News for Thursday, April 5, 2007
• British Navy Personnel Freed by Iran Head Home Fifteen British navy personnel held by Iran for nearly two weeks are heading home.
• Iraqi Witnesses: Gunfire Brought Down US Helicopter Iraqi witnesses say an American helicopter has crashed after coming under fire south of Baghdad.
• World Bank: Thriving Asian Economies Should Work to Sustain Growth The World Bank says Asian nations have fully recovered from the 1997 economic crisis and are thriving. However, the agency warns that widening income gaps could threaten the region's growth and stability. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from Beijing.
• 4 Sri Lankan Farmers Killed in Rebel Ambush Sri Lankan officials say suspected Tamil rebels have killed four farmers in the eastern part of the country.
• Chechnya to Swear In Former Rebel as President Russia's republic of Chechnya is preparing to swear in a former rebel as president.
• Peruvian Police Stop Nationalist Demonstration Against Disputed Sea Border with Chile Peruvian police have clashed with nationalist activists who planned to protest a decades-old agreement defining the country's maritime border with Chile.
• NBA: Bobcats Beat Wizards, Arenas Injures Knee The Charlotte Bobcats beat the Washington Wizards 108-100 Wednesday in National Basketball Association action.
• Pelosi in Saudi Arabia for Last Stop of Mideast Tour The speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is holding talks in Saudi Arabia on the last stop of her Mideast tour.
• UN's Envoy in East Timor Upbeat About Upcoming Elections The special representative of the United Nations secretary-general in East Timor is upbeat about coming elections in the country despite sporadic incidents of violence as the volatile nation prepares to elect a new president next week. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins in the capital Dili has more.
• Afghan Official: Missing French, Afghan Aid Workers Kidnapped by Taleban An Afghan provincial governor says Taleban militants have kidnapped two French aid workers and their three Afghan colleagues who went missing in the southwest of the country.
• Israel Says Action Needed From Syria for Peace Talks A senior Israeli official says Syria needs to take concrete actions to reduce tensions with Israel if peace talks are to resume. VOA's Jim Teeple reports from Jerusalem the Israeli comments follow those by U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, who said Wednesday in Damascus that Syria's president is ready to negotiate with Israel.
• Indonesian Playboy Magazine Editor Acquitted An Indonesian court has tossed out charges that Playboy Indonesia's editor-in-chief had violated indecency laws. Chad Bouchard reports from Jakarta on the case, which has angered many strict Muslims.
• Burkina Faso Cotton Farmers Struggle in Global Market Place About 20 million Africans make a living raising cotton. Yet, growers earn barely enough to stay in business, due in part to their inability to compete against highly subsidized cotton farmers in the West. The issue remains a controversial topic of debate at the World Trade Organization talks on world trade reforms, and among G-8 nations which have committed themselves to fighting for greater equity for Africa in the global market place.
• French Police Investigate Threats Against Conservative Presidential Candidate Nicolas Sarkozy French anti-terrorism police are investigating threats of an attack on conservative French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy.
• 4 Sri Lankan Farmers Killed in Rebel Ambush, Police Find Bomb Near Capital Sri Lankan officials say suspected Tamil rebels have killed four farmers in the eastern part of the country.
• Eritrea Bans Female Circumcision The Eritrean government has banned female circumcision, saying the practice endangers the health of women.
• Director of Classic Christmas Movie Dies U.S. filmmaker Bob Clark, who directed the classic A Christmas Story, has been killed in a head-on car crash at the age of 67.
• Students at Conservative University Protest Cheney Appearance Some 200 students at the conservative Brigham Young University peacefully protested Wednesday against a planned appearance by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.
• Somali PM Says Reconciliation Conference Still On Somalia's interim prime minister says a national reconciliation conference scheduled for April 16 in Mogadsihu will take place despite chronic violence in the capital.
• Stones' Richards Claims He Was Joking When He Made Comment About Snorting Late Father's Ashes Was Keith Richards joking when he said he snorted his father's cremated remains? Yes, according to the Rolling Stones' guitarist - no, according to the reporter who first broke the story.
