Pakistan to send 10,000 more troops to Afghan border

Pakistan will deploy an extra 10,000 troops to guard the Afghan border, Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri said Tuesday.

A total of 90,000 troops will attempt to prevent the Taliban from using bases in Pakistan to attack targets in Afghanistan.


Pakistani troops guard the mountain region of Shawal along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. AFP/File/Aamir Qureshi photo via Yahoo News.

Kasuri said that Pakistan has the highest stakes in Afghanistan's future stability.

Taliban forces have conducted recent offensives in Afghanistan demonstrating their greatest resurgence since being ousted and since the establishment of the Karzai government.

Thousands protest in support of East Timor's Alkatiri

In a major show of support for such a tiny nation, thousands rallied for former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri Tuesday outside of the capital Dili.

The protests highlight the major divisions in East Timor that will not be solved by replacing Alkatiri with a pro-Gusmao candidate.


East Timorese shout 'Viva Alkatiri' as former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri makes a speech in Hera district, outside of Dili on June 27, 2006. Beawiharta/Reuters photo from Yahoo News.

Gusmao is said to support a non-partisan replacement, but this will be hard to sell to the ruling Fretilin party which appeared to be behind Tuesday's rally.

A meeting between the State Council and Gusmao on Tuesday failed to resolve the issue, and there is talk that the president may dissolve parliament and call for new general elections.

East Timor prime minister resigns

Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri resigned Monday bowing to pressure from East Timor President Xanana Gusmao.

Protestors broke out in celebration on the streets of the capital Dili upon hearing the news.


East Timor's Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri resigned Monday after street protests and pressure from President Xanana Gusmao. AFP/Candido Alves photo from Yahoo News.

Gusmao called on Alkatiri to resign and accept responsibility for violence that has rocked the tiny nation since May.

The ruling Fretilin party did not name a successor to Alkatiri, but Gusmao has called a meeting Tuesday to address the emerging nation's political and economic crisis.