News For Friday Aug 29, 2008 News For Friday Aug 29, 2008

World World

Probe reveals oxygen tank burst on Qantas flight - Added 44 minutes ago

An oxygen tank exploded and blew a car-sized hole in a Qantas jet last month, air safety officials said Friday, but investigators appear to be no closer to figuring out why. The release of the interim report by Julian...

Thai protesters push police off premier's compound - Added 1 hour ago

Thai anti-government protesters occupying the grounds of the prime minister's office forced several hundred policemen off the compound early Friday and promised more action in their bid to oust the leader. Police...

Bombing of Pakistani government bus kills 8 - Added 1 hour ago

A surge of violence continued unabated in Pakistan's tribal border region, with a car bomb Thursday blasting a bus filled with Pakistani police and government workers off a bridge and killing eight people aboard. That...

2 brothers smothered by grain on Canadian farm - Added 2 hours ago

Two young brothers died when they were sucked beneath a load of grain that was being unloaded from a trailer western Canada, police said Thursday. The boys, ages 5 and 7, were on top of a trailer carrying grain that...

Putin: US orchestrated conflict in Georgia - Added 3 hours ago

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused the United States on Thursday of instigating the fighting in Georgia and said he suspects a connection to the U.S. presidential campaign _ a contention the White House...

Tunisian courts convicts 19 Islamic militants - Added 4 hours ago

A Tunisian court convicted 19 Islamic militants on charges linked to plots to carry out attacks in the north African country or send fighters to Iraq, a defense lawyer said Thursday. Thirteen suspects were handed...

Ex-generals convicted of killing Argentine senator - Added 4 hours ago

An Argentine court convicted two former generals on Thursday for the murder of a senator during the country's seven-year military dictatorship and sentenced them to life in prison. Retired Gens. Antonio Bussi and...

Boats with Palestinians defy Israeli Gaza blockade - Added 4 hours ago

Two boatloads of international activists who defied Israel's blockade of Gaza set sail for Cyprus on Thursday, carrying seven Gaza Palestinians who had been confined to the territory. Israel's navy made no effort to...

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,150 - Added 5 hours ago

As of Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008, at least 4,150 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...

Mexican Supreme Court upholds legal abortion - Added 5 hours ago

Mexico's Supreme Court upheld the capital's abortion law Thursday, setting a precedent for the rest of the country that could inspire other Latin American cities. Mexico City is one of the few places in Latin America...

Iran, Nigeria to share peaceful nuclear technology - Added 6 hours ago

An Iranian trade delegation announced an agreement Thursday for Iran to share peaceful nuclear technology with Nigeria, to help Africa's biggest oil producer bolster its woeful electricity-generation capacity. ...

Russia criticized at UN over S. Ossetia, Abkhazia - Added 7 hours ago

Georgia and its backers in the U.N. Security Council on Thursday decried Russia's recognition of two breakaway provinces. Russia responded by accusing its critics of bias and hypocrisy in an emergency meeting that...

Afghans say deadly US raid based on misleading tip - Added 9 hours ago

Afghan officials said Thursday that a deadly U.S.-led special forces raid on a remote western village last week was based on misleading information provided by a rival clan. It was the latest twist in a tangled debate...

Italy museum defies pope anger over crucified frog - Added 9 hours ago

An art museum in northern Italy said Thursday it will continue displaying a sculpture portraying a green frog nailed to a cross that has angered Pope Benedict XVI and local officials. The board of the foundation of the...

Putin:19 US poultry producers barred from Russia - Added 10 hours ago

Vladimir Putin says 19 U.S. poultry producers will be barred from exporting their products to Russia. The former president of Russia and now the country's prime minister says the move has nothing to do with tension...

Senior Iraqi official suspected of militia links - Added 10 hours ago

A senior official in Nouri al-Maliki's government was in custody Thursday suspected of ties to Iranian-backed Shiite militias and plotting a June bombing that killed 10 people, including four Americans, Iraqi...

Congo rebels, army clash near Congo gorilla park - Added 10 hours ago

Rebels and the army fought one of their fiercest battles in eastern Congo this year on Thursday, exchanging machine-gun and mortar fire all day outside a national park that is home to some of the world's last mountain...

