News For Wednesday Jul 2, 2008 News For Wednesday Jul 2, 2008

World World

Last of the `Baby Ballerinas' dies - Added 8 weeks ago

Irina Baronova, world renowned in the 1930s as part of a trio of Russian-born dancers dubbed the "Baby Ballerinas," has died at her home in Australia, the Australian Ballet said. She was 89. Baronova died peacefully in...

Algae bloom is China's latest Olympic nightmare - Added 8 weeks ago

China's latest Olympics nightmare is a vast algae bloom that covers one-third of the sea where the world's best sailors are supposed to be competing in just over a month. Athletes call it the blob, the carpet, the...

Young designer joins couture pantheon - Added 8 weeks ago

Designer Alessandra Facchinetti on Wednesday dispelled any doubts about her ability to fill legendary designer Valentino's shoes, drawing warm applause for her first-ever haute couture collection for the Italian label. ...

Betancourt's children rejoice as she is freed - Added 8 weeks ago

For Ingrid Betancourt's children, her release Wednesday after being held hostage for six years in the Colombian jungle filled an immeasurable void they had lived with as they grew into adulthood. Her daughter, Melanie,...

US prodding UN Security Council to punish Mugabe - Added 8 weeks ago

The U.S. pressed fellow U.N. Security Council members Wednesday to impose sanctions to push for change in Zimbabwe, where leaders cannot agree whether to even talk about how to resolve their crisis amid fears of...

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,113 - Added 8 weeks ago

As of Wednesday, July 2, 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...

Nigeria: Ex-aviation heads misused air safety fund - Added 8 weeks ago

The Nigerian government charged two former aviation ministers Wednesday with misusing a $165-million fund set up to improve air safety after three airplane accidents. Babalola Borishade and Femi Fani-Kayode were...

Palestinian goes on rampage in Jerusalem; 3 killed - Added 8 weeks ago

A Palestinian laborer driving a construction vehicle rammed into packed buses, tossed cars into the air and rolled over pedestrians in a deadly rampage Wednesday that killed three people and wounded dozens in Jerusalem....

International court orders Congolese warlord freed - Added 8 weeks ago

The International Criminal Court on Wednesday ordered the release of the first suspect it took into custody, saying he cannot get a fair trial because prosecutors are withholding evidence. The order to free Congolese...

AP interview: Iran envoy dismisses attack threat - Added 8 weeks ago

Iran's top diplomat predicted Wednesday that the United States and Israel would not risk the "craziness" of attacking his country and possibly provoking a wider Middle East war or driving oil prices into uncharted...

2 babies survive rampage along Jerusalem street - Added 8 weeks ago

A young mother watched in horror Wednesday as a front loader rampaging along a Jerusalem street roared toward her car, and she instinctively threw her baby out the window to safety. The little girl escaped harm, but...

Russian lawmakers OK US weapons dismantling deal - Added 8 weeks ago

Russian lawmakers on Wednesday approved agreements in which the United States will provide aid to help the country dismantle its nuclear, chemical and other weapons. The lower house of parliament, the State Duma, voted...

Key dates in kidnappings of politician, Americans - Added 8 weeks ago

A look at key dates in the kidnapping of three American defense contractors and a Colombian politician held by Colombia's largest rebel force, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Feb. 23, 2002 _...

Prince William's ship makes major cocaine bust - Added 8 weeks ago

The British Royal Navy ship on which Prince William is serving made a major cocaine bust in the north Atlantic, Britain's defense ministry said Wednesday. The prince helped his crew mates on HMS Iron Duke intercept a...

9 terror suspects arrested in Indonesia - Added 8 weeks ago

A Singaporean who met several times with Osama bin Laden was among nine terror suspects arrested Wednesday in western Indonesia, a local television station reported. A cache of powerful bombs packed with bullets was...

Heavy security in Mongolia after riots over vote - Added 8 weeks ago

Rifle-toting soldiers and armored vehicles guarded Mongolia's capital Wednesday, one day after at least five people died in rioting sparked by allegations of fraud in parliamentary elections. President Nambaryn...

Cuba says US organizing demonstrations - Added 8 weeks ago

Cuba on Wednesday accused U.S. diplomats of instigating opponents of the communist-run government to hold public protests to mark American Independence Day. "There has been an escalation of provocative actions...

Iraqi official says US security accord almost done - Added 8 weeks ago

Iraq's foreign minister said Wednesday his government and the U.S. have almost finished negotiating a new security pact that could give Iraqis a role in planning and executing joint military operations. Both sides hope...

Hezbollah head confirms prisoner swap with Israel - Added 8 weeks ago

Hezbollah's leader on Wednesday confirmed for the first time that his group will hand over two captured Israeli soldiers and information on a missing Israeli airman in exchange for five Lebanese prisoners in Israel. ...

EU, US near deal on pact on protecting privacy - Added 8 weeks ago

Privacy rights vs. terror fights: The EU and the United States are close to agreeing on how to protect personal and private data while still letting law enforcement officials share information to combat organized crime...

Anti-Chavez Venezuelan general is released - Added 8 weeks ago

An army general protesting the "socialism or death" motto of President Hugo Chavez has been released from military detention, but still could be charged with a crime, his attorney said Wednesday. Gen. Angel Vivas...

Poland and US end missile defense talks - Added 8 weeks ago

A Polish negotiator says his country and the United States have completed talks on a missile defense installation but that Polish leaders must still decide whether to accept a base. Chief Polish negotiator Witold...

US diplomat: Musharraf 'not the issue' in Pakistan - Added 8 weeks ago

Pakistan should focus more on critical issues, such as security problems, rising food costs and power shortages, and less on the future of embattled President Pervez Musharraf, a top U.S. diplomat said Wednesday. ...

Algae bloom is China's latest Olympic nightmare - Added 8 weeks ago

China's latest Olympics nightmare is a vast algae bloom that covers one-third of the sea where the world's best sailors are supposed to be competing in just over a month. Athletes call it the blob, the carpet, the...

Iran remembers victims of airliner shot down by US - Added 8 weeks ago

Iranians scattered flowers into the Persian Gulf and released white pigeons into the air Wednesday as the nation remembered the 290 passengers killed when a U.S. warship shot down an Iranian airliner two decades ago. ...

US calls for Zimbabwe to free rights activists - Added 8 weeks ago

The U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe called Wednesday for the release of two women who braved beatings and arrest to hold a peaceful protest against President Robert Mugabe six weeks ago. At a hearing Thursday, lawyers hope...

Curfew is imposed in Indian Kashmir city - Added 8 weeks ago

Authorities imposed a curfew in a city in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Wednesday to prevent further protests by Hindu nationalists angered that the government revoked a land transfer to a revered Hindu shrine, a senior...

British truckers protest fuel prices in London - Added 8 weeks ago

Hundreds of truckers drove to Britain's Parliament on Wednesday to protest the rising cost of fuel. Police closed a section of a highway into the capital to let the trucks gather, then escorted the 200 trucks in...

Zambian president hospitalized in French capital - Added 8 weeks ago

Zambia's president was hospitalized in Paris on Wednesday, a French official said, after medical treatment in Egypt for what hospital officials said was a brain hemorrhage. His condition was not immediately clear. ...

Tropical Storm Douglas forms off Mexico - Added 8 weeks ago

Tropical Storm Douglas formed off Mexico's Pacific coast Wednesday but forecasters said it was not expected to hit land. Douglas was located about 245 miles (395 kilometers) southwest of Manzanillo with winds clocked...

Russia warns Lithuania on US missile defense - Added 8 weeks ago

Russian lawmakers warned Lithuania against agreeing to place U.S. missile defense sites in the Baltic country, saying Wednesday that such a move could trigger a Russian military buildup in the region. Russia could...

Algeria convicts 2 for promoting Christianity - Added 8 weeks ago

Two converts to Christianity were convicted Wednesday of illegally promoting their faith in Muslim Algeria and handed suspended sentences and fines, their lawyer said. Rachid Mohammed Seghir, 40, and Jammal Dahmani,...

1 year later, Pakistan mosque's spirit lives on - Added 8 weeks ago

A year after the deadly military siege of the Red Mosque, the radical spirit of the pro-Taliban stronghold lives on. The dead are hailed as martyrs. Militants _ and politicians _ use the Pakistani mosque standoff as a...

