In this bulletin:

• Afghanistan Forces Kill, Wound, Hold 1,100 Insurgents (Update1)
• Fighting 'leaves 25 Taleban dead'
• President condemns Kandahar suicide blast
• Two children die in attack on ISAF in Afghanistan
• Bomb attacks rock Canadian convoy in Afghanistan
• Opposition urges review of Afghan mandate
• Danish defence minister says Afghan mission necessary
• UNICEF alarmed as attacks on Afghan schools rise
• Canberra to strengthen Afghanistan contingent
• Reid loses Afghan hijack ruling
• Hundreds of South Koreans begin to leave Afghanistan
• Afghanistan to deport Korean Christians
• Afghan Capital Faces Energy Crunch
• AFGHANISTAN: USAID provides US $16m for drought-stricken people
• Pakistan hands over 5 buses to Afghanistan
• Afghanistan: U.N. girls' football
• Govt plans to encourage insurance companies

Afghanistan Forces Kill, Wound, Hold 1,100 Insurgents (Update1)

Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces killed, wounded and caught more than 1,100 insurgents in southern Afghanistan during a six-week operation that targeted rebels loyal to the ousted Taliban regime, the military said today.

The maneuvers, which were announced on June 15, involved more than 10,000 Afghan and coalition soldiers in the biggest military operation, dubbed ``Mountain Thrust,'' since the ouster of the Taliban regime in 2001. The operation ended following the July 31 transfer of control of security in southern Afghanistan to a NATO force by the coalition, the military said.

The military ``believes Mountain Thrust successfully disrupted enemy lines of communication by targeting leadership and maintaining pressure on insurgents who remained in a reactive posture due to coalition attacks,'' the U.S.-led coalition said in an e-mailed statement.

More than 400 insurgents were killed during the operations, mainly in Kandahar, Uruzgan and Helmand provinces, according to previous statements e-mailed by the coalition. Afghan and coalition forces in Helmand yesterday killed 25 Taliban fighters, the military said earlier today.

The insurgents who died yesterday were killed after they attacked a combined coalition-Afghan force with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades in the village of De Adam Khan, in Helmand's Nahr Surkh district, the coalition said.

While the North Atlantic Treaty Organization mission has taken over security in the south, to add to its existing operations in the west, north and in Kabul, the U.S.-led coalition keeps responsibility for anti-terrorism operations across Afghanistan.

``The coalition's enduring counter-terrorism mission continues unabated,'' Colonel Thomas Collins, a coalition spokesman, said in the earlier statement. The military ``will continue to go into areas and relentlessly pursue Taliban extremists, al-Qaeda and their associated movements.''

Helmand has seen some of the most intensive fighting in Afghanistan in recent months. The coalition has said it's killed at least 130 insurgents in the province since the beginning of June.

As the coalition and NATO have moved forces into areas they previously didn't cover, insurgents have stepped up attacks. Twenty-one civilians were killed in a suicide car bombing in a Kandahar marketplace yesterday. NATO's International Security Assistance Force said today in an e-mailed statement that the attack ``appears to have targeted a passing ISAF convoy.'' Five ISAF soldiers were slightly wounded, the force said.

An ISAF patrol was also attacked today, on Highway 1 in Kandahar's Maywand District, the force said in a separate statement. Two roadside bombs exploded near the patrol, destroying a civilian car while leaving the NATO soldiers and vehicles unharmed. ``The condition of the car's occupants is not known,'' ISAF said.

Yesterday, four Canadian soldiers with NATO were killed and 10 wounded in two bombings and a gun battle, also in Kandahar. Both bombings were on Highway 1.

Forces involved in Mountain Thrust also performed humanitarian and reconstruction tasks, the military said in the latest statement. Coalition and Afghan medical staff treated more than 10,000 people in humanitarian visits, including four ``major'' missions to Uruzgan, Zabul and Kandahar provinces, the coalition said. Veterinarian treatment was also carried out, and more than $21 million of reconstruction projects were advanced, according to the statement.

``What Operation Mountain Thrust did was expand the reach of the legitimate Afghan government, by extending security into far- reaching and remote areas of southern Afghanistan,'' Major General Benjamin Freakley, a coalition commander, said in the statement. ``Much of our effort went to improve reconstruction and governance for Afghans.''

