World Briefs

Yukiya Amano

NAWA, AFGHANISTAN – U. S. Marines hiked through searing heat and took fire from small pockets of militants Thursday after landing in this Taliban-controlled southern region of tree-lined fields, mud homes and crisscrossing waterways in the first major operation under President Barack Obama's strategy to stabilize Afghanistan.

The southern offensive was launched shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday (4:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday, 2030 GMT), as thousands of Marines poured from helicopters and armored vehicles into Taliban-controlled villages along roughly 20 miles of the Helmand River in Helmand province, the world's largest opium poppy-producing area. The goal is to clear insurgents from the hotly contested region before the nation's Aug. 20 presidential election.

VIENNA – Veteran Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano won the contest on Thursday to head the International Atomic Energy Agency, giving him a pivotal role in dealing with Iran's nuclear ambitions. Tokyo's current envoy to the UN nuclear watchdog was chosen after six rounds of voting when he scraped together the requisite two-thirds majority with backing of 23 of the 35 board members. Eleven voted against and one abstained.

Speaking to reporters after the vote, Amano said he was determined to prevent nuclear proliferation and saw a unified approach among IAEA members as crucial to achieving that goal.

Iran is defying the UN Security Council and amassing low-enriched uranium which the United States and its allies fear could play a crucial role in building a nuclear weapon.

OTTAWA – Canada has forgiven $1.9 million in debt owed by Haiti as part of a plan that aims to relieve the world's poorest countries of $1.1 billion in debt, the Department of Finance said on Thursday. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty made the announcement while attending meetings in Chile of the Inter-American Development Bank governors and finance ministers of the America.

RICHMOND, Va. – Philip Morris International, maker of Marlboro and other cigarettes for sale overseas, has agreed to buy a Swedish company's South African snuff and pipe tobacco operations for 1.75 billion South African rand, or roughly $222 million.

Philip Morris estimated that Swedish Match South Africa Ltd.'s pipe tobacco and snuff products account for about 31 percent of total tobacco consumption in South Africa. The brands involved in the deal, include Boxer, Best Blend and Taxi.

Publicidad