Hope and despair live side by side in Kabul

Kabul remains on edge, with suicide bombings shattering any peace and the growing strength of the Taliban-led insurgency on everyone's mind.

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Hero contractor recounts fighting off Taliban

For two hours, a civilian contractor held off Taliban commandos with an AK-47, saving the lives of 24 people in a Kabul, Afghanistan, guest house. But while others are praising Chris Turner’s courage, the 62-year-old former hippie refuses to be called a hero.

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Kabul's Old City Getting Face Lift

Last year the streets in parts of the old city dropped by nine feet.

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Afghanistan's Capital Mostly in the Dark

For 12-year-old Kefaya Nabi, the worst thing about not having electricity in her home is not being able to watch her favorite Bollywood soap opera on TV.

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By Peter Greste BBC News, Parwan province, Afghanistan It is not hard to see why Alla Gul is upset. Her two-year-old daughter cries weakly in her arms with barely enough energy to eat.

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Guest columnist Ahmed Rashid says 2010 looks like presenting Afghanistan and Pakistan with their most difficult set of challenges since the end of the Cold War. People in the South Asia region will be holding their breath in the new year.

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The sport, in which players on horseback vie for a headless goat carcass to much crowd enthusiasm, is back in force since the Taliban's overthrow. Some dream of it being in the Olympics. (By Tony Perry)

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Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- An American intelligence official vowed Thursday that the United States would avenge a suspected terrorist attack on a U.S. base in Afghanistan that resulted in the deaths of seven CIA officers.

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The suicide bomber who killed seven CIA agents in Afghanistan had been courted by the US as a possible informant, US intelligence sources have said.

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KABUL, Afghanistan — Several hundred Afghan National Army recruits marched 6.2 miles Tuesday on an undulating path at the foot of the towering Hindu Kush mountains, toting M-16 rifles and carrying 20-pound packs on their backs.

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Singing for Peace

While the areas along the Pak-Afghan border are in the grip of war and violence, and the socio-cultural heritage of the Pashtuns is subjected to a ruthless onslaught from different militant groups, the young and educated Pashto singers show guts to openly challenge the rising tid …

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Two French journalists were kidnapped north-east of Kabul together with their translator and driver, Afghan police said on Thursday. Gunmen snatched the group on Wednesday as they were driving through Shinkai district of Kapisa province, 75 miles from Kabul.

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Decades of war have ravaged the zoo in Afghanistan's capital. As it tries to rebuild with help from foreign groups, it still provides a crucial public space for women and children.

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KABUL — SHAKTOI, Pakistan — National police hunting for a wounded insurgent commander mistakenly ambushed a vehicle carrying a member of the Afghan parliament, killing him and his son, provincial officials said Wednesday.

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KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan aims to hold a vote for the lower house of parliament by late May, as laid out in the constitution, a top election official said on Saturday, but admitted it faces major fraud, funding and security concerns. (By Reuters)

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US relations with Pakistan are key to success in Afghanistan. Here's how to bolster them.

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US Administration under President Obama, now in the arena for a good length, seems to suffer as if it can no longer be responsive, decisive and swift.

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By Dean Nelson in New Delhi Published: 5:42PM GMT 09 Dec 2009

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KABUL: The head of NATO said on Tuesday there would be no deadline for the exit of allied troops from Afghanistan, as fears grow among Afghans that foreign forces will leave before their own troops are able to guarantee security.

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Adm. Mike Mullen, the personification of American military power, is walking the streets of this dusty village in Paktika province when the deferential deputy governor, Qadir Gul Zadran, tells him: "We hope you stay here forever."

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What should Prime Minister Stephen Harper have known when he assured Parliament on April 24, 2007, that "we have no evidence that supports the allegations" that Canadian-transferred Afghan detainees were abused or tortured?

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Afghanistan is so last week. What with the NRO hearings, suicide bombings, drone strikes, talk of the Quetta shura and Al Qaida's safe havens there really is too much going on for anyone to think about Afghanistan right now.

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When General Petraeus asked for the "surge" in Iraq, he also opened negotiations with top Sunni and Shiite militia leaders, opened not only "negotiations" but started passing out cash.

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Do you remember the scandal about the U.S. Embassy guards in Kabul, Afghanistan, who got naked and held wild hazing rituals?

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The Mercenaries from the US

There are reports out of Kabul about seriously lewd conduct and sexual misconduct by mercenaries employed by civilian contractors. According to media reports the contract with ARMORGROUP is not going to be renewed. Meanwhile there are 104000 such personnel in Afghanistan.

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In his West Point speech on December 1, 2009, President Obama announced his new strategy on Afghanistan. He said he would send 30,000 additional US troops and begin the "transfer of forces" out of Afghanistan beginning July 2011.

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According to a recent US Government Accountability Office audit report, nearly 13,000 attacks were recorded in Afghanistan between January and the end of August 2009.

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The Animal House antics of ArmorGroup North America's guards have cost the company its 5-year, $189 million State Department contract to protect the US embassy in Kabul.

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The mayor of Kabul, Abdul Ahad Sahebi, has said he will appeal against a four-year prison sentence for corruption. He was found guilty on Monday of awarding a contract without opening it up to competition and ordered to repay the $16,000 allegedly lost as a result.

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