New evidence in Aruba disappearance

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A new witness has come forward in the 2005 disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba, and prosecutors said Tuesday they are seeking more evidence against the only remaining suspect.

A woman told Dutch police this month that Joran van der Sloot confessed to her years ago that he was involved in Holloway's disappearance, according to Ann Angela, a spokeswoman for the Aruba Prosecutors' Office.

But the Dutch Caribbean island's chief prosecutor said authorities still lack proof they need to convict Van der Sloot, who has been arrested twice and released for lack of evidence. "After three years of investigating, it is very, very difficult to find that evidence," prosecutor Hans Mos told The Associated Press. "We have to be realistic."

U.S. says it fired at insurgents in Pakistan

KABUL, Afghanistan -- U.S. troops in Afghanistan launched a barrage of artillery at insurgents attacking their position from inside Pakistan's volatile tribal region, in a cross-border strike coordinated with Pakistan's military, U.S. and NATO officials said Tuesday.

The strike less than a mile inside Pakistan came after the militants fired rockets at a U.S. position in Afghanistan. Al-Qaida and Taliban militants have long found refuge in the border region, where they launch attacks on U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Sunday's operation highlights growing cooperation between Afghan, Pakistani and U.S. officers, military officials said.

Coordination meetings have resumed between Afghan, Pakistani and U.S. officers, while the U.S. has deployed extra troops to help seal the border while Pakistan's military conducts an offensive against militants in Bajur, an unruly tribal area that is a rumored hiding place of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

"This recent event is yet another example of our close cooperation with Pakistan's military and our [Afghan National Security Forces] partners in responding to a common enemy," said Lt. Col. Rumi Nielson-Green, a U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan.

Israeli tanks enter Gaza, raze farmlands

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Israeli tanks pushed into the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, drawing mortar fire from Palestinian militants and intensifying violence that has chipped away at a tenuous cease-fire.

Israel and Gaza's ruling Islamic militant Hamas movement have been trading fire for two weeks after nearly five months of relative quiet. The violence comes as the Egyptian-negotiated truce that began June 19 is due to expire next month, and both sides might be trying to dictate more favorable terms in anticipation of the agreement's renewal.

Backed by a bulldozer and military jeep, the tanks rumbled about a quarter-mile into the tiny seaside strip, residents and Gaza security officials said. Residents said they leveled lands along the border east of the city of Rafah near the Egyptian border.

The Israeli military described the activity as "a routine operation to uncover explosive devices." Militant groups said they fired mortars and rockets at the tanks, which did not return fire. The military withdrew from the area by early afternoon, according to Gaza officials. There were no casualties on either side.

It was the first ground action in a week. At least 17 militants have been killed since the truce began unraveling, and by the military's count, militants have fired more than 140 rockets and mortars at Israel.

Scientists map kangaroo's DNA

SYDNEY, Australia -- Taking a big hop forward in marsupial research, scientists say they have unraveled the DNA of a small kangaroo named Matilda.

And they've found the Aussie icon has more in common with humans than scientists had thought. The kangaroo last shared a common ancestor with humans 150 million years ago.

"We've been surprised at how similar the genomes are," said Jenny Graves, director of the government-backed research effort. "Great chunks of the genome are virtually identical."

The scientists also discovered 14 previously unknown genes in the kangaroo and suspect the same ones are also in humans, Graves said.

In televised speech, Iraqi PM defends pact with US

BAGHDAD -- Iraq's prime minister went on national television Tuesday to defend a security pact with the United States that keeps U.S. forces in Iraq through 2011 and assure neighbors that Iraqi territory would not be used to attack them.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki acknowledged that he had concerns about the agreement, but said it was a step toward full Iraqi sovereignty once the last U.S. soldier leaves.

"I say to you with complete honesty that we have reservations about the agreement. But we at the same time see it as a solid prelude to the restoration of Iraq's full sovereignty in three years' time," al-Maliki said.

"I assure you that there are no secret clauses or annexes in the agreement, nor permanent military bases in Iraq," he said. "Iraq will never be a conduit or a staging ground for an attack on any other nation."