BUCHAREST, Romania – President Bush suffered a painful diplomatic setback Wednesday when NATO allies rebuffed his passionate pleas to put former Soviet republics Ukraine and Georgia on the path toward membership in the Western military alliance.

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — At the heart of President Bush’s problem in getting NATO allies to send more combat troops to Afghanistan is a basic disconnect over the war: The Europeans don’t see it as one.

WASHINGTON — Iraq may dominate the headlines more often, but when leaders of 26 NATO nations gather in Bucharest, Romania, this week for their annual summit, the war in Afghanistan will be the hot topic.

The Taliban are very far from being defeated. Worse, western governments are in denial about the dangers of failingA normal week in Kabul recently went like this: one day unknown attackers dressed in military gear kidnapped a local businessman; 48 hours later a rocket landed in a deserted area; not …

KABUL (AFP) — A Danish soldier was killed and another wounded and three German troops were also hurt in attacks in Afghanistan blamed on insurgents linked to the Taliban movement, military officials said.

On a day when the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, said his country intended to strengthen its military presence in the NATO force in Afghanistan, a car bomb exploded at a crowded farmers’ market in southern Afghanistan, killing eight civilians and wounding 17, Afghan officials said.

LONDON (AFP) — President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday that France will boost its military presence in Afghanistan, a move welcomed by his allies in Britain and the United States.

KABUL: In one of the bloodiest attacks in months on a nongovernmental organization in Afghanistan, gunmen killed five members of a mine-clearing team and wounded seven more in a relatively peaceful northern province, officials said Monday.

 ANKARA, March 24 (Xinhua) — Turkish Chief of General Staff Yasar Buyukanit said Monday that sending Turkish troops to Afghanistan was not the policy of Turkish Armed Forces, but a state policy, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

PANJWAYI, Afghanistan (AFP) — Taliban attacks against the state and its symbols have left thousands dead in Afghanistan and are holding back plans to develop the country from the ruins of war, meaning much more international aid is spent on security than reconstruction.