afghanistan popularity and afghanistan trends

KABUL : A roadside bomb in western Afghanistan and clashes in the volatile south left eleven police officers dead, officials said Tuesday. The bomb killed six police guards in Herat province on Tuesday as they travelled to a hydroelectric dam that is under protection from insurgent attack. The officers were from the Afghan Public Protection Force, a government-run force...

Hamid Karzai met PM Manmohan Singh for a "restricted" meeting on Tuesday evening during which he is learnt to have called for an expansion of defence ties between the two countries.    

A suicide bombing in Kabul was almost as noteworthy for the group that took credit — Hezb-i-Islami, a largely spent insurgent force — as for its deadliness.    

Military lawyers tell last hearing before trial they have dropped one of 22 counts but will still press most serious accusationProsecutors in the case against the WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning have decided to drop one of 22 counts against him, but are pressing ahead with the most serious accusation, that he "aided the enemy".Military lawyers told Manning's final pre-trial...

India announces more training and reconstruction aid, as Afghan president seeks help ahead of withdrawal of NATO troops.

Photos of fathers smoking the deadly drug in front of their children and groups of addicts huddled around in treatment centres reveal the extent of the problem in the war-torn country.

Die Frühjahrsoffensive der Taliban dauert an. Bei einem Angriff auf einen Außenposten der Polizei wurden nun mehrere Menschen getötet. Laut Regierungsangaben sollen bis zu 500 Kämpfer bei dem Frontalangriff beteiligt gewesen sein.    

* Pentagon control could open program to more congressional oversight * Strikes in Yemen to be run by armed forces * CIA to keep drone operations in Pakistan for now By Tabassum Zakaria and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's administration has decided to give the Pentagon...

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Dozens of Taliban insurgents launched coordinated attacks on Afghan checkpoints in the south on Tuesday, killing at least six Afghan policemen, officials said, adding that a clash was going on.

Tweet Widget Facebook Like Email The Afghan government should take urgent steps to halt an alarming increase in women and girls imprisoned for “moral crimes." (Kabul) – The Afghan government should take urgent steps to halt an alarming increase in women and girls imprisoned for “moral crimes,” Human Rights...

More women imprisoned for 'moral crimes' as fears grow that hard-won rights are at risk as western troops head homeThe number of Afghan women jailed for fleeing forced and abusive marriages, and other "moral crimes", has soared since 2011, according to Human Rights Watch.About 600 women and girls are in prison for offences including running away from their husband or family,...

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- 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....

SAN DIEGO -- A former civilian contractor at Camp Pendleton was sentenced Monday to six months in prison followed by six months' house arrest after pleading guilty to stealing medical equipment meant to be shipped to forward-deployed Marines, including some in Afghanistan.

In 2010, The New York Times uncovered systemic abuse within units meant to help wounded Army soldiers transition through months-and-years-long treatment and rehabilitation. Today, The Colorado Springs Gazette has a profile about one of the soldiers who stood up for Warrior Transition Units back then. The abuses exposed by the Times weren't fixed and Jerrald [...]    ...

After Afghan President Hamid Karzai thanked India for help in rebuilding Afghanistan, Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal embarrassed him by stating that heroin was coming from Afghanistan to Punjab and the state was fighting hard to deal with drug menace.    

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.

Exposed Chinese hacking unit resumes attacks Top news: The Chinese army unit identified as the central player in China's cyberattacks on foreign governments and businesses has resumed operations after being exposed earlier this year. According to a report by the cybersecurity firm Mandiant commissioned by the New York Times, PLA unit 61398 is operating...

Najibullah Hashimi, from Kent, is to be sent back to Kabul, despite achieving 13 GCSEs, settling down with a foster family and becoming a pillar of his community.

The last full-up Army brigade in Afghanistan has all the latest tech.

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.    

Karzai is expected to ask India for help with 'military needs and shortages' during three-day visit to subcontinentHamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has arrived in Delhi on a three-day visit during which he is expected to ask India to boost its assistance to Afghan armed forces.The request would heighten tensions in the region, and raise concerns among western observers...

A security force soldier was gunned down when a polio vaccination team was attacked in Bajaur Agency bordering Afghanistan on Monday. Officials said miscreants in Mamond area opened fire on an anti-polio team. A soldier of Levies Forces, who was escorting the immunization team, was killed in the attack whereas the team members remained safe. Security forces kicked off...

A suicide bomber killed 14 people Monday in Baghlan Province, including Rasul Mohseni, who was widely seen as the most powerful man in the region.    

Afghan president condemns attack on provincial government office in Pul-e-Khumri, Baghlan which left at least 13 dead.

POL-E-KHOMRI, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber blew up a senior official and 14 others outside a government office in the northern Afghan province of Baghlan on Monday, police said.

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana has canceled subsidies for a planned $1.8 billion fertilizer plant in the state because of concerns that a Pakistani company involved in the project makes products used in improvised explosives that kill and injure U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Midwest Fertilizer Corp, which has sought to build the plant in southern Indiana, is 48 percent owned by...

KABUL - Taliban attacks killed at least ten Afghan police on Sunday, officials said, in the latest violence against the force which is due to take more security responsibility from NATO troops before their withdrawal next year. In one of the incidents, Taliban fighters attacked a security check post in the Muqur district of Ghazni province in southern Afghanistan, killing...

Taliban resurgence could immediately undo any improvements made under U.S. occupation, as could economic collapse, civil war and regional instability.

As the 2014 deadline for withdrawal of western forces from Afghanistan draws near, China has stepped up engagement with Pakistan.

President to push legal case for targeted drone strikes and outline position on Guantánamo detention camp, reports sayPresident Barack Obama will use a major speech on counter-terrorism this week to address the failure to shut down Guantánamo Bay and push the legal case for targeted drone strikes, according to reports.The Washington Post, citing White House officials,...

An Army soldier from North Carolina came home to several surprises not least of which was his slimmed-down wife. Specialist Larry Shaffer had been in Afghanistan for an entire year. Misty, his wife was able to lose 150lbs while he was away.

Ambassador of Afghanistan to India, Shaida Mohammad Abdali, said here on Saturday that Afghanistan needs India's commitment in the defence sector not only for tackling problems such as terrorism in Afghanistan, but also to avoid a spillover effect of the same in India.    

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - Indiana has canceled subsidies for a planned $1.8 billion fertilizer plant in the state because of concerns that a Pakistani company involved in the project makes products used in improvised explosives that kill and injure U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Ahead of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's visit here next week, India today said it was ready to discuss and consider Afghanistan's request for arms supplies, as and when raised.    

MP Fawzia Koofi hoped parliamentary vote would prevent law's reversal, but conservatives claimed it violated Islamic principlesAn Afghan MP has accused her conservative opponents of blocking a law to protect women's rights saying parts of it violate Islamic principles.The law was enacted in 2009 by presidential decree but Fawzia Koofi wanted to cement it with a parliamentary...

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Conservative religious lawmakers in Afghanistan blocked legislation on Saturday aimed at strengthening provisions for women's freedoms, arguing that parts of it violate Islamic principles and encourage disobedience....

An official says motorcycle-riding gunmen have shot dead a police chief who led an anti-Taliban campaign in western Afghanistan in front of his house.    

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- An Afghan legislator says conservative lawmakers have blocked a law that aims to protect women's freedoms, saying parts of it violate Islamic principles....

Sgt. Ross Gundlach and Casey formed a bond while searching for bombs in Afghanistan.

Two soldiers from Southern California have been killed in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced Friday.

Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai is scheduled to visit Lovely Professional University on May 20 along with President Pranab Mukherjee, and would be receiving the university's first Honoris Causa degree.    

A car bomb exploded inside an elite gated community linked to the family of President Hamid Karzai.

Alayna Adams, 9, got the surprise of her life on Thursday when she threw a ceremonial pitch at a Tampa Bay Rays game. Her father who has been in Afghanistan for a year was disguised as the catcher and removed his mask to surprise her.

TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 17, 2013 Dear Mr. Speaker: I ask the Congress to consider the enclosed Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Budget amendments for the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, the Interior, Justice, State, and Transportation, as well as Other International...

Military family reunion videos are always a hit with Internet-goers happy to add some good feels to what may be an otherwise boring days. This one, however, puts a new — and especially heart-warming — twist on the genre It features 9-year-old Alayna Adams from Dunedin, Fla., who was invited to throw out the first pitch at Thursday night's Major League Baseball game...

Two car bombs exploded on Friday in a sprawling housing development in southern Afghanistan linked to the family of President Hamid Karzai, killing at least nine people and wounding more than 60.    

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Two bombs hidden in a motorcycle and a car exploded inside an elite gated community linked to the family of Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Friday evening, killing at least nine people and wounding more than 70 near the southern city of Kandahar, an official said....

Soldier who survived worst ever battlefield injuries in Afghanistan said he was moved to be described as "inspiration" by Prince of Wales.    

Vorabmeldung zu einem Interview in der nächsten Ausgabe der Wochenzeitung „Das Parlament“ (Erscheinungstag: 21. Mai 2013) bei Nennung der Quelle frei zu sofortigen Veröffentlichung – Omid Nouripour (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) sieht das Engagement Deutschlands und den ISAF-Einsatz in Afghanistan als gescheitert an. Wörtlich sagte der verteidigungspolitische Sprecher...

Mohammed Abdulkadir Osman jailed for eight years for stabbing British soldier to death during fight at Ayia Napa nightclubA Manchester man has been jailed for eight years for the manslaughter of a British soldier in Cyprus, the Ministry of Defence says.David Lee Collins, 19, was stabbed to death after a fight broke out in a nightclub in the popular resort of Ayia Napa...

KHYBER AGENCY - A driver was killed when unidentified militants opened fire at a NATO supply tanker in Gariza area of Jamrud tehsil, sub-division of Khyber tribal region, on Thursday, official sources said.  According to an administration official, the trailer returned from Afghanistan and was on its way to Karachi Port when attacked. In a separate incident, gunmen shot...

CROWD of 15,000 wellwishers cheer men of 40 Commando as they return to Somerset after THREE tours of Afghanistan

Even non-soccer fans know how hooliganism can quickly turn a harmless match into a veritable war zone, full of riots, stabbings, even death. To help keep the peace at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, FIFA has decided to go high-tech by enlisting military robots for security. SEE ALSO: First-Ever Drone Launched From Aircraft Carrier iRobot recently announced...

The surviving Boston marathon bomber allegedly scrawled a note inside the boat where he was discovered, blaming America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the deadly attack.    

Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wrote a note before his capture in which he called the victims "collateral damage" for US action in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Rose Garden 12:48 P.M. EDT PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Please be seated, everybody.  Good afternoon.  It is a great pleasure to welcome my friend, Prime Minister Erdogan, back to the White House.  This visit is also another opportunity for me to return the extraordinary hospitality that the Prime Minister and the Turkish people showed me on my visit to Turkey four years ago. ...

President and Turkish prime minister skate over differences on Syria as two put focus on agreement that Assad must goBarack Obama and Turkish prime minister Recep Erdogan skated over major differences on how to deal with the Syrian crisis after a lengthy meeting at the White House on Thursday.Obama, at a joint press conference in the Rose Garden, said there was "no magic...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) -- Sitting on a dirty straw mat on the parched ground of southern Afghanistan, Masooma sank deeper inside a giant black shawl. Hidden from view, her words burst forth as she told her side of what happened to her family sometime before dawn on March 11, 2012....

Crowds of people waved Union flags and cheered loudly in the Somerset town of Taunton to formally welcome home troops from 40 Commando.

Der 19-jährige Terrorverdächtige Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (kl. Bild), hat womöglich kurz vor seiner Verhaftung in einem "Bekennerschreiben" die Verantwortung für den Doppelanschlag auf den Bostoner Marathon übernommen. Wie der US-Sender "CBS News" am Donnerstag berichtete, fanden Ermittler eine Notiz in jenem Motorboot, in welchem sich der jüngere der beiden Terror-Brüder...

The piece was published today in Turkish by Turkish Daily “Sabah” and can be found here. The full English text of the op-ed by President Obama is printed below. A Partnership That Delivers By President Barack Obama Turkey and the United States have been partners since shortly after the birth of the modern Turkish Republic.  As NATO allies,...

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone's new and mysterious startup called Jelly still isn't saying what it's up to, but it has announced funding. According to details posted to the official company blog this morning, the team has raised a Series A from a notable lineup of investors in a round led by Spark Capital, with additional investment from SV Angel, and a group of angels...

According to CBS News, Tsarnaev used a pen to scrawl a message on the inside wall of the boat calling brother a martyrAccused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was found hiding in a boat days after the blasts, left a handwritten message describing the attack as retribution for US wars in Muslim countries, CBS News reported on Thursday.The CBS News report, citing...

Six Americans are among the dead after a car packed with explosives shook the relative calm that has prevailed for months in the Afghan capital.    

Eine Autobombe hat in Kabul mindestens sechs Menschen getötet. Nachdem die Taliban ihre Frühjahrsoffensive ausgerufen haben, trifft es jetzt die Hauptstadt.

At least six Afghans killed, including three children, in rush hour attack that may also have killed a number of Nato personnelA suicide bomber drove his explosives-packed Toyota Corolla into a Nato convoy in Kabul, tearing an armoured vehicle to shreds and killing at least three children and three other civilian passersby.The attacker, from a Taliban-linked militant group,...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- An expert in Afghan culture testified Wednesday that pornography found on the computer of a U.S. Army general then deployed to the Muslim country would be highly offensive to local residents.Former Defense Intelligence Agency adviser Morwari Zafar made the comments at a pre-trial hearing for Brig. Gen. Jeffery Sinclair. A court-martial for the former...

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A suicide bomber rammed his car into a NATO convoy in the Afghan capital on Thursday, killing at least six people in the explosion and wounding more than 30, officials said....

Rick was a soldier, a sergeant in the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, and his relationship with Leanne was punctuated by partings and reunions; by yearning and then passion. But three years ago, Rick was critically injured while on duty in Afghanistan.

As the drawdown in Afghanistan reaches a decisive phase, Afghan President Hamid Karzai will pay a three-day visit to India, starting next Monday.    

Thirty-five Taliban militants have been killed and 30 others wounded during operation across Afghanistan within the last 24 hours, the country's Interior Ministry said Wednesday. "Afghan police supported by the army and NATO-led coalition forces launched several cleanup operations in Kunduz, Kandahar, Zabul, Uruzgan and Helmand provinces over the past 24 hours. As a result...

  James S. Brady Press Briefing Room     1:26 P.M. EDT     MR. CARNEY:  Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.  I want to thank you for being here today.     I’ve often been asked and seen some comments about what it’s like to be up here, having been over there on the firing line, if you will.  And I can remember sitting in the chair that...

U.S. Capitol Washington, D.C. 11:20 A.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, everybody.  Please have a seat.  Thank you, Chuck, for that introduction and more importantly for your leadership as National President of the Fraternal Order of Police.  I want to recognize the entire Order and all its leaders, including Jim Pasco, for everything that...