May 24, 2001

U.N. decries Taliban proposal on identity lapels
NEW YORK, May 23 (Kyodo) - United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday strongly condemned the proposal made by the Taliban, Afghanistan's Islamic rulers,

World pressure on Taliban over badges for Hindus
By Sayed Salahuddin
KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghanistan's ruling Taliban faced mounting international condemnation on Wednesday for a decree requiring non-Muslims to wear yellow badges,

Afghans ignoring Taliban rules risk jail, lashing
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The conservative rules of the Taliban's religious police in Afghanistan produce everything from outrage to laughter abroad, but for Afghans ignoring them, they can mean jail or a public lashing.

EU mission to Afghanistan ends
A European Union delegation has returned to Pakistan from opposition-held areas in Afghanistan, where it held talks with the country's ousted president

Report: Afghan orphans have poor health
By AAMIR SHAH
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan May 23 (UPI) -- Conditions for the 825 children in the only state-run orphanage in Kabul, Afghanistan, are bleak.

Police and bandits clash in Iran, 19 dead
TEHRAN, May 23 (Reuters) - Iranian police have killed 12 armed Afghan bandits in several operations in the northeastern Khorasan province over the past two days, the official IRNA news agency said on Wednesday.

Afghan Farmers Change to Wheat From Opium Poppies, NYT Reports
Toby Anderson
Kabul, Afghanistan, May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Afghan farmers are growing wheat instead of opium poppies after the leader of the ruling Taliban movement, Mullah Mohammad Omar, decreed that growing the

White House Statement On The Appointment Of Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad
National Security Advisor Dr. Condoleezza Rice announced today the appointment of Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Gulf, Southwest Asia and Other Regional Issues, National Security Council.

Bush appoints first woman envoy to Pakistan
The Times of India
WASHINGTON: A woman has been nominated the new American envoy to Islamabad for the first time in the history of diplomatic relations between the US and Pakistan.

US's Afghan dilemma; hidden 'Negro blood'
Dawn (Opinion)
By Tahir Mirza
"BUSH'S Faustian deal with the Taliban", said a headline to an article in Tuesday's Los Angeles Times. The article criticized the latest