Iraqi FM Warns Against U.S. Withdrawal

BAGHDAD - Iraq's foreign minister warned on Monday that a quick American military withdrawal from the country could lead to civil war and the collapse of the government, as pressure on the Bush administration for a pullout grows.

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd from northern Iraq, also said Turkey has massed 140,000 soldiers on its border with northern Iraq, where the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, has bases and launches attacks on Turkish forces.

"Turkey's fears are legitimate but such things can be discussed," Zebari said. "The perfect solution is the withdrawal of the Turkish forces from the borders."

He said there had been no "Turkey military …

Tiananmen student leader seeks entry to Macau

A prominent student leader from the 1989 pro-democracy protests at Beijing's Tiananmen Square says he's arrived in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau to turn himself in.

Wu'er Kaixi told The Associated Press by phone Wednesday that immigration officials at Macau's airport took him to a room after he arrived from Taipei. He was not immediately told if he will …

PLUS NEWS

BLAME FOR BLASTS: Negligence and poor planning by state, city andgovernment oil company officials were behind the sewer-lineexplosions that killed 191 people in Guadalajara, Mexico, a federalinvestigation has concluded. Before dawn today, seven officials weretaken to the Jalisco State Penitentiary outside Guadalajara wherethey had been ordered detained. The four oil company and threemunicipal water and sewer officials were among 11 officials andbusinessmen sought for questioning pending a judge's determinationwhether they should be charged with negligent homicide. CEASE-FIRE FIGHTING: Battles between rival rebel factions raged onin the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan, today, but …

Iraq official slams Arab League's Syria suspension

BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iraqi government spokesman says a decision by the Arab League to suspend Syria over the country's bloody crackdown of an eight-month uprising may make matters worse.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement Sunday that the suspension will complicate the situation in Syria because the League will lose all communication channels with Damascus.

The 22-member bloc voted …

Wanda Sykes says she's 'proud to be gay'

Comedian Wanda Sykes says the passage of a same-sex marriage ban in California has led to her be more outspoken about being gay.

"You know, I don't really talk about my sexual orientation. I didn't feel like I had to. I was just living my life, not necessarily in the closet, but I was living my life," Sykes told a crowd at a gay rights rally in Las Vegas on Saturday.

"Everybody that knows me personally, they know I'm gay. But that's the way people should be …

THE WEEK THAT WAS

Roadblock The war of wills between Burmese democrat Aung San Suu Kyi and themilitary rulers of Myanmar escalated when the government blocked theNobel Peace Prize winner as she tried to meet supporters in Pathein,120 miles from the capital, Yangon. The government said it couldn'tguarantee Suu Kyi's safety but couldn't say what the threat to hermight be. Meanwhile, the government kicked out 18 foreigners,including six Americans, for handing out pro-democracy leaflets.Myanmar formerly was known as Burma. Paraguay's progress

Raul Cubas Grau took the presidential oath of office Saturday,promising to rejuvenate Paraguay's foundering economy and attack the"scourges of drug trafficking and piracy." The ceremony marked theSouth American nation's first transition between elected civilianssince a 34-year dictatorship led by Gen. Alfredo Stroessner thatended in 1989. Cubas Grau, a 54-year-old engineer, said he willoverhaul the public banking system and take steps to end corruption.Cubas Grau succeeded President Juan Carlos Wasmosy, who was barredfrom seeking a second consecutive term. At one time, Cubas Grauserved as Wasmosy's economics minister. Holocaust claims Jewish groups, Swiss banks and attorneys for Holocaust survivorsreached a $1.2 billion settlement Wednesday over claims to assetslost during World War II. The World Jewish Congress on Monday willannounce a toll-free number for claims on a $70 million humanitarianfund. Quotable "I wish I'd had a gun. In the time I was talking on the talkie, Icould've gunned him down." - Benson Okuku Bwaku, a security guard at the U.S. Embassy inNairobi, Kenya. Bwaku said he came face-to-face with one of theterrorists who bombed the embassy Aug. 7. He radioed a warning thatnever was heard, then ran to warn Marine guards as the bomb exploded.

Bachmann: America has become 'banana republic'

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Casting the Wall Street protestors as misguided, Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann on Thursday said their frustrations should instead be directed at Washington politicians who protect their allies and put unfriendly companies out of business.

Bachmann said politicians have far too much power and unfairly pick winners and losers. The Minnesota congresswoman, trying to recapture her once surging poll numbers, said she has watched lawmakers enact laws that intentionally shut businesses down.

"For your sake and for your future, America — and Occupy Wall Street in particular — needs to wake up and stop blaming the free market, stop blaming capitalism, stop blaming job creators for the failures created by selfish politicians," Bachmann told students at Iowa State University. "The problem is politicians who wink at their political donors and through the force of law put their competitors out of business."

Bachmann used her appearance in Ames to outline an economic proposal that would require all Americans to pay taxes. The Tax Policy Center estimates that some 46 percent of households this year will not pay federal income taxes.

"They need to be invested in the country," she said. "Even if they can only afford $10, they need to pay something."

Her position was a direct challenge to rivals Rick Perry and Herman Cain, who are advocating separate flat tax plans. Cain is also promoting for a national sales tax as part of his 9-9-9 plan.

Bachmann said she would not propose an absolute flat tax, but told reporters after that she would have at most three tax brackets, which she declined define.

Polls show Bachmann trailing behind other contenders in Iowa, which holds the first presidential caucuses in January. She won an early test vote in Ames in August. But her standing slipped as the GOP electorate rallied first around Perry, who had several weak debate performances, and then Cain, who has spent the last four days trying to redirect media attention away from allegations of sexual harassment filed by at least two women during his tenure at the National Restaurant Association.

With jobs and the economy as the top issues on voters' minds, Bachmann hopes her tough talk will help her regain her footing in a state that her advisers see as a linchpin in their strategy.