ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Arctic sea ice this winter just missed setting the record for fewest square miles covered since monitoring by satellite began, according to University of Colorado researchers.

The university’s National Snow and Ice Data Center has measured ocean waters covered by at least 15 percent ice since 1979. On March 31, the last day of the ice-growing season for 2007, ice covered 5.7 million square miles. That’s slightly higher that the record low 5.6 million square miles measured last year.

In the late 1970s and the early 1980s, a typical March measurement or Arctic sea ice would show it covering 6.4 million square miles, researcher Walt Meier said. That’s been reduced in recent years by at least 600,000 square miles, an area more than double the size of Texas.

“We’re still seeing near-record lows (in sea ice) and higher-than-normal temperatures, and we expect this downward trend to continue in future years,” he said./AP

War in Iraq

8 U.S. soldiers killed in Baghdad area

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military reported Thursday that eight U.S. soldiers were killed in the Baghdad area over the past three days as militants fought back against a security plan in its eighth week. An Army helicopter went down south of the capital, wounding four, after an Iraqi official said insurgents fired on it.

One U.S. soldier died and two were wounded in a roadside bombing Thursday in restive Diyala province north of Baghdad, the military said. Four others died Wednesday in two roadside bombs explosions in southern Baghdad and north of the capital, while another was killed by small-arms fire in the eastern part of the city. Two other soldiers were killed by small-arms fire on Tuesday — one in eastern Baghdad and another on foot patrol in the southern outskirts of the capital.

The U.S. military said the downing of the helicopter carrying nine people was under investigation./AP

Appointment assailed

Democrats seek review of ambassador appointment

WASHINGTON — Democrats called for an investigation Thursday into whether President Bush acted illegally in appointing Sam Fox ambassador to Belgium. A day earlier, Bush named Republican fundraiser Fox to the post as a recess appointment — a maneuver that allowed him to bypass Congress, where Democrats had derailed his nomination.

Three Democratic senators — Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, John Kerry of Massachusetts and Robert Casey of Pennsylvania — asked the Government Accountability Office to look into the appointment.

Democrats have denounced Fox for his donation to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth during the 2004 presidential campaign. The group’s TV ads, which claimed that Sen. John Kerry exaggerated his military record in Vietnam, were viewed as a factor in the Massachusetts Democrat’s election loss./AP

Democratic diplomacy

Pelosi visits Saudi council

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Saudi Arabia’s unelected advisory council Thursday, the closest thing in the kingdom to a legislature, where she tried out her counterpart’s chair — a privilege no Saudi woman can have because women cannot become legislators.

Pelosi, the first woman speaker of the House, said she raised the issue of Saudi Arabia’s lack of female politicians with Saudi officials on the last stop of her Mideast tour, but she refrained from criticizing the kingdom over it.

The Majlis al-Shura, or Consultative Council, was expanded and given more powers in 1992 as a gesture toward forming a legislature. Its 150 members are chosen by the king. Pelosi arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, meeting with Saudi King Abdullah at his farm outside Riyadh. Pelosi leaves Saudi Arabia for Washington early Friday./AP

Pakistan

Musharraf might bring back Bhutto

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Under growing pressure to restore democracy, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf appears to be trying to reach a deal with the exiled former premier who heads Pakistan’s largest political party.

The latest indication of Musharraf’s softening stance toward former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto came Thursday, with the announcement that a veteran anti-corruption investigator who pursued cases against Bhutto was being transferred to a job in provincial administration.

The move fanned speculation that a weakened Musharraf, a key ally in the U.S. war on terrorism, may sanction her return if it helps him hang on to power. Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People’s Party, is agitating for Musharraf to close the cases against her so that she can return in time to campaign in elections due around the end of the year./AP