London—British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown is optimistic other allies
will send more troops to Afghanistan, backing up
an expected sharp increase in U.S. forces,
according to a letter to NATO released on
Wednesday. U.S. President Barack Obama, who
vowed on Tuesday to “finish the job” in
Afghanistan, could announce an increase of
around 30,000 troops next week, U.S. officials
say.
Dhaka–Bangladesh said Wednesday it had developed
three varieties of flood-resistant rice, set for
commercial launch early next year, to help its
millions of poor farmers fight the effects of
climate change. The state-run Bangladesh Rice
Research Institute (BRRI) said the three strains
can survive under water for more than 15 days,
meaning they can withstand many of the floods
that hit the impoverished country every year.
Tashkent—Uzbekistan on Wednesday denied
reports it had unilaterally sealed its border
with Kazakhstan, saying it had only imposed a
heightened safety regime to combat the spread of
seasonal flu. The border was not closed, but
simply operating under “temporary quarantine
measures,” Uzbekistan’s official Jahon news
agency reported.
Bangui—Dozens
of people were killed in a remote corner of
Central African Republic when Ugandan rebels
attacked villagers but were then ambushed by
Ugandan soldiers, a witness and local media
said. The killings took place last week around
Djemah, 850 km (530 miles) east of the capital,
Bangui, and are the latest in a wave of attacks
by the Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)
rebels, a militia that roams around CAR, Sudan
and Democratic Republic of Congo killing and
kidnapping civilians.
WHEN it comes to soccer, the Arabs are probably
as fanatical as say the English, Brazilians or
Koreans. Or maybe not! The sad events
surrounding the qualifying World Cup match
between Egypt and Algeria, which was held in
Sudan, have soured the dignified attributes that
many nations attach to the game. A decisive
match involving two national teams was
transformed into a bitter and hateful feud
between people and governments.
