Seven members of Afghanistan's U.S.-led coalition force have been wounded and six Taliban killed in the latest clashes in the bloodiest phase of Afghan violence since the Taliban were ousted nearly five years ago.A joint coalition-Afghan operation was launched in the Panjwai district of the southern province of Kandahar early on Saturday."Forces have been involved in numerous fights with the Taliban," said a spokeswoman for the force, Captain Julie Roberge.Five Taliban were believed to have been killed and two coalition soldiers wounded, she said. She did not give their nationality. The operation was still going on, she said.U.S. forces have mounted big offensives in eastern and southern Afghanistan in recent weeks in response to the most intense Taliban attacks since they were ousted in 2001.... http://today.reuters.co.uk censor News |
Editor - 13:31:00 07-08-06 |
US, Iraqi forces besiege Shi'ite mosque: police |
U.S. and Iraqi forces with armored vehicles surrounded a Shi'ite mosque in southeastern Baghdad after dark on Saturday in what appeared to be the latest operation against Shi'ite militias, police said. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. military or the Iraqi Interior Ministry but a policeman at the scene outside the Sadrain mosque in the Zafaraniya district said he believed they were trying to arrest members of the Shi'ite Mehdi Army militia. The mosque is believed to be loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose Mehdi Army fighters have been the target of several recent operations by government and U.S. forces, including a major raid on Baghdad's Sadr City area on Friday. The U.S. military said it captured a major militant suspect accused of kidnappings and murders in that raid, although Shi'ite political sources said a renowned local warlord known as Abu Deraa, whose neighborhood was targeted, was still at large. ... http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2168260
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Editor - 11:54:00 07-08-06 |
Mass Protests Slated For Mexico Refusing To Concede Election, Leftist Presidential Candidate Calls For Help |
Mexico's leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called his supporters onto the streets Saturday to protest his rival's narrow victory in a vote he said was more fraudulent than those held during 71 years of one-party rule. The nationwide protests, including a rally in Mexico City's famed Zocalo plaza, could mark a turning point in what has so far been a peaceful campaign by the fiery candidate to reverse the apparent triumph of conservative Felipe Calderon. In a meeting with foreign correspondents Saturday, Lopez Obrador said there were more irregularities in last Sunday's balloting than in elections under the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which ruled Mexico until it was ousted by President Vicente Fox in 2000. ... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/08/world/main1786472.shtml?source=RSS&attr=World_1786472
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Editor - 11:52:00 07-08-06 |
Rhode Island lighthouse up for sale to highest bidder |
Looking for an isolated, rustic ocean oasis? Then the U.S. government may have a deal for you.It's auctioning the Hog Island Shoal Light, an isolated lighthouse about three-quarters of a mile northwest of the Portsmouth coast. Built in 1901, the white tower alerts passing ships to shoals near the entrance of Mount Hope Bay.Federal law requires the U.S. government to first offer historic lighthouses at no cost to non-profit groups such as local governments or preservation societies, according to the U.S. General Services Administration. If non-profits aren't interested, lighthouses are offered for sale to the public.GSA officials say Hog Island Shoal Light is one of five lighthouses in Rhode Island, Maine and Maryland that are being put on the auction block.The largest bid so far is $25,000, according to a GSA website. That's chump change considering that bidding closed on the Baltimore Harbor Lighthouse at $260,000.... http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-07-08-ri-lighthouse_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 11:50:00 07-08-06 |
Gaza Crisis Tale of Lost Opportunity, Divergent Visions and Angry Reprisals |
Gaza's transformation into a battlefield is a tale of lost opportunity and clashing visions. The capture of a young Israeli soldier and Israel's tough response have threatened Israeli support for withdrawal from the West Bank, exposed rifts among the Islamic militants of Hamas and rendered the Palestinians' moderate president irrelevant. Expectations that Palestinians would begin building their own state following Israel's historic withdrawal from the impoverished Gaza Strip last year have given way to despair and escalating bloodshed. Israeli troops who had been clashing periodically with militants are back in Gaza fighting pitched battles with masked gunmen firing AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades. Undersupplied Palestinian hospitals cancel non-emergency treatment to tend to the wounded. Families are fleeing their homes. ... http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2168247
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Editor - 11:47:00 07-08-06 |
Russia, USA expected to move forward on civilian nuclear cooperation |
Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Bush are expected to make progress at a meeting next week on a civilian nuclear power agreement, a Western official and analysts said.The two leaders, who have been promoting nuclear energy as a clean alternative, have made similar proposals on providing nuclear power to developing countries while building in safeguards for non-proliferation of weapons."I think it is possible you're going to see further discussion of how to advance that cooperation" when the presidents meet on the eve of the July 15-17 Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg, a Western diplomat said Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.Rose Gottemoeller, the director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, said the potential joint project was "probably the biggest story coming out of the Petersburg summit."... http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-07-08-russiausa-nuclear_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 11:39:00 07-08-06 |
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