News for Wednesday, March 7, 2007
• Indonesia Plane Crash Kills At Least 49 At least 49 people are dead after an Indonesian passenger jet burst into flames upon landing on Indonesia's central island of Java.
• Indonesian Rescuers Search for Earthquake Survivors Indonesian rescue teams are searching for victims buried under the rubble of buildings that collapsed in an earthquake that killed at least 52 people on Sumatra island.
• Iraqi Police Say 7 More Shi'ites Killed in Attacks on Pilgrims Iraqi security officials say at least seven more Shi'ite Muslims have been killed as insurgents continue to target Shi'ite pilgrims heading to Karbala for this week's religious observance.
• Cheney Voices Disappointment Over Former Aide, Libby Verdict U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney says he is very disappointed by Tuesday's guilty verdict against his former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, in a case tied to the U.S. justification to go to war in Iraq.
• Washington Softens Tone on North Korea Uranium-Enrichment The crisis over North Korea's nuclear weapons programs was initiated in 2002, when U.S. officials said North Korea had admitted violating a previous agreement by pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium. Now that six-nation talks may be producing progress in eliminating Pyongyang's far more advanced plutonium-based program, Washington has softened its tone about uranium enrichment. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul.
• Legendary US Winemaker Gallo Dies in California Pioneering U.S. winemaker Ernest Gallo has died at the age of 97.
• Haitians Abroad Sent More Than $1.6 Billion Home in 2006 The Inter-American Development Bank says the world Haitian disapora sent more than $1.6 billion back to families on the impoverished island in 2006.
• Japan-North Korea Talks in Vietnam Suspended Talks between Japan and North Korea that began in Hanoi Wednesday morning have been suspended by the North Korean side. No reason was given for the suspension. Matt Steinglass reports from Hanoi.
• Israeli Forces Arrest at Least 18 Palestinians in Ramallah Israel says its forces raided the Palestinian military intelligence headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah Wednesday and detained 18 militants.
• Nigeria's Vice President Wins Court Backing for April Vote A Nigerian court has ruled the electoral commission cannot disqualify the country's vice president from next month's presidential elections. Meanwhile, the ruling party candidate has gone to Europe for medical care because of a kidney problem. For VOA, Gilbert da Costa reports from Abuja.
• Chinese Official Says Reform Needed to Make Medicine Affordable The man in charge of China's top planning body says medicine is still priced beyond the reach of most Chinese citizens, despite repeated government efforts to lower prices and reform the drug market. Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.
• US Stocks Make Modest Gains U.S. stock market indexes posted modest gains as trading began Wednesday.
• Cheney, Former Aide Face Civil Lawsuit in CIA Leak Case U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and his former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby face a civil lawsuit in a CIA leak case tied to the U.S. justification for the war in Iraq.
• Mottaki: Iran Will Attend Iraq Meeting Iran says it will attend the international conference on Iraq, which is to be held in Baghdad on Saturday.
• Italy: Missing Journalist in Afghanistan Apparently Kidnapped by Taleban Italian officials say Taleban forces may have kidnapped an Italian journalist missing in southern Afghanistan for three days.
• 2 Somalian Policemen Gunned Down in Mogadishu Officials in Somalia say two policemen have been gunned down in the capital, Mogadishu, as more African Union peacekeepers arrive.
• Indonesian Rescuers Search for Quake Survivors Indonesian rescue teams are searching for victims buried under the rubble of buildings that collapsed in an earthquake on Sumatra island, killing at least 52 people.
• Bird Flu Hits 2 Farms in Vietnamese Capital Vietnamese veterinary officials say bird flu has infected chickens on two farms in the capital, Hanoi.
• Terror Alert Angers Muslim Leaders in Kenya Muslim leaders in Kenya are expressing anger at the United States for issuing a terror alert Tuesday, warning Americans of a possible terrorist attack during a sporting event later this month in the coastal town of Mombasa. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has the story from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.
