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Obama backs support in meeting with Afghan leaders

U.S. Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, is seen being photographed during a meeting with Gul Agha Shirzai, the governor of Nangarhar province, center rear, and US military personel in Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Saturday, July 19, 2008. U.S. Democratic presidential contender Obama started a campaign-season tour of combat zones and foreign capitals, visiting with U.S. forces in Kuwait and then Afghanistan — the scene of a war he says deserves more attention and more troops. (AP Photo)
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AP - 7 minutes ago

KABUL, Afghanistan - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama met Saturday with officials of a region of Afghanistan that has been a hotbed of Taliban and al-Qaida activity, offering his support for reconstruction and security there and throughout the country, an official said.

  • A gas price sign is shown in McKinney, Texas, Friday, July 18, 2008. Prices at the pump backed away from record highs as oil futures edged up Friday, but crude's gains were modest in comparison to the spectacular three-day drop earlier in the week. The political vision of a summer gas tax holiday died a quick death in Congress, losing to a view that federal excise taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel will have to go up if they go anywhere. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)
    Dream of gas tax holiday faltered over job losses AP - 3 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON - The political vision of a summer gas tax holiday died a quick death in Congress, losing to a view that federal excise taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel will have to go up if they go anywhere.

  • Produce manager Richard Yantis sorts through Roma tomatoes at Compton's market in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, July 18, 2008. In Virginia is there is a bumper crop of tomatoes, but there is a lingering consumer concern about the safety of tomatoes.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
    Tomato growers: Salmonella scare damages industry AP - 1 hour, 45 minutes ago

    RICHMOND, Va. - The 6,000 acres of tomatoes grown on Virginia's sea-swept Eastern Shore were never implicated in the national salmonella outbreak — they were still on the vine weeks after people starting getting sick.

  • In this image released by Warner Bros., Heath Ledger starring as The Joker, is shown in a scene with Christian Bale, starring as Batman in 'The Dark Knight.' (AP Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures, Stephen Vaughan)
    'Dark Knight' sets box office record with $66.4M AP - 27 minutes ago

    LOS ANGELES - Batman's joust with the Joker has set another box office record.

  • In this image from AP Television a white van believed to be carrying Angelina Jolie and her newborn twins from the French hospital Saturday July 19, 2008. The star left the clinic early Saturday in the Riviera city of Nice with twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt, according to a hospital statement. It was not immediately clear if the twins' father, actor Brad Pitt, was with them. (AP Photo/APTN)
    Jolie and twins slip out of hospital in Nice AP - Sat Jul 19, 8:55 AM ET

    PARIS - Angelina Jolie has left the building. Oh, and so have the twins. Before dawn Saturday, the Hollywood superstar and her newborn twins left the French Riviera hospital where she gave birth a week ago, the hospital said in a statement.

  • David Duval of the USA plays from the rough on the 17th during the second round of the British Open Golf championship, at the Royal Birkdale golf course, Southport, England, Friday, July 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
    Breezy day at the British Open AP - 6 minutes ago

    SOUTHPORT, England - Tiger Woods and Kenny Perry couldn't have picked a better place to be on Saturday.

  • White House hopeful Barack Obama delivers a speech on July 15 at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC. John McCain has asked if Obama would be wrong about Afghanistan as, in the Republican presidential hopeful's view, he had been about Iraq.(AFP/Karen Bleier)
    Obama meets U.S. commander in Afghanistan Reuters - 1 hour, 46 minutes ago

    KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama met the commander of U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday to talk about the war he says is not getting enough attention from the Bush administration.

  • Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili attends an official meeting with India's national security adviser M. K. Narayanan in Tehran July 1, 2008. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl
    U.S. says Iran faces cooperation or conflict Reuters - 22 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Saturday after inconclusive international talks with Iran's nuclear envoy that Tehran must choose between cooperation or confrontation and give up sensitive nuclear work.

  • House prices could fall for two years: Citigroup Reuters - Sat Jul 19, 4:11 AM ET

    LONDON (Reuters) - Citigroup chairman Win Bischoff has warned that house prices in Britain and the United States are likely to keep falling for another two years.

  • Pope Benedict XVI blesses a meeting at a World Youth Day event for young disadvantaged people in Sydney July 18, 2008. Picture taken July 18, 2008. REUTERS/William West/Pool
    Pope apologizes for Church sex abuse Reuters - Sat Jul 19, 6:21 AM ET

    SYDNEY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Saturday apologized directly for the first time for sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy, but victims groups in Australia said they wanted action and not words.

  • Mbeki seeks team to help mediate Zimbabwe crisis Reuters - 1 hour, 42 minutes ago

    HARARE (Reuters) - South African President Thabo Mbeki has proposed forming a team drawn from regional bodies and the United Nations to help him mediate in the worsening crisis in neighboring Zimbabwe.

