Reuters - Iraq's political leadership on Saturday
called on all parties to disband their militias before
provincial elections this year, an apparent attempt to isolate
the populist Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
AFP - France has set no conditions on China for President Nicolas Sarkozy to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, but "everything is open", Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Saturday.
Colombia ends contract after flap with Clinton aide
(Reuters)more similar news »
Reuters - An angry Colombia said on Saturday
it ended a contract with a lobbying firm headed by a top
campaign aide to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary
Clinton after he apologized for meeting with Colombian
officials to advocate a trade deal that she opposes.
Reuters - A Miami jury has awarded almost $253
million in a wrongful death case against Cuba, the biggest such
penalty to date against the communist government, local media
reported on Saturday.
AFP - Zimbabwe was facing Saturday a protracted battle between the opposition and President Robert Mugabe's ruling party over the outcome of elections, with results still awaited a week on from the vote.
Reuters - Protesters angry over rising living costs
rioted in the southwestern Haitian town of Les Cayes, burning
shops, shooting at peacekeepers and looting containers in a
U.N. compound, the United Nations said in a statement on
Friday.
AP - The Bush administration plans to announce next week that U.S. soldiers' combat tours will be reduced from 15 months to 12 months in Iraq and Afghanistan beginning later this summer, The Associated Press has learned.
AP - Strong thunderstorms toppled trees, knocked out power and damaged homes Friday in Mississippi and Alabama, while flooding in Kentucky forced evacuations and left a 2-year-old girl dead.
AP - Amid investigations into fatal shootings of civilians and allegations of tax violations, Blackwater USA's multimillion-dollar contract to protect diplomats in Baghdad has been renewed, the State Department said Friday.
