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Afghanistan

Afghanistan is a landlocked Country situated in Asia. It has a diverse population, mainly comprising of the Pashtun, Tajik and Hazara peoples. Afghanistan’s main religion is Islam. In 1979 Russian Soviet Troops invaded Afghanistan, eventually withdrawing in 1989. Many highly educated people fled Afghanistan, which led to a leadership imbalance, and fighting continued in different factions. A group called the Taliban seized Kabul in 1996, and established rule. International forces started to intervene in 2001, and are still present in the country.

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Qinetiq counts costs of Afghan war with new profits warning

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Ali Dizaei and the damage to the Met

09.02.10
The conviction of Ali Dizaei is an important vindication for Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson... more

British cinema's rock'n'roll year celebrated in Evening Standard Film Awards

09.02.10
Three anarchic rockers, a misfit teen and a foul-mouthed politico were celebrated at the Evening Standard Film Awards. ... more

Britain's Afghanistan death toll now equals the Falklands

08.02.10
Two British soldiers have been killed by an explosion in Afghanistan — raising the death toll to match the fatalities of the Falklands War... more

London providing record number of Army recruits

08.02.10
Record numbers of recruits from London are applying to join the Army despite British forces in Afghanistan suffering the highest death toll in a generation... more

Labour ‘risks UK’s ability to fight wars on our own’

08.02.10
Political row over defence spending intensifies as Tories accuse Labour of risking Britain’s ability to go to war on its own... more

London’s justice system is failing us

08.02.10
Women's groups often complain that rape allegations relatively rarely result in offenders being convicted. One reason for that, at least in London, appears to be that so many cases are badly mishandled and collapse before they are concluded... more

Bomb blast kills three at dog fight in Afghanistan

05.02.10
A motorcycle bomb strikes a crowd on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah, killing at least three people and wounding 26... more

Gordon Brown: Sarah's my hero... she tackles every challenge with dignity

05.02.10
Gordon Brown talks frankly to Evening Standard editor Geordie Greig about his devoted wife, the grief that won't go away and his strategy to win the election... more

Poverty is our greatest enemy in Afghanistan

29.01.10
The biggest worry of the Afghan people is lack of shelter, jobs, schools, clinics and clean water. And poverty helps the insurgenct, as young Afghans join up purely because they have no options... more

Soldier charged with desertion will avoid jail

28.01.10
Soldier facing jail for desertion and for joining an anti-war march after refusing to return to Afghanistan is to be reprieved... more

Qinetiq counts costs of Afghan war with new profits warning

15.01.10
Defence group Qinetiq issues its second profits warning in seven weeks, blaming the costs of the war in Afghanistan which will mean lower spending by the British and American governments... more

Meet the weekend warriors helping fight the Taliban

13.01.10
Members of the reserve forces are being relied upon to help win the war against the Taliban... more

Barack Obama wants extra £33 billion for Afghan war

13.01.10
Barack Obama will ask Congress for an extra $33 billion to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq on top of record defence spending of $708 billion... more

Photographer flown home after losing foot in explosion

11.01.10
A newspaper photographer who suffered serious injuries in an explosion in Afghanistan which killed British journalist Rupert Hamer has been flown back to Britain... more

Special Forces Para is fourth soldier to die in four days

23.12.09
Soldier from the Special Forces Support Group has been killed in Afghanistan, it was announced this afternoon... more

Prince Harry says he understands grieving families' losses

21.12.09
Prince Harry said losing his mother so suddenly makes him appreciate how hard Christmas will be for the grieving families of servicemen 'ripped away' in Afghanistan... more

More Chinooks for Helmand 'signal another 10 years of war'

15.12.09
A huge defence shake-up to fund helicopters and vital equipment for Afghanistan fuelled fears that troops will be embroiled in the war there for years to come... more

Fresh troops land in Afghanistan

15.12.09
First of 500 extra British troops to be deployed to Afghanistan arrived in the country this morning... more

Taliban kills 16 Afghan police

14.12.09
Taliban fighters attacked checkpoints in northern and southern Afghanistan, killing 16 Afghan police... more

Al Qaeda 'cannot be defeated while Bin Laden is free'

09.12.09
The senior US commander in Afghanistan warned that al Qaeda would not be defeated unless Osama bin Laden was captured or killed... more

Anti-war anger over Question Time panellists

04.12.09
The BBC was involved in a fresh row over its flagship Question Time programme today when it was accused of not reflecting public opinion in a line-up of panellists set to discuss the war in Afghanistan... more

US decision on troops needs more support

02.12.09
President Obama's decision to send 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan "in the national interest" has been a long time coming... more

'We must not cut and run from Afghanistan', says army commander

27.11.09
An army commander who lost seven of his soldiers in Afghanistan says it would be wrong for Britain to "cut and run" from the war against the Taliban... more

I need more troops 'big time' says US general

25.11.09
A senior US commander in Afghanistan stressed today that more forces are urgently needed... more

Bomb expert’s widow tells MPs to ‘show passion’ for Afghan mission

24.11.09
Bomb disposal expert Olaf Schmid’s widow urged the public to back British troops in Afghanistan as she prepares to bury her husband... more
  • Facts
  • Afghanistan is bordered by China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
  • The Capital of Afghanistan is Kabul.
  • Some of Afghanistan’s provinces include: Kandahar, Kabul, Herat, Helmand, and Bamiyan.

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