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20 children die in Nepal

Thu, 21/06/2007 - 14:39 by MT Bureau

Kathmandu, Nepal -- Health officials say about 20 children in a remote village in northwest Nepal have died in the past month after contracting diarrhea.

Newspaper reports say about 300 people in the area of Khin village in Kalikot district are infected with the disease, NepalNews.com said Wednesday.

The deaths are being blamed on a lack of medical supplies, health workers and clean drinking water.

Historic Maigret house shut down

Thu, 21/06/2007 - 11:27 by MT Bureau

Paris -- The site of the Inspector Maigret and Inspector Clouseau books in Paris has been abandoned by the Brigade Crimminelle after 95 years of use.

The site at 36 Quai des Orfevres is being shut down and a new hi-tech building in another part of the French city will be used as the headquarters for the "crim," The Independent reported Wednesday.

Japan settles lung disease cases

Thu, 21/06/2007 - 08:23 by MT Bureau

Tokyo -- The Japanese government has agreed to a settlement in a lawsuit filed by relatives of Tokyo tunnel workers stricken with lung disease.

Under the settlement, which was reached Wednesday in Tokyo High Court, the government will pay more than $26,000 for each victim, Kyodo News Service said.

The news service said about 970 people sued, alleging their family members contracted pneumoconiosis after working on state-ordered projects.

China touts birth of 84 rare tiger cubs

Mon, 18/06/2007 - 10:58 by MT Bureau

Harbin, China -- A Siberian tiger breeding center in China this year has seen the birth of 84 of the endangered animals, it was reported Sunday.

The 84 cubs all have been born since March at the Hengdaohezi Feline Center in Harbin, reported Xinhua, China's official news agency.

Thirteen other pregnant Siberian tigers are expected to give birth by October to between 20 to 30 cubs, Xinhua said.

Hundreds of child slaves rescued in China

Sat, 16/06/2007 - 20:51 by MT Bureau

Beijing, China -- More than 1,000 children, some as young as 8, may have been kidnapped and sold as slaves in China, it was reported Saturday.

The children, guarded by fierce dogs, worked in sweltering brick kilns for 16 hours a day with little food, the Times of London reported.

The scandal, involving negligent police and collusion between government officials and slave masters, broke open this past week.

You've got mail, ma'am

Sat, 16/06/2007 - 12:51 by MT Bureau

London -- Queen Elizabeth II, who made news in recent years when she got a cell phone and then an iPod mini, now has an e-mail address, The (London) Telegraph reported.

The newspaper based its report on intelligence from its "Buckingham Palace mole," who said the queen was engaged in conversation Monday at a palace garden party with Vanity Fair editor Elizabeth Saltzman -- and offered to give Saltzman her e-mail address.

Wen: China needs stable fiscal policies

Fri, 15/06/2007 - 11:45 by MT Bureau

Beijing -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao urged consideration of stronger control measures to help prevent the country's economy from becoming too hot.

Monetary policies should generally be stable, he said, but "moderately tightened" to secure a fast-growing economy, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported Thursday. The country will seek to implement prudent fiscal and monetary policies, Wen said.

Paulson urges anti-terrorist efforts

Fri, 15/06/2007 - 10:06 by MT Bureau

Washington -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson asked nations to do more to combat terrorism by mining the global financial network for intelligence on "bad actors."

In remarks prepared for delivery to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Paulson said "'bad actors' seek to abuse this global financial system to support their illicit purposes."
"The world of finance and the world of terror and weapons proliferation intersect through the same system that spreads prosperity at home and abroad," he said. "This makes financial intelligence a particularly valuable tool to detect and disrupt 'bad actors.'"

EU companies find loophole in Kyoto goals

Thu, 14/06/2007 - 12:44 by MT Bureau

Brussels -- The World Wildlife Fund says too many European companies are buying their way out of cutting emissions.

A study of the CO2 emission reduction plans of Britain, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain estimates that emission reduction targets under the European Emissions Trading Scheme could be met by buying Clean Development Mechanism project credits from developing countries, the EU Observer said Wednesday.

Italian minister visits Turkey

Wed, 13/06/2007 - 09:56 by MT Bureau

Ankara, Turkey -- Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema, in Turkey for two days of talks, urged the government to refrain from cross-border incursions into Iraq.

Instead, D'Alema urged Turkish officials to work with the Iraqi government and leaders in Iraqi Kurdistan on denying a safe haven to the Kurdistan Workers Party, usually known by the acronym PKK, the Turkish Daily News reported. The group has been carrying on an independence movement in Turkey for years.

JFK Airport terror probe widens

Sun, 10/06/2007 - 09:03 by MT Bureau

New York -- Investigators following up the failed plot to attack New York's JFK Airport are looking into the possibility there may be more suspects overseas.

Authorities have four men in custody, but one law enforcement official says those four are just a piece of the terrorist puzzle -- and other suspects overseas are being investigated, WABC-TV reported Saturday. The official said if the suspects in custody had contacted the right people, their alleged plan could have been carried out in short order, the New York TV station said.