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U.S. Army Spc. Charles Parno (left), Sgt. Gabriel Meza (center) and Pfc. Brian Marcey stand in formation after receiving their Purple Hearts from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen during a ceremony at Forward Operating Base Wilson in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Dec.16, 2010. Mullen and his wife Deborah are hosting a USO holiday tour in the country.

The Afghanistan war strategy review released December 16 hews to President Barack Obama's pledge of last year and aims to begin "a responsible" drawdown of U.S. troops from the country in July 2011. However, a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan hinges on convincing the Taliban that the United States is not planning to pull out the bulk of is troops next year, says CFR's Stephen Biddle. Biddle notes that because of Obama's pledge last year, many in the region became convinced the United States was ready to go home. "Once the Taliban decides that the 2011 date doesn't mean that the Americans will pack their suitcases and go home, it isn't going to lead them to run up the white flag and surrender," says Biddle, "but it very well may lead them to say, 'Well, let's see what they have to offer us, and let's talk about some kind of a deal.' That, I think, is a road to a settlement." Biddle says the only possible sustainable deal in Afghanistan is one that would be hammered out with the Afghan, U.S., and Pakistani governments, and elements of the Taliban.

MINUSTAH peacekeepers carry containers of water into the town of Grande Saline, Haiti

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefs journalists at end-of-year press conference

On patrol… UN peacekeepers in Abyei

The U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force in Pensacola arrested a man wanted from Dallas County, AL on charges of Kidnapping in the 1st Degree. James Frank Carter was arrested at a house on the 1400 Block of Dexter Avenue in Pensacola around 10:30 this morning. Carter, 51, is charged with one count of kidnapping on the warrant that dates back to April of 2007. The U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Fugitive Task Force in Mobile first requested assistance from the Pensacola Task Force in August of this summer but leads went stale. However both Task Forces kept their investigations open and then a few weeks ago Carter popped back up on the radar in Pensacola. Since then the Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force has been conducting hours of surveillance until this morning when it finally paid off.

At least seven small towns and villages near Afmadow have been abandoned , in the past three weeks due to drought and food shortages

Opium poppy cultivation surged in South-East Asia by 22 per cent in 2010, apparently due to the global economic crisis, with potential production value rising dramatically to $219 million, a $100 million increase over 2009.

The heavy snowfall that recently immobilised cities in Europe is an indication that the world may be ill prepared to cope with unpredictable climate patterns, a senior United Nations said today, calling for greater efforts to improve readiness to respond to extreme weather events.