GAZA (Reuters) - The civilian death toll climbed in Israel's air offensive against the Gaza Strip on Friday and Palestinian Islamists vowed revenge for the killing of a senior Hamas leader and his family. There was no sign of a ceasefire on the seventh day of the conflict, in which at least 425 Palestinians have been killed and 2,000 wounded, but a Palestinian official told Reuters that Egypt had begun exploratory talks with Hamas to halt the bloodshed. The senior Palestinian official, who declined to be named and who has been close to previous talks between Egypt and Hamas, said the aim of the talks included promoting ideas that would culminate in a new truce. Four Israeli civilians have been killed by Palestinian rockets fired from Gaza, which strike southern cities and towns at random and cause property damage and panic among the local population.
GAZA (Reuters) - The civilian death toll climbed in Israel's air offensive against the Gaza Strip on Friday and Palestinian Islamists vowed revenge for the killing of a senior Hamas leader and his family.
There was no sign of a ceasefire on the seventh day of the conflict, in which at least 425 Palestinians have been killed and 2,000 wounded, but a Palestinian official told Reuters that Egypt had begun exploratory talks with Hamas to halt the bloodshed.
The senior Palestinian official, who declined to be named and who has been close to previous talks between Egypt and Hamas, said the aim of the talks included promoting ideas that would culminate in a new truce.
Four Israeli civilians have been killed by Palestinian rockets fired from Gaza, which strike southern cities and towns at random and cause property damage and panic among the local population.
Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the U.S. is seeking a "durable and sustainable" cease-fire between Israel and Hamas amid fresh attacks and growing casualties. "We are working toward a cease-fire that wouldn't allow a re-establishment of the status quo," one that would prevent Hamas from launching rockets at Israel from Gaza, Rice told reporters at the White House after briefing President George W. Bush. "I have no plans at this point" to go to the Middle East to help broker a cease-fire, Rice said.
Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the U.S. is seeking a "durable and sustainable" cease-fire between Israel and Hamas amid fresh attacks and growing casualties.
"We are working toward a cease-fire that wouldn't allow a re-establishment of the status quo," one that would prevent Hamas from launching rockets at Israel from Gaza, Rice told reporters at the White House after briefing President George W. Bush.
"I have no plans at this point" to go to the Middle East to help broker a cease-fire, Rice said.
Let us be grateful for small mercies keep to the Fen Causeway
The UN has warned that Palestinians in Gaza are facing a serious health and food crisis, as Israeli air strikes continued for a seventh day. The "critical emergency" comes despite an increase in humanitarian shipments, said Maxwell Gaylard, the UN's chief aid co-ordinator for the territory. The UN believes that at least 100 of some 400 Palestinians killed by Israeli action so far were civilians. Israel said Gazans were continuing to receive sufficient food and medicines.
The UN has warned that Palestinians in Gaza are facing a serious health and food crisis, as Israeli air strikes continued for a seventh day.
The "critical emergency" comes despite an increase in humanitarian shipments, said Maxwell Gaylard, the UN's chief aid co-ordinator for the territory.
The UN believes that at least 100 of some 400 Palestinians killed by Israeli action so far were civilians.
Israel said Gazans were continuing to receive sufficient food and medicines.
The UN has warned that Palestinians in Gaza are facing a serious health and food crisis, as Israeli air strikes continued for a seventh straight day. The UN's chief aid co-ordinator for the territory, Maxwell Gaylard, said the "critical emergency" comes despite an increase in humanitarian shipments. Israel said people in Gaza were continuing to receive sufficient food and medicines.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's defense minister said on Friday Pakistan was still failing to crack down on militants blamed for the Mumbai attacks, and that New Delhi had not deployed troops despite tension with its neighbor. India has been mobilizing support across the world to press Pakistan to crack down on militant networks there which have been blamed for November attacks in Mumbai that left 179 people dead. New Delhi says it has repeatedly provided Islamabad with evidence of use of Pakistani soil by militants, but Pakistani authorities have rejected those claims, saying the proof was not credible. "I don't think (there is) any noticeable change in the attitude of Pakistan," Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony told reporters in New Delhi.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's defense minister said on Friday Pakistan was still failing to crack down on militants blamed for the Mumbai attacks, and that New Delhi had not deployed troops despite tension with its neighbor.
India has been mobilizing support across the world to press Pakistan to crack down on militant networks there which have been blamed for November attacks in Mumbai that left 179 people dead.
New Delhi says it has repeatedly provided Islamabad with evidence of use of Pakistani soil by militants, but Pakistani authorities have rejected those claims, saying the proof was not credible.
"I don't think (there is) any noticeable change in the attitude of Pakistan," Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony told reporters in New Delhi.
KERBALA, Iraq (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed at least 23 people and wounded 72 on Friday at a feast for Sunni Arab electoral candidates and tribal leaders in a town near Baghdad. The bombing took place a day after the U.S. military presence in Iraq came under an Iraqi government mandate, and weeks before provincial elections which could reshape the political landscape across the country.
