WASHINGTON — Rep. Dennis Hastert, who served as House speaker longer than any other Republican, bade farewell to his colleagues Thursday, confirming that he will not complete his 11th term. Hastert, 65, did not say exactly when he will resign, but he indicated it will be soon. He said his speech would be his last from the House floor. The 110th Congress will end in January 2009. He later said, “I think I’ll be gone by the first of the year.” His resignation will trigger a special election in his Chicago-area district.
U.S. fills Baghdad embassy posts
The State Department is dropping plans to force diplomats to serve in Iraq because volunteers have filled all 48 vacant positions at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and in outlying provinces, sources said. The department will announce it no longer needs to move to “directed assignments” for Iraq once personnel panels give a formal OK to foreign service officers who signed up for the remaining three open jobs, U.S. officials said Thursday. The announcement could come as early as today, the officials said.
Pakistan nukes safe, general says
A top U.S. military officer said Thursday there is no sign that unrest in Pakistan has undermined the security of that country’s nuclear weapons arsenal. “I don’t see any indication right now that security of those weapons is in jeopardy, but clearly we are very watchful, as we should be,” said Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He described the military situation in Pakistan as stable and said U.S. military contacts with Pakistan have not been disrupted by turmoil connected with President Pervez Musharraf declaring a state of emergency.
Louisiana: Millions of trees lost
An analysis of satellite imagery of the Gulf Coast shows that Hurricane Katrina destroyed an estimated 320 million trees in Mississippi and Louisiana, an unprecedented loss of forest land that will reshape the region for generations, Louisiana researchers will report today. The death of the trees from wind and soaking in salt water for long periods ultimately will release about 367 million tons of carbon dioxide as they decompose — about the same amount of carbon that is absorbed by all U.S. forests in a year, according to a study published in the journal Science.
California: Marine gets 6 months
A military jury in San Diego on Thursday sentenced a Marine drill instructor to six months in the brig and gave him a bad-conduct discharge for abusing 23 recruits. Sgt. Jerrod Glass also received a reduction in rank to private and pay forfeiture. He had faced a maximum sentence of 10 years of confinement. On Wednesday, Glass was found guilty of eight counts of cruelty and maltreatment, destruction of personal property, assault and violating orders on how to properly treat recruits. The jury deliberated two hours before handing down the sentence Thursday.
France: Airbus workers hurt
Ten people were injured Thursday when an Airbus A340-600 hit a wall during tests of the four-engine plane on the ground in Toulouse, the company said. Nine people onboard — including seven Etihad Airways employees — and a person on the ground were injured, an Airbus executive said. Officials said three of the injuries were serious. The accident took place during a final round of tests before delivery in which the plane’s engines were powered up full-throttle as the brakes were applied, he said.
Saudi Arabia: Lashes for victim
A court sentenced a woman who had been gang raped to six months in jail and 200 lashes — more than doubling her initial penalty for being in the car of a man who was not a relative, a newspaper reported Thursday. According to Arab News, the Qatif General Court said the woman’s punishment was increased because of “her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media.” Under Saudi law, women are not allowed in public in the company of men other than their male relatives.
Malaysia: New pact with rebels
The Philippine government reached an agreement Thursday with the country’s main Islamic separatist group on carving out boundaries for a Muslim homeland in the south. Philippine officials have wrangled for years with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front about the extent of a territory that would fall under Muslim control in the Mindanao region. “Demarcation has been agreed,” the chief Philippine government negotiator, said after talks with separatist officials in Kuala Lumpur.
Mexico: Victim proved to be 13
A birth certificate provided by the Mexican police officer who found a Nebraska schoolteacher and the boy she is accused of having sex with shows that the boy is 13, contradicting claims from the woman’s lawyers that he may be older. The certificate provided by officer Alfredo Arenas Moreno shows the boy was born in January 1994 in Penjamo, Mexico. The lawyer for Kelsey Peterson, 25, suggested earlier this week that the boy might be 16 or older.
From Herald news services
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