THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
MONDAY APRIL 9 2007
NEWS 5A
》 AFGHANISTAN
Roadside bombs kill seven soldiers
BY RAHIM FAIEZ ASSOCIATED PRESS
KABUL, Afghanistan Roadside bombs in southern Afghanistan on Sunday left seven NATO soldiers dead, the alliance said, as its forces continued an anti-Taliban offensive in the world's most fertile opium-producing region.
It appeared to be the biggest
It appeared combat loss for foreign troops in Afghanistan since 2005.
Six troops died and one was injured when one of the bombs struck their vehicle, the alliance said in a statement. Canadian Prime Minister
Stephen Harper confirmed they were Canadian troops, Canadian Press reported.
A separate roadside bomb killed one NATO soldier and wounded two, NATO said.
"Once again, the Taliban showed that they are following the steps of terrorist networks."
Officials did not release the nationality of those soldiers and did not give details or say where exactly in the south the attacks took place.
exchange for the Italian journalist, the government released the prisoners, but for the Afghan journalist, the government did not care," Alat said.
The fatalities underline how virulent Afghanistan's Taliban-led resistance remains, more than six years after a U.S.-led invasion drove the hardline militia from power for harboring al-Qaida.
The attack on the Canadians appeared to have inflicted the worst toll on foreign troops in a single combat incident since a U.S. helicopter crashed in Kunar in June 2005. Sixteen American troops died.
SAYED ANSARI Afghanistan's intelligence service
Separately, a purported spokesman for the Taliban said the kidnapped translator for an Italian journalist was beheaded on Sunday in southern Afghanistan. The Afghan government confirmed the death.
Sayed Ansari, a spokesman for Afghanistan's intelligence service, said the Taliban executed Naqshbandi on behalf of al-Qaida.
"Once again, the Taliban showed that they are following the steps of terrorist networks," he said.
Ajmal Naqshbandi, a freelance journalist and translator, was kidnapped March 5 in southern Afghanistan along with journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo and a driver.
U. S. officials also condemned the
The Taliban made a similar demand in return for Naqshbandi's release.
The driver was beheaded. Mastroglacomico, who worked for the daily La Repubblica, was released March 19 in a much criticized swap for five Taliban militants.
"We asked for two Taliban commanders to be released in exchange for Ajmal Naqshbandi, but the government did not care for our demands, and today, at 3:05 p.m., we beheaded Ajmal in Garmsir district of Helmand province," said Shahabuddin Atal, who claimed to be a spokesman for regional Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah.
"When we demanded the
I concemned the translator's execution.
"This barbaric killing reminds us of why the United States and NATO are in Afghanistan in the first place: to help the good people of that country defeat the Taliban extremists and their al-Qaida allies," said Gordon Johndroe, President Bush's national security spokesman.
In the eastern Paktika province on Sunday, two Afghan guards were killed and five wounded during a four-hour firefight with Taliban militants near the border with Pakistan, according to the U.S.-led coalition, which is operating separately from the NATO-led force.
Militants fired mortars and a rocket on a coalition checkpoint in the village of Kakakhel. Troops returned fire and called in an airstrike, leaving two militants dead and three others wounded, the statement said.
Also Sunday, in the eastern Khost province, a gunman riding on the back of a motorcycle opened fire on Afghans working for ISAF, killing two of the men and wounding another, ISAF said in a statement.
And in the eastern Nangarhar province, a suicide car bomber blew himself up next to an U.S.-led coalition convoy, said Ghafer Khan, spokesman for the provincial police chief. One soldier was lightly injured, a coalition statement said.
The latest violence came days after more than 1,000 NATO and Afghan troops retook Sangin district in the opium-producing Helmand province.
The next step will be for NATO to hand over control of the area to Afghan security forces, said Lt. Col. Maria Carl, a spokeswoman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force. She added that NATO already has transported about 500 Afghan forces to the south.
The operation to retake the town from militants started late Wednesday and is part of NATO's largest ever offensive in Afghanistan, Operation Achilles, launched last month to flush out Taliban militants from the northern tip of Helmand province.
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Temperature drop dampers spring holiday
BY ERRIN HAINES ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA — An unseasonable cold snap put a chill on Easter Sunday services across the Southeast and much of the rest of the country, moving some events indoors and adding lavers over spring frocks.
>> FROZEN EASTER
Even baseball had to take a time out — because of snow.
