France seeks 'firm' Darfur action

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called on the world to be "firm" with Sudan if it refuses to co-operate with efforts to end the conflict in Darfur.
He said "silence was killing" in the troubled region, as he opened talks in Paris between the world's major powers.
Some 200,000 people have died and 2.4m fled the violence in Darfur since 2003.
Officials from the US, Europe, China and the Arab League are among those at the conference, but Sudan and the rebel factions are not represented there.
The Sudanese government was not invited, while the African Union is boycotting the conference because it regards the French initiative as a distraction from its own mediation efforts.
'Unacceptable'
Speaking before the start of the conference, Mr Sarkozy called for the swift deployment of thousands of UN peacekeepers to support the current small African Union force presently operating in Darfur. "The lack of decision and the lack of action are unacceptable," he said.
While Mr Sarkozy praised the Sudanese government for agreeing to the formation of a joint UN-AU peacekeeping force, he insisted it had to make more of an effort to bring peace to Darfur.
"We must be firm toward belligerents who refuse to join the negotiating table," he said.

BBC News

Pregnant woman's body found; cop arrested

Authorities believe they recovered the body of Jessie Marie Davis, a pregnant Ohio woman missing for 10 days, Saturday, and a police officer with whom Davis had a relationship was arrested in connection with her disappearance, police said.
Canton police patrolman Bobby Cutts Jr., 30, was facing two murder counts in the deaths of Davis, 26, and her unborn child, said Rick Perez, chief deputy of the Stark County sheriff's department.
Cutts fathered Davis' 2-year-old son, Blake, and was also the likely father of her unborn child, a girl she planned to call Chloe. Davis was nearly nine months pregnant when she was last heard from June 13. She was due July 3. (Watch police announce they'd found a body )
The body was recovered in adjacent Summit County about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Perez said, but he would not provide further details. A police statement acknowledged the assistance of the National Park Service, but police would not say what assistance was provided.
The FBI said the body was was in the area of Cuyahoga Valley National Park in northern Summit County. A park spokesperson told CNN affiliate WKYC and the Akron Beacon Journal that it was recovered in Hampton Hills Metro Park, part of the county park system that is adjacent to the national park. (Map)
Video footage from CNN affiliate WKYC showed aerials of a wooded area and what appeared to be a body in a bag placed onto a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance. Evidence technicians appeared to be working in a field.
Cutts was arrested Saturday afternoon, Perez said. Cutts is scheduled to appear Monday for arraignment in Canton Municipal Court.
Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero told reporters it was too early to say whether the case warrants the death penalty. "The charges could get elevated to a higher degree down the road."
Citing an ongoing investigation, police would divulge little regarding the case. They would not comment on whether additional arrests are expected, but said they continue to solicit tips by telephone and through the sheriff's department Web site.
Davis' family did not appear at an afternoon news conference where police announced the developments.
"They're grieving in private," said family attorney Rick Pitinii.
Asked their thoughts on the arrest, he said, "I think this whole process for them has been more about finding her -- instead of who is or is not at fault or at blame."
Detectives had searched the home of Cutts at least twice earlier this week.
The investigation started last week when Davis' mother, Patricia Porter, alerted police after she was unable to contact her daughter. When the mother went to the home, she found Davis' 2-year-old son, Blake, wandering in an empty house.
Police said furniture was broken, a lamp was toppled and bleach had been spilled on the floor, although there were no signs of forced entry. Davis' car keys and purse were in the home, but her cell phone and a comforter were missing.
Police said earlier that Blake told authorities that his mother was crying, she had broken a table and was "in the rug."
In an earlier interview with the local Canton Repository newspaper, Cutts denied any involvement in Davis' disappearance. He acknowledged that he was married, but said he was separated from his wife and that she was aware of his relationship with Davis.
Canton Police Chief Dean McKimm said Saturday that because Cutts is a police officer, he has given his department a "black eye" in the eyes of the local community as well as the nation. He urged people not to be too quick to judge the "isolated acts" of one "rogue officer."
Authorities earlier said Cutts had been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the search for Davis.
Thousands of volunteers had shown up to help search for Davis' body, an effort organized by EquuSearch, a Texas-based nonprofit organization.

