02/25/2010

No one believed Dutch collector, but painting is confirmed as a van Gogh
AMSTERDAM – Dirk Hannema was known as a brilliant art curator but a bit of a fool. He claimed to have seven Vermeers in his collection, several Van Goghs and a few Rembrandts, but no one believed him.

Son of Hamas founder reveals he was a top spy for Israel
JERUSALEM – The son of a founder of the militant Hamas organization says in a new book that he served as an informant for Israel for more than a decade, providing intelligence that helped prevent dozens of suicide bombings and other attacks against Israelis.

British charity honors army's bomb-sniffing Labrador with medal for courage
LONDON – A perky Labrador whose bomb-sniffing work helped save lives in Afghanistan was decorated for canine courage in a ceremony Wednesday at London's Imperial War Museum.

Turkish court charges 12 military officers in coup plot
ANKARA, Turkey – A struggle between the secular Turkish military and the Islamic-oriented government heightened Wednesday as a court jailed 12 senior officers – five admirals, an army general and six other officers.

NATO issues directive limiting nighttime raids on Afghan civilians
KABUL – American troops knocked on the door, and before the Afghan family could find the key to let them in, the soldiers broke it down.

World briefs
New U.S. Embassy in

War report

Update: Hamas assassination
Fifteen more suspects carrying foreign passports were linked Wednesday to an elaborate hit-squad slaying of a Hamas commander, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. The accusations by Dubai police raised the size of the alleged assassination team to at least 26. Although Dubai's police chief said he was nearly certain Israel was behind the killing, the new details add an incongruous wrinkle: Two of the new suspects allegedly left Dubai on a ship bound for Iran, Israel's archenemy.

02/23/2010

Campers may be forced off Haiti prime minister's grounds
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Homeless victims of Haiti's earthquake said Monday that police are halting deliveries of food and water to force them to leave their camp on the grounds of the prime minister's office.

02/24/2010

Leader of armed Sunni group captured, Iran says
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran said Tuesday that its security forces had captured the leader of an armed Sunni group whose insurgency in the southeast has destabilized the border region with Pakistan.

Haitian opposition vows to work with president on rebuilding plan, but will he agree?
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Faced with a disaster of overwhelming proportions, Haiti's fractious political opposition is trying to set aside its differences and work with President René Préval to reach a consensus on how to rebuild the devastated country.

UPDATE: 6 Haitian orphans now U.S.-bound
Haiti has handed over six orphans to U.S. officials after the children were seized by Haiti police as they were about to board a plane for the United States. A spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who intervened on behalf of the four women trying to escort the orphans out of Haiti, said the children were cleared to depart Haiti by all the required government agencies.

Gates: NATO can't be afraid to use force
WASHINGTON – Europeans' aversion to military force is limiting NATO's ability to fight wars effectively, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday, adding that those shortcomings are hampering the war effort in Afghanistan.

Argentine man finally meets son born to wife seized in country's 'dirty war'
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The search is finally over for Abel Madariaga, whose pregnant wife was kidnapped by Argentine security forces 33 years ago. After decades of doubt and loneliness, Madariaga has found his son.

Afghan tribal leaders skeptical about success in Marjah
MARJAH, Afghanistan – Bouwudin greeted the Afghan and American officers who came to meet him, offering tea and eventually a meal as the meeting lingered on. But invitations could not get him to walk a few hundred yards to the Marines' base.

02/23/2010

Bloody day in Iraq renews fears of sectarian warfare
BAGHDAD – Eight members of one Shiite family were killed south of Baghdad on Monday in the worst incident of a bloody day across Iraq that left at least 23 dead. The spate of attacks – and the fact that some of the family were beheaded – raised fears that insurgents are trying to re-ignite sectarian warfare at a time when the country is preparing for critical March elections.

Ancient wall may support Bible's account of Solomon's era
JERUSALEM – An Israeli archaeologist said Monday that ancient fortifications recently excavated in Jerusalem date back 3,000 years to the time of King Solomon and support the biblical narrative about the era.

