US drone strike in Pakistan's North Waziristan on Sunday killed a senior Al-Qaeda commander. According to a news agency, the attack killed Mohammad Ahmed Almansoor and three others in Tabi area close to Miranshah. The drone fired four missiles at a house destroying two rooms and a car. Another, senior Al-Qaeda commander was killed in a drone attack on Thursday in North Waziristan.

The security control in Afghanistan’s Kapisa province has been handed over to local forces as French troops continue withdrawal. Kapisa Governor Mehrabuddin Safi said the foreign troops have vacated the area, adding that the Afghan National Army is responsible for security in the area. According to NATO plans, drawdown of foreign forces will be completed by 2014. With the latest pullout, France now has only 530 troops deployed in the war stricken country

he Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has made a surprise visit to Afghanistan, seeking assurances from President Hamid Karzai that he is doing all he can to halt insider attacks.  She met the Afghan President in Kabul while also visiting Australian troops for a barbecue at their base at Tarin Kowt. Her office said the Australian leader raised concerns about the so-called green-on-blue attacks in which uniformed Afghans turn their weapons against their international allies. NATO has struggled to counter them and assaults have spiked this year.

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Afghan President Hamid Karzai left for Azerbaijan Monday afternoon to attend the 12th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in Baku.

A press release issued by President’s Office in Kabul said President Karzai is accompanied with a high level Afghan delegation comprising of Foreign Minister Zalmai Rasoul, National Security Advisor Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta, Commerce Minister Anwarulhaq Ahadi and Minister of Economy Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal.

Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is an intergovernmental regional organization established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey for the purpose of promoting economic, technical and cultural cooperation among the Member States.

Later on Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan also joined the organization.On the second leg of his foreign tour, President Karzai will visit Kuwait on Tuesday where he will attend the first summit of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD).

Afghanistan government has launched its first major climate change adaptation initiative with the help of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Six million dollar project aims at protecting vulnerable sections of society from the effects of climate change and to help institutions in capacity building for addressing climate change risks.

Launching the programme in central Bamiyan province yesterday Michael Keating, Resident Coordinator of UN in Afghanistan appreciated Afghan Government for showing its commitment to work with communities in dealing with climate change in the country. The head of Afghanistan’s National Environment Protection Agency Mostapha Zaher hoped that with the people’s cooperation development plans could be made environment friendly.

The UNEP programme envisages improved water management, community-based watershed management; improved agroforestry and pasture development, climate-related research and early warning systems and improved food security. The scheme will be implemented in Badakhshan, Balkh, Bamyan and Daikundi provinces of Afghanistan.

The importance of the UN supported climate change initiative in Afghanistan can be estimated from the fact that 80 per cent of Afghans are directly dependent on natural resources. Agriculture is the mainstay of more than 60 per cent of the country’s population.

Since 1998, more than 6.7 million Afghans have been affected by natural disasters and extreme weather conditions such as drought, avalanches, earthquakes, sandstorms and harsh winters. Although six million dollar UN project for a country of Afghanistan’s size is not sufficient, even then it is a good beginning for mitigating the adverse effects of climate change.

fghanistan yesterday banned all Pakistani newspapers from entering the country. The move is an attempt to block the Taliban from influencing public opinion through the press. The order, issued by the Afghan Ministry of Interior, adds to the mounting tension between the neighboring countries. In a statement, the ministry said the newspapers were a conduita passage (a pipe or tunnel) through which water or electric wires can pass for Taliban propaganda. It focuses specifically on blocking entry of the papers at Torkham, a busy border crossing, and directed border police to gather up Pakistani newspapers in the three eastern provinces of Nangarhar, Kunar and Nuristan. 

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has urged his countrymen to continue the unfinished mission of former President and Afghan High Peace Council Chief Burhanuddin Rabbani. 

Addressing a ceremony to commemorate the first death anniversary of the slain leader in Kabul today President Karzai said fulfilling his mission will be the greatest tribute to his memory. The ceremony was attended a large number of Afghans including high ranking Afghan officials and leaders. 

Burhanuddin Rabbani was killed on 20th September last year by a suicide bomber posing as the Taliban emissary

 Afghanistan has announced it will take full control of the controversial Bagram prison from the United States tomorrow. President Hamid Karzai's office said in a written statement that a ceremony will take place to mark the handover. 

Afghanistan and the United States signed an agreement in March to begin a six-month process to transfer control of the jail, north of Kabul, to Afghan authorities.

The prison is located at the Bagram air base, the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan.

The handover had been a sticking point to the conclusion of a pact between Washington and Kabul covering the long-term legal status of U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan.

Afghan and NATO-coalition force arrested an insurgent leader who was responsible for the assassination Hanifa Safi, a senior official of Afghan Ministry of Women’s Affairs. A press release issued by the Joint Command of the International Force in Afghanistan said the insurgent leader was arrested during a joint clearance operation in Kabul province yesterday.

