Afghanistan

Nato apologises for accidental killing of two Afghan boys

3 Mar 2013

Two children, aged seven and eight, were shot dead on Thursday as they tended cattle in southern Uruzgan province, in an incident which could inflame tensions over the conduct of foreign soldiers...

Australian troops kill two Afghan children

2 Mar 2013

Australian soldiers in southern Afghanistan shot dead two children tending cattle, local officials said on Saturday as the international coalition launched an inquiry into the incident.

Suicide attackers target intelligence agency

25 Feb 2013

The brazen assaults were the latest to strike Afghan forces, who have suffered higher casualties this year as US and other foreign troops shift responsibility for security to the government.

Afghanistan tells US special forces to leave restive Maidan Wardak province

25 Feb 2013

Officials in Maidan Wardak - a province bordering Kabul where security has deteriorated over the past year - had presented evidence to President Hamid Karzai alleging that nine people disappeared...

Afghan president to ban requests for foreign air strikes

17 Feb 2013

If he issues the decree as promised, the move would pose a significant new challenge to government troops who have relied heavily on foreign air power to give them an advantage against insurgents...

Opinion

Wang Xiangwei

Super ministries may not be the right answer for mainland China

Alex Lo

Church developers remain unbowed by government rules

George Chen

A house is not a home until it becomes affordable

US withdrawing 34,000 troops from Afghanistan within a year

US President Barack Obama announced on Tuesday that 34,000 troops – about half the US force in Afghanistan – will withdraw by early next year, bringing the United States one step closer to...

Taliban spokesman dismisses London talks on peace deal

But Zabihullah Mujahid, writing on the militia's website, did not appear to reject the possibility of progress in other peace talks. The Taliban have demanded that any negotiations should be...

Afghanistan and Pakistan target peace deal with Taliban in six months

Following talks hosted by British Prime Minister David Cameron, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari also urged the Islamists to join the reconciliation...

BOOKS

Afghanistan: the great game of thrones

Historian William Dalrymple's new book charts the disastrous British attempt to set up a puppet king in Afghanistan in 1839, writes Manreet Sodhi Someshwar.

AFGHANISTAN

US, Afghanistan to hold new talks on security deal

The United States and Afghanistan this week launch a third round of talks to try to reach an elusive bilateral security deal as Washington steps up its troop withdrawals, a US official said on...

Briefs, January 28, 2013

A UN Security Council delegation began a brief visit to Yemen in a clear boost to President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi aimed at helping to iron out problems hampering national reconciliation talks.