US, TALIBAN SIGN DEAL, NATO TO EXIT AFGHANISTAN IN 14 MONTHSAt a ceremony in Qatar that was also attended by an Indian diplomat, theUnited States signed an agreement with the Taliban on Saturday, agreeing towithdraw entirely from Afghanistan in the next 14 months. The deal to end 19years of war is, however, fraught with risks and uncertainties, and posesmany questions on the way forward.The pact for "bringing peace to Afghanistan" was signed by Zalmay Khalilzad,US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, and Mullah AbdulGhani Baradar, the political head of the Taliban, at the Sheraton hotel inDoha.In the audience was India's Ambassador to Qatar, P Kumaran, who attended theceremony along with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and a 31-memberTaliban delegation.As had been expected, Mullah Baradar especially named Pakistan for itsassistance, and also thanked China, Iran, and Russia for supporting thepeace process in Afghanistan. Also expectedly, he did not name India.According to the joint declaration, the US and its allies will withdraw alltheir forces from Afghanistan within 14 months. After an initial reductionof troops to 8,600 within 135 days of Saturday's signing, the US and itspartners "will complete the withdrawal of their remaining forces fromAfghanistan within 14 months. and will withdraw all their forces fromremaining bases", the declaration stated.TURKEY RAISES MIGRANT PRESSURE ON EUROPETurkey on Saturday threatened to allow tens of thousands of refugees toleave for Europe and warned Damascus will "pay a price" as President RecepTayyip Erdogan stepped up pressure after dozens of Turkish troops werekilled inside Syria.At the Turkish border, Greek police clashed with several thousand migrantswho were already gathered at the entrance into EU territory.Young migrants lobbed rocks at Greek riot police as tear gas wafted throughthe trees on the frontier.Turkey and Russia, which back opposing forces in the Syria conflict, heldtalks to try to defuse tensions triggered after the Turkish troops werekilled, sparking fears of a broader war and a new migration crisis forEurope. But Erdogan raised the stakes on Saturday and vowed to allowrefugees to travel to Europe from Turkey which he said can not handle newwaves of people fleeing Syria.

SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY: JOE BIDEN ON COURSE FOR LARGE WINFormer US vice-president Joe Biden has been handed a huge boost in the raceto challenge Donald Trump in November's election.He is set for a large victory in South Carolina's primary, where voters havebeen picking who they want to be the Democratic nominee for the election.Left-winger Bernie Sanders, who is second in South Carolina, is likely toremain in the lead overall.Another 14 states vote on Super Tuesday this week.By the end of Super Tuesday, it could become much clearer who the nomineewill be. South Carolina is only the fourth state to have voted so far in themonths-long primary season.This is Mr Biden's first ever victory in a primary in what is his third runfor US president. In a victory speech, he said: "Just days ago the press andthe pundits had declared this candidacy dead. Now, thanks to all of you -the heart of the Democratic Party - we just won, and we've won big."