In this bulletin:

• Afghan minister says Pakistan Taliban 'appeasement' dangerous
• Afghan govt says to decide how long NATO troops stay
• Bush asks Gillani, Karzai to jointly combat terror
• 5 nomads die in roadside blast in Afghanistan
• Afghan cop beheaded, bombs kill seven civilians
• Top military officer says violence up in Afghanistan
• Rebels hide among families to enter Afghanistan: ISAF
• Afghanistan - Authorities urged to protect women working in news media
• Anti-Taliban push underway in Afghanistan: Australian military
• SAS soldier killed in Afghan blast
• Norway scales back planned increase in Afghan peacekeepers by about 50 troops
• Pakistan Taliban claims responsibility for bomb blast
• Westerners Play Pivotal Role in Afghan Rebuilding
• Food aid appeal for some 100,000 in Ghor Province
• Afghan teenage cluster bomb victim battling for ban
• Canadian aid group helps Afghan women learn sewing, business skills
• Goat-rearing Afghan nomads inspire U.S. designer
• Under wraps, prostitution rife in north Afghanistan
• Afghanistan take first step towards cricket World Cup

Afghan minister says Pakistan Taliban 'appeasement' dangerous

KABUL (AFP) - Afghanistan's foreign minister said Pakistan's policy of "appeasing" the Taliban is dangerous, reiterating concern that peace talks between Islamabad and rebels would see more cross-border attacks.

Pakistan's new government is in negotiations with Taliban militants along its tribal belt, from where Afghan and Western officials allege the insurgents plot and organise attacks in Afghanistan including against foreign troops.

"Anyone thinking that they are able to reach peace in the region through what we call an appeasement policy -- we consider it is a wrong and dangerous policy," Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta told reporters.

The talks launched by a new government that defeated President Pervez Musharraf's allies in elections have led to a marked tailing off in a wave of suicide attacks across Pakistan.

However, NATO said last week that attacks in April in eastern Afghanistan, along the border with Pakistan, were up 52 percent from the same period last year.

A peace deal with Pakistani Taliban in 2006 led to a spike in violence just across the border.

Describing the 2006 deal as bad for Afghanistan, Spanta said the government was "extremely and infinitely concerned" about Islamabad's moves, which officials in Pakistan say have seen troops redeployed in the tribal zone.

He cited media reports saying Taliban had said they wanted peace in Pakistan so they would be able to continue jihad (holy war) in Afghanistan.

"As the victim of terrorism, we have the right to say we're concerned," the minister said, adding Kabul had spoken of its fears with Islamabad and Washington.

"No doubt reconciliation is a key part in the fight against terrorism," he said.

But he added: "If we are to fight them, we have to fight together. War and peace at the same time is impossible."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in September 2007 that he was ready to hold talks with Taliban militants in his country in an effort to end their insurgency.

Afghan govt says to decide how long NATO troops stay

Tue May 20, 8:35 AM ET

KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan government will decide when foreign troops will leave the country, the foreign minister said on Tuesday, but added they would be needed until Afghan security forces could stand on their own feet.

"Whenever ... the Afghan security forces and its national army acquire the ability to defend this water and soil against international terrorism and foreign interventions, there will be no need for the presence of international military forces in Afghanistan," Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta told a news conference.

"And the government of Afghanistan itself will specify as to when and who needs to be (here) or go," Spanta replied when asked by a reporter whether the government had set any time frame for the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.

Currently some 60,000 foreign troops led by NATO and the U.S. military are stationed in Afghanistan where the al Qaeda-backed Taliban movement has made a comeback since 2006.

And the number of Western-trained and funded Afghan security forces fighting against the militants stands at nearly 150,000.

The Taliban are mostly active in southern and eastern areas along the border with Pakistan where the militants have bases and sanctuaries in lawless tribal areas, dominated by ethnic Pashtuns who form the bulk of the Taliban.

U.S.-led forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and toppled Taliban's Islamist government after its leadership refused to hand over al Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden, the architect of Sept 11 attacks on the United States.

Top Taliban and al Qaeda leaders, including bin Laden, are still at large.

Some Western officials have said the foreign troops will remain in Afghanistan for a long time but have not specified any withdrawal period. Others say the troops will leave the country when the Afghan forces manage to defend the country.

More than 12,000 people have been killed in the past two years in Afghanistan, the bloodiest period since Taliban's ouster.

In the latest incident, two foreign soldiers, one of them British, were killed in two separate attacks in southern Afghanistan on Monday.

Bush asks Gillani, Karzai to jointly combat terror

Islamabad (PTI) 20 May 2008: US President George W Bush has asked his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai and Pakistan premier Yousuf Raza Gillani to work jointly to combat terrorism in the region, a leading Pakistan daily reported on Tuesday.

The Federally Administered Tribal Areas in north-west Pakistan, which remain a hot bed for Taliban militants, also figured in the talks between US President and Gillani, a White House official said while briefing newsmen on the meetings Bush held with the two leaders in Egypt last week.

"Well, the president's message has remained consistent, that we have to work with our allies in Afghanistan and Pakistan to confront the dangers that we all face mutually," Deputy Press Secretary Scott Stanzel said when asked what message Bush conveyed to the two leaders.

The official Voice of America radio had also reported that US conveyed its opposition to peace talks with tribal militants in NWFP, initiated by the new government in Pakistan at the Bush-Gillani meeting.

