World/nation briefs

Assembly's failure leads to new elections Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai called new elections for Nov. 22 after the term of the Constituent Assembly expired at midnight Sunday without political leaders completing the task of writing a new constitution. The assembly was elected to a two-year term in 2008 to draft a new constitution but has been unable to finish the task. Its tenure was extended four times, but the Supreme Court rejected any further extensions.

Airstrike reportedly kills family of eight Afghan authorities said a NATO airstrike killed a family of eight in their house in Paktia Province. A NATO spokesman said the incident Saturday night appeared to be precipitated by an insurgent attack on Western troops. The troops returned fire and called in air support. "We're actively gathering information to assess what did occur," said U.S. Air Force Capt. Justin Brockhoff. President Hamid Karzai ordered an investigation as well.

Flooding expected from tropical storm Tropical Storm Beryl, with maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour, approached landfall late Sunday, and storm warnings were in effect for the entire Georgia coastline and parts of Florida and South Carolina. Beryl was forecast to bring 4 to 12 inches of rain in the region, and a storm surge was expected to cause significant flooding in coastal areas, said the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

NEWS SERVICES