A round-up of other world news in brief
US to begin talks with Burma today
WASHINGTON – The United States and Burma plan to open a high-level dialogue today at a meeting in New York, a source said.
US assistant secretary of state Kurt Campbell plans to meet U Thaung, Burma’s minister of science, technology and labour, said the source, who spoke on condition that he not be identified.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton last week said that the United States would pursue deeper engagement with Burma’s military rulers to try to spur democratic reform but will not ease sanctions for now. – (Reuters)
Air passengers in false alarm
LOS ANGELES – Authorities removed two men from a United Airlines flight at Los Angeles International Airport for suspicious behaviour on Monday, but later called the incident a false alarm.
The men, who were said to be from a Middle Eastern country, were taken off the flight, which was bound for New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport with an ultimate destination of Cairo, after members of the flight crew said they were behaving suspiciously.
But an FBI spokeswoman, Laura Eimiller, said the men were co-operative during interviews and agents determined that they posed no threat. – (Reuters)
US drones blamed for killing rebels
PESHAWAR – Two suspected US drone aircraft killed 12 militants, including foreigners, in missile strikes yesterday in Pakistan’s Waziristan region on the Afghan border, intelligence officials and residents said.
The latest missile strike was the third in northwest Pakistan in less than 24 hours and came as the US administration was weighing options for how to deal with an intensifying Taliban insurgency in neighbouring Afghanistan. – (Reuters)
Rowling blocked by Bush team
NEW YORK – J K Rowling was denied the US’s highest civilian honour because members of the Bush administration believed Harry Potter “encouraged witchcraft”, a new book claims.
Matt Latimer, a former speech writer for George W Bush, states in Speechless: Tales of a White House Survivorthat White House officials objected to the author's perceived promotion of sorcery in the series.
As a result her name was not included among those receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, it is alleged. – (PA)
Security forces kill kidnappers
ONITSHA – Three Nigerian kidnappers and one hostage were killed in a shoot-out with security forces in the southeast state of Abia, police said yesterday.
A four-man gang clashed with police after kidnapping a couple and their children while travelling to the Abia state capital Umuahia on Monday. – (Reuters)
US criticises Guinean forces
WASHINGTON – The US government yesterday accused Guinea’s security forces of “brazen and inappropriate” use of force against civilian protesters and called for the quick release of opposition leaders.
“We demand the immediate release of opposition leaders and a return to civilian rule as soon as possible, a move that the Guinean people themselves continue to demand,” the US state department said in a statement.
The crackdown by Guinea’s military killed at least 157 people and injured more than 1,200 in the West African country, the world’s biggest bauxite producer, according to local reports. – (Reuters)