Sick individual should be jailed regardless... i mean sex with a corpse... :shock:
Plus he was high on illegal drugs.
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Sick individual should be jailed regardless... i mean sex with a corpse... :shock:
Plus he was high on illegal drugs.
:sick: That's disgusting...
BBC NewsQuote:
Kosovo's independence has provided a tool kit for secessionist movements in Europe and beyond, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic has said.
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He also said recognition of Kosovo by some EU members would jeopardise Serbia's path to EU membership.
His remarks came as Nato troops reopened Kosovo's northern borders, closed after the demolition of two border posts by Serbian protesters.
Correspondents say the situation at the border is currently calm but tense.
Does anyone in this room think that the Kosovo Albanians are the only group in the world with a grievance against their capital?
Vuk Jeremic
Serbian foreign minister
World split over Kosovo
Nato peacekeepers reopened the two demolished border checkpoints on Wednesday.
Crowds of demonstrators had used bulldozers and explosives on Tuesday to demolish the border posts at Jarinje and Brnjak, and peacekeepers were called in to restore order.
Nato commander Xavier Bout de Marnhac was quoted as blaming local Serbian leaders for the trouble.
Students in the Serb-dominated town of Mitrovica are organising daily protests at 12.44 pm, referring to UN Security Council resolution 1244 under which Serbia insists it still has sovereignty of Kosovo under international law.
'Relations compromised'
Mr Jeremic said Kosovo's declaration of independence was illegal and illegitimate, adding that Serbia would fight tooth and nail to have it overturned.
Speaking at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, he said those who had recognised Kosovo had set a dangerous precedent.
"By the actions of some European member-states, every would-be ethnic or religious separatist across Europe and around the world has been provided with a tool kit on how to achieve recognition," he said.
"Does anyone in this room think that the Kosovo Albanians are the only group in the world with a grievance against their capital?"
Some Russian officials have hinted that Moscow could recognise the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in response to the Kosovan declaration.
Mr Jeremic also said Serbia's path to full EU membership had been damaged by the recognition of Kosovo by more than half the EU's member countries.
"The relations between Serbia and certain members of the European Union have been compromised and I don't see how we can accelerate our efforts towards Europe," he said.
Many - though not all - EU states have argued that Kosovo is a unique case - that Serbia lost its right to govern there because of the brutal repression of the Albanian majority.
UN divided
Earlier EU special envoy Pieter Feith began his work in Pristina as the head of the international civilian office due to take over from the UN.
He insisted that a 2,000-strong EU police and justice mission would be deployed throughout Kosovo despite Serb hostility.
But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the mission was "in breach of the highest international law".
In a separate development, the German cabinet agreed formally to recognise Kosovo's independence. Norway also announced its intention to accept Kosovo as an independent state.
But Serbia responded by recalling its ambassadors to Germany and Austria, another country that has recognised Kosovo.
Britain, France, and Italy were among the first to come out in favour of Kosovo's independence but other EU countries are opposed.
The UN Security Council is divided over how to respond to Kosovo's move, and it has failed to agree on any action.
Serbian security forces were driven out of Kosovo in 1999 after a Nato bombing campaign aimed at halting the violent repression of ethnic Albanian separatists.
The province has been under UN administration and Nato protection since then.
BBC NewsQuote:
Bhutto widower 'rejects PM role'
The widower of assassinated Pakistani politician Benazir Bhutto has ruled himself out as prime minister, despite his party's success at the election.
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Asif Ali Zardari said his PPP party would choose another candidate to lead a coalition government that opposition parties are expected to form.
President Pervez Musharraf has called for reconciliation after his party's defeat, but he ruled out stepping down.
He said the polls had strengthened moderate forces inside the country.
Mr Zardari, a deeply divisive figure in Pakistani politics who has spent several years in prison on corruption charges, is not an MP and is therefore not currently eligible to serve as prime minister.
But there had been speculation that he might enter parliament via a by-election.
Forging a coalition
He was speaking as negotiations between the PPP and the other main opposition party, ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistani Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), intensified.
NATIONAL RESULTS SO FAR
PPP (Bhutto's party) : 87
PML-N (Nawaz Sharif): 66
PML-Q: (pro-Musharraf) 39
MQM (Sindh-based): 19
ANP (Secular Pashtuns): 10
MMA (Islamic alliance): 3
Others: 34
Source: Election commission
The two leaders are due to meet on Thursday and correspondents say the most likely coalition is between the two, as they would have more than half of parliament's seats between them.
The main party backing President Musharraf suffered a heavy defeat, and correspondents say the president appears to be in a very difficult position.
If a new governing coalition manages to muster a two-thirds majority in parliament, it could call for Mr Musharraf to be impeached.
Mr Zardari told reporters in Peshawar that his party could work with the MQM, a Sindh-based regional party which supports Mr Musharraf.
