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truePaul Kekai Manansala2006-05-25T09:04:00-07:002006-05-25T16:56:31Z2006-05-25T16:56:31Ztag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25731144.post-114857619189971666Fighting rages on in East TimorFirefights continued in <span style="font-weight:bold;">Dili</span>, the <span style="font-weight:bold;">East Timor</span> capital, with three people killed and a dozen wounded in <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060525/ap_on_re_as/east_timor_violence;_ylt=AoPavjBaADNRji4s9n90hgus0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3b3JuZGZhBHNlYwM3MjE-">fighting</a> Thursday.<br /><br />Some 600 sacked soldiers are fighting 800 soldiers of the East Timor army. The rebels, from the western part of the young nation, were forced out of the military after <span style="font-style:italic;">protesting discrimination</span> they say favors soldiers from the east.<br /><br />U.N. Secretary-General <span style="font-weight:bold;">Kofi Annan</span> voiced concern over the continuing unrest and will send an envoy to Dili.<br /><br />Annan, traveling in Vietnam, said he would send <span style="font-weight:bold;">Ian Martin</span>, the U.N.'s human rights representative in Nepal, to East Timor to address the issue. He said that he had also spoken to East Timor's president, <span style="font-weight:bold;">Xanana Gusmao</span>, and to the leaders of <span style="font-weight:bold;">Australia</span> and <span style="font-weight:bold;">Malaysia</span>, both of which are sending security forces to assist Dili.<br /><br />The rebels led by Maj. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Alfredo Reinado</span> are demanding that they be reinstated into the nation's army.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://AsiaPacificUniverse.com/"><i>Get news, chat, jokes, lyrics, food recipes and more at AsiaPacificUniverse.com!</a></i><br /><br /><a href="http://travel-asia-pacific.com/"><i>Travel Asia Pacific</a></i>falsePaul Kekai Manansala2006-05-24T07:43:00-07:002006-05-24T15:04:15Z2006-05-24T15:04:15Ztag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25731144.post-114848305566242582East Timor requests foreign troops after clashes<span style="font-weight:bold;">East Timor</span>, world's newest nation, asked for up to 1,000 foreign troops to help quell<span style="font-style:italic;"> violence by rebel soldiers</span>.<br /><br />Some 600 of East Timor's 1,400 soldiers were fired in March after complaints about regional discrimination in promotion. The sacked troops <span style="font-style:italic;">rioted in April</span> with five killed in the incident and 21,000 fleeing their homes to escape the violence.<br /><br /><img src=http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/afp/20060524/capt.sge.uxu59.240506140140.photo00.photo.default-512x358.jpg?x=380&y=265&sig=5jlSvlBRa98XqhdC8._d.w-- alt="Loyal East Timor soldiers in firefight with rebel soldiers in Dili earlier this week."><br /><font size=1>Loyal East Timor soldiers in firefight with rebel soldiers in Dili earlier this week. AFP photo from <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/photo/060524/photos_ts_wl_afp/1555bd2b72f00978faa3ac280428e783&g=events/wl/052406easttimor;_ylt=ArlVVRpqUiqaqcMplvRnPw6GOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA3bGk2OHYzBHNlYwN0bXA-">Yahoo News</a>.</font><br /><br />The rebel soldiers are reportedly holed in the town of<span style="font-weight:bold;"> Aileu</span> near <span style="font-weight:bold;">Dili</span> and have conducted several attacks on government troops.<br /><br />Dili has requested soldiers from Australia and New Zealand, and police from Malaysia and Portugal to help deal with the unrest.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://AsiaPacificUniverse.com/"><i>Get news, chat, jokes, lyrics, food recipes and more at AsiaPacificUniverse.com!</a></i><br /><br /><a href="http://travel-asia-pacific.com/"><i>Travel Asia Pacific</a></i>falsePaul Kekai Manansala2006-05-23T08:24:00-07:002006-05-23T15:42:47Z2006-05-23T15:42:45Ztag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25731144.post-114839896538805920Norway asks Tamil Tigers for monitors' safetyNorwegian peace negotiators discussed the <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-05/23/content_4590354.htm">safety of international peace monitors</a> Tuesday with the <span style="font-weight:bold;">Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam</span> (LTTE).<br /><br />Safety of the monitors became a pressing issue after a major naval battle in <span style="font-weight:bold;">Sri Lanka</span> on May 11. During the battle, a troop carrier carrying a peace monitor was attacked.<br /><br />Norway also expressed its concern over the Tigers refusal to <span style="font-style:italic;">attend peace talks</span> last April in Geneva. <br /><br />The LTTE said it did not attend because the government had failed to provide air transport for its eastern commanders, and has not fulfilled its promise to disarm paramilitary groups.<br /><br />Fighting has escalated in Sri Lanka in recent months, but both sides say they are committed to <span style="font-style:italic;">re-establishing peace</span>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://AsiaPacificUniverse.com/"><i>Get news, chat, jokes, lyrics, food recipes and more at AsiaPacificUniverse.com!</a></i><br /><br /><a href="http://travel-asia-pacific.com/"><i>Travel Asia Pacific</a></i>false