The two leaders had not publicly addressed the issue while speaking to reporters after their talks, Dawn newspaper said.

Earlier transcripts released by the White House indicated that the Bush-Gillani talks also focused on insurgency in the tribal areas.

Referring to a US National Intelligence Estimate, released last year, Stanzel said it talked at length about "our concerns with terrorism taking root" in the Pakistan's FATA areas bordering Afghanistan.

Talking about the meetings on sidelines of the World Economic Forum, the White House official noted that the three nations agreed to continue working together.

5 nomads die in roadside blast in Afghanistan

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) 20 May 2008 - A provincial governor says a roadside blast has killed five nomads and dozens of sheep in southwestern Afghanistan.

The Nimroz province Gov. Ghulam Dastagir says the nomads were transporting sheep on a truck when their vehicle hit the freshly planted bomb late on Monday.

Dastagir accused Taliban militants for the blast. It happened on the road frequently used by Afghan and foreign troops.

More than 1,200 people — mostly militants — have died in insurgency-related violence in Afghanistan this year, according to a tally compiled by The Associated Press.

Afghan cop beheaded, bombs kill seven civilians

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) 20 May 2008 - Taliban militants beheaded a policeman in Afghanistan and killed an aid agency's driver in a separate attack, while bombs killed seven civilians, authorities said Tuesday.

The decapitated body of the policeman was found in the southwestern province of Farah on Monday, a day after he had been captured by Taliban fighters, the police spokesman for the region told AFP.

He was caught while travelling home for a holiday, said spokesman Abdul Mutalib Rad, blaming Taliban extremists.

The militia, which was in government between 1996 and 2001, has carried out several beheadings as part of an insurgency that targets government employees and security forces, as well as US and NATO troops.

In a separate incident, militants fired mortars at an aid agency's water tanker in eastern Afghanistan, an Afghan army spokesman said.

"Then they came and killed the driver and stole his tanker," said Mohammad Gul, blaming the "opposition".

In southwestern Nimroz province meanwhile, a mine blew up a truck transporting sheep and killed five men and several of the animals, provincial governor Ghulam Dastgir Azad said.

It was not clear if the device was newly planted or left over from other conflicts in Afghanistan, which has suffered from nearly 30 years of strife including the 1979-1989 Soviet invasion and subsequent civil war.

And in Wardak, near Kabul, a mine apparently intended for police exploded under a civilian car and killed two people, deputy provincial police chief Mohammad Asif said.

Violence from a Taliban-led insurgency launched months after they were toppled from government in a US-led invasion in 2001 has spiked in recent months and several operations are under way against the Islamic fighters.

Afghan authorities are assisted in their battle to stop the unrest by about 70,000 US and NATO soldiers.

Two soldiers with NATO's International Security Assistance Force were killed in separate insurgency-related incidents in southern Afghanistan Monday, ISAF said.

One was a British national who was caught in an explosion while on foot patrol near the southern town of Musa Qala, the British military said late Tuesday. The nationality of the other soldier has not been released.

Musa Qala in Helmand province was a Taliban base and opium and heroin centre for 10 months before Afghan and international soldiers marched in in December and took control.

It has seen a series of attacks in recent days, including a suicide bombing Sunday that killed four people.

Top military officer says violence up in Afghanistan

Associated Press / May 20, 2008

WASHINGTON - Violence in Afghanistan is increasing, as security in Iraq in recent months has improved, the top U.S. uniformed military officer told Congress Tuesday.

Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also said that Iran's Revolutionary Guard is directly jeopardizing peace in Iraq.

"Restraint in our response does not signal lack of resolve or capability to defend ourselves against threats," Mullen said in prepared testimony before the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee.

Mullen said the U.S. is deploying more troops to Afghanistan and encouraging local forces to do the same to contend with a growing insurgency, increased attacks and a burgeoning drug trade.

"In short, a stable Iraq and Afghanistan that are long-term partners and share our commitment to peace will be critical to achieving regional stability and security," he said.

"This will require years, not months, and will require the support of the American people, our regional allies and concerted action by the Iraqi and Afghan people and their leaders," Mullen added.

Sen. Arlen Specter, a member of the panel, said he is most concerned about the Bush administration's refusal to fully engage Iran in diplomatic discussions. U.S. diplomats have met with Iranian officials as part of a broader regional conference on Iraq, but insisted that discussions be limited to Iraq.

The U.S. accuses Iran of trying to develop a nuclear weapon, supporting terrorist groups and encouraging violence in Iraq by providing weapons and other material support to Shiite militants there.

Specter, R-Pa., said he has seen talks with North Korea and Libya bear fruition and thinks similar progress could be made with Iran.

If the government refuses to engage Iran, "we're missing a great opportunity to avoid a future conflict," Specter said.

Rebels hide among families to enter Afghanistan: ISAF

KABUL (AFP) 19 May 2008 - Insurgents are crossing from Pakistan into Afghanistan, where attacks have spiked in recent weeks, hidden among hundreds of families that make the trip daily, the NATO force here said Monday.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force is using a range of intelligence and surveillance systems to detect the rebels to thwart attacks along the eastern frontier, an ISAF spokesman told AFP.

"There is already a good ISAF presence along the border," General Carlos Branco told AFP, adding that the number of troops may have increased but this was not a dramatic rise or necessarily related to the steady increase in rebel activity.

