Bank plan has doubters as EU convenes
BRUSSELS, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Some European leaders were voicing skepticism about the continent's plan to tackle the global financial crisis as the latest European Union summit began.
Leaders convened in Brussels Wednesday for two days of talks on the progress of the Lisbon Treaty. However, the EU Observer said the financial rescue plan was already dominating the discussions.
The newspaper said disagreements exist between the so-called Eurozone nations and the other countries that are not part of the 15-nation Eurozone bloc.
The Eurozone countries last Sunday announced an aggressive plan to shore up Europe's banks, but non-zone governments including the Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland say they are against any resulting loosening of budget discipline.
Proponents of the rescue plan were hoping this week's summit would result in formal approval of a strategy before the EU's rotating presidency changes at the end of the year.
Attack ads bite McCain, poll indicates
NEW YORK, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Recent attack ads aired by John McCain against Barack Obama seemed to have backfired, results from a New York Times-CBS News poll indicate.
Results released Wednesday indicate more voters see McCain as waging a negative campaign than Obama. Six in 10 voters said McCain spent more time assaulting Obama than discussing the issues.
If the election were now, 53 percent of those polled indicated they would vote for Obama and 39 of the identified probable voters said they would vote for McCain.
Voters who said their opinions of Obama changed were twice as likely to say they had a more favorable opinion than to say their view worsened. Voters who said their views of McCain changed were three times more likely to say that their views worsened than improved.
The top reasons why they thought less of McCain include his recent attacks on Obama and his choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, respondents said.
The nationwide telephone poll was conducted Friday through Monday with 1,070 adults, of whom 972 were registered voters. The margin of error for both groups is 3 percentage points.
Obama: ACORN 'not advising' campaign
MAUMEE, Ohio, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Barack Obama says a community activist group under siege by Republicans is "not advising our campaign."
Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, Tuesday addressed attacks from GOP counterpart Sen. John McCain of Arizona alleging he has close ties with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN. McCain alleges the low-income and minority advocacy group, which generally favors Democratic candidates, is perpetrating "voter fraud."
Obama called the allegations "a distraction" and said as a lawyer he had represented ACORN in a 1990s lawsuit. "But they are not advising our campaign," he told reporters in Maumee, Ohio, adding, "We've got the best voter registration and turnout and volunteer operation in politics right now and we don't need ACORN's help," the Washington publication Politico reported.
McCain issued a statement Tuesday saying ACORN had engaged "voter fraud" to "disrupt our political system."
Obama, however, said ACORN isn't accused of actual voter fraud but of submitting fraudulent voter registration forms containing random names or those of celebrities. They were filled in by paid volunteers looking to make work quotas but under law ACORN had to submit them to election officials anyway, he said.
Al-Qaida in Iraq leader killed in Mosel
BAGHDAD, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Coalition forces killed al-Qaida in Iraq's second-in-command during an operation earlier in October in Mosul, the U.S. military command announced Wednesday.
Abu Qaswarah, known as Abu Sara, who was killed during an Oct. 5 operation after coalition forces tracked him to a building in the northern Iraq city, CNN reported.
Qaswarah was second to al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the military said. He also had "historic ties" to Abu Musav al-Zarqari, who preceded al-Masri, as well as senior al-Qaida leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In Baghdad, six Iraqis were injured in two explosions in the al-Dora district, the Kuwait News Agency KUNA reported.
Police said the explosions targeted the headquarters of a government backup security squad. Four police officers and two members of the Iraqi special forces were injured.
Somali security forces take pirated vessel
BOSSASSO, Somalia, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Security forces from the semi-autonomous Somalia region of Puntland say they've stormed and captured a pirate-held ship in the Gulf of Aden.
Officials in Bossasso, Somalia, say soldiers boarded the Panamanian-registered ship Awail and rescued its crew unharmed after the pirates ran out of ammunition, the BBC reported Wednesday.
Two soldiers were injured in the rescue, the second try by Puntland officials to take the vessel, which was hijacked while carrying cement from Oman to Bossasso, the broadcaster said.
Regional officials have launched an urgent effort to gain control of the piracy epidemic off Somalia because many pirate gangs are based in the Puntland town of Eyl, the BBC reported.
Meanwhile, Somali pirates were still holding the Ukrainian ship MV Faina in the Indian Ocean, demanding a $20 million ransom for its crew and cargo of 33 tanks and other military equipment.
Sarkozy shortens Canadian visit for Bush
MONTREAL, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy is shortening his trip to Canada this week in order to meet with U.S. President George Bush on Saturday, his staff said.
Sarkozy, who holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, was to meet with newly re-elected Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Montreal, but that was shifted to Thursday in Quebec City, the Canwest News Service reported.
Harper is hosting the Francophonie summit, a gathering of 53 countries where French is the common language, which begins Friday.
Originally, Harper and Sarkozy were to meet regarding a free-trade agreement between the European Union and Canada but the abbreviated schedule means the men will instead focus on the global economic crisis, the report said. Sarkozy is also scheduled to address Quebec's provincial legislature.
The French president adjusted his schedule in order to meet with Bush Saturday at Camp David, Md., the report said.
