Caption: An Iraqi police officer, above, guards two detainees who were arrested when they were trying to launch a Katusha rocket against Kirkuk airport about 180 miles north of Baghdad this afternoon. The men belong to Naqshabandi armed group, which formed 3 months ago in Kirkuk city to fight U.S., Kirkuk police said. (AP Photo)
From Baghdad, reporter Steven R. Hurst filed a story today about intense battles in Iraq over the weekend in which U.S. and Iraqi forces killed more than 60 insurgents and militia fighters. U.S. aircraft killed more than 20 al-Qaida fighters who opened fire on an American air patrol northwest of Baghdad, the U.S. command said.
For more details on the intense weekend clashes, read this report.
--Paul Chavez
(AP Photo/Alfred de Montesquiou)
About 1,000 rebels from the Sudan Liberation Army attacked a small African Union base in northern Darfur and killed 10 peacekeepers. Several others were wounded and dozens were missing. The photo above shows AU peacekeepers abandoning the camp today.
The attack threatens key peace talks set for October to settle the conflict that has killed at least 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million.
"This is the heaviest loss of life and the biggest attack on the African Union mission," said AU spokesman Noureddine Mezni. "Our troops fought a defensive battle to protect the camp, but 30 vehicles eventually stormed it. ... The camp is completely destroyed."
For the latest, read this report from Haskanita, Sudan, by Alfred de Montesquiou.
--Paul Chavez
(AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
Ummm, separation of church and state? Read on ...
GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain says he would prefer a Christian president over different faiths and called it "an important part of our qualifications to lead."
"I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles ... personally, I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith," McCain said. "But that doesn't mean that I'm sure that someone who is Muslim would not make a good president."
Later, McCain said, "I would vote for a Muslim if he or she was the candidate best able to lead the country and defend our political values."
For more, read this story filed today out of Washington. What do you think? Do you have a religious preference for candidates?
--Paul Chavez
(AP Photo/Disney/Ron Phillips)
Disney's "The Game Plan" worked this weekend as the family film starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson opened as the No. 1 film at the box office with an estimated $22.7 million in ticket sales.
Johnson plays a football quarterback whose bachelor lifestyle is upended when a daughter he never knew he had arrives.
"The Kingdom," starring Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner as members of a U.S. team investigating a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia, made its debut at No. 2 with a solid $17.7 million.
For more details on the box office derby, read this report by AP movie writer David Germain.
--Paul Chavez
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
L-S-U is Number One. The Tigers reached the top spot in The Associated Press Top 25 poll today, pushing past the undefeated USC Trojans.
The Trojans' sloppy 27-24 win at Washington on Saturday night cost them the No. 1 ranking they've held all season.
LSU, meanwhile, beat Tulane 34-9 to move from second to first in the poll. That's LSU running back Charles Scott, above, scoring a touchdown in the game. The Tigers are No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time since Nov. 2, 1959.
For details on the Top 25 poll, read this report by AP college football writer Ralph D. Russo.
--Paul Chavez
(AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
There's a battle brewing between the National Rifle Association and United Nations members pushing for an unprecedented treaty regulating the arms trade worldwide.
Ex-congressman Bob Barr, a leading NRA voice on the subject, claims international rules at some point will encroach upon domestic laws and policies and could limit gun ownership within nations.
Pro-treaty advocacy groups claim the international controls would target weapons deals that contribute to human rights violations and worsen oppression.
The United States -- by far the world's biggest weapons dealer, with almost $13 billion in arms export agreements in 2005 - cast the lone vote in December against starting the treaty process. It has not filed a requested report to the United Nations with its views on a treaty.
WHAT'S NEXT: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected this month to name an experts' group from two dozen nations to review the submissions of 98 governments and report back to the General Assembly in the fall of 2008 on what kind of arms trade treaty might be feasible. General Assembly adoption of a pact wouldn't be expected before 2010.
For more details read this report by AP special correspondent Charles J. Hanley.
Caption: A Nigerian U.N. soldier stands guard next to a cache of weapons at the house of a former dictator in Paynesville near the Liberian capital Monrovia in this October 2003 file photo.
--Paul Chavez
(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
China's communist government has been trying to remove "social pollution" from the country's airwaves and its latest attempt is a ban on television and radio ads for push-up bras, figure-enhancing underwear and sex toys.
Regulators have been tightening their grip on television and radio a few weeks ahead of a twice-a-decade Communist Party congress.
For more details on the government's media moves, read this report from Beijing.
Caption: Chinese security personnel march today in front of the Great Hall of the People across from Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Authorities have tightened security in the area ahead of a reception for National Day celebrations on Oct. 1.
--Paul Chavez
(AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)
U.N. envoys meets with Myanmar opposition leader
Bush administration denounces Iraq split plan
Karzai says Taliban debating peace; violence continues
Gitmo detainees on Supreme Court docket
Los Lobos show to benefit alma mater
Ethiopian sets new marathon record
Caption: A Myanmar citizen living in Japan, holding a photograph of Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, shouts a slogan along with others during a protest march against Myanmar's military junta today in downtown Tokyo. A senior Japanese official left for Myanmar today to convey international concerns over a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests, and to urge its leaders to take steps toward democracy.
--Paul Chavez
