Afghanistan

(Reuters) – Following are security developments in Afghanistan at noon ET on Friday: GHAZNI – Afghan and foreign troops regained control of a remote town briefly occupied by Taliban insurgents in Ghazni province, south of Kabul, the provincial governor said.

KABUL (Reuters) – Two suicide attacks took place in Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing one civilian, officials said, amid a period of renewed violence in the country.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Italy plans to cut up to 300 troops from its 2,400-strong contingent in Afghanistan later this year, Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa said on Monday.

KABUL (Reuters) – The Taliban will fight on till the last foreign soldier is driven out of Afghanistan, but their door is always open to talks with other Afghan opposition groups, the Islamist movement said on Monday.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union ministers agreed on Monday to boost the size of the bloc’s police training mission in Afghanistan as part of efforts to improve security and reconstruction, officials said.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The Afghan army could by early next year be leading the vast majority of military operations against enemy insurgents in the country, the U.S. soldier in charge of training them said on Thursday.

HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) – A protest over the shooting of the Koran by a U.S. soldier in Iraq turned violent in Afghanistan on Thursday, killing a Lithuanian soldier and two Afghan civilians.

KHAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – Gunmen shot dead a Pakistani journalist on Thursday in the Bajaur region on the Afghan border where al Qaeda linked militants have been known to operate, his company and residents said.

KABUL (Reuters) – The Taliban have shown a desire for a political dialogue and serious efforts should be made to establish talks and end the insurgency, a former Afghan president said on Thursday.

KABUL (Reuters) – Italy’s government has pledged $300,000 to help combat a disease outbreak in western Afghanistan that has killed 17 people since February, the Afghan Health Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.