Somalia News Blog @newzblogz.com

More than 15 people were killed, including several government soldiers and possibly two Ethiopians. The scene was reminiscent of 1993, when Somalis turned on American peacekeepers and dragged their bodies through the streets. Those images and the loss of 18 American soldiers in a single battle, the infamous "Black Hawk Down" episode, led to a swift American withdrawal.

This time the targets were Ethiopian troops and the soldiers of Somalia's transitional government, both reviled by many people in Mogadishu, the tumultuous capital. Residents fear that this transitional government is headed in the same direction as the 13 that came before it - into a vortex of clan violence and anarchy that has made Somalia an icon of a failed state.

The recent injection of a small force of African Union peacekeepers does not seem to have made a difference.

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MOGADISHU, Somalia - Masked gunmen dragged slain soldiers through the streets of Somalia's capital Wednesday, then set the bodies on fire as jeering crowds threw rocks and kicked the dead after a fierce battle in a neighborhood loyal to Islamic insurgents.

At least 16 people were reported killed and dozens were wounded in the hourslong firefight, which was some of the heaviest fighting in Mogadishu since a radical Muslim militia was driven from the city in December after six months in power.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991, when clan-based warlords ousted a longtime dictator and then began fighting among themselves.

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Mogadishu, Somalia ?- Masked gunmen dragged slain soldiers through the streets of Somalia's capital Wednesday, then set the bodies on fire as jeering crowds threw rocks and kicked the dead after a fierce battle in a neighborhood loyal to Islamic insurgents.

At least 16 people were reported killed and dozens wounded in the hours-long firefight, some of the heaviest fighting in Mogadishu since a radical Muslim militia was driven from the city in December after six months in power.

A similar scene in Mogadishu grabbed the world's attention in 1993 when militiamen shot down a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter during an attempt to capture a warlord and dragged around dead American soldiers. The Clinton administration pulled out U.S. troops, and U.N. peacekeepers soon followed suit, leaving Somalia to years of anarchy.

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NAIROBI, Kenya -- In some of the bloodiest fighting in months, at least 20 people were killed Wednesday in Somalia's capital. The dead included seven government soldiers, some of whose bodies were dragged through the streets and set on fire, witnesses said.

The gruesome scene was reminiscent of the 1993 crash of a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter in Mogadishu during an ill-fated mission that killed 18 American servicemen.

The latest clashes began after government soldiers, aided by Ethiopian troops, launched an early morning raid on the outskirts of town. They encountered stiff resistance from gunmen believed to be remnants of the Islamic Courts Union.

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Heather Fikes (left), an eighth grade student from Jennings Middle School in Akron, represented Somalia yesterday during the 2007 Global Issues Seminiar. Approximately 150 local middle school students participated in the Mock UN program and discussed world issues throughout the day. ABBY FISHER | DAILY KENT STATER

The members of Kent's City Council want the Kent State community to know they are not anti-student. But at yesterday's Undergraduate Student Senate meeting, some student senators and audience members seemed less than convinced.

Council members and other city administrators attended an open forum held to discuss issues between the two factions, especially the nuisance party ordinance that went into effect March 7.

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Insurgents drag soldiers' corpses through Mogadishu

2007-03-21

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The Black Student Union at Davis High School has long strived to celebrate African American culture and create a sense of solidarity at the mostly white campus.

But the student group has been torn by internal power struggles and parental involvement that some say is excessive and inappropriate.

Davis High School principal Michael Cawley suspended the club after a contentious March 1 meeting centered on the appointment of a new faculty adviser for the group.

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CENTERVILLE Even now, theres more to a soldiers world than Iraq.

For Navy Intelligence Specialist Second Class Tom Archibald, home after a year-long tour in Djibouti, Africa, the Middle East is only a conduit for insurgent groups and weapons that come down and stir up the infighting already present in the North African region.

Somalia hasnt had any government for about 15 years. Its like the wild west down there, said Archibald. The area has so many issues.

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MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Insurgents dragged the corpses of two soldiers through the streets of the Somali capital and set the bodies on fire Wednesday after a fierce street battle killed at least seven people, witnesses and medical officials said. An Associated Press photographer saw insurgents drag the bodies of one Ethiopian soldier and one Somali government soldier through the streets of northeastern Mogadishu and then set them on fire. As one of the bodies was still burning, women wear...

