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DALLAS (AP) - Iraq's debt is "simply unsustainable" and must be reduced if the country's economy and government are to be rebuilt, former Secretary of State James A. Baker III said Thursday. President Bush appointed Baker in December to serve as a special envoy in seeking an international deal to lower and refinance Iraq's staggering foreign debt - it owes an estimated $125 billion to other countries, excluding war reparations. "These debts can never be paid in full, even under the most optimistic circumstances," Baker told about 500 people at a lunch sponsored by the University of Texas at Dallas...

WILLOUGHBY, Ohio (AP) - An Army veteran from Ohio was one of four American contractors killed in Iraq, their bodies mutilated and dragged through the streets. Family members said Thursday that Jerry Zovko, 32, died with three other civilians Wednesday after they were hit by rocket-propelled grenades in a rebel ambush. The victims worked for Blackwater Security Consulting, one of five subsidiaries of Blackwater USA based in North Carolina. Zovko's mother said she and her husband had suspected their son might be among the dead, but their fears were confirmed Thursday morning when the president of Blackwater USA knocked on...

<p>WASHINGTON — An Army division commanded by Wesley Clark supplied some of the military equipment for the government's 51-day standoff with a religious sect in Waco, Texas, and Clark's deputy, now the Army Chief of Staff, took part in a crucial Justice Department meeting five days before the siege ended in disaster, according to military records.</p>

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - A man claiming to have a bomb took at least two flight attendants hostage Friday as the plane from Ankara landed at Istanbul airport, television reported. The man took the hostages after the passengers left the plane, NTV said, adding that he had reportedly demanded to be flown to Moscow. CNN-Turk television said all flights to and from Istanbul had been canceled temporarily.

MONTARA, Calif. (AP) - The influence of foreign business can be seen across America, with consumers cheerfully buying Japanese cars, Korean TVs and clothing made in China. But many Americans aren't so happy about foreigners controlling their water supply. A recently completed $8.6 billion takeover of American Water Works by German-based industrial giant RWE has led to a backlash from a handful of cities across America. The deal covers more than 800 water systems serving 15 million people in 27 states and three Canadian provinces. "As soon as people find out their water service is being bought by a German...

ABOARD USS HARRY S. TRUMAN (AP) -- Around Iraq's borders, the Pentagon is struggling to persuade allies to host U.S. troops and warplanes needed for a possible attack. At sea, however, America's military power is unhindered and growing to possibly the biggest concentration of warships since the 1991 Gulf War. Imposing naval flotillas - with aircraft carriers as their mighty centerpieces - are taking greater prominence in strategic planning for a possible war against Iraq as obstacles are raised to ground deployments, officers say. "I think all of the aircraft carriers will serve as a floating air base," said Capt....

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Authorities in Afghanistan on Tuesday were investigating a series of rocket and arson attacks launched by unidentified assailants on schools west of the capital, a U.N. spokesman said. No injuries were reported. The attacks in Wardak province took place Thursday night and Friday morning, and were confirmed by the U.N. children's agency who visited the areas Tuesday, said UNICEF spokesman Edward Carwardine. "We don't know why this is happening," Carwardine said. "Clearly there is a lot of concern. Any attack against children should be condemned completely." The incidents were the latest in a series of unexplained...