'Moderates boosted'
Mr Sharif has urged Mr Musharraf to resign, and a PPP statement cited alleged remarks by the president that he would step down if the parties supporting him were defeated in elections.
But Mr Musharraf said that he would try to work with any new government.
"The president emphasised the need for harmonious coalition in the interest of peaceful governance, development and progress of Pakistan," he said in a statement released by the foreign ministry.
"The elections have strengthened the moderate forces in the country."
In an earlier interview for the US newspaper the Wall Street Journal, Mr Musharraf said he would not resign or retire.
He was re-elected to the presidency last October, in a parliamentary vote boycotted by the opposition as unconstitutional.
He has been a major US ally in the "war on terror" but his popularity has waned at home amid accusations of authoritarianism and incompetence.
Alliance not guaranteed
Mr Zardari earlier said his party would "form a government of national consensus which will take along every democratic force".
"For now, the decision of the party is that we are not interested in any of those people who are part and parcel of the last government," he said, seemingly ruling out any coalition with the Pakistan Muslim League's pro-Musharraf wing, the PML-Q.
With votes counted in 258 out of 272 constituencies, the PPP has won 87 seats, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan.
The PML-N is in second place with 66 seats so far.
Mr Sharif has said is prepared to discuss joining a coalition with Mr Zardari's party in order "to rid Pakistan of dictatorship forever".
But the BBC's Chris Morris in Islamabad says that, while a coalition between the two is the most likely option, there are certainly issues on which they disagree and there are no guarantees an alliance will emerge.
BBC NewsQuote:
Immigrants who want to become British and settle permanently in the UK will need to pass more tests to "prove their worth" to the country under new plans.
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Some migrants may also have to pay into a fund towards public services and have a period of "probationary citizenship".
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the UK should expect a "demonstration of commitment" and the process of becoming a citizen should be "more exacting".
The Tories called the plans, which do not cover EU citizens, a "gimmick".
Unveiling the proposals, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said future migrants would need to "earn" citizenship.
This scraps the current system which allows people to apply for naturalisation on the basis of how long they have lived in the UK.
'Transitional fund'
Ms Smith said migrants from outside the European Economic Area would be encouraged to "move on" through a system that leads to citizenship - or choose ultimately to leave the country.
The package of measures includes:
* Raising visa fees for a special "transitional impact" fund
* More English language testing ahead of nationality
* Requirements to prove integration into communities
* Increasing how long it takes to become British
In a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research think-tank, Mr Brown said the UK had to be "far more explicit about the ties - indeed the shared values - that make us more than a collection of people but a country".
Earned citizenship would include "clear rights but also stronger obligations at each stage".
Mr Brown added: "And we will emphasise what binds us - showing that our tolerance and fairness are not to be taken advantage of - without diminishing the diversity of what we hold dear."
Press reports suggest the transitional impact fund would raise £15m a year.
The system could see migrants with children or elderly relatives expected to pay higher application fees.
Migrants would find their route to citizenship and full access to benefits, such as higher education, accelerated if they can prove they are "active" citizens.
This would include charity work, involvement in the local community and letters from referees.
At the same time, those who break the law would find the process far harder - or would be barred completely from becoming British.
The Home Office said that it would still be possible for someone to be permanently resident as a foreign national in the UK - but it would be preferable for them to seek citizenship because of the benefits it would bring.
'Complicated'
But the Conservatives said the proposals were a "gimmick" and called for an annual limit on immigration instead.
Shadow home secretary David Davis called it "a complicated, expensive, bureaucratic set of mechanisms to deal with the adverse consequences of out of control immigration".
"The sensible approach is very simple. Deal with the original cause of the problem. Put a limit on the level of immigration. Bring it down to manageable levels. It is simpler, it is cheaper, and it is better for Britain.
"And it will preserve Britain's excellent history of good community relations that is being put at risk by an immigration policy that is both incompetent and irresponsible."
Liberal Democrat justice spokesman David Heath welcomed the points-based system, but said proposals were so "vague and so full of holes" that they were "nowhere near" meeting needs.
Several Labour backbenchers also criticised the government's plans.
Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, said they would force non-European migrants to pay fees that would benefit European migrants.
'Very concerned'
She said: "How can it be fair for non-white immigrants to have already steep fees ratcheted even higher to pay for issues which relate to the broad immigrant population including immigrants from the EU countries?"
Fiona Mactaggart, MP for Slough, said: "One of the reasons we have such excellent race relations in Britain is because migrants to this country relatively quickly achieve permanent residence, unlike other countries in Europe for example, where their status remains insecure and unclear for a long time.
"I am very concerned that these proposals might damage our good relations."
UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said: "They [the government] keep bringing out the same old story and pretending it's new, and every time they ignore the crucial fact that these rules do not apply to 450 million people.
"It's about time they were brave enough to have a proper debate on immigration which includes the EU dimension."