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FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — A dozen civilians were sitting in a classroom, listening intently to a Marine in combat boots tell them how to survive on the streets of Afghanistan or Iraq.

Violence will happen, no matter what, they are told. Their job is to be prepared.

Rodney Harvey, a former Georgia cop who retired after injuring his knee chasing a drug dealer, fidgeted in his chair. "I never did any SWAT thing, combat training," he says later.

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With each passing day, the readiness crisis of America's armed forces worsens as the emerging threats seem to multiply. On this crucial issue, there is bipartisan agreement in the Congress.

    At last week's hearing of the readiness panel of the House Armed Services Committee, subcommittee chairman Solomon Ortiz, a moderate Texas Democrat, laid it on the line. "I have seen the classified Army-readiness reports, and based on those reports," Mr. Ortiz declared, "I believe that we as a nation are at risk of major failure" if the Army is "called to deploy to an emerging threat." Liberal Democratic Rep. Neil Abercrombie, who also serves on Armed Services, told The Washington Post, "We are at a crisis point across the board."

    In a secret analysis sent to Congress last month, according to a recent report by the New York Times, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that the military now faces a "significant" (upgraded from "moderate") risk of failing in carrying out its tasks in Iraq, Afghanistan and emerging threats elsewhere. "As you look around the globe, it's hard to see where, in the near term, our commitments will diminish," Gen. Pace told the full House...

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Hundreds of masked insurgents confronted the government forces, which were supported by tanks and armored vehicles, said Ali Haji Jama, a resident of the northeastern neighborhood at the center of the fighting.

An AP photographer saw insurgents drag the bodies of one Ethiopian soldier and one Somali government soldier through the streets of northeastern Mogadishu and then set them on fire.

"Ethiopian tanks rolled out of the former defense ministry and moved into nearby Shirkole area, which is seen as the stronghold of the insurgent groups and they met with stiff resistance," he said. Other witnesses said minibuses filled with insurgents were racing through the city to reach Shirkole and defend against the Ethiopian advance.

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MOGADISHU (Reuters) - At least four people were killed in heavy fighting that erupted in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday after insurgents shot at the interim government's Ethiopian military allies, witnesses said.

A Reuters journalist saw the bodies of three civilians and one gunmen at the scene of the fighting in the Shirkole and Alikamiim areas of the city. The fighting started after Ethiopian and government forces rolled out with tanks and insurgents fired at them, residents said.

In the latest battle between government-allied forces and insurgents who carry out regular hit-and-run attacks on them, unidentified gunmen shot at the tanks which responded with four cannon shots, residents said.

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MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) Masked men believed to be Islamic militants dragged the corpses of two soldiers through the streets of the Somali capital and set their bodies on fire Wednesday during fierce battles with government forces trying to consolidate their control of Mogadishu.

Medical officials at Mogadishu's three hospitals said they had recorded at least seven dead and 36 wounded by early afternoon in some of the heaviest fighting in Mogadishu since the Islamic forces were driven out in December. Dahir Mohamed Mohamud Dhere of Medina Hospital said doctors there were treating 36 wounded government soldiers.

An Associated Press photographer saw insurgents drag the bodies of one Ethiopian soldier and one Somali government soldier through southern Mogadishu and set them on fire.

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They said insurgents shot at Ethiopian tanks on the streets and that the Ethiopians fired back. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

In the latest skirmish between government-allied forces and insurgents who carry out regular hit-and-run attacks on them, unidentified gunmen shot at the tanks and were answered by four shots from the tanks' cannons, residents said.

The Ethiopians also fired several rockets at the Mogadishu stadium, where residents said some insurgents had dug themselves in, residents said.

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WASHINGTON - Ken Linthicum met a 19-year-old girl last month who contracted Rift Valley Fever and lost her unborn child as a result - a common effect of the disease in pregnant women and livestock that survive.

The encounter took place in a remote village in Kenya, where people are sick and some are dying in the first outbreak of Rift Valley Fever in that country in 10 years. Linthicum, director of the Center for Medical Agricultural and Veterinary Etymology, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Gainesville, was there to collect data that could help guard against the disease on the home front.

