Karzai's Holiday Pardons Set an American Free
KABUL, Afghanistan, April 30 — An American imprisoned here after being found guilty of running a private jail and torturing detainees was released Sunday under a presidential pardon.
KABUL, Afghanistan, April 30 — An American imprisoned here after being found guilty of running a private jail and torturing detainees was released Sunday under a presidential pardon.
WASHINGTON — The Army's chief of staff said Wednesday that he was frustrated by security lapses at Bagram air base in Afghanistan that led to the loss of potentially sensitive data, and that the military must learn how to be more careful with new technology.
“Much hard work lies ahead if progress is to be assured, if peace is to prevail, if human rights are to be strengthened, if friendly relations with neighbours are to flourish, and if economic growth is to start benefiting all Afghanistan's citizens,” Tom Koenigs told a meeting of the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board, which was set up to resolve strategic issues and provide high-level political support for the Compact's implementation over the next five years.
The question that needs to be asked is whether Israel and the United States are prepared to make the same statement that Iran has repeatedly made, and that is: We have not and will not attack or threaten to attack another country.
"It was just very, very exciting to be in that room with those men with their huge white teeth."
Harry, whose mother Princess Diana died in a Paris car crash when he was 12, is a Second Lieutenant in the Household Cavalry. The regiment is due to go to Iraq next year and British soldiers are also deployed in Afghanistan.
He added: "Massive deportation of the people here is unrealistic. It's just not going to work. You can hear people out there hollering it's going to work. It's not going to work."
Denying women positions of influence is fundamentally undemocratic.
The nearly 400-page report by the government-funded RAND Corporation compared the successful rebuilding of post-World War II Germany and Japan with more recent nation-building efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Balkans.
But five of Karzai's nominees, including the incumbent information and economy ministers and the sole woman, were rejected.
WINDSOR, England -- Her gifts included a 21-gun salute, a Union Jack baseball cap, a tea set and a birthday tribute Friday from Prince Charles to his "darling mama," 80-year-old Queen Elizabeth II.
KABUL, Apr 20 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The lower house of parliament Thursday rejected five ministers-designate of the 25-member cabinet approved by President Hamid Karzai about a month back.
Spanta has sought to portray himself as a force for moderation and pragmatism in the proposed government -- a self-described "Muslim democrat" who wants to stay the course in Afghan foreign policy.
Professors Teach College Courses for U.S. Troops Stationed in Afghanistan
The Bushes contributed $75,560 - about 10 percent of their income - to churches and charitable organizations. Those included the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army's funds for hurricane relief in the United States and earthquake aid in Pakistan.
Taxpayers who are subject to it have to calculate their regular income tax, compare that to the AMT, and pay whichever amount is larger.
What we've seen over the last five years in Afghanistan is the fact that because reconstruction has not taken place, nor job creation, investment in agriculture, by which 17% of the population live, people have grown back to growing what is the simplest and most lucrative crop, which is poppy. With poppy comes, of course, massive corruption. Poppy is outside the formal economy. It's part of the black economy, and a lot of the profits are taken out of Afghanistan. But those that remain form an enormous bank, if you like, for corruption and corrupt practices.
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan must have a balanced foreign policy, with good relations with the United States and India as well as immediate neighbors Pakistan and Iran, the nominee for foreign minister said on Thursday.
SPIEGEL, The case of Afghan Christian convert Abdul Rahman captured the world's attention for two weeks. Now his German asylum file and statements by his brother paint a picture of a seriously troubled man.
BAGRAM, Afghanistan -- A shopkeeper outside the U.S.-led coalition headquarters in Afghanistan was selling computer memory drives Wednesday containing seemingly sensitive military data stolen from inside the base _ including the Social Security numbers of four American generals.
"Many smugglers don't even bother hiding their wealth," said a British diplomat in Kabul "It's their way of saying 'screw you' to authority."
Silvio Berlusconi’s ruling centre-right coalition yesterday refused to concede defeat in Italy’s general election and demanded a recount in the hope of overturning the victory claimed by Romano Prodi and the centre-left opposition.
