Washington  - As the Republican candidate for president, John McCain has had to answer all kinds of questions on the campaign trail, ranging from his health and age to his policies on Iraq and the economy.

The 71-year-old senator from Arizona has always been ready with a response to counter the positions of Democratic rival Barack Obama. But he struggled in an interview with Politico when asked how many homes he and wife Cindy own.

New York  - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday condemned the series of terrorist attacks in Algiers.

"The secretary general extends his condolences to the people of Algeria and in particular, to the families of the victims," UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe said.

She said Ban called on the international community to support the efforts of the government of Algeria to combat terrorism.

Brussels  - Georgia's conflict with Russia in its breakaway regions should not prevent the country from moving towards NATO membership, the United States ambassador to NATO said Wednesday.

"If Russia continues to keep these conflicts frozen (unresolved), and continues to prevent Georgia from fully exercising its territorial integrity ... should Georgia be disallowed when it comes to being invited to join NATO just because of that?" US Ambassador Kurt Volker said.

"We can't give Russia that veto over Georgia's aspirations," he said in an exclusive interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The ambassador, however, stressed that any decision on Georgia's membership aspirations should be a joint NATO decision.

New York  - Russia submitted a new draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, which it claimed reflects the six-point plan worked out by France to end the conflict in Georgia.

The Russian draft was aimed at countering another draft resolution already under discussion by the 15-nation council, calling for an immediate and unconditional end to hostilities in Georgia and for Russia to end its military occupation.

The draft being discussed by the council supports Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Washington, Aug. 20: U. S. President George W Bush has prided himself on his close personal relationships with foreign leaders, but according to a report in the Christian Science Monitor (CSM), some of those relationships appear to have gone disastrously awry in the past few weeks.

According to CSM, former Russian President and now Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is a case that backs this view.

Bamiyan (Afghanistan), Aug. 20: The resignation of President Pervez Musharraf on Monday has created a major political vacuum in Pakistan, and this, according to the New York Times, is escalating the war in neighboring Afghanistan

According to the paper, Taliban insurgents have mounted their most serious attacks in six years of fighting in Afghanistan over the last two days, including a coordinated assault by at least 10 suicide bombers against one of the largest American military bases in the country, and another by about 100 insurgents who killed 10 elite French paratroopers.