Afghanistan News Center

Afghanistan News May 15, 2012: Today's headlines.....

Poisoned water sickens Afghan boys at school
From Masoud Popalzai, CNN May 15, 2012
(CNN) -- Nearly 400 boys at a school in Afghanistan's Khost province fell ill after drinking water from a well that may have been poisoned, a health official said Tuesday.

Gen. Allen to leave Afghanistan post
By Greg Jaffe, Tuesday, May 15, 4:37 AM The Washington Post
Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, the top commander in Afghanistan, is expected to leave his post early next year and take over the U.S. European Command, officials said.

Afghan Peace Negotiator Blames Assassination On Foreigners
By RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan May 15, 2012
KABUL -- The head of the Afghan High Peace Council has said the assassination plot that killed an influential peace negotiator was planned outside Afghanistan.

President Karzai leaves for Germany
KABUL, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai left Kabul for Germany as head of a high ranking delegation on Tuesday, a statement released by his office here said.

Pakistan poised to resume NATO supply lines to Afghanistan
Pakistan is poised to end a nearly six-month blockade of NATO ground supply routes into Afghanistan, a key demand of the West ahead of a summit in Chicago next week. Pakistan's is keen to attend the Chicago summit to minimize its international isolation and alos boost the country's leverage over the future of Afghanistan.
Tuesday, May 15th 2012 New York Daily News
Pakistan on Tuesday looked poised to end a nearly six-month blockade of NATO ground supply routes into Afghanistan, succumbing to a key demand of the West ahead of a summit in Chicago next week.

Afghanistan, UN Security Council seat on New Zealand FM's U.S. agenda
WELLINGTON, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Two New Zealand ministers will travel to the United States Wednesday to discuss the security situation in Afghanistan with U.S. and NATO leaders.

Canada cutting Afghanistan presence by more than 100 soldiers
By Matthew Fisher, Postmedia News canada.com May 15, 2012 12:14 PM
Canada is to cut its military footprint in Afghanistan by more than 100 soldiers beginning in July, with further reductions likely over the next year.

Afghanistan handover a test of security
The Australian By Amanda Hodge, South Asia Correspondent May 15, 2012
AUSTRALIAN soldiers face one of the most difficult transitions yet seen in Afghanistan as they prepare to hand over security to local forces, with Oruzgan likely to be the canary in the coalmine of the troubled south.

Pentagon defends Afghan local police program
By Dan De Luce | AFP
The Pentagon defended a program Monday that recruits local police forces in Afghan villages despite a US-funded report that raises questions about the militia's performance and alleged abuses.

Francois Hollande forced to backtrack on Afghanistan pullout pledge
By Edward Cody, The Washington Post Tuesday, May 15, 6:53 PM
PARIS — Sworn in Tuesday as president of France, Francois Hollande has already been forced by the unforgiving calculus of military logistics to backtrack on his campaign promise to pull all French forces out of Afghanistan by the end of this year.

Taliban Leader Planning To Attack Red Cross Center In Afghanistan Arrested
5/15/2012 9:27 AM ET
(RTTNews) - An Afghan-coalition security force detained a Taliban leader who was planning an upcoming attack against a Red Cross Center in the eastern Afghan province of Logar.

Foreign Military Presence in Afghanistan not Mentioned in US-Afghan Deal: Atmar
TOLOnews.com Monday, 14 May 2012
Member of the Rights and Justice Party, Mohammad Hanif Atmar said today that future presence of foreign military forces is not clearly mentioned in the Afghan-US pact.

Captive of the Taliban: In the Hometown of an American Prisoner of War
By Nate Rawlings / Hailey, IdahoTuesday, May 15, 2012 time.com
Afghanistan and America merge where Hailey, Idaho, begins to disappear into the woods, two blocks off Main Street, where Zaney's River Street Coffee House sits behind a yard of bright yellow flowers.

Afghanistan: Home to 'world's most extreme golf'
By Lawrence Bartlett | AFP
"Welcome to the most extreme golf in the world," says the European Union ambassador to Afghanistan, as half-a-dozen heavily armed bodyguards fan out around him and scan the Kabul Golf Club course.

Beyond the Sandbags and Steel, 12 Lanes to Another Afghanistan
By ROD NORDLAND The New York Times May 14, 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan — Behind the black door in downtown Kabul is a place unlike any other in this city, even in the whole country.