UPI NewsTrack TopNews

NATO falls short in Afghanistan

BRUSSELS, April 21 (UPI) -- Bush administration efforts to persuade NATO members to send more troops to Afghanistan fell far short of the total needed, NATO leaders say.

The administration secured pledges from six NATO allies for around 2,000 troops, prompting national security adviser Stephen Hadley to tell NATO leaders in Bucharest at an early April summit that "help is on the way."

NATO commanders, however, said they needed at least 7,000 troops.

The new commitments come mostly in the form of support personnel, such as advisers, and not combat troops, USA Today said Monday.

Seth Jones, a expert on Afghanistan with the Rand Corp, called the pledges "window dressing," adding, "In very stark terms, what the NATO summit showed is that the United States is not going to be able to count on its NATO allies to fill the gap in Afghanistan."

The new commitments are a 4 percent increase in the total troop numbers in Afghanistan, though the combined NATO contingent is still 4,500 less than the total number of U.S forces deployed there.

New voters could narrow race in Pa.

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 21 (UPI) -- A huge rise in the number of new Democratic voters in Pennsylvania could make for a tight race in Tuesday's primary election, an analysis suggests.

Pennsylvania's secretary of state reported 217,000 new voters, mostly Democrats, have registered since January, and more than 160,000 voters switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., is projected to win the primary, but an analysis by the Politico Monday says the concentration of new Democrats in various districts could bring rival Democratic contender Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., closer to an upset.

The analysis points to 143,400 new Democrats in the Philadelphia suburbs that are largely expected to go to Obama.

The battleground remains uncertain in northeastern Pennsylvania, with Clinton expected to draw huge support from blue-collar workers in Allentown and her opponent looking to the smaller colleges in the area where Obama-mania is strong.

Police foil alleged plan to bomb school

CHARLESTON, S.C., April 21 (UPI) -- Increased security was in place at a South Carolina high school Monday because police uncovered a student's alleged plot to set off bombs, investigators said.

Senior Ryan Schallenberger, 18, of Chesterfield, was taken into custody after his parents called authorities when 10 pounds of ammonium nitrate was delivered to their home, WCSC-TV in Charleston reported.

Scallenberger was charged with making a bomb threat.

The student's arrest came on the ninth anniversary Saturday of the massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado.

Police said the Chesterfield High School student had gathered enough supplies to make several bombs capable of killing dozens of people, depending on where the explosive devices were planted.

Authorities found a journal with detailed maps of the school, Chesterfield Police Chief Randal Lear said.

Chesterfield is located near the border between North and South Carolina.

Zimbabwean vote tally delayed -- again

HARARE, Zimbabwe, April 21 (UPI) -- Zimbabwean elections officials said Monday the recount of 23 of 210 parliamentary seats could take another three days.

The ZANU-PF party of long-time Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe cited voting irregularities in its call for a recount in some districts.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change, whose candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, challenged Mugabe, claims the recount is illegal. The opposition party claims victory in the elections.

The BBC reported Monday the longer the official voting results are delayed, the more fractious Zimbabwe could become.

Movement party officials described Zimbabwe as a "war zone" because of the ongoing arrests of opposition leaders and general violence.

'Creator told me to' defense doesn't work

REGINA, Saskatchewan, April 21 (UPI) -- Three Canadian men from a Saskatchewan reservation were sentenced Monday to prison for running a marijuana farm the leader claimed was the Creator's order.

The men were found guilty of running a farm of 10 marijuana greenhouses, or what Canadian police describe as "grow-ops," in Regina in February.

The judge sentenced alleged ringleader Lawrence Agecoutay to six years in prison, his brother Robert to 3 1/2 years and Chester Girard to 5 1/2 years, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., reported.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police seized more than 6,000 marijuana plants in the raid in the summer of 2005, court papers from the jury trial said.

Lawrence Agecoutay, 52, testified the plants weren't meant to be sold and that the Creator had told him to grow them as medicine to fight diabetes and cancer, court records show.

The sentences were midway between harsher penalties sought by Crown prosecutors and conditional sentences sought by the defense, the CBC said.