News for Thursday, March 15, 2007

• Senior Al Qaida Leader Admits Planning September 11th Attacks Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has apparently confessed to masterminding the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States during a military hearing at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Officials in Pakistan, where Mohammed was captured in 2003, say the confession is a step forward in the fight against the al Qaida terror network. From Islamabad, VOA Correspondent Benjamin Sand has more.
• Car Bombing Kills 4 South of Baghdad Iraqi security officials say a bomb blast has killed at least four people and wounded 24 others in the town of Iskandariyah Thursday.
• Army Declares Curfew in Parts of Southern Thailand Thailand's army has declared a curfew in two districts of the country's Muslim-majority south following increased violence in the area.
• US Says Macau Bank Decision Will Smooth North Korea Process The chief U.S. negotiator in the North Korea nuclear disarmament talks says a U.S. decision to punish a bank in Macau will help smooth the process. But the U.S. action has drawn fire from China. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from Beijing, where diplomats from six nations are gathering for new discussions on how to bring about the end of North Korea's nuclear program.
• NBA: Stoudemire High Scorer as Suns Beat Mavericks in Double OT Amare Stoudemire scored 41 points and teammate Steve Nash added 32 points to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 129-127 double-overtime win over the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday in the National Basketball Association.
• Attack By Maoist Rebels Kills 49 Security Personnel in Central India In India's central state of Chattisgarh, suspected Maoist rebels have stormed a police post, killing at least 49 security personnel and injuring 12 others. From New Delhi, Anjana Pasricha reports, it is one of the deadliest attacks by the guerrillas, who are entrenched along a large eastern belt of the country.
• Palestinian PM Unveils New Unity Government Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of the militant Hamas group has presented a list of ministers for his new Cabinet to President Mahmoud Abbas, completing the formation of a unity government.
• Iraqi Court Upholds Death Sentence for Saddam's Deputy An Iraqi appeals court has upheld the death sentence for Saddam Hussein's former vice president, Taha Yassin Ramadan, for his role in the killing of 148 Shi'ite Muslims in 1982.
• Suspected 9/11 Mastermind Confesses to More Plots The list of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's confessions released by the Defense Department, ranges from real terror attacks to plots that never happened. One claim was censored.
• UN Agency Says Burma Needs Help to Fight Bird Flu A United Nations agency says that while Burma responded quickly to outbreaks of bird flu last month, it needs more help to continue its fight against the disease in the long term.
• Japan Maintains Aid to India, While US Plans to Cut Aid While the Bush administration is proposing to cut U.S. aid to India by 35 percent in its latest budget, India's largest outside assistance provider - Japan - says it has no plans to reduce aid to the South Asian nation. VOA's Steve Herman reports from New Delhi.
• French Resistance Hero Lucie Aubrac Dies at 94 French resistance heroine Lucie Aubrac, who led a daring World War II raid to free her husband from a Nazi prison, has died in suburban Paris. She was 94.
• Nigerian Militants Free Italian Captives Two Italian hostages kidnapped by a Nigerian militant group in Southern Nigeria three months ago have been released. For VOA, Gilbert da Costa in Abuja has more.
• Russian Court Sentences Man to 5-year Term in Connection with  Art Thefts A Russian court has sentenced the husband of a former museum curator to five years in prison following conviction for stealing valuable art objects from St. Petersburg's famed Hermitage Museum.
• Egypt Arrests at Least 10 More Muslim Brotherhood Members Egyptian security forces have arrested at least 10 more members of the country's largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood.
• Angelina Jolie Adopts Third Child Angelina Jolie left a Vietnamese orphanage Thursday with her third adopted child, a three-year-old boy.
• Rights Group: Children Abused in Burundi Prisons Human Rights Watch says children who run afoul of the law in Burundi are jailed with adults and are subject to many abuses, including sexual molestation and torture. Cathy Majtenyi has details for VOA from Nairobi.
• Harry Potter May Meet Death in Final Book of Series Harry Potter may soon meet his doom - but at least he'll have company. Scholastic Books, Inc, publisher of the enormously popular series, says the seventh and final entry, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, will enjoy a record-breaking run of 12 million copies when it appears July 21.
• Colombian Novelist Says Castro's Health Improving Granma web site Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2006" hspace=2 src="/english/images/Granma_Fidel_Castro_210.jpg" width=163 vspace=2 border=0> A Colombian writer has told a Spanish newspaper El Pais that Cuban President Fidel Castro seems to be back to his old self.
• Government Minister Appeals for Release of Abducted Ethiopians Several British citizens abducted in northeastern Ethiopia are reportedly on their way back home after having been released.  But eight Ethiopians who had been abducted with the group are still being held hostage.  Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from Nairobi.
