NATO, UN officials back troop boost in Afghanistan

NATO, UN officials back troop boost in Afghanistan

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Top NATO and United Nations officials signaled Friday they may request more international troops to join American forces in Afghanistan as the top U.S. defense official said President Barack Obama is still weeks away from deciding on a shift in war strategy.

At a Friday meeting of 28 NATO defense ministers, Pentagon chief Robert Gates said allies indicated a willingness to boost military and civilian aid — even as Obama remains undecided over whether to escalate U.S. troop strength to counter Afghan insurgents.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen cited “broad support” from defense ministers to stick with a war strategy devised by American commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal that calls for tens of thousands more combat troops — including as many as 80,000 Americans.

Hawaii school protest

HONOLULU — Hundreds of angry parents protested Hawaii’s statewide public-school shutdown Friday, saying their children are losing out on education because of government budget cuts.

Hawaii closed 256 public schools Friday, the first of 17 teacher- furlough days planned for this school year, giving the island state the shortest school year in the nation at 163 days. Most states have 180 school days.

While the parents waved signs and passed petitions at the state Capitol rally, their children wrote postcards to lawmakers and drew posters at arts-and-crafts tables.

The protesters formed a sea of yellow shirts with the message, “My Child Left Behind,” a play on the federal No Child Left Behind initiative.

‘Baby Einstein’ refunds

LOS ANGELES — The Walt Disney Co. is expanding a refund program for its “Baby Einstein” videos for toddlers in response to challenges about the legitimacy of its educational claims.

The company upgraded a customer-satisfaction program beginning last month by explicitly offering cash refunds on any DVDs bought from June 5, 2004, to Sept. 4.

Buyers also can exchange DVDs for a “Baby Einstein” book or music CD or receive 25 percent off a “Little Einstein” product. The offer expires March 4.

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, a Boston-based advocacy group, claimed “victory” Friday in its years-long battle to protect consumers from falsely believing the videos could, for example, teach words to babies younger than 2 years old.

Puerto Rico capital rocked by fuel-storage site blast

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — An explosion at a fuel-storage site sent earthquake-force shock waves across Puerto Rico’s capital Friday and set more than a dozen tanks on fire, sending up a tower of inky smoke that forced airliners to alter flight paths.

Seemingly miraculously, no one was reported killed by the blast at Caribbean Petroleum Corp. in the suburb of Bayamon. The cause was unknown.

The explosion at 12:30 a.m. was equal to a 2.8-magnitude earthquake, according to the Puerto Rico Seismic Network.

Gov. Luis Fortuno declared a state of emergency for five municipalities to receive federal funds for affected areas. Up to 1,500 people were evacuated from one neighborhood because of concerns over smoke contamination, he said.

NJ priest found slain

CHATHAM, N.J. — A Roman Catholic priest was found slain Friday morning in his clerical robes in the rectory of his northern New Jersey parish, and authorities warned that a killer was on the loose.

Preliminary autopsy results confirmed that the Rev. Ed Hinds was a homicide victim, said Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi. No one has been arrested, and authorities said they would not discuss possible motives.

Hinds, dressed in vestments, was found around 8 a.m. Friday in the kitchen of the rectory attached to St. Patrick’s Church in the affluent community of Chatham, west of Newark.

Pakistan suicide bombing

ISLAMABAD — A suicide bomber on a bicycle attacked a major Pakistani air base Friday, killing seven people in an escalating campaign that strikes at the heart of this nuclear-armed nation’s security forces.

The strike was one of three bombings in northwest Pakistan that killed 24 people and wounded at least 28 as the army pushed a seven-day offensive deeper into al-Qaida and Taliban territory close to the Afghan border.

About 200 people have been killed this month in a string of militant attacks on military, police and civilian targets nationwide.

Associated Press