U.S. & WORLD NEWS DIGEST | Gas prices expected to drop 50 cents

Gas prices expected to drop 50 cents

NEW YORK

Some relief from suffocating gas prices likely will arrive just in time for summer vacation. Expect a drop of nearly 50 cents as early as June, analysts say.

After rocketing up 91 cents since January, including 44-straight days of increases, the national average this past week stopped just shy of $4 a gallon and has retreated to under $3.98. A steady decline is expected to follow.

Taliban attack government offices

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan

The Taliban unleashed a major assault Saturday on government buildings throughout Afghanistan’s main southern city, an attack that cast doubt on how successful the U.S.-led coalition has been in its nearly yearlong military campaign to establish security and stability in the former Taliban stronghold.

The Taliban said their goal was to take control of Kandahar city, the birthplace of the Taliban and President Hamid Karzai’s home province.

Violence continues in Arab countries

NEW YORK

Violence continued in several Arab countries Saturday, as government forces in Syria, Libya and Tunisia reportedly attacked citizens and facilities.

Syrian tanks and army units entered the city of Banias, according to a Reuters report, which added that cellphone 3G Internet service was cut in Damascus on Friday. Twenty-six people were reported killed across Syria on Friday in the government crackdown.

Reuters also reported Saturday that the Libyan government had bombed fuel tanks in the western city of Misrata, a rebel stronghold.

In Tunisia, the origin of anti-government protests that have swept North Africa and the Middle East, protesters unhappy at the slow pace of reform were attacked by police with batons and tear gas.

Memphis prepares for river flooding

TIPTONVILLE, Tenn.

As Memphis readied for the mighty Mississippi to bring its furor to town, some Kentucky residents upstream returned to their homes Saturday, optimistic the levees would hold and that they had seen the worst of the flooding.

In the small town of Hickman, Ky., officials and volunteers spent nearly two weeks piling up sandbags to shore up the 17-mile levee, preparing for a disaster of historic proportion.

By Saturday, the levee had held, and officials boasted that only a few houses appeared to be damaged. More importantly, no one was injured or killed.

Downstream, though, there was danger, in places such as Memphis, the Mississippi Delta and Louisiana.

Combined dispatches