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The President of the northern Italian city of Milan, Filippo Penati, has triggered widespread debate with a controversial proposal to fine Muslims who pray on the streets outside the city's mosque. According to authorities, the number of people praying on the sidewalk creates traffic and obstacles for pedestrians in the area surrounding the Viale Jenner mosque, a converted garage. "Article 190 of the law regarding the obstruction of streets should be applied immediately," said Penati. "I do not know or understand why the law has not been applied before," he said. "The municipality of Milan should apply the law and...

BAGHDAD — Until recently, the Rabi fish market – a thoroughfare crowded with little shops and stands in northeast Baghdad – cleared out when the sun went down. But these days, things are different. Thanks to the illumination provided by rows of new, solar-powered streetlights, vendors can continue to ply their wares and shoppers can keep browsing the shops for hours after night has fallen. The new lights were supplied by the 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment – the U.S. unit responsible for security in Rabi - as part of an ongoing effort to revitalize the market area....

Staff Sgt. J.D. Murray deployed from Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, and assigned to the 732nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, Detachment 4, conducts a badge check during a dismounted patrol in an effort to keep escort violations at a minimum in the international zone. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Angelique Perez Airmen Patrol Streets of Baghdad Security Forces team helps ensure safety for troops, citizens. By Staff Sgt. Markus M. MaierU.S. Central Command Air Forces Public Affairs BAGHDAD, Oct. 11, 2007 — Baghdad's international zone is surrounded by a network of security and entry control points aimed...

With all the madness in the world, I meditated Tuesday on two matters of great gratitude. One is that through vigilance and good fortune we have, so far, gone six years without another major attack on U.S. soil. The other is that I wasn't one of the Texas officials who was forced to attend a workshop in Austin in which PR flacks would try (under a $20,000 contract) to teach me techniques for selling Gov. Perry's massive toll road boondoggle. It was a small part of a $7 million to $9 million campaign that will include feel-good ads pushing Perry's...

RAMADI, Iraq, July 17, 2007 – This Anbar province city was once held up as a symbol of U.S. failure in Iraq. Al Qaeda in Iraq controlled Ramadi. It was enemy territory, and American servicemembers called it the Wild West of Iraq. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, walks through Ramadi, Iraq, as he is briefed by Maj. Gen. Walter Gaskin, commander of Multinational Force West, July 17, 2007. Pace decided to visit the streets of Ramadi after a dust storm grounded his scheduled departure flight. Photo by Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen, USAF  (Click...

  Lancer Troops Work to Make Streets Safe for Iraqis After three improvised explosive devices detonated, patrols make villagers feel safer. By Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Divison KHAN DARI, Iraq, March 29, 2007 — Making the streets safer for Iraqi civilians in their area of operations has been one of the main goals for troopers from the 2nd "Lancer" Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment. After three improvised explosive devices (IEDs) detonated, including one that injured two children near a school here March 25, soldiers were out gathering information March 26 to help catch those...

Illegal migrants 'dumped on city streets' in Spain By Fiona Govan, Spain Correspondent (Filed: 28/08/2006) A political row is raging in Spain over the fate of the hundreds of illegal immigrants allegedly being "dumped" across the mainland after arriving by boat in the Canary Islands. With more than 18,000 immigrants arriving from west Africa this year, immigrant holding centres on the holiday islands are at bursting point. Many of the exhausted Africans deliberately ''lose" their identity papers during their journey, making it impossible for Spain to deport them or easily assess asylum requests. Under Spanish law, after an initial 40...

Workers Remove Litter from Iraqi Streets The street-cleaning project focuses on the busiest streets first, then moves to residential areas. By U.S. Army Spc. Cassandra Groce 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment HAWIJA, Iraq, July 11, 2006 -- Piles of trash and litter, the scourge of many Iraqi cities, are being removed by local workers from the street and alleys of Hawija, Iraq.Sanitation has been a continual concern for Coalition Forces and the Iraqi leadership. The street-cleaning project currently cleans the busiest streets, but will soon move to residential areas. The project employs many civilians. “This was a good project...

