Government

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani officials struck a deal late Thursday with a fiery Muslim cleric to end four days of antigovernment protests by thousands of his supporters that largely paralyzed the capital and put intense pressure on the government. The demonstration came at a time when the government is facing challenges on several fronts, including from the country's top court. The Supreme Court ordered the arrest of the prime minister earlier in the week in connection with a corruption case, but the government's anticorruption chief refused to act Thursday, citing a lack of evidence.

The federal government and the vast majority of states, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania, inadequately fund tobacco-use prevention programs, according to a leading health advocacy group. In its annual State of Tobacco Control report, to be released Wednesday morning, the American Lung Association gave the Garden and Keystone States failing grades for programs to protect citizens from tobacco-related diseases. New Jersey receives an annual $997 million and Pennsylvania $1.4 billion in tobacco-related revenue.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's leaders received a powerful one-two punch Tuesday as the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of the prime minister in a corruption case and a firebrand cleric led thousands of protesters in a second day of antigovernment demonstrations in the capital. The events set the stage for renewed political crisis in Pakistan, a U.S. ally in the fight against Islamic extremists. They sparked accusations that Pakistan's top judge and powerful generals were working to destabilize the government ahead of parliamentary elections expected in the spring, and possibly delay the vote.

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Students at North Korea's premier university showed Google's executive chairman Tuesday how they look for information online: They Google it. But surfing the Internet that way is the privilege of very few in North Korea, whose authoritarian government imposes strict limits on access to the World Wide Web. Google's Eric Schmidt got a first look at North Korea's limited Internet use when an American delegation he and former...

Group awaited for peace talks BANGUI, Central African Republic - Talks between the Central African Republic's government and the rebels who now control much of the country's north are set to get under way no later than Friday, the president of Republic of Congo has announced. Delegations were expected to travel to Gabon on Monday, though a plane carrying the government officials along with members of the country's political opposition failed to leave Bangui, the capital, as scheduled.

JERUSALEM - The Mideast conflict has done little to help Israel's image in the world, but the way local filmmakers deal critically with the Israel-Palestinian issue has won wide international praise - and this year, recognition from the top of the movie industry. Two Israeli-produced documentaries about the conflict have been shortlisted for possible nomination in this year's Academy Awards. Few Israeli films have contended in the Best Documentary category before. The shortlisted films represent rare recognition of foreign entrants in a category dominated by American productions.

Erich Prince is a freelance writer in Wynnewood In 1991, Milton Friedman appeared on the television series America's Drug Forum : "I see America with half the number of prisons, half the number of prisoners, 10,000 fewer homicides a year, inner cities in which there's a chance for these poor people to live without being afraid for their lives . . . the same thing happened under Prohibition of alcohol as is happening now. " Friedman, a...

YOU WOULD have done well to invite Earl Martin to your party. Earl was the life of every party, according to his family - famed for his quick wit and outgoing personality. "He didn't go around with a lampshade on his head," said his nephew, Gene Herman. "But he had an engaging personality and an over-the-top sense of humor. " Earl W. Martin, a government lawyer for about 40 years, a World War II combat medic, a devoted family man and loyal friend always ready to go out of his way to help someone in need, died Dec. 20. He lived in Livermore, Calif., and formerly lived in Annapolis, Md., and Philadelphia.

PRAGUE - The Czech Republic's three-party coalition government appeared to be heading toward collapse after a junior partner said it would quit. The Liberal Democrats announced the move Thursday shortly after Prime Minister Petr Necas fired Karolina Peake from the post of defense minister, just eight days after she was appointed. Necas said the main reason for him to dismiss Peake was "clearly a loss of confidence. " Peake chairs the centrist Liberal Democrats, the smallest member of the three-party coalition government.