Free Republic

It is a steel and concrete corridor that will run right through the Old Pueblo, connecting Mexico City to Edmonton, Alberta. Its purpose is to facilitate trade among the three countries and minimize traffic and congestion for residents. Or is it evidence of a move afoot to intertwine the three North American countries and blur the lines of sovereignty? That's a matter of opinion.

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2008 – Neither rainy May skies nor unseasonably cool temperatures stopped cyclists from beginning the 480-mile “Road 2 Recovery” ride from Walter Reed Army Medical Center here to Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., today. Army 1st Lt. Ferris Butler takes a lap around the traffic circle just inside Walter Reed Army Medical Center's 16th Street gate before heading for Charlotte, N.C., on May 20, 2008. Butler, who lost half of his right foot and his left leg below the knee in a bomb blast, was one of several wounded warriors who embarked on the 480-mile...

FOB HAMMER — Residents of Salman Pak and al Lej breathed a collective sigh of relief Feb. 29, as more than 150 Sons of Iraq (SoI), Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and Coalition Force leaders met to celebrate the reopening of the al Lej road, the main thoroughfare connecting Salman Pak and al Lej. The road had been closed to civilians after a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated at a traffic checkpoint in May, killing seven Iraqi National Policemen. Since construction began more than two weeks ago on Combat Outpost Carver, home to Company B, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, Soldiers...

AL ASAD — Uranium Road from Hit to Al-Asad is getting a $29.6 million makeover in the longest road project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq. The mission-essential 51-kilometer Alternate Supply Route (ASR), now more than 60 percent finished and targeted for completion in early April, is Phase One of a planned two-stage project. When pouring 1.5 km sections on the ASR, the Engineers’ contracted work force lays down about 500 metric tons of asphalt daily. The asphalt used on the route is produced on a secure site at Al Asad Air Base with equipment brought to...

Three Armored Combat Excavators clear debris and obstacles from a four-lane highway while a Bradley Fighting Vehicle provides security in Mosul, Dec. 13. Soldiers from the 43rd Combat Engineer Company, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment worked for more than 17 hours to clear more than a kilometer of the route which had been closed to civilian traffic. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Eric A. Rutherford. MOSUL — Soldiers of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment’s 43rd Combat Engineer Company (CEC) worked to clear one of the many impassible roads in Mosul as part of Operation Thunder Reaper IV, Dec. 13. The 17-hour...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — The road to economic prosperity south of Baghdad is being paved by Soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga. With assistance from the 2nd BCT embedded provincial reconstruction team, local government councils and Iraqi contractors, the task of restoring roads and improving roads damaged by war is in full swing. “It’s all about … helping the agricultural market in our area,” said Capt. Brian Love, ePRT military liason. The area, comprised of Arab Jabour, Hawr Rajab, Al Buaytha and Adwaniyah, is mainly agriculturally-based. The improvements, which began in October,...

Iran builds a new road to aid Lebanese allies By Tim Butcher in Jezzine Last Updated: 2:53am GMT 07/12/2007 Under the cover of an aid project, Iran is consolidating Shia control over southern Lebanon by building a large mountain road that critics believe is a supply route for Hizbollah. The Iranian flag is displayed on the road building equipment While Iran claims the road is nothing but a reconstruction project after the 2006 war with Israel, some observers believe it is a key component of the militant group's rearmament programme. Iranian money is also creating two new Shia villages to...

The landmass and the seas have been stretched and flattened Enlarge Image The Tabula Peutingeriana is one of the Austrian National Library's greatest treasures. The parchment scroll, made in the Middle Ages, is the only surviving copy of a road map from the late Roman Empire. The document, which is almost seven metres long, shows the network of main Roman roads from Spain to India. It is normally never shown to the public. The parchment is extremely fragile, and reacts badly to daylight. But it has been on display for one day to celebrate its inclusion in Unesco's Memory...

