Naypyidaw — UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
said he was “deeply disappointed” after the
reclusive chief of Myanmar’s military junta
refused to let him meet pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi. Ban said he had pressed top
general Than Shwe on the issue when they met for
the second time in two days in the bunker-like
capital Naypyidaw, but was told the Nobel Peace
laureate was off limits because she is on trial.
Kandahar, Afghanistan— Residents of
Afghanistan’s Helmand are sceptical about US and
British operations underway in their southern
province, uncertain they can end Taliban attacks
and intimidation.It is not just the insurgency
that contributes to a dire situation but also
official corruption, the drugs trade and
unemployment, they told AFP as 4,000 Marines
pushed south and hundreds of British soldiers
were busy further north.
Manama— Lawmakers here heaped praise on the
members of Bahrain’s women’s basketball team for
refusing to remove their hijab in an
international competition. “The attitude of our
national team was honourable and truly indicated
the players’ deep commitment to Islamic values.
They conveyed a strong and genuine message to
the whole world that Muslims value their
traditions and principles and are not ready to
give them up for the sake of a game,” said MP
Ebrahim Busanadal.
Moscow—Nine Chechen policemen sent to crush an
insurgency in the neighboring Russian republic
of Ingushetia were gunned down Saturday,
Interfax reported, intensifying the cycle of
violence now unfolding in the region.
Khartoum — Sudanese security services were
searching Saturday for two kidnapped female aid
workers, one Ugandan and one Irish, taken from
their compound in Darfur, the women’s employer
said.
