News for Tuesday, February 27, 2007
• Iraq's Foreign Minister: US, Iran, Syria to Attend Baghdad Talks Iraq's foreign minister says U.S. and British envoys are expected to join officials from Iraq's neighbors at a meeting to discuss ways to help stem violence in Iraq.
• Cheney Safe But Blast Outside US Base in Afghanistan Kills Several People Vice President Dick Cheney is now in the Afghan capital Kabul, and U.S. officials say he is unhurt following a suicide bomb attack outside the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan that killed as many as 18 people. VOA correspondent Benjamin Sand reports from Islamabad.
• Palestinian Sources: Israeli Troops Withdrawing From Nablus Palestinian security sources say Israel troops are withdrawing from the West Bank city of Nablus after two days of house-to-house searches for militants and bomb factories.
• North, South Korea to Resume High-Level Talks South Korea's top official on policy relating to North Korea has arrived in Pyongyang to resume senior-level talks, which had been frozen for seven months. This week's meetings are expected to focus on restarting joint projects put on hold after North Korea's missile and nuclear tests. VOA's Kurt Achin has more from Seoul.
• Ambassadors Slightly Wounded in Sri Lanka Rebel Attack Sri Lanka says Tamil Tiger rebels deliberately targeted foreign ambassadors on a humanitarian mission to the east of the country. The Tigers acknowledge they fired artillery at the air force base where the diplomats were getting out of helicopters but say they were unaware the aircraft contained diplomats. The U.S. and Italian ambassadors were slightly injured in the attack. VOA's Steve Herman reports from New Delhi.
• Mottaki: Iran will Never Suspend Uranium Enrichment Iran's foreign minister says his country will never suspend uranium enrichment as demanded by the United Nations Security Council.
• Bombings, Attacks Across Iraq Kill 20 people Iraqi security officials say a series of bombings and other attacks across the country have killed at least 20 people and wounded dozens more.
• Human Rights Watch Demands Information on CIA Prisoners A human rights organization is demanding that the U.S. government account for all the detainees once held by the Central Intelligence Agency.
• Fourth French National Dies in Saudi Arabia Authorities in Saudi Arabia say a fourth French national has died of wounds suffered in an attack in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
• Japan Hoping to Host Mideast Peace Meeting Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso says Tokyo is planning to host a meeting with Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian officials next month to help peace efforts in the Middle East.
• International Criminal Court Names First Darfur War Crimes Suspects The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands has named a Sudanese minister and a militia leader as the first suspects to be formally accused of war crimes in Darfur.
• World Food Program Says Four Ship Pirates Arrested The World Food Program says local authorities have detained four of the eight men suspected of hijacking a U.N.-contracted ship off Somalia's northeastern coast.
• Russia Pledges to Help Hamas Secure Political, Economic Support Russia says it supports the lifting of political and economic sanctions imposed on the Islamic militant group Hamas over its refusal to recognize Israel's right to exist. The offer of support came during a final day of talks in Moscow with the exiled political leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal. VOA's Lisa McAdams is in the Russian capital with details.
• Burmese Protesters Released Relatives say the Burmese authorities have released nine protesters who were arrested last week after demonstrating for better living conditions.
• WHO Confirms First Human Case of Bird Flu in Laos The World Health Organization has confirmed the first human case of bird flu in Laos.
• Cambodia's Khmer Rouge Trials Under Threat Concern is mounting in Cambodia that the long-awaited trials of the leaders of the Khmer Rouge could be derailed due to a dispute over international legal standards. A panel of Cambodian and United Nations court officials recently failed to resolve their differences over the rules governing the operation of the trials. And a United Nations plan to audit the funds used for the tribunal could further complicate matters. Rory Byrne reports from Phnom Penh.
• International Court Names Top Suspects in Darfur War Crimes The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has named a former Sudanese state minister and a militia commander as its first two suspects in the case of war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region. VOA's Sonja Pace reports from London on the decision.
• European Security Group Urges Greater Serbian Cooperation in Kosovo Talks The chairman of Europe's largest security organization has urged Serbian leaders to take a constructive stance in current negotiations on the status of Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province.
• Chinese Premier Rules Out Democratic Reform in Near Future Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is ruling out plans to allow more democracy in China's near future because he says the country must focus first on economic development.
• Cairo Court Overturns Jail Sentence for Egyptian Journalist An appeals court in Cairo has overturned a prison sentence for an Egyptian journalist convicted of defaming President Hosni Mubarak.
• Former Liberian Leader Bryant Charged With Embezzlement Liberia's government says it has charged the country's former transitional leader, Gyude Bryant, with embezzling $1.3 million while in office.