Soldiers of Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, search a home in the city of Samarra, Iraq, during a night raid as they look for Samarra’s most wanted insurgents. U.S Army photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika Soldiers Make Streets Safer in Samarra Since December 2005, Bravo Company has been making the streets ofSamarra safer by capturing hundreds of suspected anti-Iraqi forces. By Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika 133rd Mobile Public Affairs SAMARRA, Iraq, July 11, 2006 -- Texas historians think of the Alamo to be the last stand, for...

CAMP HANBBANIYAH, Iraq (June 13, 2006) -- Marines from 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion wouldn’t consider themselves good neighbors unless they lent a hand combating snipers, small-arms fire and roadside bombs in 120 degree heat. For two weeks, D Company, 3rd LAR, assisted 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment take over a new area of operations in the city, located between Ar Ramadi and Al Fallujah. They patrolled the region, conducting counterinsurgency operations and keeping the routes clear of improvised explosive devices, in addition they assisted in several humanitarian efforts. “We kept the area secure while 3/5 ... got a more...

Streets renamed after fallen soldiersBy CAROLYN THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer Wed Jun 14, 3:15 AM ET Taps is played during an unveiling ceremony for R. V. Derenda Lane in honor of Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert V. Derenda, in Cheektowaga, N.Y., Saturday May 20, 2006. Derenda was killed in Iraq last August. The names of the fallen soldiers of Iraq are becoming permanent fixtures on the landscapes the soldiers themselves will never return to. (AP Photo/David Duprey) BUFFALO, N.Y. - Loretta Derenda's home sits only a few steps from what used to be called Candlelight Lane, where her son Robert...

HUSAYBAH, Iraq (May 29, 2006) -- Despite two recent suicide bombings on a new police station here, one Iraqi police officer in this Iraq-Syria border town says his men are undeterred in their duties and are ready to work on their own. "Ahmed," a 45-year-old police captain, is one of several new police officers in this city of 50,000 who has endured two attacks on the city’s district police headquarters which has resulted in the deaths of five police officers and injured eight others. The first attack occurred a week ago when a man walked to the police station and...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The Palestinians' defiant Hamas-led government sent a new militant force into the streets of Gaza on Wednesday, disregarding President Mahmoud Abbas' order banning the creation of the security body and raising the stakes in their deepening power struggle. Hamas appeared to have been propelled into action by mysterious drive-by shootings that killed two of its militants in the Gaza Strip hours earlier. These and other recent cases of deadly infighting have threatened to plunge the Palestinian territories into bloody chaos. Meanwhile, Israel reopened the main cargo crossing between Gaza and Israel, Gaza's economic lifeline, and...

Children of the streets feel wrath of Mugabe By David Blair in Johannesburg (Filed: 16/05/2006) President Robert Mugabe began a new onslaught on Zimbabwe's poor yesterday when his regime announced that more than 10,000 street children and vagrants had been "rounded up" in Harare. Police described their latest assault on the capital's poverty-stricken street dwellers, codenamed Operation Round Up, as a crime-fighting measure. Last year they bulldozed thousands of "illegal structures" in the poorest townships, leaving 700,000 people without homes or livelihoods. The new operation appears aimed at those cast on to the streets by the earlier demolitions. A total...

Squaring up for a drugs war on streets of Laredo By Francis Harris in Laredo (Filed: 28/04/2006) On the far side of the Rio Grande, a Mexican drug runner raised his AK47 at US lawmen. The man and five companions were goading the Americans, 100 yards across the border. Deputies Hinojosa and Pampa beside the Rio Grande "Hey! We're ready to play now," screamed the gunman, who was probably trying to recover the marijuana abandoned on the American side after a chase earlier that day. The threat didn't work. The Texan sheriff's deputy, Abel Hinojosa, stayed where he was, with...

Key West orders signature feral fowl off its streets Wed Apr 19, 3:13 PM ET MIAMI (AFP) - Fearing they could represent a potential bird flu threat, the Florida town of Key West has ordered the famous feral chickens that wander its streets to the coop, authorities said. The US island town, known for a live-and-let-live attitude, in this case got a bit firm, and late Tuesday ordered the more than 2,000 birds removed from public places, such as parks and streets. "Key West has many uncooped roosters and chickens, many of which could become a transmission source of the...