The NATO-led force has about 18,500 troops in Afghanistan from 37 countries, some of which aren't members of the Atlantic alliance. The U.S.-led coalition has more than 26,000 forces from 26 nations, including about 18,500 Americans.

Fighting 'leaves 25 Taleban dead'

BBC News / Friday, 4 August 2006

Afghan and US-led coalition forces have killed 25 Taleban militants in an operation in the southern province of Helmand, the coalition says.

It comes a day after at least 21 people were killed in a car bomb attack and four Canadian troops were killed in neighbouring Kandahar province.

President Hamid Karzai, says the suicide attack was a "cowardly act." Hundreds of people have been killed in escalating violence in southern Afghanistan in recent months.

A coalition statement said that Afghan and coalition forces were conducting a search operation in the Nahr Surkh district of Helmand when they come under fire from militants. The security forces retaliated and killed 25 militants, the coalition said.

"The combined force took precise precautions in preventing harm of Afghan civilians during the mission, and no reports indicate injuries to civilians," the statement said.

There has been no independent verification of the fighting.

President condemns Kandahar suicide blast

KABUL, Aug 4 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Condemning the Thursday suicide attack in Panjwai district of Kandahar, President Hamid Kazai has said those involved in such misdeeds were enemies of the country and peace.

Speaking at a news conference here on Friday, Karzai expressed sympathy with families of the victims. He prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured. At least 21 people were killed and 13 others, mostly children, suffered injuries in a car bomb explosion in a market of the Panjwai district Thursday afternoon.

Karzai said the victims were innocent civilians who had come out of their homes to earn two-times meal for their families. He said, soon after the explosion, he had talked to the provincial government and directed the authorities to extending all possible help to families of the victims.

Without naming any country, group or individual, the president said the flagrant act was the handiwork of the enemies of the country. "I was grieved at the loss of innocent people. I extend my heartfelt condolences to families of the dead and pray for early recovery of the wounded," said the president.

Regarding the fight against terrorism, Karzai said he was working on a new plan to talk to people of the provinces and listen to their suggestions, demands and complaints. He said they were trying to strengthen the national police, national army and put an end to corruption in government departments.

Two children die in attack on ISAF in Afghanistan

Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) August 4, 2006

Kabul_(dpa) _ Two children were killed when insurgents staged a rocket attack on a NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) base in southern Afghanistan, a spokesman said Friday.

ISAF's regional spokesman, Quentin Innis, said rockets and mortars had missed the camp in the province of Kandahar and had hit a house with civilians. ISAF also came under a bomb attack in Kandahar Friday on the fourth consecutive day since taking over command in southern Afghanistan. No soldiers were injured in the attack.

Bomb attacks rock Canadian convoy in Afghanistan

Fri. Aug. 4 2006 CTV.ca News Staff

A Canadian military convoy was rocked by two bombing attacks in southern Afghanistan Friday, just a day after four Canadian soldiers were killed.

The convoy was hit by two improvised explosive devices and one civilian vehicle was engulfed in flames on the main highway west of Kandahar city.

There are no reports of Canadian injuries, however it's not clear whether there were civilian casualties.

"These were in fact not suicide attacks but two separate improvised explosive devices known as IEDs," said CTV's Steve Chao, reporting from the coalition base in Kandahar.

"One of the bombs we want off between two vehicles, another one right beside the convoy. We understand that no Canadians were injured in the blasts."

The attacks come a day after Canada suffered its suffered it's bloodiest day ever in southern Afghanistan.

Four Canadian soldiers were killed and 10 wounded during a series of bloody attacks in Kandahar Thursday.

Cpl. Christopher Jonathan Reid, Pte. Kevin Dallaire, Cpl. Bryce Jeffrey Keller and Sgt. Vaughn Ingram were from the Edmonton-based Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

Keller, Ingram and Dallaire died from rocket-propelled grenade attacks during a major offensive at a burned-out school near Kandahar city, where suspected Taliban fighters were holed up. Six others were wounded. 

"It's becoming clear that this was a well laid out ambush by the Taliban," Chao told CTV's Canada AM Friday. 

