[24-Jul-2008 00:07:00]
Defiant Bashir dances in Darfur under war crimes cloud
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir danced before thousands of supporters in Darfur Wednesday, defying a possible arrest warrant for genocide with a heavily-protected visit to the war torn area. Travelling by plane and in a convoy of army, police and national security vehicles mounted with guns and backed by air support.
[24-Jul-2008 00:07:00]
Karadzic to defend himself before international court
Captured Bosnian Serb genocide suspect Radovan Karadzic is to defend himself before the UN war crimes court, his lawyer said Wednesday, raising memories of the trial of his late ally, Slobodan Milosevic. Karadzic, who stands indicted for genocide and crimes against humanity, was arrested in Belgrade Monday.
[24-Jul-2008 00:07:00]
Iran welcomes US respect but vows no nuclear retreat
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday dubbed the US presence at international talks aimed to diffuse the row over Iran's nuclear program as a "positive step," while vowing that Iran would not abandon its right to atomic energy. The United States took the unprecedented step of sending its number three diplomat.
[24-Jul-2008 00:07:00]
#Insurgents kill British soldier on patrol in Afghanistan
A British soldier serving with NATO forces in Afghanistan was killed in fighting with insurgents, the Defense Ministry in London said Wednesday. The soldier, from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers attached to the 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment, died Tuesday in the Kajaki area of Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan.
[24-Jul-2008 00:07:00]
Israel's press office cuts off contact with Al-Jazeera over Kontar 'celebration'
Israel's government press office cut all contacts with pan-Arab Al-Jazeera television Wednesday, accusing its Beirut bureau of throwing a party for a freed Lebanese militant who committed a triple murder in Israel. Press office director Daniel Seaman told the decision was made following reports that the bureau hosted a party for Samir Kontar.
[24-Jul-2008 00:07:00]
Turkish police detain 26 suspects, probe links in alleged coup plot
Police rounded up 26 people nationwide Wednesday and investigated whether they were linked to an alleged plot to topple Turkey's Islamist-rooted government, the Anatolia news agency reported. Earlier media reports said the arrests were part of a widening investigation into Ergenekon.
[24-Jul-2008 00:07:00]
Tens of thousands of US troops prepare for assault on Diyala
Some 30,000 Iraqi soldiers and police are to launch a military assault against Al-Qaeda fighters and insurgents in Diyala Province from August 1, army and police officers said Wednesday. "The operation is aimed at cleansing the region of insurgents, Al-Qaeda and militias who are still there," a senior Iraqi military officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.
[24-Jul-2008 00:07:00]
Iraq's president rejects provincial election bill as 'unconstitutional'
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani rejected a provincial election bill Wednesday a day after it was adopted in Parliament, making it all but certain that October polls would be delayed. "The president does not accept a law like this, a law that 127 deputies voted on and which does not represent even half of the Parliament," a statement from Talabani's office said.
[24-Jul-2008 00:07:00]
German captives in Somalia tell of ordeal - report
A German couple held captive by pirates in Somalia have been reached by telephone and described a terrifying ordeal, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Wednesday. The two, who were abducted June 23, told a journalist who contacted them via an intermediary that the pirates had beaten them.
[24-Jul-2008 00:07:00]
Israel failing to deter Jerusalem attacks, security chiefs warn
Israel's security chiefs said on Wednesday that more needed to be done to protect Occupied Jerusalem from Palestinian attacks as debate raged after a second payloader rampage in the holy city this month. A Palestinian from Occupied East Jerusalem plowed through a crowded street on Tuesday.