The minister for democracy and development, Colonel Moussa Keita, said the government is withdrawing from the negotiations being held in Burkina Faso until Captain Moussa Dadis Camara has recovered enough to return to work in Guinea. During an address on state television, Keita assured Guineans the military government is not giving up on regional dialogue aimed at resolving the country's political crisis. One opposition leader accused the government of withdrawing from the talks to stay in power longer.  Mamadou Bah Baadiko of the Union of Democratic Forces (UFD) called for the negotiati

Philippine police say they have identified and are seeking 161 people, including government militiamen, for involvement in last month's gruesome massacre of 57 people. National police chief Jesus Verzosa says witnesses identified Andal Ampatuan Jr., a local mayor, as the person who led the killings.  He is accused of leading the group to stop supporters of a rival politician from registering him for next year's provincial governor elections in Maguindanao.  Ampatuan Jr.

Nigerian police deny Amnesty International's report alleging extra-judicial killings by officers. The rights group's three-year inquiry details cases of prisoners tortured to death and shootings at roadblocks. Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer Frank Mba denied the alleged killings.

Surviving just one tour in Southern Afghanistan is no mean feat. Many of the world's best and brightest soldiers have fought and died here, and still more return home irrevocably shaken. There are among us, however, soldiers whose mettle has been cast in the furnaces of war, and who feel it is their duty to return, having emerged battle-tested and knowledgeable. Army Cpl. Corey Sagstuen, a combat medic currently serving in a Canadian Operational Mentor and Liaison Team, is one such soldier.

U.S. forces assisted Iraqi Security Forces in arresting five people yesterday after an indirect-fire attack on Joint Base Balad.

Coalition airpower integrated with ground forces in Iraq and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations Dec. 8 according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here. Air operations in Afghanistan: Asadabad Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft flew armed overwatch and area reconnaissance for a friendly forces patrol. When insurgents were seen approaching the friendly patrol, a pre-emptive strike with precision-guided munitions was authorized.

Sailors and Marines of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) completed a successful seven-month deployment Dec. 8 when USS Bataan (LHD 5) and USS Ponce (LPD 15) arrived at Norfolk Naval Station and USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) returned to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Va. "Completing a successful deployment and bringing all of the Sailors and Marines safely back home to their families accomplished one of my major goals," said Capt. Paul McElroy, commander of the Bataan ARG.

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) -- Members of the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center here aided in search operations with local and state agencies to save a stranded man late Dec. 1 in the Sonoran Desert in Apache Junction, Ariz. The young man was hiking on Superstition Mountain, became stranded and was suffering from hypothermia. He placed a 911 call on his cell phone when his phone battery died.

A terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaida is claiming responsibility for last month's kidnapping of three Spanish aid workers in Mauritania and a Frenchman in Mali.   The Algerian-based group al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb made the kidnapping claim in an audio tape given to the Al Jazeera television network. A man identifying himself as Saleh Abu Mohammad says that France and Spain will be informed later about the kidnappers' demands. Spain says it can not confirm the validity of the claim, but is investigating the report. Three Spanish aid workers were kidnapped November 29 sout