A former secret-police official was named Saturday as Afghanistan's interior minister. President Hamid Karzai appointed Muhammad Hanif Atmar under U.S. pressure to curb corruption. Western diplomats regard Mr. Atmar as well-prepared for the challenge.

A Kurdish journalist was killed in the northern Iraq city of Kirkuk, police said. A New York-based journalists' group said Saturday that Diyar Abbas Ahmed was the 136th reporter to die since the U.S.-led invasion five years ago.

From wire reports