John-Thor Dahlburg Posts

If Afghan leaders and the White House can't agree on a key security pact, the U.S.-led alliance will pull all of its troops and equipment out of Afghanistan by December, NATO's secretary general said Wednesday. On Tuesday, President Obama threatened to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 if the pact isn't signed. There are roughly 19,000 non-U.S. forces now in Afghanistan, along with 33,000 Americans.

Belgium, one of the very few countries where euthanasia is legal, is expected to take the unprecedented step this week of abolishing age restrictions on who can ask to be put to death — extending the right to children for the first time.

Corruption affects all member countries of the European Union and costs the bloc's economies around 120 billion euros ($162.19 billion) a year, an official EU report published Monday said. European Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said the estimated amount lost annually due to padded government contracts, covert political financing, bribes to secure health care and other corrupt practices would be enough to fund the European Union's yearly operating budget.