Rice seeks to heal rift between allies
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought Tuesday to heal a rift between Pakistan and Afghanistan, two Muslim allies of the United States, but tensions spilled over during a news conference in which Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri angrily accused the Afghan government of making false charges.
Rice smiled tightly during Kasuri’s five-minute emotional outburst, which was prompted by a question about Afghan claims that Pakistan is allowing its largely lawless border areas to shelter insurgents who are mounting their biggest offensive in Afghanistan since the Taliban was ousted in 2001.
With close to 10,000 international troops conducting sweeps in rugged southern Afghanistan, Rice’s trip here was organized on short notice in an effort to end feuding that many analysts say is undermining efforts to stabilize the government of President Hamid Karzai.
Rice plans to fly today to Kabul to meet with Karzai, who is facing mounting international criticism over his performance.
Hanoi, Vietnam
Reformers named to leadership posts
Three decades after the communist north reunited the country with its victory in the Vietnam War, reformers from the business-oriented south were named prime minister and president Tuesday.
Nguyen Tan Dung, 56, became Vietnam’s youngest prime minister since reunification in 1975. He had long been groomed for the job, building a record of fostering growth in recent years while having responsibility for the economy as deputy prime minister.
The lawmaking National Assembly also endorsed the nominee for president, Nguyen Minh Triet, 63, the Communist Party chief for Ho Chi Minh City who is known for his tough stance against corruption.
London
Lesser role posed for U.S. Anglicans
The leader of the world’s feuding Anglicans suggested Tuesday that the divided fellowship of churches could stay together under a system in which members with nontraditional views on issues like gay clergy accepted a lesser role in the group.
“Some actions – and sacramental actions in particular – just do have the effect of putting a church outside or even across the central stream of the life they have shared with other churches,” Archbishop Rowan Williams wrote to the Anglican Communion’s 38 leaders, called primates.
His proposal could eventually compel the U.S. Episcopal Church and other Anglican provinces to decide whether they should maintain full membership in the Anglican Communion by adhering to the views of a majority of its leaders, or to accept a lower-level status.
Most Anglican leaders believe gay relationships violate Scripture, though that’s the minority opinion in the American church.