NATO Choppers, Pakistani Troops Exchange Fire Near Afghan Border

AbleStock.com/Thinkstock (file photo)(ISLAMABAD) -- An exchange of fire between NATO helicopters and Pakistani soldiers in North Waziristan Tuesday left two Pakistani troops injured and questions as to why the firing took place.

According to the Pakistani Army, the helicopters crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan, prompting soldiers at a nearby post to fire at the aircraft for violating Pakistani air space.

However, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it received fire from across the border -- while the choppers were still in Afghanistan.  A U.S. military official said the helicopters did not return fire until they were shot at for a second time.

The same U.S. military official said ISAF is checking equipment on board the helicopters to see if they crossed the border at any time during the incident.

The Pakistani Army has lodged a complaint and is requesting a flag meeting.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Amanda Knox Back in Italian Court for Slander Trial

TIZIANA FABI/AFP/Getty Images(ROME) -- Amanda Knox was back in an Italian courtroom for a brief appearance Tuesday in her new trial on charges that she slandered Italian police during her murder trial.

Looking at ease, wearing a white long-sleeve t-shirt, black slacks and a green band in her hair, Knox, 23, was escorted into the courtroom by jail guards.  She smiled as soon as she saw her father, Curt Knox, who just arrived from their home in Seattle Monday night from the U.S. and who she hasn't seen for a number of months.

Knox was in the Perugia courtroom for the first hearing of a new trial in which she is accused of slandering seven Perugia police officials and an interpreter.  The slander accusation stems from Knox's testimony that police were abusive towards her while she was being interrogated prior to her Nov. 6, 2007 arrest.

Knox has been imprisoned in Perugia since then and was sentenced to 26 years in prison last December following her murder conviction.  Her then-boyfriend of less than two weeks, Raffaele Sollecito, was sentenced to 25 years on the same charges.  Another defendant, Rudy Guede, was sentenced separately for the Kercher murder to a 30-year term which was reduced to 16 years on appeal.

Knox and Sollecito's appeal trial for the murder started last November and is still underway in Perugia.

Knox insists she is innocent in Kercher's death and denies the slander charges.  Her lawyers say she was just trying to defend herself in court and never meant to offend or slander the police.  If convicted of slander, any prison sentence imposed would be added to her current sentence.

Although Tuesday was the first trial hearing in the slander trial and was expected to be purely procedural, Knox showed up as she has done for every trial and pre-trial hearing in which she is the accused.

In a sparsely-attended hearing, Knox answered 'Si', yes in Italian, to the question from Judge Daniele Cenci if she understood Italian.  The 17-minute session was promptly adjourned until Nov. 15 after a number of procedural issues raised by the defense.

Knox's parents, Edda Mellas and Curt Knox, also face slander charges for repeating their daughter's claims during an interview with a London newspaper.  Their libel case is scheduled to begin July 4.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

IMF Chief's Arrest Leaves French Angry, Dismayed and Defensive

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- The French have reacted with a range of emotions to sexual assault allegations against International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, some shocked by the charges and others angered by his treatment at the hands of U.S. law enforcement.

"[The U.S. has] an accusatory system," French justice minister Elisabeth Guigou said on France Info radio.  "We have a system that takes perhaps a little more time but which is, despite everything, more protective of individual rights."

Strauss-Kahn has been accused of the attempted rape of a maid in a $3,000-a-night New York hotel suite.  He will remain in jail until his hearing on Friday after a New York City judge deemed him a flight risk.

His attorneys have denied the seven counts against him, which included allegedly forcing the housekeeper to perform oral sex, and allegedly forcing her to submit to anal sex after allegedly taking her prisoner inside the luxury suite.

Some of Strauss-Kahn's allies in France have come to his defense.  His rush to leave the French-owned Sofitel hotel in midtown Manhattan was no attempt to flee the alleged crime scene but to honor previous plans to lunch with his daughter, according to comments in the New York Times attributed to Socialist politician Jean-Christophe Cambadélis Monday.

Others have expressed dismay at the widely seen photos of the handcuffed Strauss-Kahn being escorted by police.  It is illegal in France for the media to show images of a person accused of a crime before conviction, so the imagery of the IMF chief handcuffed gracing the covers of French newspapers has alarmed many there.

Meanwhile, the accusations alone against the once-likely presidential candidate -- a frontrunner, no less -- have been enough to rattle the country.

"A lot of politicians are known to have affairs and it doesn't scandalize people," ABC News correspondent Jeffrey Kofman told ABC News Radio Tuesday. "But this is something entirely different.  A sexual assault, a rape goes way beyond that and people are very upset.  They're quite horrified by that, by the prospect of this, these accusations being true.  And it takes it to another dimension."

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

French Journalist Alleges IMF Head Attacked Her in 2002

Brian Harkin/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is currently being held in a New York City jail on sexual assault charges, allegedly attempted a similar assault on a 22-year-old French journalist in 2002.

