TOKYO – Japan’s new leader, Naoto Kan, will pick a like-minded fiscal conservative for the key finance post and a critic of an unpopular powerbroker as his party No. 2, media said yesterday.
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KABUL – Afghanistan’s interior minister and head of intelligence resigned yesterday over lapses that led to an insurgent attack on last week’s peace conference addressed by President Hamid Karzai, his office said.
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NICOSIA, Cyprus – Pope Benedict, speaking after a world outcry over Israel’s blockade of Gaza, yesterday appealed for “concerted international effort” to ease tensions in the Middle East before more blood is spilled.
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BAKU – The United States sought to shore up a link in its supply chain to Afghanistan yesterday, sending Defense Secretary Robert Gates to Azerbaijan, a transit point that has complained about not getting enough attention.
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LJUBLJANA – Slovenia narrowly approved a border arbitration deal with Croatia in a referendum yesterday, clearing a major obstacle to Zagreb’s European Union membership bid.
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HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – Thai Prime Minsiter Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday a state of emergency would remain in place despite a reduced unrest but that an election was possible early next year.
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NEW YORK – Two New Jersey men were arrested late on Saturday at a New York airport trying to catch flights for meetings with militant groups in Somalia with the intent to kill people, authorities said yesterday.
