Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Ethicists Unconvinced About 'Ethical' Embryonic Research

New developments in the field of embryonic stem cell research do not necessarily overcome ethical and moral concerns, some pro-lifers and ethicists are warning. Read

Race to Lead UK Conservative Party Takes Shape

The contest to lead Britain's Conservative Party -- languishing in opposition for eight years -- is edging towards a classic right-left race, after party lawmakers voted out former finance minister Ken Clarke in a first round of voting. Read

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Critics Condemn African Despot's Attack on Bush, Blair

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has drawn strong criticism for comparing President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair to Hitler and Mussolini in a speech to a United Nations food agency. Some are also dismayed that the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) would have invited him to speak in the first place. The autocratic Mugabe is accused of starving his people and using food as a weapon against his opponents. Read

Rumsfeld Visits China Amid Concerns About Military Buildup

Almost five years after taking office, Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday began his first visit as defense secretary to China, a country whose military buildup is watched with concern at the Pentagon. Read

Monday, October 17, 2005

China, Korea Protest Japanese PM's Visit to Shrine

In a move that drew swift denunciations from China and South Korea, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday paid a visit to a controversial shrine in memory of Japan's 2.5 million war dead -- including 14 convicted war criminals. Read

Britain-Iran Tensions Escalate Over Bombing Accusations

In a deepening diplomatic row, Iran has accused Britain of responsibility for two bomb blasts Saturday that killed at least four people near the country's border with Iraq. Read

Cuba Regards Ibero-American Summit as Victory Over US

In what Cuban media are describing as a "defeat" for the United States, leaders from Latin America, Spain and Portugal ended a summit at the weekend calling for an end to the U.S. embargo against Fidel Castro's Cuba. Read

Friday, October 14, 2005

Bird Flu at the Gates of Europe

Avian flu has reached Europe's gateways, prompting growing concerns about a further westward spread of a virus which, if it mutates, could trigger a catastrophic human flu pandemic. Read

US Interest in Central Asia Focuses on Kazakhstan

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to former Soviet states in Central Asia has focused fresh attention on Kazakhstan, where Washington's stated policy of balancing strategic interests and promoting democracy will be tested in the months ahead. Read

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Koran Should Be Banned if UK Passes Religious Hate Law, Group Says

As British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his ministers defend plans to outlaw incitement to religious hatred, a Christian organization has warned that if the law passes, it will seek to have the Koran banned. Read

Beheadings are Bad PR, Terrorist Tells 'Sheikh of Slaughter'

Iraqi-based terrorists have been urged by Osama bin Laden's deputy to stop beheading foreign hostages and shoot them instead - not because decapitation is wrong but because it may be counterproductive in the battle for Muslims' "hearts and minds." Read

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

China Pushes Ahead With Manned Space Program

China on Wednesday launched its second manned space mission, taking a step closer to its stated goal of landing on the moon and eventually establishing a base there. Read

Central Asians Don't Need to Choose Between US, Russia, Rice Says

Former Soviet republics in Central Asia do not need to choose between enjoying good relations with the United States and good relations with Russia and China, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday. Read

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Health Officials Paint Grim Picture Regarding Flu Pandemic

U.S. and U.N. health leaders on a fact-finding visit to Southeast Asia have given ominous warnings about the likelihood of a global human influenza pandemic triggered by bird flu. Even the wealthiest countries are ill prepared, according to the grim assessments. Read

Quake Tragedy May Draw Historic Foes Closer

Offers by India to help Pakistan cope with the effects of Saturday's huge earthquake have raised hopes that the tragedy could accelerate moves already underway to improve ties and defuse tensions in one of the world's most dangerous flashpoints. Read

Monday, October 10, 2005

Iran Trying to Avoid Security Council Scrutiny of Nuclear Program

Iran is trying to win international support amid a looming standoff over its nuclear activities. Ahead of an International Atomic Energy Agency board meeting in November, Tehran will send Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and other envoys to lobby against Iran's referral to the U.N. Security Council. Read

UK Christians in Last Ditch Bid to Block Religious Hatred Law

British Christians on Sunday kicked off three days of eleventh-hour protest, hoping to defeat a government attempt to outlaw religious hatred. Read

Friday, October 07, 2005

Bush Praised for 'Naming the Enemy'

President George W. Bush clearly identified the enemy for the first time in a speech he delivered on Thursday. Read

Bush, Blair Warn Iran on Terrorism

President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have both signaled a new level of impatience with Iran, accusing the Islamic regime of supporting terrorism in Iraq and elsewhere. Read

Thursday, October 06, 2005

White House Spying Claims Roil Philippines' Rumor-Riddled Politics

Allegations that a former U.S. Marine may have stolen classified information while posted at the White House are resonating in the Philippines. The suspect's arrest last month roiled the country's already turbulent political landscape. Read

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Zarqawi Said to Call for Intensification of Terror During Ramadan

Iraq-based terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has called on Muslims to escalate attacks during Ramadan, according to a message posted on an Islamist website and cited by wire services. Read

Baghdad Church Deals With Leadership Loss

The rector of Iraq's only Anglican Church this week is returning from a trip abroad to a devastating situation in Baghdad. His congregation has lost its entire lay leadership, believed to have been killed in an attack on a notoriously dangerous stretch of road last month. Read

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Southeast Asia Braces for More Terror as Ramadan Looms

Indonesian police, helped by Australian experts, continued investigations Tuesday into the weekend bombings in Bali, amid new warnings of terror in Southeast Asia as the Muslim world enters the month of Ramadan. Read

Int'l Pressure on Uzbekistan as EU Imposes Arms Embargo

The European Union plans to impose a range of sanctions against Uzbekistan, including an arms embargo and targeted travel ban, over the Central Asian republic's refusal to allow an independent inquiry into a bloody clampdown against protestors last spring. Read

Monday, October 03, 2005

Homosexuals Challenge Ban on Blood Donations

A Red Cross division in Australia will be forced to defend its refusal to accept blood donations from homosexuals after a statutory anti-discrimination body agreed to take up a legal complaint. Read

Westerners, Moderate Muslim Gov't Targeted in Bali Bombing

Terrorism returned to Bali over the weekend, when suicide bombers killed up to 27 people in a pre-Ramadan attack that appeared to target both Indonesia's moderate government and Western tourists. Read