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It’s 10:00 Universal Time and here is the news from the Voice of America. I’m Steve Aldridge from the VOA News Center in Washington.

Iraqi authorities say a suicide truck bomber blew himself up on a bridge of the Tigris River in Baghdad today killing at least eight people and partially destroyed the structure. Police say at least 22 others were wounded in the explosion on the al-Sarafiya bridge during the morning rush hour. They say the blast sent several cars toppling into the river. The Tigris River cuts through Baghdad and there are a number of bridges connecting the two sides of the city. Separately, the US military said coalition forces killed two terrorists and detained 17 suspects during separate operations in Baghdad and near the town of H. On Wednesday the US military accused Iranian agency of continuing to train Iraqi insurgents in sophisticated bomb making techniques despite US requests to stop the practice.

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has announced that the stand tour of duty for soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan will be extended from 12 months to 15 months. Secretary Gates told reporters Wednesday that under the new policy effective immediately active duty army units will deploy for not more than 15 months and will return home for not less than 12 months. The Defense Secretary said the new police will be the American soldiers more predictability. So there will no what to expect and will provide US military with the capacity to sustain and then they will deploy forces for the next 12 months. Mr. Gates rejected a report suggestion that US army has broken, but he said it is stressed.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao says his country and Japan should heal their wounds from war and work toward more cooperation. Wen made appear today in Tokyo. His speech to Japan’s parliament on the second day of his visit to the country. He told lawmakers that Japan’s invasion of China in the 1930s and 40s left indescribable scars in the hearts of the Chinese people. He also said the war caused the enormous suffering among the people of Japan. He said the blame went to a handful of militarists not the Japanese people. Hence China / Japan for the apologies it has offered. Mr. Wen urged Japan to confirm its past more openly.

US special envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios said the United States has agreed to request from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to delay imposing new sanctions against Sudan to give more time to press Khartoum to accept the peacekeeping force in war torn Darfur. VOA’s D T reports from the Capitol Hill / Natsios made his comment to a several /.

Special envoy Andrew Natsios says Secretary General Ban Ki-moon asked the United States last month to hold up new sanctions while he seeks to convince the Sudanese government to allow a United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force for Darfur. Sudan has so far refused to accept such a force aground sovereignty will be violated. In response to a question from Senator George, an Ohio Republican, Natsios told the Sanate Foreign Relations Committee the United States has agreed to the Secretary General’s request. “I think we need to give them a chance. I should tell you..” “May I ask you what that mean?” “That means we were asked for two to four weeks delay with / to expect that. That’s what he asked for, specifically, publically.” Natsios says the United States is considering adding 29 Sudanese firms, some are involved in the oil industry to a current US sanctions list of some 130 companies to press Khartoum to accept the peacekeeping force. D. T. VOA News, Capitol Hill.

India says it has successfully test-fired a missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads across much of Asia and the Middle East. India’s Defense Ministry says the Agni III missile was launched today from W Island of the eastern Indian State of Orissa. The ministry described the test as a milestone in India’s development of missile technology. It’s the second time India has test-fired the Agni III missile. The first has ended failure last July when the missile crashed into the sea without hitting its target.

I’m Steve Aldridge, VOA news.

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