Posse comitatus act abolished & the troops are comming home. (part 2) : AOL Video feed

Lebanon Shells Al-Qaida Militants

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:10:09 -0500

TRIPOLI, Lebanon - May 21, 2007 Lebanese troops pounded a Palestinian refugee camp with artillery and tank fire for a second day Monday, raising huge columns of smoke as they battled a militant group suspected of ties to al-Qaida in the worst violence since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. Nearly 50 combatants were killed in the first day of fighting Sunday, but it was not known how many civilians have been killed inside the Nahr el-Bared camp on the outskirts of the northern port city of Tripoli, the site of the heaviest battles. Palestinian officials in the camp reported at least nine civilians were killed Monday, along with 40 wounded. The figures could not be confirmed because emergency workers or security officials have not been able to get in. The State Department defended the Lebanese army, saying it was working in a "legitimate manner" against "provocations by violent extremists" operating in the camp. Black smoke engulfed the skies over the camp as fires raged and heavy gunfire and explosions rang out. The fierce fighting resumed after a brief truce that allowed the evacuation of 18 wounded civilians, according to Saleh Badran, an official with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. Lebanon was already in the midst of its worst political crisis between the Western-backed government and Hezbollah-led opposition since the end of the civil war. The battle was an unprecedented showdown between the Lebanese army and militant groups that have arisen in Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps, which are home to tens of thousands of people living amid poverty and crime and which Lebanese troops are not allowed to enter. The troops were fighting a group called Fatah Islam, whose leader has said he is inspired by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and was training militants for attacks in other countries. Lebanese officials have also accused Syria of using Fatah Islam to stir up trouble in Lebanon, a charge Damascus has denied. Lebanese officials said one o...

News review 2005 part 6 of 6

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 16:17:14 -0400

Including: Riots across France; Jordan hotel bombings; River pollution in China; Bird flu in Eastern Europe; Iranian aircraft Tehran building; UN Climate conference; and more. PAKISTANI RAPE VICTIM MUKHTAR MAI GIVEN BRAVERY AWARD Glamour magazine honoured rape victim Mukhtar Mai with a bravery award for her courage in bringing her violators to justice in conservative Pakistan. Mukhtar was raped in 2002 by a group of men on the orders of the tribal council (Jirga) as a family punishment after her younger brother was accused of sexual relations with a girl from an influential tribe. An appeal is pending in Paksitan's Supreme Court against a high court order to free 13 men of involvement in the crime. 'SCOOTER' LIBBY PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO CHARGES IN CIA LEAK PROBE President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis Libby, plead not guilty on November 3 to charges in the CIA leak probe, in a case that could put a spotlight on how the Bush administration made its case for the Iraq war. Libby resigned in October after he was indicted on five counts of obstructing justice, perjury and lying in the two-year investigation into the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. RIOTING AND CIVIL UNREST SPREAD FROM IMPOVERISHED SUBURBS OF PARIS ACROSS FRANCE, GOVERNMENT IMPOSES STATE OF EMERGENCY Sixteen nights of rioting and civil unrest across France were sparked after two youths of North African origin were electrocuted on October 27 in an electricity substation in what locals say was an attempt to escape the police. Authorities deny that they were being chased by police at the time. More than 5,000 cars were set ablaze and at least 1,500 people detained, many of them of Arab and African origin. One person died. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, whose tough line on the unrest had been widely criticised, said "We can see that the French integration model is not working and needs to be seriously revisited." JORDAN HOTEL BOMBINGS KILL OVER 50 PEOPLE Thr...

Bush holds final news conference

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:56:47 -0400

President Bush on Monday held his final news conference at the White House, eight days before leaving office.

