World briefs 12/27/04

U.S. increases funding for Laos bomb removal

WASHINGTON -- Three decades after the end of the Vietnam War, the United States is increasing aid to help remove unexploded ordnance that continues to kill people in the former war zone, especially in Laos where 2 million tons of bombs were dropped. During the war, the United States bombed Laos relentlessly for a decade in an effort to cut off North Vietnamese supply lines. Neary a third of the bombs failed to explode, lying in wait as "de facto anti-personnel mines," according to a Human Rights Watch report. The bombs have killed roughly 6,000 Laotians since the end of fighting.

Opposition barred from Uzbek elections

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- Uzbeks voted in a parliamentary election Sunday in which opposition groups were barred from running, sparking criticism from Europe's top election watchdog and a fierce defense from the country's authoritarian president, who insisted Uzbekistan has no "real" opposition. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which sent 21 observers, has said Uzbekistan provided insufficient conditions for a democratic vote. OSCE said its presence should not be construed as a sign that the vote was legitimate. "The OSCE cannot have the exclusive right to assess elections," President Islam Karimov said Sunday after casting his ballot.

Mosul attack footage makes way to Net

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A video posted by an Iraqi insurgent group Sunday purported to show last week's suicide attack at a U.S. base in Mosul, with a fireball rising from a white tent. The group claimed that the bomber slipped into the base through a hole in the fence during a guard change. The footage showed a black-garbed gunman wearing an explosives belt around his body -- apparently the suicide bomber, identified in the tape as Abu Omar al-Mosuli -- bidding farewell to his comrades. The video gives no further details about the bomber beyond his name. The Ansar al-Sunnah Army had earlier said it would release a video of last Tuesday's attack, which killed 22 people, including 18 U.S. service members and civilian contractors.