The Taliban insurgency and terrorism has recently gained strength in Afghanistan in spite of the presence of about 50.000 US-led NATO troops in the country.

An undersea cable carrying Internet traffic was cut off the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai, officials said Friday, the third loss of a line carrying Internet and telephone traffic in three days.

The head of Iran’s judiciary is seeking to impose limits on public executions amid a rise in death-penalty cases during President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s 2 1/2 years in office.