ZIMBABWE : Zimbabwe has threatened to expel Western diplomats it accuses of backing opposition efforts to oust President Robert Mugabe. Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi issued the warning Monday at a meeting with ambassadors in the capital, Harare. U.S. Ambassador Christopher Dell walked out of the meeting after Mumbengegwi failed to assure him the diplomats would have a chance to respond. The State Department says the United States will continue to speak and act in support of the people of Zimbabwe's right to democracy.
THAILAND-DISAPPEARANCES: An international rights group is accusing Thai authorities of intimidating Muslim communities in southern Thailand by making suspected Islamist insurgents "disappear." Human Rights Watch says (in report released today / Tuesday) that it has documented 22 cases of unresolved missing persons cases in Thailand's south. It says Thai security forces appear to be using the tactic in a deliberate effort to weaken Muslim militants.
RUSSIA-IRAN: A U.S. newspaper says Russia has told Iran that it will withhold fuel for Iran's nearly completed Bushehr nuclear power plant unless Tehran suspends its uranium enrichment activity. Citing un-named European, Iranian and American officials, the New York Times reports today (Tuesday) that the ultimatum was delivered last week.
RUSSIA-MINE BLAST: Russian authorities say rescuers in Siberia have recovered more bodies from a mine shaft, where a methane gas explosion killed at least 106 people. Authorities say at least 203 people were in the Ulyanovsk mine at the time of the blast Monday. Ninety-three people have been rescued. Fourteen teams of specialist emergency workers are searching today (Tuesday) for four more missing people.
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