NATO to reduce use of airstrikes

KABUL - After a spate of US-led airstrikes that resulted in more than 100 civilian deaths, NATO officials have ordered commanders to try to lessen their reliance on air power in battles with insurgents, NATO and Afghan officials said yesterday. Brigadier General Richard Blanchette, NATO's chief spokesman in Afghanistan, said commanders are now to consider a "tactical withdrawal" when faced with the choice of calling in air support during clashes in areas where civilians are believed to be present. The goal of the order is to minimize civilian casualties and encourage better coordination with Afghan troops, Blanchette said. (Washington Post)

BAKU - The president of oil-rich Azerbaijan headed for reelection yesterday with the opposition boycotting the vote and accusing the West of ignoring Azerbaijan's democratic shortfalls while seeking its energy riches. Six candidates were running against President Ilham Aliyev, although none was considered a true challenge. An exit poll pointed to an overwhelming victory for Aliyev, showing him receiving 80.5 percent of the vote. (AP)

TORONTO - Canadians shunned the polls during their general election with the lowest voter turnout on record, even as a global financial crisis threatened to plunge the nation's economy into recession. Some 59.1 percent of eligible Canadian voters went to the polls Tuesday, breaking the previous record low turnout of just under 61 percent in 2004, according to preliminary results from Elections Canada released yesterday. "There was either general apathy toward the candidates or a degree of voter fatigue as this was the third Canadian election since 2004," said Antonia Maioni, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. (Reuters)