BAGHDAD, Nov. 20, 2007 – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing a number of road improvement projects in Iraq, including a one-mile stretch on Victory Base Complex here. And while that particular project may be “inside the wire,” it is having an impact in town. Graders prepare the roadbed for asphalting. Iraqis are upgrading roads throughout Iraq, including this one on Victory Base Complex, Baghdad. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Hayder Mohammad, 26, is among those commuting from their Baghdad homes every day to help upgrade a gravel road into a paved main...

MANSURIYAH — Six weeks since buried improvised explosive devices and sectarian violence made a road between the villages of Qasarin and Mansuriyah impassable, Iraqi Police (IP) and U.S. Army Soldiers cooperated to reestablish security in the area during Operation Patriots. In what played out like a small liberation celebration, Soldiers entered Mansuriyah to the fanfare of cheering crowds. IP then handed out humanitarian aid and began constructing security checkpoints along the embattled road. “It was kind of a pageant when we entered Mansuriyah,” said Capt. Alhaji Bangura, commander of Cobra Troop, 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat...

One of Georgia's biggest road-building companies says it won't bid on any more Gwinnett County contracts — for now — as a result of a new county policy meant to crack down on illegal immigrants. E.R. Snell Contractor Inc. told the county commissioners in a July 9 letter that it had "serious concerns" about an ordinance the commissioners adopted June 26. The ordinance requires companies that do county business to verify that their workers are in the United States legally. Snell is the prime contractor on four of seven state road projects in Gwinnett — work that costs $72 million,...

ATLANTA, July 4 — At 6 a.m. his time, as the sun spread over the pancake-flat desert around him, William G. Halicks, a Navy captain stationed in Hillah, Iraq, measured the temperature at 95 degrees. It was hot, certainly, but with only a light breeze, the chances of having a throat-choking dust storm seemed low. For Captain Halicks, that meant it was a fine day for a foot race. He was runner No. 1 in the 2007 Peachtree Road Race, which organizers call the largest 10K run in the world, and which for most runners takes place in Atlanta. Participants...

/20/2007 - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFNEWS) -- When local contractor Asil Khan first thought of building a bridge over the Gogamanda River, he was knee-deep in it, evading the Soviet army on a trip to Pakistan to procure weapons for the mujahedeen. More than 15 years later, that idea became a reality, as Gov. Jabar Taqwa officially opened the Gogomanda Bridge and the road that links Kabul with thousands of villagers who had been cut off from the capital by the river. "Behind the mountains there are 6,000 villagers," Mr. Khan said. "They had no way to get to...

TEL AVIV: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in Israel in an uphill bid to revive stalled peace talks after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a defiant appeal for acceptance of his pact with Hamas. "This (unity government) agreement was the best we could get. We cannot change it. You either take it or leave it," a Palestinian official said of Abbas's message to Assistant US Secretary of State David Welch during preparatory talks in the West Bank city of Ramallah. After a surprise trip to Iraq, Rice will meet Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem on...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Feb. 9, 2007 – When local contractor Asil Khan first thought of building a bridge over the Gogamanda River, he was knee-deep in it, evading the Soviet army on a trip to Pakistan to procure weapons for the Mujahadeen. Gov. Jabar Taqwa of Afghanistan’s Parwan province prepares to cut the ribbon on the newly constructed Gogamanda Bridge. The new bridge and road will provide a new link to Kabul for more than 6,000 Afghan families. Photo by Staff Sgt. Thomas J. Doscher, USAF  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. More than 15 years later, that...

A man who was shot in an apparent road-rage incident in Richfield Tuesday afternoon was undergoing surgery at Hennepin County Medical Center for what was believed to be a "serious gunshot wound," police Lt. Todd Sandell said. The victim, who wasn't identified, reportedly was shot by one of two men riding in a blue-green Ford Taurus, Sandell said.

