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| Pakistan reopens key Afghan border crossing to Nato convoys Fuel tankers roll as 11-day blockade is lifted after US apologises for air strike that killed two Pakistani soldiersPakistan reopened a key border crossing to Nato supply convoys heading into Afghanistan today, ending an 11-day blockade imposed after a US helicopter strike killed two Pakistani soldiers.The closing of the Torkham crossing to Nato vehicles stranded many fuel tankers at parking lots and on highways where they were vulnerable to almost-daily militant attacks, in which more than 150 trucks were destroyed and drivers and police were wounded.The reopening of the north-west crossing came four days after the US apologised for the 30 September helicopter attack, saying the pilots mistook the soldiers for insurgents being pursued across the border from Afghanistan."I am very happy that our difficult days have finally ended and we are through now," said driver Khan Rehman minutes before he drove the first truck into Afghanistan just after noon. "I am thankful to the government of Pakistan for ending our hardship."By early afternoon, around 10 vehicles had crossed into Afghanistan through Torkham and authorities were working to clear hundreds that had been stranded for days, said customs official Ataur Rehman."We have cleared a bunch of oil tankers and containers after customs formalities, and the first few vehicles have already crossed the border," said Rehman.Pakistan first announced it would reopen Torkham yesterday but did not specify when it would let the first trucks through.Pakistan is a key supply route for fuel, military vehicles, spare parts, clothing and other non-lethal supplies for foreign troops in landlocked Afghanistan – although Nato has reduced its reliance on the country by using central Asian routes to the north. Nato now ships about 40% of its non-lethal supplies through Pakistan, down from 80% at its peak.Nato said the Torkham closure did not affect supplies because hundreds of trucks still crossed into Afghanistan every day through central Asia, and a border crossing in south-west Pakistan remained open. But its reopening does reduce strain on the supply line."It's easier for us to come to grips with logistics and supplies when Torkham gate is open," German brigadier general Josef Blotz, a Nato spokesman, said in Kabul.The blockade raised already-high tensions between the US and Pakistan. Washington accuses Pakistan of being unwilling to pursue Afghan Taliban militants in its territory with whom it has strong historical ties and who generally focus their attacks on western troops rather than Pakistani targets.Nato has increased its forces in key border areas, said Blotz. A stronger force has also been put in place near Spin Boldak in Kandahar province, which borders Pakistan's Baluchistan province, he said.The US has also dramatically increased CIA drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal belt, including two today in North Waziristan that killed eight people – the ninth and 10th missile strikes this month.In the first attack, a drone fired two missiles at two cars in an Afghan refugee camp in the Spin Wam area, killing six people, said Pakistani intelligence officials.Minutes later, a drone killed two people near a riverbank just outside the refugee camp, the officials said.The identities of the people killed were not known, but the area where the strikes occurred is dominated by a militant group led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur that regularly attacks Nato troops in Afghanistan.In September, the US is believed to have launched at least 21 missile strikes, nearly double the previously monthly record.The US rarely acknowledges the covert missile strike programme, but officials have said privately that they have killed several senior Taliban and al-Qaida commanders. Pakistan officially opposes the programme, but is believed to secretly support it.PakistanAfghanistanNatoguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
U.S. Troops Find Noncombat Pretty Violent The majority of the action for U.S. troops stationed at Saddam Hussein's old Ministry of Defense complex has come after the Aug. 31 decree that brought U.S. combat operations to an official end feedproxy.google.com |
Central Bankers Clash Over Bond Buys The ECB refrained from purchasing government bonds last week for the first time since a controversial program aimed at shoring up shaky euro-zone countries such as Greece and Ireland began more than five months ago. online.wsj.com |
U.S. Seeks Wider Role for CIA The U.S. is pushing to expand a secret CIA effort to help Pakistan target militants in their havens near the Afghan border, as the White House seeks new ways to prod Islamabad into more aggressive action against groups allied with al Qaeda. online.wsj.com |
The view from a broad: skirts and the north-south divide; bride wars; and women against cuts Debenhams' important skirt-length research | The merry hell of Bridalplasty | Women fight back on cuts✤WikiLeaks, you say? Nope, passed us by. We were far too busy digesting the Very Important Study into Regional Skirt Length Variation, conducted by Debenhams. Apparently, women in northern England and Scotland wear the shortest skirts in the land – on average, 17cm shorter than their southern counterparts. And in spite of the perishing cold, women in the north are buying more miniskirts this winter – sales are up in Newcastle, Sheffield and Glasgow, while in the south women have been stocking up on hats, mittens and thermal underwear. Julian Assange could not be reached for comment.✤ Is Bridalplasty the most appalling reality series so far? Truly, we must be teetering on the abyss when our notion of entertainment is watching 12 brides-to-be holed up in a mansion competing for plastic surgery ahead of their big day. There'll be nose jobs, breast augmentations and a whole heap of lipo, as the women make a fevered attempt to be the "perfect bride". Whatever the merry hell that is. Bridalplasty is based in the US, so for the time being we have the entire Atlantic to cushion us against the horror – but it's surely only a matter of time before they start Stepfording the life out of us too.✤ This evening, Women Against Cuts will gather outside the Treasury in London to protest against the cuts brought in by June's emergency budget and the comprehensive spending review – the brunt of which will be borne by women. To re-cap: women will bear the weight of the majority of benefit cuts, from tax credits to housing benefits, while public sector job-losses will dramatically affect a largely female workforce. The budget is the subject of a formal assessment by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, while the Fawcett Society is seeking a judicial review, arguing that the government failed in its legal duty to promote women's equality. Find information on the demonstration at womenagainstthecuts.wordpress.com.WomenProtestDebenhamsLaura Bartonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |