Daily News Channel
About 80 boys and 20 staffers in an orphanage were trapped during intense fighting between the Pakistani military and the Taliban Wednesday, the orphanage director said. The children trapped in the four-story building in the town of Mingora in Pakistan’s Swat Valley felt as if they were under siege because the fighting was so close, said Muhammad Ali, director of the orphanage. Staff members said they only had enough food to last two more days.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown reiterated the UK’s commitment to the war in Afghanistan during a surprise visit to the country and warned that a "crucible of terrorism" existed in the Taliban-dominated border region with Pakistan. Brown held talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul on Monday after earlier visiting British troops fighting as part of the NATO-led international coalition in Helmand province. Brown said the UK’s 8,300-strong troop deployment would be temporarily raised to 9,000 during Afghan elections due to be held in August.