News for Monday, January 29, 2007
• NBA: Suns Win 17th Straight Game In other action, the Washington Wizards beat the Boston Celtics, 105-91. The Detroit Pistons beat the Indiana Pacers, 95-87. And the Los Angeles Clippers won for the fifth time in six games, 98-76 over the Seattle SuperSonics.
• Iranian Diplomat: Tehran Plans to 'Greatly' Expand Military, Economic Ties With Baghdad No summary available.
• Suicide Bomber Strikes Israeli Resort Israeli police say a suicide bomber attacked a bakery in the southern Israeli resort city, Eilat, early Monday. Three Israelis and the suicide bomber were killed in the attack. As VOA's Jim Teeple reports from Jerusalem, at least two different Palestinian militant groups are claiming responsibility for the attack
• Macau Tops Las Vegas Strip in Terms of Gambling Revenue Macau's gambling revenue in 2006 surpassed that of the Las Vegas strip and South Korea's economy accelerated last year, fueled by strong exports. Claudia Blume in Hong Kong has more on these and other stories in our weekly look at business news from around Asia.
• US, North Korea to Resume Financial Talks This Week U.S. Treasury officials are in Beijing for this week's scheduled resumption of financial talks with North Korean officials. Pyongyang says it will not end its nuclear weapons capabilities while U.S. law enforcement actions block North Korea's access to international banks. VOA Seoul Correspondent Kurt Achin has more.
• At Least 300 Militants Killed in Day-Long Battle Near Najaf Iraqi officials say U.S. and Iraqi forces have killed about 300 militants in a day-long battle that began early Sunday near the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf.
• Rival Palestinian Gunmen Battle in Gaza for 5th Day, Death Toll Up to 30 Rival groups of Palestinian gunmen are fighting each other for a fifth day in Gaza after another night of deadly violence.
• Former Italian Military Intelligence Chief to Appear in CIA Kidnap Hearing Italy's former military intelligence chief is due to appear in a Milan court Monday, for a preliminary hearing in connection with the kidnapping four years ago of an Egyptian terror suspect.
• Afghan President Calls for Talks with Taleban Militants Afghan President Hamid Karzai has again called for reconciliation talks with Taleban militants.
• French Aid Group Leaves Darfur Amid Violence A French aid group says it will suspend activities in Darfur because the situation in western Sudan has become too dangerous for its workers.
• African Union Chooses Ghana Over Sudan as Bloc Chair The African Union has picked Ghana to lead the organization, rejecting a bid by Sudan because of the crisis in Darfur.
• Gadhafi's Son Says Libya Will Not Execute Medics Sentenced in AIDS Case The son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi says Libya will suspend the execution of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who were sentenced to death last month in an AIDS epidemic case.
• Carjackings in Kenyan Capital Bring Insecurity A senior director in the aid agency Care was shot and killed in Kenya's capital Saturday during a carjacking attempt. His death follows the fatal shooting of two American women, also during a carjacking, leading to renewed concerns about violent crime in Kenya. Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from Nairobi.
• More Violence Wracks Iraq Violence continued in Iraq on Monday following a bloody weekend that included a battle in Najaf that Iraqi officials say left about 200 militants dead and more than 100 in custody. VOA's Jim Randle reports has more from Baghdad.
• Kanye West, Fergie to Headline Super Bowl Concert Series; Brandy Involved in Deadly Car Accident Harry Connick, Jr. pays tribute to his hometown of New Orleans on two new albums, in stores January 30. "Oh, My Nola" includes the single "All These People," which was inspired by victims of Hurricane Katrina. "Chanson du Vieux Carre" is an instrumental album that he recorded three years ago. Connick wrote its title track and a second song, called "Ash Wednesday." He'll donate a portion of the proceeds from sales of both albums to the New Orleans Habitat Musicians' Village, which he formed with Branford Marsalis.
