The World This Week...

Coalition troops in Afghanistan mounted their biggest offensive against the Taliban since the start of the eight-year war. Centred on Marja, a Taliban stronghold in Helmand province, it involved foreign and Afghan forces. The coalition said early stages had gone well. But there were fierce firefights, and its advance was slowed by a vast network of bombs and booby-traps.

Sceptical European Union finance ministers meeting in Brussels set a deadline of March 16th for the Greek government to show that its deficit-reduction plan was taking effect. Failure to convince would, the ministers said, be met with demands for further austerity measures.

The Vancouver Winter Olympics got off to a bad start when a Georgian athlete was killed while training for the luge event; other competitors had denounced the track as dangerous. Canadians were cheered by their athletes winning several medals.