The head of the International Monetary Fund was removed from an Air France flight just before it departed New York Saturday night and charged with the attempted rape of a maid at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan.  On Monday, a New York City judge denied him bail after prosecutors argued they were investigating reports that Strauss-Kahn had "engaged in similar conduct at least once before."

French journalist Tristane Banon has accused Strauss-Kahn, a prominent French politician who was considered a potential candidate for president in next spring's elections, of attempting to assault her when she interviewed him nearly 10 years ago.

Banon recounted her harrowing experience with Strauss-Kahn as part of a French television show 93, Faubourg Saint-Honoré, that aired on the French cable TV channel Paris Première in February 2007.

"It ended up violent... I kicked him several times, he unbuttoned my bra...and tried to unzip my jeans," Banon said on the show.

Banon recounted the story of the 2002 alleged attack while filmed sitting at a dinner table with guests, each one telling of his or her bad experience with a politician.  Strauss-Kahn's name is covered up by a beep on the show, but Banon has subsequently confirmed she was talking about Strauss-Kahn.

At the time of the alleged attack, Banon had arranged to meet with Strauss-Kahn to interview him for her first book, Admitted Mistakes, in which she queried politicians about the greatest error of their careers.

Banon said in the clip that Strauss-Kahn told her to meet him at an address that turned out to be an apartment that was empty except for a bed and a video camera.  Banon said she was "surprised" when told to meet him there since she knew where he lived and worked.

Once inside, Banon said, Strauss-Kahn insisted that she conduct the interview "holding his hand."

Banon said that the hand-holding turned into sexual advances and that Strauss-Kahn became violent.  They fought on the floor of the apartment.  "When we were fighting, I used the word 'rape' to scare him," said Banon, which she said did not stop Strauss-Kahn.  Ultimately, she fought him off and left.

Banon claimed that after the alleged assault, Strauss-Kahn continued to send her text messages asking her if she was "scared."  On the show, Banon also said, "No young girl wants to work for him anymore at the National Assembly."  She added that she told her story to a well-known lawyer whom she said had a huge file on Strauss-Kahn.

Banon's mother, Anne Mansouret, a Socialist Party official, said in recent interviews that the event was extremely traumatizing for her daughter.

"She fell into a depression [following the attack]," Mansouret told France's Channel 3 News Monday.  Mansouret said her daughter's life was strongly affected by the attack, and that she was afraid that the incident would define her career as a journalist.

Banon did not file charges at the time, but her lawyer David Koubbi reportedly says that she is now seriously considering it, and that she held back in the past because her mother counseled her against it.

Koubbi told RTL Radio Monday he is likely to file suit for Banon now because "she knows she'll be heard and she knows she'll be taken seriously."

Mansouret told French reporters that she was concerned at the time that the incident would have negative repercussions on Strauss-Kahn's family, and that she had viewed Strauss-Kahn as a "nice man."  She now says she regrets counseling her daughter against filing the charges.

Strauss-Kahn, 62, has denied the charges of sexual assault in New York and will plead not guilty, his attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said.

Before last weekend's scandal, Strauss-Kahn was considered a front-runner for the French presidency.  A leader of the Socialist political party, a former cabinet minister and member of the French National Assembly, Strauss-Kahn had recently outpolled incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy.  Though his term as IMF chief, which began in 2007, would not be over until 2012, he was expected to leave in order to focus on the presidential race.  The election, which involves two rounds of voting, is scheduled for April and May 2012.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Israeli Couple Name Their Newborn Daughter 'Like'

NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images(JERUSALEM) -- An Israeli couple says they were looking for a unique name for their newborn baby girl when they thought about Facebook.

According to Galgalatz, an Israeli news outlet, the couple didn’t name the child Facebook, they named her Like after the social website’s “Like” button.  The report says the parents didn’t pick the name to plug Facebook, they simply like the sound of the name. 

Earlier this year, an Egyptian couple named their child Facebook in honor of the website’s role in the country’s revolution.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Abbottabad, Pakistan: 2011 Vacation Hot Spot?

Digital Vision/Thinkstock(ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan) -- Looking for the perfect vacation spot this summer?  Why not consider Abbottabad, Pakistan.

As nutty as it might seem to people outside that country, Pakistani hotel owners are hoping that the notoriety their city has gained since the death of Osama bin Laden two weeks ago might attract even more visitors to a "popular summer resort," as it's listed on the official tourism website.

Before all the hoopla, Abbottabad was already a favorite spot for so-called "day-trippers" who wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the capital of Islamabad.

Tucked away in Pakistan's northwest region, which also happens to be a refuge for Taliban and al Qaeda operatives, Abbottabad is said to offer a variety of sight-seeing attractions, independent of the compound where bin Laden and various family members lived for a number of years.

