Fears trial of pregnant Lao prisoner may be delayed

A British legal charity expressed concern Friday after a report that the trial of a pregnant British woman jailed in Laos would be delayed. The Vientiane Times, an English-language newspaper in Laos, reported Friday that the case of Samantha Orobator “needs further investigation to prove how she became pregnant while in prison before the case can come to court.” Orobator, 20, was jailed last August at the Vientiane airport for allegedly carrying about half a kilogram of heroin. She is more than five months pregnant, and legal aid charity Reprieve — which has worked on her case — has said that is possibly the result of rape while in prison, perhaps by a guard

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Iran’s Missile Test: A Message to Obama and Netanyahu

Iran’s latest missile test may have less to do with advancing its military capability than with getting a last word in on Monday’s conversation between President Barack Obama and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After all, the weapon whose test-firing was announced Wednesday by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the election campaign trail does not significantly extend the reach of others already in Iran’s arsenal. Instead, it appears to have been a ballistic message, to Iranian voters as well as to the U.S

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Accused Somali pirate arraigned in U.S. court

A Somali suspect in the hijacking of the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama last month pleaded not guilty to 10 counts including piracy, hostage-taking, and firearms charges in U.S. District Court in New York on Thursday. Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse faces life in prison if convicted in any of eight of the 10 counts, according to the U.S

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The Republicans Weigh in with a Health-Care Plan

The last time this country undertook a serious debate over health-care reform, back when Hillary Clinton put together her proposal in 1993, the Republican strategy could have been summed up in three words: Just say no. This time around, however, the clamor for fundamental change of a system that covers too few and costs too much has grown to the point where the minority party knows that simple obstructionism is a dangerous route to take

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Media, diplomats again barred from Suu Kyi trial

Myanmar’s government once again barred diplomats and journalists from the trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday, after allowing them in for just one day. About 20 diplomats and 10 journalists were permitted by the country’s military junta to view the proceedings Wednesday, which lasted just over an hour. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate is being tried on allegations of subversion.

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Pakistan denies increasing capability to make nukes

Pakistan’s information minister denied accusations Wednesday that his country is expanding its capability to produce nuclear weapons. This week, the Institute for Science and International Security published a report with satellite imagery that the group says shows expansion of “Pakistan’s key military and civilian fuel cycle site near Dera Ghazi Khan.” “If there is any construction over there, I don’t verify it,” Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said of the allegations.

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Myanmar to let diplomats meet with Suu Kyi

In an unusual move, Myanmar’s military government will allow diplomats to meet with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday at the end of the day’s proceeding in her continuing trial. Russian, Singaporean and Thai officials are expected to meet with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate later Wednesday, said a diplomatic source in Yangon, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

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In Somalia, Another Government Teetering?

Just last month, Western donors gathered in Brussels to pledge money to the new Somali government of Sheik Sharif Ahmed, in the hope that he could restore order and put an end to the offshore piracy that has plagued shipping off his country’s coastline. But renewed fighting in and around Mogadishu has raised fears that Somalia’s 15th government in 18 years is about to fail.

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