"Canadian soldiers were planning to go into the village of Pashmul to route out the Taliban. The Taliban fighters were waiting just as they entered the area. They formed a horseshoe and pinned down the Canadians in and around the school house."

The attacks happened just hours after Reid, 34, was killed when his LAV III vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb around 30 kilometres west of Kandahar City in the Pashmul area.

Another soldier was injured in that bombing, which occurred at 4:20 a.m. local time, but received non-life threatening injuries.

A second roadside bomb struck the same area at around 7:15 a.m. -- hitting a LAV III and wounding three Canadian soldiers. One of the soldiers suffered minor injuries, while the other two were being treated at a hospital at Kandahar Airfield.

"I visited the soldiers in the hospital here in Kandahar. I've talked to them all and they're doing well. They'll be able to speak with their loved ones," said Brig.-Gen. David Fraser from Afghanistan.

He added that all the injured soldiers are in stable condition, and vowed operations against the Taliban will continue.

"The cost today was significant. But the cost against the Taliban was even more significant. The Canadian Forces provided a significant blow against the Taliban's ability to coerce, intimidate and work against the government of Afghanistan."

Another incident Thursday left 21 Afghan civilians dead when a suicide bomber in a car blew himself up in a crowded town market near where NATO troops were on patrol.

Thirteen people, including some children, were injured in the blast at the market in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar province, said provincial government spokesman Dawood Ahmadi.

A spokesman for NATO-led Canadian forces in Kandahar, Maj. Scott Lundy, said NATO troops had a patrol moving through area where the blast happened, but no troops were hurt.

Thursday's deaths brought to 23 the number of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since 2002. In the last six months, 15 have died.

With files from The Canadian Press and a report from CTV's Steve Chao at the Kandahar Base.

Opposition urges review of Afghan mandate

Shift to heavy-duty combat requires talks with NATO allies, Liberal critic says

JEFF SALLOT and CAMPBELL CLARK AND GLORIA GALLOWAY – Globe and Mail

OTTAWA, CORNWALL, ONT. -- Canada's mission in Afghanistan has turned from peacekeeping to combat and must be "refocused," Liberal defence critic Ujjal Dosanjh said yesterday.

"This has become almost totally a combat mission. And that was not the intention," Mr. Dosanjh said. "We need to sit down with our NATO allies and refocus the mission."

Four Canadian soldiers were killed yesterday in Afghanistan in two separate incidents. Corporal Christopher Jonathan Reid of Truro, N.S., died overnight after a Canadian light-armoured vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. About 10 hours later, three soldiers -- including Sergeant Vaughn Ingram and Cpl. Bryce Jeffrey Keller -- were killed and six were wounded in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Pashmul, about 25 kilometres southwest of Kandahar. The third victim's name has not been released.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor talked about the national sorrow over the deaths of Canadian troops on foreign soil, but both expressed a resolve to continue the fight.

"Today, our forces have suffered serious casualties in Afghanistan. For those who have lost their family or their colleagues, these are always terrible moments. As fellow Canadians, I know that we all share their grief," Mr. Harper said during a luncheon speech he delivered at a hotel in Cornwall, Ont., where his caucus is holding a three-day retreat.

"But what the men and women in harm's way want and need to know in moments like this is that their government and Canadians stand behind their missions. And make no mistake, my friends -- through good times and bad, this government will honour their sacrifice, we will stand behind their mission and we are proud of the work that they are doing."

A poll conducted by the Strategic Counsel last month -- after the death of Canada's 17th soldier in Afghanistan, Cpl. Antony Boneca -- suggested that 56 per cent of Canadians opposed the mission, up 15 percentage points from March. But Mr. O'Connor said yesterday that his government is determined to stay the course.

The recent deaths don't change anything, he said. "Our commitment is till February '09, and we are going to continue in Afghanistan both from an aid point of view, from a diplomacy point of view and from a military point of view.

"It's pretty difficult but the soldiers I know are professionals and they will carry on. They accept the risks and, as I say, every once in a while we're a bit unlucky but we are going to stay the course."

The NDP will try to force the minority government to change its Afghanistan policy when Parliament begins its new session next month. Dawn Black, the party's defence critic, said "this is a huge issue for the NDP."

