WHITE HOUSE - U.S. President George Bush has signed legislation providing an additional $162 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 
President Bush says America has a responsibility to back its men and women serving in the military, especially at a time of war.
“We owe these brave Americans our gratitude,” he said. “We […]

JERUSALEM - Israeli authorities re-opened a commercial border crossing with the Gaza Strip Sunday following an end to Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israel.
An Israeli military spokesman said Israel was allowing about 80 truckloads of goods to enter Gaza Sunday through the Sufa crossing.
Israeli authorities closed Sufa and other crossings on Wednesday, a day after […]

JERUSALEM - Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has gotten cabinet approval to go ahead with a prisoner swap with Hezbollah militants.
Israel’s cabinet voted to release Samir Kantar, a Lebanese guerrilla who has been in Israeli jails for nearly 30 years, in exchange for the Israeli soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev who were seized by […]

WASHINGTON - U.S. President George W. Bush says religious-based charities have made a “remarkable” difference in the lives of needy people in the United States and Africa during his presidency.  
President Bush used his weekly radio address Saturday to promote his administration’s partnership with faith-based groups.
The president said that in the United States, religious charities […]

WASHINGTON - U.S. President George Bush is vowing to take new action against Zimbabwe’s government for what he called a “sham election” Friday that ignored the will of the people.
In a statement Saturday, Mr. Bush ordered the secretaries of State and Treasury to develop sanctions against what he called Zimbabwe’s illegitimate government and the people […]

PENTAGON - A senior U.S. Navy admiral says Vietnam is considering fresh offers he made this week for joint naval exercises. The admiral made the offers during the first ever visit to Vietnam by one of the U.S. Navy’s hospital ships. 
Speaking from the USNS Mercy hospital ship off the Vietnamese coast, Vice Admiral Doug Crowder […]

IOWA - Corn prices are surging on the world market after devastating floods in the U.S. heartland destroyed many crops shortly after they were planted. Corn is also in high demand these days, because it is used for making the alcohol fuel additive called ethanol, which is highly subsidized in the United States and mandated […]

SEOUL - North Korea has put on a very visual spectacle to persuade the world it is serious about ending its nuclear programs. With international cameras rolling, Pyongyang blew up a cooling tower at its main nuclear facility.  
Video images of North Korea’s carefully staged demolition were beamed around the world Friday, within hours of […]

DEL RIO - Arrests of illegal aliens along the US/Mexico border have increased over the past year according to records of the US Department of Homeland Security. The records show a 73 percent increase in arrests and prosecutions over the past year. Officials attribute the increase to Operation Streamline, through which illegal entrants are charged […]

WASHINGTON - For the first time in history, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a definitive ruling on the right of Americans to own guns. A five-to-four majority of the court ruled that individual citizens have the right to own firearms, and in the process it struck down a 32-year-old ban on handguns in the […]

SYDNEY - Some senior leaders of the Islamic community in Sydney are calling on the Australian government to recognize polygamous marriage on cultural grounds. Bigamy and polygamy are illegal in Australia but clerics say some Muslims circumvent the law by forming unions in religious ceremonies that are not state sanctioned. 
Several Muslim clerics say that polygamous […]

WASHINGTON - U.S. President George Bush has met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani at the White House. The outlook for an agreement on the future nature of the American presence in Iraq was among the many issues discussed. 
The focus was on the positive as the two men met briefly with reporters at the end of […]

WASHINGTON - Legislation to revise U.S. surveillance law survived a key test vote in the Senate Wednesday, despite opposition from some majority Democrats to a provision protecting telephone companies from possible privacy lawsuits. The Senate could give final approval to the bill and send it to President Bush for his signature before a congressional recess […]

WASHINGTON - After steadily cutting interest rates for much of the past year, the U.S. central bank has decided to keep them unchanged, while signaling concerns about inflation that could trigger interest rate hikes in the future. 
The Federal Reserve typically raises interest rates during periods of brisk economic activity that tend to boost inflationary pressures, […]

STATE DEPARTMENT - State Department officials are acknowledging an internal debate over whether the United States should open a diplomatic interests section in Tehran. Iran said Tuesday it would consider a request from the United States to open a diplomatic presence.
The idea of opening a U.S. interests section in Tehran, first raised in a story […]

JERUSALEM - Israel’s Prime Minister has avoided a split with a major coalition partner and possible dissolution of his government in a deal that could end his own political career in three months. The political developments came as a shaky cease-fire in Gaza showed more signs of unraveling.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reached a last-minute deal […]

WHITE HOUSE - President Bush has met at the White House with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.  The wide-ranging talks covered issues from trade to human rights.
As they posed for pictures after their talks, both men chose their public words carefully.
They said they discussed their desire to strengthen bilateral relations, boost trade and work […]

WASHINGTON - A star-laden roster of NBA players will make up the United States Men’s Basketball team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
This season’s NBA Most Valuable Player, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers are the two headlining names on the USA men’s roster.
In addition to […]

PENTAGON - A quarterly report from the Pentagon says violence in Iraq is down significantly, but warns the progress is fragile, in part because of political infighting, meddling from Iran and the continuing ability of insurgent groups to stage large-scale attacks.
The report, required by Congress, says violence in Iraq has fallen to its lowest level […]

PARIS - European Union members have approved new sanctions against Iran in response to Tehran’s refusal to freeze its nuclear program.
New EU sanctions on Iran include an asset freeze on the country’s biggest bank, Bank Melli. They also include visa bans that will reportedly target senior members affiliated with Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran says its nuclear […]

WASHINGTON - June 26, 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift - one of the biggest humanitarian operations ever, and a turning point in the Cold War. 
Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Gail Halvorsen drops candy to children from a transport plane that flew in the Berlin Airlift. He does this at air shows […]

WASHINGTON - In his weekly radio address, U.S. President George Bush once again urged Congress to lift its long-standing ban on offshore oil-and-gas drilling to increase U.S. energy production. Mr. Bush said Democrats in Congress are blocking his proposals, and, as a result, are partly to blame for high gasoline costs. 
U.S. President George Bush focused […]

CAPITOL HILL - The House of Representatives has approved legislation updating U.S. foreign intelligence surveillance law. President Bush welcomed the bipartisan compromise measure saying it will improve U.S. capabilities to prevent another terrorist attacks. Some Democratic lawmakers opposed the measure.
In crafting the latest revision of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), House and Senate […]

WHITE HOUSE - U.S. President George Bush has approved more than $32 million in additional funding to support refugees and victims of conflict in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
First Lady Laura Bush announced the additional funding at a White House ceremony marking World Refugee Day.
“We recognize citizens from African nations like Somalia and Sudan, […]

JERUSALEM - An Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire has taken effect in the Gaza Strip. 
After months of Palestinian rocket barrages and Israeli army raids, the guns in and around the Gaza Strip have fallen silent. The ceasefire between Israel and the Islamic militant group Hamas, that rules Gaza, is supposed to last for six months. If it holds, […]