Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Defense chief rejects shift in Afghan troops

By Times Wires
Published February 2, 2008

GERMANY

The German government on Friday rejected a formal request from the United States to send forces to war zones in southern Afghanistan, the latest setback to the NATO alliance as it tries to scrape together enough troops to battle resurgent Taliban forces and stabilize the country. Defense Minister Franz-Josef Jung said his country's contingent of 3,200 soldiers would stay put in the northern provinces, where they patrol some of the most secure areas of Afghanistan. This week, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper threatened to withdraw his country's 2,500 troops from southern Afghanistan unless they receive reinforcements.

WASHINGTON

Missile system for Poland advances

Poland said Friday it has reached an agreement in principle with the United States on plans to install a missile defense system on Polish territory. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said that after meetings with U.S. officials, he was satisfied that the United States would deal with security problems that Poland wanted addressed as part of an eventual deal.

Shutdown forecast for Russia reactors

Two of Russia's plutonium-producing reactors may be closed six months ahead of schedule this summer, a major milestone in U.S. nuclear nonproliferation efforts, an Energy Department spokesman said Friday. Sergey Kiriyenko, the director of Russia's nuclear agency, told Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman during a meeting Friday that shutting down the two reactors so soon was "realistic," the spokesman said. The two nations have been working for years on arrangements to close Russia's three plutonium producing reactors. The third reactor is scheduled to be shuttered at the end of next year.

SRI LANKA

20 die in attack on bus, military says

A bomb tore through a packed bus carrying civilians today in central Sri Lanka, killing 20 people and wounding 50 others, the military said. The blast inside the bus occurred at 7 a.m. in Dambulla, a town about 90 miles northeast of the capital, Colombo, said a military spokesman, Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara, blaming separatist Tamil Tiger rebels. Spokesmen for the rebels could not immediately be reached for comment.

Elsewhere

Japan: The government said Friday that at least 175 people had been sickened by insecticide-tainted dumplings from China, prompting supermarkets to pull Chinese-made meat products from their shelves.

Mauritania: At least one gunman opened fire on the Israeli Embassy in Mauritania early Friday, setting off a gunbattle with guards that wounded three people, Israeli and Mauritanian officials said. The gunman fled.

Somalia: Doctors Without Borders has pulled all of its international staff out of Somalia after three of its aid workers were killed in a land mine explosion earlier this week, the group said Friday.

Chad: The army waged fierce battles Friday against rebel troops headed for the country's capital, N'Djamena, where they are seeking to force President Idriss Deby to share power or step down.

Brazil: To the sound of blasting samba, men dressed as nuns swilled beer and danced down the cobblestoned streets of a Rio de Janeiro hillside Friday night to kick off five days of uninhibited carnival madness.

[Last modified February 2, 2008, 00:24:44]