In the News: Dec-03

Pakistan's Sharif barred from election - 3 Dec 2007 at 9:07am - ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistani authorities Monday banned former premier Nawaz Sharif's from standing in next month's general election, further damaging the credibility of a vote that the opposition may yet boycott.

Hundreds of Iraqis seek aid after al Qaeda battle - 3 Dec 2007 at 9:34am - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Hundreds of Iraqis displaced by fierce battles between al Qaeda militants and U.S. and Iraqi security forces began receiving humanitarian aid on Monday at a camp set up on Baghdad's southern outskirts.

Bush to press for war funding Tuesday - 3 Dec 2007 at 12:00pm - WASHINGTON -- President Bush will hold a news conference Tuesday morning to try to keep pressure on Congress to approve money for the war in Iraq and other administration priorities.

Pentagon chief in Afghanistan as al Qaeda regroups - 3 Dec 2007 at 11:56am - KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates landed in Afghanistan on Monday to gauge military commanders' needs as they face a strengthened Taliban and signs that al Qaeda is regrouping in the country.

Australia ratifies Kyoto warming treaty - 3 Dec 2007 at 11:38am - New Prime Minister Kevin Rudd signed the paperwork Monday to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, making good on an election promise to overturn Australia's decade-long opposition to the international global warming pact.

U.S.: Iran halted nuclear weapons program in 2003 - 3 Dec 2007 at 1:19pm - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence has determined that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 but believes it is continuing to develop technical capabilities that could be used to build a bomb, a government report said on Monday.

US: Iran still able to develop nukes - 3 Dec 2007 at 1:43pm - WASHINGTON -- Iran halted its nuclear weapons development program in the fall of 2003 under international pressure but is continuing to enrich uranium, which means it may still be able to develop a weapon between 2010 and 2015, senior intelligence officials said Monday.

U.S. report contradicts Bush on Iran nuclear program - 3 Dec 2007 at 2:26pm - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new U.S. intelligence report says Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and it remains on hold, contradicting the Bush administration's earlier assertion that Tehran was intent on developing a bomb.

U.S. objects to Russian treaty plans - 3 Dec 2007 at 2:51pm - WASHINGTON -- The United States asserted Monday that Russia does not have the legal right to suspend participation in a key European arms control treaty.

Iraqis in Syria face food shortages - 3 Dec 2007 at 3:05pm - DAMASCUS, Syria — Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees in Syria face a bleak winter, with rising fuel costs that could leave many without enough money for food, the director of the World Food Program said Monday.

Thought for the day:
Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything. -Charles Kuralt