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Talks with Taliban only option for Pakistan Nawaz Sharif

Tue, 21 May 2013 05:50:03 -0400

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif, has told newly elected lawmakers that Pakistan has no other option apart from negotiating with the Taliban in the interest of peace. The Express Tribune quoted Nawaz, as saying that the Taliban invitation for dialogue should be taken seriously. Nawaz said the bullet is not a solution, adding they want to use each and every option available ...

Afghan women getting jailed for moral crimes

Tue, 21 May 2013 05:40:01 -0400

The Afghan government should take urgent steps to halt an alarming increase in women and girls imprisoned for "moral crimes," Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. Statistics from Afghanistan's interior ministry indicate that the number of women and girls imprisoned for "moral crimes" had risen to about 600 in May 2013 from 400 in October 2011 - a 50 percent rise. Since October 2011, there has been ...

Afghan President Karzai to hold talks with Manmohan Singh today

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:50:01 -0400

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, who is in India on a three-day visit, will meet Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh here this evening. Security, infrastructure development and peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan are likely to figure prominently during their talks. This is Karzai's second visit to India in the last six months. President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday conferred ...

In Kabul UNESCO chief spotlights Afghanistans educational and cultural gains

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:16:34 -0400

20 May 2013 150 Education is not against any religion, the head of the United Nations educational and cultural agency told Afghan authorities and families during a visit to the country to promote learning for women and girls, and to highlight the importance of Afghan cultural heritage as a vital economic asset. "Providing education to girls and women is not against religious beliefs," said ...

Sharif Calls for Peace Talks With Pakistani Taliban

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:15:03 -0400

ISLAMABAD Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif, who is set to become prime minister for a third time after his party won recent parliamentary elections, on Monday called for peace talks with domestic Taliban extremists, saying "this is the best optionrdquo; to fight militancy. Addressing newly elected federal and provincial lawmakers of his Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) party in Lahore, Sharif ...

14 killed in Afghan suicide bombing

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:50:01 -0400

A Taliban suicide bomber Monday blew himself up in front of a government office in Afghanistan's northern Baghlan province, killing at least 14 people and wounding 13 others, the interior ministry said. The bombing took place in front of the entrance gate of the Baghlan provincial council headquarters in Pul-e-Khumi around 10.30 a.m., Xinhua reported. Mohammad Rasoul Mohseni, the head of the ...

Karzai leaves for state visit to India

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:40:02 -0400

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai Monday left on a two-day visit to India, the president's office said in a statement. "President Hamid Karzai, leading a high-level delegation, left this morning (Monday) on a two-day state visit to India at the invitation of Indian President Pranab Mukherjee," Xinhua quoted the statement as saying. During his visit, Karzai is scheduled to meet Mukherjee, Prime ...

10 Police Killed in Afghanistan

Tue, 21 May 2013 05:28:34 -0400

Authorities say a vehicle the police were riding in was destroyed when it hit the bomb Tuesday in the Obe district of Herat province. The police were assigned to work as guards on a dam project. There was no claim of responsibility, but similar assaults often are blamed on the Taliban. Meanwhile, a Taliban offensive in southern Afghanistan has killed four police officers. Officials say a ...

Official Roadside bomb kills 6 policemen in western Afghanistan

Tue, 21 May 2013 04:55:14 -0400

KABUL - A powerful roadside bomb killed six policemen in western Afghanistan on Tuesday when their vehicle hit the explosives buried in the road, an Afghan official said. Insurgents often use makeshift land mines to target both Afghan government officials and international forces in Afghanistan. The explosives often kill civilians as well, accounting for a large percentage of Afghan civilian ...

Pakistan PM-elect calls for Taliban talks

Tue, 21 May 2013 04:04:09 -0400

Pakistan's prime minister-elect Nawaz Sharif Monday called for peace talks with Pakistani Taliban militants at war with the government, potentially charting a course that could put him at odds with the country's powerful army. Speaking to the newly elected members of national and provincial assemblies belonging to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), he said that Taliban offers to ...

Clashes kill 4 cops 26 militants in S. Afghanistan

Tue, 21 May 2013 03:03:37 -0400

An Afghan provincial official said Tuesday that four Afghan policemen and 26 militants have been killed in ongoing clashes in the country's southern province of Helmand."Militants numbered hundreds launched armed attacks against police checkpoints in Pirozo and Kolali areas of Sangin district Monday morning and clashes still going on there till now," the provincial government ...

