News For Sunday Sep 7, 2008 News For Sunday Sep 7, 2008

World World

Sri Lanka air force helicopters attack rebel camp - Added 10 minutes ago

Sri Lanka's air force launched a pre-dawn attack on a Tamil separatist naval camp in the embattled north Sunday, and infantry clashes elsewhere in the region killed eight rebels and three soldiers, the military said. ...

Thai leader dismisses talk of military coup - Added 17 minutes ago

Thailand's embattled prime minister denied a rift with the army Sunday and dismissed the possibility of a coup when he travels to the U.N. General Assembly in New York later this month. Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej...

Pakistan suicide blast death toll reaches 35 - Added 35 minutes ago

The death toll in a massive suicide blast in Pakistan's militant-plagued northwest reached 35, officials said Sunday, as the country prepared for Benazir Bhutto's widower to take over as president. The attack Saturday...

Flood in China coal mine traps 23 people - Added 2 hours ago

Twenty-three people were trapped in a flooded coal mine in central China, authorities said Sunday. The flood swamped the mine in Yuzhou city of Henan province early Sunday morning, trapping 23 people, the State...

Bhutto widower elected Pakistani president - Added 3 hours ago

Benazir Bhutto's widower swept Pakistan's presidential election on Saturday, offering hope for stability to a nuclear-armed country feeling intense U.S. pressure to crack down on Islamic militants. In a grim reminder...

Haitians flee Gonaives before Ike reaches island - Added 3 hours ago

Hundreds of people fled this waterlogged city Saturday for higher ground as powerful Hurricane Ike threatened to unleash heavy rain and compound a disaster caused by a previous storm. At the local jail, emaciated...

Hurricane Ike near Turks and Caicos; Cuba braces - Added 4 hours ago

The National Hurricane Center in Miami says the large eye of an "extremely dangerous" Hurricane Ike is lurking "near or over" the Turks and Caicos islands as a fierce Category 4 storm. The center said at 11 p.m. EDT...

Rock slide in Cairo shantytown kills 24 - Added 4 hours ago

Massive boulders crashed down on a shantytown on the outskirts of Cairo Saturday, killing at least 24 people and burying many more under tons of rubble, Egyptian authorities said. Frantic residents in the sprawling...

Hurricane Ike near Turks and Caicos; Cuba braces - Added 4 hours ago

Hurricane Ike nears Turk and Caicos islands as Cuba braces for approach of 'extremely dangerous' Category 4 storm. ...

Cuba declines US disaster assessment after Gustav - Added 7 hours ago

Cuba politely declined a U.S. offer to send a disaster assessment team to the island after Hurricane Gustav, saying Saturday it would rather Washington suspend restrictions on travel and the sale of food and other...

US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 513 - Added 8 hours ago

As of Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008, at least 513 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense...

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,155 - Added 8 hours ago

As of Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008, at least 4,155 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians...

Protests greet Turkish president in Armenia - Added 10 hours ago

Thousands of Armenians lined the streets of the capital Saturday to protest the first-ever visit by a Turkish leader and to demand that Turkey acknowledge the World War I massacres of Armenian civilians as genocide. ...

Honduras issues 1,051-year sentence in massacre - Added 11 hours ago

A Honduran court has sentenced a former prison official to 1,051 years in jail for the deaths of 69 people in a 2003 prison massacre. The three-judge panel announced its largely symbolic verdict against prison official...

Swazis hold 40th birthday of king, independence - Added 12 hours ago

The Swazi king, bare-chested and wearing a traditional leopard skin loin cloth, celebrated his 40th birthday and his nation's 40th independence day in lavish style Saturday _ hosting an extravaganza that contrasted...

45-nation group OKs landmark US-India nuke deal - Added 13 hours ago

The U.S. gained key international backing Saturday for a bitterly contested plan to sell peaceful nuclear technology to India _ a South Asia powerhouse that has tested atomic weapons but has refused to sign global...

Challenges that Pakistan's new president will face - Added 13 hours ago

The following are some of the major challenges facing Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of slain ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was elected Pakistan's president by lawmakers Saturday. MILITANTS The government must...

