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A damaged police vehicle at the site of a bomb blast in Nangarhar province. Afghan and NATO forces killed at least 15 Taliban militants in an operation to retake control of a district the rebels captured three days ago(AFP/Khan Wali Kamran)

Afghan, NATO troops try to seize Taliban-held town

1 hour, 19 minutes ago

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan security forces and NATO-led forces were engaged in a joint operation on Thursday to retake a remote town southwest of Kabul, the NATO force said.

  • World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Pascal Lamy (R) sits next to Australia's Ambassador to the WTO Bruce Gosper, as he opens an informal session of the Trade Negotiation Committee at the WTO in Geneva July 21, 2008. (Denis Balibouse/Reuters)
    WTO talks make "some progress," but mood somber Wed Jul 23, 11:53 PM ET

    GENEVA (Reuters) - Urgent talks to salvage a global trade deal made "some progress" in the early hours of Thursday, ministers said, but officials warned the mood was dark behind closed doors at the World Trade Organisation.

  • A Serb woman kisses a picture of Radovan Karadzic during a demonstration in Belgrade July 23, 2008. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)
    Karadzic to run own defence, gets shave, haircut Wed Jul 23, 1:34 PM ET

    BELGRADE (Reuters) - Radovan Karadzic will conduct his own defence at the Hague tribunal and is convinced he will be cleared of charges of genocide, relatives and associates of the war crimes suspect said on Wednesday.

  • Paramilitary police attend an oath-taking rally to ensure the safety of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games outside the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing, July 23, 2008. (Darren Whiteside/Reuters)
    China security forces vow to thwart Games threats Thu Jul 24, 12:46 AM ET

    BEIJING (Reuters) - Ranks of Chinese paramilitary police swore to prevent terrorist attacks or "political incidents" disrupting the Beijing Olympics in a show of force at the Games' main stadium, a state newspaper reported on Thursday.

  • Obama visits Jerusalem's Western Wall 58 minutes ago

    JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama made a surprise pre-dawn visit to Jerusalem's Western Wall on Thursday, at the end of a trip aimed at showing his strong support for Israel.

  • Tombstones that collapsed during the earthquake are seen at Choryuji temple in Hachinohe, northern Japan July 24, 2008. (Issei Kato/Reuters)
    Strong quake jolts north Japan, 107 hurt 2 hours, 31 minutes ago

    HACHINOHE, Japan (Reuters) - A strong earthquake jolted northern Japan early on Thursday, injuring more than 100 people, trapping hundreds in halted trains and affecting production at some high-tech factories.

  • Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev speaks at the Foreign Ministry during a meeting with Russian Ambassadors to different countries in Moscow July 15, 2008. REUTERS/Alexander Zemlianichenko/ Pool
    Medvedev to shake up Russian regions: report 1 hour, 1 minute ago

    MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev plans to replace dozens of regional governors over the next few years in an attempt to increase his influence within officialdom, the Vedomosti newspaper reported on Thursday.

  • Scotland's First Minister and Scottish National Party Alex Salmond (L) and his candidate for the forthcoming Glasgow east by-election, John Mason, speak to journalists on the last day of campaigning next to polling booths as they visit The Hub community centre in Glasgow, Scotland July 23, 2008. (David Moir/Reuters)
    Voting begins in UK poll crucial to Brown's future 1 hour, 25 minutes ago

    GLASGOW (Reuters) - Voters in Scotland went to the polls on Thursday for a parliamentary by-election that Gordon Brown's party is expected to win, but which could dramatically dent the prime minister's standing if it is lost.

  • Captain Marwoto Komar, the pilot of a Garuda Indonesia aircraft that crashed at Yogyakarta airport last year, listens to the prosecutors during a trial in Sleman in central Java July 24, 2008. (Dwi Oblo/Reuters)
    Indonesian pilot charged with causing crash 48 minutes ago

    SLEMAN, Indonesia (Reuters) - The pilot of a Garuda Indonesia aircraft that crashed at Yogyakarta airport last year killing 21 people was charged on Thursday with negligence and deliberately causing an accident.

