Afghans had talks with Taliban leader

Afghans had talks with Taliban leader

KABUL

Afghan officials say the Afghan government was having secret talks with the Taliban’s No. 2 when he was captured last month in Pakistan.

A close aide to President Hamid Karzai says the arrest infuriated the Afghan leader. It also raised the question of whether the United States is willing to back peace discussions with top Taliban leaders who harbored the al-Qaida terrorists behind the Sept. 11 attacks.

Karzai’s aide says the president “was very angry” when he heard that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was picked up by the Pakistanis with an assist from U.S. intelligence.

The confidante, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of his remarks’ sensitive nature, says Baradar had also “given a green light” to participating in a three-day peace assembly that Karzai is hosting next month.

US wants Israel to stop building plan

JERUSALEM

The Obama administration is demanding that Israel call off a contentious building project in east Jerusalem and make a public gesture toward the Palestinians to help defuse one of the worst U.S.-Israeli feuds in memory, officials on both sides said Monday.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed little sign of yielding, saying Jewish construction in east Jerusalem “in no way” hurts Palestinians. A Jerusalem city spokesman suggested Jewish building there would continue.

FCC unveiling broadband plan

WASHINGTON

Communications regulators are unveiling a sweeping proposal to overhaul U.S. broadband policy. Their aim: to bring affordable, high-speed Internet connections to all Americans and make access much faster for people who already have broadband.

Yet it’s not certain the Federal Communications Commission can find the funding, corporate support and legal clearance to carry out the entire vision of the plan.

Already, broadcasters oppose one key element of the proposal, which calls for reclaiming some airwaves now in the hands of TV stations and instead selling those frequencies to companies that deliver wireless Internet access.

hEdwards’ former mistress speaks out

RALEIGH, N.C

The mistress of former presidential candidate John Edwards says she is helping him live “a life of truth” and the two remain in love even after their affair helped trigger his downfall from the pinnacle of U.S. politics.

“Everyone talks about how Johnny has fallen from grace,” Rielle Hunter, above, told GQ magazine in an interview released Monday. “In reality, he’s fallen to grace.”

In her first public comments since she became known as Edwards’ other woman in 2008, Hunter didn’t provide any details of their status but said Edwards is a great father who wants to be there full-time for their daughter, now 2.

“I know he loves me. I have never had any doubt at all about that,” Hunter said. “We love each other very much. And that hasn’t changed, and I believe that will be till death do us part.”

Associated Press