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Gates plans to send more troops to Afghanistan (World, 20 articles)
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The Bush administration is looking for ways to send more troops to Afghanistan amid a resurgence of violence in the country nearly seven years after the US ousted the Taliban regime. One day after his Democratic rival proposed an escalation of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Republican presidential candidate John McCain called for a surge of as many as 15,000 troops to address the deteriorating security situation there. WASHINGTON - Following the official end of the troop surge in Iraq, the Pentagon's top military officer said Wednesday that he expects to be able to recommend further troop reductions in Iraq this fall. WASHINGTON - Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain shifted their foreign-policy focus Tuesday from Iraq to the deteriorating war in Afghanistan, with both White House hopefuls pledging thousands of additional troops and a large-scale infusion of aid for the Afghan conflict. The proposed increase of about 7,000 troops is part of Obama's plan to pull combat troops out of Iraq and focus on the growing threat from a resurgent Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. (CNN) Sen. Barack Obama called the war in Iraq a "dangerous distraction" Tuesday and said more emphasis must be placed on the battle in Afghanistan.
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Other stories about Iraq, Troops and Forces:
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Hezbollah hands back Israeli soldiers in coffins (World, 27 articles)
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The two Israeli soldiers abducted in 2006 by Hezbollah and whose bodies were returned Wednesday as part of a prisoner swap will receive military funerals Thursday in their respective hometowns. Convicted terrorist Samir Kuntar on Wednesday vowed to continue his resistance against Israel, speaking at a Beirut rally welcoming his return and that of four Hezbollah men Israel released as part of a swap deal with the Lebanon-based guerilla group. Samir Kantar, one of Lebanon's most notorious militants, has been freed by Israel as part of a controversial prisoner swap which saw the dead bodies of two kidnapped soldiers returned to the Jewish State this morning.
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Iran will 'burn' Tel Aviv and US shipping in Gulf if nuclear programme attacked (World, 19 articles)
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The UK's Guardian newspaper said the US would announce plans for an interests section in Tehran in the next month. The report coincides with another shift in US approach towards Iran, with a top US diplomat planning to attend talks in Geneva with the Iranians on Saturday. TEHRAN, Iran - A two-day Iranian show of force through the launching of medium- and long-range test missiles was meant to strike fear in the hearts of the country's rivals.
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Other stories about Iran, nuclear and Iranian:
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Sudan's ruling party warns of more violence in Darfur - (World, 11 articles)
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A prosecutor at the International Criminal Court is expected to seek an arrest warrant today charging President Omar al-Bashir with orchestrating violence in Darfur that has left hundreds of thousands of people dead since 2003. The court, which began work in 2002, has no enforcement arm and relies on governments to act as its police force. China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya, whose nation is an ally of Sudan, said that bringing charges against al-Bashir could jeopardize peace talks and put peacekeepers and humanitarian aid workers in Darfur at greater risk.
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Lawyers release Guantanamo video - (World, 9 articles)
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TORONTO - In a video released yesterday, a 16-year-old captured in Afghanistan cries out for his mother and says he needs treatment for his battle wounds during questioning by Canadian officials at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. TORONTO - Canada will not seek the return of a young detainee at Guantanamo Bay, officials said Wednesday, a day after the release of a video showing the teenage prisoner sobbing for his mother and pleading for Canada's help. A spokesman for Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper said footage of Toronto-born terror suspect Omar Khadr being interrogated by Canadian officials in 2003 will not affect his government's position.
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Belgian PM resignation: Readers react (World, 4 articles)
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Belgium has been plunged into a fresh political crisis, following the resignation of the country's Prime Minister Yves Leterme on Monday. This is the only way in which Belgium can survive, because if the Walloons keep on rejecting such devolution of powers the only remaining option is to split into two - which even the Flemish don't really want. Founded in 1830, Belgium now has a population of about 10.5 million people and considers itself the capital of the European Union, but is divided between French-speakers in the south and Dutch-speakers in the north.
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Quiet punch of East Timor report (World, 4 articles)
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It was the first time Indonesia's government has accepted charges that members of its military and police, along with civilian authorities, helped pro-Indonesian militias carry out a brutal campaign against East Timor's bid for independence. Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday expressed "deep regret" for the murder, rape and torture of civilians during East Timor's 1999 independence vote but stopped short of issuing an official apology. Indonesia has been widely criticised for failing to bring to justice any of those involved in the deadly rampage that took place in East Timor.
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Turkey charges 86 with coup bid - (World, 4 articles)
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Speaking to reporters, the prosecutor provided broad outlines of the case, centering on a group called Ergenekon, named for a myth-shrouded valley that some nationalists believe to be the wellspring of Turkic civilization. Authorities said the alleged plot was to have hinged on triggering a military coup or an armed revolt that would topple the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party last summer won re-election handily. The political paralysis arising from the attempt to ban the ruling party has hammered Turkey's formerly robust economy and damaged its faltering bid to join the European Union.
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Cambodia: Thai troops again cross border (World, 4 articles)
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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) Cambodian officials said more Thai troops crossed into their country's territory Wednesday, in the second day of alleged incursions amid tensions over disputed border land near a historic temple. A senior Thai military source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said about 200 Thai troops were inside what he called " disputed border territory. The director of Cambodian agency in charge of the Preah Vihear temple , Hang Soth, said the Thais continued to cross the border Wednesday.
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Gordon Brown's Zimbabwe stand queried over mining chief's role (World, 4 articles)
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Zimbabwe's official inflation rate climbed to a record 2.2 million per cent, the country's central bank announced Wednesday, meaning prices are doubling every 25 days. Economists estimate that the real annual inflation rate for last month was about nine million per cent, and could rise to about 20 million per cent next month, according to a report in the Guardian newspaper. Zimbabwe, once one of the richest countries in Africa, has descended into economic chaos largely blamed on the policies of President Robert Mugabe.
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Malaysian opposition leader arrested over sodomy allegations (World, 7 articles)
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Political tension mounted in Malaysia on Wednesday after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was remanded in police custody following his arrest on suspicions of sodomy. The arrest outside his home by 20 balaclava-clad policemen took place just an hour before Mr Anwar had agreed to meet investigators for questioning at the local police headquarters. The arrest was likely to exacerbate the political divisions and tensions that have been running high since the opposition made unprecedented gains in the March general elections, eroding the ruling coalition's strength in parliament.
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Opposition mounts to French ruling against Muslim woman (World, 4 articles)
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The ruling, delivered last month by France's highest administrative court, upheld immigration officials' refusal to grant citizenship to a woman, dubbed Faiza X in the court document, because of her religious beliefs. A Muslim member of the French government has backed a court's decision to deny citizenship to a Moroccan woman who wears the burqa. Urban Affairs Minister Fadela Amara said she hoped last month's ruling would "dissuade certain fanatics from imposing the burqa on their wives".
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blaster@cs.columbia.edu
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