January 27, 2002

Afghan leader Karzai arrives in Washington
Monday January 28, 6:16 AM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's interim leader, arrived in Washington on Sunday ahead of his first meeting with President George W. Bush.

Rumsfeld reaffirms Guantanamo detainees are "terrorists" not POWs
Monday January 28, 5:12 AM AFP
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld reiterated here that captives from the war in Afghanistan held on this US naval base were "terrorists" who did not deserve to be considered prisoners of war.

Afghan king's dream return to shattered city
By Tom Heneghan
Monday January 28, 2:30 AM
KABUL (Reuters) - When exiled former king Zahir Shah returns to Afghanistan in March, his 28-year-long dream of seeing his beloved capital Kabul again could turn out to be a nightmare.

Afghanistan is IMF's greatest challenge ever: official
Monday January 28, 9:12 AM AFP
Helping Afghanistan restart its comatose economy is the International Monetary Fund's biggest challenge ever, the head of an IMF assessment team which arrived in Kabul.

Iran demands UN play greater role in Afghanistan, Mideast
Sunday January 27, 9:25 PM AFP
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan wound up a two-day visit to Iran, whose leaders urged the United Nations to be more active with regard both to the Afghanistan question and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Kabul's lost children
Sunday, 27 January, 2002, 11:25 GMT BBC News
Children lack recreation on the ruined streets of Kabul
By Marzia Adil in Kabul
Before the first ray of light is cast across the city, children begin their activity. They scurry, Koran pressed to their chest, to the mosques, for their religious lessons.

Tough Lessons in a Free Press
Sensitive Officials Plead for More Flattering Coverage
The Washington Post Sunday, January 27, 2002; Page A19
KANDAHAR, Jan. 26 2002
It was an object lesson in both the refreshing honesty and the raw sensitivities of a brand new government, trying to behave like an open democracy but thrown into apoplectic fury

For Afghan City's Needy, The Relief Is Slow to Come
With Aid Focused on Rural Areas, Urban Poor Go Unnoticed
By Pamela Constable
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, January 27, 2002; Page A16
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Jan. 26 -- They dwell in caves with child-size doorways along a thousand unnamed, twisting, mud-walled alleys that honeycomb this ancient city.