Cuban cigars seized in Chicago

CHICAGO, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. customs officials say they've seized 30,000 Cuban cigars shipped from Europe to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in the last two weeks.

Officials say they are examining another 70,000 smokes they believe are from Cuba, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday.

Importing any Cuban product into the United States without a license from the U.S. Treasury Department is illegal.

The seizure of the popular contraband at the O'Hare international mail facility is the biggest seen at the Customs and Border Protection's Chicago field office, which typically seizes 10 to 12 cigars a week, officials said.

"Our officers stationed at (Customs and Border Protection) mail facilities routinely discover and seize a variety of contraband arriving from all over the world," David Murphy, director of field operations for the agency's Chicago office, said. "But this is the first time in Chicago we have seen this level of activity involving illegal cigars".

The seized cigars will be destroyed, officials said.

Cuban cigars are prized, a Chicago cigar afficianado says, because the climate and soil in Cuba are perfect for growing tobacco.

Cubans just know how to roll a cigar, Neil Mehra, owner of Hubbard & State Cigar Shop in Chicago, says.

"I mean they make the best cigars because they've been making cigars for hundreds and hundreds of years," Mehra says. UPI

Mysterious feral cat poisoning near motel

EL CAJON, Calif., Dec. 7 (UPI) -- A California motel manager said the motel was not involved in recent attempted wild cat poisonings in the motel's vicinity.

Cindy Williams, an East County Animal Rescue volunteer, said she discovered nine water bowls containing antifreeze at the Budget Inn in El Cajon, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Monday.

Williams said she leaves food and water out for the growing number of cats meandering around the motel's area in recent years.

"Antifreeze means an agonizing death for the cats," said Williams.

Williams said she found a dead cat near the motel on Sunday and brought it to the El Cajon Animal Shelter.

A necropsy is scheduled this week, the Union-Tribune reported.

The motel manager, Gabriel Hall, said he doesn't know who put antifreeze in the cats' bowls. While he doesn't want the cats around, he would never condone poisoning them, he said.

"It's horrible. Animal Control told my desk clerk on Saturday that there was antifreeze in the bowls, and they took some to test it. I don't know who could have done that ... somebody who doesn't like cats. 

… We're a pet-friendly hotel here -- people stay with cats and dogs in our hotel," Hall said.

Josh Hirschmiller, an animal rescue volunteer, said he plans to trap three cats that are still near the motel. He said they will be moved elsewhere. UPI

San Francisco Santa fired over joke

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- A San Francisco man who has played the role of Santa Claus for years at a local store said he was fired allegedly because of a joke he told an adult couple.

John Toomey, 68, of San Francisco, a retired caretaker for the elderly, was the Santa at the Union Square Macy's store for 20 years, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday.

The joke is one he has told for decades without any problems, but an elderly couple complained about it, the Chronicle reported.

"When I ask the older people who sit on my lap if they've been good and they say, 'Yes,' I say, 'Gee, that's too bad.' Then, if they ask why Santa is so jolly, I joke that it's because I know where all the naughty boys and girls live".

A number of Toomey's co- workers said they were "devastated" by the "overreaction" to the incident.

"People make a pilgrimage to see him every year, some for as long as 15 years. Everyone loves him. Everybody's just heartsick about this," said a fellow employee.

"He's totally the best Santa ever, very jolly and very authentic. "I've been coming to see him for years. There's just nobody better," said Sharon Owens, 56, of Oakland.

"Everything was going OK until this couple came in. I don't know why they reported me. I don't think I said anything untoward," Toomey said.

Toomey is waiting to see what becomes of his request for Macy's reconsideration.

Toomey said is now seeking to hire himself out at parties and other stores.

"I've got my Social Security and some savings, so I'll be OK. But I sure do miss being Santa," he said. UPI

Mother of missing siblings still hoping

PASCAGOULA, Miss., Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The Alabama mother of two missing children authorities fear are dead says she's holding out hope they are alive and will be found.

Authorities said they believe Jonathan Chase DeBlase, 3, and Natalie Alexis DeBlase, 5, are dead, and their bodies were dumped, one in Vancleave, Miss., and one in Citronelle, Ala., The (Pascagoula) Mississippi Press reported.

Their mother, Corrine Heathcock, says she's not ready to accept that.