KERBALA, Iraq (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed at least 23 people and wounded 72 on Friday at a feast for Sunni Arab electoral candidates and tribal leaders in a town near Baghdad.
The bombing took place a day after the U.S. military presence in Iraq came under an Iraqi government mandate, and weeks before provincial elections which could reshape the political landscape across the country.
BOSASSO, Somalia (Reuters) - French forces handed over eight pirates to Somali authorities Friday and a new get-tough approach by foreign navies thwarted more attacks in vital shipping lanes linking Europe to Asia. Rampant piracy off Somalia's coast has alarmed nations around the world worried about threats to global trade and warships have rushed to curb the hijacks, typically carried out by a handful of well-armed bandits in small speedboats. It was the audacious seizure of a Saudi oil tanker with two million barrels of crude hundreds of miles at sea in November that shocked shipping firms and calls for action mushroomed.
BOSASSO, Somalia (Reuters) - French forces handed over eight pirates to Somali authorities Friday and a new get-tough approach by foreign navies thwarted more attacks in vital shipping lanes linking Europe to Asia.
Rampant piracy off Somalia's coast has alarmed nations around the world worried about threats to global trade and warships have rushed to curb the hijacks, typically carried out by a handful of well-armed bandits in small speedboats.
It was the audacious seizure of a Saudi oil tanker with two million barrels of crude hundreds of miles at sea in November that shocked shipping firms and calls for action mushroomed.
The Sri Lankan army today seized control of Kilinochchi, the low-lying northern town in which separatist Tamil Tiger rebels had put together the institutions of their long sought-after independent state.The major symbolic victory for the government could also prove a decisive turning point in the country's 25-year civil war."This was an unparalleled victory," the president, Mahinda Rajapakse, said in a televised speech from his office."Kilinochchi was the capital of a state dreamt of by a terrorist organisation. It will no longer be available to them. We should pay the gratitude of the whole nation to those heroic soldiers who achieved that victory."Soon after the announcement, a loud blast rocked the Sri Lankan air force headquarters, opposite a luxury hotel in the heart of the national capital, Colombo, as a suicide bomber blew himself up, killing three people and injuring 37.
The Sri Lankan army today seized control of Kilinochchi, the low-lying northern town in which separatist Tamil Tiger rebels had put together the institutions of their long sought-after independent state.
The major symbolic victory for the government could also prove a decisive turning point in the country's 25-year civil war.
"This was an unparalleled victory," the president, Mahinda Rajapakse, said in a televised speech from his office.
"Kilinochchi was the capital of a state dreamt of by a terrorist organisation. It will no longer be available to them. We should pay the gratitude of the whole nation to those heroic soldiers who achieved that victory."
Soon after the announcement, a loud blast rocked the Sri Lankan air force headquarters, opposite a luxury hotel in the heart of the national capital, Colombo, as a suicide bomber blew himself up, killing three people and injuring 37.
Cuba has marked the 50th anniversary of the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power, creating a communist state on the United States' doorstep. President Raul Castro, who took over from Fidel last year, spoke from below the same balcony where his brother declared victory on 1 January 1959. He predicted the revolution would survive another 50 years. The festivities have been muted as Cuba struggles with big economic challenges and the aftermath of three hurricanes. Reacting to the anniversary, a White House spokesman said the US continued to seek freedom for the Cuban people.
Cuba has marked the 50th anniversary of the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power, creating a communist state on the United States' doorstep.
President Raul Castro, who took over from Fidel last year, spoke from below the same balcony where his brother declared victory on 1 January 1959.
He predicted the revolution would survive another 50 years.
The festivities have been muted as Cuba struggles with big economic challenges and the aftermath of three hurricanes.
Reacting to the anniversary, a White House spokesman said the US continued to seek freedom for the Cuban people.
Ghanaian President John Kufuor has urged both candidates in the election to choose his successor to respect the result, as the last constituency voted. Mr Kufuor appealed for calm and said any complaints of vote-rigging should be dealt with by the courts after the new president is sworn in on Wednesday. The opposition leader, John Atta Mills, has a narrow lead over the governing party candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo. Mr Akufo-Addo's lawyers are trying to stop a final result being announced.
Ghanaian President John Kufuor has urged both candidates in the election to choose his successor to respect the result, as the last constituency voted.
Mr Kufuor appealed for calm and said any complaints of vote-rigging should be dealt with by the courts after the new president is sworn in on Wednesday.
The opposition leader, John Atta Mills, has a narrow lead over the governing party candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo.
Mr Akufo-Addo's lawyers are trying to stop a final result being announced.
