US announces week-long partial truce with Taliban "The United States and Afghanistan have negotiated a proposal for a seven day reduction in violence," says US Defence Secretary Mark Esper after the NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Brussels where he presented the proposal to the allies. Regarding the situation in Iraq, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg explained that the Iraqi government has "confirmed its wish to continue NATO's training activities" on the ground. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES