Bush lauds Italy's entrepreneurial spirit
ROME, June 12 (UPI) -- An Italy-U.S. business exchange program provides the "best diplomacy" for the United States, U.S. President George Bush said Thursday during a meeting in Rome.
"You know, ... the best diplomacy for America, particularly among young folks, is to welcome you to our country," Bush said during a Roundtable on Business Exchanges. "You get to see first hand the truth about America."
Bush met with U.S. Ambassador to Italy Ronald Spogli, Italian mayors and a group of young Italian entrepreneurs who are participating in the exchange program by working at Silicon Valley firms in the United States.
The Business Exchange and Student Training program, begun by the U.S. Embassy in 2007, seeks to create a network of Italian entrepreneurs with practical U.S. work experience and to help Italians use U.S. models to found their companies. It is one of several programs under the embassy's Partnership for Growth effort to foster entrepreneurship and build U.S.-Italian economic partnerships.
"We care about people, and we're entrepreneurial," Bush said. "We love it when somebody has a dream, and then ... works hard to achieve the dream, thereby contributing to the society and creating jobs for people, so they can realize their aspirations as well."
Gallup poll shows Obama leads McCain
PRINCETON, N.J., June 12 (UPI) -- Democrats and independents favor likely Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Barack Obama, pushing him ahead of the GOP challenger, a Gallup poll indicates.
When compiling all data from the June 5-10 polling period, Gallup said results released Thursday indicate Obama has a 6-point edge over presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, 48 percent to 42 percent.
About 37 percent of voters polled identified themselves as Democrats, compared to 28 percent who identified themselves as Republican, the Gallup Poll Daily indicated. Thirty-four percent of respondents said they were independents, not choosing to identify with either party.
Voter identification as a Democrat or Republican is strongly correlated with support for the party candidate, pollsters from the Princeton, N.J., firm said.
Those who identify themselves as Republicans were more loyal to McCain, with 85 percent supporting the U.S. senator from Arizona, compared to 78 percent of those identifying themselves as Democrats supporting Obama, the senator from Illinois. Even though they did not choose a party affiliation, independents polled break toward Obama, 46 percent to 39 percent.
Results are based on nationwide telephone interviews with 5,299 registered voters. The sampling error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Dozen GOP lawmakers won't back McCain
WASHINGTON, June 12 (UPI) -- More than a dozen Republican members of Congress have refused to endorse or publicly support Sen. John McCain for president, Capitol Hill sources say.
At least 12 others refuse to say what they will do in that regard, The Hill, a Washington political newspaper, reported Thursday.
Many of the recalcitrant GOP lawmakers won't give a reason for their stand. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., had major concerns about McCain's energy policies and Rep. Walter Jones, R.-N.C., mentioned the Iraq war.
Some say that while they are not endorsing the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, that doesn't mean they don't support the veteran Arizona senator.
Throughout his career in both houses, McCain has been at odds with his party on a range of issues, including campaign finance reform, immigration, healthcare, taxes and energy.
Blast at Hamas leader's home kills five
JERUSALEM, June 12 (UPI) -- Five people died and 60 were hurt Thursday in Gaza when a explosion ripped through a senior Hamas commander's home, Palestinian security officials said.
Palestinian security and medical sources said explosion occurred at a house belonging to Ahmed Hamudi, a senior Hamas commander, CNN reported. Witnesses called the blast a "work accident."
Israeli denied involvement in the incident, calling it a Palestinian internal matter..
Israeli troops killed three Palestinian gunmen in Gaza Thursday, including two members of the military wing of Fatah, Ynetnews.com reported. Israeli army officials said troops stopped an attempt by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades to plant explosives near the Gaza border.
An investigation said military spotters identified two gunmen approaching the border fence opposite an Israeli town, apparently intending to plant a bomb on the fence, officials said. The two sides began exchanging gunfire.
Senior Israeli Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad traveled Thursday to Cairo to try to secure an Egyptian-mediated cease-fire with Hamas and the other groups in Gaza. Gilad was expected to brief Egyptian Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman on Israel's conditions.
Besides a comprehensive cease-fire in Gaza, Ynetnews.com said conditions include the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and an end to arms smuggling to Gaza from Egypt.
Four convoys hit in separate Iraq bombings
BAGHDAD, June 12 (UPI) -- Two government and two police convoys were bombed Thursday in Baghdad, killing at least three Iraqis, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said.
The three who died were killed in an attack on a police convoy in central Baghdad, CNN reported. At least 15 others were injured.
Another 20 other people were wounded when insurgents targeted separate convoys of a senior Interior Ministry official near Beirut Square, a district mayor in the Shaab neighborhood and police commandos near Sadr City, officials said.
In northern Iraq, U.S. and Iraqi forces killed four suspected terrorists and destroyed an al-Qaida in Iraq hiding place Thursday during a raid, CNN reported.
During the operation near Baquba in Iraq's Diyala province, U.S. military officials said troops destroyed a facility where weapons were stored.
Coalition forces also discovered a "tunnel system, fighting positions, weapons, military-style assault vests and documents detailing terrorist operations," a military spokesman said.
The raid was targeting a suicide bombing network
Ireland voting on EU treaty
DUBLIN, Ireland, June 12 (UPI) -- Voters in Ireland Thursday went to the polls to decide whether to ratify the EU reform treaty, which would streamline the European Commission.
The main Irish political parties back the treaty but the "No" campaign has mounted a challenge, the BBC reported.
Parliaments of the other EU members decided the matter, but Ireland, by law, must conduct a popular vote on changes to its constitution.
The treaty, known as the Lisbon Treaty, would remove the national veto in more policy areas, provide for a new president of the European Council and strengthen the foreign affairs post.
Dick Roche, Ireland's EU minister, said the results would be "very, very close."
The "No" campaign is a coalition of organizations, including Sinn Fein, the only party in Parliament opposing the pact.
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said a successful "no" vote would give Ireland's government "a strong mandate to negotiate a better deal for Ireland," the British broadcaster reported.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso urged EU members to back the treaty, which would go into affect in January.
