Weekly Round Up: Officers Smuggling Weapons, Intelligence Chief Dumb As A Dodo, Police Seek 'Satan Squad' And Nun Fined For 'Terrorist' Ranting!

It’s been another crazy week in the world of politics. The week started off with the departure of Kofi Annan. Poor Annan, according to John Bolton - no one sang Kumbaya at the private dinner at the White House. I wonder if he’s bothered, I wonder if anyone will be signing anything for John Bolton. South Korea's Ban Ki-moon has been sworn in as the next UN secretary general at a General Assembly ceremony during which he vowed to be "a harmonizer and bridge-builder" and build on the legacy of Kofi Annan. Sticking to the White House, George Bush has been pretty quiet (mainly ignoring the recommendations of the Baker report) but ex-president Jimmy Carter has been in the headlines due to the release of his book claiming apartheid in Israel and how the reluctance to criticise policies of the Israeli government is due to the extraordinary lobbying efforts of the American-Israel Political Action Committee and the absence of any significant contrary voices! Wow this is good; this is different (if only he spoke more when he was in power!). Sticking with the US Silvestre Reyes, the incoming chairman of a congressional intelligence committee has been found out over his lack of knowledge over the stakeholders in the Middle-East (Sunni’s, Shia’s, Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah etc) - so much so it is going to be difficult to find out who is dumb and who is dumber between Bush and Reyes -I wonder if he is aware of the situation in Iraq? One person who knows a ting or two is Carne Ross who made it clear that British officials warned US diplomats that bringing down the Iraqi Saddam Hussein would lead to the chaos the world has since witnessed. He also said Prime Minister Tony Blair must have known Saddam Hussein possessed no weapons of mass destruction. He said that during his posting to the UN, "at no time did Her Majesty's Government assess that Iraq's WMD (or any other capability) posed a threat to the UK or its interests." Mr Blair is currently in Israel on the third day of his tour of the Middle East. Mr Blair is expected to hold talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders amid heightened tensions in the Gaza Strip. Whilst in undemocratically elected dictatorship Egypt, he told the world that he welcomed the call for an early election in Palestine (simply because he doesn’t like the democratically elected Hamas party and doesn’t want to talk to them). I just hope Blair doesn’t become a puppet of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert like Italian counterpart, Romano Prodi was seen to be! Sticking to the UK, We had the expected results of the death of Princess Diana enquiry. Nothing but the drunken driver blame (as expected) was revealed but on this same day coincidentally the British government announced that it had dropped a corruption probe into a defence deal with Saudi Arabia, after warnings it could damage national security (or the national accounts). A good time to bury bad news! The money from the sales could be used to spend on military equipment as it seems that some officers have been caught smuggling weapons from Iraq and selling them off in British bases. Not getting away from the press, Tony Blair was the first Prime Minister was question by the police to assist in the enquiry for cash for honours. This is having a damaging effect on his party. A secret memo reveals that Labour has no chance of winning the next Election because voters think the Government is a shambles - and there is little Gordon Brown can do to stop David Cameron becoming Prime Minister. Enough of him, going back to Ehud Olmert, he made a gaff and is trying to fend off accusations of ineptitude and calls for his resignation after he accidentally acknowledged for the first time that Israel had nuclear weapons. The whole world knows about it but Israel has long declined to confirm or deny having the bomb as part of a "strategic ambiguity" policy that it says fends off numerically superior Arab enemies. But Arabs and Iran see a double standard in US policy in the region. By not declaring itself to be nuclear-armed, Israel gets round a US ban on funding countries that proliferate weapons of mass destruction. It can thus enjoy more than $2bn a year in military and other aid from Washington! Lastly we have to talk about the conference in Iran debating the holocaust. Many news media have called it the holocaust denier conference (especially those from countries that contributed or did nothing to prevent the holocaust). The conference is harmless and too much is made of it, can anyone deny freedom of speech? Let’s hope the President of Iran gives similar freedom to Iranian citizens who usually end up in jail if they protest against any government rulings.

