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9 French troops and a U.S. citizen were killed when Ivory Coast fighter planes bombed a rebel position in the north of that country. The French have hit back, destroying 5 Ivorian helicopters and 2 bombers near the capital city of Yamoussoukro. Ivorians aren’t happy with France’s reprisals. Angry mobs are rioting, looting French properties, and yelling “Everybody get your Frenchman!” and “French go home!” Well, well, well, isn’t France’s criticism of the U.S. Coalition presence in Iraq a bit like the pot calling the kettle black? Listen to the French government’s words, as reported by the BBC: President Jacques...

Slate's Democratic Debate Drinking Game Get drunk on political discourse! By June Thomas Posted Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2003, at 10:08 AM PT This Thursday evening, the nine remaining candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination will meet in Phoenix for the fourth debate of the year. If these events have started to blend together, why not grab a bottle or two of your favorite tipple and bring on the blurriness by playing Slate's debate drinking game. Cheers! Take one drink if: A candidate mentions an ordinary American by name A candidate mentions Bill Clinton A candidate mentions John Ashcroft A candidate...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. warplane bombed Najaf's vast cemetery as fighting with Shiite militants intensified Tuesday. An Iraqi delegation brought a peace proposal aimed at ending the standoff in the holy city, which has marred a Baghdad conference meant to be a landmark step toward democracy. At least one plane dropped bombs in the cemetery, where followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have been battling U.S. troops since Aug. 5. Explosions and gunfire shook the streets throughout the day and U.S. troops entered the flashpoint Old City neighborhood, where al-Sadr's Mahdi Army was based. The clashes Tuesday killed...

U.S. bombs suspected Taliban forcesFollows intense fighting in Afghanistan this week Associated Press KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - U.S. fighter jets and helicopters bombed suspected Taliban hideouts yesterday in Afghanistan's rugged southern mountains after intense battles between the insurgents and Afghan troops, officials said. The troops were trying to flush out the Taliban from Zabul province when the guerrillas attacked with heavy machine guns in the Chinaran mountains, Haji Granai, an Afghan military commander, told the Associated Press by satellite telephone from Chinaran. Khalil Hotak, head of intelligence in Zabul, said fighting lasted four hours with the Taliban guerrillas entrenched in a...

More than 40 explosions have been heard around Iraq's capital, Baghdad. According to reports, one blast was heard near the Information Ministry and US officials claimed to have hit Iraqi state-run television. Iraq's Satellite TV went off the air at 4.30am local time (1.30am GMT) as explosions rang out in Baghdad and remains off the air. It was not immediately clear if the domestic television service, Iraq Television, was affected as it does not broadcast overnight. But it began broadcasting versus from the Koran around 9am (6am GMT). Another 40 explosions were heard around the southern area of the city,...

Warplanes fron a US-British coalition on Monday bombed an Iraqi anti-ship missile launcher near Basra in southern Iraq that posed a threat to warships in the Gulf, the US military said.

EL PASO, Texas (AP) - Gloria Aker got a late Christmas present this week when the U.S. Air Force agreed to settle a claim for damage it caused when it accidentally bombed her Monahans home in July. Aker's West Texas home was hit by a dummy bomb accidentally dropped from an Air Force F-177A Nighthawk on a practice run from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. Although the dummy didn't contain explosives, it pierced the roof of Aker's home, flew across a bathroom, slammed through a wall into a closet, then plowed six feet into the ground. On top...

Afghan warlord's forces bombed after attacking US troops A B-52 bomber has been called into combat in Afghanistan to protect US special forces battling a local warlord's troops outside their base. No American soldiers were injured during Sunday's shoot-out in western Afghanistan, but at least 11 Afghans were killed in the fighting. The battle began when a group of special forces patrolling outside Shindand airbase stopped a group of armed men on the roadside. When the patrol stopped, the Afghans opened fire. US military spokesman Colonel Roger King said the Americans returned fire, then called for air support while making...

HALIFAX -- Newly obtained evidence shows that Canadian soldiers involved in the friendly-fire incident in Afghanistan were firing their weapons into the air at the time of the tragedy. Transcripts of testimony by two Canadian soldiers who survived the bombing last April indicate they aimed their weapons skyward as part of their night-training exercises near the Kandahar air base. That fire was seen by the two American pilots who were flying overhead and misinterpreted the blasts as an enemy attack. Four died and eight were seriously injured in the bombing. In testimony to a board of inquiry, Sgt. Lorne Ford...

Paul Begala is the MC of the Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner in Iowa. (Live on C-SPAN now) Begala tried to tell a joke before introducing Gov. Dean (VT). It went something like this: My good friend, Mark Shields, told me a story about George Bush. George Bush, in preparation for the war against Irag had officials briefing him. The CNO told the President that the most important thing is to protect the Staits of Hormuz. The President asked the CNO, "What about the Gays of Hormuz?" Absolutely no one at the dinner reacted. No applause. Nothing. Begala mumbled something about compassionate...

NAIROBI, Kenya- Sudanese government planes bombed two church compounds in rebel-held southern Sudan, injuring at least four people, a Roman Catholic group said Thursday. The Sudan Catholic Bishops Regional Conference said four bombs struck the residence of Bishop Johnson Akio Mutek in Ikotos on Tuesday night. The bombing injured "many people including four Kenyans" and destroyed the bishop's residence and a youth center, said a statement by the conference released in neighboring Nairobi. Another 12 bombs were dropped near church schools in Isoke, the group said. A church spokesman said no one was injured and the bombs did no damage....