WASHINGTON - The Turkish military says its troops have pulled out of northern Iraq, after an aggressive assault on Kurdish separatist rebels.
Turkey’s military General Staff says troops returned to their bases in Turkey Friday after achieving their goals against the PKK rebels.
The military says it killed 240 PKK rebels and lost 27 of its own […]

BEIRUT - A Hezbollah lawmaker in Lebanon says the U.S. deployment of warships off the Lebanese coast is a threat against the country.Hassan Fadlallah said Friday that Hezbollah will not succumb to what he called U.S. intimidation.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said his government had not asked for any naval support.
The United States is sending […]

JERUSALEM - Israel is threatening to invade the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in response to escalating Palestinian rocket attacks. Israel has already stepped up air strikes, killing 31 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, since Wednesday. An Israeli civilian was also killed Wednesday in a rocket attack.
Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai says Israel has no other choice […]

STATE DEPARTMENT - A senior Bush administration official Thursday rejected the partition of newly-independent Kosovo in any form. Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns says the United States and European allies are supporting Kosovo independence in the interest of a stable Balkans.  
Burns has joined the European Union’s new special envoy for Kosovo, Pieter […]

BEIJING - The United States and China have signed an agreement for Chinese researchers to provide the U.S. military with information from Chinese archives. The information may help shed light on the fate of some of the 8,100 Americans still missing or unaccounted for from the Korean War.
The deal was signed in Shanghai Friday by […]

STATE DEPARTMENT - The United States Thursday imposed sanctions against four Syrians accused of helping facilitate the flow of money, weapons and foreign fighters to the “al-Qaida in Iraq” group.  The State Department said Syria remains the primary transfer point for aid to Iraqi extremists. 
The action by the Treasury Department, the second of its kind […]

LOS ANGELES - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says California’s financial problems call for fiscal discipline and cross-party cooperation. The governor says the state’s economy is sound, in spite of its problems.
The governor says despite a housing crisis and record home foreclosures, his state is doing fine because of its diversified economy.
“We have so many different economies. […]

LITTLE ROCK — Former Arkansas Governor and Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee accepted an invitation to participate in a Values Voter Presidential Debate to be held on Monday, March 3, 2008. Huckabee received the invitation on Wednesday, February 27, for the debate which would also include Senator John McCain and Congressman Ron Paul.
“I look forward to […]

LITTLE ROCK — Dallas Cowboy Legend Cliff Harris endorsed former Arkansas Governor and Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, it was announced today.
Huckabee said: “I am truly excited to have Cliff Harris on my team and appreciate his support. It means a lot to have the greatest athlete in the history of my alma mater wearing […]

WHITE HOUSE - President Bush says the U.S. economy is not in recession, although it is in a slowdown.  The state of the economy has become the lead issue in the U.S. presidential campaign.
New economic data shows the U.S. economy barely grew in the last quarter of 2007.
Some economists say that is another sign the […]

ISLAMABAD - Intelligence officials and witnesses in Pakistan’s South Waziristan tribal area say an apparent missile strike has killed at least 13 people - several of whom appeared to be foreigners. Similar previous explosions have been attributed to U.S. pilotless drones firing missiles at suspected al-Qaida militants.
The early morning blast occurred at a residence in […]

WHITE HOUSE - President Bush is calling for Turkey to end its military operation against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq as soon as possible. Mr. Bush talked about the Turkish offensive during a nationally broadcast White House news conference.
President Bush says the operation must be limited in nature.
“The Turks need to move, move quickly, achieve […]

BEIJING - China is maintaining its position that it does not support actions against Iran that “undermine normal trade and economic cooperation.” Even as the United Nations maneuvers toward a vote on expanded sanctions against Iran - which Beijing has reportedly approved - China’s main offshore oil and gas company is reported to have signed […]

JERUSALEM - At least 11 Palestinians were killed and one Israeli was wounded on Thursday as Israeli airstrikes targeted Palestinian militants in Gaza, and those militants who fired rockets at southern Israel. Among the dead were four Palestinian children who were reportedly struck by a missile while playing football. 
Israeli air strikes hit multiple targets in […]

HONG KONG - A group of six international companies has announced plans to build an ultra-high speed, undersea, fiber-optic cable under the Pacific Ocean, between Japan and the United States.  The project is meant to improve Internet and other telecommunication traffic between the U.S. and Asia, and comes as several other companies have begun similar […]

WASHINGTON - Turkey is continuing to send its forces into northern Iraq, in an operation against Kurdish rebels.  The Turkish armed forces said it killed 77 rebels Tuesday and lost five soldiers.  Since the incursion began last Thursday, Ankara claims 230 rebels have been killed, a number the rebels dispute.
As Turkish jets return from a […]

JERUSALEM - Israel has continued air strikes on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip Thursday, killing at least three suspected militants.The Israeli military also said troops raided a refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus early Thursday and killed two militants.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.N. Secretary General Ban ki-Moon are both calling […]

WASHINGTON - U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke told a congressional committee Wednesday the U.S. economy is weak. He signaled further interest rate cuts to help the increasingly wobbly economic outlook.
With average home prices down over eight percent in 2007, legislators are particularly worried about current economic trends.
“Wholesale inflation is soaring, consumer confidence is […]

WASHINGTON - President Bush says the United States and the Czech Republic are close to an agreement to put a missile defense radar system on Czech soil.
President Bush says he is optimistic a deal will be reached soon.
“Look, there is a will to get this done for the sake of mutual security and for the […]

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are making a final push for support in Ohio and Texas in advance of crucial primaries on 4 March. The two Democrats took part in a contentious debate Tuesday, 26 February, that most experts rated a draw.
In their latest debate, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton argued […]

WASHINGTON - A bill to cut off funding for the Iraq war survived a procedural vote in the U.S. Senate Tuesday. The action came as Army officials told lawmakers they hope combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan can be shortened beginning later this year.
By a vote of 70 to 24, the Senate agreed to begin […]

SAN ANTONIO - With one week to go before crucial primaries in the large, delegate rich states of Texas and Ohio, the two remaining Democratic presidential candidates, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, met in a televised debate Tuesday. The debate was held in Cleveland, Ohio and broadcast by the MSNBC cable channel. 
The two candidates […]

WASHINGTON - A vault built to safeguard seed samples of the world’s important food crops has opened in the remote Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard.Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Nobel-Prize winning environmentalist Wangari Maathai on Tuesday placed the first seeds inside the vault, built in caverns 130 meters inside a frozen mountain.
The repository is designed […]

WASHINGTON - For the first time this year, more people will live in cities than anywhere else on the planet. Speaking to a gathering of urban planners at the World Bank in Washington, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg urged policy makers and the public to confront the challenges of urban life with a new […]

WHITE HOUSE - President Bush is pressing U.S. lawmakers to double funds for fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa. Mr. Bush says his trip to Africa last week convinced him that American aid is making a difference.
President Bush says the trip to Africa was the most exhilarating of his presidency, because America is helping a new generation […]