World - McClatchy Newspapers

BAGHDAD — Iraqi lawmakers reached a minutes-to-midnight deal late Sunday, clearing a path to national elections early next year that are seen as crucial to a smooth U.S. troop withdrawal. Full Story »

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — The new NATO offensive in Helmand Province marked not only the largest assault yet for the VM-22 Osprey, but also the combat debut of the Marines' massive new combat mine and bomb-clearing machine, the Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV), said a Marine Corps spokesman in Helmand. Full Story »

CAMP LEATHERNECK, AFGHANISTAN — When a couple of VM-22 Osprey tilt rotors joined a fleet of CH-53 helicopters, dropping out of the predawn darkness Friday in the northern end of the Now Zad valley in Helmand Province to deliver the first of more than 1,000 NATO and Afghan troops, it marked not only the first large assault since President Obama's announcement that the U.S. would be sending more troops here, it also was the first major combat operation for the Osprey. Full Story »

WASHINGTON — Negotiators in Copenhagen will try to nail down all the main elements of a treaty to curb global warming in the next two weeks, but a final agreement won't be possible until the United States figures out what it will do to reduce emissions of heat-trapping pollution. Full Story »

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — Islamic extremists killed at least 36 people Friday, including senior army officers and their children, as they gathered for prayers at a mosque for soldiers in Rawalpindi, the home of Pakistan's military headquarters. Full Story »

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is giving different explanations of its July 2011 deadline for the start of an Afghanistan troop withdrawal, assuring foreign officials that it applies only to the 30,000 to 35,000 additional U.S. troops that President Barack Obama is sending next year, but suggesting to Congress that it covers all U.S. forces. Full Story »

WASHINGTON — The White House and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton upped the pressure Thursday on Iran to divulge any information it has about Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent who went missing from a Persian Gulf island in March 2007. Full Story »

WASHINGTON — At the very moment when President Barack Obama is looking to thrust the U.S. ever more into global affairs, from Afghanistan to climate change, the American public is turning more isolationist and unilateralist than it has at any time in decades, according to a new poll released Thursday. Full Story »

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghans and Pakistanis Wednesday greeted President Barack Obama's plan to send 30,000-35,000 additional troops to Afghanistan with limited enthusiasm, skepticism that the U.S. has enough staying power to defeat the Taliban-led insurgency and even suspicion that the rapid surge will be followed by a speedy exit. Full Story »

WASHINGTON — As Pakistan's military fights escalating battles with Islamic extremists and with the country's civilian government, the country's journalists, especially those who are critical of the military, are increasingly caught in the crossfire. Full Story »