No image available
/ 9 October 2007

Car bombs kill 22 in northern Iraq

Two suicide car bombs killed at least 22 people in northern Iraq on Tuesday in attacks targeting a police chief and a Sunni Arab tribal leader working with United States forces to fight al-Qaeda, police said. ”Look at this. Is this acceptable? Does God accept this?” said a youth hold ing torn, blood-splattered pages of the Qu’ran.

No image available
/ 5 October 2007

Bush: US does not use torture

President George Bush said on Friday that the United States does not use torture during interrogations, amid renewed debate about his administration’s methods in the war on terror. ”This government does not torture people. We stick to US law and our international obligations,” Bush said.

No image available
/ 3 October 2007

Abbas, Olmert aim to bridge gaps in new talks

Israeli and Palestinian leaders held a new round of talks on Wednesday, meeting for the first time with their negotiating teams to try to bridge gaping differences ahead of a United States-sponsored peace summit. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas met one-on-one for the fourth time in less than two months.

No image available
/ 3 October 2007

North Korea agrees to disable reactor by year-end

North Korea has agreed to disable its Yongbyon reactor and other nuclear facilities by the end of the year, throwing the ball into the hermit country’s court to turn its promises into action. In an agreement which won praise from United States President George Bush, the isolated state will in return get aid equivalent to one million tonnes of heavy fuel oil

No image available
/ 2 October 2007

‘Amen’ for Israel, say Christian Zionists

With a skullcap bearing the Star of David and a fervent belief that God gave the Holy Land to the Jews, Paul McCaleb could be mistaken for a Jewish settler. The 73-year-old from Tennessee is actually a born-again Christian, part of a growing group of devout Protestants, who are supporting Israel with their votes and their wallets.

No image available
/ 30 September 2007

North Korea talks consider ‘nuts and bolts’ text

Talks aimed at reining in North Korea’s nuclear programmes ended on Sunday to allow delegates to return to their home countries to discuss a ”nuts and bolts” joint statement with their governments. Under an accord reached in February, North Korea must disable its atomic facilities and make a complete declaration of all its nuclear programmes.

No image available
/ 29 September 2007

UN envoy flies into Burma maelstrom

United Nations envoy Ibrahim Gambari flew to Burma on Saturday carrying worldwide hopes he can persuade its ruling generals to use negotiations instead of guns to end mass protests against 45 years of military rule. ”He’s the best hope we have. He is trusted on both sides,” Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said.

No image available
/ 29 September 2007

What’s in a name? Burma vs Myanmar

Burma or Myanmar? As the military regime has cracked down on pro-democracy protests in the Asian country this week, a war of words has flared again over what to call the troubled nation. The United States and the BBC prefer the old name, Burma, while the United Nations, Japan and other nations have adopted Myanmar.

No image available
/ 28 September 2007

No holds barred at SA’s first Sexpo

Meet Max, the Stud Butler. He’s an oversized, flesh-coloured ventriloquist’s dummy with a bow tie and hard-on — the world’s first hands-free sex toy, available at South Africa’s first sex expo, the Sexpo. However, he won’t fit discreetly into the underwear drawer, and will probably require a cupboard all to himself.

No image available
/ 28 September 2007

Burma crackdown draws outrage, protests

Fuelled by ”revulsion” at Burma’s violent crackdown on popular protests against military rule, South-east Asia rounded on the generals on Friday and critics planned demonstrations at embassies across the region. Burma state media said nine people were killed when soldiers fired on crowds in Yangon on Thursday.

No image available
/ 27 September 2007

Mugabe slams ‘Almighty Bush’ over human rights

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe accused United States President George Bush of ”rank hypocrisy” on Wednesday for lecturing him on human rights, and likened the US Guantánamo Bay prison to a concentration camp. ”His hands drip with innocent blood of many nationalities,” Mugabe said in a typically fiery speech to the United Nations General Assembly.

No image available
/ 26 September 2007

Zim, Iran seek ‘coalition for peace’

The leaders of Zimbabwe and Iran are looking to form a ”coalition for peace” after receiving a tongue-lashing from United States President George Bush. ”The United States and its allies are so bloodthirsty they don’t want to see peace anywhere in the world,” said Zimbabwe Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga.

No image available
/ 26 September 2007

Troops fire shots to disperse crowds

Troops fired shots over the heads of a large crowd in central Yangon on Wednesday, sending people scurrying for cover as a crackdown intensified against the biggest anti-junta protests in 20 years. Security forces also fired tear gas at columns of monks trying to push their way past barricades sealing off the Shwedagon Pagoda, Burma’s holiest shrine.

No image available
/ 26 September 2007

Tutu ‘devastated’ by Mugabe’s rule

South African Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu said on Tuesday he was ”devastated” by the human rights abuses of President Robert Mugabe’s government in Zimbabwe. Tutu said he struggles to understand how Mugabe changed so drastically after steering the country to independence in 1980.

No image available
/ 26 September 2007

Burma pagoda sealed off, monks beaten

Burma security forces sealed off Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda on Wednesday, fired tear gas and arrested up to 80 monks trying to get into the shrine, cracking down on the biggest anti-junta protests in nearly 20 years. Witnesses said some of the deeply revered Buddhist clergy were beaten by riot police taking them away from the shrine.

No image available
/ 26 September 2007

Burma troops pen monks in monasteries

Troops and riot police took up positions outside at least six big activist monasteries in Yangon on Wednesday as Burma’s junta tried to prevent monks leading new protest marches against military rule. There was no immediate word from the monks on whether they would risk their first major confrontation with the junta.

No image available
/ 25 September 2007

Protests in Burma dominate UN agenda

President George Bush announced new United States sanctions against Burma on Tuesday as world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly focused on rising protests against military rule in the South-East Asian state. Bush urged all nations to ”help the Burmese people reclaim their freedom”.

No image available
/ 25 September 2007

Burma monks defy threat of military force

Hundreds of monks marched towards central Yangon on Tuesday in defiance of a threat by Burma’s ruling generals to send soldiers in to end the biggest anti-junta protests in 20 years. About 2 000 monks and ordinary people marched out of the Shwedagon Pagoda, the former Burma’s holiest shrine and the symbolic heart of a growing campaign against 45 years of unbroken military rule.

No image available
/ 25 September 2007

Bush to focus on Burma, not Iran, in UN speech

President George Bush is set to announce new United States sanctions against Burma over human rights as the annual United Nations General Assembly gathering of world leaders gets under way on Tuesday. Bush will advocate supporting groups in Burma that are trying to advance freedom and announce new sanctions directed at key members of the military rulers.