Shiite rebels and Iraq reach cease-fire
BAGHDAD, May 10 (UPI) -- Iraq has reached a cease-fire agreement with Shiite militants to stop attacks in Baghdad's Sadr City, officials said.
The peace deal is set to begin early Sunday at the latest, a Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi, spokesman for Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr's group said.
Ali al-Dabbagh, a spokesman for the Iraqi government, also said a cease-fire deal had been made, CNN reported.
Iraq and the Sadrists began talks to end fighting earlier this week, during which the United Iraq Alliance was used as a mediator, al-Obeidi said.
CNN reported leaflets passed out in Sadr City by Sadr's Mehdi fighters cautioned against any cease-fire announced in the news.
"Be aware that the enemy's propaganda controls all channels and satellites and in one way or another they are trying to affect our determination and morale," a leaflet read.
The peace agreement is intended to stop the militants' "armed presence" in Sadr City, prompting the government to allow aid to enter the area and injured people to leave, al-Obeidi said.
Israeli airstrikes kill four in Gaza
GAZA, May 10 (UPI) -- Israeli airstrikes on Hamas targets overnight Saturday in Gaza killed five "terrorists" and injured four "Islamic Jihad operatives," Israelis said.
The Jerusalem Post quoted Hamas officials and Israeli Defense Forces as saying the casualties were part of response to a Friday incident in which an Israeli man was killed by a mortar shell at a settlement in the western Negev region of Israel.
The Post also said Hamas' military wing, Izzadin Kassam, announced that a Saturday morning rocket barrage that damaged buildings but caused no casualties in the Israeli city of Sderot was, in turn, a response to the Israel's overnight attack.
The Israeli delegation to the United Nations this week presented a complaint to U.N. Secretary Ban Ki-Moon about frequent rocket fire aimed at Israel coming from Gaza, the Post said.
Clinton refocuses on Bush administration
LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 10 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton has temporarily focused her attention away from her electoral rival to take aim at the administration of President George W. Bush.
The Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal said Saturday that the New York senator's speech in Kentucky Friday night was not focused on U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, but rather the upcoming end of the Bush administration.
"You can almost hear the sound of the moving van taking George Bush back to Texas," Clinton said Friday at Louisville's Kentucky International Convention Center. "The world will breathe a sigh of relief when George Bush and Dick Cheney hand over the keys to the White House."
"It took a Clinton to clean up after the first Bush and it's going to take a Clinton to clean up after the second one," she added.
The Courier-Journal said polls have indicated that Clinton is ahead of the Illinois senator by nearly 35 percent in Kentucky, whose primary is scheduled for May 20.
Some experts say Clinton will not be able to surpass Obama in delegate support no matter the result of the remaining primaries, the newspaper said.
Brawl breaks out at Los Angeles school
LOS ANGELES, May 10 (UPI) -- A South Los Angeles high school was temporarily closed after a 600-person brawl broke out between Latino and black students, officials said.
The Friday brawl at Locke High School resulted in four arrests and left several students with minor injuries, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.
"The kids were crazy, running from place to place, jumping on other kids," said Reggie Smith, the school's band director.
The fight began between opposing groups of Latino and black students, but quickly grew into a mass brawl across the entire campus, the report said.
The school's security force called in some 60 officers to help calm the students, the Los Angeles Unified School District police said.
The city's police said they also sent at least a dozen patrol vehicles and 50 officers to the scene.
Locke, a school known to have frequent violence, is soon to be revamped into a group of charter schools headed by Green Dot Public Schools, the Times said.
BAGHDAD, May 10 (UPI) -- Iraq has reached a cease-fire agreement with Shiite militants to stop attacks in Baghdad's Sadr City, officials said.
The peace deal is set to begin early Sunday at the latest, a Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi, spokesman for Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr's group said.
Ali al-Dabbagh, a spokesman for the Iraqi government, also said a cease-fire deal had been made, CNN reported.
Iraq and the Sadrists began talks to end fighting earlier this week, during which the United Iraq Alliance was used as a mediator, al-Obeidi said.
CNN reported leaflets passed out in Sadr City by Sadr's Mehdi fighters cautioned against any cease-fire announced in the news.
"Be aware that the enemy's propaganda controls all channels and satellites and in one way or another they are trying to affect our determination and morale," a leaflet read.
The peace agreement is intended to stop the militants' "armed presence" in Sadr City, prompting the government to allow aid to enter the area and injured people to leave, al-Obeidi said.
Israeli airstrikes kill four in Gaza
GAZA, May 10 (UPI) -- Israeli airstrikes on Hamas targets overnight Saturday in Gaza killed five "terrorists" and injured four "Islamic Jihad operatives," Israelis said.
The Jerusalem Post quoted Hamas officials and Israeli Defense Forces as saying the casualties were part of response to a Friday incident in which an Israeli man was killed by a mortar shell at a settlement in the western Negev region of Israel.
The Post also said Hamas' military wing, Izzadin Kassam, announced that a Saturday morning rocket barrage that damaged buildings but caused no casualties in the Israeli city of Sderot was, in turn, a response to the Israel's overnight attack.
The Israeli delegation to the United Nations this week presented a complaint to U.N. Secretary Ban Ki-Moon about frequent rocket fire aimed at Israel coming from Gaza, the Post said.
Clinton refocuses on Bush administration
LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 10 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton has temporarily focused her attention away from her electoral rival to take aim at the administration of President George W. Bush.
The Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal said Saturday that the New York senator's speech in Kentucky Friday night was not focused on U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, but rather the upcoming end of the Bush administration.
"You can almost hear the sound of the moving van taking George Bush back to Texas," Clinton said Friday at Louisville's Kentucky International Convention Center. "The world will breathe a sigh of relief when George Bush and Dick Cheney hand over the keys to the White House."
"It took a Clinton to clean up after the first Bush and it's going to take a Clinton to clean up after the second one," she added.
The Courier-Journal said polls have indicated that Clinton is ahead of the Illinois senator by nearly 35 percent in Kentucky, whose primary is scheduled for May 20.
Some experts say Clinton will not be able to surpass Obama in delegate support no matter the result of the remaining primaries, the newspaper said.
Brawl breaks out at Los Angeles school
LOS ANGELES, May 10 (UPI) -- A South Los Angeles high school was temporarily closed after a 600-person brawl broke out between Latino and black students, officials said.
The Friday brawl at Locke High School resulted in four arrests and left several students with minor injuries, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.
"The kids were crazy, running from place to place, jumping on other kids," said Reggie Smith, the school's band director.
The fight began between opposing groups of Latino and black students, but quickly grew into a mass brawl across the entire campus, the report said.
The school's security force called in some 60 officers to help calm the students, the Los Angeles Unified School District police said.
The city's police said they also sent at least a dozen patrol vehicles and 50 officers to the scene.
Locke, a school known to have frequent violence, is soon to be revamped into a group of charter schools headed by Green Dot Public Schools, the Times said.
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This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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