World News

U.S. Troops Should Stay

Chelsea Howard - Feb 1, 2005 / 7:15 am | Story: 6844

Iraq's interim president said Tuesday it would be "complete nonsense" to ask U.S. and other foreign troops to leave Iraq at this point but some of the 170,000 soldiers could be leaving Iraq by the end of the year. Ghazi al-Yawer, who had been a strong critic of some aspects of the U.S. military operation in Iraq, said foreign troops should leave only after Iraq's security forces are built up, the security situation has improved and some pockets of terrorists are eliminated.Full story
Israel is going to slow its planned pullout from five West Bank towns after a day of violence strained an informal cease-fire, and will stop the process altogether if Palestinians don't halt all attacks on Israeli targets, Israeli security officials said Tuesday.Full story
A United Nations report has concluded that the Sudanese government has not been committing genocide in the country's Darfur region. The report has not yet been made public, but Sudan's foreign minister said Monday that his government had received a copy in advance. "They didn't say that there is a genocide," Mustafa Osman Ismail said at an African Union meeting in Nigeria.Full story
The World Food Program says the number of Indonesian tsunami survivors needing food aid is expected to rise to almost 800,000 as more needy is found. WFP spokesman Inigo Alvarez says that as the organization reaches isolated coastal communities using helicopters and boats, the number of people requiring immediate assistance will rise sharply.Full story
The Vatican said Tuesday it has cancelled Pope John Paul's audiences for the next few days because of the pontiff's flu. A brief statement gave no further details of his condition. The Vatican said Monday that it was a mild case. The frail 84-year-old pontiff came down with the illness Sunday and doctors advised that he cut back on his activities.Full story