IN: an islamic court in somalia that sentenced four men to have a hand and a leg cut off postponed the punishment tuesday , saying the sweltering weather could cause them to bleed to death .
summary: somali court postpones amputations citing weather

IN: slovakia 's parliament has approved a government plan to withdraw the country 's troops from kosovo .
summary: slovakia withdraws troops from kosovo

IN: leaders of the winning shiite political alliance failed to agree on a single nominee for prime minister wednesday , with the two candidates insisting on a vote by the parliamentarians elected to the new national assembly , officials said .
summary: shiite leaders fail to choose a prime minister

IN: president george w. bush took his first direct swings at democratic rival john kerry , painting the massachusetts senator as a candidate who would raise taxes and go soft on terrorism .
summary:
bush opens aggressive fund-raising swing in california hits kerry