Islamic leader calls for war on Ethiopia

Baidoa, Somalia

Somalia's top Islamic leader called Friday for a holy war against Ethiopia to drive out troops the largely Christian nation sent to protect the internationally backed Somali government.

The radical Islamic forces control more of Somalia than the government does, and have made clear they consider themselves the legitimate authority in the country.

Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, in an angry radio broadcast, said Ethiopia deployed troops to the government's base in Baidoa, 150 miles northwest of Mogadishu, to bolster what he described as a puppet regime.

He said President Abdullahi Yusuf, his longtime rival, has "been a servant of Ethiopia for a long time."

Mexico City

Illegal-immigrant bill seeks fines, not jail

Federal legislators from Mexico's ruling party have introduced a bill to eliminate jail terms for illegal migration into Mexico, saying they want to send a message that migrants should not be treated like criminals.

The bill says illegal migrants should be fined instead of jailed. Under Mexico's current law, enacted in 1974, illegal migrants can face two to five years in prison, although authorities rarely impose such penalties.

The bill also would reduce fines for migrants and the maximum amount of time they can be detained by immigration authorities from three days to 36 hours.

National Action Party legislators Jose Antonio de la Vega, Pablo Alejo Lopez and Sergio Penagos say jail terms would remain for those who pose a threat to national security and for any who commit a crime.

Taylor complains at war-crimes court

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor complained Friday about "Eurocentric" prison food and limited access to telephones at his first appearance before a war-crimes tribunal since being flown to the Netherlands for trial.

The former warlord faces 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for allegedly overseeing the murder, rape and mutilation of thousands of people during Sierra Leone's bloody 10-year civil war. Many were hacked to death with machetes. He has pleaded not guilty and faces a life sentence if convicted.

Islamabad, Pakistan

Briton faces death for driver's slaying

A British man convicted of killing a taxi driver in Pakistan has been put on death row for a third time and will be hanged on Aug. 3, relatives and officials said on Friday.

Mirza Tahir Hussain, 36, who is of Pakistani descent, has twice had his execution stayed on the intervention of President Pervez Musharraf. His family was given one month's time from June 1 to reach a settlement with the relatives of the dead man.

A judge in Islamabad issued new death warrants for Hussain after his family failed to reach a settlement with the heirs of the victim, said a prison official in Rawalpindi city where Hussain is being held.

Also

China storm: China's death toll from tropical storm Bilis more than doubled to 482 after hard-hit inland Hunan province reported a sharp rise in fatalities, state media said Friday.

Tsunami toll: The death toll from the Indonesian tsunami this week rose to 659 after emergency workers reached a previously inaccessible area along Java island's southern coast, the government said today. There are 330 people reported missing.

Compiled from The Associated Press and Reuters