It is twenty-three hours thirty Universal Time and here is the news in Special English. ▼ Iraqi officials say a suicide attacker driving a car killed at least twenty-two people in central Baghdad Tuesday. Eighty others were wounded. Police said the attacker bombed a police crime laboratory in Baghdad's Karradah neighborhood. Officials said many of those killed or wounded were police officers. On Monday, suicide bombers attacked three Baghdad hotels, killing at least thirty-six people. The American ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Hill, condemned the latest attacks. Mr. Hill urged the Iraqi people to unite in fighting all forms of violence and terror.
The United States military says it has joined with the Iraqi army and Iraqi Kurdish troops to guard disputed areas of northern Iraq. The military said the goal of the effort is to ease tensions between Sunni Arabs and Kurds. The top American officer in Iraq said American, Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdish forces have trained and established seventy percent of their planned positions. General Ray Odierono also said that the rest of the force will be deployed by the end of this month. He said the goal of the deployments is to protect Iraqis who live in disputed areas from al-Qaeda and other militant groups.
An election dispute became public in Sri Lanka within five hours after voting ended in the country's presidential election. The Sri Lankan government announced plans to take legal action to cancel the candidacy of former military chief Sarath Fonseka. He and President Mahinda Rajapaksa are the two major candidates in the election. Both men have been praised as war heroes for the victory last year over the Tamil Tiger rebels. Sri Lanka's foreign minister said the former military chief could not be elected because he did not register to vote in the election. Afghan President Hamid Karzai warned Tuesday that military action alone cannot make his country safe. The Afghan leader spoke during a meeting with diplomats in Turkey. He said that better relationships are needed, especially with Taliban members not allied to al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups. His comments came days before a major donor conference opens in London. The Turkish government organized the meeting Tuesday with officials from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, China and Western countries.
A former Pakistani intelligence official says the United States will have to negotiate directly with Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar to reach a peace deal. Brigadier Sultan Amir Tarar says Mohammad Omar would be willing to negotiate a political agreement, but the deal must require the withdrawal of foreign troops and aid to rebuild Afghanistan. American Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he would be surprised to see any agreement with Mohammad Omar. Mr. Gates says it is unlikely that Taliban leaders will negotiate unless they believe they cannot defeat American and Afghan forces.
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In Guinea, opposition leader Jean-Marie Dore has been sworn in as prime minister. Mr. Dore spoke during the ceremony in the capital, Conakry. He said his most important goals are to plan elections and reorganize the army. Guinea's military leaders and opposition groups recently reached an agreement that calls for establishing a unity government to organize elections in June. Under the plan, opposition groups named Mr. Dore prime minister. Guinea's wounded military leader, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, has agreed to stay out of the country and says he will not try to reclaim power. The Transport Minister in Lebanon says the pilot of an Ethiopian airplane that crashed Monday did not react to a request to change the plane's direction. Ghazi Aridi said Tuesday that the pilot first followed guidance from air traffic controllers after leaving Beirut during a storm. But, Mr. Aridi said that minutes later the Ethiopian Airline's plane suddenly went in a different direction. He also said that it is too soon to decide that the pilot was to blame for the crash. The plane broke apart in the air, burned and crashed in the Mediterranean Sea near Lebanon's coast. All passengers and crew members are believed to have died. The search for victims and the flight information recorder continues.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has strongly defended the United States reaction to the earthquake in Haiti. She has expressed anger at those who have criticized the United States and the leadership of President Obama. The Secretary of State said some members of the international media misrepresented America's military and civilian actions in the Caribbean nation. She spoke to State Department employees on Tuesday. The remarks come days after countries such as Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela criticized the use of American troops in Haiti. There currently are more than fifteen thousand American troops in and around Port-au-Prince and more are on the way.
India has been celebrating its sixty-first Republic Day under increased security because of concerns about attacks by militants. At least, fifteen thousand soldiers were deployed in and around New Delhi Tuesday to protect the Republic Day march. India celebrates the holiday on January twenty-sixth every year. This year, there were intelligence reports of possible terror attacks by Islamic militants. The Republic Day marks the acceptance of India's constitution and its change from a British territory to a republic on January twenty-sixth, nineteen fifty. ▲ And now, briefly, here again is the major news of the hour in Special English.
Iraqi officials say a suicide attacker driving a car killed at least twenty-two people in Baghdad Tuesday. An election dispute became public in Sri Lanka within five hours after voting ended in the country's presidential election. And, Guinea's opposition leader Jean-Marie Dore has been sworn in as prime minister. That's the news in VOA Special English coming to you from Washington. Source: VOA Special English January 26, 2010 2330UTC
