Iran seizes oil well in Iraq near border
Iran seizes oil well in Iraq near border
BAGHDAD — Iranian forces crossed into Iraq and seized an oil well just over the two countries’ disputed border, Iraq’s government said Friday, prompting a protest from Baghdad and providing a dramatic display of the sometimes tenuous relations between the wary allies.
The incident could trouble Iraq’s drive to attract the international investment needed to develop its beleaguered oil sector, analysts said, and it raised questions about the two countries’ ties, which had improved greatly after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
According to Iraq’s deputy foreign minister, Mohammed Haj Mahmoud, Iranian troops crossed into Iraqi territory on Thursday and seized oil well No. 4 in the al-Fakkah oil field, located in Maysan province about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad. The oil field is one of Iraq’s largest.
Afghan president Karzai offers new list for Cabinet
KABUL — Facing huge pressure to reform, President Hamid Karzai is submitting a Cabinet lineup to Parliament today that keeps U.S. favorites in several posts critical to the war and reconstruction — a nod to American demands for trusted hands to help manage the conflict.
The new list also reflects Karzai’s need to serve a second master — political allies, including warlords, that kept him in power.
World leaders have threatened to hold back troops and development aid if Karzai does not cleanse his government of corruption and mismanagement.
But some Afghan lawmakers said the lineup looked too much like the existing one.
They said it signaled more of the same from a government which has been criticized as ineffective and corrupt. These lawmakers also expressed concern that a few of Karzai’s new nominees were chosen because of links to political bosses or warlords.
Surgeons extract needles from toddler’s heart, lung
SAO PAULO — Surgeons on Friday successfully removed four sewing needles from the lung and near the heart of a Brazilian toddler, allegedly plunged into him by his stepfather during a monthlong series of bizarre rituals.
The surgery lasted nearly five hours, and the 2-year-old boy was in stable condition after the procedure, said Susy Moreno, a spokeswoman for the hospital in the northeastern city of Salvador where the boy was in intensive care.
Dozens more needles up to 2 inches long are still inside the boy’s body, but the four removed were considered the most threatening to his life.
Doctors will evaluate the boy’s recovery from surgery before deciding when to perform at least two more surgeries to remove more needles, she said.
Police say the boy’s stepfather, 30-year-old bricklayer Roberto Carlos Magalhaes, confessed to pushing supposedly “blessed” sewing needles deep into the child because his lover told him to while in trances.
The rituals were performed over a period of a month to try to keep the couple together, the stepfather told police. Authorities suspect the woman was trying to take revenge on the wife of her lover by having the man hurt the wife’s son.
Dad called superhero after lifting car off child
OTTAWA, Kan. — A 32-year-old dad in eastern Kansas was being hailed as a superhero for lifting a car off a child. Nick Harris was dropping his 8-year-old daughter at school last week when he saw a car back out of a driveway and run over the 6-year-old girl. He said he ran over and grabbed the rear end of the car and lifted as hard as he could to get the tire off the child.
The girl escaped with minor injuries. Her family said they’re so grateful Harris was in the right place at the right time.
Harris said the best thanks he got was when he visited the child later that day, and she gave him a big hug and said “Thanks, Superman.”
Swiss watch maker drops Woods from US ads
PORTLAND, Ore. — Swiss watch maker Tag Heuer said Friday that it will “downscale” its use of golfer Tiger Woods’ image in its advertising campaigns for the foreseeable future.
The company said it will continue its relationship with Woods but is modifying its marketing programs in certain regions out of respect for his request for privacy.
How long the change last will depend on Woods’ decision about returning to professional golf, the company said. Woods has been a pitchman for Tag Heuer since 2002.
Associated Press