President Bush has come out stoutly defending Donald Rumsfeld, stating the that Secretary of Defense is doing a 'superb job' despite the prisoner abuse scandals, though even the right-leaning Economist has advised Bush to dump him. The Washington Post reports a correlation between the prisoner abuse and the rise of the Iraqi insurgency at the end of last year and, somewhat astoundingly, a leaked report states that the US authorities told the Red Cross at the time that such conduct was just 'part of the process.' Despite the alleged abuses that took place there, the new head of Iraqi prisons, General Geoffrey Miller, has stated publicly that Abu Ghraib will remain open. The New York Times takes a different spin on the issue, noting how abuse of prisoners is fairly routine in American jails but does not seem to warrant the same attention as it does in this case, while Slate takes the story to an even more fundamental point, illustrating how to properly pronounce Abu Ghraib.
The United States is now looking for help from the tribal sheiks in southern Iraq to rebuild the national security force that has been destroyed by the ongoing fighting between the US and the forces of Sheikh Moktada al-Sadr. US aircraft have bombed the his office in Baghdad as British forces attempt to complete their offensive against his supporters in Basra. Sheikh al-Sadr's supporters did manage to take over Sadr City, a neighborhood of Baghdad, leaving it, Najaf and Kufa under his control. Amnesty International is reporting that British troops killed Iraqi citizens, including an eight-year-old girl, though under no apparent threat. The United States has agreed to hand over Saddam Hussein to Iraqi officials by June 30th when the coalition is scheduled to return sovereignty to the Iraqi people. The Christian Science Monitor sums up the latest developments.
In a related but different note, the charity Christian Aid has warned the British government about wrongly diverting funds, stating that aid money is being diverted to military purposes instead of humanitarian relief and development in countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and Uganda. In addition, American companies are finding that their brand image is taking a beating because of the negative global response to the Bush administration's foreign policy.
A liberal Iranian cleric has been sentenced to death for blasphemy over his comments that Muslims should not blindly follow their religious leaders and a new film satirizing the religious authorities might be banned. At the same time, the outgoing reformist government has passed a bill that would grant women equal inheritance rights as men, though the legislation still needs to be approved by the Guardian Council which has vetoed similar legislation in the past.
The Campaign Desk takes on polling -- what they mean, what they can and can't tell, and exactly how relevant they are six months before an election. On that note though, the results of the latest poll. Then for dessert, they discuss media objectivity and how journalists are self-censoring their coverage so as not to be accused of favoritism to one candidate or the other.
In brief:
- The Cassini probe has begun taking detailed pictures of Saturn's moon Titan.
- Astronomers believe that they may have found a new type of planet.
- Speaking of new planets, NASA has released an artist's conception of what the solar system looks like from Sedna.
- Intel is working on a new superchip that will emit less heat than current designs.
- In health news that seems self-evident: cabbage and brussel sprouts are good for you and might lower your risk of cancer.
- Doctors are in the initial stages of developing a new obesity treatment that destroys the blood supply to fatty tissue.
- Magnetic therapy may help people with spinal cord injuries.
- Monsanto has given notice that it will not introduce genetically modified wheat to the marketplace for the time being.
- Concerned over the state of agriculture after a botched domestic land-reform policy, the UN is complaining that Zimbabwe is not granting them access to ascertain the state of the country's harvest and food stocks.
- The relations between the UN and Eritrea are degrading, with the UN complaining that Eritrea is illegally detaining its staff, and Eritrea accusing UN peacekeepers of serious crimes including pedophilia. The UN has since issued an ultimatum asking both Ethiopia and Eritrea to state whether they want the peacekeepers to remain in the area.
- The UN Security Council will continue monitoring the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan, but will take no action in the near future to deal with the allegations of atrocities committed.
- A former Hutu leader suspected of playing a leading role in Rwanda's 1994 genocide has been arrested in DR Congo.
- A warrant for a former Indonesian military commander, General Wiranto, has been issued by the United Nations for his role in the crimes against humanity perpetrated in East Timor five years ago.
- The UN is also warning that the violence caused by drug trafficking is creating a humanitarian crisisin Columbia by driving two million from their homes and threatening indigenous groups with extinction.
- The controversy over the death penalty sentence given to foreign medical staff in Libya accused of intentionally infecting children with HIV is drawing counter-demonstrations in Libya.
- Pakistani tribal leaders along the Afghan border have pledged to raise a force of 1800 to capture al-Qaeda militants.
- The pro-Russian president of Chechnya has been assassinated.
- Canada has boarded Portuguese fishing trawlers off the Grand Banks, collecting evidence that they were fishing protected species.
- Christian conservatives are going to love this one: A study published in Britain shows that teaching kids about oral sex substantially decreases both teen sexual intercourse and teen pregnancy rates. Apparently teaching them to be sexual with boundaries is more effective than just telling them not to engage in any sexual activity.
- The Brazilian public is wondering whether their president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, might be a little too tipsy too much of the time.
- The New York Times documents how conservative groups are also using the courts to get their way on the same-sex marriage issue.
- Hollinger International is accusing Conrad Black of using the company as a cash cow.
- Slate explains exactly how a SothebyÂ’s auction works and what's up with the growth in payday loan institutions.
- The BBC is developing their own video codec.
- If you're in Washington Square Park in New York City from 1pm to 4pm on Sundays, why not go and get a hug?
- Who is the greatest Canadian? The CBC is letting you decide.
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