Global Peace and Conflict

US 'threatened to bomb' Pakistan
BBC News

The US threatened to bomb Pakistan "back to the stone age" unless it joined the fight against al-Qaeda, President Pervez Musharraf has said.

General Musharraf said the warning was delivered by former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage to Pakistan's intelligence director.

"I think it was a very rude remark," Gen Musharraf told CBS television.

Pakistan agreed to side with the US, but Gen Musharraf said it did so based on his country's national interest.

"One has to think and take actions in the interest of the nation, and that's what I did," he said.

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Iraq torture 'worse after Saddam'
BBC News

Torture may be worse now in Iraq than under former leader Saddam Hussein, the UN's chief anti-torture expert says.

Manfred Nowak said the situation in Iraq was "out of control", with abuses being committed by security forces, militia groups and anti-US insurgents.

Bodies found in the Baghdad morgue "often bear signs of severe torture", said the human rights office of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq in a report.

The wounds confirmed reports given by refugees from Iraq, Mr Nowak said.

<< Read about the War In Iraq

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US deal struck on terror suspects
BBC News

US President George W Bush has reached a deal with Republican senators on a controversial bill setting rules for the questioning of terror suspects.

Under the deal, Mr Bush dropped his demand that CIA interrogators be protected from prosecution by redefining the Geneva conventions.

The compromise will also allow the Bush administration to resume military tribunals, suspended since June.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell backed Republicans opposing the measure sponsored by Mr Bush, saying that the international community was beginning to doubt the moral basis of the war on terror.

The deal will also allow for military tribunals to try some of the terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay.

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Crucifixions fuel outrage
Source: BBC News & PA

Madonna has again defended staging a mock crucifixion during her world tour.

Religious groups have complained about the cross scene and NBC is still deciding whether to include it in a November broadcast of the tour.

The pop star has defended the imagery, saying it forms part of an appeal to her audience to donate to Aids charities.

Meanwhile, British TV station Channel 4 is set to show a human corpse hanging on a cross in a documentary that has sparked outrage from Christian groups. It will be broadcast on its digital channel More4.

Controversial anatomist Gunther von Hagens is using a real dead body in the 90-minute film, in which many fear will be a sensationalist use of the crucifixion.

Von Hagens uses a plastination technique to conserve bodies, which involves removing the fluids and fats and replacing them with flexible dyed plastic in a vacuum.

His Body Worlds exhibition in 2002, in which the "plastinated" bodies of dead humans were exhibited, caused outrage.

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Global web celebrations under way
BBC News

People around the world are coming together today to celebrate the world wide web.

Susan Crawford, the founder of OneWebDay, said she wanted people to reflect on how the web had changed their lives.

The day will be marked with events taking place around the world, together with online activities.

The organisers are planning to create what they hope will be the largest global online photo collaboration.

This is the first OneWebDay, and the organisers plan for it to become an annual event.

Pictures courtesy of BBC News online.

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