In this bulletin:

• Suicide blast kills three Afghans, 30 Taliban dead in strike
• Truck plunges into ravine in Badakhshan, kills 14
• Afghan TV host, stabbed in her home, embraces burka
• NATO optimistic Pakistan will resume border operations
• Pakistan swapped top Taliban leaders for its ambassador
• Bush: US 'learning as we go' in Iraq, Afghanistan
• Italy rethinks Afghanistan troop deployment: Berlusconi
• British defence chief endorses talks with Taliban
• NATO urges more Afghan effort on opium trade
• Afghanistan violence rises, weakening Karzai government
• PM spokesperson backtracks on Afghanistan briefing
• Failing the troops in Afghanistan
• Afghanistan suffer Singapore loss
• Afghanistan wait on WCL progress
• UNDP Afghanistan Dari and Pashto websites launched by UNDP Chief, South and West Asia division

Suicide blast kills three Afghans, 30 Taliban dead in strike

May 29, 2008

KABUL (AFP) — A suicide attack targeting US-led troops killed three Afghans here on Thursday, as officials reported that NATO air strikes on a militant fort in the remote southwest of Afghanistan left 30 Taliban dead.

The insurgent Taliban movement claimed responsibility for the car bombing in the capital, which also damaged vehicles carrying soldiers from the US-led military coalition helping Afghanistan defeat an extremist insurgency.

The blast, which happened during the morning rush hour, blew a big crater into the road, which was littered with pieces of mangled metal and shattered glass, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

"Three of our compatriots were martyred and two were wounded," a Kabul police chief, General Alishah Paktiawal, told reporters at the site.

Another policeman said earlier the dead included a truck driver and two youths.

"It was busy and all I heard was a big explosion," said Mir Khan, a road construction worker. "I came out and saw civilian vehicles rushing bloodied people away from the site."

Lieutenant Colonel Dave Johnson from the US-led coalition confirmed the attack and said it had damaged two vehicles, but the four occupants were not badly hurt.

"The four suffered no serious injuries. The vehicles were both disabled and are being evacuated," he told AFP. He could not immediately give the nationalities of the soldiers.

The Taliban have carried out a wave of such attacks in Afghanistan as part of a violent campaign to wrest back power from the fragile government of President Hamid Karzai, which is reliant on international military support.

The rebels suffered heavy casualties in the southwestern province of Farah on Wednesday, Afghan security commanders said.

Afghan forces and troops from NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) surrounded a compound where rebels had massed in Bala Buluk district, the army commander for western Afghanistan told AFP.

In initial fighting, two Afghan soldiers and a policeman were killed and several were wounded, said the commander, Jalandar Shah Behnam.

"Later, ISAF air planes bombed the fort and 30 Taliban including their ranking commanders were killed," he said. "There is no one left inside the fort."

The Farah deputy police chief, Mohammad Nabi Popal, also said 30 Taliban were killed as was one of his policemen.

"They were mostly Taliban from Helmand and some Pakistani Taliban who infiltrated our province from neighbouring Helmand," he said.

ISAF did not immediately comment.

It has been carrying out intense operations in restive Helmand province over the past weeks, saying the rebels had suffered significant losses, particularly in Garmser district on the border with Pakistan.

The district is said to be a Taliban gateway into Afghanistan from Pakistan, where extremists are said to have bases and training camps.

Popal said ISAF planes also bombed another area of Farah overnight after Taliban attacked police, wounding three of them.

"Heavy casualties were inflicted on the Taliban but we don't have a confirmed figure," he said, adding that "up to 15 may have been killed."

There has been a surge in violence in recent weeks, with a wave of Taliban attacks and major military operations against the insurgents.

On Wednesday two suicide bombings killed one person and wounded several others. Around a dozen policemen and a dozen civilians were killed in violence Tuesday -- one of the bloodiest days in weeks.