"The border in Regional Command East is crossed daily by families whose members live in both sides," Branco said, referring to several eastern provinces where the insurgency is intense.

"The insurgents use these movements to disguise their activities and intentions.

"But to track their activity, ISAF has a wide range of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems available." he added.

NATO said in Brussels last week the level of attacks in Afghanistan from Pakistan -- where militants have bases -- was up in April by about 52 percent compared with the same period last year.

It urged Pakistan to improve security on the border, where Islamabad says it already has tens of thousands of troops stationed.

Pakistan's new government has also launched negotiations with Taliban militants based in its tribal belt along the border, a move that worries Afghan officials after a 2006 deal in Pakistan saw a spike in attacks in eastern Afghanistan.

Authorities meanwhile said a Pakistani national planning a suicide bombing was captured in the eastern province of Khost on Monday.

"A Pakistani national who was intending a suicide bombing was captured today in Khost," the interior ministry said in a statement. Two suicide vests the man was carrying were also seized, it said in a statement.

The Taliban, ousted from power in Afghanistan in late 2001 for harbouring Osama bin Laden, have been using Pakistan's lawless tribal belt to stage attacks in Afghanistan.

NATO has about 47,000 troops in the ISAF in Afghanistan, with the aim of spreading the rule of the central government and fostering reconstruction in the conflict-torn country.

Afghanistan - Authorities urged to protect women working in news media

MONTREAL, May 20 /CNW Telbec/ - Reporters Without Borders calls on the

authorities to do everything possible to protect women journalists, several of

whom have been attacked or threatened since the start of the year. One,

Niloufar Habibi, has continued to receive death threats since leaving hospital

after being stabbed on 15 May in the northwestern city of Herat and has to

change residence every day.

"We are very worried about the growing number of attacks and threats

against women journalists," the press freedom organisation said. "Action must

be urgently taken to put a stop to this violence. The government has a duty to

investigate these incidents thoroughly and ensure that they do not go

unpunished, especially as some of the victims have been forced to stop working

in order to avoid further threats."

Reporters Without Borders added: "Unfortunately, the Taliban are not the

only ones to target women working in the media. Religious fundamentalists,

warlords and local politicians help to create a climate of fear designed to

marginalise women in Afghan society."

A 22-year-old presenter on the local public television station, Herat TV,

Habibi was stabbed in her home in Herat on 15 May, two weeks after

unidentified individuals threatened all public radio and TV employees. Fearing

for their safety, three women resigned just a few days after the threats were

made. Around 10 other men and women quickly followed suit. But Habibi had

decided to keep working, despite many warnings.

Habibi told Reporters Without Borders she is very worried: "I was

attacked twice in less than a week. The first time (on 14 May) was after

several phone calls. Two men and a woman stopped me on the way to the office

and injured me with a knife. With a taxi driver acting as their accomplice,

they drove me to the TV station and told me, 'If you do not resign, the next

time will be the end'."

Habibi continued: "The next day, a woman knocked on my door and stabbed

me when I opened. After I was released from hospital (on 18 May), I was

constantly followed by strangers. I have repeatedly changed my residence. I

refuse to bow to the threats and I fear for my life." Despite her appeals for

help, she has still not received any police protection..

Several other journalists have been forced to leave the city. They

include Khadijeh Ahadi, the deputy editor of Radio Faryad and host of a very

popular programme in which people can question politicians about every day

problems. After she received many threatening phone calls, grenades were

thrown at her home on 6 and 11 April. She was not injured but her house was

badly damaged.

"We have been seeing attacks on news media and journalists for months,

especially in Herat province," Rahimullah Samandar, the head of the Afghan

Independent Journalists Association (AIJA), told Reporters Without Borders.

"There have been eight to ten attacks on women journalists or young

journalists this month. They want to stop TV programmes being broadcast and

ban women from working on them. The inactivity of the authorities is

unfortunately an important factor in the increase in these attacks."

Another AIJA representative, Nighibolah Taieb, told Reporters Without

Borders: "This situation is dangerous for our country. Those responsible for

these attacks are the enemies of free expression. You should not forget that

Herat province's neighbours (in Iran) are worried about freedom of expression

in our country and fear that the broadcasting of programmes will influence

viewers on the other side of the border."

Individuals claiming to represent the Taliban threatened women

journalists in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif in February. They told one

of the women: "Take care. If you continue to show yourself on television, your

sister, your mother or other members of your family could be kidnapped." The

journalists requested police protection but did not get it.

Anti-Taliban push underway in Afghanistan: Australian military

SYDNEY (AFP) - The Australian military on Monday said it had launched a "major push" to clear out extremist Taliban fighters from their heartland in southern Afghanistan.

A series of operations would be carried out north of the soldiers' base near Tarin Kowt to clear out insurgents, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) said.

"Australian soldiers have begun a major push into the Taliban heartland of Uruzgan province in southern Afghanistan with the intent of pushing out the Taliban, restoring vital infrastructure and creating a safe environment for the Afghan people," the ADF said in a statement.

The push would be spearheaded by engineers, infantry, cavalry and support troops, it said. Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Yeaman, commanding officer of the 4th Reconstruction Task Force, said the Australians had moved into the Baluchi region as part of joint operations with the Dutch.

"This is an area of huge tactical and strategic significance for the Taliban extremists," he said. "This is the Taliban's back yard and we are right on their main supply route between (southwestern) Helmand province and their supply bases to the north.

