U.S. soldier playing with Afghan kids fatally stabbed by teen

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? An Afghan teenager fatally stabbed an American soldier in the neck while he played with local children, officials said Monday, as the U.S. death toll rose sharply last month with an uptick in fighting due to warmer temperatures.

Last week's calculated attack shows that international troops still face a myriad of dangers even though they are increasingly taking a back seat in operations with Afghan forces ahead of a full withdrawal by the end of 2014.

Just one U.S. service member was killed in February ? a five-year monthly low ? but the American death toll climbed to at least 14 last month.

Overall, the number of Americans and other foreign forces killed in Afghanistan has fallen as their role shifts more toward training and advising government troops instead of fighting.

But a series of so-called insider attacks on foreign troops by Afghan forces of insurgents disguised as them has threatened to undermine the trust needed to help President Hamid Karzai's government take the lead in securing the country after more than 11 years at war.

The attack that killed Sgt. Michael Cable, 26, of Philpot, Ky., last Wednesday occurred after the soldiers had secured an area for a meeting of U.S. and Afghan officials in a province near the volatile border with Pakistan.

But one of two senior U.S. officials who confirmed that Cable had been stabbed by a young man said the assailant was not believed to have been in uniform so it was not being classified as an insider attack.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said the attacker was thought to be about 16 years old. He escaped so his age couldn't be verified.

Cable's brother Raymond Johnston, a 42-year-old waiter in Owensboro, Ky., said the Army told the family the basics of what happened and that his brother was stabbed in the neck from behind.

Johnston said his brother, who also did a tour of duty in Iraq, was "prepared before he left for anything that happened" in Afghanistan.

Cable met individually with Johnston and three other family members before leaving for Afghanistan and had similar conversations with each ? that the deployment was extremely hazardous and that his family and friends should "continue to enjoy life" if he was killed.

"He was able to communicate to the family about if the worst was supposed to happen, what we were supposed to do," Johnston said.

Cable's body was scheduled to return to Owensboro in western Kentucky on Thursday. Visitation was scheduled for Friday with the funeral set for Saturday.

The Afghan and American dignitaries were attending the swearing-in ceremony of Afghan Local Police in Shinwar district in Nangarhar province, senior district official Zalmai Khan said. Afghan Local Police, or ALP, recruits are drawn from villages and backed by the U.S. military.

The soldier was playing with children outside when the attacker came from behind and stabbed him in the neck with a large knife, Khan said. Other guards nearby didn't immediately notice what had happened because there was no gunshot, and the assailant was able to flee to neighboring Pakistan, he added.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid identified the attacker as a 16-year-old local man named Khalid. He said Khalid was acting independently when he killed the soldier but had joined the Islamic militant movement since fleeing the scene.

The district official Khan did not provide a name or confirm the Taliban's claim.

The Pentagon said in a statement last week that Cable, died from injuries sustained when his unit was attacked by enemy forces.

The killing comes as the U.S. death toll rose to 14 in March, compared with four in the previous two months of the year, partly fueled by the start of the spring fighting season when the Taliban and other insurgents take advantage of improved weather to step up attacks.

By contrast, at least 67 members of the Afghan security forces were killed last month, compared with 42 in February and 55 in January.

In a success story for the Afghan government, the intelligence service announced that it had foiled a plan to attack the Sulma dam in the western province of Herat.

Agency spokesman Shafiqullah Tahiri said an Afghan man identified as Sayed Gul was arrested with 1,300 kilograms (about 1.5 tons) of explosives. He blamed the Pakistani Taliban for plotting to bomb the dam in a bid to destabilize the country.

___

Associated Press writers Kimberly Dozier, Amir Shah and Rahim Faiez in Kabul, and Brett Barrouquere in Louisiville, Ky., contributed to this report.

Follow Kim Gamel on Twitter at https://twitter.com/kimgamel

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/afghan-teenager-fatally-stabs-us-soldier-105007454.html

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Feedly Mobile revamp caters to Reader escapees with fast search, Must Reads

The phaseout of Google Reader is quickly becoming a boon for developers still carrying the torch for newsreader apps -- just ask Feedly, which now says it took on 3 million new users in the two weeks since Google's decision. Rather than simply wait for more customers to roll in on their own, though, the company is taking matters into its own hands with a major refresh of Feedly Mobile for Android and iOS. The update brings a reworked search engine that's both extra-quick and makes topic suggestions based on the collective subscriptions of the Feedly user base, getting better as more readers join the ranks. Other updates also serve those who want to keep things moving quickly. A new Must Reads section prioritizes feeds, a title-only view maximizes screen space and an updated sharing panel both allows a customizable shortcut as well as (slightly ironic) sharing to Google+. Once you've gotten over the sting of another Google spring cleaning, Feedly's potential solutions await at the source links.

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Dancing With the Stars Week 3: Who Was the Best?

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Corn price crunch could be what consumers need

Jeff Cox , CNBC.com ? ? ? 2 hrs.

What's bad news for corn investors could be good news for battered consumers if trends hold up.

The world of grain trading took a major jolt last week when a government report showed much higher corn supplies than the industry had anticipated.

Since then, corn prices have been washed out, tumbling their limit price Thursday and sliding as much as 6.5 percent Monday.

While that's bad for traders betting on rising corn prices, it could be good for consumers who have been getting pounded on their grocery bills.

(Read More: More Signs of Sturdy Growth: Consumer Spending Rises)

Though a move in corn prices might not readily show up in conventional government inflation gauges, it is closely tied to supermarket prices due to its use as feed for livestock and an ingredient in multiple food types across the spectrum.

