02/19/2010

Texan freed from Haiti to be on 'Oprah'
Jim Allen of Amarillo, one of the released American missionaries, will appear today on a live episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Harpo Productions said host Oprah Winfrey will interview Allen and his wife by satellite from Amarillo. The program will air at 4 p.m. on WFAA-TV (Channel 8).

U.N. nuclear agency airs suspicions on Iran
VIENNA – The U.N. nuclear agency said Thursday that there were signs Iran is developing a nuclear warhead, suggesting for the first time that Tehran had either resumed such work or never stopped it, as U.S. intelligence had concluded.

Group called Restoration of Democracy kidnaps Niger's president in coup
NIAMEY, Niger – Renegade soldiers stormed Niger's presidential palace with a hail of gunfire Thursday, kidnapped the country's strongman president and then appeared on state television to declare a successful coup.

Taliban arrests indicate greater Pakistani cooperation
KARACHI, Pakistan – The capture of senior Afghan Taliban leaders in Pakistan represents the culmination of months of pressure by the Obama administration to persuade Pakistan's security forces to side with the U.S. as its troops wage war in Afghanistan, U.S. and Pakistani officials say.

Russian Museum honors U.S. World War II vet
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – An exhibit opened in Russia on Thursday on the life of an American veteran, Joseph Beyrle, who is believed to be one of the few soldiers to fight for both the U.S. and the Soviet Union in World War II.

World briefs
U.N. climate czar resigns, leaves void

Flight logs detail early turbulence for flights to aid Haiti
Washcloths arrived before water, and senators before surgeons. In the first chaotic days after Haiti's earthquake, some vital aid was forced to wait because the U.S. military took relief flights at the Port-au-Prince airport on a first-come, first-served basis, according to landing logs.

Freed missionaries urge release of 2 others still in Haiti jail
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – American missionaries accused of child trafficking in the aftermath of Haiti's earthquake returned home Thursday and urged the safe release of the two women left behind in a Port-au-Prince jail.

Israel behind Hamas figure's killing, Dubai official says
JERUSALEM – Dubai's police chief said Thursday that Israel's Mossad spy agency was almost certainly responsible for the assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in the Gulf city-state last month and called for an Interpol warrant against Mossad chief Meir Dagan.

02/18/2010

8 U.S. missionaries accused of kidnapping in Haiti released
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Eight American missionaries left on a flight for the U.S. late Wednesday after a judge freed them from jail in Haiti, where they and two other Americans had been held on kidnapping charges for trying to take a group of children out of the quake-stricken country.

02/19/2010

U.S. forces control roads, market in Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan
MARJAH, Afghanistan – U.S.-led forces control the main roads and markets in the besieged Taliban stronghold of Marjah, a Marine general said Thursday, but fighting raged elsewhere in the southern farming town.

02/18/2010

In Baghdad, slogans of unity posted on walls that divide
BAGHDAD – The slogans express the country's dream of unity: "Iraq is for everyone." But the reality lies in where they are displayed – on the hundreds of checkpoints that carve up the capital.

Happiness may keep your heart in a healthy place, study says
LONDON – You've heard it before: To avoid a heart attack, eat right, exercise and don't smoke. But it also may help to be happy, a new study says.

02/16/2010

Capture of key Taliban leader expected to pay off for coalition
KABUL – The arrest of the second-ranking leader of the Afghan Taliban is likely to disrupt the insurgents' military campaign and could signal that Pakistani security forces are ready to deny Afghan militant leaders a safe haven, security experts said Tuesday.

02/18/2010

Sarkozy is first French president to visit former colony of Haiti

In earthquake's aftermath, Haitian artists find their passion a medium for expression, release
FERMAT, Haiti – Since it was devastated by an earthquake, Haiti has been synonymous with death, destruction and misery. But from the rubble has come a sign of the irrepressible human spirit in this tragic country.

African genetic code deciphered
WASHINGTON – Scientists have deciphered the genetic blueprint of South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and an indigenous bushman from Namibia as part of an ambitious project to bring modern genomic medicine to the developing world.

