 The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) national assembly has revised a 2-year-old policy on Mideast investments and also has shifted more strongly against late-term abortions. The new Mideast policy, approved Wednesday, says that regarding both Israel and Palestinian territory, church assets should "be invested in only peaceful pursuits." The 2004 assembly had vexed grass roots Presbyterians and Jewish groups by authorizing "phased selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel" because of its policies toward Palestinians. David Bernstein of the American Jewish Committee's Washington office, who is observing the assembly, said the new wording "subjects Israel to the same process as every other country in the world. That's what we wanted. Singling out Israel is not the way to approach peace in the Middle East." ...
http://abcnews.go.com
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Editor - 02:17:00 06-22-06
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 Four US troops die in Afghanistan |
Four American soldiers have been killed in fighting in north-eastern Afghanistan, the US military says. They were killed after US-led coalition forces attacked "enemy extremists" in the Kamdesh district of Nuristan Province, a coalition statement said. Another soldier was injured and evacuated to hospital. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5105266.stm
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Editor - 02:14:00 06-22-06
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| NASA safety chief won't appeal shuttle launch Still has 'nagging concerns' about Discovery |
NASA's top safety officer Wednesday said he won't appeal a decision to clear shuttle Discovery for lift-off next week, even though he has nagging concerns about the spaceship's safety.On Saturday, following a two-day flight review, NASA safety chief Bryan O'Connor and chief engineer Chris Scolese declined to endorse the U.S. space agency's certification that Discovery was ready for launch.At issue is whether additional modifications to the shuttle's external fuel tank were necessary before flights resume. NASA redesigned the tank after the 2003 Columbia disaster, and then again after the first-post Columbia mission last July. Both times large pieces of insulating foam fell off the tank....
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/06/21/space.shuttle.reut.reut/index.html?section=cnn_us
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Editor - 02:13:00 06-22-06
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| Howard warns on Iraq troops role |
Australian PM John Howard says some troops in Iraq will take on what he called a "higher risk" role. About 460 Australian troops will move from Samawa in the south to Tallil, Mr Howard said. They will help to train Iraqi forces, and could, "in extreme cases", support Iraq troops in direct military action. The moves comes as the Australian military said it regretted an incident in Baghdad in which troops killed one of the Iraqi trade minister's guards. Mr Howard told parliament that the soldiers would relocate to an airbase in Tallil, approximately 80km (50 miles) southeast of their current base in Samawa, Muthana province, where they will take part in reconstruction work and training Iraqi troops. The soldiers have been guarding a Japanese contingent in Samawa, but Tokyo announced on 20 June that it is to withdraw its troops. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5104934.stm
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Editor - 02:10:00 06-22-06
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| Iraqi troops blamed in '04 deaths Pentagon shocks California families with word that 2 U.S. soldiers were slain by trainees patrolling alongside them |
A few weeks before he died, a depressed Spc. Patrick Ryan McCaffrey called his father from Iraq & told him that he had just been fired upon by the Iraqi troops he was helping to train. "They were on night patrol, & they had been fired upon by what they thought were 12 insurgents. They killed several of them, & 3 surrendered," said Bob McCaffrey. "Some of the dead ones were part of the group that they had been training for a week, & the survivors were also part of that group." McCaffrey said that his 34-year-old son notified his commanding officer but "was told to keep his mouth shut." A month later, on June 22, 2004, his son was dead. The Army said his unit was ambushed by enemy forces on a patrol near Balad, Iraq. On Tue a Pentagon spokesman said that the Army's Criminal Investigation Command has concluded that McCaffrey, from Tracy, and 2nd Lt. Andre Demetrius Tyson, 33, of Riverside, were killed by Iraqi soldiers who were patrolling alongside the US soldiers...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/06/21/MNGV6JHMR81.DTL
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Editor - 02:05:00 06-22-06
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| Iraqi fury at Australian shooting |
Australia's defence force has expressed its regret for the fatal shooting of an Iraqi politician's security guard by Australian soldiers in Baghdad.In a statement released this morning, the Australian Defence Force confirmed that ADF members had been involved in a shooting incident in Baghdad overnight."The ADF deeply regrets the injuries and loss of life that has occurred," Vice Chief of the Defence Force, Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie, said in the statement.The matter would be "formally and fully investigated", he said.The incident has sparked renewed calls from the Opposition and minor parties to bring Australian troops home.Iraq demands explanationIraqi trade minister Abdel Falah al-Sudani has demanded an explanation for the shooting, which also wounded three more of his guards and two civilians....
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/adf-sorry-over-iraqi-shooting/2006/06/22/1150845280936.html
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Editor - 01:56:00 06-22-06
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