Nawaz Sharif calls Pakistani Taliban for peace talks

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:44:19 -0400

Pakistan's presumptive prime minister Nawaz Sharif called for peace talks with Taliban militants at war with the government on Monday, potentially charting a course that could put him at odds with the country's powerful army.Nawaz Sharif said 'terrorism' was one of the most serious problems plaguing the country and any offer by the Pakistani Taliban to talk 'should be ...

Endgame Afghanistan living in the fear of the Taliban

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:39:49 -0400

Kabul: Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai is in India to seek economic cooperation but the focus this time is likely to be on security.The Afghan MPs, Opposition leaders, former intelligence chiefs and police commissioners have told NDTV that they want more than developmental aid from India.They would like India to player a much bigger role post-2014, when Western troops will exit ...

Bomber kills 14 at Afghan provincial council

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:30:31 -0400

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A suicide bomber dressed in a police uniform killed 14 people, including a prominent provincial council chief, outside the council headquarters in northern Afghanistan on Monday, authorities said. The Taliban insurgency quickly claimed ...

Military Memo Applying Early Lessons to Build Afghan Security

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:00:35 -0400

KABUL, Afghanistan ...

U.S. Military Deaths in Afghanistan

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:22:14 -0400

The Department of Defense has identified 2,206 American service members who have died as a part of the Afghan war and related operations. It confirmed the deaths of the following Americans ...

Getting to Yes with the Taliban - By John Arquilla

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:17:24 -0400

Hagel's front office gets a new Hand; Shineski, under fire; Obama to talk drone, Gitmo policy; MCT: Amos being investigated; Terminal Lance: "Shut up!" and a bit more. - by Gordon ...

Russians kill 2 suspected terrorists following shootout

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:48:06 -0400

Russian police said they killed two suspected terrorists and captured a third in a shootout outside Moscow Monday. RIA Novosti said the men had recently returned from the border area ...

Suicide bomber kills 14 at Afghan province...

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:40:20 -0400

Afghan policemen evacuate a wounded person after a suicide bomber struck outside a provincial council headquarters in Pul-i-Khumri, Baghlan Province, on Monday. ...

Why insider attacks are down in Afghanistan

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:42:12 -0400

No one claims the problem is solved, but officials are cautiously hopeful that the lower number of 'green-on-blue' killings in Afghanistan this year means preventive measures are having an ...

UN officials in Afghanistan urge ratification of law to eliminate violence against women

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:16:27 -0400

Print 20 May 2013 &#150 Senior United Nations officials in Afghanistan are today urging the Government to fully implement legislation to protect women from child marriage and other forms of violence, in line with international commitments, after the Afghan Parliament failed to ratify the law over the weekend. President Hamid Karzai passed the Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW) law ...

Pentagon requests $US79bn for Afghanistan

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:14:15 -0400

THE Pentagon has asked Congress for nearly $US80 billion ($A82.41 billion) to cover the cost of the war in Afghanistan in 2014. The request for $79.4 billion in fiscal year 2014 is slightly lower than the war funding of $87.2 billion for the current fiscal year, Pentagon press secretary George Little told reporters. The proposed funding for Afghanistan operations is in addition to a $526.6 ...

Pakistans presumptive PM calls for Taliban talks

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:00:56 -0400

Pakistan's presumptive prime minister called for peace talks with Taliban militants at war with the government today, potentially charting a course that could put him at odds with the country's powerful army. Nawaz Sharif said "terrorism" was one of the most serious problems plaguing the country and any offer by the Pakistani Taliban to talk "should be taken seriously. ""All options should be ...

Afghanistan Lawmakers Say No To Women’s Rights

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:39:02 -0400

women’s rights in Afghanistan was blocked by religious lawmakers, soon after being introduced. The lawmakers said parts of the law wouldviolate Islamic principles and ...

Afghan president Hamid Karzai to seek military aid as he arrives in India

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:26:24 -0400

India to boost its assistance to Afghan armed forces.The request would heighten tensions in the region, and raise concerns among western observers of a fierce battle for influence ...