"The aim of this series of operations is to clear out the Taliban, and then build the physical infrastructure -- patrol bases particularly -- which will allow the Afghan National Army and police, with support from the International Security Assistance Force, to dominate these areas."

Australia has around 1,000 troops in Afghanistan, mostly assisting a Dutch-led reconstruction operation in Uruzgan.

Last month, an Australian commando died in a gun battle in the former Taliban stronghold when the rebels attacked his patrol, prompting Premier Kevin Rudd to warn the conflict would likely become more intense in coming months.

He told a press conference at the time that "2008 will be difficult and dangerous and bloody, and the Australian nation needs to prepare itself for further losses in the year ahead."

He added: "We are facing a change of season, as the winter snows melt and the spring thaw begins, which usually indicates a heightening in military activity on the part of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda."

Five Australians have died in combat in Afghanistan since 2002 -- four in the past seven months.

SAS soldier killed in Afghan blast

Richard Norton-Taylor - The Guardian , Tuesday May 20 2008

This article appeared in the Guardian on Tuesday May 20 2008 on p13 of the UK news section. It was last updated at 00:01 on May 20 2008.

An SAS soldier was killed yesterday by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, defence sources said last night. He became the 96th British armed forces personnel to have died in the country since the US-led military campaign there began in 2001.

An MoD spokesman said the soldier's next of kin had been informed and no one else was injured in the blast. The family of the soldier has asked that no further information about him be released, he added.

"British forces were conducting operations in the Musa Qala area when a soldier patrolling on foot was caught in an explosion and tragically lost his life," the spokesman said.

The fact that the soldier's regiment was not named is a sign that he was a member of the special forces. A number of SAS soldiers as well as troops from the Special Boat Service, SBS, are operating in southern Afghanistan and Iraq.

Musa Qala, in Helmand province, was recaptured from the Taliban by US and British-led Afghan troops last year.

In a separate incident yesterday, another Nato soldier, not British, was killed by what the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) described as "enemy hostile action". It said the British soldier was killed in an improvised explosive device blast while supporting an Afghan national police operation.

"These soldiers died honourably, helping to bring security to the people of Afghanistan," said Brigadier General Carlos Branco, Isaf's spokesman.

British special forces have been operating in small groups in Afghanistan ever since attempts were made to capture Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida fighters at the end of 2001. They have recently been helping to train Afghan forces.

Norway scales back planned increase in Afghan peacekeepers by about 50 troops

The Associated Press - Monday, May 19, 2008

OSLO, Norway: Norway is scaling back a planned increase in its contribution to the NATO-led peacekeeping contingent in Afghanistan by 50 to 60 soldiers due to economic constraints and changing requirements, the defense ministry said Monday.

Norway, which is a member of the NATO alliance, said late last year it would send about 100 infantry soldiers to bolster a contingent of about 50 Norwegian troops in the northern town of Maymana. They had suffered repeated attacks, including one in November when a peacekeeper was killed by a roadside bomb.

Defense Ministry spokesman Lars Magne Hovtun said that number was now being cut roughly in half.

"Part of it is an economic challenge, because things have cost more than expected, and part of it is a change in needs," Hovtun said by telephone.

He said the situation around Maymana appears to have calmed down somewhat. He also said the 100 troops were pledged before it became clear that Germany would provide a rapid reaction force near the city of Mazar-e-Sharif to replace a Norwegian contingent when it withdraws as planned in June.

Despite the reduction, Norway has sharply increased its presence in Afghanistan from about 500 troops to more than 700, including special forces and a helicopter unit that was sent earlier this year, the central command said.

Pakistan Taliban claims responsibility for bomb blast

ISLAMABAD, May 19 (Xinhua) -- A pro-Taliban military group in Pakistan on Monday claimed responsibility for a bomb blast in northwestern Pakistan, which killed 13 people including four soldiers, a private TV channel reported.

Pakistan's Geo TV said Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Taliban Movement of Pakistan, was responsible for the the suicide attack.

The TV channel quoted TTP spokesperson Moulvi Umar as saying that the attack was revenge of the "U.S. aggression" in Damadola.

Some missiles were fired from a drone and hit Damadola area in northwest Pakistan's tribal region last Wednesday, killing 12 people. There has been no official comment on this missile fire.

The tribal areas in Pakistan bordering Afghanistan have seen several missile attacks launched by drones. Such attacks are usually blamed on the United States-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces, who have been fighting Taliban in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani government has been negotiating with local Taliban militants in northwestern area. The two sides had held swap of prisoners and were likely to ink a peace agreement in near future.

Westerners Play Pivotal Role in Afghan Rebuilding

by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson

NPR - Morning Edition, May 20, 2008 · U.S. Navy Cmdr. Larry Legree spent a year fighting insurgents in Kunar, a mountainous province northeast of Afghanistan's capital, Kabul.

He didn't do it with guns. Instead, Legree, former head of Kunar's provincial reconstruction team, used development to undermine insurgents and win over residents. Take, for instance, two bridges being built across the Kunar River.

Legree says once completed, the bridges will connect residents of this isolated part of the province along Pakistan's border with the rest of Afghanistan — and that the bridges will trigger a chain reaction.

"We've seen it everywhere else. Once we build roads through these valleys and we build bridges that connect population areas, economics just go through the roof," Legree says.