"It really takes a tremendous toll on everyone from both a human and agricultural point of view,'' he said.

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MOGADISHU, Somalia ? Insurgents dragged the corpses of two soldiers through the streets of the Somali capital and set the bodies on fire Wednesday after a fierce street battle killed at least seven people, witnesses and medical officials said.

An Associated Press photographer saw insurgents drag the bodies of one Ethiopian soldier and one Somali government soldier through the streets of northeastern Mogadishu and then set them on fire.

As one of the bodies was still burning, women wearing head scarves and long, loose dresses picked up stones and pounded it as a handful of young men looked on.

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One member of Congress called opponents of a continued U.S. military mission in Iraq "idiot liberals." To a critic upset that a supplemental spending measure doesn't zero out funding for the war, he shouted, "If that isn't good enough for you, you're smoking something illegal. You've got your facts screwed up."

Another member of Congress had a simple message for anti-war protesters who set up camp outside her home and requested the representative speak with them: "You aren't my constituents."

The former was House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., ambushed on home video by members of the Occupation Project. The latter was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, responding to members of Code Pink.

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NAIROBI, Kenya - CIA officers in Kenya failed to use their influence to win the release of an American citizen who was secretly deported to Somalia and is now imprisoned in Ethiopia, a country that the State Department says abuses detainees, according to an internal U.S. government e-mail.

The message, which was read to McClatchy Newspapers, said that some U.S. officials thought the CIA station in Nairobi had enough influence with Kenyan authorities to free Amir Mohamed Meshal, 24, of Tinton Falls, N.J., but didn't use it. The message's author worried that the failure to demand Meshal's release might set a bad precedent.

The State Department has claimed that it had no control over Kenya's action. A U.S. intelligence official in Washington said the CIA wasn't involved in the matter.

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There will be a big party Sunday celebrating traditions around the world, and you're invited. If you show up, be hungry! You can fill up on food from restaurants in the Atlanta area that serve foods from 24 countries.

Sure, you may have tried Chinese and Mexican food. But there is sure to be something you've never tried. It just might be time to get adventurous.

The food ?- along with plenty of fun for kids ?- will raise money for a group called Refugee Family Services. It helps people who fled trouble in other parts of the world and are starting over here. More than 45,000 refugees live in Georgia, most of them in the Atlanta area. The United States lets refugees enter our country legally so they can get a fresh start. Many in the Atlanta area come from Afghanistan, Bosnia, Cuba, Iraq, Kurdistan, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan and Vietnam.

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PEKIN -- Estados Unidos y Corea del Norte resolvieron una disputa sobre $25 millones en bienes congelados del régimen de Pyongyang, despejando el camino para lograr eventualmente el desmantelamiento del programa nuclear norcoreano, dijeron ayer funcionarios norteamericanos.

Christopher Hill, jefe de la delegación de EEUU en las negociaciones sobre el programa nuclear de Corea del Norte, dijo que ahora ``podemos avanzar hacia el próximo problema''.

Dos víctimas mortales por ataques

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Today marks the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq. The death toll looms large: 3,217 U.S. soldiers and at least 59,000 civilians killed (as of Sunday, March 18), including at least a dozen with local ties. The numbers dont tell enough of the story. To help us and you better understand how the war has affected families in the Rock River Valley, we interviewed four individuals.

One is a Loves Park father whose son died in the war. Another is a former soldier from Rockford whose friend died during one of their missions in Iraq.

And two Rockford women tell what their international experiences have taught them about war and suffering.

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That pretty much sums up the holiday ahead. Fears. Tears. And way too many Mary Janes. At least, for those fond of their adult teeth.

Oh, don't get me wrong. Get me candy! No - I mean, get this: There's plenty I truly love about Halloween, starting with the "accidental" overbuying of those miniature Hershey bars. Never know when the crew of the Nimitz might drop by!

Then there's the joy of seeing your little one wide-eyed with excitement as he dons his beloved costume: ninja vampire with dagger wound and brains dripping down his face.