• Census Data Shows New Orleans Population Loss Highest in US New statistics show the New Orleans metropolitan area suffered the nation's greatest population loss in the past five years, while cities taking in large numbers of people displaced by Hurricane Katrina showed the greatest gains.
• Ukrainian President Says He Will Not Back Down From Order to Dissolve Parliament Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko says he will not back down from his order to dissolve parliament, despite opposition from lawmakers and massive street protests.
• Uganda's Constitutional Court Strikes Down, Amends Discriminatory Legislation Uganda's Constitutional Court Thursday struck down a law that made it illegal for married women to have sexual relations outside of marriage. The court also amended another law that will see women getting more equal inheritance rights. Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from Nairobi.
• Prosecutors Request Testimony from Phil Spector's Former Assistant for Murder Trial Prosecutors in Phil Spector's murder case have asked a judge to allow testimony from a former assistant who says the famous pop music producer twice pointed a gun at her head.
• Whitney Houston Divorce Will be Final April 24 Whitney Houston's divorce from fellow singer Bobby Brown will become final April 24. Appearing April 4 in an Orange County, California courtroom, Houston was told that she will get custody of the couple's 14-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown.
• Gina Glocksen Eliminated from 'American Idol' Singing Competition Gina Glocksen got her walking papers on April 4, as fans voted her off American Idol.
• Kosovo Lawmakers Endorse UN Plan for Province Lawmakers in Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province have unanimously endorsed the United Nations plan that proposes supervised independence for the area.
• Republican Congressman Visits Syria After Controversial Pelosi Trip A Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives has held talks in Syria - one day after the Democratic leader in that chamber sparked controversy by visiting Damascus.
• Documentary 'An Unreasonable Man' Reignites Nader Controversy I rish writer George Bernard Shaw once described "an unreasonable man" as a man "who persists in trying to adapt the world to himself." Filmmakers Henriette Mantel and Steve Skrovan felt that this definition fits no one better than consumer advocate and political activist Ralph Nader. Their documentary about the man who some see as America's conscience, and at the same time as the 'spoiler' in the 2000 American presidential election, has caused as much controversy as Nader himself.
• Aid Comes Slowly to Solomon Islands Tsunami Survivors Aid workers in the Solomon Islands say survivors of this week's tsunami are facing growing health risks as a lack of resources hampers relief efforts.
• Sanctions May be Key to Political Reform in Zimbabwe At a recent meeting of the Southern African Development Community in Dar Es Salaam, SADC leaders called on western countries to lift so-called targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe. President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe blames the sanctions for the economic meltdown in Zimbabwe, an allegation rejected by the western governments. But as Tendai Maphosa reports for VOA from London, SADC leaders hope to link the ending of the sanctions to political reform in Zimbabwe.
• Negroponte to Visit Sudan, Libya on Mission to Push Darfur Peacekeeping U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte will visit Sudan, Libya and other North African countries on a nine-day mission starting next week. He'll press Sudanese authorities to accept expanded international peacekeeping in Darfur. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
• Scientists Find DNA That Determines Dog Size Scientists have discovered a genetic reason why some dogs are small and others big. They say the finding has implications beyond canine size, since the work applies to the study of other complex genetic traits, such as diseases and behaviors caused by multiple genes. VOA's David McAlary reports.
• Ecuador Court Upholds Decision to Fire 57 Lawmakers Ecuador's constitutional court has upheld a decision by the electoral tribunal to dismiss more than half of the country's legislature.
• Rose, Wetterich Lead After Masters First Round England's Justin Rose and Masters rookie Brett Wetterich share the lead after the first round of the Masters golf tournament, the first major tournament of the year.
• British Hostages: Freedom is Dream Come True The Bush administration says it played no part in winning freedom for the 15 British naval hostages from Iran and strongly criticized Tehran for using hostage taking as a tool of international diplomacy.