"Until the police come to me and say they have their bodies, I won't believe it," Heathcock, 27, of Mobile, Ala., said. "If they do tell me that, then I want to bury them together. They were always inseparable. I couldn't separate them in death".

The children's father and stepmother are facing criminal charges in connection with the case but have not been charged with killing the children.

Authorities said the two children haven't been seen since they moved to Kentucky with John Joseph DeBlase, 27, and stepmother Heather Leavell-Keaton, 22.

Heathcock said when she and DeBlase divorced she made the best possible choice for her children.

"I wasn't living in a place that was suitable for children," Heathcock said. "He was the best thing for them. He loved them. I would have never let him take them if I thought otherwise".

Things were fine for a while, Heathcock said, but then DeBlase stopped letting her see the children.

"He'd make up excuses why I couldn't see them," she said. "He'd forget to bring them over. He eventually stopped answering his phone".

She last saw her children on Nov. 18, 2009, she said. UPI

Haiti cholera: UN peacekeepers to blame, report says

UN peacekeepers were the most likely source of the cholera epidemic sweeping Haiti, according to a leaked report by a French disease expert.

Epidemiologist Renaud Piarroux conducted research in Haiti on behalf of the French and Haitian governments.

Sources who have seen his report say it found strong evidence that the cholera outbreak was caused by contamination of a river by UN troops from Nepal.

The UN said it had neither accepted nor dismissed the findings.

The cholera epidemic has killed 2120 people, and nearly 100,000 cases have been treated, according to the Haitian government.

The report by Mr Piarroux found that the source of the outbreak was a Nepalese peacekeeping base, whose toilets contaminated the Artibonite river, according to a copy seen by the Associated Press news agency.

The river was the main focus of the outbreak when it began in October, but cholera has since spread throughout the country.

The UN mission in Haiti, Minustah, said there was "no conclusive evidence" that UN peacekeepers were the source of the epidemic.

Minustah said the report by the French expert was "one report among many," but it was taking it "very seriously".

Many Haitians were already blaming the Nepalese peacekeepers for bringing cholera to the country, and there have been violent demonstrations against them. BBC News

F1 legend Moss slams 'flawed' Schumacher

(CNN) -- Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher is "flawed," according to ex-Formula One star Stirling Moss, who claimed the German will not be in the hunt for motor racing's biggest prize in 2011.

Schumacher returned to F1 this year with the new Mercedes team, having retired in late 2006, but the 41-year-old struggled to make an impact as he finished the season in a disappointing ninth place.

Moss, 81, wrote off Schumacher's chances of winning an eighth world title, and stated the former Ferrari racer's previous triumphs devalued the achievement of becoming world champion.

"He's flawed, we've seen that all over the place," Moss told reporters at the British Racing Drivers' Club's (BRDC) annual awards. CNN

Haitians wait anxiously for election results

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- With potential for unrest looming, Haitians waited anxiously Tuesday to hear results of the presidential vote held more than a week ago.

Election authorities must decide how to finish final counting amid charges of widespread fraud and ensuing demonstrations, some violent.

Results are expected some time Tuesday.

A candidate must win more than a 50 percent majority to be declared the winner. Otherwise, a January 16 runoff will be held to decide who will lead this Caribbean nation struggling to recover from years of dictatorship and poverty compounded earlier this year by a devastating earthquake and a current cholera epidemic that has now sickened almost 100,000 people.

The ballot listed 19 candidates but three have emerged as front-runners -- one who is allied closely with the current President Rene Preval and two who seemed at first glance unlikely political candidates.

Preval, who is barred from seeking another term, has grown increasingly unpopular with Haitians frustrated by the lack of progress since the quake.

Preval handpicked Jude Celestin, who headed the state construction company, as his successor.

But former first lady Mirlande Manigat and popular musician Michel Martelly have emerged as front-runners.

"There has been massive, massive fraud. We want to make sure the people's vote is respected," Martelly said as he waited to hear the results.

The OAS-CARICOM Joint Election Observation Mission said it has maintained a presence in the vote tabulation center and is continuing to observe the process.

"This coming phase in the electoral process requires a peaceful and serene atmosphere where the candidates and political parties can take advantage of the legal remedies provided by the Electoral Law," the mission said. CNN

2-year-old killed, 32 injured in blast at Indian temple

New Delhi, India (CNN) -- A 2-year-old girl was killed and at least 32 people were injured when a temple in Varanasi, India, was hit in a terror attack on Tuesday, officials said.

