Attack kills 2 policemen in northern Iraqi city

Attack kills 2 policemen in northern Iraqi city

BAGHDAD — Iraqi police say gunmen have killed two policemen and injured another in the northern city of Mosul.

A provincial security official says the drive-by shooting happened on Saturday in the western part of the city. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

In another attack, a bomb killed the driver of a civilian vehicle in the eastern part of Mosul.

Pakistan’s stand

NEW YORK — Pakistan’s top diplomat said Saturday there are no U.S. or other foreign military personnel on the hunt for Osama bin Laden in his nation, and none will be allowed in to search for the al-Qaida leader.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said his nation’s new government has ruled out such military operations, covert or otherwise, to catch militants.

Katrina resting place

NEW ORLEANS — Between acres of aboveground tombs that are this marshy city’s way to inter the dead, there is a strip of land that is an empty tribute to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Unknown to most in town, including the relatives of those who died in the storm, it is the chosen site for a memorial to an estimated 1,600 fatalities, and will serve as the resting place for 85 bodies that remain unclaimed nearly three years after the disaster.

During a second-anniversary ceremony, Mayor Ray Nagin shed a tear, gave $1 million in taxpayer money to the project, and delegated management to a city coroner intent on a monument that would double as a warning to be better prepared for the next hurricane.

Syria, Lebanon embassies

PARIS — France’s president affirmed Saturday that Syria and Lebanon will open embassies in each other’s countries. However, Syria’s leader was more cautious.

Syria and Lebanon have not had full-fledged embassies in each other’s countries since Lebanon became independent in 1943 and Syria in 1945.

Bush blames Congress

WASHINGTON — President Bush on Saturday blamed Congress for soaring energy prices and said lawmakers need to lift long- standing restrictions on drilling for oil in pristine lands and offshore tracts believed to hold huge reserves of fuel.

“It’s time for members of Congress to address the pain that high gas prices are causing our citizens,” the president said. “Every extra dollar that American families spend because of high gas prices is one less dollar they can use to put food on the table or send a child to college. The American people deserve better.”

With gasoline prices above $4 a gallon, Bush and his Republican allies think Americans are less reluctant to allow drilling offshore and in an Alaska wildlife refuge that environmentalists have fought successfully for decades to protect.

Border fence opposition

MISSION, Texas — The federal government’s border fence plans in South Texas have been attacked by property owners, wildlife advocates and land conservationists. The next wave of opponents could come from the water — and they’re carrying paddles.

Kayakers and canoeists will descend on the lower Rio Grande for events this fall aimed at raising the river’s profile as a recreation hub and at drawing attention to the impact the border fence could have by blocking access to the river.

Bernie Mac heckled at event for Obama

CHICAGO — Comedian Bernie Mac endured some heckling and a campaign rebuke during a surprise appearance Friday night at a fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Toward the end of a 10-minute standup routine at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Chicago, the 50-year-old star of “The Bernie Mac Show” joked about menopause, sexual infidelity and promiscuity, and used occasional crude language.

“My little nephew came to me and he said, ‘Uncle, what’s the difference between a hypothetical question and a realistic question?”’ Mac said. “I said, I don’t know, but I said, ‘Go upstairs and ask your mother if she’d make love to the mailman for $50,000.”’

As the joke continued, the punchline evoked an angry response from at least one person in the audience.

“It’s not funny. Let’s get Barack on,” a man shouted from the crowd, which paid $2,300 each to attend.

Associated Press