Under pressure from NATO, Germany announced Tuesday that it would increase the level of troops available for duty in Afghanistan by almost one-third to 4,500. Franz Josef Jung, the defense minister, said the government wanted to increase the number of troops it can send to Afghanistan by 1,000, after a parliamentary mandate limiting the deployment to 3,500 expires in October. The increase will require the approval of the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. Full Story