 Afghanistan's parliament voted today to dismiss the country's Defence and Interior Ministers. Parliament has passed no confidence votes against the two. Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak and Interior Minister Bismullah Mohammadi. They were the top ministers in President Hamid Karzai's Cabinet. Afghan members of Parliament said both the ministers were responsible for security lapses as they failed to stop cross-border shelling from Pakistan which has forced many Afghan villagers to flee their homes. They also raised questions about alleged corruption in the defense and interior ministries.

Their dismissal comes even as Karzai is trying to show stability in his government ahead of the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Afghan President’s office in a press release issued this evening has said that the constitution of the country given the parliament the authority to disqualify any minister. It further says that the President would make decision about the disqualified ministers after discussing the issue in the meeting of national security council.

A massive campaign to eradicate measles and polio is going on in Afghanistan under a UN sponsored programme. According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) nearly 27,000 health workers, volunteers and community mobilizers are working across 16 provinces of Afghanistan over the past two weeks to eradicate the menace of these diseases. In the first phase of the campaign earlier this month more than 8 million children were administered anti-polio and anti-measles vaccinations. The second phase, which will start in September, will include the remaining 18 provinces of Afghanistan.

Meanwhile Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to collaborate in anti-polio drives in order to reach children living along the border areas of both countries. Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria are the only countries in the world where polio is still an endemic desease.

Afghanistan’s National Security Council in its weekly meeting chaired by President Hamid Karzai in Kabul on Sunday discussed several issues including the reports of cross border rocket firing in north-eastern Kunar province of the country. A press release issued by the President’s office said the meeting instructed officials to take all necessary actions and assist the families affected by these rocket shelling. 

Earlier in a press conference Afghan Foreign ministry condemned missile attacks in eastern border areas of Afghanistan. A spokesman for the ministry of foreign affairs of Afghanistan Janan Mosazai said the continued missile attacks by Pakistan in eastern provinces of Afghanistan will endanger the relations between the two countries. 

According to reports latest missiles attacks from Pakistan on Saturday evening at least four people were killed in eastern Kunar province. However Pakistani officials denied the allegations.

Afghanistan has become the first country in the world to have its surface minerals mapped from the air. About 70 percent of the area of country has been mapped using an advanced remote sensing technique known as hyperspectral imaging. The project was led by the U.S. Geological Survey in close collaboration with NASA, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines and Afghanistan’s Geological Survey organization.

The survey revealed a substantial variety of rare-earth mineral deposits, in addition to more information about iron, copper, and gold deposits in the country. Releasing the findings of the imaging survey of Afghanistan in Washington recently Afghan Ambassador to the US, Eklil Ahmad Hakimi hailed the use of hyperspectral imaging technology for providing more in-depth, credible information to further build Afghanistan’s growing minerals market. 

AIR Kabul correspondent reports, the U.S. Geographical Survey has mapped nearly 70 percent of the Afghanistan using hyper-spectral imaging technology. In this technique airborne hyperspectral sensors collect light reflected from the earth. Different materials reflect different lights and the minerals can be easily identified due to their unique light spectra. 

This helps in identifying the composition of materials at the surface, such as minerals, vegetation, mountains and man-made structures. In addition this technology allows large geographic areas to be mapped quickly and accurately. It can also be used in forcasting natural hazards, agricultural conditions and infrastructure development. 

The hyper-spectral images of Afghanistan clearly show the enormous size and variety of its mineral resources which can make the country a world leader in the minerals sector.

The British Museum has assisted in the return of 843 artefacts to Afghanistan, almost 20 years after they were stolen or smuggled abroad.

The items include examples of the Begram Ivories, seen at the British Museum's Afghanistan 2011 exhibition, and an important sculpture of Buddha. 

Both were stolen from the National Museum of Afghanistan during its civil war and ended up on the black market. The artefacts were passed to the museum for safekeeping, ahead of their return. 

The items were seized by customs officials and the Art and Antiques Unit of the Metropolitan Police as they passed through Britain, presumably for sale on the black market.

All the artefacts were identified by experts at the museum. Other objects - some of which were saved by private individuals - include Bronze Age carvings and medieval Islamic coins.

Britain, Afghanistan and Pakistan have emphasized the need to advance regional peace and stability in Afghanistan and its neighborhood. A joint statement issued in Kabul today at the end of tri-lateral meeting of the British Prime Minister David Cameron, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and the Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf says the three leaders discussed the current situation in the region and reaffirmed their common vision to promote regional peace and stability.

Recognizing that terrorism poses the gravest threat to regional and international security, the leaders reiterated their strong commitment to working together to eliminate this scourge. The three leaders also agreed that success in this endevour will depend on the active support of the region and the international community.

