Foreign fighters leaving Iraq for Afghanistan

Foreign fighters leaving Iraq for Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — Al-Qaida’s foreign fighters who have for years bedeviled Iraq are increasingly going to Afghanistan to fight instead, the Iraqi ambassador to the United States said Wednesday.

“We have heard reports recently that many of the foreign fighters that were in Iraq have left, either back to their homeland or going to fight in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is now seeming to be more suitable for al-Qaida fighters,” said Ambassador Samir Sumaida’ie.

Al-Qaida had training camps and a headquarters in Afghanistan, under the protection of the then-ruling Taliban, until the U.S. invaded after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. With al-Qaida forced out of Afghanistan, the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 quickly drew outside fighters there.

Sumaida’ie said al-Qaida is finding it now increasingly difficult to operate in Iraq.

Woman attacked by bear drives herself to get help

CALIENTE, Calif. — A woman walking her two dogs in a rural area of Southern California was attacked and severely injured by a bear, but managed to escape and drive herself to a nearby fire station.

The woman suffered severe lacerations to her face and head in Tuesday’s attack and was airlifted to UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, said county fire spokesman Sean Collins. Her condition was not disclosed.

The woman, whose name was not released, was taking her dogs on a morning walk when the bear attacked near the tiny community of Caliente, east of Bakersfield and about five miles away from an area that burned in a recent wildfire, Collins said.

Gates, Bloomberg funding global anti-smoking effort

NEW YORK — Microsoft founder Bill Gates and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg are pooling their piles of money to pour $375 million into a global effort to cut smoking.

The billionaire philanthropists, who have a combined worth of more than $70 billion, said Wednesday that the money will help efforts in developing countries where tobacco use is highest. There are more than 1 billion smokers worldwide.

The $250 million from Bloomberg and $125 million from Gates will support projects that raise tobacco taxes, help smokers quit, ban tobacco advertising and protect nonsmokers from exposure to smoke. It will also aid efforts to track tobacco use and better understand tobacco control strategies.

NTSB investigates near-collison of planes

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday it is investigating a near-collision of airborne planes at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport — the third such incident at a major airport this month.

The board said in a statement that the latest incident occurred at 1:47 p.m. EDT Monday as American Eagle Flight 298 was taking off on one runway and a private Learjet was arriving on another, perpendicular runway.

When air traffic controllers realized the planes’ flight paths intersected and the jets were about to collide, they ordered the Learjet to abort its landing and fly around the airport again. The board said the Learjet passed “325 feet above and slightly behind” the departing the American Eagle jet.

Royal Marine to get award for bravery

LONDON — A Royal Marine who dived on a live hand grenade to save his comrades in Afghanistan and escaped with minor wounds will be given Britain’s highest award for bravery, the Ministry of Defense said Wednesday.

Lance Cpl. Matthew Croucher — a reservist who runs a risk-assessment company — will receive the George Cross for his actions when leading a group of men through a Taliban compound in February.

Croucher stumbled on a tripwire in the dark and heard a live grenade fall on the ground near him. He realized there was no time to run and threw himself on top of it to protect his comrades from the blast.

Croucher survived after his backpack and body armor absorbed most of the explosion.

Quake strikes Japan

TOKYO — A powerful earthquake struck off the northern Japanese coast early today, injuring at least 91 people, triggering landslides and cutting power to thousands of people, officials said. No injuries were major, they said.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency said there was no danger of a tsunami from the temblor, which had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8.

Associated Press