The officials said the incident occurred during Hindu prayers outside the temple in the northeastern Indian holy city, and it came a day after the anniversary of a seminal event in India -- the 1992 razing of a Muslim mosque in Ayodhya.

Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai told CNN-IBN that the blast was a terror strike carried out by Indian Mujahedeen, a Muslim militant group. He said an alert was issued in New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore in the wake of the blast.

Inspector General of Varanasi Rajendra Pal Singh confirmed the death and the injuries, saying that three of those hurt were foreigners -- two Italians and one Japanese. Of the 32, one Indian is in critical condition.

CNN-IBN quoted officials saying that people "were injured in the blast but the numbers increased because a railing broke". That led "to a small stampede"

"We did not have specific information that this would happen in Varanasi, but December 6 is the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, so we were on high alert in sensitive areas, and Varanasi is definitely a sensitive area," U.K. Bansal, secretary of internal security of the Home Affairs Ministry, told CNN. CNN

WikiLeaks' Assange jailed while court decides on extradition

London (CNN) -- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange handed himself over to police Tuesday, promptly appeared in court where he was denied bail, and left for jail in a police van.

A judge will now decide whether to extradite him to Sweden to face questioning over allegations he had sexual relations with two women without their consent. He has not been charged with a crime.

The judge at the City of Westminster Magistrate's Court ordered Assange jailed until December 14, despite several celebrities coming forward and offering to pay his surety, or bail. It was not immediately clear if the court would decide on that date whether to release him.

The judge repeatedly said the case is "not about WikiLeaks," but about serious sexual offenses that allegedly occurred on three occasions with two women.

Assange, who was in court with security guards on either side of him and his lawyer in front, initially proved reluctant to declare a home address. CNN

In Iran, a Christian pastor faces death sentence

(CNN) -- A Christan pastor in Iran has been sentenced to death for allegedly renouncing his Muslim religion and another faces a possible indictment on the same charge of apostasy, according to a prominent activist group working for human rights in Iran.

Youcef Nadarkhani, a 32-year-old member of the Church of Iran ministry and pastor of an approximately 400-person congregation in the northern city of Rasht, faces death, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

In the southern city of Shiraz, another Christian pastor, Behrouz Sadegh-Khanjani, 35, is facing a possible indictment for apostasy.

"This is part of a greater trend of persecution against Christians," said Firouz Sadegh-Khanjani, brother of Behrouz and member of the Church of Iran's Executive Council.

Christians are feeling the heat in other parts of the Muslim world as well.

In Iraq, Christians have been attacked and many have fled their homes for other lands. In Pakistan, a Christian woman faces a death sentence for blasphemy for allegedly defiling the name of the Prophet Mohammed.

On September 22, Iran's 11th Circuit Criminal Court of Appeals for the Gilan Province upheld the death sentence and conviction of Nadarkhani for apostasy. CNN

No charges in Taser death

COLLINGWOOD, Ontario, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Canadian authorities say no criminal charges will be filed against a police officer who killed a mentally ill man with a stun gun at a group home in June.

Aron Firman, 27, who suffered from schizophrenia, was shocked by an Ontario Provincial police officer when he became combative after officers tried to arrest him, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported Tuesday.

The medical examiner ruled Firman died of heart failure.

Ontario's Special Investigative Unit concluded that the use of the stun gun caused Firman's death but said there were "no reasonable grounds" to charge the officer who used the weapon.

"In these circumstances, and in light of Mr. Firman's demonstrated degree of aggression, I am of the opinion that the Taser's deployment was not excessive, notwithstanding the fact that it caused Mr. Firman's demise," said SIU Director Ian Scott said.

Firman's is only the second case in Canada where a medical examiner has blamed an electrical stun gun for sparking heart failure. UPI

US judge stops lawsuit against 'capture or kill' order

A US judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to halt Washington's alleged programme to capture or kill Americans who join militant groups abroad.

The judge threw out the lawsuit by civil liberties organisations on jurisdictional grounds.

The organisations want to halt the alleged programme and reveal the criteria the US government set for targeting someone.

Washington has not confirmed officially that such a programme exists.

The civil liberties groups had filed the lawsuit on behalf of the father of radical US-born Yemeni Islamist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who contacted the groups when his son appeared on a CIA 'capture or kill' list in the summer.