WESTERN AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq (April 13, 2006) -- Editor’s Note: The name of the Iraqi soldier featured in this article has been changed to protect his identity. The townspeople of Sad’ah, a town near the Iraq-Syria border wave and greet a heavily-armed Iraqi soldier as he patrols the streets, hunting for would-be insurgents. The townsfolk witnessed the man grow from a child to a trained soldier and now he is keeping them safe on a daily basis, disrupting insurgent operations in his childhood hometown. “Hadi” has an advantage over the other “Jundi” - Iraqi Army privates – since he...

HADITHA, Iraq (April 12, 2006) -- The windswept streets of Haditha are lined with stores and houses pocked with bullet holes that tell a story of a community once plagued by fear from insurgents and terrorists. Now, those stories are fading memories and new memories are being formed. The buildings in the city of approximately 30,000 are being rebuilt and children are free to play safely in the streets guarded by United States Marines. “The Marines are our friends and have been a gift from God,” said “Josem," in French, which he learned while studying at a university in France....

Iraqi Police, U.S. Soldiers Patrol Streets Peacekeepers work to gain confidence of residents during daily missions. By Spc. Michael Pfaff 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment KIRKUK, Iraq, March 23, 2006 — Iraqi police and soldiers from Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division patrolled a neighborhood in Kirkuk in order to show a presence and let the people know that they are not only here to protect them, but also serve them. “We’re trying to let the Iraqi police take the lead on these patrols,� said 2nd Lt. John Vickery, 1st platoon...

AR RAMADI, Iraq (Feb. 14, 2006) -- The patrol almost screams to a stop, with humvees speeding past the targeted vehicle only to turn suddenly and cordon off the traffic while Marines and Iraqi soldiers quickly climb out and secure the area. While the selected vehicle is rapidly emptied and searched thoroughly, another squad searches the occupants for anything that might link them to the insurgency and asks them if they have information that could prove helpful. It’s called a snap vehicle checkpoint and it has become a successful deterrent against an enemy that blends into the local populace and...

CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq (Army News Service, Dec. 29, 2005) – Iraqi and U.S. Army Soldiers are clearing the streets of known insurgents in western Ramadi. During operations Dec. 27-28, 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 7th Division Iraqi soldiers working alongside of Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (28th Infantry Division) detained five targeted insurgents, to include Jassim Mohammed Fayadh, a high value insurgent leader, allegedly responsible for financing terrorism in the Tammim neighborhood and known to have supplied arms and munitions to Al Qaeda in Iraq. “Our battalion has been working in western Ramadi with the Coalition...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq (Army News Service, Dec. 19, 2005) -- A newly inducted member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is playing a lead role alongside American troops in securing the future of Iraq. Although small in numbers, the infantry soldiers from Estonia’s “Stone” Platoon bring added force to the tank crews of the Fort Riley, Kan., based 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment. The 34-member platoon from Estonia is a highly trained volunteer force that performs an infantry mission with the skill and firepower comparable to U.S. Army Rangers, said Staff Sgt. Nicholas E. Wolf, one of two liaisons to...

YUSUFIYAH, Iraq (Army News Service, Dec. 9, 2005) – Soldiers from Task Force Baghdad, alongside Iraqi forces, constantly search the streets and alleyways of Baghdad and surrounding communities for weapons, insurgents and anti-coalition propaganda. The searches are thorough, yet the Soldiers still respect people's rights and property. “I feel that our patrols make a difference,” said Sgt. Kenneth Casica. “I guess the patrols make the insurgents nervous because they know…we'll push them out of this area to make the people feel safe.” When Task Force Baghdad Soldiers get ready for a mission, a lot of things take place before the...

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Dec. 6, 2005)–Task Force Baghdad Soldiers captured 24 terror suspects in the Al Rasheed district during a 12-hour period Dec. 3-4. Launching operations based on tips from Iraqi citizens and intelligence developed over time, Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment conducted three cordon and searches and captured a total of nine individuals. Soldiers from Company A, 184th Inf. detained six individuals in eastern Rasheed Dec. 3 around 11:35 p.m. One of the detainees was a known member of an Al-Qaeda bomb-making cell and another individual is suspected of running safe houses used to smuggle terrorists...

