WASHINGTON (AFX) -The U.S. economy added 32,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in July as hiring slowed for the fourth straight month, the Labor Department reported Friday
It was the slowest job growth of the year
Economists were expecting much stronger payroll growth of about 235,000 in July, according to a survey conducted by CBS MarketWatch. Payroll growth in May and June was revised lower by a cumulative 61,000, showing the job market is weaker than commonly thought. June was revised to 78,000 from 112,000 while May was revised down to 208,000 from 235,000, according to the survey of 400,000 business establishments. "A terribly disappointing report," said Joshua Shapiro, chief economist for MFR
US Planes Pound Najaf as Clashes Rage Across Central, Southern Iraq By Agence France Press
Friday 06 August 2004
US planes pounded the central Iraqi holy city of Najaf as intense clashes raged between US forces and Shiite Muslim militiamen in the worst fighting since a truce was agreed in June.
More than 50 people were killed and over 170 wounded as the unrest fanned out across Shiite central and southern Iraq, with clashes with British troops in Basra, Italian troops in Nasiriyah and US troops in Shiite areas of Baghdad.
In Baghdad, the interim government declared war on all illegal militias in Iraq and vowed that the offensive in Najaf would be extended elsewhere.
Columns of thick black smoke could be seen rising up from Najaf, as residents stayed at home with their doors bolted and fighters loyal to radical cleric Moqtada Sadr prowled the streets.
US planes fired rockets over the city and its cemetery, a Sadr stronghold which suffered some of the worst fighting during his Mehdi Army's first standoff with foreign troops in the spring, said an AFP correspondent.
As the aerial bombardment continued, US tanks moved from the 1920 Revolution Square to Al-Midan Square, coming under gunfire, said witness Sabbah Ahmad.
Explosions and gunfire crackled across the holy city, with no letup for the Muslim day of rest. Dozens of US tanks and armoured vehicles drove into the city, an AFP correspondent said.
So far, medics in Najaf have reported 10 dead and 40 wounded, with three bodies brought to a hospital in the twin city of Kufa. The US military said "approximately seven" insurgents were killed on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, was en route for London for medical tratement, airport officials in Beirut, where he changed planes, said, without elaborating on his state of health.
The 73-year-old, who rarely leaves the confines of his Najaf office, is seen by the US-led coalition as key force for moderation among Iraq's Shiite majority.
Further south in Nasiriyah, seven civilians were killed and 13 others wounded in overnight clashes between the Mehdi Army and Italian troops, police said.
Four died, including a woman about to give birth, when an ambulance was blasted in the crossfire, said Captain Hussein al-Shuaili.
Sporadic gunfire continued to rattle across the city in the morning, with the Italians based on one side of the Euphrates river, and militiamen loyal to Sadr deployed on the other, an AFP correspondent said.
In Baghdad, medics reported at least 26 people killed and 90 wounded during clashes in the huge Shiite neighbourhood of Sadr City, another radical stronghold. At six US soldiers were also hurt, the military said.
In the main southern city of Basra, Sadr representative Sheikh Saad al-Basri, who has declared war on British troops, said five people were killed and three wounded in skirmishes.
British forces battled insurgents throughout the night without suffering serious casualties, a spokeswoman said. She had no information on enemy losses.
Commanders were to continue negotiations with local leaders in a bid to restore calm, but the province's deputy governor, a Sadr loyalist, ruled out any question of talks.
"We will continue to fight in Basra until the situation in Najaf returns to normal," said Salem Audeh.
In Amara, eight civilians were wounded by mortar fire, said a hospital doctor.
As Iraqi security forces battled alongside multinational troops, the US-backed government said it would take all necessary steps to rid the country of militias.
The government has insisted all militias be disbanded and invited members to be absorbed into the Iraqi security forces.
"All those who don't do this, we call them terrorists, criminals and they are against the law. Therefore, we will take all (necessary) steps," said government spokesman Gurgis Sada.
"There will be no more illegal militias," he insisted.
Asked if the campaign against the militia of Shiite radical leader Moqtada Sadr could be extended to the Sunni insurgent bastions of Fallujah, Ramadi and Samarra, Sada said: "This concerns everywhere.
"Do you want me to repeat it? Anywhere. Anytime. Whoever," he said.
Tensions have run high between Sadr, US forces and the government, despite the ceasefire agreement that drew a line under his uprising earlier this year.
On Saturday, US-led forces arrested Sheikh Mithal al-Hasnawi, Sadr's representative in Karbala, another Shiite holy city south of Baghdad.
It was the US arrest of one of Sadr's key deputies that helped trigger the firebrand cleric's first standoff with the coalition in the spring.
In the Sunni Muslim bastion of Samarra, two civilians were killed as US forces, backed by airpower, fought armed insurgents overnight, medics said.
Troops killed three rebels and arrested nine suspects in a series of raids, or "Operation Cajun Mousetrap II", designed to kill or capture insurgents, the US military said.
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