Mr Awlaki, who is thought to be a senior operative for al-Qaeda in Yemen, has been linked to a deadly shooting in Fort Hood army base in Texas and an attempted bombing of a US airliner on 25 December 2009. BBC News

Ugandan Opposition Says Government Training Militia

Uganda's main opposition coalition has accused the government of recruiting a militia to intimidate voters ahead of February's elections.

The four-party group, known as the Inter-Party Cooperation, says police are training some 29,000 youths under the guise of “village crime fighters”.

A police spokesman, Vincent Ssekate, says police have only recruited “crime preventers” who will be present in every community.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni faces opposition leader Kizza Besigye in the February 18 election.

Mr. Besigye lost both the 2001 and 2006 elections to Mr. Museveni. On both occasions, he and his supporters accused the president of fraud.

Mr. Museveni has led Uganda since his rebel group seized power in 1986. He has won three elections since the advent of multi-party polls in 1995. Five years ago, parliament removed presidential term limits, enabling him to run for office indefinitely.

Mr. Museveni was once hailed for stabilizing Uganda, liberalizing the economy and tackling the AIDS epidemic. But critics say he has become autocratic over the years.

During the 2006 elections, the state accused Mr. Besigye of plotting to overthrow the government and charged him with treason and rape. He was cleared of the rape charge in 2006, and Uganda's constitutional court dismissed the treason charge earlier this month. VOANews

Japan Trying to Determine if Space Probe Entered Venus Orbit

Japanese space agency JAXA is trying to determine whether a space probe that reached Venus has successfully entered the planet's orbit.

JAXA says the Japanese probe, named Akatsuki or Dawn , reversed its engine Tuesday to slow down as it approached Venus, but later lost contact with ground control as it passed behind the planet. The agency says communication was restored later through only one of the probe's three antennas.

The lack of contact with the other antennas meant Japanese experts had only a limited amount of data with which to determine the probe's status. JAXA said it is working on maneuvering the probe into orbit for its planned two-year mission to study Venus' hostile climate.

Akatsuki would be the first probe that Japan has placed into orbit around another planet. JAXA launched the $300 million probe in May, hoping it will help explain why Venus has a very different environment from Earth. The two planets are similar in size and age, although Earth is 40 million kilometers farther from the sun than Venus.

Akatsuki is equipped with instruments to peer through Venus' thick cloud cover to monitor volcanic activity on the surface and search for possible lightning in its atmosphere.

Japan recently completed another space mission in which a probe successfully captured dust from an asteroid and brought it back to Earth. VOANews

Colombian Landslide Death Toll Rises

The death toll from a massive landslide in Colombia has reached 30, as rescue workers search through debris for more victims in the town of Bello.

The disaster began when a hillside, waterlogged by weeks of heavy rains, gave way above a suburban neighborhood Sunday outside Colombia's second-largest city, Medellin. The mudslide happened as families gathered for lunch.

Many people remain missing.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is expected to visit the site Tuesday. He left a regional summit in Argentina to lead the response to the disaster.

The Colombian leader has said the unusually heavy rainfalls could leave more than 2 million people homeless. Before Sunday, heavy rains had already killed around 170 people this year in the Andean nation.

In neighboring Venezuela, driving rains triggered recent flooding and cave-ins that killed 34 people and left an estimated 90,000 people homeless.

Officials blame the downpours on a weather phenomenon known as La Nina, during which cooler-than-normal water temperatures exist in the Tropical Pacific Ocean. VOANews

British Troops May Begin Leaving Afghanistan Next Year

British Prime Minister David Cameron says British troops may begin withdrawing from Afghanistan as early as next year.

Mr. Cameron made the remarks during an unannounced visit to Afghanistan's Helmand province, where most British troops are deployed.

The prime minister and Britain's top military official, General David Richards, said recent security improvements may allow Britain to start drawing down troops in 2011. Mr. Cameron added the goal is to withdraw all British forces by 2015.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates also is in Afghanistan where he met Tuesday with U.S. commanders and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

“Well obviously, visiting these places and seeing these troops revives me. Gives me a little new energy. It's particularly here they've taken some serious losses. This is the place six of our soldiers were killed by a turncoat [traitor]. And I met with the other members of their platoon, and then just had the opportunity to shake hands with all these soldiers and thank them for all they're doing".