MOSUL, Iraq (Army News Service, Nov. 1, 2005) – Multi-National Forces from Task Force Freedom killed two terrorists, wounded three, detained 11 suspected terrorists, and seized weapons caches in northern Iraq Oct. 28-31. Soldiers from Task Force Freedom were engaged with rocket-propelled-grenade and small-arms fire before returning fire and killing two terrorists. The Soldiers searched a vehicle, discovering AK-47s, a machine gun, hand grenades, and ammunition. Soldiers seize three caches Soldiers from the 503rd Military Police seized a cache consisting of rolls of detonation cord, numerous rounds of rocket-propelled grenade and mortar rounds, a mortar tube, an improvised rocket launching...

U.S. Army Spc. Kirk B. Hubbard, radio telephone operator, Company A, 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Richardson, Alaska, hands candy to Iraqi school children during a patrol in Mosul, Iraq, Oct. 20, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jeremy D. Crisp | More photos Stryker Soldiers Patrol Streets of Mosul U.S. soldiers assigned to a Stryker unit patrol Mosul's streets and talk with residents to learn more about their concerns. By U.S. Army Spc. Jeremy D. Crisp Multinational Corps-Iraq MOSUL, Iraq, Oct. 28, 2005 — Today the streets of Mosul are crowded with...

Jesse Jackson's traveling circus reportedly flew to Caracas yesterday for a grandstanding visit with Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. The announced visit came in the wake of ill-considered remarks from televangelist Pat Robertson who declared that the U.S. ought to try to assassinate Chavez. Jackson went there to show Chavez he's a 'man of peace and goodwill' and probably wanted to curry favor with him, given the opportunity presented by Robertson. And what better way to look good for his U.S. domestic constituents than to be seen in an abrazo embrace with telegenic Hugo Chavez? But a funny thing happened on...

Iraqi, U.S. Soldiers Keeping Sadr Streets Safe Travelling through the streets and alleys of Sadr City, U.S. troops search for signs of terrorist groups, and get acquainted with the neighborhoods. By U.S. Army Spc. Ben Brody 2nd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs SADR CITY, Iraq, Aug. 24, 2005 - U.S. and Iraqi Army soldiers now patrol Sadr City, and the result is safer streets in what was once a hotly-contested area. After a change in their area of operations, troops from Company B, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division got to know their new...

SADR CITY, Iraq (Army News Service, Aug. 12, 2005) – Patrols by U.S. and Iraqi Army Soldiers have resulted in safer streets for the citizens of Sadr City. The once hotly-contested area is now patrolled by troops from B Company, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. On July 28 the Soldiers performed a neighborhood patrol designed to allow the Soldiers to become acquainted with their new neighborhood. “It’s a lot of work, getting to know a new sector – we gather intel on terrorist operations, assess how receptive the locals are to our presence and...

Suburban streets in the grip of feral youths, says police chief By Nigel Bunyan (Filed: 18/05/2005) Feral youths are running wild in suburban streets with no fear of either the police or the criminal justice system, a senior police officer said yesterday. Chief Supt David Baines, of Greater Manchester police, spoke out as Phil Carroll, 48, continued to fight for his life after being attacked by a gang of youths he had confronted in an alleyway behind his home.Mr Carroll, from Lower Broughton, Salford, gave chase to the gang when one of them threw a stone that hit his car....

London 27.11.04 | Freezing temperatures have not dented the Ukrainians to go out by the thousands and stand up in protest for what they believe was a rigged election. The hypocritical international community has deemed the election as fraudulent and has had no recourse but to take into consideration the allegations made by opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, who is demanding a re-run of last Sunday’s polls. Demanding, that’s right. Compare that to Venezuela, which has had two rigged elections in the past 3 months. Contrast the climatic conditions of the two countries and further try and correlate the reactions of...

A combined effort between Freepers and Protest Warriors was a MAJOR success today in Richmond, Virginia!! A.N.S.W.E.R. and local socialist sympathizers (IndyMedia) were taken by surprise by a joint operation called "Lightning Bolt". What was supposed to be a HUGE Anti- Bush, Anti-War, Anti-America, Anti-Everything rally, turned out to be nothing more than maybe 200 - 300 hundred of the "usual" suspects. In other words, the un-washed, and the un-employable !! There seemed to be more police than protestors, even though, as an inducement to swell the crowd of protestors, they advertised "Free Food". As the Freepers and Protest Warriors...

