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Ramon Espinosa/The Associated Press
Photo: People help a person out from under the rubble of a school after it collapsed Friday in Petionville, Haiti. The hillside school where roughly 500 students usually crowded into several floors collapsed during classes, killing at least 47 people and injuring many more. Rescuers used bare hands to pull bleeding students from the wreckage. More children were believed buried in the rubble of the concrete building, and the death toll was likely to go higher, a civil protection official said at the scene.
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11/7/2008 -
Pakistan says 13 killed in U.S. missile strikeISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A suspected U.S. missile targeting a Taliban commander killed 13 people near the Afghan border Friday, a sign that America's new general for the region is not heeding Islamabad's pleas for a halt to the strikes.
There has been a surge in U.S. cross-border attacks since August, angering Pakistani officials who say the raids violate the nuclear-armed country's sovereignty and undermine its anti-terror war in the border region.
Repairing strained ties while keeping the pressure on al-Qaida and Taliban commanders leaders hiding in the lawless frontier area will be a key challenge for Barack Obama when he becomes U.S. president in January.
Review favors larger Afghan army to get U.S. out of war
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration, in the midst of a wide review of its war strategy in Afghanistan, is likely to recommend soon to the incoming Obama administration that the U.S. push for further expansion of the Afghan army as the surest path to an eventual U.S. withdrawal, The Associated Press has learned.
It's too late in President Bush's tenure for a major change of direction in Afghanistan, but the White House wants to produce a kind of road map for the next administration, not just in terms of military effort but also in other areas such as integrating U.S. and international civilian and military aid.
The strategy review, which began in September amid increasing militant violence and a growing U.S. and allied death toll, is being coordinated at the White House and is expected to be presented by December. Defense officials would discuss emerging conclusions only on condition of anonymity because it is not yet completed.
U.S. says al-Qaida regional leader killed near Baghdad
BAGHDAD — The U.S. military says U.S. and Iraqi forces have killed a senior al-Qaida in Iraq leader in the Tarmiyah area north of Baghdad.
A U.S. statement says the al-Qaida leader, known as Abu Ghazwan, was killed Thursday during a raid on a weapons cache.
The statement says Abu Ghazwan commanded numerous insurgent cells in the Taji and Tarmiyah areas. He was also responsible for building car bombs for use in the Baghdad area and supervising the recruiting and training of women and children for suicide attacks.
Mexico seizes largest-ever drug-cartel weapons cache
MEXICO CITY — The Mexican army says it has made its largest seizure of drug-cartel weapons ever.
Army officials say they confiscated 288 assault rifles, 500,000 rounds of ammunition, numerous grenades and several .50-caliber rifles at a house in the city of Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas.
Officials say the weapons belonged to the Gulf drug cartel. Three people were detained in Thursday's raid.
Assistant Attorney General Marisela Morales said Friday that the arsenal "is the largest in the history of Mexico." The largest previous bust involved a cache of 280 weapons found in 1984.
Strengthening Hurricane Paloma heads to Cuba
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands — Late-season Hurricane Paloma strengthened into a Category 3 storm as it lashed the Cayman Islands with wind and rain Friday, knocking down trees and signs.
The storm was expected to lose some strength overnight before punching Cuba's midsection today, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Cuba already is suffering from billions of dollars in damage from two previous hurricanes this season.
"It's not like it's new to them, unfortunately," said Dave Roberts, a U.S. Navy hurricane specialist. "If I were living on the island, I would at least prepare for a Category 2."
Cuban official newspaper Granma, recalling past late-season hurricanes such as a 1932 storm that killed about 3,000 people, said Paloma poses "a potential danger for the island."
The Cayman Islands government asked all hotels to remove guests from the ground and first floors. Nearly 40 people were already staying in the islands' seven shelters.
Blinded pilot guided safely to ground
LONDON — A British pilot who was suddenly blinded by a stroke during a solo flight was talked safely down by a military pilot, the Royal Air Force said Friday.
Jim O'Neill asked for help after he was went blind 40 minutes into a flight from Scotland to southeastern England last week. The BBC reported that O'Neill, flying a small Cessna aircraft, lost his sight 5,500 feet in the air.
"It was terrifying," O'Neill said. "Suddenly, I couldn't see the dials in front of me."
The air force said in a news release that O'Neill initially believed he'd been "dazzled" by bright sunlight, and made an emergency call for help. He then realized that something more serious was happening, and said, "I want to land, ASAP."
