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Published: March 28, 2008 at 12:00 PM
U.S. troops engage in Sadr City offensive
BAGHDAD, March 28 (UPI) -- U.S. military troops fought militia in Sadr City, the huge Shiite stronghold in Baghdad, while Iraqi forces held the area's outskirts, officials said.
The clashes Thursday indicate U.S. forces were drawn more deeply into a broad offensive Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki undertook in the southern city of Basra earlier against rouge militias, The Washington Post reported Friday.
The Mehdi Army of cleric Moqtada Sadr, a Shiite rival of Maliki, seems to have absorbed the brunt of the attacks in Basra, and fighting has spread to other southern cities and parts of Baghdad, the Post said.
Maliki implemented the offensive without consulting his U.S. allies, White House officials said. With little U.S. presence in the south and British forces in Basra confined to an air base outside the city, one administration official told the Post, "(We) can't quite decipher" what's happening.
Three rival Shiite groups have been trying to position themselves in Basra to dominate recently approved provincial elections.
In Baghdad, Post reporters said they saw four U.S. Stryker armored vehicles in Sadr City and heard the noise of American weapons and Mehdi Army's AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades.
Analyst: Fractured Dems will close ranks
WASHINGTON, March 28 (UPI) -- Intra-party squabbles are hurting U.S. Democrats, but a political analyst says the party's long-term goal -- the November presidential election -- looks good.
Polls indicate Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois took hits recently in their campaigns to be the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee, The Christian Science Monitor reported.
Clinton lost ground after she "misspoke" about landing in Bosnia under sniper fire in 1996. Thirty-seven percent of the voters view her positively, a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll said.
Obama's positive rating has been hovering around 49 percent, but his image as a uniter suffered. A CBS poll shows 52 percent of voters said Obama would unite the country, a decline from 67 percent.
Democrats are concerned, says Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist.
"They'd love to have a nominee organizing for the fall," he said. "And they are concerned about the vicious things being said back and forth. I'll bet you a dollar to your dime that the Democrats come back together and unite behind their candidate."
Factors in the Democrats' favor include their fundraising advantage over Republicans and record-breaking turnouts for primaries and caucuses.
Clinton proposes healthcare spending cap
NEW YORK, March 28 (UPI) -- Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton says she favors a universal healthcare plan that limits what Americans pay to 10 percent of their income.
In going over a proposed spending cap for insurance policies in an interview with The New York Times, Clinton, D-N.Y., also said it "might be appropriate" to require insurers spend a major part of every premium dollar on healthcare.
And if funding is a problem, she said she wouldn't object to raising the excise tax on tobacco products.
The 10 percent cap would reportedly be a significant reduction for some families. She called the plan a moral imperative and the best chance to cut costs and improve quality.
Clinton said she thought "the time is right" for a bipartisan consensus to reorganize the health system. That view is not shared by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the presumed Republican nominee for president, the Times said.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Clinton's opponent for the Democratic nomination, favors universal healthcare for children.
Colombia offers rebels for Betancourt
BOGOTA, March 28 (UPI) -- Colombia has offered to release members of a leading rebel group in exchange for high-profile hostage Ingrid Betancourt.
The Colombian government's Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo said that several members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, freed Betancourt, a one-time senator and presidential candidate, then several FARC members would be released.
The FARC captive must however promise not to return to the movement, Restrepo said, El Tiempo reported Friday.
Betancourt was captured by FARC rebels in 2002 during the presidential campaign. According to local media reports, her health appears to be failing.
FARC has been battling Colombian forces for more than 40 years.
Virginia sniper suspect arrested
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., March 28 (UPI) -- A suspect was arrested Friday in the Virginia Interstate 64 shootings that injured two motorists, police said.
Investigators said they thought more than one person was involved, the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch reported.
Two motorists sustained minor injuries from the Thursday gunfire, which reportedly came from the roadside and an overpass about 12 miles west of Charlottesville, Va.
Quake shakes Egypt, no damage reported
MATROUH, Egypt, March 28 (UPI) -- An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale shook portions of Egypt early Friday but there were no reports of casualties or damage.
The quake was centered on Crete island, northwest of the Mediterranean city of Matrouh, authorities told the Kuna news service.
It was reported felt in an area bounded by Matrouh and the delta on the northern coast and Cairo and Halwan in the south.