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WASHINGTON Four years after the invasion of Iraq, the high and growing demand for U.S. troops there and in Afghanistan has left ground forces in the United States short of the training, personnel and equipment that would be vital to fight a major ground conflict elsewhere, senior U.S. military and government officials acknowledge.

More troubling, the officials say, is that it will take years for the Army and Marine Corps to recover from what some officials privately have called a death spiral, in which the ever-more-rapid pace of war-zone rotations has consumed 40 percent of their total gear, wearied troops and left no time to train to fight anything other than the insurgencies now at hand.

The risk to the nation is serious and deepening, senior officers warn, because the U.S. military now lacks a large strategic reserve of ground troops ready to respond quickly and decisively to potential foreign crises, whether the internal collapse of Pakistan, a conflict with Iran or an outbreak of war on the Korean Peninsula. Air and naval power can only go so far in compensating for infantry, artillery and other land forces, they said. An immediate concern is that critical Army overseas equip...

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Syndicated columnistI first heard of Ayaan Hirsi Ali when they pulled the knife from Theo van Gogh's chest in November of 2004.The Dutch filmmaker had been shot and then nearly beheaded as he rode his bicycle to work in Amsterdam. His attacker felt justified in committing this filthy murder because van Gogh had insulted Islam in a short film titled “Submission” about the treatment of women in the Islamic world.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali by birth but by then a member of the Dutch parliament, had written the screenplay. Under that knife was a long rambling letter addressed to Hirsi Ali and to the West generally. Full of threats and imprecations, the letter warned that she was next.It is appropriate that Hirsi Ali was singled out along with the United States, Holland and Europe - “I surely know that you, O America, will be destroyed. I surely know that you, O Europe, will be destroyed. I surely ...

Her birth coincided with the birth of the new Somalia, which was emerging from years of colonization by the English and the French. Her father, active in politics and later in the opposition forces, hoped to create a democratic society that would astound the world. Instead, as with nearly all of the newly independent African nations, Somalia spiraled down - first into a Soviet-style dictatorship and later into civil and tribal war

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This column was written by Katrina Vanden Heuvel. This Monday is the fourth anniversary of America's war against Iraq. The Nation vigorously and rigorously opposed the war before it began. In "An Open Letter to Congress," published on the eve of the vote on the war resolution, we wrote, "the case against the war is simple, clear and strong."

As we mark what may well be the most colossal foreign policy disaster in U.S. history, we mourn the death and destruction ? which has not ended. We mark the lies and delusions that launched this war ? since they too are continuing.

The majority of the American people have found their way to the truth and are demanding an end to this catastrophe. Yet the political system continues to crawl hesitantly toward accepting the enormity of this failure.

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Los insurgentes somalíes atacaron ayer a las fuerzas gubernamentales y a soldados etíopes con fuego de artillería y morteros, matando a dos personas e hiriendo por lo menos a 16 en un fuego cruzado.

Los insurrectos utilizaron sus morteros contra cuatro áreas de la capital, centrándose en el puerto y la antigua sede de los servicios de espionaje. Los ataques de la guerrilla contra el gobierno de transición aumentan cada día más su nivel de preparación acrecentando la cifra de ataques y de bajas.

Por lo menos 4 personas resultaron heridas cuando un proyectil de mortero cayó en un restaurante cerca del puerto, frecuentado por muchos comensales, aseguró uno de ellos, Shamsa Alí Mude.

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MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) Insurgents struck the Somali capitals seaport and former intelligence quarters yesterday, killing two people and injuring at least 16 who were caught in fighting that drew in Ethiopian and government troops, witnesses said. Mortar fire struck four areas in the capital. One person was killed and at least three people were wounded when a mortar round hit a restaurant near the seaport, employees and diners at the restaurant said. "They were shouting and crying," said Ali Ma...

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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A suicide bomber attacked a U.S. Embassy convoy in Kabul on Monday morning along a busy highway that leads to Bagram Air Base, east of the capital, an embassy spokesman told CNN.

"There were several injuries, including one American who was evacuated and is being treated at this time," said Joe Mellott, a U.S. Embassy spokesman. "We have had reports that some innocent Afghan bystanders were injured or possibly killed."

In their accounts of the incident, Kabul police and Western sources said at least three people died in the attack that they said hit a U.N. vehicle.

