Sharon in critical condition, brain damage suspected
January 5, 2006Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was transferred to an intensive care unit and put on life support following a second operation that succeeded in halting cerebral hemorrhaging Thursday morning, though he may have suffered brain damage, Israeli media reported. ''The prime minister is in critical condition,'' Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital director Shlomo Mor-Yosef was quoted as saying by the Haaretz news service. But he added that Sharon's vital signs were ''functional and stable.''
Suicide bombers kill over 110 in 2 Iraqi cities
January 5, 2006At least 110 people were killed and more than 200 wounded by suicide bombings Thursday in the Shiite holy city of Kerbala and in the Sunni stronghold of Ramadi in one of the country's deadliest days in months, Reuters reported. It marked the second consecutive day of concerted insurgent attacks, following the killing of 58 people in a wave of bombings and shootings Wednesday.
Another rights activist jailed in Cambodia for defamation
January 5, 2006A senior member of Cambodian Center for Human Rights was jailed Thursday after being charged with defaming the government, his lawyer said, bringing to three the number of senior members of the U.S.-funded rights group to face defamation charges. Pa Nguon Teang, vice president of the center, was arrested Wednesday in Stung Treng Province near the Lao border and sent to Phnom Penh where he faced the defamation charge, lawyer Som Chandina told Kyodo News.