THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2012
PAGE 3
NEWS OF THE WORLD
ASIA
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned photographs of U.S. soldiers posing with the bloodied remains of three suicide bombers as "disgusting" and said Thursday that only a quicker exit of international forces can prevent such mistakes.
Afghan president 'disgusted' by photos of severed bodies
Karzai joined top American officials in denouncing the 2-year-old photos, the latest in a string of embarrassing controversies that have jeopardized relations between the two countries in the midst of negotiations over the withdrawal of foreign troops.
The photos were published in Wednesday's Los Angeles Times. One shows members of the 82nd Airborne Division posing in 2010 with Afghan police holding the severed legs of a suicide bomber. The same platoon a few months later was sent to investigate the remains of three insurgents reported to have accidentally blown themselves up — and soldiers again posed and mugged for a photo with the remains, the newspaper said.
A photo from the second incident appears to show the hand of a dead insurgent resting on a U.S. soldier's shoulder as the soldier smiles.
"It is such a disgusting act to take photos with body parts and then share it with others," Karzai said. "The only way to put an end to such painful experiences is through an accelerated and full transition of security responsibilities to Afghan forces."
Associated Press
The Afghan government is currently scheduled to start taking the lead in security in 2013 and fully take over by the end of 2014 when the majority of international combat troops leave.
ASIA
NEW DELHI India's successful test of a powerful new missile that can carry nuclear weapons to Beijing caused barely a ripple — even in China just days after North Korea was globally vilified for a failed rocket launch.
No concerns surround launch of weapon-carrying missile
"It's not the spear, but who holds the spear that matters," said Rahul Bedi, a defense analyst in India. "North Korea is a condemned nation. It's a pariah country. Its record of breaking nuclear agreements is well known. India has emerged in that sense as a fairly responsible country."
In 2008 the U.S. ratified a landmark deal to allow civilian nuclear trade that effectively accepted India as a nuclear nation.
The vastly different responses show the world has grown to accept India as a responsible and stable nuclear power, while shunning North Korea as a pariah.
The missile, with a range of 3.100
miles, still requires a battery of tests and must clear other bureaucratic hurdles before it can be inducted into India's arsenal in a few years.
India was clear from the start that it was testing a nuclear-capable missile that could reach major Chinese cities.
The differences between the two launches were clear before they even got under way.
The condemnation of North Korea's launch was swift. The United States canceled a plan to send food aid and the U.N. Security Council announced it would impose new sanctions.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
North Korea insisted its rocket launch on Sunday was merely part of a civilian space program aimed at putting an observation satellite into orbit. The U.S. and other countries called it a thin excuse to test technology for firing a long-range missile fitted with a nuclear warhead. The launch failed when the rocket broke apart soon after takeoff.
In 2008, the US accepted India as a nuclear nation. The missile hasn't transported any weapons yet because it still has a variety of tests to undergo, but when it is ready, it will carry nuclear weapons to Beijing. The missile hasn't received any backlash from other nations.
EUROPE
March to concentration camps honor Holocaust victims
WARSAW, Poland — Thousands of youth from Israel, the United States and other countries marched Thursday between Auschwitz and Birkenau, the two parts of Nazi Germany's most notorious death complex, to honor the millions killed in the Holocaust.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
An estimated 10,000 young people, some carrying Israeli flags or wearing them draped around their shoulders, took part in the March of the Living in Oswiecim, a town in southern Poland where the Germans operated Auschwitz during World War II.
Ten thousand youth from around the world march from Auschwitz to Birkenau in remembrance of the Holocaust. Survivors and volunteers joined the march.
The event, which takes place every year on Holocaust Remembrance Day, involves a walk of two miles (three kilometers) from Auschwitz to Birkenau, where Hitler's men executed Jews, Roma and others in huge numbers in gas chambers.
The participants were joined by a handful of Holocaust survivors and American military veterans who helped
liberate several other death camps at the end of World War II.
AFRICA
Leaders to discuss tensions between neighboring nations
JUBA, South Sudan — The Arab League said Thursday it would hold an emergency meeting over the increasing violence between Sudan and South Sudan. The south reported new skirmishes even as Sudan's president increased his threats of war toward the south.
Sudan President Omar al-Bashir said the recent violence has "revived the spirit of jihad" in Sudan. South Sudan said it had repulsed four attacks from Sudan over a 24-hour period as fighting on the border showed no signs of slowing.
the oil-reliant Hegilg area that southern troops invaded and took over last week.
Acting on a request by Sudan, the Arab League scheduled an emergency meeting of foreign ministers in Cairo next week to discuss the violence, Deputy Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed bin Helli said. The league earlier called on South Sudan to withdraw from
Despite the threats from Sudan, a southern government spokesman said South Sudan was only defending its territory and considers Sudan a "friendly nation."
South Sudan broke away from Sudan last year after a self-determination vote for independence. That vote was guaranteed in a mediated end to decades of civil war between the two sides. But the sides never fully agreed where their shared border lay, nor did they reach agreement on how to share oil wealth that is pumped from the border region.
Instead, the two countries have seen a sharp increase in violence in recent weeks, especially around the oil-producing town of Heglig. Both sides claim Heglig as their own. It lies in a region
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sudan presidents said the tensions have revived the spirit of Jihad in the country.
where the border was never clearly defined.
LAWRENCE
Colorado-based WOW!
buys Lawrence Knology
Knology, the largest cable, internet, and phone service provider in Lawrence, is being bought out by Colorado-based WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone, a press release by WOW! announced Wednesday. The buyout will cost WOW! approximately $1.5 billion.
'Since its founding in 1995, Knology
service are available in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Indiana.
The new merged company will serve 800,000 customers in 13 states. Knology markets to customers in the Midwest and Southeast, and WOW's
has been a leader in the communities we serve," said Rodger Johnson, Knology chief executive officer and chairman of the board, in the press release. "We look forward to working with WOW! to build an even st ronger business."
"We are very excited about this opportunity to invest in and expand our geographic reach, and we look forward to welcoming Knology's employees and customers into the WOW! family," said WOW! President and Chief Financial Officer Steven Cochran.
Marshall Schmidt
NATIONAL
Proposed pipeline route runs length of country
LINCOLN, Neb. — Officials unveiled a new preferred route Thursday for the Nebraska portion of the stalled Keystone XL oil pipeline that avoids the state's groundwater-rich Sandhills region.
The proposed route would ever east around the sandhills before looping back to the original route. Developer TransCanada has said the reroute adds about 100 miles to the original 1,700-mile project that would carry oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast.
The full $7 billion pipeline would travel from Canada through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. TransCanada wants to build the 36-inch pipeline to carry oil from tar sands in Alberta to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Nebraska became a pivotal battleground for the project last year, pitting environmentalists and some landowners against unions and the oil industry. Heineman called a special session to address concerns over the pipeline's proposed path, and TransCanada executive eventually agreed
to route the pipeline away from Nebraska's groundwater-rich Sandhills
Nebraska lawmakers passed a bill earlier this month authorizes the state Department of Environmental Quality to review possible routes through the state and hold at least one public hearing on its evaluation. Its findings would then be added to a federal environmental review, if the company reapplies for a project permit.
The review is expected to cost as much as $2 million.
Associated Press
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