Turkey’s NATO commander, soldier killed in Afghan accident

The commander of Turkey’s NATO force in Afghanistan and another soldier were killed this week in a road accident in northern Afghanistan, the Turkish military said Thursday. Beckham has been criticized in the United States for going out on loan to AC Milan, missing the start of the MLS season, but on the eve of his return to action with Galaxy took the opportunity to put the record straight. “I was given chance to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world (AC Milan) and still be contracted to my club,” he said.

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Beckham: ‘I’m committed to Galaxy and England’

David Beckham says he is still fully committed to the Los Angeles Galaxy but will not give up on his dream of playing for England in the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. Beckham has been criticized in the United States for going out on loan to AC Milan, missing the start of the MLS season, but on the eve of his return to action with Galaxy took the opportunity to put the record straight.

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Black boxes ‘damaged’ in Iran air disaster

A day after an Iranian passenger plane crashed in flames killing all 168 people on board, aviation officials were Thursday examining the aircraft’s damaged flight data recorders to try to determine the cause of the disaster. Caspian Airlines flight 7908 — a Russian-made Tupolev Tu-154M — plunged to the ground and disintegrated minutes into its flight from Tehran to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, officials said. Flight data recorders were recovered Wednesday from the crash site — a smoldering crater strewn with charred plane pieces and tattered passports –but Iranian media reported the so-called “black boxes” had been badly damaged

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Deposed Honduran president vows weekend ‘activities’

Deposed Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya said his followers plan to take action inside the country this weekend, ratcheting up pressure on the provisional government that has ruled for more than two weeks. Speaking on his arrival in Guatemala on Tuesday for talks with President Alvaro Colom, Zelaya vowed to return to his home country. He did not say when

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Commentary: West stares into Afghan abyss

Given its long history of warfare, the United Kingdom is not squeamish about fatalities in time of war and yet a debate has been ignited by the deaths of 15 British soldiers in Afghanistan over the last few weeks. The question now is whether this profound soul-searching results in a more efficient policy towards the war-torn country. The West became involved in fighting in Afghanistan principally because the Taliban government allowed a non-state actor to carry out acts of terrorism unhindered from within its borders

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Nigerian rebels declare cease-fire

A Nigerian militant group engaged in an "all out war" for control of the country’s oil industry Wednesday declared a 60-day truce as part of a government amnesty deal. “Effective, 0000 Hrs, Wednesday, July 15, 2009, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) will be observing a temporary ceasefire for a 60 day period,” Jomo Gbomo, the group’s spokesman said in a statement. The response from Nigeria’s military was positive, but muted.

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Al Qaeda message urges Pakistanis to back militants

The people of Pakistan must back Islamic militants to counter the influence of the United States in their country or face punishment from God, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda’s second in command, said in an audio message released early Wednesday. “I believe that every honest and sincere Muslim in Pakistan should seriously contemplate … Pakistan’s present state and expected future, because the blatant American crusader interference in Pakistan’s affairs ..

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Plant explosion in China kills 1, injures 108

A chemical plant explosion early Wednesday in Luoyang, China, killed a factory worker and hospitalized 108 others, seven of them seriously, state-run media said. The U.S. Navy tailed a North Korean ship that was believed to have been carrying weapons bound for Myanmar.

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