NATO to double some forces

NATO will double the number of soldiers in southern Afghanistan when it takes over security there from U.S. troops next month, seeking to quash the worst rebel violence since the Taliban’s ouster, the NATO force commander said Sunday.

Lt. Gen. David Richards also said NATO troops will be more “people friendly” in an effort to win the support of the local population amid rising resentment over what many Afghans see as overly aggressive tactics by the U.S.-led coalition force.

Richards said the number of troops in southern Afghanistan hasn’t been sufficient to deal with the surge in violence.

BANTUL, Indonesia

Conditions worsen for quake victims

Many of Indonesia’s 650,000 homeless earthquake survivors are living with deteriorating sanitary conditions, forced to wash with dirty water that infects wounds and spreads skin disease, doctors said Sunday.

There was also concern about bird flu in the quake zone, as the number of Indonesia’s human deaths from the virus mounted. Some of the homeless have taken shelter in chicken coops that aid workers fear could contain the disease.

LIMA, Peru

Former president back in office

Former President Alan Garcia, whose 1985-90 government left Peru mired in guerrilla violence and economic chaos, won back the office Sunday by defeating a fiery nationalist ex-soldier who was endorsed by Venezuela’s anti-U.S. president, Hugo Chavez.

Garcia’s lead of 55.5 percent against 44.5 percent for Ollanta Humala with 77.3 percent of the vote counted was insurmountable, said the head of the electoral agency, Magdalena Chu.

It was a stunning comeback for a man whose name had been equated with political disaster.