• Communities Come Back to Life After End of Deadly Strike in Guinea For the first time in almost three weeks, Guineans are returning to work after a sometimes violent work stoppage that paralyzed commerce and left dozens dead. Some protesters had vowed to continue the strike because they said the deal union leaders negotiated with the government Saturday was not good enough. Despite this dissent, the streets were calm on Monday. Phuong Tran reports from VOA's West Africa bureau in Dakar.
• US: Israel Likely Violated Cluster Bomb Agreement During Hezbollah War The State Department says Israel's use of American-made cluster bombs during its war with Hezbollah likely violated U.S. arms agreements.
• Hungarian Authorities Report New Possible Case of Bird Flu Hungarian authorities have slaughtered more than 9,000 newly-hatched geese on a farm in southeastern Hungary because of suspicions that they had been infected with a deadly strain of bird flu.
• Climate Experts Finalize Report on Global Climate Change Climate scientists have opened a four-day conference in Paris to finalize a long-awaited report on global climate change.
• International Donors Pressure Sri Lanka to Resume Peace Talks International donors to Sri Lanka are pressuring the government to resume talks with Tamil Tiger rebels to end two decades of violence and open the way for economic development. VOA's Suzanne Presto reports from New Delhi, one analyst says the government may not be ready to pursue peace.
• UNICEF Launches Multi-Million Dollar Appeal For Forgotten Emergencies The U.N. Children's Fund is appealing for $635 million to assist children and women in 33 countries this year. UNICEF says it is launching this appeal on behalf of millions of victims of conflict and natural disaster in, what it calls, the world's forgotten emergencies. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.
• Jailed Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Members Ordered Released Judicial sources in Egypt say a court has ordered the release of 16 detained Muslim Brotherhood members, including the group's third-ranking official and main financier.
• African Union Summit Begins With Focus on Sudan Sudan suffered two major blows Monday when it was overlooked for the chairmanship of the African Union and was told by the chief of the United Nations to get serious about ending the conflict in Darfur. Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from Nairobi.
• Climate Experts Meet to Discuss Long-Awaited Global Warming Report Some of the world's top climate experts are gathered in Paris this week to assess evidence of global warming, amid mounting public concern about its effects. For VOA, Lisa Bryant has more on the meeting from the French capital.
• Kentucky Derby Winning Horse Barbaro Euthanized Kentucky Derby winning horse Barbaro has been euthanized following complications from his breakdown during the Preakness Stakes race last May.
• Israeli Parliament Confirms First Arab Muslim Minister Israel's parliament has approved the appointment of the country's first Arab Muslim minister.
• Bush Says He Will Take Action if Iran Foments Violence in Iraq President Bush says if Iran escalates violence in Iraq, the United States will respond firmly. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports from the White House that Mr. Bush says he will do whatever it takes to protect American troops.
• World Criminal Court to Hear First Case In a historic decision, judges at the International Criminal Court are poised to begin hearing their first case. Judges found there was enough evidence against Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga to send him to trial for recruiting and using child soldiers to fight his war in the eastern Ituri region of the country. Lauren Comiteau reports from the court in The Hague.
• Hubble Telescope Shuts Down, Loses Most of Main Camera The Hubble Space Telescope is temporarily idle because of power supply problems. The U.S. space agency NASA says the orbiting observatory's main camera may not regain full function, but other instruments are expected to resume their searches in a few days. VOA's David McAlary reports.
• US Official: China's Anti-Satellite Weapon No Threat to US Missile Defense The deputy director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency says his organization could fairly easily develop a system to counter China's new anti-satellite weapon, but it has not been told to do so. The official, who spoke in Washington Monday, also said the new Chinese weapon does not threaten the U.S. ability to detect and intercept incoming ballistic missiles. VOA's Al Pessin reports.
• Lawmaker Faults US Response to Chinese Anti-Satellite Test A Republican senator is criticizing the Bush administration's weak response to China's recent anti-satellite test, saying the test shows the United States needs to pursue all its options when it comes to space defense. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.
• Venezuela Considers Building Unmanned Planes, Possibly With Iran's Help Venezuela's defense minister says his country is considering building unmanned planes and may look to allied countries - such as Iran - for help.