US Marines move in formation through farm fields after landing by helicopter in overnight air assault near Taliban stronghold of Nawa, Helmand province, 2 Jul 2009

AFGHANISTAN:  About 4,000 U.S. Marines descended on Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan Thursday, launching the first major operation under U.S. President Barack Obama's new strategy to stabilize the country. The U.S. troops and about 650 Afghan troops and police pushed into the lower Helmand River valley, the heart of the Taliban insurgency, during the pre-dawn hours. Some troops rolled into towns and villages in armored convoys while others descended from helicopters.

Hong Kong

HONG KONG PROTEST:  A group of protesters was forcibly removed from Hong Kong's government headquarters early Thursday, hours after a massive rally marking the anniversary of the former British colony's return to Chinese rule. The group chanted democracy slogans as they ignored police warnings to leave, demanding to hold a face-to-face meeting with Chief Executive Donald Tsang, before they were hauled away. Authorities say they had no choice but to remove the protesters after repeated warnings.

North Korean Missile Launch

NOKOR - NUCLEAR:  South Korea says North Korea has test-fired two short-range missiles. A spokesman for South Korea's defense ministry says the two ground-to-ship missiles were fired within a 40-minute span Thursday near the eastern coastal city of Wonsan. The development comes as tensions increase on the Korean peninsula over North Korea's May 25th nuclear test and a series of missile launches. The United Nations Security Council imposed a harsh new set of financial sanctions against the regime last month in response to the nuclear and missile tests.

Vietnam's President Nguyen Minh Triet

US - VEITNAM - RIGHTS:  A group of U.S. senators has urged Vietnam's President Nguyen Minh Triet to release a Catholic priest imprisoned for advocating human rights. Thirty-seven senators have signed a letter asking for the immediate and unconditional release of Father Nguyen Van Ly. The letter was delivered to the Vietnamese Embassy in Washington on Wednesday. In the letter, the senators, including Democrat Barbara Boxer and Republican Sam Brownback describe Father Ly's hastened 2007 trial as "seriously flawed."

Khane River

LAOS - HEALTH:  The World Bank says Laos is losing nearly $200 million a year due to poor sanitation and diseases resulting from a lack of toilets and dirty water. A World Bank economist (Guy Hutton) said Thursday the group's study found that Laos undergoes a huge economic loss from treating 3 million cases of disease and sustaining 6,000 premature deaths each year. Others costs include buying bottled water and building wells to insure a clean water source in a country flooded with piles of trash and polluted rivers.

Supporters of ousted Pres. Manuel Zelaya donate money for their cause at a protest in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 01 Jul  2009

HONDURAS:  The leader of Honduras' interim government says his country will not bow to outside pressure and reinstate ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Acting president, Roberto Micheletti, is dismissing an ultimatum set by the Organization of American States to reinstate Mr. Zelaya by Saturday or face expulsion from the regional organization. The acting president said he is confident that Honduras will not be isolated for long and that other countries will see that the new government saved Honduras.

US Pres. Barack Obama (R) and Russian Pres. Dmitry Medvedev after their 01 Apr 2009 meeting in London, ahead of the G20 summit

MEDVEDEV - OBAMA:  Russia's president says Russia is ready to improve diplomatic relations with the United States ahead of a meeting with the U.S. president. In a video address posted on the Kremlin website, Dmitri Medvedev said U.S. President Barack Obama seemed willing to "build more effective" relations, and Russia was ready to play its part. Mr. Obama is scheduled to travel to Moscow next week for talks with Mr. Medvedev on nuclear disarmament and to work on an update for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, set to expire in December.

Gay rights activists cheer and celebrate after court passed ruling decriminalizing homosexuality in New Delhi, 02 Jul 2009

INDIA - GAY SEX:  A high court in India has decriminalized consensual gay sex between adults. The Delhi High Court made the landmark ruling on Thursday, saying that treating consensual gay sex as a crime violates fundamental rights provided by the constitution. The law applies only in New Delhi. Sex between the people of the same gender has been illegal in India since British colonial times . The offense is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. 

The train station at Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos, California, as preparations are made for a possible memorial service for the late pop star Michael Jackson, 01 Jul 2009

MICHAEL JACKSON:  U.S. media report the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has joined the investigation into pop star Michael Jackson's sudden death on June 25. Reports say the Los Angeles Police Department asked the federal drug agency to help find out what caused the 50-year-old singer's death. Investigators removed two large bags of medical evidence from Jackson's rental home, where an emergency caller reported that the pop icon had stopped breathing.

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