Suicide bomber kills 6 at outdoor market in Iraq - Added 13 hours ago

A suicide car bomber blasted an outdoor market Saturday in a northern Iraqi city, killing six people and wounding 54, police and hospital authorities said. The attack in the mainly Turkomen city of Tal Afar took place...

Blast, clashes in northwest Pakistan kills 54 - Added 14 hours ago

A pickup truck packed with explosives blew up a police security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan Saturday, killing at least 30 people and injuring dozens more, the day after a foiled militant kidnap attempt led to...

In Israel, era of mass immigration ends - Added 14 hours ago

Melissa Schwab is no Zionist zealot. She's not an Orthodox Jew seeking to be nearer to God. She didn't flee anti-Semitism. So why move nearly 9,000 miles from her home in Hawaii and settle in life-on-the-edge Israel?...

Catholics assert themselves in Hanoi land dispute - Added 15 hours ago

!!-- pobj:HAN103-0904081858 -->At a vacant lot in downtown Hanoi, Catholics have gathered to worship the Virgin Mary _ and pressure the communist authorities. For the second time this year, the city's Catholics have...

Price increases push US soy beyond reach of poor - Added 17 hours ago

With the dollar a day he earns scrounging for scrap metal and paper, Jumadi can't buy his family beef or even chicken. But until now, the rail-thin scavenger could at least afford soy. His wife and two children snacked...

Mexico undergoes legal revolution - Added 17 hours ago

Mexico is in the midst of a legal revolution, and Cristal Gonzalez is on the front lines. The U.S.-trained lawyer is one of a growing number of Mexican attorneys putting judges, lawyers, investigators and clerks...

Spanish minister backtracks on migrant visa plan - Added 18 hours ago

Spain's labor minister has backtracked from a much criticized proposal to drastically slash the number of work visas available to migrant workers. Labor Minister Celestino Corbacho had said it did not make sense to...

Woman's body found in suitcase in Tokyo hotel - Added 18 hours ago

The dead body of an unidentified woman was found curled up in a suitcase in a Tokyo hotel room, a day after the foul smell of her body prompted the evacuation of dozens of guests, police said Saturday. Police are...

China, Iran discuss nuclear issue - Added 18 hours ago

Chinese President Hu Jintao urged flexibility and a peaceful resolution of Iran's nuclear ambitions in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart on Saturday, days after Tehran announced it has increased its number of...

15 killed in Afghan suicide blast, shoot-out - Added 18 hours ago

A suicide bomb attack by a fake beggar inside a regional prosecutor's office and a shoot-out between police and Taliban militants killed 15 people in Afghanistan on Saturday, officials said. The suicide bomber...

Voting extended in Angola's capital - Added 18 hours ago

Angolan election officials extended voting by a day in the capital, but said Saturday the logistical problems that marred the first balloting in 16 years were confined to Luanda. A former rebel group, National Union...

US unloads aid to Georgia, Russians eye every move - Added 18 hours ago

As nearby Russian forces watched intently, a U.S. Navy ship unloaded 17 tons of humanitarian aid to a strategic Georgian port that was devastated in last month's war between Russia and Georgia. A massive Georgian...

Troops, protesters clash in Indian Kashmir; 1 dead - Added 19 hours ago

Thousands of angry people took to the streets in Indian Kashmir to denounce the killing Saturday of a protester by government troops who fired rubber bullets and tear gas shells at Muslim demonstrators chanting...

Hamas leader to pass letter to captured Israeli - Added 19 hours ago

A Hamas official says the militant group promises to deliver a letter to captured Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit from his father. Hamas' political bureau member Mohammed Nasr told The Associated Press Saturday that the...

Nigeria's president returns home after long trip - Added 19 hours ago

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua returned to the West African country Saturday after more than two weeks in Saudi Arabia, where he reportedly spent a lengthy stint in a private hospital, officials said. Information...

Living conditions bad but Thai protesters stay put - Added 19 hours ago

Living conditions at a 12-day-old protest at Thailand's Government House were worsening, with thousands camped in mud enveloped by the stench of urine, but organizers said Saturday they will not leave until the prime...

