No question of military involvement in Afghanistan: India
New Delhi: India ruled out any military involvement in Afghanistan and underlined the need for greater international cooperation in restoring stability to the violence-torn country. "Nobody has suggested that India should get militarily involved. India does not get militarily involved unless it is attacked," External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters when asked if India [...]
U.S. launches ‘major operation’ in Afghanistan
U.S. troops have launched a "major operation" against Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan, U.S. military officials announced in Afghanistan early Thursday. About 4,000 Americans, mostly from the Marines, and 650 Afghan soldiers and police launched Operation Khanjar — "strike of the sword" — in the Helmand River valley, the U.S. command in Kabul announced. The [...]
India is an ‘absolutely critical country’ for US
Washington: US President Barack Obama has despatched a personal letter to New Delhi making it clear that India is ‘an absolutely critical country’ with which Washington is keen to work, a top official has said. US Undersecretary of State William Burns, who is in New Delhi to make the first high level contact with the [...]
Al-Qaeda shaken by drone strikes in Pak: US officials
Washington: The missile strikes being carried out by US drones has unsettled Al-Qaeda and other terror groups operating the tribal belt along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, US intelligence and military officials have claimed. They believe Al-Qaeda has suffered major losses in the attacks, but still remains a potent threat to the world. "They’ve suffered some serious [...]
Iran mosque bombing kills 19 worshippers: Agency
Tehran, May 29: A bomb blast at a Shiite mosque in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan killed at least 19 worshippers and wounded 80 others, the official IRNA news agency reported. The evening explosion struck the Amir al-Momenin mosque in Zahedan, the restive capital of Sistan-Baluchestan province, which has a substantial Sunni minority, it [...]
Robert Watkins appointed as deputy UN envoy for Afghanistan
New York: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Robert Watkins of Canada as deputy United Nations envoy for Afghanistan, with responsibility for development and humanitarian affairs. In addition to being Ban’s Deputy Special envoy, Watkins will also serve as the UN Resident Coordinator and the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the war-ravaged Afghanistan. Watkins brings to [...]
U.S. Senate backs $91.3 bln Iraq, Afghan war bill
The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved a $91.3 billion measure sought by President Barack Obama to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The measure meets some of Obama’s key priorities but leaves out funding to close the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It must now be reconciled with a $96.7 billion version that [...]
US regrets deaths of civilians in Afghanistan
Angry over killings of more than 100 people in the US air strikes in Afghanistan this week, President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday said such casualties has been resulting in resentment of people in his country. "We hope we can work together towards reducing and eventually completely removing the possibilities of civilian casualties, as we move [...]
