Afghanistan recieves relief from Uzbeks

HAIRATON, Afghanistan -- A train rumbled across the only bridge from Uzbekistan into Afghanistan for the first time in four years Sunday, carrying humanitarian aid for refugees battling winter cold, disease and hunger. \nAid agencies have been clamoring for Uzbekistan to open the bridge, warning that aid shipped across the Amu Darya River by barge was not getting through fast enough for millions of displaced Afghans. \nThe Soviet army built the Friendship Bridge for its war in Afghanistan and used it to withdraw in defeat 12 years ago. Sunday, the train that crossed the newly reopened span carried 10,000 tons of grain and flour sent from Uzbekistan and the United Nations, and a message of solidarity. \nArmed guards in camouflage stood watch along the bridge as the train set off, flying Uzbekistan's flag and a banner reading "From the Uzbek people to the Afghan people." \nSecretary of State Colin Powell used a visit to the Uzbek capital Tashkent Saturday to announce that the Uzbek government had agreed to open the gateway. Aid officials said they were relieved that the first train crossed, but remain wary after such a long wait. \n"It's absolutely wonderful news that they have taken steps to open the bridge today, but we still need details on whether it will be open to all international aid staff and all international relief goods which we want to move quickly across the border," Brendan Paddy, spokesman for the London-based agency Save the Children, said in Tashkent.