World briefs 22/2/06

Dozens rescued after Indonesian ferry sinks

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Naval vessels picked up 114 survivors from a passenger ferry that went down in rough seas in eastern Indonesia, but there was no sign late Wednesday of dozens of others still missing, rescuers said. Many survivors needed medical treatment after spending hours in the sea or hanging on to debris or lifeboats, witnesses said. By nightfall, 114 survivors had arrived at the port, said Siti, an official there who goes by a single name. Around 45 others believed to have been on board had yet to be accounted for, she said.

Police clash with Jews in illegal Israeli outpost

AMONA, West Bank -- Israeli riot police wielding clubs and water cannons cleared out part of this illegal Jewish settlement outpost Wednesday, as resisters fought back with sticks, stones, bricks and paint. More than 200 were injured, one-quarter of them officers. In anguished scenes reminiscent of last summer's Gaza withdrawal, the security forces dragged hundreds of protesters from rooftops barricaded in barbed wire and flattened empty homes with bulldozers and heavy machinery. The military said 32 people were arrested at the scene along with "dozens of other rioters" in the area. The fierce battle was a likely harbinger of what lies ahead if Israel decides to leave other parts of the West Bank. Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the front-runner in the March 28 Israeli elections, is widely expected to withdraw from more areas of the territory and dismantle additional Jewish settlements if he wins.

World pledges $10.5 billion for Afghanistan

LONDON -- Nearly 70 nations and international bodies pledged $10.5 billion to help Afghanistan fight poverty, improve security and crack down on the drug trade, officials said Wednesday at the end of a two-day conference on the nation's future. The pledges were intended to fund the goals set out in a five-year plan delegates signed Tuesday for redevelopment in Afghanistan, which has been torn by decades of war. Dubbed the "Afghanistan Compact," the five-year plan covers poverty reduction, economic development, counternarcotics efforts and security, and promises aid to help President Hamid Karzai's government achieve the targets.

-- From wire reports