Truck plunges into ravine in Badakhshan, kills 14

Bakhtar News Agency (Afghanistan)

May 29, 2008

Fourteen Afghans were killed and 52 injured Wednesday when a truck packed with mostly women and children plunged into a ravine in the northeastern province of Badakhshan, Mohammad Ibrahim, head of provincial traffic, said. The early morning accident happened on a narrow road in a district of the province. “It was a truck carrying 70 mostly women and children who wanted to find a place for finding pasture for their herd. The report we have is that 14 have lost their lives and 52 more have been hurt.

Afghan TV host, stabbed in her home, embraces burka

She never wore the all-enveloping garment, now it disguises her from those who hate

Jonathon Burch Reuters Thursday, May 29, 2008

HERAT, Afghanistan -- Afghan television journalist Niloufar Habibi never wore the all-enveloping burka until she was stabbed on her doorstep. Now it is her disguise.

More than six years after the overthrow of the Taliban, Afghanistan remains a deeply conservative country where many still oppose women working in public, visible roles.

"If I go outside people will see where I'm going and see what I'm doing," said Habibi, 20.

"I wear it [the burka] to feel safe. I feel they are still after me."

Just over 10 days ago Habibi opened her front door to a person dressed in a burka asking for a glass of water.

As she turned to go to the kitchen the person tore off the burka, wrapped it around Habibi's head, and stabbed her in the abdomen.

"The next time I opened my eyes, I was in hospital," Habibi told Reuters in the western city of Herat.

Two women journalists were killed in Afghanistan last year and rights groups are concerned about the increase in violence.

"We are very worried about the growing number of attacks and threats against women journalists," said Reporters Without Borders, referring to Habibi's case.

"Action must be taken to put a stop to this violence."

For about a year Habibi worked as a journalist for Herat TV, a state-owned television station in her home town. Reading the news, hosting cultural shows and interviewing high-profile Afghan figures made hers a recognizable face.

Days before Habibi was stabbed, she started receiving phone calls and text messages, asking her if she thought she was important now she was on TV. The callers threatened to kill her if she did not stop working.

"At first I thought it was my friends joking around," she said. "But then I started receiving five to six messages and two to three phone calls a day, sometimes 12 o'clock at night.

"That's when I knew it was serious."

The police told Habibi to write down the callers' numbers and said they would visit her at work to investigate.

Two men on a motorbike and a woman and a man in a car stopped the next day, on her way to work, Habibi. The group were carrying a gun, a knife and a razor blade.

"This one will finish you if you don't stop working," one of them said, showing her a bullet.

The woman in the group then slashed Habibi's right forearm with the razor blade several times as one of the men held her arm. They later dropped her off at her workplace with a warning. "If you don't resign, we will kill you," the woman said.

The next day Habibi was stabbed.

"I don't know who they are," said Habibi. "But I think these are a group of people that don't want women to develop and go out and work, instead they want them to stay at home."

Under the Taliban, women were not allowed to work and television was banned. Habibi is educated and ambitious, and represents a new face of Afghan women in a troubled country.

But for conservatives, change is happening too fast.

"My only wish was to become a good journalist and be at the service of my people, but if the people don't understand that then what can I do?" she says.

Since being stabbed Habibi has not been going to work.

"What's more important: TV or my life?" she said.

Asked if she has hope for her country and the future, Habibi sounded defeated.

"What future, what country, what people?"

NATO optimistic Pakistan will resume border operations

May 29, 2008

KABUL (AFP) - The head of NATO forces in Afghanistan, US General Dan McNeill, said Thursday he was optimistic Pakistan would resume operations against militants along its border with Afghanistan.

The three-month-old government in Islamabad has scaled down operations as it pursues peace talks with Taliban in a bid to end a wave of bloody violence. Afghanistan fears this could see more attacks this side of the border.

McNeill, head of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), said a recent increase in attacks in eastern Afghanistan was because "there is no pressure on the terrorists and the extremists on the other side of the border."