• Wife of Chinese Cyber Dissident to Sue Yahoo The wife of a Chinese dissident jailed for publishing articles on the Internet says she plans to sue U.S.-based Internet company Yahoo for helping put her husband in jail in China.
• US-Led Coalition Captures Alleged Al-Qaida Bomb Maker in Afghanistan U.S.-led coalition forces in eastern Afghanistan say they have captured an alleged bomb-making expert with links to al-Qaida.
• Bush Hopes Cubans Will Choose New Government After Castro On the eve of his six-day tour of Latin America, President Bush says the people of Cuba should decide what form of government to support after the death of their President Fidel Castro.
• Jordan's King Urges Renewed US Commitment to Middle East Peace Jordan's King Abdullah is urging the United States to make a new commitment to peace in the Middle East. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill, where the king told a joint meeting of Congress that inaction is pushing the region toward greater danger and encouraging terrorism.
• US Envoy Wraps Up Trip to Sudan The U.S. special envoy to Sudan, Andrew Natsios, has concluded a five-day visit to Sudan by meeting with the Sudanese president. Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from Nairobi.
• EU Unveils $650 Million Aid Package for Ukraine The European Commission has announced a nearly $650 million aid package for Ukraine over the next four years, to help Kyiv enact European Union-backed political and economic reforms.
• US Olympic Committee Inspection Team Visits Chicago The U.S. Olympic Committee inspection team is visiting Chicago for a second day as the midwestern city attempts to become the American candidate to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
• Somali Insurgents Attack Newly-Arrived AU PeaceKeepers No summary available.
• Thailand's ITV to Continue Broadcasts, Despite Government Takeover Thai officials say ITV, one of the country's few independent television stations, will continue to broadcast following a government takeover.
• International News Media Advocacy Group Seeks Investigation into Russian Journalist's Death An international news media advocacy group has urged Russia to conduct a thorough investigation in to the death of a journalist who died after falling from a fifth floor window in his apartment building.
• Brazil Rejects US Human Rights Report Brazil has rejected a U.S. State Department human rights report accusing its police and prison guards of serious abuses.
• NASA Fires Astronaut Accused of Kidnapping The U.S. space agency, NASA, has fired astronaut Lisa Nowak, who was charged earlier this month with the attempted kidnapping of a woman she considered a rival for the affections of another astronaut.
• Serbia Slams UN Envoy's Amended Plan for Kosovo Ethnic Albanian negotiators from Kosovo and Serbian leaders remain deeply divided after receiving the amended United Nations plan on the future of Serbia's breakaway province.
• Researchers Discover New Cancer Genes In a broad survey of human cancer genes, scientists have identified many mutations that are responsible for malignancies. As VOA's Jessica Berman reports, the geneticists say their work will finally give cancer researchers a better idea of what they are up against.
• Top US General Says Iraqis Want Baghdad Security Plan to Work The top U.S. military officer says there are indications that the Iraqi people want the new Baghdad security plan to work, but he and Defense Secretary Robert Gates both also said that while the plan is going well so far, it is too early to predict success. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.
• US Honors Women's Rights Activists The U.S. State Department Wednesday honored 10 women from eight countries around the world for courage and leadership in campaigning for women's rights and advancement. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice presided at the event on the eve of International Women's Day. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
• US Defense Secretary Says China Is Not Strategic Threat U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday he does not consider China a strategic threat, in spite of the country's sharply rising defense spending and capability. Still, the top U.S. military officer says the United States must be prepared to respond to any threat that develops. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.
• British Lawmakers Vote to Make House of Lords 100% Elected Britain's lower house of parliament has voted to reform the upper chamber, the House of Lords, and end a 600-year-old tradition.
• Former Russian UN Diplomat Convicted of Money Laundering A Russian diplomat who once headed the United Nations budget oversight committee has been convicted of money laundering.
• EU Summit to Debate Global Warming Global warming and plans to sharply cut greenhouse gas emissions are expected to dominate a two-day European Union summit opening Thursday in Brussels.