A campaign started this week, “Not a Bug Splat,” sought to draw attention to the human cost of American drone strikes in Pakistan, and to communicate directly with the pilots who guide the bombers to their targets by remote control....
An Afghan journalist recalls his conflicted feelings toward the nation’s first peaceful, democratic transition of power....
“The Wrong Enemy,” by Carlotta Gall, makes the case that Pakistan is the power behind the war in Afghanistan....
Decision by Mike Martin will allow him to publish critical account of Helmand conflict without interference from MoD A captain in the Territorial Army has resigned after a dispute with the Ministry of Defence over a book he has written that is critical of the conduct of the campaign in Afghanistan's Helmand province. The MoD commissioned the book by Dr Mike Martin, but took exception to parts of the...
Citing international and Afghan election observers, the nation’s complaints commission said this weekend’s vote was much cleaner than the one in 2009....
When polling day finally dawned in Afghanistan, it was mostly peaceful even a flawed election is better than none I woke early on election morning with a grim sense of foreboding. I had set my alarm clock not to catch the first voters, but in readiness for the first suicide bombers, who Afghan and foreign security officials warned us would target polling stations in waves. In the weeks leading up to...
The aid workers who remain behind must be protected so they can work....
Former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani appear to be leading presidential race Afghanistan has begun tallying up votes from the weekend's historic presidential elections, a process that will take weeks to complete, but rough early counts suggests the country is headed for a second round show-down between two former ministers. Voters defied a Taliban intimidation...
Will the court decide that Marine A has the right to know whether he was convicted by a majority ruling? Alexander Wayne Blackman, formerly known as "Marine A", will ask the court martial appeal court on Thursday for permission to appeal against his murder conviction and the minimum prison term of 10 years to which he was sentenced. What are his chances? Continue reading... ...
Vladimir Putin hopes to promote Kremlin's interests as revival of Soviet-era development projects coincides with US withdrawal To the white-bearded Afghan machinists, it felt like the cold war era had returned. After 25 years of working in a sprawling Soviet-built factory a vestige of a war and occupation long extinguished they suddenly spotted a new shipment of gleaming Russian equipment arriving...
But the threat of disruption from the Taliban is always present....
Election officials in Afghanistan said that between seven million and 7.5 million ballots had been counted....
Photos from Afghanistan, Bosnia, South Africa and Ukraine....
Ballot boxes are collected on Sunday after Afghanistan's presidential election which saw a huge turnout of an estimated seven million voters. Despite security threats from the Taliban the election took place on Saturday with only a small number of minor attacks. This will be the country's first democratic transfer of power as President Hamid Karzai steps down after 12 years Continue reading... ...
In districts where the insurgency is strongest, the Taliban did not have to pick up rifles to disrupt the vote....
Despite avowals about the need to refocus the agency on its original missions of analysis, intelligence collecting and espionage, the paramilitary operations prove hard to give up....
According to preliminary estimates, about 58% of eligible voters turned out for presidential vote President Barack Obama congratulated the millions of people in Afghanistan who voted in the country's presidential election on Saturday, calling the event a milestone in their drive to take full responsibility for their country. Turnout was 7 million out of 12 million eligible voters, or about 58%, according...
In this week's gallery of the best photojournalism from the week, we pay tribute to regular contributor Anja Niedringhaus. The Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer was killed this week covering the presidential election in Afghanistan. She worked in the conflict areas of the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Libya from where she always displayed compassionate and courageous photojournalism Continue...
Afghans defy threats of violence by the Taliban and take to their local polling stations to vote in the presidential elections Continue reading... ...
Country braced for fraud and Taliban violence but failed to anticipate Afghans flocking to elect Hamid Karzai's successor In anxious preparation for a historic presidential election, Afghanistan fortified its cities against attack, primed observers to detect fraud ... then was blind-sided by a problem no one had even dared to imagine unprecedented voter enthusiasm. Defying Taliban threats and the more...