Anyway, here’s all the other news from around the world…


North America
US Democrat majority under threat
A senator, with immense influence over the delicate balance of power in the forthcoming upper house of the US congress, has undergone surgery after suffering "symptoms of a stroke".

If Tim Johnson, the senator from South Dakota, is to be replaced, Republicans could take control of the senate from the Democrats. With Johnson, Democrats, who took control of the congress from Republicans in last month's elections, would control the senate 51-49 when the 110th congress convenes on January 4.

But in the event of him being replaced, South Dakota law says the state governor, Michael Rounds, who is a Republican, would name someone to finish the final two years of his six-year term. An election for a successor would be held in November 2008.

If Rounds named a Republican, that would put the Senate at 50-50, with Dick Cheney, the vice-president, breaking any tie and putting Republicans in charge. The only way there would be a vacancy to fill is if Johnson died or resigned. Even if incapacitated, he could remain in office, according to the senate historian's office.

Florida governor halts executions
Florida Governor Jeb Bush has halted executions in the US state after a flawed death by lethal injection. Mr Bush said he needed to be sure that the method of death did not constitute "cruel and unusual punishment".

The move came after a man convicted of murder, Angel Diaz, took 34 minutes to die - twice as long as normal - and had to be given a second lethal dose.

In California, a judge has ruled death by lethal injection violates a state ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The judge ruled California's "implementation of lethal injection is broken", but said "it can be fixed".

Lethal injection is the preferred method of execution in 37 US states.

Anti-death penalty activists say lethal injections - introduced in Florida and other states as a replacement for the electric chair and other methods of execution - are just as cruel and should not be considered a more humane substitute.

FBI: Recruiters caught in drug probe
A dozen Army and Marine recruiters who visited high schools were among the personnel caught in a major FBI cocaine investigation, and some were allowed to keep working while under suspicion, a newspaper reported Sunday. None of the recruiters was accused of providing drugs to students.

The recruiters, who worked in the Tucson area, were targets of a federal sting called Operation Lively Green, which ran from 2001 to 2004 and was revealed last year. So far, 69 members of the military, prison guards, law enforcement employees and other public employees have been convicted of accepting bribes to help smuggle cocaine.

The Arizona Daily Star reviewed the investigation and court documents and found that the FBI allowed many recruiters to stay on the job even though they were targeted by the investigation. Some were still recruiting three years after they were photographed running drugs in uniform, the newspaper said.

Most of the recruiters pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in March. Some honorably retired from the military. The sting began after the FBI received tips that a former Army National Guardsman was taking bribes to fix military aptitude tests for recruits, FBI Special Agent Adam Radtke said.

US issues first-ever space tourism rules
Thrill-seekers looking to blast into space from the US would need to be informed in writing of serious risks - including death - and promise not to sue the government under the first rules for commercial space travel by US companies.

The rules issued today by the Federal Aviation Administration mandate training and medical fitness evaluations for crew members, preflight testing and other steps US companies must take before getting licences to carry paying passengers on suborbital flights.

Virgin Galactic, run by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, is aiming to offer out-of-this-world vacations in 2008 for travellers willing to pay $US200,000 ($256,000). Other companies are making similar plans.

Circumcision May Cut Risk of H.I.V.
Circumcising adult men may reduce by half their risk of getting the AIDS virus through heterosexual intercourse, the U.S. government announced Wednesday, as it shut down two studies in Africa testing the link.

The National Institutes of Health closed the studies in Kenya and Uganda early, when safety monitors took a look at initial results this week and spotted the protection. The studies' uncircumcised men are being offered the chance to undergo the procedure.
The link between male circumcision and HIV prevention was noted as long ago as the late 1980s. The first major clinical trial, of 3,000 men in South Africa, found last year that circumcision cut the HIV risk by 60 percent.

Still, many AIDS specialists had been awaiting the NIH's results as a final confirmation.

''Male circumcision can lower both an individual's risk of infection, and hopefully the rate of HIV spread through the community,'' said AIDS expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

But it's not perfect protection, Fauci stressed. Men who become circumcised must not quit using condoms nor take other risks -- and circumcision offers no protection from HIV acquired through anal sex or injection drug use, he noted.