© 2007 Cable News Network.

Viet Nam-Cambodia relations record moves

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed that the past half-century relations between Viet Nam and Cambodia have been continuously fortified in all fields. The Vietnamese top legislator was speaking at a rally held in Ha Noi on June 23 to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Viet Nam and Cambodia (June 24). Chairman Trong said the governments and people of the two countries have continuously exchanged experience and mutual assistance in national development. Exchanges of visits by high-level officials, ministries, agencies and localities, particularly border areas between Viet Nam and Cambodia, have helped to promote the solidarity and friendship between the two countries. He stressed that the trade and economic ties between Viet Nam and Cambodia continue to flourish, matching the two countries’ political relations and potentials. The two-way trade turnover annually grows by between 25-35 percent, reaching 940 million USD in 2006, and is expected to increase to 2 billion USD by 2010. Viet Nam currently ranks third among trading partners from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) of Cambodia and ranks sixth among countries establishing economic ties with Cambodia. Chairman Trong asked people of Viet Nam and Cambodia, particularly the young generation, to uphold and further consolidate the traditional friendship between the two countries in an attempt to lifting it to a new height. Addressing the rally, Cambodian Ambassador to Viet Nam Vann Phal spoke highly of the comprehensive cooperation between Cambodia and Viet Nam which he hoped will be further strengthened in the future. On the same day, a meeting was held in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang to mark the occasion with participation of provincial authorities and representatives from neighbouring Kandal and Takeo provinces of Cambodia. A three-day exchange programme between youths of An Giang and their Cambodian peers was initiated to mark the event.-Enditem

Copyright, Vietnam News Agency (VNA)

'Afghans killed' in air strikes

Some 25 civilians have died during aerial bombing by foreign forces in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, local residents and senior police say.
A spokesman for the Nato-led force (Isaf) said he was aware of an incident involving casualties.
President Hamid Karzai told the BBC this week that civilian deaths caused by foreign forces would have to stop.
If not, Mr Karzai warned that Afghans might turn against those countries with a military presence in Afghanistan.
He added, however, that people were still grateful for that involvement.
'No consultation'
Speaking to the BBC's correspondent in southern Afghanistan, people from the village of De Adam Khan, near the town of Gereshk in Helmand, said heavy bombings of the area had resulted in the civilian deaths.

They said nine women and three children were among those killed.
The accounts were backed by the district police chief, and the provincial police chief, Mohammed Husain Andiwal.
He told the BBC his team, visiting the site, had confirmed the deaths. Mr Andiwal alleged that foreign forces had launched air strikes on the village without consulting with their Afghan counterparts.
A spokesman in Kabul for the Nato-led peacekeeping force, Isaf, said he was aware of an incident involving casualties in the south.
He said he did not know whether the casualties were civilian, and was awaiting further information.
In the neighbouring province of Uruzgan, Isaf has said that days of fighting appeared to have caused civilian deaths, some of which might have come from air strikes against Taleban insurgents.

