News For Sunday Jul 20, 2008 News For Sunday Jul 20, 2008

World World

McCartney plays for thousands in free Quebec show - Added 5 weeks ago

Paul McCartney churned out a Beatles-laden song list to a pumped-up crowd gathered Sunday for a free concert as part of Quebec City's 400th anniversary celebration. McCartney opened the show with the Wings song "Jet"...

Model killed on assignment in Shanghai is buried - Added 5 weeks ago

Family and friends gathered Sunday under perfect blue skies on one of British Columbia's famed Gulf Islands to remember a young Canadian model who was killed while on assignment in Shanghai earlier this month. The...

Taiwan tribe struggles to keep traditional culture - Added 5 weeks ago

The four dozen men in loincloths stopped repeatedly to toss the new boat into the air as they carried it through their village to shore. Then they launched it ceremoniously into the Pacific Ocean. It was the first...

Colombians march against kidnappings - Added 5 weeks ago

Well over a million Colombians, clad in white and shouting "No more kidnapping," marked their independence day on Sunday with marches and concerts demanding freedom for hostages still held by leftist rebels. ...

Chavez touts socialism to Venezuela kids - Added 5 weeks ago

Hugo Chavez on Sunday urged kids to embrace socialism, raising the ire of educators and parents who turned back the Venezuelan president's earlier proposal to rewrite textbooks to add socialist doctrine. Chavez...

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,124 - Added 5 weeks ago

As of Sunday, July 20, 2008, at least 4,124 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...

Pope meets with abuse victims in Australia - Added 5 weeks ago

The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI met with victims of clergy child sex abuse in Australia. The pontiff held a Mass on Monday with two men and two women who represented the victims of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic...

Haiti food aid lags, hunger deepens - Added 5 weeks ago

Every inch of Rivilade Filsame's body hurt, from his swollen, empty stomach to his dried-out, wrinkled skin. The 18-month-old had been crying for so long in the hospital malnutrition ward that his mother no longer tried...

Iraqi panel proposes delay in key election - Added 5 weeks ago

Iraq's election authority proposed Sunday to delay important provincial balloting in an apparent sign of frustration over a political impasse that has stalled preparations for voting planned for this fall. The...

Poles who rescued Jews honored in Warsaw - Added 5 weeks ago

Wanda Bulik was only 18 when a conductor approached her on a train during the height of World War II and asked her to take care of an abandoned 3-year-old Jewish boy found traveling alone. Without hesitation, the young...

Williams: Anglicans in 'severe' crisis - Added 5 weeks ago

The head of the Anglican Communion said Sunday that the global fellowship faces "one of the most severe challenges" in its history, and he urged bishops at their once-a-decade Lambeth Conference to do the hard work of...

Zimbabweans use blogs, text messages for info - Added 5 weeks ago

The photographs of the tortured body of an opposition official are blurry but chilling. Posted on the "This is Zimbabwe" blog, they show charred, lacerated limbs and blank eyes staring out from the face of the...

Indictment is biggest test for Sudanese leader - Added 5 weeks ago

President Omar al-Bashir's indictment on Darfur genocide charges presents the Sudanese leader with the most serious challenge to his 19-year rule, raising questions about his legitimacy that could weaken his grip on...

Britain's Brown demands end to Israel settlements - Added 5 weeks ago

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown demanded Sunday that Israel cease settlement construction and promised more money to jump-start the battered Palestinian economy. In his first trip to Israel and the Palestinian...

To avoid Olympic smog, Beijing limits traffic - Added 5 weeks ago

With the Olympics less than three weeks away, Beijing began restricting car use and limiting factory emissions on Sunday in a final drastic effort to clear its smog-choked skies. Under the two-month plan, half of the...

Activists: Iranians to be stoned to death - Added 5 weeks ago

Iran has sentenced eight women and one man convicted of adultery to death by stoning, activists said Sunday. A lawyer and women's rights activist, Shadi Sadr, said the nine, who are between 27 and 50 years old, were...