"Macaca" named most politically incorrect
The word "macaca," used by outgoing Republican Sen. George Allen of Virginia to describe a Democratic activist of Indian descent who was trailing his campaign, was named the most politically incorrect word of the year on Friday by Global Language Monitor, a nonprofit group that studies word usage.

"The word might have changed the political balance of the U.S. Senate, since Allen's utterance (an offensive slang term for Indians from the Sub-continent) surely impacted his election bid," said the group's head, Paul JJ Payack.

In second place on this year's list was "Global Warming Denier," for someone who believes that climate change has moved from scientific theory to dogma.

In third was "Herstory" substituting for "History." Payack said there are nearly 900,000 Google citations for "Herstory," all based on a mistaken assumption that "history" is a sexist word.

Last year, it dubbed "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job," as U.S. President George W. Bush's most memorable phrase of 2005. Bush made the comment to Michael Brown, the former head of Federal Emergency Management Agency, before Brown resigned over the administration's handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

Latin America
Hundreds pay respects to Pinochet
Hundreds of supporters of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, many in tears, filed Monday past the brown wooden coffin for the ex-dictator, who was denied a state funeral normally granted to former presidents.

While Pinochet's relatives mourned his death Sunday from heart failure at age 91, his many opponents celebrated with champagne and lamented that he escaped justice for the torture and killings that marked his 17 years in power after a bloody 1973 coup.

U.S. delegation seeks ties with Cuba
A delegation of American lawmakers sought improved diplomatic and economic ties with Cuba on Friday, anticipating leadership changes in Havana and on Capitol Hill.

Ten U.S. congressmen were expected to discuss the possibility of easing U.S. trade and travel sanctions in meetings with Communist officials. They also scheduled talks with Cuba's Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega, as well as foreign diplomats, during their trip, which ends Sunday.

Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, and William Delahunt, a Massachusetts Democrat, led the group — said to be the largest congressional delegation to visit the island since the 1959 Cuban revolution. Both legislators advocate ending decades-old trade and travel sanctions against Cuba.

The delegation reportedly asked to see Defense Minister Raul Castro, who leads Cuba as his brother Fidel recovers from intestinal surgery.

The trip comes amid growing uncertainty about the health of Fidel, the island's 80-year-old leader, who has not been seen in public since he underwent surgery in July. He temporarily ceded his powers to his 75-year-old brother Raul.

Raul Castro has offered to talk with Washington about its differences with Cuba. The Bush administration says there will be no dialogue until Cuba holds free and competitive elections and releases its roughly 300 political prisoners.

Europe
Danish journalists acquitted
Three Danish journalists, who published classified intelligence reports on Iraq's former weapons programme, have been acquitted of charges of endangering national security.

The Copenhagen City Court ruled on Monday that Niels Lunde, the chief editor of the Berlingske Tidende newspaper, and Michael Bjerre and Jesper Larsen, both reporters, acted in the public interest when they published a series of articles in 2004 citing leaked Danish intelligence reports.

The articles said there was no evidence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction at the time of the US-led invasion in 2003, one of the key reasons cited by the US and Britain for going to war.

Frank Grevil, a former intelligence officer, was previously imprisoned for leaking the documents in the case, which was viewed in Denmark as a landmark test of media freedom.

Lunde called the verdict "a great victory for the open society". Prosecutor Michael Joergensen said he had not yet decided whether to appeal.

During the trial, which began on November 13, the prosecutor claimed that the newspaper, one of Denmark's largest circulated dailies, violated a law that prohibits media from publishing classified information that could harm national security.

In Monday's ruling, Judge Peter Lind Larsen said the "considerable public interest" in the information outweighed the government's concerns that its intelligence-gathering operations were jeopardised.

Press freedom advocates welcomed the decision, which was met with applause in the packed court room.

War crimes tribunal orders force-feeding of Serbian warlord
The UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague last week ordered the force-feeding of a Serbian warlord and senior politician who has been on hunger strike in custody for almost a month.

The decision, the first such order since the court was set up more than a decade ago to deal with war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, came after a medical examination of Vojislav Seselj concluded that he might be a fortnight away from dying.

