Australia could bolster Afghanistan troop numbers

CANBERRA: Australia welcomed a U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan and could also send more soldiers, if European allies agreed to do the same, Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said Wednesday.

Fitzgibbon told Australian television he looked forward to discussing details of the plan to deploy an additional 17,000 U.S. troops to battle al-Qaida and Taliban insurgents with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates at a NATO forum in Krakow, Poland, this week. President Barack Obama’s administration has not yet requested a larger Australian contribution, but such a request would be considered, Fitzgibbon said.

source : jang.com.pk

US urges nations to battle global recession

WASHINGTON: The United States called for swift action to rescue the crisis-hit global economy as Japan and the European Union issued appeals Tuesday against protectionist measures.

US President Barack Obama warned lawmakers of a "catastrophe" if they do not quickly pass a massive 838-billion-dollar stimulus package stuttering its way through Congress.

As America's dire economic plight cast a dark shadow, South Korea predicted further job losses and a shrinking domestic economy, while activity continued to weaken in China, which sank further toward deflation.

Obama's comments came with the Treasury set to unveil a plan later Tuesday to boost financial confidence and restore credit flows. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner earlier called on other Group of Seven finance ministers to act "promptly to restore health to the global economy." Geithner and finance ministers from the G7 group of industrialised nations -- the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Canada -- are to meet Friday in Rome as governments redouble their efforts against a global recession.