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Taliban take over Afghan villages - (World, 12 articles)
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - U.S. and NATO troops aided Afghan forces with reconnaissance in a hunt yesterday for 870 inmates who escaped prison after a sophisticated Taliban assault that even NATO conceded was a success for the militants. Afghanistan's army chief , Gen. Bismillah Khan, is in Kandahar preparing his men for a potentially major battle with the Taliban. Afghan military reinforcements arrived in Kandahar on Monday and have already deployed in Kandahar Province, said a NATO spokesman, Mark Laity. WASHINGTON - Britain and France are sending roughly 1,000 more troops to Afghanistan, officials said today, as Taliban forces seized several villages near the huge NATO military base in southern Afghanistan. British Prime Minster Gordon Brown, speaking in London at a joint news conference with President Bush, said that up to 300 troops are being sent to Afghanistan, bringing the total British force there to over 8,000. British troop numbers in Afghanistan will increase by 230 to a new high of more than 8,000 by next spring, Defence Secretary Des Browne has told MPs. British forces have spent the past two years fighting hard against the Taleban in Helmand province, and despite the casualties, commanders remain upbeat about the military progress being made there.
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Other stories about Afghan, Kandahar and Arghandab:
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Hamas says it has reached a Gaza cease-fire deal with Israel (World, 15 articles)
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Israel and militant group Hamas have agreed to end months of bitter clashes with a six-month truce starting on Thursday, Palestinian officials say. The announcement came shortly after state-run media in Egypt, whose government has been trying to broker an accord, said a cease-fire would go into effect Thursday. Israeli officials declined to confirm or deny a deal but said a de facto truce would take hold as soon as the Palestinian attacks end.
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ABC News: Foreign Firms Beat U.S. to Iraq Investment (World, 5 articles)
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A front-page story in The New York Times Monday examines the alleged murders of two American Army officers by another U.S. soldier. WASHINGTON - European and Asian companies are beating their American rivals into Iraq now that security has improved the investment climate, Iraq and U.S. officials say. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said Monday that larger U.S. firms were waiting for more security before entering the market.
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Other stories about Iraq, Iraqi and Baghdad:
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US calls for clarity from China on oil stocks (World, 14 articles)
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WASHINGTON - With its exploding appetite for energy, China - not quite an ally, not quite an adversary - is helping drive up world oil prices and putting still more strain on its relationship with the United States. The importance stretches far beyond the gas pump, although that is where Americans are left wondering what's behind the run-up, why it can't be stopped, and who is to blame. The Americans scolded the Chinese on mismanaging their economy, from state subsidies to foreign investment regulations to the valuation of their currency.
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Other stories about China, Chinese and Tibet:
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Brown Says Europe Will Tighten Iran Sanctions (World, 11 articles)
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A Democratic senator unveiled a new Iran sanctions bill today that would tighten the current trade ban with that country, expand financial sanctions and close loopholes that have allowed some U.S. firms to create subsidiaries to invest in Iran. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said his bill would incorporate elements of an earlier Iran sanctions bill, but would take " a much stronger stance on Iran sanctions. " Slowing the flow of funds and nuclear assistance to Iran's current regime is in the interest of the American people Baucus said.
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ABC News: Judge Dismisses Charges in Haditha Case (World, 5 articles)
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(CNN) A Marine officer on Tuesday became the seventh person cleared of charges related to the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha, Iraq. A military judge dismissed charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, who was charged with dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order for failing to report and investigate the incident. " Unlawful command influence is the mortal enemy of military justice said Folsom, reading aloud from previous case law, The Associated Press reported.
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Pakistan's A.Q. Khan denies new nuke weapons claim (World, 6 articles)
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Speaking to The Associated Press by telephone, Abdul Qadeer Khan described the report issued Monday as a "pack of lies" and lashed out at its author, former top U.N. arms inspector David Albright. In 2003, the seizure of a shipment of equipment for uranium enrichment bound for Libya set of a chain of led Libya to publicly disclose its illegal nuclear program and cooperate with international investigators. As evidence mounted that the cargo had come from Pakistan, Dr. Khan shocked the world with a tearful confession on state-run television.
