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By VOA News 05 July 2009 The British military says two British soldiers were killed during separate attacks in southern Afghanistan. Officials say one soldier was killed in a rocket propelled grenade attack, while another died in an explosion. Both attacks took place Saturday near Gereshk in Helmand province. Meanwhile, in eastern Afghanistan, gunmen kidnapped 16 Afghans working for a United Nations- sponsored demining agency. Police officials say the workers were taken as they traveled between Paktia and Khost provinces. No group has claimed responsibility for the abductions. Afghanistan is one of the world's most heavily mined countries. Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

By VOA News 04 July 2009 U.S. Vice President Joe Biden talks with soldiers at Camp Victory on the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq, 04 Jul 2009 U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spent the final day of his trip to Iraq celebrating the U.S. Independence Day holiday with American troops in Baghdad. The vice president attended a ceremony Saturday at one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces for more than 200 soldiers from 59 countries who were becoming U.S. citizens. Biden told the new citizens "you are the reason America is strong." He said Saddam, the former Iraqi dictator, is "rolling over in his grave right now." The U.S. vice president had been scheduled to visit the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq later Saturday, but was forced to cancel those plans because of a severe sandstorm that blanketed Baghdad. This is the first U.S. Independence Day celebration since the country withdrew its troops...

By VOA News 03 July 2009 Pharmacist walks past package of anti-influenza virus medicine Tamiflu (File photo) Japan and Hong Kong say they have each identified cases of the swine influenza A-H1N1 virus that are resistant to the anti-viral drug Tamiflu. Denmark reported the first such case earlier this week. Japan's Health Ministry said Friday that it discovered the resistance in a patient who had been given Tamiflu after being diagnosed with swine flu. The patient was recovering after taking Relenza, another medicine used to contain the pandemic. Hong Kong health officials say they found the Tamiflu-resistant strain in a sample from a 16-year-old girl who tested positive for swine flu when she returned from the city of San Francisco in the U.S. state of California last month. The company that makes Tamiflu, Swiss drug maker Roche says about half of one percent of all flu cases are resistant to the drug. The World Health...

By VOA News 05 July 2009 A group of leading Iranian clerics has criticized the results of the country's disputed presidential election. In a statement released Sunday, clerics from the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qom said Iran's official electoral watchdog, the Guardian Council, failed to adequately investigate claims of vote rigging by the opposition. The pro-reform group questioned whether the Council's validation is enough to legitimize the vote. Last week, the 12-member Council upheld the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I ranian reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi during a press conference after polls closed in Tehran, 12 June 2009 Defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi has criticized the outcome. In a 24-page report posted to his Web site Saturday, Mr. Mousavi accuses supporters of Mr. Ahmadinejad of handing out cash to voters in the run-up to...

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By Elizabeth Lee Washington 04 July 2009 Handout image obtained on June 30, 2009 from WireImage shows Michael Jackson during rehearsals for planned shows at Staples Centre in Los Angeles, 23 Jun 2009 Prescription drugs are suspected as a cause in Michael Jackson's death. If the autopsy's toxicology report confirms that suspicion, Jackson would be just one of many who fall victim to prescription drug abuse. Because medications are regulated differently from country to country, there are few global statistics on addiction to prescription drugs. In the United States, teenagers and young adults are reported to be most susceptible. While the shock of Michael Jackson's death still reverberates around the world, one question remains unanswered: Did he die of a prescription drug overdose? His nutritionist Cherilyn Lee says she repeatedly rejected Jackson's demands for a powerful sedative and told hi...

By Phil Mercer Sydney 04 July 2009 An aboriginal man drinks a beverage outside a store in the remote outback town of Wadeye in the Northern Territory, Australia, 01 Jun 2009 As the number of swine flu cases in Australia soars past 4,500, new research indicates that indigenous people may be more susceptible to the contagious virus, compounding an array of existing health conditions. The findings have been detailed in the medical journal The Lancet . The authors have warned of a looming international public health catastrophe. Experts are concerned that indigenous peoples, such as Australia's Aborigines and Native American Indians, suffer poor health that puts them at higher risk from the H1N1 virus, which is commonly known as swine flu. One Aboriginal man in Australia has already died from the infection, while Native Indians in Canada have seen many cases. Australian researchers, writing in The Lancet , h...

By VOA News 04 July 2009 Americans are celebrating the July 4 Independence Day holiday with fireworks, parades and concerts. Washington and New York are among the cities that will have spectacular fireworks displays Saturday night. Many small towns have been forced to scrap or scale back their celebrations because of the economic crisis. In his weekly Saturday address, U.S. President Barack Obama encouraged Americans to "kick back" and "enjoy a little time off." But he also reminded people the country is facing challenges "on a scale unseen in our time," from the severe economic recession to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Obama said meeting the challenges will require "extraordinary effort on the part of every American," and he urged support for his plans to reform U.S. education, health care and energy policies. The Fourth of July holiday marks the day in 1776 when the 1...

By Kent Klein Washington 04 July 2009 Pres. Barack Obama On U.S. Independence Day, President Barack Obama is calling on Americans to remember the spirit of the nation's founders, and to embrace his domestic initiatives. Republican Senator John McCain, meanwhile, wants stronger U.S. language against Iran's violent crackdown on protesters. President Obama, in his weekly address, asks Americans to remember the sacrifices and achievements of the men who voted for independence 233 years ago. "We are called to remember how unlikely it was that our American experiment would succeed at all; that a small band of patriots would declare independence from a powerful empire; and that they would form, in the new world, what the old world had never known - a government of, by and for the people," he said. In July, 1776, the representatives of 13 British colonies in America, gathered in Philadelphia, Penn...

