News from WN Network

Nato and G8 summits: what did we learn on Afghanistan, aid and the euro? 2012-05-21
The Guardian

Barack Obama was joined by world leaders in Camp David and Chicago for intensive talks. But did they make any progress? A smiling Barack Obama at the Nato summit in Chicago. Did the summits help his re-election chances? Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images...

photo: EC / EC

Suicide bomber kills nearly 100 soldiers in Yemen 2012-05-21
Stars and Stripes

SANA, Yemen - A suicide bomber targeting soldiers rehearsing for a military parade killed as many as 96 people Monday in a sign that Islamic militants are taking their fight to the capital after intense battles in the provinces with U.S.-backed government forces in recent weeks. The blast appeared...

photo: AP / Hani Mohammed

Egypt vote: The Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty 2012-05-21
BBC News

Very few elections anywhere in the world are won and lost on foreign policy issues. Just ask the first President Bush who enjoyed an 88% approval rating after his victory in the first Gulf War. He went on to lose the 1992 presidential race to Bill Clinton, who ran on the slogan: "It's the...

photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Separatists in Indian Kashmir strike on anniversary of cleric's slaying; protest plans blocked 2012-05-21
Star Tribune

SRINAGAR, India - An annual strike called by separatists in Indian-controlled Kashmir shuttered shops and businesses Monday to mark a top Muslim cleric's assassination 22 years ago, but police blocked a planned protest rally in the disputed region. The cleric, Mirwaiz Mohammed Farooq, had argued for...

photo: WN / Imran Nissar

Putin dominates new Russian government 2012-05-21
Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled a government dominated by loyalists on Monday, tightening his grip on the economy and limiting Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's ability to pursue his reform agenda. Igor Shuvalov, a powerful Putin ally, kept his post as first deputy prime...

photo: AP / RIA-Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Government Press Service

Families of Lockerbie victims still seek answers 2012-05-21
Dayton Daily News

NEW YORK — The death of the only man convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has left some victims' relatives relieved and others raising questions about his guilt and whether others went unpunished. Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, a former Libyan intelligence official died Sunday of cancer, his...

photo: EC / EC

Protesters clash with police at NATO summit 2012-05-21
Al Jazeera

Protesters have clashed with riot police as they tried to march towards the venue of the NATO summit in the US city of Chicago. The two sides were locked in a standoff for nearly two hours, with the police blocking the protesters' path and the crowd refusing to leave. More than a dozen protesters...

photo: AP / Kim Johnson Flodin

Taliban destroys opium crops in Afghanistan 2012-05-21
Zeenews

Kabul: The Taliban has destroyed opium fields in eastern Afghanistan in a surprise clamp down on the drug cultivation that provides a major part of its funding. The Afghan Government and clerics have welcomed the action by the Taliban, but insurgents have claimed that they destroyed the fields for...

photo: US Army / Michael J. MacLeod

Cannes European Rendezvous talks Creative Europe 2012-05-21
Screen Daily

New EU initiatives for European cinema such as the Prix MEDIA and the proposed Creative Europe programme are at the focus of the 10th edition of the European Rendezvous in Cannes from May 20-22. “The film project put forward by Asghar andMemento Films Production received a glowing assessment for its...

photo: EC / European Commission

When might is not right 2012-05-21
Independent online (SA)

THE name Muammar al-Jarud, for many across the globe, means little, if anything. In Libya, al-Jarud represents a victim of misuse of global power by Nato, a loose association of countries established in 1949 but remembered more recently for the bombardment of Libya and the callous killing of...

photo: UN / Evan Schneider