Current World News

Rhys accused ‘confessed to friend he had shot child’

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:10:40 +0000

A TEENAGER accused of the murder of the schoolboy Rhys Jones told a fellow gang member that “he had just shot someone and that a kid had gone down”, Liverpool Crown Court has heard.

Bush Moves North Korea Off Terror List

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:10:40 +0000

WASHINGTON (Oct. 11) - The U.S. says North Korea has agreed to every nuclear inspection demand the Bush administration has sought, so the North is being dropped from a U.S. terrorism blacklist.

The agreement is intended to salvage a faltering nuclear disarmament accord in the short time before President Bush leaves office in January.

Kim Jong Il Photos

PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA - (FILE) North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Il talk smiles after signing the peace declaration during the two Korea Summit on October 4, 2007 in Pyongyang, North Korea. According to reports the North Korean leader, 66, has undergone surgery for a stroke and is gravely ill. (Photo by Pool/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kim Jong-Il

Getty Images

PYONYANG, NORTH KOREA - (FILE) North Korean leader Kim Jong-il gestures during second round talks with South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, June 14, 2000 at Baekhwawon State Guest House in Pyongyang, North Korea. According to reports the North Korean leader, 66, has undergone surgery for a stroke and is gravely ill. (Photo by Newsmakers)

Getty Images

North Korea’s nominal number two leader, Kim Yong-nam, speaks during an interview in Pyongyang September 10, 2008. North Korea on Wednesday dismissed reports that leader Kim Jong-il might be seriously ill, a development that could trigger a power shift in Asia’s only communist dynasty. REUTERS/Kyodo (NORTH KOREA). FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. JAPAN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN JAPAN.

Reuters

A South Korean woman reads newspaper reporting North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept.10, 2008. North Korea denied Wednesday that leader Kim Jong Il is seriously ill, granting a foreign news outlet rare interviews with top officials who dismissed reports questioning Kim’s health following his absence from a key ceremony. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

North Korea’s No. 2 leader and ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam gestures during an interview with Kyodo News agency in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008. Kim said there is “no problem” with the supreme leader, and senior diplomat Song Il Ho also said that reports about Kim Jong Il’s health are “not true,” according to Japan’s Kyodo News agency. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) ** JAPAN OUT MANDATORY CREDIT FOR COMMERCIAL USE ONLY IN NORTH AMERICA **

This picture released by the Korean Central News Agency on September 10, 2008 and taken on September 9 shows Kim Il Sung Square in a torchlight soiree of youth and students for “The Homeland of Songun”, held to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding the country in Pyongyang. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, who was absent from the 60th anniversary celebrations, has suffered a stroke but will recover, South Korea’s intelligence agency told parliament on September 10, according to a lawmaker who attended the closed session. RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE AFP PHOTO / KCNA VIA KOREAN NEWS SERVICE (Photo credit should read KCNA VIA KOREAN NEWS SERVICE/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said at a news conference Saturday that the inspection deal was reached after negotiations between U.S. and North Korean officials.

North Korea will allow atomic experts to take samples and conduct forensic tests at all of its declared nuclear facilities and undeclared sites, on mutual consent. The North will permit experts to verify it has told the truth about transfers of nuclear technology and an alleged uranium program.

“Every element that we sought in the verification discussions is part of this package,” said one official.

Removing North Korea from the blacklist was immediately criticized by conservatives. The broader accord had been threatened by North Korea’s refusal to accept such nuclear inspections because Washington had refused to drop the North from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

That designation — now shared only by Cuba, Iran, Syria and Sudan — carries severe penalties, but U.S. officials said North Korea would not see any immediate benefit because it is punished penalized under other programs.

Still, critics jumped on the move saying it rewards the North for bad behavior and sends a bad signal to other U.S. adversaries, notably Iran. U.S. officials stressed that the North would be placed back on the list if it fails to comply with the plan to verify it has told the truth about its nuclear activities.

The U.S. action came as North Korea has moved to restart a disabled nuclear reactor and takes other provocative steps, including expelling U.N. inspectors and test-firing missiles. Those steps in recent weeks have heightened tensions in the region and place the shaky disarmament deal in peril.

It also followed days of intense internal debate in Washington and consultations with U.S. negotiating partners China, South Korea, Russia and Japan. Tokyo had balked at the move because North Korea has not resolved issues related to its abduction of Japanese citizens.

