U.S. uses Predator drones over Libya
TRIPOLI, Libya, April 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. military has begun using Predator drones in Libya, the Pentagon said Saturday.
No further details were available, the BBC reported.
In Tripoli, NATO air raids killed three people Saturday and two bombs struck a bunker in Moammar Gadhafi's compound, government officials said.
Government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim showed reporters the aftermath of the strike, which showed two bombs had shattered the concrete and steel and left a large crater, the BBC reported.
The British broadcaster said the bunker was on the periphery of the compound and didn't appear to be part of the central security area.
In the besieged port city of Misurata, 120 miles east of Tripoli, the army had been ordered to halt but pro-Gadhafi tribes threatened to take the fight into their own hands, Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim said.
He asserted that the army had tried to minimize civilian casualties, but the tribes would not show such restraint.
"Now there is an ultimatum before the Libyan army. If they can't resolve the problem in Misurata then the people from the region... will move in," Kaim said.
There has been fierce street fighting in the city for six weeks as NATO jets bombarded Gadhafi artillery positions, The Daily Telegraph said. The exact death toll isn't known, but aid organizations say at least 1,000 people have been killed in Misurata.
U.S. Adm. Mike Mullen told reporters U.S. and NATO airstrikes have destroyed 30 percent to 40 percent of Libya's ground forces, the BBC said.
The revolt calling for Gadhafi to end his 42-years of rule began in February with calls for political reform. Gadhafi responded by using the military to put down demonstrations and refused international calls to respect the citizens. The United Nations then authorized NATO to enforce a no-fly zone and take out government command and control and artillery positions.
NATO helicopter crashes in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan, April 23 (UPI) -- The Taliban has claimed responsibility for a NATO helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan, but its two crew members were rescued, officials said.
NATO forces spokesman Maj. Michael Johnson said the cause of the "hard landing" Saturday was being investigated. He said he couldn't disclose what kind of helicopter went down or whether it was part of a larger operation in the region, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Taliban officials claimed they shot the helicopter down and killed its crew, which it said were French.
"The forces had come to the area to attack on mujahedin strongholds, but they faced furious attacks," said Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid.
Helicopters and other aircraft are used to transport and supply troops in Afghanistan's mountainous regions where paved roads are scarce.
Officials said fighting has increased in eastern Afghanistan in recent days. Saturday insurgents killed two Afghan police officers. Two other officers were wounded.
Friday, a NATO soldier was killed in an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan. Another NATO soldier was killed in the same area Thursday by an improvised explosive device.
Fresh fighting on Thai-Cambodian border
BANGKOK, April 23 (UPI) -- At least one soldier was killed in fighting on the border between Thailand and Cambodia, bringing the two-day death toll to seven, officials said.
Troops traded gunfire and artillery near the Ta Krabey temple, about 125 miles west of the 900-year-old Preav Vihear temple, which was the scene of deadly clashes in February, the BBC reported Saturday.
Both sides claim the temples and the latest outbreak of violence resulted in the evacuation of thousands of civilians from the area.
"We are negotiating to stop the fighting," said Thai army spokesman Col. Prawit Hookaew.
An informal truce was in effect when fighting broke out. Cambodian officials said three of its soldiers were killed in Thursday's clashes and a Thai spokesman told the BBC that three of its troops have died and 11 others have been wounded since fighting erupted.
The Bangkok Post said border trade would suffer if the fighting continues.
Each side blames the other for the renewed fighting.
Koran-burning pastor jailed in Dearborn
DEARBORN, Mich., April 23 (UPI) -- A constitutional law professor says a trial and the brief jailing of two Florida pastors who wanted to demonstrate outside a Michigan mosque is "bizarre."
Florida pastors Terry Jones and Wayne Sapp were briefly jailed Friday in Dearborn after refusing to pay a $1 peace bond following a trial that found they would breach the peace if allowed to hold a rally outside the Islamic Center of America, the Detroit Free Press reported Saturday.
"The judge should have thrown out the case," said Robert Sedler, constitutional law professor at Wayne State University.
Sedler said the entire process was "bizarre" and that "the whole thing is unconstitutional." He cited U.S. Supreme Court cases backing up Jones' right to protest. The Michigan ACLU also criticized the case.
"This is a complete abuse of the court process, and all those involved should be ashamed," said Rana Elmir of the ACLU Michigan office. "The prosecutor's office and the Dearborn court turned the First Amendment on its head. What happened today should never have happened. This is a true miscarriage of Justice."
Jones and Sapp have been in the news for burning a Koran, the Islamic holy book. They planned a protest outside the Dearborn mosque, but 19th District Court Judge Mark Sommers banned the men from going near the mosque for three years.
Jones defended the Constitution, saying other than the Bible it is the greatest book in history.
"The one thing that makes the Constitution great is the First Amendment," Jones told the jury. "The First Amendment does us no good if it confines us to saying what is popular."
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Royals release seating plan for wedding
LONDON, April 23 (UPI) -- The seating plan for the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton in London's Westminster Abbey has been released, royal insiders said.
The detailed plan said only the couple's closest family members and friends would be able to witness the wedding close up, while more than 1,000 other guests would see the ceremony on video screens from behind a partition blocking the altar from view, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.
The couple has strayed from orthodoxy and won't have a bride's side and a groom's side. Members of the Spencer family, relatives of Prince William's mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, will sit next to the Middletons.
The Queen and members of the Royal Family will sit across the aisle from the Middleton family. They will be closest to the sanctuary, where the bride and groom will stand.
British Prime Minister David Cameron is among the guests. He will sit on the south side of the Abbey along with members of his cabinet and Members of Parliament.
