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More Iran protests set despite warning

TEHRAN, June 20 (UPI) -- Planners of a Saturday rally supporting opposition Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi do not have a permit, local reports say.

Iran's Interior Ministry told the FARS news agency the Tehran rally supporting Mousavi and another opposition presidential candidate, Mehdi Karrubi, did not have permission to proceed Saturday afternoon, CNN reported.

The U.S. broadcaster said rally organizers were using the social networking site Twitter early Saturday to plan the events despite warnings from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, who on Friday called for an end to the protests.

"Let the Qu'ran shield you. It's a mortal sin to kill anyone holding the Qu'ran. Bring your Qu'ran to protest!" one person reportedly wrote on Twitter, while another wrote, "We will try 2 keep this rally peaceful/silent as usual at every cost. Can't give them excuse 2 use force. Hope they won't."

In calling for an end to the rallies at Friday prayers, Khamenei declared last week's election a "definitive victory" for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, rejecting allegations of vote-rigging and saying of the street protests, "Any extremist move will fan up another extremist move," CNN reported.

Fiery Ill. train derailment kills one

ROCKFORD, Ill., June 20 (UPI) -- Fire officials near Rockford, Ill., said Saturday they were waiting for flames from burning ethanol tanker cars to diminish to probe a fatal train derailment.

Rockton, Ill., Fire Chief Kirk Wilson said efforts to investigate in incident, in which one person was killed and two others were injured, would begin after firefighters were able to put out the flames, the Rockford Register Star reported.

The derailment involved three motorists who were stopped at a train crossing, although it wasn't clear if their car was on the tracks, officials said. Rockford Fire Chief Derek Bergsten told CNN it appeared one of the victims who tried to run from the scene suffered second-degree burns on his hand while trying to shield his neck from flames.

Witnesses told the Register Star the 114-car Canadian National Railway train derailed about 8:30 p.m. Friday when the cars started hydroplaning in standing water. Two ethanol-carrying tank cars left the tracks and exploded, sending a fireball high over the treetops and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of nearby homes, the newspaper said.

Hundreds of Commonwealth Edison customers in the Rockford area were without power because of the derailment, ComEd spokesman Paul Callighan told the newspaper.

U.S. probe cites Afghan civilian deaths

WASHINGTON, June 20 (UPI) -- U.S. airstrikes that accidentally killed at least 26 Afghanistan civilians in May were "appropriate," a Defense Department report indicates.

But a Defense Department investigation concluded in a report released Friday that while the bombings against Taliban insurgents in the country's Farah province were justified to support U.S. and Afghan troops, it found the civilian deaths were the result of a B-1 bomber not following command guidance, CNN reported.

"The use of military force in this engagement with the Taliban was an appropriate means to destroy that enemy threat within the requirements of the Law of Armed Conflict," the report said. "However, the inability to discern the presence of civilians and avoid and/or minimize accompanying collateral damage resulted in the unintended consequence of civilian casualties."

The U.S. broadcaster quoted Defense Department investigators saying that airstrikes by FA-18 fighters followed guidelines with no civilian deaths, but that later bombings by a B-1 bomber "did not adhere to all of the specific guidance."

At least 26 civilians and 78 Taliban fighters were killed in the clash, investigators said, warning that the civilian death toll might actually have been higher but that there was no way to determine for sure.

Poll finds uptick in economic optimism

WASHINGTON, June 19 (UPI) -- A poll shows U.S. residents are slightly more optimistic about the economy and their personal finances but still reluctant to spend money.

The survey by the Pew Research Center for People and the Press found that 48 percent of those polled said they expect the economy to get better in the next year, up from 40 percent in February. On their own situation, 63 percent expect improvement, up from 54 percent in February.

But 76 percent said they have delayed a major purchase like a car, or cut back on eating out and on vacations. That was 79 percent in February and 77 percent in December.

Almost nine out of 10, 87 percent said they had adjusted investments or spending because of the economic situation.

The percentage of respondents who say the economy is "poor" has dropped significantly to 52 percent from 68 percent in March. The percentage describing it as "fair" has increased from 25 percent to 39 percent.

Pew interviewed 1,502 adults between June 10 and June 14. No margin of sampling error was reported.

Pakistan: Swat fighting almost over

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 20 (UPI) -- Pakistani officials announced the military campaign against the Taliban in the Swat Valley is almost finished and said residents may begin coming home Saturday.

The fighting is believed to have displaced about 2 million people, The Daily Telegraph reported. The Guardian said about 10 percent of the population remained in Swat throughout the fighting and is now short of vital supplies, especially food.

The top Taliban leaders in the Swat Valley have not been found and may have escaped to Afghanistan, the report said.

Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar said the military focus is shifting from Swat to South Waziristan, the base of Baitullah Mehsud, the top Taliban leader in the country. The Pakistani military bombed the area Friday, preparing for a military offensive there.