International News 11/25/2005

Two Sudanese Soldiers Sentenced to Death (Nov. 16, 2005)
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP)-- A court set up by Sudan to try war crimes in its violence-plagued Darfur region issued its first sentences Wednesday, condemning to death two soldiers in the torture killing of a Sudanese citizen.
Liberia's Johnson-Sirleaf Pledges Change, By JONATHAN PAYE-LAYLEH (Nov. 23, 2005)
MONROVIA, Liberia (AP)-- Africa's first elected female president pledged in her acceptance speech Wednesday to end Liberia's history of corrupt, brutal and male-dominated rule.
Why did the press swallow Massey's stories? By Ron Harris, POST-DISPATCH WASHINGTON BUREAU 11/05/2005
Media outlets throughout the world have reported Jimmy Massey's claims of war crimes, frequently without ever seeking to verify them.

For instance, no one ever called any of the five journalists who were embedded with Massey's battalion to ask him or her about his claims. <...>

But none of the AP reporters ever called Ravi Nessman, an Associated Press reporter who was embedded with Massey's unit. Nessman wrote more than 30 stories about the unit from the beginning of the war until April 15, after Baghdad had fallen.
Sunni Leader Calls for Unity After Bombing, By HAMZA HENDAWI
MAHMOUDIYA, Iraq (AP)-- A day after 30 people died in a suicide bombing here, the preacher at a major Sunni Arab mosque Friday condemned the horrific attack and called for unity between Iraq's rival Muslim communities.
Political Crisis Intensifies in Uganda, By HENRY WASSWA
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP)-- Uganda's main opposition leader again refused to answer terrorism charges in a military court Friday as a political crisis intensified in this East African country ahead of next year's presidential election.
Investigator Says Big CIA Prisons Unlikely, By ALISON MUTLER
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP)-- The head of a European investigation into alleged secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe said Friday it was unlikely that there were large clandestine detention centers in the region.
U.S. Troops Find Abused Cheetah Cubs, By ANTHONY MITCHELL
GODE, Ethiopia (AP) -- U.S. soldiers discovered two endangered cheetah cubs being held captive and abused in a restaurant in this dusty, remote Ethiopian village and have launched a campaign for the animals' rescue.