Hezbollah fighters take over Beirut

9 May 2008, 7:16 am

Hi on this Friday, May 9, 2008. I'm Rebecca Field in for Kristin Volk with your UPI top news update. Hezbollah fighters are taking control over Beirut today after a long-standing fight with pro-government gunmen. Security sources say 11 are dead and 44 are wounded following 3 days of battles between the U.S. backed government and Lebanon's Iranian backed Hezbollah. The fighting reportedly started when the government targeted Hezbollah's communications network. The violence is apparently the worst internal fighting since Lebanon's civil war which ended in 1990. Oil prices hit another new high today. U.S. Crude oil delivery for June jumped to more than $125 a barrel in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning. This comes as a result of a weakening U.S. dollar and also a prediction from a Goldman Sachs analyst that oil prices could rise as high as $200 a barrel in the next two years. Israel celebrated its 60 birthday yesterday. Israeli air force jets flew over the old city of Jerusalem to honor their Independence day. Israeli children toured a military exhibition and got to try on combat gear and warfare paint. The military festivities show after 60 years, a strong security force is still on top of the country's agenda. Cycling star and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong is calling on Congress to get tough on the war against cancer. The seven time Tour de France winner was on Capital hill yesterday to urge lawmakers to re-launch efforts to fight the disease in the U.S. Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996. The athlete was joined on a senate panel by the John Edward's wife Elizabeth, who's cancer returned last year. The two encouraged money for more research, prevention and treatment. That's all for now. For more on those stories and all of today's news go to upi.com. Author: UPIVideo Keywords: beirut hezbollah oil prices lance armstrong israel politics news Added: May 9, 2008 ... read more