Afghan officials: US-led forces killed 9 police - Added 5 weeks ago

U.S.-led troops and Afghan forces killed nine Afghan police Sunday, calling in airstrikes and fighting on the ground for four hours after both sides mistook the other for militants, Afghan officials said. In a separate...

Serbia: Envoys may return to EU states - Added 5 weeks ago

Serbia's foreign minister announced plans Sunday to reinstate the country's ambassadors to EU countries that recognized Kosovo's independence. The aim is to improve relations between Serbia's new pro-Western government...

Brazilian comedian Goncalves dies at 101 - Added 5 weeks ago

Brazilian actress and comedian Dercy Goncalves, known for her vulgar wit and scandalous behavior, has died. She was 101. Rio de Janeiro's Hospital Sao Lucas says Goncalves died Saturday of respiratory problems after...

Myanmar says Suu Kyi may be freed soon - Added 5 weeks ago

Myanmar's military junta has indicated to its Southeast Asian neighbors that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi could be freed from house arrest in about six months, Singapore's foreign minister said Sunday. The hint...

Kurdish rebels release 3 German captives - Added 5 weeks ago

Three Germans seized by Kurdish rebels during a climbing expedition on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey more than a week ago were released Sunday in good condition, authorities said. The hostages were released at noon,...

Taiwan tribe struggles to keep traditional culture - Added 5 weeks ago

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Food rise has Bolivia's coca farmers planting rice - Added 5 weeks ago

Soaring food prices may achieve what the United States has spent millions of dollars trying to do: persuade Bolivian farmers to sow their fields with less potent crops than cocaine's raw ingredient. The unlikely...

Man beats child's head on Rome monument - Added 5 weeks ago

A man beat his 4-year-old daughter's head against the stone base of a Rome monument in front of tourists and a police officer, leaving the child in a coma, police said Sunday. Carabinieri Lt. Col. Antonello Casarsa...

4 bombs in Spain's Basque country - Added 5 weeks ago

Four bombs exploded in northern Spain on Sunday _ including one outside a bank _ causing damage but no injuries, officials said. A caller earlier warned about the explosives, saying he was speaking on behalf of Basque...

Sri Lankan soldiers capture rebel base - Added 5 weeks ago

Sri Lankan government forces captured a Tamil Tiger rebel base in the north Sunday after a 48-hour battle that left at least 15 rebels dead, while air force jets destroyed six rebel boats, the military said. Clashes...

US troops kill relatives of Iraq governor in raid - Added 5 weeks ago

The U.S. military says American soldiers have killed two armed relatives of a provincial governor during a raid against al-Qaida in Iraq. The military says in a statement that the soldiers were acting in self-defense...

US general: al-Qaida may be easing effort in Iraq - Added 5 weeks ago

!!-- hobj:145 -->After intense U.S. assaults, al-Qaida may be considering shifting focus to its original home base in Afghanistan, where American casualties are running higher than in Iraq, the top U.S. commander in...

Pope urges Australian youths to spurn materialism - Added 5 weeks ago

Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday a "spiritual desert" was spreading throughout the world and he challenged young people to shed the greed and cynicism of their time to create a new age of hope for humankind. Speaking at a...

Sun Myung Moon released from hospital - Added 5 weeks ago

The founder of the Unification Church was released from a South Korean hospital Sunday, a day after he and 15 others were injured when their helicopter crashed on a mountain near Seoul. The Rev. Sun Myung Moon, 88, was...

Police in India say 17 killed in bus accident - Added 5 weeks ago

Police say a packed bus collided with a truck in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, killing at least 17 people and wounding 35 others. State police spokesman Surendra Srivastava said seven of those wounded in...

Iran praises latest nuclear talks - Added 5 weeks ago

Iranian state radio is quoting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (ah-muh-DEE'-neh-zhahd) as saying the latest round of talks between Iran and world powers are "a step ahead." The Sunday report also quotes the Iranian...

3 suspected in Austria swastika graffiti - Added 5 weeks ago

Police say three people are suspected of spraying swastikas and Nazi slogans on buildings and road signs in southern Austria. Police said Sunday that the suspected vandals acted overnight in the small town of Bad St....

