Afghan Trade: Four Hostages for Body of Dead Taliban
June 7, 2007 -- AFGHANISTAN
Afghan Trade: Four Hostages for Body of Dead Taliban
The body of the one-legged, ruthless Taliban military commander, Mullah Dadullah, was turned over to the Taliban in exchange for the release of four hostages, said Shahbuddin Atal, who claims to speak on behalf of the militant group. (ABC News)
30 Suspected Taliban Killed or Wounded
A battle and airstrikes in southern Afghanistan left 30 suspected Taliban dead or wounded, the Ministry of Defense said Thursday. (AP)
Afghanistan Ill-Prepared As Iran Deports Thousands
Nearly 100,000 Afghan migrants have been expelled from Iran over the past month and the total could reach 1 million by next spring, according to Tehran officials who say they are trying to protect the jobs of Iranians. (Washington Times)
IRAN/CIA
GOP Lawmakers Demand Probe of ABC News Story
A group of House Republicans are calling for an investigation into "the release of sensitive information" in a recent ABC News report on CIA covert activities against Iran. (ABC News)
SAUDI ARABIA
BBC Report: Saudi Prince Got $Billions for Arms Deal
A Saudi prince received millions of dollars for his own use as part of Britain's largest arms deal, the British Broadcasting Corp. said. (AP)
Saudi Arabia Says Detains 11 Suspected Militants
Saudi Arabia has detained 11 suspected Islamist militants over the past 48 hours including one involved in an attack on a major Saudi oil installation, the state news agency said on Thursday. (Asharg Alawsat)
U.S.
Report: 39 Secretly Imprisoned by U.S.
A coalition of human rights groups has drawn up a list of 39 terror suspects it believes are being secretly imprisoned by U.S. authorities and published their names in a report released Thursday. (AP)
NORTH KOREA MISSILES
North Korea Fires Missiles off West Coast
North Korea fired one or two short-range missiles off its west coast on Thursday, South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted a government official as saying. (Reuters)
IRAQ NEWS
Insurgent Group Announces Truce with Al-Qaeda in Iraq
A Sunni insurgent group that waged a deadly street battle last week against the rival group al-Qaeda in Iraq in a Sunni neighborhood of west Baghdad announced Wednesday that the two forces had declared a cease-fire. (Washington Post)
Suicide Bomber Kills 9 in Iraq Attack On Police HQ
A suicide truck bomber killed nine people and wounded 22, including five British civilian contractors, in an attack in an Iraqi town near the Syrian border on Thursday, police said. (Reuters)
Envoy in Iraq Says Ready to Listen To Kidnappers
The ambassador to Iraq said on Thursday he was willing to listen to the kidnappers of five Britons abducted in Baghdad last week but ruled out negotiating with them. (Reuters)
G8 SUMMIT
Merkel: G-8 Leaders Agree on 'Substantial Cuts' in Gas Emissions Blamed for Global Warming
Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that the Group of Eight has agreed on a plan calling for "substantial cuts" in the greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming. (AP)
Thousands of Protesters Foil Some German Security Measures and Clash with the Police
They lurked in the woods, 50 strong, wearing black hoods and bandannas, and wielding tree limbs. At a signal, they sprang forward and threw their debris across one of the bigger roads here, creating a barricade that brought traffic to a halt. (NY Times)
ITALY/U.S. TRIAL
Trial Opens Involving C.I.A. Rendition
The first trial involving the CIA's extraordinary renditions program opens Friday in the absence of all 26 American defendants accused of kidnapping an Egyptian terrorist suspect. (AP)
KENYA
Mystery of Fourteen Missing Bodies
Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of the bodies of the 22 people shot dead during an operation by the paramilitary General Service Unit officers at Nairobi's Mathare Valley slums on Monday night. (Daily Nation)
EDUCATION
Corruption 'Damaging Education'
Fake degrees on the internet are a growing problem. Bribery and corruption damage universities and schools across the world, according to a report for the UN's education wing, UNESCO. (BBC)
ANALYSIS/OPINION
Iran Forces the Issue in Afghanistan
By Syed Saleem Shahzad
When Iran announced in February that it was undertaking a thorough regularization of aliens on its soil, ears in the West pricked up, but not much was read into it. (Asia Times)
Repression by China, And by Us
By Nicholas D. Kristof
I'd meant to focus this column on a Chinese woman whose battle for justice has led the police to arrest her more than 30 times, lock her in an insane asylum, humiliate her sexually, shock her with cattle prods, beat her until she is crippled and, worst of all, take away her young daughter. (International Herald Tribune)
Looking for Leadership
If there is a point to gathering the leaders of eight of the world's richest and most powerful nations each year, it is to thrash out policies for tackling the most pressing and contentious problems. (NY Times)
Olmert's Words Won't Matter Without Washington's Genuine Support
Two positions taken by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday represent a significant shift in the public discourse at the top of the Jewish state's political ladder. Olmert released a statement on Wednesday announcing that Israel wants peace, not war, with Syria and that Israeli officials have communicated this message to Damascus through diplomatic channels. Separately, in a commentary published in Britain's The Guardian on Wednesday, Olmert expressed interest in achieving peace with the Palestinians on the basis of the Arab initiative, while insisting that "talks must be a discussion, not an ultimatum." (The Daily Star)
No News Is Bad News in Pakistan
Until recently, Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf, has been able to defend his quasi-democratic, quasi-military rule by arguing that he encouraged freedom of the press and privately owned television networks. But his current crackdown on private TV stations for the sin of devoting live coverage to demonstrations against his government makes him look like the anxious autocrat his detractors say he is. (Boston Globe)
The Insider Daily Investigative Report (DIR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to investigative news, including international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DIR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham and Elizabeth Sprague of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.