News for Friday, April 13, 2007
• Iraq Holds Special Parliamentary Session After Bomb Attack Iraqi lawmakers are planning to hold a special parliamentary session today Friday, calling it a defiant stance against terrorism following Thursday's green zone bomb attack.
• North Korea: Waiting Confirmation on Release of Frozen Funds North Korea says it is waiting to confirm that its money frozen in a Macau bank has been released before it starts dismantling its nuclear program.
• South Korea to Set Plan for Iraq Troop Withdrawal South Korea's Defense Ministry says the country will draw up plans by the end of June to withdraw its remaining troops from Iraq.
• Thailand Heightens Security as Country Marks Traditional New Year Thailand is on alert over the Thai New Year, or Songkran, holiday for further bombings in Bangkok with security stepped up nationwide. As Ron Corben reports from Bangkok, the usual festive atmosphere has been shrouded by the country's political uncertainties and memories of bomb blasts in December in the city that claimed three lives and injured dozens.
• President Warns Nigerians to Restrict Movements on Election Day President Olusegun Obasanjo has issued a stern warning to Nigerians to restrict their movements on Saturday, when the country will hold crucial state government elections. Sarah Simpson reports for VOA from Lagos.
• Nepal's Election Commission Not Ready For June Polls Nepal's Election Commission says it will not be ready to hold elections in June for a constituent assembly, as specified in a peace deal between the government and former Maoist rebels.
• Football: New Zealand Earns Final Berth for Women's World Cup New Zealand has earned the 16th and final berth for this year's Women's World Cup after winning the Oceania Football Confederation qualifying tournament in Papua New Guinea.
• Maradona Hospitalized Again Argentine football legend Diego Maradona is back in the hospital, two days after being released following treatment for hepatitis and other effects of alcohol abuse. His doctor said he was experiencing stomach pain.
• Bangladesh's 2 Top Political Leaders Targeted by Interim Government Another powerful former minister has been arrested in Bangladesh as the army-backed interim government intensifies a crackdown on corruption, and tries to bring the country's fractious politicians into line. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, the latest arrest comes days after the government targeted the country's two leading politicians.
• Israeli, Palestinian Leaders to Meet Sunday Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are to discuss the future of a Palestinian state and other issues at a meeting on Sunday.
• NATO Soldier Killed During Battle with Militants in Afghanistan NATO says one of its soldiers was killed during a firefight with Taleban militants in southern Afghanistan Friday.
• Pressure Grows for Wolfowitz to Leave World Bank Paul Wolfowitz's position as president of the World Bank appears shaky, as the bank's Board of Directors met overnight to discuss what to do about a favoritism scandal he is involved in.
• Officials: Major Voting Irregularities Plague East Timor Presidential Election Election officials in East Timor say there were many "inconsistencies" in the country's presidential election last Monday.
• Nigerian Observers, Electoral Body Involved in Accreditation Dispute The Transition Monitoring Group, an umbrella group for domestic election monitors in Nigeria, is accusing the country's electoral commission of denying it accreditation to observe Saturday's polls. For VOA, Gilbert da Costa reports that the deployment of election monitors is regarded as crucial to enhancing public confidence in the elections.
• Earthquake Strikes Western Mexico A strong earthquake struck the western Mexican state of Guerrero Friday morning.
• Ivory Coast President Offers Amnesty as Peace Plan Advances Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo has offered amnesty for crimes against the state, as part of efforts to boost a rapidly advancing peace plan.
• Somali Minister Rejects Casualty Report A top Somali official disputes a report that more than 1,000 people were killed during recent fighting in the capital, Mogadishu.
• UN Security Council to Send Special Mission to Kosovo The United Nations Security Council has decided to send a special mission to Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province before voting on its future status.
• IGAD Officials Urge Somali Government to Hold Reconciliation Congress Foreign ministers and other officials in the region attending a one-day meeting in Kenya's capital Friday reiterated their support for a reconciliation congress in Somalia to end more than a decade of civil war. Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from Nairobi.
• EU Urges Peaceful Solution to Turkey-Iraq Dispute The European Union has urged Turkey to peacefully resolve its differences with Iraq, following a call by Turkey's top general for a military incursion into Iraq to pursue Turkish Kurd rebels.
• Thousands Rally Against Kyrgyz President Thousands of opposition activists in Kyrgyzstan rallied for a third consecutive day to demand the resignation of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
• Sports Agent Convicted of Smuggling Cuban Ballplayers Into US A sports agent based in the U.S. state of California has been found guilty of smuggling Cuban baseball players into the United States.
• Egypt Rejects Amnesty International's Report on Torture, Abuse Egypt has rejected a report by the human rights group Amnesty International. The report accuses the country of systematic torture and abuse. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called the report "offensive" and unfair". For VOA, Leslie Boctor has more from Cairo.
• Russian Authorities File New Charges Against Berezovsky Russian authorities have filed new charges against exiled billionaire Boris Berezovsky and have again called on Britain to extradite him, after he urged an overthrow of President Vladimir Putin.
• US Terror Suspect Pleads Not Guilty A U.S. citizen has pleaded not guilty to charges he joined the al-Qaida terrorist network and conspired to bomb European targets and U.S. military targets overseas.
• US Says North Korea Missing Deadline, But Nuclear Deal Not Scuttled The United States acknowledged Friday that North Korea will miss a weekend deadline for shutting down its main nuclear facility. However, U.S. officials say the snag does not mean the collapse of the February agreement under which Pyongyang is to give up its nuclear program for energy aid and other benefits. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
• Egypt Arrests 9 Members of Muslim Brotherhood Egyptian police have arrested at least nine members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood - in the latest round of detentions targeting the group.
• Ivory Coast PM Rebel Leader Asks For Forgiveness, Vows Peace The Ivory Coast rebel leader Guillaume Soro, in his first speech as prime minister of a power-sharing government, has asked all Ivorians for forgiveness, and vowed to help them reach peace. Rebels have controlled the northern half of the country, which is the world's biggest cocoa producer, since late 2002. VOA's Nico Colombant reports from our regional bureau in Dakar.
• US Central Bank Official Sees Knowledge Economy Reshaping World At a speech before the Houston World Affairs Council Friday, The president of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Richard Fisher, hailed the effects of globalization on world economic growth, but said the worldwide nature of the economy now makes it harder to analyze. As VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Houston, Fisher said the knowledge economy is having a dramatic impact on productivity and helping keep inflation in check.
• UN Chief Sends Top Lawyer To Lebanon To Break Hariri Tribunal Impasse U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is sending his top legal adviser to Lebanon to try to break the stalemate preventing creation of a tribunal to try suspects in former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination. VOA correspondent Peter Heinlein has details from U.N. headquarters in New York.
• Multi-lateral Lenders Commend Sub-Saharan Africa for Achieving Impressive Economic Growth The International Monetary Fund and World Bank Friday had good things to say about the economic turnaround in Sub-Saharan Africa. VOA's Barry Wood reports.
• Iraq Parliament Meets After Bombing, Terror Group Claims Responsibility Iraqi lawmakers have expressed condemnation and resolve during a special session following Thursday's bombing at the parliament building.