Iraq Grants Visas To 'Human Shields'

Reuters reports that a group of 50 Western anti-war activists were approved for visas Tuesday to enter Iraq and act as "human shields," hoping to deter a U.S.-led military operation.

The group held a press conference in Turkey and is made a brief tour of the region before it crossed the border into Iraq . They plan to inhabit populated areas of Baghdad and other parts of the country.

Last week, Turkey deported one man who helped organize the campaign, a former U.S. marine named Ken Nichols who tried to enter the country with documents describing himself as a "citizen of the world."

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Britain Gives Asylum to Three Ex-Taliban Fighters

The British government granted asylum to three former Taliban fighters, but insisted that none had engaged in direct combat in Afghanistan with British or American troops. Immigration Minister Beverly Hughes said the three gave credible accounts of being forcibly conscripted by the Taliban and having escaped as soon as they could.

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New Law Allows Overseas Filipinos To Vote

Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed a bill into law late last week allowing millions of Filipinos overseas to vote. The country is struggling to improve its electoral system, which has been known from fraud, slow ballot counting and favoring rich and famous candidates. Senate President Franklin Drilon said overseas ballots would improve elections because voters outside the country would be beyond the reach of bad politicians. However, the law includes a provision that requires permanent overseas residents to return and live in the Philippines three years after voting, and is likely to dissuade about three million people from voting, lawmakers said. The overseas Filipinos would be a large voting bloc, accounting for around 10% of the total electorate.

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Kenya Cuts Visa Processing Time To 24 Hours

Kenya 's Home Affairs Minister Moody Awori said the government will process visas within 24 hours of the application being submitted, provided the application requirements have been fulfilled.

Awori's statement came in response to Pakistan High Commissioner to Kenya , Hameed Kidwai, who expressed frustration at the time taken by Pakistani nationals to obtain visas.

Kenya had tightened its visa application process after the 1998 explosion in Nairobi and Tanzania .