Washington - The United States on Friday condemned violence against Christians in India that has escalated in recent weeks, leaving about 20 dead and thousands homeless.

"We urge all parties to refrain from violence and urge government officials to protect religious freedom throughout India and thus preserve India's longstanding tradition of religious tolerance," Thomas Hanford, ambassador at large for international religious freedom, said in Washington at the annual release of the State Department's International Religious Freedom Report.

Kabul, Sept. 19 : At least nine million Afghans face the prospect of acute food shortage this winter due to a poor harvest this year.

This looming food crisis in Afghanistan could force many villagers relocate, says a New York Times report.

The crisis has been generated by the harshest winter in memory, a drought across much of the country, problems of deteriorating security, pressure of returning refugees and the effects of rising world food prices.

The failure of the Afghan government and foreign donors to develop the country’s main economic sector, agriculture, has compounded the problems, officials say.

They warn that the food crisis could make an already bad security situation worse.

Vatican City - The Vatican issued its traditional good wishes to Muslims on Friday for their holy month of Ramadan, calling on them to work with Christians to defend the "dignity" of the traditional family.

The Vatican's top official for relations with Muslims, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran wrote that the family offered "a mutually topical subject" on which to reflect.

"The development of both the human person and of society depends largely on the healthiness of the family," wrote Tauran, who heads the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue.

Islamabad, Sept 19: In order to help the poor among Pakistanis tackle the food problem amid rising prices of essential commodities and also encourage kids to attend schools, the US has decided to give Pakistan 8.4 million dollars in food aid, a statement released by the US embassy said.

The aid would be sent through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations World Food Programme. An agreement was signed to this effect here last evening.

Rawalpindi, Sept 19: The inside walls of toilets in Rawalpindi, be they in the universities, government offices, bus stands or airports, have become a platform for venting anti-US and anti-Bush feelings. They are inscribed with filthy anti-America and anti-Bush messages, and in some even Musharraf is rebuked, while others are written in words that can not be quoted.

Some of the samples of messages written on the walls are: “Yeh Bush Ka Ghar Hai” (This is Bush’s House), “Down with America”, “Down with Israel” and so on.

Tokyo - Taro Aso, who is likely to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, said Friday that Japan was destined to flourish together with China and South Korea although he also foresaw continuing bumpy relations with the countries Japan occupied before and during World War II.

"There will be problems between Japan and those two nations," Aso said at a press conference. "No need to be flustered, though, because Japan, China and South Korea 
- the three nations are destined to prosper together."

Aso, who serves as secretary general of the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is seen as the front-runner in Monday's LDP presidential election after Fukuda announced his resignation September 1.