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, who drafted a confidential options paper for the 25 ministers, and the British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, said that the discussion here on Monday was just a contingency-planning exercise and that sanctions were not imminent.
"One of the decisions I made early on was to have a multinational approach to sending messages, clear messages, to the Iranians, that if they want to be a part of the — an accepted nation in the world, that they must give up their nuclear weapons ambitions," he said. "And we're making pretty good progress."
"Iran has joined the nuclear countries of the world," he later added. "This is a starting point for more major points of success for the Iranian nation."
"I'm announcing officially that Iran has now joined the countries that have nuclear technology," Ahmadinejad said in a carefully staged speech carried live across Iran. "This is a very historic moment, and this is because of the Iranian people and their belief. And this is the start of the progress of this country."
Romano Prodi and his centre-left opposition claimed victory early Tuesday morning after the closest election in modern Italian history, but the ruling centre-right coalition of Silvio Berlusconi refused to concede defeat.
Afghanistan and India have signed three agreements on education and rural development during a visit to Delhi by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
A dramatic shift in Italian vote projections Monday indicated Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi may defy all predictions and cling to power in both houses of parliament.
"We do not want to give the impression that the United States is sitting with Iran to decide about the Iraqi government. The Iraqis will decide that," Khalilzad said on "Fox News Sunday."
Regarding Iran, Bush said, "We do not want the Iranians to have a nuclear weapon, the capacity to make a nuclear weapon, or the knowledge about how to make a nuclear weapon."
PARIS, April 10 -- French President Jacques Chirac's government Monday withdrew a controversial youth employment law that had ignited more than a month of protests and violence on the streets of Paris and other cities.
Full results were not expected until late into the night, and possibly not until Tuesday, and neither Mr. Berlusconi nor his opponent, former Prime Minister Romano Prodi, made any public statements.
The marches took place in big cities like Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Atlanta, and in smaller communities like Hyde Park, N.Y., Garden City, Kan., and Belle Glade, Fla.
WASHINGTON, April 10 — President Bush today dismissed reports that his administration is accelerating plans for a possible military strike against Iran, calling them "wild speculation."
NEW DELHI, April 9 (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in India on Sunday to boost ties with New Delhi that have blossomed after the fall of the Taliban regime, in a trip a nervous Pakistan will be closely watching.
ROME, April 9 -- Italians voted Sunday in a two-day election that could oust Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the media tycoon who promised prosperity but failed to lift Italy's flagging economy during five years in power.
"The threat from Iran is, of course, their stated objective to destroy our strong ally, Israel," Bush said. "That's a threat, a serious threat. . . . I'll make it clear again that we will use military might to protect our ally Israel."
(New York, April 6, 2006) – The United States decision not to seek election to the new United Nations Human Rights Council undermines its claims to leadership in promoting human rights, Human Rights Watch said
In an interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, the minister warned against drastic changes in foreign policy and said it was not the job of the new FM. Rather, he added, it was the leadership (President Karzai) to take a decision if needed.
Thirteen-year-old Afghan girl Elaha lies in The French Medical Institute for Children hospital in Kabul, April 4, after a life-saving open-heart operation by French surgeons, the first-ever in Afghanistan. AFP
Indeed, most of Afghanistan’s ambassadors are relatives of high-ranking officials.
RFE/RL: If the parliament rejects some of your cabinet proposals for any reason, do you have alternative proposals in mind?
"The US administration is manipulating commercial arrangements in order to be able to transfer people in violation of international law"
French President Jacques Chirac will sign a youth employment law which has sparked mass protests, he has declared.
JALALABAD, Apr 3 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Majority of investors will withdraw from Afghanistan if the government failed to bring positive changes in its trade and investment policies.
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER-- Only 98 U.S. troops died in Afghanistan last year but the ratio of casualties to overall troop levels makes Afghanistan as dangerous as Iraq. While Iraq's violent disintegration dominates the headlines, President Bush touts Afghanistan as a success.
"We will probably see a rise in violence this year as NATO spreads into areas in a more dense fashion, as the insurgents try to test the new forces (and) as the government takes on the narcotics traffickers in new areas," Boucher told reporters in Kabul.