Daily News Digest

The latest news on McCain-foreign policy, Dem primaries, News, Slavery-Florida apology, Slavery-Africa, Environment, Iraq, Pakistan, Education in Africa, Kenya, Russia, Israel-Palestine talks, Colombia, Tibet, Opinion.

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McCain-foreign policy. McCain, in Foreign Policy Talk, Turns His Back on Unilateralism "In a wide-ranging speech on foreign policy, Senator John McCain sought to distance himself from the unilateralism that has been a hallmark of the Bush administration," McCain Outlines Foreign Policy "McCain promised a collaborative foreign policy that would seek the input of allies abroad and would contrast sharply with the go-it-alone approach of the Bush administration." McCain warns of Iraq 'genocide' "John McCain, the presumptive US Republican presidential candidate, has warned against a withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, saying "genocide" could follow a pullout."

Dem primaries. Lasting harm feared in Democrats' battle "Some Democratic Party leaders are growing more concerned that the protracted, caustic fight for the presidential nomination will cripple the eventual nominee, and there are new signs they have reason to worry.

News. Finding Political News Online, the Young Pass It On "According to interviews and recent surveys, younger voters tend to be not just consumers of news and current events but conduits as well - sending out e-mailed links and videos to friends and their social networks."

Slavery-Florida apology. Florida Senate apologizes for supporting slavery "The Legislature issued an apology Wednesday for the state's ''shameful'' history in enslaving black people and passing laws that called for savage lashings and even the nailing of their ears to posts for crimes like burglary." Florida Legislature Apologizes for State's History of Slavery "The two-page resolution passed overwhelmingly in the Senate and then the House, bringing at least one lawmaker to tears."

Slavery-Africa. Ex-slave works to free others from West African tradition "Messaoud founded the antislavery group SOS Slaves in 1995. He has waged many battles on behalf of slaves since that day more than 50 years ago when he faced his first obstacle to breaking the shackles."

Environment. California Utility to Install Solar Panels "An electric company plans to install a huge patchwork of solar cells, 10 times bigger than any previous such installation, on more than 100 large rooftops around Southern California." Million acres of Guyanese rainforest to be saved in groundbreaking deal " A deal has been agreed that will place a financial value on rainforests - paying, for the first time, for their upkeep as "utilities" that provide vital services such as rainfall generation, carbon storage and climate regulation."

Iraq. Fresh clashes grip southern Iraq "Heavy fighting has continued for a third day between Shia militias and the Iraqi security forces in southern Iraq." Clashes spread as U.S., Iraqi forces attack Shiite militia "With the United States providing air cover and embedded advisers, the Iraqi government expanded its offensive against Shiite Muslim militias from the port city of Basra to the capital of Baghdad - and many of the provinces in between." Pause likely in U.S. drawdown in Iraq "Concerns in Iraq that recent security gains are fragile and could backslide mean that President Bush is likely to hand over to his successor a war being fought by as many as 140,000 US troops"

Pakistan. U.S. Steps Up Unilateral Strikes in Pakistan "The United States has escalated its unilateral strikes against al-Qaeda members and fighters operating in Pakistan's tribal areas, partly because of anxieties that Pakistan's new leaders will insist on scaling back military operations in that country," Pakistan tells US: We are no longer your killing field "senior coalition partner Nawaz Sharif gave the visiting Americans a public scolding for using Pakistan as a "killing field" and relying too much on Musharraf."

Education in Africa. Plan to put 16m African children into school"Britain and France will today announce a joint initiative to help send 16 million African children to school in the next two years, in partnership with international football authorities."

Kenya. Kenya camera crew spotlights untold stories with Slum TV "as the international media trained lenses on burning cars and young men with machetes, the Slum TV crew found other stories they deemed equally important - people from different ethnic groups giving one another food and shelter, young people who refused to take up the machete, and local leaders who brokered peace between neighbors."

Russia. After Recent Discord, Bush to Meet With Putin in Russia "President Bush announced yesterday that he will make an unexpected trip to Russia after a NATO summit next week to meet with President Vladimir Putin in hopes of repairing relations that have grown strained"

Israel-Palestine talks. Olmert upbeat on Mideast peace talks "Amid ongoing rocket fire from Gaza Strip militants and efforts by the Israeli government to shore up the Palestinian Authority, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was optimistic that current negotiations would produce a lasting peace with the Palestinians." Israeli prime minister pledges to pursue peace talks "Israel's prime minister said he is "absolutely determined" to forge a peace deal with the moderate Palestinian leadership based in the West Bank, but said Israel will deal with the Hamas militants ruling the Gaza Strip in ways that will be "very painful."

Colombia. Colombian military says it found uranium linked to FARC "Colombian authorities said they seized up to 66 pounds of uranium, linked to the FARC guerrillas, hidden off the side of a road in southern Bogotá'' Colombia links uranium to FARC rebels " Colombia's Defense Ministry said that it had recovered uranium that officials have alleged leftist rebels might have acquired to make a "dirty bomb."

Tibet. 1st look at Tibet shows a silent, divided capital "Nearly two weeks after anti-Chinese riots and an ensuing crackdown, helmeted paramilitary police with batons checked identification papers in Lhasa's old Tibetan quarter Wednesday, even as the government said the city is returning to normal." First foreign observers into Tibetan capital find city scarred by violence "Foreign observers invited into the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, reported a city badly scarred by days of unrest and a heavy Chinese security presence still highly visible on the streets."

Opinion.

Fight violence with nonviolence (Rolf Carriere and Michael Nagler, Christian Science Monitor) "Over the past 25 years nonviolent peacekeepers have been going into zones of sometimes intense conflict with the aim of bringing a measure of peace, protection, and sanity to life there."