"Pakistan had a very difficult year, with a huge wave of suicide bombers, the Red Mosque events, 257 soldiers captured by 20 insurgents...," he told reporters.

"They have also just gone through huge changes within their government, they're still trying to find their way," he said.

"I'm optimistic that all of this, at some point, will translate itself in military operations on the opposite side of the border," said the general.

McNeill said the 40-nation ISAF was still under-resourced despite growing from 35,000 to 50,000 soldiers during his 15 months at the helm, due to end Tuesday.

"It doesn't mean we can't get the job done, but it implies it will take longer," he said.

Afghanistan is larger than Iraq and has a bigger population, but about half the international soldiers, he said. There are about 70,000 US and NATO soldiers in Afghanistan, with 162,000 foreign troops in Iraq.

ISAF is helping Kabul face down a Taliban-led insurgency until its own army and police forces are capable of taking responsibility of security for themselves.

McNeill estimated the Afghan forces would be ready by 2011.

The extremist Taliban launched their bloody insurgency months after being forced from government in late 2001 by an international coalition led by the United States.

The violence has climbed steadily, particularly over the past two years, with some saying the Taliban were able to regroup while the United States focussed on Iraq.

McNeill is due to hand over to US General David McKiernan on Tuesday.

Pakistan swapped top Taliban leaders for its ambassador

29 May 2008, 0027 hrs IST, IANS

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan swapped two senior Taliban leaders for the release of its kidnapped envoy to Afghanistan, a media report said on Wednesday.

"Despite the fact that the government authorities have repeatedly denied the release, both the militant leaders reached Afghanistan around two weeks back," the News said. Quoting sources, it said the two leaders, identified as Mullah Obaidullah Akhund and Mullah Mansoor Dadullah, were freed along with "hundreds" of other militants to secure the release of Pakistani envoy to Afghanistan Tariq Azizuddin.

An eminent jihadi leader from Afghanistan confirmed it, saying the two militant leaders had reached their homeland around two weeks back.

"The release of both the Taliban commanders was part of a package deal between the Pakistani authorities and the Taliban under which 35 army personnel were also released besides Pakistani ambassador and his staff," the News quoted the jihadi leader, who was not identified, as saying.

Taliban militants had abducted Azizuddin three months ago while he was travelling in Pakistan's tribal areas in the country's north. He was released on May 15.

Bush: US 'learning as we go' in Iraq, Afghanistan

By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer Wed May 28, 9:22 PM ET

President Bush said Wednesday that rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan is proving difficult as the wars rage on, and "we're learning as we go."

The president harkened back to the patriotic sacrifice of World War II, the deadliest conflict in history, in again suggesting the country must hold firm and not lose its nerve.

"After World War II, we helped Germany and Japan build free societies and strong economies," Bush said. "These efforts took time and patience, and as a result, Germany and Japan grew in freedom and prosperity. Germany and Japan, once mortal enemies, are now allies of the United States. And people across the world have reaped the benefits."

The president spoke on a day intended solely for celebration, the commencement for more than 1,000 graduates of the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Yet Bush's words were vastly overshadowed by those of the man who once spoke for him, Scott McClellan, the former press secretary. Stunning the White House, McClellan wrote in a new book that Bush favored propaganda over honesty in selling the war to the public.

McClellan's scathing account, and the dominant news coverage it received, put Bush's latest defense of war in a new context.

At a cold, drizzly football-stadium ceremony, Bush said the United States has an obligation to stick with Iraq and Afghanistan. He said the lesson is rooted in history.

The president acknowledged one of the many differences between the global conflict six decades ago and the ones that began under his watch: today's wars are not over.

"In Germany and Japan, the work of rebuilding took place in relative quiet," Bush said. "Today we're helping emerging democracies rebuild under fire from terrorist networks and state sponsors of terror. This is a difficult and unprecedented task, and we're learning as we go."

