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FORWARD OPERATING BASE FRONTENAC, Afghanistan, March 9, 2010 – A white-painted blast wall standing in front of the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry, headquarters here bearing the names of 22 fallen soldiers was a sobering reminder to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates of the cost of the war. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates places his coin at each of the photo memorials inside the Stryker Tepee Memorial during a visit with the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, at a forward operating base in Afghanistan, March 9, 2010. DoD photo by Cherie Cullen   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Gates is...

Man was hit by his own spear that ricocheted off rocks during dive

Spear and shield from Kenyan tribe to take pride of place in Obama White HouseA three-legged stool and a traditional Luo oxtail fly whisk are some of the household items that could bring a new feel to the Oval Office, courtesy of Barack Obama's Kenyan grandmother. Last Updated: 9:23PM GMT 12 Jan 2009 Sarah Obama, who at 86 still lives in a modest house in the family's ancestral village of Kogelo, has been packing presents ahead of her grandson's January 20 inauguration as the 44th president of the United States. Quoted in the country's Standard newspaper Monday, she said she...

BAGHDAD, June 23 (KUNA) -- The Multi-National Forces Command declared the conclusion of Operation "Spear" on Wednesday which lasted for five days during which it was conducted in and around the area of Karabila near the Syrian borders. The Multi-National Forces Command said Thursday that the Iraqi security forces and US marines uprooted "terrorist" hideouts, killed 47 insurgents and arrested a "terrorist." It added that during patrols in a village near the Syrian border, the joint forces discovered a house in which four tied hostages were found and saying the house was used by insurgents for torture. The statement quoted...

TEHRAN (MNA) -- During the latest season of excavations of the northern gate of Takht-e Suleiman, an ancient Zoroastrian fire temple located in northwestern Iran, the stamps of two seals were discovered which indicate that objects entered Takht-e Suleiman from other regions with special tags attached to them which seem to be advertisements. They signify that an early form of advertising was being practiced during the Sassanid era (224-642 C.E.), Yusef Moradi, the head of the excavation team, said on Friday. “The team began its excavations in early August and found the stamps of two seals at the upper levels...

Secrets of an ancient Persian armada sunk off the coast of Greece 2500 years ago are being dredged up by modern archaeologists. A team from Greece, Canada and the United States has just completed a second expedition to retrieve artefacts from 300 ships of the Persian King Darius that were wrecked in a storm off the Mt Athos Peninsula, northern Greece, in 492BC or 493BC. Aucklanders will be among the first to hear the results today when three of the expedition leaders present their findings in a free public lecture at Auckland University. In two trips so far, last October...

The History Channel is going to air a new historical series entitled DECISIVE BATTLES including some classic wars between ancient Persian armies and Roman and Greek ones. The History Channel goes on location to the actual battlefields and integrates cutting-edge videogame technology to bring history and imagination together in the new series DECISIVE BATTLES. The half-hour series DECISIVE BATTLES premieres Friday, July 23 at 9-9:30pm ET/PT. The series is hosted by Matthew Settle (Band of Brothers) on location at the ancient battlefields and features expert commentary from the world©s foremost historians. DECISIVE BATTLES is unlike any series The History Channel...