Tribal elders discuss US-Afghan security pact |
Grand council aims to decide on how many American troops will remain, and their role, after next year's withdrawal.
Ali M Latifi Last updated: 21 Nov 2013 08:09
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Thousands of tribal elders are meeting in Kabul to decide on the role of American troops after the bulk of US forces pull out of Afghanistan next year.
More than 2,500 delegates from the country will meet over three days to reach a consensus on how many American soldiers will be left in the country after the withdrawal, and also on the questions of immunity and jurisdiction of operations carried out by foreign forces.
The convening of the grand council or Loya Jirga, a traditional Afghan institution in place for centuries, follows an announcement by the US that it has reached a deal with the Kabul government on a security pact.
The text of this Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) must be ratified by the Loya Jirga delegates and the Afghan parliament before it can be signed by President Hamid Karzai.
US veteran of Korean war has been held in North Korea since last month
Family of Merrill Newman, 85, from Palo Alto, California, disclose he was taken off aircraft leaving the country without explanation
An 85-year-old US veteran of the Korean war has been detained inNorth Korea since last month, his family has said.
Merrill Newman's son Jeffrey told the San Jose Mercury News on Wednesday that his father had been taken off a plane set to leave North Korea on 26 October without explanation.
Newman, from Palo Alto, California, was travelling with Bob Hamrdla, who was allowed to return.
Hamrdla said in a statement that "there has to be a terrible misunderstanding. I hope that the North Koreans will see this as a humanitarian matter and allow him to return to his family as soon as possible." The US State Department would not confirm the detention, and North Korea's state media have yet to comment.
German art restitution experts divided on how to handle seized Munich works
There is little agreement as to whether the statute of limitations applies
Derek Scally
Germany is facing pressure to overhaul how it deals with the legacy of Nazi-era art seizures as a legal quagmire involving competing claims to a massive Munich art find is expected.
Prosecutors in Bavaria have announced they will return as soon as possible toCornelius Gurlitt all works “undoubtedly” his property. More than 1,400 works, including paintings by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall, were removed from his apartment in February 2012 to allow provenance research.
According to a report, German authorities may drop tax evasion charges against the 80-year-old if he agrees to relinquish claim on the paintings collected by his art dealer father Hildebrand Gurlitt. He has rejected the offer.
Restoring drinking water in the Philippines
Typhoon Haiyan left many in the Philippines without access to clean water. But it can take months to repair water lines. Portable and temporary treatment facilities are helping purify contaminated water.
The gas tank is full, the oil has been checked, and the battery is brand new. But the generator won't start. Sven Guericke unscrews the cover once again. After one more try, the motor finally starts chugging along. Relieved, Sven Guericke looks up at the water tower of the Dawasco I station in Daanbantavan in the Philippines.
Thanks to the generator, a pump can now fill the water tower, allowing the people in the region to access drinking water again.
"The generator was the only problem," Guericke said, explaining that the destruction in this part of the island of Cebu was indeed very heavy, but the drinking water system was not totally destroyed.
China may have largest Pacific fleet by 2020: US
November 21, 2013 - 6:28AM
Matthew Pennington
A US congressional advisory panel sounded a warning Wednesday about China's military buildup, predicting Beijing could possess the largest fleet of modern submarine and combatant ships in the western Pacific by 2020.
The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission said China's military modernisation is altering the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region and challenging decades of US pre-eminence.
The commission advises Congress on the national security implications of the relationship between the two world powers.
The groups' annual report also examined cyberintrusions from China, the trade and economic relationship with the US, and China's global ties.
20 November 2013 Last updated at 23:47 GMT
LRA leader Joseph Kony 'in surrender talks' with CAR
The government of the Central African Republic (CAR) has said it is in talks with Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony with the aim of his surrender.
A CAR government spokesman told the BBC that Kony was in the country but wanted his security to be guaranteed before giving himself up.
Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes.
The US has offered up to $5m (£3.3m) for leads resulting in his arrest.
This is the first time for many years that Kony's whereabouts have been revealed.
Also on Wednesday, the African Union's special envoy on the LRA, Francisco Madeira, told the UN Security Council he had seen reports that Kony was suffering from a "serious, uncharacterized illness".
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