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Saturday, May 26

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Editor's Note: The CNN Wire is a running log of the latest news from CNN World Headquarters, reported by CNN's correspondents and producers, and The CNN Wire editors. "Posted" times are Eastern Time.

Police: Actress Lindsay Lohan arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol

(CNN) -- Beverly Hills police arrested actress Lindsay Lohan on Saturday for driving under the influence of alcohol, a police spokesman said. Lohan, 20, lost control of her 2005 Mercedes Benz convertible and struck a curb early Saturday morning, Lt. Mitch McCann told reporters.

She received treatment for minor injuries at Century City Doctors hospital, where police cited and arrested her. Because of her injuries, police released Lohan on the misdemeanor charge, McCann said.

McCann also said police found "additional contraband" in Lohan's car, which has been preliminarily identified as a "useable" amount of cocaine. (Posted 11:26 p.m.)

Pakistan's suspended top judge warns against centralized power

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Amid the political turmoil his dismissal generated, Pakistan's suspended chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, gave a thinly masked warning against the country's president in a nationally televised address at a judiciary seminar on Saturday.

Thousands of supporters, often chanting anti-Musharraf slogans, rallied outside the court where the seminar was held. They watched Chaudhry's speech on a large television screen set up on the street.

Musharraf removed Chaudhry from his post on March 9, accusing him of misusing his powers. The dismissal sparked widespread, largely peaceful demonstrations by the country's attorneys and those who believe Musharraf abused his authority in suspending Pakistan's top judge.

However, nearly two weeks ago, clashes between government supporters and Chaudhry supporters killed 49 people in the southern port city of Karachi.

From CNN's Syed Mohsin Naqvi (Posted 10:49 p.m.)

U.S. citizen is first to be extradited from United Kingdom on terror charges

NEW YORK (CNN) -- An American citizen arrived in the U.S. Friday night, after being extradited from the United Kingdom on charges of providing material support to al Qaeda, according to a statement from Michael Garcia, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

The suspect, 27-year-old Syed Hashmi, was originally arrested in June of 2006 at London's Heathrow Airport. Federal prosecutors say Hashmi is the first-ever American citizen to be extradited from the United Kingdom on terrorism charges. Hashmi is originally from Pakistan.

According to a federal indictment issued in 2006, Hashmi, who was known to his associates as "Fahad," conspired to transport "military gear" to al Qaeda forces fighting against U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Hashmi is scheduled for arraignment before U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska on Wednesday, May 30.

From CNN's Aurore Ankarcrona (Posted 9:18 p.m.)

Duke men's lacrosse team to play in NCAA championship game

(CNN) -- The Duke University men's lacrosse team defeated Cornell University 12-11 Saturday in the NCAA semifinals, prolonging what some media and fans have characterized as the Blue Devils' redemption season.

Duke University canceled the team's 2006 season after three players -- Reade Seligmann, David Evans and Collin Finnerty -- were accused of sexually assaulting an escort-service dancer at a team party in March last year. The three players were charged with first-degree kidnapping and first-degree sexual offense, and the team's coach, Mike Pressler, resigned.

A charge of first-degree forcible rape was dropped in December, and in April, the North Carolina attorney general announced the players were innocent, and that all remaining charges had been dropped. None of the accused players are on the 2007 squad.

Top-seeded, second-ranked Duke will face Johns Hopkins University in the NCAA championship game. The game will be played in Baltimore on Monday afternoon. (Posted 8:35 p.m.)

Contact lens cleaner recalled after linked to eye infection

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A California company has recalled a contact lens cleaning solution after it was linked to a rare eye infection caused by a parasite, the Food and Drug Administration said Saturday.

In a statement on its Web site, the FDA said Advanced Medical Optics of Santa Ana is voluntarily recalling Complete Moisture Plus Multi-Purpose Solution.

"Consumers who wear soft contact lenses should stop using the solution, discard all partially used or unopened bottles and replace their lenses and storage container," the FDA said.

The symptoms of the infection, known as acanthamoeba keratitis, can be similar to those of other more common eye infections: eye pain or redness, blurred vision, light sensitivity, sensation of something in the eye or excessive tearing. The infection can lead to vision loss.

To help prevent infections, the FDA recommends removing contact lenses before any contact with water, washing and drying hands before handling lenses, using disinfecting solution each time lenses are cleaned, and storing lenses in a case, which should be replaced at least every three months. (Posted 5:30 p.m.)

U.S. military reports 8 troop deaths across Iraq

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- The U.S. military on Saturday announced the deaths of eight U.S. troops: five died earlier in the day; one died Friday and two were killed Wednesday.

