IRBIL - The Iraqi government has demanded the immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops, saying the five-day incursion is threatening their otherwise friendly relations.
Iraq’s council of ministers says the Turkish military is violating Iraqi sovereignty by conducting the incursion into Kurdish areas of northern Iraq.
Ali al-Dabbagh, the spokesman for the Iraqi government, says the government rejects […]

WASHINGTON - Consumer advocate Ralph Nader announced on February 24th — three days short of his 74th birthday — that he is launching his third bid to be elected President of the United States, running as the candidate of the independent Green Party. Nader’s previous third-party campaigns for the White House in 2000 and 2004 stirred public […]

NEW YORK - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has launched a multi-year campaign to end violence against women and girls.
The U.N. chief cited the ugly statistics on violence against women and girls around the world.
“At least one out of every three women is likely to be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime,” […]

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department is projecting that when the temporary U.S. troop buildup in Iraq is over in July, there will be a total of about 140,000 U.S. troops there. That would leave about 8,000 more troops on the ground in Iraq than when the troop build-up, known as the surge, began in January […]

By Jeremy Reynalds
Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
GARDEN VALLEY, TEXAS (ANS) – As American President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush wrapped up their six-day tour of Africa to Liberia last week, Mercy Ships volunteer doctors from around the world began the first of several thousand surgeries onboard the Africa Mercy in the […]

SEOUL - The former Seoul mayor who swept December elections in South Korea is getting used to his new title: Mr. President. Lee Myung-bak has taken his oath of office in a formal ceremony in the South Korean capital.
Performers brought the sights and sounds of South Korea’s rich cultural past and present to life Monday, […]

IRBIL - The government of Iraq’s Kurdistan region has blamed Baghdad and Washington for failing to stop Turkish military actions in northern Iraq. The Turkish incursion has cost dozens of lives and sparked concerns the conflict may destabilize the largely peaceful region.  
Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani told journalists it is the responsibility of the […]

MIAMI - Cuba’s leadership has chosen Raul Castro to become the nation’s president, after nearly 50 years of leadership by his brother Fidel. 
Cuba’s National Assembly confirmed the transfer of power to Raul Castro, from his brother, Fidel. Officials announced the decision at a meeting Sunday to select the 31 members of the governing Council of […]

WASHINGTON - Consumer advocate Ralph Nader says he is launching a campaign for president of the United States. Nader sites growing discontent in the country with both Republicans and Democrats. 
Ralph Nader made it official during an appearance on national television.
“I have decided to run for president,” said Nader.
Nader told NBC’s Meet the Press that he […]

WASHINGTON - President Bush says Congress’s failure to reauthorize a controversial wiretapping law is irresponsible. During his weekly radio address Saturday, Mr. Bush accused the U.S. House of Representatives of not doing enough to protect Americans from terrorists.  
President Bush blasted the U.S. House of Representatives, saying - again - that its failure to reauthorize critical […]

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are focusing their efforts on the large, delegate-rich states of Texas and Ohio over the next several days.  Obama and Clinton are headed for what could be a decisive showdown for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in the Texas and Ohio primaries on March 4. 
The […]

STATE DEPARTMENT - The United States Friday called on Turkey to limit the scope of its ground incursion in northern Iraq and bring it to an early conclusion. The operation is apparently the biggest of several recent Turkish military strikes against Kurdish PKK rebels. 
The United States agrees with Turkey that the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers […]

SEOUL - U.S. military officers say two air force pilots are safe after their B-2 Stealth Bomber crashed on the island of Guam.
The crash occurred Saturday morning local time as the B-2 Stealth bomber was taking off from Andersen Air Force base on Guam, a U.S. territory that lies south of Japan.
U.S. Technical Sergeant Tom […]

STATE DEPARTMENT - The United States Wednesday imposed sanctions against a prominent Syrian businessman in a bid to punish Damascus for alleged efforts to undermine the governments of Iraq and Lebanon. The targeted Syrian, Rami Makhluf, is a cellphone magnate and a relative of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The sanctions announced by the Treasury Department are […]

WASHINGTON - The United States has formally protested to Serbia’s government over inadequate security at the U.S. embassy in Belgrade, which was attacked and partly burned by demonstrators Thursday. The State Department says Serbian anger over Kosovo independence is no excuse for the attack and anti-U.S. incitement in Serbia.
State Department officials say they’re still trying […]

LOS ANGELES - U.S officials say a missile launched from a Navy ship in the Pacific successfully hit a U.S. spy satellite more than 200 kilometers above the Earth. President Bush ordered the shoot-down last week out of concern that toxic fuel on board the wayward satellite could crash to Earth and harm people. 
The Navy […]

WASHINGTON - President Bush says the United States has no plans to build new military bases in Africa. Mr. Bush is in Ghana where he is trying to head off concerns about the creation a new U.S. military command for Africa.
President Bush says the new command structure known as AFRICOM is unique because it is […]

WASHINGTON - Skywatchers in the Western Hemisphere will be able to view the full moon in shades of red as it slides into the shadow of the Earth during a total lunar eclipse Wednesday night.If weather conditions are favorable, the entire eclipse will be visible in South America and most of North America late Wednesday. […]

PENTAGON - U.S. naval forces west of Hawaii are preparing to try to shoot down a falling American satellite, with their first attempt expected late Wednesday.
The Navy will use its new anti-missile capability, which is still under development, to try to shoot down the satellite as it approaches the earth’s atmosphere. Three missiles and their […]

HONG KONG - Asia has built much of its success on cheap, plentiful rice. But the supply of the region’s most important food crop is declining steadily, and prices are going up - putting a strain on the region’s poor. However, rice researchers say the situation is not hopeless.
Improved seeds and farm technology, better irrigation, […]

WASHINGTON - Fidel Castro is the longest-serving leader in the Western Hemisphere, holding on to power despite repeated efforts by the United States to end his rule. To some Cubans, he is a revolutionary hero, but to others, he is a ruthless communist dictator.
Mr. Castro was born in 1926 to a Spanish immigrant landholder and […]

WASHINGTON - Fidel Castro has resigned as Cuba’s president, ending his nearly 50-year rule of the Caribbean nation. 
The newspaper Granma quotes Mr. Castro as saying he will not aspire to nor accept another term as president when the country’s newly-elected National Assembly meets, Sunday.
Fidel Castro has not appeared in public since undergoing intestinal surgery in July, […]

WASHINGTON - President Bush says Cuban President Fidel Castro’s decision to step down should be the start of a democratic transition on the island.  Cuba’s Communist party newspaper published a quote from Mr. Castro Tuesday, saying he will not accept another term as president.
President Bush says the United States will help the people of Cuba […]

HONG KONG - China has suffered its first defeat at the World Trade Organization, and Australia’s low unemployment level means interest rates may be raised again.
The World Trade Organization has upheld a complaint by the United States, Canada and the European Union over China’s import tariffs on car parts. A WTO panel ruled that Beijing […]

JERUSALEM - Israel says it plans to continue crippling sanctions on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, despite international opposition. The announcement was made as three Palestinian gunmen and a civilian were killed in Israeli raids in Gaza.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says the reduction of electricity and fuel supplies to Gaza will continue until Palestinian rocket attacks […]