Heaviest snowfall in 50 years hits Algeria
Reuters
Algiers: The heaviest snow in more than 50 years fell on the Algerian capital yesterday, paralys-ing traffic, killing 13 people and isolating nearly a third of the North African country's provinces, authorities said.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=149662
US says more violence likely in Kuwait
By Nirmala Janssen, Correspondent
Kuwait City: The US Embassy has issued a warning to its citizens of possible violent clashes in the wake of two gunbattles between security forces and militants earlier this month.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=149578
Location of polling booths is best-kept secret in Samarra
Reuters
Samarra: Three days before Iraq's first multi-party election in decades, the best-kept secret in the restive city of Samarra is where the polling stations are.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=149661
Nobel Winner Tells Iran to Ban Solitary Confinement
Jan 17, 2005 — By Paul Hughes
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi on Monday issued an unprecedented demand for Iranian authorities to ban the use of solitary confinement because she said it amounted to torture, again defying the Islamic Republic.
Ebadi, who last week refused to obey a summons from Iran's feared Revolutionary Court, said: "I am calling on judiciary officials to issue a stern order banning the use of solitary confinement."
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=418469
Expert witnesses defend Aussie sailor
February 5, 2005
Perth yachting personality Christopher Packer was justified in carrying firearms on board his ship to protect himself against pirates as he sailed between Indonesia and Malaysia, an expert witness told a Balinese court.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Expert-witnesses-defend-Aussie-sailor/2005/02/04/1107476800418.html
3.6 million nickels taken from Fed found buried in Redland
BY MARTIN MERZER
mmerzer@herald.com
Police searching for marijuana plants in South Miami-Dade County discovered an entirely different stash Friday -- a buried wooden box filled with nearly 3.6 million nickels that disappeared last year en route to a Federal Reserve facility in New Orleans.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/10818377.htm
Post-Election Poll: Abortion Helped Bush With Hispanics, Catholics
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 3, 2005
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new poll conducted by researchers at the University of Akron shows that the abortion issue helped President Bush make considerable gains in the 2004 elections among Catholics and Hispanics. The poll also finds Bush improving with most religious groups while those who attend church infrequently backed John Kerry.
http://www.lifenews.com/nat1171.html
Expulsion of Israeli envoy covered up
By Ed O'Loughlin Herald Correspondent in Jerusalem, Jonathan Pearlman and Cynthia Banham
February 5, 2005
Australia has secretly forced a senior Israeli diplomat to leave the country, for reasons that neither government will divulge.
The effective expulsion of the Canberra-based diplomat - described as a "consul" in Israel - has been covered up for several weeks. It was revealed in an Israeli newspaper, Ma'ariv, but inquiries about the story last night were met by a wall of "no comments" from the Australian Government.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Middle-East-Conflict/Expulsion-of-Israeli-envoy-covered-up/2005/02/04/1107476807834.html
Actor Ossie Davis found dead in Miami Beach hotel room
By DANIEL CHANG and NICOLE WHITE
dchang@herald.com
Actor Ossie Davis, known for stage and screen roles dealing with racial injustice, was found dead in his room at the Shore Club hotel on Miami Beach early Friday. He was 87.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/10817753.htm
4 dead in Mich. plane crash
By James Prichard
The Associated Press
Published February 4, 2005, 3:55 PM CST
BERRIEN TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- A twin-engine plane nosedived Friday in thick fog and crashed into a stand of trees near a cornfield in far southwestern Michigan near the Indiana state line, killing everyone aboard, authorities said. Four people were believed to be on the plane.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-050204plane,1,3994336.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Coderre visits former Haitian PM in prison
Port-Au-Prince, Haiti — Former immigration minister Denis Coderre met with Haiti's imprisoned former prime minister and urged the U.S.-backed interim government to speed up the process of bringing him to trial on murder charges.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050129.whaiti0129_1/BNStory/International/>
China Defends Raid on S. Korean Lawmakers' Beijing News Conference
By Philip P. Pan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, January 14, 2005; Page A15
BEIJING, Jan. 13 -- The Chinese government on Thursday defended its decision to raid a news conference called by visiting South Korean legislators to discuss the status of North Korean refugees in China, accusing the lawmakers of inciting North Koreans to enter the country illegally and break into foreign embassies to seek asylum.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6271-2005Jan13.html
Mark Thatcher Admits Role in Africa Mercenary Plot
Jan 13, 2005 — By Gordon Bell
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - The son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher pleaded guilty on Thursday to a role in a foiled mercenary plot in west Africa under a plea bargain to avoid prison.
The Cape High Court agreed to a deal for Mark Thatcher to pay a fine of 3 million rand ($500,000) or face five years in jail in South Africa, in addition to a further 4-year prison sentence suspended for five years.
Prosecutors said Thatcher was free to leave South Africa.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=408607
Chinese Agents Storm Briefing By South Korean Lawmakers
By Philip P. Pan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, January 13, 2005; Page A16
BEIJING, Jan. 13 -- Chinese security agents raided a news conference organized by visiting South Korean legislators Wednesday, shutting off the lights in a hotel meeting room and forcibly ejecting several foreign journalists. The raid prompted official statements of protest and concern in Seoul.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4194-2005Jan12.html
