U.S., Afghanistan agree on language for pact
WASHINGTON – Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that the U.S. and Afghanistan have agreed on the language of a bilateral security pact that could clear the way for thousands of U.S. troops to train and assist Afghan forces after the NATO combat mission ends in 2014.
The agreement is far from complete. The document now goes to the Loya Jirga, a 3,000-member council of elders who have the right to revise or reject any clause of the draft agreement. Whatever they agree upon then goes to the Afghan parliament, which could make still more changes before the agreement is approved.
On the U.S. side, only the Obama administration needs to approve the agreement, but it could reject the changes made by Afghan officials. If it does, that leaves open the option for the U.S. to pull all troops out of Afghanistan.
Kerry said the language, agreed to after about a year of tense on-again, off-again negotiations, will be reflected in the draft proposal presented Thursday to the Loya Jirga in Kabul.
Obama visits gravesite to remember JFK
WASHINGTON – Honoring the legacy of John F. Kennedy, President Barack Obama laid a wreath at the assassinated president’s gravesite as a nation remembers that terrible day in Dallas a half-century ago Friday. Obama also recognized a group of distinguished Americans – including Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey – with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, an award created by Kennedy.
Obama was joined at Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday by Clinton, and each president held hands with Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert F. Kennedy, as they climbed a flight of stairs to the burial site on a steep hillside overlooking the nation’s capital.
The day of tributes began at the White House, where Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 16 living and deceased Americans for their contributions in fields ranging from sports and entertainment to science and public service.
Bolivian workers to get extra holiday bonus
LA PAZ, Bolivia – President Evo Morales decreed Wednesday that an extra month’s wages should be paid as a special Christmas bonus to all salaried workers in Bolivia, at state agencies, in the military and police and in the private sector.
Bolivian law already requires that salaried workers get a month’s pay as a December bonus, so they will now get triple their pay for that month.
The leftist president said he made the surprise announcement because his government’s goal is to reduce poverty and more equally distribute the wealth in one of South America’s poorest nations.
“The economy is good and the country’s growth should return to the workers with a double Christmas bonus,” Morales said during a meeting with union leaders.
Bolivia’s Federation of Private Companies vehemently objected, calling the decree “politicking” in a statement that said it “bodes terrible for future investment.
Associated Press”