I am safe on the plane now. On the way to Los Angeles International Airport this afternoon, I thought I was about to be murdered. In the run-up to a weeklong business trip, I called the car service I've been using for years to pick me up at my home. The driver arrived promptly at 1:30 p.m., the arranged time. The ride to the airport started out just fine. The driver began making small talk. I noticed he had a Jamaican flag on his dashboard, so I asked if he was Jamaican. He said he was, and he asked if...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2006 -- Wal-mart and Operation Homefront are coming together to spread the holiday spirit to military members and their families through “Operation Christmas.” The Operation Christmas Holiday Caravan will travel to six military communities sprinkled throughout the nation Nov. 22 - Dec. 20 to help kick off the Christmas season with appearances by Santa, tree-trimming craft tables, music and gifts of $20 Wal-mart gift cards. “The Department of Defense is pleased to have two of our America Supports You partners come together to provide for military members and their families,” said Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary...

The world's most dangerous road By Mark Whittaker BBC News, Bolivia It seems perverse that one of the main roads out of one of the highest cities on Earth should actually climb as it leaves town. But climb it does - just short of a lung-sapping five kilometres (three miles) above sea level, where even the internal combustion engine is forced to toil and splutter. Then it pauses for a while on the snow-flecked crest of the Andes before pitching - like a giant white knuckle ride - into the abyss. The road from Bolivia's main city, La Paz, to...

Swedish road menace caughtA Swede who delights in giving speeding cameras the finger while driving past at high velocity in a car without license plates has been caught. The Swede in action. The man, who has been recorded three times while giving the camera the finger at a speed high enough to qualify for automatic loss of license was taken by police on the E6 highway near Sarpsborg on Sunday night."Now his speeding days are over. The man is with us and awaiting questioning," Kay Wammer of the Østfold police told newspaper Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad.The Swede has been clocked at 123,...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2006 – Steady progress is being made to provide new roads, electric power and water distribution systems to the Afghan people, the U.S. Army’s top engineer said today. The Taliban destroyed much of Afghanistan’s feeble infrastructure while they were in power, Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock, commander and chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said from Afghanistan during a teleconference with Pentagon reporters. That’s why Afghanistan isn’t a reconstruction mission, Strock said. “This is a construction mission,” the three-star general said. “And, when you look at the resources available in this country, it’s going to...

How did the chimpanzee cross the road? 14 September 2006 From New Scientist Print Edition. Cautiously, it would seem. When it comes to crossing roads, chimps seem to have formulated their own version of a highway code. What's more, the time they spend pondering a strategy before crossing depends on how dangerous the road is. When some monkeys and baboons cross risky terrain, adult males travel at the front of the group to reduce the risk of it being attacked by predators. This had never been recorded in great apes, but now Kimberly Hockings of the University of Stirling in...

Super Slab, the proposed 210-mile long road curving through Colorado's eastern plains from Fort Collins to Pueblo, has been reborn as the $2.5 billion "Prairie Falcon Parkway Express." The Front Range Toll Road Ltd., doing business as the Prairie Falcon Parkway Express Company, announced Monday it has filed a new corridor plan with the Colorado Secretary of State's office. The company is sending official notices via certified mail to owners of property along the project's path, said spokesman Jason Hopfer. About 4,000 notices were mailed, although the company figures there's only about 2,000 individual property owners -- some owning more...

It has been one year since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and now there is another setback for homeowners affected by both hurricanes. After just six days in operation, the road home website has been shut down by the state. Apparently, applicants overwhelmed the system, and program officials learned some applicants' data could be viewed by other users. However, the public information officer says no applications were altered, nor were any social security numbers accessed. Officials tell us the service will be back online when technical problems are resolved and officials are confident the site is thoroughly secure.

Swanton Woman Killed in Fiery Crash on Indiana Toll RoadAug 3, 2006 06:46 AM PDT BRISTOL, INDIANA (AP) -- A semitrailer plowed into vehicles stopped in a construction zone on an interstate highway, killing the truck driver and four members of a family, including an Ohioan, police said Wednesday. The fiery crash occurred about 4 p.m. Tuesday about 20 miles east of South Bend, said state police spokesman Sgt. Trent Smith. The Indiana Toll Road, which runs on Interstates 80/90 through the area, was closed while crews cleaned up the wreckage. A preliminary investigation showed that three vehicles, including a...