More Fort Campbell troops return from Afghanistan

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:49:51 -0400

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) -- More of the "Rakkasans" have returned to Fort Campbell from Afghanistan. The plane carrying nearly 90 members of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division touched down at the U.S. Army post on the Kentucky-Tennessee border Sunday evening. Environmental and science engineering officer Julie Bridges was surrounded by family, including her ...

FSB prevents terror act in Moscow by militants trained in Afghanistan Pakistan

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:32:02 -0400

Russia's FSB has foiled a terror attack in Moscow as they managed to kill two and detain one of the militants planning it, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee said. The three men are "Russian citizens, arrived from Afghani-Pakistani region, where they have been trained," the committee said in a statement. As FSB forces approached the house in a small town in the Moscow ...

Endgame Afghanistan can security forces deliver post 2014

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:26:03 -0400

Kabul: Every year as the snow melts, groups like Taliban and its affiliates, the Haqqani network, as also the Lashkar-e-Taiba (Let) cross over from Pakistan as a fresh fighting season begins in Afghanistan.It is soldiers like Commander Kushal Sadat from Special Forces 222 who are called upon when terror strikes. The unit is based on the outskirts of Kabul and their mandate is to protect the ...

With end of Afghan war in sight Europe pushes business

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:25:31 -0400

HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - The European Union threw its weight behind developing Afghanistan's small but promising private sector this week, in the hope that business can usher in stability and peace once foreign troops leave by the end of next ...

Worrying Signs Afghan Womens Rights Will Slip After U.S. Departure

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:22:04 -0400

An Afghan woman in Kabul on May 10, 2012. (Mohammad Ismail/Reuters) In 2009, Afghan President Hamid Karzai used his powers of presidential decree to put a law to protect women on the books. This weekend the measure failed to gain parliamentary approval, raising once more the question of whether women's legal rights will be a casualty of Afghanistan's political and security ...

Afghan children on a long and perilous journey

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:20:15 -0400

The years' long trek will not end in the first European country they arrive in, as should be the 'host' country for asylem seekers, the trek will continue onto Britain which is noted for benefits for asylem seekers right off the boat/plane. Do-gooders at the docks/airports directing them to the welfare office and explaining their 'rights' how to stay in the country and ...

Pepsi to march in as foreign troops leave Afghanistan

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:45:57 -0400

will open its first plant in Afghanistan in 2014, its Afghan partner said on Monday, the same year foreign troops complete their withdrawal from the country after 13 years of war."It will go on stream in 2014," Hamed Kakar, head of marketing for Dubai-based Alokozay, which has an exclusive bottling agreement with PepsiCo in Afghanistan, told Reuters.As the NATO-led war winds down, ...

Nearly 600000 Wounded Vets Claims for Disability Suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan Wars backlogged for Months

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:41:07 -0400

Let's say you're an Iraq or Afghanistan war veteran and you were seriously wounded during your tour of duty and subsequently upon your return to the states filed a claim for disability compensation to the Department of Veterans Affairs but as yet haven't had your claim processed. Most likely you're one of almost 600,000 wounded veterans whose claim is "backlogged", ...

Afghan Effort To Boost Protection For Women An Uphill Battle

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:38:52 -0400

The rapid withdrawal over the weekend of proposed legislation to expand protections for Afghan women has highlighted obstacles facing elected representatives and others who want to bolster institutional protections for a vulnerable segment of Afghan society. It's a legislative debate that does not necessarily divide up along predictable segments. Some women's rights ...

Afghan Coalition Forces Arrest Insurgents in Khost Province

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:31:34 -0400

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases WASHINGTON, May 20, 2013 A combined Afghan and coalition security force arrested three insurgents today during a search for an insurgent leader with ties to the Taliban and Haqqani terrorist networks in the Sabari district of Afghanistan's Khost province, military officials reported. The leader finances ...

14 dead in Afghanistan blast Taliban claims responsibility

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:16:01 -0400

KABUL, Afghanistan – A suicide bomber struck outside a provincial council headquarters in northern Afghanistan on Monday, killing the council chief and at least 13 others, authorities said. The Taliban insurgency quickly claimed responsibility. Seeking to weaken the Afghan government, Taliban insurgents have been carrying out attacks and assassinations intended to intimidate both officials ...

