March 12, 2006	Sunday	Safar 11, 1427

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

Abbas rejects Hamas government programme RAMALLAH, March 11: Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas has rejected Hamas’s proposed government program because “it does not meet his demands and those of the international community on relations with Israel,” a senior official close to Abbas said on Saturday....		Sunni, Shia leaders meet to break Iraq deadlock BAGHDAD, March 11: Sunni and Shia political leaders held talks on Saturday on breaking a deadlock over a new prime minister that has stalled the formation of a government of national unity....
EU must protect Islam against insults: Turkey SALZBURG, March 11: The European Union risks damaging its image worldwide if it does not do more to protect Islam against insults, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told Reuters in an interview on Saturday....		Dutch court convicts 9 Muslims AMSTERDAM, March 11: Dutch judges convicted nine men of belonging to a terrorist group on Friday, in a landmark decision that argues promoting a “violent version of Islam” can itself be an act of terrorism....
Jordan hangs 2 for killing US envoy AMMAN, March 11: Jordan executed two Muslim extremists on Saturday who were convicted of killing a US diplomat in Amman, in a rare move to implement a death sentence against security detainees....		EU downplays comments: Kosovo independence SALZBURG, March 11: The European Union downplayed on Saturday the significance of remarks by Britain’s foreign minister that independence for the UN-run Serbian province of Kosovo was “almost inevitable”....
Chile’s first woman president sworn in VALPARAISO, March 11: Michelle Bachelet was sworn in on Saturday as Chile’s first woman president, ushering in a new era in the socially conservative country moving aggressively to shed the legacy of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship....		Srebrenica survivors regret death of Milosevic SARAJEVO, March 11: The mothers and widows of Muslims massacred in Srebrenica during the Bosnian war said on Saturday they regretted the death of Slobodan Milosevic as it meant he would never face justice for the killings....
Indian PM defends nuke deal NEW DELHI, March 11: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday defended his government’s growing closeness with the United States, highlighted by a nuclear cooperation deal, saying it was in the nation’s best interests....		Former Bush aide held WASHINGTON, March 11: A former domestic policy adviser to President Bush has been charged with theft for allegedly receiving phony refunds at departmental stores. Claude Alexander Allen, 45, was arrested on...
Saudis promise aid to Hamas RIYADH, March 11: Palestinian religious group Hamas said on Saturday that Saudi Arabia has vowed to remain one of the biggest financial backers of the Palestinians, despite US and European threats to cut aid....		24 people held in Bahrain MANAMA, March 11: Bahraini police arrested 24 people after using tear gas to disperse a protest in the Gulf state, a human rights activist said on Saturday....
Movements call for agrarian reform PORTO ALEGRE (Brazil): Rural social movements are calling for a ‘new agrarian reform based on food sovereignty’, that would incorporate a range of sectors, including peasant farmers, women, and ethnic minorities,...		Money’s going to talk in 2008 WASHINGTON: Michael E. Toner, the chairman of the Federal Election Commission, has some friendly advice for presidential candidates who plan to be taken seriously by the time nominating contests start in early 2008: bring your wallet....
Border idea roils waters in Israel JERUSALEM: With Israeli elections less than three weeks away, a furore erupted on Friday over acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s declaration that in the next four years Israel would draw its...		Rift between Talabani and Jaafari widens BAGHDAD: When Jalal Talabani was sworn in to Saddam Hussein’s old job last April, the veteran Kurdish leader defined himself as a father figure who would use the presidency to bridge...