Once people are living above bare subsistence — where they are susceptible to Taliban influences — they begin to care about "starting a small business, selling excess commodities and getting to secondary and tertiary markets," he says.

The projects also provide badly needed employment in Kunar. Plus, workers earn the equivalent of $5 a day, a decent salary by local standards.

The Kunar provincial reconstruction team, or PRT, is one of about two dozen in Afghanistan, mostly run by officers from NATO countries in far-flung provinces. They are the face of Western development aid for millions of Afghans.

Nowadays, these teams work closely with local Afghan leaders, letting them propose and vet projects, which the military then reviews and funds.

Since the ouster of the Taliban in 2001, the country has received billions in foreign aid. But many challenges face those trying to rebuild the war-torn country — including the many Westerners involved in the effort.

For example, the PRTs have many Western critics who argue the military shouldn't be in the development business. They say experienced civilian agencies are better equipped for the job.

And unlike the military teams, civilians don't leave Afghans with the impression that foreign soldiers are in charge. The military counters that civilian aid organizations refuse to go to unsafe areas where the PRTs are.

The Kunar team regularly fires its howitzer at insurgent positions in the Korengal Valley several miles away.

The militants, with local help, make Kunar one of the more dangerous places for U.S. troops in Afghanistan — even though the Americans are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into developing this province.

Legree's successor is Cmdr. Dan Dwyer. The Navy pilot firmly believes the PRTs must stay and continue developing volatile areas like Kunar.

"We can't have governance, we can't have security, if people can't move around their own backyard," Dwyer says.

Spending vastly more than the PRTs on reconstruction is the U.S. Agency for International Development, which tackles long-term projects, many of them in dangerous areas.

One example is Afghanistan's "ring road," which is to be finished next year. It's a paved beltway designed to connect key Afghan cities to each other and neighboring countries.

Yet many Afghan officials grumble that USAID does not consult with them enough on projects or contracts. They say America may be the country that donates the most money to Afghanistan, but it is also the one that gives Afghans the least control.

U.S. officials argue that there hasn't been anyone for them to turn the projects over to, that the Afghan government needs to develop more capacity, and that corruption is too rampant for the agency to simply hand over the pot of money.

Susan de Camp is the U.S. agency's representative in Khost province, southeast of Kabul. She notes that USAID has a "tremendous responsibility."

"[USAID] is the development arm of the U.S. government. And accountability is first and foremost. Failure is not an option. One bad project and your whole reputation is down the tubes. … It doesn't matter if you have 500 projects out there," de Camp says.

She and others say strict accounting standards and a dearth of qualified Afghan companies have led the U.S. agency to hire foreign contractors to do much of the work. The for-profit companies, in turn, subcontract with regional or local laborers to build the projects.

Many people involved in aid work here criticize that approach. One controversial report released this year by Oxfam, a leading British charity, accused the Americans of wasting development money.

Anja de Beer heads the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief, a nongovernmental organization in Kabul that provided the research for the report.

De Beer notes that a large portion of USAID money goes to big for-profit companies — which results in much of the money going back to the donor country through profits, consultant salaries, and procurement regulations under which materials are not necessarily purchased in Afghanistan.

Many donors have rejected the report's findings, accusing the authors of using faulty numbers and wanting more development money for their own agencies. They also preach patience to Afghans, saying that building their country from the ground up takes time.

Christopher Dell, the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, says people tend to forget how bad conditions were in the past.

He points to the fact that in 2001, Afghanistan had only 15 phone lines that could call the outside world. Now, the country has several million mobile phone subscribers who can call anywhere.

Nonetheless, the newly arrived United Nations special envoy, Kai Eide, says it would be wrong to ignore the Oxfam report.

He says the report "pointed the finger at exactly the right problems: how do we manage to spend our money better, how can we leave more money in this country, how can we develop Afghan capabilities better because they have to be developed if our efforts are to be sustainable?"

Some of those answers may come at a conference in Paris next month. There, the Afghan government is planning to ask donors for $50 billion to implement its first nationwide strategy for development.

Food aid appeal for some 100,000 in Ghor Province

CHEGHECHERAN, 19 May 2008 (IRIN) - Over 22,500 "most vulnerable" families (about 112,500 individuals) in Ghor Province, central-western Afghanistan, who have been severely affected by rising food prices and drought are in dire need of humanitarian assistance, according to aid agencies and provincial officials.

Several non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including Coordinating Humanitarian Affairs (CHA), World Vision and Afghan Aid, and some government bodies have identified tens of thousands of "most vulnerable" people in all of Ghor's 10 districts in need of urgent relief and who could face starvation and/or migrate to other provinces.

To avert a humanitarian crisis in Ghor, the provincial authorities have demanded 1,733 tonnes of food aid through a joint appeal which has also been endorsed by local NGOs. The survey identified 8,000 other "vulnerable" families for whom food aid has not been requested.

"Food has become unaffordable for many already poor families," said the survey. "Drought and lack of quality seeds, fertilizers and other agricultural requirements also present a worrying prospect for this year's harvest," it said.

Despite heavy snowfall in parts of Afghanistan, including Ghor Province, there is a rainfall deficit of at least 200mm in areas which normally receive 400-800mm annually, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on 18 May, adding that this would most probably affect agricultural production.

"Should the 2008 harvest be poor, both the food aid requirements and the number of vulnerable people would rise sharply," FAO said.