The White House is preparing to release a progress report on the war in coming days.

NATO members agreed last month to hand over military control to Afghan forces in 2014. VOANews

West African Leaders Discuss Ivory Coast Crisis

West African leaders are holding an emergency summit to discuss the political crisis in Ivory Coast.

Neither of Ivory Coast's would-be presidents were invited to the meeting, held Tuesday in Nigeria's capital, Abuja.

The Economic Community of West African States is one of several international bodies that have called on the incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo, to accept election results that show him losing to rival Alassane Ouattara.

Mr. Gbagbo maintains that he won the November election and has named a new prime minister, who presented a new cabinet to reporters in Abidjan Tuesday.

Mr. Ouattara and his ally, incumbent Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, have named their own government, raising fears of a new conflict in Ivory Coast.

The presidential election was meant to bring stability to the country, where a 2002 civil war split the country into a rebel-controlled north and government-run south.

United Nations agencies began pulling foreign staffers out of the country on Tuesday. On Monday, the U.N. said it would relocate about 460 staff to Gambia and Senegal because of fears of violence. VOANews

Chinese Bishops Open Meeting Amid Tense Vatican Ties

Chinese bishops have opened a meeting to choose top leaders of the state-backed Catholic church, amid new tensions with the Vatican involving the illicit ordination of a bishop who did not have the pope's approval.

The bishops gathered Tuesday in Beijing to elect new heads of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association and the Council of Chinese Bishops. Their meeting is expected to last a few days.

Already tense China-Vatican relations took another hit last month by the ordination of the Reverend Joseph Guo Jincai. The Vatican warned China that he risks excommunication for being ordained by China's Catholic authorities without papal consent.

Vatican officials also accused Chinese authorities of pressuring bishops to participate in the ceremony, which the Vatican said violated “freedom of religion and conscience” and offended the pope.

China rejected the Vatican's opposition, saying any kind of allegation or intervention regarding the ordination is a restriction of religious freedom and tolerance.

Last week, Pope Benedict called for Catholic bishops in China to be allowed to worship freely. He said he is praying for Chinese bishops so they “may bear witness to their faith with courage".

China broke off diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 1951.

The country has about 8-to-12 million Catholics, who are split between the underground church that recognizes papal authority and the Chinese state-backed church that does not. VOANews

US Holds New $100 Bills After Printing Problems

The U.S. government is holding onto more than a billion newly designed $100 bills after a problem arose during the printing process.

The Federal Reserve, which issues America's currency, initially scheduled release of the bills next year. They are a part of the staggered release of different U.S. denominations of paper currency that have new high-tech security features to combat counterfeiters.

Officials say 1.1 billion new $100 bills suffered from “sporadic creasing” of the paper during printing, causing them to fail quality control. The U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which manufactures U.S. banknotes, said it did not notice the problem during extensive pre-production testing and is working to figure out what caused the problem.

It is not clear when the government will release the redesigned bill.

The new $100 bills are the most expensive to make, costing 12 cents each.

The new design retains the traditional look of the existing $100 bill with Benjamin Franklin's enlarged portrait. However, the new bills incorporate a blue three-dimensional security ribbon and a color-changing image of a bell on the front.

Experts say the $100 note is the most counterfeited denomination of U.S. currency outside the U.S. due to its wide circulation. VOANews

Iran Will Not Bargain Over Nuclear Rights in Isbanbul Talks

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili says his country is not willing to bargain over its nuclear rights in the next round of talks in Turkey.

Jalili says Iran and major world powers only agreed to hold more talks in Istanbul based on cooperation to find “common ground,” and that Iran has no intention of discussing a halt to its nuclear program.

Jalili spoke at a news conference following two days of talks in Geneva with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany, a group known as the P5 + 1.

Ashton said the planned talks at the end of January in would address “core concerns” of the P5 + 1 regarding Iran's atomic ambitions.

“The countries I represent are united in seeking a resolution of the international community's concerns regarding Iran's nuclear programme which is a central purpose of these talks. We recognise Iran's rights but insist that it fulfils its obligations".

Ashton said the talks this week in Geneva, the first with Iran in over a year, were “detailed and substantive".

At his news conference, Jalili said Iran will not discuss halting its nuclear enrichment program.