Why elephants avoid the high road 17:20 24 July 2006 NewScientist.com news service Roxanne Khamsi Elephants do their utmost to avoid going uphill, a new satellite-tracking study shows – their finely balanced metabolism may reveal why. Researchers tracked elephants by satellite and found that the animals avoid travelling up slopes whenever possible. Calculations suggest an explanation for this behaviour: the big beasts would have to spend hours eating to compensate for travelling up even a relatively gentle incline. Scientists know that elephants can climb relatively steep mountainous terrain if they must. The North African general Hannibal is even said to...

BALAD, Iraq, July 16, 2006 – Civil affairs soldiers are here working to ensure local Iraqis have the strong foundation needed to rebuild and sustain their government long after the coalition leaves Iraq. Army Capt. Philip Zapien, civil affairs team leader for 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers, finds himself wearing many different hats these days. The majority of his civil affairs team has been tasked to help another unit, leaving Zapien with just a couple of soldiers to complete missions. Though short-staffed, Zapien is determined to...

Germans hit road in search for jobs By Kate Connolly in Berlin (Filed: 08/07/2006) More Germans are emigrating than at any time since the war, driven from home by unemployment or the search for better job prospects. Around 145,000 mainly young people turned their backs on the country last year, more than at any time since 1945, and almost a three-fold increase since the 1980s, according to the Federal Office of Statistics. The favoured countries were America, followed by Switzerland, Poland, Austria, Britain and France. Doctors and academics constitute the largest groups of those leaving. Doctors in particular are choosing...

Opening of Silk Road weaves India closer to China By Catherine Elsworth (Filed: 07/07/2006) To the music of military brass bands, China and India set five decades of hostility behind them yesterday, opening a long-closed Silk Road pass across the Himalayas. Both governments enthused about improving trade between the two rising powers of Asia, which is surprisingly low for growing economies with a population of more than a billion people each. A Chinese trader greets Indian soldiers on the Silk Road But the opening agreement restricts border trade to items such as goat fur and yak tails, on the Chinese...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, July 5, 2006 – The U.S. Agency for International Development has started a $16 million road project that extends from the center of Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley and will eventually connect the valley to southern markets in Charikar and Kabul. A construction crew from Turkish engineering firm Entes and local Afghans work on the embankment as a front-end loader smoothes a new surface for the Panjshir Valley road. The 47-kilometer U.S. Agency for International Development road project is scheduled for completion in December. Photo by Tech. Sgt. John Cumper, USAF  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available....

Woman Faces Charges After Road Rageby The Associated Press Published Jul 01, 2006 Police charged an Orleans County woman after a road rage crash killed a passenger in her car. Karen Greene, 20, of Medina, was charged with criminally negligent homicide and reckless driving for allegedly causing the death of Robert Crump, 19. The crash happened in February on Mount Read Blvd. in Greece. Authorities said before the crash happened, Greene pulled in front of a pickup truck that had stopped in front her and then slammed on her brakes. The truck's driver said he tried to avoid the car,...

CAMP HABBANIYAH, Iraq (June 14, 2006) -- A stretch of highway once called “IED Alley” just might get a new nickname. Maybe something along the lines of “Darkhorse Drive.” Marines of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, are making steps to secure Main Supply Route Michigan, the highway connecting Fallujah and Ramadi. They built several new observation posts along the way, an area near the Euphrates River with no distinct city lines or local government. The Marines are cutting into insurgents’ ability to move and plant improvised explosive devices. “It’s to keep the major lines of communications open, prevent IEDs from...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: I got an interesting e-mail from a subscriber to my website, RushLimbaugh.com, named James Ward. It talked about the New Jersey smoking ban that went into effect recently. Last week, the day before it went into effect, the businesses learned that there are all kinds of things they didn't know about it such as no smoking within 25 feet of a building, which meant that a lot of restaurant owners had to nix plans -- and they had only started to build outdoor decks and patios to accommodate the business of smokers. Twenty-five feet away from your...

