KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s foreign minister on Sunday declined to confirm a report that said the government was in contact with Taliban insurgents to negotiate an end to the conflict.

Hopes of a Mid-East peace deal before the end of the Bush administration appear to have been quietly put aside by certain parties involved in the process.

Today is crunch day for Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko as far as his reputation in the West is concerned. His country is electing a new parliament.