MORE THAN 50 KILLED IN VIOLENCE IN IRAQ

Monday, August 28, 2006 More than 50 killed in violence in Iraq BAGHDAD, Iraq — A wave of bomb attacks and shootings swept Iraq Sunday, killing dozens of people despite a massive security operation in the capital and appeals from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for an end to sectarian fighting. Al-Maliki insisted that his government was making progress in combating attacks by insurgents and sectarian clashes between Shiites and Sunnis. "We're not in a civil war. Iraq will never be in a civil war," he said through an interpreter on CNN's "Late Edition." "The violence is in decrease and our security ability is increasing." Asked about U.S. allegations that Iran is supporting Iraqi groups involved in sectarian violence, al-Maliki said the reports were being investigated. He said Iraqi authorities were in contact with Iran in order to determine the veracity of the information "and to prevent this interference." Iran tests new missile TEHRAN, Iran — Iran tested a new anti-ship missile fired by a submarine during war games Sunday, raising worries it could disrupt vital oil tanker traffic in the Gulf amid its standoff with the West over its suspect nuclear activities. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took a tough tone over the nuclear issue, saying his country's decision to pursue nuclear technology was irreversible. His comments and the missile test came only days before a Thursday deadline imposed by the United Nations for Tehran to suspend the enrichment of uranium, a process the United States says the Iranians intend to use to build nuclear weapons. Enrichment can produce both reactor fuel and material for a warhead. The Thaqeb, Farsi for Saturn, is Iran's first missile that is fired from underwater and flies above the surface to hit its target, distinguishing it from a torpedo. A brief video showed the missile exiting the water and hitting a target less than a mile away. Fox News journalists talk about their captivity GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Two Fox News journalists freed by militants Sunday described a harrowing two weeks of captivity during which they were blindfolded, tied in painful positions and forced at gunpoint to say on a video that they converted to Islam. After their release, the men met with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and left Gaza, but first appealed at a brief news conference for foreign journalists not to be deterred from covering the plight of the Palestinians in the volatile coastal strip. "I hope that this never scares a single journalist away from coming to Gaza to cover the story because the Palestinian people are very beautiful and kindhearted," said Steve Centanni, a 60-year-old American reporter who was released along with cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand. NASA considers putting space shuttle in shelter CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The chances that the space shuttle Atlantis would be launched into orbit this week diminished by the hour Sunday as NASA prepared for Tropical Storm Ernesto and the possibility of moving the spacecraft into shelter. NASA managers planned to meet early today before making a final call on whether to move Atlantis indoors or try to launch Tuesday. Preparations already were under way for a rollback. Workers on Sunday rolled to the launch pad a gigantic crane that could be used to move generators and other heavy gear in case the shuttle is moved back to the protection of the enormous Vehicle Assembly Building. The huge crawler-transporter vehicle that would carry the shuttle was being run through tests, and crews prepared to make room inside the assembly building to accommodate the shuttle. Cold winter predicted LEWISTON, Maine — Americans shouldn't expect Mother Nature to help with their heating bills this winter because it's going to be nippy, according to the venerable Farmers' Almanac. After one of the warmest winters on record, this coming winter will be much colder than normal from coast to coast, the almanac predicts. "Shivery is not dead!" declared editor Peter Geiger as the latest edition of the 190-year-old publication hits the newsstands. The almanac, which claims its forecasts are accurate 80 percent to 85 percent of the time, correctly predicted a "polar coaster" of dramatic swings for last winter, Geiger said. For example, New York City collected 40 inches of snow even though it was one of the warmest winters in the city's history. This year, predicts the almanac's reclusive forecaster, Caleb Weatherbee, it will be frigid from the Gulf Coast all the way up the East Coast. But it'll be especially nippy on the northern Plains — up to 20 degrees below seasonal norms in much of Montana, the Dakotas and part of Wyoming, he writes. Associated Press