His name is mud

His name is mud

Noah Baekelandt, 9, of Westland, Mich., was crowned Mr. Mud 2008 at Mud Day, sponsored by the Wayne County Parks and Recreation in Westland, this week.

The annual event allows children one fun day to frolic in the mud.

House approves bill on housing for veterans

WASHINGTON — The House approved a homeless veterans housing bill overwhelmingly Wednesday, even though White House advisers warned they’d urge President Bush to veto it.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, authorizes spending $200 million on housing and services for veterans, requires 20,000 rental vouchers a year for low-income housing for veterans and authorizes $1 million for grants to nonprofit groups to provide housing and services for veterans.

The bill, which passed 412-9, also creates a job in the Department of Housing and Urban Development for someone to coordinate with Veterans Affairs on homelessness and make regular reports to Congress on the issue.

Militants kill peacekeepers in fierce battles in Darfur

KHARTOUM, Sudan — In a brazen attack on horseback and from SUVs mounted with anti-aircraft weapons, some 200 gunmen ambushed peacekeepers from a joint U.N.-African Union force in Sudan’s Darfur region, killing seven in fierce battles that lasted more than two hours, U.N. officials said Wednesday.

Twenty-two members of the U.N.-African Union force were wounded in the fighting Tuesday. Attackers outnumbered the peacekeepers by nearly three-to-one.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s office said the joint military and police patrol was investigating the killing of civilians in North Darfur state when it was ambushed by militants driving vehicles armed with anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons.

Five Rwandan soldiers and two police officers, one from Ghana and the other from Uganda, were killed.

Pakistan: No U.S. military

UNITED NATIONS — Pakistan’s top diplomat Wednesday rejected the idea of any foreign troops operating inside Pakistan, reinforcing its refusal to accept U.S. military aid in battling insurgents near the Afghan border.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s comments during a U.N. Security Council session on Afghanistan’s future could deal a blow to the United States’ efforts to kill or capture al-Qaida leaders.

“Pakistan will not allow its territory to be used against other countries. However, no foreign troops will be allowed to operate inside Pakistan,” Qureshi told the 15-nation council.

The council’s session was shadowed by Monday’s suicide car bombing at India’s Embassy in Kabul that killed dozens of people and wounded more than 130. Afghan officials quickly raised suspicions that Pakistani operatives had worked with the Taliban to set off a bombing that could play into the long-standing struggle for power between Pakistan and India.

State officials neglect to invite guests of honor

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The police valor medals were in place, the furniture in the governor’s Capitol office was rearranged and the reporters were assembled. But there was a suspicious void at the front of the room.

The four police officers being honored for their composure while facing personal danger weren’t there. No one had told them about Wednesday’s ceremony.

Missouri Public Safety Director Mark James apologized for the goof and announced after about 15 minutes that the event was canceled.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Matt Blunt said he used the sudden free time for a meeting. The police officers will get their medals at a later date.

Associated Press