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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, June 4, 2009

Insurgents kill 3 soldiers in Afghanistan

Advertiser Staff

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Gov. John Lynch

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Raul Castro

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KABUL — Three foreign soldiers with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan were killed today when insurgents attacked their vehicle with a bomb and small-arms fire, the military announced.

Taliban militants are behind a wave of attacks that are destabilizing Afghanistan eight years after their regime was ousted by the U.S.-led invasion.

The attack took place in Kapsia, a province just north of the capital of Kabul and home to Bagram, the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. military said. It did not release the nationalities of the three dead soldiers.

Earlier, the U.S. military said an American soldier had been killed in a separate attack close to the city of Gardez. A spokesman later contacted The Associated Press to say that information was incorrect.

President Obama's administration has ordered 21,000 new U.S. troops to join the fight this year in hopes of reversing the Taliban gains.

NEW DEBRIS FROM DOWNED JET SPOTTED

FERNANDO DE NORONHA, Brazil — Military planes found new debris from Air France Flight 447 yesterday while investigators focused on an ordeal in which the jetliner broke up over the Atlantic as it flew through a violent storm.

Heavy weather delayed until next week the arrival of deep-water submersibles considered key to finding the black box voice and data recorders that will help answer the question of what happened to the airliner, which disappeared Sunday with 228 people on board. But even with the equipment, the lead French investigator questioned whether the recorders would ever be found in such a deep and rugged part of the ocean.

NEW HAMPSHIRE LEGALIZES GAY MARRIAGE

CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire yesterday became the sixth state to legalize gay marriage in a move that reflects the state's changing demographics from reliably Republican and conservative to younger and more liberal.

After the Senate and House passed key language on religious rights, Gov. John Lynch — who personally opposes gay marriage — signed the legislation yesterday afternoon.

Lynch, a Democrat, had promised a veto if the law didn't clearly spell out that churches and religious groups would not be forced to officiate at gay marriages or provide other services. Legislators made the changes.

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Iowa already allow gay marriage, though opponents hope to overturn Maine's law with a public vote.

HURRICANE VICTIMS CAN BUY TRAILERS FOR $1

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced yesterday that it would allow hurricane victims on the Gulf Coast still living in government-supplied trailers to buy their temporary homes for as a little as $1.

The government also will provide $50 million to help other trailer residents, whose homes were destroyed by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, move into rental or public housing.

The assistance comes just a few days after the official start of the 2009 hurricane season and one month after FEMA announced that it was ending the temporary housing program it launched in the aftermath of Katrina.

The more than 3,400 people still living in FEMA trailers in Louisiana and Mississippi had faced eviction.

34-NATION GROUP LIFTS CUBA SUSPENSION

MEXICO CITY — The Organization of American States yesterday repealed its 47-year suspension of Cuba, jettisoning a legacy of the Cold War and promising to further the island's integration into the region.

The decision also underscored Washington's diplomatic isolation where Cuba is concerned and raises the pressure on the Obama administration to normalize relations with Cuba. The U.S. is the only nation in the hemisphere lacking diplomatic ties with Cuba.

Cuba, however, has said it is not interested in rejoining the 34-nation OAS, which it sees as little more than a tool of Washington.

SHUTTLE CLEARED FOR JUNE 13 LAUNCH

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA has cleared space shuttle Endeavour for a June 13 launch to the international space station.Endeavour will carry up the last part of Japan's science lab, an outdoor porch for experiments, and a new space station resident. Five spacewalks are planned during the 16-day mission.