German doctors to give E. coli update

Gaddafi ordered mass rapes, says Ocampo

Jun 9 | UNITED NATIONS, Jun 9 - Investigators have evidence Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi ordered mass rapes and bought containers of sex drugs to encourage troops to attack women, the chief ICC prosecutor said. Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he may ask for a new charge of mass rape to be made against Gaddafi following the new evidence. The International...

Italian Battisti freed from Brazil jail

Jun 9 | BRASILIA, Jun 9 - Italian ex-militant Cesare Battisti walked free early Thursday from Brazil\'s Papuda maximum-security prison after the country\'s high court denied Italy\'s request to extradite him. Brazil\'s Supreme Court rejected the extradition to Italy of the former far-left militant and ordered his immediate release in a case that has heightened...

China navy to stage drills in western Pacific

Jun 9 | BEIJING, Jun 9 - China said Thursday it would conduct naval training drills in the western Pacific later this month, state media reported, amid lingering fears among Beijing\'s neighbours about its military ambitions. The exercises will take place in international waters and are "not targeted at any specific country", the defence ministry...

21 bodies found with warning notes in Mexico

Jun 9 | Mexico, June 9 - At least 21 bodies have been found strewn in the streets just outside the western Mexican city of Morelia, and in every case the perpetrators left a warning note, the state prosecutor told AFP. The bodies, all males between the ages of 25 and 30, were found in different areas just outside the city limits of Morelia, in Michoacan state,...

Climate change will cut water for farmers

Jun 9 | ROME, June 9 - The UN food agency on Thursday warned climate change will restrict the availability of water for farming in decades to come, including in the Mediterranean region, and urged governments to take action. A report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said climate change will reduce river runoff and aquifer recharges, adding that...

Somalia s transitional leaders extend term for one year

Jun 9 | KAMPALA, June 9 - Somalia\'s transitional President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and the parliament speaker signed Thursday a deal extending their terms for a year, pushing back polls due in August, the government said. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni witnessed the signing of the accords by Sharif and speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden to prolong their...

NATO jets batter Tripoli, Gaddafi defiant

Jun 8 | TRIPOLI, Jun 8 - A wave of NATO air strikes battered Tripoli early Wednesday, piling pressure on embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who said he was "near" the bombing but vowed never to surrender. Loud blasts were heard near Gaddafi\'s residential complex Bab al-Aziziya at around 1:45 am (2345 GMT Tuesday), an AFP correspondent said....

Volcanic ash cloud disrupts flights

Jun 8 | Chile, June 8 - A vast cloud of ash spewing from a Chilean volcano disrupted air travel across much of South America, while heavy rains around the eruption site prompted fears of mudslides. Air traffic was sharply curtailed on the continent as the ash cloud drifted over Argentina, Uruguay and into Brazil. Flights in and out of the Argentine capital...

Indian guru threatens to form yoga militia

Jun 8 | NEW DELHI, June 8 - A television yoga guru who has led protests against corruption in India threatened to form a militia on Thursday as a new demonstration against the government drew thousands in New Delhi. Yoga star Swami Ramdev, who was evicted from the capital along with thousands of followers at the weekend in a police crackdown, warned of violence...