World News

Iraqi Insurgents Low Morale

Vicky Hunter - May 3, 2005 / 11:35 am | Story: 9048

The U.S. military said Tuesday it has seized a letter from Iraqi insurgents believed to be intended for Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi complaining about low morale among followers and weakening support for the insurgency. The authenticity of the letter -- which the military said American troops found Thursday in a raid in Baghdad -- could not be independently verified. Full story
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has issued a tough warning to North Korea that the United States is well able to defend itself and its allies against nuclear and missile threats. And South Korea on Tuesday dismissed claims that North Korea is preparing to conduct an underground nuclear test, Yonhap news agency reported. Full story
Somalia's prime minister has escaped what officials say was a bombing at a government rally in Mogadishu's football stadium that killed at least seven people. Ali Mohamed Gedi, who was unharmed, initially described Tuesday's explosion as an accident, but another government official told Reuters it was caused by a bomb. Dozens of people were reported injured. Full story
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is facing renewed criticism over his decision to send troops to Iraq as he heads into the final days of an election campaign. The families of troops killed in Iraq are challenging the legality of the government's support for the U.S.-led invasion. Full story
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has issued a report to Congress that said the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan could hamstring the U.S. ability to fight other wars, a senior military official told CNN. The chairman, Gen. Richard Myers, supplied the report, an annual document on the U.S. military's ability to carry out war plans, to the lawmakers. Full story
President Bush, stunned when John R. Bolton's nomination for United Nations ambassador hit a Republican road bump, is working hard to avoid a political setback at the outset of his second term when senators hold a showdown vote next week. Full story
Taiwan's opposition leader Lien Chen has returned home after a historic visit to mainland China, hailing his "journey of peace" that netted a friendship offer of two giant pandas from Beijing. Lien, chairman of the Nationalist Party, gave a brief speech at the airport upon his arrival on Tuesday, hailing the eight-day visit to the mainland and saying his "journey of peace has come to an end and we've met with the mainland leaders and exchanged views with them." Full story
Dutch prosecutors accused the suspected killer of filmmaker Theo van Gogh on Tuesday of leading a "terrorist organization" made up of young Muslim men. Mohammed Bouyeri, the Dutch-Moroccan charged with shooting and stabbing Van Gogh dead as he cycled to work on November 2, took a leading role as he hosted meetings in his home for 12 Muslim men arrested after the murder, prosecutors said. Full story
A judge entered a plea of not guilty Tuesday for Dennis Rader, the former church leader and city employee who is charged with 10 counts of murder in the BTK serial killings that terrorized Wichita since the 1970s. Rader chose to stand mute during the brief arraignment and asked District Court Judge Gregory Waller to enter the plea for him. Full story
Ten years after a firefighter was left brain-damaged and mostly mute during a 1995 roof collapse, he did something that shocked his family and doctors: He perked up. "I want to talk to my wife," Donald Herbert said out of the blue Saturday. Staff members of the nursing home where he has lived for more than seven years raced to get Linda Herbert on the telephone. Full story