The poor prospects for agricultural production in 2008 mean that most of Ghor's estimated over 500,000 population - who mostly rely on agriculture and livestock as their main source of income - will probably depend on food aid in the months ahead, experts have said.

However, the emergency food aid appeal envisages only one ration of 50kg of wheat and rice, 5kg ghee and sugar, 20kg of beans, 2kg of salt, and 1kg tea for every five-member family listed as most vulnerable. Tents, jerry cans, blankets, soap, fodder and medicines have also been requested.

"The requested aid will only temporarily meet the needs of the most needy," said Gulam Yahya Rasoli, head of the provincial department of the Afghan Red Crescent Society. "We definitely require long-term solutions to overcome mounting challenges," Rasoli told IRIN.

Amid growing tension over access to food and the availability of food in local shops, several people in Lal-o-Sarjungle District said they had lost the means to cope with worsening food-insecurity.

"We already sold or lost our animals," said Azizullah, an elderly resident of Lak-o-Sarjungle. "I have nothing in my home to sell [in order to] buy food for my family," said another man.

In October 2007 aid agencies demanded 14,000 tonnes of mixed food aid to assist tens of thousands of hungry people in Ghor Province and avert a human tragedy during winter.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said 14,000 tonnes of food was distributed to thousands of beneficiaries in Ghor in 2007 and up to 16,000 tonnes will be distributed through food-for-work projects in 2008.

Additionally, WFP runs other food aid projects such as education-incentive aid, and food aid for tuberculosis patients which cover up to 87 percent of the total population in Ghor Province.

Much of Ghor Province is 2,500m above sea-level and the mountainous terrain usually becomes impassable after heavy snowfalls in winter. Many parts of the province are vulnerable to flash floods in spring and drought in summer.

Owing to poor roads and insecurity, the delivery of food and non-food items to Ghor and its isolated districts has been a major factor in raising prices.

"One kilogram of rice is 90 Afghanis [US$1.90] and so is cooking oil," said Sayed Akbar Amiri, a UN official in Ghor, adding that 50kg of wheat sold for over $50. "Most people are poor and cannot afford even a sack of wheat for a month," Amiri said.

Afghan teenage cluster bomb victim battling for ban

DUBLIN (AFP) — Afghan teenager Soraj Ghulam Habib, whose legs were blown off by a cluster bomb, is campaigning hard for a ban on such lethal munitions that would spare other children from his tragic fate.

A 10-year-old boy when the unexploded bomblet left him close to death, Habib, now 17 and wheelchair-bound, is in Dublin to press officials from 109 countries who have gathered to thrash out a landmark ban on cluster bombs.

The conference, due to conclude on May 30, is aiming for a wide-ranging international pact that would completely eliminate the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions among signatories.

Habib's childhood curiosity with a funny-looking object left him a whisker from death, yet another innocent civilian victim of deadly cluster bombs.

"One day, I went out with some of my cousins for a picnic in a public park," the softly-spoken teenager, from Herat province in north-western Afghanistan, told AFP through a Dari-speaking interpreter.

"It was the beginning of New Year in Afghanistan and on the way home, on the sidewalk, I saw a yellow can. I picked it up and wanted to open it. When I threw it down, it exploded."

The same colour as the emergency food parcels air-dropped by US planes, the yellow can was in fact a BLU-97, a sub-munition dropped in a cluster bomb during the US aerial bombing campaign to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

"It's a dangerous weapon but it looks nice, it looks very interesting to a child," he said.

Taken to hospital, the doctors wanted to give the 10-year-old a lethal injection, judging that his life was not worth living given the extent of his injuries.

"He said to my father, 'it's not good for his future life to be like this, let's let him die,'" Habib said.

But the boy's father disagreed and the youth was operated on. A week later, a small piece of sub-munition was found in his stomach, which had entered his body through his leg. Again, the medics operated.

After four months, he was allowed to return home, with daily visits from the doctors. Further operations followed.

The physical horror of his ordeal is visible, but the emotional and social damage is not. Leaving hospital, the destruction of his childhood became clear.

"Cluster munitions injure but also do not lead us to be in society," Habib said.

"I wanted to go outside and play with my friends, but they did not want to play with me. They said that now I was a wheelchair user, I was not able to do anything."

Fighting his corner, his uncle pushed for him to be allowed in school. "It was a social problem that nobody would play with me," he said. "I had a lot of dreams, to do for my friends, my family, my community and my country; it destroyed all my dreams and all my wishes."

He is not the only one whose childhood has been wrecked by cluster bombs. Campaigners say they disproportionately affect civilians, with Handicap International estimating that 60 percent of civilian casualties are children.

"There are a lot of people affected by cluster munitions in Afghanistan, especially in Herat," Habib said. "In my rehabilitation centre, one of my classmates also lost both his legs."

Habib is clear about the outcome he wants from the talks at Croke Park stadium in Dublin. "I'm calling on all the states, especially those here, to stop it, join with us and let the children have peace and a life without cluster munitions.

"I hope from this conference that we come out with good results to save future lives," he said. "It's the responsibility of those countries ... save the lives of children and give them a brilliant future."

Habib now works in Herat with the Kabul-based ALSO, the Afghan Landmine Survivors' Organisation.

"I try to bring back the dreams I had before: to work hard and offer the help that I can to my people, my community and my country," he said.

