Police clash with protesters in Beirut
BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 7 (UPI) -- A protester participating in opposition-backed strikes in Lebanon injured several people with a percussive grenade, security sources in Beirut said Wednesday.
The explosion occurred as officials sent the Lebanese army and riot police to secure the capital as demonstrators threw sticks and stones. The blast injured several military personnel and three civilians, the Kuwait News Agency said.
Tensions in Lebanon escalated as the opposition Free Patriotic Movement of former military commander Michel Aoun called for the ouster of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. The trade union General Labor Confederation called for a general strike Wednesday to demand higher pay, the Daily Star newspaper in Beirut said.
Aoun protested a move to elect former Lebanese military commander Michel Suleiman as the next president without amending electoral laws. Aoun, a Christian, said the current law was unfair to the Lebanese Christian community.
Former Lebanese President Amin Gemayel backed Aoun's sentiments, saying talks with various political parties had reached a dead end. Parliament plans to convene Tuesday elect a new president following 18 postponements. Lebanon has been without a president since Emile Lahoud stepped down in November.
"It is not likely that a president would be elected on May 13," Gemayel said.
Rumors fly about Olmert's fate
JERUSALEM, May 7 (UPI) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is preparing to replace Ehud Olmert as prime minister if a scandal engulfing him forces him to resign, analysts said.
News outlets in the Middle East reported Wednesday Olmert is likely to step down or suspend his official duties during the police investigation, Israel News Network reported.
Publication of the investigation's details has been barred by a gag order. However, leaks indicate it is bribery-related and involves Olmert and long-time aide, Shula Zaken. A partial lifting of the ban could happen Sunday, al-Jazeera, an Arabic television network in Qatar reported.
Livni is reaching out to Knesset members of the Kadima party -- to which she and Olmert belong -- trying to secure their backing, analysts said.
Shas party sources told Israel News Network party leaders have not ruled out continuing their coalition with Kadima under Livni.
"It is true that Livni has said some things about religion and state that do not completely line up with our views, but we should listen to what she has been saying recently," the source said. "If Livni is acting prime minister, it is unlikely that we will rock the boat."
McCain outlines 'human dignity' agenda
ROCHESTER, Mich., May 7 (UPI) -- Society has a "moral obligation" to fight exploitation of vulnerable persons and defend religious freedoms, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Wednesday.
"(We) we have a moral obligation not to turn a blind eye to assaults on the collective dignity of humanity wherever they occur," the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said in a prepared remarks for a speech delivered at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich.
Ticking off instances of religious persecution worldwide, McCain pledged as president to "make respect for the basic principle of religious freedom a priority in international relations."
McCain has used several recent speeches to reassert his conservative credentials, addressing several issues the conservatives consider important: judges, guns and religion.
Concerning human trafficking, McCain said, as president he would establish an Inter-Agency Task Force on Human Trafficking and provide assistance to trafficking victims."
Regarding child pornography and child sexual exploitation cases in which predators use the Internet and e-mail to stalk and lure children, McCain said he'd promote intergovernmental and international cooperation. He also pledged to expand the list of companies required to report kiddie porn and impose higher fines and criminal penalties when they don't.
"(We) must be diligent in our active opposition to the enemies of human dignity in our own society and in all the dark corners of the world," he said.
EU sues Italy over garbage in Naples
NAPLES, Italy, May 7 (UPI) -- The European Commission has filed suit against Italy for failing to do something about the continuing problem of tons of uncollected trash around Naples.
The EU says piles of rubbish lying in the streets represent a threat to both the environment and human health, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
With all the dumps around Naples considered full, the government has had trouble deciding where to create new ones.
Residents resort to burning piles of trash as a means of protesting the government's failure to act and as a way to get rid of the horrid smell and health hazard.
A reported 1,400 tons of trash remain uncollected, down from a high of 4,500 tons in March, the Times said.
The EU's suit was filed before the European Court of Justice in Brussels.
Italy faces substantial fines if the court rules against it.
Gitmo attorneys say feds tap conversations
WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- Lawyers for several Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prisoners said they believe their confidential conversations have been monitored by U.S. government agencies.
Several lawyers said concerns about the eavesdropping changed the way they conduct business aside from their work on the detainees' cases, The New York Times reported Wednesday. In an affidavit, one Chicago lawyer said she wasn't accepting new clients because she believed she couldn't assure them of confidentiality.
A court filing Tuesday by the Center for Constitutional Rights came as part of a 2007 Freedom of Information lawsuit in which Guantanamo detainees' lawyers are asking for records to determine whether they've been targeted for surveillance.
The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment Tuesday, the Times said. However, in March, department lawyers said they could neither confirm nor deny whether detainees' lawyers were surveillance targets "because doing so would compromise the United States intelligence communities' sources and methods."
Atlanta attorney John Chandler, who represents six detainees, told the Times, "I think they are listening to my telephone calls all the time."
Feds bust fake cop ring
NEW YORK, May 7 (UPI) -- Authorities have broken up a New York gang that allegedly robbed drug couriers from Massachusetts to Florida by impersonating police.
The gang is suspected of stealing more than $20 million in drugs and $4 million in cash over the past five years, WNBC-TV in New York reports.
U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell says the ring would conduct surveillance on victims for weeks and then use fake police lights and sirens to pull over drug couriers and rob them. If drugs or cash weren't in the vehicle, the suspects would allegedly kidnap and torture the drivers to tell them where they were kept.
Investigators say the suspects would use simulated drowning techniques on victims to learn the details of drug shipments and money transfers.
Eight of the 15 men named in a federal indictment were ordered held without bail Tuesday following their arraignment, WNBC said. All eight pleaded innocent.
Officials of the Drug Enforcement Agency say more arrests are expected in the case.
BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 7 (UPI) -- A protester participating in opposition-backed strikes in Lebanon injured several people with a percussive grenade, security sources in Beirut said Wednesday.
The explosion occurred as officials sent the Lebanese army and riot police to secure the capital as demonstrators threw sticks and stones. The blast injured several military personnel and three civilians, the Kuwait News Agency said.
Tensions in Lebanon escalated as the opposition Free Patriotic Movement of former military commander Michel Aoun called for the ouster of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. The trade union General Labor Confederation called for a general strike Wednesday to demand higher pay, the Daily Star newspaper in Beirut said.
Aoun protested a move to elect former Lebanese military commander Michel Suleiman as the next president without amending electoral laws. Aoun, a Christian, said the current law was unfair to the Lebanese Christian community.
Former Lebanese President Amin Gemayel backed Aoun's sentiments, saying talks with various political parties had reached a dead end. Parliament plans to convene Tuesday elect a new president following 18 postponements. Lebanon has been without a president since Emile Lahoud stepped down in November.
"It is not likely that a president would be elected on May 13," Gemayel said.
Rumors fly about Olmert's fate
JERUSALEM, May 7 (UPI) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is preparing to replace Ehud Olmert as prime minister if a scandal engulfing him forces him to resign, analysts said.
News outlets in the Middle East reported Wednesday Olmert is likely to step down or suspend his official duties during the police investigation, Israel News Network reported.
Publication of the investigation's details has been barred by a gag order. However, leaks indicate it is bribery-related and involves Olmert and long-time aide, Shula Zaken. A partial lifting of the ban could happen Sunday, al-Jazeera, an Arabic television network in Qatar reported.
Livni is reaching out to Knesset members of the Kadima party -- to which she and Olmert belong -- trying to secure their backing, analysts said.
Shas party sources told Israel News Network party leaders have not ruled out continuing their coalition with Kadima under Livni.
"It is true that Livni has said some things about religion and state that do not completely line up with our views, but we should listen to what she has been saying recently," the source said. "If Livni is acting prime minister, it is unlikely that we will rock the boat."
McCain outlines 'human dignity' agenda
ROCHESTER, Mich., May 7 (UPI) -- Society has a "moral obligation" to fight exploitation of vulnerable persons and defend religious freedoms, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Wednesday.
"(We) we have a moral obligation not to turn a blind eye to assaults on the collective dignity of humanity wherever they occur," the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said in a prepared remarks for a speech delivered at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich.
Ticking off instances of religious persecution worldwide, McCain pledged as president to "make respect for the basic principle of religious freedom a priority in international relations."
McCain has used several recent speeches to reassert his conservative credentials, addressing several issues the conservatives consider important: judges, guns and religion.
Concerning human trafficking, McCain said, as president he would establish an Inter-Agency Task Force on Human Trafficking and provide assistance to trafficking victims."
Regarding child pornography and child sexual exploitation cases in which predators use the Internet and e-mail to stalk and lure children, McCain said he'd promote intergovernmental and international cooperation. He also pledged to expand the list of companies required to report kiddie porn and impose higher fines and criminal penalties when they don't.
"(We) must be diligent in our active opposition to the enemies of human dignity in our own society and in all the dark corners of the world," he said.
EU sues Italy over garbage in Naples
NAPLES, Italy, May 7 (UPI) -- The European Commission has filed suit against Italy for failing to do something about the continuing problem of tons of uncollected trash around Naples.
The EU says piles of rubbish lying in the streets represent a threat to both the environment and human health, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
With all the dumps around Naples considered full, the government has had trouble deciding where to create new ones.
Residents resort to burning piles of trash as a means of protesting the government's failure to act and as a way to get rid of the horrid smell and health hazard.
A reported 1,400 tons of trash remain uncollected, down from a high of 4,500 tons in March, the Times said.
The EU's suit was filed before the European Court of Justice in Brussels.
Italy faces substantial fines if the court rules against it.
Gitmo attorneys say feds tap conversations
WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- Lawyers for several Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prisoners said they believe their confidential conversations have been monitored by U.S. government agencies.
Several lawyers said concerns about the eavesdropping changed the way they conduct business aside from their work on the detainees' cases, The New York Times reported Wednesday. In an affidavit, one Chicago lawyer said she wasn't accepting new clients because she believed she couldn't assure them of confidentiality.
A court filing Tuesday by the Center for Constitutional Rights came as part of a 2007 Freedom of Information lawsuit in which Guantanamo detainees' lawyers are asking for records to determine whether they've been targeted for surveillance.
The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment Tuesday, the Times said. However, in March, department lawyers said they could neither confirm nor deny whether detainees' lawyers were surveillance targets "because doing so would compromise the United States intelligence communities' sources and methods."
Atlanta attorney John Chandler, who represents six detainees, told the Times, "I think they are listening to my telephone calls all the time."
Feds bust fake cop ring
NEW YORK, May 7 (UPI) -- Authorities have broken up a New York gang that allegedly robbed drug couriers from Massachusetts to Florida by impersonating police.
The gang is suspected of stealing more than $20 million in drugs and $4 million in cash over the past five years, WNBC-TV in New York reports.
U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell says the ring would conduct surveillance on victims for weeks and then use fake police lights and sirens to pull over drug couriers and rob them. If drugs or cash weren't in the vehicle, the suspects would allegedly kidnap and torture the drivers to tell them where they were kept.
Investigators say the suspects would use simulated drowning techniques on victims to learn the details of drug shipments and money transfers.
Eight of the 15 men named in a federal indictment were ordered held without bail Tuesday following their arraignment, WNBC said. All eight pleaded innocent.
Officials of the Drug Enforcement Agency say more arrests are expected in the case.
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This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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