BRUSSELS, Belgium – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday the United States would continue along a two-track strategy to deal with Iran, pressing for new sanctions and demanding Tehran come clean about its nuclear program while offering talks to sweeten the deal. But Russia ignored her calls to punish …

KABUL, Dec 8 (Reuters) – NATO and Afghan troops have launched an operation to drive out the Taliban from a southern Afghan town held by the Islamic militants since early this year, a NATO statement said.

MAZAR-I-SHARIF BASE: “The situation is getting more dangerous,” said Lieutenant Colonel Jorst Fohmann at a base of about 1,400 German soldiers at Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan.

At least 13 people have been killed in a suicide car bombing in Kabul, the Afghan defence ministry has said.The bomber attacked a bus carrying Afghan soldiers during morning rush hour in the south-west of the capital.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The tarnished U.S. human rights image faces a major test this week as the Supreme Court considers whether terrorism suspects held for years without charges at Guantanamo Bay are wrongly detained.

WASHINGTON – A new U.S. intelligence report concludes that Iran’s nuclear weapons development program has been halted since the fall of 2003 because of international pressure — a stark contrast to the conclusions U.S. spy agencies drew just two years ago.

KABUL, Afghanistan – A suicide car bomber targeted a NATO convoy in Kabul on Tuesday, wounding 10 civilians passing nearby, officials said.

KABUL (AFP) – US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates arrived in Afghanistan late Monday for a surprise visit to evaluate international efforts against rising violence led by Taliban rebels allied with Al-Qaeda.

The Afghan ministry of defence has announced plans to treble the size of its army. The ministry said this was to dissuade Afghanistan’s neighbours, Iran and Pakistan, from interfering, as well as to provide better internal security.

British troops are facing “operational” defeat in Afghanistan because of years of government underfunding, a former head of the armed forces warned last night.