New Democrats voted unanimously in the House this spring against a Conservative government motion to extend Canada's military involvement in Afghanistan.

Nothing has changed since to alter the party's view that Canada should not be fighting a counterinsurgency war in Afghanistan to support U.S. policy in the region, Ms. Black said in an interview.

Like the other parties, the NDP extended condolences to the families and friends of the slain soldiers. "This is a terrible day for Canadians," Ms. Black said.

While Liberals are increasingly questioning Canada's role in Afghanistan, the front-runner for the party's leadership said the mission has not changed, despite tragic casualties. "I don't think that in a moment of tragedy, when life has stopped for four Canadian families, that it's an appropriate moment to start re-evaluating the mission," Michael Ignatieff said.

He said that commanders in the field will have to assess whether Canada can reduce risk to its troops, but that he still supports the "broad political and strategic goals of the mission" -- and what has changed is not the goal, but the intensity of the Taliban offensive.

Liberal leadership candidate Bob Rae said that since Canadian troops in Afghanistan are under NATO command, NATO and the Canadian government must assess how the mission is going and whether its goals can be accomplished. Canadian troops went to Afghanistan to help establish rule of law and smooth the way for humanitarian aid, but are now engaged at least in part in counterinsurgency.

"I think that counterinsurgency would appear to be a significant part of what's going on," he said. "We are into that kind of a mission, and I think we really have to have the means to assess the success, the progress, how durable it is, how deep it is."

Danish defence minister says Afghan mission necessary

Danish Defense Minister Soeren Gade said on Thursday the NATO mission in Afghanistan is important and necessary in fight against terrorism.

Gade made the remarks after a Danish soldier was seriously wounded in Afghanistan on Wednesday.

"The security situation is extremely poor in southern Afghanistan and we knew that before we went there," said Gade.

Denmark currently has 360 troops stationed in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force's Regional Command.

"Although attacks on Danish positions have become daily fare since additional forces were deployed on 26 July, Denmark's presence in the war-torn country was necessary," reiterated Gade.

"Only that way can we make sure that Afghanistan does not become a sanctuary for training terrorists, terrorists who can strike us at home," he said. Source: Xinhua

UNICEF alarmed as attacks on Afghan schools rise

UNICEF fears progress in education will be reversed

KABUL/GENEVA, 4 August 2006 – UNICEF warned today that schools in Afghanistan are the targets of increasingly dramatic attacks, noting that reported incidents have spread from the south and southeastern region to all of the provinces and include 11 explosions, 50 school burnings and 37 threats against schools and communities.

As of July 2006, the UNICEF School Incident Database – a UNICEF-run monitoring system – totaled 99 cases, especially alarming because this is more than six times the number of incidents from the same period in 2005. Six children have died as the result of the violence.

While UNICEF and the Afghan government are taking steps to protect children and schools, the latest school-security related incidents are becoming increasingly worrisome. The education structure is still shaky following years of political turmoil, including denial of education for girls, under Taliban rule and subsequent ongoing conflict.

“With all that the children of Afghanistan have gone through, to expose them to this kind of terrible violence is appalling,” said Bernt Aasen, the UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan. “The children of Afghanistan have a right to education. Threats, intimidations and violent attacks on students in schools undermine the very fabric of the future of Afghan society.”

UNICEF called on all parties to cease targeting children, education workers and schools.

In March 2002, Afghanistan schoolchildren sparked hope for out-of-school children everywhere, as 1.5 million children returned to the classroom. By December 2006 this figure has soared to 5.1 million children. Most impressively, 1.5 million girls who had been discriminated against under Taliban rule, returned to formal learning, despite numerous challenges.

Today, schools are closing, students are staying home and the hard-won progress is at risk. In four southern provinces it is estimated that more than 100,000 children are shut out of school because the school closures. Children and teachers are under increasing threat and being denied their right to a safe teaching and learning environment.

In four southern provinces it is estimated that more than 100,000 children are shut out of school because of school closures. Children and teachers are under increasing threat and being denied their right to a safe teaching and learning environment.

