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ວັນສຸກ, ໒໙ ມີນາ ໒໐໒໔

Lebanese Soldiers Battle Militants as Fighting Spreads


Lebanon: Lebanese authorities say two soldiers were killed today (Monday) in new fighting at a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon.
Medics also say at least three soldiers and two civilians were wounded in clashes between Jund al-Sham militants and Lebanese troops that first began Sunday near Sidon, at the entrance to the Ein al-Hilweh camp.
The violence at Ein al-Hilweh has sparked concerns that the fighting that began three weeks ago at a camp in northern Lebanon could spread to more of Lebanon's 12 refugee camps.
In northern Lebanon, government forces continued an offensive on Fatah al-Islam militants entrenched in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp near Tripoli.
Palestinian sources said Sunday that one of Fatah al-Islam's top leaders, Naim Ghali, was killed by army sniper fire on Friday at the camp.

Charles Taylor Trial: Former Liberian President Charles Taylor is boycotting the start of his war crimes trial in The Hague, saying he does not believe the proceedings will be fair.
In a statement read by his lawyer (Karim Khan) today (Monday), Taylor rejects the U.N.-backed court as a "charade" and says he has no confidence in its "ability to dispense justice."
The former president also says he will not attend any hearings.
Taylor accused the court of denying him an adequate defense, arguing that he has only one lawyer compared to nine for the prosecution.
Taylor's lawyer (Karim Khan) later walked out of the court, saying Taylor wanted to represent him self in the case, but the presiding judge (Julia Sebutinde) ordered the trial to continue.
The former Liberian leader is charged with 11 counts of war crimes committed in neighboring Sierra Leone during its civil war from 1991 to 2002. He has pleaded not guilty to accusations of murder, rape, terrorism and other atrocities.

Guantanamo Tribunal: Osama bin Laden's former driver is due to appear before a U.S. war-crimes tribunal (later) today (Monday) at the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba.
Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni national, is scheduled for arraignment on charges of conspiracy and providing support for terrorism.
Hamdan was the first detainee to appear before the original war-crimes tribunal created to try terrorism suspects at Guantanamo, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that those military panels were illegal. In September, Congress approved a new trial process to resolve the court's objections.
In another Guantanamo arraignment today, Omar Ahmed Khadr, a Canadian national, faces murder charges for killing an American soldier in Afghanistan with a hand grenade when he was 15 years old.

Bush – Europe: President Bush heads to Europe today (Monday) to attend the Group of Eight summit in Germany.
He will also visit other countries, including the Czech Republic, where he makes a stop today to discuss U.S. plans for a missile defense system in Europe.
The plan calls for a radar base on Czech soil. Russia has strongly criticized the proposed defense system.
On Wednesday, the president will join seven other world leaders in the northeastern German port city of Heiligendamm for a three-day G-Eight summit of the world's leading industrialized nations.
The White House says the leaders will discuss cooperation on a range of international economic, security, and political issues. Proposed measures to combat global climate change are expected to be high on the agenda.

Cambodia – UN- Rights: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has lashed out at a U.N. envoy, saying his criticism of the country's human rights record is too extreme.
In a nationally broadcast speech today (Monday), Mr. Hun Sen dismissed the latest report by Yash Ghai, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for human rights in Cambodia.
On his third trip to the country, Ghai said last week that human rights abuses continue to threaten Cambodia's rule of law. In the past, he has accused the prime minister of holding too much power.

Vietnam – Drugs: A court official in Vietnam says two people have been sentenced to death for trafficking heroin.
The official said today (Thursday) that the People's Court in Dien Bien province sentenced seven other defendants to life in prison. Twelve others received jail terms of one to 20 years.

Listen to our World News for details.

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