U.S. & WORLD NEWS | Clash in Pakistan leaves 17 dead

Clash in Pakistan leaves 17 dead

peshawar, pakistan

Police say some 100 militants have attacked a security checkpoint near the main northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar. The three-hour-long clash killed two police officers and 15 insurgents.

Senior police official Liaquat Ali Khan said today the militants bore rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons. They struck overnight at the Sangu Mera checkpoint. Sangu Mera lies just along the border of Khyber tribal region, an area where Taliban and other militants have hideouts. The checkpoint is about 6 miles away from Peshawar.

The attack comes amid Taliban threats to avenge the May 1 U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden. But it is more likely tied to the Pakistani military’s offensives in the tribal belt.

Oil-tax-break bill blocked by Senate

washington

The Senate blocked a bill Tuesday that would repeal about $2 billion a year in tax breaks for the five biggest oil companies, a Democratic response to $4-a-gallon gasoline that might fare better when Congress and the White House negotiate a deal later this year to increase the government’s ability to borrow.

The bill was defeated on a procedural vote. But Democrats hope to build their case to include the measure in a deficit-reduction package being negotiated by key lawmakers and the Obama administration.

Ohio executes man who fatally shot 2

lucasville, ohio

An Ohio inmate who said he didn’t recall fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend 27 years ago was put to death Tuesday after an appeals court overturned a stay of execution and the nation’s highest court declined to intervene.

Daniel Lee Bedford, 63, was pronounced dead at 11:18 a.m., making him the third inmate in Ohio — and the nation — to be put to death using the surgical sedative pentobarbital as a stand-alone execution drug.

Bedford was sentenced to death after confessing to authorities that he shot Gwen Toepfert, 25, and John Smith, 27, at Toepfert’s Cincinnati apartment.

Another Gadhafi official defects

tripoli, libya

Another high-ranking Libyan official has defected and fled the country amid a widening NATO campaign of bombings as well as leafletting and other psychological warfare to persuade Moammar Gadhafi’s troops to stop fighting.

Shukri Ghanem, the Libyan oil minister and head of the National Oil Co., crossed into neighboring Tunisia on Monday, according to a Tunisian security official.

The defections suggest Gadhafi’s political structure is fraying, but it’s unclear whether there is enough internal strife to seriously undermine his ability to fight rebel forces as NATO airstrikes pound Libyan military targets.

US troops face more dangers in Iraq

baghdad

American forces are facing an increasingly dangerous environment in southern Iraq, where Shiite militias trying to claim they are driving out the U.S. occupiers have stepped up attacks against bases and troops.

The uptick in violence serves as a warning about what American forces could face if U.S. and Iraqi officials come to an agreement about keeping more U.S. troops in the country past Dec. 31.

“We’re very concerned about it,” said Col. Reginald Allen, who commands the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment that operates in five, predominantly Shiite provinces.

Associated Press