US 'to boost Afghanistan force'
US President George W Bush says more US troops will be deployed in Afghanistan by next year.
Ref. https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/s...sia/7486819.stm
UN to urge revamp of Afghan aid
The UN's envoy to Afghanistan is to set out a new plan on aid spending amid fears that millions have been wasted.
Ref. https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/s...sia/7491825.stm
This is a terrible thing - I hope she is found soon, and is alive and well.
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Time magazine this week has a feature on the bizarre story of the mysterious disappearance of Afghanistan's only female, Olympics-bound runner. The 19-year-old Afghan middle distance runner, Mehbooba Andyar, went missing in Italy last week while on her way to the Olympics in China. Friends and co-athletes have not seen her since July 4, when she left her training facility in Formia, Italy. Police are not ruling out any possibilities, although her missing bags and passport do indicate that she may have left on her own. Some believe she's seeking asylum in Europe over fear of Muslim extremists in her homeland where she faced constant rumors of prostitution and repeated threats of violence. In a recent interview, Andyar said, "I'm the model for my country, being a woman in a typical Muslim nation. I'm very proud to say that I will be participating in the Olympic Games. By virtue of these opportunities, many women from my country are participating in many sports, and this will help to develop a better managed country." |
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When she competes against some of the finest runners in the world, with skills honed at the best facilities, Miss Andyar knows that she has little chance of a medal in either the 1,500m or 800m competitions. Just getting to Beijing will be more of an achievement than most athletic stars will ever know, even if she will be noticed on the racetrack mainly for wearing traditional Islamic dress instead of skin-tight Lycra, and for the novelty of being an Afghan woman. ... The support of her coach, family and friends has buoyed her considerable inner reserves of determination but Miss Andyar's wish to run for Afghanistan has meant putting up with a lot in the past few weeks. She said: "There have been so many phone calls from people saying I shouldn't be an athlete. There are often strange men hanging around outside my home. Sometimes stones are thrown at the windows at night and we have had threatening letters." The catcalls and derision from her neighbours when she runs in the potholed streets around her home are so bad that she only runs at night when they are watching television, despite the risk of falling into a pile of rubbish or down an open drain. She believes that one of the mystery callers has Taleban sympathies and a neighbour who reported her to the police is from the anti-Taleban Panjsher valley. |
International Level: Ambassador / Political Participation: 595 59.5%
In Wake of Deadly US Air Strike, Jeremy Scahill Questions Lawmakers About Obama's Afghanistan Policy
A UN probe in Afghanistan has backed claims of a massive civilian death toll from a US air strike last Thursday. The UN mission in Kabul says investigators found some ninety civilians, including sixty children, were killed in the attack. Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill goes inside the Democratic National Convention to ask lawmakers about Barack Obama's foreign policy plan to deploy an additional 7,000-9,000 more troops to Afghanistan.
Ref. Source 7
Seems like the terrorists and Taliban are getting the upperhand in Afghanistan:
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Afghan provincial governor killed The governor of the Afghan province of Logar is killed in a roadside bomb attack near Kabul, officials say. Ref. Source 8 |
International Level: International Guru / Political Participation: 3231 100%