World Scene

AFGHANISTAN

Karzai pledges to rein in warlords

KABUL — Hamid Karzai pledged yesterday to use his five-year term as Afghanistan’s first elected president to crack down on warlords and the country’s booming drug economy.

Accepting his victory in the historic Oct. 9 ballot, he also offered an olive branch to the Taliban, even as an offshoot of the former ruling militia threatened to kill three kidnapped workers of the United Nations who helped organize the vote.

Election officials declared Mr. Karzai the winner Wednesday after more than three weeks of laborious counting and arguments about whether he had cheated his way to victory.

Former Education Minister Younus Qanooni, who finished second with 16 percent, compared with Mr. Karzai’s 55 percent, accepted the result just hours before Mr. Karzai made his televised acceptance speech.

COLOMBIA

Order to arrest rebel leaders lifted

BOGOTA — Colombia has lifted arrest orders on three far-right paramilitary leaders, one wanted in the United States for drug trafficking, to allow them to coordinate the demobilization of 3,000 of their troops.

A presidential resolution signed late Wednesday says the move is part of the country’s peace process under which the 20,000-strong United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, says it will partially disband before the end of the year.

One of the three leaders is AUC chief Salvatore Mancuso, who the United States wants to extradite for cocaine smuggling. The others are Ivan Roberto Duque and Ever Veloza.

CANADA

Legislator criticized for anti-Bush remark

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