Official: 6 killed in Iraq bomb; Chalabi uninjured - Added 20 hours ago

Ex-Iraqi deputy prime minister and former Pentagon favorite, Ahmad Chalabi, escaped a suicide car bomb attack on his convoy in Baghdad, an official in his office said Saturday. Chalabi was not wounded, but the...

Medvedev says Russia 'nation to be reckoned with' - Added 21 hours ago

President Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday the war with Georgia has shown the world that "Russia is a nation to be reckoned with" _ his most aggressive comments to date on the conflict with Russia's southern neighbor. ...

Sri Lanka says 24 rebels killed in new fighting - Added 22 hours ago

Sri Lankan soldiers captured three Tamil Tiger rebel bunkers and killed 24 guerrillas in fighting across the island's restive north, the military said Saturday. Troops captured the three bunkers and killed eight rebels...

Red Cross fears for civilians in south Philippines - Added 22 hours ago

A Red Cross official appealed Saturday to government troops and Muslim separatist rebels not to harm civilians as they battle each other in the worst fighting in the southern Philippines in five years. Dominik...

US nuclear envoy meets China in N. Korea impasse - Added 23 hours ago

The top U.S. nuclear envoy met with his Chinese counterpart Saturday as part of the latest round of talks aimed at breaking a deadlock over verification of North Korea's nuclear programs. U.S. Assistant Secretary of...

Iraq govt reacts sharply to US spying allegations - Added 1 day ago

The Iraqi government reacted sharply Friday to published allegations that the U.S. spied on Iraq's prime minister, warning that future ties with the United States could be in jeopardy if the report were true. The...

Malaysia's leader vows to foil opposition takeover - Added 1 day ago

Malaysia's prime minister has vowed to foil opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's plan to seize power, but denied trying to send government lawmakers on an overseas trip to hamper them from defecting to the opposition. ...

UN sees storms add to hard-hit Haiti's food crisis - Added 1 day ago

Flooding in Haiti from three major storms has killed scores of people and "washed away" progress toward dealing with ongoing food shortages, the top-ranking U.N. humanitarian official said Friday. "The timing of this...

Protesters paralyze Bolivian highways, airport - Added 1 day ago

Protesters stormed a small airport Friday and blocked major highways across eastern Bolivia in a standoff over central government reforms designed to empower Bolivia's indigenous majority. President Evo Morales'...

Canada imposes sanctions against Zimbabwe - Added 1 day ago

Canada on Friday joined the U.S. and European Union in imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe's authoritarian regime headed by President Robert Mugabe. Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson charged that since the African...

Russia is testing West and Crimea could be target - Added 1 day ago

A key Czech leader said Friday that a resurgent Russia has begun testing the West and warned that Ukraine's strategic Crimea peninsula could become a target. Tomas Pojar, deputy foreign minister of the Czech Republic,...

AP IMPACT: Afghans fed up with government, US - Added 1 day ago

The bearded, turbaned men gather beneath a large, leafy tree in rural eastern Nangarhar province. When Malik Mohammed speaks on their behalf, his voice is soft but his words are harsh. Mohammed makes it clear that the...

US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 513 - Added 1 day ago

As of Friday, Sept. 5, 2008, at least 513 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department....

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,154 - Added 1 day ago

As of Friday, Sept. 5, 2008, at least 4,154 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians...

Canada's prime minister to call Oct. 14 election - Added 1 day ago

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper plans to dissolve Parliament on Sunday and call early elections in hopes of strengthening his minority government's hold on power. Harper's Conservatives need to win an additional...

Purported bomber warns Denmark of more attacks - Added 1 day ago

A new al-Qaida video identifies the Saudi purportedly behind a suicide bombing at the Danish Embassy in Pakistan, and he is shown warning in a taped last testament that more attacks will punish Denmark over newspaper...

Venezuela captures politician wanted in Colombia - Added 1 day ago

Venezuelan authorities have captured a former Colombian senator wanted on charges of conspiring with paramilitaries to kidnap a reputed political rival. The former politician Alvaro Araujo Noguera was detained by...