For example, he said, the U.S. learned the hard way that the newly liberated people in Iraq could not make progress unless they felt reasonably secure.

Bush said his own country must not lose resolve. He said terrorist enemies, using the media and the never-ending news cycle, attack innocent people to weaken American resolve.

"We need to recognize that the only way that America can lose the war on terror is if we defeat ourselves," Bush said.

The shadow cast by McClellan's book followed Bush.

McClellan wrote that the Bush White House made "a decision to turn away from candor and honesty when those qualities were most needed" in the run-up to war. And he called the Iraq war a "serious strategic blunder."

White House press secretary Dana Perino said that McClellan's account was puzzling and sad, and that Bush had more important matters than commenting on books by former staffers.

At least 4,085 U.S. military members have died in the Iraq war. More than 430 members of the U.S. military have died as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department.

Bush noted it was his last military academy commencement speech, and he seemed to savor it. He personally congratulated each cadet as cheers bounded across the stadium.

History and war experts warn that Bush has at times oversimplified the comparison between postwar efforts in Japan and Germany and what's unfolding in Iraq and Afghanistan.

After the end of World War II, enemies formally surrendered, hostilities ended, basic security existed, and local populations essentially accepted occupation and reconstruction.

Experts say those conditions don't exist in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The postwar analogy between World War II and today is "patently false," said Sam Brannen, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The stateless enemies in Afghanistan and Iraq "are not accountable to the same command-and-control structures that existed in Japan and Germany," he said.

Bush, linking the wars now and then, did acknowledge differences.

"Our adversaries did not lay down their arms after the regime had been removed," he said of today's conflicts. "Instead, they blended into the civilian population and ... continued the fight through suicide bombings and attacks on innocent people. In the 21st century, this nation must be prepared to fight this new kind of warfare."

The speech was the main official business in a Western trip mostly designed for political fundraising. After the commencement, Bush headed to Salt Lake City, Utah, for the first of two closed fundraisers for John McCain, the Arizona senator and presumptive Republican presidential nominee. The events also benefited the national Republican Party.

The later fundraiser in Utah was held in Park City, a posh mountain resort town, and hosted by former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The McCain campaign refused to say how much cash the Bush events raised.

Italy rethinks Afghanistan troop deployment: Berlusconi

Thu May 29, 2:27 AM ET

ROME (AFP) - Italy is considering changing the rules for the deployment of its troops in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said after talks with his Canadian counterpart.

The statement came just days after Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said some of Italy's 2,500 soldiers in Afghanistan might be redeployed to the south to fight the Taliban if NATO requested it.

Berlusconi told Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper he had begun rethinking the rules on Italy's troop deployment "in a spirit of solidarity with its allies," his office said in a statement late Wednesday.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force has since September 2006 been pressing Germany, Italy and Spain to lift their ban on sending their troops into Afghan combat zones.

All three countries have deployed their troops away from the conflict-hit south of the country, restricting them to non-combat assignments. Italy's soldiers are deployed mainly in the western province of Herat, or in the capital Kabul.

Britain and the United States, whose soldiers have borne the brunt of the fighting alongside Afghan troops, have also called for more support from their European allies.

Canada has around 2,500 troops in southern Afghanistan and 82 of its soldiers have been killed there since 2002.

The country's parliament voted in April to extend its military mission in the volatile southern Afghanistan to 2011, provided its allies sent reinforcements.

ISAF, which comprises some 47,000 troops from 40 nations, is trying to spread the rule of Afghanistan's weak central government and foster reconstruction.

British defence chief endorses talks with Taliban

CANBERRA (Reuters) 28 May 2008 — Britain's Defence Minister Des Browne endorsed peace talks between Pakistan and Taliban militants on Wednesday despite concerns from Afghanistan that the talks will allow the Taliban to regroup and launch more attacks.

Mr. Browne said Britain supported any moves that would encourage militants to put down their weapons and stop violence, and said Pakistan and Afghanistan needed to work together on problems with their border, much of which is controlled by Taliban insurgents.