UK: 3 men charged with terror offenses - Added 11 hours ago

Three British men questioned about an online threat to assassinate Prime Minister Gordon Brown have been charged with a range of terror offenses, police said Thursday. One of the men, 22-year-old Ishaq Kanmi, is...

Pakistan's next president: Mr. 10 Percent? - Added 11 hours ago

Asif Ali Zardari, the man poised to become Pakistan's next president, is still known as "Mr. 10 Percent" because of corruption allegations. Now his own lawyers say he may have suffered from mental health problems within...

After 1,500 years, pagans plan Acropolis prayer - Added 11 hours ago

A small group of pagans pledged Thursday to hold a protest prayer among the ruined Acropolis temples, more than 1,500 years after Christians stamped out worship of the ancient Greek gods. Group spokeswoman Doretta...

US plans to close 15 Army facilities in Germany - Added 11 hours ago

The U.S. Department of Defense says the United States plans to cease operations at 15 minor Army facilities in Germany amid a wider effort to realign the military's overseas structure. A statement Thursday says the...

Vietnamese Catholics complain of police violence - Added 11 hours ago

Police used stun guns and beat parishioners protesting the arrest of fellow church members who have demanded the return of land they say was taken by Vietnam's communist government in the early 1960s, a Catholic priest...

Oil slick kills more than 200 penguins in Brazil - Added 11 hours ago

More than 200 oil-slicked penguins have washed up dead on the beaches of a popular Brazilian resort, and officials say they are searching for a cause. Authorities said they have counted nearly 200 dead penguins found...

Abbas: no to settlement of refugees in Lebanon - Added 11 hours ago

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday rejected the idea that Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon might be forced to stay there permanently, saying they should have the right to return home. About 400,000...

Bombing of Pakistani government bus kills 8 - Added 12 hours ago

A surge of violence continued unabated in Pakistan's tribal border region Thursday, with a car bomb blasting a bus filled with Pakistani police and government workers off a bridge and killing eight people aboard. More...

70 African migrants missing in Mediterranean - Added 12 hours ago

A harrowing boat journey across the Mediterranean left some 70 African migrants missing after rough seas capsized the craft, the U.N. refugee agency said Thursday, calling on Malta to release the eight survivors from...

Court allows extradition of hacker to US - Added 13 hours ago

The European Court of Human Rights has cleared the way for the extradition of a British man who allegedly hacked into secret U.S. military computers, his lawyer said Thursday. The court refused to delay Gary McKinnon's...

Dalai Lama admitted to hospital in India for tests - Added 13 hours ago

The Dalai Lama was admitted to a hospital in this western Indian city on Thursday to undergo tests for abdominal discomfort, his spokesman said. "Since tests haven't begun yet, we don't know what the ailment is,"...

2 Chinese policemen killed, 7 wounded in Xinjiang - Added 13 hours ago

Chinese police clashed with members of the Muslim Uighur ethnic minority in the far western region of Xinjiang, authorities and an activist said Thursday, the first reported outbreak of violence in the area since two...

AP interview: prosecutor expects Mladic's arrest - Added 14 hours ago

Serbia's war crimes prosecutor said Thursday he expects the quick arrest of top war crimes fugitive Gen. Ratko Mladic, but predicted that the wartime Bosnian Serb military commander is not hiding in disguise like...

Mideast running on different clocks at Ramadan - Added 14 hours ago

The start of the holy month of Ramadan next week is causing clock confusion in the Middle East. Egypt and the Palestinians are falling back an hour far earlier than usual, trying to reduce daylight hours for Muslims...

US Army hearing on death of 4 Iraqis ends - Added 14 hours ago

Defense lawyers for two U.S. soldiers told a military court Thursday that their clients did not participate in the killings of four Iraqis last year and had little, if any, knowledge of them. But a U.S. Army prosecutor...

Strong quake hits off British Columbia coast - Added 14 hours ago

A strong earthquake struck off Canada's west coast early Thursday near Vancouver Island. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries. The magnitude-6.1 quake hit at 5:37 a.m. Its epicenter was 97 miles...