They emphasized the importance of peace in Afghanistan for the peace and security of Pakistan. The three leaders expressed satisfaction at security transition process in Afghanistan, and reiterated that an independent, peaceful, self-reliant and democratic Afghanistan was necessary for to the stability and prosperity of the wider region.

Reiterating the importance of a political solution to end the violence in Afghanistan President Karzai said Afghan people are determed to realize their aspirations for lasting peace through an inclusive and dignified reconciliation process involving all opposition groups.

Prime Ministers Ashraf and Cameron reaffirmed their support for such a process that is led and owned by Afghans, facilitated by Pakistan and other regional countries, and supported by the UK and the wider international community.

Visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul today. The two leaders signed an agreement to build a defence officers' academy in Afghanistan on the lines of Sandharst academy. Prime Minister Cameron has said that the agreement was a part of Britain's continuing commitment to development aid to Afghanistan beyond 2014, when all combat troops of the international forces leave the country.

British Prime Minister arrived on an unscheduled visit to Afghanistan yesterday. He flew to Camp Bastion, the UK’s largest Afghan base in southern Helmand province and met with the British soldiers posted there. Mr Cameron also visited frontline troops at the Shawqat base in Nad-e-Ali district and saw a provincial reconstruction team in Lashkar Gah. Provincial reconstruction team is a unit consisting of military officers, diplomats, and experts, working to support reconstruction efforts in the area. 

During a meeting with British and Afghan officials Mr. Cameron said Britain will reduce its troop numbers further next year as the Afghan troops take a bigger role. Britain has around 9,500 troops in Afghanistan, making it the second-largest contributor to the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force after the United States.

Meanwhile Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has also arrived in Kabul. He is likely to meet the British Prime Minister and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

The Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, repeated his offer for talks with Taliban today and once again called upon the armed outfit to give up fighting, join the peace process and help rebuild their country.

President Karzai made the offer at a press conference in his Palace after returning home from Japan. He said that Taliban elusive( भटकाने वाला) leader Mullah Mohammad Omar can return home and begin political activities instead of fighting.

Taliban militants fighting the government had in the past conditioned any talks with the withdrawal of NATO-led troops from Afghanistan, a pre-condition unacceptable to both the Afghan government and the military alliance at the moment.

The international community has pledged 16 billion U.S. dollars to Afghanistan for the next four years. President Karzai at the press conference also said his government is determined to fight against corruption and ensure good governance.

The eighteen member group of the Taliban insurgents in Northern Balkh province of Afghanistan renounced violence and joined the peace process in Chahar Bolack district on Wednesday.

According to the official information, they were engaged in anti-government activities. It is hoped that with the surrender of these insurgents security in the area would improve.

India today said, Afghanistan still faced an existential threat from terrorism emanating from beyond its border and asked the international community to provide substantial assistance to the war-torn nation that has experienced externally-imposed conflicts for three decades.

Addressing the Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan, External Affair Minister S M Krishna said, clear and visible support to Afghanistan is crucial in order to preserve the gains made by the international community and Afghan men and women in the past decade. He asked the international community to avoid temptation to lay down conditionalities on such assistance.

India, Mr. Krishna said believes that good governance is crucial to the building of a strong and legitimate state. But good governance also requires a strong state that has full control over its territory. This is not yet the case in Afghanistan. He appreciated the Mutual Accountability Framework that has been drafted for the Conference as a noble effort. At the same time, Mr. Krishna said India believes that true mutuality can only be achieved at equal levels of capacity.

The Tokyo conference is being attended by around 70 countries and international organisations. The main aim of the meet, which follows the series of conferences organised on Afghanistan during the last one year, include ensuring sustainable development of Afghanistan beyond 2012 and reaffirming partnership between the international community and the Afghan Government until 2014 and during the transformation decade 2015-2024.

Meanwhile External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will meet his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar in Tokyo today on the sidelines of a conference on Afghanistan. He is expected to raise the issue of terrorism following revelations by LeT handler Syed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal on the 2008 Mumbai carnage. Such a meeting between the two ministers comes after recent talks between their Foreign Secretaries on the crucial issues of peace and security, including terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir and promotion of friendly exchanges.

Donor nations gathering in Japan this
weekend for a conference on Afghanistan are expected to pledge a total 15 billion dollars in development aid through 2015. Quoting diplomatic sources, Japan's Kyodo news agency said that the participants will commit to ensuring the sustainable development of Afghanistan during the so-called transformation decade of 2015-2024.

The Tokyo conference, to be held on Sunday will bring together UN chief Ban
Ki-moon, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and senior officials from about 70 countries as well as international
organisations.In exchange for the development aid, Afghanistan will
promise to eradicate corruption, improve its legal system, strengthen its finances and carry out a range of other reforms.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said this week his country needs a combined 3.9 billion dollars from the international
community every year to rebuild the economy starting from 2015, following the pullout of NATO forces.