News for Tuesday, February 13, 2007
• NBA: Three Games in Monday Action The Detroit Pistons easily beat the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers 92-74 for their seventh straight win in Monday's National Basketball Association action.
• Sports: NHL In the National Hockey League on Monday, Swedish hockey star Peter Forsberg scored the go-ahead goal in the third period as the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Detroit Red Wings, 6-1.
• Reports: Blasts Hit Buses Northeast of Beirut, Nine Killed Lebanese media reports say at least nine people have been killed after explosions tore through two buses traveling on a mountain road northeast of Beirut.
• Suicide Truck Bombing in Baghdad Kills 15 Iraqi security officials say a suicide truck bombing near a college in Baghdad has killed at least 15 people and wounded more than 30 others.
• Deal Reached to End Pyongyang's Nuclear Weapons Program Delegates to talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons have reached an agreement on steps toward dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear programs. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Beijing, where the six-nation talks have wrapped up.
• OIC says Middle East Peace Key to Ending Terrorism During a visit to Indonesia, the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Conference says a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the Middle East is the key to ending terrorism and Islamic extremism, and says Jakarta should use its seat on the United Nations Security Council to push for a peaceful resolution to the Middle East crisis. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins in Jakarta has more.
• Sudan Blocks UN Investigators From Darfur Trip Sudan's government has blocked a United Nations human rights team from entering the country to investigate alleged atrocities in Darfur. The government has questioned the objectivity of one team member and has called for him to be replaced. Noel King in Khartoum reports.
• Taiwan Opposition Leader Indicted for Corruption Taiwan prosecutors have indicted the leader of the island's biggest opposition party, the Kuomintang, on corruption charges. But as VOA's Heda Bayron reports from Hong Kong, party chairman Ma Ying-jeou says the charges will not affect his presidential bid next year.
• Bomb Blasts in Algeria Kill 6 Algeria's official news agency says a series of bomb blasts has killed at least six people and wounded several others.
• Wife of Deposed Thai PM Faces Criminal Tax Evasion Charges The wife of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra faces criminal tax evasion charges as part of corruption investigations into the family's business. As Ron Corben reports from Bangkok, the case is linked to stock transfers before Thaksin came to power in 2001.
• Sahel Region Sees Rise in Violence, But Links to Terrorist Threat Debatable, Experts Say A rise in rebel activity throughout West Africa's Sahel semi-desert land has led to concerns that the terrorist threat is growing there as well. But as Nico Colombant reports from Dakar, analysts diverge on their interpretations of the sparse region's insecurity.
• Nigerian Militants Free 24 Filipino Hostages Twenty-four Filipino oil workers that were being held by gunmen in Nigeria have been released. Gilbert da Costa in Abuja reports that Nigerian officials say no ransom was paid.
• New al-Qaida Tape Says Bush Iraq Policy Headed for 'Abyss' A new audio message purportedly from Al-Qaida's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, calls for Muslim unity and says U.S. policy in Iraq is headed for failure.
• Apparent Tornado Hits New Orleans Area, Killing One An apparent tornado has struck the New Orleans area, killing an elderly woman and injuring several other people.
• African Leaders Prepare for Franco-African Summit African heads of states are preparing to meet later this week (Feb. 15-16) with officials from France and other European governments in Cannes at the annual Franco-African Summit. Phuong Tran has more from VOA's West African bureau in Dakar.
• Vietnam Says Bird Flu Contained; Philippines Steps Up Vigilance Vietnam's agriculture minister Cao Duc Phat says the most recent bird flu outbreak in his country has been contained, but warns the risk of reocurrence is high.
• Ecuador's Congress Approves Referendum on Constitutional Assembly Ecuador's Congress has approved a national referendum on whether to call a popular assembly to rewrite the constitution.
• WFP Condemns Looting of Warehouses in Guinea The World Food Program is condemning the looting of three of its warehouses in Guinea. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva the U.N. group says looters stole nearly 450 metric tons of food aid destined for school children and the poorest communities.
• Italian Scientists Will Not Separate Prehistoric Couple Italian archaeologists say they will not separate the remains of stone age lovers, which they unearthed last week on the outskirts of the northern city of Mantua.
• Rice Says Beijing Accord 'Very Good Start' Toward Nuclear-Free Korean Peninsula U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the agreement reached at the six-party talks in Beijing is a "very good start" - but only an initial step - toward a denuclearized Korean Peninsula. Rice says the parties have ample leverage in case Pyongyang reneges on its commitments. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
• US Lawmakers Begin Debate on President's Iraq Troop Buildup The first major U.S. congressional debate on President Bush's Iraq strategy since the November mid-term congressional election is underway in the House of Representatives. VOA's Dan Robinson reports, lawmakers began the first of three days of debate on a non-binding resolution disapproving of President Bush's decision to send additional troops to Iraq.
• Baghdad Commander Says Borders With Iran and Syria To Close The Iraqi commander of the U.S.-backed security crackdown in Baghdad says his country will close its borders with Iran and Syria for at least three days.
• British, Hungarian Health Officials say Bird Flu Strains Identical British health authorities say tests on the deadly H5N1 strains of bird flu virus found recently in Britain and Hungary show they are essentially identical.
• Polish Archbishop Asks Special Court to Investigate Spy Charges The former Warsaw archbishop has asked a special court to investigate allegations that he cooperated with the communist-era security forces.
• CIA Official, Defense Contractor to Face Conspiracy Charges A U.S. federal grand jury has indicted a former high-ranking U.S. intelligence official and a defense contractor linked to the bribery scandal that sent a former U.S. congressman to prison.
• Serbian Government Again Denounces UN Mediator's Plan for Kosovo The Serbian government has denounced a United Nations mediator's plan for the future of Kosovo as contrary to international law.
• IOC in South Korea for its Bid to Host 2014 Winter Olympics The International Olympic Committee has arrived in South Korea and will begin its inspection of the first of three candidates to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.
• China, Russia Clash With US Over Space Weapons Treaty China and Russia clashed with the United States Tuesday over a proposal to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament to create a treaty on space weapons.
• Hosp Wins Women's Giant Slalom at Alpine Championships Nicole Hosp of Austria has won the women's giant slalom race at the Alpine Skiing World Championships in Are, Sweden.
• Blair, Merkel Call for Global Warming Summit The leaders of Britain and Germany have called for an international global warming summit aimed at working out a political agreement on the issue.
• NY Mayor Seeks More Federal Money for 9/11 Victims In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined the chorus of state officials calling on the federal government to provide the city with more funding for sustained treatment of 9/11-related illnesses. From VOA's New York Bureau, correspondent Barbara Schoetzau reports.
• Former CIA Contractor Sentenced to 8 Years for Afghan Detainee Abuse A U.S. court has sentenced a former CIA contractor to more than eight years in prison for assaulting an Afghan prisoner who later died.
• Putin: US Using Nonexistent Russian Threat to Boost Defense Spending Russia's President Vladimir Putin has made more harsh comments about the Bush administration, accusing it of using what he calls a "nonexistent Russian threat" to get more defense spending from Congress.
• US Officials: Moqtada al-Sadr Left Iraq for Iran U.S. officials say radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr left Iraq for Iran two to three weeks ago.