Since the start of the war, 3,452 U.S. military personnel have died in Iraq. The total for May is 101. (Posted 4:54 p.m.)

More bodies dumped in Baghdad in May than in all of Iraq in April

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- The number of slain unidentified bodies found dumped in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq appears to be on the rise -- a sign that this grisly symbol of sectarian strife remains a tough challenge for the capital's highly touted security crackdown.

There have been 586 corpses found in Baghdad this month, surpassing the total of 585 for the entire country in April, according to data collected by the Iraqi Interior Ministry.

The toll of 586 includes 19 unidentified bodies found in different parts of Baghdad on Saturday.

Most of the bodies found -- nearly all in Baghdad -- have been shot, tortured and/or bound. Victims also have been discovered in other cities, including Mosul and Baquba.

From CNN's Jomana Karadsheh (Posted 2:39 p.m.)

Israeli police: Two Palestinian gunmen killed in gunbattle

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Two Palestinian gunmen were killed in a gunfight Saturday after they opened fire on Israeli security forces in east Jerusalem, wounding four Israeli security personnel, Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenthal said.

Two of the Israelis had moderate injuries, and the other two were slightly wounded, he said. Rosenthal said the exchange of fire occurred in an Arab area of east Jerusalem, and the Israelis considered the attack "terror-related." (Posted 2:23 p.m.)

Troops detain 16 suspects 'directly related' to May 12 ambush

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- U.S. and Iraqi troops searching for two missing American soldiers thought seized by militants May 12 have now detained 16 people "directly related to the attack."

A U.S. military official said troops are searching the banks of the Euphrates River for Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass., and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich.

The body of a third soldier that also was missing -- Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, Calif. -- was pulled from the river in Babil province, south of Baghdad, on Wednesday.

The three men disappeared after insurgents attacked a U.S. military observation post in the Mahmoudiya area, south of the capital, in a stretch known as the Triangle of Death. Four American soldiers and an Iraqi soldier were found dead at the scene of the ambush.

Troops have detained scores of people during the two-week hunt, and have released all but 100, who remain in U.S. and Iraqi custody.

--From CNN's Arwa Damon, embedded with U.S. troops in Yusufiya. (Posted 12:30 p.m.)

British soldier killed in southern Afghanistan

(CNN) -- A British soldier died in southern Afghanistan on Saturday after an "overnight operation" near the Helmand province town of Garmsir, the British Defense Ministry said.

The soldier was from the 1st Battalion the Grenadier Guards and was part of a "force of British soldiers" taking on a Taliban-occupied compound on Garmsir's outskirts.

"After engaging and destroying a Taliban stronghold with combined artillery, mortar and small arms fire, the force began clearing the Taliban positions," the ministry.

The soldier was killed and four others were wounded as a result of an explosion during the operation. They are part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

This brings the toll of British troop deaths in the Afghan conflict to 56.

In another incident involving ISAF troops, a Spanish soldier died in a traffic accident in Badghis province, in northwestern Afghanistan, the Spanish Defense Ministry said. Twenty-one Spanish troops have died in the Afghan conflict. (Posted 12:37 p.m.)

200 political opposition members detained in Zimbabwe

(CNN) -- Police in Zimbabwe rounded up more than 200 members of the political opposition Saturday, according to a spokesman for the southern African nation's main opposition movement.

Nelson Chamisa, spokesman for the Movement for Democratic Change, said the people were gathered in the capital, Harare, to "just discuss political issues." Then, police broke down doors and seized the people, now detained at the Central Police Station.

The action was reminiscent of the recent detention of opposition leader Morgan Tsvanigirai, who was beaten after his arrest.

These latest detentions occurred a day after police continued its ban in the capital on rallies and protests. (Posted 10:43 a.m.)

Palestinian sources: 4 in Gaza City killed during Israeli airstrikes; Hamas government official detained

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Four people were killed and several others were wounded when Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza City on Saturday, Palestinian security sources said.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the new round of airstrikes on Gaza that and said that its troops arrested a second Hamas member of the Palestinian unity government in the West Bank.

Israeli forces seized the State Minister Wasfi Kabaha at his home in the West Bank during an early-morning raid. It follows the Thursday arrest of Education Minister Nasser Al Shaer and about 30 other senior members of Hamas. (Posted 9:44 a.m.)

Talks between feuding Ukrainian leaders restart amid fears of street violence

MOSCOW (CNN) -- Crisis talks between Ukraine's feuding prime minister and president restarted on Saturday amid the latest political dispute between the country's two leaders -- which is stoking fears of street violence.

The president's press office told CNN the talks have been under way to find a resolution to the disagreement.

Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who wants his country to maintain close ties with Russia, and President Viktor Yushchenko, a pro-Western leader and a backer of NATO membership one day, have been locked in a power struggle since Yushchenko dissolved parliament last month.

\What stokes fears at present is that both political leaders say they have control of various aspects of Ukraine's security forces and have been rallying their grass-roots supporters.

Thousands of pro-Yanukovych protesters were on the streets of the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Thousands of Interior Ministry forces loyal to Yushchenko are headed toward the Ukrainian capital of Kiev from various parts of the country to back up police there. Authorities are calling the forces' deployment routine.

From Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance (Posted 9:28 a.m.)

9 killed in Iraq

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- At least nine people were killed on Saturday in Iraq violence.

A parked car bomb, followed by three mortar rounds, ripped through an industrial area in southwestern Baghdad, killing at least five civilians and wounding 20 others Saturday, an Iraq Interior Ministry official told CNN.

At least two civilians were killed and six others were wounded after four mortars hit a residential area in Baya'a in southwestern Baghdad shortly before 5 p.m., the ministry said.

U.S.-led coalition forces killed two "terrorists" and arrested 23 suspected insurgents during a series of raids targeting al Qaeda in Iraq, the U.S. military said. The raids were conducted southwest of Taji, Baghdad, Fallujah and Mosul. (Posted 9:24 a.m.)

8 mortars land in Baghdad's Green Zone

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- At least eight mortars landed in Baghdad's Green Zone on Saturday afternoon, according to CNN's Baghdad Bureau Chief Cal Perry, who witnessed the apparent attack.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad had no information on the report, and there was no immediate word about casualties.

The heavily-fortified zone, a 4-square-mile area in central Baghdad, houses the U.S. military and U.S. diplomatic agencies, as well as the location of the Iraqi government and parliament.

It is also called the International Zone and is frequently the target of mortar and rocket attacks, although many do not result in casualties. (Posted 9:04 a.m.)

Israel: Hamas the target of raids, airstrikes

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel unleashed a new round of airstrikes on Gaza and arrested a second Hamas member of the Palestinian unity government in the West Bank Saturday, Israel Defense Forces told CNN.

Israeli forces seized the State Minister Wasfi Kabaha at his home in the West Bank during an early-morning raid. It follows the Thursday arrest of Education Minister Nasser Al Shaer and about 30 other senior members of Hamas.

In other IDF operations Saturday, four airstrikes targeting Hamas were launched in Gaza.

According to Palestinian security and Hamas militant sources, four members of Hamas' special forces were killed and three were wounded in the airstrikes, which hit in Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Younis.

-- Journalist Talal Abu-Rahmi contributed to this report (Posted 6:50 a.m.)

5 dead in blasts targeting Baghdad industrial area

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- A parked car bomb, followed by three mortar rounds, ripped through an industrial area in southwestern Baghdad, killing at least five civilians and wounding 20 others Saturday, an Iraq Interior Ministry official told CNN.

Meanwhile, U.S.-led coalition forces killed two "terrorists" and arrested 23 suspected insurgents during a series of raids targeting al Qaeda in Iraq on Saturday, the U.S. military said.

The raids were conducted southwest of Taji, Baghdad, Fallujah and Mosul.

In addition to the raids, the military said coalition troops found a large weapons cache southeast of Karma and safely destroyed it.

-- CNN's Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report (Posted 4:59 a.m.)

Military: Iraqi, coalition forces nab 'cell leader' with Iran-Iraqi militant links

BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Iraqi and coalition forces killed five "terrorists" and detained a "suspected terrorist cell leader" with links to Iran's weapons and training network during Saturday raids in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, the U.S. military said.

The individual arrested, according to the U.S. military, was the "suspected leader in a secret cell terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran to Iraq, as well as bringing militants from Iraq to Iran for terrorist training."

On Friday the U.S. military said coalition and Iraqi forces arrested an individual "closely linked" to the "suspected leader" of a terrorist cell during raids in the same neighborhood as Saturday's arrest.

Both arrests involved individuals thought to have "direct ties to the leader of the EFP network as well as acting as a proxy for an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' officer," the military said.

CNN's Basim Mahdi contributed to this report (Posted 4:21 a.m.)

NATO soldier killed, 4 wounded during battle in southern Afghanistan

(CNN) -- One NATO soldier was killed and four others were wounded Saturday during a gunfight with "enemy fighters" in Afghanistan's insurgency-hit south, NATO's International Security Assistance Forces said.

The soldiers were engaged with "Taliban extremists" in an "important operation" aimed at removing the Taliban from their positions, ISAF spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Smith said.

NATO did not immediately release the nationality of the soldiers or their location, but typically troops patrolling in the southern regions include soldiers from Canada, Britain, the United States and the Netherlands. (Posted 4:16 a.m.)


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