■ Afghanistan
Taliban ambush goes awry
Four suspected Taliban insurgents were killed after they attacked a unit of Afghan commandos in southeastern Zabul province, a senior official said yesterday. Another six Taliban suspects were captured and an Afghan soldier was injured in the attack Wednesday, General Abdul Wasay told reporters. The Afghan commandos were carrying out an operation in a northern district of Zabul, some 300km south of Kabul, when they were ambushed by suspected Taliban guerrillas, Wasay said. "Our commandos were ambushed by Taliban in Arghandab district of Zabul province," he said. "Fortunately we didn't have anyone killed but instead four Taliban were killed in their own ambush."
■ Iraq
Insurgency `may never end'
American commanders will risk launching high-profile military actions at targets in Iraq even if they go directly against the wishes of the new Iraqi government, a senior US general said Wednesday. Lieutenant General Thomas Metz, the second most senior American officer in Iraq and the force's tactical operations commander, said the US military was prepared to risk provoking "friction" with the new government in strikes against "professional terrorists." He acknowledged that the Iraqi security forces, still under-equipped and undertrained 15 months after the war, were a long way from taking charge of policing their country. It would be autumn before they would be able to provide security in most areas of Iraq. He acknowledged that the violent insurgency was never likely to end, although he believed Iraqis would eventually be able to fight it alone.
■ United States
Whitehouse to focus on porn
The Whitehouse.com pornography Web site, which poked fun at its government namesake with parody sections about first ladies and interns, has been stripped of all political references. Its owner, Dan Parisi of New York, agreed to the changes to comply with a recent ruling by the US Patent and Trademark Office granting his Web site a potential trademark for "Whitehouse" -- but only if he took steps to make sure visitors to his pornography site don't believe it was associated with the president's site.
■ Iran
Uranium bill on the table
Iran's new conservative parliament is considering a bill that would force the Islamic regime to resume uranium enrichment, a senior deputy said yesterday. The bill would scrap a deal signed here last October with Britain, France and Germany under which Iran agreed to make several "confidence-building" gestures to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). After being slapped with criticism from the IAEA last month, Iran has already announced it will resume making centrifuges, sparking fresh alarm at the IAEA. Some conservative MPs have gone as far as calling for a pull-out from the nuclear NPT.
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