A US think tank has warned that diplomacy would not stop Iran's nuclear program and that harsher sanctions against Tehran should be adopted, a move that could drive a wedge between the White House and Germany. US President-elect Barack Obama has vowed to "do everything that is required" to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, including harsher sanctions and, if necessary, military action. "The diplomatic path is not promising," Middle East expert James Phillips of the conservative US Heritage Foundation wrote, according to the DPA news agency. A carrot-and-stick policy towards Iran holds little hope, he added, because "for Iran, a nuclear weapon is the biggest carrot."
US President-elect Barack Obama has vowed to "do everything that is required" to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, including harsher sanctions and, if necessary, military action.
"The diplomatic path is not promising," Middle East expert James Phillips of the conservative US Heritage Foundation wrote, according to the DPA news agency. A carrot-and-stick policy towards Iran holds little hope, he added, because "for Iran, a nuclear weapon is the biggest carrot."
The Chinese government is moving to crush a group of prominent dissidents and intellectuals that has released a rallying call for democracy, human rights and rule of law.The group of about 300 writers, peasant farmers, students, professors, journalists, economists, and political activists from across the country all signed a document, known as Charter 08, that provides a detailed and wide-ranging blueprint for peaceful political, legal and economic reform in China.Since then, nearly 7,000 Chinese and foreign intellectuals inside and outside the country have signed Charter 08, which warns of "the possibility of a violent conflict of disastrous proportions" if Beijing does not quickly move to reform the one-party authoritarian state.Chinese intellectuals and dissidents are calling the document the most significant of its kind for at least a decade and possibly since the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Its name is a reference to Charter 77, the 1977 call for human rights issued by dissidents in former Czechoslovakia.
The group of about 300 writers, peasant farmers, students, professors, journalists, economists, and political activists from across the country all signed a document, known as Charter 08, that provides a detailed and wide-ranging blueprint for peaceful political, legal and economic reform in China.
Since then, nearly 7,000 Chinese and foreign intellectuals inside and outside the country have signed Charter 08, which warns of "the possibility of a violent conflict of disastrous proportions" if Beijing does not quickly move to reform the one-party authoritarian state.
Chinese intellectuals and dissidents are calling the document the most significant of its kind for at least a decade and possibly since the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Its name is a reference to Charter 77, the 1977 call for human rights issued by dissidents in former Czechoslovakia.
James Fallows: Their Own Worst EnemyThe (Chinese) Communist Party schools that train the country's leadership are constantly expanding their curricula to meet the needs of the times; but for advancement in party ranks what matters is loyalty, predictability, and party-line conformity.
WASHINGTON -- Just a month after President-elect Barack Obama takes office, he must tell the Supreme Court where he stands on one of the most aggressive legal claims made by the Bush administration -- that the president may order the military to seize legal residents of the United States and hold them indefinitely without charging them with a crime. The new administration's brief, which is due Feb. 20, has the potential to hearten or infuriate Mr. Obama's supporters, many of whom are looking to him for stark disavowals of the Bush administration's legal positions on the detention and interrogation of so-called enemy combatants held at Navy facilities on the American mainland or at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. During the campaign, Mr. Obama made broad statements criticizing the Bush administration's assertions of executive power. But now he must address a specific case, that of Ali al-Marri, a Qatari student who was arrested in Peoria, Ill., in December 2001. The Bush administration says Mr. Marri is a sleeper agent for Al Qaeda, and it is holding him without charges at the Navy brig in Charleston, S.C. He is the only person currently held as an enemy combatant on the mainland, but the legal principles established in his case are likely to affect the roughly 250 prisoners at Guantánamo.Many legal experts say that all of the new administration's options in Mr. Marri's case are perilous. Intelligence officials say he is exceptionally dangerous, making deportation problematic.Trying him on criminal charges could be difficult, too, in part because some of the evidence against him may have been obtained through torture and would not be admissible.
WASHINGTON -- Just a month after President-elect Barack Obama takes office, he must tell the Supreme Court where he stands on one of the most aggressive legal claims made by the Bush administration -- that the president may order the military to seize legal residents of the United States and hold them indefinitely without charging them with a crime.
The new administration's brief, which is due Feb. 20, has the potential to hearten or infuriate Mr. Obama's supporters, many of whom are looking to him for stark disavowals of the Bush administration's legal positions on the detention and interrogation of so-called enemy combatants held at Navy facilities on the American mainland or at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
During the campaign, Mr. Obama made broad statements criticizing the Bush administration's assertions of executive power. But now he must address a specific case, that of Ali al-Marri, a Qatari student who was arrested in Peoria, Ill., in December 2001. The Bush administration says Mr. Marri is a sleeper agent for Al Qaeda, and it is holding him without charges at the Navy brig in Charleston, S.C. He is the only person currently held as an enemy combatant on the mainland, but the legal principles established in his case are likely to affect the roughly 250 prisoners at Guantánamo.
Many legal experts say that all of the new administration's options in Mr. Marri's case are perilous. Intelligence officials say he is exceptionally dangerous, making deportation problematic.
Trying him on criminal charges could be difficult, too, in part because some of the evidence against him may have been obtained through torture and would not be admissible.
