NOKOR - US JOURNALISTS: Two U.S. journalists are heading home after nearly five months detention in North Korea.
A plane carrying Laura Ling and Euna Lee is expected in Los Angeles
Wednesday. The two are accompanied by former U.S. President Bill
Clinton, who secured their release Tuesday after flying to Pyongyang
and meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
North Korea arrested Ling and Lee in March. A court later sentenced
them to 12 years hard labor for illegally crossing the border from
China and committing "hostile acts."
PHILIPPINES - AQUINO: Thousands of dignitaries crowded into the Manila Cathedral Wednesday
for the funeral of former Philippine President Corazon Aquino.
East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta was among those paying
respects to the icon of Philippine democracy, who died last Saturday at
the age of 76 after a long battle with colon cancer.
Tens of thousands of people ignored a driving rain to view the ceremony
on giant television screens outside the cathedral, and lined the
streets as Mrs. Aquino's flag-draped coffin was carried to Manila
Memorial Park, where she was laid to rest next to her husband, Benigno
"Ninoy" Aquino.
IRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has begun his second term in
office at a formal inauguration ceremony in Tehran.
Mr. Ahmadinejad was sworn in Wednesday in front of members of Iran's
parliament. He called his re-election an "unprecedented epic" victory
for the Iranian people and the Islamic establishment.
Witnesses said police in Tehran detained at least one person while
breaking up demonstrations by hundreds of people protesting Mr.
Ahmadinejad's re-election. Iranian opposition groups had called for the
new round of street
demonstrations to coincide with the inauguration.
PAKISTAN: Relatives of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud say one of his wives has been killed in a suspected U.S. missile strike on his father-in-law's house. At least one other person was reported killed in the suspected U.S. drone attack early Wednesday in the South Waziristan tribal region. Relatives say four children were wounded, while Mehsud's father-in-law was unharmed. The attack is the latest in a series of suspected U.S. missile strikes in recent weeks targeting Mehsud.
US - KENYA: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged African leaders to
promote good governance and tackle the corruption and crime that she
says are holding back economic progress.
Clinton was speaking Wednesday in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, at the
opening of a trade forum of about 40 African nations that have
preferential access to the U.S. market.
Clinton said true economic progress in Africa depends on responsible
governments that reject corruption, enforce the rule of law and deliver
results for their people.
SOUTH SUDAN VIOLENCE: U.N. Security Council members have condemned recent attacks by southern Sudanese tribesmen that killed 185 people, mostly women and children from a rival tribe. British ambassador to the United Nations John Sawers said Tuesday that Council members view the attacks carried out by the Murle ethnic group on Sunday as "grave." He says the tribesmen used sophisticated weaponry to kill more than 100 women and children from the Lou Ner ethnic group in the Akobo area of Jonglei state. Britain holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council.
AFGHANITAN: Afghan villagers say a foreign airstrike in southern Afghanistan has killed four civilians, three of them children. The villagers say missiles struck a house near the southern city of Kandahar before dawn Wednesday, killing three boys and a man from the same family. They protested the attack by bringing the bodies of the four to Kandahar city and chanting anti-American slogans. U.S. military officials say helicopters operating in the area early Wednesday attacked and killed four militants riding motorcycles in a field away from populated sites.
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