Briefly

AFGHANISTAN

Bomb kills 2 U.S. troops

KABUL | A bomb attack killed two U.S. service members in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, and Afghan officials said at least 18 militants died in a recent operation in the same region.

A spokesman for U.S. forces, Col. Wayne Shanks, confirmed that the dead were Americans but declined to provide further details until family members were notified.

Thousands of U.S., NATO and Afghan forces have poured into southern Afghanistan in recent months to try to rout Taliban from areas long ruled more by the militants than by the government of President Hamid Karzai.

ISRAEL

North Korea shipping WMDs to Syria: official

JERUSALEM | Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Tuesday accused North Korea of supplying Syria with weapons of mass destruction.

Mr. Lieberman’s office quoted him as telling Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama at a meeting in Tokyo that such activity threatened to destabilize East Asia as well as the Middle East.

“The cooperation between Syria and North Korea is not focused on economic development and growth but rather on weapons of mass destruction,” Mr. Lieberman said.

In evidence he cited the December seizure at Bangkok airport of an illicit North Korean arms shipment that U.S. intelligence said was bound for an unnamed Middle Eastern country.

PAKISTAN

Pakistani, Indian officials to meet for talks

ISLAMABAD | The foreign ministers of Pakistan and India will meet in Islamabad for talks this summer as the nuclear-armed rivals try to resume a formal peace dialogue derailed by the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi made the announcement Tuesday after a telephone call to his Indian counterpart. He said the discussions on July 15 would touch on the whole range of issues between the neighbors, which have fought three wars in since both gained independence from Britain, but he warned against expecting “miracles overnight.”

Last month, the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers met in Bhutan on the sidelines of a regional summit and agreed on the need to normalize relations, which have been dogged by more than six decades of hostility since independence.

EGYPT

Emergency law extended despite protests

CAIRO | Egypt’s government on Tuesday extended the country’s controversial emergency law for another two years, saying it would limit its use, a promise dismissed by human rights activists, who warned the law would continue to be used to suppress dissent.

The emergency law, in place since the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat by Islamic militants, gives police broad powers of arrest and allows indefinite detention without charge.

Democracy advocates and human rights groups have long said the law is used to silence critics and ensure the ruling party’s lock on power in this top Mideast ally of the United States, pointing to the arrest of bloggers, political activists and others.

More than 100 opposition lawmakers and activists protested Tuesday outside parliament, demanding that lawmakers reject any extension of the law.

AFGHANISTAN

Government dissolves groups for misconduct

KABUL | Facing international pressure to wipe out corruption, Afghanistan’s government said Tuesday it had dissolved 152 Afghan and 20 international aid organizations, some for misconduct.

The economy ministry said licenses for the nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) were canceled for three reasons — some at their own request, some because they were unable to secure funds and some for unspecified “misconduct.”

The Filtration and Dissolution Commission, headed by economic minister Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal, was set up by President Hamid Karzai to assess the conduct of almost 1,500 aid organizations operating in Afghanistan.

IRAN

Brazil, Turkey offer new nuclear proposal

TEHRAN | Iran said Tuesday that Brazil and Turkey have offered a promising new proposal for a nuclear fuel deal as Tehran steps up a diplomatic push to stave off new U.N. sanctions over its disputed nuclear program.

Tehran has made a series of counteroffers after rejecting a U.N.-backed plan that offered nuclear fuel rods for a reactor in exchange for Iran’s stock of lower-level enriched uranium. But they appear to fall short of Western demands aimed at ensuring Tehran is unable to produce nuclear weapons.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, said during a weekly news briefing that the latest talks with Turkey and Brazil have produced “a new formula that could pave the ground for understanding.”

He didn’t elaborate but said Iran has not accepted any proposal for sending its low-enriched uranium abroad yet.

The Brazilian and Turkish presidents will travel to Iran next week following recent visits by their foreign ministers, Mr. Mehmanparast said.

IRAQ

U.N.: More squatters living in camps

BAGHDAD | The number of Iraqis who have fled their homes and are reduced to living in squatter camps has increased by 25 percent in the past year, a senior U.N. diplomat told Agence France Presse on Tuesday.

Daniel Endres, Iraq representative for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said the total number of internally displaced persons (IDP) in Iraq officially remained at 1.5 million.

However, he added that the number in squatter camps had increased from an estimate of around 400,000 a year ago. Of the half million IDPs living in camps, an estimated 260,000 are in Baghdad.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Emirates to add Baghdad route

DUBAI | Emirates says it will begin flights to Baghdad in July; it’s the latest carrier to add routes to Iraq as the nation struggles to recover from war.

Emirates says Baghdad will be among six new routes by the Dubai-based airline this year.

Tuesday’s statement by Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum says the decision to add Baghdad flights was made because of signs that Iraq is stabilizing more than seven years after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

The flights also are a possible sign of increased Arab investment in Iraq’s oil and commercial sectors.

Earlier this month, FlyDubai and Qatar Airways said they are considering adding routes to Iraq. In April, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways began Baghdad service.

• From wire dispatches and staff reports