Yearly Archives: 2008

FACTBOX: Military and civilian deaths in Iraq

(Reuters) – Three U.S. soldiers were killed by small-arms fire near the Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Wednesday, the U.S. military said. The attack took place in the town of Hawija, 210 km (130 miles) north of Baghdad. Following are the latest figures for soldiers and civilians killed since the …

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U.N. Kosovo mission awaiting word on power handover

PRISTINA (Reuters) – U.N. authorities in Kosovo expect instructions within days on how to proceed after June 15, when Albanians hope to receive a raft of new powers under their first state constitution, a U.N. spokesman said on Wednesday. U.N. veto holder Russia is blocking the transfer of powers from …

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Hunger, water scarcity displaces thousands of Afghans

KABUL (Reuters) – Thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes due to food and water shortages in northern Afghanistan, the government said on Wednesday. Many parts of Afghanistan did not receive enough rain and snow this year, increasing concern the country may face drought again, amid global …

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Musharraf seen reconciled to exit

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf, threatened by possible impeachment, is reconciled to stepping down before he is hounded out of office, according to a senior adviser to the new government. U.S. ally Musharraf, who came to power as a general after a coup in 1999, has probably got …

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Russian president replaces military chief

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday replaced the armed forces’ chief of general staff, General Yuri Baluyevsky, who had clashed with the defense minister, a former tax official with no military background. Baluyevsky’s post was a powerful one in the state hierarchy — besides the president and …

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Bosnia search for missing becomes global resource

SARAJEVO (Reuters) – An agency set up to identify the dead of the Yugoslav wars is now sharing its missing persons expertise with nations including Lebanon, Colombia and Iraq. “Effectively, we have the biggest human identification laboratory in the world,” Kathryne Bomberger, the head of the Sarajevo-based International Commission for …

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Syria says wants nuclear energy under Arab umbrella

DUBAI (Reuters) – Syria is not seeking nuclear weapons but wants to have access to atomic energy for peaceful purposes through a collective Arab project, President Bashar al-Assad said in remarks published on Tuesday. The Dubai-based Gulf News also quoted Assad as saying that the United States should have sought …

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