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I first heard of Ayaan Hirsi Ali when they pulled the knife from Theo van Gogh's chest in November 2004. The Dutch filmmaker had been shot and then nearly beheaded as he rode his bicycle to work in Amsterdam. His attacker felt justified in committing this filthy murder because van Gogh had insulted Islam in a short film titled "Submission" about the treatment of women in the Islamic world. Hirsi Ali, a Somali by birth but by then a member of the Dutch parliament, had written the screenplay. Unde...

It is appropriate that Hirsi Ali was singled out along with the United States, Holland and Europe -- "I surely know that you, O America, will be destroyed. I surely know that you, O Europe, will be destroyed. I surely know that you, O Holland, will be destroyed" -- because as we learn from her new autobiography, Infidel, Hirsi Ali has come to appreciate and to personify the greatest virtues of our civilization.

Her story, a completely engrossing narrative I found hard to put down, began in Somalia in 1969. She was born into the Osman Mahamud subclan of the Darod clan. For a Somali child, nothing is more important than memorizing her lineage for as many generations as she can count. It can mean the difference between murder and protection -- and later in the story, it does for Hirsi Ali.

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NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- "Progress will be when I can afford to buy good shoes," a poor farmer says.

Standing to the side of a rutted dirt path near the field where Shailendra cuts grass for 50 rupees, or about US $1, a day; Shailendra says it's hard for him to compare his life to those living in India's cities. He says he's never been to the city himself and the rural village where he lives in Bihar doesn't have electricity; so there's no television to see pictures of such far-off places.

Shailendra's life seems removed from figures supporting the booming economic development across the subcontinent. In India, growth rates surpass 8 percent, according to World Bank statistics.

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On Feb. 9, an article was published concerning the “delisting” of gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountain States by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Delisting” is a governmental euphemism for removing the gray wolf from the endangered species list, so they can be slaughtered. There was an e-mail address given whereby the public could comment on the proposal. That address was wrong. The correct e- mail address is: NRMGrayWolf @fws.gov.MARCH 9

The bears in the Huachuca Mountains are emerging from hibernation. These are the lucky ones. Eleven other bears were shot to death last year when a shortage in their natural food supply drove them to forage for food in the lower canyons of the Huachucas. This put them in conflict with people who live in these canyons. If food is left out whether intentionally or not, the bears will associate people with food and will become habituated, with deadly and tragic consequences for the bears. A fed bea...

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I first heard of Ayaan Hirsi Ali when they pulled the knife from Theo van Gogh's chest in November of 2004. The Dutch filmmaker had been shot and then nearly beheaded as he rode his bicycle to work in Amsterdam.

His attacker felt justified in committing this filthy murder because van Gogh had insulted Islam in a short film titled "Submission" about the treatment of women in the Islamic world. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali by birth but by then a member of the Dutch parliament, had written the screenplay. Under that knife was a long rambling letter addressed to Hirsi Ali and to the West generally. Full of threats and imprecations, the letter warned that she was next.

It is appropriate that Hirsi Ali was singled out along with the United States, Holland and Europe because as we learn from her new autobiography, "Infidel," Ayaan Hirsi Ali has come to appreciate and to personify the greatest virtues of our civilization.

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TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- An exhibition exploring the mind of Leonardo da Vinci, featuring his masterpiece "Annunciation," was set to open in Tokyo on Tuesday despite protests in the Renaissance artist's native Italy over lending out the priceless painting.

The loan of the painting to Tokyo's National Museum set off outrage in Italy, prompting an Italian senator to chain himself to the Uffizi Museum in Florence, Italy. Critics said it would needlessly endanger an irreplaceable 15th century masterpiece that has seldom left its homeland.

But after a 12-hour journey halfway around the world, the fragile painting arrived in Japan last week unscathed.

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WASHINGTON -- Singled out in next year?s U.S. State Department budget as its ?principal counterterrorism initiative,? the Regional Strategic Initiative is aimed at using ?soft power? rather than firepower to counter Islamic extremism.

It was developed in response to the president?s National Security Strategy released in March 2006, which called for a gradual refocus of the war on terrorism from using military might to strengthening alliances in an effort to defuse regional and local conflicts.