BBC News

Iraq refugees chased from home, struggle to cope

The phone calls were chilling. The voice on the end always delivering the same message: Don't work with the foreigners.
Gorges Toma, an Iraqi electrician who worked with Western contractors, did what he was told and stopped working. But it did little to help save his brother whose charred body was found in his car. "Right after I stopped [working], they killed my brother," Toma says.
He sold his car and anything else of value and moved his family of nine to Turkey, where they remain more than two and a half years later. (Watch family eat on floor in cramped quarters )
The Toma family is among the growing refugee population to have fled Iraq since the war began in March 2003. According to the U.N.'s refugee agency, UNHCR, more than 2.2 million Iraqis have sought refuge in neighboring countries, most of them in Syria and Jordan. Another two million Iraqis have been displaced inside their own country, according to UNHCR. (Iraq drives up refugee count)
In Turkey, there are an estimated 10,000 Iraqi refugees. The Toma family, from Mosul, Iraq, are now living in Kastamonu, a picturesque northern Turkish city nestled in foothills near an ancient castle.
They expected to only be here for a few months. But months turned into years of waiting.
"We just want to get out of here. We have no money, nothing. God is kind, we just want to get out," says the family matriarch, 77-year-old Isin Yelda.
"They killed my son," she says, weeping as she clutches a childhood photo of her son who drove water trucks for the U.S. military.
When the Tomas left Iraq on December 10, 2004, they spent three months in Istanbul, Turkey, where they say they felt welcomed by just about everyone. But the Turkish government places refugees like the Toma family, who are waiting to be resettled, in 21 locations outside of the country's major cities.
And so they ended up here, in this small Muslim city of 60,000 without a church. The Tomas are Christians.
'We are barely getting by'
Assimilating to life in Kastamonu has proven extremely difficult. So difficult, that the family's oldest daughter, Sura, 25, chose to return to Iraq to a convent.
"I miss my sister," 11-year-old Raghad says, breaking down in tears in their cramped two-room home.
Her mother, also sobbing, tries to comfort her.
Gorges Toma explains that it was just too hard for his oldest daughter to stay -- not able to speak the language, not feeling accepted, and being confined.
"She prefers the hell that is Iraq than Turkey. That was the psychological impact of this place on her," he says.
Leaving the town without permission is illegal. Every day, with no exception, all members of the Toma family over the age of 18 must report to local authorities. So each day, they head to the police station to sign next to their names.
Under Turkish law, they also cannot legally work.
"We are barely getting by," says Toma.
The family is able to make ends meet with the help of relatives and others chipping in.
"How am I going to pay off this debt?" the father asks.
"We're able to get odd jobs once in a while, but sometimes we work, and then they don't even pay us."
They all say they never imagined that after leaving Iraq, life would continue to be just as hard, but for different reasons.
"I have to get out [of Turkey]," says 27-year-old Salwan Toma. "I have no desire to go back to Iraq, but here, it's almost like a prison. I want stability, a house, car. I want to get married, to have a life."
He spends most of his time at an Internet cafe chatting online with friends. He just found out that a friend of his was killed in Mosul in a drive-by shooting at a church.

© 2007 Cable News Network.

Apple iPhone (AT&T)

The long-awaited Apple iPhone, which hits store shelves on June 29, marks Apple's formal entry into the cell phone world. Steve Jobs announced the iPhone at Macworld 2007 to a frenzied reception and the handset has continued to attract wide interest since then. A full iPod MP3 player with a wide screen, the iPhone also packs in a version of OS X, true push e-mail via Yahoo Mail (plus compatibility with your office e-mail), a 2-megapixel camera, and a 3.5-inch display with higher resolution than any current iPod. But with only one physical controller and only a touch screen for a keypad, some critics predict that the iPhone will be harder to use than fans might like. The iPhone will be available in 4GB and 8GB configurations for $499 and $599, respectively, and will be carried by AT&T starting on June 29, 2007.

Copyright ©2007 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ljubicic Makes Winning Return at Ordina Open

Croat Ivan Ljubicic ensured that his first appearance in 's-Hertogenbosch since 2000 would not be short-lived as he defeated Gael Monfils 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 on Monday at the Ordina Open.
The second-seeded Ljubicic faced down 17 aces from the young Frenchman, and finished the match with a flourish as he held Monfils to nine points in the third set. It marked Ljubicic's first victory in 's-Hertogenbosch; seven years ago, he lost to Francisco Clavet in his opener.
Ljubicic was a victim of Nicolas Mahut's impressive run at the Queen's Club last week in the 2007 ATP grass season opener, falling to the Frenchman in the third round. Mahut followed by taking out World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and also held championship point against Andy Roddick.
The Croat will next face Italian Andreas Seppi, who advanced to the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Austrian Alexander Peya. Seppi defeated Ljubicic in their only previous head-to-head encounter, in 2005 at Gstaad.
Qualifiers prevailed in the two matches that featured the Dutch against the French: Dutchman Peter Wessels defeated Nicolas Devilder 6-4, 6-3, while Frenchman Antony Dupuis topped 18-year-old Thiemo De Bakker 7-5, 7-6(1).
Belgian Kristof Vliegen also moved through to the second round after Frenchman Fabrice Santoro retired down 6-3, 1-1 with an upset stomach. Vliegen awaits the winner between top seed Tommy Robredo and Dutch qualifier Michel Koning.

