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Two New Orleans cops sentenced in Katrina slaying

CHICAGO – Two New Orleans police officers convicted of shooting and burning a man in the 2005 post-Hurricane Katrina chaos were sentenced to 25 and 17 years in jail for their crimes, officials said Thursday. They were two of three police officers convicted in December in the September 2, 2005…

Assad launches reforms as new Syria protests planned

DAMASCUS – Syrian authorities on Thursday announced a raft of measures aimed at meeting protesters’ demands as opposition movements ready for more rallies across the country after Friday Muslim prayers. “Our date is Friday, from all houses, all places of worship, every citizen and every free man, to all squares,…

Closing Iraq ‘torture prison’ not enough: HRW

BAGHDAD — The closure of a Baghdad detention facility at the centre of torture allegations is insufficient and authorities must probe and prosecute anyone implicated in the abuse, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday. “Closing torture prison won’t end abuse,” the New York-based rights watchdog headlined a statement referring to…

Letter bomb blast at Swiss nuclear industry group

ZURICH — A letter bomb exploded at the offices of the Swiss nuclear energy association Thursday, injuring two people, police said. The letter exploded at the offices of Swissnuclear in the northern town of Olten, a police spokesman said. Both victims suffered superficial wounds. “At about 8.15 am, while opening…

‘Good progress’ in US budget talks, Biden says

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Vice President Joe Biden has expressed confidence in budget talks aimed at averting a government shutdown, saying lawmakers had agreed to $73 billion in cuts over the next six months. “I think we’re making good progress,” Biden told reporters after meeting with Senate Democratic leaders on…

Americans favor allowing women in combat: poll

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Americans strongly support allowing women in uniform to serve in combat, despite US military rules that ban women from combat units, a new poll showed on Thursday. The Quinnipac University Polling Institute’s survey said 67 percent of voters favored permitting women “to serve in ground units that…

Japan says Fukushima plant to be scrapped

SENDAI, Japan (AFP) – Japan said on Thursday its stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant will have to be scrapped, while pressure also grew for the evacuation zone around the crippled facility to be expanded. With no end in sight to the world’s worst nuclear crisis in 25 years, the US…

Texas illegally obtaining lethal drugs: lawyers

WASHINGTON — The lawyers of two Texas death row inmates asked Attorney General Eric Holder Wednesday to open an investigation on the state’s alleged illegal purchases of lethal injection drugs. In a letter made public by the lawyers, they said they had uncovered official documents through a Freedom of Information…

MESSENGER offers close-up of mysterious Mercury

WASHINGTON — NASA celebrated hundreds of stunning photographs from the Mercury MESSENGER probe as it began a year-long mission to orbit and map the solar system’s mysterious innermost planet. After more than six and a half years and a 4.9-billion-mile (7.9-billion-kilometer) journey, the spacecraft — which stands for MErcury Surface,…

Blow for Gaddafi as key figure defects

AJDABIYA, Libya – Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi suffered a major blow Wednesday with the defection of his foreign minister even as his forces again proved too strong for the rebels’ rag-tag army. Foreign minister Mussa Kussa became the most senior figure yet to defect from the Kadhafi regime since a…