The Associated Press
Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Taliban militants have rejected an offer of peace talks with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, saying there would be no negotiations until foreign troops leave Afghanistan.

Karzai offered on Sunday to provide security for the reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar if he enters negotiations and said the United States and other Western nations could leave Afghanistan or oust him if they disagree.

But Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said there could be no talks while foreign troops are in the country.

“The Taliban will pursue jihad against foreign forces” as well as …

Afghanistan have beaten Russia to win the football World Cup for homeless people, an annual event aimed at raising awareness of the problem.

They won by five goals to four in a game which kept spectators on the edge of their seats in Melbourne, Australia, the event’s website reports.

A match between Brazil and Portugal was another high point while England lost a penalty shoot-out to Scotland.

About a billion people are homeless worldwide, event organisers say.

A chant of “A-F-G” echoed around Melbourne’s Federation Square stadium as Afghanistan and its supporters celebrated victory, the website says.

Afghanistan had been …

Marvin Weinbaum is a former Pakistan analyst with the U.S. State Department. He is professor emeritus at the University of Illinois and a scholar-in-residence at a Washington D.C.-based think tank, the Middle East Institute. He advised U.S. President-elect Barack Obama’s election campaign on Afghanistan-Pakistan issues.

Weinbaum recently spoke to RFE/RL correspondent Abubakar Siddique about the future Obama administration’s policies on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

RFE/RL: How would an Obama administration look at the whole Afghanistan-Pakistan situation?
Do you think they will move forward with some of the plans and strategies already in place, or will they seek a new beginning?

Marvin …

Urgent need to pre-position food aid
KABUL, 29 October 2008 (IRIN) – The Afghan government and aid agencies have not so far pre-positioned adequate relief supplies in some of the most vulnerable areas, increasing the risk of a humanitarian disaster this winter, the Afghanistan National Disasters Management Authority (ANDMA) has said. Urgent need to pre-position food aid
KABUL, 29 October 2008 (IRIN) – The Afghan government and aid agencies have not so far pre-positioned adequate relief supplies in some of the most vulnerable areas, increasing the risk of a humanitarian disaster this winter, the Afghanistan National Disasters Management Authority (ANDMA) …

Afghanistan-Pakistan Jirgagai Islamabad Declaration

Afghanistan-Pakistan Jirgagai held its first meeting in Islamabad on 27-28 October 2008. The Jirgagai, consisting of 25 members each from both Afghanistan and Pakistan was envisaged in the declaration of the First Joint Peace Jirga held in Kabul from 9th-12th of August 2007. The Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi inaugurated the Jirgagai.

Afghanistan-Pakistan Jirgagai Islamabad Declaration

Afghanistan-Pakistan Jirgagai held its first meeting in Islamabad on 27-28 October 2008. The Jirgagai, consisting of 25 members each from both Afghanistan and Pakistan was envisaged in the declaration of the First Joint Peace Jirga held in …