In the News: Jun-17

Global refugee number sees increase due to recent conflicts - 17 Jun 2008 at 1:33pm - Conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, driving up the global number ...

Israel and Hamas agree to Gaza truce - 17 Jun 2008 at 2:04pm - GAZA (Reuters) - A ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip will begin on Thursday, Egypt said after mediating a deal that could ease a crippling Israeli blockade of the Hamas-controlled territory.

Car bomb kills 51 in Baghdad: security officials - 17 Jun 2008 at 1:54pm - BAGHDAD (AFP) - A car bomb at a bus stop in north Baghdad killed at least 51 people and wounded 75 others on Tuesday, security officials told AFP.

Weighing Bush's View of His Own Legacy - 17 Jun 2008 at 1:54pm - President Bush has recently turned to history as a way to prove that in time, he will be remembered as a great president. He has 217 days left in office. How accurate are his historical comparisons? NPR reviews with presidential historians some of his remarks.

Police silent on charges in airport Taser death investigation - 17 Jun 2008 at 1:59pm - Homicide investigators in Metro Vancouver are not confirming reports that they have recommended no charges be laid against any police officers in the death of a Polish immigrant in a Taser incident at Vancouver International Airport last year.

Pentagon: shooting of Reuters journalists in Iraq justified - 17 Jun 2008 at 12:54pm - WASHINGTON -- The 2005 shooting death of a Reuters journalist in the midst of a firefight in Baghdad was justified because U.S. soldiers believed the camera protruding from an unmarked car was a rocket propelled grenade, the Pentagon's internal watchdog has concluded.

Military judge dismisses charges in Haditha case - 17 Jun 2008 at 12:32pm - CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- A military judge has dismissed charges against a Marine officer accused of failing to investigate the killings of 24 Iraqis.

Militants found recruits among Guantanamo's wrongly detained - 17 Jun 2008 at 12:35pm - GARDEZ, Afghanistan — Mohammed Naim Farouq was a thug in the lawless Zormat district of eastern Afghanistan. He ran a kidnapping and extortion racket, and he controlled his turf with a band of gunmen who rode around in trucks with AK-47 rifles.

Democrat: Pentagon sought abusive interrogations - 17 Jun 2008 at 10:33am - WASHINGTON -- Military officials tasked with training U.S. troops to evade enemy interrogations helped Pentagon lawyers devise a list of abusive tactics that could be used in prisons like Guantanamo Bay, a top Senate Democrat said Tuesday.

Army probe of Reuters death flawed: U.S. inspector - 17 Jun 2008 at 8:15am - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. soldiers who shot dead a Reuters journalist in Iraq three years ago acted appropriately, but the Army's probe of the incident was flawed because evidence went missing, a Pentagon investigation said.

Thought for the day:
I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. -Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)