xNews® World News: Sunday, October 25, 2009

Amnesty calls on Nigeria to arrest Sudan president

Amnesty calls on Nigeria to arrest Sudan president
S African Indian students 'no' to Afrikaans
South Korea shifts course on aid to North Korea
Karadzic trial set to start without Karadzic (AP)
Mongolian prime minister tenders resignation (AP)
Key dates in Radovan Karadzic's life (AP)
Fidel Castro's sister:"I worked with CIA in Cuba"
Four US troops die in Afghan chopper crash: NATO (AFP)
WHO: Get serious about H1N1 flu
S African Indian students 'no' to Afrikaans
German 'veil martyr' trial to open
Nigeria rebel group declare 'ceasefire'
U.S. healthcare system wastes up to $800 bln a year
FEATURE - In a hole, Amsterdam tunnellers just keep digging
New Merkel minister defends tax cuts after attacks
Jewish Marriage Tied to Israel Trip
Militants kill 6 Pakistani security forces (AP)
British FM wants beefed-up EU on world stage (AFP)
Iraqi searches for brothers in ancient cemetery (AP)
South Korea shifts course on aid to North Korea

Amnesty calls on Nigeria to arrest Sudan president

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 10:37 PM PDT

The human rights group Amnesty International is calling on Nigeria to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir if he attends an African Union Summit there on Thursday.

S African Indian students 'no' to Afrikaans

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 08:03 PM PDT

JOHANNESBURG South African Indians are demanding Indian languages like to be recognised as official second language subjects in schools, rather than 'Afrikaans' which many described as "the language of the oppressor", Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

The issue emerged after a school principal, Vishnu Naidoo, made a strong statement

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 10:39 PM PDT

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea will make a small grant of humanitarian aid to North Korea, ending its suspension of handouts after a series of conciliatory gestures from its destitute rival, an official said on Monday.

Karadzic trial set to start without Karadzic (AP)

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 10:25 PM PDT

AP - The trial of Radovan Karadzic starts Monday — one of the most significant war crimes cases to emerge from Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II. The Bosnian Serb leader is boycotting the opening in a defiant gesture against what he considers a rush to justice by the U.N. court prosecuting him.

Mongolian prime minister tenders resignation (AP)

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 10:23 PM PDT

AP - Mongolia's ruling party says Prime Minister Bayar Sanjaa has asked to resign for health reasons.

Key dates in Radovan Karadzic's life (AP)

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 10:12 PM PDT

AP - Key dates in the life of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, whose trial on U.N. genocide charges begins Monday:

Fidel Castro's sister:"I worked with CIA in Cuba"

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 10:27 PM PDT

MIAMI (Reuters) - The younger sister of Fidel and Raul Castro, Juanita Castro, collaborated with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency against her brothers' rule in Cuba before going into exile in Miami in 1964, she said on Sunday.

Four US troops die in Afghan chopper crash: NATO (AFP)

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 09:37 PM PDT

AFP - Four US soldiers were killed Monday in what NATO said was believed to be a mid-air collision between two helicopters in southern Afghanistan.

WHO: Get serious about H1N1 flu

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 09:23 PM PDT

HAVANA Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Margaret Chan on Sunday called on governments to devise measures to fight the A(H1N1) flu pandemic that has hit 195 nations, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

"The WHO considers that all governments should create a packet

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 08:03 PM PDT

The issue emerged after a school principal, Vishnu Naidoo, made a strong statement

German 'veil martyr' trial to open

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 06:21 PM PDT

DRESDEN, Germany - A man accused of killing a pregnant Egyptian woman in court in a frenzied anti-Islamic attack goes on trial in Germany Monday in a case that inflamed tempers throughout the Muslim world.

Nigeria rebel group declare 'ceasefire'

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 03:28 AM PDT

alt LAGOS Nigeria's main armed group in the Niger Delta, MEND, on Sunday declared an "indefinite ceasefire" to encourage dialogue with the government, the rebels said in an email statement.

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 09:39 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. healthcare system is just as wasteful as President Barack Obama says it is, and proposed reforms could be paid for by fixing some of the most obvious inefficiencies, preventing mistakes and fighting fraud, according to a Thomson Reuters report released on Monday.

FEATURE - In a hole, Amsterdam tunnellers just keep digging

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 09:39 PM PDT

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Early one evening Helena van Gelder heard bricks falling. Minutes later, she and her three young sons were standing outside their 17th-century home, watching it sink eight inches (20 cm) within hours.

New Merkel minister defends tax cuts after attacks

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 09:39 PM PDT

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's new finance minister cautiously defended the tax cut plans of Chancellor Angela Merkel's incoming government on Sunday, but said it was only a matter of time before steps were needed to rein in the deficit.

Jewish Marriage Tied to Israel Trip

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 09:33 PM PDT

A study found that marriage rates outside the faith were curbed among Jews who have taken "birthright" trips to Israel, which could hearten those worried about assimilation.

Militants kill 6 Pakistani security forces (AP)

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 10:17 PM PDT

AP - Militant attacks killed six Pakistani security forces Monday, officials said, a day after the Taliban chief warned of terrorist strikes across the country if the army did not stop a major offensive against insurgents along the Afghan border.

British FM wants beefed-up EU on world stage (AFP)

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 09:11 PM PDT

AFP - The European Union needs to step up and show it can become a serious player alongside the United States, China and Russia, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Monday.