In response, UNICEF, Ministry of Education and other partners have set up a special task force to devise solutions that is strengthening protection of students, teachers, school officials and schools themselves and providing a rapid response when incidents arise, including: - Establishing a 24-hour a day communications system with provinces and twice a day call-ins to stay abreast of situations in the field.

- Appointing 34 provincial Protection Advisors to monitor and analyse security data from the field and to work with local task forces, Provincial Reconstruction Team officials and traditional leaders to ensure security. Placing Mobile Protection Teams with two child protection officers per province – with more officers in the bigger provinces. The Child Protection Officers will devise strategies with Government and local communities towards greater protection of children, particularly girls and female teachers, from any kind of abuse. They will also monitor that health and safety guidelines including mine awareness, health and hygiene training and first-aid facilities are in place.

- Promoting community mobilization and public awareness through religious leaders and political leaders who will act as grass roots mobilizers to encourage communities to reopen schools and to send their children to schools and to be vigilant against attacks. These leaders will receive special training to help them to convince parents to also send their girl children to schools.

When incidents do occur, UNICEF, if security allows, is on-site within 72 hours providing support within five days with the provision of classroom tents, teaching-learning stationary materials, blackboard, chalks, floor mats so as to restore normal functioning of schools and having teachers and children return as soon as possible.

In cases where major repair or construction is needed, UNICEF is taking further action in consultation with the respective Provincial Education Department and the Ministry of Education.

UNICEF has already allocated some emergency rehabilitation funds to each of its zone offices for repair of burnt or damaged schools, with rehabilitation support coming from within the communities. A very close working relationship has been developed in the field with all agency stakeholders involved in education and in direct support of the Directors of Provincial and District Education offices so as to ensure the earliest possible return to school.

“We must not allow the progress that was made in establishing access to quality education to 5.2 million children be destroyed because we did not try hard enough to protect children’s right to be taught in a safe learning environment.” said Aasen.

UNICEF praised the work of the government and its partners in making Afghan schools a place of learning and not of fear. “If we want our children to grow up non-violent, we must do everything we can to ensure that their schools are as safe as they possibly can be,” said Aasen.

Canberra to strengthen Afghanistan contingent

INSURGENTS in southern Afghanistan, where Australian troops are soon to be based, have killed four NATO soldiers, three of them Canadians, just two days after two British soldiers died in the same area.

The attacks came before the Defence Minister, Brendan Nelson, said yesterday that the final composition of Australia's provincial reconstruction team to Afghanistan would be announced next week.

It is likely the number of protection forces accompanying military engineers and tradesman will be increased because of fears about deteriorating security.

The attack in southern Afghanistan on Thursday followed the US handover of command to NATO forces on Monday. Canada has lost 23 soldiers in the region since February, while in the past two months Britain has lost nine in the Helmand province, which neighbours the Oruzgan province where Australian troops will be based.

Also on Thursday, a suicide bomber killed himself and 21 civilians. Eight people were also killed on Monday by a car bomb. All of the violence of the past week has occurred within a 30-minute drive of Kandahar, the main southern city.

Dr Nelson said he had been been keeping a close watch on the security situation there and believed there was a strong argument for sending more soldiers.

He also said the Dutch, who will be working with the Australian troops, had increased their own numbers by two platoons "and they may choose to increase that further".

Reid loses Afghan hijack ruling - BBC News / Friday, 4 August 2006

Home Secretary John Reid has vowed to push for law changes over the right to remain in the UK after losing a Court of Appeal battle over nine Afghans.

Mr Reid appealed against a High Court ruling giving the men, who hijacked an airliner and flew it to the UK in 2000, discretionary leave to stay in the UK. He said legislation would "deny people in this position leave to remain."

The men were convicted of hijacking the plane - but an appeal court later ruled they had acted under duress.

A lawyer for the home secretary had argued that although the nine Afghans could not be deported because of human rights issues, he could use immigration powers to impose "temporary admission" status on them and curb their freedoms.

But three appeal court judges on Friday dismissed the appeal, saying that there had been "ample time" for the Home Secretary to get parliamentary backing for his actions, rather than just giving himself new powers.

The Boeing 727 was hijacked in February 2000 in Afghanistan and flown to Stansted in Essex.