  • McCain says Obama trip to Iraq may be soon Reuters - Sat Jul 19, 1:41 AM ET

    DETROIT (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain commented on Friday on the unannounced timing of a high-security trip by Barack Obama to Iraq, saying he believed his Democratic rival was going this weekend.

  • Soldiers (left) prepare to transport the dead body of a schoolboy recovered from the rubble of a collapsed school in Yingxiu town, in China's southwestern Sichuan province in late June. Chinese dissident Huang Qi, the veteran Chinese activist who has campaigned for the parents of children killed in the earthquake, has been arrested for "illegal possession of state secrets," his wife has said(AFP/File/Liu Jin)
    China arrests quake critic on secrets charge Reuters - Sat Jul 19, 6:19 AM ET

    BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police arrested a human rights campaigner in the country's southwest for "possession of state secrets" after he offered help to parents of children killed in the region's massive earthquake, his family said.

  • U.S. Army troops stand guard over the Sally Port One entrance to Camp Delta where detainees are held at the United States Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba January 18, 2006. REUTERS/Joe Skipper
    Bin Laden driver lawyers can interview witnesses Reuters - Fri Jul 18, 6:40 PM ET

    GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - On the eve of the first Guantanamo war crimes trial, defense lawyers on Friday won long-sought permission to question potential witnesses including the alleged September 11 mastermind after a military judge threatened to delay the trial.

  • European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana (L) is pictured with Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili prior to talks on Tehran's nuclear programm. Attempts to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear programme have made "insufficient" progress, Solana said Saturday following high-level talks in Geneva.(AFP/Fabrice Coffrini)
    Iran nuclear talks make 'insufficient' progress: Solana AFP - 34 minutes ago

    GENEVA (AFP) - Attempts to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear programme have made "insufficient" progress, the EU's diplomatic chief Javier Solana said Saturday following high-level talks in Geneva.

  • Smoke billows across the stage during the re-enactment of the last days of Jesus Christ during World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney. Pope Benedict XVI offered a historic full apology for child sex abuse by predatory Australian priests Saturday, saying he was "deeply sorry" and calling for those guilty of the "evil" to be punished.(AFP/Greg Wood)
    Pope apologises for 'evil' of child sex abuse AFP - 21 minutes ago

    SYDNEY (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI offered a historic full apology for child sex abuse by predatory Australian priests Saturday, saying he was "deeply sorry" and calling for those guilty of the "evil" to be punished.

  • Prime Minister Gordon Brown (left) shakes hands with his Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki during their meeting in Baghdad. Brown has said he wanted to cut the number of Britain's troop in Iraq but would not set some artificial timetable for this.(AFP/Khalid Mohammed)
    Britain's Brown wants to cut troops in Iraq but no timetable AFP - 2 hours, 8 minutes ago

    BASRA, Iraq (AFP) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, on a visit to Iraq on Saturday, said he wanted to cut the number of Britain's troop in the violence-wracked country but ruled out a timetable for their withdrawal.

  • Democratic presidential candidate Illinois Senator Barack Obama addresses an economic competitiveness summit at Carnergie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 2008. Obama has arrived in Afghanistan on an unannounced trip at the start of a major international tour, his campaign said.(AFP/File/Emmanuel Dunand)
    Obama visits Afghanistan on international tour AFP - 59 minutes ago

    KABUL (AFP) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama met US troops in Afghanistan Saturday during a visit to assess efforts against extremist militants at the start of a major international tour, officials said.

  • Former South Africa's President Nelson Mandela at his house in Qunu, South Africa. Mandela, fresh from being feted at home and abroad on his 90th birthday, hosted a banquet for the new generation of South African leaders as well as hundreds of friends.(AFP/Pool/Themba Hadebe)
    Mandela hosts lavish 90th birthday bash in farewell to public life AFP - 1 hour, 53 minutes ago

    QUNU, South Africa (AFP) - Nelson Mandela, feted at home and abroad after turning 90, hosted a lavish banquet Saturday for hundreds of friends as he brought down the curtain finally on public life.

  • US President George W. Bush at the White House in Washington, June 2008. Bush assured Americans that the battered US economy will "pull through" despite continuing housing woes and a spike in inflation.(AFP/File/Tim Sloan)
    Bush assures US economy will 'pull through' AFP - Sat Jul 19, 10:12 AM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush assured Americans Saturday that the battered US economy will "pull through" despite continuing housing woes and a spike in inflation.

  • Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, seen here in 2007, said that Britain's economic downturn is worse than previously thought and there is no extra money available for public spending.(AFP/File/Leon Neal)
    British finance minister paints bleak picture of economy AFP - 1 hour, 21 minutes ago

    LONDON (AFP) - Britain's economic downturn is worse than previously thought and there is no extra money available for public spending, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said in an interview published Saturday.

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