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World Newspapers |
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World News from Times Online
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World News from Times Online
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Man loses foot as police fire tear gas at Bangkok protesters
Scores of people were injured and one man lost a foot this morning when police
in Bangkok fired tear gas and plastic bullets into a crowd of protesters
attempting to seize control of the Thai parliament.
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Reserve Bank of Australia cuts interest rates
Treasury
may take £50bn stake in banks | Graphic:
The world in turmoil | Iceland
faces economic collapse | Icelandic
Prime Minister warns nation | Six
solutions - and their drawbacks | Comment:
Bronwen Maddox | Comment:
Simon Barnes | Comment:
Anatole Kaletsky
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One in four mammals face extinction according to Red List
The
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008
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Resurgent Taleban vow to disrupt 'joke' presidential election
The Taleban threatened to attack polling stations and candidates during
Afghanistan?s second presidential election, due to be held next summer, as
the lengthy and dangerous process of voter registration began yesterday.
The chief spokesman for Mullah Omar, the Taleban?s leader, told The
Times that the group would use its increasing influence in the country
to disrupt the poll. ?This is not an election, it is a joke that is putting
dust in people?s eyes,? said Qari Yousuf Ahmadi. ?Where will they have an
election? How much of Afghanistan belongs to the Government and foreign
troops??
The poll is seen as a crucial test of the credibility of the fragile
Western-backed Government and the seven-year reconstruction effort. The
Taleban made little attempt to oppose elections in 2004 and 2005, and Afghan
officials have expressed hope that it will allow the democratic process set
for August 2009.
Azzizullah Luddin, the head of the Afghanistan Independent Electoral
Commission, told The Times: ?My expectation is that they don?t
attack. My hope is that they will allow the people to vote.?
A total of 12.5 million Afghans registered to vote in the 2004 presidential
election. With a 75 per cent turnout it was hailed as a triumph, with Hamid
Karzai returned as President amid high expectations. However, despite modest
progress in reconstruction in some areas, the four years since have seen a
steady decline in security, with parts of the south and southeast now
inaccessible to the Government because of Taleban activity and widespread
criminality.
The standing of the Karzai administration has also been eroded by corruption
at all levels, much of it fuelled by the opium trade. Yesterday fresh
allegations appeared in the American media concerning President Karzai?s
brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, and the heroin trade. He denied the claims and
threatened legal action.
Western officials in Kabul said that the election challenge was greater than
in 2004. ?The environment is significantly more difficult,? said a UN
diplomat. ?The Taleban was much weaker then.?
Officials compared the insecurity in the country to that facing Iraq in 2006
when it held elections, but added that a significant additional strain on
the process was the low level of education among ordinary Afghans. Western
diplomats point out that 80 per cent of the Afghan police force overseeing
much of the security organisation of the election are illiterate. All
election materials have to be printed with pictorial explanations.
Election officials said yesterday that the security situation was hampering
efforts to move registration materials to district centres in insurgency-hit
areas in the east of the country. The registration process is scheduled to
occur in four stages, with work in the most dangerous areas not due to begin
until November.
The Nato commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, said this week
that he needed an additional 14,000 troops to counter instability,
particularly on the Pakistan border.
On the streets of Kabul, many voters seemed apprehensive about the election.
?I feel shame that I voted for Karzai before and I never vote for him
again,? said Mohammad Azzam Khan, 28, from Kandahar. His friend, who did not
want to be named, said: ?This is not an Afghan election. Whoever is chosen
by America will be the president.?
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Basque terrorist Elena Beloki granted bail to have IVF treatment
An Eta terrorist serving a 13-year jail term has been released for IVF
treatment, causing outrage among victims of the Basque separatist group.
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Palestinian landowners sue Israel over 'land robber' Jewish settlers
Five Palestinian landowners are suing the state of Israel over the loss of
their land to an illegal outpost in a lawsuit that could set a precedent for
tackling Jewish settlement growth in the West Bank.
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US hands over Saddam Hussein palace after staff move to new embassy
The United States is preparing to hand control of Saddam Hussein's Republican
Palace in Baghdad to the Iraqi Government in one of the most symbolic
examples of the country's increasing sovereignty.
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Barack Obama and John McCain rehearse for second live TV showdown
Barack Obama and John McCain enter potentially treacherous waters tonight when
they take questions from an audience of swing voters in their second
presidential debate - one of the Republican?s last chances to change the
trajectory of a race that has shifted towards his rival.
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French elite in the dock as £450m Angola arms trial begins in Paris
Some of the leading names in France's political and business elite went on
trial yesterday over an arms-dealing scandal that could shine light on the
murkiest dealings of the French state.
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Gloves off as John McCain lands Barack Obama 'lie' jibe
The road to the White House descended into political swampland yesterday, with
John McCain and Barack Obama digging up dirt from the past to sling at each
other in the closing month of the presidential race.
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