The men were convicted in December 2001 - but were freed on appeal two years later when the Court of Appeal found they were acting under duress.

Despite an immigration panel ruling saying the men should not be sent back, the Home Office has refused to give them permission to stay.

In May, a High Court judge angrily accused the Home Office of an "abuse of power" by ignoring its own laws and ordered ministers to pay the highest possible legal costs. Prime Minister Tony Blair said that decision was "an abuse of common sense".

In Friday's appeal court ruling, Lord Justice Brooke said: "Judges and adjudicators have to apply the law as they find it, and not as they might wish it to be.

"So far as the powers of the Home Secretary are concerned, the challenges created by the respondents' presence in this country have been apparent ever since they landed here over six years ago.

"There has been ample time for the Home Secretary to obtain appropriate Parliamentary authority, if he wished to be clothed with the powers he gave to himself without parliamentary sanction."

But responding to the judgement, Mr Reid said the men's presence was undesirable. "I continue to believe that those whose actions have undermined any legitimate claim to asylum should not be granted leave to remain in the UK," he said.

"I plan to bring forward legislation to do this as part of the early Bill to strengthen our immigration laws."

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said the problem was of the government's "own creation." "These hijackers committed serious crimes which should make them incompatible with refugee status," he said.

"They should have been deported in 2004 - especially since thousands of allied troops remain in Afghanistan maintaining the peace." In a statement in May, the nine asylum seekers said they were desperate to be allowed to work and contribute to UK society.

They also apologised to passengers on the flight they hijacked, for the fear they had caused.

Hundreds of South Koreans begin to leave Afghanistan - August 4, 2006

KABUL (AFP) - About 400 South Korean Christians were flown out of Afghanistan's capital following orders to leave after their presence caused security fears in the Islamic country.

The Afghan government put on special flights to take them from Kabul to the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif and western Herat from where they would leave the country by land -- the same way they entered, a South Korean official said.

"We flew some 400 people either to Mazar or Herat ... we have some left because some of the planes were too small," he said on condition of anonymity. The remainder of 600 due to depart Friday would likely leave Saturday.

Hundreds more were expected to follow, including some who had flown in from Almaty, Dubai and New Delhi and would be sent back the way they came.

The government ordered them out amid fears for their safety, with some Muslim clerics already complaining they were preaching Christianity -- which is illegal in this conservative country where religion is highly sensitive.

Despite repeated warnings from the South Korean government, the group began arriving in war-torn Afghanistan over the past few days for what they said was a trip to get to know the country and help with its reconstruction.

The visit, labelled "Rejoice! Afghanistan!", was to have culminated in a now-cancelled "peace festival" in Kabul at the weekend to have showcased sporting and cultural events.

The event was being organized by the South Korean-based Institute of Asian Culture and Development (IACD), a humanitarian non-government organisation linked to evangelical Christians.

The group insisted the South Koreans were not here to preach. About 1,500 South Koreans, including 600 children and some with US and Canadian citizenship, had entered on tourist visas, an organizer said.

About 700 were in the capital and the rest were in other major centres including Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif and Bamiyan in the centre. Those from Bamiyan were among the group being flown to Mazar and Herat Friday to join the exodus home.

Afghan authorities had ordered the group to leave because "they said they had some assessment and the risk of them becoming a target is very high," the South Korean official said.

A group of clerics in Mazar-i-Sharif has spoken out against the visitors, accusing them of trying to spread Christianity -- which they deny -- and said the government should deport them.

And a South Korean foreign ministry official said in Seoul Thursday a South Korean Red Cross vest planted with explosives was found on July 24 in a village near Kabul, heightening fears of an attack.

The government has not announced that it told the South Koreans to leave, but one high-ranking official said they had appeared to be "misusing their tourist visas", which would be grounds for them to be thrown out.

South Korean Christians are noted for aggressive evangelism, notably in communist China and Islamic nations. Western embassies have been watching the situation with concern, mindful of dramatic protests that have flared in the past -- some of them targeted at foreigners.

The conversion of an Afghan to Christianity caused weeks of debate around March over whether he should be executed under Islamic Sharia law. The controversy died down when the convert, Abdul Rahman, was spirited away to Italy amid fears for his life.