Mr Seselj, a former close associate of the late president Slobodan Milosevic and an ultra-nationalist leader who heads the strongest political party in Serbia, is an advocate of aggressive strategies aimed at creating a "Greater Serbia" by appropriating parts of Croatia and Bosnia and incorporating Albanian-populated Kosovo.

He is on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, when he allegedly led paramilitaries in "ethnic cleansing" operations against non-Serbs in Croatia and Bosnia.

The tribunal last week told Dutch authorities to force-feed Mr Seselj if there was a risk of him dying. "There is a prevailing interest in continuing with the trial of the accused in order to serve the ends of justice," it said in a statement. "The trial ... should not be undermined by the accused's manipulative behaviour."

Mr Seselj, who surrendered to The Hague tribunal more than three years ago, has consistently sought to use the court as a stage to belittle and mock the institution. He went on hunger strike last month to demand unlimited conjugal visits and the opening of frozen bank accounts in the US, he insisted on defending himself at the trial and has hurled abuse at anyone who contradicts him. The warlord gained notoriety when in the early 90s he said the eyes of enemy Croats should be gouged out with rusty spoons.

Sarajevo's war damage totaled $18.5 billion: study
The 1992-95 siege of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo by Serb forces caused 14 billion euros ($18.5 billion) of damage, the author of a study said on Tuesday.

Since 1996, a multi-disciplinary team of Bosnian experts has been collecting data from companies, institutions and individuals for the first comprehensive survey of the destruction in Sarajevo during its 1,417 days of isolation.

"The focus of the study was visible wartime damage, what had been destroyed or taken away, and we have got a figure of 14 billion euros in direct war damages in Sarajevo in the period of 1992-95," Duljko Hasic told Reuters in an interview.

During the siege, Sarajevo and its 340,000 citizens were hit constantly by artillery, mortar and heavy machinegun fire that destroyed apartment houses, hotels, factories, office blocks, waterworks, communications and utilities in general.

Nearly 19,000 people died, 10 percent of them children.

Hasic said the main goal of the study was to establish the facts but also to form a basis for possible reparations.

He cautioned this was an incomplete account of the total losses, since the study did not include indirect wartime damage, for example the loss of foreign markets, business contracts and breaks in production by Sarajevo-based firms.

The loss of rich and rare books in the National Library and the Institute for Oriental Studies, both burned down, is also not included in the survey, he said.

"That kind of damage is unlikely to be properly evaluated but the consequences for the economy will be felt over the next 30 to 50 years," said Hasic, who works as an economic expert in Bosnia's Foreign Trade Chamber.

Spain debates Civil War reparations
Parliament on Thursday began debating a law that seeks reparations for victims of Spain's 1936-39 Civil War and the dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco.

The bill, proposed by the Socialist government in July, would also ban symbols and references to the Franco regime in public buildings and asks local and regional governments to rename streets or plazas that are named after Franco or refer to his regime.

It also prohibits any political event at the Valley of the Fallen, a large monument near Madrid that includes Franco's tomb and is the most potent symbol of his regime.

The law says all victims of the Civil War and the Franco dictatorship will have a year to request reparations from an ad hoc commission that was created to draw up the bill. A total of $26.4 million will be made available for payments.

Several political parties have proposed major amendments to the bill, saying it does not go far enough to restore the rights of victims and in condemning Franco and his regime. One amendment proposed by three parties calls for the annulment of verdicts reached at trials carried out during Franco's 1939-75 dictatorship.

Meanwhile, the leading conservative opposition Popular Party has called for the bill to be thrown out altogether, arguing that it reopens old wounds.The bill, known as the Historic Memory Law, is expected to get past an initial vote allowing it to be processed by Parliament but it is likely to take several months before it is finally approved.

Italy police seek 'Satan squad'
Italian police want to set up a special unit to tackle the growth of new religious sects, particularly a violent new breed of home-grown Satanists.

The new police squad would include psychologists, as well as a priest who is an expert on the occult. It would co-ordinate - nationwide - investigations into potentially dangerous religious movements.