“During the Istanbul talks will Iran be prepared to discuss halting its nuclear enrichment?''

“I can quickly and seriously respond to that: No".

Many Western countries believe Iran aims to use its uranium enrichment program to build nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

Jalili displayed a picture of former nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari as he spoke. The scientist was killed in a November blast that Iran has blamed on the U.S. and Israel. Jalili said the “martyred” scientist managed to train hundreds of others before his death. VOANews

Gulf Arab Leaders Urge Iran On Nuclear Talks

Leaders from six Gulf Arab nations urged Iran to “respond positively” to talks with world powers about its disputed nuclear program.

The Arab leaders made the call in a statement released Tuesday as they finished a two-day summit in the United Arab Emirates. The meeting coincided with Iran's talks in Geneva.

The Arab leaders also called for a commitment to peacefully resolve conflicts in the region and to make the Middle East free of weapons of “mass destruction and nuclear weapons".

Separately, the leaders called for a “drying up” of funding for terrorist groups. They said steps should be taken that would prevent the media from publishing information that could encourage “criminal acts".

The WikiLeaks website this week released classified U.S. diplomatic cables that detailed Arab leaders' concern over Iran's position in the region, as well as its focus on a domestic nuclear program.

WikiLeaks released a December 2009 memo from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that said donors in Saudi Arabia had constituted the “most significant source of funding” to Sunni terrorist groups around the world.

According to the website, the memo also said more needed to be done since Saudi Arabia remained a “critical financial support base” for al-Qaida, the Taliban and other militant groups.

WikiLeaks said Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates were also sources of terrorist funding. VOANews

Euro Golf Award Shared For First Time

For the first time in its 26-year history, the European Tour Golfer of the Year award will be shared.

Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland and Martin Kaymer of Germany are the 2010 co-winners of the award. The two Ryder Cup stars tied in the voting by a judging panel of writers and broadcasters.

Both players won four events this season, with their first major victories coming on U.S. soil. The 31-year-old McDowell won the U.S. Open to claim his first major title and holed the putt to secure Europe's Ryder Cup win over the United States at Celtic Manor in Wales. He moved to No. 7 in the world rankings after his playoff victory over American Tiger Woods at the Chevron World Challenge on Sunday in California.

The 25-year-old Kaymer also won his first major in 2010, capturing the U.S. PGA Championship in Wisconsin, and beat out McDowell to finish first on the European prize money list in the so-called Race to Dubai. VOANews

Thailand May Seek Extradition of Thaksin If He Enters US

Thailand has indicated it will seek the extradition of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra if he enters the United States.  An independent agency has invited the exiled leader to testify in Washington about recent political violence in Thailand.  But, Thai authorities have been seeking his return to face terrorism charges related to that violence and to serve a prison sentence for a corruption conviction.  

U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, invited former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to testify at hearings next week in Washington.

The independent agency, made up of U.S. politicians and officials, wants Thaksin to report on Thailand's recent political turmoil.

But if he appears in Washington, he could face arrest.

The Thai government wants Thaksin to return home to serve a two-year prison sentence for corruption. They also want him to face trial on terrorism charges.

The government has been hunting Thaksin since he fled the country two years ago. The former leader, who was ousted in a 2006 coup, says he is innocent and being targeted for political reasons.

Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn says if Thai authorities know where he is they will try to take him into custody.

"Once persons who are convicted or who are wanted by the court of law is located in any country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will get involved in terms of making sure that that person is processed according to the law," he said.

Earlier this year clashes between the military and anti-government protesters, many of them Thaksin's supporters, left 90 people dead, most of them protesters.

Thai authorities blame Thaksin for the violence, accusing him of terrorism.

Thaksin blames the government and military.  

It is not clear the U.S. will allow Thaksin to visit, but Washington has an extradition treaty with Thailand that Panitan says should be honored.

"We cooperate with our friends to honor our agreements and we hope our friends and our allies to do the same," he said.

Thailand recently complied with Washington's extradition request for alleged arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Bout is accused of being one of the world's biggest suppliers of weapons used to fuel violence across Africa, South America, and the Middle East.

The Russian citizen was arrested in 2008 in a Bangkok undercover operation.

In November Bout was extradited to the U.S. to face charges of conspiring to kill Americans and supporting terrorists. The Russian government strongly protested the extradition, saying Bout is an innocent businessman. VOANews