Duke offers British public a bargain masterpiece - Added 14 hours ago

A British aristocrat is offering two public art galleries a 50 million-pound (US$92 million) bargain _ a Renaissance painting by the Italian artist Titian that has been on display in Britain for 200 years but now could...

Plan aims to save Britain's red phone booths - Added 14 hours ago

A British politician says he has won a victory for an endangered icon _ the red telephone booth. Thousands of the kiosks have been removed in recent years as mobile telephones have cut into payphone use. Conservative...

Chinese agencies embezzled $660 million in 2007 - Added 15 hours ago

Chinese government auditors have uncovered the misuse of millions of dollars in disaster assistance as part of an embezzlement probe spanning 10 central government departments, state media reported Thursday. A total of...

China's tallest building to open in Shanghai - Added 15 hours ago

China's tallest building, the 101-story Shanghai World Financial Center, will open to the public on Saturday, 14 years after its developer began the project. Japanese property tycoon Minoru Mori expressed relief...

UN official freed 2 months after Somalia abduction - Added 15 hours ago

The head of the U.N. refugee agency's office in Somalia, kidnapped more than two months ago from his home and shot in the neck and knee, said Thursday he had been freed by his abductors. Hassan Mohamed Ali, head of the...

Kashmir police kill suspected rebels in shootout - Added 16 hours ago

Government forces ended a hostage crisis early Thursday in the mainly Hindu city of Jammu in Indian Kashmir when they killed the last of three rebels believed to have seized eight people, army officials said. The...

Anwar, back in Malaysia parliament, stages walkout - Added 16 hours ago

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim rejoined Malaysia's Parliament on Thursday, resurrecting his mission to become prime minister a decade after he was charged with sodomy and his career written off. Hours after he was...

Iraqi forces starting to lead but need US aid - Added 18 hours ago

The Iraqi battalion leader huddled over the map with his American advisers, showing them how he planned to surround a Sunni enclave where al-Qaida militants were believed hiding. The Americans nodded in approval and...

Indian political party campaigns against English - Added 18 hours ago

A regional political party has threatened to attack stores in Mumbai that place English-language signs more prominently than ones in the local Marathi language or refuse to use Marathi signs. The threats, which police...

Georgia: S. Ossetia ethnic cleansing nearly done - Added 18 hours ago

Georgia's foreign minister says the ethnic cleansing of Georgians from the separatist province of South Ossetia has nearly been completed. Eka Tkeshelashvili says Georgians have been cleared from their homes across the...

UN criticizes Afghan decision to free rapists - Added 18 hours ago

The United Nations has criticized Afghanistan's government for freeing two men convicted of raping a woman in northern Afghanistan after they served only a portion of their 11-year sentences. The release of the men...

Lebanese officer dies in helicopter attack - Added 19 hours ago

Attackers opened fire on a military helicopter Thursday, killing a Lebanese army officer and forcing the craft to make an emergency landing, a senior security official said. Details about the incident were sketchy, but...

Tibetans continue protests against China in Nepal - Added 19 hours ago

Nepalese police detained dozens of Tibetan exiles protesting in front of the Chinese diplomatic mission in Katmandu on Thursday. Police official Ramesh Thapa said more than 120 Tibetans were detained because they were...

Malaysia's Anwar stages Parliament walkout protest - Added 19 hours ago

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has staged a walkout in Parliament with scores of other lawmakers. The walkout took place amid a debate on a proposed law that would make it mandatory for criminal suspects to provide...

Russia frees Georgian soldiers, tensions persist - Added 20 hours ago

Russian forces have turned over 12 Georgian soldiers at the border of separatist Abkhazia now under Russian control. The release along the Inguri River that separates Abkhazia from Georgia proper was a small gesture of...

Russia seeks support from eastern neighbors - Added 20 hours ago

Russia's president appealed to the leaders of China and four Central Asian countries for support Thursday amid the fallout over Moscow's invasion of Georgia and its recognition of the country's separatist regions. ...

9 killed in bomb blast in northwestern Pakistan - Added 20 hours ago

Suspected militants bombed a bus carrying prisoners in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least nine people as fighting between security forces and extremists flared across the country's tribal belt. The...