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Coalition regains control of second Afghan town

By TIMES WIRES
Published July 20, 2006

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The second of two towns seized by the Taliban went back into government hands Wednesday with relatively little bloodshed after more than 1,000 U.S.-led coalition and Afghan troops swept into the area.

Two Afghan soldiers were wounded and two Taliban were killed in the battle to retake Garmser, a remote town of about 50,000 people on the Helmand River, officials said.

"The Taliban appears to be bullying their way around some of the smaller towns in remote areas, but they have no capability to lay claim to any piece of ground," Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, a U.S. military spokesman, said.

The military announced the death of one coalition soldier and wounding of two others in fighting Tuesday in the southern province of Uruzgan. The soldiers' nationalities were not released.

Also, Taliban militants attacked a police checkpoint south of Helmand's capital, Lashkar Gah, killing one policeman and burning two vehicles, the provincial governor's spokesman said.

North Korea to end reunions of relatives

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea said Wednesday it would halt reunions of relatives split by the heavily fortified border, and South Korea's president made his strongest comments yet against the communist nation's recent missile tests in a further blow to reconciliation efforts.

South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun condemned North Korea for potentially sparking an arms race, but also cautioned other countries that provocative responses could raise regional tension.

The North-South family reunions had been a key element of reconciliation efforts since the only summit between leaders of the North and South in 2000, bringing together more than 16,300 Koreans. Many of those wishing to take part in the reunions are elderly, hoping before they die for a glimpse of relatives unseen since the 1953 cease-fire that halted the Korean War.

The North said it wouldn't allow the reunions to go on because the South refused to discuss humanitarian aid during high-level talks between the two last week.

Philippines general looks into possible coup plot

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines' top general has ordered an investigation of 40 army and marine officers and 135 enlisted men in connection with a plot to oust President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Gen. Generoso Senga acted on a recommendation by a fact-finding committee in a step that could lead to court-martials, said Col. Tristan Kison. One soldier facing a rebellion charge in civilian court has been indicted so far in February's alleged coup attempt.

Arroyo has said that "military adventurists" allied with communist rebels and their political and financial backers to oust her.

Last week, the military said it uncovered a separate plot by rebel military officers to seize the Philippine Congress this month and establish a revolutionary government.

Serbian-Albanian meeting to address province future

BRUSSELS - Serbian President Boris Tadic announced Wednesday he will meet with ethnic Albanian leaders of the breakaway Kosovo province, the first top level face-to-face talks between the former warring sides.

The U.N.-sponsored gathering, tentatively set for Monday in Vienna, will seek an agreement on the future status of the province. Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority insists on full independence, but the Serb minority and Belgrade government want to retain some control.

Kosovo has been run by the United Nations and patrolled by international peacekeepers since a 1999 NATO aerial bombardment halted a crackdown by Serb forces on separatist ethnic Albanian rebels.

[Last modified July 20, 2006, 00:53:15]