In the News: Feb-04

U.S. says 9 Iraqi civilians accidentally killed - 4 Feb 2008 at 5:49am - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - American troops hunting al Qaeda militants accidentally killed nine Iraqi civilians, the U.S. military said on Monday, the latest in a series of mistakes in which innocent Iraqis have died.

U.S. and allies at odds over Afghanistan - 4 Feb 2008 at 2:46pm - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. defense and foreign policy chiefs face an uphill fight this week trying to get its allies in Canada and Europe to boost NATO forces and coordinate efforts in Afghanistan in the face of rising Taliban attacks.

U.S. says no one too young for Guantanamo court - 4 Feb 2008 at 2:39pm - GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - A Canadian accused of killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan should not be tried as a war criminal because he was a child soldier for al Qaeda, too young to voluntarily join its forces, his military defense lawyer told a U.S. war court on Monday.

Fed survey: banks tightening credit - 4 Feb 2008 at 2:33pm - WASHINGTON -- Many U.S. banks have made it harder for creditworthy borrowers to get a mortgage, according to a Federal Reserve survey released Monday that underscored the spread of a painful credit crunch.

Budget only includes part of war costs - 4 Feb 2008 at 11:41am - WASHINGTON -- The $588.3 billion in Pentagon spending for 2009 that President Bush proposed to Congress on Monday includes only part of the cost of fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Iran opens its first space centre, riling the US - 4 Feb 2008 at 11:12am - TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran on Monday fired a rocket into space to mark the opening of its first space centre, triggering swift condemnation from the United States amid continued tensions over the Iranian nuclear drive.

The legislation behind a national ID - February 04, 2008 07:00:00 AM - Federal regulations creating a uniform national ID card are looming. Read the the full text of the Real ID bill. Real ID became law not through the usual legislative process, but instead as part of a mammoth Iraq spending and Asian tsunami bill, the "Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act...

Thought for the day:
The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people. -G. K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936)