What is the content of the plan?

The Taliban in Afghanistan has dismissed a NATO plan to withdraw troops from the country by the end of 2014. The Taliban said the plan was a sign of failure.  It said the plan would extend a meaningless and unwinnable war. NATO leaders agreed on the plan Saturday during a meeting in Portugal. They said by 2014, international troops will be only providing support in Afghanistan.

Officials from the European central bank are holding urgent telephone negotiations over the debt crisis facing both Europe and the United States. They are discussing a possibility of buying Italian government bonds to help Italy’s economy and protect the value of the Euro. There is also concern that Standard & Poor’s lowering of the United States credit rating will harm financial markets across the European continent.