Taliban gain strength in Afghanistan’s north
CHAHAR DARA, Afghanistan — The last time that Afghans in the northern province of Kunduz felt so threatened by the Taliban was in 2009, just before President Barack Obama deployed thousands of troops to push the insurgents back from the outskirts of the province’s capital.
Karzai says security pact with US should be signed next year
KABUL, Afghanistan — President Hamid Karzai stood before thousands of Afghan leaders on Thursday in a watershed moment for his tumultuous rule. Having just come to agreement with U.S. leaders on a security deal that would commit the two countries to a lasting military alliance — and would surely define his legacy — he convened the assembly that would decide the deal’s fate.
Taliban leader says it will sit out Afghan elections
KABUL, Afghanistan - Despite efforts to broker a peace deal between the Afghan government and the Taliban, the insurgent group will not participate in presidential elections next year, its leader said in a statement Tuesday.
A legal brawl in Mexico as bond buyers look on
Trouble is brewing in the industrial heartland of Mexico, but it’s not the violent drug wars that have plagued the boomtown of Monterrey. It is a legal brawl over the bankruptcy of the country’s largest glassmaker, Vitro.