 A senior Taleban commander and associate of al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, has been killed in Afghanistan, the US military says. Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Usmani's vehicle was reportedly hit in an air strike in Helmand province in south Afghanistan. The US said Mullah Usmani was the chief Taleban military commander in southern Afghanistan - scene of heavy clashes between the Taleban and US-led forces. A Taleban spokesman is said to have dismissed reports of his death. An Islamist insurgency spearheaded by the resurgent Taleban militia is at its strongest in the southern Afghan provinces bordering Pakistan. US military spokesman Col Tom Collins said Mullah Usmani "had been deeply involved in terrorist acts against the people of Afghanistan, Nato and the government". "He was a top commander of Taleban operations in the south and now he's no more." We kill so many of them, but they just get stronger. The Russians did the same, and still lost ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk
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Editor - 09:09:00 12-23-06
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 Archbishop attacks Iraq strategy |
The Archbishop of Canterbury has accused the UK government of placing Christians in the Middle East at risk through its actions in Iraq. Dr Rowan Williams, head of the Anglican church, said there had been a growing number of attacks on Christians. He is on a pilgrimage to the region with the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England & Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor. The government said its policy in Iraq was not the cause of such attacks. "It is the intolerant extremists that are inflicting the pain & suffering in Iraq & other parts in Middle East," a Foreign Office spokesman said. Dr Williams told BBC there was "no doubt" that life for Christians in Iraq had become more difficult since the invasion. "What we have seen in the last year or so in Iraq has been attacks on Christian priests, the murder of some Christian priests, and the massive departure of large numbers of Christians from Iraq," he said. "The situation has got worse since Saddam fell."...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6205299.stm
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Editor - 09:01:00 12-23-06
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| Generals: More troops needed in Iraq. Replay of the Viet Nan buildup, just renamed “Surge” |
Top U.S. military commanders in Iraq have decided to recommend a "surge" of fresh American combat forces, eliminating one of the last remaining hurdles to proposals being considered by President Bush for a troop increase, a defense official familiar with the plan said Friday.The approval of a troop increase plan by top Iraq commanders, including Gen. George W. Casey Jr. and Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, comes days before Bush unveils a new course for the troubled U.S. involvement in Iraq. Bush still must address concerns among some Pentagon officials and overcome opposition from Congress, where many Democrats favor a blue-ribbon commission's recommendation for the gradual withdrawal of combat troops....
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-troops23dec23,0,2095230.story
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Editor - 08:53:00 12-23-06
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| Security Council approves Iran sanctions |
The U.N. Security Council Saturday unanimously approved a resolution that would impose sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program, culminating two months of tough negotiations aimed at getting Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment. Heading into the session, it was not clear whether there would be unanimous support, with the votes of Russia, China and Qatar in question. In a final attempt to win Russian support, key European nations circulated a new text of a U.N. resolution late Friday. On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called President Bush to discuss the Iran vote, agreeing on the need to move forward with a resolution, said Blain Rethmeier, a spokesman for Bush. The two leaders "stressed the importance of maintaining a unified position on Iran's nuclear program," Rethmeier said....
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/23/un.iran.ap/index.html?eref=rss_world
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Editor - 08:48:00 12-23-06
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| U.N. approves $1.9 billion headquarters renovation. Well at least they are good at spending other people’s money |
The U.N. General Assembly on Saturday approved a top-to-bottom renovation of its landmark Manhattan headquarters building that is expected to take seven years to complete at a cost of $1.9 billion. The U.N. compound is one of New York's most popular tourist destinations. The main building is a 39-story aluminum, glass and marble tower that houses the U.N. secretariat and is considered an outstanding example of modern architecture.But after 54 years, its roof leaks, it is riddled with asbestos and it lacks fire detectors, a sprinkler system or other emergency safety devices.Renovation was first envisioned in 2002, and the project was seen at that time as costing about $1 billion.But the price tag has since soared, due mainly to construction delays, improvements focused on security, and a failed campaign to convince the New York state legislature to approve a new office building to provide temporary space for staff during the work....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061223/ts_nm/un_building_dc
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Editor - 08:46:00 12-23-06
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| Anglican Leader Criticizes Israeli Wall Report: Archbishop of Canterbury Says Wall Around Bethlehem 'Deeply Wrong' |
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said Friday during a pilgrimage to Bethlehem, that the Israeli-built wall around the traditional site of Jesus' birth symbolized what was "deeply wrong in the human heart," a British news agency reported. Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, is on a four-day trip to the Holy Land along with other British church leaders. After six years of Israel-Palestinian fighting, the town is now walled in by Israel's West Bank separation barrier. Poverty is deepening and Christians are leaving in droves. "The wall which we walked through a little while ago is a sign not simply of a passing problem in the politics of one region; it is sign of some of the things that are most deeply wrong in the human heart itself," Williams told his fellow church leaders, according to Britain's Press Association. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2747627
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Editor - 19:40:00 12-22-06
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