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U.S. strike kills 40 suspected Taliban

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A U.S. warplane dropped four 500-pound bombs on a militant hideout in southern Afghanistan on Monday, killing more than 40 suspected Taliban fighters, officials said as Britain announced it is sending 900 more troops to the region.

One Afghan soldier was killed and three unidentified soldiers in the U.S.-led coalition were wounded during the battle at the Taliban base in Uruzgan, after heavy clashes in a neighboring province over the weekend left 20 militants and a Canadian soldier dead.

It was the latest fighting in a coalition offensive after Taliban militants launched a wave of suicide attacks, bombings and brazen assaults on security forces in the hard-line Islamic militia's southern heartland.

More than 700 people, mostly militants, have died in the violence since mid May, according to Afghan and coalition casualty figures tallied by the Associated Press.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, meanwhile, said the flourishing drug trade in Afghanistan may be helping fuel the Taliban resurgence, potentially undermining the country's young democracy.

Nations postpone vote on sanctions against N. Korea

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council's five permanent members and Japan agreed Monday to postpone Monday's vote on possible sanctions against North Korea for its missile test that rattled the region last week.

China's U.N. ambassador, Wang Guangya, told reporters after a meeting with envoys from Russia, the United States, Britain, France and Japan that council members have agreed to continue discussions on the Tokyo-sponsored resolution.

Meanwhile, Japan said Monday it was considering whether a pre-emptive strike on North Korea's missile bases would violate its constitution. However, Japanese fighter jets and pilots are not capable of carrying out such an attack, military analyst Kazuhisa Ogawa said.

Elsewhere ...

Pakistan: A passenger plane crashed minutes after taking off from Multan on Monday. All 45 people on board were killed, officials said.

The cause was unknown, but a terrorist attack was ruled out, said Malik Bashir, Pakistan International Airlines' station manager at Multan airport.

India: The country's first test-firing of a new missile designed to carry nuclear warheads across much of Asia and the Middle East was unsuccessful, Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee said late Sunday.

Although initially reported as a success, the Agni III plunged into the Bay of Bengal short of its target.

[Last modified July 11, 2006, 06:12:12]