Washington in 5 Minutes

AFGHANISTAN

Gorbachev calls for troop pullout

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Sunday advised the United States against sending additional troops to Afghanistan, instead urging renewed diplomacy and ultimately a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces.

“I think that what’s needed is not additional forces,” Mr. Gorbachev told CNN, adding that “withdrawal from Afghanistan should be the goal.”

Mr. Gorbachev, the Soviet Union’s last leader, who governed from 1985 until its breakup in 1991, presided over the pullout of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.

Although the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan has been viewed by many historians as a defeat for Soviet imperialism, Mr. Gorbachev urged the United States to follow his country’s model, as Washington mulls the way forward in violence-ridden Afghanistan.

He told CNN that Washington should focus on “dialogue” in Afghanistan to bring to an end “the long suffering of that people.”

IRAN

Vigils mark plight of captive hikers

Friends and relatives of three Americans detained by Iran held vigils across the United States and around the world on Sunday to call for their immediate release.

The vigils came as Shane Bauer, 27; Sarah Shourd, 31; and Josh Fattal, 27, spent their 100th day in detention after being taken into custody by Iranian border guards July 31.

Josh Fattal’s brother Alex said he expected thousands of people to participate in the vigils, which were being held in various locations, including the home states of the three hikers - California, Pennsylvania and Minnesota - and as far away as India and China.

“It’s a very simple message, and that is, a hundred days in detention is way too long, and Sarah, Shane and Josh need to be released immediately,” Mr. Fattal said.

The Sunday vigils, coordinated through the Web site www.freethehikers.org, were scheduled to be held in 10 U.S. states and eight countries.

HOMELAND SECURITY

Officials fear fake flu vaccine

Federal law enforcement and national security authorities are on alert for counterfeit doses of H1N1 vaccine and anti-viral medications that they expect to surface in the United States, particularly as shortages of both continue to grow.

Officials from the Department of Homeland Security said they have not yet found any hard evidence of illicit production or distribution of bogus vaccine or Tamiflu, according to testimony recently submitted to the House Committee on Homeland Security.

But the officials told the panel they aren’t just waiting around. Instead, they have “proactively initiated undercover activity” to find anyone trying to peddle fake or uninspected vaccines or pharmaceuticals, particularly on the Internet, according to Government Security News, a trade publication that broke the story.

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

Lawmakers see decline in wealth

An analysis of recent financial-disclosure reports filed by lawmakers shows that the median wealth of members of Congress dropped by nearly 5 percent when compared with the prior year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group.

U.S. senators had a median reportable worth of $1.79 million for 2008, compared to $2.27 million in 2007.

In the House, the median income last year was $622,200, down from $724,200 in 2007.

The hardest hit were Sens. John McCain, Arizona Republican; John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat; Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat; and Mark Warner, Virginia Democrat. All suffered double-digit percentage declines.

SCIENCE

Dying languages worry linguists

Linguists supported by the National Science Foundation will meet at the University of Utah this week, hoping to lay the groundwork for an international online catalogue of endangered and dying languages.

Native tongues have long gone extinct - perhaps half of all existing languages in the last 500 years. But specialists say the march of civilization and globalization - and communication systems - puts nearly 90 percent of the world’s approximately 7,000 languages at risk.

From wire dispatches and staff reports