News for Sunday, March 18, 2007
• New Palestinian Cabinet to Hold First Meeting Today The new Palestinian unity government is to hold its first Cabinet meeting Sunday in Gaza City.
• Rash of Strikes at Vietnamese Factories A series of wildcat strikes, without union approval, have hit factories near Ho Chi Minh City in the past few weeks, idling up to 30,000 workers. They are demanding wage hikes, but also better treatment from management. Vietnam's official government-controlled labor union is slow to oppose management, leaving workers to strike on their own. Matt Steinglass has more from Ho Chi Minh City.
• Brazilian Congressman Withdraws Candidacy for Agriculture Minister Amid Fraud Charges Brazil's government says a congressmen selected to be the country's next agriculture minister has turned down the post because of fraud charges he faces in the Supreme Court.
• China says US, North Korean Envoys Resolve Bank Dispute China's Xinhua news agency says the United States and North Korea have resolved a dispute over frozen North Korean funds that had threatened to undermine talks on a six-nation plan to end Pyongyang's nuclear program.
• US May Work with Non-Hamas Members of Palestinian Government The United States says it may be willing to work with some officials in the new Palestinian unity government, but will maintain a ban on contact with members of Hamas including the prime minister.
• Hundreds of Japanese Activists Protest Iraq War Hundreds of demonstrators have marched through the Japanese capital, Tokyo, to protest the war in Iraq.
• Five American Soldiers Killed in Iraq The U.S. military says at least five American soldiers have been killed in Iraq.
• Israeli Cabinet Rejects New Palestinian Unity Government The Israeli Cabinet has overwhelmingly rejected a new Palestinian unity government in which militants and moderates share power. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, the Palestinians are urging both Israel and the international community to soften their positions.
• Taleban Says Italian Journalist, Afghan Translator Handed Over to 3rd Party A purported spokesman for Taleban militants in Afghanistan says the group has handed over a kidnapped Italian journalist to tribal elders, but Afghan and Italian officials say they cannot confirm the report.
• Researchers Devise Tiny New Weapons to Fight Cancer One of the hottest areas of scientific research today is in the field of nanotechnology. Nanoparticles are frequently made of metal, and are extremely small, so small that thousands of them could fit across the width of a hair. Because metallic nanoparticles are so small, they start to act like atoms, not metals. It's this property that makes nanoparticles so interesting to scientists, who are devising many ways to use them.
• Insurgents Attack Islamic School, Kill Three Students in S. Thailand Thai police say suspected insurgents have attacked an Islamic boarding school in the country's south, killing at least three students.
• Somalia Police Chief Killed A Somali police chief, Major Abdi Mohamed Abdulle, leading a crackdown on insurgents in the southern port town of Kismayo reportedly has been killed by one of his bodyguards.
• Zimbabwe Opposition Leader Says Crisis at Critical Stage A leader of Zimbabwe's main opposition party says the country has reached a critical stage that could see the end of the rule of President Robert Mugabe.
• Montenegrin Police Quiz Relatives of War Crimes Fugitive Radovan Karadzic Montenegrin police have detained several relatives of Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic, as part of an ongoing push to track down the fugitive.
• Simon Ammann Captures World Cup Large Hill Ski Jumping Competition at Holmenkollen Two-time former Olympic ski jump champion Simon Ammann of Switzerland has defied blustery conditions in Norway to capture the World Cup large hill ski jumping competition at Holmenkollen.
• Egyptian Opposition Lawmakers Protest Debate on Constitutional Amendments Opposition lawmakers in Egypt have boycotted debate on constitutional amendments proposed by President Hosni Mubarak.
• Zimbabwe Bars Opposition From Attending EU Meeting Zimbabwe's youngest opposition member of parliament, Nelson Chamisa, was assaulted yards from the departure lounge at Harare International Airport early Sunday as he was checking in for a flight to Brussels. He is now in the hospital with a cracked skull. Peta Thornycraft in Harare reports.