Canadian aid group helps Afghan women learn sewing, business skills

Last Updated: Monday, May 19, 2008, By Susan Lunn CBC News

A Canadian aid group is supporting a program in Kandahar that helps about 100 Afghan women learn to sew and get a start in a small business.

Launched a few months ago, the Afghan government-run program started as a way to teach women how to sew.

Officials with a Canadian aid organization called Development Works took notice and hired the women to sew about 100 vests for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). That led to another contract for another 1,200 vests and knapsacks.

The director of Women's Affairs in Kandahar province says the program shows women can be successful at business.

"We have some women here who … can run a big business. This is the beginning. And we can show that women can do what men can do," Ruma Tareen said, through a translator.

The business offers Afghan women a rare opportunity to earn a living, she said.

"You know, in Afghanistan, the women are not given opportunities, especially in Kandahar City, the women are not allowed to go out and work," she said.

Tareen says the new business is facing the same kind of issues most new businesses face. While the government funding pays for materials and salaries, there's no money left over for advertising.

"We need some advertisements, just like commercial advertisements. So the neighbouring countries, or outside countries can see what they can make. When they see it, I'm sure they will buy it," Tareen said.

She says she's hopeful the business will one day be able to export products to Canada.

Goat-rearing Afghan nomads inspire U.S. designer

By Luke Baker - KABUL, May 20 (Reuters Life!) - On the face of it, the Kuchi nomads of Afghanistan, a tribal people accustomed to rearing goats, are not a straight-forward fit for high-end fashion.

But their intricate embroidery, jewellery and clothing, with pieces of metal or coins sewn into the fabric, are designed to catch the eye -- and that's exactly what they've done for American accessories and clothes designer Elizabeth Muir.

Muir has spent much of the past year in Afghanistan, trawling the bazaars, leather workshops and artisan markets of Kabul, drawing inspiration for a fresh collection.

And during those hours of exploration, what drew her the most were the colors and vibrancy of the nomads' clothing. "I just love the Kuchis," she says enthusiastically.

"They're like the gypsies of Afghanistan. I love their jewellery and their textiles. When I was going to the bazaars and artisan shops, the stuff I really gravitated towards was the fabric and embroidery of the Kuchis."

Along with other influences, including traditional Afghan wedding clothes with their highly detailed embroidery, and the purity and simplicity of Afghan cotton, Muir started sketching designs and putting together a collection.

While a successful accessories designer in the United States -- her glitzy, eye-catching belt buckles are worn by rock stars and country singers -- clothing was a new departure for Muir.

With long experience in central Asia, her day job in Afghanistan is as a consultant on international development for an American company, and so design was an after-hours pursuit.

Still, she pulled together the fabrics and designs, found a factory run by an Afghan woman employing Afghan war widows to stitch the clothing, and slowly the collection took shape.

"It took time. They didn't always get it the way I wanted first time, but we worked together and in the end it was great," says Muir, 39, a Washington, DC native.

In October last year, she showed her first pieces on the catwalk at Fashion Fights Poverty, a U.N.-sponsored event in Washington. The reception was good and she was invited to show a fuller collection at Miami Fashion Week, held last month.

Returning to Kabul she really got down to work, coordinating with leather workers and other artisans to source the materials and craft more designs. All went to plan until she flew from Kabul to the United States with the collection in her luggage.

"I was in New York and my luggage was lost somewhere in Dubai," she says, grimacing at the memory. She flew to Miami anyway and somehow the airline managed to ship the undamaged collection to her hotel with hours to spare.

Miami was again well received and she's now looking at showing a collection in Milan and getting the designs into boutiques in Los Angeles, across Europe and Dubai.

"I feel like Dubai is really the place where it's going to take off, not necessarily because it's in the Middle East, but because Dubai is just really booming. I think from a fashion and a business point of view, it's going to be huge."

Back in Kabul once again, Muir is focusing on leather and on incorporating Afghan stones into her next designs.

"It's easy to get ideas and be inspired here," she says. "My dream would be to expand it so that it becomes an alternative livelihood for the people, and the artisans really benefit."

Under wraps, prostitution rife in north Afghanistan

By Tahir Qadiry - Sun May 18

MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan (Reuters) - When 19-year-old Fatima returned to her home in northern Afghanistan after years as a refugee in Iran, she struggled desperately to earn a living.

She briefly found work with an NGO, before being let go, and then spent two months learning how to weave carpets, before the factory shut down and she was again out on the streets of Mazar-i-Sharif.

Determined to support her mother, two sisters and young brother, she turned to a profession that has long been practiced the world over but remains deeply suppressed in conservative Afghanistan -- prostitution.

"I had no other way but prostitution," says the pretty teenager, dressed in tight blue jeans with a black veil pulled loosely over her head.

"I get up early in the morning and wander around the city," she said, at first reluctant to discuss her work. "My customers stop me and give me a lift and then we talk about the price," she explains, her face coated in make-up.

Sometimes charging $50 a time, her work is illegal and would bring shame on her family if discovered, but it provides a lifeline she otherwise could not have imagined.

And there is anecdotal evidence, supported by doctors concerned about the potential for the spread of HIV and AIDS, that more and more young women across northern regions of Afghanistan are turning to sex work to escape grinding poverty.

Mohammad Khalid, a doctor who runs an AIDS awareness clinic in Mazar-i-Sharif, says he has seen a rise in infections, although from a very low base, and fears that women working in prostitution are reluctant to come forward to be tested.