Israel's foreign minister: No reason to assume spy agency killed Hamas leader
JERUSALEM – Israel's foreign minister said Wednesday that there was no reason to assume the country's Mossad spy agency assassinated a Hamas military commander in Dubai.

Afghan townspeople doubtful of NATO-backed government
MARJAH, Afghanistan – The Taliban's white flag no longer flies over this militant stronghold. Afghan and NATO troops replaced it Wednesday with Afghanistan's official green-and-red banner, which they promise heralds new schools and clinics and good governance.

War report

02/17/2010

North Korea celebrates leader's 68th birthday
SEOUL, South Korea – The devoted threw a party fit for a prince: There were dancers, singers and synchronized swimmers, not to mention unnamed foreign dignitaries – all celebrating the 68th birthday Tuesday of Kim Jong Il, North Korea's "Dear Leader."

King Tut's killer: Malaria

U.S. troop numbers in Iraq dip below 100,000
BAGHDAD – The number of American soldiers in Iraq has dropped below 100,000 for the first time since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, a clear sign that the U.S. is moving toward a deadline for leaving the country, the U.S. military said Tuesday.

Update: Iran developments

International briefs
Cluster bomb ban ratified, will take effect Aug. 1

Study: Quake damage may be twice the value of Haiti's annual economy
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Damage from Haiti's catastrophic Jan. 12 earthquake may be nearly twice the value of the country's annual economy, Latin America's main development bank said Tuesday.

Dubai's wanted list in Hamas slaying runs into challenges from Europe
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A police narrative about the slaying of a Hamas commander brought uneasy questions for Dubai authorities Tuesday as their account of a hit squad from Europe ran into serious challenges from Britain, Ireland and Germany.

Clinton warns of nuclear threat in the Middle East
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told an audience of Saudi college women on Tuesday that it is the shared responsibility of Iran's neighbors to ensure it does not get nuclear weapons.

Coalition troops secure key parts of Afghan city
MARJAH, Afghanistan – U.S. and Afghan troops moved into two key parts of Marjah on Tuesday in an effort to restart government services and confront Taliban holdouts, who continued to shoot at coalition forces.

Pope urges Irish bishops to confront sex abuse scandal
ROME – Pope Benedict XVI urged Irish bishops on Tuesday to show "determination and resolve" in confronting the sexual abuse scandal convulsing the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, but he made no explicit call for the punishment of those who perpetrated what he called a "heinous crime."

02/16/2010

Body of Fort Worth woman's missing son found in Haiti
Brendan Beck, 35, of Florida was an engineer who had arrived in Port-au-Prince just hours before the massive earthquake. "I was relieved because they found him, and I really, really, really wanted him found," said his mother, Sally Baldwin.

Update: War Report
Sniper teams attacked U.S. Marines and Afghan troops across the Taliban haven of Marjah, as several gunbattles erupted in different neighborhoods Monday on the third day of a major offensive. Afghan and American forces were only able to advance 500 yards deeper into the city.

Papal aide criticizes Irish bishops over sex abuse scandal
ROME – A top Vatican prelate told Irish bishops at an extraordinary Vatican summit with Pope Benedict XVI on Monday they must admit blame in cover-ups of generations of sex abuse of minors, or risk losing the faith of Ireland's Catholics.

Taliban's top military chief captured in secret U.S.-Pakistan operation
WASHINGTON – The Taliban's top military commander was captured several days ago in Karachi, Pakistan, in a secret operation by Pakistani and American intelligence forces, according to U.S. government officials.

Troops struggle to fight by strict rules in Afghanistan
MARJAH, Afghanistan – Some American and Afghan troops say they're fighting the latest offensive in Afghanistan with a handicap – strict rules that routinely force them to hold their fire.

Haitians' faith in structures gone
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Hundreds of houses that survived Haiti's killer quake still stand empty even as quake victims desperate for shelter crowd the streets. The reason is fear: Nobody is quite sure they can withstand another quake.

Clinton says Iran slipping into military dictatorship
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that Iran is sliding into a military dictatorship, a new assessment suggesting a rockier road ahead for U.S.-led efforts to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

02/01/2010

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