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allAfrica.com: Somalia: Insurgents Resist Ethiopian Army's Push Into Key Town (Page 1 of 1) : "Islamist insurgents attacked Ethiopian troops in central Somalia on Thursday as the Ethiopian army attempted to retake control of a key town, Radio Garowe reported. At least 7 people, including civilians, have been reported dead so far and the fighting is still continuing, according to residents in Beletwein, capital of Hiran region. The violence started after Ethiopian troops stationed at Jante Kundisho military camp advanced on Beletwein last night and captured parts of the town by early morning. But Islamist guerillas attacked the Ethiopian soldiers, using machineguns and rocket launchers in the battle."

Taliban factions may be using British forces to assassinate rival commanders - Asia, World - The Independent : "Five months ago Mullah Dadullah's brother, Mansoor Dadullah, who is said to have held secret talks with the West about the possibility of changing sides, was critically wounded and captured by Pakistani security forces. He had inherited the command of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan from his brother, but he is said to have held subsequent meetings with Western diplomats, acting on behalf of the British, to defect with 2,000 of his men. It was these talks, which the government of Hamid Karzai insisted were unauthorised, that led to the expulsion of Michael Semple, the acting head of the European Union mission to Afghanistan (who has worked as a British diplomat in Pakistan), and Mervyn Patterson, a senior UN official. Just before the diplomats were thrown out, a Taliban spokesman said that Dadullah had been dismissed from his command for 'disobeying orders' an...

Maan News Agency : "Bethlehem – Ma'an - US democratic candidate Barak Obama said during a press conference on Wednesday in Sderot, a city in the south of Israel, that he does not support the idea of East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state. Obama made it clear that Jerusalem would remain the capital of Israel and that he would not see the city divided. He added that this position needed to be fixed through negotiations with the Palestinians. Recent years have seen Obama's position on Israel/Palestine shift dramatically towards the Israeli side. He previously stated that the issue of Jerusalem should be on the table of any peace negotiation, but after criticism of his 'naïve' stance, Obama dropped this position. The press conference was held with Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, who said, 'Israel and the USA have a common understanding of what must happen in the region.' Earlier Obama met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah...

Secret memo OK'd harsh CIA tactics - Security- msnbc.com : "WASHINGTON - The Justice Department in 2002 told the CIA that its interrogators would be safe from prosecution for violations of anti-torture laws if they believed 'in good faith' that harsh techniques used to break prisoners' will would not cause 'prolonged mental harm.' That heavily censored memo, released Thursday, approved the CIA's harsh interrogation techniques method by method, but warned that if the circumstances changed, interrogators could be running afoul of anti-torture laws."

t r u t h o u t | Former "Bush Puppet" Iraqi PM Calls for US Withdrawal : "'[The] conduct of war and the protection of our national security is not a popularity contest,' Pletka said. 'Mob rule does not decide how a President deploys troops in his role as commander in chief, nor how the Congress allocates money with its power of the purse.'"

Al Jazeera English - Americas - US to triple global Aids funding : "The US House of Representatives has approved legislation that will more than triple the current $15bn funding for the global fight against Aids. The House on Thursday passed the $48bn plan to fight Aids, malaria and tuberculosis worldwide for the next five years. The move is a boost to a programme credited with saving or prolonging the lives of millions in Africa alone. The global Aids bill passed by 303-115 votes is expected to be signed by George Bush, the US president. The legislation approves spending of $5bn for malaria and $4bn for tuberculosis, the leading cause of death for people with Aids. Passage of the bill culminated in a rare instance of co-operation between the White House and the Democratic-controlled congress. Barbara Lee, a Democratic leader on the issue, said the vote was 'born out of a willingness to work together and put the United States on the right side of history when it comes to this ...

Imprisonment By Executive Order : "Judges of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that the president can legally, by simply labeling an individual an “enemy combatant,” imprison anyone, citizen or not, without due process for months, years, decades — or indefinitely. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an earlier three-judge panel’s decision which ruled that the government lacked the power to detain Ali al-Marri, a citizen of Qatar legally in the United States on a student visa, who had been charged with credit card fraud and making false statements as part of the 9/11 investigation. Keep in mind the Bush administration is not accusing al-Marri of having any connections to al-Qaeda or the Taliban or fighting against U.S. forces. He is accused of being involved in an unproven terrorist plot, which he denies."

Free Iraq: In memory of Dalal Al-Mughrabi .... في ذكرى البطلة دلال المغربي : "''Point your guns in only one direction- your enemy - Israel,' exhorted Dalal Al Mughrabi in her final wish just before she laid down her life for Palestine. Dalal, a Palestinian fighter who became a legend for many years, led a group of 12 fighters in one of the most talked about attacks against Israeli forces 30 years ago. This week, the body of Dalal and her comrades, buried in an anonymous Israeli graveyard, will be handed over to Hezbollah as part of a prisoners and bodies exchange deal with Israel. On March 11, 1978, Dalal along with her group of fighters managed to infiltrate the Lebanese-Israeli border to the coastal plain near Tel Aviv using rubber dinghy boats. She and her comrades destroyed the boats the moment they reached the coast. It was a one-way trip, as they had returned home to stay . Nine-hour battle They hijacked an Israeli military bus and took its passengers, some three...

Ethiopia: 'Perfect Storm Brewing' - Yahoo! News UK Photojournalist Nick Danziger has travelled to Ethiopia with Oxfam to highlight what is happening in the famine-ravaged country. Speaking to Sky News he said nothing could have prepared him for the devastation that would greet him. "Oxfam briefed me on what I might face in terms of malnourished children and the drought which has affected this part of Ethiopia but actually on the ground, it is far worse than I ever could have possibly imagined," he explained. "To be confronted with grown-ups, adults, women literally starving to death... it was devastating. "I just find it totally unacceptable that in this world of plenty there is not enough food and water for people on the brink of starvation." He said most of the people were struggling after losing their livestock and coupled with the dramatic increases in food prices were reduced to eating animal feed. "Some have travelled great distances in searc...