News for Friday, March 2, 2007
• Pakistan Arrests Senior Taleban Leader No summary available.
• US Military: Eight Militants Killed in Iraq The U.S. military in Iraq says coalition forces have killed eight militants in a raid near Baghdad.
• Australia Upset Over US Delay in Charging Guantanamo Bay Detainee The Australian government is complaining it has taken the United States five years to bring formal terrorism charges against one of its nationals. The protest centers on David Hicks - who was charged Thursday and will now face trial in July. The Muslim convert is the only Australian held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.
• Koreas Agree to New Family Reunions, But Food Aid to be Delayed North and South Korea have agreed to resume North-South family reunions, and have scheduled meetings aimed at restarting North-South projects that were put on hold by the North's missile and nuclear tests. What the first inter-Korean talks in months did not produce was a specific South Korean commitment to resume food and fertilizer shipments to the North. VOA Correspondent Kurt Achin has more from Seoul.
• China's Annual Legislative Meetings Expected to Pass Laws on Property, Foreign Business Taxes China's legislature, the National People's Congress, will tackle the causes of rural unrest when it begins its annual session next week. This year legislators also are expected to pass long-debated legislation that would for the first time since the Communist Party came to power, grant private property the same legal protection as state-owned property. Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.
• Western Tourists Missing in Northern Ethiopia At least 15 Western tourists are missing and are believed to have been kidnapped while traveling in a remote area of northern Ethiopia.
• Ukraine Opposition Leader Meets Cheney in Washington Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko says the United States understands the problems Ukraine faces in its democratic development, and its need for energy security.
• Pakistan Captures Senior Taleban Commander Pakistani authorities are widely reported to have captured a top Taleban commander, along with several insurgents from the province of Baluchistan along the Afghan border. VOA correspondent Benjamin Sand reports from Islamabad.
• Bangladesh to Immunize 24 Million Children Against Polio The Bangladesh government says it will immunize 24 million children against polio in a huge nationwide operation Saturday.
• Pakistan's Bhutto Skipping Anti-Musharraf Meeting An aide to former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto says she has decided not to attend a conference of parties opposed to Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf.
• Bird Flu Outbreak Reported in Vietnam Poultry and Burma Wild Birds Vietnamese health officials say bird flu has been detected in ducks in the country's south just one day after authorities lifted a ban on hatching ducks and other waterfowl.
• 12 North Korean Defectors Arrive in US Twelve North Korean defectors have arrived in the United States this week, and have been transferred to an undisclosed location.
• Top Financial Expert Says Japan's Interest Rates Must Rise A top finance expert says Japan's interest rates need to rise more. Eisuke Sakakibara also says international stock markets may remain volatile over the next few weeks, after this week's sell off. Yuriko Nagano reports for VOA from Tokyo.
• Investigators Crack Wall Street Insider Trading Ring U.S. investigators say they have cracked one of the biggest Wall Street insider trading rings since the 1980s.
• India Formally Asks Argentina to Extradite Corruption Suspect India has formally asked Argentina to extradite an Italian businessman suspected of involvement in a major arms bribery scandal.
• 50 People Feared Dead in Nigeria Boat Accident Search teams in Nigeria are continuing the search for survivors of a shipwreck Monday in the southern part of the country. From the Nigerian capital, Abuja, reporter Gilbert da Costa reports for VOA three bodies have been recovered, so far, from the waters where the boat capsized. Eyewitnesses say as many as 50 passengers, mostly women and children, were packed on a boat designed to carry fewer people when it sank into the River Nun in remote Bayelsa state on Monday. So far, only three bodies have been recovered but divers Friday still searched for more bodies. Samuel Oyadongha, a journalist in Bayelsa, says overloading and bad weather caused the wooden boat, which ferried passengers and cargo to villages along the river, to capsize.
• FIFA Receives Bid for 2011 Women's World Cup Football's world governing body FIFA says Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Peru and Switzerland are all bidding to host the 2011 women's World Cup.
• British Jury to Hear Inquest into Princess Diana, Boyfriend's Deaths A British court has ruled that the inquest into the 1997 deaths of Princess Diana and her companion Dodi al-Fayed must be heard by a jury.
• Niger Troops Clash With 'Bandits,' Abducted Bus Passengers Released Government troops in Niger have killed five armed men they describe as "bandits," in the north of the country, where there have been recent attacks by nomadic fighters. In a separate attack Thursday, a local journalist following the story reports armed men attacked a bus and took several passengers and the driver hostage, but later released them. Naomi Schwarz in VOA's West Africa bureau in Dakar has more.
• 'American Idol' Narrows Field of Hopefuls American Idol narrowed the field of hopefuls to 16 March 1, bouncing two women and two men. This time, the axe fell on Alaina Alexander, who sang a tepid rendition of the Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready To Make Nice," and Nick Pedro, deemed lacking in charisma, according to judge Simon Cowell.
• Anna Nicole Smith to be Buried in Bahamas The body of Anna Nicole Smith arrived Friday 2 March in the Bahamas, where the former Playboy Playmate of the Year will be buried alongside her son. A friend helping to organize the memorial service says Anna will be buried in a tiara and custom-made beaded gown. The storm resulting from her February 8 death continues to rage, however: her estranged mother, Virgie Arthur, will reportedly seek to get her body out of the Bahamas. Her lawyer would not elaborate on any possible legal action.
• Angelina Jolie to Adopt Again Angelina Jolie's family will soon expand - again. The movie star has filed papers to adopt a Vietnamese orphan. She and her partner, fellow idol Brad Pitt, already have three children: five-year-old Maddox, adopted from Cambodia; two-year-old Ethiopian adoptee Zahara; and their biological daughter Shiloh, born in May.
• Putin's Criticism of US Draws Mixed Reaction A senior U.S. defense official says Russian President Vladimir Putin's sharp criticism of the United States in a speech last month did not succeed in creating doubts among U.S. European allies. But some analysts believe the speech did strike a chord among many people around the world. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.
• US Envoy Returns to Sudan for Darfur Talks The U.S. special envoy for Sudan, Andrew Natsios, returned to that country Friday in a new effort to expedite deployment of an upgraded peacekeeping force for the Darfur region. The proposed hybrid African Union and United Nations force remains under-subscribed. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
• Ukraine' Opposition Leader Calls for New Elections Yulia Tymoshenko, the principal opposition leader in Ukraine, is in Washington, where she has been meeting with U.S. officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. VOA's Barry Wood reports Tymoshenko repeated her call for early elections and was sharply critical of the government's energy policies.
• Sweden's Klüft Wins Pentathon Gold at Euro Athletics World and Olympic champion Carolina Klüft of Sweden has won the pentathlon gold medal after trailing in three events on the opening day of the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England.
• Last Ditch Meeting Skedded for Monday to Salvage Pro Cycling Season Cycling team leaders have invited the International Cycling Union, UCI, and elite tour organizers to a last-ditch negotiating session Monday in an effort to avoid derailing the professional season.
• Ethanol Backers Create Biofuels Market The United States, Brazil, India, China and the European Union have created a forum to promote the use of renewable energy sources known as biofuels. Senior diplomats from participating countries gathered to launch the project at the United Nations Friday, where VOA correspondent Peter Heinlein picks up the story.
• Anna Nicole Smith Buried in the Bahamas Former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith has been laid to rest in the Bahamas following a three-week battle over her remains and amid ongoing legal disputes over her infant daughter, Dannielynn.