He said reconciliation should be a part of any strategy, although it was clear some militants had no intention of putting down their weapons.

“But you can't kill your way out of these sorts of campaigns,” Mr. Browne told journalists at Australia's National Press Club on Wednesday.

Troops sweep through the village of Khenjakak, where Canadians are attempting to broker a meeting with Afghan forces and local Taliban. (Graeme Smith/The Globe and Mail)

Faced with a wave of suicide attacks, Pakistan has begun talks with Taliban militants who control much of the country's 2,700 kilometres mountain border with Afghanistan.

The Taliban, however, said it would fight in Afghanistan until all foreign troops were driven out of the country, and Afghanistan has expressed concerns about any peace deals.

Mr. Browne, in Australia for talks with Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, said sovereign countries had the right to welcome insurgents back into society if they agreed to obey the rule of law and recognize democratic governments.

“If people are prepared to give up violence, put down their weapons, accept and recognize legitimate and democratic government ... then the sovereign governments from both countries are entitled to say we will welcome you to become part of our society,” he said.

“That's their privilege and right. And we in the United Kingdom will support them in doing that.”

Afghan forces, backed by more than 60,000 foreign troops, are engaged in daily battles with Taliban militants, mainly in Afghanistan's south and east, the areas closest to the border with Pakistan.

Afghan officials have accused Pakistan of allowing the Taliban to use Pakistani territory as a safe haven and an area to regroup and plan further attacks.

Britain has about 7,800 troops in Afghanistan, based mainly in the Helmand province, as part of a NATO force of about 50,000 troops across the country.

Since 2001, when the United States led international forces to topple the Taliban regime, 97 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.

Australia has about 1,000 troops in Afghanistan, working alongside Dutch forces, including about 300 special forces engaged in missions to track down militants.

In his address to the National Press Club in Canberra, Mr. Browne described the military campaign in Afghanistan as a “genuine noble cause”, and said progress was being made in training Afghanistan's army and police force.

But he said it would be “manifestly daft” to put a timeline on when foreign troops could leave Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan is a challenge to the international community for a generation,” he said. “If we walk away, it will haunt us.”

NATO urges more Afghan effort on opium trade

Thu May 29, 2008 11:44am EDT

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO's commander in Afghanistan urged the government on Thursday to step up its fight against the opium trade, which is increasingly fuelling the insurgency.

"The Afghan government must stand up and say, 'Much of our country is defined by the illegal narcotics business and we are no longer going to stand for it'," U.S. General Dan McNeill said.

"The Afghans must, in my view, prosecute their strategy better," he told reporters in a news conference broadcast to NATO headquarters in Brussels.

McNeill said it was no coincidence the bulk of the Afghan opium trade was in the south where NATO troops are facing the worst violence.

"In portions of those five (southern) provinces, the insurgency is illegal narcotics, and illegal narcotics is the insurgency," said McNeill, who will hand over command of the NATO-led force in June after 16 months in charge.

Afghanistan accounts for more than 90 percent of the world's opium production and there was a record harvest in 2007.

Seven years after the overthrow of the Taliban, the drugs trade in Afghanistan is booming. Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Zabul and Kundi are the five provinces overseen by the southern command of NATO's 50,000-strong security force.

President Hamid Karzai's government has resisted a U.S. call for more aggressive tactics against poppy cultivation, such as aerial spraying with herbicide. It insists its own efforts to persuade farmers away from the crop are having results.

Minister of Counter Narcotics General Khodaidad told reporters in Badakhshan province this week he expected 20-22 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces to be poppy-free this year, compared to six in 2007 and 13 last year.

In a separate interview in Brussels on Thursday, U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) executive director Antonio Maria Costa noted a "continuing and even increasing role of insurgents" in the narcotics trade.

