SYRIA

A senior U.S. nuclear official said North Koreans were in Syria and that the Syrian government may have had contacts with "secret suppliers" to obtain nuclear equipment.

Andrew Semmel, acting deputy assistant secretary of State for nuclear nonproliferation policy, did not identify the suppliers, but said North Koreans were in the country and that he could not exclude that the network run by the disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan may have been involved.

Syria has never commented publicly on its nuclear program.

AFGHANISTAN NATO force needs aid, report says

The NATO force in Afghanistan does not have enough troops or equipment to secure advances made against Taliban insurgents and to guarantee a successful end to its mission, a lawmakers' report concludes.

The findings of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, which draws legislators from the 26 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and 16 other countries, echoes recent complaints by NATO commanders that troop shortages are hampering operations and come as some allies face domestic pressure to pull troops out.

The report does not say how many troops should be added to the 50,000 currently under NATO and U.S. command. The most pressing needs include helicopters, intelligence and reconnaissance assets and trainers to build up the Afghan security forces, the report says.

RUSSIA Parliament OKs Putin's premier

Parliament overwhelmingly approved President Vladimir V. Putin's choice for prime minister, and the Russian leader said the previously obscure official was among at least five people who could hope to succeed him.

Viktor Zubkov, a Putin loyalist who ran Russia's anti-money-laundering office for six years, was nominated in a surprise move by Putin.

By dismissing former Premier Mikhail Y. Fradkov and announcing his choice for the post, Putin, who is barred from seeking a third term as president, apparently intended to show the country, particularly Kremlin factions jockeying for position before the March presidential vote, that he will continue calling the shots.

UGANDA Record rains displace 150,000

The heaviest rainfall here in 35 years has displaced 150,000 people in eastern Uganda since mid-August and the rain has been "worsening by the hour," authorities said.

As many as 400,000 people have lost their livelihoods because of severe flooding, State Minister for Relief and Disaster Preparedness Musa Ecweru said. United Nations and government aid efforts were being hampered by submerged roads and bridges, Ecweru said.

AND FINALLY. . . Autopsy finds crash victim alive

A Venezuelan man who had been declared dead woke up in the morgue in excruciating pain after medical examiners began their autopsy.

Carlos Camejo, 33, was declared dead after a highway accident and taken to the morgue, where examiners began an autopsy only to realize something was amiss when he started bleeding. They quickly sought to stitch up the incision on his face and he woke up.

His grieving wife turned up at the morgue to identify her husband's body only to find him moved into a corridor -- alive.

From Times Wire Reports