JERUSALEM - Israel confirms that it is targeting the leaders of the Islamic militant group Hamas, hours after a deadly attack on the home of one of its lawmakers in the Gaza Strip. At least 12 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes during the past 24 hours. Hamas is threatening harsh retaliation.
Israel says […]

PORT HARCOURT - The oil-rich Niger Delta in southern Nigeria has become one of the world’s most dangerous places, both for civilians and foreigners. VOA’s Nico Colombant went to the scene of a recent kidnapping and to the memorial service of a former gang leader, for this report from one of the main cities in […]

By Ken Joseph Jr.
Special to ASSIST News ServiceBAGHDAD, IRAQ (ANS) – It was about 11 AM at the Gewargis Sliwa family home. Preparing to go to his way to work, Gewargis Sliwa (Name change to protect his identity) heard something.
It was about 11 AM at the Gewargis Sliwa family home. Preparing to go to his […]

CAIRO - About 40 people are reported killed in fierce gunbattles between the Lebanese army and members of an Islamic extremist group in northern Lebanon. The clashes centered around a Palestinian refugee camp near the city of Tripoli. Security officials say 22 soldiers and 17 militants were killed. There were also reports that at least […]

CAIRO - The Egyptian Interior Ministry says police have arrested 14 members of the Muslim Brotherhood in a town 70 kilometers north of Cairo. Officials from the Muslim Brotherhood say the arrests are part of an attempt by the government to disrupt the organizations’ efforts in the upcoming Shura Council elections. 
Egyptian authorities say 14 members […]

JERUSALEM - Officials say an Israeli air force fired a missile at a house in Gaza City, killing eight people and wounding at least 12 others. Israel says it plans to take tougher military action against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s Cabinet has decided to intensify air strikes on Palestinian militants in Gaza, in […]

By Sheraz Khurram Khan
Special Correspondent for ASSIST News Service in PakistanISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (ANS) – Defying the threats the Islamic radicals hurled at them that they should either flee the town or face dire consequences, the Christians of Charsadda have responded to the ultimatum of conversion given by the Islamic extremists with a declaration that they […]

WASHINGTON - President Bush says a Senate compromise on immigration reform will secure the nation’s borders, restore respect for law and meet the needs of the U.S. economy. The bill faces opposition from some House Republicans.
In his weekly radio address, President Bush thanked Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate for coming together on legislation […]

JERUSALEM - Israel has launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip for the third straight day, killing two Palestinians. The air raids occurred as rival Palestinian factions agreed to another ceasefire.
Israeli aircraft pounded suspected targets of the Islamic militant group Hamas in Gaza, in retaliation for Palestinian rocket attacks. The army said weapons factories and […]

WASHINGTON - The commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, General James Conway, says his forces in volatile al Anbar province are continuing to see a significant reduction in violence. He says local tribesmen are joining the Iraqi security forces in record numbers and are helping U.S. troops to defeat al-Qaida insurgents in the province.
General Conway […]

WASHINGTON - A group of U.S. senators from both major political parties has reached agreement with the White House on comprehensive immigration reform legislation. President Bush is urging lawmakers to approve the measure as soon as possible.  
The compromise, reached after weeks of difficult, closed-door negotiations with the White House, was announced Thursday by a group […]

CAPITOL HILL - The U.S. House of Representatives has approved by a vote of 397 to 27 legislation authorizing about $644 billion for defense spending in 2008, including billions for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. While approving the measure setting overall spending policy for the Pentagon, lawmakers rejected proposals to restrict President Bush’s ability to […]

WHITE HOUSE - A U.S. Army general is joining the White House staff as the top war policy coordinator.   The choice of Lieutenant General Douglas Lute followed a lengthy search for a new manager to oversee war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The White House describes General Lute’s role as that of an “action officer.”   But outside […]

Two British Prime Ministers and three US Presidents call for the release of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi 
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News ServiceBURMA (ANS) – Three former US Presidents and two former British Prime Ministers have signed a letter to the head of the military regime in […]

CAPITOL HILL - U.S. lawmakers are demanding greater oversight of the U.S.-government funded Al-hurra television for the Middle East, amid continuing controversy over programming carried by the station in late 2006 and early 2007. On Capitol Hill, a congressional hearing also examined U.S. public diplomacy efforts aimed at improving the U.S. image in the Middle East […]

By Sheraz Khurram Khan
Special Correspondent for ASSIST News Service in PakistanCHARSADDA/ MARDAN, PAKISTAN (ANS) – Pakistani Christians in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan are reportedly receiving menacing letters asking them to close their churches and convert to Islam within 10 days, ANS has learnt.
Pakistani Christians in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan […]

WASHINGTON - Despite U.N. Security Council sanctions and international demands that Iran suspend its nuclear enrichment work, diplomats and international inspectors say the Islamic Republic is enriching uranium on a much larger scale than before.A published report in a leading American newspaper says inspectors from the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency visited the Iranian underground nuclear […]

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service 
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA (ANS) – The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority and used it to mold the religious right into a political force, died Tuesday shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University. He was 73.
News sources including the Associated Press […]

‘Small Business Fairness in Contracting Act’ will Hurt Tribes
MANDAREE, N.D. — Today, the Inter-Tribal Economic Alliance, led by Board Chairman Tex G. Hall, reacted with concern to news that the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1873, the Small Business Fairness in Contracting Act.
The Act would place a limit on the size of contracts awarded […]

WASHINGTON - Top executives of the company that makes a powerful painkiller called Oxycontin admitted this week they lied about the drug’s addictive qualities in order to boost sales.  Worldwide abuse of prescription drugs, such as Oxycontin, is almost as widespread as illegal drug use. 
Oxycontin can be a legitimate blessing for many patients in great […]

SIKKIM, INDIA (ANS) – A group of anti-Christian extremists recently filed a case in a district court against Christians in Sikkim, India, claiming they are forcibly converting people to Christianity. Many religious extremist groups feel threatened when Christian missionaries try to witness in this area. In their report, the group specifically targeted some of the […]

WHITE HOUSE - President Bush has ordered major government agencies to start work on drafting new regulations to cut dangerous auto emissions.
The president is coming under increasing pressure to tackle America’s energy woes.
The Supreme Court has ruled that carbon dioxide emissions from cars and trucks must be regulated by the government. At the same time, […]

HONG KONG - There has been a sharp increase in reports of domestic violence in Hong Kong in recent months, some ending in death. Social workers are worried about the trend and increased calls for changes to the city’s domestic violence law.
In March, a Hong Kong woman attacked her husband with a knife after she […]

WHITE HOUSE - Americans are celebrating their history this weekend, as the nation marks the 400th anniversary of Jamestown - the first permanent British settlement in the Americas. President Bush joined the festivities Sunday, traveling to the settlement site in the state of Virginia.
The president made a pilgrimage to the site where the United States […]

ISLAMABAD - NATO and Afghan officials say the Taleban’s top military commander, Mullah Dadullah, has been killed in Southern Afghanistan. From Islamabad, the death is a major setback for the five-year old Taleban insurgency.NATO officials confirmed Mullah Dadullah’s death Sunday.
In a brief written statement NATO says the Taleban commander was killed in a U.S.-led coalition […]