Iran Closes Official Newspaper For Riot Sparking Cartoon
TEHRAN, IRAN - The Iranian government has closed an official newspaper because of a cartoon the The Iranian government has closed an official newspaper because of a cartoon the paper ran last Friday.
State television quotes the country’s chief prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi Tuesday as saying the paper’s cartoonist Mana […]

Russia Calls On Iran To Abandon Uranium Enrichment
Russia is calling on Iran to accept a package of European incentives and to abandon uranium enrichment activities.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking in Kuwait, said Tuesday he hopes Iran will accept the initiative and also cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
He said he hopes Wednesday’s meeting […]

Israel Captures Hamas Military Commander In West Bank
Jerusalem, Israel - Israeli forces have captured the commander of the Hamas military wing in the West Bank.  The military operation took place as Palestinian factions held an emergency meeting to try to defuse tensions in the Gaza Strip. 
Israeli forces surrounded a two-story building in the West Bank […]

Israel Rejects Hamas-Led Palestinian Peace Demand
JERUSALEM - The prime minister of the Hamas-led Palestinian government, Ismail Haniyeh, says peace will prevail if Israel pulls back to its 1967 borders - a demand Israel has already rejected.
In an interview published Tuesday in Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, Mr. Haniyeh said if Israel withdrew from all the captured land, […]

North Korea Nuclear Stalemate Continues 
SEOUL - As the United States’ chief envoy to the North Korea nuclear talks once again heads for Northeast Asia, prominent voices are calling on Pyongyang to end its weapons programs. Among them is former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who is only weeks away from a scheduled meeting with North […]

Nepal: No longer a Hindu Kingdom
By Roxanne Anderson, Build International Ministries
 
KATHMANDU, NEPAL – The country of Nepal is no longer a Hindu nation. On Thursday, May 18, 2006, the only Hindu kingdom in the world was unanimously declared by its new government to be a secular state.
It began with the country-wide nineteen day revolution last […]

VA Urges Caution After Theft of Personal Information
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2006 – Veterans Affairs officials today announced the theft of personal information on up to 26.5 million veterans. However, VA Secretary R. James Nicholson stressed there’s no indication the information is being used for purposes of fraud.”We at the […]

Attorney General Says U.S. Could Prosecute Journalists
WASHINGTON - U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says the federal government could prosecute journalists for publishing classified information.
Speaking on ABC’s This Week  television program, the nation’s top law enforcement officer said investigators are deciding on what he called “the appropriate course of action” regarding the New York Times newspaper’s […]

WHO Chief Dies After Brain Surgery 
GENEVA - World Health Organization Director General Dr. Lee Jong-wook has died after undergoing surgery over the weekend for a blood clot in his brain. He was 61-years-old and leaves behind a wife and son.
Dr. Lee Jong-wook’s death was announced just as the World Health Assembly began its annual conference.
After […]

Ancient African Medicine Tree Near Extinction 
Nyeri, Kenya - For thousands of years, people living around Mount Kenya in the central part of the east African country have relied on a species of indigenous trees to treat different kinds of physical ailments. About a decade ago, western drug companies discovered why the trees are so highly prized.  […]

Saddam Hussein Trial Resumes 
Baghdad, Iraq - The trial of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants accused of crimes against humanity resumed Monday in Baghdad.
Controversy immediately engulfed the proceedings when one of Saddam’s defense attorneys was ejected after an argument with the judge, Rauf Abdel Rahman. Lebanese lawyer Bushra Khalil had just returned to […]

Palestinians Fear Civil War
Jerusalem, Israel -  One civilian has been killed and 11 people wounded in a gun battle between rival Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip. Tensions have been rising since the Islamic militant group Hamas took control of the Palestinian Authority eight weeks ago.
Hamas militiamen and Palestinian police from the rival Fatah faction traded […]

Coalition Airstrike Kills Civilians In Afghanistan
U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan say coalition aircraft bombed a Taleban stronghold in southern Kandahar province overnight, killing 80 suspected Taleban militants and 16 civilians.
Kandahar Governor Asadullah Khalid said Monday that besides the militants, 16 civilians were killed and at least another 15 were wounded.  The coalition says it is […]

Bush Hails New Iraqi Unity Government 
White House
22 May 2006 
President Bush says the formation of a unity government in Iraq marks a watershed for the greater Middle East. Mr. Bush pledged continuing U.S. support for the country.
The president says the Iraqi government is still a work in progress, but if its new leaders seize the opportunity […]