Afghanistan >>

However matters eventually turn out for the Afghan Romeo and Juliet who eloped into hiding, a happily-ever-after ending is eluding many of those whose lives crossed theirs....

The American military has repatriated 10 Pakistani prisoners whom it had held at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan....

Also on the Minute, a runoff in Afghanistan’s presidential election and the Times movie critic’s take on the latest return of Godzilla....

Charity Reprive says Pakistani Yunus Rahmatullah released from Bagram prison after detention by UK and US troops in 2004 A man who spent ten years imprisoned without trial in Afghanistan after being detained by British special forces and handed over to the US military was reported to have been released on Thursday. The legal charity Reprive said that Yunus Rahmatullah had been freed from the prison...

Voters face dangerous trip to polls for runoff in June after rivals Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani fail to claim clear majority Afghans face a dangerous trip to the polls in June for a second round of voting in their presidential election after no candidate claimed a clear majority in the first round. The contest between two former ministers will be decided at the height of the summer fighting...

Reports that the international criminal court might take over the cases of British soldiers accused of war crimes in Iraq or Afghanistan begs two questions ( Report , 14 May). Why doesn't the ICC address one of the most serious war crimes launching an aggressive war, allegedly committed by more senior figures including politicians? And what about war crimes in the US, including the use of torture...

The front-runner, Abdullah Abdullah, won 45 percent of the votes, but it was not enough to avoid a runoff, forcing an election on June 14....

Photos from Turkey, Afghanistan, Israel and South Africa....

Key campaigns for year to March 2015 include explaining deficit reduction, Scottish referendum and UK's role in Afghanistan The government is to increase its advertising spend by more than a fifth to almost £300m over the next year. Continue reading... ...

With so many cameras pointed directly at a once untouched land, the real tragedy of one of the worst natural disasters in Afghan history was quite simple. With noise all around, the story of the land and the people who had made a home here had been......

Sgt. Kyle J. White, an Army radiotelephone operator, struggled for hours through persistent enemy fire to try to save the lives of wounded soldiers during a surprise Taliban attack in 2007....

When it comes to drugs, Iranians traditionally turned to opium and heroin. But a younger generation needed to turn up the dial Crystal meth, known in Iran as shisheh, or crystalline glass, has in a very short time become Tehrans drug of choice. Meth is to sedative opiates, one could say, what new Tehran is to old Tehran. Injecting meth brings a quick rush of energy: energy to keep pace with zooming...

After 13 years, the British military presence in Afghanistan is about to come to an end. If you have been affected by the conflict, we would like to hear from you This week the veterans' mental health charity, Combat Stress has reported a 57% increase in the number of ex-military personnel needing treatment in 2013 and says the UK must prepare for more such cases. We'd like to find out what effect...

Just like in Ulster, peace in Afghanistan can only be achieved with a long-term commitment, former US diplomat says Barack Obama should copy America's 20-year commitment to the Irish peace process and keep engaged with Afghanistan instead of a zero-option military pullout, a former US diplomat has urged the president and his administration. David Sedney, the former deputy American assistant defence...

There are persistent reports of innocent people being tortured and killed by the police in Kandahar, creating a backlash that local people say has fed support for the Taliban....

Cross-party report says attempts to manage soaring levels of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan have been a spectacular failure Attempts by successive governments to control the Afghan opium poppy harvest the source of most of the heroin that reaches Britain have been a spectacular failure, according to a report from a cross-party group of MPs published on Tuesday. As British troops prepare to leave...

Eliza Griswold will read from “I Am The Beggar of the World,” a book of landai by female Afghan poets, in New York on May 12, 2014. Griswold wrote for the magazine about young Afghan women for whom writing landai served as a vital, and in some......

Photos from Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan and India....

At least 11 were killed in the attacks, a reminder that as the last Western troops withdraw, the Afghan forces will be hard-pressed just to hold ground....

Crackdown on Muslim-turned-Christians has seen an increasing number seek refuge, giving religious life a small boost in one of the most 'godless' places on earth On a breezy Sunday morning, 17 Christian converts are being baptized into a Berlin congregation just in time for Christmas. The yellow, stained-glass windows, situated high enough to catch the suns beams, are glowing. The old wooden pews...