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New laws bar Suu Kyi from election - Financial Times

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:41:00 -0500

Financial Times: Burma has published new election laws that will bar Aung San Suu Kyi, the imprisoned opposition leader and Nobel laureate, from standing in polls this year or even continuing as a member of the party she leads. The move will put advocates of engagement with Burma, including the Obama administration, in a difficult position. Those arguing for a new approach to Burma say that years of economic sanctions have been unproductive and allowed China to gain undue influence. Advocates have looked for hopeful signs in Burma’s plan to return later this year to at least nominal civilian rule with the first legislative elections in two decades. The ruling junta has said that it adopted five new electoral laws this week, but has so far released details on only two. The new laws put the National League for Democracy, Ms Suu Kyi’s party, in an awkward position.

GRN correspondents Andrew Chant and Andrew Drummond are in Bangkok and are available to comment on this story.

Israel sued over death of activist Rachel Corrie - BBC

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:38:00 -0500

BBC: A court case brought by the family of Rachel Corrie, a US protester killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in 2003, has begun in Israel. The civil action against the Israeli defence ministry will decide whether damages should be paid for her death in Gaza at the age of 23.

Corrie and other activists had been trying to stop the demolition of Palestinian homes. Her family has maintained that a full investigation was never carried out. Corrie's writings - published posthumously - and a play about her life made her a symbol of the international campaign on behalf of Palestinians. About 20 protesters held signs in her memory outside the court in Haifa, where her family are suing for more than US$300,000 in damages.

The Israeli army concluded in an investigation in 2003 that its forces were not to blame for Corrie's death. It says that on the day she died, bulldozers had been flattening ground in the Rafah refugee camp in an attempt to stop suicide bombers reaching Jewish targets.

She was hidden behind an earthwork and the military bulldozer driver was not aware she was there and the activists should not have been in a closed military zone, the military said.

GRN correspondent Orly Halpern is in Jerusalem and is available for coverage.

Bank sued for seizing Pa. woman's home and parrot - AP

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:33:00 -0500

Bank of America has apologized to a Pittsburgh-area woman after one of its contractors allegedly trashed her house and took her parrot while wrongly repossessing her home.Forty-six-year-old Angela Iannelli sued the bank Monday. She claims her mortgage was up-to-date when one of the banking giant's contractors damaged furniture, took her pet parrot, Luke, and padlocked her Allison Park door in October. In a statement, the bank says it "sincerely apologizes" and has tried for months to resolve the issue. The bank says it has "zero tolerance for this kind of error" and says it will quickly review the lawsuit's allegations and consider any hardship that resulted... click here for the rest of this article from, AP.

GRN correspondent Heather McClain is in Philadelphia and available for coverage.

Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni affair rumours sweep France - Daily Telegraph

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:33:00 -0500

Daily Telegraph: France was swirling with rumours on Tuesday about the relationship of Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, Carla. Speculation that she had a close relationship with a musician first appeared on Twitter, the social networking site, and was relayed on other websites, including that of Le Journal du Dimanche, the respected newspaper. Several “tweets” suggested that Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy had become closely involved with an award-winning singer, Benjamin Biolay.

It was reported that the pair had been close friends for many years — Mr Biolay contributed to her album in 2008 — and that Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy stayed with him at his flat in Paris.

It was also suggested that President Sarkozy had sought “comfort” from his ecology minister, Chantal Jouanno, 40, who is married and a karate champion.

Daily Telegraph correspondent Henry Samuel and BBC correspondent Hugh Schofield are in Paris and are available for coverage.

Iran's Ahmadinejad in Afghanistan, Gates departs - Reuters

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:29:00 -0500

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived on Wednesday for a visit to Afghanistan, after Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said he was wary of Tehran's influence in the country. With careful timing that Gates described as "clearly fodder for all conspiratorialists," Ahmadinejad arrived in Kabul just before Gates departed at the end of his own three-day visit. Earlier this week, Gates accused Tehran of playing a "double game" in Afghanistan, professing support for President Hamid Karzai's government while trying to undermine the U.S.-led military effort that protects it. Speaking to reporters before departing on Wednesday, Gates said he had told Karzai Washington wanted Kabul to have "good relations with all of its neighbors." "But we also want all of Afghanistan's neighbors to play an up front game dealing with the government of Afghanistan." Washington, which will have 100,000 troops in Afghanistan by the end of the year, says it believes Iran provides some support for militants there, although not nearly on the same scale as in Iraq, another Iranian neighbor where U.S. troops are fighting... click here for the rest of this article from, Reuters.