But like some similar programs, the Regional Strategic Initiative has been starved for funds and other support -- and has lost some of its top leadership.

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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- It may trail the historic impact of Charles Lindbergh's 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic, but the Spirit of St. Louis also did not have a wingspan wider than a football field or space for more than 500 passengers.

For plane builder Airbus and German airline Lufthansa, the A380's first flight to North America on Monday is a chance to show off the superjumbo to potential U.S. buyers and to the airports they hope will be flight bases for the double-decker jet.

"We're talking about an airplane that is representing aviation in the 21st century in terms of efficiency," said Jens Bischoff, Lufthansa's vice president for the Americas.

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We would like to take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude to the hundreds of firefighters‚ police‚ friends‚ family and customers who have shown us unequaled and unyielding support‚ kindness and love.

It is all you people who have cushioned a horrible loss to our family and shown us what is truly good in this world.

Will we rebuild? Yes‚ but our foundation will be more than cinderblock and wood. It will also be the strength given to us by the goodness in the people around us during this difficult time.

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WASHINGTON - Four years after the invasion of Iraq, the high and growing demand for U.S. troops there and in Afghanistan has left ground forces in the United States short of the training, personnel and equipment that would be vital to fight a major ground conflict elsewhere, senior U.S. military and government officials acknowledged.

More troubling, they said, is that it will take years for the Army and Marine Corps to recover from what some officials privately call a "death spiral," in which the rapid pace of war-zone rotations has consumed 40 percent of their gear, wearied troops and left no time to train to fight anything other than the insurgencies at hand.

The risk to the nation is serious and deepening, senior officers warn, because the U.S. military lacks a large strategic reserve of ground troops ready to respond quickly and decisively to potential foreign crises, whether the internal collapse of Pakistan, a conflict with Iran or outbreak of war on the Korean Peninsula.

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WASHINGTON - Four years after the invasion of Iraq, the high and growing demand for U.S. troops there and in Afghanistan has left ground forces in the United States short of the training, personnel and equipment that would be vital to fight a major ground conflict elsewhere, senior U.S. military and government officials acknowledge.

More troubling, the officials say, is that it will take years for the Army and Marine Corps to recover from what some officials privately have called a "death spiral," in which the ever-more-rapid pace of war-zone rotations has consumed 40 percent of their total gear, wearied troops and left no time to train to fight anything other than the insurgencies now at hand.

The risk to the nation is serious and deepening, senior officers warn, because the U.S. military now lacks a large strategic reserve of ground troops ready to respond quickly and decisively to potential foreign crises, whether the internal collapse of Pakistan, a conflict with Iran or an outbreak of war on the Korean Peninsula. Air and naval power can only go so far in compensating for infantry, artillery and other land forces, they said. An immediate concern is that critical Army overseas equip...

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PORTLAND, Ore. - Marking the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, thousands poured into downtown Portland for an anti-war protest.

The majority of the event seemed peaceful, though there were some brief skirmishes between protesters and counter-demonstrators. Police stepped in and broke up one of the confrontations involving an American flag.

Organizers enlisted the help of about 40 volunteer "peacekeepers," who were the first line of defense against any unruly protesters. They wore yellow shirts and planned to step in first in case protesters strayed off the scheduled route or started to cause other problems.

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Thousands of American and Israeli troops conducted an operation Sunday to test new ways of intercepting missiles able to carry nuclear, chemical and biological warheads, the Associated Press reported, citing American and Israeli military officials. Israel and the United States are concerned that Iran could be developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles able to threaten Israel. But both sides said the timing of the operation in southern Israel's Negev Desert was routine and unrelated to...

UNITED KINGDOM

Camilla to become a grandmother

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NEW ORLEANS — The decision by Carnival Corp. to delay indefinitely the arrival of its 2,758-passenger Triumph vessel to the Port of New Orleans will not affect plans to erect the city's third cruise ship terminal, port president Gary LaGrange said.

Carnival had planned to begin cruising from New Orleans in August. But earlier this year, the company moved the vessel to Miami, saying advance bookings were slower than expected. The decision means New Orleans will have three homeported ships, instead of the four it had before Hurricane Katrina. Only one of those — Carnival's Fantasy — will sail year-round.