The move follows a spate of high profile, gruesome murders blamed on a new generation of Satanists. They indulge in a lethal blend of black magic, hard drugs, sex and heavy metal.

In the most recent case a gang known as the "Beasts of Satan" bludgeoned, then buried alive, two of their own members - a young woman and her boyfriend - in woods outside Milan.

Experts say the number of Satanists in Italy is tiny - and the product as much of youthful alienation as of any more traditional religious conviction.

But more than a million Italians belong to other minority religions, and some experts are worried that the new police squad could target members of them as well - even though, despite their perhaps strange beliefs, they are entirely harmless.

Sentamu attacks 'move to throw away crib'
The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, attacked "aggressive" secularists and "illiberal" atheists yesterday for "throwing out the crib at Christmas".

In his strongest assault yet on attempts to purge Christianity from public life, Dr Sentamu said such people were undermining the country's cultural traditions. The Archbishop's comments reflect the growing fury of Church leaders at reports of companies banning Christmas decorations and schools leaving Jesus out of nativity plays.

They also signalled his intention to declare all-out war on secularists, who he claimed were unfairly blaming other faiths to advance their own anti-religious agenda.

"Aggressive secularists are trying to pretend that it is possible to enter into the true meaning of Christmas by leaving out Jesus Christ," he said.

"The person who is at the heart of the celebration is totally excluded. This really is a case of throwing out the baby with the bath water, or in this case throwing out the crib at Christmas."

The Archbishop continued: "This aggressive brand of secularism is trying to undermine the cultural traditions of this country by using flawed arguments about 'multi-faith, multi-culturalism' whilst at the same time trying to negate faith groups all together."

British vicar bars Father Christmas from carol service
A British vicar banned a man dressed as Father Christmas from a carol service at his church, he said.

Reverend Tim Storey said he told Henry Cuff, a member of volunteer group the Lions Club, to disrobe because he wanted to "reclaim the Christian story of the birth of Jesus Christ as being the heart of the celebration".

"I do not believe that Father Christmas should be part of church services any more than Santa's grotto should have a manger and a baby Jesus present," Storey said in a statement.

But Cuff labelled the move "political correctness gone mad." "If he can have big screen football in church, why can't he have Santa Claus in church?" he demanded. He said he had been handing out sweets to local children before the church service.

Nun fined for 'terrorist' ranting
Sister Ruth AugustusA nun has been convicted of religious harassment after calling Muslims 'terrorists'.

Sister Ruth Augustus, 66, was fined £200 for shouting at women in burkhas: 'You are probably terrorists.'

She also told police officers they should 'go back to Iraq and have their heads chopped off'.

Augustus was handing out leaflets in London's Oxford Street on Easter Tuesday when the trouble flared, City of Westminster magistrates were told.

As a group of Muslims passed, she called out: 'Jesus loves Muslims.'

But, despite two women taking offence, the nun continued: 'You're probably terrorists – get back to your own country.' Augustus has vowed to appeal against her conviction.

Middle East
Islamic Movement sheikhs slam theories of Holocaust denial
The Holocaust-denial theories aired last week in Iran were denounced Friday from an unexpected source - in a statement released by sheikhs of the Islamic Movement in Israel. Simultaneously, Religious Zionist rabbis issued a statement denouncing damage done to the Muslim cemetery in the center of Jerusalem in the construction of the Museum of Tolerance.

Both statements came out of a conference of Kedem, an organization of Jewish, Christian and Muslim clergy. The leaders of Kedem, which operates in the framework of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI), say cooperation in the organization cam be a model to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

During the two-day conference sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the World Conference of Religions for Peace, a roundable discussion was held among MKs from the National Union-National Religious Party, Kadima and the United Arab List-Ta'al. Participants sometimes expressed themselves harshly: MK Rabbi Yitzhak Levy (National Union-NRP compared Hamas to the devil and MK Abas Zkoor (UAL-Ta'al) spoke of religious
imperatives to fight infidels. Nevertheless, all agreed that Muslims and Jews in Israel had to cooperate, even without a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Levy proposed cooperation on issues like family values, combating violence and corruption. Zkoor said a common enemy of the Islamic Movement and the Jewish religious right was secularism.

