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Five Afghanistan scholars visiting the University of Washington to work on their master's theses were reported missing after failing to show up for a week of training sessions, university officials said today. The five were among 38 mid-career government and nonprofit officials in Seattle for a three-month research and training program. They are working toward a master's degree in public policy and administration at Kabul University. The program is in its second year through the Evans School of Public Affairs. It's also the second time Afghani scholars have gone missing. SNIP The five men, who are all 30 or younger,...

Afghanistan: A warlord Hekmatyar claimed the ambush against the French KABUL - The Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar claimed responsibility for the ambush in which ten French soldiers were killed near Kabul on August 18 and acknowledged the death of ten of its own fighters in this battle, in a video received Monday by a private news agency Afghan. The attack had previously been claimed by the Taliban, which form a separate group Hezb-e-Islami (Islamic party, HIG) to Hekmatyar. On 18 August, a French patrol fell into an ambush mounted by 140 to 170 well-armed insurgents in the valley Uzbeen...

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy shakes hands with Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace in Kabul August 20, 2008. President Sarkozy said on Wednesday he had no regrets about sending 700 more troops to Afghanistan, after insurgents killed 10 French soldiers, the biggest single loss for foreign forces in combat since 2001. REUTERS/Olivier Laban-Mattei/Pool (AFGHANISTAN)

AP NewsAlert - KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghan governor says militants try to storm US military base in eastern Afghanistan

Obama's Balancing Act Abroad In The Middle East, Obama Juggles Troop And Territory Issues That Are Delicate And Potentially Explosive AMMAN, Jordan, July 21, 2008 (CBS) This week is more than a series of photo ops. Barack Obama hopes to convince voters back home that he's comfortable on the world stage and can juggle a number of delicate and potentially explosive foreign-policy issues, CBS News anchor Katie Couric reports. During the primaries, Obama built his candidacy on the premise that he believed the Iraq War was a mistake he opposed all along. As he said: "a war that never should have...

Brack Obama launched his week-long world tour with a brief stop in Kuwait and then began a longer visit to Afghanistan, ahead of planned stops in Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and England. The highly anticipated trip was launched in secrecy, with Obama’s campaign refusing to confirm that he had left the country, citing security reasons. The campaign announced early Saturday morning that Obama was on the ground in Kabul, Afghanistan. The U.S. military later said Obama was greeting U.S. troops at Jalalabad airfield in eastern Afghanistan. Obama made a secret stop in Kuwait and visited U.S. service members, then...

Afghan official suggests Pakistan linked to bomb By AMIR SHAH The Associated Press Tuesday, July 8, 2008; 7:23 AM KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghan officials have evidence that foreigners were behind a massive suicide bombing against India's embassy in Kabul, President Hamid Karzai's spokesman said Tuesday, implying that Pakistan orchestrated the attack. The spokesman, Humayun Hamidzada, did not name Pakistan's intelligence agency but told reporters it was "pretty obvious" who was behind Monday's bombing, which killed 41 people and wounded 150. An Afghan security report released earlier Tuesday found that the bombing could not have succeeded without the support of foreign...

KABUL: A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-filled car into the gates of the Indian embassy in Kabul, leaving at least 40 people dead, officials and a witness said. ( Watch video ) "The number of deaths at this time is 28, while 141 people were wounded, half of them hospitalised," health ministry spokesman Abdullah Fahim said, adding that the figure was based on information from several hospitals. The blast destroyed about four cars outside the embassy in the heart of the city, and flesh and broken limbs were scattered at the scene, an Afghan witness said. The bomber hit the...

Russia joins the war in Afghanistan By M K Bhadrakumar Jun 25, 2008 Moscow is staging an extraordinary comeback on the Afghan chessboard after a gap of two decades following the Soviet Union's nine-year adventure that ended in the withdrawal of its last troops from Afghanistan 1989. In a curious reversal of history, this is possible only with the acquiescence of the United States. Moscow is taking advantage of the deterioration of the war in Afghanistan and the implications for regional security could be far-reaching.