• Thousands Rally in Sarajevo Against World Court Genocide Ruling Thousands of people have demonstrated in Sarajevo against a World Court ruling that Serbia was not guilty of genocide during the conflict of the 1990s in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
• UNHCR Launches Appeal For Internally Displaced Chadians The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) is launching a supplementary appeal for more than $6 million to pay for protection and assistance programs for up to 150,000 internally displaced people in eastern Chad. This is in addition to a previous appeal for nearly $70 million for 220,000 refugees from Sudan's conflict ridden province of Darfur and another 46,000 refugees from the Central African Republic. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.
• Thailand Emphasizes its Stability, Democracy to Japan The foreign minister of Thailand says a trade pact with Japan will soon be finalized. As Yuriko Nagano reports from Tokyo, the Thai minister is trying to reassure foreign investors during a visit to Japan.
• Bush, El Salvador's President Discuss Trade, Security President Bush and El Salvador's President Tony Saca have discussed trade and security during a meeting at the White House.
• Guinea's New Prime Minister Arrives in Conakry Guinea's newly-appointed Prime Minister Lansana Kouyate has arrived in the capital, Conakry, as the nation attempts to return to normal after weeks of political unrest.
• Cape Verdeans to Begin Paying Own Health Care Costs Since independence in 1975, Cape Verde has made significant progress in providing basic health care to its population. The national health budget is one of the largest in Africa. But with rising health care costs and an aging population, officials say they can no longer pay as much. Phuong Tran has more from Praia, Cape Verde on the campaign to get residents to pay for doctor visits.
• Hail Damages US Space Shuttle Fuel Tank The U.S. space agency, NASA, says hail from a passing thunderstorm has damaged the external fuel tank of the space shuttle Atlantis.
• Prodi Calls US, NATO 'Natural Complement' to Italy and Europe No summary available.
• NATO Forces Kill 3 Afghan Civilians Three Afghan civilians have been killed as NATO forces continue to battle Taleban insurgents in the southern part of the country.
• Actor Forest Whitaker Scores an Oscar as Idi Amin in 'Last King of Scotland' Kevin MacDonald's Large screen drama "The Last King of Scotland" was honored during the 79th Academy Award with a Best Actor Oscar. Forest Whitaker nabbed the golden statuette for his complex role as the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.
• US Renews Effort to Solve Civil Rights Era Murder Cases The U.S government is forming a partnership with some prominent civil rights groups to identify and investigate unsolved murders committed during the U.S. civil rights era of the 1950's and 1960's. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.
• Intelligence Officials: Iraq Violence in Self-Sustaining Cycle Top U.S. intelligence officials Tuesday offered a sober assessment of the prospects for ending sectarian violence in Iraq and establishing a unity government there. They made their comments in testimony before a Senate panel, as VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.
• World Stocks Plummet World stock markets plummeted Tuesday after a drastic plunge in Chinese stocks combined with discouraging financial news in the United States.
• UN Secretary General Welcomes Agreement on Victims of Forced Labor in Burma United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has praised an agreement between the International Labor Organization (ILO) and Burma's military government that allows its citizens to complain to the world body about forced labor.
• US Stocks Close Lower, Dow Down More Than 400 Points U.S. stock markets tumbled Tuesday as a sudden drop in Chinese shares reverberated throughout global markets
• Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy Named to US Soccer Hall of Fame Two women soccer stars, Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm, will be inducted into the US National Soccer Hall of Fame. Mike O'Sullivan reports from Los Angeles, the announcement marks the growing importance of women in the game.
• Climate Panel Recommends Global Temperature Ceiling, Carbon Tax A panel of scientists has presented the United Nations a detailed plan for combating climate change. VOA's correspondent at the U.N. Peter Heinlein reports the strategy involves reaching a global agreement on a temperature ceiling.
• Yanukovych: US Missile Defense in Europe Will Hurt Ukraine Ukraine's Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych says a planned U.S. missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland will hurt Ukraine's relations with those two countries.
• Cuba's Castro Tells Venezuelan Radio Program He is Recovering Cuban President Fidel Castro, who has not appeared in public since undergoing intestinal surgery last year, says he is recovering and feeling stronger.
• Asian, Pacific Stocks Down Sharply Wednesday Key Asian and Pacific stock markets are down sharply Wednesday after world markets plummeted Tuesday.
• US Imposes Sanctions on More Top Belarusian Officials The United States has imposed economic sanctions against six more senior Belarusian officials because of their crackdown on the opposition to what the U.S. says were fraudulent presidential elections last year.