World datelines

KABUL) — One American serviceman died in Afghanistan in November, a dramatic drop from earlier months that the U.S. military attributed to their campaign against insurgent leaders, operations by Afghan and Pakistani forces and the onset of winter.

Twice this year, monthly U.S. death tolls in Afghanistan surpassed the monthly toll in Iraq, highlighting the differing trends in the two war zones: Security in Iraq has improved while it has deteriorated in Afghanistan.

Canada: New vote set

TORONTO — Canada's opposition parties signed an unprecedented agreement Monday to topple the Conservative government in a no-confidence vote next week and form a coalition government less than two months after national elections.

The three parties in the alliance, which together control a majority in Parliament, plan to vote against Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority government Dec. 8, which would remove it from power.

If Harper loses the confidence vote, Gov. General Michaelle Jean would either call another election or ask the opposition to form a government.

Constitutional experts say that Jean, who is the representative of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and whose position is mostly ceremonial, would likely allow the opposition to form a government since an election was held so recently.

China: Milk killed more

BEIJING — China's Health Ministry says six babies may have died from tainted milk, up from a previous official figure of three deaths.

The ministry says health authorities across the country found six possible cases of deaths in babies caused by milk powder contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine.

It said 294,000 infants in total have suffered from urinary illnesses after consuming tainted milk, up from a previous figure of about 50,000 babies.

Nigeria: Nonbelievers killed

JOS — Iki Atsen told the women in his family to flee and grabbed an ax as a man with a bullhorn urged 100 Muslim men to storm Atsen's Christian homestead and kill all nonbelievers.

Atsen survived, but his two brothers were cut down by machetes and tossed by the mob into a well, among over 300 people slaughtered in the worst violence to hit Nigeria in years.

The region's first election in over a decade sparked fighting that degraded into ethnic and religious violence in area where Nigeria's Christians and Muslims live uneasily side by side.

Russia: Missile upgrade set

MOSCOW — Russia's military is planning to upgrade its missiles to allow them to evade American weapons in space and penetrate any prospective missile shield, a Russian general said Monday.