World Fwire News - Page 16

Two years after Osama was hunted, media still hounds neighbours

What the government intends to do with bin Laden's compound is still not known.

FBI says lab tests link Mississippi man to ricin letters

JACKSON, Mississippi (Reuters) - A dust mask and other items seized from the martial arts studio of a Mississippi man charged with sending poison-laced letters to President Barack Obama and two other public officials tested positive for ricin, according to a court document released on Tuesday. Records seized by the FBI also showed that Tupelo martial arts instructor Everett Dutschke ordered castor bean seeds, used to make ricin, from eBay ( EBAY.O ), FBI Special Agent Stephen Thomason said in an eight-page affidavit. Dutschke, who is being held in jail without bond, is expected to appear in U.S

Nepal EC begins registering political parties for polls

The Election Commission in Nepal has started registering political parties for the upcoming Constituent Assembly elections.

Fidel Castro's son wins Montecristo Cup golf tournament

The tournament, held last weekend, featured over 100 players from 15 countries, including the US, Canada, Britain and Spain.

Syria says prime minister survives Damascus bomb attack

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halki survived a bomb attack on his convoy in Damascus on Monday, state media and activists said, as rebels struck in the heart of President Bashar al-Assad's capital.

Mandela in 'good shape': South Africa Pres

South Africa's former President Nelson Mandela is in "good shape" after his recent hospitalisation, the ruling ANC said today, after President Jacob Zuma visited the democracy icon.

Algerian president in France for medical tests after minor stroke

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been transferred to France for further medical tests after suffering a minor stroke on Saturday, Algeria's official news agency said. The APS agency said late on Saturday that Bouteflika, 76, was in Paris at the recommendation of his doctors.

Obama pokes fun at critics, media at annual press dinner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama poked fun at the media, his critics and himself on Saturday at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, a star-filled event where journalists and celebrities mixed with the Washington elite.

The Pyongyang power couple behind dynastic dictator Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) - Kim Kyong-hui has battled alcoholism and the killing of her lover to stand alongside her nephew, North Korea's youthful leader Kim Jong-un, as a reminder that he is the true heir of the dynasty's blood-line.

Syria rebels launch attack in central Hama after months of calm

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Heavy clashes erupted for the first time in months in Syria's central city of Hama on Thursday as rebels tried to relieve pressure on comrades under attack from President Bashar al-Assad's forces elsewhere, activists said.

Hubble telescope spies incoming Comet ISON

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A recently discovered comet, dazzlingly bright even though it is still almost as far away as Jupiter, is racing toward a November rendezvous with the sun, officials said on Tuesday. If it survives the encounter - and that's a big if - the comet may be visible even in daylight in earth's skies at the end of the year.

China bird flu death toll rises to 22

BEIJING (Reuters) - An elderly man in eastern China died of bird flu on Tuesday, bringing the death toll from a strain that recently emerged in humans to 22, a provincial health agency reported. The 86-year-old man died after having been diagnosed with the H7N9 virus on April 17, the Zhejiang Health Bureau said on its website

At least 23 killed as Iraqi forces raid Sunni camp

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 23 people were killed when Iraqi security forces stormed a Sunni Muslim protest camp near Kirkuk on Tuesday, triggering a gun battle between troops and protesters and intensifying the country's sectarian tensions. The clashes were the worst since thousands of Sunni Muslims started staging protests in December to demand an end to perceived marginalisation of their sect by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government.

Utah elementary school evacuated; suspicious device found

REUTERS - A suburban Utah elementary school was evacuated on Monday and a suspicious device found on the campus, the school said on its website. Mountain View Elementary School in Layton, south of Ogden, said all students were safely evacuated but would not be returning on Monday. Parents were asked to pick up their children at a nearby Mormon church as soon as possible.

Police kill gunman suspected of slaying 4 at Seattle-area apartments

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A gunman suspected of slaying his girlfriend in a Seattle-area apartment they shared before killing a neighbor and two other men was himself shot to death by police officers called to the scene, authorities said on Monday. The deadly burst of gun violence unfolded Sunday night at the Pinewood Village Apartments in the small Puget Sound city of Federal Way, about 20 miles south of Seattle, but investigators have yet to determine what sparked the slayings, Police Chief Brian Wilson said.

