Guerrillas wounded three American soldiers in northern Iraq, and a US raid on a remote village near the Iranian border failed to capture a top fugitive suspected of plotting attacks on coalition forces.
In Basra, British troops restored badly needed electricity to parts of the southern city and supervised distribution of gasoline after two days of protests over fuel and power shortages.
In central Baghdad, two grenades were thrown from a car at a US military checkpoint; soldiers returned fire, killing one Iraqi, witnesses said.
In al-Shumayt, north of Tikrit, guerrillas fired rocket-propelled grenades and detonated at least one homemade bomb, wounding three American soldiers, US military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Bill MacDonald said. All three were in stable condition, he said.
Monday's morning raid missed its main target, a former member of Saddam Hussein's regime who is on the US list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis, Lieutenant-Colonel Mark Young of the US Army said.
Seventy suspects were taken into custody, he said. Ain Lalin is 100km northeast of Baghdad.
Calm has returned to Basra after weekend riots during which Iraqis hurled rocks and bricks at British troops to protest fuel, electricity and water shortages that some said left parts of the city with less than three hours of electricity a day, little or no water and a fuel shortage.
British military spokesman Captain Hisham Halawi said coalition authorities began restoring electricity to the city late Sunday and were bringing 25 million liters of fuel to Basra.
"When the people get what they want they are peaceful, but if they don't, the British will see something else," warned Nors Mhibs, 60, who had been waiting for hours at a gas station in central Basra.
"I have six sons, I have six guns and I have an RPG [rocket-propelled grenade]. I can make trouble any time," he said.
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source