U.S. and Iraqi forces, backed by Polish army helicopters, swept through Shiite militia strongholds south of Baghdad Saturday, rounding up dozens of militants and killing two. The prime minister met with the provincial governor, who called for reinforcements to root out “the criminals.” Iraqi police said 30 suspected fighters linked to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army were grabbed in a pre-dawn house-to-house search by U.S. and Iraqi raiders in two eastern neighborhoods in Diwaniyah, 80 miles south of Baghdad.
Myanmar lifted a curfew Saturday and ended a ban on assembly imposed during a deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protests – the latest sign the military rulers are confident they have fully crushed the largest demonstrations in two decades. The White House dismissed the move as “cosmetic,” a day after President Bush announced new penalties against the military-run government. The relaxing of restrictions imposed Sept. 25 was announced from government vehicles driven through the streets of Myanmar’s capital and largest city, Yangon.
Workers at three more United Auto Workers locals have rejected a tentative contract agreement between the union and Chrysler LLC, casting doubt on whether the deal will be ratified. Members at locals in Missouri, Ohio and Delaware voted against the deal Friday and Saturday even as union leaders from Detroit spent the later part of the week lobbying for yes votes. The contract failed Saturday at Local 110 in Fenton, Mo., one of Chrysler’s largest, with 2,781 hourly workers at the South Assembly Plant. The vote was surprising because the plant makes Chrysler Town and Country and Dodge Caravan minivans, which are brand new for 2008 and are expected to be top sellers, providing job security for several years.
Rudy Giuliani tried to find peace with a restless bloc of the Republican Party Saturday, telling religious conservatives not to fear him for his stand on issues such as abortion or expect he would change purely for political advantage. The GOP presidential candidate won praise for simply showing up before an audience that has been casting about for the best social conservative in the Republican field. But two former governors, Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, shared the limelight with the former New York City mayor, handily winning the top two spots in a straw poll of “values voters” conducted by the conservative Family Research Council.
Cities around the world are facing the danger of rising seas and other disasters related to climate change. Of the 33 cities predicted to have at least 8 million people by 2015 , at least 21 are highly vulnerable, says the Worldwatch Institute. They include Dhaka, Bangladesh; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Shanghai and Tianjin in China; Alexandria and Cairo in Egypt; Mumbai and Kolkata in India; Jakarta, Indonesia; Tokyo and Osaka-Kobe in Japan; Lagos, Nigeria; Karachi, Pakistan; Bangkok, Thailand, and New York and Los Angeles in the United States, according to studies by the United Nations and others. More than one-tenth of the world’s population, or 643 million people , live in low-lying areas at risk from climate change, say U.S. and European experts. Most imperiled, in descending order, are China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Egypt, the U.S., Thailand and the Philippines.
Cubans opened an election cycle Sunday that will lead to a decision next year on whether ailing leader Fidel Castro will remain atop the communist-run island’s supreme governing body. The nationwide municipal voting marked the start of a multi-tiered process that culminates with parliamentary elections next spring. Lawmakers could then decide to officially replace Castro, 81, with his younger brother Raul as head of the 31-member Council of State. The elder Castro has been the island’s unchallenged leader since his revolution toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. But he has not been seen in public since undergoing emergency intestinal surgeries and ceding power to a provisional government headed by his brother in July 2006. Some 37,258 candidates were vying for 15,236 positions on municipal assemblies nationwide and official media has said turnout of more than 95 percent of the island’s 8.3 million eligible voters is expected.
