carried away

NYT: civilians caught between bullets in Sadr City...
NYT: and amidst heaps of trash
"On Saturday, three Sadr City residents gingerly approached an American Army position to deliver a warning: Unless the Iraqi government or its American partner did something to restore essential services and remove the piles of garbage, the militias would gain more support."

the strained US military employs short-term measures:
USAT: involuntary extensions for soldiers
Gdn: and "moral waivers" for recruits

CSM: meanwhile, Congress haggles over latest Iraq funding bill

WP: negotiations between secular and Islamist groups in Pakistan

Gdn: Lebanon still in "presidential limbo"
"A power struggle between the pro-western ruling coalition, supported by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and the opposition, backed by Syria and Iran, has paralysed the government.
Politicians have been unable to reach consensus since the term of the pro-Syrian president, Emile Lahoud, expired. Both sides have agreed that army chief General Michel Suleiman should fill the post, but his confirmation by parliament has been repeatedly derailed by a dispute over how to share power in a future cabinet.
Today's attempt was the 18th time parliament has called a presidential election. The vote was abandoned because not enough members were present to make up the necessary quorum. Members of the Syrian-backed opposition have been staying away from the parliamentary chamber, leaving it unable to convene a vote."

Ind: Islamists seize two towns in Somalia

Ind: Kenyan troubles disrupt Masai community program
"Since the non-profit Mara Conservancy was founded in 2001, and the compensation scheme established, the number of lions in the reserve has doubled to 40. But now that the fund has been suspended [because of lack of tourists], many Masai are threatening to resume hunting the lions and leopards which eat their cows, goats and sheep.
'We know we shouldn't kill it, but we might have to,' said Konchellah Ololmaneie, who has lost six of his 80 goats to the leopard.
So far rangers in the Mara have managed to dissuade him from hunting down the leopard. But without the £10 per goat compensation he has been accustomed to, Mr Ololmaneie has nonetheless had to resort to desperate measures. He has decided to sell a cow before the leopard can get to it – a decision not taken lightly.
'If you don't have a cow, you are counting down the days until you die," he says. "Your cow is your bank.'"

BBC: diary from Harare

AP: 20 Haitians drown off coast of Bahamas, presumably trying to reach US

BBC: Catholic priest missing after flying away with 1,000 helium balloons off southern coast of Brazil