Yahoo! News: Top Stories
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                  as of Thu, 16 Feb 2006 13:11:03 GMT

    Cheney Defends His Silence on Shooting (AP)

AP - Vice President Dick Cheney rejects any notion that his victim bears
 any responsibility for the shooting accident that turned a weekend
 hunting trip into trauma. "I'm the guy who pulled the trigger and shot
 my friend," he said.

    Widespread Attacks Kill 14 in Iraq (AP)

AP - Iraq's Interior Ministry has launched an investigation into claims
 that a police death squad has been operating in the country, a top
 official said Thursday. Attacks around the country killed 14 people,
 including six Iraqis in a car bombing and three sheiks in a drive-by
 shooting.

    Turin Gets Its First Positive Doping Test (AP)

AP - Russian biathlete Olga Pyleva was suspended Thursday for failing a
 doping test, becoming the first athlete to test positive at the Turin
 Games. Pyleva, who won silver at the 15km event Monday, was scratched
 from the field just before the start of the 7.5km sprint, in which she
 was considered a leading medal contender.

    China Defends Right to Police Internet (AP)

AP - China on Thursday defended its right to police the Internet, one
 day after four American technology giants appeared before Congress on
 charges they collaborated with Beijing to crush free speech online in
 return for market access.

    Preval named Haiti president after election deal (Reuters)

Reuters - Haiti declared Rene Preval, a one-time ally of ousted leader
 Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the country's next president on Thursday after
 reaching a deal over vote fraud claims and averting a possible
 explosion of violence.

    Hewlett-Packard Makes $1.2 Billion in 1Q (AP)

AP - Strong notebook computer sales and cost cutting helped drive a 30
 percent increase in Hewlett-Packard Co.'s fiscal first-quarter earnings
 as the computer and printer company continued its turnaround under CEO
 Mark Hurd.

    Court Voids Rowe's Loss of Parental Rights (AP)

AP - Michael Jackson's ex-wife once made it clear she wanted him to have
 sole custody of their two children, but an appellate court has ruled
 that her parental rights were not properly relinquished under the law.

    Powerball Jackpot Hits New Record (AP)

AP - Another record lottery jackpot is up for grabs.

    Show Dog Goes Missing at JFK Airport (AP)

AP - A dog that won an award at the Westminster Kennel Club show this
 week escaped from its cage at John F. Kennedy International Airport,
 setting off a search.

    Four Americans Advance in Snowboardcross (AP)

AP - Get the office pools ready. The brackets have been set for Olympic
 men's snowboardcross. The sport combining elements of NASCAR, roller
 derby and -- yes -- even a touch of March Madness made its Olympic
 debut Thursday during two rounds of qualifying heats.

    Iraqis say Saddam could exploit Abu Ghraib images (Reuters)

Reuters - Saddam Hussein could seize on new images of abuse at Abu
 Ghraib prison to attack his U.S.-sponsored trial, which is intended to
 show that the days of such excesses are over, Iraqis said on Thursday.

    UN alleges torture at Guantanamo (Reuters)

Reuters - The United States on Thursday faced mounting international
 calls to close its Guantanamo prison camp with U.N. investigators
 saying detainees there faced treatment amounting to torture.

    France accuses Iran of secret nuclear program (Reuters)

Reuters - France accused Iran on Thursday of pursuing a secret military
 nuclear program, drawing a swift rebuke from Tehran ahead of talks next
 week on a Russian proposal for resolving the dispute.

    Two injured in Centrica N.Sea platform fire (Reuters)

Reuters - Two people were injured and a total of 27 were evacuated when
 a fire broke out this morning on Centrica's North Sea Bravo gas
 platform, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said on Thursday.

    Two car bombs kill 7 Iraqis in Baghdad (Reuters)

Reuters - Two car bombs exploded in Baghdad on Thursday, killing seven
 Iraqis and wounding 16, police said.

    New Abu Ghraib images disgust Iraq (AFP)

AFP - Iraqis have expressed outrage after new revelations of prisoner
 abuse at Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib prison, warning the images
 would further inflame already intense anti-Western sentiment.

    EU mulls response as flu outbreaks mount (AFP)

AFP - European Union experts have resumed talks on how to respond to
 fast-multiplying outbreaks of bird flu which have now reached the heart
 of Europe, amid warnings that more cases are expected.

    Preval wins Haiti's presidential election (AFP)

AFP - Rene Preval has won Haiti's presidential election with 51.15
 percent of the vote, the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) announced.

    Iran rejects French nuclear charges (AFP)

AFP - Iran has insisted that it was not seeking a nuclear weapon,
 rejecting accusations by France that its atomic drive was "clandestine"
 and "military" in nature.

    New protests as Pakistan blames 'hidden hands' for riots (AFP)

AFP - Thousands of Pakistanis have staged new protests over cartoons of
 the Prophet Mohammed, as officials blamed extremists for earlier riots
 targeting foreign firms in which five people died.

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