Thousands of Lebanese civilians fled the battered border villages in the south Monday, taking advantage of a 24-hour window from Israel to leave the area and allow aid to reach the worst-hit villages. Meanwhile, rescue workers on Monday began the gruesome task of digging up dozens of bodies from under the rubble of villages in south Lebanon.Civilians drove toward Tyre, white flags fluttering from their cars, buses and pickup trucks. Some people headed the other way to check on their homes or help relatives trapped in villages by Israel Air Force bombing. Two United Nations aid convoys left Lebanon's capital Beirut on Monday for the southern port of Tyre and the village of Qana, where IAF strikes killed at least 54 civilians were said to have been the day before. World Food Program spokesman Robin Lodge said by telephone from the convoy that nine trucks were going to Tyre with aid for Palestinian refugees and six trucks would go on to Qana with food and medical supplies...
http://haaretz.com
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Editor - 23:39:00 07-31-06
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 US war costs continue to shoot up |
The US military budget has been steadily growing since 2001, sometimes by leaps and bounds. Yet Pentagon officials and most members of Congress say it needs yet more. Why is that? It is true government figures always understate costs. The Pentagon budget is no exception. Congress in Dec passed a US$453 billion defense appropriations bill for fiscal year 2006. In fact, the total amount to be spent for the Dept of Defense in 2006 is $13 billion to $63 billion more, the latter figure assuming full funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If you also count non-DoD "national defense" costs, add another $21 billion, and if you count defense-related security costs, such as homeland security, the release numbers are low by more than $200 billion. The 2007 budget request of $439 billion marks an increase of about 27% in real terms since 9 11, 2001, according to one analysis. This figure does not include $21.8 billion for Energy Dept spending on nuclear-weapons activities. Nor does it...
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/HH01Aa01.html
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Editor - 23:36:00 07-31-06
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| Drugs: the real deal |
This is the first ranking based upon scientific evidence of harm to both individuals and society. It was devised by government advisers - then ignored by ministers because of its controversial findings. 1: Heroin (Class A) ORIGIN: Vast majority comes from poppy fields of Afghanistan MEDICAL: Sedative made from the opium poppy. Can be smoked or injected to produce a 'rush'. Users feel lethargic but experience severe cravings for the drug NO. OF UK USERS: 40,000 NO. OF UK DEATHS IN 2004: 744 STREET VALUE: £30-100 a gram DANGER RATING: 2.75/3 2: Cocaine (Class A) ORIGIN: Made from coca shrubs from Colombia and Bolivia MEDICAL: Stimulant made from leaves of the coca bush. Increases alertness and confidence but raises heart rate and blood pressure and users will crave it NO. OF UK USERS: 800,000 NO. OF UK DEATHS IN 2004: 147 STREET VALUE: £30-55 a gram DANGER RATING: 2.25/3 3: Barbiturates (Class B) ORIGIN: Synthetic lab-made drugs, ...
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article1207619.ece
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Editor - 23:26:00 07-31-06
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| U.N. continues to press for Mideast resolution |
Israel vowed today to widen its ground offensive against Hezbollah in south Lebanon as world diplomats at the United Nations pushed for a cease-fire.Israel's Security Cabinet said the new offensive would begin immediately, a participant told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media. Thousands of army reserves have been called up in recent days in advance of the decision.Hours before the vote, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, "There will not be any cease-fire in the coming days." Hezbollah had "suffered a heavy blow" and its leadership "fears for its life and we will continue pursuing it everywhere and at all times.The decision came as Israel observed a limited suspension of its air attacks for 48 hours to give civilians time to leave areas its warplanes are targeting for Hezbollah rocket launchers and infrastructure. One of those airstrikes hit a building Sunday in Qana in which 56 civilians died. ...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-07-31-mideast-diplomacy_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 23:18:00 07-31-06
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| Kidnappers grab 29 people in Baghdad |
Gunmen dressed in military fatigues swooped down on the offices of the Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce and a nearby mobile phone company Monday, seizing 29 people.Also Monday, at least 27 people were killed or found dead in political or sectarian violence across the country, police said. They included four Iraqi soldiers who died in a suicide bombing in northern Iraq -- the first such attack in the Kurdish-ruled province of Dahuk.The kidnappings occurred around noon when armed, uniformed men arrived in 15 four-wheel drive vehicles in the main shopping area of Karradah, an upscale residential district where several prominent Shiite politicians live.One group entered a mobile phone shop and the other went to the next door office of the Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce,...
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/31/iraq.main.ap/index.html?section=cnn_world
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Editor - 22:56:00 07-31-06
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| Britain, Calif. to work together on global warming |
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, accusing Washington of lacking leadership on the environment, committed his state on Monday to work with Britain to reduce greenhouse gases linked to global warming. British Prime Minister Tony Blair joined Schwarzenegger and leading businessmen to announce the agreement under which Britain and California will collaborate on research into clean energy technologies and California will study the British experience of greenhouse gas emissions trading. Most scientists link greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide emitted from the burning of fossil fuels to global warming that could lead to heat waves, stronger storms, and flooding from rising sea levels...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2259167
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Editor - 22:49:00 07-31-06
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