4/10/2006 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- What do a bank manager, a school nurse and a Seattle Symphony chorus member have in common? They’re all reservists, they all volunteered to serve at Balad Air Base, Iraq, and they all work at the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility, part of the 332nd Expeditionary Aerospace Medicine Squadron here. The CASF staff, all reservists plus one active-duty member, serve several functions. Patients from the Air Force Theater Hospital here are prepared, both clinically and administratively, for flights, and they care for them until their departure from Balad. The CASF staff also is...

Indiana Is Open for Business Mitch “the Blade” Daniels is putting the state on the free-market cutting edge. By Bret Swanson There’s about to be a building boom in Indiana, which is desperate good news for a state that has been severely challenged by the global manufacturing shift and years of ambivalent leadership. The chief architect of the boom is the state’s decisive Governor Mitch Daniels, President Bush’s former budget director. In Washington, Daniels drew scorn from congressional big spenders, acquiring the nickname “the blade” for his cost-cutting and privatizing ways. (The moniker could just as easily apply to his...

Honolulu (AP) -- A dam burst on the island of Kauai on Tuesday, and seven people were missing, the Coast Guard said.

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2006 – U.S. soldiers discovered four weapons caches in a four-day period in areas outside of Baghdad, officials said. Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, discovered a weapons cache March 8 near the Euphrates River, south of Baghdad. Army Pfc. Jason Chambers, of B Company, was occupying an observation post when he noticed something out of place in the distance. After carefully inspecting the area, he and another soldier discovered the cache, consisting of roadside bomb-making materials. Chambers and the soldier moved away a safe distance, notified their...

PORTAGE | Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission members quizzed three top Indiana transportation officials for two hours Thursday on the controversial Indiana Toll Road lease. They received firm answers to some questions that allayed some fears. But answers to others only heightened apprehensions. "Our concern is what happens to the next generation and the next generation," said NIRPC chairman Kevin Breitzke. "Will they be cussing at us?" For some questions, INDOT Director of Planning John Weaver admitted the answer simply won't be known until legislation is passed, public rule making is done or the lease signed. "It's a work in...

February 17, 2006 -- The Upper West Side street on which ABC News' headquarters is located is getting a second name — in honor of the late Peter Jennings. West 66th between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue will be Peter Jennings Way as of next Tuesday. Jennings, 67, died in August, just four months after disclosing that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. He anchored "World News Tonight" for 22 years and, with Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather, was considered one of the Big Three evening-news anchors. Brokaw retired from "NBC Nightly News" in 2004 and Rather from...

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Hamas has apparently won the Palestinian parliamentary election, a senior official of President Mahmoud Abbas's long-dominant Fatah faction said on Thursday. A Hamas victory, if confirmed by official results, would put it in position to dominate a new Palestinian cabinet, which would dramatically shake up the Palestinian Authority and likely put peacemaking with Israel in a deep freeze. "It seems that Hamas will form the next government," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, after a Hamas leader claimed victory in Wednesday's vote. Fatah and Hamas had both said earlier that a coalition...

The "Wolverines," joined by "Team Kodiak" and Afghan soldiers and contractors, worked to complete a 66-kilometer road project before the onset of winter. By Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan CAMP WOLVERINE, Afghanistan, Jan. 10, 2006 — Commerce, transportation and travel have always been difficult in the remote windswept mountains and valleys of Zabol Province in eastern Afghanistan. That fact, however, has recently changed. In the latter part of this past year, two U.S. Army engineer companies, the 173rd Combat Support Company and Charlie Company, 864th Engineer Battalion, took a significant step in establishing stability and economic growth outside of Qalat, the provincial...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HIT, Iraq (Jan. 10, 2006) -- From his vantage point in the front passenger seat of his armored Humvee, Sgt. Ernest Twigg keeps his head on a swivel. Leaning forward on the thinly-padded seat, his head is in constant motion as he scours the roadway ahead for anything out of the ordinary. Such vigilance is well worth the effort. Only days earlier, Twigg and his fellow infantrymen in the Combined Anti-Armor Team (CAAT) of Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 2nd Marines came upon a patch of suspicious roadway and upon investigation, discovered a large artillery shell planted...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Jan. 5, 2006 – Engineers from Task Force Pacemaker recently completed the construction of a 66-kilometer major logistical road linking the towns of Shinkay and Qalat in eastern Afghanistan. Soldiers from Charlie Company, 864th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy), Task Force Pacemaker, from Fort Richardson, Alaska, began construction of the road Oct. 20 at Forward Operating Base Sweeny near Shinkay, 20 kilometers from the border with Pakistan. They worked their way west through Daub Pass, a mountain trail renowned for its steep terrain, hairpin turns, inclement weather and lethal enemy threat. "The earth-moving engineers used dozers, scrapers and 20-ton...

CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Dec. 21, 2005) -- Predicting the future is one power that will never be attainable, but if it was possible it could save the lives of many service members in a combat zone. With the skills of the Marines of Intelligence Shop, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward) and the help of modern technology, stopping events before they occur is getting closer and closer. Unmanned aerial vehicles are the future of protecting our forces and 2nd MLG (Fwd). In theatre, there are multiple vehicles being used and the “Dragon Eye” is currently being tested by Marines here. UAV’s,...

If there is one country in the world which has been systematically violating with impunity all nuclear and missile proliferation regulations and from which there is a real danger of leakage of weapons of mass destruction and related technologies to al Qaeda and other pan-Islamic terrorist organisations belonging to Osama bin Laden's International Islamic Front for jihad against the Crusaders and the Jewish people, that country is Pakistan. The United States' double standards in this matter are evident from the alacrity and vigour with which it acted against Iraq despite the lack of any credible evidence against it and the...

ABOARD THE U.S.S. PELELIU (Dec. 6, 2005) -- One Marine sought the road less traveled while the other sought the path to self discovery. Both found that their road was one in the same, and it began at the yellow footprints. Lance Cpl. Ryan J. Heist, operations clerk, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Camp Pendleton, never set out to be a Marine. Heist grew up in affluence, a self-described privileged kid who had everything handed to him right up until he joined the Marine Corps. Lance Cpl. Christopher K. Morgan-Riess, tactical data network specialist, 11th MEU, came from an upper-middle class...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Dec. 6, 2005) -- A Baton Rouge, La. native was presented the Purple Heart Medal here Nov. 30 for injuries he suffered while deployed to Iraq in September. Lance Cpl. Ryan Cahill, an infantryman with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, and several members of his unit had been searching for improvised explosive devices in Karmah, a city outside Fallujah, at the time he was injured. “The IED went off about five to 10 yards from the humvee I was driving,” said the 19-year-old Cahill. “There was a lot of confusion that followed, because I...

MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii (Nov. 25, 2005) -- From a young Eagle Scout to hardened Marine, he chose to take “the road less traveled” to become one of the “few and the proud.” “College wasn’t really an option for me, once I got out of high school,” said Josh S. Wartchow, squad leader, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. “I wanted to do something for my country that would make people proud. I also wanted to build upon the leadership skills that I learned when I was an Eagle Scout, so I knew the military was...

Navigation boxes will make road tolls viable By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent ROAD tolls of up to £1.30 a mile will be collected via satellite navigation systems under government plans to introduce nationwide congestion charging using existing technology. More than 600,000 vehicles have devices that help drivers to navigate by tracking their movements by satellite. The Department for Transport believes that this information could be used to charge drivers for every mile they travel. The fee would vary according to the level of congestion, with quiet roads costing 2p a mile but the busiest costing £1.30 a mile. The charges...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14, 2005 – Years from now, the Iraqi people may look on Oct. 15, 2005, as the beginning of their new lives under freedom. Iraqi voters go to the polls to decide on their new constitution - the first constitution in the country's history that is the product of a freely elected assembly. The referendum continues the process of establishing a democratic government in Iraq. U.S. officials say that a democracy in the heart of the Middle East will be an example to the rest of the region. Coalition officials want an Iraq that respects the rights of...