Iraq opens airport in holy city of Najaf - Added 5 weeks ago

Iraq opened a new airport in the southern city of Najaf on Sunday in what the prime minister said was a key step in the reconstruction of a country devastated by war. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, mostly Iranians,...

British leader in Israel for first official visit - Added 5 weeks ago

Gordon Brown, in Israel on his first official visit as Britain's prime minister, said Sunday that economic development was key to bringing peace to the Middle East. Brown's two-day Mideast visit has been overshadowed...

Palestinian extremist dies in Lebanon - Added 5 weeks ago

Palestinian security officials say the leader of an extremist Palestinian group has died from wounds sustained in a clash inside a refugee camp in south Lebanon. Shehadeh Jawhar was military commander of the Jund...

Death toll in Taiwan storm rises to 19 - Added 5 weeks ago

Taiwanese officials say the death toll from flash floods triggered by Tropical Storm Kalmaegi has climbed to 19. The disaster relief center says six other people remain missing. The storm lashed southern Taiwan with...

Brazil, Colombia boost trade ties - Added 5 weeks ago

The presidents of Brazil and Colombia vowed Saturday to boost trade and investment between their nations ahead of crucial world trade talks next week. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged Colombia and...

Pakistan army says 15 militants killed - Added 5 weeks ago

Security forces killed 15 militants and detained 60 others, the army said Sunday, in the first major action against insurgents under Pakistan's new government. Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said five troops have...

Brazil official's Nazi reference rocks WTO talks - Added 5 weeks ago

Some pre-negotiation jabbing turned into a potentially damaging diplomatic incident Saturday when Brazil's foreign minister said rich countries' deception in trade talks reminded him of tactics used by Nazi propaganda...

Olympic traffic crackdown begins in Beijing - Added 5 weeks ago

Beijing started its most drastic pollution-control plan Sunday, restricting car use and limiting factory emissions in a last-minute push to clear smog-choked skies for the August Olympics. Under the two-month plan,...

Cambodia informs UN of alleged Thai incursion - Added 5 weeks ago

Cambodia has complained to the U.N. Security Council that Thai forces have violated its territory near an ancient World Heritage Site temple where hundreds of troops continued to face off Sunday. Cambodia's permanent...

Report: British hostage in Iraq is dead - Added 5 weeks ago

A Shiite militia that claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of five Britons in Iraq more than a year ago said one of its hostages committed suicide, a British newspaper reported. The Sunday Times of London...

Chavez demands respect from US, EU - Added 5 weeks ago

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has a message for future U.S. and European leaders: Treat Latin America with respect. Chavez says Washington and the European Union "must respect the sovereignty of the Latin American...

Cambodia informs UN on alleged incrusion - Added 5 weeks ago

Cambodia has sent a note to the U.N. Security Council alleging that Thai forces intruded into its territory near an ancient temple. Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said Sunday that Cambodia's mission in New York...

Dignitaries attend grand party for Mandela's 90th - Added 5 weeks ago

QUNU, South Africa _ Songs, laughter, teasing and tender words marked Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday celebration Saturday as presidents, village elders and African royalty joined him for a festive luncheon on his rural...

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,124 - Added 5 weeks ago

As of Saturday, July 19, 2008, at least 4,124 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...

Peace, not indictment of president, stirs Sudanese - Added 5 weeks ago

For years, Mohammed Ali has been hearing relatives and friends tell how government-backed militiamen torched villages in his native Darfur, raped women and shot fleeing civilians. The painful past and present have...

First of 5 feet found in Canada identified - Added 5 weeks ago

One of five feet that have mysteriously washed up on the shores of British Columbia over the past year has been linked to a depressed man who disappeared a year ago, police said Saturday. Sgt. Pierre Lemaitre said DNA...

Iraqi Sunni bloc rejoins government - Added 5 weeks ago

Iraq's largest Sunni Arab political bloc returned to the government fold Saturday after calling off a nearly one-year boycott of the Shiite-dominated leadership _ another critical stride toward healing sectarian rifts. ...