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Palestinian Pol Slain on Eve of Vote By ALI DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writer Tue Jan 24, 9:15 AM ET NABLUS, West Bank - Palestinian gunmen linked to the ruling Fatah movement killed one of their party leaders Tuesday, increasing tensions on the eve of parliamentary balloting and raising doubts about a new pledge by armed groups in the West Bank and Gaza to hold their fire during the vote. Opinion polls have shown Fatah and Hamas in a close race ahead of Wednesday's election and both sides have said they might form a coalition government. Candidates were banned from campaigning...

ERLIN (Reuters) - Germany, Russia and Switzerland joined the European Union on Friday in a chorus of condemnation of the Iranian president for suggesting the Holocaust might not have taken place and that Israel should be moved to Europe. The remarks by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at a news conference in the Saudia Arabian city of Mecca on Thursday, follow his call in October for Israel to be "wiped off the map," which also sparked broad international criticism. The German Foreign Ministry said it had summoned Iran's ambassador to protest, and ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger told a news conference this was...

ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska - President Bush escalated the bitter debate over the Iraq war on Monday, hurling back at Democratic critics the worries they once expressed that Saddam Hussein was a grave threat to the world. "They spoke the truth then and they're speaking politics now," Bush charged. Bush went on the attack after Democrats accused the president of manipulating and withholding some pre-war intelligence and misleading Americans about the rationale for war.

AP - 2 hours, 30 minutes ago WASHINGTON - The White House and its GOP allies in Congress will have to be creative if they're going to use spending cuts to defray the cost of Hurricane Katrina rescue and recovery efforts. Many of the ideas circulating are likely political nonstarters like delaying the start of the Medicare prescription drug benefit or favorite White House cuts that have previously been rejected by Congress — some of them several years in a row.

Thu Sep 22, 3:59 AM ET CANBERRA (Reuters) - Rising world temperatures could cause a significant increase in disease across Asia and Pacific Island nations, leading to conflict and leaving hundreds of millions of people displaced, a new report said on Thursday. Global warming by the year 2100 could also lead to more droughts, floods and typhoons, and increase the incidence of malaria, dengue fever and cholera, the report into the health impact of rising temperatures found.

WASHINGTON - The retired admiral who played a key role in drafting the Homeland Security Department's catastrophic emergency plan said the agency was too hesitant in executing it in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Back to Story - Help Palestinian Authority, Hamas Reach Deal 2 minutes ago The militant group Hamas has agreed to cooperate with the Palestinian Authority in ensuring a smooth transition during the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, officials said Thursday. The agreement eased concerns over the potential for violence during the operation. But Hamas rejected a demand by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas that it forgo military-style victory celebrations during the pullout, and reiterated it would not disarm.

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Every day, we get a steady stream of precise death tolls of U.S. forces in Iraq. Many FReepers, if not all, recognize a certain media drum beat to sap the morale of our troops and to diminish public support for the war effort. Collateral political damage to President Bush is just the icing on the cake for the MSM. So you may already have the answer to my question: why do we hardly ever hear of enemy casualties? Do you mean to tell me our boys over there are not dishing it out to these bastards? I tried a simple...

BAGHDAD - The government announced Thursday that a security cordon of 40,000 Iraqi soldiers and police will ring Baghdad starting next week to try to halt a spree of insurgent violence that has killed more than 620 people this month. The interior minister, meanwhile, said his office believes militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was wounded, while an Internet statement claimed that Iraq's most feared terrorist group had appointed a deputy to fill in for the Jordanian

The president of the Public Broadcasting Service on Tuesday rejected criticism by conservatives that public TV is guilty of liberal bias, and she offered a strong defense of PBS' Bill Moyers, a target of right-wing wrath. "PBS does not belong to any one political party," Pat Mitchell said. Mitchell's remarks at the National Press Club follow the disclosure that Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, the Republican chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, hired a consultant to keep track of guests' political views on a program hosted by Moyers, who was White House press secretary during the Johnson administration. "The facts do...

PARIS (Reuters) - A Norwegian man died parachuting off the Eiffel Tower after his parachute became tangled up in the metal structure, a French police source said on Tuesday. The 31-year-old jumped off the second floor of the structure on Monday night, planning to descend safely to the ground. But his equipment became caught in the monument and he landed on the floor below. "The jump didn't happen quite as he wanted," the police source said. "He died on impact." It is illegal to parachute from the 300-meter (980-foot) high landmark. The police were not aware of the man's plan...

AP) - Eric Rudolph pleaded guilty Wednesday to a 1998 abortion clinic bombing that killed a police officer, the first in a string of bombings that he has admitted to as part of a plea deal. Rudolph arrived at the federal court in Birmingham in a car surrounded by 10 marked and unmarked police vehicles. He was expected to plead guilty to three other bombings later Wednesday, including the blast at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. Outside the courthouse before Rudolph arrived, Emily Lyons, who was critically injured in the Birmingham bombing, said she was "nauseated" that Rudolph's plea will...

Victims Sue Thailand, U.S., Accor Over Tsunami Mon Mar 7, 9:20 AM ET World - Reuters VIENNA (Reuters) - U.S. and Austrian lawyers have filed a lawsuit demanding Thailand, U.S. forecasters and the French Accor group answer accusations they failed in a duty to warn populations hit by December's Tsunami disaster, a lawyer said Monday. The lawsuit was filed Friday at a New York district court on behalf of tsunami victims by lawyers including U.S. attorney Edward Fagan, internationally renowned for 1990s lawsuits against Swiss banks over Holocaust-era accounts. It demanded an account of their actions on Dec. 26. "We...

Church of the Nativity Terrorists Will Be Permitted to Return 13:45 Feb 18, '05 / 9 Adar 5765 (IsraelNN.com) Israel has decided that once security control of Bethlehem is turned over to the PA, 20 of the 39 exiled terrorists from the 2002 Church of the Nativity standoff will be permitted to return to Bethlehem. The terrorists were exiled to Europe and PA-controlled areas of Gaza. Following high-level consultations on Thursday, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz announced his decision as Israel continues exhibiting goodwill towards the PA. Mofaz stressed however that any of the terrorists “with blood on their hands” would...

050203-N-0000B-001 Groton, Conn. (Feb. 3, 2005) - The Seawolf-class nuclear-powered attack submarine Jimmy Carter (SSN 23), underway during sea trials. Built by General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Conn., Seawolf is the fastest, quietest, most heavily armed submarine in the world. Jimmy Carter is the third and final submarine of the Seawolf-class. A unique feature of the Jimmy Carter is a 100-foot hull extension called the Multi-Mission Platform, which provides enhanced payload capabilities, enabling the submarine to accommodate the advanced technology required to develop and test a new generation of weapons, sensors and undersea vehicles. The Jimmy Carter was delivered...

Somalia Seeks Aid for 50,000 Victims 2 hours, 5 minutes ago World - AP Africa By RODRIQUE NGOWI, Associated Press Writer NAIROBI, Kenya - Somalia appealed Monday for international aid to victims of the deadly tsunami that slammed its shores, with an official saying at least 50,000 people urgently need food, water, shelter and medical help after losing their homes and livelihoods. AP Photo Canadian Press Special Coverage Somali presidential spokesman Yusuf Mohamed Ismail said 24 countries — including the United States, Italy, German and Saudi Arabia — have pledged to send relief to Somalia. But nothing has arrived more...