Germany votes on troops

Germany's parliament yesterday voted to keep the country's soldiers in Afghanistan for another year, while also endorsing the government's hopes of starting a gradual withdrawal at the end of 2011.

Lawmakers voted 420-116, with 43 abstentions, to approve a mandate that authorises the continued deployment of up to 5,350 soldiers through the end of January 2012.

Germany has 4,860 soldiers in northern Afghanistan.

The new mandate says the government is confident that it will able to start reducing the military's presence at the end of this year - but it will only do so "as far as the situation allows."