt says the building collapsed before dawn...

Low-key birthday for Dalai Lama - Added 10 hours ago

The Tibetan government-in-exile won't hold any celebrations to mark the Dalai Lama's birthday Sunday because of the ongoing suffering of the people of Tibet, an official said. The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader...

AP Exclusive: US removes uranium from Iraq - Added 11 hours ago

The last major remnant of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program _ a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium _ reached a Canadian port Saturday to complete a secret U.S. operation that included a two-week airlift from...

14 dead after heavy rains in north India - Added 11 hours ago

Flooding, house collapses and lightning strikes caused by heavy rains killed at least 14 people in northern India, taking the reported death toll in the annual monsoon season to 79, officials said Sunday. Heavy rains...

8 dead, 13 injured in China building collapse - Added 12 hours ago

China's state news agency says a four-story building under construction in the central part of the country collapsed and killed eight people. Xinhua News Agency says 100 rescuers were searching for missing workers on...

Panda moved after China quake gives birth to twins - Added 13 hours ago

A panda who was relocated after China's deadly earthquake damaged her home gave birth to twin cubs on Sunday, a state news agency said. Guo Guo is the first panda to give birth since the 7.9-magnitude quake struck...

G-8 summit draws grab-bag of activists, causes - Added 13 hours ago

Battling maternal mortality, demanding clean water and urging the destruction of capitalism might not seem to have much in common _ unless you're at a summit of the world's top industrialized nations. The Group of...

3 freed US hostages give thanks for their rescue - Added 14 hours ago

The three American hostages rescued by Colombia's military said in their first public statement that they are doing fine and are thrilled to "return home to the country we love." In a statement released late Friday by...

16 trapped, 1 killed in China coal mine - Added 15 hours ago

A state news agency says one person has been killed and another 16 are trapped after an accident at a coal mine in northern China. Xinhua News Agency says seven miners managed to escape from the Wujiu coal mine outside...

Sri Lanka says 20 killed in new fighting - Added 16 hours ago

Nineteen Tamil Tiger rebels and a Sri Lankan soldier were killed in a new round of fighting in the island's restive north, the military said Sunday. Battles broke out Saturday on the northern front lines of the Jaffna,...

US soldier dies in Iraq - Added 16 hours ago

The U.S. military says an American soldier in Iraq has died of a noncombat cause. A military statement says the soldier died Saturday. The statement released Sunday does not elaborate. It says the soldier was assigned...

Nigeria's first oil well is still source of woe - Added 16 hours ago

Three decades after pumping its last drop, the first oil well in Nigeria is marked by a decrepit signboard bearing what would seem an uncontroversial statement: Oloibiri Well No. 1, drilled June 1956, 12,008 feet. But...

Iran indicates it has no plans to halt enrichment - Added 17 hours ago

Iran indicated Saturday that it has no plans to meet a key Western demand that it stop enriching uranium, a day after Tehran sent the European Union a response to an international offer of incentives for halting...

US checks Mexico for source of salmonella outbreak - Added 18 hours ago

Inspectors are collecting soil, water and produce samples, reviewing export logs and combing packing plants in three major tomato-growing states in Mexico. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration appears no closer to...

Colombia army finds ton of explosives - Added 18 hours ago

Colombia's military says it has found more than a ton of explosives in a house in a rural area outside the capital. Gen. Luis Perez Arango says the ton of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil was discovered in the town of...

Uribe eases tensions with Venezuela - Added 18 hours ago

Colombian leader Alvaro Uribe pledged closer ties with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez on Saturday after months of on-and-off tensions, but Ecuador's leftist president said problems remain and he isn't ready to re-establish...

Rescue video shows duped rebels, elated hostages - Added 19 hours ago

Military intelligence agents posing as aid workers and a film crew flew to the jungle aboard a white helicopter, staging a mock humanitarian mission that rebels were told would ferry their hostages to another camp for...

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,113 - Added 20 hours ago

As of Saturday, July 5, 2008, at least 4,113 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians...

UK lawmakers to launch new rendition probe - Added 20 hours ago

Lawmakers pledged Sunday to study the movements of planes and ships traveling to the remote British outpost Diego Garcia amid persistent suspicion it is used by U.S. authorities to detain or transfer terrorism suspects....

New book uses food to explore Mandela's life - Added 1 day ago

A new book examining Nelson Mandela's life was launched Saturday with a feast that included everything from the spaghetti casserole he was brought in jail to the soured milk he longed for while living underground. ...