The federal government may seek the death penalty for the accused kingpin of one of Mexico's oldest and most notorious drug cartels, a prosecutor said Monday. Francisco Javier Arellano Felix currently faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison under a 2003 indictment that accused him and others of moving tons of Colombian cocaine and Mexican marijuana to the United States and involvement in a string of assassinations or plots, U.S. authorities said. Laura Duffy, an assistant U.S. attorney, said the government may seek new charges against Arellano Felix that would allow for the death penalty or life in prison if he is convicted. She did not elaborate on the possible charges at a hearing before U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns. Arellano Felix, 36, dressed in an orange jumpsuit and shackled at his wrists and ankles, gave one-word answers in Spanish and did not seek bail during a hearing Monday. ... http://abcnews.go.com censor News |
Editor - 23:38:00 08-21-06 |
Lebanese Army Expands Deployment; Italy Will Join UN Mission |
Lebanese soldiers expanded their deployment in southern Lebanon as Italy pledged to join a United Nations force to oversee a cease-fire that halted a monthlong conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The army took up positions in Bayt Yahoun, the UN said yesterday, as part of the truce that came into force Aug. 14. Israeli paratroopers shot three Hezbollah fighters in the southern Lebanese village of Shama late yesterday, the daily newspaper Haaretz reported, citing military officials, who said they didn't know whether the gunmen were killed or wounded. The UN is trying to create a force of 15,000 soldiers to be sent to southern Lebanon and wants a first contingent of 3,500 personnel deployed within two weeks. Italy will make a ``significant'' contribution to the force, Prime Minister Romano Prodi told UN Secretary General Kofi Annan yesterday. ... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a5hu4yKeC4co&refer=worldwide_news
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Editor - 21:15:00 08-21-06 |
Colonel walks Baghdad 'to make people believe' |
The Humvee has barely rolled to a stop, and Iraqi army Col. Talib Abdul Razzaq is already out of the vehicle. He moves like a politician, stopping on the sidewalk to playfully cuff a young boy on the head and joke with a man selling shoes. He quizzes several people about violence and militias in the neighborhood. Most say the streets have been quiet. "I'm trying to make people believe in the Iraqi army," Razzaq says at the next stop, where a sidewalk vendor gives him a complimentary sandwich from his cart. "They will feel more safe." Razzaq hands the sandwich to an aide and keeps moving. Twice a day, Razzaq patrols the troubled neighborhoods in his battalion's sector of Baghdad. He's checking on his troops, who have set up checkpoints in the area. And he's listening to what merchants, local leaders and ordinary people have to say about security in their neighborhoods. "I am an officer, but my job is like a tribal leader," says Razzaq, ... http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2006-08-21-razzaq-cover_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 20:05:00 08-21-06 |
A Look at U.S. Military Deaths in Afghanistan |
As of Monday, Aug. 21, 2006, at least 266 members of the U.S. military have died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. Of those, the military reports 165 were killed by hostile action. Outside the Afghan region, the Defense Department reports 56 more members of the U.S. military died in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those, two are the result of hostile action. The military lists these other locations as: Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba; Djibouti; Eritrea; Jordan; Kenya; Kyrgyzstan; Philippines; Seychelles; Sudan; Tajikistan; Turkey; and Yemen. There was also one military civilian death and four CIA officer deaths. The latest deaths reported by the military: ... http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2340500
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Editor - 19:59:00 08-21-06 |
Trapped DR Congo envoys rescued |
UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo have rescued several foreign ambassadors trapped in a house in Kinshasa by heavy shooting. The diplomats were meeting opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba in his house when a gunfight broke out. The group included the UK envoy and the head of the UN mission, the UN said. The incident follows clashes on Sunday between forces loyal to President Joseph Kabila and Jean-Pierre Bemba, who face a run-off election in October. "They're out and they're coming to UN headquarters. Everyone's safe," a spokesman for the UN force said, after the diplomats were rescued. In July's first-round of voting for a new president, Mr Kabila took 45% of the vote, just short of the 50% needed for victory, while Mr Bemba gained 20%. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5272300.stm
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Editor - 19:55:00 08-21-06 |
Israeli tanks enter Gaza: witnesses |
Israeli tanks entered the eastern area of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and troops clashed with Palestinian fighters there, wounding at least three militants, witnesses and Palestinian sources said. The Israeli army said it was checking the report. Witnesses said several Israeli tanks, supported by unmanned drones in the sky, entered Gaza near the Karni crossing, the main terminal for goods entering and leaving the densely populated strip, but it was not clear what their objective was. Clashes ensued and three militants were wounded, Palestinian sources said. Israel has carried out repeated brief incursions into Gaza over the past six weeks, since launching an operation in late June to rescue a soldier captured by Palestinian militants and to stop rocket fire from the strip into Israel. ... http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2340440
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Editor - 19:53:00 08-21-06 |
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