ARmy Rumour SErvice

Russia ready to help hunger-stricken Afghanistan
Thursday July 10, 2008 (2147 PST)

UNITED NATIONS: Russia is ready to provide Afghanistan with additional humanitarian aid to help tackle a food shortage following severe drought and a poor harvest in the country, Russia’s UN envoy said.
The United Nations and Afghanistan’s government launched a $400-million food aid appeal Wednesday to help feed 4.5 million vulnerable Afghans affected by rising global food prices and a poor harvest, which saw the country’s annual grain output cut by around 36% according to UN figures.

"The Russian president has already instructed the government to arrange the urgent supply of 15,000 metric tons of wheat as part of humanitarian aid after an earlier appeal launched earlier by Afghanistan," Vitaly Churkin told a UN meeting on Afghanistan late Wednesday.

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http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?203061

BBC to broadcast tribute to fallen British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan
By Nick Allen
Last Updated: 6:13PM BST 10/07/2008
The BBC is to broadcast a three-hour tribute to every serviceman and woman who has died serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The documentary, called The Fallen, will air on BBC2 during the week of Remembrance Day and is described as the corporation's most ambitious single documentary ever.

BBC2 Controller Roly Keating insisted the programme was not making a political case against the British presence in Iraq and Afghanistan and was instead intended to be "profoundly personal".

Mr Keating said: "The Fallen remembers all of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country in the current Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts and we hope will go some way towards creating a televisual memorial
More on the link
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...ghanistan.html

NATO Base In Afghanistan Gets Major Expansion
by Ivan Watson
Morning Edition, July 11, 2008 · Iraq's government is taking a hard line with Washington over how long and under what conditions U.S. troops can remain in the country, but in Afghanistan, officials seem to have accepted the indefinite presence of more than 70,000 foreign troops on their soil.
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http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=92427328

Afghan Report Says 47 Civilians Died in US Airstrike
By Barry Newhouse
Islamabad
11 July 2008

An Afghan government commission says a U.S. airstrike this week that American commanders claimed had targeted militants instead killed 47 civilians. The reports of civilian casualties come as American commanders say they are trying to counter the growing threat from insurgents coming across the Pakistani border. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad.

The Afghan government ordered an inquiry into Sunday's U.S. airstrike after conflicting reports about the attack. Local officials in Nangarhar province said the victims were part of a wedding party and no militants were in the region. U.S. commanders had insisted militants were among the group.
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http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-...8.cfm?rss=asia

Pakistan: Now or Never?
Perspectives on Pakistan

July 11th, 2008
Will Kashmir and Kabul Kindle the old India-Pakistan flames?

Are tensions over Kashmir and Afghanistan returning to haunt relations between India and Pakistan?

At first glance, it looks unlikely. The two countries have more or less managed to hold to a ceasefire agreed at the end of 2003 on both the Line of Control (LoC) dividing Kashmir and on Siachen, and they have a slow-moving peace process which at least has India and Pakistan talking rather than fighting each other. India is far too interested in winning itself superpower status to let itself be distracted by some embarrassing fighting on its border. And Pakistan has enough problems dealing with al Qaeda and the Taliban on its eastern border with Afghanistan, without having to cope with trouble on its western border with India as well.
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http://blogs.reuters.com/pakistan/20...kistan-flames/

Support for Afghan Government Erodes
by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson

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All Things Considered, July 11, 2008 · Support among Afghans for their government is eroding in the face of escalating violence. Many say they feel trapped in their own country. They don't feel safe in the south, the birthplace of Taliban, or in other parts of the country.
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http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...70085&ft=1&f=2

Afghan Warlords, Formerly Backed By the CIA, Now Turn Their Guns On U.S. Troops
By Anna Mulrine
Jul 11, 2008, 13:50

They defeated the Soviets with Washington’s help, but now they attack Americans as the new occupiers
KABUL (U.S. News and World Report) - The war in Afghanistan reached a wrenching milestone this summer: For the second month in a row, U.S. and coalition troop deaths in the country surpassed casualties in Iraq. This is driven in large part, U.S. officials point out, by simple cause and effect. Marines flowed into southern Afghanistan earlier this year to rout firmly entrenched Taliban fighters, prompting a spike in combat in territory where nato forces previously didn't have the manpower to send troops. "We're doing something we haven't done in seven years, which is go after the Taliban where they're living," says a U.S. official.
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http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publis...le_27554.shtml

Al-Qaida prison escapee warns of more attacks on international forces in Afghanistan
The Associated PressP ublished: July 11, 2008

CAIRO, Egypt: An Internet audiotape purported to be from an al-Qaida commander who escaped from a U.S. prison warns that this winter will be "hell" for international forces in Afghanistan.

The message from Abu Yahia al-Libi, who escaped from Afghanistan's Bagram prison in 2005, appeared Friday on an Islamic militant Web site. Its authenticity could not be verified, but it was posted on a Web site that carries militant statements.
More on the link
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/...Qaida-Tape.php