■CANADA
No change in Afghanistan
Incoming chief of defense General Walt Natynczyk said on Friday that there would be no change in troop strategy in Afghanistan, where Canadian soldiers clash frequently with the Taliban. “We’ve got a great strategy that’s happening right now,” said Natynczyk, who takes office next month. “The amount of progress that we have made from the past three years, two-and-a-half years, actually, is remarkable.” Critics say Canada’s 2,500-strong mission spends too much time fighting the Taliban and not enough helping rebuild the country. So far, 84 Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan.
■VENEZUELA
Group urges envoy’s recall
The Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading anti-Semitism watchdog, wants Venezuelan Ambassador to Russia Alexis Navarro recalled for making anti-Semitic comments. Navarro was quoted by the daily Moscow News on May 15 as saying that a failed 2002 coup that briefly ousted President Hugo Chavez involved Israeli Mossad intelligence snipers who were “Venezuelan citizens, but Jews.”
RSS