Daily News Digest

the latest news on Darfur, New Hampshire primary, Iran-US, President in Mideast, Pakistan, Iraq, South Korea, Darfur, Kenya, Faith & Politics, and Faith.

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New Hampshire primary. Clinton and McCain Rebound to Take N.H. "Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the early Republican front-runner whose campaign imploded last summer, handily won the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, dealing former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney his second loss in the GOP nomination contest." Fresh starts for Clinton, McCain in New Hampshire primary "The New York senator beats expectations and Obama for the key state's Democratic nomination; McCain trumps Romney for the Republican nod." Clinton Is Victor, Defeating Obama; McCain Also Wins"Hillary Rodham Clinton's victory was a surprising show of strength after her loss in Iowa. John McCain reprised his 2000 primary win, beating Mitt Romney." Clinton edges Obama in N.H.;McCain topples Romney "Senator Hillary Clinton of New York scored a narrow but impressive comeback victory in New Hampshire's Democratic presidential primary, as the Granite State again salvaged a troubled Clinton campaign and rejuvenated the former first lady's bid to return to the White House." Analysis: With Clinton and McCain comebacks, an epic struggle looms "New Hampshirevoters refused to echo those in Iowa, declaring their own winners in each major party and kicking the campaign on to other states. The split decision by Democrats suggests an epic struggle in coming weeks, a clash between generations and political styles. Republicans face a coast-to-coast struggle as well." Voters turn out in record numbers"Women and 'straight talk' backers surge"

Iran-US. President Calls Action of Iranian Boats 'Provocative' "President Bush warned Iran yesterday that its confrontation with three U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf on Sunday was a provocative act, as the Pentagon released audio and video recordings of the dawn showdown." Bush Castigates Iran, Calling Naval Confrontation 'Provocative Act' "The Pentagon also released video showing Iranian speedboats maneuvering around the American convoy." Israel steps up warnings to Bush on Iran "President Bush arrives here Wednesday to propel forward the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. But Israeli leaders seem more interested in focusing on Iran's nuclear program."

President in Mideast. Bush visits Mideast with little momentum for peace "When President Bush arrives here on the first leg of a Middle East tour, he will encounter a political landscape that has changed little in the weeks since Israeli and Palestinian leaders pledged at a Mideast peace conference to revive negotiations." Bush kicks off Middle East tour "The US president has arrived in Israel to a red carpet welcome on his first visit since taking office." Bush launches key Mid-East tour "US President George W Bush has begun talks with Israeli leaders at the start of a visit to the Middle East aimed at advancing peace negotiations." Mideast Leaders Agree to Core Talks "The Israeli and Palestinian leaders authorized the start of negotiations on the delicate core issues of the conflict between them," Situation assessment / What Bush can and can't accomplish "All it took was for the engines of Air Force One to fire up to produce two major breakthroughs in talks between Israel and the Palestinians."

Pakistan. Bhutto inquiry gains leeway "President Pervez Musharraf met for the first time with Scotland Yard investigators looking into the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and declared afterward that his government was committed to bringing her killers to justice."

Iraq. U.S. Attack in Iraq Is No Surprise to Many Insurgents "With extraordinary secrecy, and even an information blackout aimed at most of their Iraqi Army comrades, American troops began a major offensive to drive Sunni insurgents from strongholds in Diyala Province." Major Offensive Targets Insurgents "The U.S. military launched a major offensive against one of the largest known redoubts of al-Qaeda in Iraq, part of a new nationwide campaign to destroy remaining pockets of the Sunni insurgency."

South Korea. US Nuclear Envoy Holds Talks in SKorea "The chief U.S. nuclear envoy for North Korea met South Korea's top diplomat to fine-tune strategy for efforts to push ahead with the communist country's nuclear disarmament."

Darfur. Sudanese Soldiers Fire on U.N. Peacekeepers in Darfur "Sudanese soldiers shot at a convoy of United Nations peacekeepers in Darfur, critically wounding a local driver and destroying a fuel tanker barely a week into the force's new mission in the region," UN protests after Darfur attack "The United Nations has lodged a protest with Khartoum after a peacekeeping supply convoy in Darfur was ambushed by what the UN said were Sudanese troops." Analysis: Sudan needs reality check "The Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Sudanese government and the Sudan's People Liberation Movement signed on January 9, 2005 ended years of bloody warfare which had effectively split the country in two. But it is a peculiar contract between the once-warring factions."

Kenya. New effort to solve Kenya crisis "Ghana's President John Kufuor has held separate talks with both sides involved in Kenya's election crisis. Mr Kufuor - who also heads the African Union - met President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga." Kenya Crisis Worsens as Opposition Cools to Talks "The political mood darkened again in Kenya on Tuesday, with opposition leaders cooling to the idea of negotiations with the government after the president unilaterally made major cabinet appointments, a move that set off riots across the country almost immediately." Kenyans forced to flee violence find ways to cope "Plans for key talks toward a political solution to Kenya's post-election crisis fell through Tuesday. Meanwhile, 250,000 have been displaced by ethnic violence."

Faith & Politics. Huckabee moves beyond religious right "Republican Mike Huckabee is trying to soften the image of the religious right as he reaches out to liberal Christians and blue-collar workers for support in his presidential campaign." The Megachurch Primaries "How the leading Democratic candidates are trying to win evangelical votes."

Faith. Faith found outside church "A new survey of U.S. adults who don't go to church, even on holidays, finds 72% say "God, a higher or supreme being, actually exists." But just as many (72%) also say the church is "full of hypocrites."