Recently in International News Category

A Belgium Bishop resigned Friday after admitting that he sexually abused a young man that he worked with many years ago.

Robert Vangheluwe, 73, has been the Bishop of Burges since 1984, but that all came to an end when he stepped down from his position. The Bishop admitted to sexaully abusing an associate of his, while he was a Priest, according to The New York Times.

"This has marked the victim forever. The wound does not heal. Neither in me nor the victim, " Vangheluwe said, according to the BBC.

On many occasions he had asked the victim's family for forgiveness, but that was not good enough for the wound to heal, according to The New York Times.

This week has seen many resignations of prominent Catholic Church clergy. Most of the resignations have been over things other than sexual abuse, according to the BBC.

A train derailment killed nine people in Northern Italy Monday, due to a leaky irrigation pipe.

The two-car train, which was filled with students and commuters, went off of the tracks because of a leak in an irrigation pipe that was just up the hill of the crash site. At least nine people have been killed along with 28 others suffering injuries, according to the BBC.

The original death toll was at 11, but a counting error reduced the number down to nine. Officials are still not ruling out people that could still be buried in the mud, according to the BBC.

No explanation of why what caused the pipe to burst has been released to the media, but Italian officials are investigating the matter, according to The New York Times.

President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed an agreement Thursday to reduce the number of strategic nuclear weapons each country possesses.

Each country agreed to reduce the number of ready-to-use, long-range nuclear weapons to 1,550. Other areas of each country's nuclear stockpile is expected to be reduced, as well, according to The Washington Post.

The act by both countries showed that the diminishing relationship between the two is starting to get better, according to the BBC.

"We have got a document that fully maintains the balance of interests between Russia and the US. The main thing is that there are no victors or losers here," Medvedev said, according to the BBC.

Officials are saying that the reduction of nuclear arms between the two countries are hopefully going to deter other countries from becoming nuclear powers, according to The Washington Post.

An international effort to donate around $10 billion to ailing Haiti for earthquake relief was discussed at a United Nations meeting Wednesday.

The pledge is a combined effort from 59 countries that will donate around $5 billion the first two years and a around $10 billion for three years or more, Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, said, according to The New York Times.

The United States is one of the leading contributors donating around $1 billion to the cause, according to the BBC.

The plan for how to get the money to Haiti will start with the World Bank, where they will then distribute certain amounts for reconstruction projects around the country, according to The New York Times.

Before the earthquake occurred Haiti was considered the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, according to the BBC.

Osama Bin Laden threatened Thursday to kill any American captives if the U.S. decides to execute one of the mastermind's of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other plotters are expected to face trail for their part in the Sept. 11 attacks. The Obama administration is still considering whether to put the five on a military tribunal, or a civilian court, according to The New York Times.

If the U.S. decides to execute the five, then Bin Laden said he would return the favor, according to the BBC.

"The day the United States takes such a decision, it would be also taking the decision that any of you falling into our hands will be executed," Bin Laden said, according to the BBC.

Mohammed is currently detained at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was charged with murder and war crimes that relate to the Sept. 11 attacks. U.S. officials are saying that they are going to recommend the death penalty once he goes to trial, according to The New York Times.

A Russian tycoon won libel suit against a Russian broadcast company, which accused him of being linked to the murder of a former Russian spy, in London Wednesday.

Boris A. Berezovsky was awarded the equivalent of around $225,000 in damages by London's High Court after winning a libel suit that he filed against the All-Russian State Television and Broadcasting, also known as RTR. Berezovsky brought the comapny to court after they had accused him of helping poison Alexander V. Litvinenko, a former K.G.B. operative, in 2006, according to The New York Times.

RTR broadcast a show in 2007 that linked Berezovsky to the murder of Litvinenko, without revealing the source of the information, according to The New York Times.

Judge David Eady concluded that there weren't enough pieces to the puzzle, "I can say unequivocally that there is no evidence before me that Mr Berezovsky had any part in the murder of Mr Litvinenko," Eady said, according to the BBC.

Berezovsky's victory is being disputed by RTR. The company claimed that they were not given a fair trial because of no jury being present and that their source needed to be revealed, according to The New York Times.

Berezovsky thought otherwise of the decision, "I am pleased that the court, through its judgement, has unequivocally demolished RTR's claims," he said, according to the BBC.

Recent heavy rains caused landslides in Bududa, Uganda, which have killed over 100 people.

Minister for Disaster Preparedness Musa Ecweru sent the Ugandan army to the Bududa region to help with rescue efforts, according to The New York Times.

Ecweru was informed that the latest death-toll was 106 people, with over 300 still missing. The Ugandan government has provided 100 coffins, so that the deceased can be given a decent burial, according to the BBC.

This is nothing new to the Bududa region, where landslides are common to the area. What's new is that Bududa rarely sees a fatality rate this high caused by landslides, according to The New York Times.

There is no end in sight. Ugandan officials reported at least another month of rain, which means things will get worse before they start getting better, according to the BBC.

Dubai police have released information of more people being involved in the killing of a senior Hamas operative last month.

The names of 15 people were released on Wednesday, who were suspected of being involved with killing Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a Hamas operative in February. The police also have come to believe that Israel might have played a hand in the incident, Dubai's police chief, Dahi Khalfan al-Tamim said, according to The New York Times.

Officials from Israel have not confirmed, or denied having involvement in the incident, according to the BBC.

The countries of Brittan, Ireland, Australia, and France have recently said that the passports that were found on the suspects were forged, according to the BBC.

Passports from those countries don't require visa to travel to the United Arab Emirates. They also don't require a person to go through eye scans or biometric data, according to The New York Times.

Greece has been warned by European Union finance officials to have a plan to cut their financial deficit by Mar. 16, or the country is going to be facing more sanctions by the EU.

Finance ministers told Greece on Monday that they need to be on track of lowering the deficit of their gross domestic product from 12.7 to 8.7 percent by the end of the year by Mar. 16, according to USA Today.

Greece's recent financial troubles have caused the value of the euro to drop to the lowest it's been in nine months, according to the BBC.

Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said that the country is already ahead of its goals, according to USA Today.

Nigeria has implemented an acting president to take over the affairs of the nation, until their original leader can assume power.

Vice President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in to become Nigeria's acting president by parliament on Tuesday, according to USA Today.

Controversy arose over the way that Jonathon was given the presidency. According to the Nigerian constitution, there must be a formal letter written by President Umaru Yar'Adua that requests his replacement before Nigeria's National Assembly can appoint a new leader, according to USA Today.

Yar'Adua, who Jonathan is replacing, has not been in office since November, due to complications with his kidneys and heart, according to the BBC.

Jonathon has called for the nation to pray for Yar'Adua to return to the presidency when he fully recovers, according to the BBC.

"I am fully aware of the responsibilities reposed in me, and I want to reassure all Nigerians that this is a sacred trust, which I shall discharge to my fullest abilities," Jonathan said in a televised address on Tuesday, according to the BBC.