Apparently, the peacefulness of the city hasn't been disturbed much at all since Navy SEALs raided the compound, and some believe the incident will actually work to Abbottabad's advantage.

Azam Khan, provincial secretary for tourism and culture, remarked, "I believe that tourism will not be impacted; rather, more people are coming to see the place where the incident happened."

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Saudi Diplomat Assassinated in Pakistan

U.S. State Department(KARACHI, Pakistan) -- New problems appear to be brewing in Pakistan after a Saudi Arabian diplomat was shot and killed Monday in the financial capital of Karachi.

Witnesses said that the assailants were riding motorcycles when they intercepted a limo driven by Hassan M. al-Kahtani.  The gunmen then fired at the diplomat, shooting him in the head.

A Pakistani security official said on the condition of anonymity that al-Kahtani was actually an intelligence officer "looking into Saudi dissidents who have found refuge in the city, and this is most probably why he was targeted."

While no motive was assigned to the murder, there is also speculation that it might have been revenge for the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. forces in Pakistan, since the Saudi government has denounced the al Qaeda leader.

The Saudis and Pakistanis have generally had good relations over the years so the assassination could have been the work of radical Islamists.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Supermodel Petra Nemcova Brings Education to Earthquake-Ravaged Haiti

THONY BELIZAIRE/AFP/Getty Images(PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti) -- A year and a half later, Haiti is still reeling from the devastation caused by the earthquake that struck the country in the late afternoon on Jan. 12, 2010.  ABC News has followed up repeatedly with the still-ravaged country, this week traveling to Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, with supermodel Petra Nemcova to find out how her charity, the Happy Hearts Fund, is helping to bring education to Haitian children.

Gone are the military planes, the crates of food and medicine flown to Haiti, but rubble can still be found on the streets. Tent cities house the homeless. Just as staggering is the fact that 50 percent of school-aged children in Haiti are not getting to school.

Nemcova was in Thailand in December 2004 when a tsunami hit. She and her fiancé were swept away by the powerful wall of water. Her pelvis was crushed to pieces, but she managed to clutch onto a tree and hold on for eight hours until help came. Her fiancé was swept into the ocean and perished.

During those eight hours, she could only listen as children begged for help. She was powerless to come to their aid.

"I was not able to help those children," Nemcova told ABC News. "You heard them screaming for help and after some time you couldn't hear their voices anymore."

On Tuesday, ABC News was there as Nemcova's Happy Hearts Fund opened its first school in Haiti. It's the 51st school the organization has built in disaster zones all over the world.

Immediately, a wave of local residents came to see the new school, eager for a moment of joy in a bleak landscape. The old school was a shabby tent that barely protected students from the elements.

Kindergarteners filled the classroom; most of them have tragic stories.

Five-year-old Stayshama said her mother died in the earthquake. Another young boy said that he lost his father.

Nemcova knows that her school is just the beginning of the massive effort needed to rebuild schools in Haiti so that the country can have a future, but every story needs a beginning.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Former Egyptian First Lady Suzanne Mubarak to Turn Over Assets

Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images(CAIRO, Egypt) -- Officials investigating whether the family of ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak was involved in corruption during his 30-year stay in office say the Mubaraks will hand over their assets to the state, according to the BBC.

Since her detention last week, Hosni Mubarak's wife Suzanne agreed to turn over a Cairo villa and an estimated $3 million in Egyptian banks.  Funds held in a bank in Switzerland have also been frozen.  

Both Mr. and Mrs. Mubarak are currently in detention at the Sharm el-Sheikh hospital as they recover from reported illnesses suffered on the days each of them were detained.  

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

White House Condemns Syrian Role in Israeli Border Clashes

Jalaa Marey/JINI/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- With more than a dozen dead in Palestinian protests along the Israeli border over the weekend, White Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One that administration officials “regret the loss of life, and our thoughts are with the families of loved ones of those killed and wounded. Israel like all countries has the right to prevent unauthorized crossings at its borders. Its neighbors have a responsibility to prevent such activity.”

Carney also said the administration is “strongly opposed to the Syrian government's involvement in inciting yesterday's protests in the Golan Heights.

“Such behavior is unacceptable and does not serve as a distraction from the Syrian government's ongoing repression of demonstrators in its own country," Carney said, adding that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was inciting the protests to deflect attention from his own internal crackdown on demonstrations.

"We certainly think that there's a history of that and it seems apparent to us that that is an effort to distract attention from the legitimate expressions of protest by the Syrian people and from the harsh crackdown that the Syrian government has perpetrated against its own people," Carney said.

Carney reminded the press that the president will be speaking about the progress and change in the region in a speech Thursday, though he declined to talk about specifics of the speech.

“(The speech) will address where we are in this remarkable period. It will also address how he approaches the kind of historic change we’ve seen in the region and where he thinks we’re headed...in terms of our policy in the region and the region itself,” Carney said.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio