Afghan president Hamid Karzai urges West to buy off the Taliban (Times Online)
After giving up on winning victory in Afghanistan by military means, the international community is resorting to the centuries-old method of buying its way out.
An Afghan girl watches as U.S. Army officers discuss local development projects with her father (The Record and Herald News)
An Afghan girl is seen in Ghalbalay, a village in the Pech Valley, Kunar province, northeastern Afghanistan. The girl was watching as U.S. Army officers from the 2-12 Infantry discussed local development projects with her father, a local elder, during a pause in a patrol.
Pakistan reaching out to “all levels” of Afghan Taliban (Dawn)
Face-covered militants who they say are Talibans, pose with RPG and AK47, in Zabul province, southern of Kabul, Afghanistan. AP (File Photo) ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is reaching out to all levels of the Afghan Taliban in a bid to encourage reconciliation with its war-torn neighbour, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Saturday.
Reception marks 55th anniversary of China-Afghanistan diplomatic ties (People’s Daily)
The Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and the Afghan embassy in Beijing jointly held a reception Tuesday to celebrate the 55th anniversary of China-Afghanistan diplomatic ties. Addressing the reception, CPAFFC President Chen Haosu hailed China-Afghanistan relations, highlighting their increasingly frequent exchanges in various fields and deepened …
Taliban attacks paralyze Afghan capital for hours (GMA News)
Taliban militants wearing explosive vests launched a brazen daylight assault Monday on the center of Kabul, with suicide bombings and gunbattles near the presidential palace and other government buildings that paralyzed the city for hours.
NATO forces scramble to improve Afghan police and secure Taliban heartland (The Canadian Press via Yahoo! Canada News)
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – U.S. and Canadian forces are rushing to train a police force capable of blunting a Taliban comeback in Kandahar, the major city in Afghanistan’s volatile south, the militants’ spiritual birthplace and the key to turning back the insurgency.
Karzai to pay Taliban? (iafrica.com)
Afghan President Hamid Karzai wants to pay Taliban fighters to lay down their arms.
Afghan-Canadian doc returns to Kabul to set up first academic heart clinic (The Canadian Press via Yahoo! Canada News)
KABUL, Afghanistan – With scrounged, cast-off heart-testing machines and boundless optimism, an Afghan-Canadian cardiologist has managed a remarkable feat – setting up Afghanistan’s first free academic cardiac clinic.
KABUL ATTACK HIGHLIGHTS COMPETING US, TALIBAN URBAN STRATEGIES (EurasiaNet)
Kabul has cautiously returned to its everyday hustle and bustle, a day after a Taliban attack that rocked the city s center and brought the harsh realities of war perilously close to the presidential palace and key ministry buildings.
Taliban kidnap Afghan district police chief (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Taliban militants attacked a police patrol in eastern Afghanistan early Saturday, capturing a district police chief and two other officers, police said.