BAGHDAD, March 28 (UPI) -- U.S. military troops fought militia in Sadr City, the huge Shiite stronghold in Baghdad, while Iraqi forces held the area's outskirts, officials said.
The clashes Thursday indicate U.S. forces were drawn more deeply into a broad offensive Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki undertook in the southern city of Basra earlier against rouge militias, The Washington Post reported Friday.
The Mehdi Army of cleric Moqtada Sadr, a Shiite rival of Maliki, seems to have absorbed the brunt of the attacks in Basra, and fighting has spread to other southern cities and parts of Baghdad, the Post said.
Maliki implemented the offensive without consulting his U.S. allies, White House officials said. With little U.S. presence in the south and British forces in Basra confined to an air base outside the city, one administration official told the Post, "(We) can't quite decipher" what's happening.
Three rival Shiite groups have been trying to position themselves in Basra to dominate recently approved provincial elections.
In Baghdad, Post reporters said they saw four U.S. Stryker armored vehicles in Sadr City and heard the noise of American weapons and Mehdi Army's AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades.
Analyst: Fractured Dems will close ranks
WASHINGTON, March 28 (UPI) -- Intra-party squabbles are hurting U.S. Democrats, but a political analyst says the party's long-term goal -- the November presidential election -- looks good.
Polls indicate Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois took hits recently in their campaigns to be the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee, The Christian Science Monitor reported.
Clinton lost ground after she "misspoke" about landing in Bosnia under sniper fire in 1996. Thirty-seven percent of the voters view her positively, a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll said.
Obama's positive rating has been hovering around 49 percent, but his image as a uniter suffered. A CBS poll shows 52 percent of voters said Obama would unite the country, a decline from 67 percent.
Democrats are concerned, says Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist.
"They'd love to have a nominee organizing for the fall," he said. "And they are concerned about the vicious things being said back and forth. I'll bet you a dollar to your dime that the Democrats come back together and unite behind their candidate."
Factors in the Democrats' favor include their fundraising advantage over Republicans and record-breaking turnouts for primaries and caucuses.
Clinton proposes healthcare spending cap
NEW YORK, March 28 (UPI) -- Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton says she favors a universal healthcare plan that limits what Americans pay to 10 percent of their income.
In going over a proposed spending cap for insurance policies in an interview with The New York Times, Clinton, D-N.Y., also said it "might be appropriate" to require insurers spend a major part of every premium dollar on healthcare.
And if funding is a problem, she said she wouldn't object to raising the excise tax on tobacco products.
The 10 percent cap would reportedly be a significant reduction for some families. She called the plan a moral imperative and the best chance to cut costs and improve quality.
Clinton said she thought "the time is right" for a bipartisan consensus to reorganize the health system. That view is not shared by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the presumed Republican nominee for president, the Times said.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Clinton's opponent for the Democratic nomination, favors universal healthcare for children.
Colombia offers rebels for Betancourt
BOGOTA, March 28 (UPI) -- Colombia has offered to release members of a leading rebel group in exchange for high-profile hostage Ingrid Betancourt.
The Colombian government's Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo said that several members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, freed Betancourt, a one-time senator and presidential candidate, then several FARC members would be released.
The FARC captive must however promise not to return to the movement, Restrepo said, El Tiempo reported Friday.
Betancourt was captured by FARC rebels in 2002 during the presidential campaign. According to local media reports, her health appears to be failing.
FARC has been battling Colombian forces for more than 40 years.
Virginia sniper suspect arrested
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., March 28 (UPI) -- A suspect was arrested Friday in the Virginia Interstate 64 shootings that injured two motorists, police said.
Investigators said they thought more than one person was involved, the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch reported.
Two motorists sustained minor injuries from the Thursday gunfire, which reportedly came from the roadside and an overpass about 12 miles west of Charlottesville, Va.
Quake shakes Egypt, no damage reported
MATROUH, Egypt, March 28 (UPI) -- An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale shook portions of Egypt early Friday but there were no reports of casualties or damage.
The quake was centered on Crete island, northwest of the Mediterranean city of Matrouh, authorities told the Kuna news service.
It was reported felt in an area bounded by Matrouh and the delta on the northern coast and Cairo and Halwan in the south.
© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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