IDF: Syria not planning for war with Israel in summer
The Israel Defense Forces has no intelligence regarding Syrian plans to initiate a war against Israel next summer, the army announced last last Sunday in an official statement.

This followed a day of contradictory statements regarding reports originating from Military Intelligence and the Northern Command.

IDF sources made it clear that assessments of the situation in the north are continuing, and preparations for a possible scenario involving the outbreak of war there next summer are part of a "working assumption" on the basis of which the forces' readiness can be improved.

The head of research at Military Intelligence, Brigadier General Yossi Beiditch, presented the government with a report on the situation along the northern border during the cabinet's weekly meeting.

Beiditch told the ministers that Syria's President Bashar Assad "is preparing the Syrian army for the possibility of a military confrontation with Israel, but on the other hand does not discount the possibility of a diplomatic settlement."

Mashaal offers 10-year cease-fire deal
Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal has said he would be willing to set up a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders side-by-side with Israel.

In an interview published Monday in the Italian newspaper Republica, Mashaal also offered Israel a 10-year cease-fire deal.

The exiled Hamas leader added that he was not prepared to recognize Israel, since to do so would grant legitimacy to the "occupation."

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, however, declared on Monday that "Palestine" was Islamic land and that no one had the right to give it up, according to Israel Radio.

In a meeting with Iran's spiritual leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Haniyeh said that an armed struggle was the only way to free Palestine from the "occupation."

Haniyeh made his statements at the end of a four-day visit to Iran, after which he was scheduled to visit Sudan.

Palestinian victims may claim damages, Israeli court rules
In an important and controversial ruling, the Israeli Supreme Court threw out part of a law today that prevented Palestinians from seeking compensation from Israel for damages from Israeli Army activities in the occupied territories.

The ruling, which was unanimous, opens the way for Palestinians harmed in “nonbelligerent” army operations in the West Bank or Gaza to seek redress for damages. But the court left standing a provision that bars compensation to Palestinians harmed in combat operations.

The law also bars compensation to citizens of “enemy states” or to “activists or members of a terrorist organization,” which would include Hamas, elected last January to run the Palestinian Authority.

According to the law, in the form of an amendment passed by the Israeli Parliament in July 2005, the army, security services and the state were considered immune retroactively from being sued for damages caused since Sept. 29, 2000, which is when the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, is considered to have broken out.

Petitioners in the case contended that the “intifada law,” as it is known, prevented the filing of lawsuits that may have resulted in judgments of many thousands of dollars; those suits may now be filed.

The state argued that “the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians since the year 2000 is a war in every respect.”

But Chief Justice Aharon Barak wrote that Israel’s continuous military presence in the territories “left many harmed who were not involved in any hostile activity.”

UN to register Palestinians' complaints over West Bank fence
The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly approved plans for a UN registry to record and process claims of damages caused by Israel's construction of its West Bank barrier.

Israel rejected the move, saying it had set up a mechanism to help those harmed by the structure, which it says is to keep out suicide bombers but which Palestinians see as a land grab to preempt talks on the borders of an eventual Palestinian state.

The barrier, a mix of electronic fences and walls, has been under construction since 2002 and eventually will stretch more than 400 miles, curling around Israeli settlements as it cuts deep into Palestinian lands.

A resolution adopted by a vote of 162 to 7 with 7 abstentions called for the establishment within six months of a three-member board and a secretariat to record and process damage claims.

While the UN initially said it would set up the registry in the West Bank so its offices would be close to those filing damage claims, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan later recommended that it be based in Vienna, and the assembly went along with that recommendation.

The United States voted against the resolution."We believe that the registry process set forth in this resolution remains too ill-defined and too open-ended in duration to allow us to support it," U.S. envoy Christopher Ross said. "The United States prefers to support the Palestinian people in other ways."

Asia
India has killed 10 mln girls in 20 years
Ten million girls have been killed by their parents in India in the past 20 years, either before they were born or immediately after, a government minister said on Thursday, describing it as a "national crisis".