By Lisa Schlein Geneva 03 July 2009 Displaced Pakistani children wait their turn at a food distribution center of Jalozai refugee camp in Peshawar, 25 May 2009 The U.N. Children's Fund says it is deeply concerned about the condition of thousands of children who have been displaced by conflict in northwestern Pakistan. UNICEF says children are in urgent need of health, education and other services. The U.N. Children's Fund reports nearly half of the estimated two million people displaced by conflict in Pakistan's Swat Valley are children. It says many are in urgent need of health and educational services, nutritional support, access to clean water and sanitation, as well as protection. It says these problems are made even more difficult by the sweltering summer heat. UNICEF says it is particularly concerned that some 700,000 children will miss out on the coming school year. School is supposed to ...

By VOA News 04 July 2009 US Marines patrol through a village in Nawa district in Afghanistan's Helmand province, 04 Jul 2009 U.S. and Afghan officials say two U.S. soldiers and at least 30 militants have been killed in fighting that began with a Taliban attack on a base in eastern Afghanistan. Officials say Taliban militants began firing rockets and mortars on the base in the Zirok district of Paktika province Saturday. NATO says one of the mortars contained white phosphorus. During an ensuing clash with troops, a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden truck toward the base, but he was shot before he could reach it. The truck exploded. The battle ended when troops called in airstrikes. A provincial Afghan official, Hamidullah Zawak, says at least 30 militants were killed. The U.S. military says two of its soldiers were killed in an explosion. The troops were fighting under NATO, which released a statement sa...

By VOA News 04 July 2009 U.S. Vice President Joe Biden talks with soldiers at Camp Victory on the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq, 04 Jul 2009 U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spent the final day of his trip to Iraq celebrating the U.S. Independence Day holiday with American troops in Baghdad. The vice president attended a ceremony Saturday at one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces for more than 200 soldiers from 59 countries who were becoming U.S. citizens. Biden told the new citizens "you are the reason America is strong." He said Saddam, the former Iraqi dictator, is "rolling over in his grave right now." The U.S. vice president had been scheduled to visit the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq later Saturday, but was forced to cancel those plans because of a severe sandstorm that blanketed Baghdad. This is the first U.S. Independence Day celebration since the country withdrew its troops...

By VOA News 04 July 2009 Pakistani helicopter gunships and fighter jets pounded militant hide-outs in the country's northwest Saturday, killing at least 12 militants. Security officials say the airstrikes targeted three suspected militant positions in Orakzai region, where a military transport helicopter crashed the day before, killing at least 26 military personnel. Pakistani officials say the helicopter crashed Friday outside the city of Peshawar due to a technical failure. But the Taliban claims it shot down the aircraft. Elsewhere in the northwest, clashes between a pro-government tribal militia and militants killed at least 12 people late Friday in the remote Mohmand region, along the Afghan border. Pakistan's military has been fighting Taliban militants throughout the country's northwest for more than two months. Security officials also are on high alert following the launch this week of a major U.S....

By VOA News 04 July 2009 Sen. John McCain (file photo) U.S. Senator John McCain Saturday repeated his party's calls for stronger support of Iran's protesters from the U.S. government. Speaking on behalf of the Republican party for the weekly radio and Internet address, McCain said "we stand with" the Iranians who are protesting a disputed presidential election in the face of a heavy government crackdown. He said the Iranians ask for nothing besides "public declarations of solidarity, and public denunciations of the tyrants who oppress them," and he said the United States has a "moral obligation" to do so. The Republicans have criticized Mr. Obama for not taking a stronger stand on the events in Iran. But Mr. Obama has said the U.S. respects the sovereignty of Iran, and is not interfering in its internal affairs. Some information for this report was provided by AP.

By VOA News 03 July 2009 Handout image obtained on June 30, 2009 from WireImage shows Michael Jackson during rehearsals for planned shows at Staples Centre in Los Angeles, 23 Jun 2009 The head of a concert promotion agency says a tribute to late pop star Michael Jackson will likely be held at the Staples Center arena in Los Angeles. Randy Phillips, head of the promotion company AEG Live, said Thursday that the family is considering holding the event on Tuesday but has not made a final decision. He said admission will be free. AEG Live was the company producing a series of "comeback" concerts featuring the late star, which were set to begin this month in London. Now it is expected to produce the memorial event, after Jackson's sudden death on June 25. Also Thursday, the biological mother of Jackson's oldest two children hinted that she may press for custody. Debbie Rowe told a Los Angeles television ne...

By VOA News 04 July 2009 People against ousted Honduras President Manuel Zelaya gather outside of presidential residence in support of interim government in Tegucigalpa, 03 Jul 2009 The new government of Honduras says it no longer recognizes the charter of the Organization of American States and is withdrawing its membership from the group. Honduras made the announcement late Friday, a day before the OAS was due to vote on suspending the Central American country, following its refusal to adhere to demands by OAS to return toppled President Manuel Zelaya to office. The OAS has called an emergency meeting in Washington on Saturday. The Supreme Court of Honduras told OAS chief Jose Miguel Insulza Friday that its decision to oust Mr. Zelaya is irreversible, and that the leftist leader would be arrested if he returned home. Mr. Zelaya has said he will attempt to return to Honduras on Sunday, and expects to be joined by Insul...