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Britain leads call for Zimbabwe sanctions to punish Mugabe for stealing election (World, 5 articles)
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Mugabe on Monday accused Morgan Tsvangirai and other leaders of the Movement for Democratic Change of condoning " arson and violence across the country state radio reported. The Movement for Democratic Change argued that Tendai Biti - who is expected to face a treason charge - was not being legally detained. Britain and its international allies will urge South Africa to cut off electricity supplies to Zimbabwe if Robert Mugabe steals the election in two weeks' time, The Times has learnt.
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Military: Turkish units kill several rebel Kurds (World, 4 articles)
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ANKARA, Turkey- Artillery units killed most of a 21-member Kurdish rebel group in northern Iraq as it moved toward the Turkish border, the military said Tuesday. The military's Web site said the shelling had rendered the group, which was trying to sneak into Turkey, "ineffective" a term used by the military to refer to killed rebels. Bashir raised an ivory-tipped baton, and hundreds of security forces cheered, waving shoes, T-shirts and other clothes allegedly stripped off the doomed fighters.
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Flooding in Southern China Claims Scores of Victims (World, 4 articles)
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Torrential rains that have caused some of the worst flooding in 50 years and killed scores of people continued to batter a huge swath of southern China on Tuesday near one of the biggest manufacturing zones in the country. The government said the storms and floods killed at least 63 people over the past week, left 13 missing and affected more than 17 million people in nine southern provinces. Floodwaters began receding Tuesday in parts of southern China after killing at least 63 people, swamping 2.5 million acres of farmland and causing billions of dollars in damage, the government said.
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E Guinea seeks 30 years for Mann (World, 5 articles)
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Simon Mann, the Old Etonian mercenary accused of plotting to overthrow Macias's iron-fisted successor , President Obiang Nguema, was spared the cage when his trial opened yesterday but the proceedings did not lack for drama - or for farce. The plot to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea in 2004 was so improbable that it sounded like something out of a tale from the tropics, too outlandish even for Graham Greene. Prosecutors in Equatorial Guinea have called for British mercenary Simon Mann to serve 30 years in jail for his 2004 coup plot, as his trial got under way.
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President Sarkozy marches France back to Nato with military shake-up (World, 8 articles)
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Four decades after President de Gaulle broke with the Nato command President Sarkozy announced France's return to the heart of the alliance - with conditions on EU defence that may unsettle Britain. Following the French defence review of its armed forces, BBC News compares the country's military capabilities with that of the UK as the two biggest military powers in Europe. In its first new national defense policy in 14 years, France has decided that its security lies within Europe and NATO, establishing a significant shift from the country's longstanding notions of moral and military self-sufficiency.
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Tough for Gordon Brown to avoid EU nightmare after Irish reject Lisbon treaty (World, 6 articles)
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European leaders face the prospect of resubmitting the treaty to hostile Irish voters or, to the dismay of all, renegotiating it again. Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty has plunged Europe into a familiar bout of hand-wringing about the future of its grand experiment in political and economic integration. That is a marked change from three years ago, when the rejection of a proposed European constitution by France and the Netherlands deeply rattled the euro.
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US, South Korea Press on With Beef Trade Talks (World, 4 articles)
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U.S. and South Korean trade officials pressed ahead with negotiations that Seoul hopes will result in new limits to a recent deal to reopen South Korea's market to U.S. beef exports. " This is a complex issue, but both sides remain committed to finding a mutually agreeable path forward USTR spokesman Gretchen Hamel said. Officials have been huddled in private discussions on the April beef agreement since South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon arrived in Washington on Friday, but so far neither side has heralded a breakthrough.
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Rice Visit Signals Support for Power Deal in Lebanon (World, 4 articles)
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During her visit to Beirut this week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice didn't even mention the issue. The reason for this, American and Lebanese officials say privately, is a longstanding prohibition against supplying Lebanese forces with advanced equipment that could be used against Israel. When Russia stepped in to offer the Lebanese military essentially anything it wanted, free of charge, according to one former military official involved in the discussions, the Bush administration prohibited the Lebanese government from accepting the offer.
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blaster@cs.columbia.edu
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