world

Supreme Court rules colleges must allow recruiters

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that colleges that accept federal money must allow military recruiters on campus, despite university objections to the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays. Justices rejected a free-speech challenge from law schools and their professors who claimed they should not be forced to associate with military recruiters or promote their campus appearances.

Israel planning further withdrawal from West Bank settlements

JERUSALEM -- Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert plans to withdraw from more West Bank settlements immediately after forming Israel's next government and to set Israel's final borders within four years if it wins upcoming elections, a top political ally said Sunday in the most explicit statement yet of Olmert's plans.

Iraqi violence resumes after weekend curfew lifted

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's president said Saturday that he had been assured that American troops will stay in his country as long as needed, while at least 14 people were killed in explosions and gunfire nationwide as vehicle restrictions were lifted in Baghdad.

Katrina briefing tape leads to Bush criticisms

WASHINGTON -- Democratic lawmakers accused the Bush administration on Thursday of withholding information and misleading the American people about the response to Hurricane Katrina, following disclosure of a videotape of a pre-Katrina briefing for Bush and other top officials. The House and Senate have conducted separate investigations of the federal response, and the White House did its own investigation. House Democrats for the most part refused to participate in the probe, insisting since last fall that an independent commission should be created to handle the probe.

U.S., India sign landmark nuclear deal

NEW DELHI -- Reversing decades of U.S. policy, President Bush ushered India into the world's exclusive nuclear club Thursday with a landmark agreement to share nuclear reactors, fuel and expertise with the energy-starved nation in return for its acceptance of international safeguards. Eight months in the making, the accord would end India's long isolation as a nuclear maverick that defied world appeals and developed nuclear weapons. India agreed to separate its tightly entwined nuclear industry -- declaring 14 reactors as commercial facilities and eight as military -- and to open the civilian side to international inspections for the first time.

IU community takes on Bush's oil reduction plan

According to the most recent State of the Union Address, one of President Bush's main goals for his second term is to break the dependency on foreign -- especially Middle Eastern -- oil. While Bush re-emphasized this week that the nation's security, environment and economy would benefit from accomplishing that goal, IU professors stressed that reducing the flow of oil from the Middle East would be just one of many steps necessary to solve the nation's energy crisis.

HOSTAGE RELEASED

Bush stands firm in Afghanistan visit

KABUL, Afghanistan -- President Bush, on an unannounced visit to Afghanistan, vowed Wednesday to stand by this emerging democracy and not "cut and run" in the face of rising violence. He also predicted Osama bin Laden would be captured despite a futile five-year hunt. "I'm confident he will be brought to justice," Bush said, standing alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai outside the presidential palace. Bush also rallied U.S. troops and expressed solidarity with Karzai's U.S.-backed government in a surprise visit of just over four hours at the onset of a South Asia trip.

Wave of sectarian violence in Iraq leaves at least 56 dead

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A series of suicide attacks, car bombs and mortar barrages rocked Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least 56 people and wounding scores as fears of an Iraq civil war escalated. President Bush decried the violence and said Iraqis must choose between "chaos or unity." Iraqis have suffered through days of reprisal killings and attacks on Sunni mosques since bombers blew apart the gold dome of the revered Shiite Askariya shrine in Samarra on Wednesday. The Iraqi Cabinet said at least 379 people had been killed and 458 wounded in reprisal attacks since the mosque blast.

Mardi Gras returns to post-Katrina New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS -- The crowds were small and the costumes wickedly satirical as Mardi Gras built toward its boozy climax Tuesday in the hurricane-buckled city. The culmination of the eight-day pre-Lenten bash fell nearly six months to the day after the Aug. 29 storm that smashed thousands of homes and killed more than 1,300 people, the vast majority of them in New Orleans.

Republican governors worried about Bush's recent troubles

WASHINGTON -- Republican governors are openly worrying that the Bush administration's latest stumbles -- from the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina to those of its own making on prescription drugs and ports security -- are taking an election-year toll on the party back home. The GOP governors reluctantly acknowledge that the series of gaffes threatens to undermine public confidence in President Bush's ability to provide security, which has long been his greatest strength among voters. "You've got solid conservatives coming up speaking like they haven't before; it's likely that something's going on at the grass roots," said Republican Mark Sanford of South Carolina. "Whether it's temporary or not remains to be seen."

Officials believe kidnapped American journalist still alive

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's interior minister told ABC News he believes American journalist Jill Carroll is alive and will be released, even though the Sunday deadline set by her kidnappers had passed. Interior Minister Bayan Jabr also said he knew who abducted the 28-year-old journalist last month. "We know his name and address, and we are following up on him as well as the Americans," he said. "I think she is still alive."

Iran, Russia reach deal on uranium enrichment

BUSHEHR, Iran -- Iran and Russia agreed in principle Sunday to establish a joint uranium enrichment venture, a breakthrough in talks on a U.S.-backed Kremlin proposal aimed at easing concerns that Tehran wants to build nuclear weapons. But further negotiations on the details lay ahead, and it was not known whether Iran will entirely give up enrichment at home, a top demand of the west.

Rioting inmates seize wing of high-secuirty Afghan prison

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Hundreds of Afghan soldiers with tanks and grenade-launchers surrounded Kabul's main prison Sunday after rioting inmates seized control of much of the facility in an uprising that officials blamed on al-Qaida and Taliban militants. Local media reported several people were killed and dozens injured. But it appeared security forces had yet to gain access to parts of the jail under prisoners' control, so officials could not confirm reports of casualties. One official said at least four inmates were injured.

2 arrested after $87 million stolen in British bank heist

TONBRIDGE, England -- After one of Britain's biggest and most audacious robberies, police say they have arrested a 29-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman Thursday in connection with the crime. The heist was pulled off when the robbers abducted the cash depot manager's family while another tied up the guards and made off with up to $87 million.

Bush accused of ignoring port sale law

WASHINGTON -- The senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee angrily accused the Bush administration Thursday of ignoring the law by refusing to extend an investigation of a United Arab Emirates company's takeover of significant U.S. port operations. Clashing with a Treasury Department official on a mission to calm a political uproar, Sen. Carl Levin said the law has language specifically requiring a longer review than the one that an interagency committee conducted, if a business deal affects national security.

More than 111 killed after attack on shrine

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- At least 111 people were believed killed in two days of sectarian rage unleashed by Wednesday's attack on the revered Shiite Askariya shrine in Samarra, as Sunni Arabs suspended their participation in talks on a new government. Gunmen killed 47 civilians and left their bodies in a ditch near Baghdad Thursday as militia battles and sectarian reprisals raged on between Sunni and Shiite religious groups.

HEIST

Iran says it will help fund Hamas

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran on Wednesday offered to help finance a Palestinian Authority run by the Hamas militant group, state radio said in a report prompting Israel to warn it would do all it legally could to stop the Palestinians from receiving the money. The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, announced the offer after a meeting with Khaled Mashaal, the political leader of Hamas, the report said.

Bomb blast destroys revered Shiite mosque

SAMARRA, Iraq -- Assailants wearing uniforms detonated two bombs inside one of Iraq's most revered Shiite shrines Wednesday, blowing the top off its landmark golden dome and spawning mass protests and reprisal attacks against dozens of Sunni mosques. The brazen assault -- the third major attack against Shiite targets in as many days -- threatened to inflame religious passions as talks among sectarian and ethnic parties on a new government have bogged down.