First lady Laura Bush, on a mission to highlight signs of rebirth in war-weary Afghanistan, ventured outside of Kabul on Sunday to an area that symbolizes both the destruction of war and Afghanistan's attempt at rebirth. Mrs. Bush, on her third unannounced visit to the country, flew into the Afghan capital then immediately boarded a helicopter for a 50-minute flight to Bamiyan Province, the farthest she has traveled from Kabul. Her chopper touched down in a dusty field at a provincial reconstruction team compound operated by New Zealand. From there she could see the empty niches in a cliffside where...

Afghan President Hamid Karzai escaped unharmed Sunday after militants attacked a high-profile military parade with rockets and gunfire, killing three people including an MP and wounding a dozen. The extremist Taliban movement claimed responsibility for the daring attack, denying however that it was an assassination attempt on Karzai. Bullets struck into the back of a stage where the president and Afghan leaders, including the most senior international representatives here, were seated to review the country's most important annual military parade. There were also several large explosions, with one -- likely from a rocket-propelled grenade -- landing just in front of...

via translation - ALERT - Explosions in Kabul during a military parade KABUL - Explosions and gunfire have occurred during a military parade Sunday in Kabul and security forces evacuated the site of President Hamid Karzai, reported an AFP journalist.

Like pensions and insurance, defence is one of those subjects to which too many people only pay attention when things go wrong. You might think, in the light of the past decade, that this would have changed. But you would be sadly mistaken. Even today, even after Iraq, few mainstream MPs without an immediate personal or constituency interest in the subject turn up in the Commons for defence debates. Many politicians who are thoughtful about a range of domestic issues still pass by on the other side when the conversation gravitates to the military. In this they reflect the British...

KABUL, Afghanistan - Arsonists set fire Friday to a radio station near Kabul accused of being un-Islamic, and two poppy eradication policemen were killed in Afghanistan's southwest, officials said. Four gunmen broke into the offices of Radio Zafar before dawn, tied up two security guards and then set the station's equipment ablaze, said Paghman district police chief Abdul Razaq. The station's director, Najibullah Nassir, said militants have accused Radio Zafar of being morally corrupt and un-Islamic. Its programming includes shows on Islam, sports, news and music.

US Vice-President Dick Cheney has arrived in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on an unannounced visit, reports say. Mr Cheney is expected to hold talks with President Hamid Karzai ahead of a meeting of Nato partners. Reports say this is Mr Cheney's fourth vice-presidential trip to Afghanistan. Mr Cheney arrived from Iraq and the Middle East, where his visit coincided with the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Petraeus: Al Qaida Trying to 'Come Back In' U.S. military officials said there will be no significant reduction in coalition troops in the Baghdad area as part of an effort to stop the Al Qaida offensive in northern Iraq. They said Al Qaida was trying to reenter Baghdad and reverse its losses in 2007. "Al Qaida is trying to come back in," U.S. military commander Gen. David Petraeus said. "We can feel it and see it, and what we're trying to do is rip out any roots before they can get deeply into the ground." Read More Militants Assert...

Explosion reported, no further word on injuries or exact location. Just the title and "More soon" on the BBC site.

Excerpt - KABUL, Feb 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband arrived in Kabul on Thursday for an unannounced visit to Afghanistan. ~ snip ~

Yesterday's coordinated small-arms attack and suicide bombings at the five-star Serena hotel in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul has been traced back to a senior Taliban commander based out of northwestern Pakistan, according to Afghanistan's intelligence chief. Siraj Haqqani, the leader of the dangerous Haqqani network, has been implicated in the Serena strike. The details of the attack are still being sorted out. At least seven people were reported killed, including two guards, three hotel employees and a Norwegian reporter. Strategic Security Solutions International, the company responsible for security at the Serena, said four attackers were involved. The Taliban fighters were...

KABUL, Afghanistan - A Taliban spokesman warned Tuesday that militants would increase attacks against restaurants in Kabul frequented by Westerners, a day after eight people died in a brazen assault on a luxury hotel in the Afghan capital. Afghan officials said they had arrested four men following Monday's assault on the Serena Hotel a heavily guarded and high-profile property frequented by Western workers and officials. Among those detained was one of the attackers disguised in a police uniform. "We will target all these restaurants in Kabul where foreigners are eating," Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, told The Associated Press by...