Missile deal with US is approved

WARSAW - The government gave formal approval to a missile defense agreement with the United States yesterday before a visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Cabinet signed off on the deal for Poland to host 10 missile interceptors. The deal still needs parliamentary and presidential approval, but those steps are considered formalities because the plan was widely supported. (AP)

MOSCOW - Russia will sign a deal later this year to create a joint air defense system with Belarus, a former Soviet ally that has joined Moscow in opposing the US missile shield in Europe, the Kremlin said yesterday. The announcement followed a meeting between President Dmitry Medvedev and Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko. Russia has said it may station an antimissile systems in Belarus to counter the US shield. (Reuters)

JERUSALEM - A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed in southern Israel yesterday, prompting the Jewish state to order border crossings with the Hamas-ruled enclave closed temporarily. An Israeli army spokesman said the rocket landed in an open field near the border with the Gaza Strip. It caused no injuries or damage. (Reuters)

The UN Security Council yesterday authorized an African Union force in Somalia for another six months. The unanimous resolution also asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to work with the AU to strengthen UN logistical, political, and technical support for the mission. More than 8,000 civilians have been killed and 1 million uprooted in fighting since early last year between government forces and against Islamist rebels. (Reuters)

ISTANBUL - President Abdullah Gul met yesterday with Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir and urged him to end the suffering in the devastated Darfur region. Bashir is in Turkey attending a summit of African leaders. It is his first trip abroad since the International Criminal Court indicted him in July on charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity for unleashing militia groups on ethnic groups in Darfur. (AP)

VERACRUZ - Mexican soldiers have rescued 25 Central Americans kidnapped in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz. The army raided a house in Tierra Blanca and arrested one man yesterday. It is searching for five other suspects. Migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador told police they were kidnapped after arriving at Tierra Blanca's train station en route to the United States. The assailants demanded that each pay $500. (AP)