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Stewart D. Nozette, 52, from Chevy Chase, Maryland in the United States, was arrested Monday on charges of espionage and is being held until a court hearing on Tuesday. He is accused of spying for Israel. Nozette, who received a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had several high profile jobs in the U.S. government and access to classified materials. He worked for the Energy Department's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory from 1990 to 1999 and was the President of the Alliance for Competitive Technology, which was formed

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended Niger for refusing to postpone a legislative election. The regional alliance wanted Niger to delay the vote, which was held on Tuesday, to allow for political dialogue following a controversial referendum that has extended the president's time in office. "ECOWAS will not recognize the outcome of today's elections in Niger," the alliance said in a statement. ECOWAS followed through on its threat to suspend Niger after President Mamadou Tandja went ahead with legislative vote.

Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe led a cabinet meeting on Tuesday without the presence of unity partner Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who was out of the country on a regional tour to appeal for help with mediation. This comes after Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party pulled out of the unity government several days ago, protesting what they called "dishonest and unreliable" behaviour by Mugabe. Zimbabwe state media reported on Tuesday that President Mugabe will not recognise Tsvangirai's suspension of ties with t

__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__ A report accidentally published on the Internet provides insight into a secretive European Union surveillance project designed to monitor its citizens, as reported by Wikileaks earlier this month. Project INDECT aims to mine data from television, internet traffic, cellphone conversations, p2p file sharing and a range of other sources for crime prevention and threat prediction. The €14.68 million project began in January, 2009, and is scheduled to continue for five years under its current mandate. INDECT produced th

Pakistani officials say the military has launched its much anticipated ground offensive against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the South Waziristan tribal region. Fierce fighting has broken out and dozens of casualties are reported on both sides. This mountainous district forms part of the Afghan border, which United States officials call the most dangerous place in the world. It is considered to be a stronghold for the Taliban. An attack by US drones on this area killed the former Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud and it shelters the new

Red Bull driver Mark Webber won the FIA Formula One 2009 Grande Prêmio Petrobras do Brasil Saturday at Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil. Robert Kubica came in second for BMW Sauber, and Lewis Hamilton finished third for McLaren. Webber's teammate Sebastian Vettel started from 15th place on the starting grid after he couldn't come up from the first qualification session, but finished 4th in front of his championship rival. Brawn Grand Prix driver Jenson Button finished 5th to win his title. His team, representing the remnants of

Zimbabwe's ZANU-PF party has said that government business will continue despite the opposition party's decision to stop working with its unity government partner. A spokesman for president Robert Mugabe dismissed the boycott by the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Morgan Tsvangirai as "needless excitement". Tsvangirai and his party had pulled out of the coalition government on Friday, saying that Mugabe had been "dishonest and unreliable". Spokesman George Charamba said to the Sunday Mail newspaper that "the MDC-T has disen

The Israeli cabinet has rejected last week's resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which endorsed a report accusing the state of war crimes during the Gaza conflict, accusing the UN of a double standard. The cabinet said that that the army's three-week assault on the Gaza Strip last December and January was legitimate self-defense. "Israel will defend itself at any price," said Cabinet Minister Yossi Peled. "This is a duty and a right." The Goldstone Report, endorsed by the UN Human Right Council on Friday, accused Israel o

Wikinews interviewed US free speech lawyer Marc Randazza, on his defense of a parody website which satirizes American political commentator Glenn Beck. Florida resident Isaac Eiland-Hall created the website in September, and it asserts Beck uses questionable tactics "to spread lies and misinformation". The case Beck v. Eiland-Hall is currently before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland. Wikinews previously reported on the case, in an article earlier this month, "US free speech lawyer defends satire of Gl

__NOTOC__ Two members of Irish aid agency GOAL, kidnapped in Sudan's Darfur region last July, were freed on Sunday, and are "in good health," according to Abdel Baqi al-Jailani Sudan's Minister for Humanitarian Affairs. Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki say they are "thrilled" to be free at last. Capture and release Irish citizen Commins, 32, and her Ugandan colleague Hilda Kawuki, 42, were working for GOAL in a compound run by the charity in the North Darfur town of Kutum. Armed men seized them on July 3. Following their release early Sunday

The city of Yala, Thailand was hit by a bomb attack this morning in a fresh food market wounding 24, including three soldiers. One injured soldier is said to be in a serious condition. The bomb was hidden in a motorcycle and detonated via remote. The police believe the bomb contained between seven and ten kilograms of explosives. Two men were witnessed parking the bike; police had checked the vehicle without detecting the bomb. It is suspected the bomb may have been detonated using a mobile phone. This particular area of the city has been a

American singer Whitney Houston's debut performance in the United Kingdom didn't go exactly to plan on Sunday night, causing a bit of controversy. During her performance of her new single Million dollar Bill on the UK television show The X Factor Sunday evening, she experienced a 'wardrobe malfunction'. The strap on her back, holding her dress together, suddenly snapped off about midway through her performance. She also had a difficult time walking and dancing on the stage, as her dress appeared to be too long. Houston carried on and at no