A UNICEF report released this week said 7,000 fewer girls are born in the country every day than the global average would suggest, largely because female foetuses are aborted after sex determination tests but also through murder of new borns.

"It's shocking figures and we are in a national crisis if you ask me," Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury told Reuters.

Girls are seen as liabilities by many Indians, especially because of the banned but rampant practice of dowry, where the bride's parents pay cash and goods to the groom's family.

Men are also seen as bread-winners while social prejudices deny women opportunities for education and jobs.

The practice of killing the girl child is more prevalent among the educated, including in upmarket districts of New Delhi, making it more challenging for the government, the minister said.

Taiwan president's wife collapses at corruption trial
The wife of Taiwan's embattled President Chen Shui-bian collapsed shortly after she pleaded not guilty at the start of her high-profile trial on corruption and forgery charges.

Wu Shu-chen, accused of illegally claiming 14.8 million Taiwan dollars (450,000 US dollars) in personal expenses from state funds, was rushed to nearby National Taiwan University Hospital after she fainted during a recess.

"Not guilty," Wu replied earlier in the day when questioned by the chief judge.

The morning session, which was broadcast live to reporters at an auditorium, was briefly interrupted by her absence. "She was very tired ... her condition was urgent but her blood pressure and body temperature were returning to normal. We have to closely monitor her condition," said a hospital spokesman.

The court session resumed around 14:30 pm (0630 GMT) and ended two hours later without the wheelchair-bound Wu, as the 54-year-old remained in hospital for observation. The next hearing was scheduled for Friday next week.

The landmark corruption case could end Chen's presidency as the leader has promised to resign if his wife is found guilty. Prosecutors last month indicted Wu and three presidential aides and named Chen a suspect in the scandal. The corruption charge carries a minimum seven-year prison term and forgery at least one year.

Bhutan king steps down
The people of the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan have greeted the announcement of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck's earlier-than-expected abdication with sadness and gratitude.

Wangchuck, 50, on Saturday announced that he was handing over the sceptre to his son, Crown Prince Jigme Kesar Namgyel.

Wangchuck, who took over the throne in 1972 at the age of 16, sought to lift the "Gross National Happiness" of the isolated country of 700,000 people, with policies aimed at preserving the traditional culture and environment of the nation.

He had earlier said he would step down in 2008.

Bhutan, sandwiched between India and China, has remained largely untouched by modern influences, with a limited number of foreign visitors allowed each year. Television arrived in 1999 and the internet a year later.

The kingdom will also formally adopt a constitution later this month and plans to hold parliamentary elections in 2008.

Africa
Priest convicted in Rwandan genocide
Rwanda - The United Nation war crimes court for Rwanda on Wednesday convicted a Roman Catholic priest, the first it has tried, of genocide and sentenced him to 15 years for his role in the 1994 mass killings.The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) found Father Athanase Seromba guilty on two of four counts he faced in connection with the genocide in which some 800 000 people, mainlyminority Tutsis and moderate Hutus, died."The chamber finds you guilty of genocide and extermination and sentences you to a single term of 15 years in prison," chief judge Andrefia Vaz said, reading the verdict of the three-member panel.

Mengistu found guilty of genocide
Ethiopia's Marxist ex-ruler, Mengistu Haile Mariam, has been found guilty of genocide after a 12-year trial. The former leader was tried in his absence. He has been in exile in Zimbabwe since being ousted in 1991 and many fear he will never face justice.
In a notorious campaign - known as the Red Terror - thousands of suspected opponents were rounded up and executed and their bodies tossed on the streets. Mengistu and dozens of his officials could face the death penalty.

All bar one of the other 72 officials also on trial were found guilty of genocide. Thirty-four people were in court, 14 others have died during the lengthy process and 25, including Mengistu, were tried in absentia. Sentencing is expected on 28 December.
They were accused of killing thousands of people including the last emperor, members of the royal family, 60 ministers and top officials. The court also found them guilty of imprisonment, illegal homicide and illegal confiscation of property.

