French police officers train their counterparts in Afghan police schools as François Hollande promises to withdraw troops from the country by the end of the year. In India, working conditions on the tea estates come under scrutiny in the state of Assam. The world’s second tallest building attracts the tourists despite lying in an earthquake zone.
Eighteen months after Hamid Karzai vowed to shut down private security firms in Afghanistan, it's finally happening. By July, all security contracts will have been handed over to the Interior Ministry-owned Private Protection Force, or APPF. Despite the upcoming deadline, many foreign companies still haven't made the switch. Poorly trained and barely equipped, the new guard force is perceived as an additional security threat to expats, already working in an increasingly hostile environment.
US President Barack Obama paid a surprise visit to Afghanistan Tuesday to sign an agreement cementing US ties with the country once the combat mission ends in 2014. The visit also marked the anniversary of the killing of terrorist Osama bin Laden.
After weeks of closed-door talks, the US and Afghanistan finalised a partnership agreement Sunday detailing the scope of US involvement in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of its troops in 2014. The deal must be signed by both countries’ presidents.
NATO said Wednesday it should be able to complete a comprehensive plan on the size and cost of Afghan security forces after foreign troops leave in 2014 by next month, when Afghan forces are supposed to have full control.
As NATO officials finalise their withdrawal plans from Afghanistan, Annette Young talks to a former senior NATO official, Ambassador Lawrence G. Rossin. Rossin admits the 2014 deadline is not so much unrealistic as it is ambitious.
Hundreds of Afghan women are in prison for "moral crimes", including fleeing domestic violence or adultery for having been raped, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday, adding that Afghan authorities have failed to uphold international human rights laws.
The shock at this weekend's killing of 16 Afghan civilians, including several children, by a US soldier has been as heartfelt in America as it has in Afghanistan. The Taliban have sworn revenge on what they say call "occupying forces" in the country,while US voters are increasingly concerned about getting their troops out, believing the war is unwinnable and saying that the cost of it - particularly the human one - has not been worth its while.
The burning of the Koran appears to have undone years of trying to win over hearts and minds - on the streets of Afghanistan there's nothing but a visceral hatred for the West and its values. International forces are due to stay on in the country until 2014, but what can they achieve with such hostility from the people they are trying to train and protect?
The burning of the Koran appears to have undone years of trying to win over hearts and minds - on the streets of Afghanistan there's nothing but a visceral hatred for the West and its values. International forces are due to stay on in the country until 2014, but what can they achieve with such hostility from the people they are trying to train and protect?