He said it was too early to predict the level of opium cultivation for 2008. But he saw nothing in a trip to Afghanistan last week to change a forecast in February that it would be around, or slightly below, 2007's record figure.

Afghanistan violence rises, weakening Karzai government

Taliban attacks are up, making this the worst season since the insurgency began and spurring greater Western troop deployments.

posted May 29, 2008 at 10:02 am EDT

Violence in Afghanistan is increasing, according to recent announcements by senior US and NATO officials. Analysts estimate that this has been the bloodiest spring since the start of the insurgency and that the increasing instability is fueling the call to deploy more troops to the region.

Across the country this week, violence flared. Suicide bombers attacked international soldiers in Kabul today, reports the Associated Press.

The attack targeted two armored SUVs, causing minor damage to the vehicles. None of the soldiers inside the vehicles was wounded or killed, said Lt. Col. David Johnson, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition. He did not immediately know the nationalities of the troops.

U.S. troops from a base on the outskirts of Kabul cordoned off the area shortly after the attack.

The blast killed three Afghans and wounded four, said Mohammad Aslam, a police officer at the scene. Small shops line the road, and pedestrians frequently walk alongside the busy route.

On Tuesday at least 24 people were killed in different attacks across the country. The global financial news agency RTT reports that a bomb blast killed eight civilians traveling on a bus in western Afghanistan and a bomb killed three children in Kandahar Province.

...US-led forces in the southern province of Helmand claimed to have killed several militants during an operation in Garmser district on Tuesday.

The U.S.-led coalition also said that "several militants were killed and nine were detained" on Tuesday in an operation targeting "anti-government operations" in the eastern province of Paktia.

More than 1,200 people have been killed this year, the Associated Press estimates. NATO officials claim that the surge in violence is related in part to the recent peace deals between the Pakistani government and the rebels in that country, which allow for a haven for Taliban fighters who cross the border to launch attacks in Afghanistan.

NATO spokesman Mark Laity said militant violence in Afghanistan seems to be getting worse as Pakistan pursues peace with militants in an effort to end a wave of bombings that have killed hundreds of Pakistanis in recent years.

"We understand their desire to come to peace agreements with militants, but there is no real solution if trouble on one side of the (border) is merely transferred to the other side," he said.

Even before the recent settlements, The Christian Science Monitor reported in April that violence had spiked across the country, suggesting that additional factors are contributing to the increase.

In some northern provinces, the Taliban issue "night letters," documents posted to villagers' doors at night threatening them if they support the government or Coalition forces, locals report. The tactic has been highly successful in intimidating residents in the south and quelling support for the international presence.

But analysts say the insurgency is spread not by fear alone: A weak central government and the country's declining socioeconomic situation also bolster militants' efforts. "The population of Afghanistan is becoming disillusioned with the government," Halim Kousary, an analyst with Center for Conflict and Peace Studies, a Kabul-based think tank. "People in the north believe there hasn't been enough reconstruction."

The Long War Journal , an Internet journal covering the "Global War on Terror," suggests:

[The] attacks by the Taliban and "Anti-Government Elements" ... have increased over the past several weeks as the poppy harvest season has ended. The Taliban now has a pool of unemployed harvesters to serve as recruits.

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen, who echoed NATO's assessment of rising violence levels in a testimony to Congress on Tuesday, says that the US will respond by increasing troop strength, the Associated Press reported.

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.

The increased coalition presence might have to deal with an insurgency that is evolving tactically, writes The Daily Telegraph. The British paper reports that the Taliban is turning toward "Iraq-style tactics" – attacking soft targets and acting as a de facto authority in areas of weak central governance – to take the districts surrounding Kabul.

Taliban tactics have shifted sharply away from frontal attacks on Nato forces in the first four months of the year. However, the overall level of violence has risen and roadside bombings are up by 34 per cent overall. At the same time, there have been reports of Taliban fighters moving into several rural districts north and east of Kabul, the capital.

