BAGHDAD — Iraq’s national security adviser said Tuesday that his government would not sign an agreement governing the future role of U.S. troops in Iraq unless it includes a timetable for their withdrawal.
The statement was the strongest demand yet by a senior Iraqi official for the two governments to set specific dates for the departure of U.S. forces.
National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie said his government was “impatiently waiting” for the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops.
“We would not accept any memorandum of understanding with (the U.S.) side that has no obvious and specific dates for the foreign troops’ withdrawal from Iraq,” al-Rubaie said.
He also said any permanent military bases in Iraq should be under Iraqi control.
Czech Republic: Treaty reached that accepts U.S. defense system
The United States and leaders of the Czech Republic signed a treaty Tuesday to place a radar system in this former Soviet satellite that would warn of long-range missiles coming to Europe from the Middle East. The proposed U.S. missile defense system calls for a tracking radar in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland. Shortly after the treaty was signed, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Moscow would be forced to initiate a military response if the deal goes ahead. It did not give specifics of what the response would entail.
N.Y.: Rights groups urges Iran to end execution of juveniles
Human Rights Watch on Tuesday called on Iran to fulfill its promise to outlaw the execution of minors, charging it has been sending children as young as 16 to the gallows. The New York-based human rights group, together with 23 other organizations, sounded the alarm over Iran’s policy of executing those under 18, noting that four other Iranian minors are scheduled to be put to death this summer. The juveniles in question have all been convicted of murder.
Texas: Police get drug-laced treats
A teenager is suspected of delivering baskets of drug-laced snacks to about a dozen police departments in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to police who charged Christian Phillips Tuesday with LSD possession. At least three officers have gotten sick. The 18-year-old man was arrested after taking cookies to the Lake Worth police station, said Brett McGuire, the suburb’s police chief. Officers there had been tipped off that someone was falsely claiming to deliver treats on behalf of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. “Our officers took a good whiff and thought they smelled like marijuana,” McGuire said, adding that preliminary tests instead detected traces of LSD.
@3. Headline News Briefs 14 no:35-year sentence in stinky feet slaying
A man was sentenced to 35 years in prison for stabbing his roommate to death after an argument in their Houston apartment about stinky feet. Authorities say 21-year-old Noel Quintanilla-Vaquero complained in October that 23-year-old William Antonio Serrano’s feet had a foul odor. They say Serrano responded to the insult by grabbing a knife and stabbing Quintanilla-Vaquero several times.
N.J.: Elderly prostate cancer not helped by hormone-blocking drug
A prostate cancer study that could change how doctors treat some patients found that widely used hormone-blocking drugs did not improve survival chances for older men whose disease hadn’t spread. In fact, men given the drugs alone were slightly more likely to die of prostate cancer during the next six years than men who’d gotten medical monitoring but no or delayed treatment, said the study involving nearly 20,000 Medicare patients with prostate cancer. The study was lead by Dr. Grace Lu-Yao of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey.
D.C.: Antibiotic class to bear warnings about tendon ruptures
Drug safety officials Tuesday imposed the government’s most urgent safety warning on Cipro, Levaquin and similar antibiotics, citing evidence that they may lead to tendon ruptures, a serious injury that can leave patients incapacitated and needing extensive surgery. The Food and Drug Administration ordered makers of flouroquinolone drugs — a potent class of antibacterials — to add a prominent “black box” warning to their products.
Fla.: Bertha weakens to Category 1
Forecasters say Hurricane Bertha has weakened to a Category 1 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. The former Category 3 storm, southeast of Bermuda, is expected to continue weakening over the next couple of days.
From Herald news services
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