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Four at Four by: Magnifico Thu Jul 09, 2009 at 13:00:00 PDT         | More

McClatchy reports China is replacing the U.S. as Latin America's top trade partner. China has "supplanted the United States to become the biggest trading partner with Brazil, South America's biggest economy. China has moved aggressively to fill a vacuum left by the United States in recent years, as the U.S. focused on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the global economic crisis sapped its economy." Bombings in Iraq as the LA Times reports on Double suicide bombings kill 34 people and wound at least 70 others in Tall Afar, "a predominantly Shiite Turkmen city in Nineveh province, where Arabs, Kurds and other religious groups are engaged in a dispute over the Iraqi state's internal boundaries... The quarrel is complicated by the lucrative oil reserves that exist in Kirkuk province, which all sides want." And in Afghanistan as the NY Times an reports Afghan truck blast kills 16 children. "A huge explosion in a truck Thursday killed 24 people south of Kabul, including 16 schoolchildren, 4 police officers and 4 bystanders, local officials said, as the death toll rose among American soldiers fighting in Afghanistan." Meanwhile, the LA Times adds Two U.S. soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan. In addition, casualties for British, Canadian and Dutch troops also "have spiked in the last few weeks." More U.S. and NATO casualties are expected. Four at Four continues with what happens when al Qaeda members comes home after training in Iraq, Pakistan tortured on behalf of the UK and US, and the father of Hacky Sack.

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The NY Times reports the Boldness of an al Qaeda affiliate in North Africa raises fears in the West. The Algeria-based affiliate, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, "has carried out a string of slayings, bombings and other lethal attacks against Westerners and African security forces in recent weeks that have raised fears the terrorist group may be turning a more deadly corner." "American and European security counterterrorism officials say that the attacks may signal the return of foreign fighters from the battlefields of Iraq, where they honed their bomb-making skills. The attacks also reflect Al Qaeda's growing tentacles in the northern tier of Africa, outside the group's main sanctuary in Pakistan's tribal areas, the officials say." The Guardian reports on Further evidence that Pakistan tortured suspects for Britain. "Researchers from the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) say several Pakistani officials have corroborated accounts of torture given by several victims. The officials not only made clear that their counterparts in British intelligence were fully aware of the methods they were employing during interrogations but claim the British agents were 'grateful' it was happening." "HRW says it was told by senior Pakistani officials that the UK and the US were 'party' to [Salahuddin] Amin's detention and were 'perfectly aware that we were using all means possible to extract information from him and were grateful that we were doing so'." The Oregonian reports the Father of Hacky Sack puts his foot back into the game. John Stalberger Jr. is returning to Hacky Sack 25 years after retirement from the sport. "The began about in 1972 in the Oregon City basement of Stalberger's late friend, Mike Marshall. Because of the usual frequent rain, the duo had to move inside to kick around a denim bag filled with rice." "This weekend, Stalberger will stage his return to the sport he loves most."

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