Mengistu's Marxist rule began in 1974, when he and a group of officials known as the Dergue, overthrew Ethiopia's emperor, Haile Selassie. The emperor had failed to come to grips with a poor harvest, and the situation escalated into a devastating famine. Mr Mugabe has so far refused requests to extradite Mengistu to Ethiopia.

Zimbabwe's ruling party proposes extending Mugabe's leadership
Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party proposed extending veteran President Robert Mugabe's term by another two years, giving him a full three decades in power.

"The committee reaffirms the leadership of President Robert Mugabe as the leader of the party," Elliot Manyika, chairman of a committee on the state of the party, told the party's annual conference.

"There should be no debate on succession because there is no vacancy. The committee agreed to have harmonised polls which should be held in 2010," Manyika said at the conference at Goromonzi high school, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of the capital.
On Thursday, Mugabe had said it would make sense for presidential and parliamentary elections -- scheduled for 2008 and 2010 respectively -- to be held simultaneously.

The party's youth wing also backed the extension of Mugabe's term of office. The women's league also supported Mugabe's continued reign, saying it was the only way they would be safe.

The 82-year-old, who has ruled Zimbabwe since its independence from British colonial rule in 1980, had previously indicated he would retire when his term expired in 2008.

Gambia gives ex-presidents free holidays for life
The parliament of Gambia, one of the world's poorest countries, passed a law on Wednesday to give former presidents free foreign holidays, cars and personal staff for life after they leave office.

The bill entitles ex-leaders of the West African nation to have three cars with drivers and fuel, holidays abroad each year, personal secretaries and 1 million CFA francs (1,000 pounds) a month, courtesy of the state.

Gambia's current president Yahya Jammeh, an authoritarian former coup leader, won a third term of office in September.

A bird lover who often carries a ceremonial sword, Jammeh has said he wants to rule the former British protectorate - where 60 percent of people live on less than $1 (50 pence) a day - for another three decades.

It was not immediately clear whether presidents overthrown in a coup would enjoy the benefits of the new law.

Algeria asks Spain to help find Western Sahara solution
Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika asked Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to help settle the dispute in Western Sahara, as the latter paid a flying visit to Algiers.

Morocco claims Western Sahara, a desolate but phosphate-rich northwest African territory, which it annexed after the withdrawal of Spain and Mauritania in the 1970s and settled with around 300,000 Moroccans in the 1975 "Green March."

A bitter guerrilla war with the Polisario Front - who contested Rabat's sovereignty - ended only in 1991 with a UN-brokered ceasefire.

The United Nations had sought since 1992 to organize a referendum on self-determination for the territory, but several attempts, including one in 2003 by former US Secretary of State James Baker, broke down over arguments over who was eligible to vote.

US actor Clooney suggests Annan serve as Darfur peace envoy
Oscar-winning US actor George Clooney suggested that UN chief Kofi Annan should serve as peace envoy to Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region after he leaves office at the end of the month.

Clooney told reporters that the proposal was made by Egypt and China, two countries which the US actor recently visited as part of his campaign to raise awareness of the humanitarian tragedy in Darfur.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Annan, who is to relinquish his post at the end of the month after 10 years in office, urged the Clooney delegation to continue their efforts to raise awareness of the Darfur tragedy.

But asked about the idea of Annan serving as Darfur envoy, the spokesman said the Ghanaian secretary general, after he steps down, "plans to go underground for a few months." "When he re-emerges, he will decide what to do," Dujarric added.

Australasia
Boozy nights cost Aussies 2.6 million mornings after
Australians have a reputation as big drinkers but a new report has found many can not handle their hangovers, with Australians claiming more than 2.6 million sick days a year as a result of a night on the booze.

The study of 13,500 Australian drinkers, published in the December issue of the Medical Journal of Australia, found days lost due to alcohol sickness and injuries was costing A$437 million (U.S.$344 million) a year.

The study by Flinders University in South Australia found Australia's heavy drinkers managed their hangovers better than light drinkers who claimed a higher number of sick days.

Australia has a reputation for being a nation of heavy drinkers coming in at number 14 for beer consumption per capita behind Germany, the United Kingdom and Belgium, says the World Health Organization.