 |
| A bulldozer drives past an overturned bus after an attack in Jerusalem, 02 Jul 2008 |
ISRAEL - BULLDOZER: Israeli authorities say a Palestinian man has rammed a bulldozer into a
bus and other vehicles in Jeruslalem, killing at least three people and
injuring 40 others before being shot dead by police.
Authorities are describing the incident on Jerusalem's main Jaffa road as a terrorist attack.
Police say the driver was a Palestinian from east Jerusalem. An Israeli
government spokesman says he was an employee for a contractor working
on the street where the incident occurred.
Police say the man rammed the bulldozer into a bus, causing it to
overturn and hit several other cars on a busy street near the city's
main bus station.
Emergency crews are at the scene treating the injured.
 |
| South African President Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (R) and Sudanese President Omar El-Bashir, second (R) at the African Union Summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, 30 Jun 2008 |
ZIMBABWE: South African President Thabo Mbeki has rejected the European Union's
position that it will only accept a Zimbabwean government run by
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mr. Mbeki, who is mediating the political crisis in Zimbabwe, made the
comment Tuesday after an African Union Summit in Egypt. Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe attended the meeting.
The South African leader is pushing for a power-sharing deal between
Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and Mr. Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic
Change.
On Tuesday, the African Union adopted a resolution that calls for a
government of national unity in Zimbabwe following the widely condemned
re-election of Mr. Mugabe.
 |
| Striking union workers of South Korea's Hyundai Motors shout slogans at plant in Ulsan, south of Seoul, 02 Jul 2008 |
SOKOR - PROTESTS: Members of a militant South Korean trade union are staging a brief work
stoppage today to protest the resumption of U.S. beef
imports.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions says 130-thousand of its
workers will put down their tools for two hours at plants across the
nation. The strike includes 45-thousand employees at the Hyundai Motor
plant in Ulsan, 400 kilometers southeast of the capital of Seoul.
The KCTU says it is staging the stoppage to highlight concerns among
the South Korean people over the threat of mad cow disease, which first
led to a ban on U.S. beef imports in 2003.
 |
| Indonesian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim smiles as he leaves Turkish Embassy in Jakarta, 30 Jun 2008 |
MALAYSIA - ANWAR: Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim led a huge rally in the
capital of Kuala Lumpur Tuesday, his first since being hit with new
allegations of sodomy.
Anwar denounced the accusations made by a 23-year-old male aide, saying
the man was being manipulated as part of a conspiracy against him by
the government.
He also told the crowd of seven-thousand supporters that it was time to
kick the ruling National Front coalition out of office. He described
the party as corrupt and inept and pledged to lower the price of fuel
once his opposition coalition takes over control of government.
Anwar was deputy prime minister in 1998 when he was charged with sodomy
and corruption.
 |
| The borders surrounding Preah Vihear temple along a high cliff remain disputed. |
THAILAND - CAMBODIA: Thailand has suspended its support for Cambodia's bid to have an
11th-century temple near the Thai border declared a world landmark.
Deputy Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat announced the decision today after a cabinet meeting.
Thailand's Administrative Court on Saturday ordered the government to
suspend a resolution backing Cambodia's application to have the Hindu
temple declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. The court acted at the
request of the opposition People's Alliance for Democracy.
The ancient cliff-top temple Preah Vihear has long been a source of
tensions between the two neighboring countries.
 |
President Bush pauses during a statement in Washington, 30 Jun 2008
|
BUSH - EAST ASIA: U.S. President George Bush will stop in South Korea on his way to
Beijing for the Summer Olympics.
The White House said today that
President Bush will visit South Korea on August fifth and sixth before
traveling to China.
U.S. officials have not confirmed whether Mr. Bush will attend the
opening ceremony of the games on August eighth. But he has rejected
calls by some U.S. lawmakers and human rights activists to boycott the
ceremony.
The president was scheduled to visit Seoul during a trip to East Asia
for the Group of Eight summit in Japan. Officials announced last week
that the trip had been postponed.
 |
| Smoke from headquarters of ruling party after protestors set it on fire in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, 1 Jul 2008 |
MONGOLIA ELECTIONS: Mongolia's justice minister says five people were killed Tuesday in a
violent protest in the capital Ulaanbaatar over Sunday's parliamentary
elections.
Hundreds of others were injured Tuesday after demonstrators burned the
offices of the ruling party, accusing it of voter fraud. Police
responded by firing rubber bullets and tear gas. The violence led
President Nambaryn Enkhbayar to declare a four-day state of emergency,
beginning after midnight tonight. Under the
presidential decree, no public gathering will be allowed in Ulaanbaatar
during the emergency period. The full results of the election have yet
to be released, but
preliminary results show the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary
Party winning more than 40 of parliament's 76 seats.
 |
| India |
INDIA - TRUCKERS: Indian transport union leaders say millions of truck drivers have gone
on strike across the country to protest rising fuel prices and fuel
taxes.
Representatives of the All India Motor Transport Congress say more than
four million vehicles are going off the road in an indefinite strike
starting today.
The union announced the strike after last minute talks with the government failed. More talks are planned.
The strike may cause shortages of food and other essential products across the country.
Soaring global fuel costs have forced the Indian government to raise
fuel prices. The government faces increasing pressure to curb rising
fuel and food prices, with inflation running at a 13-year high.
Listen to our World News for details.