Times correspondent Jerome Starkey, Guardian correspondent Jon Boone and BBC correspondent Kate Clarke are in Kabul and available for coverage.

Somali leader welcomes US military support - Independent

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:24:00 -0500

Somalia's president yesterday welcomed any US military involvement in a long-awaited offensive in his country aimed at driving Islamist rebels from the capital. During a visit to London, President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed said US air support would help his troops to seize areas of Mogadishu as he seeks to enlarge his weak government's tiny power base.

Separately, President Ahmed failed to raise hopes of an early release for a British couple held by Somali pirates. Paul Chandler, 60, and his wife, Rachel, 56, were kidnapped four months ago while sailing through the Indian Ocean. Gordon Brown, in meetings on Monday, urged Somali officials to redouble efforts to secure their release. "We are talking to elders in this community, to the intellectuals ... We have made significant progress," the President told reporters. However, the control of his weak UN-backed government does not even extend to the edge of the capital in the face of continued attacks by extremist groups including the most active, al-Shabaab... click here for the rest of this article from, The Independent.

GRN correspondents Abdurrahman Warsameh, Lutfi Mohammed and Abdulkadir Khalif are in Mogadishu and available for coverage.

Nouri al-Maliki and Ayad Allawi both claim victory in Iraq elections - Oliver August

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:20:00 -0500

The two front-runners in Iraq’s national election both claimed victory yesterday after the authorities postponed announcing the result. The electoral alliances led by the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his predecessor Ayad Allawi are neck and neck according to estimates by observers. Both are seeking to bolster their claims in case the result is inconclusive and they find themselves in a dispute later this week over who gets to form a new government. Haider al-Abadi, an adviser to the Prime Minister, said: “We are on top and there will be a big gap to those who follow. We are the next government.” Meanwhile, a spokesman for Mr Allawi said: “Final results are going to be clear and we are the number one list by the will of Allah." Both claimed to have enough votes to win about 100 seats in the 325-member parliament. With the Kurdish block, which is expected to have about 60 seats, they could then try to install a new prime minister... click here for the rest of this article by GRN correspondent Oliver August in The Times.

Times correspondent Oliver August and LA Times correspondents Caesar Ahmed and Liz Sly are in in Baghdad and available for coverage.

Seven held over alleged cartoonist murder plot - RTE

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:16:00 -0500

Gardaí are continuing to question seven people arrested yesterday in connection with an alleged plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist whose portrayal of the prophet Mohammed angered many Muslims. The four men and three women, originally from Morocco and Yemen, were detained in Waterford and Cork. The operation is part of an international investigation which involves police and state security services from the US and Europe. Cartoonist Lars Vilks has been threatened over his drawing depicting the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog... click here for the rest of this article from, RTE.

GRN correspondents Audrey Carville and Deaglan de Breadun are in Dublin and available for coverage.

Five killed in attack at charity in Pakistan - CNN

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:14:00 -0500

Militants attacked the office of a humanitarian organization in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday, killing five people, police said. The attack occurred at a World Vision office in near the town of Oghi in the North West Frontier Province, police official Rasul Shah said in a televised address. All the victims, two women and three men, were Pakistani citizens, police said. The numbers of those injured varied. Local police said five were hurt. World Vision said seven employees were injured and one other staff member was missing. The organization released a statement Wednesday condemning the attack, saying it was using local citizens to help its humanitarian project in Pakistan... click here for the rest of this article from, CNN.

Guardian correspondents Declan Walsh and Saeed Shah are in Islamabad and available for coverage.

Bali bombing suspect confirmed dead in police raid - Washington Post

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:11:00 -0500

Indonesian counterterror authorities won international praise on Wednesday for killing a top-ranked Southeast Asian militant wanted for planning the deadly 2002 Bali bombings.Police also revealed that bomb-making materials were found in one of two raids near Jakarta on Tuesday that killed fugitive Dulmatin and his two bodyguards. Indonesia's Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri told reporters Wednesday that the bomb was not being prepared for President Barak Obama's visit to Jakarta this month, but declined to elaborate on a potential target. Dulmatin, a 39-year-old Indonesian trained by al-Qaida in Afghanistan who used one name, was wanted for the suicide bombings that tore through two Bali nightclubs popular with Westerners, killing 202 people in Indonesia's deadliest terrorist attack. He was also blamed for the 2004 truck bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta that killed 11... click here for the rest of this article from, The Washington Post.

GRN correspondents Aubrey Belford and Michel Maas are in Jakarta and available for coverage.