Afghan suicide attack kills 14 including politician

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:42:24 -0400

MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan (AFP) - A suicide bomber struck outside government buildings in northern Afghanistan on Monday, killing 14 people including a local politician in the latest attack to target provincial officials.Emergency services rushed to the scene and took the wounded to hospital after the bomber, who was wearing police uniform, blew himself up next to Rasoul Mohseni, the head of ...

Taliban Claims Deadly Bombing Near Government Compound In Afghan North

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:40:10 -0400

Taliban insurgents have claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in northern Afghanistan that authorities say killed at least 14 people, including a senior provincial politician. Sadeq Muradi, Baghlan Province's deputy police chief, said a suicide bomber on foot detonated his explosives in front of the provincial council building in the city of Pol-e Khomri on May 20. Provincial ...

Suicide attack kills government leader in northern Afghanistan

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:26:04 -0400

-- A suicide attack in northern Afghanistan on Monday morning killed at least 11 people, including the head of the local provincial government, police ...

Robot Guns Combat Facebook The Tech of the Armys Last Afghanistan Brigade

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:22:13 -0400

The latest robots and high-tech electronic warfare, silently watching over soldiers as they sleep. Rickety but vital helicopters whose pilots devise new tactics to make up for aging hardware. Hand-carried devices that promise to end age-old battlefield dilemmas but end up causing more problems than they solve. These are the most important techs in arguably the most important U.S. Army brigade in ...

Suicide Bomber Attacks Provincial Council Headquarters In Northern Afghanistan Killing 14

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:19:18 -0400

KABUL, Afghanistan - A suicide bomber struck outside a provincial council headquarters in northern Afghanistan on Monday, killing the council chief and at least 13 others, authorities said. The Taliban insurgency quickly claimed responsibility. Seeking to weaken the Afghan government, Taliban insurgents have been carrying out attacks and assassinations intended to intimidate both officials and ...

Fourteen killed in Afghan bombing

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:42:57 -0400

';The suicide bombing was in front of the provincial council building in the city of Pul-e-Khumri,'; Sadeq Muradi, Baghlan province's deputy police chief, told ...

Bombing Kills Key Figure in Northern Afghanistan

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:38:14 -0400

KABUL, Afghanistan ...

Suicide Bomber Kills 11 in Afghanistan

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:56:43 -0400

Afghan officials say a suicide bomber has struck outside government buildings in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 11 people, including a local senior politician. Police said Monday's blast outside the Baghlan provincial council building killed the head of the provincial council, Rasoul Mohseni. Some of his bodyguards were among those killed or the several people wounded. The ...

Neither heat nor gloom ... Afghan post office delivers

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:20:59 -0400

As the Afghan government struggles to develop, the post office has quietly managed to become one of the nation's most efficient institutions - and with extremely limited international ...

Cargo plane crashes in E. Afghanistan killing 7

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:16:51 -0400

KABUL, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Monday's cargo plane crash which took place in Bagram district, eastern Afghan province of Parwan claimed the lives of all seven people aboard, a provincial source said Tuesday. Bagram, lying some 50 km north of Afghan capital Kabul, is the main military base of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The sources also said that five of the victims were Americans. Police ...

Afghanistan Suicide bomber hits council building

Mon, 20 May 2013 03:59:01 -0400

KABUL, Afghanistan -; Afghan officials say a suicide bomber has struck outside a provincial council building in the country's north, causing ...

Deadly Suicide Bombing Strikes Afghan Local Council

Mon, 20 May 2013 03:58:07 -0400

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty broadcasts in 28 languages. Most of our programs are available on FM and medium-wave frequencies of local radio stations in the countries of our broadcast area. If you are having problems listening to programs on the internet, please read ...

7 insurgents killed in eastern Afghan operations

Mon, 20 May 2013 02:59:05 -0400

Seven insurgents have been killed in joint operations in eastern Afghan provinces, said the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on Monday."Afghan National Security and Coalition Forces killed seven insurgents, detained four suspected insurgents, discovered two weapons caches and found and safely cleared eight improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern ...

Afghanistan tries to lure investments

Mon, 20 May 2013 02:30:55 -0400

By Farangis Najibullah and Zarif Nazar Foreign forces are preparing to leave the country, capital is fleeing, and it's the Afghan government's job to stop it. To meet its objective, the Afghan Finance Ministry has drafted a package of incentives to assure companies and individual that their investments in Afghanistan will be safe after the expected withdrawal of Western troops ...