LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – More than half a million fans from around the world applied for 17,500 free tickets to Michael Jackson’s public memorial service next week, organizers said on Friday as a massive security operation got underway.
04
Jul 09
Suicide bomber attacks foreign base in Afghan east
KABUL (Reuters) – One U.S. soldier and an Afghan were killed when a suicide bomber tried to attack a base in southeast Afghanistan on Saturday, officials said, two days after a major operation against the Taliban was launched in the south.
04
Jul 09
North Korea defies U.S. with new missile launches
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea fired five ballistic missiles on Saturday, South Korea’s defense ministry said, in an act of defiance toward the United States that further stoked regional tensions already high due to its nuclear test in May.
04
Jul 09
Gunmen kill nine Chechen police in Russia’s Ingushetia
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Nine Chechen police officers were killed Saturday in the Russian republic of Ingushetia after gunmen opened fire on their convoy, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported, citing the republic’s interior ministry.
04
Jul 09
OAS set to suspend Honduras as it renounces charter
TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) – The Organization of American States prepared to suspend Honduras on Saturday after a caretaker government refused to restore ousted President Manuel Zelaya and defiantly renounced the OAS charter in an apparent preemptive move.
04
Jul 09
China cenbank chief warns of risks in stimulus push
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s massive economic stimulus plan has launched some projects that are wasteful, possibly making it hard for investors involved to repay bank loans, China’s central bank chief said Saturday.
04
Jul 09
U.N.’s Ban denied Suu Kyi meeting
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday he was “deeply disappointed” that military-ruled Myanmar’s top general had rejected his request to meet with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
04
Jul 09
R&B singer Maxwell ends seven-year break
NEW YORK (Billboard) – A vanishing act has become practically de rigueur for R&B musicians of a certain caliber. Many make a mega-hit album or two, collect Grammy Awards and critical accolades — and then disappear.
04
Jul 09
Stone Temple Pilots accentuate old faves
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – For a reunited band bent on having a future, Stone Temple Pilots spent most of its House of Blues show Wednesday visiting the past — the distant past.
04
Jul 09
Kenya sets new tribunal deadline
Kenya and the ICC agree a new deadline to set up a special tribunal to try the ringleaders of post-election violence.