UK-World Summary
Philippines massacre toll reaches 46
AMPATUAN, Philippines - The Philippines placed two southern provinces and a city under emergency rule on Tuesday after gunmen killed 46 people in a brutal election-related massacre that has shocked the country. Many of the victims in the killings in Maguindanao province were women from the powerful Mangudadatu clan. About a dozen journalists were also among the dead.
China executes two for tainted milk scandal
BEIJING - China on Tuesday executed two people for their role in a tainted milk scandal that killed at least six children and further sullied the made-in-China brand. Nearly 300,000 children fell ill last year after drinking milk intentionally laced with melamine, a toxic industrial compound that can give a fake positive on protein tests, sold mainly by the now bankrupt Sanlu Group.
Obama to announce Afghanistan decision within days
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama held a final strategy session with top aides on whether to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan and plans to announce his decision within days, the White House said. The session in the Situation Room on Monday with officials including Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary Robert Gates marked the ninth such meeting.
Hague prosecutor accuses Congo warlords
THE HAGUE as rival groups fought for control of the region's gold, diamonds and oil.
Netanyahu says Hamas prisoner deal might not happen
JERUSALEM - An Israeli prisoner exchange with Hamas has not yet been agreed and might not happen, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday after a cabinet colleague predicted a breakthrough in the near future. "There is still no deal, and I do not know if there will be one," Netanyahu, whose refusal to disclose details of the state of the Egyptian- and German-mediated negotiations has helped stoked speculation about imminent progress, told reporters.
Spain arrests 36 from youth group linked to ETA
MADRID - Spanish police have arrested 36 members of Segi, an outlawed youth group linked to the Basque guerrilla organisation ETA, in a sweep which is still underway, court officials said on Tuesday. The operation was carried out across the Basque Country and Navarra, northern Spain, on the orders of a High Court judge.
Eight charged in U.S. for Somali war recruiting
MINNEAPOLIS - Authorities unsealed terrorism-related charges Monday against eight defendants they said recruited young Somali-American men to return to their homeland to fight for an Islamist militant group. The charges said men were recruited in Minneapolis mosques to fight for al-Shabaab, which the United States accuses of being al Qaeda's proxy in the Horn of Africa nation.
Obama aims to reassure Singh on U.S.-India ties
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama hosts Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday for talks considered critical to showing Washington's commitment to New Delhi in a region where its rivals, China and Pakistan, are U.S. priorities. Obama's challenge will be to ease the emerging Asian power's concerns that it is slipping down his foreign policy agenda, dominated recently by efforts to craft a new war plan in Afghanistan and curb Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Iraq parliament passes new vote law, veto unresolved
BAGHDAD - Iraq's parliament on Monday approved an amended law needed to hold an election next year, but the new text risks being vetoed a second time -- which could delay both the vote and next year's partial U.S. troop withdrawal. The bill now returns to the three-person presidential council where, lawmakers said, Sunni Arab Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi is likely veto it again as it still fails to address his demand to give more of a say to Iraqis living abroad.
Belgian pleads guilty in U.S. jet parts sale to Iran
WASHINGTON - A Belgian man pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of conspiring to illegally export F-5 fighter jet engines and parts from the United States to Iran, the Justice Department said. Jacques Monsieur pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Mobile, Alabama. He was arrested in August and charged in a six-count indictment with conspiracy, money laundering, smuggling and violating the Arms Export Control Act and an embargo on trade with Iran.