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Top Iraqi court to weigh ruling on barred national candidates
IRAQ Shiite Muslim women flagellate themselves Thursday during the religious festival of Arbaeen in the holy city of Karbala. For photos from around the world, visit washingtonpost.com/world.
(Hadi Mizban/associated Press)
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The announcement was unexpected, and Basescu gave few details. In Washington, a State Department spokesman said the facilities were to be operational by 2015 and were aimed at defending against "current and emerging ballistic missile threats from Iran."
The announcement is part of the revamped approach to missile defense taken by President Obama since he scrapped a Bush-era plan for a radar site and interceptor rockets in the Czech Republic and Poland.
The missile shield has angered Eastern Europe's former Cold War master, Russia.
-- Reuters
PAKISTAN
India offering to talk, Foreign Ministry says
Pakistan said Thursday that it has received an offer from India for talks between foreign secretaries, signaling a resumption of dialogue that was halted after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
"We have sought some clarifications on the contents and agenda of these talks," Abdul Basit, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said.
India said yesterday that Home Minister P. Chidambaram will travel to Pakistan this month for a regional meeting.
-- Associated Press
Bombing kills 3 in southern Afghanistan: A suicide car bomber targeting NATO-led troops in southern Afghanistan blew up his vehicle near a hotel in Kandahar, Afghanistan's second-largest city, killing three Afghan civilians and wounding 17. The city is patrolled by U.S. and Canadian forces.
Rights group accuses Libya of blocking Web sites: Human Rights Watch accused Libya of blocking access to YouTube and other independent or opposition Web sites, warning of a return to the "dark days" of total media control in the North African country. Libyan officials had no immediate comment.
Webcam viewer alerts Scottish park to rhino birth: Wildlife park employees in Scotland celebrated the birth of a white rhinoceros -- an event they nearly missed. Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park, north of Edinburgh, was alerted to the impending birth by a phone call from a woman thousands of miles away in Cyprus who was watching the rhino enclosure on the Internet.
-- From news services
