Election Commission Defies Karzai, Certifies Final Poll Tally
01 December 2010
Afghan Panel Certifies Controversial Vote Count, The Wall Street Journal, 1 December 2010
EXCERPT: "Afghanistan's election commission, defying President Hamid Karzai, certified the final tally from Sept. 18 elections with a controversial decision to give all 11 seats in Ghazni province, where Taliban kept the Pashtun majority from the polls, to members of the ethnic Hazara minority. The move Wednesday opens the way for the new legislature...
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US Deploys New "Smart" Weapon
01 December 2010
, AFP, 1 December 2010
EXCERPT: "The Pentagon has rolled out prototypes of its first-ever programmable 'smart' grenade launcher, a shoulder-fired weapon that uses microchipped ammunition to target and kill the enemy, even when the enemy is hidden behind walls or other cover. After years of development, the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System, about the size of...
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Taliban Kidnap 16 Demining Experts near Pakistan Border
01 December 2010
, The Associated Press, 1 December 2010
EXCERPT: "Taliban militants seized 16 Afghan demining experts in an ambush near the Pakistan border Wednesday and released all but seven of them hours after the attack, officials said. The attack took place near the Torkham border crossing in Nangarhar province, said Fazel Wahab, from OMAR, an Afghan humanitarian group working to find and dismantle...
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US Calls for Greater OSCE Involvement in Afghanistan
01 December 2010
Clinton Asks OSCE for Greater Afghanistan Role, VOA News, 1 December 2010
EXCERPT: "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe needs to boost its role in Afghanistan and promote human rights throughout the region. Speaking Wednesday at the start of a two-day OSCE summit in Kazakhstan, Clinton said insecurity anywhere in Central Asia is a challenge for all members and that protracted...
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