New name for forces in Iraq
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In bow to reality, U.S. drops ‘multinational’ moniker
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq — Military officials on Friday inaugurated a new name for the U.S. force in Iraq at the start of the year that will see the war wind down in earnest.
Henceforth, the Multi-National Force-Iraq will be called the United States Force-Iraq, in belated recognition of the fact that for some time there have been no other nations serving alongside U.S. troops in the nearly 7-year-old conflict.
British, Australian and Romanian soldiers pulled out in July, leaving Americans as the last surviving members of what former President George W. Bush once called “the coalition of the willing.”
A small number of foreigners are serving with a NATO training mission, but they were not part of the multinational force.
At its peak, the coalition included 32 nations, but the expression often drew snickers because many of its members, such as Estonia and Tonga, were among America’s smallest allies and they contributed fewer than 100 troops.
And now the U.S. is preparing to pull out, too, adding an end-of-era feel to the renaming ceremony held at one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces on the sprawling Camp Victory complex outside Baghdad that serves as the military’s headquarters.
Army Gen. David Petraeus, who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, told the servicemen and diplomats assembled in the palace that the new name signaled a new phase for the U.S. military as it prepares to draw down from the current level of 110,000 troops to fewer than 50,000 by August.
The remaining U.S. troops, who will provide support and training, are scheduled to leave by the end of 2011.
— Liz Sly, Tribune Newspapers
Rains spawn deadly mudslides in Brazil
A rain-soaked slab of hillside collapsed on three houses and an upscale waterfront lodge after New Year’s celebrations early Friday on an island resort in Angra dos Reis, a Brazilian city near Rio de Janeiro. At least 19 people were killed and 10 injured, authorities said. Another mudslide elsewhere in the city killed 11. About 120 rescuers searched for survivors. Local authorities said nearly 80 mudslides were reported throughout the region. Deaths in Rio de Janeiro state from three days of heavy rains reached 50, officials said, and more rain was predicted across the region.
NATION
Home fire kills 5, including 3 children
PLYMOUTH, Mo. — Authorities say five people, including three children, were killed in a New Year’s Day house fire in northern Missouri.
Carroll County Sheriff Troy Hofstetter says the fire started early Friday morning in the basement of the home near the small town of Plymouth.
The Kansas City Star reported that a 23-year-old woman, a 24-year-old man, two 11-year-old boys and a 4 month-old-girl died.
Two people escaped the home, and one went to a neighbor’s house and called 911 about 5 a.m., Hofstetter said.
Hofstetter said the cause of fire remained under investigation, but an unattended fireplace may be to blame.
Car, snowmobiles collide
PELICAN, Wis. — Authorities say one person was killed and four were injured after a car and three snowmobiles collided in northern Wisconsin.
The snowmobilers were on the shoulder of U.S. Highway 8 in the town of Pelican around 1 a.m. Friday when the collision occurred, according to the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office.
A man, 41, was pronounced dead at a hospital. The car’s driver, a 76-year-old man, and a 48-year-old man from a snowmobile were hospitalized.
The operator of a third snowmobile, a woman, 49, and her 47-year-old female passenger were treated and released.
WORLD
Car-bombing attack kills 90 at event in Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A suicide bomber detonated his explosives-packed vehicle in a crowd of people watching a volleyball tournament in northwest Pakistan, killing about 90 people in the deadliest attack in more than two months.
The attack Friday in Lakki Marwat city appeared to be retaliation against residents who formed militias to drive militants out of the area,and a meeting of anti-Taliban leaders being held nearby may have been the actual target, police said.
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The attack was not far from South Waziristan, where the army is waging an offensive against the Pakistani Taliban. That operation has provoked apparent reprisal attacks that have killed more than 500 people since October.
No group claimed responsibility for Friday’s blast, but that is not uncommon when large numbers of civilians are killed.
Claim: Civilians killed
KABUL — An airstrike by international forces in the southern Afghan province of Helmand killed seven civilians and two Taliban fighters and wounded another civilian, an Afghan official said Friday.
Dawud Ahmadi, spokesman for the provincial governor, said the attack took place Wednesday after an international patrol came under fire from insurgents and called for air support. NATO said it was aware of the reports and was investigating.
It is the second claim of civilian deaths in allied attacks in a week. The Afghan government said 10 people were killed, including eight schoolchildren, in a village in eastern Kunar province in a nighttime raid by international forces last weekend.
Dessert sickens dozens
BOGOTA — Police and health authorities say a holiday dessert distributed to homeless Colombians contained ground glass and poison that caused one death and sickened 44 others.
The Cali police commander, Gen. Miguel Angel Bojaca, said a traditional custard and pastry was handed out on New Year’s Eve to impoverished people in the city’s El Calvario neighborhood.
Toxicologist Fernando Rojas says the custard contained ground glass and what appeared to be an insecticide, judging from patients’ symptoms.
An official said Friday that investigators are pursuing leads on two people seen handing out the food.
THE NUMBER: 89 rubles ($3)
The price of the cheapest vodka on the Russian market, more than double the previous price as the government set a minimum Friday in an effort to fight rampant alcoholism.
Drinking causes an extraordinary number of deaths in Russia, where male life expectancy is about 60 years, and it contributes to an array of economic and social problems.
The minimum price for 17 ounces of vodka went into effect at the start of the 12-day New Year’s and Orthodox Christmas holiday, when alcohol consumption is highest.
Russia has one of the highest levels of consumption, the equivalent of 4.8 gallons of pure alcohol for every man, woman and child per year.