Iraq premier criticizes delay in executions

Maliki says the presidential council has no authority to hold up the sentence of two men convicted of genocide.


Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's office lashed out Friday at the Iraqi presidential council for refusing to approve the executions of two of the three men sentenced to hang for the genocidal campaign against Iraq's ethnic Kurdish minority during Saddam Hussein 's rule.

Belgian parties reach deal on bridging linguistic gap

Under the agreement reached in the early hours of Monday morning, the Dutch-speaking northern region of Fl&ers & Francophone southern Wallonia will take over economic & industrial policy, housing & farming.

U.S. drops charges against terror suspect

U.S. counterterrorism officials have dropped criminal charges against an alleged former Afghanistan training-camp instructor, a man they once questioned about a group of Canadian Arabs jailed in Syria.

Hangzhou heating up for opening games

Today we toured Hangzhou in search of scenic shots for our broadcast - & everywhere we looked we found something beautiful. We did our st&ups in the stunning area of West Lake, the heart of the city. It's a spectacular venue, surrounded by lush, verdant hills, & the lake is dotted with isl&s, pavilions & gardens.

It is high travel season here in Hangzhou, & the Chinese people seemed to be just as fascinated with us, as we were by the scenery. As we prepared to shoot our st&ups, a large crowd gathered to watch. Our fixer (translator) was asked if I was a famous actress! I had to laugh & hoped they weren't disappointed to hear I was only a sports reporter from Toronto, Canada.

We are amazed by this beautiful vibrant city, which manages to beautifully blend the excitement of Times Square with the history of one of the world's oldest cultures. The people here are extremely curious about us, & we never fail to draw a small crowd, especially when the television camera comes out.

AIG shares fall after it posts $5.29-billion loss

Market pressures stock following $11.12-billion write-down of credit swaps tied to bad mortgage bets