Across much of the eastern two-thirds of the nation, Easter celebrants swapped frills, bonnets and sandals for coats, scarves and heavy袜. Baseball fans huddled in blankets and, instead of spring planting, backyard gardeners were bundling their crops.
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The usual courtyard service at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church in Columbia, S.C., had to be moved indoors, the Rev. Michael Bingham. Sunday morning lows in Columbia dropped to the upper 20s, the National Weather Service said.
Two weeks into spring, Easter morning temperatures were in the upper 30s along the Gulf Coast and in the single digits in northern Minnesota and the Dakotas. Atlanta had a low of 30 degrees, with a wind chill of 23, the weather service said. The same reading put a chill on New York City's Fifth Avenue, celebrated
Despite the chill, nearly 1,000 people attended the annual sunrise service at Georgia's Stone Mountain Park, as a slight breeze whipped over the granite monument. The service usually attracts 10,000.
Nashville, Tenn, bottomed out Sunday at 23 degrees, knocking one degree off the Easter Sunday record set on March 24, 1940.
Light snow showers were scattered over the western Plains and around the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley.
in song for the traditional Easter Parade of spring finery.
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Lee R. Bittenbender, M.D
However, the snow was heavy along the Lake Erie shore in Cleveland and on Sunday, for the second day in a row, the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians had to cancel a doubleheader. More than a foot of snow had fallen parts of the Cleveland area since Friday.
Officials in Morrison, Colo., canceled Sunday's annual sunrise service at the Red Rocks Amphitheater because seats and stairways were covered with ice.
Heavier snow in Ohio postponed Saturday's doubleheader between the Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners. The doubleheader had been scheduled because Friday's home opener in Cleveland was postponed.
Linda Mehaffey skis to a neighbor's house for Easter dinner Sunday in Clarkston, Mich. It is the fourth day of snow with temperatures in the mid 20s in this city located north of Detroit in Oakland County.
Charles V. Tines/ASSOCIATED PRESS
'B.C.' creator suffers stroke on Saturday
OBITUARY
Famous cartoonist dies at storyboard
ALBANY, N.Y. — Cartoonist Johnny Hart, whose award-winning "B.C." comic strip appeared in more than 1,300 newspapers worldwide, died Saturday while working at his home in Endicott. He was 76.
"B.C.," populated by prehistoric cavemen and dinosaurs, was launched in 1958 and eventually appeared in more than 1,300 newspapers with an audience of 100 million, according to Creators Syndicate Inc., which distributes it.
BY MARY ESCH
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"He had a stroke." Hart's wife, Bobby, said Sunday. "He died at his storyboard."
"He was generally regarded as one of the best cartoonists we've ever had," Hart's friend Mell Lazarus, creator of the "Momma" and "Miss
A strip published on Easter Sunday in 2001 drew protests from Jewish groups and led several newspapers to drop the strip. The cartoon depicted a memo
Later in his career, some of Hart's cartoons had religious themes, a reflection of his own Christian faith. That sometimes led to controversy.
Peach" comic strips, said from his California home. "He was totally original.'B.C.' broke ground and led the way for a number of imitators, none of which ever came close."
After he graduated from Union-
Endicott High School, Hart met
Brant Parker, a young cartoonist
who became a prime influence and
co-creator with Hart of the "Wizard
of ld" comic strip.
Hart enlisted in the Air Force and began producing cartoons for Pacific Stars and Stripes. He sold his first freelance cartoon to the Saturday Evening Post after his discharge from the military in 1954.
Hart said he intended the strip as a tribute to both faiths.
rah transforming into a cross, with accompanying text quoting some of Jesus Christ's dying words. Critics said it implied that Christianity supersedes Judaism.
"Traditionally, comic strips were owned by syndicates," Newcombe said. "We were different because we allowed cartoonists to own their own work. It was because of Johnny's commitment to this idea that made us a success."
"He had such an emphasis on kindness, generosity, and patience," said Richard Newcombe, founder and president of Creators Syndicate in Los Angeles.
Besides his wife, Hart is survived by two daughters, Patti and Perri. He was a native of Endicott, about 135 miles northwest of New York City, and drew his comic strip at a studio in his home here until the day he died.
Newcombe said Hart was the first cartoonist to sign on when the syndicate was created 20 years ago.
Funeral arrangements had not been announced.
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