The latest news on Remembering 9/11, Hurricane Ike, Immigration, Religion and Employment, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel, North Korea, India, and Bolivia.

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Remembering 9/11. Nation marks 7th anniversary of terror attacks " The nation paused Thursday to mark the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with a heartfelt ceremony at ground zero and other solemn remembrances around the country." U.S. marks seventh 9/11 anniversary "New York has paused to remember the moments two planes hit the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001 - an attack that killed nearly 3,000 people." Invited Guests Gather at Pentagon Memorial "Seven years from the day a hijacked jetliner exploded into the western side of the nation's military headquarters, the Pentagon Memorial is being dedicated this morning in a ceremony featuring children's voices and speeches by dignitaries, including President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates." 7 Years Later, New Yorkers Pause to Remember "At Engine Company No. 10 on Liberty Street, next to the World Trade Center site, tourists and local residents left flowers, posed for pictures with the firefighters and lined up to buy T-shirts with the station house logo "10 House Still Standing." 9/11 seven years later: U.S. 'safe,' South Asia in turmoil "Seven years after 9/11, al Qaida and its allies are gaining ground across the region where the plot was hatched, staging their most lethal attacks yet against NATO forces and posing a growing threat to the U.S.-backed governments in Afghanistan and nuclear-armed Pakistan."

Hurricane Ike. Houston area, Southeast Texas coasts under evacuation orders ahead of Hurricane Ike "Authorities in the Houston area and along the Southeast Texas Gulf Coast ordered hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate Thursday as Ike bore down with hurricane-force winds that stretched across more than 200 miles and could gain even more strength." Coastal communities put evacuation in high gear "What had begun Wednesday as a relatively leisurely evacuation of residents of Freeport and coastal Brazoria County is expected to become more of an exodus today when a mandatory evacuation for the entire county takes effect." Meager Living of Haitians Is Wiped Out by Storms "After four fierce storms in less than a month, the little that many people had has turned to nothing at all. Their humble homes are under water, forcing them onto the roofs. Schools are canceled. Hunger is now intense."

Immigration. Catholic bishops call raids on workplaces 'unacceptable' "America's Catholic bishops on Wednesday called on the Bush administration to stop raiding businesses suspected of hiring illegal immigrants." [Read statement here] Immigration reform vigil unites faiths at Statehouse "On a cool summer night, members of religious groups gathered outside the Statehouse to pray about what has become the subject of heated political debate: illegal immigration." Border Fence Is Not Likely to Be Done by Year's End "The Department of Homeland Security said that cost overruns, legal obstacles and other problems were imperiling its goal of completing the 670 miles of fencing and technological improvements on the Southwest border that President Bush has promoted as vital to securing it."

Religion and employment. Colorado meatpacking plant lays off 100 Muslim workers "A meatpacking company Wednesday laid off about 100 Muslim immigrant workers who walked off the job last week in protest of the firm's refusal to give them time to pray during the holy month of Ramadan."

Afghanistan. Top Military Officer Urges Major Change in Afghanistan Strategy "The nation's top military officer issued a blunt assessment yesterday of the war in Afghanistan and called for an overhaul in U.S. strategy there, warning that thousands more U.S. troops as well as greater U.S. military involvement across the border in Pakistan's tribal areas are needed." Afghanistan poses daunting challenge, Defense officials say "Warning that the U.S. is 'running out of time' in Afghanistan, the military's top uniformed officer said Wednesday that officials have asked for a 'new, more comprehensive strategy' that also encompasses militants' havens in neighboring Pakistan."

Pakistan. Bush Said to Give Orders Allowing Raids in Pakistan "President Bush secretly approved orders in July that for the first time allow American Special Operations forces to carry out ground assaults inside Pakistan without the prior approval of the Pakistani government, according to senior American officials." U.S. 'must target Pakistan havens' "The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff has called for a new strategy in Afghanistan to deny militants bases across the border in Pakistan." Pakistan condemns U.S. attack "Pakistan's military chief has lashed out at the U.S. air assault from Afghanistan that killed civilians inside Pakistan last week, saying his country's sovereignty would be defended 'at all cost.'"

Israel. Israel asks U.S. for arms, air corridor to attack Iran "The security aid package the United States has refused to give Israel for the past few months out of concern that Israel would use it to attack nuclear facilities in Iran included a large number of 'bunker-buster' bombs, permission to use an air corridor to Iran, an advanced technological system and refueling planes." 'No peace in Mideast if Israel exists' "Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah voiced his opinion on Thursday about the various peace processes currently underway in the Middle East, saying that as long as Israel exists, peace will never exist in the region."

North Korea. North Korean Leader Had Surgery After Stroke, South Koreans Say "American and South Korean intelligence reports that the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, suffered a stroke raise questions that the North's neighbors have long feared asking. If Mr. Kim dies or is incapacitated, who is going to take over the world's most isolated and unpredictable regime, now armed with nuclear weapons?" N Korea 'builds new missile site' "North Korea is close to completing a second launch site for long-range missiles, reports say. The existence of the site, said to be 30 miles (50km) from the Chinese border, was made public by an analyst using satellite imagery."

India. Bush sends U.S.-India civilian nuclear deal to Congress as time dwindles "President Bush rushed a U.S.-India civilian nuclear cooperation deal to Congress late Wednesday with hopes that lawmakers will expedite passage of one of his top foreign policy initiatives."

Bolivia. Bolivia orders U.S. ambassador expelled "Bolivian President Evo Morales ordered the expulsion Wednesday of the U.S. ambassador to his country, accusing him of fostering divisions in the deeply fractured Andean nation. The move comes as tensions rise and violence increases in states opposed to the leftist policies of Morales."