- Copyright © ATP Tour, Inc. 2007

Children die in Afghan air raid

Seven children were killed in a US-led coalition air strike against a suspected al-Qaeda hideout in eastern Afghanistan, the coalition has said.
A statement said that a number of militants were also killed in the raid in Paktika province, near Pakistan.
The children are believed to have been students at a madrassa, or Islamic school, at the targeted compound.
In the south, three coalition soldiers and their Afghan interpreter died in a bomb blast, the US military said.

The deaths came after "an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle in Kandahar province" on Sunday, a statement said.
Afghan police and coalition forces also fought "prolonged battles" with militants in Helmand and Kandahar provinces, the coalition says. It says "several dozen" militants were killed in Helmand but there is no independent confirmation of this.
Hours before the Sunday night air raid in Paktika, a devastating bomb attack on an Afghan police bus in Kabul killed 35 people and injured more than 30 others.

'Saddened'
A coalition statement said the air raid followed "credible intelligence" that al-Qaeda militants had taken shelter at the complex. "Coalition forces confirmed the presence of nefarious activity occurring at the site before getting approval to conduct an air strike on the location," the statement said.
It said the compound in Zarghun Shah in Paktika province, about 120 miles (180km) south of the capital, Kabul, also contained a mosque and a madrassa (Islamic school).
The statement said that residents of the targeted compound reported that militants had been at the camp all day.
"This is another example of al-Qaeda using the protective status of a mosque, as well as innocent civilians, to shield themselves," coalition spokesman Major Chris Belcher said.

BBC News

Mental health system ill equipped for PTSD

Army Spec. Jeans Cruz helped capture Saddam Hussein. When he came home to the Bronx, important people called him a war hero and promised to help him start a new life. The mayor of New York, officials of his parents' home town in Puerto Rico, the borough president and other local dignitaries honored him with plaques and silk parade sashes. They handed him their business cards and urged him to phone.
But a "black shadow" had followed Cruz home from Iraq, he confided to an Army counselor. He was hounded by recurring images of how war really was for him: not the triumphant scene of Hussein in handcuffs, but visions of dead Iraqi children.
In public, the former Army scout stood tall for the cameras and marched in the parades. In private, he slashed his forearms to provoke the pain and adrenaline of combat. He heard voices and smelled stale blood. Soon the offers of help evaporated and he found himself estranged and alone, struggling with financial collapse and a darkening depression.

At a low point, he went to the local Department of Veterans Affairs medical center for help. One VA psychologist diagnosed Cruz with post-traumatic stress disorder. His condition was labeled "severe and chronic." In a letter supporting his request for PTSD-related disability pay, the psychologist wrote that Cruz was "in need of major help" and that he had provided "more than enough evidence" to back up his PTSD claim. His combat experiences, the letter said, "have been well documented."

None of that seemed to matter when his case reached VA disability evaluators. They turned him down flat, ruling that he deserved no compensation because his psychological problems existed before he joined the Army. They also said that Cruz had not proved he was ever in combat. "The available evidence is insufficient to confirm that you actually engaged in combat," his rejection letter stated.
Yet abundant evidence of his year in combat with the 4th Infantry Division covers his family's living-room wall. The Army Commendation Medal With Valor for "meritorious actions . . . during strategic combat operations" to capture Hussein hangs not far from the combat spurs awarded for his work with the 10th Cavalry "Eye Deep" scouts, attached to an elite unit that caught the Iraqi leader on Dec. 13, 2003, at Ad Dawr.