  • Asia forum plans multinational disaster exercises 1 hour, 15 minutes ago

    SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asia-Pacific nations are calling for greater civil-military coordination in dealing with major disasters, according to a draft declaration to be adopted after their meeting on Thursday.

  • Child, woman killed, 12 hurt in Kashmir explosion 54 minutes ago

    SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - A child and a woman were killed and more than a dozen civilians wounded on Thursday when suspected Muslim separatist militants lobbed a grenade at a crowded bus terminal in Indian Kashmir's main city, police said.

  • Cuba silent on Russian bomber report: Fidel Castro Wed Jul 23, 9:47 PM ET

    HAVANA (Reuters) - Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Wednesday said Cuba does not have to explain or "ask forgiveness" about a report out of Russia this week that Russia might use its Cold War ally Cuba as a refueling base for nuclear-capable bombers.

  • Cambodians on ox carts leave Dang Reak mountain, site of the Preah Vihear temple compound, 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 22, 2008. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
    Cambodia, Thailand trade more barbs over temple 1 hour, 15 minutes ago

    PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia accused Thailand on Thursday of sending more troops to their joint border as a smoldering dispute over a 900-year-old temple showed no signs of easing.

  • Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama stands in front of a display of the remains of rockets, fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza, during a visit to a police station in the southern Israeli town of Sderot July 23, 2008. (David Silverman/Pool/Reuters)
    Obama assures Israel he's a friend Wed Jul 23, 3:21 PM ET

    SDEROT, Israel (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama assured Israel and its U.S. Jewish supporters on Wednesday he was a friend who would not press for peace concessions that would compromise its security.

  • Thai villagers take part in a weapon drill at Baan Dan village near the Preah Vihear temple complex, 590 km (367 miles) northeast of Bangkok, July 23, 2008. (Sukree Sukplang/Reuters)
    U.N. council to take up Cambodia-Thai dispute Wed Jul 23, 7:21 PM ET

    UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will hold a special meeting on a border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand that has sparked fears of a military clash, France and Vietnam said on Wednesday.

  • Three Hong Kong children jailed for armed holdup Wed Jul 23, 11:21 PM ET

    BEIJING (Reuters) - Three Hong Kong children have jailed for more than three years for the armed hold-up of a jewelry shop, a newspaper said on Thursday, with the court saying the stiff sentence was in the public interest.

  • Guatemala jungle brings new dangers on trek to U.S Wed Jul 23, 4:41 PM ET

    EL NARANJO, Guatemala (Reuters) - Tighter border security and a broken-down rail line on Mexico's southern frontier are prompting thousands of U.S.-bound illegal immigrants to head north through thick jungles controlled by violent drug gangs.

  • A displaced Somali woman sits outside her shelter in a makeshift camp outside Mogadishu, July 20, 2008. The United Nations said on Friday food shipments to Somalia were grinding to a halt as few vessels were willing to hazard the country's pirate-infested waters, and it called on governments to provide naval escorts. REUTERS/Feisel Omar (SOMALIA)
    AU says troops in Somalia need help, wants U.N. force Wed Jul 23, 4:35 PM ET

    UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The African Union said on Wednesday it was incapable of stabilizing the situation in Somalia and urged the United Nations take over peacekeeping operations in the lawless Horn of Africa country.

  • Former Chad President Hissene Habre makes declarations to media as he leaves a court in Dakar, Senegal November 25, 2005. REUTERS/Aliou Mbaye
    Senegal lifts final bar to trial of Chad's Habre Wed Jul 23, 2:47 PM ET

    DAKAR (Reuters) - Senegal lifted the last constitutional obstacle to its courts trying former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre for human rights crimes, the Senegalese Minister of Justice said on Wednesday.

  • Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir dances during the ceremony of signing Sudan's new election law in Khartoum July 14, 2008. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdalla
    Bashir offers peace, aid in defiant Darfur tour Wed Jul 23, 12:56 PM ET

    KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, in a show of defiance, made his first visit to Darfur on Wednesday since the International Criminal Court prosecutor accused him of genocide and war crimes and sought his arrest.