The top U.S. general in the Middle East praised a major security clampdown in Baghdad on Thursday and said Iraq was far from civil war. On a day when three car bombs and two roadside bombs killed four people and wounded 24 in the capital, General John Abizaid told reporters: "I think there has been great progress on the security front in Baghdad recently. We are very optimistic that the situation will stabilize." The U.S. military has sent reinforcements to Baghdad to help the government take back the streets from sectarian militias and death squads, who have been blamed for the killing of thousands in violence that has raised fears of civil war. Abizaid, who met General John Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said comments he made earlier this month before the U.S. Senate in which he said the sectarian violence in Iraq was the worst he had seen had been misrepresented ... http://abcnews.go.com censor News |
Editor - 08:47:00 08-24-06 |
3 U.S. Soldiers Among at Least 13 People Killed in Iraq, Despite Assurances on Security |
A series of attacks across Iraq killed more than a dozen people, including three U.S. soldiers, authorities said Thursday. The killings came despite assurances from U.S. officials that progress was being made to improve security in the capital. At least 13 Iraqis, including civilians, soldiers and police, were killed in bombings and shootings, becoming the latest casualties in the country's ongoing sectarian and political violence. One soldier was killed on Thursday afternoon in the capital when his patrol was attacked by gunmen, the U.S. military command said in a statement. Another American soldier died Thursday when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb south of Baghdad, the military said. The identities of both soldiers were withheld pending notification of their families. And another soldier was killed south of Baghdad on Wednesday during a raid to capture "foreign terrorists," the U.S. command said, adding that "two terrorists were also killed during the firefight."... http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2352069
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Editor - 08:45:00 08-24-06 |
Bomb, gunfire kills 2 U.S. soldiers in Baghdad U.S. Army creates employment to keep youths out of sectarian gangs |
Two U.S. soldiers were killed in Baghdad on Thursday, a day after another U.S. soldier died in fighting to capture “foreign terrorists,” the U.S. military said. One soldier was killed on Thursday afternoon in the capital when his patrol was attacked by gunmen using small arms fire, the U.S. military command said in a statement. Earlier in the day, another soldier was killed when an improvised explosive device, the Army’s term for a roadside bomb, hit the vehicle in which he was traveling, the military said. Another soldier died on Wednesday south of Baghdad “when his unit came in contact with enemy forces,” said an earlier statement by the U.S. command. It said two terrorists were killed during the fire fight. “The unit was conducting operations to rid Iraq of foreign terrorists known to be operating in the area,” the statement said. It gave no other details. ... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14499338/
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Editor - 08:43:00 08-24-06 |
U.S. OKs wider access for Barr "morning-after" pill |
Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. won U.S. approval to sell its Plan B "morning-after" contraceptive without a prescription to women 18 and older, the company said on Thursday. Younger girls still need a prescription for Plan B, Barr said in a statement. The Plan B pills may prevent pregnancy when taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse. The Food and Drug Administration approval follows more than three years of controversy. Backers and opponents of wider access had fiercely lobbied the agency, and the feud stalled the nominations of two FDA commissioners. Plan B will be kept behind pharmacy counters, Barr said. The pills should be available in a dual nonprescription and prescription package by the end of the year.... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060824/bs_nm/contraceptive_dc
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Editor - 08:40:00 08-24-06 |
Sudan rejects Darfur peace plan |
Sudan's ruling party has rejected a draft United Nations resolution on sending peacekeepers to Darfur. The plan would "impose complete tutelage" on Sudan, said National Congress Party chairman Ghazi Salah Eldin Atabani. The US and the UK have circulated the draft, calling for 17,000 well-equipped peacekeepers, at the Security Council. The UN and the African Union (AU) agree that the UN should take over the peace mission from the cash-strapped AU. On Sunday, two AU peacekeepers were shot and killed in Darfur, the AU says. "The draft resolution is worse than previous ones as it is an attempt to impose complete tutelage on the Sudan," Mr Atabani was quoted as saying after a meeting chaired by President Omar al-Bashir. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5282524.stm
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Editor - 08:38:00 08-24-06 |
Kentucky AG, Governor's Office in Settlement Talks Over Charges in State Hiring Scandal |
Kentucky's indicted governor and the state attorney general are negotiating a potential settlement to charges filed in a state hiring scandal, Attorney General Greg Stumbo said Thursday. Stumbo said he had been involved in productive negotiations with Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher's attorney for the last two days and was optimistic that a settlement was close. "I would suspect that something may be submitted to the judge today," Stumbo said in an interview at the annual Country Ham Breakfast at the Kentucky State Fair. "I think that it's moved beyond the point of being likely to probable." Asked if he wanted an admission of guilt as part of any settlement, Stumbo said he wanted a recognition that the state's personnel law was important and that there were "serious violations" of the law. Stumbo also said he wanted to make sure that the alleged abuses of the law will stop and that "someone takes responsibility." ... http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2352060
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Editor - 08:36:00 08-24-06 |
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