© 2007 MSNBC.com

Hamas takes full control of Gaza

An uneasy calm has returned to the Gaza Strip where Hamas is in full control following a series of attacks on key strongholds of its rival, Fatah.
On its first day of rule, Hamas said it had released several top Fatah military commanders under a prisoner "amnesty".
At least 100 people have died during a week of factional fighting.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has dissolved the Hamas-led unity government and is expected to name a caretaker administration within hours.
However, Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, of Hamas, said his government would ignore Mr Abbas's "hasty decision" and would press on and impose decisive law and order. On Friday, vehicles returned to the roads and shops were open in Gaza. Few armed men were visible on the streets and there were reports of only sporadic gunfire. The relative calm followed scenes of violence on Thursday as Hamas fighters seized remaining Fatah positions including the headquarters of Fatah's Preventative Security force and the presidential compound in Gaza City.
Hamas said it had captured several top Fatah military leaders, including the commanders of the National Security force and of the Presidential Guard.
However, the Islamist group later said it would release them unharmed as part of an "amnesty".
Meanwhile, Egyptian police said that about 100 senior Fatah officials had fled from Gaza into Egypt overnight aboard a fishing boat.
The Palestinian officials are thought to belong to Fatah's Preventive Security forces. They were transferred to police camps in Egypt where the wounded received treatment.
About 200 other Fatah security workers have already sought refuge in Egypt, officials said.
Hamas said it planned to take control of the Gaza-Egypt border crossing, which was patrolled by Fatah's Presidential Guard until the outbreak of violence on Saturday.

BBC News

6.8 magnitude earthquake strikes off Guatemalan coast

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Wednesday just off the Pacific coast of Guatemala, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Early reports indicated some homes were damaged and people may be missing, journalist Patzy Vazquez told CNN en Español.
Hugo Hernandez, the executive director of the National Coordination for Disaster, said there were no immediate reports of injuries, but all phone lines were down.
Officials were using radios to communicate, according to Benedicto Giron, a spokesman for the disaster coordination agency.
Authorities were evacuating high-rise buildings and homes that might be vulnerable to damage if there were aftershocks, but none had been reported to the USGS so far, the agency's Rafael Abreu told CNN.
The quake struck at 1:29 p.m. (3:29 p.m. ET), about 70 miles from the capital, Guatemala City.
The quake's intensity, according to the USGS, was such that it was also felt in El Salvador.
The quake's epicenter was about 40 miles below the Earth's surface, the USGS said. Earthquakes centered closer to the surface generally can cause more damage.
In this case, the quake's depth and distance from shore are likely to limit the extent of the damage, Abreu said. "Had it been closer to the surface, then you would expect, certainly, more critical effects," he said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said a Pacific-wide tsunami was not expected.
The disaster coordination team was trying to contact local municipalities, Giron said.
Earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater are considered "strong" by the USGS.
CNN meteorologist Chad Myers noted that seismographs on Midway Island -- in the north Pacific, some 1,800 miles away from Guatemala City -- registered the earthquake.
The seismograph detected the shaking about seven minutes after the quake struck, he said.
On Friday, a 5.8-magnitude quake struck offshore Guatemala in almost the same spot, the USGS said. Its epicenter was about 60 miles from Guatemala City.

© 2007 Cable News Network.

Palestinian fighting 'will burn all of us,' official says

Rival factions killed more than two dozen people Tuesday in bitter fighting that has left Gaza sliding into chaos, Palestinian officials said.
As Fatah radio called on fighters to confront Hamas militants and broadcasts from Hamas fighters urged their Fatah foes to abandon their posts or face death, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas appealed in vain for a cease-fire.
"If anybody thinks that we will be a winner out of this fire, I think they're wrong," said Palestinian official Saeb Erakat. "If this fire continues, it will burn all of us. Nobody stands to gain anything." Abbas' Fatah group dominated Palestinian politics for decades until last year, when Hamas won legislative elections.
Erakat -- an Abbas ally-- called this week's clashes "the worst I have ever seen."
Hundreds of Hamas gunmen surrounded a Fatah base in northern Gaza near the Jabalya refugee camp and launched an attack, Palestinian security sources said.
The commander of the Hamas' Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades was killed in the fighting, the sources said.
Palestinian medical sources said Tuesday 10 members of the Fatah-affiliated National Guard and 11 Hamas gunmen were killed. More than 80 people have died in factional fighting since the latest flare-up began last month
Four other Palestinians died in Tuesday morning clashes in Gaza City and Khan Younis, medical sources said.

CNN's Talal Abu-Rahman in Gaza and Kevin Flower contributed to this report.