"Unfortunately the public is not aware of the risk of HIV infection," he says. "It is very dangerous and these prostitutes will be a major factor in spreading it."

Nasrin, a stylish 24-year-old dressed in a white burqa but wearing fashionable jeans underneath, works as a prostitute in Kunduz, to the east of Mazar-i-Sharif. She says she was urged by her mother to take up the work as there was no other way for the family to earn a living.

"My father died in the civil war, my mum was a widow and I did not know what she did for work," Nasrin explained. "Later I understood she was a prostitute. One day she encouraged me to have sex with a man who came to our house."

Nasrin said she was ashamed, but felt she had no choice. "I really wanted to be a good lady and live with my husband, but now everyone sees me as a prostitute," she said. "My life is spoiled," she sobbed.

Others are more satisfied with their work, even if they acknowledge it means a normal life is out of the question. "I am happy with what I am doing," says Nazanin, 23, a long-time prostitute in Mazar-i-Sharif who charges $15 a time.

"On the other hand, I have had enough of this. I really want to live like the others do. But who will marry me?" she asked. While Afghanistan's strict Islamic law forbids prostitution, there are signs the work is taking formal root, with brothels operating in some cities and pimps managing prostitutes. Bribes take care of unwanted police attention.

"I have had my brothel for at least five years," explained a pimp in one northern provincial city, speaking on condition of anonymity. "I have 10 girls here and my customers are trustworthy."

Asked how he operates under Islamic law, he replied: "My brothel is not in the open. It is something only my customers know about. Once police took notice of what I was doing but I paid them a bribe."

For clients, paying for sex gives them easy access to women that they otherwise would not be able to meet or could only have contact with if they were married -- a costly exercise in itself.

"I have sex at least once a week with one of these prostitutes," said Zilgy, a 25-year-old visiting a brothel in Mazar-i-Sharif. "I am their regular customer now. I have their telephone numbers and invite them to many places."

Ahmad Jamshid, aged 27, says he has sex with prostitutes because he cannot afford a wife.

"I am a shopkeeper. If I want to marry a girl, I must have at least $20,000 to marry her. Having sex with a prostitute is the only way that can I meet my expectations," he said.

Women's rights workers are concerned about what they see as a rising tide in sex work but believe it will inevitably continue unless the government does something to tackle poverty.

Malalai Usmani, head of Balkh, a women's rights organization, says more awareness in the public is needed.

"Because of poverty, women are doing this," she said. "It is all because of poverty. The government and other organizations should launch awareness programs to let these women know about the harm caused by prostitution."

Security chiefs and religious leaders are also keen to show that they are clamping down on the world's oldest profession, but they lay the blame squarely on the sex worker, not the customers.

"Prostitution is completely illegal in Islam," said Qari Aziz, a prayer leader in Mazar-i-Sharif. "Those practicing it must be punished very harshly so that they will never do it again."

Afghanistan take first step towards cricket World Cup

May 19, 2008 - KARACHI (AFP) - Burgeoning cricket talent Afghanistan are confident as they prepare for the first step towards the 2011 World Cup, captain Norooz Khan Mangal was quoted as saying Monday.

Afghanistan are one of 12 teams featuring in the division five event of the ICC (International Cricket Council) World Cricket League, which starts in Jersey from May 23.

"A few years ago, any talk of Afghanistan playing in the World Cup would have been laughable. But not any more as we are taking the first step with the qualifying rounds," Mangal is quoted as saying in an ICC press release.

The winners will qualify for the next stage of the qualifying rounds. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh host the World Cup in 2011. Mangal said Afghanistan's maiden appearance in the league was special.

"The qualifying event will mark the dawn of a new era for Afghan sport and it can show the war-torn country in a fresh light," said the 23-year-old top-order batsman.

"It's still unlikely but far from impossible Afghanistan will reach the 2011 event but the way cricket is taking off, there is perhaps only a matter of time before we see it taking part in a major ICC event.

"Like any other team, we are travelling to Jersey with the objective to win the tournament and take the first step in the right direction. But at the same time, we would like to make more friends and try to learn good cricket."

Afghanistan are one of six teams in Group B, along with the Bahamas, Botswana, Japan, Singapore and hosts Jersey. Group A is made up of Germany, Mozambique, Nepal, Norway, the USA and Vanuatu. Afghanistan was admitted as an ICC affiliate member in 2001.

After playing their early cricket in Pakistan with the Asian Cricket Council funding the tours, Afghanistan beat an MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) team, led by former England captain Mike Gatting, by 171 runs in a one-dayer in 2006.

As part of their preparations for the ICC League, Afghanistan played 14 warm-up matches in Peshawar, Pakistan, last month before attending a training camp at the National Cricket Academy in Kabul, which has two turf pitches and a bowling machine.

"The tour to Peshawar was a good one in which we won 13 out of 14 40-overs-a-side matches. In our domestic cricket, we have mostly 20-overs-a-side matches so the tour to Peshawar was a huge learning experience," said Mangal.

The Afghan captain said his team has some special players who can perform against the best, including pacers Hamid Hassan, Dawlat Ahamdzai, Hasti Gul Abed and Ahmad Shah Ahmadi. Amongst the batsmen, Karim Khan Sedeq and Nabi Eisakhil stand out, he said.

"They like to play aggressively and if they fire in the tournament, we will have an excellent chance to return from Jersey with flying colours."

[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.]