Salmonella probe widens
WASHINGTON, July 5 (UPI) -- Investigators are looking at all the ingredients in fresh salsa as they try to find the cause of the U.S. salmonella outbreak, officials said Saturday.
Tomatoes and jalapeno peppers are still suspect, the Atlanta Journal & Constitution reported. But the Centers for Disease Control said the investigation has widened.
"We're still looking at tomatoes as a possible cause, along with jalapenos and cilantro and other ingredients in fresh salsa," said CDC spokesman Glenn Nowak.
At least 943 cases of salmonella have been reported in 40 states, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported Saturday. When the outbreak began in April, it was blamed on tomatoes, and many restaurant chains took them off the menu.
Nowak said investigators were looking at restaurants where at least two people have become sick within 10 days.
"We're working through the holiday weekend and we're hoping we can have something early in the week, more information in terms of what the case controls studies show," he said.
Lawmaker shot on bloody day in Afghanistan
NURISTAN, Afghanistan, July 5 (UPI) -- An Afghan lawmaker was gunned down on a day when 10 Taliban fighters were killed by their own bomb and others died in a disputed U.S. air strike, officials say.
Habibullah Jan, a member of the Afghan Parliament, was killed late Friday in Kandahar province, the BBC reported. He had been at an Afghan army base in an area where the Taliban is strong.
Jan was a veteran of the guerrilla war against the Soviet occupation in the 1980s and had been a military commander in Kandahar.
Police said the Taliban members died Friday in Helmand province. They were allegedly trying to plant a roadside bomb outside Musa Qala, a town that had been a stronghold of the group until December when they were driven out, the Pak Tribune reported.
Officials in Nuristan province in eastern Afghanistan said 22 civilians were killed. The U.S. military denied reports of civilian deaths, the BBC said.
The Pak Tribune reported that Zia-Ul Rahman, a district chief, said the group included women and children.
"The civilians were evacuating the district as they were told by the U.S.-led troops to do so because they wanted to launch an operation against the Taliban," he said.
Maliki cautions U.S. against Iran attack
BAGHDAD, July 5 (UPI) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has cautioned the United States against using Iraqi territory to carry out attacks on Iran.
Maliki's statements came in a Friday video link meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush, al-Alam reported.
Maliki said he was concerned about military pressure aimed at Iran regarding the country's nuclear activities, adding he would not permit U.S. forces to use Iraqi land, airspace and waterways as a means for attacking states in the region.
He said the Mideast is in a "fragile" state and "fomenting tension in the region and pushing for military action against Tehran could wreak havoc on the entire region, including Iraq."
Maliki said diplomacy would be the most effective way to resolve conflict surrounding Iran's nuclear activities.
Iran reiterates nuclear stance
TEHRAN, July 5 (UPI) -- Iran expressed a willingness Saturday to negotiate with the West but said it won't give up its right to what it calls its peaceful nuclear program.
The comments from government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham came one day after Iran formally responded to a package of economic incentives offered by the so-called 5 plus 1 group of nations, the BBC reported. Neither the exact content of the multinational proposal nor the Iranian response has been made public, but Elham's remarks indicated Iran still is not ready to put the brakes on its nuclear program.
Iran "will not go back on its rights on the nuclear issue," Elham said. "Iran's stand regarding its peaceful nuclear program has not changed. Iran insists on negotiations while respecting its rights and avoiding any loss of international rights."
The incentives package was assembled by China, the European Union, France, Russia, Britain and United States. It was offered to Iran by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in June.