News review of 2005 part 2 of 6

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 16:11:36 -0400

Including: Lebanon - Hariri Assassination; Bird flu; Kyoto pact comes into effect; Iraq violence - insurgency continues; Global flyer world record; Indonesia earthquake; and more. LEBANON - HARIRI ASSASINATION February was marked by the assasination of former Lebanese President Rafik Al Hariri on Valentine's day (February 14). A massive car bomb in Beirut's waterfront district killed the ex-premier and 19 others in an attack that would reverberate through the following months and leave an indelible change in the Lebanon's political landscape. The explosion gouged a huge crater out of the road, ripped facades from luxury buildings and left cars ablaze on the rubble-strewn street. At least 150,000 people attended his funeral including French President Jacques Chirac. Sixty-year-old Hariri had held office for most of the previous 12 years before quitting in October 2004 amid a bitter rift with President Emile Lahoud. A direct consequence of the attack was the removal of 14,000 Syrian troops from Lebanon, which Hariri had been calling for in the run up to a May general election. Syria had been a major power broker in its smaller neighbour since the civil war when it was credited with helping to bring the conflict to a close in 1990. A U.N. report issued in late October accused high-ranking Syrian security officials and their allies in Lebanon of involvement in the plot to kill Hariri. The United States and France threatened economic sanctions if Syria did not cooperate in the probe and detain officials for interviews with U.N. investigators. BIRD FLU PANDEMIC FEARS IN YEAR OF ROOSTER Earlier in the month, fears of a bird flu pandemic emerged as the Chinese celebrated the start of the Year of the Rooster. In Vietnam, where 41 people have died of bird flu, over half of the country's 64 provinces are infected despite ruthless measures to stop the spread of the H5N1 strain, including the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of poultry. The World Health Organisat...

Mauricio Funes likely to win the election.

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:31:02 -0500

This former member of the guerilla group Farabundo Marti Front for the National Liberation or FMLN could win the country’s presidential elections. It is a possibility that shows the growing influence of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s leftist agenda in Latin America. Mauricio Funes, presidential candidate for Front Faribundo Marti pour la libération nationale (FMLN), "If under my mandate El Salvador maintains open, moderate leftist policies, I don’t see why we could not get along with President Obama." The latest polls predict a very tight race between Mauricio Funes and his right-wing opponent, the former head of the national police, Rodrigo Avila. The tension is high in this country which continues to struggle with the aftermath of its grueling civil war.

News review 2005 part 3 of 6

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 16:12:50 -0400

Including: Mugabe retains power in Zimbabwe; Pope John Paul II dies; Protests against Japanese history textbook; France rejects EU constitution; Khodorkovsky sentenced and more. MUGABE RETAINS POWER IN ZIMBABWE ELECTIONS CONDEMNED AS UNFAIR BY THE WEST Zimbabweans kept President Robert Mugabe in power after March 31 elections gave him an overall majority in the 150-seat parliamentary assembly. Despite turnout of less than 50 percent and accusations that the polls were flawed, Mugabe's Zanu-PF (Zimbabwe African National Unity-Patriotic Front) party took 78 seats, leaving the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai with 41 seats and one independent. 30 other seats are directly appointed by Mugabe. 81-year-old Mugabe has held power for 25 years since independence from Britain and has been isolated and criticised by the international community for misrule and wrecking the economy. POPE JOHN PAUL II DIES, CARDINAL RATZINGER ELECTED SUCCESSOR An estimated 300,000 people crammed into the Vatican city on April 8 to watch one of the most momentous funerals in recent history. Polish Pope John Paul II died on April 2nd after a 26-year papacy, after long bouts of illness and increasing frailty. He was buried a week later in a simple wooden coffin, after a huge outpouring of grief, during which millions files past his body as it lay in state. The conservative German 78-year-old Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI surprisingly quickly on April 19 and faced with the daunting task of leading 1.1 billion Roman Catholics through what some predict will be a difficult papacy. BRITAIN'S PRINCE CHARLES FINALLY MARRIES CAMILLA PARKER BOWLES AFTER 35-YEAR AFFAIR The day after attending the pope's funeral, Britain's heir to the throne, Prince Charles finally married his mistress of 35 years, Camilla Parker Bowles. Charles troubled first marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales, was unable to survive his continuing affair with Camilla and they div...

IRAQ MARSH

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:42:56 -0500

Civil engineer Peter Hunt of Mott-McDonald, speaks about the Iraqi Marsh known as the Cradle of Civilization. Included are aerials of the Marsh destroyed by Saddam Hussein in the worst case of environmental terrorism in history. Interview and aerials shot by Phin Percy Basra, Iraq March 2009 ... "Iraq Marsh" "Marsh arabs" "Cradle of civilization" "Peter Hunt" Mott-McDonald MNFI Basra Iraq "Phin Percy" "Julie Dermansky" "Over the Wire Films"

Town Meeting: Capuano on Afghanistan

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:05:35 -0500

(NECN) - Congressman Michael Capuano joined NECN for a Town Meeting of the Air, a chance for viewers to ask questions of the Senate candidates. Capuano is serving his sixth term as a Representative in Congress for Massachusetts' Eighth Dis...