 Violence could spread throughout the region if President Bush's new strategy in Iraq doesn't reduce sectarian violence within a year, the outgoing Saudi ambassador to the United States says.Turki al-Faisal also said Saudi Arabia was using diplomacy to try to stabilize Iraq, as well as Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. In an interview, he pointed to a visit by his predecessor in Washington, Bandar bin Sultan, to Iran this week as evidence that talks could work. He said Bandar, now Saudi national security adviser, had convinced the Iranians to pressure the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to stop demonstrations threatening a U.S. and Saudi-backed government in Beirut.The Lebanese army lifted a curfew in Beirut today, but schools and universities were closed, Reuters reported. The news service said that four people were shot dead in clashes between pro- and anti-government activists on Thursday. About 200 others were hurt in the violence....
http://www.usatoday.com
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Editor - 08:22:00 01-26-07
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 Senate approves new Iraq commander |
The U.S. Senate on Friday confirmed Army Gen. David Petraeus as the next commander of U.S. forces in Iraq even though he supports a boost in American troops that many senators oppose.Widely regarded as one the army's brightest commanders, Petraeus, who was confirmed on a vote of 81-0, told senators earlier this week that the situation in Iraq was "dire" but not hopeless. Petraeus, who has already completed two Iraq tours, will be charged with implementing President George W. Bush's plan to send 21,500 more U.S. troops to Iraq in an effort to halt spiraling insurgent attacks and sectarian violence. A key Senate committee has approved a nonbinding resolution opposing Bush's strategy. A full Senate vote on that measure and another proposal criticizing the plan could come as soon as next week. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2826075
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Editor - 08:20:00 01-26-07
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| Five killed in Mogadishu attacks |
Unknown gunmen have killed five people in a series of attacks in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, witnesses say. A BBC correspondent saw three bodies with gunshot wounds lying in waste ground and reliable witnesses have seen two more bodies elsewhere in the city. Four people were also injured in mortar attacks. Insecurity has increased since the ousting of Islamists last month. Meanwhile, South Africa says it does not have the troops to contribute to an African Union peacekeeping force. Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said it might try to support the mission in other ways, such as technical support. The AU force would replace Ethiopian troops, who have started to withdraw after helping the interim government drive out the Union of Islamic Courts from Mogadishu and most of southern Somalia. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6301809.stm
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Editor - 08:14:00 01-26-07
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| Brazil Police Find Bodies of 7 Kids Apparently Slain by Drug Gang |
Police found the bodies of seven youths showing signs of torture inside a car on this city's poor north side and said Friday they apparently were slain by gang members from a rival shantytown.According to reports in the local press, the victims found Thursday night in Del Castilho were members of a shantytown soccer team that had been kidnapped on Thursday night when they went to play a game in another neighborhood.Press reports suggested the youths, aged from 14 to 18, were killed simply for coming from an area controlled by a rival drug gang, but were not involved in trafficking.But police spokesman Renato Barone said investigators believed the victims were members of a rival drug gang and that relatives were circulating the story of the soccer team as a coverup....
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,247059,00.html
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Editor - 08:11:00 01-26-07
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| Colombia Pushes Expats to Buy Homes in Bid to Check Inflation |
Adriana Aguirre, who works as a baby sitter in Stamford, Connecticut, sends $500 to Colombia each month for her two children's food and schooling. Since October, she's transferred an extra $200 monthly to buy them a home. ``It's a big sacrifice,'' says Aguirre, 29, who left her hometown of Medellin for the U.S. six years ago. ``But it's all for my family's well-being.'' Colombian officials are encouraging former residents like Aguirre to become investors rather than consumers as a novel way to keep inflation from rising above its 2006 rate of 4.48 percent. The government is sponsoring real estate fairs in the U.S. and Europe to steer expatriates toward buying homes. Other organizations have created programs to help families use so- called remittances from relatives abroad to start businesses. ``The more remittances are channeled toward the purchase of homes and durable goods and the creation of productive projects that help generate employment, the healthier the economy,'' ...
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aSZ5mjokft.E&refer=exclusive
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Editor - 08:01:00 01-26-07
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| Troops Died After, Not In, Sneak Attack APNewsbreak: New Information Says U.S. Soldiers Were Abducted From Scene of Sneak Attack |
Contrary to U.S. military statements, four U.S. soldiers did not die repelling a sneak attack at the governor's office in the Shiite holy city of Karbala last week. New information obtained by The Associated Press shows they were abducted and found dead or dying as far as 25 miles away. The brazen assault 50 miles south of Baghdad was launched Jan. 20 by a group of nine to 12 militants. They traveled in black GMC Suburban vehicles the type used by U.S. government convoys, had American weapons, wore new U.S. military combat fatigues and spoke English. In a written statement, the U.S. command reported at the time that five soldiers were killed while "repelling the attack." Two senior U.S. military officials as well as Iraqi officials now say three of them were found dead and one mortally wounded in locations as far as 25 miles east of the governor's office. The U.S. officials said they could not be sure if the soldiers were killed as the attackers drove them ...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2826025
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Editor - 07:59:00 01-26-07
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