- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British foreign secretary David Miliband made a surprise trip [1] to Afghanistan today. The visit comes amid efforts [2] to shore up NATO support for the current mission. In recent months a Taliban insurgency has grown. The US is set to deploy 3,200 additional troops this Spring and is looking toward Europe to help and send reinforcements as well. Rice said, “I do think the alliance is facing a test here. Populations have to understand that this is not just a peacekeeping fight.”
- Israel has launched a round of retaliation raids [3] in Gaza. Israeli forces, troops backed by tanks and planes, killed at least five members of Hamas today. The retaliation comes after Hamas claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Israel on Monday. The bombing was the first in Israel since 2004. The renewed violence threatens to derail the current attempt at peace negotiations.
- In a visit to Iraq today, actress Angelina Jolie, on a humanitarian mission, met with top officials [4] and demanded aid. Calling attention to those currently displaced by conflict, she said, "there are over two million displaced people and there never seems to be a real coherent plan to help them. There's lots of good will and lots of discussion but there seems to be a lot of talk at the moment and a lot of pieces that need to be put together." Angelina Jolie also met with top US commander, General David Petraeus, among others.