Israelis 'overwhelmingly' support Obama -- despite diplomatic flap during Biden visit: pollA poll shows that Israelis have a favorable impression of ObamaRead Article   

 Wave of bombings kills up to 70 in Iraq as al-Qaida chief is caught  • Abu Omar al-Baghdadi detained after clash with Iraqi soldiers
• Four bombings in response to capture of Zarqawi successor Martin Chulov in Baghdad guardian.co.uk, Thursday 23 April 2009 16.51 BST
Scores of people were killed in a series of bomb attacks in Iraq today, after the alleged leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, was arrested. An injured child is treated after a suicide bomber attacked aid workers in Baghdad. Photograph: Adil al-Khazali/AP The detention of Baghdadi was hailed as the most serious blow to the insurgency for three years, but it was swiftly followed by four explosions that killed as many as 70 people.Baghdadi was arrested shortly after 10am by military intelligence officials attached to the sixth brigade of the Iraqi army in Resafa district, in southeastern Baghdad.Just over an hour later, a suicide bomber blew himself up among a group of police officers who were handing out humanitarian aid to refugees in al-Tahriyat Square in the central neighbourhood of Karrada, near where the arrest took place. The blast killed 28 people and wounded 50.A second suicide bomber killed 48 Iranian pilgrims in a restaurant near Baquba, the provincial capital of Diyyala. Victims were believed to still be buried in the rubble of an adjoining building, and the death toll was expected to rise further, according to a police official in Baquba."The toll is rising all the time," the officer said. "A lot of the wounded are not expected to live."At least 40 of the dead were Iranian pilgrims who were travelling to the Shia shrine cities of Karbala and Najaf.Around the…

 Dem House vote-counter lacks health care votes nowFrom Associated PressMarch 14, 2010 3:34 PM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The House's chief Democratic headcounter said Sunday he hadn't rounded up enough votes to pass President Barack Obama's health care overhaul heading into a make-or-break week, even as the White House's top political adviser said he was "absolutely confident" in its prospects.White House spokesman Robert Gibbs predicted House passage this week, before Congress takes a two-week break and Obama travels to Asia, a trip he postponed to push for the bill."This is the week where we will have this important vote," Gibbs said. "I do think this is the climactic week for health care reform."Political strategist David Axelrod said Democrats will persuade enough lawmakers to vote "yes." The House GOP leader, Ohio Rep. John Boehner, took up the challenge, acknowledging Republicans alone can't stop the measure, but pledging to do "everything we can to make it difficult for them, if not impossible, to pass the bill." Republicans believe they may get help from Democrats facing tough re-election campaigns.Axelrod said it will be a struggle, taking aim at insurance industry lobbyists who "have landed on Capitol Hill like locusts" and Republicans who see being on the losing side of the vote as a political victory."I am absolutely confident that we are going to be successful. I believe that there is a sense of urgency on the part of members of Congress," given recent news about insurance plan rate increases, Axelrod said.A dose of reality came from Rep. James Clyburn, the third-ranking House Democrat and main vote counter. "No, we don't have them as of this morning, but we've been working this thing all weekend," said Clyburn, D-S.C.Clyburn said he was confident the measure would pass, echoing comments from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on…

  Rumsfield blamed for failing to kill cornered bin LadenReport finds al Qaeda head was trapped in Tora Bora and had written will when US failed to order attack by troops 59 Democrats revolt over troop surge Obama ‘has unrealistic hopes for Nato surge’