Heavy fighting in northeast Nigeria, death toll unclear

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian authorities said on Monday there had been heavy fighting between security forces and Islamist militants in a remote part of the northeast, but there was no confirmation of reports from a local official that 185 people had been killed. Fighting erupted on Thursday in Baga, a fishing town in Borno state on the shores of Lake Chad, by the Chadian border -- an area officials say is a stronghold for Islamist fighters and a smuggling point for weapons from across the Sahara. Defence spokesman Brigadier General Chris Olukolade said Nigerian forces had exchanged fire with militants, killing 25 of them, while only one soldier was killed.

Japan nationalists close to islands disputed by China

EAST CHINA SEA (Reuters) - A flotilla of boats carrying more than 80 Japanese nationalists arrived on Tuesday in waters near disputed islands at the centre of tensions between China and Japan, risking further straining Tokyo's fraught relations with its Asian neighbours. The boats were shadowed by at least 10 Japanese Coast Guard vessels, while three Chinese government surveillance ships moved near the islands, according to the JCG

Utah elementary school evacuated after pipe bomb found

REUTERS - Nearly 800 students and teachers were evacuated from a suburban Utah elementary school on Monday after a custodian found a pipe bomb on the roof, a school official said. No one was injured and police detonated the bomb using a high-pressure water cannon at Mountain View Elementary School in Layton, about 25 miles (40 km) north of Salt Lake City, said school district spokesman Christopher Williams.

US soldier pleads guilty to murdering fellow servicemen in Iraq

TACOMA, Washington (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier pleaded guilty on Monday to murder for shooting dead five fellow servicemen at a military counseling center in Iraq, a plea made in a deal with military prosecutors to avoid the death penalty

Indian woman suffers burn injuries in Bahrain

An Indian woman suffered severe burn injuries during a firebomb attack in Bahrain and is said to be in stable condition, according to a media report on Monday.

UAE says it has arrested plotters linked to al Qaeda

DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates said on Thursday it had arrested a seven-member cell linked to al Qaeda that was planning attacks on the Gulf oil and business hub, the second time this year it has alleged a concrete threat from the militant group. The UAE, an important military, counter-terrorism and business partner of the West, said the seven were Arab nationals who had been helping al Qaeda with recruitment, financing and logistical support. "The cell was planning actions to target the country's security and the safety of its citizens and residents, and was carrying out recruitment, and promoting the actions of al Qaeda," WAM said

FBI arrests Mississippi man in ricin letter case

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI arrested a Mississippi man on Wednesday in connection with letters sent to President Barack Obama and two other officials that are believed to have contained the deadly poison ricin, the U.S. Justice Department said. Paul Kevin Curtis was arrested at his home in Corinth, Mississippi, and is "believed to be responsible for the mailings of the three letters sent through the U.S

Elvis impersonator charged over poison letter sent to Obama

REUTERS - Federal prosecutors filed criminal charges on Thursday against a Mississippi man, who worked as an Elvis impersonator, for threatening to harm President Barack Obama by sending him a letter that initially tested positive for the deadly poison ricin.

Hundreds of injuries likely from Texas fertilizer plant blast - official

REUTERS - Hundreds of people were likely injured on Wednesday in an explosion at a fertilizer plant, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety told Reuters. The spokesman, D.L.

Los Angeles college campus evacuated after bomb threat

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Los Angeles college campus was evacuated on Thursday after the university received a telephoned bomb threat, but no explosives were found during a search of the campus, police said.

Volcanic Japanese island hit by series of quakes

A strong earthquake and about 20 smaller temblors have struck a small volcanic island south of Tokyo, but there is no danger of a tsunami and no injuries have been reported.

After Lamborghini, Dubai cops to have Ferrari cars

Cash-rich Dubai police on Wednesday unveiled its latest acquisition, a Ferrari luxury sports car, to enhance its patrolling abilities, just a week after adding Lamborghini to its fleet of vehicles.

Four killed in Pakistan blast targeting PML-N leader

Four persons were killed and about 30 injured when PML-N leader Sanaullah Zehri's motorcade was targeted with a bomb in the restive Balochistan province of southwest Pakistan on Tuesday, adding to concerns about security for next month's general election.

Coal and cattle lead business damage to nature: study

Some experts questioned the assumptions in the report, for instance that a tonne of carbon dioxide emissions costs $106, based on data in a 2006 study.