
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama made a surprise pre-dawn visit to Jerusalem's Western Wall on Thursday, at the end of a trip aimed at showing his strong support for Israel.
Iraq has been banned from competing at the Beijing Games because of government interference, the International Olympic Committee announced Thursday.

BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama is expected to call on Europe to do more in hotspots like Afghanistan when he speaks in Berlin on Thursday in his only formal address of a week-long foreign tour.
LONDON (Reuters) - A British businessman won a libel case and 22,000 pounds in damages at London's High Court on Thursday after false claims about him were posted on the hugely popular social networking Web site Facebook.
DIGNE-LES-BAINS, France - Barloworld will withdraw its cycling sponsorship after one of its riders was expelled from this year's doping-marred Tour de France.
VANCOUVER - Steve Coyne is looking for bombs but he's not doing it with a dog or high-tech detection equipment.
A Papua New Guinea politician is threatening retaliation against Canadian companies after eight young dancers were denied entry to Canada, apparently because border officials didn't believe they were on a cultural exchange.
A man accused in the kidnapping of two Banff women had his first court appearance on Monday.
In an effort to expand its resource markets, Saskatchewan has joined an international organization dedicated to improving the economy of the Pacific Northwest region.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Four US soldiers have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the deaths of several detainees in Iraq in early 2007, the US Army said Wednesday.
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