Weeks earlier, European cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad sparked nationwide protests directed at foreign troops and groups that left 17 demonstrators dead.

Afghanistan to deport Korean Christians

NDTV.com Friday, August 4, 2006 (Kabul):

Afghanistan has ordered hundreds of South Korean Christians to leave the country, accusing them of seeking to undermine Islamic culture.

The Korean group's leader, Choi Han-woo, denied its 1,200 members, who gathered in Afghanistan for relief work and a cultural festival, took part in any religious activities.

However, Interior Ministry spokesperson Yousef Stanezai said that although the Koreans came with tourist visas, their activities showed they had a different agenda. "The programme was against the Islamic culture and customs of Afghans," he said, adding they have been told to leave the country as soon as possible.

The South Korean non-governmental organisation, called the Institute of Asian Culture & Development, was negotiating with the ministry over the schedule for their deportations, said Sung Han Kang, a spokesperson for the group.

He also said that Interior Ministry officials told him they were being deported for their own protection, not due to security fears.

A South Korean Red Cross vest packed with a grenade and other explosives was discovered last week just outside the Afghan capital Kabul, the South Korean Yonhap News agency reported on Thursday, citing an official from the South Korean Foreign Ministry. (AP)

Afghan Capital Faces Energy Crunch – VOA 08/04/2006 By Benjamin Sand

Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, faces a crippling energy shortage with basic electricity only available six hours a day. Officials say demand is soaring, but international support for the city's energy needs is being cut and widespread power outages are expected throughout the coming winter.

Abdur Rahim, 23, uses a metal crank to help kick start the old Russian generator he keeps behind his leather shop in downtown Kabul.

He says the city only provides electricity from six in the evening to midnight. During business hours, he says, the only way to run his shop is to generate the power himself.

The Afghan energy ministry predicts the situation will get worse in the months ahead. Mohammed Amin Munsif, Afghanistan's deputy minister for energy says Kabul does not have the budget to purchase fuel for its massive diesel generators.  

Without that additional support, he says, the entire city faces energy cuts during the bitterly cold winter.

"We will be faced with a lot of problems," he said.  "The people will be too cold and the people are too poor. All the children and the eldest men and women they [could] die from this weather."

International aid to purchase fuel has fallen this year, aid workers say, as other priorities are being addressed. However, several countries, including the United States are donating millions of dollars to modernize and expand Kabul's electricity infrastructure.

But Munsif says that so far no one is stepping forward to fill the breach in providing fuel. Electric outages are already becoming more frequent throughout the ancient city.  

Kabul's international airport is now running almost entirely on backup generators. Even the Ministry of Energy is in the dark most of the day. The city's business leaders warn the problem is spiraling out of control.  

Akam Khan Hamdard works with Afghanistan's International Chamber of Commerce. He says nearly 80 percent of all local businesses have to generate their own power using expensive diesel generators.  

"So this is increasing the production cost, the per unit cost in Afghanistan, which is destroying the economy. And on the other side we are in tough competition with China, Pakistan and Iran," he noted.

Hamdard says attracting foreign investors to Kabul is hard enough given the ongoing violence.  Without electricity, he says, it is almost impossible.

The Afghan government says it is working on long-term plans to increase energy supplies for the city.

An international project is under way to import electricity from neighboring central Asian states but critics say it could be years before any electricity actually reaches Kabul.

International donors have pledged more than $10 billion for Afghanistan's reconstruction.  But local residents say that so far they have not seen many improvements and frustrations are mounting.  

Back inside his shop, Abdur Rahim says he spends at least five dollars a day on fuel for his generator.  In a country where the average income is less than $1 a day, he says, something has to change.

AFGHANISTAN: USAID provides US $16m for drought-stricken people

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

KABUL, 4 Aug 2006 (IRIN) - The US Agency for International Development (USAID) is supplying 27,010 mt of food aid worth more than US $16 million to help millions of drought-stricken people in Afghanistan.

The contribution comes after a joint appeal by the United Nations (UN) and the Afghan government on 25 July for $76 million to feed 2.5 million people. Government officials said that the 2.5 million people affected by drought was in addition to the 6.5 million people who were seasonally or chronically food insecure in the country.

