Daily News Digest

The latest news on Guantanamo trial, Women & Economy, Gleaning for food, Farm subsidies, Americans & Africa, War crimes suspect, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Iran, Middle East, India and Editorial.

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Guantanamo trial. Military Trial Begins for Guantánamo Detainee "In a hushed courtroom here on Monday, a military judge opened the first American war crimes trial since World War II, culminating a nearly seven-year effort by the Bush administration to try some of the hundreds of terrorism suspects held in the detention camp." Guantanamo Judge Blocks Use of Some Statements "Prosecutors in the trial of Osama bin Laden's former driver cannot use as evidence some statements the defendant gave interrogators because they were obtained under "highly coercive" conditions while he was a captive in Afghanistan,"


Women & Economy. Women Are Now Equal as Victims of Poor Economy"Across the country, women in their prime earning years, struggling with an unfriendly economy, are retreating from the work force, either permanently or for long stretches."


Gleaning for food. Gleaning programs multiply as food donations decline "As grocery prices continue to rise and food donations decline, a growing number of food banks across the USA are turning to local farms for produce that otherwise might go to waste. The process, known as gleaning, involves collecting leftovers after crops have been harvested."


Farm subsidies. U.S. offers farm subsidy cut, is asked for more "The United States sought to kickstart efforts to rescue a global trade deal on Tuesday by offering to cut a ceiling on its contested farm subsidies, but leading developing countries said it was not enough."


Americans & Africa. Americans finding purpose in hopes for Africa's future "A generation of Americans for whom Africa has become the place to try to make a difference. Their dreams vary: to end poverty, to stop AIDS, to make a fortune. Whatever the motive, Africa has united celebrities, missionaries and politicians like few other causes."


War crimes suspect. Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic caught "Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, accused architect of a campaign of ethnic mass murder and a war crimes fugitive for more than a decade, was captured by Serbian security forces," Bosnian Serb Under Arrest in War Crimes "Radovan Karadzic, one of the world's most wanted war criminals for his part in the massacre of nearly 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995, was arrested Monday in a raid in Serbia that ended a 13-year hunt." Karadzic was working as doctor in Belgrade before his arrest "Europe's most wanted man, the former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, was living and working freely in the Serbian capital before his arrest,"


Zimbabwe. Zimbabweans hail 'historic' deal "Zimbabweans have warmly welcomed a deal setting a framework for talks on the country's political crisis. " Zimbabwe Rivals Meet in Bid to End Crisis"After a bloody election season marked by beatings and assassinations of opposition supporters, Zimbabwe's feuding political leaders met face to face on Monday to sign an agreement laying out terms for negotiations to wrest their land out of political chaos." Zimbabwean Rivals Agree to Negotiations "Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai agreed to start urgent negotiations toward forming a new government, a first but very tentative step toward ending the nation's political stalemate."


Iraq. Iraq Points to Pullout in 2010 "Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama conferred with senior Iraqi leaders, U.S. officials and military commanders Monday, as a spokesman for the Iraqi government declared that it would like U.S. combat forces to complete their withdrawal by the end of 2010." Iraq wants pullout in 2010 "Sen. Barack Obama received a fresh boost to his troop withdrawal plan from the Iraqi government, which directly affirmed for the first time that it shares Obama's goal of pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of 2010."


Iran. Iran Offers 2 Pages and No Ground in Nuclear Talks "the informal two-page document that Iran distributed at nuclear talks in Geneva on Saturday ignored the main six-power demand on curbing Iran's enrichment of uranium and called for concessions from the other side." Rice says Iran not serious at weekend nuclear talks, warns of new sanctions "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice accused Iran on Monday of not being serious at weekend talks about its disputed nuclear program despite the presence of a senior U.S. diplomat, and warned it may soon face new sanctions."


Middle East. A presidential primer on the Middle East conflict: Here are 10 realities to keep in mind about the Holy Land, previous American efforts to pacify it, and the broader conundrum and choices one of you will face when President Bush leaves office six months from now:" Israelis, Palestinians look to Obama with hope, skepticism "As Barack Obama heads into the world's most complicated region in a bid to establish his foreign-policy credentials as a presidential hopeful, Israelis and Palestinians are voicing a mixture of hope, skepticism and curiosity."Obama and McCain diverge on Israeli-Palestinian conflict "Neither Senator Obama nor Republican nominee John McCain have spoken much about how they might resolve this key Middle Eastern issue. But what hints the candidates have given suggest that Obama will probably return the US to a more traditional role of "honest broker," analysts say. Senator McCain would be more likely to subordinate any peace talks to battling Islamic extremism, leaving Israel to chart its own path."


India. Indian Government Survives Confidence Vote "The Indian government survived a motion of confidence in Parliament Tuesday evening, paving the way for India to seal a landmark nuclear agreement with the United States but leaving the entire parliamentary process tainted by dramatic allegations of bribery made on the floor of the house." India's government survives vote of confidence "India's government today survived a knife-edge parliamentary vote of confidence, clearing the way for a landmark nuclear deal with the US that marks the end of its international isolation as a rogue nuclear weapons state."


Editorial. Poverty's Real Measure "After a year of work, Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York has presented a new formula for measuring poverty that creates a far more realistic view of life in the city. It should stand as an example to other cities - and, ultimately, the federal government."