Washington  - The top EU and US trade officials Thursday vowed to fight protectionist trends and maintain robust trade to support global economic recovery.

The commitments were made in a joint statement from newly minted US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton. They also pledged to push for an "ambitious" outcome on the stalled Doha world trade talks.

New York - US stocks fell for the first time in three days on Thursday as investors had second thoughts about Federal Reserve actions to shore up the US financial sector.

The Fed said Wednesday it would buy 300 billion dollars in long- term government bonds, an unprecedented effort to help drive investors back into the private sector, and will purchase another 750 billion dollars in troubled mortgage-backed securities at the heart of the financial crisis.

Washington  - The United States is considering sending dozens more civilians to Afghanistan along with thousands of additional troops set to arrive later this year, a spokesman said Thursday.

The US is looking at adding 51 civilian posts to work on various projects and could also send more diplomats to beef up local reconstruction teams, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.

Washington  - A day after his Senate confirmation, newly minted US Trade Representative Ron Kirk wasted little time in pledging close relations with the European Union when he met Thursday with EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton.

Yet the tension between Europe and the US was made clear already on Wednesday, when Ashton, in a private speech, urged the reluctant United States to help kick-start the stalled Doha world trade talks and warned against protectionism.

Washington  - The United States was reviewing relations with Madagascar following the "undemocratic" transfer of power in the country, the US State Department said Thursday.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood said it was too early to say if the review would results in a cut-off of the millions of dollars in aid the United States provides annually to the troubled African nation.

"We've taken a close look at this. And we believe recent political developments in Madagascar constitute an undemocratic transfer of power," Wood said.

Prague  - Czechs continue to reject US plans for building a missile defence radar base on Czech Republic soil, according to an opinion poll released Thursday, less than three weeks before US President Barack Obama's planned visit to Prague.

The regular survey by the state-funded CVVM polling institute, conducted in early February, said that 70 per cent of the 1,113 polled Czechs opposed the base, while 25 per cent backed it. Five per cent were undecided.