IRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeated his criticism of U.S. President Barack Obama and says the United States is interfering in Iran's affairs. The official IRNA news agency on Saturday quoted the Iranian leader as saying Mr. Obama talks about change, but continues to interfere in Iran's state matters. Friday, President Obama called post-election violence against protesters in Iran "outrageous." He also said any direct dialogue or diplomacy with Iran will be affected by the recent events. The official death toll from violence since the disputed June 12 vote is 17, but witnesses say it is much higher.
BRAZIL - FRANCE PLANE: Brazil has called off its search for more bodies and debris from the
Air France flight that plunged into the Atlantic Ocean four weeks ago.
Brazil Air Force Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Munhoz said Friday that it
was not likely any more bodies or wreckage from the crash would be
found. Search teams have recovered 51 bodies and hundreds of pieces of
debris.
Flight 447, en route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro with 228 people
aboard, disappeared from radar over the Atlantic Ocean late on May 31.
Authorities say the search for the plane's voice and flight data
recorders will continue.
MICHAEL JACKSON DIES: The Los Angeles coroner's office has released the body of international
pop star Michael Jackson, who died suddenly on Thursday, back to his
family.
The family picked the body up on Friday night. No funeral plans have been announced.
Coroner office spokesman Craig Harvey said earlier the autopsy was
inconclusive. He said there were no signs of no external trauma or
signs of foul play but additional toxicology and pulmonary testing is
needed before a final cause of death can be issued. He says these tests
usually take four to six weeks.
PAKISTAN: Police in Pakistan say they have killed five suspected associates of
Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud during a raid on a home in the southern
city of Karachi.
Authorities say the five were killed during a gun battle late Friday in
the Sohrab Goth area of the city. Authorities say other suspects
managed to escape.
A Karachi police chief says authorities
conducted the raid after receiving a tip that militants had entered the
city posing as people who had been forced to leave their homes. He said the suspected militants
were planning attacks in Karachi.
AFGHANISTAN: Afghan President Hamid Karzai is calling on Taliban and other militants to vote in the country's upcoming election. Mr. Karzai says militants should cast ballots for the candidates of their choice in the August 20 presidential and provincial council elections. He made the comments Saturday during a news conference in Kabul. The Afghan leader is running for re-election alongside 40 other candidates in the race. The United States and Afghanistan's other international allies have pledged extra troops to prevent attacks and ensure security for the election.
OBAMA - CLIMATE CHANGE: U.S. president Barack Obama Saturday voiced strong support for the
newly passed climate change bill, calling it "historic" and crucially
important for job creation.
He said the legislation, which puts severe limits on harmful emissions
and promotes alternative energy, will finally make clean energy
"profitable." He said investments in clean energy will create thousands
of jobs.
The remarks in Mr. Obama's weekly Saturday address reiterated earlier
comments from the president encouraging lawmakers at the U.S. House of
Representatives to vote for the bill.
REPUBLICANS - UNEMPLOYMENT: Republicans Saturday slammed what they called a Democratic "spending binge" and asked "where are the jobs?"
Speaking for his party's weekly radio address, U.S. House of
Representatives Republican leader John Boehner said President Barack
Obama and Democrats in Congress promised trillions of dollars of
stimulus spending would keep unemployment below nine percent.
But Boehner said unemployment has since risen past nine percent and is projected to go even higher.
He said Democratic proposals on health care and energy reform are also
extremely costly.
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