It's still a little early to tell what the longer view is, but at least in the near term the outlook for corn is rough.

"We have to look at the upcoming corn crop rather than what's influencing prices Thursday and today," said David Maloni, economist at the American Restaurant Association. The price drop is "a good sign and it makes us more optimistic. It certainly helps."

The ARA has a $4 a bushel price target for corn by year's end?far more bearish than others but part of a trend that sees the commodity's price falling.

(Read More: Restaurants Hope Tax Refunds Bring Customers)

Following up on the last two sessions' price action, Goldman Sachs said Monday it is taking down its three-month forecast from $7.50 a bushel to $6.50.

Though Goldman had expected prices to hold up better in the near term, it is predicting a sharp downturn later in the year.

"Medium term, the combination of decent weather in South America and the potential for a recovery in U.S. production point to sharply lower prices in (the second half of) 2013," Goldman said in a recent note to clients. "However, given the persistence of the U.S. drought, we believe that better U.S. weather will be required for this move to materialize."

Last week's crop report noted nearly 400 million bushels more of corn on hand than anticipated.

At the same time, expectations are for a strong crop in the planting season ahead that also likely will weigh on prices.

"You have to see how that plays out," said Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets. "These futures prices take time before they show through at the consumer level."

Consumers can only hope for some relief from an onslaught of higher prices. Some say the commodities run has been an offshoot from the Federal Reserve's zero-interest-rate policies that have pushed investors and speculators into higher-risk assets like commodities, which have benefited from a weaker dollar.

A look at prices shows how tough things have been at the grocery store.

(Read More: Gulp! Soda Consumption Declines to Lowest Level Since 1996)

Produce has soared over the past year, with grapes and iceberg lettuce rising 37 percent and oranges up more than 17 percent, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Eggs are up more than 9 percent, leaner cuts of ground beef have surged more than 20 percent and chicken is 7.5 percent higher. And of course, there's gasoline, which has been on a downtrend as of late but is up more than 4 percent from a year ago.

"We've had a fairly good run-up, obviously," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital. "It's really too early to tell whether we're going to see some relief."

?By CNBC's Jeff Cox. Follow him on Twitter @JeffCoxCNBCcom.

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Apple CEO apologizes to China amid fears that propaganda will hurt market share

As per usual, Google put out various, elaborate April Fools Day jokes, which only reminded everyone how much time and money the tech company has to spend on projects that aren't core products like, ahem, Google Reader.?For those too busy to follow along, The Next Web has a running list of the myriad pranks. And while some of the antics, like the pirate treasure map,?are harmless and cute, others hit too close to home.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/apple-ceo-apologizes-china-amid-fears-propaganda-hurt-173117151.html

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Uneasy calm in Kenya after court ruling on vote

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) ? Kenyan police deployed forces Sunday in the capital and in the lakeside city of Kisumu to contain the continuing threat of violence after two people were shot dead in protests Saturday following the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as the country's next president, officials said, noting that most of the country remained peaceful.

Moses Ombati, the deputy police chief for Nairobi, said Sunday that rowdy youths in Nairobi's slums were still trying to protest the court's ruling against Prime Minister Raila Odinga's challenge to the validity of Kenyatta's win. Ombati said he hoped the presence of armed police would deter illegal protests like those that erupted Saturday immediately after the court's ruling.

"There is tension obviously, but with the deployment of officers we have done we don't anticipate anything," Ombati said.

Although Odinga accepted the court's decision, some of his supporters reacted angrily to his loss, taking to the streets and engaging the police in running battles.

Two people were killed and five seriously injured in riots in Kisumu, Odinga's home region, said Ole Metito, police chief for Nyanza province. At least seven rioters are now in police custody for their alleged roles in the Kisumu violence, he said.

"There was chaos in places where people were throwing stones. Now we have officers monitoring the general situation," Metito said.

Kenyatta, who is to be sworn in on April 9, said late Saturday that he would be a president for all Kenyans and urged them to move past the election and build a nation "at peace with itself."

The March 4 election was described by many as the most complicated in Kenya's history. It pitted Kenyatta against Odinga, whose disputed loss in the 2007 election triggered postelection violence that killed more than 1,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. Kenyatta faces criminal charges at the International Criminal Court for allegedly encouraging that postelection violence.

Kenyatta will become the second sitting African president to face charges at the Hague. William Ruto, his running mate, who is set to become Kenya's deputy president, faces similar charges. Both men deny any wrongdoing.

Unlike after the 2007 election, which degenerated into tribe-on-tribe violence, Kenya has been largely peaceful following these elections.

Odinga charged the presidential election was "tainted" by irregularities. Odinga's lawyers alleged in court that the electoral commission boosted Kenyatta's numbers at some polling stations, helping him to avoid a runoff election with Odinga. According to official figures, Kenyatta avoided a runoff by about 8,000 votes out of 12.3 million cast.

The Supreme Court decided that Kenyatta was validly elected and that the election was conducted in compliance with the constitution. The judges are expected to release a detailed judgment in two weeks.

Odinga said he accepted this verdict even though he regretted that some of the evidence produced by his lawyers had been disregarded.

"Casting doubt on the judgment of the court could lead to higher political and economic uncertainty, and make it more difficult for our country to move forward," he said Saturday after the verdict. "We must soldier on in our resolve to reform our politics and institutions. Respect for the supremacy of the constitution in resolving disputes between fellow citizens is the surest foundation of our democratic society. "

___

Muhumuza reported from Kampala, Uganda.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uneasy-calm-kenya-court-ruling-vote-093210892.html

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