A new global treaty banning cluster munitions has come into force. The Convention on Cluster Munitions bans the stockpiling, use and transfer of virtually all existing cluster bombs, and also provides for the clearing up of unexploded munitions.
It has been adopted by 108 states, of which 38 have ratified it. First developed during World War II, cluster bombs contain a number of smaller bomblets designed to cover a large area and deter an advancing army.
Global cluster bomb ban comes into force
Despite Directive, BP Used Oil Dispersant Often, Panel Finds
The Coast Guard approved dozens of requests by BP to spread hundreds of thousands of gallons of surface oil dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico despite the Environmental Protection Agency’s directive on May 26 that they should be used only rarely, according to documents and correspondence analyzed by a Congressional subcommittee.
In some cases, the Coast Guard approved BP’s requests even though the company did not set an upper limit on the amount of dispersant it planned to use.
Anti-Defamation League rebuked for opposition to 9/11 mosque
ADL press release calls mosque location insensitive to 9/11 victims families. Other Jewish voices urge tolerance and denounce ADL's Foxman.
The ADL's announcement expressing doubts over the plan to establish a mosque on the site of Ground Zero created a stir on Saturday. The Anti-Defamation League added their voice on Friday to those opposing the building of a mosque close to Ground Zero and inflamed the public debate that is splitting popular opinion in New York.
US stalls on Sept. 11 trial for 5 at Gitmo
As the U.S. military prepares for the first war crimes trial under President Barack Obama, its most high-profile case against the planners of the Sept. 11 attacks is stuck in political and legal limbo. Canadian prisoner Omar Khadr, accused of killing an American soldier during a raid on an al-Qaida compound, is scheduled to go to trial Aug. 9 at the U.S. base in Cuba.
But Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the professed mastermind of the attacks, and four alleged accomplices are still sequestered at Guantanamo without charges. The Obama administration, after months of review, hasn't made a decision on whether to seek a military or civilian trial.
WikiLeaks Posts Mysterious ‘Insurance’ File
In the wake of strong U.S. government statements condemning WikiLeaks’ recent publishing of 77,000 Afghan War documents, the secret-spilling site has posted a mysterious encrypted file labeled “insurance.”
The huge file, posted on the Afghan War page at the WikiLeaks site, is 1.4 GB and is encrypted with AES256. The file’s size dwarfs the size of all the other files on the page combined. The file has also been posted on a torrent download site.
Report: U.S. companies transferred funds to suspects in Dubai hit
Investigators in the United States probing the assassination of a senior Hamas official have drawn links between U.S. companies and suspects in the case, bringing them closer to identifying them, according to an American press report Saturday.
The findings show U.S. authorities playing a great role in the probe than previously revealed, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The press baron who's making news in Israel
It is the brash upstart on the Israeli media scene with money to burn and already with a reputation it's trying to shed. Israel Hayom, a free newspaper that for the first time has stormed to the front of Israel's circulation battle, is such a strong backer of the prime minister that its critics call it "Bibiton" – a play on the nickname of Benjamin Netanyahu.
U.N. Sanctions Dropped Against 5 Senior Taliban
Five Taliban have been struck off a U.N. Security Council list of militants subject to sanctions -- a move sought by Kabul to ease reconciliation talks with insurgents, the United Nations said on Friday.
Their removal from the U.N. blacklist followed a review of the list of Taliban and al Qaeda members maintained by a Security Council committee. Two of the five were delisted because they were dead, the committee said in a statement issued by the U.N. Department of Public Information.
Native American farmers and ranchers press USDA on bias complaints
Native Americans who have sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture alleging discrimination say they, like many African Americans, were taken aback by the agency's hasty firing of a black mid-level official last week after she was falsely accused of racism.
Shirley Sherrod was quickly vindicated, receiving apologies from the agency and the White House -- and an offer of a new job from Secretary Tom Vilsack. Though Sherrod has yet to say whether she will accept the offer, she said at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in San Diego on Thursday that she plans to sue Andrew Breitbart, the conservative blogger who posted the misleading video that led to her troubles.
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