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SYDNEY: East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta has regained
consciousness and has spoken to family members after being in an
induced coma since he was shot 10 days ago, his spokesman said
Thursday. Spokesman Luke Gosling said in a statement that doctors at
Royal Darwin Hospital have reported that President Ramos-Horta
continued his steady recovery. The Nobel peace laureate was
airlifted to the hospital in northern Australia after being shot by
rebel soldiers outside his home in Dili on February 11.
-- AFP
HONOLULU, Hawaii: A US Navy cruiser hit a
defunct US spy satellite with a single missile late Wednesday in a
successful interception 133 nautical miles in space over the
Pacific, the US Defense Department said. A network of radars and
satellites designed for the US missile defense system confirmed that
the interception occurred at approximately 10:26 p.m. eastern
standard time (0326 GMT Thursday).US Defense Secretary Robert Gates
was informed in a conference call with senior military officials
“that the mission was a success, that the missile had intercepted
the decaying satellite,” Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell
said.
-- AFP
BELGRADE: Serbians protest en masse against
Kosovo’s declaration of independence Thursday, a day after
NATO-led peacekeepers blamed Serb leaders for unrest in the
fledgling state. Hundreds of thousands of people were expected to
gather in front of the old Yugoslav parliament building in central
Belgrade for the “Kosovo is Serbia” rally, including celebrities
such as film director Emir Kusturica. Serbian President Boris Tadic
and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica have appealed for calm during
the demonstration.
-- AFP
COLOMBO: At least 46 Tamil Tiger rebels and two
government soldiers died in intense battles for a bunker line in
northern Sri Lanka, the defense ministry said Thursday. Government
forces destroyed five bunkers held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) during fighting on Wednesday afternoon, a ministry
statement said. Thirteen guerrillas fell in one battle and 30 in a
second confrontation in the Mannar region. There were three more
rebels killed by army snipers in the same area, the ministry said.
-- AFP
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council renewed
on Wednesday the mandate of the African Union Mission to Somalia
for another six months. Unanimously adopting a resolution, the
15-member body said “the situation in Somalia continues to
constitute a threat to international peace and security in the
region.” The African Union peacekeeping force shall be authorized
to take “all necessary measures as appropriate” to provide for
security and create conditions that facilitate the provision of
humanitarian assistance, according to the resolution.
-- Xinhua
JAKARTA: The number of wounded people rose to 34
in Simeuleu Island of Aceh province in Indonesia during a strong
earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6, according to the country’s
health ministry on Thursday. The ministry’s crisis center head
Rustam Pakaya also added that 17 houses and four health facilities
were seriously damaged. Medical teams from the nearby province of
North Sumatra already arrived in the island.
-- Xinhua
WASHINGTON: Former president Bill Clinton
admitted that his wife faces a do-or-die struggle in upcoming
nomination battles after her 10th successive electoral beating by
rival Democrat Barack Obama. Despite a fighting stance from Hillary
Clinton’s camp, the former president conceded Wednesday that his
wife’s campaign was hanging by a thread going into a pair of
all-or-nothing nomination clashes on March 4. “If she wins in
Texas and Ohio, I think she’ll be the nominee,” Bill Clinton
told supporters in Beaumont, Texas. “If you don’t deliver for
her, I don’t think she can be. It’s all on you.”
-- AFP
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