New rules set for blackwater, others in Iraq
Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the American ambassador to Baghdad, have agreed on the details governing the operations of Blackwater and other private security contractors there, American officials said Tuesday.
The agreement requires all State Department convoys in Iraq to coordinate their movements with the military’s main operations center in Baghdad, sets minimum standards for training the contractors and outlines when armed guards can use force in self-defense.
The accord fleshes out a broad understanding that Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reached on Oct. 30 to bring Blackwater and other armed contractors under tighter supervision.
Their deputies are expected to finalize the accord today, aides said.
Cyclone’s destruction far worse than thought
DHAKA, Bangladesh — The recent cyclone in Bangladesh destroyed tens of thousands more homes than previously believed and killed twice as much livestock, a U.N. agency said Tuesday.
Cyclone Sidr affected more than 8.5 million people — 1.5 million more than initially estimated, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA.
The category 4 storm hit the country’s coast on Nov. 15 with winds of 150 mph. Nearly 3,300 people were killed and almost 900 are missing. Another 40,000 were injured.
Nearly 564,000 houses were destroyed — 200,000 more than reported earlier, while another 885,280 were partially damaged, OCHA reported. Some 1,355 schools were also destroyed.
Crops were damaged on more than 2 million acres of land, and more 1.25 million livestock were killed — twice the original estimate.
Remnants of ancient throne found
ROME — Remnants of the first known surviving Roman throne have been discovered in the lava and ash that buried the city of Herculaneum in the first century, archaeologists said Tuesday.
Decorated with ivory bas-reliefs depicting ancient deities, two legs and part of the back of the wooden throne were dug out between October and November.
They were found 82 feet below ground near Herculaneum’s Villa dei Papiri, a first-century country home that is believed to have been the residence of Julius Caesar’s father-in-law.
Herculaneum, Pompeii and Stabiae were destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that killed thousands in the year A.D. 79.
The layers of volcanic ash preserved the sites for centuries, providing precious information on domestic life in the ancient world.
Archaeologists said furniture of the throne’s type had previously been seen only in artistic depictions.