The decision had been in the works since chief U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill returned from a trip to North Korea late last week. On his visit, he proposed a face-saving compromise under which the North would accept the verification plan after the delisting was announced. Previously, the U.S. had insisted that the North agree to the deal first.

Hill, a lightning rod for conservative hawks, was not expected to attend the State Department announcement. Critics pilloried it in part because it addresses only the North’s plutonium program and does not deal with its involvement in spreading nuclear weapons technology or alleged uranium enrichment activities.

“With today’s action, the administration has given up a critical instrument of leverage,” said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “By rewarding North Korea before the regime has carried out its commitments, we are encouraging this regime to continue its illicit nuclear program and violate its pledge to no longer provide nuclear assistance to extremist regimes.”

“We are also sending a strong message to other rogue nations, such as Iran and Syria, that we will not hold them to their commitments, even as we give in to their demands,” she said.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain said he would not support the step unless it is clear North Korea will accept intrusive inspections of its nuclear sites.

“I expect the administration to explain exactly how this new verification agreement advances American interests and those of our allies before I will be able to support any decision to remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism,” he said in a statement late Friday.

In addition, he expressed concern that U.S. allies in Asia, particularly Japan, had not been properly consulted.

“I am also concerned that this latest agreement appears to have been reached between Washington and Pyongyang and only then discussed with our Asian allies in an effort to garner their support,” he said.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the decision had been discussed with all the U.S. partners in the six-nation talks — China, Japan, Russia and South Korea — and that a consensus had been reached. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke with her foreign minister colleagues from the four countries on Friday, he said.

At issue was whether arrangement worked out by Hill and the North Koreans were acceptable to the others.

Japan had been resistant, arguing that North Korea should not be taken off the list until the cases of Japanese citizens abducted by Pyongyang in the 1970s and 1980s are resolved.

North Korea, along with Iran and Iraq, was branded as part of an “axis of evil” by Bush after the Sept. 11 attacks.

‘We must stand together’: Bush warns countries not to turn against each other as they battle to ease the financial crisis

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:10:20 +0000

President Bush today warned countries against acting alone to try and ease the financial crisis after a catastrophic week of nosediving shares that saw £250billion wiped off the Stock Market.

Palin abused power, inquiry finds

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:10:20 +0000

Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, the chief investigator of an Alaska legislative panel concluded today.

France's Worst Serial Killers?

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:10:40 +0000

The trial of Michel Fourniret — who reportedly enlisted his wife’s help to seize virgin girls to rape and kill — began March 27, 2008, with Fourniet refusing to speak unless court went into closed session and refusing to let the press take his photograph. The Times of London reported the gory details:

As Michel Fourniret and Monique Olivier sat in a glass-fronted dock on the opening day of their trial, jurors were told chilling details of the grey-haired couple alleged to be among the most horrific criminals in the history of France. Using an image of happily-married respectability, Olivier would gain the confidence of the girls and women they had identified as prey.

After they had been bound, gagged and sometimes drugged by her husband, she would examine them to check they were the virgins he desired.

She would then hand them over to Fourniret ‘in the sole aim of allowing him to fulfil his fantasies,’ according to a report read out in the court in Charleville-Mézières, in the Franco-Belgian border region where they once lived. He would assault his victims ‘beautiful little subjects’ was how he referred to them before shooting or strangling them, the report by investigating magistrates said.

One, a ’serious, prudent and intelligent’ 20-year-old student, had air injected into her veins to provoke a heart attack, the magistrates said.

Fourniret, 65, is on trial charged with the murder of seven girls and women aged between 12 and 21 in France and Belgium between 1987 and 2001. He has confessed to the crimes.

Olivier, 59, who is charged with one count of murder and complicity in four other killings, has admitted helping her husband but has sought to minimise her role with a claim that she was in his psychological grip.”

The “Ogre of the Ardennes” and his wife were expected to also stand trial in the future for other slayings in which they are suspects; this trial, though, was expected to take about two months. Fourniret apparently expected to get life in prison, but Olivier was reportedly hoping for leniency on a platform of being the manipulated wife.

Fourniret was caught in 2003, when a Belgian would-be victim, 13, broke free after being kidnapped. She reportedly told police that Fourniret bragged he was “far better” than Belgian serial killer Marc Dutroux.