Thanks.
Wow, thanks for this.
Thanks.
ReutersQuote:
Pakistan's two main opposition parties vowed to work together to form a government after their election win, raising the prospect of a coalition intent on forcing President Pervez Musharraf from power.
The US ally has signalled he has no plans to step down, despite his allies' defeat in Monday's election by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of assassinated ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz).
"We will work together to form the government," Nawaz Sharif, another former prime minister whose party came second in the poll behind the PPP, told reporters.
Sharif made his comments at a joint news conference with Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, following talks between the two men in Islamabad.
Zardari, who has led the PPP since his wife's assassination on December 27, said he wanted a "government of national consensus" that excluded the main pro-Musharraf party. It came a poor third in the election.
Zardari said that he and Sharif would hold more talks and vowed the PPP and Sharif's party would remain united: "We intend to stay together, we intend to be together in parliament."
Sharif, ousted by Musharraf in 1999, repeated his call for Musharraf to step down and said he and Zardari agreed on all points.
"There is no issue of disagreement between us," he said.
Zardari said on Wednesday that parliament should decide whether it can work with Musharraf.
The president outraged many Pakistanis when he declared a six-week stint of emergency rule in November and purged the judiciary, detained activists and gagged the media.
But in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Wednesday, Musharraf said he was not ready to resign: "We have to move forward in a way that we bring about a stable democratic government to Pakistan."
Musharraf has been one of Washington's top Muslim allies in the fight against al Qaeda and is vulnerable to a hostile parliament after his supporters' election defeat.
The administration of US President George W Bush has urged the next government to work with Musharraf. Washington needs Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan where US and Nato-led forces are fighting Islamist militants, as an ally.
Analysts have said say if the PPP and Sharif's party teamed up, Musharraf could either quit or drag nuclear-armed Pakistan through more upheaval as parliament tries to oust him on grounds he violated the constitution when he imposed the emergency.
Musharraf's critics say his efforts to hold on to power have destabilised the country. Neighbours and allies fear Pakistan is becoming more volatile.
Nevertheless, Pakistani shares, buoyed by the peaceful poll, ended at a new closing high, at 14,971.94 points. The market has gained 4.3 per cent since the election and recovered the losses that followed Bhutto's killing.
Since returning from exile in November, Sharif has demanded the reinstatement of judges Musharraf fired when he imposed a state of emergency on November 3.
Musharraf sacked the judges, including then Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, before they could rule on whether his re-election by the last parliament while he was army chief was constitutional.
Western diplomats said the election winners should quickly form a government before addressing Musharraf's future or the reinstatement of the judges. But they said the message from Monday's poll was clear.
"In Washington, London and other capitals, people are not in denial about what the message of the elections was," a Western diplomat in Islamabad said.
NZPAQuote:
Britain, France and Germany have revised a sanctions resolution against Iran over its nuclear programme and diplomats said they hoped the UN Security Council would vote on the draft next week.
The new resolution, obtained by Reuters, was virtually unchanged from an earlier draft about which several council members said they had serious concerns.
"The new draft will be introduced to the full council this afternoon and we hope it will be put to a vote by the end of next week," a diplomat from a Security Council member state said on condition of anonymity.
The draft resolution calls for asset freezes and mandatory travel bans for specific Iranian officials and vigilance on all banks in Iran.
It also expands the list of Iranian officials and companies targeted by the sanctions and repeats the council's demand that Iran halt nuclear enrichment activity, which the West fears is aimed at producing uranium fuel for atomic weapons.
Diplomats said the text has the backing of all five permanent council members – the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China – and co-drafter Germany, which is not on the council. These six countries have been spearheading the drive to persuade Iran to halt its enrichment programme.
The changes were minor language adjustments and did not affect the substance of the penalties spelled out in the five-page text.
Diplomats from non-permanent council member states like South Africa, Indonesia and Libya have said they want any resolution voted on by the 15-nation Security Council to reflect a report on Iran from the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna expected to be released on Friday.
Vienna-based diplomats say IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei is expected to say in the report that he has made significant progress in resolving outstanding questions related to Iran's past nuclear activities.
Western countries say the IAEA's investigation of Iran's atomic past is important but has little relevance to the future of Tehran's atomic programme, which they fear may one day be used to make nuclear weapons.
They say Iran's refusal to comply with Security Council demands that it stop enriching uranium supports their suspicion that Tehran is seeking atomic weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful and enrichment a sovereign right.
The South Africans and other members of the Non-Aligned Movement say the IAEA's investigation is relevant and insisted that the council hold the vote until it has the IAEA report.
South Africa, Indonesia and Libya have also said they had serious reservations about the earlier draft and it was unclear if the new draft would satisfy their objections.
South Africa had objected to a section urging states to inspect suspicious cargo to and from Iran transported by the firms Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line. This section is unchanged from the earlier draft.