“This assistance from the people of the US will contribute to the urgent needs of millions of Afghans affected by this year’s harsh drought and food insecurity,” Idrees Ilham, USAID's public information officer in the Afghan capital, Kabul, said on Thursday.

Officials have warned that the inadequate rainfall in April and May could wipe out 50 percent of this year's wheat production. The wheat harvest accounts for 80 percent of the country's cereal production.

Afghanistan's Ministry of Agriculture and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization have estimated that there could be a shortfall of 1.2 million mt of cereals. An estimated six million mt of cereals would be needed for consumption this year, but only 4.8 million mt produced.

Ilham said USAID's latest contribution was in addition to the $20 million it pledged to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in late July. The aid would include wheat, cooking oil and other foodstuffs.

The US government, through USAID, is the major supporter of WFP in Afghanistan. It has contributed food aid and cash valued at more than $57 million since October 2005.

Pakistan hands over 5 buses to Afghanistan

Dawn (Pakistan) August 4, 2006 issue

ISLAMABAD, Aug 3: Pakistan handed over five buses to Afghanistan on Thursday which would be used for educational institutions of the country.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtyar presented keys of the vehicles to the Afghan Ambassador Dr Nanguyalai Tarzai at a ceremony held here on Thursday.

On the occasion, Mr Bakhtyar said that Pakistan was committed to help establishing peace and stability in Afghanistan and would extend all possible assistance in that regard. He said that a strong and stable Afghanistan was in the interest of Pakistan because both the countries were partners in peace, progress and prosperity.

The buses are in addition to the five that were gifted to Afghanistan in April this year. Pakistan has so far handed over 200 trucks, 100 buses and 45 ambulances and would also provide 14 fully equipped medical units to the neighbour country.

Pakistan is also engaged in the development of key infrastructure, health and education sector projects in Afghanistan besides imparting training to a large number of Afghan officials.

Afghanistan: U.N. girls' football

KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- A senior U.N. official presented a trophy to the winners of the first-ever Kabul Girls' Football Competition, a milestone event for young women in Afghanistan.

"Today's competition marks a milestone for young girls in Afghanistan, who just five years ago were not even allowed to attend school, let alone play sports," United Nations Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan Ameerah Haq said Thursday, following the match

"Sports provide children of all ages, boys and girls, with opportunities to express themselves, to contribute their opinions, and to become agents for change," she said, adding her hope that "participation in events such as this one will inspire young girls to pursue their dreams, in whatever fields interest them."

Kabul is home to 15 football teams for girls, with young women from the ages of 13 to 20 participating.

The winners of today's match, held at the Ministry of Defense Sports Field, will go on to face the winners of other regional competitions in the finals, under the auspices of the Afghanistan Football Federation.

All of the participants in Thursday's competition were presented with footballs made especially for the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan by disabled Afghans and paid for from staff donations. Over 1,000 footballs will be delivered to schools, orphanages and prisons across Afghanistan.

Govt plans to encourage insurance companies

KABUL, Aug 2 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The government has opened a special branch under the Ministry of Finance to encourage insurance companies to start work under the amended insurance law.

Advisor to the Finance Minister and chief of the new department Asad Sakhi Farhad said the new department was launched to promote insurance and pave way for companies to venture in this field.

He said the country's insurance law was amended about 45 days back and one of the key changes was to allow private companies to start operations in this sector. Presently, the only insurance company - a government owned - is working in the country and which was established some 40 years ago.

The new department will be supervising private insurance companies and will be responsible to monitor their work in accordance with the law.

Speaking at a news conference, Farhad said investors were less interested in opening insurance companies in Afghanistan due to insecurity. So far, an Afghan, an Iranian and a Lebanese company has applied for getting licence and the first of these would be issued a license in a month.

The companies would be liable to pay 20 per cent tax on their earning, said Farhad. The new department would also try to create awareness among people about insurance, he informed

[Disclaimer: The content of this news bulletin does not necessarily reflect the view or policy of the Afghan Government, unless specifically stated as such. The collection of articles and commentaries from Afghan and international news sources is provided for informational purposes, and accuracy of the news is the responsibility of the original source.]