Afghan Issues Vex Allies

An international conference in London will yield some near-term steps toward bolstering Afghanistan's ability to police itself. The U.S. said that it will support a plan to reintegrate Taliban fighters.

Nations Link Yemen Aid to Overhaul

London Meeting Ties Financial and Security Assistance to IMF Program, while U.S. Expands Military Help in al Qaeda Fight

• WSJ.com/Mideast: News, video, graphics

Pig Heads Found at Malaysia Mosques

Malaysia's religious and racial conflicts appeared set to worsen after worshippers found the severed heads of wild boars at two mosques amid a dispute over the use of the word "Allah" by Christians.

U.S. to Outline New Iran Sanctions

The Obama administration will introduce a paper to the permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany outlining Iranian individuals and firms to be targeted in a new sanctions regime.

Sri Lanka Re-Elects President

President Rajapaksa was re-elected in the first vote after a quarter-century of civil strife, but retired army chief Gen. Sarath Fonseka, holed up in a Colombo hotel, refused to concede.

• Earlier: Divided Sri Lanka Votes for President
• Photos: A Vote for Sri Lanka

Turkey-Armenia Pact Hits Snags

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev added to concerns about the ratification of a pact between Turkey and Armenia to open their border and establish diplomatic relations after generations of dispute over genocide allegations and territory.

• Timeline: Turkey-Armenia Relations

More Special Forces Going to Yemen

The Pentagon is assigning more special forces personnel to Yemen as part of a broad push to speed the training of the country's counterterror forces in the wake of the failed Christmas Day attack.

North, South Korea Exchange Shots

North Korea fired artillery shells into the water near its maritime border with South Korea in two separate incidents Wednesday, prompting warning shots from the South but resulting in no deaths or injuries.

China Ratchets Up Web Privacy Fight

Chinese state-run media trumpeted comments by Microsoft's Bill Gates that played down China's Internet restrictions, as the government continued to ratchet up its rebuttal of recent U.S. criticisms of its Web policies.

Survivors of Nazi Camps Dwindle

At this week's commemoration of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps, Jewish groups are focusing on how to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive after the last survivors die.

• New Europe: Auschwitz and Its Soviet Liberators

Blair Aide Wavered on War's Legality

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair's top legal adviser believed at first that it would be illegal for Britain to join in the invasion of Iraq but ultimately changed his mind, he told the inquiry probing the conflict.