• Bush Praises Iraqi Vice President During White House Meeting U.S. President George Bush says his decision to dispatch more troops to Iraq is designed to give the country's leaders a chance to reconcile their political differences. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, Mr. Bush met with Iraq's vice president in Washington.
• EU, ASEAN Agree to Boost Ties; Urge ASEAN to Pressure Burma The European Union and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have agreed to do more to boost their political and economic cooperation.
• Zimbabwe Detainee Says He Witnessed Morgan Tsvangirai's Beating Legislator Tendai Biti, who is a prominent Harare lawyer, says he witnessed the beating of founding Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) president Morgan Tsvangirai.  Biti spoke from his hospital bed to Peta Thornycroft in Harare.
• US Disappointed With Egyptian Court's Rejection of Blogger Appeal The United States has expressed disappointment that an Egyptian court has rejected the appeal of a blogger, convicted for insulting Islam and the Egyptian president.
• Who Cancels March Concert After Daltrey Falls Ill The Who cancelled a March 13 concert in Tampa, Florida, after lead singer Roger Daltrey fell ill.
• US Diplomat Reafirms Ties to Pakistan in Anti-Terror Effort The top U.S. diplomat dealing with South Asia, Richard Boucher, defended Pakistan's record on the war against terrorism.  Boucher announced a massive new U.S. aid package for Pakistan's restive tribal areas, where pro-Taleban militants have reportedly been gaining ground.  From Islamabad VOA Correspondent Benjamin Sand has more.
• New Recording Purported to be Italian Hostage in Afghanistan An Afghan news agency says it has received a recording purported to feature an Italian hostage saying he will be killed if his kidnappers' demands are not met.
• Blair Calls for Tougher Stance on Sudan British Prime Minister Tony Blair says the international community must take a harder stance against the Sudanese government for its refusal to allow U.N. peacekeepers into the troubled Darfur region.
• Montenegro Initials Accord on Future EU Membership Montenegro has taken its first step toward European Union entry, as EU and Montenegrin officials initialed a stabilization agreement.
• Prominent Cambodian Buddhist Monk Dies in US Hospital A Cambodian monk who played a key role in helping rebuild Buddhism in his country after the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge regime has died.
• US Fruit Company Fined $25 Million for Paying 'Protection Money' to Colombian Paramilitaries U.S. fruit company Chiquita Brands International said it would plead guilty to one count of doing business with a violent Colombian paramilitary group the U.S. government lists as a terrorist organization. In Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports, experts say the practice of paying "protection" money has been widespread.
• World Powers Agree on UN Sanctions Against Iran Six world powers are jointly asking the U.N. Security Council to toughen sanctions against Iran for refusing to halt suspicious nuclear activities. But as correspondent Peter Heinlein reports, Iran's leader denounced the sanctions and vowed to continue uranium enrichment.
• Russia, Greece and Bulgaria to Build Oil Pipeline Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday signed an agreement in Athens with the prime ministers of Greece and Bulgaria to build an oil pipeline from the Bulgarian port of Bourgas to Alexandroupolis. The $1.2 billion pipeline would help relieve congestion through Turkey's narrow Bosporus strait. VOA's Barry Wood reports from Washington.
• US Military Cautiously Optimism About New Baghdad Security Plan U.S. military officials and Middle East analysts are expressing cautious optimism that one-month into the new Baghdad security plan sectarian violence in the city has begun to drop.  Officials warn, however, that it will be months before an additional 26,000 U.S. troops are in place and a definitive judgment can be made on whether the troop increase will be a success.  VOA correspondent Meredith Buel has more from Washington.
• US Senate Rejects Measure to Withdraw US Troops from Iraq by March 2008 The U.S. Senate has rejected by a 50 to 48 vote a Democratic-sponsored measure calling for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by March of next year. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.
• Roadside Bomb in Baghdad Kills 4 American Soldiers The U.S. military in Iraq says a roadside bomb explosion in eastern Baghdad has killed four American soldiers and wounded two others.
• Rice Raises Human Rights With Vietnamese Foreign Minister U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice discussed human rights and other issues in a meeting Thursday with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem. The Vietnamese government is accused of a new crackdown on political dissent. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
• WFP: US Should Take Lead in Fighting Child Hunger The executive director of the World Food Program is calling on the United States to take the lead in working to eliminate child hunger -- which the agency says kills 18,000 children every day.  His comments came in testimony Thursday to a Senate subcommittee that examined the U.S. role in international food assistance.  VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Washington.    
• Ancient Jawbone Shows our Prehistoric Ancestors Were Much Like Us Scientists have found and tested an ancient human jawbone in Northern Africa that they say shows our prehistoric ancestors were much more like us than was previously thought - they had a fairly long childhood and developed slowly. The researchers, using a new x-ray technique, examined the tooth of an ancient child found in northern Africa. VOA's Jessica Berman reports.