World Briefs

PARIS – French authorities deployed 10,000 clean-up and recovery workers and Spain let evacuated villagers return home Sunday a day after deadly storms pounded southwest France and northeast Spain.

Authorities in Spain reported at least 12 deaths linked to the storm, including four children crushed as a sports facility buckled in high winds in Barcelona. In France, at least six people died — including a couple who died of carbon-monoxide poisoning from a generator they had turned on overnight in a power outage in the Dordogne region, officials said.

Chainsaws buzzed and clearing crews fanned out on both sides of the French-Spanish border as workers cut through felled trees on homes, power lines, rail tracks and roadways and took away debris Sunday.

KABUL, Afghanistan – President Hamid Karzai condemned a U.S. operation he said killed 16 Afghan civilians, while hundreds of villagers denounced the American military during an angry demonstration Sunday. Karzai said the killing of innocent Afghans during U.S. military operations "is strengthening the terrorists."

He also announced that his Ministry of Defense sent Washington and NATO headquarters a draft technical agreement that seeks to give Afghanistan more oversight over U.S. military operations.

Karzai in recent weeks has increasingly lashed out at his Western backers over the issue of civilian casualties, even as U.S. politicians criticized Karzai for the slow pace of progress here.

The back-and-forth comes as the new administration of President Barack Obama must decide whether to support Karzai as he seeks re-election later this year.

JERUSALEM – Special legal teams will defend Israeli soldiers against potential war crimes charges stemming from civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip, the prime minister said Sunday, promising the country would "fully back" those who fought in the three-week offensive.

The move reflected growing concerns by Israel that officers could be subject to international prosecution, despite the army's claims that Hamas militants caused the civilian casualties by staging attacks from residential areas.

"The state of Israel will fully back those who acted on its behalf," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said.

"The soldiers and commanders who were sent on missions in Gaza must know that they are safe from various tribunals,” the Prime Minister added.

Speaking at the weekly meeting of his Cabinet, Olmert said Israel's justice minister would lead a team of senior officials to coordinate the legal defense of anyone involved in the offensive, in the case of war crimes charges.