INDONESIA - RAID: Indonesia's national police chief says the country's most wanted Islamic militant, Noordin Mohammad Top, was killed in an early morning raid and shoot-out Thursday in central Java. Bambang Hendarso Danuri says fingerprints taken from a body found after the raid matched those of Noordin's. During the raid, witnesses say they heard an explosion and gunfire. Police say four were killed during the raid, including Noordin, and three others were arrested. They say large quantities of explosives, weapons, grenades and bombs were recovered from the scene.
CHINA - XINJIANG: A court in China's western Xinjiang region has sentenced four men to prison terms of eight to 15 years for allegedly jabbing a pedestrian with a hypodermic needle. State media say a court in the regional capital of Urumqi issued the verdicts. The sentences bring to seven the number of people convicted over the mysterious syringe attacks. All are members of China's Uighur ethnic group. Authorities have moved swiftly to hand out the sentences as part of an apparent effort to calm the public. The reported hundreds of attacks raised public anxiety in Xinjiang at a time when the region was already on edge.
AFGHANISTAN: A huge blast shook the Afghan capital, Kabul, Thursday, killing at
least six people and wounding many others, including civilians.
Officials say a suicide car bomb struck two vehicles in an Italian NATO
convoy just after noon on the airport road near the U.S. embassy.
The Taliban claimed responsiblity for the attack.
Witnesses say a plume of smoke rose into the air and emergency sirens rang through the area.
Italy's defense ministry says at least one of their soldiers was among
those killed. Witnesses said several vehicles were damaged in the
blast, including at least one armored vehicle with the Italian flag.
AFGHAN ELECTION: Afghanistan's president says the media has exaggerated reports of fraud
in the August presidential election. Hamid Karzai told reporters
Thursday, "if there is fraud, it has to be
investigated, but investigated fairly and without prejudice."
He said he believed there was much less fraud than has been reported.
The latest figures from the Independent Election Commission, show Mr.
Karzai with 54 percent of the vote. But the United Nations-backed
Electoral Complaints Commission has ordered a partial recount, which
could delay the official outcome for weeks.
BURMA - SUU KYI: Burmese state media are defending a decision to ban opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi from a hearing on her appeal against her recent
criminal conviction.
Editorials in several state-run newspapers Thursday say a defendant has
no right to appear at a hearing if he or she is serving a prison
sentence.
Authorities have refused Aung San Suu Ky's request to attend Friday's
hearing at Rangoon's Division Court. She was convicted last month of
violating the terms of her house arrest when she allowed an American
man to stay at her lakeside Rangoon home for two days in May, after he
swam there uninvited.
YEMEN - UNREST: Witnesses in Yemen say an army air raid killed more than 80 civilians at a camp for displaced people in the north of the country. They say the army attacked a group of people Wednesday who had gathered under trees in Adi. The Yemeni army did not confirm the attack on the makeshift camp. But it did say it targeted Shi'ite rebels in the area, inflicting heavy casualties. New York based Human Rights Watch urged Yemen to investigate the reported attack on the camp and stressed that civilians should never be targeted. The government says the Shi'ite rebels want to restore a Shi'ite state that fell in the 1960s.
US - EUROPE - MISSILE DEFENSE: The Wall Street Journal says the Obama administration will cancel plans to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe.
Czech officials said President Barack Obama discussed the issue
Wednesday night during a phone call to Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer.
Former U.S. President George W. Bush had proposed building a radar
system in the Czech Republic and a missile interceptor base in Poland,
saying it would protect the region against a possible missile attack
from Iran.
US - DRUG COUNTRIES: President Barack Obama's administration has cited 20 countries as major producers or transporters of illegal drugs.
The president is required by law to make the annual designation to Congress.
The State Department released the list of countries late Tuesday. A
department statement says Bolivia, Burma and Venezuela have "failed
demonstrably" to meet their obligations to fight drugs as promised
under international agreements.
WORLD TALLEST MAN: The Guinness World Records list has welcomed its newest entry -- Sultan
Kosan of Turkey, who at 2.465 meters is now officially the world's
tallest man.
The 26-year-old received the title in London Wednesday on his first trip outside Turkey.
He works on a farm and says local residents take advantage of his size to ask him to change light bulbs and hang curtains.
Kosan says his life has not been easy, saying he cannot fit in a normal-size car and has never had a girlfriend.
Listen to our World News for details.