02/22/2010

Plan pins Haiti recovery on clothing industry
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Jordanie Pinquie Rebeca leans forward and guides a piece of suit-jacket wool and its silky lining into a sewing machine, where they're bound together to be hemmed.

02/23/2010

Military accused of Turkish coup plot
ANKARA, Turkey – Once they were untouchable. Some were members of Turkey's elite military class known as "pashas," a title of respect harking back to Ottoman times. For decades, Turkey's senior officers, self-appointed guardians of the country's secular tradition, called the shots.

Haiti's new amputees struggle to get by
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – "Don't cut off my leg!" Fabienne Jean screamed repeatedly as they carried her through the gates of the General Hospital here after the earthquake. "I'm a dancer. My leg is my livelihood. Please, don't take my leg."

NATO airstrike kills 27 Afghan civilians
KABUL – An airstrike launched during the weekend by NATO forces against what international troops believed to be a group of insurgents ended up killing as many as 27 civilians, Afghan officials said Monday.

02/22/2010

Report recommends Iraq reconstruction be handled by single office
The government agency responsible for monitoring American reconstruction work in Iraq has proposed the creation of a single organization to oversee future rebuilding to avoid the fraud and waste that has marred this work in the past.

Stature update: 22-inch-tall man may be world's shortest
KATMANDU, Nepal – A man who is only 22 inches tall left his home country of Nepal on Sunday in a quest to be recognized as the world's shortest man. CAMPAIGNING FOR TITLE

World news briefs
Clerics mull fatwa to promote road safety

Floods, mudslides kill at least 42 on Portuguese island of Madeira
FUNCHAL, Madeira Islands – Rescue workers on Madeira dug through heaps of mud, boulders and debris Sunday, searching for victims buried by floods and mudslides that have killed at least 42 people on the popular Portuguese island.

Marines face staunch opposition from Taliban in Marjah offensive
MARJAH, Afghanistan – Marines and Afghan units converged Sunday on a dangerous western quarter of the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, with NATO forces facing "determined resistance" as their assault on the southern town entered its second week.

02/21/2010

Microburst blamed in ship's sinking off coast of Brazil
RIO DE JANEIRO – When wind and rough seas drove the Canadian sailing ship carrying dozens of teenage students to lean precariously to one side, the captain figured it was just another day of sailing in rough weather.

Sunni party vows to boycott Iraqi elections
BAGHDAD – A leading Sunni party announced Saturday that it will boycott Iraq's upcoming elections because its leader was barred from participating, casting into doubt the inclusiveness of the vote, which the U.S. hopes will stabilize the country enough for its troops to go home.

International briefs
Darfur rebel group signs truce with Sudan

Relatives say none of Haitian children with Baptist group were orphans
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – None of the 33 children that a U.S. Baptist group tried to take from Haiti in a do-it-yourself rescue mission were orphans, relatives now say.

Afghan leader urges coalition troops to curb civilian deaths
KABUL – President Hamid Karzai made an emotional appeal Saturday for coalition troops to strive to prevent civilian deaths as a major offensive in the south by U.S., British and Afghan troops entered its second week.

Dutch government coalition falls on effort to keep troops in Afghanistan
AMSTERDAM – A last-ditch effort to keep Dutch troops in Afghanistan brought down the governing coalition in the Netherlands early Saturday, raising fears that the Western military alliance fighting the war is at risk.

Marines in battle for Marjah endure perilous, low-tech grind
MARJAH, Afghanistan – They had slogged through knee-deep mud carrying 100 pounds of gear, fingers glued to the triggers of their M-4 carbines, all the while on the lookout for insurgents. Now, after a string of near-sleepless nights, trying to avoid hypothermia in freezing temperatures, the grunts of the 1st Battalion of the 6th Marine Regiment finally had a moment to relax.

02/01/2010

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