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There are more than 100,000 NATO troops in that country, most of those are American troops, and most of them are scheduled to leave by the end of 2014. Afghanistan's president says that's a good thing. During a speech to tribal elders on Wednesday, he complained about NATO. He also tries to set some limits on what NATO troops can and can't do in his country. For example, he thinks it's a good idea for U.S forces to have bases in the country, but he doesn't want Americans to search houses or to arrest Afghans.
Nato is trying to include the Afghan millitary in more of its operations. and our reporter reports more areas are being turned over to Afghan control.

Reporter:
Slowly, NATO's transferring the security of Afghanistan over to Afghans. but The next regions to be handed over will soon be announced by the president. It may, NATO and afghan officials have told CNN, include two of what have been historically the most violent parts of the country's south; First in Helmand, there's a district of Nad-e-Ali, where many british troops have died over the years, but also in Kandahar, recently a hotbed of an insurgent violence where many Americans have also died.
Now an Afghan official in Arghandab, tells security is a lot better but that's because Americans are there in force. If they leave, he tells us, things may get worse and fast. but the logic of this, some say is to have the Afghans face their toughest work, while NATO still has enough troops to help.

"It is good, while we have significant NATO presence in the county, to start with toughest parts of Afghanistan. And that will provide the oppotunity for the Afghan security forces to defend themselves, in the mean time, have the support of NATO"

Next up, the Middle Eastern nation of Syria. It's been suspended by the Arab league. France has removed it ambassoder from Syria. Turkey is threatening to cut off power supplies. All of this is because of Syria's violent crackdown on people who are protesting against the Syrian government. The Arab league voted to suspend Syria over the weekend. Officials from the group said this was because the Syrian president didn't keep his promises to pull troops out of some areas and give Journalists access inside of Syria. There are also reports about a group of fighters that deserted the Syrian milliary. They call themselves 'the free Syrian army' and they claim to have attacked an important government security compound this week.

The clock is winding down for those 12 super committee members. They have untill next Wednesday to come up with a plan that would save the U.S. government more than a trillion dollars over the next 10 years. The commitee has been working since September. It's considered increasing taxes to raise money, lowering taxes for different groups of Americans, fiding ways to cut government spending.
Whatever recommendations the committe comes up with, Congress has untill December 23rd to vote on it. And no one can't change the recommandation by the commitee, or try to block the vote. Them's the rules. If the super commitee can't come up with a plan by November 23rd, or if Congress can't pass it by December 23rd, Automatic spending cuts go into effect including cuts to the U.S. defense department

So, there's a lot at stake here and not a lot of optimism. According to CNN ORC international poll that came out yesterday, 78% of the people who were asked think it's either somewhat or very unlikely that this super committee is going to meet next week's deadline.

As you can see from these pictures, parts of the southern U.S have some cleaning up to do after severe weather swept acorss the region yesterday. There were suspected Tornadoes, as part of the storms. Parts of a few other states were under a tornado watch as well. At least one person was killed. Several others were injured. And there was a major damage to some homes and buildings. The strong winds and possible tornado knocked down trees and left more than a thousand people without power

That's the only time that a U.S. pro sports league has lost an entire season because of a labor dipute, so far. The chance of a second lost season is getting greater as the NBA lockout gets longer. The players and the owners have been negotiating how to divide the money made by the league. They can't reach an agreement. Earlier this week, the players rejected the latest offer from the owners. And the player's union has disbanded, so it can file a lawsuit against the league. All games through the December 15th now, have been canceled and NBA commissioner says the entire season could be in jeopardy.

Next month, S.Africa is hosting the United Nations convention on climate change. It's all about finding ways to be environmentally friendly. The country is already home to factories that practice conservation. They're designed to process; sugar but our reporter looks at how part of that production is providing a powerful byproduct.

 

Reporter:
Under the blazing Durban sun, these canes sway to the rhythms of their work converting sunlight into sugar. This plant is one of natures most efficient photosynthesizers, Producing the component sucrose that bring sweetness to our lives. Yet, besides giving us energy through their juices, these canes have other previous undiscovered ways of putting power back into our lives. The sugar mill is just one of eleven Illovo factories  in operation across Africa. Together, they creat around 2 million tons of sugar every year, making it the continent's largest producer or one of the world's most valued commodities. Energy is required, not only for the crushing and extracting, but for the heating of the juice to produce syrup and sugar crystals. Now the stems, one seen as waste, can be used to power the process.

"Once we squeeze the surcrose, which is juice, from the sugar, from the stick of sugar cane, And that fiber, we, which welifted with is called bagasse.That bagasse is used in our process and to create electricity and to create steam."

Bagasseis burnt to heat water that generates the steam needed to power the electricity- producing turbines. Every hour, 9 megawatts are generated, enough to maintain 90% of all the factory's operations.

"The cost of energy and electricity is becoming so expensive that electrity becomes more profitable than sugar. So, that's why sugar will end up being the byproduct."

Currently, the plant has prevented 40,000 tons of carbon emissions from being released to the atmosphere. As the winds of change blow through South Africa, it could be that the humbled sugar cane will one day be pepping up the country's power as well as the people's palates.

Before we go today, having an office with a window can be a little distracting. But with a view like this, maybe not so bad. These pictures were taken from the international space station as it made its way in orbit around the Earth. The green glow that you see at the top of your screen there, is the aurora borealis. It's also called the northern lights.
They can be seen from Earth but only in certain spots. So, when someone gets to view them from this spectacular angle, it's enough to make the rest of us green with envy.

Hopefully, our puns don't make you green with sickness. Either way, it's going to wrap things up for us.