<p>DEARBORN — Ball-playing on the blacktop, a sacred suburban tradition to some and an outright nuisance to others, may soon become a crime in Dearborn.</p> <p>Echoing safety concerns throughout Metro Detroit about kids playing in streets, Dearborn is weighing a proposal that would make it illegal to set up hoops, hockey nets or other recreational equipment on public streets.</p>

(WSBT) The City of South has made a move to get stun guns off the streets. Monday night, the Common Council passed an ordinance that bans selling or owning the weapons with-in city limits. Police also support the measure. They say in un-trained hands, a stun-gun can be a powerful force Officer's can't fight. "Now they're becoming more refined, a lot smaller, a lot lighter, and a lot more powerful," says South Bend Police Sergeant Scott Ruszkowski. "You know them being out there and being allowed to be out there, from a police officers perspective, there's no way to defeat...

While we're slip-sliding around these frozen streets and the groundhog remains in his cozy den for at least another day or two, we harken back to the old days of sled-riding, or coasting, on the same, though not so crowded, roadways. Morgantown's hilly terrain has always been a blessing for winter recreational activity, in particular the free sledding on snow-covered slopes. The practice dates back as far as records are kept and since the city has had improved streets.For many decades the city designated "coasting streets." Lists of those basically closed to vehicular traffic during snowy times were published in...

Soldiers patrol city streets as Americans are warned of imminent terrorist threat By David Usborne in New York 23 December 2003 The red and white of Father Christmas mingled with the black steel of semi-automatic gun barrels on Fifth Avenue yesterday as New York deployed heavily armed police officers at strategic locations in the face of a newly heightened threat of terror attacks. Officials across the United States responded to the decision on Sunday from the Department of Homeland Security to elevate the national terror alert level to orange, the second highest level. It was an indication of serious concern...

By Associated Press November 14, 2003, 12:39 PM EST HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich -- Ever hear about creating a pen name out of your middle name and the street you live on? You wouldn't do it if you lived on Crapo Street. Although the Oakland County street is pronounced 'Kray-po', most people call say 'Krapp-o' and the embarrassment has been enough to prompt the residents to ask for a change.

Drug craze is fuelling murder on streets of Iraqi capital An epidemic of narcotics is making thugs more aggressive and life more perilous, reports Peter Beaumont in Baghdad Sunday September 14, 2003n The Observer (UK)Zala and his friends live in the gardens of Baghdad. They hang around the banks of the Tigris to beg and steal. Last week Ala and his friends fished a bloated corpse out of the river and handed it to the police, hoping to get some money. Mainly, though, Ala and his gang do drugs. When I meet them one morning at 10am they already stink...

<p>BAGHDAD, Iraq — There's no Yasser Arafat Street in Baghdad anymore, and a main thoroughfare along the Tigris River once named for an 8th century poet has a new name as well.</p> <p>Both have been renamed for Shiite Muslim (search) imams whose memory had no place in Saddam Hussein's rule, when Sunni Muslims dominated despite being a minority in Iraq.</p>

WITH THE U.S. 3RD INFANTRY DIVISION, BAGHDAD -- Iraqi tank-killer teams armed with rocket propelled grenades have been stalking the huge American tanks as they moved tentatively in narrow streets since the lightning U.S. thrusts began into the capital. "Iraqis were firing down on us from rooftops that we were lighting up with every machine gun we have," said tank commander Lt. Mike Flynn. "We could see them try to get into position to shoot RPGs [rocket propelled grenades] into our engine deck. We couldn't move because there wasn't enough room on the road so we just kept up a...

I see suffering in the streets of Pyongyang (Filed: 05/01/2003) As a showdown looms over North Korea's nuclear programme, Denis Dubrovin, the only Western correspondent in the country, gives a first-hand account of the rigours of daily life in Kim Jong-Il's capital Winter came early to North Korea. The cruellest weather normally strikes only in January, but by early last month we were already suffering snow and freezing temperatures: it averages 10-15C below zero most days. On clear days our view of the sun is obscured by the fug of coal dust, boiler smoke and exhaust gases from old lorries...

<p>Mother Nature seems to be trying to reclaim the cobblestone streets that run through the residential neighborhoods north of Brookline Boulevard.</p> <p>Along Gallion Street and Flatbush and Rossmore avenues, weeds push through the space between the stones. Moss and grass give the bone-colored streets a greenish hue in some spots. Thickets of weeds burst through the crevices where the street meets the curb.</p>