Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces killed dozens of Taliban fighters in the south of the country after an ambush by a large group of insurgents, the U.S. military said on Wednesday.

Exiled former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif said on Wednesday he was ready to work with another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, against the military rule of President Pervez Musharraf.

Georgia has severely damaged its chances of winning a promise of NATO membership at a summit next April with a crackdown on protests that has shocked even its supporters in the West, diplomats said on Wednesday.