IRAQ VIOLENCE: Iraqi police say a series of car bombings across the capital, Baghdad,
has killed at least 112 people and wounded nearly 200 others. Three of the blasts occurred within minutes of each other Tuesday. One
of bombs targeted a busy market in central Baghdad, while the others
were detonated near the Interior Ministry in eastern Baghdad and the
Labor Ministry.
Earlier, a suicide car bomber struck a police patrol in southern
Baghdad killing at least three policemen and one civilian. Five others
were also wounded. Tuesday's attacks were the worst in the Iraqi capital since late
October when twin car bomb attacks outside municipal offices killed at
least 155 people.
AFGHANISTAN(News Updates): Afghan President Hamid Karzai says hisgovernment will not be able to sustain a large security force with its own funds for at least 15 years. Mr. Karzai appealed for foreign aid during a joint news conference with visiting U.S Defense Secretary Robert Gates Tuesday. The Afghan president said his country lacks the resources to pay for the increased security needed to protect it from a violent insurgency.
PAKISTAN: Pakistani police say a bomb has exploded near an intelligence office in
the central city of Multan, killing 12 people and wounding several
others. Police say Tuesday's blast severely damaged several buildings. Reports
say one damaged building belongs to the country's main spy agency,
Inter-Services Intelligence. Earlier, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the U.S. is is ready
to give Pakistan more help fighting the Taliban and al-Qaida, as soon
as the south Asian country wants the additional assistance.Gates told reporters during his flight to Kabul that recent attacks
from extremists in Pakistan require the government to use more force
against those militants.
NOKOR NUCLEAR: Washington's special envoy to North Korea has arrived in Pyongyang for the highest-level bilateral talks with North Korean officials since U.S. President Barack Obama took office. U.S. State Department officials said Monday that Stephen Bosworth's main focus during his three-day visit will be understanding North Korea's intentions about renewing six-party talks on ending its nuclear programs. It is not clear whether Bosworth will meet with the reclusive North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il. A State Department spokesman saidappropriate high-level officials.
CAMBODIA-THAILAND-SPY TRIAL: A Cambodian court has sentenced a Thai man to seven years in prison for
spying on former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra during his
visit to Phnom Penh last month. Siwarak Chothipong, an employee of the Cambodia Air Traffic Service,
was convicted in a one-day trial of giving Mr. Thaksin's flight
schedule to the Thai embassy. He was also fined $2,500.
Cambodia named Mr. Thaksin its special economic advisor at the beginning of November. The conviction threatens to deepen a diplomatic crisis over the Thaksin
appointment and Cambodia's refusal to extradite the ousted prime
minister to Thailand, where he faces a two-year prison sentence on a
corruption conviction.
