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[U.S.]
December 31, 2009 -- Updated 1146 GMT (1946 HKT)
Poll: Americans less hopeful about future
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
> Poll finds 69 percent hopeful for selves, 51 percent hopeful for world
> Numbers well below confidence figures at turn of millennium
> In 1999, 85 percent were hopeful for selves, 68 percent for world

CNN) -- Americans will usher in the new decade less hopeful than they were at the dawn of the millennium in 2000, says a new national poll.

In 1999, 85 percent of Americans surveyed said they were hopeful about their own future, and 68 percent said they were hopeful for what the New Year boded for the world.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Thursday found 69 percent of Americans hopeful for their future, and 51 percent hopeful for the world.

The survey polled 1,160 Americans. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.


[World]
December 31, 2009 -- Updated 1033 GMT (1833 HKT)
Taliban claims responsibility for bombing
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
> Not known how bomber got past security at Forward Operating Base Chapman
> Source: 8 Americans killed in attack believed to be CIA employees
Suicide bomber struck forward operating base in eastern Afghanistan, military says
> In separate incident, four Canadian soldiers and a reporter killed near Kandahar

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The Taliban has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing Wednesday that killed eight Americans believed to be CIA employees.

In a message posted on its Web site, the Taliban said an Afghan National Army soldier detonated his explosives-packed vest, killing 20 people and injuring 25 others.

A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force's (ISAF) Joint Command would not comment on the claim that a soldier was involved, saying the force was still gathering information.

The Taliban routinely offers a higher casualty count, accounting for the discrepancy in their claim and the official death toll.

Earlier, a senior U.S. official said information suggested a bomber walked into a gym facility at Forward Operating Base Chapman and detonated a suicide vest. It's not known how the bomber got past security.

In addition to the eight deaths, the blast wounded six Americans, the official said.

A U.S. military source said that FOB Chapman was originally a base for the Khost Provincial Construction Team, but the team left some time ago.

Authorities believe that perhaps the suicide bomber attacked just after a convoy was ending or beginning, which would account for high number of casualties.

Also Wednesday, five Canadians -- four soldiers and a journalist -- were killed when a roadside bomb hit their armored vehicle in southern Afghanistan, Canada's defense ministry said.

The attack happened about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) south of Kandahar, where the Canadian contingent in Afghanistan is headquartered.

"The soldiers were conducting a community security patrol in order to gather information on the pattern of life and maintain security in the area," Brig. Gen. Daniel Menard, the commander of the 2,800-member Canadian contingent, told reporters. "The journalist was traveling with them to tell the story of what Canada's soldiers are doing in Afghanistan."

Four other Canadian troops and a civilian official also were injured in the attack, he said.

The Calgary Herald identified the reporter as Michelle Lang, 34, who had been with the paper since 2002. Lang is the first Canadian journalist killed in the Afghan war and is believed to be the first Herald reporter killed while on the job.

The deaths bring the number of Canadian military fatalities in Afghanistan to 138. The names of the troops were not immediately released.

The deaths are the most Canadians killed in a single incident in Afghanistan since six Canadian soldiers died in a bombing on July 4, 2007.


[World]
December 30, 2009 -- Updated 1457 GMT (2257 HKT)
Part of complete coverage on
Protests in Iran
Iran opposition leader's nephew buried after riots
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
> Saeed Ali Moussavi's body was delivered to his family early Wednesday
> Not clear how Moussavi died, though some claim he was shot
> Iranian government has denied that its security forces killed anyone

Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- The nephew of Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi was buried Wednesday, three days after he was killed in anti-government demonstrations.

Seyyed Ali Moussavi's body was delivered to his family early Wednesday and buried at Tehran's Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery around 10:30 a.m. (2 a.m. ET). There were no demonstrations or disturbances during the burial, and several plain-clothed and uniformed security personnel were patrolling the area.

A reformist Web site, Parlemannews, had reported Tuesday that Moussavi's body had disappeared, though the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) disputed that account.

Moussavi was one of seven people killed in the riots Sunday, according to Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, Tehran's chief prosecutor. The toll meant the riots were the bloodiest since June, when protests over the disputed presidential election that gave Ahmadinejad a second term left at least eight dead.

The Iranian government has denied that its security forces killed anyone.

It is not clear how Moussavi died, though his uncle's political movement said he was shot to death.

Dolatabadi said one of those killed was fatally shot and the case is under investigation, but he did not identify the victim. He said most of the seven deaths occurred after the people were struck with "hard objects or due to similar causes."

Mir Hossein Moussavi's Web site said the nephew was killed in the demonstrations by a shot to the heart. But IRNA said the bullet came from a "terror team," and that other such teams were operating in Tehran. It did not offer further details.

The semi-official Mehr news agency quoted security forces Tuesday as explaining that the nephew was standing on a street at midday Sunday when he was "assassinated by firearm by the occupants of a passing vehicle, and died because of the delay in taking him to the hospital."

"He died of severe bleeding on the way to the hospital," Mehr reported. "Efforts to identify the culprit or culprits continue."

Parlemannews, which reported the disappearance of Seyyed Ali Moussavi's body, said the government was holding it and four other bodies for autopsies. The delay meant the dead could not be buried within 24 hours, as Islamic custom dictates.