NPR 2008-07-07

A US airstrike in eastern Afghanistan this morning was aimed at a gathering 1 of insurgents 2. But local officials claimed that at least 27 civilians 3 were killed. The victims, who were said to be walking to a wedding, included the bride and other women and children. But the US is denying that charge. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reports it was the second disputed incident this weekend.

On Friday, US helicopters were accused of killing 4 more than 20 civilians traveling in two vans in Nuristan province to the north. The US-led coalition 5 denied the allegations, however. A spokesman says in both cases, US aircraft tracked and struck only combatants. Still, US Army General David McKiernan, who heads NATO forces in Afghanistan, told NPR that both incidents are being investigated. He says that Western forces take every precaution to try and prevent such casualties, which is not easy when militants 6 often hide among civilians. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered his own investigation 7 into the airstrikes. Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, NPR News, Kabul.

President Bush and other G8 leaders are in Japan for a summit of the world's major industrialized nations. At a news conference today, Mr. Bush said not to go to the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing would be an affront 8 to the Chinese people. A number of groups have urged Mr. Bush to stay away from the event, given China's human rights record. But the president said he disagrees with that logic 9. "I don't need the Olympics to express my concerns. I've been doing so. "

 Demonstrators have begun a series of protests near the site of the summit. NPR's Allison Keyes reports.

 From soaring food and gas prices to poverty, to climate change, the nations have a smorgasbord of issues on the agenda.  Ciara O'Sullivan is one of the demonstrators and activists 10 who have converged 11 on the site from around the world. "People have gone online and asked for more money to be spent on education, more money to be spent on health, on HIV/AIDS. " The US faces pressure to take action to stabilize 12 the dollar. Britain is advocating united action against poverty. And Germany wants the summit to tackle soaring food prices. France says the gathering is unfair, because  no Arab, African or Latin American country, or China, or India, are members of the G8. Allison Keyes, NPR News.

 Firefighters in California are hoping to capitalize on favorable weather conditions as they try to contain hundreds of wildfires including two major blazes. Fire Information Officer Mark Savage 13 is with crews fighting a stubborn fire in the Big Sur area that has spread to more than 100 square miles of land. "High pressure is moving in. It's gonna increase temperatures, lower humidities in the next few days, and it's the things that we'd really like to have done before that happens. So, we're working very, very aggressively to get resources in. " To the south, in Santa Barbara County, fire crews are dropping flame-retardant chemicals by helicopters to slow the spread of a blaze that's forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 homes.

 This is NPR News.

 In the former Soviet 14 Republic of Georgia, there've been several explosions near the frontier between government-controlled territory and areas controlled by Russian-backed separatists. Lawrence Sheets has the story from Tbilisi.

 Georgian officials said five explosions went off near the de facto border with Abkhazia, a separatist region in the west of the country. One of the blasts went off under a police car, injuring a local law enforcement official. Georgia accused Russia of shipping 15 arms into Abkhazia. The separatist province has effectively become a protectorate of Russia. But it is internationally recognized as part of Georgia. Russia blamed Georgia for the attacks. Moscow, however, does back Abkhazia militarily. The explosions followed clashes two days ago between Georgian troops and separatists in South Ossetia, another Russian-backed separatist region. Russia is angry over Georgia's drive to join NATO. Moscow says it has drawn 16 a so-called "red line" to prevent Georgia from joining the Western alliance. For NPR News, I'm Lawrence Sheets in Tbilisi, Georgia.

 In a marathon showdown at Wimbledon, Raphael Nadal has defeated defending champion Roger Federer. The two top-ranked players endured rain delays, gusty 17 winds and the onset 18 of darkness as they battled it out through five sets. Federer said it was probably the hardest loss of his career. "It was a fair battle, which was tough with the rain delays and, you know, some great points and, really I just think we,we both played tough till the very end, you know. In tennis, unfortunately, sometimes there has to be winners and losers. You know, there's no draws. " Federer had won 40 matches in a row at Wimbledon and a record 65 in a row on grass courts before today. Nadal became the first man in 28 years to win Wimbledon and the French Open in the same season.