The port will spend up to $13 million to convert a cargo shed into a terminal by 2008, LaGrange said. The third terminal was proposed while New Orleans was one of the country's fastest-growing ports — a pattern that was washed away with the storm. LaGrange said he is personally calling travel agents and travel writers to encourage them to promote cruise travel from New Orleans.

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MOGADISHU, Somalia - A Somali police chief leading a crackdown on insurgents in the lawless country was killed by his bodyguard, witnesses said Sunday.

Col. Abdi Mohamed Abdulle, appointed police commander of Somalia's third largest city, Kismayo, died of his wounds after being shot in the leg Saturday night, resident Abdullahi Ahmed Kulmiye told The Associated Press by telephone.

The bodyguard, who has not yet been identified, fled in a waiting Toyota pickup with several dozen armed gunmen protecting him, the resident said.

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The Bush administration says it wants to end extremism by addressing underlying conditions, but the money goes to military might.

March 18, 2007

Official stance

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MINNEAPOLIS - Muslim cashiers at some local Target stores who object to ringing up products that contain pork are being shifted to other positions where they don't need to, the discount retailer said Saturday.

The Star Tribune reported this past week that some Muslim cashiers at local Targets had declined to scan pork products such as bacon because doing so would conflict with their religious beliefs. They would ask other cashiers to ring up such purchases, or sometimes customers would scan those items themselves, the newspaper reported.

Minneapolis-based Target Corp. has now offered its local Muslim cashiers who object to handling pork the option of wearing gloves while cashiering, shifting to other positions or transferring to other nearby stores.

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WASHINGTON — Singled out in next year's State Department budget as its "principal counter-terrorism initiative," the Regional Strategic Initiative is aimed at using "soft power" rather than firepower to counter Islamic extremism.

It was developed in response to the president's National Security Strategy released in March 2006, which called for a gradual refocus toward strengthening alliances to defuse area conflicts, and away from military might.

But like some similar programs, the Regional Strategic Initiative has been starved for funds and other support — and has lost some of its top leadership.

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The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported last week that some Muslim cashiers at Twin Cities Targets had declined to scan pork products such as bacon because doing so would conflict with their religious beliefs. They would ask other cashiers to ring up such purchases, or sometimes customers would scan those items themselves, the newspaper reported.

Minneapolis-based Target Corp. has offered its local Muslim cashiers who object to handling pork the option of wearing gloves while cashiering, shifting to other positions or transferring to other nearby stores.

?We are confident that this is a reasonable solution for our guests and team members,? Target spokeswoman Paula Thornton-Greear said in a statement e-mailed to the Associated Press on Saturday.

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Muslim cashiers at some local Target stores who object to ringing up products that contain pork are being shifted to other positions where they don't need to, the discount retailer said Saturday.

The Star Tribune reported this past week that some Muslim cashiers at local Targets had declined to scan pork products such as bacon because doing so would conflict with their religious beliefs. They would ask other cashiers to ring up such purchases, or sometimes customers would scan those items themselves, the newspaper reported.

Minneapolis-based Target Corp. has now offered its local Muslim cashiers who object to handling pork the option of wearing gloves while cashiering, shifting to other positions or transferring to other nearby stores.

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MINNEAPOLIS Muslim cashiers at some local Target stores who object to ringing up products that contain pork are being shifted to other positions where they don’t need to, the discount retailer said Saturday.The Star Tribune reported this past week that some Muslim cashiers at local Targets had declined to scan pork products such as bacon because doing so would conflict with their religious beliefs. They would ask other cashiers to ring up such purchases, or sometimes customers would scan ...

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MOGADISHU, Somalia - Insurgents struck the Somali capital's seaport and former intelligence quarters on Sunday, killing two people and injuring at least 16 who were caught in fighting that drew in Ethiopian and government troops, witnesses said.

Mortar attacks were launched against four separate areas in the capital, where attacks against the transitional government are growing more sophisticated and deadly.

One person was killed and at least three people were wounded when a mortar round hit a restaurant near the seaport where locals were having lunch, employees and diners at the restaurant said.

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