Fighting alongside US troops since 2001, the French military deployment in Afghanistan reached 3,750 soldiers in 2009. FRANCE 24 takes a closer look at where French troops are and what they are doing across this troubled country.
Doctors who risk their lives to save other people’s, scientists working on growing blood in a lab and researchers aiming to erase traumatic war memories – it’s all in this week’s Health show.
Six Afghan children and their parents were killed in a NATO air strike in the east of Afghanistan, local officials reported on Sunday. On the same day, NATO confirmed the deaths of four coalition service members in separate roadside bomb attacks.
Four members of NATO staff, one believed to be a British soldier, have been killed in Afghanistan in separate roadside bomb attacks, the alliance announced on Sunday. Their deaths push the number of NATO service members killed this month up to 33.
Around 1,400 French soldiers will stay on in Afghanistan after the planned withdrawal of 2,000 combat troops later this year, François Hollande announced on Friday. The soldiers will remain in the war-torn country to help with training and logistics.
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.
French President François Hollande made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Friday to meet with French troops and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Hollande defended his decision to withdraw French forces from the country by the end of the year.
In his first talks with US President Barack Obama on Friday, French President François Hollande said he would honour a campaign pledge to withdraw French troops from Afghanistan this year but said France would support the NATO mission in other ways.
Former Taliban official turned peace negotiator Arsala Rahmani was assassinated on May 13th in Kabul. His death strikes yet another blow to peace efforts in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Uighur exiles hold their biggest gathering in three years in Tokyo and make China see red. Finally, pop sensation Lady Gaga runs into trouble in Indonesia. Authorities say she can't perform there because her songs are too racy.
French President François Hollande has vowed to withdraw French troops from Afghanistan before the New Year, placing him in a difficult diplomatic position as he holds his first talks with US President Barack Obama on Friday.
