A GLISTENING table of Downton Abbey elegance, laden with glasses and candles. Elegant, beautiful glasses, but do their sizes and shapes serve any purpose? Can expensive glasses add to the pleasure of wine drinking?

Controversial new US intelligence reports say the war in Afghanistan cannot be won unless Pakistan roots out militants on its side of the border, according to officials.

BENAZIR BHUTTO was the target of threats from virtually all of the militant groups who make Pakistan their home — from al-Qaida to homegrown terrorists to tribal insurgents on the Afghan border.

Pakistan was preparing its nuclear weapons for possible use during a 1999 border conflict with India, it is reported.