News in Brief: Headlines From Around The World
U.S. military holds AP photographer
The U.S. military in Iraq has imprisoned an Associated Press photographer for five months, accusing him of being a security threat but never filing charges or permitting a public hearing.
Military officials said Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi citizen, was being held for "imperative reasons of security" under United Nations resolutions. AP executives said the news cooperative's review of Hussein's work did not find anything to indicate inappropriate contact with insurgents, and any evidence against him should be brought to the Iraqi criminal justice system.
Hussein, 35, is a native of Fallujah who began work for the AP in September 2004. He photographed events in Fallujah and Ramadi until he was detained on April 12 of this year.
"We want the rule of law to prevail. He either needs to be charged or released. Indefinite detention is not acceptable," said Tom Curley, AP's president and chief executive officer. "We've come to the conclusion that this is unacceptable under Iraqi law, or Geneva Conventions, or any military procedure."
Kidnapped girl sends text message to mother
A man suspected of kidnapping a 14-year-old girl and keeping her in an underground bunker was charged yesterday with raping the teen, Kershaw County Sheriff Steve McCaskill said.
Kershaw County Sheriff Steve McCaskill said Vinson Filyaw had eluded police with an elaborate system of hideouts and bunkers since November 2005 when he was charged with criminal sexual conduct on a 12-year-old girl.
He surrendered yesterday morning to police as he walked along Interstate 20 near Columbia, about five miles from where investigators found the teenager.
Police say Filyaw, 36, abducted the girl as she walked home from a school bus stop on Sept. 6.
Investigators arrested Filyaw in neighboring Richland County about 24 hours after rescuing the girl, who sent a text message to her mother on Filyaw's phone while he was a sleep Wednesday, McCaskill said.
Space station bids farewell to first guests
The international space station's three residents bade farewell to one set of houseguests yesterday and prepared for the arrival of more visitors.
The send-off of space shuttle Atlantis's six astronauts yesterday was the start of a week of heavy traffic at the space station, the equivalent of rush hour in space.
A Russian Soyuz vehicle ferrying two new station crew members and the first female space tourist was set to launch overnight, followed by the departure of a Russian cargo ship from the station on Monday. The Soyuz was scheduled to arrive at the space station early Wednesday, and Atlantis was set to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida later that day.
Series of bombings strike Kirkuk, killing 24
Six bombs killed 24 people and wounded 84 yesterday in Kirkuk, a northern oil city the Kurds want added to their self-ruled region. The violence came as politicians argued over federation legislation that a Sunni Arab party warned could tear Iraq apart.
The tortured bodies of 15 people were found elsewhere, probable victims of worsening sectarian reprisals, and the U.S. military announced that a sailor assigned to the Marines died Saturday from wounds suffered during combat in Iraq's restive Anbar province.
A joint U.S.-Iraqi operation in Diwaniyah rounded up 32 people suspected of terrorism.
The U.S. military in Iraq has imprisoned an Associated Press photographer for five months, accusing him of being a security threat but never filing charges or permitting a public hearing.
Military officials said Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi citizen, was being held for "imperative reasons of security" under United Nations resolutions. AP executives said the news cooperative's review of Hussein's work did not find anything to indicate inappropriate contact with insurgents, and any evidence against him should be brought to the Iraqi criminal justice system.
Hussein, 35, is a native of Fallujah who began work for the AP in September 2004. He photographed events in Fallujah and Ramadi until he was detained on April 12 of this year.
"We want the rule of law to prevail. He either needs to be charged or released. Indefinite detention is not acceptable," said Tom Curley, AP's president and chief executive officer. "We've come to the conclusion that this is unacceptable under Iraqi law, or Geneva Conventions, or any military procedure."
Kidnapped girl sends text message to mother
A man suspected of kidnapping a 14-year-old girl and keeping her in an underground bunker was charged yesterday with raping the teen, Kershaw County Sheriff Steve McCaskill said.
Kershaw County Sheriff Steve McCaskill said Vinson Filyaw had eluded police with an elaborate system of hideouts and bunkers since November 2005 when he was charged with criminal sexual conduct on a 12-year-old girl.
He surrendered yesterday morning to police as he walked along Interstate 20 near Columbia, about five miles from where investigators found the teenager.
Police say Filyaw, 36, abducted the girl as she walked home from a school bus stop on Sept. 6.
Investigators arrested Filyaw in neighboring Richland County about 24 hours after rescuing the girl, who sent a text message to her mother on Filyaw's phone while he was a sleep Wednesday, McCaskill said.
Space station bids farewell to first guests
The international space station's three residents bade farewell to one set of houseguests yesterday and prepared for the arrival of more visitors.
The send-off of space shuttle Atlantis's six astronauts yesterday was the start of a week of heavy traffic at the space station, the equivalent of rush hour in space.
A Russian Soyuz vehicle ferrying two new station crew members and the first female space tourist was set to launch overnight, followed by the departure of a Russian cargo ship from the station on Monday. The Soyuz was scheduled to arrive at the space station early Wednesday, and Atlantis was set to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida later that day.
Series of bombings strike Kirkuk, killing 24
Six bombs killed 24 people and wounded 84 yesterday in Kirkuk, a northern oil city the Kurds want added to their self-ruled region. The violence came as politicians argued over federation legislation that a Sunni Arab party warned could tear Iraq apart.
The tortured bodies of 15 people were found elsewhere, probable victims of worsening sectarian reprisals, and the U.S. military announced that a sailor assigned to the Marines died Saturday from wounds suffered during combat in Iraq's restive Anbar province.
A joint U.S.-Iraqi operation in Diwaniyah rounded up 32 people suspected of terrorism.
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