30 September 2010

Taliban Reject Karzai's Peace Council as "Failed", Reuters, 30 September 2010

EXCERPT: "The Taliban have rejected Afghan President Hamid Karzai's latest bid to move toward peace talks, dubbing a High Peace Council 'failed and impractical' and denying that senior Taliban leaders were in contact with Kabul. Karzai's government on Tuesday named the members of the council, approved by a peace jirga, or traditional...

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30 September 2010

Pakistan Cuts NATO Supply Line After Helicopter Strike, BBC News, 30 September 2010

EXCERPT: "Pakistan has blocked one of two vital supply routes for US and Nato troops in Afghanistan, officials say. The move comes after three Pakistani soldiers were killed in a Nato helicopter attack near the border. The BBC's M Ilyas Khan says it is not clear whether the closure is in retaliation for the attack. But the blockade, if it...

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30 September 2010

Afghanistan Opium Survey 2010, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 30 September 2010

EXCERPT: "The total opium poppy cultivation estimated for Afghanistan in 2010 did not change from 2009 and remained at 123,000 hectares. Ninety eight per cent of the total cultivation took place in nine provinces in the Southern and Western regions5, including the most insecure provinces in the country. This further substantiates the link...

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30 September 2010

With Afghan Elections Over, Time to Refocus on Peace and Development: UN, UN News Centre, 29 September 2010

EXCERPT: "With a series of important political events having taken place this year, it is now time for Afghanistan and its partners to focus on the road ahead in ensuring peace and development for the country, a top United Nations official said today. Briefing the Security Council, Staffan de Mistura noted that it has been a crucial...

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