The strategy seeks to exploit local grievances and disillusionment with the Afghan government in rural areas.

The paper reports that the Taliban is seen by many in the districts surrounding the capital as a "credible alternative to the weak US-backed government."

...according to [a] local MP, who stays mostly in Kabul these days, the population has lost faith in the government.

"President [Hamid] Karzai got 40,000 votes from Kapisa Province, but now he wouldn't get five," said Abdul Hadi Safi.

PM spokesperson backtracks on Afghanistan briefing

Updated Thu. May. 29 2008 1:02 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Stephen Harper was forced to backtrack Thursday after inaccurately informing reporters that Italy was removing restrictions on the use of their soldiers in Afghanistan.

CTV's Roger Smith said the gaffe occurred just before the prime minister's plane was to leave Rome for London on the final stretch of Harper's European tour.

"The prime minister's press secretary, Carolyn Stewart Olsen, came back and told us that after having dinner with Stephen Harper last night Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had just issued a statement saying Italy would remove the caveat that restricts what their soldiers can do in Afghanistan," said Smith.

Canada has been pressing for some time to get other countries involved in the Afghanistan mission to remove restrictions on soldiers so that they can help out more in combat operations, said Smith.

After hearing the developments, journalists reported the breaking news.

But then, after the plane departed, Stewart alerted reporters that she had got it wrong.

She said there was a wire story saying that Berlusconi was reconsidering the caveats but he hadn't made any decisions.

"The prime minister's staff was so anxious to have the story corrected that they allowed us to go up to the front of the plane and use the prime minister's secured satellite phone to call our news desks," said Smith.

"It seems the prime minister's staff was just in some unseemly haste to claim some sort of diplomatic triumph that they rushed out this news without checking the facts and it's a big embarrassment."

Harper in London

Harper is now in London where, in a speech to the Canada-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce, he said environmental targets must be balanced with economic growth.

But he added that economic growth cannot be sustained without better environmental conservation.

"But it is equally true as the current reaction to high energy prices in Europe is starting to show, that environmental progress will never be achieved unless the economic needs of the population are being met," said Harper.

"So our targets need to realistic, practical and achievable.''

The United Nations and the European Union, along with various environmental groups, have denounced Ottawa's environmental plan.

Harper also met with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Queen.

Failing the troops in Afghanistan

Telegraph- Sunday marked the death of the 97th serviceman on active service in Afghanistan. While fatalities are inevitable in war, there are increasing concerns about unnecessary losses caused by substandard equipment and about the lack of clarity in the Government's Afghanistan strategy.

Last week, the deputy Oxford coroner, Andrew Walker, called for the entire RAF Nimrod fleet to be grounded, saying that the aircraft had "never been airworthy".

The Government insists publicly that these planes are safe, while the Ministry of Defence privately admits that the ageing aircraft have problems. At least 10 crew members have quit because of concerns over safety.

Previous coroners' reports have similarly highlighted the Government's failure to equip soldiers properly. They led the Defence Secretary, shamefully, to attempt in the High Court to restrict what coroners are permitted to say.

Rather than taking meaningful action to protect troops, the Government prefers to deny failings or silence critics. British soldiers, risking their lives on behalf of their country, deserve better.

Just as bad, the Government seems to be lacking a long-term strategy for Afghanistan. In the Commons last week Nick Clegg, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, asked the Prime Minister about this. The responses were unconvincing and no commitment to a strategic defence review, which could re-evaluate the resources needed by the MoD, was forthcoming.

The Government's pitiable call last month for Nato allies to pay into a helicopter trust fund is symptomatic of the repeated failure of this Government to back up military action with the resources needed for success.

If counterproductive penny-pinching prolongs this operation, victory could end up costing us more in men and money in the long run.

Afghanistan suffer Singapore loss

Pre-tournament favourites Afghanistan suffered a blow to their progress in Jersey's WCL Division Five tournament when they lost to Singapore by 69 runs.

