U.S. troops allegedly killed detainees
U.S. Army officials are investigating allegations that American soldiers killed several detainees after they were captured on a battlefield in southwest Baghdad last year, officials said Tuesday.
Israeli court upholds Gaza sanctions
The Israeli Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the government’s decision to slash fuel and electricity supplies to the Gaza Strip. Israeli human rights groups had challenged the sanctions, which Israel says are aimed at halting ongoing rocket fire by Gaza militants. Palestinian officials say the cutbacks have harmed Gaza’s already impoverished residents by causing power shortages and crippling crucial utilities.
Winograd panel ‘shocked’ by IDF performance in war
“Complete shock.” That is how friends of retired generals Menachem Einan and Chaim Nadel, two members of the Winograd war probe commission, described the generals’ reaction to the Israel Defense Forces’ performance during the Second Lebanon War.
Ahmadinejad tells West: Accept Israel’s ‘imminent collapse’
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the West Wednesday to acknowledge Israel’s “imminent collapse.” Speaking to a crowd on a visit to the southern port of Bushehr, where Iran’s first light-water nuclear power plant is being built by Russia, Ahmadinejad further incited his listeners to “stop supporting the Zionists, as [their] regime reached its final stage.”
U.S. to press NATO for more troops for Afghanistan
The Pentagon said on Tuesday it will press NATO’s European members to send more troops to Afghanistan’s violent south in response to a call from Canada for reinforcements, but Washington will not boost its force there.
Canadian PM refuses to discuss detainees as controversy rages
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is refusing to say how Canada is handling detainees in Afghanistan amid fresh controversy over the issue. Harper says detainees are a matter of national security and he will not discuss how many Afghan prisoners there are — or where they are.
Abbas, Hamas due in Cairo for talks on Gaza border
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and a delegation from the rival Hamas faction are due in Cairo for talks Wednesday on the future of Gaza’s border with Egypt. The factions are likely to meet separately with Egyptian officials. Mr. Abbas has refused to speak with Hamas until it gives up control of the Gaza Strip.
Guilty pleas over soldier beheading plot
Four men today pleaded guilty to offences linked to a plot to kidnap and murder a Muslim member of the British armed forces and supply equipment to terrorists. Earlier this month, Parviz Khan, the 37-year-old ringleader of the group, admitted a series of charges including the beheading plot, Leicester crown court heard today.
