LONDON (Reuters) - The Afghan government would quickly be overthrown if NATO troops pulled out of the country now, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Friday.

Calls mounted Monday for a woman to be appointed to one of the European Union's new top jobs, as the EU presidency struggles to find consensus candidates days before a key summit.

Former premier Tony Blair remains Britain's candidate for the post of European Union president just days before a decision on the issue, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman said.

Calls mounted Monday for a woman to be appointed to one of the European Union's new top jobs, with the race wide open just days ahead of a key summit meant to resolve the problem.

Calls mounted Monday for a woman to be appointed to one of the European Union's new top jobs, with the race wide open just days ahead of a key summit meant to resolve the problem.

The conflict in Afghanistan is not "a war without end" but success can only be ensured with a clear political strategy, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on Tuesday.

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Tuesday he was confident the alliance would agree to increase substantially the number of troops battling Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Tuesday he was confident the alliance would agree to increase substantially the number of troops battling Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

The head of NATO said Tuesday he expected "substantially more forces" for Afghanistan to be pledged within weeks, but only to help speed up handing over security responsibility to Afghan forces.

Government condemned Tuesday Israel's green light for hundreds of new housing units to be built in annexed east Jerusalem, saying it made a peace deal more difficult.

Israel gave approval on Tuesday for the construction of hundreds of new housing units in annexed Arab east Jerusalem, drawing Western criticism as it drove another stake into troubled Middle East peace efforts.

Slovakia says it will double number of troops serving with NATO in Afghanistan to about 500. Slovakia pledged about 250 extra soldiers Tuesday to the NATO-led force in Afghanistan, the first of what British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said would be a series of international reinforcements.

Israel gave approval on Tuesday for the construction of hundreds of new housing units in annexed Arab east Jerusalem, drawing Western criticism as it drove another stake into troubled Middle East peace efforts.

The United States delivered an unusually strong rebuke of Israel, voicing dismay at the approval of new Jewish housing in annexed east Jerusalem as peace efforts hit a new low.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt appealed Wednesday for a new effort by EU leaders to agree the name of the first president of the revamped European Union.

Talk about Washington and London's special relationship. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gushes over Britain's youthful-looking, 44-year-old foreign minister David Miliband, in the latest issue of US Vogue magazine.

Talk about Washington and London's special relationship. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has admitted she has a "crush" on Britain's youthful-looking, 44-year-old foreign minister David Miliband, according to an interview published in US Vogue magazine.

European leaders gather Thursday in an effort to overcome political differences and unite behind a single candidate for the European Union's first-ever president.

Britain's press stepped up attacks Thursday over jostling for the European Union's new top jobs, predicting "unmemorable winners," and again poking fun at Belgian's EU presidency frontrunner.

Talk about Washington and London's special relationship. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gushes over youthful-looking, 44-year-old Foreign Secretary David Miliband, in the latest issue of US Vogue magazine.