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Abdullah's Interfaith Effort

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:10:20 +0000

Saudi Arabia’s king called for greater dialogue and openness between the world’s monotheistic religions on March 24, 2008. In the face of rising tensions over Mohammed cartoons, al-Qaida claiming Pope Benedict XVI is leading a crusade, and a stalled Middle East peace process, King Abdullah’s outreach took on extra weight. From the International Herald Tribune:

Abdullah’s call is significant and could add weight to sporadic efforts at dialogue among religious leaders in recent years. The Saudi monarch is the custodian of Islam’s two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina, a position that lends his words special importance and influence among many Muslims. He said Saudi Arabia’s top clerics have given him the green light to the idea crucial backing in a society which expects decisions taken by its rulers to adhere to Islam’s tenets.

For some, it also raised the possibility that a religious dialogue could have a political impact in the Middle East, easing tensions between Arabs and Israelis in a way that years of off-and-on negotiations and political conferences have failed to do.

‘Religion is all too often the problem, so it has to also be the solution, or at least part of the solution and I think that the tragedy of the political initiatives to bring peace has been the failure to include the religious dimension,’ Rabbi David Rosen, head of inter-religious relations at the American Jewish Committee and former chief rabbi of Ireland, said, adding that he was ‘delighted’ by Abdullah’s call.

Abdullah framed his appeal in strictly religious and ethical terms, aimed at addressing the weakening of the family, increasing atheism and ‘a lack of ethics, loyalty, and sincerity for our religions and humanity.’

A Saudi official with knowledge of the proposal said it was not intended to have a regional political angle, saying ‘the initiative is not aimed at the Middle East but at the whole world. It’s a global initiative.’ The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the proposal.”

Saudi Arabia continually is under heavy criticism for not respecting the rights of other religions, so it’s debatable whether the move was window dressing or that anything substantial would come out of talks. After all, the parties that draw the Mideast conflict along religious lines are unlikely to abandon their faith-based positions among some sheikh moderators.

The talks, if they come off as the king seems to intend, are also likely to increase the wrath of al-Qaida — which has recruited many members from Saudi Arabia, but is a group branded “deviants” by the House of Saud.

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Poll of the Polls of Polls

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:10:20 +0000

I’m looking at four sites that regularly update a “poll
of polls,” showing the average results of what the site administrators
deem to be all the most relevant and credible national public opinion
surveys. Here’s a look at today’s report compared to the reports I noted
on Tuesday and Thursday, including my bonus feature a poll of the
polls of polls.

Mugabe Move Threatens Power Deal

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 08:10:20 +0000

The power-sharing being brokered in Zimbabwe is under threat after Robert Mugabe allocated control of three major arms of the government to his ruling Zanu-PF party.

The opposition MDC have accused Mugabe of acting unilaterally

The president handed control of defence, home affairs and finance to Zanu-PF, excluding the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

The MDC rejected the move, accusing Mr Mugabe of acting unilaterally and saying it jeopardised the agreement to govern jointly that was struck last month.

It follows a meeting between the two leaders during which they agreed to call back talks facilitator South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki.

Talks have been deadlocked for nearly a month over which cabinet posts should go to whom in a new unity government.

The MDC has argued it should take the lion’s share of power as it won most votes in a first round of elections in March.

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the second round after mounting violence against his supporters.

The MDC said in a statement on Friday that Zanu-PF was trying to make it a “bystander” in the new cabinet.

Once hailed as a model economy and a regional breadbasket, Zimbabwe’s fortunes have nosedived since 2000 when Mr Mugabe seized white-owned farms and handed them over to landless black people, many of whom had no farming skills.

But the government blames the country’s economic woes on sanctions imposed by Britain and its allies after he allegedly rigged his 2002 re-election.

The southern African nation is suffering from foreign exchange, fuel and food shortages.

Zimbabwe’s inflation rate soared to 231,000,000% in July, the world’s highest.

Reynolds to run marathon for father

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 07:10:20 +0000

Ryan Reynolds is to run the New York Marathon to raise money for Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson’s Disease charity Team Fox.

The actor will take part in the annual event as a tribute to his father Jim, who has battled the disease for the past 15 years.

In a letter to The Huffington Post, Reynolds wrote: “I am not a runner. I am a running joke. Waking up at 4.30am and jogging anywhere from 11 to 23 miles has been nothing short of horrifying.

