NATO has admitted responsibility for killing 12 Afghan civilians during a major offensive against the Taliban in southern Helmand province. Officials with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization say the civilians were killed when two rockets fired at rebels missed their target in the Nad Ali area. General Stanley McChrystal is the commander of American and coalition forces in Afghanistan. He has expressed regret to Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Mr Karzai has ordered an investigation. The military operation began early Saturday as 15,000 NATO troops pressed into a Taliban-controlled area. The operation is aimed at the farming area of Marjah in Helmand province. Afghan officials say at least 27 rebels have been killed during the fighting.
American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged Iran to change what she called its "dangerous nuclear policy." She spoke Sunday to the United States Islamic Word Forum in Qatar's capital Doha. Secretary Clinton said the Obama administration wants a peaceful answer to the nuclear dispute with Iran. But she said it will not hold discussions with the Iranians while they are, in her words, building their bomb. She said Iran leaves foreign governments little choice but to declare greater costs for its offensive steps. Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani also spoke at the meeting. He said Arab nations share American concerns about Iran's nuclear program. He called for more direct talks between the United States and Iran.
American Vice President Joe Biden says former Vice President Dick Cheney is either misinformed or is misinforming the public in his criticism of the Obama administration's promise to fight terrorism. Mr Biden made the comments on television Sunday. Mr Cheney spoke on a separate television program. He defended his opinion on national security. He said he sees no reason to remain silent on matters of national security now that he is no longer vice president. Mr Cheney has been a leading Republican critic of the Obama administration's management of national security. He has said President Obama is pretending the United States is not at war with terrorists. And he says as a result, Americans are less safe.
In Ukraine, the Central Election Commission has officially declared opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich the winner of the presidential election. The chief of the election agency announced the ruling Sunday in the capital Kiev. The official results show Mr Yanukovich defeating Yulia Tymoshenko by less than 3 percent of the vote. Election officials say they will refuse to hear Ms Tymoshenko's appeal of the results. She says it is not a political matter but a legal one. In a television appeal Saturday, Ms Tymoshenko said she could prove election cheating. Her charges came despite a statement by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that the election in Ukraine was free and fair. World leaders have recognized the election results.
Tens of thousands of Lebanese gathered in Beirut Sunday to mark the fifth anniversary of the murder of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. He was killed in a bomb attack in 2005. Twenty-two others also died in the attack. United Nations investigators have accused Syria of plotting the attack. Syria has denied the accusation. The gathering Sunday comes two months after current Lebanese Prime Minster Saad Hariri met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Mr Hariri is the son of the murdered prime minister. He says he hopes to build strong relations with the Syrian government. Saad Hariri spoke to the crowd in Beirut Sunday. He defended his recent position toward Syria. And he told them they are the heart of the movement that began following the death of his father.
Pakistani officials say a United States missile strike in the northwest tribal area has killed five people. Officials say two missiles hit a building Sunday in North Waziristan. Officials say the identity of the people killed in the strike is not yet known. The United States has increased such attacks in the area since a bomber killed seven CIA employees late last year in Afghanistan.
Indian officials are investigating a bombing that killed nine people and wounded many others late Saturday in the western city of Pune. The explosion took place in a bakery popular among travelers. India's home minister described the bomb attack at the German Bakery as a terrorist incident. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack is the deadliest since the 2008 Mumbai attacks blamed on Pakistani militants. Opposition Hindu Nationalist leaders said Sunday the attack in Pune brings into question the Indian government's decision to restart talks with Pakistan. In sports news, the Winter Olympics Sunday will include five award events including the men's luge sledding competition. The men's sledding event comes just two days after a young Georgian athlete was killed while training for the event. Organizers have made changes to the track to make it safer. Nodar Kumaritashvili died after losing control of his sled while practicing on Friday. Bad weather has forced delays in the men's and women's skiing competition. A combination of rain and snow has damaged the ski race area. The first gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics was awarded to ski jumper Simon Ammann of Switzerland.
