InfoAnda - Afghan capital prepares for crunch peace meeting

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Four Iranian police killed in border attack: report | | 3 April 2011
Militancy-hit Pakistan ups defense spending by 17 percent | | 5 June 2010
Newsmaker: Steve Jobs has a different operating system | | 25 August 2011

Hackers, IT units focusing on smartphone security | | 30 December 2011

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Afghan capital prepares for crunch peace meeting

Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Australia China India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Philippines Thailand Vietnam Afghan capital prepares for crunch peace meeting AFP - Tuesday, June 1 Send IM Story Print Afghan capital prepares for crunch peace meeting KABUL (AFP) - – Hundreds of community, political and religious leaders from across Afghanistan were arriving in Kabul Monday for a crucial assembly, or "peace jirga" that could set the agenda for ending years of war. As security was tightened on the capital with the deployment of 12,000 personnel, a government spokesman said Wednesday and Thursday would be declared national holidays for the third "jirga" since the 2001 US-led invasion. The interior ministry said cordons had been set up around Kabul to prevent any infiltration by Taliban-led militants who have recently stepped up attacks. "Helicopters from the Afghan police, army and ISAF are patrolling Kabul," ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told AFP, referring to NATO's International Security Assistance Force. "Intelligence efforts have been boosted and a four-layer security cordon has been established," he said. The National Consultative Peace Jirga aims to bring together leaders representing the country's complicated mix of ethnic, tribal, geographic and gender interests. It is due to take place over three days from Wednesday in a tent in Kabul's southwestern suburbs, providing a forum for discussing what steps President Hamid Karzai should take towards brokering a peace deal with the Taliban. Security firms reported road closures around the Kabul Polytechnic University, where delegates are being billeted after students were evicted so their dormitories could be renovated in time for the jirga. Organisers said more than half of an expected 1,600 delegates had already arrived in Kabul. The popular daily newspaper Eight AM said the cost of the jirga, at 160 million dollars, and the security measures broke down to 100,000 dollars and nine security personnel for each delegate. Around 300 of the delegates are women, a Western diplomat said, after Karzai bowed to pressure from his international backers to increase female representation at the jirga from a mere 20-25. Topping the agenda will be making peace with the Taliban, who have been fighting an insurgency since their five-year regime was toppled by a US-led invasion in late 2001. "The jirga will define a framework and a mechanism of how to pursue peace and who they will talk to in order to reach peace," said the European Union's ambassador to Afghanistan, Vygaudas Usackas. "It has the potential for great authority if it is well represented," he said of the jirga. "It is more about consensus and vision." He said he expected Karzai to act upon the jirga's recommendations so that progress could be shown at an international conference slated to take place in Kabul in late July. Organisers say Taliban leaders have not been invited to the jirga, but will not be turned away if they do show up. The jirga, twice delayed, has the support of Karzai's international backers, notably the United States and Britain, who have made clear that their military commitment to supporting his government is not open-ended. NATO and the United States have 130,000 troops in Afghanistan battling the Taliban in a war in its ninth year. At least 223 NATO soldiers have been killed during the conflict so far this year and 50 in May alone. The latest NATO soldier to die was killed on Sunday in a Taliban-style bomb attack in southern Afghanistan. The number of foreign troops is set to rise to 150,000 in coming months as President Barack Obama's "surge" aimed at speeding an end to the war by neutralising the Taliban in their southern heartland reaches its denouement. Karzai promised in his inauguration speech last November, as he began his second five-year term as president, that the jirga would be a cornerstone of his efforts to bring an end to the war. He has said he will not negotiate with Al-Qaeda. The Taliban have said they will not hold peace talks until foreign troops leave Afghanistan. Yet he supports a reconciliation process, being bankrolled by the international community, that aims to find jobs for men who fight for the Taliban because they need the money, rather than for ideological reasons. As well as Afghan community leaders, the gathering is expected to attract another 200 invited guests such as diplomats and representatives of international organisations, who will act as observers. Recommend Send IM Story Print Related Articles Strong quake hits Andaman Islands: seismologists AFP - 11 minutes ago Possible local tsunami from India quake: US warning center AFP - 19 minutes ago Gunmen open fire at Pakistan hospital, 12 killed: doctor AFP - 39 minutes ago Japan urges Iran to halt uranium enrichment AFP - 1 hour 55 minutes ago UN rights chief urges independent probe on Thai violence AFP - 2 hours 15 minutes ago News Search Top Stories Spain vows labour market reform by end of June Don't subpoena supermodel, urges Liberia's Taylor Top ECB officials differ on bond purchase policy Clashes as Israeli forces storm Gaza aid boat: Hamas TV BP rushes new Gulf oil operation More Top Stories » ADVERTISEMENT Most Popular Most Viewed Most Recommended The point about pain: New study sheds light on acupuncture Celine Dion pregnant with twins: report Egypt unearths tomb of pharaonic army chief Clashes as Israeli forces storm Gaza aid boat: Hamas TV BP rushes new Gulf oil operation More Most Viewed » Hubble catches planet being devoured by its star Ocean fish could disappear in 40 years: UN Paris museum burglar grabs 120-million-dollar art haul US team creates first 'synthetic life' More Most Recommended » Elsewhere on Yahoo! Financial news on Yahoo! Finance Stars and latest movies Best travel destinations More on Yahoo! News Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Subscribe to our news feeds Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS » More news feeds | What are news feeds? Also on Yahoo Answers Groups Mail Messenger Mobile Travel Finance Movies Sports Games » All Yahoo! Services Site Highlights Singapore Full Coverage Most Popular Asia Entertainment Photos World Cup 2010 Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Community | Intellectual Property Rights Policy | Help

Other News on Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Afghan capital prepares for crunch peace meeting
Moscow police violently break up protest
New space station crew will bid farewell to shuttle
Gunmen attack Pakistan hospital in Lahore, kill 12 |
Apple sells two million iPads
Russia and crisis-hit EU seek to ease disputes at summit
US troops in Afghanistan, Iraq mark Memorial Day
Headache for Merkel as German president quits
Iran expands nuclear work: IAEA |
Don't subpoena supermodel, urges Liberia's Taylor
Thousands protest flotilla deaths |
Magnitude 6.4 quake hits off India's Andamans: USGS |
Russia hands over plane crash recordings to Poland |
UN rights chief urges independent probe on Thai violence
S.Korean defender Kwak out of the World Cup
Stars may skip Bollywood awards in S.Lanka: govt
Indonesia under fire on world anti-tobacco day
Mexicans Fear BP Oil Spill Will Spread to Their Coast
New Study Links Cold Sores To Schizophrenia
For elderly, a different kind of `make a wish'
Obama to honor war dead on Memorial Day
Former Rep. Ed Case Drops Out Of Hawaii Congressional Race
Rocco DiSpirito Hosts "Dinner Party" For Bravo
Oil complicates forecasts on hurricane season eve
Apple Sells 2 Million iPads In First Two Months
Guillermo Del Toro Out Of Directing "The Hobbit" Films
Australian rock art find could be 40,000 years old
Better than 'Sex,' 3-D 'Shrek' tops box office again
Taiwan's Asustek launches tablet computers
Tintin lawyers denounce 'book burning' trial over Congo comic
Design star Starck enters Paris waxworks
EU says China's trade policies still too opaque
Sri Lanka: Protests won't deter film awards
Turkmenistan starts new $2 billion gas pipeline
Sex fails to ignite slumping film box office |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01