Hosts Jersey moved to the top of Group B and will guarantee a semi-final place if they beat Afghanistan on Wednesday.

But if Jersey lose to Afghanistan and Singapore beat Japan and Bahamas, run rates will decide who progresses from Group B to the semi-finals.

In Group A, unbeaten USA and Nepal have both already secured semi-final spots.

Tuesday 26 May - Results

Group A

USA beat Germany by six wickets (33 over match)
Germany: 104 all out (32.5 overs)
USA: 107-4 (28.1 overs)

Nepal beat Vanuatu by six wickets (46 over match)
Nepal: 220-9 (46 overs)
Vanuatu: 83 (32.1 overs)

Mozambique beat Norway by three wickets (36 over match)
Norway: 110 all out (33.2 overs)
Mozambique: 111-7 (33.1 overs)

Group B

Singapore beat Afghanistan by 69 runs (30 over match)
Singapore: 145 all out (29.3 overs)
Afghanistan: 76 all out (20.2 overs)

Jersey beat Botswana by 7 wickets
Botswana: 66 all out (39.3 overs)
Jersey: 67-3 (15.2 overs)

Bahamas tied with Japan (26 over match)
Bahamas: 115 all out (24.2 overs) Japan: 115-8 (26 overs

Afghanistan wait on WCL progress

BBC News / Thursday, 29 May 2008

Afghanistan's progress to the knock-out stages of World Cricket League Division Five will be decided on Thursday.

The Afghans lie second in Group B and their final group game against hosts Jersey has been rained off.

They are now relying on third-placed Singapore not beating Japan heavily in the final match in the group.

Singapore are two points behind Afghanistan with a game in hand. The Afghans have a +1.63 net run rate compared with Singapore's -0.11.

Meanwhile, Nepal face the USA to decide who will win Group A.

Both sides have a perfect record, with Nepal having the slightly better run rate. The winners will face either the Afghans or Singapore, while the losers will face Group B winners Jersey.

Elsewhere the rest of the Group A sides will play their final matches in Jersey.

If Germany beat Norway they will secure third place in the group. If Norway win, they are almost certain to take third place so long as their run rate is high enough.

Mozambique could still finish third if they beat bottom side Vanuatu heavily and either Norway beat Germany narrowly or there is a draw.

UNDP Afghanistan Dari and Pashto websites launched by UNDP Chief, South and West Asia division

Source: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Kabul, 28 May 2008-- UNDP Afghanistan Dari and Pashto websites launched by Ms. Fadzai Gwaradzimba, UNDP Chief, South and West Asia Division, Regional Bureau of Asia and the Pacific (RBAP) today 28 May 2008. Following UNDP audiences' demand which includes governmental partners, media, academia, university students and Afghan public in getting more information on UNDP activities in local languages, UNDP Afghanistan launched its websites in two Afghan local languages when this information was only available in the English website www.undp.org.af before.

This is the first United Nations public website in Afghan local languages which provide information on UNDP mission in Afghanistan, its activities, news and publications, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), funding, procurement process and other related information.

'Expanding access to information is at the heart of UNDP's continuing efforts to contribute to human development and to enlarging people's choices through knowledge sharing. I am delighted that UNDP Afghanistan is now able to provide Afghan people with online information on UNDP activities in their native languages. I believe that this will in some small way contribute to building trust and mutual understanding as a broader swathe of our partners learn more about who we are and what we do in Afghanistan. I also hope that, in time, this will help increase our standards of commitment and accountability as our partners begin to use this platform to share their views about UNDP's work,' said Fadzai Gwaradzimba who is on an internal oversight mission to UNDP Afghanistan.

www.undp.org.af/dari and www.undp.org.af/pashto links lead UNDP website visitors to get access to Dari and Pashto versions of the website.

Should you require more information about this press release, please contact Fezeh Hosseini, Public Information Officer, UNDP Afghanistan, at fezeh.hosseini@undp.org

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