“But this is on behalf of my father, Jim Reynolds, who has spent the last 15 years in a life or death struggle with Parkinson’s Disease.”

The New York Marathon takes place on November 2.

Reynolds married Scarlett Johansson in a small ceremony in Canada last month.

Nato to tackle Afghan drug lords

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 06:10:40 +0000

Nato forces in Afghanistan will target Afghan drug lords and opium laboratories in an attempt to stop the booming drugs trade financing Taliban insurgents, it has been agreed .

BOMB KILLS IRAQ PATROL CHIEF

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:10:20 +0000

Reuters

Posted: 4:00 am
October 10, 2008

BAGHDAD - The leader of a US-backed neighborhood police unit was killed, along with his wife and two children, by a roadside bomb yesterday, authorities said.

The explosion in Udhaim, 60 miles north of Baghdad, took the lives of Khdaier Abbas Azzawi, his wife, daughter and son, and wounded eight women, all relatives traveling in the same minibus.

Azzawi co-led a local Awakening Council, one of the neighborhood guard units that man checkpoints and provide security across Iraq. The councils, hailed by the United States as partially responsible for the recent decline in violence, began in 2006 in the western Anbar province when Sunnis, fed up with al Qaeda violence, formed their own patrols.

Anbar’s success gave rise to similar groups across Iraq, all of them funded by the United States.

The Iraqi government assumed control of the Baghdad units this month and expects to do the same in other areas in the future.

But some within Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s Shiite-led government see the largely Sunni groups, comprising many former insurgents, as threats, and many Awakening members have been targeted for arrest or attack in recent months.

Asking Couric the questions she asked Palin (VIDEO)

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:10:40 +0000

Since we can’t get Sarah Palin to speak, the best we could dig up is a bit about the videostalkers at TMZ getting Katie Couric to answer some of the same questions she asked Palin. It’s a quick yuk:

The financial crisis: China’s role - and responsibilities?

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 03:10:40 +0000

The superpower of the East (ouch - they really don’t like the sound of that phrase in Washington!) is so big and so rich that it’s just about everywhere nowadays. As the cash-strapped U.S. government’s second-largest creditor after Japan, it would seem that China would or should have some cards to play in the completely unpredictable game and drama of the still-unfolding, banking-and-credit-crunch crisis that started in the U.S. and has spread and spread and spread around the world. Now, apparently, it may be ready to play some of them.

For Homeowners, Time to Be Cautious but Proactive

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:10:00 +0000

WASHINGTON — There is something surreal about listening to a 35-year-old New York financial adviser describe his inability to put his own financial house in order.

In Compromise, NATO to Target Taliban’s Heroin Networks

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:10:20 +0000

BUDAPEST, Oct. 10 — NATO defense ministers reached a compromise agreement Friday that allows forces operating in Afghanistan to target heroin networks funding the Taliban. The deal, viewed by the Pentagon as critical to beating back a resurgent Taliban, essentially allows some members of the military alliance to opt out of counternarcotics operations.

Asian, European Stocks Plummet

admin — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:10:20 +0000

TOKYO, Sept. 10 — Punctuating its worst week in history, Japan’s main stock index plummeted nearly 10 percent Friday, as a mid-size Japanese life insurance company went bankrupt and fear-driven selling drove markets down across Asia.

Former Finnish President Wins Nobel Peace Prize

admin — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:10:40 +0000

PARIS, Oct. 10 — Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president who has been a tireless mediator in conflicts around the world for more than three decades, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday and expressed hope that the prize will help him raise funds necessary for further peacemaking in hotspots to come.

Blast Leaves Iraqi Lawmaker Dead

admin — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:10:40 +0000

BAGHDAD, Oct. 9 — A senior lawmaker loyal to anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was fatally wounded Thursday morning in a roadside bombing in Baghdad, raising concerns about the potential for violence ahead of provincial elections expected early next year.

Pakistanis Repudiate Violence

admin — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:10:20 +0000

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 9 — The television advertisement that debuted this week starts with a simple scene: A mother is waiting on a street corner for her child to get out of school. It looks like any other sunny day in any one of Pakistan’s major cities.

Selling frenzy persists

admin — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:10:20 +0000

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global stocks dove head first to five-year lows on Friday at the end of a brutal week as even the traditional safe-havens of gold and government bonds suffered as fear-stricken investors sought refuge in cash.