Palestinians storm Egyptian border, demand to pass - Added 8 weeks ago

Hundreds of Palestinians stormed the Gaza Strip's border crossing with Egypt Wednesday, throwing rocks at Egyptian troops and demanding to cross, witnesses said. The Palestinians accused Egypt of reneging on an...

US Navy: Iran won't be allowed to close Hormuz - Added 8 weeks ago

The U.S. Navy and its Gulf allies will not allow Iran to seal off the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the commander of U.S. naval forces in the Persian Gulf said Wednesday. Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgriff, commander of the 5th...

11 rebels, 1 soldier killed in clashes in Kashmir - Added 8 weeks ago

Eleven suspected Islamic militants and one Indian soldier died in gunbattles in India's portion of Kashmir this week, an army spokesman said Wednesday. The rebels have engaged in sporadic fighting with soldiers in...

Britain bans military wing of Hezbollah - Added 8 weeks ago

Britain's Home Office banned the entire military wing of Hezbollah on Wednesday in a rebuke over the Lebanese Shiite group's alleged role supporting militants in Iraq. McNulty said the government had taken the action...

9 killed in Russian helicopter crash in Siberia - Added 8 weeks ago

Russian officials say a helicopter has crashed in Siberia, killing nine of the 16 people aboard. The Mi-8 helicopter was carrying oil workers when it went down Wednesday in the petroleum-rich Yamalo-Nenets region of...

Rights group slams French law on terror suspects - Added 8 weeks ago

A Human Rights Watch report released Wednesday said France's legal framework for prosecuting terror suspects is too broad, resulting in too many arrests based on minimal evidence and too many convictions based on...

India government seeks support for US nuke deal - Added 8 weeks ago

India's government made a last-ditch effort to win the support of a regional party Wednesday for a civilian nuclear deal with the United States that it hopes to complete before a new administration takes over in...

Pakistani forces arrest 10 suspected militants - Added 8 weeks ago

Heavily armed paramilitary troops blocked roads into a tribal town in northwestern Pakistan and patrolled its deserted bazaar Wednesday as an operation against Islamic militants rolled into its fifth day with more...

Austria cops seek suspect in family's deaths - Added 8 weeks ago

Police searched Wednesday for a man suspected of killing his brother, sister and their spouses in the same Vienna suburb where a kidnap victim was held for 8 1/2 years. Josef Branis, 66, is suspected of shooting the...

Malaysia's Anwar vows to seize power soon - Added 8 weeks ago

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has vowed to seize power soon, stepping up his campaign against the government as he fights an accusation of sodomizing a young worker in his office. Addressing some 7,000...

Swiss to decide on Haitian ex-dictator's money - Added 8 weeks ago

Millions of dollars frozen in Swiss bank accounts will be given to the government of Haiti if the family of former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier cannot prove by September that the money is legitimate, the...

Suicide bomber targets Afghan governor - Added 8 weeks ago

A suicide bomber targeting an Afghan governor killed four people Wednesday, while a U.S.-led coalition helicopter crew escaped without serious injury after being shot down south of the capital, officials said. The...

Chinese party boss delivers attack on Dalai Lama - Added 8 weeks ago

China's Communist Party boss in Tibet delivered a fresh attack on the Dalai Lama Wednesday, even as envoys of the region's exiled leader met with Chinese officials for more talks toward easing tensions following...

Iran says any attack would provoke fierce reaction - Added 8 weeks ago

With Middle East tensions building, Iran's oil minister warned Wednesday that an attack on his country would provoke an unimaginably fierce response. Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said, however, that Tehran would not...

Attack destroys Russian official's home - Added 8 weeks ago

An Interior Ministry spokesman says insurgents in Russia's violence-plagued south destroyed a senior police official's house in a grenade attack. The spokesman says the Wednesday morning attack was on the property of...

UN head to meet China president, premier - Added 8 weeks ago

The United Nations wants to strengthen its partnership with a rising China, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday during a visit to Beijing focused on global challenges such as food security and soaring energy prices. ...

Former Khmer Rouge appeals detention - Added 8 weeks ago

Lawyers defending a former Khmer Rouge foreign minister argued Wednesday that a 12-year-old royal pardon exempts him from prosecution by Cambodia's genocide tribunal. In a rebuttal, the prosecution said the pardon was...